Twelve
Paul could not stop watching the blue girl. She was so familiar—he knew he knew her from… somewhere. He racked his brains thoroughly, trying to come up with even the faintest of memories of the girl, but he could not get it. He had been frightened at first by her aggressive attachment to him, but upon learning he was not the Paul she was looking for, she had completely backed off.
Paul wanted to know who this other Paul was. He wanted to know why he wasn't good enough for her.
Behind him, Ash and the orange girl were talking/arguing about who was stupider, so Paul quickened his pace to catch up with the blue girl. "Hi," he greeted.
The blue girl—Dawn! Her name was Dawn—jumped and looked at him. "Oh hi," she said, smiling, but it seemed forced. "What's up, Paul?"
Paul could tell it hurt her to say his name. Why? He was burning with desire to know. "Nothing," Paul said quickly. Inwardly, he grimaced. His tone had come out ruder than he had meant for it to.
Dawn eyed him with concern. "Okay," she replied. She turned her face skywards. "This world is amazing, isn't it?"
"It is?" Paul responded, disbelieving. Same old world, last time he checked.
"Yeah, there are all these crazy creatures that can breathe fire, or control water, or make lightning," Dawn stated. "The more I think about it, the more I realize… it's magic. It has to be."
Paul snorted. "Sure," he complied.
Dawn grimaced, her face one of someone who had just said more than they should have. "Well, uh, what do you define as magic, then?" she amended.
"There's no such thing as magic," Paul retorted. He looked away and bit his lip. He really needed to think before he spoke.
Dawn laughed a little. "I'm starting to doubt that," she murmured.
Paul stared at her, trying to decipher the hidden meaning behind her words. After all, people didn't say stuff like that just to be mysterious, did they? "And that is because…?" Mentally, Paul smacked himself. A simple why? would have sufficed and been less rude.
Dawn glanced at him; it seemed his tone was finally getting to her. "Why do you want to know?" she demanded.
Desperate to recover, Paul searched his brain for something that was not cold or offensive. "I'm just… curious," he finished lamely.
"Well I'm not supposed to tell you, so don't ask," Dawn snapped. "You're just as mean as—." She broke off abruptly. "Never mind," she muttered.
Paul stared at her, curiosity burning in his chest. But he didn't dare ask. Dawn seemed too… edgy at the moment.
Abruptly, something clamped onto Paul's shoulder, making him jump violently. Ash grinned and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "So, Pauly, I've got some questions for you."
Paul wrenched himself from the taller boy's grip. "Leave me alone," he growled. He glanced around for Dawn and saw her strolling with the orange girl. "And don't call me that."
"This is important," Ash snapped, giving Paul a look that did not match his usual composure. "I need you to answer honestly."
Narrowing his eyes, Paul folded his arms across his chest. "Only if I get to ask questions and get answers too."
"Maybe," Ash said. Paul gave him a scowl, but he did not protest any further. Ash smirked knowingly. "So tell me, Paul, have you ever… broken the law?"
Paul was offended by this question. Surely he didn't look like a delinquent? "No," he scoffed.
"Never stolen anything?" Ash pressed. "Never done drugs? Never got in a fight?"
Briefly, Paul recalled the time he and a boy from his second grade class had gotten in a fight—if it could even be called that. Mostly he and the other kid waved their arms at each other. "No, none of that," Paul stated confidently. "Done?"
Ash ignored his question. "Do you have any relatives?" He paused. "Wait, yes you do. Would Reggie be in trouble with anyone?"
"No, he wouldn't, and how do you know about him?" Paul demanded.
Ash leered at him. "Are you sure?"
Paul narrowed his eyes. "Reggie would never do anything, ever, that would put me in danger."
"Then why," Ash wondered, "did Team Rocket attack you?"
Fear flashed across Paul's face. "That was Team Rocket?" he whispered. "The people you set your Charizard on?"
"Thank God you've heard of them," Ash sighed. "I was beginning to think you were totally incompetent."
Paul looked away. "Only an imbecile would be ignorant of Team Rocket," he said. "Personally I'm surprised you know."
For a moment, Ash was silent, fighting to figure out if Paul had insulted him or not. "Okay," he replied, uncertain. "Anyways, Team Rocket wasn't after us. I hope. So I'm wondering—holy cow what on earth is that?" Ash turned his head skyward, gaping in shock.
Paul did the same, wondering what manner of shiny object could distract Ash in such away.
And his breath was taken away.
A bird bigger than any he had ever seen was soaring lazily across the sky, seeming to glitter in the sunlight like the rain. A glorious trail of colors followed its flight, and although Paul was usually repulsed by rainbows, this one was different. It was like this rainbow was all things good, from hope to happiness, arching through the blue of the heavens.
"I have no idea," Paul breathed. He could not look away. It was too beautiful.
"Ash?"
Paul jumped at the sharpness of Misty's tone, as did Ash. The redhead scowled at the latter, evaluating his actions. "What were you looking at?" she questioned.
Ash blinked. "What, you missed it?"
"Missed what?" Dawn asked.
For a moment, Paul feared Ash was going to tell them about it. The idea of Ash sharing the rainbow with those who hadn't witnessed it seemed wrong. "It was nothing," Ash informed them with a slight shake of his head. Yet his gaze slid back to the clear sky, searching. But the bird and its rainbow tail were gone.
Cerulean City was just as Ash remembered it, with sprawling buildings and urban dwellings, with the sea in view just north of the city. From where they stood on the hill, overlooking the town, he could see the Gym, a large pink and orange dome with a hideous Dewgong on it. A memory flashed before his eyes, with Pikachu scampering ahead of him and coaxing him to hurry up, as the sun set on the ocean.
Ash blinked. He was back in the present, with Pikachu dozing on his shoulder and the sun high in the sky, with Misty and Dawn and not Paul. He focused on the Gym. No longer was he passing through, like last time. He had to go down there and win a battle. Old nerves crackled in his chest. No matter how many battles he won, he still got nervous.
"Ocean!" Misty exclaimed happily. "Yes, this is my kind of town. Hurry up, you slowpokes, the water waits for no man!"
"Wait!" Ash cried, and he yanked Misty back. She winced in pain and glared furiously at him.
"What for?" she demanded. She tried to throw Ash's grip off, but he held firm. After all, she was Misty, and no one got between Misty and water.
Gary's warning played through Ash's mind again. "I think you should stay here with Dawn. Paul and I will go down and… make sure there's no Team Rocket. And then you can come."
Misty blinked at him in shock. "Team Rocket?" she repeated. "Ash, are you worried about me?"
Ash smiled. "Of course I am," he lied easily. He pulled her closer, gentle this time. "You're my girlfriend, after all."
Misty put on a flirtatious smile. "Aw, how sweet," she cooed, mussing up his hair.
Grinning, Ash kissed her forehead. "Perfect. Stay here, and we'll be back soon." He nodded at Paul, and they left the two girls.
Dawn stared at her friend. "What was that?" she snapped.
"A lie," Misty replied, folding her arms. "We're following them. Come on."
Ash swore quietly. Paul looked at him in confusion. "What?" he asked. They were standing on the sidewalk, busy as all streets seemed to be in the Pokemon world, staring at a shop window. Several TV sets rested inside, each displaying the news.
"…new developments on the case of missing Gym Leader Misty Waterflower," the newscaster was saying. A picture of Misty—his Misty—appeared behind her. "Witnesses claim she was sighted in Lavender Town with two men and a woman. One of the men had a Charizard and a Pikachu. Anyone with anymore information regarding this man or the missing Leader is asked to report to their local Officer Jenny immediately."
Paul's eyes went wide. "She's the missing Gym Leader?" he cried. "You… you kidnapped—?"
"Shut up!" Ash hissed, clamping his hand over Paul's mouth. The younger boy glared up at him, but remained silent. "People will hear you!" After a few more moments of Paul scowling, Ash hesitantly removed his grip.
Paul spat as Ash's hand pulled away. "Are you nuts?" he whispered. "Now they suspect me too! Did you hear that? Two men. Two!" A look of horror crossed his features. "I can't go to the police," he said in shock. "I'm a criminal."
"Never seemed to bother you before," Ash snapped without thinking. Paul gave him such a betrayed look that Ash actually felt bad for saying it. He sighed and tried his best to look apologetic. "Look, the girl traveling with us is not the same as the Gym Leader. Well, she is, but… she's not. It's like you and the Paul we know."
Hesitant, Paul folded his arms. "How can I know that's true?" he wondered. "How can I know everything you've told me so far is true?"
Ash paused. He truly had no answer to that. "When we get back to where we belong," he said, his fists clenching in determination, "I'll introduce you to Paul. The real Paul."
Paul blinked. Pain flashed in his eyes. He swallowed thickly, avoiding Ash's gaze. Something had upset him. Ash wasn't sure what. "That," Paul hissed in a deadly tone, "does not convince me."
"I can't give you anymore proof!" Ash exclaimed. Frustrated, he shook his head. "Come on, Paul, let's just get back to the girls before they do something stupid."
"Did you see which way they went?" Dawn asked.
"Shut up, Dawn, I'm trying to figure that out!" Misty barked. She scowled at the various streets Ash and Paul could have possibly taken once entering the city.
People strolled by, their eyes fixing on Misty as if they could not believe what they were seeing. This perplexed her, as it was usually Dawn getting all the attention, not her, and she did not know how to handle it. So she glared at those who stared too long, inducing them to flinch.
Exasperated, Misty threw up her hands and sighed. "Let's go this way," she decided. "We're bound to run into them eventually."
Dawn simply shrugged and followed her friend. Had it been up to her, they would have stayed where Ash had told them to. She was not stupid—this was a strange world that she didn't know. Wandering around it was definitely not the best idea. Yet Misty was stubborn and determined, and Dawn did not feel up to arguing with the notorious hothead.
As Dawn looked around, taking in the sights of the city, she noticed something unnerving. More unnerving than finding Barry alive.
"Misty," Dawn said, jogging to catch up with her, "do you recognize a lot of these people?"
Suddenly self-conscious, Misty reached up and removed her trademark side ponytail, allowing her hair to fall and graze her shoulders. "Why won't they stop staring?" she hissed. Nervously she pulled up the hood of her sweater, her cheeks turning red from the unwanted attention.
"Misty?"
Misty froze. The voice was not one she recognized, yet the face of the speaker was vaguely familiar. Was it one of the cashiers at grocery store? Or the woman who picked up the towels in the locker room? She was not sure. But the woman clearly knew her, and was pointing right at her.
"Misty Waterflower!" she cried in disbelief. "Oh my God, she's back!"
People heard the woman. They stopped in their tracks to look at Misty, to peer at her like an animal. For some reason, they formed a clearing around her and Dawn, keeping their distance. The woman continued to point. People began to whisper. Questions burned behind their eyes that they clearly were too afraid to ask.
"Oh, Misty, thank God you're back!"
Misty cringed. Oh, she knew that voice. And she knew she was in trouble.
Ash pushed his way through the circle of people and drew Misty into his arms. From just over his shoulder, Misty saw Paul enter the circle after him, not looking the least bit happy about it.
And then Ash kissed her. On the lips. In front of all. Those. People.
"Come on, you need to get home! Everyone's been so worried," Ash insisted. There was a look in his eyes, begging her to play along. It took all of Misty's self control and the year she accidentally took a theater class to keep her from slapping him in front of that crowd. Instead she allowed her eyes to un-focus so that Ash became nothing more than a colored blur, leading her out of the audience in the street.
"Where are we going?" Dawn wondered.
"The Gym," Paul told her. "Misty is the Gym Leader, and we need a badge."
"I can't battle as a Gym Leader!" Misty whispered angrily.
"You're going to have to, because I think the other Misty won't be easily found," Ash replied. "Just throw the match and we'll be out of here before you know it."
"And people won't get suspicious?" Misty said, her eyebrows arching in skepticism.
Ash sighed. "Of course they will, so we'd better get out of here before they figure out you're not the Misty Waterflower they think you are."
Misty scowled distastefully. "Fine," she hissed. She spun on her heel and marched over to her designated platform on the other side of pool. Ash arrived on his as well, taking a fighting stance. Misty removed Gyarados from her pocket. No matter what Ash said, she was not going to make this easy for him.
"A one on one battle!" Misty called out, recalling what Ash had told her to say. "For the Cascade Badge," she added.
"Ready when you are, Mist!" Ash responded.
Misty's eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that!" she hissed, and with strength that could only come from ten years of swimming, Misty hurled her pokeball into the water. Gyarados appeared with its usual cry of awesomeness, its jaw stretched and ready to heed Misty's orders.
She could see Ash's smirk, even from this distance. He gave a windup before pitching his pokeball into the air. Bayleef appeared in a brilliant flash of light, landing daintily on one of the floating platforms, which despite her soft landing still wobbled under her weight.
It occurred to Misty that Ash was not using Pikachu, that Bayleef was not his strongest. He was going easy on her. It made her want to crush him even more. She wanted him to show her just how strong he was. His little lesson in battling on the cruise ship had been sadly lacking and made battling seem horribly easy. She wanted to see something spectacular.
"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" Misty called.
Bayleef dodged the move with irritating ease, landing on another one of the platforms gracefully. "Magical Leaf!" Ash commanded. A wide grin was spreading on his face, revealing just how much fun he was having.
"Protect!" Misty cried.
Gyarados raised the shield, but Bayleef did not attack. Instead, it bounded from one platform to the next, making the great water dragon whip its head around at a dizzying rate. It did not take long for Gyarados's weak shield to fall, blinking out of existence as the Pokemon's strength dissipated. It was then that Bayleef chose to attack, summoning glowing leaves from the Great Beyond or something and sending them straight at Gyarados.
Gyarados howled as the leaves cut at its scales. "Headbutt!" Ash ordered next, waving his arm excitedly.
Bayleef wasted no time in angling herself, rearing back and running pell-mell towards Misty's Pokemon. Her head collided with Gyarados's neck, making it bend so bad Misty was sure it had snapped.
Misty was desperate now, unsure of what to do. "Um, Hyper Beam!" she cried hopelessly.
As Gyarados reared, the glowing orb forming in its jaws, Ash simply folded his arms and smirked. "Solarbeam," he said calmly.
Bayleef's attack was swift and well-aimed, firing right into the maw of Gyarados. Such an explosion occurred, the likes of which Misty had never seen, and her beautiful dragon collapsed into the water with a tremendous splash.
"Bay!" Bayleef said happily. It swung its head around, looking to Ash for approval. Ash gave it a giddy grin and a thumbs up, which Misty swore made the Pokemon blush.
"I believe you owe me a badge now," Ash taunted, his victorious smirk enhancing his devilishly cute features.
Misty mentally slapped herself. Now, of all times, she was deciding Ash was cute? What the hell was wrong with her?
Although, she admitted, his battle skills were astounding. He made a fine Trainer.
But Misty would be damned if anyone caught her saying that aloud.
"Hurry up!"
Misty exhaled in frustration. "Look, you find where they keep the badges. I've looked everywhere."
Ash rolled his eyes. "We can't stay in Cerulean tonight. I'm surprised no one has come to the Gym yet, so let's not push our luck."
"You're blaming me for not knowing where the badges are?"
"Well it is your Gym."
"It is not! You were just too chicken to fight the real Gym Leader."
"There was no Leader! She could be pushing daisies for all we know!"
"What a comforting thought."
"Just find the badges."
"We don't need no stinking badges!"
"…Misty—."
"Don't even start with me, Ash."
Silence. Then…
"Misty."
"What now?"
"You're cute."
Misty looked back at him, standing in the doorway of the office like some nonchalant office superior, smirking at her. "Cute is not a word I describe myself with," she snapped, although the compliment did make her heart flutter a bit.
Ash shrugged. "I think it's fitting," he admitted, strolling into the room as Misty rifled through yet another drawer.
"If you're trying to get me to compliment your battle skills, it's not going to work," Misty told him, unable to fight the smile that pulled at her lips.
Ash sighed. "I did have hopes," he complained quietly. He placed both hands on her shoulders, gently, but their warmth was enough to startle Misty. "Can I at least get a victory kiss?" He steered her around so that she was facing him, her legs against the desk she had just been searching.
Before Misty could agree, or protest, or whatever she was thinking of doing, Ash had his mouth on hers, gently pulling her lips apart and slipping his tongue in her mouth. Misty completely forgot she was mad at him, or that he was annoying her, or that the world still existed around them. Nothing mattered outside of Ash's hands on her back, his lips molding against hers, and the feel of his hair in her fingers.
"You know," she murmured, breaking away, "I won't get much looking done this way."
"Are you saying you'd rather get back to searching?" Ash teased.
Misty glared. "You were the one pestering me about all this!"
"So it's my fault?" he questioned, the humor fading from his eyes.
"When is it not?" Misty wondered angrily.
"Hey, you can't just pin every little thing on me like that!" cried the Trainer. His arms were still around Misty, and her hands were still in his hair, but all the romance had gone from the scene. It wasn't even embarrassing when Paul walked in on them, bearing a bag of extra badges.
"I found—oh… kay then," Paul said slowly. He cleared his throat. "I found the badges."
"Good," Ash replied, looking over at Paul in the midst of his argument with Misty. He released his grip on her as if Paul hadn't just walked in on an intimate moment and snatched the bag from him.
Misty folded her arms, like nothing of the romantic nature had occurred between the two, and scowled. "Happy now?" she demanded.
"Overjoyed, now let's go," Ash retorted. "Dawn, we're leaving!" he yelled.
There was a crash from somewhere down the hall. "O-okay!" replied Dawn's weak voice.
Three pairs of eyes rolled. Ash looked at his new Cascade Badge and grinned. "One down, two to go," he said happily.
*AN: Please do not kill the author who updates late, but rather, pity her, for she has much schoolwork and simply HAD to finish all four seasons of Merlin within a week. I am very, very sorry, and I stayed up extra late to get this done for you guys. I'll edit it tomorrow, but I feel bad enough as it is.
Make my life easier and inform me of any and all errors, grammatical or whatnot, you happen to spot. I'll try not to be so late next time, and I hope Misty wasn't OOC. Thank you all for reading and bearing with me during these busy weeks.*
