Hope this sends properly... I've been having trouble the past couple of
days!
About this chapter... despite the number of examples you've already
seen, I think this was my first attempt at a romantic scene. It's still
my favorite.
It's getting harder and harder to remember Misty - and yet I have
to, have to remember why I keep struggling on even though it would be so
beautiful just to lie down and die... I feel a strong burst of a very
positive emotion whenever I think of her now, and very little else. No
memories, no mental picture, just a warm happiness that keeps me moving
toward the portal, toward my future, perhaps even toward Misty... Will I
ever see her again?
POKEMON: The Portal - Chapter 7
A memory is coming back to me now... I was holding Misty tight, and
something was pulling her away from me. There was danger all around...
Quicksand. She was sinking, and I was trying to pull her out, my legs
wrapped firmly around Pidgeot's neck the only thing preventing me from
joining her.
"I won't let you go," I assured her softly as the sand claimed inch
after inch of her body.
"You have to," she replied tearfully. "If you don't, you'll be
sucked in too."
"I don't care. If you're going to die, I don't want to go on
either."
"You're being selfish again." I paused. How was I being selfish?
"Dominic still needs your help. Brock and Solstice came along to help
you on your mission. Is it really fair to make them go on alone?"
"I never asked you or Brock to come," I reminded her. "But I know
that you came here for me, and I won't let you die! Not for me!" I
wrapped my arms around her chest, pulling Pidgeot down with me. Misty
returned the embrace, crying into my shoulder.
"Just let me go, Ash," she sobbed.
"Never. I'm never going to let you go."
"Damn you, Ash Ketchum," she whispered, and her words struck me. Not
because they were harsh, but because they were exactly the opposite. The
amount of love in those words would top every romance novel ever
written. "If you die trying to rescue me, I'll never forgive you."
"If I let go, I'll never forgive myself."
"Then I'll be the one to let go." She pushed my arms away before
they could brush the deadly surface, but held on to my hands. "Fly away
now. I promise to hold on as long as I can."
"We'll both hold on as long as we can." She brushed the tears from
her eyes and stared into mine. I didn't bother to wipe my tears away.
"Pidgeot, Whirlwind." Pidgeot's wings beat the air frantically, and I
could feel the force tearing me away from Misty. My legs gave up trying
to hold on against the rushing wind, and I let go of Pidgeot. Its claws
grabbed my feet, and I silently prayed for it not to let go, knowing
that if that grip and not Misty's was the first to give out, I would be
joining her in death. Neither prospect was very pleasant.
I felt Misty's fingers slip, and I knew that our last seconds
together - her last seconds of life - were at hand. I fought against
Pidgeot's wingbeats with all my might and grabbed for her shoulders,
pulling myself down until I was close enough to feel her heavy breaths
on my face. I closed my eyes and probed for Misty's lips until I found
them, or she found mine, and we kissed for the last time.
Even though I was hanging upside down by my legs from a giant bird,
even though Misty was neck-deep in quicksand, it was the most beautiful
kiss we'd ever shared. A kiss that moved the earth, as many poets would
say. And as I felt myself rising at last and Misty's arms lost their
grip on my shoulders, I wished it had never had to end, even if it had
meant sinking into the earth with her...
...but Misty's lips were still there, and my hands had not let go of
her shoulders. I felt her arms wrapping around my chest, and opened my
eyes just in time to watch the most wonderful pair of legs I had ever
seen rise up out of the dirt below as Pidgeot, Misty and I rose into the
sky. Her arms clutched me so tightly I thought I would suffocate, but I
didn't care. Our lips remained together until long after we had made our
successful landing beyond the deadly pit. We stood up without breaking
our embrace and continued the kiss indefinitely, while Brock and
Solstice celebrated the unbelievable rescue in their own fashion.
Finally, Misty's lips left mine, and she rested her head against my
shoulder, tears continuing to flow freely. "You never let go," she said
in between joyful inhalations.
"I never would have," I replied, unable to contain my own tears of
joy. We kissed again, and though it was nothing like the kiss before, it
was all the better because we were both alive to experience it. All too
soon, the kiss ended, and we turned together to see Brock and Solstice
wiping the tears from their own eyes. Misty and Solstice hugged one
another and cried a whole new batch of tears, while Brock and I simply
looked at each other for a while, not feeling quite emotional enough to
share an embrace of our own. I held out my hand, and Brock shook it. For
some reason, that set me off in a fit of laughter, and Brock began to
laugh along with me. The ladies turned to see what was so funny, and
Solstice immediately joined in the laughter. Misty soon followed suit,
and the four of us laughed until it hurt and then some, ignoring our
situation and mission until we had worked the adrenaline out of our
systems.
I finally calmed down enough to give Solstice the hug she deserved.
"Thank you, Solstice."
She stopped laughing immediately, confused. "For what?"
"Whatever you did to make the quicksand let go of Misty."
Solstice broke my hug and shook her head. "I didn't do anything. I
gave up trying long before you rescued her."
"But she escaped somehow, in the middle of our farewell kiss..." The
others had regained their composures by now and were listening with
interest. "You're not saying that our kiss had something to do with it?"
"As beautiful as the notion would be," said Brock, "love isn't quite
THAT powerful. It was probably the air pressure of Pidgeot's Whirlwind
attack that made the sand move. Once the sand was set in motion by the
wind, you were able to pull Misty out."
"In that case, I've been hugging the wrong person!" I shouted,
giving Pidgeot a hug. "Thank YOU, Pidgeot!" We all laughed anew,
including Pidgeot.
At last, we'd all stopped laughing except for Solstice, who stopped
immediately after a small shock from Pikachu. Composing ourselves, we
set off along the path, watching for any further traps that might seek
to impede our progress. The next trap wasn't disguised, however. Up
ahead was a curtain of rain that stretched across the path and beyond,
remaining in place in contrast to the rapidly moving storms found
elsewhere in the world. Actually, to call it a curtain would greatly
understate its magnitude; it was a wall of falling acid so thick that it
was completely opaque. "This must be the obstacle of water," announced
Solstice. "We have to find a way to get past the rain."
"Can you stop it with a spell?" asked Misty.
"I don't think so," answered Solstice. "I really don't feel safe
trying, with the counterspell in place. Even trying to levitate Misty
away from the quicksand drove my feet into the ground."
"We could dig under it," Brock suggested.
"I'm not sure I trust the stability of the local geology," said
Solstice, and Misty shivered in response. I put a comforting arm around
her shoulders.
"There must be a way past," I said, pondering the situation. I
stared up into the treetops and watched the rain beat off of the leaves.
"Dominic said that plants are immune to the acid rain. What if we
wrapped ourselves in leaves?"
"That would work, if we could get to the leaves," replied Solstice,
waving a hand toward the forest. A wall of spikes rose from the ground,
nearly slicing her fingers off. "I have a feeling this wall will block
us no matter how high we go."
"There's one other possibility," I said, reaching for my Pokebelt.
"Bulbasaur, I choose you!"
"Bulbasaur!" called Bulbasaur as it appeared.
"Bulbasaur, try walking into the rain just a little bit. If it hurts
at all, just yell and I'll call you back." Bulbasaur slowly approached
the wall of rain and tested it with a vine, then a paw, before vanishing
into the region of water. It poked its head out and smiled at me. "It's
okay," I announced to the others. "Bulbasaur isn't hurt by the acid."
"But Bulbasaur's a little too small to use as an umbrella," Brock
pointed out.
"Saur," moaned Bulbasaur softly, padding back over toward us.
"It's okay, Bulbasaur," I said, reaching down to pat its back before
thinking better about touching its acid-covered bulb. "It's not your
fault."
"Bulba!" it replied, looking up at me - and then began to glow.
"It's evolving!" said Brock.
"Bulbasaur!" I cried, knowing full well how Bulbasaur felt about
evolving. "You don't have to do this!" As I watched in horror the
evolution of the plant Pokemon, I couldn't help but be reminded of the
circumstances under which Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle. I'd been
scared at first, remembering how I'd lost control of Charmander after it
had evolved into Charmeleon, but Wartortle had been perfectly willing to
save my life that day and had remained loyal to me ever since.
Bulbasaur, on the other hand, had never fully trusted me as a friend,
even though it was willing to follow my every command in battle.
Tearfully, I repeated my plea. "You don't have to do this."
"Saur," it replied, slowly nodding its head. "Ivysaur."
This time, I completely ignored any thought of the acid and threw my
arms around my newly evolved Pokemon. "Ivysaur, you evolved just to help
me..." Ivysaur nuzzled my shoulder and grunted. I stood up and turned
back to the others. "Okay, we should be able to use Ivysaur to get past
the rain. Brock, why don't you go first, since you have Vulpix. Solstice
can go next, then Misty. I'll go last, so that I can recall Ivysaur each
time." Brock picked up Ivysaur and disappeared into the rain. I still
half expected to hear his horrifying screams, but none came. What I
finally did hear surprised me.
"Whoa!" shouted Brock. "It's incredible!"
"What is?" I shouted back over the din of pouring rain.
"The Tower! It's magnificent!"
I recalled Ivysaur and released him on the near side of the wall.
"Solstice, it's your turn next." She nodded and picked up Ivysaur,
following Brock through the wall of rain. Once Solstice had passed the
wall and admired the spectacle of the Tower, I recalled Ivysaur once
again and called it out for Misty. "Be careful, Misty," I warned her.
"Don't worry, Ash," she replied, kissing me lightly. "Everything
will be fine." I held my breath in apprehension, expecting something to
go wrong at any moment, until I heard her excited screams of "It's the
most incredible thing I've ever seen!"
I recalled Ivysaur once again and proceeded through the wall of
rain. "Time to see what all the fuss is about." As the rain fell away
before me, blackness filled the sky. The Tower was enormous, made of a
material that was blacker than my hair, but somehow, it GLEAMED. Not in
the way light gleams off of a white material - this was the gleam of
darkness. Perhaps it was the gleam of magic. But whatever it was, it
wasn't physically possible. I may have slept through five years of
schooling before going on my Pokemon journey, but I know that black
doesn't reflect light. The Tower reflected... something that wasn't
light, but it was pretty close.
"Feel free to close your mouth any time," said Misty facetiously,
but I wasn't ready yet. I simply craned my neck to stare up into the
sky, watching the Tower grow in my perspective as I looked in every
direction. Wherever I looked, there was the Tower in all its infinite
splendor, stretching to infinity in every direction while not moving an
inch.
"Triesha sure is ostentatious," said Brock. "It's strange for
someone so reclusive to show off like this. You'd think she was
expecting guests."
"That doesn't sound promising," I said, before a vine wrapped itself
around me and pulled me off of my feet. As I fell to the ground, a
fireball passed through the space where I had been, barely missing me. A
cold terror gripped me as I thought it was a death vine that had saved
me from a fiery demise, and I began to struggle against it, but a
reassuring growl stopped me.
"Saur, saur."
While I got back to my feet, Solstice stepped in front of the rest
of us. "Show yourself!" she shouted to the unseen spellcaster. A ball of
lightning answered her demand. The electricity stopped just short of us,
crackling with energy as it tried to force its way through an invisible
barrier. "It's too powerful," screamed Solstice as the effort began to
force her backwards. "I can't hold it!"
The barrier fell, and the ball of lightning continued on its path of
destruction. We all screamed and covered our eyes, anticipating death,
but the bright flash came and went painlessly. I opened my eyes to see
Pikachu lying on the ground, her fur standing on end but otherwise
completely unharmed. "Pika pikachu!" she said, giving me the thumbs-up.
"Pikachu! I almost forgot you were here!" I said, picking her up and
holding her. "That was a close one!" I heard the others laughing, except
for Solstice, who was reviving her magic shield. "What's so funny?" I
asked.
"Ash," giggled Misty, "your hair's standing up!"
"I hate to be the one to interrupt your fun," said Solstice, "but I
can't keep this shield up forever, and I can't attack while I'm busy
defending!" Another fireball flew from nowhere and exploded against the
barrier, knocking Solstice back slightly, but not damaging any of us.
"We need to get into the Tower!" said Brock. "Cover us until we're
inside, then follow us." Solstice nodded, and we ran for the place where
the Tower appeared to be. The clearing seemed to stretch forever, and
yet the Tower was so close we could stretch out our hands to touch it -
and we did, but there was nothing there. The illusions swam around us,
trying to confuse us.
"Stay close together!" I shouted. I felt Misty's hand slide into
mine, and Pikachu climbed onto my shoulder. Brock grabbed my other hand
to complete our chain. "Just go straight until we get there," I advised,
and led the way through the swirling blackness. The looming presence
followed, crackling with magical power that even I could feel. It made
my hair stand on end, although some of that may have been Pikachu's
residual charge.
"Pi! Pika!" shouted Pikachu, climbing onto my head. "CHU!" Pikachu
blasted the unseen spellcaster with a Thunderbolt, supercharged by the
spell she had absorbed earlier. A scream of pain sounded from the
darkness, and it was a scream I recognized. Solstice recognized it too,
judging from her cries of "Dominic!" We all stopped and turned back to
see Solstice run to Dominic with open arms.
"Foolish girl," said Dominic, raising a hand. Solstice fell backward
as if struck in the face, landing hard on her back. "You can't possibly
hope to defeat Triesha with so little power at your command."
"What's wrong with you, Dominic?" spat Solstice as she got to her
feet. "This isn't like you at all!" Dominic responded by making the air
around Solstice waver, and the young magician clutched at her throat as
she gasped for breath.
"What are you doing?" I shouted, charging forward. Brock and Misty
held me back.
"Don't be foolish, Ash!" shouted Misty.
"He's obviously being controlled by Triesha!" added Brock.
"But we have to do something! Pikachu, try to help Solstice!"
"Pika!" shouted Pikachu, darting between the two magic users. She
hit Dominic with a Thundershock, not powerful enough to hurt him, but
enough to distract him. Solstice collapsed to the ground, unconscious,
as Dominic's spell was broken.
"So, you like lightning, you little rat?" asked Dominic in a tone
that I didn't like. "Let's see how much lightning you can handle!" He
let loose a huge stream of electricity that surrounded Pikachu.
"CHA!" screamed Pikachu in pain. The huge current was far more than
Pikachu could handle, and yet I knew I'd be the next victim if I tried
to help her. Instead, I did the only thing I could do, something I
hadn't done since I first met Pikachu in my hometown of Pallet. I pulled
out a Pokeball that had sat in my belt for well over ten years, unused.
"Pikachu, return!" For the first time in my life, I watched the red beam
draw Pikachu into her Pokeball.
"Very well," said Dominic. "Hide the rodent. I'll kill it the next
time I see it, or any of your other creatures."
Solstice stirred slightly. "Dominic," she croaked. "Why? Why..."
Dominic snorted. "How pathetic. You are useless." He lifted his
hand, and Solstice's body rose into the air. A deep glow emerged from
within her, becoming brighter and brighter until it had completely
absorbed her, then vanished, leaving not a trace of Solstice.
"You killed her!" I shouted, fighting Brock and Misty's pull with
all of my might. Fortunately, they were stronger.
"Come on, Ash!" Brock urged me. "Our only chance is to make it to
the Tower!"
Misty slapped me in the face, hard. "You're not helping!" she yelled
at me. "I don't want to die after you risked your life to save me,
because you're too stupid to run away from a fight you can't win!" That
jolted me back to reality, and I turned back toward the Tower and ran.
We hadn't taken more than a few steps, however, when the world shifted
before our eyes, and we knew that we were inside the Tower at last. The
walls were pure white, and though their glow wasn't nearly as brilliant
as the Tower's exterior, the huge vertical chamber seemed filled with
radiance. There were no doors or windows, but we didn't stop to wonder
how we'd gotten in. All that mattered was finding Triesha. But first...
"I'd better see if Pikachu's okay," I announced, throwing the
Pokeball. Pikachu emerged, looking slightly ill but otherwise undamaged.
"Pikachu, are you okay?" I asked.
"Chu," replied Pikachu weakly... then she began to glow.
"Pikachu's evolving!" shouted Brock. "It must be from all the
electricity she absorbed before!"
"CHU!" shouted Pikachu in terror.
"Pikachu doesn't want to evolve!" I shouted. "Fight it, Pikachu! You
don't have to evolve!"
"Stone-induced evolutions are irreversible," said Brock sadly.
"No! Pikachu can do it! I know it!"
"Pika," agreed Pikachu, as her body began to change shape. "Chu...
Rai..."
"It's too late!" cried Misty. "She's already evolved!"
"Rai... kachu..." The glow began to fade, and I breathed a sigh of
relief. The glowing mass was far too small to be a Raichu. But as the
glow vanished, the sigh caught in my throat, because the Pokemon that
appeared was definitely no longer a Pikachu, either.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where we make things up as we go
along, whether they make sense or badger.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp