A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Life's been officially kicking my ass, so my writing time has plunged.
A rest in the house of Ditto, part two:
Ash carefully walked among the racks of costumes, before finding the one Duplica had mentioned. The five trainers were helping the self-proclaimed 'Ditto Master' in her act by helping her set up.
He grabbed the outfit, and held it by the hanger, slinging it over his shoulder, walking rapidly out of the storeroom. As he walked through the hallway, he spotted Kani and Gra working on decorations for tonight's show by either levitating them up, or the Haunter simply picking them up, and putting them wherever they were designated to be.
Ash frowned a bit, and asked, "Are all those ribbon-things really needed?"
Kani looked toward him, and tilted her head, before giving him a feline wink. Gra, laughing, held out a massive ball of 'extra' ribbons that Duplica had probably wanted put up, but the pokemon were making disappear because they didn't like it.
The pokemon master had to admit – Duplica's sense of style was weird. She was a nice person, and rather fun to hang around, but she had a lot of quirks.
He moved onward after a brief chuckle, and put the costume into the designated room Duplica had requested, before heading toward the 'entry hall' where he'd spent time drying off. Like he'd suspected, Mathrara and Pikachu were there. Pikachu was charging a few spent batteries while chatting with the unique Ninetails, while the fox-pokemon was using his own psychic powers to tinker with the lights, replacing a few of them that had gone out. Duplica was in the room as well, with both her 'normal' Ditto, and 'mini-dit'. Neither of the two could, for some strange reason, transform into Mathrara, nor duplicate his unique coloring. They could become all-white Ninetails, or the regular hue, but they couldn't duplicate the Ninetails' obviously different fur coloring.
Duplica, sounding irritated, called out, "Hey, Ash? What in the name of Mew did Chris do to Mathrara? I was going to feature him in the performance, since he's so unique…" at that comment, Mathrara obviously preened, while Pikachu laughed slightly at the Ninetail's overblown actions. Duplica, falling silent to smile slightly herself, continued, "But with both of my Dittos unable to transform into him…"
Ash shrugged. He didn't have a lot of experience with the pokemon himself – he'd never caught one. He'd faced off against a few, but the pokemon was popular, but somewhat rare. "You'll have to ask Chris, he's probably the only one who could tell us… maybe Sanja knows."
Duplica shook her head, looking toward the ceiling. "Every time I ask her, she just grins, and says it's not her place to say… and I haven't seen Chris since yesterday. His pokemon, sure, but I've never seen him."
Ash chuckled softly. He'd seen Chris a few times – the trainer was helping with the setup as well, but mostly, he was working on coordinating the pokemon teams, who were managing most of the work, while Duplica finished perfecting her 'special performance' that was due tonight. "I've seen him a few times, but not recently."
Duplica moaned, and obviously rubbed her temples. Chris's telepathic voice called out, (Someone say my name?)
Duplica jumped about a foot in the air, though Ash had gotten used to psychics doing that, he didn't jump at all. Both Dittos seemed to laugh at their trainer's reaction, until she scowled at them, and asked, "Hey, uh… Chris? What exactly happened to Mathrara to give him that coloring? None of my Ditto seem to be able to duplicate it."
Chris sounded amused, as he replied, (To be honest, Mathrara's vanity happened.) Mathrara scowled, and yipped a comment, which made the psychic trainer reply with a (What, did that sting? It's true… anyway, he had our psychics meddle with his genetics so he ended up like he is. I doubt it's considered natural, and maybe your Dittos are just having a hard time picking up a template to use on him, since his genetic code has a few things modified off the standard Ninetails base.)
Duplica nodded slightly, before shaking her head. "Right… thanks. Where the heck were you… I've been trying to ask you that for nearly five hours now!"
(Busy. Ash, do you have any idea how arrogant your Charizard can get? Geez, it's a good thing his mate keeps his ego deflated.)
Ash rubbed the back of his head, while Pikachu went back to charging the last few battery-operated devices. The feeling of an unseen 'listener' faded from his head, and the pokemon master shook his head slightly to clear it, and asked, "I'm done with the costume setup, anything else you need?"
Duplica grinned for a moment, giving Ash a feeling of doom, before she said, "Na… I think the pokemon are nearly finished decorating. Just take it easy… maybe you should go talk to Brock, since he's handling the food."
Ash shivered, and said, "No… I'll leave Brock to his domain. Trust me, anything I make, you won't want to eat."
Duplica laughed, and said, "Ashey-boy, you haven't changed a bit. So much for the big scary pokemon master!"
Pikachu fired a light charge of electricity at Duplica, making her hair stand on end. Ash merely grinned, and said, "I wouldn't talk like that in front of Pikachu…"
The electric mouse nodded, giving Duplica a mocking grin that looked a bit odd on a Pikachu, before finishing up, and climbing up Ash, perching on his shoulder. Mathrara snickered, and gave off a ghostly blue light, which slowly started to affect the lighting, causing the lights to give off the same ghostly feel, before the 'aura' faded, and the Ninetails yawned lazily, before slowly padding away.
The stage was set, and people were pouring in to see Duplica's special show that she had announced only a day in advance. Her performances usually did well enough on their own – her skits were famous as a mix of good-natured fun and some more adult themes, when Duplica did an open mike skit, commenting on the current politics and events. A special show, however, was always something more, and Duplica rarely held them, so tickets often would sell out in a day.
Backstage, Duplica was relaxing, taking deep breaths. She didn't get stage fright, and never had, but she did get some pre-show nerves. Sometimes, her flavor-of-the-week boyfriend would help her relax in some way, but she'd given up on boys for the time being… so she was resorting to her old standby.
Kani, who had popped in, tilted her head and looked at the Ditto trainer curiously. Duplica grinned, and said, "Just a bit worried, that's all. Is Mathrara ready to do his act?"
The Espeon nodded slightly, her gem winking in the light. Duplica kept her grin on, but jumped when a female voice 'said', (He's ready. Unfortunately, he's driving us all insane with Gra's help. Just how long until the show starts?)
Duplica coughed, and asked, "Uhm… Kani? How are you doing that?"
Chris's mental voice answered, (She's bouncing her telepathy off me. I'm a fairly high-powered telepath, so I can translate for her to human wavelength, if you get the general idea. Gyah! 'Scuse me… Kani?)
The Espeon vanished without a sign of ever being there, and Duplica shook her head slowly, as she heard an explosion go off somewhere inside the 'house'. Probably that Haunter pulling out an explosive… Haunter were supposedly fond of doing that, for no reason but to do it.
After another few breaths, Duplica slowly rose, and set her two Ditto on her shoulders, walking toward the stage.
Backstage, as Duplica started his act, Ash spoke to Sanja and Chris, both of whom were going to be providing helping hands if need be (though Chris supposedly was doing a translational act for Mathrara), asking, "Could either of you really do something like what she's doing?"
Sanja shook her head. "No. I hate crowds, drives my berserker instinct crazy when I get jostled around. It's a lot more controllable on the road, with less people to deal with."
Ash looked toward Chris, and the gifted one shook his head, Anekiro, who was wrapped around the teen while napping swaying slightly. "Nope. I'm more of a loner… I can deal with people, but I can't entertain 'em. Too cynical, or something… no one gets my sense of humor but Kani or Sanja, sometimes."
Ash chuckled, and said with a grin, "Me neither. I'm bad enough at the events I have to preside over as a pokemon champion, where all I have to do is sit there and look important."
Mathrara, who was pacing, relayed via Chris, (Kind of hard to look important, when you're the youngest master yet.)
Ash rubbed the back of his head, and grinned weakly. "Yeah, I guess."
About half an hour later, Mathrara padded on stage. As people began to mutter, Chris translated for the Ninetails, (Enjoying the show?)
There were easily-heard gasps from the crowd, while Duplica grinned. Shouts of questions came from the crowd, and Duplica tilted her head, before saying into the mike, "A magician never reveals her secrets… I might not be one, but this is one secret I'm keeping. Now, everyone knows that Ditto can transform into any pokemon, so long as they have some way to know what it looks like, though they may not be able to properly render the pokemon's powers. BUT… in this case… see for yourselves. Ditto, mini-dit, transform into Mathrara!"
Both Ditto gazed intently at the Ninetales, who visibly yawned, playing the ham, and then transformed. Mini-dit's 'problem' of changing into small pokemon was still existent, but it was obvious that both Dittos were unsuccessful in duplicating Mathrara's unique change, mini-dit had turned into a 'shiny' Ninetales, while Ditto had turned into a closer rendition – a normal colored Ninetales, though the difference was obvious.
Duplica, with a secret smile on her face, looked out into the crowd. "Anyone with a Ditto can feel free to try the same… just for proof. But I guarantee that no Ditto can perform a perfect duplication of this Ninetales."
On the roof of the building, Team Rocket exchanged greedy glances… up until Charizard and Kani appeared silently beside them, Charizard being 'teleported' up there by Kani, who had a paw on his tail.
The Charizard smirked evilly, and tapped Jessie with a claw. The redhead growled, "Stop pestering me Meowth, now we've got a new target to steal."
Meowth, who had James between her and him, said in confusion, "But I didn't tap ya…"
The Meowth turned, and gasped. The other two Rockets turned, and shrieked in surprise at Charizard staring at them, a smirk on his face.
Kani, using Chris to translate, 'spoke', saying, (You're not welcome here, Team Rocket. Or should it be team idiots? Anyway… bye!)
Charizard swiped the three crooks with an Iron Tail, and they went flying off with a hasty, "But we didn't even say the mottoooooooooo!"
"Wobba Wob!"
Charizard snorted, and growled a comment to Kani, who nodded, and the two disappeared again. The Espeon reappeared beside Chris, and said, (Ash was right… Team Rocket was intending to try and steal the show.)
Chris sighed, while Ash just shook his head. "They never learn."
Sanja snorted, and asked, "What is it with them, and following you?"
Ash shrugged, before Pikachu commented, (Ever since I defeated them a LONG time ago, they've been obsessed with stealing me. Occasionally, they'll try to steal another pokemon, but mainly, they're after me. Oops, that's my cue…)
Pikachu jumped off Ash, and raced onstage to jump onto Duplica's shoulder. She had done a 'change', and was dressed in a slightly different outfit than Ash wore, but the differences were minor enough that most people were applauding at the similarities.
The Ditto trainer seemed to look at Pikachu in confusion, and asked, "Who're you?"
(I'm Pikachu!)
"Who?"
Pikachu, playing his part, said slowly, "Pik…a…ch…u…"
Duplica looked around, playing the dunce, and then spotted her two Dittos. "Strange… so you're not Ditto? Where did you come from?"
Ash took a breath, and Chris spoke silently, saying, (Break a leg.)
Ash muttered as he walked on stage, "I'd rather break my winning streak…" In a more normal tone of voice, he called, "Hey, Pikachu, who's your new friend?"
Pikachu looked in staged puzzlement between the two nearly identical trainers. Ash, as the obvious 'real trainer', put on a frustrated face, while Duplica was wearing her trademarked grin.
The skit of 'who keeps the Pikachu?' lasted a short while, before Ash walked off with Pikachu on the top of his hat. The revealing of the fake had been done simply by taking away Duplica's hat, revealing her hair color and the fact she was a young woman… but that had taken quite some time, as both seemed to never realize that option. Ash had also put on an act of being very reluctant to take off his hat, making most the audience believe that during the scuffle, they'd lost track of Duplica, and that he was her.
Once he was offstage, he leaned on the wall, and said, "I'm never doing that again…"
Sanja grinned, and said, "Well, I think Misty and Brock were enjoying themselves, I could hear Misty's laughter from here."
(So could I.)
The trainers looked toward Mathrara, who had his head down on his paws, worn out from burning off so much of his energy in nervous displays. They'd assumed he'd fallen asleep, but he was obviously awake, though barely. (Is Team Rocket really gone now?)
Chris looked toward Ash, who was their expert on the three stooges. The pokemon master looked thoughtful, before saying, "They'll be gone for at least an hour. Charizard doesn't know how to hold back against them. So I guess Anekiro will have to stay around you, Chris."
Anekiro lazily perked his head up, before laying it back down on Chris's right shoulder with a tired-sounding "Draaaaaaaa…"
Mathrara yawned, and visibly fell asleep. Sanja flicked her hand, an angry expression rippling across her face for an instant, as she telekinetically steadied Duplica as she did another act, the 'tightrope of truth', playacting a clumsy Lance, who was being forced to either make it across, or confess about some hidden crime in his past. Her antics were earning pearls of laughter from the crowd, but Sanja still had to steady Duplica, since she'd made it clear that she didn't want to have to adlib a shady past on one of her old crushes.
After a 'miracle' of getting across the tightrope, Duplica, resembling Lance, jumped off the tightrope. Sanja slumped offstage, and muttered, "Damn, she's clumsy. I've gotten a headache from all the times I've had to steady her… why can't some of the pokemon do this again?"
Chris repeated in a dry tone, "Because Gra would ham it up, Mathrara's conked out, Revae doesn't have the fine control needed to balance a human, Krited is playacting a moon up on her scenery and getting a lot of laughs when he starts to mess around, and Kani's doing a patrol with Ash's Charizard to make sure that the Rockets don't screw this up."
Sanja frowned, before nodding slowly. After a few moments, she muttered, "Fuck it all," and kissed Chris full on the lips, pulling back after a few moments, obviously feeling better, while Ash laughed at the dumbstruck look on Chris's face.
Duplica called out, "As a pig once said, that's all folks. See ya next time!"
The curtains flew out to cover the stage, and Duplica slumped, exhausted. She enjoyed her acting, but it still wore her out. She looked toward the side of the stage, where Ash, Chris, and Sanja were providing some help. Ash had a large grin on his face, with Pikachu laughing atop his head, while Chris was blushing so red, it looked like he was a moment from bursting into flames.
He must have spotted the curtain close, which was the sign that the show was over, and slipped out an exit, Anekiro, who was somehow still asleep somehow still asleep wrapped around Chris.
Duplica, her energy recovering from the sight, walked over to Ash, who was recovering, and asked, "What happened?"
Ash, still looking a bit weak, said, "You just missed what looked like their first kiss."
Sanja, leaning against the wall and looking slightly pink, muttered, "Second, and don't make me throw you in the crowd. I wonder how long it would take to find you if I shouted, 'Hey, it's pokemon master Ash Ketchum!'"
Ash winced, while Duplica said slowly, "Uhm… am I missing something here? I thought you two were just friends… or was that vibe I picked up off you two something else?"
Krited floated over, and obviously said something to Sanja. The berserker frowned, her red eyes flashing as she glared at the Lunatone, but eventually, she slumped a bit, and said, "It's complicated. Damn it Krited, why do you insist I tell everyone and their mother about this?"
Krited replied with something that made her grind her teeth. Ash, taking the wise route when presented with a berserker who was becoming very angry, walked off to go find Brock and Misty… mostly Misty, though. He doubted anyone would find Brock until he woke up from the coma he'd undoubtedly been put in by outraged young women. It wouldn't be the first time it happened, and it certainly wasn't the last.
Duplica, looking slightly puzzled, asked, "Wait… don't tell me that this is something related to prophesy mumbo-jumbo, or something…"
Sanja sighed, and rubbed her temples, obviously trying to control herself, though she did telekinetically send Krited flying to burn off some of her anger. The Lunatone, long experienced with Sanja, ignored it, and floated away to go find the other pokemon, leaving behind Sanja with Duplica. After a few moments, Sanja wryly replied, "I wish."
Duplica arched a green eyebrow, and asked, "Wait… so that means… you and him?"
Sanja shook her head slightly. "Yes, and no. It's more the type of person he is… and damn it, I thought I hated the nice guys..."
Duplica said knowingly, "Better than the bad boys."
Sanja shrugged, and said, "Really, it comes down to someone with the ability to understand pokemon on some innate level, and how I become his lover slash guardian, and the two of us somehow make the world a better place… you get the idea. Full of double-talk prophesy mumbo-jumbo, though."
Duplica blinked, then slowly shook her head. "Yeouch. And you like him, don't you?"
Sanja scowled for a moment, before muttering, "Bug off…"
"I'll take that as a yes. Sanja, one girl to another… ignore it. Make up your own mind. Prophesies don't always mean you in particular have to like him… it could be someone else who's like you is the target of the prophesy."
Sanja blinked, and said slowly, "Maybe…"
Duplica laughed, and asked, "So, how good a kisser is he?"
Sanja walked away, ignoring Duplica, who buzzed around her, obviously enjoying herself. The redheaded berserker entertained the fantasy of blasting Duplica into the crowd, but didn't act on it, since she figured that Duplica got a little leeway for giving her something to think about.
