Adopted Love
,,*/ Adopted Love \*,,
,,*/ PART 2 ~ The Guest \*,,
,,*/ By Seabeast \*,,
,,*/ AL \*,,
"So. . .when are they gonna be here?"
Ash leaned his head over the back of the living room couch—careful not to spill his soda—and watched as his mother filled the sink in the kitchen up with dishwater and began piling dirty plates and cups onto the counter beside her.
"Oh, I don't know, dear," she said absentmindedly, distracted by her mission to find a clean dishrag. "If they're coming from Cerulean, they'll have quite a drive ahead of them."
Ash sighed and sunk deeper into the couch, propping his sock-clad feet up on the coffee table and draping his free arm over the back. Ever since he had given his mother Jenny's message she had been cleaning (although Ash couldn't really see why, as she and Mimey kept the house almost immaculately clean most of the time anyway) and Ash had been waiting somewhat, if not just a little, patiently. It was the middle of summer and he had had nothing better to do anyway, so why not slouch around the house and play videogames until that girl got here?
But Pikachu had long since gone out exploring the woods near their house, leaving him without a good Mortal Kombat opponent, and Leveling Up on the Mi'Ihen Highroad in Final Fantasy X was getting to be quite boring, which left him with nothing of any particular interest to do. He sighed heavily and slurped down a little more of his already warm and flat Mountain Dew. Pallet was boring. It was already three in the afternoon and, well, he wasn't going to wait much longer. Riffling around underneath him, he managed to fish out the remote and a load of stale popcorn from between the couch cushions, and then quickly busied himself with channelsurfing.
If she wasn't here before Yu-Gi-Oh! ended, he was leaving.
,,*/ AL \*,,
Meanwhile, a mere forty miles from Pallet's northern edge, Misty was having second thoughts.
She had watched the scenery outside her window shift from the familiar hilly plains surrounding Cerulean, to the impossibly tall skyscrapers that formed Saffron and Celadon, to the great aged trees of Viridian Forest, and, finally, to the soft rolling meadows that created the Great Plains of the South. Truth be told, there wasn't much to look at, which gave Misty's naturally inquisitive mind plenty of room to wander. She did not want it to wander, she wanted it to stay put on a tree, a rock, anything to get it off of her stomach, which was flipping over itself so many times she wondered how it could still be attached.
Jenny noticed her squirming in the passenger seat of her fairly new Jeep Cherokee and inwardly sighed. She had tried explaining to the young girl that everything would be all right, that the Ketchums were good people that would probably make her feel more at home than her sisters had, but she supposed there was nothing she could say that would completely quell the swarm of butterflies that must have been eating her from the inside out. Jenny remembered well the time that she herself had had to momentarily switch homes while her mother, who just happened to be the Chief Jenny of Goldenrod, investigated a special case too dangerous for her daughter to be present for. Sure, Jenny's cousin's family had turned out to be a great little home-away-from-home, but the anxiety she had felt on the trip over there still haunted her today, if she allowed herself to think about it.
So what could she do to make Misty feel better? What would have made her feel better on the car ride to her cousin's that nerve-racking day? To be honest, she didn't know. All she could hope for was that Delia gave them a warm welcome, which Jenny was sure she would do, and that Misty settled in quickly. With any luck, Jenny would find the poor girl a home within a week or two, and then. . .and then Misty would have to go through all this all over again with a completely new family, only this time Jenny wouldn't know a thing about them. Jenny's face fell.
"Are we almost there?" Misty asked quietly, breaking the silence that had engulfed them since Viridian. It was more a confirmation of her sealed fate than a question, and Jenny felt a pang of guilt slash through her chest. Was this really the right thing to do? Was she sure there were no other options?
"Another half hour or so," said Jenny, keeping her eyes on the road. Maybe she could pull Delia aside and give her a few tips on Misty's preferences? Would that help to settle her in a bit more?
"So. . .where exactly do they live? In Pallet, I mean?"
Jenny glanced over at the Water Trainer softly. She was a trained police officer and a former investigator. She was trained to see through people's words and into their intentions. And if Misty wanted to talk to keep her mind off of her immediate future, well. . .at least Jenny could do that much for her.
"Well," she began, "before Cypress died he built his wife and son a beautiful white house on the northern edge of town, with a garden for Delia and an enormous backyard for Ash. Looking out from the upstairs window, you're treated to a marvelous view of the ocean—"
"Really?" Misty's eyes were wide. "You. . .you can see the ocean from their house?"
Jenny smiled. "Of course. And at sunset, you can go out to the cliffs and watch the sky shift from blue, to red, to orange, to purple. . ."
,,*/ AL \*,,
"Oh, no. . ."
Delia Ketchum gutted the refrigerator in a panic, shifting through plump, ripe tomatoes, moldy something-or-others from the week before, and a colony of macaroni and cheese that seemed to be creating ranks among the noodles as they plotted to take over the bottom shelf, but the search was in vain. There, that might be—no, it was the leftover ham from Easter. Wait, Easter? What was that still doing in here?
"Ash!" she yelled, straightening for the first time in hours and wincing when a pop or two issued from her back. She was getting too old for this. "Ash!"
"Mister mime?"
"Mimey, do you have any idea where that lazy son of mine is?" Delia asked, tossing various food items into the trash. "I told him to take this ham over to Professor Oak's almost two months ago!"
"Mister mime, mime!"
She straightened abruptly at Mimey's comment, and muttered a few choice words when her head hit the tiny light bulb at the top. Withdrawing from the accursed fridge, she rounded on her helper. "What do you mean he went to the beach? He's supposed to be helping me tidy up!"
Mimey looked confused. "Mister mime, mime, mister mime."
"Oh, his Totodile's Level is high enough!"
"Mime?"
She sighed. "I'm sorry, Mimey, I know it's not your fault."
"Mime, mime?"
"Well, it looks like we're out of chicken. And Jenny will be here any minute now. You think the kids'll like pizza or something tonight? I don't have enough time to run to the store before they get here."
"Mister mime!"
Delia smiled. "Well, that's good. Come on, help me put this food away and then we should be about done."
"Mister!"
She had no sooner closed the refrigerator for good, the still-edible food tucked neatly inside, when the doorbell rang. Meeting Mimey's naturally cheerful, bright blue eyes, both of their faces split into wide grins. "They're here!" said Delia excitedly.
"Mime!" Mimey cheered.
"Does my hair look all right? Did I get that dust off my clothes? Ooh, do you think she'll like it here?"
"Mime, mime!" confirmed the Pokémon happily, brushing off a spec of something from her shoulder with a large hand.
Countless questions raced through the single mother's mind as she rushed for the front door: Would Misteara like it here? How long would she be staying? Where was that sneak son of hers? Did she remember to wash the towels?
Mimey kept to the side as Delia stepped up to the door and did a last-minute once-over of herself before placing a quivering hand on the doorknob. Winking happily at Mimey, who flashed her a thumbs-up, she swung the door open—not too fast, she reminded herself—and grinned.
Jennifer was standing on the front porch, her hand posed to ring the bell again. She beamed when she saw Delia, and the two women exchanged hugs and greetings, each smiling brightly and commenting on how the other looked so much better than them. Mimey jumped up and down happily from the threshold, completely ignored.
"Oh, Jenny," blushed Delia, waving off the officer's remark concerning her physique. "You know I don't have enough time to exercise now that Ash is home. And just look at you! Why, I don't believe I've seen you out of uniform in years!"
Now it was Jenny's turn to blush. "Well, I have been kind of busy lately, with school being out for the summer and all."
Delia made a face. "Oh, I know how that feels. Did you know that Ash has done nothing but play videogames and mess up my clean home since the day he was let off? Why, just the other day he was struck with the brilliant idea to search for a Grimer in the Bottoms, and what did he do when he got home? Galumphed all about my house in his shoes and everything! Mud was everywhere!"
Jenny laughed, and it was now that Delia noticed a young girl standing a bit behind her old friend and off to the side, a large backpack slung over one shoulder and a single suitcase resting on the porch near her feet. Delia grinned, taking in the girl's scruffy appearance without a single negative thought. She slid into mother-gear so swiftly she hardly felt the change, and had to restrain herself from swallowing the teenager in an enormous mom-hug.
"You must be Misteara," she said sweetly, smiling widely. The girl's clothes looked far from new, but suited her well enough. Her fiery orange hair was pulled back into a crooked ponytail, but Delia could imagine how wonderful it would look down. She looked like she wanted to go home, and kept dipping her head to avoid Delia's eyes. When Mrs. Ketchum finally managed to catch them she almost gasped in surprise. They were a brilliant mixture of blue and green, and while the rest of Misteara's young frame looked worn and almost passive, her eyes clearly stated that this girl was strong and determined inside, and could probably match wits with anyone, given half a chance.
Misteara's eyes fell again under Delia's gaze, and the older woman felt a pang of concern deep within her. Ash's eyes never backed down under someone just because they were older or unfamiliar. What could she do to give this poor girl Ash's confidence? A plan immediately took hold in her mind as she imagined what she would do to help this young girl in need. Why, by the time she left she would be so happy and buoyant that she'd probably never have trouble with new people again!
"Well, Misteara, I'll be glad to have you here for a few days," she said amiably, her ideas still forming. Oh, Misteara would just love it here!
The teenager lifted her eyes slowly. "Um, it's just Misty, ma'am."
Delia caught the girl's eyes and smiled kindly, enticing Misty to do the same. "And I'm just Delia, dear. Would you like to come inside?"
Misty looked up at Jenny, who nodded an affirmation. Delia led the pair in to the living room, where Mimey snatched the suitcase and backpack from Misty's hands and scampered up the stairs with them, returning again in a moment or two with an enormous smile on his pale face. Delia laughed at Misty's look of confusion.
"Don't mind him, dear," she told Misty. "He's just been so eager to help out since we got Jenny's call this morning. Mimey, would you be a dear and put some tea on for our guests?"
"Mister mime!"
Misty watched him run fervently into the kitchen, then followed Delia and Jenny in after him. She hated this. Sure, the place was nice, and Delia seemed like a great person, but she hated being forced to get to know new people like this. The nervousness that overcame her was always so horrible, and she never knew what she was supposed to say or do.
Jenny sat in one of the four chairs surrounding a circular wooden table and motioned for Misty to sit beside her. Misty hastily complied, watching Delia take a seat opposite Jenny. The three women watched in silence as Mimey scurried about the remarkably clean kitchen in his mission to make the guests tea. Misty gaped at her surroundings, her teal eyes taking in the spot-free cabinets, the neatly hung dishtowels, the sparkling wood floor, the. . .the everything. The Gym's kitchen was never this clean, no matter how hard she worked on it. The Waterflower sisters could make themselves a fairly decent supper, but, well. . .they weren't exactly grand master chefs. Stuff spilled. Permanent stuff. Kool-Aid coated the cabinets. Something brown and sticky lined the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. It was just your average kitchen, Misty mused, but it was nothing when compared to this. . .
"So. . ." Delia said pleasantly, "Misty, have you eaten? Would you like something?"
Misty hated having all the attention shifted to her. She would much rather watch the Mr. Mime make tea.
"No, I'm fine," she answered, silently ordering her stomach not to protest. She could wait until breakfast.
"You sure?" Delia pressed softly. "We could order out, if you like, as it seems Ash has pretty well cleaned us out here. I'll have to go grocery shopping sometime tonight. Ash is sure to be hungry when he gets home, so do you have any preferences? Chinese? Pizza? Subs, maybe?"
"Where is Ash, Delia?" Jenny cut in, detecting Misty's discomfort.
Delia sighed. "Well, it seems he's snuck out to Level Up his Totodile down at the beach. Should be back soon, though. He knows better than to go swimming by himself after dark.
Misty's head perked up at the mention of the ocean and Delia, noticing the extra interest, smiled warmly. "Do you like the ocean, Misty? Maybe Ash could take you down there tomorrow while I work a bit on my garden. Interested?"
Misty smiled softly and nodded. That would be nice. She hadn't seen the ocean in such a long time.
There was a clink as Mimey fetched some chinaware from a cupboard and set it before everyone. Misty sipped at her tea gingerly, watching the two older women engage in conversation over the top of her steaming cup.
"So what have you been up to lately, Jenny?" asked Delia politely. Jenny smiled lightly and set down her cup with a light tink.
"Nothing much, really. Kids have been pulling minor pranks that I have to take care of every now and then, but that pretty well sums it up. Cerulean is a pretty peaceful place."
"Mmm," Delia nodded over her cup. "Wish Pallet could afford more than one cop. I've lost count of how many times Ash's friends have teepeed us just this month alone."
Both women smiled. Jenny said something concerning gardening that Misty didn't care too much about, and the teenager quickly excused herself from the insipid conversation that ensued.
Her eyes wandered to the open living room and fell upon a worn, crumpled jacket tossed carelessly into a corner beside the couch—the only visible evidence that a teenage boy might live here. Whoever this Ash was, he must have been pretty tidy. She smiled to herself. Maybe she really would enjoy herself here. She doubted she would have nearly as many chores as her sisters had assigned her, and that in itself would be nice.
Half an hour later Misty found herself being pulled back into the discussion. Rather reluctantly, she forced her mind to abandon its pointless trek through various meaningless topics and concentrated on. . .what was it Delia had asked? Did she like. . .rhododendrons?
"Um. . ." She blushed brightly. To tell the truth, she didn't have any idea what a rhododendron looked like, let alone whether she liked it or not.
"Because I'm planning to plant a few of those later this year," Delia continued, turning back to Jenny. "Or do you think they would clash with my petunias?"
Misty sighed in relief as the conversation swung back to plants. She glanced at a Meowth clock hanging above the stove and watched as its curled, brown-tipped tail swung slowly back and forth, ticking off the monotonous seconds. This was going to be an extremely long evening.
A short burst of laugher awakened her from her daydreaming a few minutes later, and she sat up when Jenny mentioned her name.
"Oh, but talk of coffee must be boring Misty to death. We should find a new subject."
Coffee? How had they gotten from gardening to coffee?
Suddenly a door slammed. Mimey jumped—he had fallen asleep against the microwave—and hastily grabbed the long-empty tea cups from the table to deposit them in the sink. Delia sighed pleasantly.
"Well, it looks like my son is finally home," she said brightly. Misty's stomach tensed. Another new person she would be forced to get to know. "Ash? Would you come in here for a moment?"
Misty turned to the living room expectantly. A small section of wall obscured her view of the door, so she had to wait a moment longer before she could see Ash step into the kitchen and face his mother.
Sure enough, it was the same Ash from the night before—well, this time he was fully clothed. He looked a little dirtier than she had remembered, and he had a new scratch on his cheek. Misty knew he had to have been somewhere near water after eyeing his jeans, which were soaked from the knee down and looked as if they had been hastily rolled and unrolled. His chocolate eyes breezed over hers briefly before settling on Delia, who watched him with an eyebrow raised.
"And just where were you all afternoon, young man?"
Misty hid a smile as Ash swallowed uneasily. "Well," he began, "I went down to the ocean to Train Totodile up a bit—"
"And just when were you planning to inform me?"
Ash faulted. Once again, his eyes swept over Misty. "Well, I told Mimey—"
"Mister mime!"
Mimey chose that time to present Ash with a small cup of tea, holding it out to the boy eagerly. Ash sweatdropped. "Um, no thanks, Mimey, I—"
"Mime!"
Mimey shoved the saucer into Ash's stunned hands and returned to the sink. Delia, Jenny, and even Misty laughed at the perplexed look on Ash's face as he stared into the murky brown liquid. He snapped his head up and couldn't help but grin slowly at them. "What?"
"Nevermind, Ash," Delia laughed. Ash cautiously set the tea down on the table, watching Mimey's back for any sign that he might turn around.
"Well, you've certainly grown," Jenny said suddenly. She stood up and walked over to him. "How tall are you? Five-six? Five-seven?"
Ash grinned as she compared herself to him. He was a good few inches taller than the considerably short policewoman, who appeared even smaller without her ever-present hat. "Five-eleven," he admitted. She ruffled his midnight hair and he had to fumble for his cap before it hit the ground.
"Five-eleven?" Jenny exclaimed. "You know, the last time I saw you I could swing you around in my arms! Remember?"
Ash's face reddened and his eyes yet again brushed over Misty. Delia grinned from her seat at the table. "Well, Ash, considering that you were absent when Jenny and Misty arrived, I suppose I should introduce you two."
Ash cleared his throat a little nervously and played with his hat, focusing his attention on Jenny as she returned to her chair. "We've met," he said uncomfortably. Delia turned expectantly to Misty, who nodded.
"Really," Delia stated. She couldn't understand why Jenny was laughing so hard.
Misty started slightly when Jenny stood again. "Well," she began, "I suppose it's about time for me to go. I still have quite a drive back to Cerulean tonight."
Misty's eyes widened involuntarily. She knew it was going to happen, but—but—Jenny couldn't just leave her here alone!
"Come on, Misty," she said gently. "Why don't you walk me out to the Jeep?"
Misty gratefully followed the woman. Ash stepped aside to let them pass, and she could hear Delia say something to him before the front door swung shut behind her.
It had gotten fairly dark since their arrival, and Misty was amazed by the multitude of stars littering the sky. Back in Cerulean she could never see this many.
"Pretty, aren't they?" Misty had momentarily forgotten that she wasn't alone. "Sometimes you can even make out the Milky Way," Jenny continued softly, gazing up at the sky. "You'll find a lot of things out here that you wouldn't find in Cerulean, if you let yourself. Don't be afraid to try new things. And get to know Ash; he's not your average Pokémon Trainer."
Misty tore her eyes away from the wondrous firmament to look at Jenny. "What do you mean by that?"
Jenny smiled at her. "You'll see. Just give him and his mother a chance. They're good people."
Misty nodded and turned her attention to the ground, focusing on sweeping the grass with her toe. Jenny smiled crookedly before pulling her into a hug, which she hesitantly returned. Suddenly a shadow fell over them. They broke apart, turning to see Delia's silhouette in the open door.
"You'll be fine," said Jenny softly, holding Misty's eyes. "Just have fun. Kick back, play videogames, smash Ash in a Battle or two. Be a kid for a while. I'll call if anything comes up, all right? And you call me if you need anything."
Misty nodded and the officer smiled warmly. Giving her one last, quick hug, Jenny climbed into her Jeep and started it up. Misty watched nervously as the policewoman waved and sped off, disappearing from view at the street corner.
Misty took a deep breath before turning to face Delia, who was smiling warmly. Ash came up behind her for a moment, then turned and went off somewhere else. Delia welcomed her into the house and grabbed some keys off a hook near the door.
"Well," she sighed, "it's a pleasure having you here, Misty. I need to run up for some groceries quick, or we may not have any breakfast tomorrow." Misty forced a weak smile. She was leaving? And she was leaving Misty behind with a guy she didn't even know? Was she mad?
"Ash is off finding the phone book," Delia continued, unaware of Misty's thoughts. "You'll have to tell him what you like, though. It won't matter to him; he'll eat anything."
"Mom!" yelled Ash suddenly from upstairs. "It's not here! And I don't—ouch!" There was a loud thump. "Nevermind!"
Delia smiled. "Well, dear, what would you like?"
"Um. . ." Misty hesitated. Why did she have to decide what to eat? What if Ash really didn't like it? But she couldn't pause too long; Delia would think she was really nervous. And she was.
"Pizza or something's fine," she said finally. There. Now she was—
"What kind?"
Great. She had to pick a food with another choice, didn't she?
"Um, pepperoni?"
Delia smiled. "Get a pepperoni, Ash!" she yelled up the stairs. Then she turned back to Misty. "You can watch some TV or something until it gets here; remote's in the couch somewhere. I should be home soon."
"All right."
Misty was relieved to see her go, but anxious about Ash. Sure, no guy had ever really tried anything on her before, but. . .
The TV looked good. She hadn't watched TV in, well, a while. The blue couch was comfy enough, and the remote wasn't too hard to spot—it was sticking out of the cushion she was sitting on. Just before the TV flicked to life she heard murmuring from upstairs as Ash called what must have been the pizza place, wherever that was.
Nothing was on except ice skating and a documentary on Slugma. Misty didn't care. She was too busy worrying what she would do if Ash came down. Then again, maybe he wouldn't come down. Maybe he would just stay up there until the pizza got here—when he would have to come down anyway. It was a lose-lose situation. Misty sighed. This was going to be a long stay.
Half an hour later Misty had concluded one thing: Slugma were boring. Ash hadn't come down from upstairs yet, which suited her just fine. A crunch of gravel from outside suddenly caught her attention though, and a sudden thought struck her: Would she have to answer the door?
There was a sudden patter of feet on the stairs. "I've got it," she heard Ash say as he stumbled over to the door. Misty looked back to see that his hair was wet and that he had changed into a plain black shirt, jean shorts, and socks. The scratch on his cheek was much less noticeable as well. He must have just taken a shower.
Misty listened to the brief exchange at the door and watched as Ash stepped back into the house, a couple of pizza boxes stacked in his arms.
"I got two, 'cause I thought whatever we didn't eat tonight we could eat tomorrow," he said, heading into the kitchen. "All we have is milk or water to drink, though."
Misty forced herself to follow him into the kitchen, ordering herself to just act normal. She could carry on a simple conversation, right? "Water's fine," she said aloud, taking a set at the table. Ash got out a couple plates and cups and sat down across from her. The next few moments were utter silence.
"So," said Ash through a mouthful of pizza, "you ever been to Pallet Town before?"
"No, I live up in Cerulean."
"Mm." There was a brief pause. Then Ash said, "You have a lot of Pokémon up there?"
"Just your normal city Pokémon, but if you leave town you can find some good ones. Someone recently found an Electabuzz near Highway 10."
"Really?" Ash looked interested. "I've only got one Electric-Type. A Pikachu. She's been gone all day, though."
"Where?"
Ash shrugged. "Dunno. Do you Train a lot, then?"
"Yeah, I'm a Gym Leader."
Ash choked on a pepperoni. "You're a what?"
Misty was confused. Had she said something wrong? "A Gym leader," she repeated. "Of Cerulean City Gym. I Train Water-Types."
Ash was narrowing his eyes at her, and it was making her uncomfortable. "I remember Battling the Cerulean City Gym Leader, but I don't remember you." He sounded confused.
"You probably Battled one of my sisters; I have three," Misty explained. Ash instantly understood.
"Ah," he said, "that explains it then." He smiled. "You were confusing me for a minute there." Misty returned the smile, realizing that she wasn't that nervous anymore. He wasn't that hard to talk to.
The rest of the conversation focused mainly on Battling techniques and Training methods. Misty felt herself slowly loosening up in Ash's presence, and was therefore much more at ease when Delia returned home with a trunkful of groceries about an hour later, which she had no objections to help carry in.
Maybe this won't be so bad, she mused to herself, setting a jug of orange juice and a box of Lucky Charms down on the counter for Delia to put away. I mean, it's already almost ten o'clock and I'm doing fine. Jenny was right; I think I actually will enjoy myself here.
"Ash, dear, why don't you show Misty up to her room?" Delia said sweetly, eyeing the clock. "It's getting a bit late."
"All right. Come on, it's upstairs."
Ash gave Misty a short tour of the second story of their house. Misty was pleased to note that her room, the guest room, was in the middle. There was a bathroom to her left and Ash's room was to her right, which he was currently showing her.
"And this is my room," he said simply, opening the door. Misty looked over his arm to see the average teenage male's room: clothes dotted the floor and stuck out from dresser drawers, there were a couple pairs of shoes piled in the lip of the open closet, and posters littered the walls, some Pokémon, some music, some videogames. A low dresser on the wall to her right, next to the walk-in closet, supported a large TV connected to a PlayStation 2, which was resting on the floor next to a haphazard stack of videogames. A 3-disc CD player was on the other half of the dresser, attached to two large speakers, also on the floor. On the opposite side of the room there was a small bed in the corner, and another bed higher up and set back into the wall itself. Grooves in the wall closest the door allowed one to get up to it, though Misty could tell Ash used the lower one when she saw that practically all of his Pokémon gear was piled on the top bunk.
"Looks cozy," she said. Ash was leaning on the door frame, watching her.
"I challenge you," he said, "to a round of Crash Bash."
"Crash Bash?"
"Yeah, it's PS1, but Pikachu wanted it. She likes the way Crash looks, especially when he does a belly flop, though you can't do that in Bash." He adjusted his weight on the door. "So, you up to it? It's too late for a Pokémon Battle, but it's only ten. My internal clock won't allow me to sleep at ten."
"All right," Misty agreed. "But not for too long; I still need to unpack."
Ash grinned. "You're on. Oh, and I'm Crash. You can be Vortex or Dr. N. Gin or something."
"Dr. Who? No, I want to be Crash!" Misty had no idea who these characters were, as she had never owned a PlayStation, but Crash was obviously the main character.
"You can be his sister," said Ash, kicking piles of clothes out of the way and adjusting the speakers so that one was against each wall, facing them. Surround sound, Misty mused. Much nicer than at her house.
Mr. Mime watched the pair arrange themselves on the floor and battle for a while, before dashing off to tell Delia that he thought Misty would like it just fine here.
"Hey, stop knocking into me!" Ash exclaimed suddenly. "I have a hard enough time staying on this stupid iceberg as it is!"
"I'm not trying to!" giggled Misty. "I can't maneuver my polar bear that well!"
Mimey smiled to himself as he darted down the stairs. Yes, he thought Misty would like it here just fine. And Ash finally had an opponent that could reach the directional pad and the circle button simultaneously.
,,*/ AL \*,,
,,*/ PART 2 ~ The Guest \*,,
,,*/ By Seabeast \*,,
WARNING: This chapter's completely clean, honest. A little boring, yes, I'll admit, but otherwise clean. –yawns sleepily- Oy, I need to get to bed. . .
DISCLAIMER: -sigh- Still not mine. Do I sound depressed to you? It's one in the morning, again, and I'm finally done! Woo-hoo! But really, though, what is it with me and finishing my fics really late at night? Then again, just be glad I finished it! Harry Potter 5 is coming out in exactly four months! Yay! ^^
DISCLAIMER II: Whoo-hoo again! I mean, how many fics out there have not one, but two Disclaimers? Well? How many? Hm, I guess if there are two I should actually Disclaim something, huh? Well then , I Disclaim Pokémon, FFX, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and um, Crash Bash. Yes, my fellow fanfickers, Crash Bash. Why Crash Bash? Ye shall soon see. . .o.O
AUTHOR'S NOTE: -in a Boston accent- Ha! I'm finally done! And I didn't even scuff my loafers! –looks around at people staring at me- What? I like Clone High! Nothing ever happens to the Kennedys! Erm, yeah, I'm done with that for now. It took me forever to write that stuff after Jenny left, though! Jeezohs! Wait, why am I telling you this now? You haven't even read it yet! Well then, by all means, people, read on! Read on. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE: You know what? I really don't have that much to add here. I don't like this chapter much, but I can't think of anything else to write, so this will have to do. That'll do, pig, that'll do. o.O All right, please completely ignore that last statement. GUESS WHAT!?! I'm working on OYL4, so all you OYL fans out there, um, well I'll just say that it is coming! Much like Pokémon Sapphire and HP5, eh? FINALLY! Oh, I am so happy. Anywho, I think what I'll do at the end of that one is answer all you guy's questions, so start brewing up some good ones, 'cause I finally forced myself to sit down and come up with an actually plot! Be prepared for a few surprises! Mbwahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Oh, I am SO evil I will have ALL you people out there sitting at your various computer desks (hopefully they're more comfortable than mine; my table part is too high and my keyboard area too low to set my laptop) and gasping, then looking back and, intentionally or not, imitating Ghandi from Clone High with his infamous "Say WHAAA?" Oh, I love that show, but OYL's even better, so BE PREPARED! –dances off to bed singing 'Be Prepared' from the first Lion King- STOP STARING AT ME!
,,*/ Seabeast \*,,
6