I apologize for the late update. I've just gotten back from a vacation and work would have to start soon, so the next ones would be a bit stretched out. I'd do what I can, but rushing is something out of the question, considering how I still have quality to keep up.

Chapter 6: Moonlight Sonata

"Sabrina, what is it?" The botanist reached for her friend's head, as the sweats have yet to cease pouring down the pale skin of the female psychic. If there were anything apparent, that would have been Erika's genuine worried look lingering on her face. There was no doubt that Sabrina has just went through a rather horrible experience, or reading, whatever them psychics do. Regardless, she seemed deeply troubled. "You don't really look like you're alright."

"It is nothing, Erika, please." Sabrina, if anything, was extremely tired and distraught. She did not want to have a discussion at a time like this, as it would only cause her even more distress and perhaps even some traumatic incidents. She has had a bit of time to recollect her thoughts and consciousness, but not much strength was in her. Feeling weak was something everyone hated, but Sabrina, being the proud woman she was, despised it. Even though the only thing she would like to do right now was to lie down and rest, the stubborn in her was not too compliant with that request. "You need not be bothered by this. Moreover, this experiment is over, as I cannot help to bring myself into it again."

"I thought you said there was nothing you learned?" Erika seemed rather confused, and for good reasons. She was not at all aware of whatever dream she just had, as those would always escape her, whenever it came down to remembering the details of the slumbers. She did not know much about psyche either, just the basic definition and the fact that her friend is specialized in such a field. She did, however, from time to time see people do it on televisions, reading one's fate and manipulate the actions of others. The botanist was not sure whatever Sabrina was up to when she let the psychic roamed around in her head willingly, but it seemed to have disturbed Sabrina a lot.

"That's exactly the problem." Sabrina sighed, stopped her hectic breathing pattern and calmed down her nerves. She did her best to pull herself together before continuing. However, those thoughts returned to her mind soon after, severely limiting the expense of thoughts she could mutter to restrain her body's desire to scream and pass out. It would be strange, at the very least, considering how she had just been sleeping, and even dreaming. Nevertheless, Sabrina honed enough consciousness to put forward a decently fabricated explanation. "I was in there for who knows how long, and there was absolutely nothing I make out of the whole time I was there."

"Oh…" Erika appeared slightly bemused. In truth, based on how little her knowledge on related subjects was; there was nothing strange about things seemingly less exciting than she had primarily suspected. However, she still did feel something wrong, as the psychic's answer would neither answer nor address the largest mystery at the time: what had affected Sabrina so much that would lead her out of her sleep so disoriented. "But I…"

"Please Erika, lay it to rest." Sabrina was not sure why she simply could not help and tell her friend the truth. Whether it was because of her lack of interest in explaining to a civilian the definition of inception, or there was something deeper in her subconscious that was telling the psychic to keep what she had experienced a secret. There were various details of the vague encounter that, without any doubt, kept haunting her good. She was not quite sure whether she was disturbed by the realistic assembly or the fact that Sabrina herself was in every single one of them. Whatever it was, she was curious about, but would never care enough to return to investigating again. "I apologize that I have not come to a single conclusion even with your participation, but I must decline the notion of ever recreating it again."

"Alright…" Erika was not sure what to do at the moment. Surely there are other things people would do around these parts, but she was completely unaware of what time is it outside, concerning how the room they were in had absolutely no window, rather a confined space of mental concentration that was supposed to make timeless. "So… what now?"

"I… right…" Sabrina brought herself down from the bed and stretched a bit, as she sorely missed the exercise. There were no watches or clocks of any sort within her private chambers, but she could tell the time well enough. It was always strangely accurate, even thought it was far from one of her psychic powers. Erika took notice, as expected. "It's around midnight now, but I don't think you're in the mood for more sleep."

"That's true…" The botanist nodded slightly. She would be bored out of her mind should her friend suggest her waiting out the night in slumber once again. She recalled the time being here. If it was near midnight, it meant that she had stayed here since seven hours ago or so, and the ship would not be coming to take her home for another two days. Strangely, the thought of doing so was actually rather up beat for Erika. Sure, she did somewhat missed what would happen to her garden back home, and her Pokémons as well. However, those were in good hands, and there were absolutely no reasons not to trust her accomplices to do their job well. She could stay here basically until whenever she wanted. "What do you want to do?"

"I take it that you don't quite enjoy the confinement of this room?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow at Erika's immediate apologetic reaction. It was quite obvious how the botanist was agreeing with the idea, yet still trying to find a good way of expressing her opinion as to not offend the owner. Sabrina really could not care less about such trivial things, though, as she would much just get things done rather than worrying about semantics. "Don't worry, you can say it."

"Well, it's true that I don't actually like it very much." Erika was happy to receive a nod from Sabrina, because it was positively killing her trying to figure out a good method to put this down easily. Now that she has had permission, she could say whatever was on her mind. "It is kind of creepy, not to mention a bit dark, and cold, and somewhat frightening. Oh yeah, and the walls…"

"Stop." Regardless of what she had said, there was little patience she at her expense to give to people who complained on her taste. Really, she knew that she was not much for style, but it suited her, and that was enough. Erika, though, after being abrubtly disrupted out of her speech, felt somewhat a need to restrain her talking a bit. Sabrina did not mean for that, but her words were too late to try and take back now. "Never mind, you do not like it, alright. Let's just get out of here, I guess."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." The botanist felt regulated to excuse herself of misunderstanding, but the effort went unconcerned. She gathered no immediate reply from her friend, as there was nothing else to do but to get her off the mat and approach the metal door. She was not sure how it would work being opened from the inside out though, as she could do nothing else but looked to her friend with endearment, hoping something would most likely come up. "Erm…"

"Here." The psychic did feel a bit sorry and much less apathetic for the other woman than what she would have expected. She did not really tell anyone how to open this door from inside out however, as that would forever be her own little secret. There was a knob on the door, at the very least, but it appeared to not work, seeing how it could not even be turned, which Erika found out the hard way. Her friend's little stumble did slightly amused Sabrina, but she did not act out on it. Rather, she simply did what she always did: placing her hand upon the door and literally forcing open, as the thousands of tons of concrete mechanism unfolded themselves behind the door. As it ripped open, the psychic walked out, with her friend following swiftly behind, not wanting to get stuck between the re-rolling. "What would you do now?"

"Well, I usually would be preparing to go to bed right now, but seeing as how that would no longer be an option; I guess I'd go out for some moonlight." Erika smiled rather sheepishly, as she took the initiative and simply head away from the large opening on the wall that she had just walked through. Sabrina seemed rather uncomfortable with her friend's sudden change of activeness, but only shrugged and decided to follow her on. The psychic was, however, mildly impressed that the botanist managed to get out of the gym scratch-free, considering how the gym grounds were supposed to be a maze with a dead end. It might be attributed to the lack of energy running through the main blocks, disabling the teleports, but it was impressive nonetheless. Soon enough, the two of them had finally left the Saffron Gymnasium and out onto the city lights outside. Erika seemed so eager that her friend wondered what ever it that gave the botanist so much energy was. If she would be like this every time she got up from bed, then Sabrina would be truly envious. "I miss the city lights."

"Who would have thought?" Sabrina shrugged slightly, as the botanist turned at her with a face full of inquiry. She would have smirk a little as she answered, but decided against it. "Well, I thought that such a nature girl like you would enjoy the unpopulated areas much more."

"I am a nature lover, Sabrina, but I was born between the city lights." Erika smiled, as she would take Sabrina's assumptions as an honest mistake. To be fair, anyone would have made that guess, but there were just things best left unsaid. With that in mind, however, the botanist had a plan in mind. It would require a bit of luck on her friend's part, but she was more than willing to give it a shot. "Hey, do you want to come with me?"

"Where?" The psychic was rather suspicious of the intentions. Sure, she trusted Erika, as much as she trusted anyone not named her mother. Still, she was not one to take offers to anywhere. Still, refusing the botanist's proposal now seemed like bad taste in general, since it was Sabrina herself who asked her friend to stay over in her city for the next few days. It would only take a three hour drive to get back to Celadon, but Erika must admit this was somehow more pleasant. "What do you have in mind?"

"Why, watching the moon of course." No sooner said than done, Sabrina suddenly felt her wrist grabbed onto by the botanist, as Erika dragged her friend straight out of the city's concrete roads and up to the nearby forest. The psychic was not sure whether she wanted to resist or not, but the sheer speed of excitement she was being roped into was much more than fathomable. Thus, she decided to simply roll with whatever her friend had come up with. Make no mistake, Sabrina was not at all enthusiastic about nature in general, but there was nothing better to do at the time. Soon, they reached a stop. "Here."

"Why here?" Sabrina felt a bit silly, having asked that, after recognizing the most obvious reason to pick the spot that they were in. From here was a clear view of the night sky, riddled with everlasting star systems and most beauteously, the shining moon. It had been a while since the psychic was outside at a time like this, but she was being surprisingly not difficult. Erika did not know this of course, as she herself had done this many times, and even more so frequently whenever she had the chance. Sometimes, when she was done with her nightly garden maintenance, the botanist would just walk to the nearest soft patch the grass, face the moon above and fall into the softest of sleeps. "Never mind…"

"Isn't it beautiful?" As the two women settled themselves onto the low grass below, their full attention was upon the night sky and many of its glorious secrets. There was nothing in particular alluring about the setting, but the soothing wind and swaying grass might convince people otherwise. Erika had no seemingly need for subtlety, as she simply nudged into her friend's arms, envisioning her dreams upon the stars high above. "You do like this, right?"

"That much is true." Sabrina slightly shrugged. She did notice her friend being awfully close, but there was no reason to be alarmed. As a kid, the psychic did not have many chances to make friends, considering how she was pretty much an introvert person, and barely recognized anyone else as her equal. It had resulted in many undesirable endeavors, but nothing she could not handle. However, it also robbed her of the chance to share such a glittering moment like this with anyone. "Do you do this often, Erika?"

"Oh yes, all the time in fact." Smiling brightly, Erika continued her gaze up the nighttime view above. It was just so stunning, as for its ever changing nature. She could, if not too tired, stare at it all nights sometimes, just slowly admiring the glorious pace of the undying beauty that she had the pleasure of becoming so familiar with. Sabrina could understand her friend's take on the magnificence of the stars, but she had little interest in them otherwise. The psychic had never been one for romance or tapping into her inner feelings, so expressive doings like this would never have appeared on her to-do list if it were not for Erika. Still, she had nothing against it. "This is the first time I'm doing this with someone else though."

"How come?" That did take Sabrina by surprise. From what she has heard, it could be inferred that Erika was still single, or at least not seeing anyone at the time. However, considering how she was here, Sabrina could not really put her finger on why the botanist had not share this with any of her other friends before. "I bet people would promise a lot just to be able to do this with you. What about your family and friends?"

"I…" There were simply no other follow-ups, which was strange to Sabrina. To her, it would be out of character for such a woman like Erika to not have a close relationship with her own family. She could be a bit childish sometimes, but absolutely delightful to have around otherwise, and that was coming from someone as cynical as Sabrina herself. She would have never admitted that though, not that anyone would ask. "I just don't want to talk about it… I guess."

"Ok…" Sabrina really did not expect to suddenly get hinted of Erika's apparent troubled life. It was something she did not expect, if assumptions were to blame. However, considering how she did not have much of a family thing herself, there was really no way to guess anything without resulting to double standard, which the psychic would very much appreciate not having to use most of the time. If Erika did not want to talk about it, her friend would simply pick the best choice of not bringing it up again. Curiosity did not work on psychics, apparently.

"Oh, I almost forgot what I came to meet you for!" Erika suddenly sprung up from her friend's grasp so suddenly that it almost looked like a meticulous prank. Sabrina was unhappy with that, for various reasons, but decided to keep it to herself. She simply stared at the botanist in disbelief, waiting whatever bombshell that was about to be dropped onto her. "You have to go to the League's meeting!"

"Oh god…" Sabrina did not want to be reminded of this at all. First of all, it made her remember Surge, which was a disturbing image in itself. Second of all, she absolutely despised those things for good reasons. Not only was she always have to be a one-woman army, she never really actually did win any of the votes. Sure, there was no telling whether everything she proposed was of up to par with others' or not, but it simply pissed her off to no end. "No, please don't."

"But you have to!" Sabrina was definitely not amused. Sure, she enjoyed the time she spent with Erika and all, but there was no real reason for her to have to listen to that girl right now. There had to be limits on how she would go out of the way to be influenced by a friend that she only caught up with a few days ago. In truth, the last few days did feel like a really long time, but that was no excuse to force her to comply with whatever ideas Erika has been trying to get to her.

"Why should I?" Sabrina had no problem being difficult, especially when the reasons are actually legitimate, at least in her opinion. Even though Erika was acting all hurt, it would have no effect on the psychic's decision, or so she thought.

"I was supposed to tell you to come, if you didn't, they'd be going after my neck for it!" Evidently, Erika hated the problems just as much as her friend. She never actually signed up for this, albeit she should have made that clear before volunteering to deliver the news. However, if there was anything she predicted, and then it would have been her phoning Sabrina for a five minutes call, getting everything over with and be done. However, it instead turned into a three days trip around the clock on a luxurious cruise with her friend, not to mention some very awkward moments in between. "Please?"

"No." Erika appears crestfallen, in response to her friend's blunt words. Honestly, she was not counting on Sabrina being this stubborn, but she could somewhat relate. Both of them were not really well-respected trainers in their respective fields. Yes, they have talents, and no one could challenge their positions, but they had just gotten the job for less than two years. There was no guarantee how their opinions must be heard, or at least that was what the others always tried to make it seem like. However, this was not the time to worry about going against the system. She had one choice left. Sabrina was rather surprised of how she suddenly was pulled down onto the grass below, facing directly the moon. However, her sight was blocked only a few moments later with the face of the botanist.

"Please?" Erika was basically on top of her, which Sabrina did not like. This was not one of those situations that would appear to be beneficial to her in any way, so she decided she just wanted to avoid it. However, it did not turn out to be so easy.

"Can you please get off me first?" If anything, this would create some really hefty situations that would take forever to explain, and Sabrina would not want that the slightest. Of course, nothing was ever in her hands.

"But I don't want to go there alone!" Erika's point got through this time, however, as her friend appeared to stop squirming trying to get out of her grasp. It was something she wished she did not have to do but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I…" Sabrina was being pushed to the edge alright. She did not want to distress Erika any longer, mostly because of how it was not an option to try and escape this grip. Their bodies were pressed together, and it was not as pretty as people's fantasies might suggest. "Would you just…?"

"Please?" As she was about to put her foot down, Sabrina saw her friend did something absolutely unimaginable. Lips pouting, eyes watering and arms up to her shoulders, there was just something about the botanist's current poise that was simply unresistably destructive.

"Fine!"

With that, things were done; Sabrina could no longer fight against the ever so manipulative power of Erika's pout. She hated that, of course, as perhaps in the future, her friend might just decide to use that on her again, and nothing good could come out of it, just like this one. The botanist got off her friend, but what Sabrina failed to realize was the intense breathing being held back for the last couple of minutes, masking itself under the pretext of a plea. It was unknown why someone like the psychic could have missed such an obvious change of expression on her friend's face, but then again, it did not take much to not notice Erika's extreme flustered expression.

"What is it?" Sabrina did not take too long to pick it up, however.

"I'm kind of… hot at the moment." Erika, being unexplainably clueless as she was, stated such a thing with complete innocence. Of course, her friend thought the same. Why would there be a double entendre?