FYI, my laptop decided to keel over and crash on itself, so I had to get a cheap, used dell with (some but not all) my files. Luckily, the only things I'm missing are programs and music, so I still have my documents and pictures, and I plan on buying a nice new laptop once income tax time comes around (or christmas, if I'm lucky).
Guess what guys? FILLER. *lightning flashes, screaming in the background, dramatic organ music*
Also, trivial fact: A tropical storm can last anywhere from less than a day to several weeks, depending on how long it has developed over warm water and seas. Once it hits cold water or land, it weakens and dies out.
Oh hey, another trivial fact: I LOVE coming up with my own headcanon for certain aspects (i.e. The Dragon Clan of Blackthorn, Lance's past) and more so to share it. I apologize if I start overwhelming anybody with it, especially with Lance. I just can't help it, though! Between him and Misty, he's the one with the huge, empty-mystery of a past or history (cause he was in, what, two episodes? Four, my bad, those were two-part episode/specials though) and therefor so much I can work with and need to develop so we can get his character understood (well, the kind of his character that I've come up with for the story). It's just hard not to give it all away in one go.
Another (but last) trivial fact: If you hadn't figured already, this Lance is primarily anime Lance, but with aspects and characteristics of his other counterparts from the games and the Adventures manga as well as a few of my own twists, which includes but for now may not be limited to; his pokemon-telepathy, which is strongest with dragons, the expansion of his dragon pokemon collection (so he not only has Dragonite's evolution line and Red Gyarados, but also Salamence, Charizard, more than likely a Kindgra, Garchomp, and Altaria) and his family ties to Clair (cousins. Screw you anime, they're cousins.)
Another (okay I lied) trivial fact: Misty has a Dragonair in Pokemon Stadium 2. On the Black and White 2 game, you can face Misty and Lance (separately of course :C ) and Lance has a KINGDRA 8D
Screw it, I'm calling them Kingdrashiping. Or WaterDragonshipping. Which is what Kingdra is. A water Dragon. BWAHAHA I'm so clever.
To the following:
Violet Shadow Kurayami: Coolio! I look forward to seeing it when you get it done C:
pokefan29: Lol glad my rants are so entertaining C: yeah, sorry, college is a time-sucker. And as for the spelling, it was like 6 in the morning, my fingers flying all over the keyboard, heedless of typos, and after getting to the stopping point I was just like "THERE! TAKE IT! SLEEEEEEP!"
Anime-GuardianAngel: Oh yes, he may be an angsty heroic champ but even Lance was a silly little troublemaker as a kid! I'm sure Clair got back at him a few times, they were probably an infamous little duo in their clan. Lol, and I'll make sure to be the first few to review it if you get to making that oneshot! Note me when you've posted it, kay? 8D
TopazDragon: Thank you, it really does wonders for creativity and esteem and other such things to hear that the story's flowing well C: And yes, it's one of a many bonding moments, and it's one of a few catalysts for others as well C:
Teh Lotteh: Really? Wow, that-WOW thanks, I'm glad you've liked it so much! Gosh, that means a lot! Well, I'm trying to make sure they're interacting like, you know, normal stranded people would on an island, they're also quite different from normal people, and tale-swapping and building trust is a big deal in my opinion in regards toward Lance (who we have NO BACKSTORY to, besides mentioned fragments) whereas we've seen quite a bit of Misty's travels with Ash, and a few tidbits of her past before Ashy-boy. But it's not very...in-character, nor is it very sensable for them to just dump every little thing they have on each other in one go. At the same time, I don't want the build-up for their relationship to be so painstakingly slow, nor suddenly there in the snap of a finger... bah, I think I'm rambling. Anyway, thanks for the review!
New Readers:
UltimateLoveStorys, Chintz, Teh Lotteh (by the way, your Brothers fic with Lance and Dragonite made me cry it was so good C': ) Princessdiana516 (thanks for the review, and I'm glad you like it so far C: ) Lance Corporal Avocado, and Sakura-Blossom29.
Welcome aboard you five C:
Not that we need it much, but I gave us a brief break from Mist n Lance. Brief. Yes.
I'm going to go ahead and apologize for any OOCness that you think or know you see. It happens.
In the shipyard of Olivine port, a crowd had assimilated over the course of seconds. One look at the mew-forsaken heap of floating metal that had been pulled by tugboat was enough to attract people from all over the city, and a few miscellaneous characters passing by. However, none of the police allowed any civilians into the shipyard, and some of the workers inside even had to be classified or watched through hawk eyes to make sure they didn't mess with the scene of the crime.
Officers of police and investigators and detectives were running rampant on board of the destroyed Kanto S.S. Maria, or whatever they could walk on anyway. Most of the passenger rooms had been reduced to charred remains and multiple holes adorned the entire skeleton of the ship. The kitchen was busted, dining hall black, training room damaged, several decks had collapsed on each other, and the engine room was nigh impossible to reach with all the debris. If it was even still there- the crew that had found it believed that everything past the third deck and fourth compartments was lost to the sea.
Entering the ship was a young woman with soft, silvery blue hair, a yellow double-spaghetti strap top and white Capri pants and yellow pump shoes. Her footsteps clicked on the charred boards of the Maria, while beside her was a black and bone-armored hound called Houndoom that padded softly next to her. She passed the many different officers, investigators, and detectives, and altogether avoided the few reporters on-board like the plague. They stopped her for questions, and she lied a few times about on-going investigations. Truthfully, she had just gotten there, had only recently gotten the hint of the incident due to the absence of one of the other Elite Four, namely a certain ninja master, and the absence of the ship's docking time.
As she passed, she caught snippets of conversation, but as far as she and her Houndoom were concerned, none of their words held meaning. Deep in the bowels of the destroyed ship, they reached the staircase that would take occupants to the engine rooms, though it was blocked by debris.
"Hou!" her pokemon barked, and suddenly every piece of debris was blasted away by a sharply lit dark purple beam from Houndoom's maw.
"Thank you, Houndoom." she quipped as she walked onward into the darkness. It was a few minutes of walking in the blind darkness until a a few stray rays of light filtered in from punctured holes in the walls.
"Hound!" her pokemon barked. Its trainer had little time to jerk her head to the side when something sharp and metal suddenly flung at her head. It lodged with a loud thunk into the wooden door behind her that still held, though blackened, and the trainer frowned to herself as she retrieved the thrown ninja star.
"Do you know how rude it is, throwing stars at your coworkers?" she sneered at the darkness.
"You disturbed me." came the aged baritone voice. The source stepped into one of the filtered rays of light revealing a graying black haired, middle-aged man in shinobi outfit and a red violet scarf around his neck. Shuffling behind him was a large furry purple bug with bright red orbs for eyes and a white pair of antennae. "I was searching for clues, and you broke my concentration, so I thought you initially to be perhaps one of the perpetrators lingering on the ship. Be thankful your Houndoom sensed it coming, Karen."
"Veno-nat!" quipped his pokemon.
"Hmph, ninjas. Did you find anything?" the blue haired youth inquired. Upon the question, both man and bug pokemon turned around to the rest of the engine room. Venonat scurried off to the left, where the light was too small and distant to illuminate the giant shadows of machinery. He, on the other hand, led the way as they walked further into the large engine room.
"A few things. Mostly luggage, a few distinguishable items... no real luck yet." he growled.
"The entire crowd of police and reporters think it was some major screw up in the engines; an error made during construction of the ship and the voyage was unlucky enough to trigger it. But none of them are sure what or how. According to the remaining crew from the ship, there weren't any problems beforehand and then it all suddenly went to hell in a quick chain of explosions starting from the engine room all the way to the other end, right as the ship was crossing into Johto waters."
"Sounds logical...but that cannot be what caused this ship's destruction. Something else was at play. Something...foul."
"What exactly happened here, Koga?"
"It takes a trained eye to spot the cause, but even to you it should be obvious what occurred on this ship."
A delicate eyebrow lifted as Karen awaited for him to give her a straight answer. Koga was annoyingly cryptic that way. Between him and Will, the two could spin riddles all day around her until she got too frustrated and simply had Houndoom Fire Blast them.
"And that would be?"
"Veno! Veno-nat!" the bug suddenly started squealing. It jumped into their vision, hopping excitedly before it's master. Something black, and broken was in its grip. Koga knelt down and the bug pokemon ceased its excited hops to allow its master to take its gift.
It was small, and busted, but definitely formerly in a round shape. It laid flat in his hand, with rounded edges. The top was hanging limply by a wire, and inside it was busted or smoked clockwork and tiny gears. On the sides were two blasted straps, charred and most of their lengths burned away. Stroking his thumb against the surface, Koga wiped away the soot and charred glass on the broken top and revealed tick marks and numbers beneath.
"Nothing says sabotage and bombs like a broken clock with attached to straps."
"So this caused the explosion that destroyed the entire ship?" Karen asked, skeptical.
"Not alone. However much explosives that were strapped to this, I believe would be enough to puncture a hole in a wall, screw up the engines, but not take the entire ship into scrap and flames. No, there must have been a few more set up around the ship to set off. We were lucky to have found this one intact, however. The other locations throughout the ship were completely decimated by the force of destruction and fire that we hadn't previously found any of these." he explained, turning the decimated clock this way and that in has hands.
"I shall need time to take a look longer around the ship, and study the remains of the explosives."
"Then you have it." Karen said as if it were that simple. "Investigation on the ship's only begun. The police and investigators have just gotten the deck and the first two floors clearance'd for searching and half the damn ship, or what's left of it anyway. It still has a lot of blocked off areas from debris and water, not to mention that the lower back end of the ship is also still twenty leagues under the sea. The League will have no choice but to investigate personally anyway, considering who all's missing from the list."
"It isn't just the Champion?"
"A few other passengers," she admitted, "some crew members caught in explosives we assume, and a gym leader. One of the Waterflowers, no less. The media's going to love this, and Clair and Agatha's going to be on our asses once they release the news officially." she grumbled. "Whatever, I'm going to have to break it to the reporters. How much time are you going to need?"
"A while."
"I'll send a message to Will. Maybe his psychics can help speed up the progress." she said with a final tone and turned to leave.
"Have they identified the gym leader?" Koga inquired.
Karen stopped mid-step. Koga never usually asked much about his coworkers, even when he was with the gym leaders. Curiousity or no, it was unusual for him to question so blatantly about others, save for his daughter. She turned her head to see him, but his face was passive and void of emotion.
She shrugged, "Some girl, Minnie or Misty, the Cerulean gym leader, one of the Waterflower Sisters. Know her?"
"All gym leaders know each other." he lied smoothly. Karen studied him for anything to give him away, but couldn't catch anything, and soon she had left him and his Venonat in the engine room, presumably to round up the press and spin a few lies about on-going investigation.
"Veno-nat!" the bug chirped worriedly. The bug pokemon was relatively young in comparison to his other pokemon, but even its young memory remembered when a troublesome but good-hearted boy and his two friends came to Fuscia many years ago to get his gym badge. If even Venonat remembered, then Koga certainly did, clear as day. Especially when a redheaded girl managed to free their pokemon and save the day with her odd Psyduck.
He and his Venomoth still owed her and her friends for saving his Venomoth and his sister's Venonat.
He gazed down at the broken device in his hands, and scrapped his fingers against a thick layer of ash and charcoal. His eyes burned the image of the revealed surface of the clock into his mind, branding his brain with the insignia.
"Interesting."
A flash of red light burst from a pokeball, and from it formed a purple bat with four blue skinned wings, yellow scleroses and red eyes. It flapped its main two in the air, keeping its place in flight as it awaited commands. Koga took a thin stick of charcoal and paper from within his robe, and jotted down words before rolling it up and handing it to the Crobat. Normally he'd send the clock with it, but if Karen could get Will moved quickly to the ship, his clairvoyance would come in handy far better and quicker than to send it on a long journey back and forth from Olivine to Fuschia.
"Stop for nothing and no one. Janine and Aya reads this, and only Janine and Aya." he instructed the bat as its teeth parted open and then bit down on the slip in between the flattest of its fangs. Once secured, the crobat disappeared in a furiously fast blur of purple out of the ship.
-o00o-
There just wasn't any hope in determining the time for them. The sky was far too heavily blanketed by the storm clouds to allow rays of sunlight past, and their enclave too small and shadowed for anything less than a lightning strike to illuminate it with. None of them could be sure how many hours had passed since the storm began, and neither could they tell if it was daylight or nighttime anymore, it was just too dark.
They had altered positions a few times, trying to get somewhat comfortable and to relieve the cramped muscles in their bodies. It was proving difficult to relax with the impossibly hard rock all around them, and the terror of nature's elements just a couple inches from them. Backs hurt, legs ached restlessly, and all sorts of muscles moaned when moved from staying still for so long.
Through it all, though, Misty could confidently say she had never gotten to know somebody so well in so quick an amount of time than now, and all the knowledge she had obtained would make every one of his fanclubs back home shake in angry jealousy.
For instance; the first pokemon he had ever captured was Dratini, which had over his life evolved into his strongest pokemon Dragonite, but the first pokemon he had ever played with was Horsea, which had been part of many heists and pranks against his cousin Clair.
For instance; his clan solidly believed in the strength of the trainer's own body as well as their strength of heart in training and taming dragon pokemon. Physical fitness was a requirement, and every member was for their age or otherwise in top form; it was, in fact, common for particularly competitive masters to duel each other face to face in hand-to-hand combat instead of battling pokemon, or for a master to train beside his pokemon. Hence why Lance was, in Misty's delicate terms of course, absolutely ripped.
For instance; a long time ago, a year or two after starting his own pokemon journey, Lance had a bad experience with Team Rocket, back when the Team was just gaining fame and didn't quite have the infamy in Johto that it had in Kanto, and ever since had vowed one day to become strong enough to destroy them and anyone else who tried to misuse or hurt pokemon and other people for their own selfish gain.
For instance; he had lost an estimated count of ten battles growing up from twelve to eighteen, and an exact number of two losses as an Elite Four. Offhandedly, it had also taken him exactly one time as a Candidate to battle through the Elite Four and become accepted as one. It had taken Lorelei four, Agatha two, Karen three, and Will twice. The only other Elite Four that had matched his first-time win to join the Kanto-Johto Four was Bruno and Koga. He was still, however, the record holder for youngest Elite Four, and was the holder of second-longest on-going running champion reign, only succeeded by Alder from Unova (though lately there was talk of his coming retirement).
For instance; he wasn't a big fan of sweets, but he did have a preference to strawberry.
The list went on as the two red-heads passed back and forth stories and tales of themselves, and despite the terrifying elements of nature just inches away from taking her away, and the painful ache of stone against her skin, Misty found herself content beside the esteemed Champion.
As heroic and chivalrous as he was on the tv and that Lake of Rage incident years ago, he was just as equally sweet, she had come to realize, and considerate. He had a good sense of humor, and interesting enough, she had also begun to detect a hint of...dare she say, darkness. A small, dark shadow on his person, probably because of something from his past, and the stain on his otherwise clean persona only made him just that much human, more tangible and real and... well, quite magnetically attractive! Then there was his insatiable need to protect that usually got him carried away into trouble; not that he needed much help in those cases.
Well, besides this whole ship-wrecked mess, Misty thought with a depressive scowl. She and boats just weren't meant for each other, and she had no idea what had even convinced her to believe the ship she and Lance had been on would be any different. The S.S. St. Anna should have taught her that. If only she hadn't been convinced by her sister Daisy to meet them in Olivine, for a well-deserved break from her Gym Leader duties, then she wouldn't be stuck on the storm-wrecked island with none of her pokemon, and no way off!
...well, a small voice in her head began, it's not all that bad. Sure, she was wet, dirty, thousands of miles away from home or society, stuck on an island, and she had no idea if her pokemon were safe or not, and with a banged up leg. But, her pokemon weren't pathetic. They weren't the strongest pokemon out there, but they knew how to hold their own, even Azurill. Considering her circumstances, she was pretty warm beside Lance, and while any form of civilization could be possibly thousands of miles away, at least she wasn't alone. She had Lance.
Misty didn't bother stifling the yawn that swelled in her lungs and forced its way out; she couldn't possibly figure out the time, and it was going to be difficult to sleep on solid rocks, but she supposed she could make do. If the storm lasted only for the night, and Mew did she pray that it would, then once it was over her and Lance could go on in the morning and afternoon setting up a new, better shelter. Once that was done, she vowed to herself that she was going to spend what time she would have left during the day to search for her pokemon, and for anymore washed-up salvageable's from the ship. Permitting, of course, that her leg would let her do all the trudging around.
She wondered what her friends and sisters were doing, right then. Was Brock in the middle of his doctor duties, or was he hopelessly wandering after some girl? Were her sisters doing a show, or was Daisy in the middle of a gym battle, or maybe they were packing up their things to meet up with Misty in Olivine, like they were all supposed to? Was Ash battling some other big-dreaming trainer, or getting a new badge, catching a new pokemon, finding another new girl? Where were her pokemon, and were they safe? While she desperately wanted her friends and family to know of what happened and get a search party going to rescue Lance and herself from the island, something inside her hoped they would rest for the night without knowing.
Misty just wasn't sure whether that was because she didn't want them to be troubled with the ship sinking until later, or because she selfishly enjoyed making a close friend out of Lance.
Maybe a bit of both?
-o00o-
He hadn't thought about his past in a long, long time. Mostly because a lot of it wasn't relevant to his duties as Champ, but part of him never cared to either. It wasn't particularly bad, really. His clan wasn't terribly constricting, they had supported him when he had left to begin his journeys long ago, and besides that one big, nasty blizzard, nothing terribly tragic had happened to leave him or the others scarred, and he hadn't any real quarrel with any of the members either...
...well, besides his father. Just thinking about his old man had bristled his nerves, and he could feel an ancient but familiar wave of hate and anger rise as he had mentioned him to Misty.
Then there was that time, the one secret he intended to keep locked away and never let another soul hear or know of; no one, save his Dragonite, knew it, and he prayed it would stay that way. It was bad enough his dreams still liked to remind him of it now and again, and further that the secret itself was the true catalyst for the whole Anti-Rocket mission he had started for himself. He had to make up for it, he had to.
Misty shifted beside him, and his thoughts found themselves shifting away from the darkness inside him, his own anger and hate melting away into a soothing calm. Her head was low, the orange fringe of her bangs covering her eyes even though he wouldn't be able to see them anyway from all the darkness around them. The steady rise and fall of her body's breathing led him to believe she was asleep, and he didn't blame her for it. It was so dark around them, and the storm relentless in beating the island and coves that he couldn't tell time at all. For all he knew, it could still be mid-day or even five in the morning!
He was, for lack of better word, amazed at how easily he had opened himself to her. It scared him, almost, that just the smallest or simplest questions she asked had him releasing so many secrets and memories, that he was scared he'd slipped and given away too much of himself. So much trust in one night-or day, whatever- and no matter what impression he had of her, she could just as easily betray him. If-no, when, Lance, when, don't think like that- they got rescued from the island, all it would take would be one five-minute interview with a nosy reporter and everything he had built up, all the effort to keep the media away from his past, his family, his secrets, away from him would be gone. Destroyed, in the snap of a finger.
And yet, Lance couldn't stop himself. All of his life, he had kept to himself so many things, so many memories and events of his life had been kept under wraps to the point that he could count on just one hand the people who knew certain things about him, and he could count on only one finger the one being that knew every single fact, detail, and angle about him and his life, and that was his Dragonite. Sad perhaps, but true. And then suddenly, on this Arceus-forsaken island, miles and miles away from all the prying ears and eyes that he couldn't afford to let in and know the truth, he has Misty along for the ride.
Maybe that was why? Maybe he was just so damn tired of bearing his history alone, and finally gave in. He finally gave into the temptation that had taunted him all those times he visited his family in Blackthorn, the one-on-one little duels with Clair, or the private meditations with the Elder. He really was; he was tired of bearing it on his shoulders for so long all alone, having all his mistakes, losses, his pain all to himself with not a single other soul to bear it with him, if only for a while. A soul that hadn't seen or been with him either; a fresh slate, so to speak.
But to Misty, of all people? Not Clair, or the Elder, or even Agatha, but Misty?
But was that really a bad thing? He didn't really feel like it was, honestly. He had left out several key details in some of his tales, but she certainly listened to him, was understanding, and the best part was it wasn't one-sided. She too had opened up to him, told him of her own life, her own experiences, and he was amazed at how easily she had listened to him and returned the favor, if not a little thrilled.
Lance was used to recluses like him, not so much in lifestyle but in themselves. Agatha, Lorelei, even Clair and the Elder were adamant about keeping their pasts to themselves. He and Clair knew each others childhood because they had grown up, but anything that had happened after he turned twelve to when he started contacting the clan again when he was seventeen and just became an Elite Four, either his or her experiences, were unspoken forbidden subjects.
Misty wasn't like them. She was an open book, and she gladly opened her pages to him, and for someone to be so open like that with him was a strange concept, but definitely a welcomed and appreciated one. He wasn't so naive as to believe she was the only person in the world to be so open, but that she was the first to get close to him this way was what struck him.
Close to him...she was close to him now, wasn't she? He could certainly affirm the that her safety had been the first thing in his mind ever since she had so strangely insisted made them "restart" as Lance and Misty rather than the Champion and a Gym Leader and made friends of the other. And he definitely could say the few tales she had that detailed her or someone close to her getting hurt tugged at the strings of his heart.
He enjoyed her company (though given the situation, it wasn't like he had another option), and despite how easily she was effortlessly and unknowingly tearing down some of his barriers, he was okay, if not thankful. Why, he wasn't sure; maybe he was tired of that too. Tired of distancing himself from others, of always holding up the barriers, but he was too afraid to let them down himself.
Maybe he was reading too deeply into this, he thought. Getting too sentimental. Given what had happened, there could be some sort of mental trauma going on in his head and he just didn't know it. Maybe making him read or think too much when really, their friendship had only begun, and it had only been a few days since they met. Lance shrugged it off; maybe, maybe not, but it could be dealt with later.
Right now, and he let a yawn of his own loose, he was more concerned with the storm bearing against them, and for both of their sakes he hoped it wouldn't last long. He had a friend in her, a confidant perhaps, and so long as she was breathing beside him Lance was going to make sure she stayed safe.
Admittedly, though, Misty was quite warm and he wouldn't bother denying to himself that her presence next to him, as she snuggled into him in her sleep, was very welcome. Lance would simply have to lie to himself that, as his mind became numb with fatigue and sleep, that his head wasn't laying atop Misty's, nor was he tucking her own orange-haired head into the nook of his neck, or that the arm draped loosely around her shoulders was ever so slightly pulling her closer to him... Or that amongst the roaring winds and crashing waves just inches away, he was finding comfort in the simplistic, rhythmic sound of her breathing in his ear.
I'll be honest. I... I don't know how I feel about this chapter. It reaches roughly over 4,600 words, and I'm pretty okay with chapters as long as they succeed 2,600. I guess I'm biased against chapters that seem like fillers? I like it but hate it, maybe I feel I revealed too much or went too far with something, or that it just doesn't move the way I want it to, no matter how many times I re-examine it and look for something to make it not so unsure-neutral-y to me... one of those chapters of "they still have to be stuck here, sorry, next chapter can fix that though" I guess.
Hell, maybe it's the angst.
For those that do not remember, the one (and only -_-; ) episode Koga debuted in featured an anime-only character named Aya, who was his sister. Also, if you will recall (which I don't, so just go google it and watch) the active hero of the episode, for once, wasn't Ash, but was instead Misty and her Psyduck. (insert fist pump here) GO GIRL! But point being, Aya's a legit character from the anime, and Janine's his legit daughter from the games, yo.
Also, for those of you (like me) that are all "NOOOO give me MOAR LANCEMISTY" I wrote up something quick. It's not really LanceMisty, but really just me messing with Misty's sisters... mostly... It's just a oneshot, and admittedly a really bad written one *sob* but look for it either in My Stories or search Misty and Daisy as the characters with the title Misty's Mystery Date. Probably not my best work, but eh. I had fun.
If you like this, review. Fave's are nice... but reviews are better. Short reviews, long reviews, rambling reviews, big fat llama reviews, any reviews!
If no like, review and tell me so.
If not, I'll just continue anyway. Whenever I get around to it. C:
-K-
Wait, before I go; it's been a while since it hit, but for those of you who are, or know somebody who is, suffering in one way or another because of Sandy, you/they have my most sincerest apologies that such a tragedy has befallen, that no matter what happens, don't ever give up hope, and that you/they will be and are always in my prayers.
-KuraOkami13