Chapter 9: Landing

Ash & Misty were still sleeping near a waterfall overlooking a large, open area with a small area of tall grass to the southeast (of where they were sleeping). Off in the distance to the south, you could see a very small building, and further off, something that looked like a gigantic skyscraper. (Ash & Misty didn't know this, but they were near, if not on, Route 9). Neither of them knew that they ran (er, swam) right past the northern outskirts of Cerulean.

Ash slowly woke up. He knew something was wrong. "There wasn't a waterfall 500 feet high on Route 3. Misty knows that as well as I do. (Ash is talking to himself in his head)" Ash sighed. It was only 8 something in the morning & he wasn't happy about this at all. "Ash, what do you think we should do?". Ash was stunned. "Misty is up?" Ash thought frantically in his mind. "I don't know, Misty. I just don't."

Misty stood up & pointed off in the distance. At the big building. "I think we should go there. I know exactly where we are- Route 9.". Ash gasped. "This place is famous for this huge waterfall & an abandoned Power Plant where you can catch lots of odd Pokémon. But there's a catch- you need to check into that Pokémon Center over there before you can enter the plant."

"Does the power planet produce any electricity?" Ash asked, wonder in his eyes.

Misty collapsed from this dose of stupidity conveniently supplied by Ash. "Arrrrgggghhhh. I just said its abandoned." she smirked.

"Sorry. So how do we get there?"

Misty sighed. She didn't want to tell him what she needed to tell him. "We have to ride Pidgeot.". Ash looked down. He didn't want to have to ride a Pokémon in such a dangerous place. He reluctantly threw Pidgeot's Poké Ball out, got on, and absentmindedly gave Misty a hand in getting on. "Pidgeot," Ash muttered angrily, "fly us to that building over there <Pidgeot starts flying> [really loud, scared] that Misty claims is a Pokémon Center!".

At those words, Pidgeot started flying really fast, but not Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), & Misty r e a l l y began to clasp her arms around Ash in fear. "Misty, just remember what I always tell you- just hang on to me.". Ash tried to soothe Misty's feelings, but it didn't work. They landed & checked in. Nurse Joy told them to stand on a warp tile to get them in front of that plant.

Chapter 10: Plants of Power

Ash gasped once he could move from the teleportation because of the Warp Tile. "Ash, this place is really close to Lavender Town." Misty said.

"You're right. Take a look at this sign- and more importantly, the view." Ash replied, a little urgency in his voice.

"It's the Pokémon Tower of Lavender Town!"

"And there's more," Ash pointed out, "it says you need a Water Pokémon to get there. Next to the warp tile & sign there were some stairs that led down to a lake. On the other shore was the plant. "It says here that you need a Pokémon to help get you across this." Ash noticed, and Misty silently sent out her Staryu, which hadn't been used for anything recently. Ash had no choice but to use his Squirtle. "Hey, Misty, you know what to do in this rough current!" Ash squealed over the whitewater.

"We have to dive underwater to get out of this rough stuff!". She gasped, and felt the average (temperature average) water around her. Ash followed her underwater. Misty looked at him with a green needle in her hand. Ash gave himself one, and Misty just put the one she had in her hand into her leg. Ash didn't know why she bothered to put it into her leg- he thought: "Why didn't she just put it into her arm?"

Misty slowly guided them around whirlpools & rip currents, and they finally banged their heads into the shoreline. Neither of them liked that. Misty barely signaled for Ash to surface, because she wanted to collect herself underwater & knew she had lots of air left. Ash climbed up onto the rocky shore & peered off into the water, worried. "What's taking her so long?" Ash whispered to himself nervously. Then he decided to jump back in, not with any Pokémon, but just himself. He took his blue jacket off, then jumped in.

She was just lying there, on her stomach with her knees bent toward her head & her right arm holding her right ankle. Misty's face was looking off to her left, and more so to keep the sand out of her eyes. Then she realized there was a slight pushing of water against her back. Misty took notice of this & suddenly jerked her head to look up. Ash jumped a little.

Misty had a stern look on her face, then had an inviting look on her face when she saw it was only Ash checking on her. Ash offered a green needle to her, but nodded a 'no' & frantically pointed up toward the surface. "It.." Misty's hand immediately covered up Ash's mouth. A Magnemite was floating up above them. Then it let out a little electricity which zapped Ash & Misty.

Chapter 11: Voltorb & Electrode

Ash hurried to get a hand onto Misty's face so she didn't drown. The shock passed, and they let go of each other. Then Misty glared at the surface & swam after it in a rage. Ash knew he shouldn't say anything, but only chased after her. The Magnemite floated back into the power plant's old plumbing system.

Ash & Misty were left taking deep breaths on their knees on that shore. Ash slowly got up & walked in. Misty reluctantly followed. She knew just about everything she had was weak against what was here. "Ash," she gasped as they walked along the dark corridors of the place, "this is your adventure. I can't do much here but look after you. I'd just get in the way here." she said sadly.

"I know..." Ash sighed. He started walking off down a corridor. Misty reluctantly followed. "Ash, take a look at that! It looks like a Poké Ball."

"Nothing here is what it seems- Charmander, go!" Ash cried. "Roast that thing with Ember!"

Ash saw Charmander use its Ember attack on the thing. It slowly turned, and let out some electricity. "Ash, what is that thing?" Misty squealed.

"It's a Voltorb!". Ash had enough experience to realize that w a s a Voltorb. "Misty, get over here behind me! If it explodes, we'll be like Team Rocket!" Ash said with a determined look on his face. She ran over behind him & kept a loose grip on him. It glowed brightly, and Ash, hurried, got down flat on the floor.

Misty knew what he was doing (defending himself from the explosion) and knew she had to take cues from him. She got down. Ash felt fire & (hot) debris all over him. Misty felt nothing but vibrations, and even worse felt like blacking out, when in reality, A s h should be blacking out. They held their breath through that. Misty was the first to see that the Voltorb was gone. She picked Ash up by the abdomen with 1 arm, and slowly let his breath out. "Ash, are you in there?" Misty worryingly asked.

Ash opened his eyes- he was okay! "Yeah, it's me." he sighed. Then Misty felt something round touch her foot. "I hope you know what that is!" Misty screamed.

"It's an Electrode!" he yelled. They saw it glow, and they knew they were in for it. Ash & Misty jumped into each other's arms, and felt themselves hit (& bust a hole in) the roof.

Chapter 12: Psychology

Ash & Misty fell in a heap in front of the Cerulean City Gym. Daisy was at the front desk & noticed the shake. She ran out, and saw them. Daisy couldn't believe it. "What happened to them?!?!?!" she gasped. She carried them both into Misty's room & waited for a few hours. Daisy had a small feeling of disbelief stuck in her head. "Why'd they be sleeping there- unless, they aren't sleeping." she wondered in horror.

The next day, Ash & Misty are still sleeping in Misty's room. Ash had woken up earlier, and even woke Misty up so she knew they were still alive. Misty didn't care whether Ash was sleeping in her room- or even read her diary. She didn't care because they had admitted their love to each other months ago. She didn't care. She just didn't care. However, she d i d care about Ash- a lot- a w h o l e lot.

So did Ash. He didn't have a diary, but if he ever got one he just knew he would never care if she read it. He'd probably write about all of his Pokémon battles instead of his relationship with Misty. He liked the fact he got a bigger bed in his room back in Pallet so they could sleep with each other- they l o v e d each other. He also didn't know how him mom knew they loved each other before they had told her.

Ash woke up. It was 9 in the morning. He felt something was wrong, or that something big was about to happen to one of them. He knew Misty was already awake next to him- she kissed him & he woke up. "Misty, how'd we get here?" Ash asked/whispered while embracing her in a hug.

"I don't know." Misty tightened up on him. They just relaxed in each other's arms. Once they let go, Misty got up & told Ash she was going to take a (much-needed) bath. Ash asked if he could go with her, and he was blushing a little. She said yes, and got into the bathroom to change into her red bikini. Ash just stayed where he was to get changed.

Misty told Ash to bring Squirtle & Pikachu with him. She also told him that he would remember this bath for a l o n g time. Once they got there, Ash gasped. It was a dark, maybe crimson red large tub. It was 20 feet by 20 feet, so it had more than enough room for both of them. "Misty, I-i," Ash stammered, "don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything.". She just put her left hand on his right shoulder, and smiled at him. "Pika?" Pikachu asked, with a skeptical look on its face.

"What're you saying, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Pi, pichu kach pikachu?. <do you love Misty?>"

"What did it say, Ash?" Misty asked. She'd been with Ash & Pikachu for a little more than a year and she s t i l l didn't understand Pikachu very well.

"It asked 'do you love Misty?' Pikachu, of course I do." Ash had a bewildered face on straight at Pikachu. It didn't like that. Pikachu thought Ash & Misty were mortal enemies and Misty only followed Ash for that bike. (Needless to say, Pikachu had never set eyes on that check payment Ash gave to Misty. She still followed him because she loved Ash.) It felt like this was all a big trick they had been playing on it for all these long months. Pikachu powered up for a Thundershock, but Ash managed to call it into the Poké Ball before it released the shock. Misty sighed. "That was close."

"It was.". Ash & Misty kept having fun with each other, but Misty knew they had to come topside sooner or later. She knew they weren't Water Pokémon. Misty got out, and Ash changed right in there. Once they got out to eat breakfast & leave, Daisy had news for them.

Chapter 12: Preparation

"Misty, we're doing a re-make of that show you gave for us.". Misty's face sank, & she groaned.

"Uh, is there anything different?"

"Just the choreography, & the fact Ash will be the only member of a stage crew.". Ash gasped. Misty was already in the pits, and Ash joined her. "What if I'm not cut out for this? What if I can't get my swimming strokes straight?" Misty thought frantically, "Ash has it easy. This is his first time, so he's got a clean slate. I have to forget the old show & focus on the new one."

"Man, Misty's got it easy- she's done this before. I have to start from scratch. Oh well, the eyes are all on her- I'm just backstage. Whew." Ash sighed in relief. "Well," Misty grumbled, "I guess we have to do it."

Ash could only say "yeah." They both hung their heads & sighed. For 1 week they practiced, and Misty's fingers were constantly sore from holding hands (er, claws) with a Kingler. Daisy dulled its claws, and Misty felt better by the time the show was on.

Ash had to get the props in the right place, but Misty helped him by telling her Water Pokémon to help him. His only help was when they brought in the sand for that 'open ocean' look. He had to get the big rock 'house' of the mermaid (Misty) in the right place & he got pinned between the rock & the sand! Ash came out the other end with only bruises, though. They had underwater communicators so Ash got Misty (who, at the time, was getting the storyline down) to help him. Once he surfaced, he said, "Thanks a lot, Misty."

"It's okay." The next day (their 8th day of practice) Lilly would let them play water polo. When she told Ash & Misty, Ash sweat dropped & Misty's face brightened. "It's easy, Ash. You can be goalie. I'll be out in the field swimming around like crazy. Nothing big happened there, but Misty's 3 sisters did gawk & insult them a little. 2 more days of practice pass, & it is now the month of May, on the third.

Now Ash starts to get a little attention. Misty knows how to do everything except the intermission where Ash is supposed to massage Misty. She's told to put on a pair of tight shorts with a mermaid skin over her legs. Misty wasn't too sure about this, but she knew she had to listen to them. Once the first (peaceful) scene ended, she had to pretend sleep in a blanket & they even got a pillow for her. Ash had to wait underneath the dome thing, guiding Misty along using music cues. He could breathe down there, but still wore a communicator to keep in touch with her. These weren't anything like the ones on the Sea Queen. They were smaller. All of them hated their small size, but the sister’s manager insisted.

Chapter 13: The Show

It was opening day for the re-make. Ash & Misty would leave for the mountains tomorrow. At 2:30 the show started. Ash was backstage ½ an hour ago. He constantly talked with Misty backstage (with the communicators) trying to calm her down. "Stop it, Ash. Just don’t bother with trying to calm me down."

"Okay.". Ash gave in. He really felt like he should say something like ‘It’s okay.’, or maybe, ‘Your costume’s fine, Misty.’, but he just couldn’t pull himself to say it. In the dressing room, Misty put on the underwater communicator & told Ash to switch. He still couldn’t say it. He stopped thinking about giving her a pep talk & focused on the show.

Misty’s opening dive was spectacular in everyone’s eye. "Nice!" Ash exclaimed to her as he watched a monitor. This show was on local TV, but they all agreed not to tell Misty. Ash knew she’d freak out & not do it if anyone told her that. Ash almost felt Misty get nervous when she held hands with that Kingler. Ash heard Violet tell him to tell Misty to get a breath. She accepted, and started to swim in line with a Seaking & a handful of Goldeen. After playing a little catch with (not Misty’s) Dewgong, it was time to swim back into the mound house. She got under a blanket, and closed her eyes. Once she felt the pressure of the water (from the closing of the mound house) she opened her bloodshot eyes. The curtains had dropped around the pool, so this was basically. Ash popped out of the hole that led backstage. "Have I ever mentioned how proud I am of you?!" Ash said, smiling. He even went so far as to embrace her tightly.

Misty didn’t like that- she was running out of air! "Uh, Ash, I hate to break your love train, but, <pause> do you have a green needle?"

"Here.". Misty took her mermaid skin off, showing the tights, and hurryingly stuck it into leg, then flipped & hit bottom of the mound on her face. Ash reluctantly started to massage her legs & drain the water out of the mound. "Misty, you were great out there."

Chapter 14: Relaxing

She was still unsure whether she really was. "Ya think so?"

"I do." Ash finished. Misty felt better. Ash took her down into the bottom where he had been watching her on videotape this whole time. Misty looked at herself with a critical eye, and knew (out there) her fingers got red when she danced with that Kingler. She sighed when she saw that on the video, they looked like her normal skin tone. "Do you think you made any mistakes?" Ash asked when the tape ended.

"No, I don’t think so. My fingers didn’t become all red after that dance with Kingler. I saw it when I was acting, but I never saw anything here."

"Let me see them.". Misty slowly raised her arm up to Ash’s 2 cupped hands. "They’re fine." Ash assumed.

"No. All of them are sore." Misty insisted. Ash reluctantly opened the exit to the pool & swam out. "Misty, this place is huge!"

"We can change the depth of the pool." [BTW, they’re talking with their communicators, not their voice boxes :-)] Ash was still clueless. "So how deep is it, anyway?" he questioned.

"I think Violet told me 60 feet."

"Ash, Misty, intermission’s almost over. You guys need to get back in 7 minutes." Daisy was calling them. Ash & Misty heard her, and they got back in the mound. Misty got her mermaid skin back on, and Ash gave her a quick kiss on the cheek for good luck. She blushed at him, then even got out of the blanket & hugged him. When they let go, Ash winked at her. She smiled. The water had filled the room, so Misty was counting on her breath to keep herself going. "Ash, it doesn’t start for another 3 minutes. Slip her 3 needles." Ash was dumbfounded. He thought it was only a matter of seconds before the curtains were to be raised.