The Sunday List of Dreams
Chapter 11: Up The Ante
/ / Darling, open your eyes / /
/ / In the night less sky there's a black dahlia with lost delusions, in a corrupted reality / /
Okay, I can't lie. I had an awesome idea for the stakes, and then I FORGOT!!! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!
But it's okay; I am well versed in the art of BSing.
Ah, oh yeah… Look out for a new story coming your way. It's going to be a trilogy, featuring my favorite shippings… and Gods. So, do look out! I'm almost done with the first one, and the second and third are about halfway done….
And last but not least…
I've hit the 100-review mark!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks to xDD, my anonymous reviewer, whoever you are, you have helped me hit the 100 mark!!
This chapter is dedicated to you, my friend!!!
"All right, Misty, let's up the stakes for our darling little race, hmm?"
"There weren't stakes to begin with, but who cares?"
"Am I glad I'm not in this race."
May rolled her eyes at the two girls from across the round table they sat at, a large umbrella towering over them from the center of the table, providing shade in the noon sun. They were sitting out in front of a small café, sipping mindlessly on cold soda and spooning iced treats into their mouths, the heat and humidity of Alto Mare starting to get to them. The sun was at its zenith, straight above at 12 o'clock in the afternoon.
"Okay, okay." Dawn cleared her throat, May and Misty watching the girl expectantly. Dawn gave a devilish little smile, causing Misty to feel a little wary, questioning what exactly had she gotten herself into.
"Spit it out already, Dawn." Misty rolled her eyes, feigning calm.
"Well, I say whoever wins the Alto Mare race has to swim the ocean tonight..." Dawn smiled pleasantly, and they all could feel themselves leaning in before falling back in their seats, and Misty felt foolish for a moment.
"Hah! Do—" The words were coming out easily from Misty's mouth.
"Naked." Dawn leaned back
"—ne. …Wait, WAIT!" Misty started, furiously, the words already out there for everyone to see.
"TOO LATE!!! You have just agreed to skinny dip tonight!!" Dawn shrieked, pointing her finger at Misty accusingly, laughing hysterically.
"Oh, man!! She got you good!" May laughed, clutching her stomach.
"Wait, wait!! I take it back!!" Misty frantically attempted, but Dawn shook her head, still giggling.
"Too bad! It's on, Mist. And I don't plan on losing!" Dawn grinned, and Misty felt a jab at her pride.
"Excuse me? Who is the water pokemon expert here? Me! You're going to be the one swimming at the bottom of the ocean in nothing but your birthday suit, honey!" Misty snapped, smirking widely.
"We'll see, we'll see." Dawn waved the comment off, airily.
May rolled her eyes, before grinning to herself. She had something up her sleeve, as well…
Misty and Dawn couldn't help but look at May like she was a freak.
After all, what normal person smiled like they had something horrendously evil cooking in their mind?
Not May, certainly not.
The full moon was rising slowly towards the celestial meridian (1) in the sky, glowing brightly as a reflector of the sun's rays, it's reflection rippling and curling in the sea, stretched and wrinkled over and over as the wind moved gently in the breeze. There were large pods lined up, bumping and swaying with the ocean's tide, situated in a small river that ran through the city like a maze. They were tied together with simple rope, the exact number that would be needed for the race the next day. May smirked to herself.
"Oh, silly, silly girls." May shook her head, hands on her hips before releasing her Bulbasaur, the blinding white light flashing briefly against the tall buildings and streets before dissipating, leaving only the green bulb pokemon behind. It looked confused at its surroundings, and the time of night. Bulbasaur glanced at its owner, curiosity evident in it's eyes.
"All right then, use razor leaf on that pod, and vine whip to take it this way." May commanded, the grass pokemon followed suit, raising the pod easily with its vines, before following May off into the darkness.
The moon gleamed against the water, the pods shifting out into the water, before a vine reattached the end of the rope which held the pods together to the other side of the river at a post, the pods now stretched and not situated by each other anymore, the tides unable to bump them together anymore.
Morning came quickly, too quickly, for Misty's taste. She could feel the first few rays of sunlight pecking at her eyes, and she frowned, waving her hand in front of her, annoyed, before flopping over on her side, away from the sunshine, and opened her eyes slowly.
Today was the day.
Why the hell did she have to agree to this stupid deal again?
Ah, yes. Her pride.
Dawn felt herself stirring loudly, groaning and stretching her body like a cat, purring when she felt her spine align with each other and crack with comfort, before sighing and dropping her limbs, eyes opening slowly to stare back at Misty's.
"Good morning, Misty! Ready for today?"
"Nngh, ready as I'll ever be." Misty groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"I'm just excited to watch this race." May giggled to herself, smiling cheekily at the ceiling. Dawn pulled her head up to look at the girl strangely.
"You have been way too happy all day since yesterday at lunch. What is wrong with you?!" Dawn asked, exasperated and slightly nervous.
"I'm just happy! Is it a crime for me to be happy?" May asked, turning her head and smiling cheerfully.
"Yes. Yes it is." Dawn muttered, running her hand through her hair before propping herself up, and rolling off the bed before landing with a thump.
"Why can't you ever get up like a normal person?" Misty asked, snickering, as she began to peel her clothes off and jump in the shower.
"Normal? What is this, "normal" you speak of?" Dawn questioned, air quotes by her face.
"Time to brush my teeth!" May laughed, smiling positively radiant, before jumping up and rushing towards the sink and her toothbrush.
Dawn sat on the floor, still, for a moment, before completely getting up from off the floor, calling after May to not hog the sink.
"All right, we've got ten minutes until the race. Let's head out." Misty noted, glancing at her watch. She heard Dawn and May nod and murmur in agreement, and they set off, Misty and Dawn in their bathing suits, plain white shirts cut off above the stomach, and denim shorts, while May was in a white skirt and plain red tank top.
They wandered slowly and quietly, before they could hear a crowd up the street, murmuring and whispering through the crowd, and they could make out confused voices at best.
"It looks like somebody cut off one of the pods…" Nurse Joy frowned; a finger to her chin while Officer Jenny situated herself by Nurse Joy, hands on her hips.
"Well, it isn't that bad. Do you need all of the pods?" Officer Jenny asked, turning her head to her long time friend.
"Well, yes… we had just enough for everybody… Somebody might not be able to participate."
The other races were already standing in their pods, Ash being one of them with his Totodile, which he had briefly borrowed from the Professor, attempting to dance in the water, almost singing it was so happy.
Dawn and Misty approached, while May settled herself beside Drew and Max in the crowd. Dawn quickly jumped into the last available pod, before releasing Buizel.
"What's going on?" Misty frowned, now noticing that she was pod-less.
"Oh, well it appears someone cut off a pod and erm, stole it." Officer Jenny nodded, sweat dropping at how mediocre and idiotic the crime sounded.
"What?" Misty asked, upset.
"I'm sorry but it doesn't look like you'll be able to—"
"Oh, oh! She can share a pod with me!" Ash cried, smiling warmly. Misty felt herself turn red, and the crowd laughed lightly at the generosity. May was practically gagging on laughter at the look on Misty's face, and a few other things from last night, while Max stared at his sister like he didn't know her.
"U-uh I think that's against the rules—"
"No, no! It's fine, you really want to race, don't you?" Nurse Joy interjected, smiling pleasurably and Officer Jenny nodded her head in agreement, satisfied with the outcome of the problem.
"Well, Misty? You going to get in or what?" Dawn asked, grinning evilly from her pod, as Buizel whirred its tail in the water, causing the pod to shift slightly with the waves. Misty sent Dawn a glare that could have scared even Satan, before Ash's call caught her attention.
"Uh, okay. I'm coming!" Misty could feel her pride getting in the way again of her making smart choices, and the pounding of her heart wasn't quite helping her either. Misty sometimes wondered where her common sense had flown for vacation. She jumped into the water, by Ash's pod, and he helped her up onto it. Clearly it was not made for two, but she managed to grip on, and Ash wrung his arm around her waist, instructing her to hold onto the triangle that led to Totodile.
"Ready to go?" Ash was completely unaffected by their proximity, leaning in close to her ear and murmuring, and Misty wondered if he could feel her heartbeat. Misty mentally told herself to calm down, repressing a shudder when she felt Ash's warm breath hit her cool neck.
Dawn was eyeing them, smirking. Misty looked like she was about to die on the spot. Whether from embarrassment, or pure enjoyment, was up for debate.
May smirked to herself, leaning against the railing, chin in her hand while Togepi sat in Brock's arms, ever cheerful and happy at her owner's nervous feelings.
May nodded satisfactorily at herself, amused and satisfied with her handiwork. She pat herself on her back, noting mentally that she was, indeed, a genius.
The small three Natu sat atop each other and a large Xatu as its base, like a totem pole. The top raised its wings, and after a few seconds, the one beneath it raised its wings, and the last Natu's wings flew up, before finally, after a minute or so, the Xatu's wings flew up, and the race was on. The pods sped forward in a shot like a bullet from a gun, water splashing everywhere, and May could feel the cool spray of water as they race off, a large television screen across the bridge where she sat, displaying images of the people and the pokemon, flashing between shots of different people, a show of confidence on most people's faces, as they race past down the maze and past the corner where they could no longer be seen.
It flashed through a few nameless and faceless people as they fell from their pods, before shifting to Dawn. Her face was the epitome of confidence, a smirk playing her lips, eyes narrowed as the water sprayed around her body, azure hair whipping behind her as Buizel raced through its natural habitat, quickly gaining speed on the lead racer, a guy with semi-long brown hair and a Wailmer as his leading pokemon. The large, round whale pokemon was starting to move quicker, sensing the Buizel that was slowly closing in behind him, and Dawn felt herself smirk wider. Buizel loved competition.
It quickly began to swim faster in the water, moving swiftly as the waves flowed and parted against the pokemon, and Dawn could see that she was getting closer to the boy that was leading. She heard something from behind her, and turned to look, her hair making it somewhat hard to see, but she could clearly make out the sound of a Totodile, and the form of Misty and Ash closing in behind her. Dawn grit her teeth, before turning back around, and yelling at Buizel against the rush of air and the spray of water, adrenaline pumping, to speed up.
Misty had already forgotten that she was extremely close to Ash (well, kind of) as she felt the familiar rush of adrenaline in her veins, and the cool spray of water against her heated skin, Ash's hand tightening slightly on her waist as they turned a corner, and with her free hand she gripped his shoulder, bunching his black shirt in her hands. Ash didn't turn to look at her, but she could see from her peripheral the slight rush of blood to his face but quickly disappeared as they turned, sharply against the wind. The wind was rushing through her hair, which was still slightly damp from jumping into the water earlier, bunched up to the side in her traditional side ponytail.
She was grinning the entire way, as their pod flew flawlessly around corners and past opponents, watching a few who tripped and crashed into rocks and corners, inertia and gravity demanding their presence forward as they landed into the water, pods floating aimlessly and their pokemon having stopped already.
She could see Dawn in front of her, almost close before her Buizel suddenly kicked into high gear and Dawn flew off in a rush of water that sprayed Misty slightly in the face, and she winced her eyes closed, slightly but not completely shut, against the scatter of liquid. She heard Ash mutter something under his breath at Dawn's sudden speed, and Misty inclined her head slightly back, to see a few opponents still chasing, one of which was getting closer to them. She turned her head forward when she heard Ash command to hurry up.
The blue pokemon did this with ease, speeding up, no longer attempting to dance within the water but a serious glint set in its eyes, and she could feel the wind moving faster against her face, the waves flowing larger past them, and Dawn's small form coming within view again, as they once again, turned a sharp corner.
May was watching the screen with anticipation, as Dawn, Misty and Ash moved flawlessly through the maze of buildings and sharp turns, the water moving violently under their pods, before settling again to a calm. They turned one more corner, and May turned her head from the screen, to the far corner at the end where the bridge stopped to meet a large platform of land. She saw the boy with brown hair turn, Dawn, Misty and Ash following closely.
Then, she saw Dawn's pod bump against the wall, and her shriek before she flew forward and fell into the water, Buizel popping up from against the waves, the crowd yelling in unison as the last two (technically three) racers began to speed up in sight of the finish line.
May could have sworn she saw Paul tense for a moment.
Dawn groaned angrily, her hair a dark navy color as it flopped in her face, wet and thick and heavy against her head. Buizel swam over to her, looking a bit disappointed and sad. Dawn smiled, as she pushed the hair from her face, the water moving against her body and causing her to sway in the water, before patting the water pokemon on it's head.
"It's fine! It wasn't your fault." She smiled, rubbing Buizel gently and the pokemon responded quite cheerfully, almost purring at the comfortable contact. She glanced behind at her pod, before climbing out of the water and onto the side, returning Buizel to its pokeball.
Then, reality hit.
She had lost the bet.
Dawn turned her head in the direction of the finish line.
May watched, with anticipation, screaming at the lovely two partners (couple, in her eyes) to hurry up, Max wincing beside her and Drew rolling his eyes, muttering to himself that the girl should really "shut the hell up."
Ash and Misty were catching up, neck and neck with the brown-haired boy, and they could see the finish line closing in, closer and closer…
And Totodile pushed itself once more, releasing pent up energy before they rushed forward with a sudden jolt, and past the finish line, in first place.
"C'mon, Dawn, hop to it!" Misty whispered between her giggles. The full moon soared high in the sky, at its peak, reflecting upon the waves of the rippling water.
It was an abandoned area of town, mostly filled with nothing but warehouses, but still quite close to the harbor. Dawn could see their boat in the distance. The cool night air felt refreshing against her skin, the warm summer night welcoming.
It would have been better if Dawn wasn't about to strip down.
May was holding back her snickers, her hand situated over her mouth and Dawn could hear the muffled laughter resonating in her ears, as she glared at the ocean angrily, as if it were all the ocean's fault she'd landed herself in the mess she'd created.
"Dawn, we don't have all night!" May smiled, breathing deeply through her nose in an attempt to stifle her giggles.
"Shut up!" Dawn hissed, before she pulled her shirt over her head, dropping it beside her, as well as her shoes, bra, shorts and panties.
"You got yourself into this mess, Dawn. I just thought I'd remind you." Misty said, smirking, arms crossed in front of her chest, with the air of pure confidence. Dawn jumped straight into the cool seawater, opening her eyes against the water, a crystal clear world in front of her, and she looked up, seeing the swell and fall of the moon's light, casting a ray down through the water and reaching the shallow bottom of the water. She could feel her lungs begging for air, and she began to swim upwards, bursting from under the water, the water splashing against the stone of Alto Mare, and Dawn felt herself breathe deeply. Then she realized something.
It was quiet.
There was no laughter, no shuffle of rubber flip flops against stone, only the quiet lapping of waves against stone, and her breathing. Dawn felt her heart speeding up, and then turned to look behind her, only to discover two things.
One. Her clothes were gone.
And two, the icing on the cake…
Her two 'best friends' were running off with her clothes, towards their ship.
Dawn felt her jaw drop, and she stared at the slowly disappearing figures of her two ex-best friends, and she could feel the panic rising, but she quickly squashed the feeling.
She knew they would be back.
But then she felt the panic rise again, as she heard the soft padding of sandals against stone. She swam extremely close to the wall, a few large crates on the rock above her, and she sunk deep into the water, hoping her pale skin wouldn't stand out and that her cobalt hair would help her better blend in.
And then, at that moment, Dawn was sure she wanted to either scream, or cry. She was sure the boy would be able to hear her scream if she did scream, or at least sense her despair (she was sure he had some sort of internal mechanism for that) if she cried. The boy walked out of the shadows, head tilted towards the moon, as it's rays struck his face, illuminating his stature from the darkness.
It was Paul.
Dawn knew it. God had a sick sense of humor.
Either that, or God simply hated her.
OSHNAP!?
Yeah, so since I kind of forgot what I was going to do stake-wise, I just sort of pulled his out of my ass. By the way, Totodile is a brief appearance, he's already been returned. I just had to fit Ash somewhere in this chapter with Misty. Ohohoho!
And yes, May is evil. Well, May and Misty are evil.
Poor, poor Dawn.
What happens next? I wonder, wonder!
Anyway, I'll have the next chapter up… someday. Woo hoo!
UGH this is 9 pages, and I've barely scraped around 3,400 words. ARGH!!! I'll try and make the next chapter like, 30 pages long. Lol.
Last, but not least…
(1) Celestial Meridian: The middle of the eastern and western horizon, projected into space. Learned this in Astronomy.
Ante: The fixed price or cost of something.
I am in SERIOUS need of a beta. God, I hate proofreading stuff. Meh, I'll deal… by not proofreading.