And heeeeeeeeeeere it is, a fresh new chapter of this ficanoid piping hot! ::sizzle sizzle:: No, a fire extinguisher isn't necessary. It's not that hot. It's...hawtt. Fo shizzle.

Wow, I'm...crazy. From the fact that I barely have a month of school and the teachers are piling on work like mad?! Naah...or maybe because this Saturday will be my last riding lesson for THREE WEEKS?! Yes, of course. I mean, this is ME we're talking about. Screw school, gimmie the horses...

Anywho, like I said before, heeeere is a new chapter. Well of course it's a new chapter, why else would you be reading this? Man, I just realized there's a million things I need to do, but I'm not doing because I'm way lazy. Like I have to watch all twenty-six episodes of Chobits by Sunday...hrmm, take in I'm practically busy all tomorrow...-mutters- And the fact that I have to share a computer...yeah, no way in heck :P

Bah, I'll quit boring you! Read or else! XD

~Chapter Thirty-Five~

"Crap," I muttered. This was bad. Very bad. I've been around tons of Rapidash in my life, but Mom has always warned me how dangerous wild ones can be. After all, they're not used to humans, so the first thing they want to do is get rid of them by any means necessary. Which, obviously, was the last thing I wanted. I did not want to think about what 'any means necessary' these wild Rapidash would use to get rid of us.

I couldn't stop staring at the mare, though. She was holding her head high, her flames bright...she had a very regal look to her. The stallion's flames were as red as blood. But what were they doing here?

"Well, duh," I muttered. This was a great place for a wild Pokemon who didn't want to be captured to live. Plenty of hiding places, a nice clean lake to drink from...

"Lindsey, the mare's looking at us," Steve whispered, and I slowly looked up. The regal mare was indeed staring over at Ivy, Steve, and I. I held my breath, hoping she---and especially the stallion---wouldn't attack us.

Instead, she started to slowly walk towards me. When she was about a foot away, she lowered her head and stretched her long neck, her nostrils flaring out trying to catch my scent.

We all stood still like statues while the mare was evaluating me. Finally, she lifted her head again and trotted the few strides so that she was directly in front of me. She seemed relaxed, not in a fighting stance.

With a slightly trembling hand, I reached up to gently stroke her neck. The Rapidash mare nuzzled my hair in return, as if she was happy to see me.

Ivy let out a low sigh of relief. "I thought for sure she was going to attack us."

The mare suddenly snorted in my face---which I'm used to, seeing how Joker does that all the time---and trotted over to the edge of the lake. The stallion followed her, and they both lowered their horns into the water.

"What are they doing?" Steve asked.

The mare lifted her head so high, sparkling drops of that clear water flew from her horn and sparkled into the sky. She looked over at me, snorted, and dipped her horn into the water again.

My eyes widened in realization. "You...you want me to go in there?"

"WHAT?!" Steve cried. "Are you crazy?!"

I shook my head slightly as Ivy punched Steve's arm to shut him up. "That's it, right?" I whispered to the two Rapidash. "You want me to go in there?"

Both stallion and mare trotted up to me. Instinctively, I offered my flattened palm and they both lay the tips of their horns in it. I gasped as something, though I couldn't tell you what, flashed through my mind. Déjà vu? But I had never seen these Rapidash before...I looked up at the two Pokemon, for some reason hoping that maybe they could answer, but they just raised their heads and that flash was gone. With one last snort from the mare, they both trotted off into the forest.

"Are you actually going to go into the lake?" Steve asked once they were gone.

"Why not?" I flashed a sideways grin at him. "After spending my whole life with Rapidash and Ponyta, sometimes you have no choice but to trust them."

Neither of my friends replied, so I walked up to the edge of the lake, surveying the water. Hmm...didn't look too deep, and it didn't look like there were Pokemon swimming around in it...

Not even kicking off the boots I had been wearing, but shrugging off my backpack, I leaned forward and dove into the lake without another moment of hesitation, ignoring Steve and Ivy's cries.

The water was even better swimming in it than just looking at it. It was surprisingly warm and free of any goopy plants or scaly old Magikarp. It was also deeper than I realized, and this meant something to me because for some really odd reason, I had this desire to swim to the bottom.

'Can this get any weirder?' I thought, wiggling towards the floor. A sudden burst in my chest made me stop and realize---duh, I had to breathe. What the heck had I been thinking?! I eyed the sunlight glittering on the top of the lake and started struggling to get up there and breathe in time. Inch by tantalizing inch I made my way towards the top while the pain of holding my breath for so long began to take its toll. I felt so woozy that I finally acting instinctively, taking a gasping breath...while I was still underwater.

Half of me was relieved to finally get some oxygen in my lungs, and the other, much smarter half was yelling at the other half: "ARE YOU INSANE? WE'RE UNDERWATER! WE'RE GONNA DIE! DROWN! DROWN THEN DIE!"

I squinched my eyes shut, expecting my lungs to fill with water and the stupid half of me to run cowering in fear, but surprisingly...I was fine. My eyes sprung open as I gaped in amazement. Wait a second, my mouth was wide open, yet I wasn't choking to death on lake water? What the...?

The water seemed to be flowing through my body as easy as oxygen; as if it was a true part of me. It was the weirdest sensation to be swimming underwater breathing as normal when I was expecting to be choking to death.

Okay...so I could breathe underwater. But how?

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a loud splash beside me. I looked over and saw that Steve had dove in. Oh, great. I had spent a little longer down here than I should've, so Steve had gone after me to try and rescue me or whatever.

What sucks for him? He can't swim to save himself.

"BLUUUUURGH!" he cried, thrashing his arms around. He was lucky that there were no Pokemon swimming around; he would've made them into sushi in a second.

I sighed and expertly swam over to him and lifted him up until both of our heads were out of the water. He took a deep gasping breath.

"Geez!" he cried, paddling over towards the ground. "I go down to rescue you and you save me instead. What's up with that?"

"You guys..." I started.

"Really Lindsey, we were getting worried," Ivy said, kneeling down to yank Steve out of the water. "You were down there a loooong time."

"You guys..."

"Hey, your bruise is gone!" Steve exclaimed, examining my face. I gasped and tried to see my reflection in the crystal clear water---and sure enough, the purple mark had disappeared from my cheek.

"How weird," Ivy murmured. "How did you really get that anyway? No way did you get it by just tripping over Kit."

"You guys," I started again, ignoring Ivy's question. "You're not going to believe this, but I was down there for that long because I could breathe underwater."

"..." Ivy and Steve gaped.

"Yeah, I know," I replied. "It was the weirdest thing. I have no idea how I can do it, but...well, I can."

"And obviously Steve can't," Ivy muttered.

"Hey, it's not my fault I don't suddenly have some kind of power thingy!" he cried, turning to me. "Are you sure you didn't just imagine it? I mean, it is pretty unbelievable..."

"I know what I did," I snapped. I looked back into the lake. "And I've got to get to the bottom. Don't ask me why...I'll be back when I find out."

Before either of my friends could reply, I was back under the lake. I quickly grew used to the sensation of being able to breathe and swim at the same time as I neared the bottom of the lake.

What was going on? How was I suddenly able to do this? My thoughts drifted to the Rapidash mare and stallion I had seen only a few minutes ago. Did they somehow know I could breathe underwater? It was like they did...especially the mare. When her horn had touched my skin, I had felt some kind of déjà vu...but why? And why was I thinking of all of these questions when I was supposed to be swimming at the bottom of this giant puddle?

I let out a sigh and ventured on. When my hand I finally touched the lake's floor, I felt like dancing and I didn't know why. I settled for observing the shady bottom for some sort of clue as to why it was calling.

I let out a yelp when a bright light suddenly shot from my pocket. Kitsune! Of course...I had forgotten I had him there. Kit blinked his huge eyes when he realized he was underwater and started flailing around.

"Well, why did you let yourself out then?" I sighed, struggling to get his Pokeball from my wet, sticky jeans pocket. And they had to be black jeans.

"Esss," he hissed, mouth closed. He paddled directly towards the floor and when he touched it, instantly Teleported to a spot five or so feet away from me.

"Kit, what do you think you're doing?" I asked, swimming to the spot where he was struggling to stay afloat. I looked down and saw some oddly shaped thing that really isn't supposed to be in a lake. As I leaned down for a closer look, I realized it was the handle to a really big door.

But not just any handle. A handle shaped like a Dragonair.

I let a half-gasp and instantly grabbed it and tried to yank the door open, but something was cutting into my hand---another closer look and I saw it was a lock.

Wait a second. A handle shaped like a Dragonair on a giant door with a lock...

"OMIGOD!" I cried, grabbing Kitsune and swimming as fast I could to the surface. Steve and Ivy ran to meet me when I finally did come up.

"So? What'd you find?" Ivy asked eagerly.

"I don't know exactly," I said, taking a few deep breaths. I put Kitsune on the grass, where he promptly ran a few feet off and shook all the water from his lavender coat. I then reached for the chain I had kept so carefully concealed since the day I moved.

"But," I continued, holding the golden key up. "I think I've finally figured out what this opens."

"WHAAAT?!" Steve cried. "How?!"

"There's this door under here," I said, gesturing at the lake. "And...and, well, you just gotta come see!"

"Yeah, there's just one problem," Ivy said. "How are we supposed to get down there? Not all of us have the sudden ability to breathe underwater."

"Uhh..." I trailed off. She had me there. Before I could think of a comeback, Kitsune trotted over to us, his fur all scraggly and damp. He sat between Steve and Ivy, the jewel on his forehead suddenly glowing. About two seconds later, all of three of them were surrounded in this weird, transparent purple bubble.

"What the..." Steve said, his voice echoing in the bubble.

"Espeooon," Kit replied.

"Ooooh!" I cried, coming into realization. "Kit made some sort of barrier for you guys so you can stay underwater. Is that right?" I asked, looking at my Espeon.

" 'Peon," he replied, nodding.

"Well then, water we waiting for?" Steve grinned, laughing at his own bad joke. "Ha, ha! Get it? Water---what are...ha...heh...water."

"You need to spend more time in comedy training," Ivy muttered. "That sucked."

"..."

"You guys, can we argue about Steve's horrible jokes later?" I sighed. "I don't think Kit can hold that barrier forever. Let's go!"

I dove back under, and Steve, Ivy, and Kitsune jumped into the lake. Steve swam somewhat better since he didn't have to worry about holding his breath, and Ivy just moseyed her way towards me.

"Here," I said, ignoring the astonished looks on my friend's faces. I guess they didn't really believe I could suddenly breathe underwater without them seeing it. I struggled to pull the chain off my neck and held the key against the handle. "See?" I said. "There's a Dragonair snaking around the handle to this door, and it's in the exact same pose on the key."

"Well then, hurry up and open it!" Ivy urged.

I grinned and put the key inside the slightly rusty lock, where it fit perfectly. My heart suddenly started pounding as if I was discovering something important. Which, I guess, I was.

The lock snapped open, and with a groan, I heaved the door open. It creaked to let us see that it was blocking some sort of pathway to somewhere.

I looked back at everyone. "Shall we?"

"Duh," Ivy smirked. "We came all this way."

"Okay...you guys follow me," I ordered, lowering myself into the opening. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Kitsune had broken his barrier---all three of them couldn't fit into this side by side. I nodded for no reason and let go of the door---and to my surprise, started falling into some kind of weird water slide.

After what seemed like forever of sliding---I was too surprised to scream, and anyway, Ivy was doing a good job of filling that job in for me---we all suddenly landed in a heap on some kind of hard surface. I saw a flash of light and assumed it was Kit returning himself to his Pokeball.

"Ow," Steve complained, massaging the back of his neck. "Dude, that was just plain weird."

"You can say that again," I said, standing up and expecting water to drip off of me. To my even greater surprise, the minute I was on my feet, I was completely dry and not looking like I had spent my afternoon swimming in a lake.

"I'll say it again: dude, this is just plain weird," Steve said again, looking at his dry shirt as if it could give him answers.

I started looking around at wherever we had ended up. It was a huge room---you could probably fit my entire house in it, and that was saying a lot---and there was a giant pool taking up most of the floor. The walls were made of some sort of crystal-like substance, and there were flowering bushes everywhere. And do I mean everywhere---there were even some on the high ceiling. On either side of this room, there was a set of double doors that were the wall's height. I saw another smaller door was wedged into the crystal, as if it was trying not to be seen.

"Say it again," I whispered in awe to Steve.

"Dude, this is just plain weird."

"Exactly."

Ivy was looking all around, like me. "Lindsey," she started. "I think we're---"

She was interrupted by a very sudden and loud squeal that echoed the whole room. Before any of us could ask what it was, a huge ball of electricity shot out from the pool and hit the wall. The crystal, surprisingly, absorbed all of the energy.

I ran to the edge of the pool and peered in. The water was even more crisp and clear than the lake water had been, so I could easily make out the fact that there was some kind of Pokemon down there. It wearily lifted its head and my mouth dropped open. It was a Dratini.

~*~*~

OH GOD! IT'S A DRATINI!...wait, this is a good thing. Right? Right.

My lovely reviewers! I love you all! ^_^

Harunohi~ You! I...don't know you! XD Welcome to my reviewer replies. Feel speshul :P Thanks for reviewing! Ehh...-hands you fire extinguisher- Use that next time for you do your huggling ~_^

Saisaishi~ Woah dude! Hmm...you all must miss Princess and Red Spot in your automatically assuming it's them, right? –cough cough- Uh...wheee! Yay for assuming things that seem to be right! ^^;;;

Karania~ AHHH! I hope you didn't tip the hairdresser if they pulled your hair by the roots. If you even got a hairdresser ^.^;;; Hmmm...did you get seksi picture frames with your ticket? They gave some away at my school o.O And damn well too, since you should get more than dinner and a dance for fifty bucks a ticket X_X –falls over-

Silvie~ Pie is gooooooood...-munches on pie- See plot bunnies!? I am updating like a good little RainbowSerenity! Even though she probably can't update next Friday since she is leaving for Orlando...-hides from plot bunnies and tosses discarded pie tin to them- Ten points if you hit their fluffy tails AND if they can tell me where Darrell went! Muhahaha!

Adriel~ Well HELLO, HELLO! My, my, two new reviewers...me feel speshul ^.^;;; Well, of course you emailed, but that doesn't count :P Wait, maybe it does...-gack- Anyway, if I can stop being so lazy, check yer email soon. And you're right...unless you've got messy red hair, fangs, and the ability to make fire come out of an iron fan, kawaii eyes don't work –again whacks you on the head with Magikarp- XD Keep on reviewing! –puts on kawaii eyes- Pweeease?

Hakura~ C'mon, if Ivy hasn't figured it out yet, none of them will. They're naïve little fifteen...sixteen year olds. Something like that. And hey, think about it: Lake! Free water for any Pokemon! I do believe they live in the forest area around it ~_^

RainbowSerenity: Reviewers! You all kick ass! So kick some more and review!!!

Readers: Yes we will, because we want some ass-kicking ability! :-X

RainbowSerenity: ^_^

Wow, this is very off-topic (then again, am I ever on topic? X_X), but is anyone, by chance, going to Jacon in the Orlando area? I'm going on Saturday, the 22nd! –jumps up and down screaming like a schoolgirl-

So if you are going, tell me so I can command you to give me a hug...and yes, MEET the REAL RainbowSerenity! Ooo, I smell a booth! XD But of course it's just a long shot. Do any of you guys even live in Florida? O.o

Readers: ...You're being weird again, RainbowSerenity. EAT SOME PIE!

RainbowSerenity: Pie is goooooood...but not as good as a review!