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Chap. 55: Water Falls
"Whoah, oh fuck, oh, shit!" Alex's arm flashed out at the last moment, catching Elle across the upper chest, just below her throat. Her own momentum nearly did him in, sending him tumbling down a sheer drop of about a hundred and fifty feet.
The precipice had been nearly invisible. One moment, they had been running for their lives from the extremely dangerous Fire-type. The next, they had dared slow down, glimpses of the sunset through the straight, tall pines and leaves of shorter deciduous trees. Alex had pushed himself between one thorny, grasping berry bush and the next, and then stepped out into open air with no warning. Only his fingers closing on the sharp points of one branch kept him steady as he leaned out for one breath-taking, heart-stopping moment. A city he couldn't process stretched out below him, cut deep into a mountainous river valley and stretching high up terraces on both sides, but that was all Alex had time to register.
It was a long, long way down, but he was looking straight in that direction as the roof of what looked like a Mega-City Aquarium reflected artificial light with solar panels and windows back up at him.
Elle's momentum had tipped him further, but her reactions were as spectacular as always. The girl lunged back, her own hands sinking into the less thorny but still painful bark on the second bush as she grabbed him with the other. Her petite body strained to haul him back with her free hand wrapped awkwardly around his.
Alex closed his eyes, all too painfully aware of his heart hammering in his chest. "This is why I hate heights," he grunted as, inch by inch, he and Elle's combined efforts hauled him back over the edge.
He was vertical... he was...
His right leg, the one bearing all his weight, gave out at once.
Or rather, the ledge beneath him gave out, and took him with it. Alex's stomach fell into his throat as his body dropped, and Elle yelped with renewed terror and yanked back with her whole body. Her tennis shoes slipped and scrabbled on the forest floor, sending a deluge of dirt and small rocks, even a few hardy flowers, down into the city below.
Alex's rear hit the dirt next, somehow, and one leg went down over the cliff at the knee. He slid, down, down...
And stopped.
Somehow, with one foot perched perilously on a stone protruding from the edge of the cliff, one leg dangling over it just past the knee in the wrong direction, his body prone and on a slope, Alex stopped. Slowly, achingly so, he turned his head upward. There was Elle, her body now straining with both arms holding him by the wrist, his bigger hand a decent hold for her as she lay on her back too, both legs braced against another stone and a tiny little scrub bush.
Beneath him, something moved. Or rather, against his side, but in the ground. A... A paw? Purple?
Dirt shook and moved, burying him a little but throwing more over the edge. A spine broke free next. Or no, a horn. Then several spines came after the longer one angled in the other direction. Familiar, worried eyes. "Ni?"
"C- Cock?"
His Starter gave a little smile with its eyes, and pushed its head out further. More sand, soil, and earth slipped free, but then there were three sturdy, pointed legs holding him in place, with a fourth and the creature's jaw fastened around Alex's slightly-torn shirt. The Nidorino tugged, and Alex felt his left, lower leg straighten as it moved a little up the slope. His eyes widened, as he heard Elle gasp. "Oh, thank Arceus!"
"I'd rather thank Cock," Alex laughed, feeling hysteria rise just a little more as he took his free hand and scrabbled for a hold, Thankfully, some of the sturdier branches from the thorny berry bush. Purchase! He made sure the grip was secure, and pulled... another eight inches.
He slipped a little lower when Elle let go with one hand, but just a few seconds later, Gobbler was there too. "Baby, sink your roots into the ground, and Vine Whip! Haul him up!"
"Good thinking," Alex grunted, as he came up another three feet. "Uh... I- I think I'm okay to roll over. I'm gonna crawl up, if that's okay, though..."
"I don't blame you," Elle exhaled breathlessly, and slowly let go. When he didn't shift downward after a few seconds, she kept her hands hovering nearby as Alex rolled toward the bush a little. Cock's horn and head, spines laying as flat as they could, nudged him a bit further.
Once he had his knees under him, Elle visibly relaxed. She was dirty, and he suspected he was even worse thanks to his Pokémon's Dig, but he was alive. Neither fire nor gravity had killed him this day. Yet, at least. "Thanks, Elle. Thanks, Cock."
"Yeah," the girl giggled, "I thank Cock every day, too."
"... Fucking incredible. I almost fall to my death, and five seconds later you're making dick jokes."
"You named him that," Elle reminded him, and started crawling backwards up the slope, "Now quit being a baby. You lived. That's what matters. And Cock did help save your ass, I was about to lose my grip when he got under you. That was quick thinking."
"No doubt about that, both of you," Alex murmured, sending both a grateful look. "I saw my life flash before my eyes for a second, there. Fucking long way down... I hate heights."
Then Elle rolled, presenting him with a decent view of her soil-covered ass and thighs, before she hauled herself back onto her feet. Then she was past the bushes, and back on relatively open ground with only light shrubs and undergrowth. "I... don't see that orange terror."
Once he caught up, grateful to be even ten feet or so from the place where he'd come far to close to dying, Alex scooped up the girl in his arms and gave her a probably too-tight squeeze for several seconds, then did the same with his Pokémon. He couldn't make himself care about the spines poking him, or the risk of poison, even if one did burn just a little, like the scratch of a cat. "Seriously... thank you, both of you. And you, Gobbler."
"Wee, Wee," the plant keened, giving what was an unmistakable smile with her very round mouth and eyes, as she swayed a bit, almost dancing on her new leaf-feet.
"Yeah... yeah, you did good, girl," Alex laughed weakly. "Come on... I need to get onto more solid ground, I'm starting to feel a little woozy. Fuck... I hate heights!"
It took the pair and their two walking Pokémon another hour and then some to find another trail, but when they did, Alex exhaled a sigh of relief. "Solid fucking ground... at last."
Elle giggled and pushed her shoulder against his, "I know... I'm not even scared of heights and I was panicked, the moment I saw you fall!"
"I'm not scared," Alex protested, but when the Pokémon and human gave him a look that clearly said they were dubious at best, he fell silent aside from low mutters about 'uncomfortable'.
Unlike both Viridian and Pewter Cities, and even Pallet Town, there was no place for Trainers to battle each other, or even train their Pokémon in specific moves. There were no fields around Cerulean City at all, as far as they could discern. Instead, it was a city surrounded by high, bare cliffs set in natural tiers that ranged from ten to several hundred feet, but with ledges that were far narrower, which created strips of lush green, whether from grass or brush or trees.
Buildings rose high like twisting spires of fantastic castles made of crystal or strange, opalescent rock at the city center, either a rainbow of color similar to mother-of-pearl, or almost Moonstone-white that covered a teardrop-shape island. Further out, what appeared to be a thriving business district on one end, and an inland port covered another, the two halves separated by a river on the southeast, and a curved, crescent-shaped lake on the opposite side, where the port lay. A bridge moved foot traffic far too small to be visible across the lake to the north where a small forest and several meadows lay, and a wide, low tunnel connected it to a smaller town high up the cliffs on the opposite side of the canyon. Closer to Alex and Elle, another road snaked out of the canyon they had just come down into the larger one, which was covered with the virtual world's cars, twinkling like a stream of stars as the shadows of the cliffs caused an early nightfall in the canyon below. The residential regions of the city seemed three-fold: A single large district on another island further south, house-boats that followed in a long, wide string along the largest of the two rivers that left the canyon around a major hill, or in a hundred thousand small, water-carved caves that littered the lower regions of the cliffs.
But the most striking feature, the one responsible for a good eighty percent of the already stunningly beautiful city, were the waterfalls. A good two dozen of them, some that sprouted from the stone faces and a myriad of heights. Most fell from the sheer cliff-tops, in narrow ribbons that dissipated into a fine cloud of mist hundreds of feet before they even touched the canyon floor or city below. Three larger falls, one at least seventy feet from side to side, fed the large lake, while two more fell into the river at the top and bottom of the long valley.
Everywhere he looked, there was natural stone, lush greenery, blue sky tinted orange with the late day, and shining water that reflected the sunlight in the same color as a citrine gemstone. "Beautiful," Elle exhaled, and her bruised hand slipped into his.
"It sure is," he exhaled, his eyes roaming quickly. There was so much to see! They had approached both Viridian and Pewter from above too, or at least been able to see the cities' expanse, but nothing like this, from high on cliffs that let them overlook the whole thing as a bird might see it. Viridian's view had been from the top of a long, wide hill. Pewter's had actually been more or less from the bottom of the city, but as it had moved up its own valley much of it was visible.
The sight Cerulean City presented them blew both panoramic views out of the proverbial water. Alex snorted at the unintentional Water-type pun he'd made, then shook his head and focused. It took a few moments, but he spotted a thin snake of asphalt some ways down the cliff, and a winding dirt path that led in its direction. "Down that way, I think," he told his companion, gesturing with his free hand. "Looks like the trail is paved after a while. It probably goes into the city."
"Alright, sounds good. Fuck, I'm tired... I'm too tired to even let you lick me tonight."
He laughed, "I know how you feel. It's disappointing, but... you do know we might not even make it into the city before it gets dark, right? I just want to be off the cliffs before then. At least the path is likely to be stable... I hope."
They made good time for a while. The Nidorino was a sturdy sort like his owner, and Gobbler was fresh, so even a couple of more wild Pokémon encounters as they got lower didn't put too much strain on them. The fat yellow duck-like thing was even cute. "Shame we couldn't catch it," Elle groused as the thing gave one last gasp before slipping, dead, into the water. "And a shame we wasted like seven more 'balls on it."
"Yeah... but we do both have decent Water-types, so it isn't like we need the coverage. And I remember something like that a long while back. More trouble than they're worth, if it's the 'mon I'm thinking of."
"Still. Oh well... hey... is that an actual person?"
"You know...? I think it is!"
Alex's first thought was that it was a child, perhaps a teenager close to his own or Elle's age. But as they closed in on the person making their casual way up the trail toward them, occasionally pushing branches or fern-like leaves out of the way, he could have sworn he was looking at an old man, or a giant, or maybe even a humanshape Pokémon. But no... it was a girl. Close to Elle, closer to him in age. It had to be. It moved like a girl, at least, and the pink hair cut in a short bob bounced hypnotically as she moved on, with a Rattata on her left, and an adorable pink ball that matched her hair-tone perfectly on her right, waddling along quickly but far more awkwardly than her own graceful movements.
"She's cute," Elle whispered, "Bone her, if you can. Pretend I'm your sister or something."
Alex couldn't help it. He snorted, "You're insatiable."
"Maybe, but you have to admit she's sexy. Great tits on a small body like that. She's only got a few inches on me I think, but look at those knockers."
Now that she mentioned it, he couldn't look away. They weren't prodigious or anything, but the young woman on the trail below them, who had clearly spotted them too, was bouncing along with tits just big enough Alex doubted he could get them all in his hands. "You... might have a point there."
Elle leaned over to him as they walked and hissed, "Imagine her on her back, your fat cock thrusting between those things, up into her mouth... think how she'd just moan for you, how good it would feel, how sexy she'd be..."
"Fuck you," he laughed, and pushed her away, "Now I can't stop thinking about it."
"I don't blame you," Elle shot back with a grin, "now I'm horny too, even if I'm super tired."
"No one to blame, blah blah... better hold that talk back though, she's getting close."
"Let her hear it," the blonde shrugged, but didn't push the issue.
Maybe because the moment she got within earshot, the rose-haired girl lifted a hand with a too-cheerful smile and called, "Alex, Elle! Damn, am I glad to see you!"
The fuck...?
Elle's erotic daydreaming screeched to a rather unpleasant halt. Watching Alex face-fuck and then actually fuck Riina had been eye-opening, a confirmation about her own desires that Elle had been reluctant to face at first. Now, she didn't just think she wanted to watch him with every gorgeous creature that walked this pseudo-reality, but she knew it. Imagining her mounting the girl's tits, then her lithe, curvy body was getting her hot and bothered already.
But... "How does she know our names?" Elle hissed.
"Was thinking the same thing," Alex grunted as he stopped walking forward, and his fingers started to glide over his belt full of Pokéballs.
Even though the two of them adopted guarded, careful stances as they stopped in the middle of the cliff path, the girl still bounced forward energetically. Unfair, Elle thought, since she probably hadn't just had a harrowing adventure underground that nearly resulted in their deaths or capture on two or three occasions, been chased by a fire-breathing monster, and then taken a long, very final trip.
She stopped about eight feet from them. Close enough to be a threat, but far enough off she didn't feel like one. Elle was certain it was a deliberate choice, no matter how cheerful and disarming the girl's expression was. She didn't miss the subtle hand-gestures that told her ferocious-looking Rattata to stop hissing at them, either. If it was annoyed...
"You are Alex Ward and Elle Berkman, right? You look like I was told, anyway."
Elle blinked at the rosette's question. She sounded suddenly unsure. "I... Who are you, first?"
"Me?" The girl blinked, sounding surprised as she pointed a finger at her nose in a very Nippon-like gesture. It fit, given her general appearance as a halfu, but still seemed strange on the bubbly-looking countenance. "I'm Robin. Robin DeVerl."
"Never heard the name before," Alex pronounced, "And if you don't mind, I'm not in the mood to shoot my name to random strangers after the last few days we've had."
Despite her lover's caution, the other girl only grinned, "Well, that settles it. Come on, you can trust me. I've got nothing to hide. Here, I'll show you!"
Then, without warning, she peeled off her shirt and held it in one hand. Elle heard Alex take a sharp intake of breath. The girl's tits weren't just a good size, they were perfect, round and full like a grapefruit, immaculate and blemish-free, with deep pink areolae and nipples. She spun once, then pushed her shorts down too with a little shimmy, taking her panties with them. Then she turned again, her hands held wide with the articles of clothing dangling from either hand. "See? No wires, no weapons, nothing like that. Unless you think I've got them in my shoes. Or my twat. Or ass. You can check there too, if you're gentle in back and rough up front."
The girl, Robin, finished the explanation with a little giggle as she eyed both of the up and down, "My boss said you were both attractive, but she didn't do you justice. Yummy. In fact, you can both check if you want."
"You're awfully forward with strangers," Alex grunted.
Robin only shrugged, "You aren't really strangers, not to me. I know you don't know me, but I know a fair bit about you. I've read your files, you see. But you can trust me, I'm on your side. I want the same things you do."
"What... files?" Elle hissed, her fear mounting.
Robin seemed genuinely confused by the cold response, "Er... The files GameFreak has on you both? Oh- Oh! Hah... silly me. My boss, the one I just mentioned? She sent me to find you. To help you."
"What's this boss's name?" Elle asked pointedly.
"Oh, yeah, that. Maline. Maline Greengrass."
Somehow, knowing that there was a reason for this girl to know their names didn't make her feel any safer. Not at all, in fact.
