Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.
A/N: The lack of reviews from last time murdered my muse (*sobsob*) but fortunately, Chibi-Suiko resurrected it and this is the product!! Please R n R
!@ Kasagi Onaso @!
~! Switched !~
* Alone *
The breath flew from Misty's mouth as she hit the water, the air seeping past her lips. She was jarred violently and with a cry, the boat flipped over.
Cold. Ice. I-c-c-e-e.
"Ash!" she sputtered as she reached the surface. Rain came down hard now, in battering sheets, drops of steel, and it pelted like drumbeat against the top of her head.
Where was he?
Something grabbed her wrist, something stingingly warm, and Ash gasped to the surface
"Ash!" she screamed, her throat seeming to be the only part of her that she could feel. Something. His ebony hair dripped water into his face and his trembling lips were quickly turning pale.
"Hey," he said with a snide half-smile.
"You idiot," she whispered with a chuckle. His grip tightened on her wrist, a sort of reassuring squeeze, and they slowly paddled towards the overturned blow up boat.
"It's cold," he said as they splashed into the life boat. The heavy smell of smoke and burning gasoline wafted in the air along with the faded scents of rain and saltwater and Misty inhaled them as she lay in a cold puddle of ocean water. "You okay?" he asked, turning his head towards her.
"Yeah," she whispered through chattering teeth. His hand still encircled her wrist but she wanted it there, something warm against her icy flesh. The boat swayed as Ash sat up, his face cringing, and reached to the side for a paddle.
"There's no paddle!" he exclaimed with surprise and anger.
"It must've fallen off," Misty said and he released his iron hold on her wrist.
"No," croaked Ash and leaned back against the side of the boat, face in hands. Misty looked at him with guilt and sorrow from where she lay on the floor of the boat.
"I'm sorry." The words hung like lead in the air.
"For what?" Ash snapped, his hands falling to his sides and his eyes flashing. "For what, Misty?"
"If I hadn't taken your bike you wouldn't have had to follow me!" she said remorsefully, wringing her hands. "Then you wouldn't be here."
"Yeah," he said with a low chuckle. "You're probably right." Tears rushed to her eyes and she turned on her side, away from him. "I would probably be sitting on the bank, trying to catch a good water pokémon." She heard him rustle. "I would still be bored out of my mind from catching stupid things all the time." She stiffened.
The waves rippled beneath her, against her back, and the steady sound of the waves made her close her eyes.
"Mist?"
"Hmm?" His voice was oddly tentative and echoing, reverberating in her ears like a shot gun.
"It's okay."
"What's okay?" she asked. She could barely hear him over the clinking waves beneath her, a sound so soothing, she felt she would drift off to sleep anytime soon now...
The rain felt soft now, and Misty welcomed it, letting it pelt her tired, cold body with a soothing rhythm. It sprinkled her face, her eyelids, and she sank into the boat.
Suddenly, she was in the water.
Harsh light, the color of fresh peaches, flitted through the water like broken crystals. The light never touched her floating frame, but she could see it through her closed eyelids, flashing fragments of light like timid fish.
Down she floated, the water consuming about her, and she felt nothing. Not the wetness against her skin, nor the bitterness of the salt water surrounding her.
Her eyes cracked open.
Up ahead, surrounded by a halo of the lights, she could see the outline of something dark above her...but what? She tried to open her eyes further but they would open no further than a slit.
Was it...a boat?
She felt the sand now, the only thing she could feel, painfully grainy against her skin, and she settled onto the ground like a fragment of rock, dropped carelessly into the perilous waters by a funning child.
Something moved in the corner of her eye.
Moving her neck, a most difficult task, for her neck felt as if it were made of a thick, thick taffy, she glanced to her right. The ebony outline of something could be seen but she couldn't make out what it could be.
A shot of peach light skimmed through the water, careless as a prowling shark, and for a brief moment, she could see what floated so near to her.
It was a small stuffed Eevee.
Her heart leapt in her chest, for it looked so real, but the eyes were blank and nothing but buttons sewed onto a floppy head. Body quivering, she watched as it gently hit the ground, sending a small puff of sand up into the air, and then as the gentle ocean current twisted its head towards her.
Abruptly, like the rain rippling the water so far above her, objects were falling all about her. Almost all were too far away from where she lay to make out any specific details but one hovered close to her head, and she was sure it was to fall almost right beside her.
It hit with a burst of bubbles and a whirl of sand, and even after the yellow sand had settled once again, Misty could barely make out the form.
A peach light, so intense, Misty wanted to shut her eyes but found, with a bolt of panic, that she couldn't, swept over the ocean floor, followed immediately by smaller, quicker burst of light, and fear swelled up in her chest like a bubble held beneath the surface.
A small girl with a pale face and round cheeks lay across from her, eyes gently closed, dark lashes contrasting painfully with the pastiness of her chubby cheeks. She lay on her side, one hand clutching the skirt of her frilly dress, and her dark ringlets whispered as the current tugged on them like a fresh breeze.
Her arm was leaden, as if it weighed half her own meager weight, and she reached out to touch the pale girl's cheeks.
I'm sorry, she mouthed, though what she was sorry for, she hadn't the slightest idea, and brushed her fingers against the small girl's cheek. Immediately, a shock colder than ice ran through her body and she could feel everything; the pressure of the water against her, the bitter iciness of the waves, and the bursting in her chest.
The girls eyes snapped open, a pale jade, and her dead lips smiled as she stroked Misty's hands.
I have to go, she said. Let me go. I have to go up! The girl's eyes narrowed and suddenly, her hands encircled Misty's wrist.
No!, she cried, her breath dwindling inside her chest, which felt as if it would explode like the SS Anne.
The SS Anne.
All was black as the last of her breath escaped from her lips, a fury of bubbles darting to the surface, and the last thing she saw before she slipped away was a searing light and a sound pressing against her ears...
"Misty!"
"What?" she shrieked, sitting up. She found she was free to move as easily as she wished and was immediately on her back again, chest heaving and hands covering her eyes.
"Are you all right?" came Ash's voice, sounding strangled.
"I think," she replied, her hands slipping away from her face. The warmth her hands had briefly provided was immediately attacked by the cold, biting air.
"You fell asleep," Ash said. **/*/*/**/*/*/**/*/*/**/*/*/***/*/*/**
"Did I?" Misty breathed, looking up at him. Rain fell into her eyes, making his form unpleasantly blurry. "For how long?" Her voice felt odd, scratchy, coming up from a raw throat parched from the salty sea water.
"Not too long," Ash said solemnly, turning his eyes to the churning sea. "Anyway, it's not like I can tell the time," he snapped, drawing his knees to his chest. Slightly stung, Misty turned her back to him.
She felt numb to all feelings.
Suddenly, a chill like fresh lightning shot down her spine.
"Eevee," she rasped, sitting up quickly, though her head pinged mercilessly at the sudden action. Her hand began frantically searching her person for that sixth pokéball, eyes widening. Ash turned lazily to see what the commotion was and sighed.
"Check your bodice," he said with a crimson blush. Misty eyed him as she did such, relieved to feel the pokéball contained inside of it.
"Thanks," she whispered, cradling the object to her. Ash shrugged and turned back to watching the sea. "Ash?" she asked suddenly.
"What," he replied, voice painfully monotonic.
"Do you think they…Erika and Alexis…do you…" Her tongue flopped like a beached whale and she fell silent, hoping Ash had sense enough to fill in the blanks.
"No," he said finally, eyes focused upon the churning waves.
"Oh. Good."
"Though me saying it doesn't mean it isn't true."
"No," she said quickly. "No, of course not." Did he think she was stupid?
"I don't see anything," Ash growled, eyes like twin coals. "The rain stopped, and I still can't see anything."
"We're bound to hit land soon," Misty said. There was a pause, and then, "Right?" Ash said nothing, confirming the answer was a likely negative response and Misty was glad he kept the answer to her imagination.
"We'd better," he said finally. "This cold water's doing nothing for the air inside this boat."
Suddenly, something quite solid brushed faintly against Misty's ankle, causing her to jump.
"What?" Ash said irritably, finally turning his gaze upon her.
"S-something touched me," Misty whimpered, looking beneath her leg but seeing nothing but the material of the lifeboat.
"What?" Ash repeated, firey eyes demanding an answer. "Spit it out!"
"Something touched my leg!" Misty repeated. "I felt it beneath me."
"Probably a Magikarp," Ash mumbled, his hands, which had been clenched, relaxing in a relieved manor. "You know how stupid they are."
"Right," Misty stuttered, looking nervously at the bottom of the boat.
It came again, less than five minutes later.
This time, instead of speaking, Misty flopped onto her stomach, the boat tipping in protest, and pressed her ear to the bottom of the ship.
"What are you doing?" Ash spat venomously as the boat rocked violently.
"Sh-h!" bid Misty, finger to her pursed lips.
Sure enough, an echoing roar greeted her listening ears.
"You look white as a sheet," Ash said crossly as she returned to her previous position. "Well?"
"Gyarados," she whispered shrilly, pointing to the water.
"Are you kidding?" asked Ash, not looking the least bit afraid. "We can't be that far out."
"You said yourself you didn't know the time," Misty said. "We could have been floating for hours."
"It didn't feel like hours," Ash argued, but Misty saw his eyes flash. "A Gyarados….wouldn't attack us, would it?" he asked, voice tentative.
"I dunno," Misty replied, scared now that Ash was scared.
"You're supposed to be the expert!" Ash yelled, smacking the side of the boat. Misty cringed and tucked her head between her knees.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. There was a cold, clammy touch on her arm and when she looked up, Ash's face was only inches from hers.
"We have to get out of here," Ash said slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.
"How?" she mouthed, unable to speak.
"We can't just sit here like ducks," Ash said. His hand was still on her arm, a steadily growing spot of warmth. "We can't paddle either." Misty could not find her voice, too shocked at both Ash's suggestion and how close his face was to hers.
"Are you saying we swim?" she squeaked, eyes widening. He did not respond but, instead, moved his hand under her chin and stared her in the eye for what seemed forever before slowly turning from her. "Ash?" she said, becoming worried. "Ash, what are you doing?"
He ripped his jacket off and quickly pulled his shirt above his head.
"Come on," he said.
"It's too cold!" she screeched, trying to quickly reach his side. "You'll freeze to death!"
"We can't just sit here!"
"Don't be stubborn," Misty pleaded, tears warm on her face. "Don't leave me here!"
"Then come on," Ash said, his voice holding a deadly finality to it. "There are jetties streaming out here and we could rest on those. If we get close enough to shore, there might be a sand bar."
"I'm staying here," Misty said, crossing her arms. Ash looked pleadingly at her for a moment, and then swung his legs over the side. "You're crazy!" she screamed after him, swells of sobs inflaming her chest. "You're gonna die, Ash, and you'll be sorry!" His form was lost in seconds, his dark hair easily mistaken as a part of the ebony water and she collapsed in dry sobs, willing him back to the boat.
She was all alone.
WHEW!!! Yes, Chibi-Suiko, this is terribly, terribly late and I'm so sorry V_V But here it is!! Finally!! And much too long…7_7 hmm… School's been h3ll but hey, only what, three weeks left or something like that? Now we can all look forward to finals! YAY!! Please review! If you want another chappie, at least 83 please!! Or my muse will die again…*sob*…
~ Kasagi Onaso