Ash gazes around the midway of the Summer Festival in amazement. He’s never seen so many Pokémon and trainers in his life, not even when he went to write the test for the Pokémon League.
     Pikachu, riding on top of his head as usual, is equally impressed.
     “CHAAAAAAAA!” she exclaims in excitement, pointing at a cart displaying a huge mountain of cotton candy.
     “Rai?” Raichu follows Pikachu’s point. “RAIIIII!”
     “You just had lunch, you bottomless pit.” Starr pokes Raichu, then pets his tummy.
     Misty giggles, then something catches her eye. “Oh, how sweet!” She dashes over to a large tank filled with Horsea and Goldeen swimming happily. Togepi tries to reach out for them, wanting to swim with them.
     “Guys, we should stay together,” Faris cautions. “This place is huge, and we could get lost really easily.”
     “Oh…sorry.” Misty looks sheepish.
     Faris smiles. “It’s all right. But it’s true. There are way too many people here, and it’s too damn easy to get separated or lose the group if everyone just runs off in all directions.”
     Jessie laughs loudly, putting an arm around Faris’ shoulders. “You’re such an old lady. Come on, loosen up, have some fun! This is a festival! Let’s party!”
     As Jessie removes her arm and cheerfully walks up ahead, Starr thinks she sees the red-haired Rocket make a pass at attempting to grab James’s butt. Unfortunately for Jessie, she trips on a penny and misses.
     Starr is trying not to laugh at this when she looks up and notices something. “Um, Faris… mom alert.”
     “What do you m—” Faris starts, then swears quietly as she looks up and sees Martina.
     Starr winks to Faris and says, “Hey, who’s up for playing a few games? Maybe you can win something for Faris, James.”
     James beams at the prospect, and everyone turns the corner just as Martina and her flock of admirers goes by.
     After a few tries, James manages to win a little stuffed UFO Catcher doll of Chuchu. Starr wins a little UFO Catcher Pikachu, Cloud and Aerith (at which she is overjoyed), and Ash wins a toy Magikarp.
     “Look familiar, James?” he badgers, grinning evilly and flopping the fish in front of James.
     James grumbles good-naturedly. “Anyone can make a mistake. Cut it out.”
     Jessie, not to be outdone, takes a chance at winning something. She winds up, then out of the corner of her eye sees Faris smile at James.
     Flames go shooting out in the background as Jessie drills the ball at the target…
     Knocking a hole in the back of the stand and causing the poor guy in the booth to dive for cover.
     Starr, Faris and James all stare, massive sweatdrops decorating their heads. Ash, Misty and Brock blink.
     “They may not be typical Rockets anymore, but they’re still crazy,” Brock mutters under his breath.
     Starr wipes off her forehead. “Whew… it’s really hot out here… I want to go for a swim.”
     “Is there a beach near here, Faris, or a swimming pool?” Misty asks. “Starr’s right. The sun’s really bright today.”
     Faris shrugs. “There’s a beach, but it’ll probably be packed with people. It’d take hours to find a spot, and it’d probably be too far away from the beach itself for it to be any good.”
     Starr and Misty sigh.
     Ash snaps his fingers. “But there’s a place where you can go fishing!”
    “Fishing…” Misty looks disappointed.
    “It’ll be near the water, and you can put your feet in the bay off the dock, Misty. Who knows, we might catch some great water Pokémon…” Ash says in a you-know-this’ll-be-cool tone of voice.
    Misty smiles. “The only thing I ever caught when I went fishing was you, Ash.”
    Ash reddens. “Heh heh.”
    “What does that mean?” Starr asks.
    “Long story. I’ll tell you later,” Ash says, though he looks as though he hopes Starr will forget before ‘later’.
 

    Starr sighs happily as she puts her feet in the water. “That’s a relief.”
    Misty is smiling as well, having caught a Tentacool on her first cast. Togepi is playing with Pikachu, right behind her. “I guess I’m better at fishing than I thought.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Ash mutters. No matter how hard he tries, all he manages to catch are weeds. Once he caught a shoe.
    James is still trying not to laugh about that. He turns an interesting shade of pink when suddenly his rod wiggles (no, seriously, the fishing rod, hentai).
    “I got a bite!” he exclaims, frantically reeling in the line.
    “Take it easy, James, you might lose it,” Faris coaches. James nods and slows down, tongue sticking out cutely from the side of his mouth as he concentrates.
    The rod bends down almost to the water, and James’s eyes bug out.
    “What if it’s a Gyarados? It looks HUGE!” he frets.
    “If it was a Gyarados, you wouldn’t have a fishing rod,” Faris reassures him. “Keep it up, you’re doing great.”
    James beams with pleasure and flips the rod back. Something comes flying out of the water, glistening in the sun before plunking onto the dock right by Misty.
    “EEYAA!” Misty squeaks, jumping and almost falling into the water.
    Starr catches her and they both look to see James’s catch.
    Everyone looks down…
    Starr and Jessie make sneezing noises.
    Misty covers her mouth to hide her grin.
    Ash and Brock crack up, leaning on each other to keep from falling over laughing.
    On the dock flops a Magikarp, and a rather tiny one at that.
    James drops his head. “Why can’t I ever do anything right?” he says, pouting.
    Starr pats his foot. “It’s okay, James. At least you caught something. The most I catch is seaweed.”
    “Same, unfortunately,” Jessie chimes in, not to be outdone.
    James exhales a little puff and just stares at the Magikarp forlornly.
    Faris looks at the fish and a tiny smile forms at her lips. “It’s true, James, a lot of people don’t catch anything.”
    “I know, I know…it’s just…” James breaks off.
    Ash and Brock lose it again.
    “The Magikarp has come back to haunt yooooooooou….” Brock intones, making a weird face and doing a convincing impression of Gastly.
    James scowls at the fish, and before Faris can react he punts it off the dock.
    “AAAA!” Misty yells. “James! Are you crazy!? Don’t you remember what happened the last time that you did that? It evolved and—”
    An ominous growl and a large shadow falling across the group cuts her off.
    James looks up.
    “...eep.”
    “It happened again!” Jessie says frantically. “You kicked it off again and it evolved again! James, what’s the matter with you??????”
    She whaps her partner across the back of his head.
    “HEY!” Starr says sharply as Jessie dives off the dock into some bushes.
    The newly-evolved Gyarados glares at James.
    “Uh…sorry…” he squeaks, even higher than his eep.
    The Gyarados stays for a second more, then lurches forward suddenly and lets loose a gigantic “ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
    “AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” everyone screams.
    Faris recovers quickly and throws out two Pokéballs. “Utena! Fuu!!” she calls as she sends them to battle.
    The Gyarados looks on with disgruntled interest as a Dratini and a Jolteon emerge from the balls. The Jolteon remains on the dock, but the Dratini splashes into the water with it. Misty sweeps up Togepi in case things start to get ugly.
    “Yeah! We have to battle!” Ash grins. “Pikachu! Thunderbo—Pikachu?”
    Pikachu is hiding behind Starr. “Pika,” she says, absolute. “Pika pika pi CHU!!”
    “Pikachuu~…” Ash complains, sweatdropping.
    “Raichu, GO!” Starr orders.
    Raichu looks distressed, then jumps into the bushes with Jessie. Pikachu follows after
    “Utena! Wrap Gyarados up to keep it from attacking!” Faris orders as Ash and Starr facefault.
    “Tini!” Utena replies confidently before curling her body as far as it can around the Gyarados (which, considering its 5’ 11” length, is not far).
    “ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the Gyarados complains, getting seriously pissed off at this turn of events.
    “Now, paralyze it with Thunder Wave! Fuu, give Utena’s Thunder Wave some bite with Thundershock!”
The two Pokémon comply, leaving Gyarados getting even more pissed as electricity courses through its body. Thrashing about, Gyarados finally manages to throw Utena off. It snaps its enormous jaws at her tail, but misses by a hair. Ignoring it, Gyarados turns its attention to Fuu and the human-ants on the dock. If it was mad before, it’s downright @*#&ing FURIOUS now.
    “Shimatta!!” Faris hisses. “Guys! Get off the dock and run for cover!”
    “Su- sure!!” they all replay, all eager to get away. They all jump into the bushes and onto Jessie.
    “OW!!” Jessie yelps as they all come tumbling down onto her. Utena in turn lands with a large SPLASH back into the water.
   The Gyarados lets loose a deep rumbling growl which, if there had been a single cloud in the sky, could have been very easily been mistake for loud, LOUD thunder.
    “K’sooo!” Faris snarls. “Fuu, Thunder Shock it out of the water!”
    Before Fuu can snarl a response and comply, a weak but determined voice shouts, “TINI!”
    Utena surges from the waters in front of the dock, chest heaving and eyes furious. “Dra… ti… ni…” she seethes, and the Gyarados gives her a warning snarl.
   “DRA!! Dra, dra, dra…” Utena cries in response, and a strange white light overtakes her body. She begins to grow larger…
   “WOAAAHHH!!!” Ash gasps, eyes growing out to the size of plate saucers (as are the eyes of most of the others). He whips out his Pokédex, despite the threat of death by Gyarados, and points it at the evolving Pokémon.
    “DRA-GON-AIR!!!” Utena announces proudly, her evolution process complete.
    A picture of Dragonair, one of the legendary dragon-type Pokémon, pops up onto the screen. “Dragonair,” Dexter’s mechanical voice informs him. “A dragon Pokémon. The evolved form of Dratini. This Pokémon is extremely rare, and is rumored to have the ability to manipulate the weather, although this has not been proved as of yet. Normally, this Pokémon is very gentle, but when angered, can be a very formidable foe.”
    “Yo~sh!” Faris cries with a wild grin. “Utena—show that Gyarados your climate-controlling ability! Shut it down with Thunder attack!!”
    Utena’s eyes glow a brilliant white, and static electricity sparks between her ears. “Draaa… goooon… AIIIIR!!!” Utena complies, raising her head to the heavens, and out from the azure sky, a bolt of solid, golden lightning rushes down onto her, then surges through the water and overtakes the Gyarados.
    “ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” the Gyarados screams, losing consciousness from the incredible electric assault. It thrashes in the water, causing waves to destroy the dock, which causes Faris to jump back into the bush before she hits the water, which causes her to land on Jessie…
    Which causes one of Jessie’s Pokéballs to go flying.
    Giving up the lost cause, the Gyarados accepts defeat and begins to crash into the water.
    Jessie’s Pokéball hits it…
    …and it snaps open, overtakes Gyarados in transparent red light, traps it inside itself, and hurtles back to Jessie, who manages to catch it even though her mind is in shock.
    The ball wiggles once… twice… thrice… four, five, and six times… then lies still in her hands.
    There is a moment of silence.
    Then Jessie breaks into a break and whoops for joy. “I CAUGHT A GYARADOS!!!!”
    “HEY!!!” James protests. “I caught and evolved that Gyarados!!!”
    “Too bad! It’s mine now!” And Jessie, maturely enough, sticks her tongue out at him.
    “But—” James begins to protest, but Faris cuts him off. “Unfortunately, it’s true,” she says dryly. “By kicking the Magikarp back into the water, you gave up your catch. And even though I battled and weakened it, when a Pokémon is captured, it goes to the person the Pokéball belongs to. Therefore, the Gyarados legally belongs to Jessie.”
    “No FAIR!!” James and Ash pout in unison.
    Meanwhile, Jessie is dancing in delight, reveling in her accidental success. Faris smiles over at her, and calls out to her, “Congrats, Jess! You caught a Gyarados! Now you just have to get it to respect you before it’ll obey you in battle!”
Jessie immediately stops dancing, stares at Faris, stares at the ball, then snaps something unrepeatable to the ball.
Faris laughs.
    “This is what’s known as poetic justice,” Starr grins at James.
    He grins back. “I love poetic justice.”
    “Oh, shut up!” Jessie snaps. “I’ll make it respect me, even if I have to break it in half trying!!”
    “Hai, hai,” Faris says breezily before walking up to the beach. Utena and Fuu, bedraggled but otherwise fine, are waiting patiently for her. “Great work, guys. And I’m proud of you, Utena. I’m ecstatic that you’ve finally evolved!”
    “Air!” Utena smiles, and nuzzles her. Faris laughs and strokes her smooth, rubbery head, then scratches Fuu under the chin so she doesn’t feel left out. “Utena, Fuu, return.” The two are overtaken by the familiar red light, and they are summoned back to their Pokéballs.
    Faris stands and turns around to face her friends. “Shall we go?”
    They all agree.
    “Togebriiiii…” Togepi shivers in Misty’s arms. She hugs it comfortingly.
    As they trek back off the dock and back onto the midway, a familiar voice calls, “Faris, honey!!!!!!!!”
Faris cringes, and mutters, “Oh, God, NO,” as Martina comes running up to them. She hugs Faris, then gives her a light kiss on both cheeks.
    “Sweetie, I was hoping I’d see you here!” Martina says. “I heard a rumor that you would be coming this year, even though you hardly ever go to the Festival, I’m SO glad to see you’ve finally grown up…OOH!”
    While Martina rambles, she catches sight of James.
    “OOOOH! Is this your boyfriend?”
    Faris mumbles as Martina leans over to get a good look at James.
    As she does so, James gets a good look down the front of Martina’s dress. He instantly blushes a brilliant crimson and averts his eyes.
    “Oh, so he’s a shy one?” Martina laughs. “Does your special someone have a name, Faris dear?”
    “James…” James manages, still afraid to look down for fear of Martina flashing him again.
    Martina isn’t listening, however. She’s too busy prattling on (and annoying Faris).
    “Sweetheart, it’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you. We have so much to catch up on! What have you been doing? Oh! You made some friends, too!”
    Starr suddenly finds herself shaking Martina’s hand and getting much the same view as James had a few seconds ago. Jessie, of course, is overjoyed at meeting Martina. Ash doesn’t quite know what to think. Misty is polite but embarrassed.
    Brock gets a sudden nosebleed and passes out.
    Misty shakes her head.
    Martina looks down at Brock and sighs, “Oh…it must be this heat, it’s terrible out here. Faris, sweetie, how about you and your little friends come join me for an iced tea at that café over there! We can catch up on old times. I bet you’ve been doing all sorts of exciting things. Come on!”
    As Martina clicks ahead in her spike heels, Faris drops her head. “Could someone get Brock, please? And we should probably get a box of Kleenex, too, I have a feeling he’s going to be getting those nosebleeds a lot more.”
    “Why?” Starr asks, grabbing Brock’s foot.
    “Martina tends to lean across the table when she talks.”
    James cringes and hangs onto Faris’s arm a little tighter. “Your mom is scary.”
    “You think this is bad? Try living with her.”

    Starr is relieved to get out of the sun and into the air-conditioned coffee place, but soon she decides being in the sun would be a small price to pay not to have to listen to Martina’s inane ramblings anymore.
    Plus, Faris was right about Martina leaning across the table. After a while, Starr stops looking up altogether and tries to concentrate on her iced cappuccino and how hyper she’ll be later.
    “…So then I told them there was no way I was paying that much for one little black dress, no matter who made it. Can you imagine, five thousand dollars for one dress!” Martina shakes her head and turns back to Faris. “Although looking back, I probably should have bought it. Black does wonders for the figure! I’m glad you wear it so often, it probably makes your little man very happy.” Martina winks at James.
    Faris sighs and puts her head down; however, she can’t rest very long, for the next thing Martina says is, “It probably also makes HIS little man very happy.”
    As Martina goes off into a gale of ditzy laughter, Starr turns bright red and looks at Faris in shock.
    “Did she just say—”
    Faris nods in embarrassment. “You’re lucky. Usually she’s even more embarrassing.”
    “What’s that, dear?” Martina asks, delicately dabbing the tears out of the corners of her eyes.
    “Nothing, Mother,” Faris says on cue.
    James, in the meantime, has gone as white as cappuccino foam and is staring straight ahead.
    Starr taps him on the shoulder.
    James passes out right into her lap.
    Starr jumps and James wakes up with a jolt, shaking his head wildly. “Oh, I’m sorry…I was having the most horrible dream! We met Faris’ mother and she said—”
    He looks across the table at Faris, sees who’s next to her, and passes out all over again, this time right onto Faris.
    Martina gives Faris a knowing grin as Faris tries to make her comatose boyfriend sit up and face the music.
    Misty looks down at Togepi, who’s napping in her lap. “This is embarrassing…” she whispers to Starr. “You never told me Faris’ mom was so…sooo…..”
    “Akio-esque?” Starr suggests in a whisper.
    Misty nods. “I wish you’d warned me…”
    “If I’d had any idea she was this horny and clueless, I would have. I thought Faris was exaggerating when she told me all those horror stories, but now I know…they were a masterpiece of understatement.”
    Ash nods. “I’ll say.”
    He then notices what Brock is doing.
    “BROCK! CUT IT OUT!” he yells, kicking the former gym leader under the table.
    “OW!” Brock yells, jolted out of his reverie (that is, trying not to stare down Martina’s top).
    Faris puts a hand on Ash’s shoulder as Martina goes off again, this time going on and on about Sebastian Dior and designer necklaces.
    “It’s okay, Ash. It’s not Brock’s fault Martina’s like that.”
    Brock is bright red. “You don’t think I’m really like that, do you? Martina’s embarrassing—no offense, Faris, but…I like girls who don’t show off like that.”
    “Surprise,” Faris says dryly, raising her eyebrows.
    “So, Faris dear, how have you been doing lately?” Martina suddenly says.
    “Nani?” Faris jumps, then puts a hand on the back of her neck and sweatdrops. “Fine, Mother.”
    “Now, Faris, what have I told you? Don’t call me mother. It makes me sound like an old woman,” Matrina scolds.
    “Sorry,” Faris mutters.
    Martina seems satisfied. “So, how long have you and James been going out?”
    “A few weeks…” Starr supplies. Faris raises an eyebrow at her, but says nothing.
    Martina nods and smiles. “That’s wonderful! Faris, has he…” She cuts off and gestures a little with her right hand.
    Starr blinks at the indecipherable Martina Sign Language.
    Faris looks put off. “Martina, you know I wouldn’t….”
    “Why not?” Martina inquires a little crossly.
    “MOTHER, it’s only been a week or so.”
    “SO, what’s the matter with that? It can’t hurt a girl to have a good one-night stand now and again!”
    There is a loud WHUNK as James, who had just barely regained consciousness, faints dead away for the third time and lands on the floor.
    Misty looks at him wistfully. “I wish I could do that.”
    Martina is shaking her head. “Faris, Faris…”
    “I like my relationships to go a little deeper than that, Martina,” Faris says shortly, taking a sip of her blueberry ice.
    “Faris.” Martina puts her hands on her hips. “You know how important these things are to me. I like to think I raised you better than this!”
    “You didn’t raise me at all, Mother,” Faris mutters into the blueberry ice.
    Martina doesn’t hear. “I thought for sure this would be the day my little girl told me she’d finally lost her precious ‘it’ and became a woman!” She pouts.
    Starr looks into her iced cappuccino. Misty sweatdrops and does likewise, staring into her orange juice.
    “And I thought my sisters were crazy…!” Misty squeaks.
    “I am not here….” Starr whispers to herself. “I am not listening to Faris’s insane mother talk about ‘IT’ at top volume in a coffee shop on Cinnabar…”
    “What’s the matter with you?” Jessie elbows Starr.
    Starr looks up. “Do you not find this even the slightest bit embarrassing?”
    Jessie looks confused. “No, why?”
    “You do know what she means by losing your precious ‘it’?”
    “Of course!” Jessie scowls. “You don’t think I’m stupid, do you?”
    “You agree with Martina?” Starr asks.
    “Yeeesssss...” Jessie says slowly. “Don’t be such a prude, Starr.”
    “I am not a prude,” Starr hisses.
    “Are too.” Jessie makes a face.
    “I am not. Unlike some people here, I’m not even considering doing anything like that until after I’m freaking married, or at least know the guy for a good long time!!!” Starr retorts in a whisper.
    Brock and Ash are staring.
    “You’d rather be anywhere else too?”  Brock mumbles.
    “I’d rather be on the St. Anne after it sank than here,” Ash replies, dropping his head.
    Jessie kicks Starr. “Come off the virgin act. You know and I know how you feel about James. I bet you’d like to do anything Martina can think of with him!”
    Starr looks up with a five-Meteor death glare. “If you do not shut up…” she says quietly, “I will drop out of Team Rocket and dedicate my life to your death.”
    Jessie leans away and blinks.
    Starr goes on, “James is with Faris, and unlike SOME PEOPLE, I respect that. Now shut up and drink your goddamn tea.”
    Jessie mutters something unrepeatable, but obeys.
    Thankfully, Faris hasn’t heard this conversation. She’s been too busy getting a full-course lecture from Martina about the evils of virginity.
    Finally, Martina loses interest in the topic at hand. “So,” she begins again, “since you’ve decided to enjoy the Summer Festival this year, are you going to take your friends to the formal party?”
    Everyone sits up, including James. “WHAT?”
    “The ball,” Martina repeats. “Faris, didn’t you tell them?”
    “I didn’t even know I was going,” Faris says in surprise.
    “Of course you are, you’re my daughter!” Martina says cheerily.
    “Imagine my enthrallment,” Faris sighs.
    “A formal party!?” Starr blinks. “As in like…designer clothing and fancy imported cheese??”
    Martina looks at Starr as though she’s from another planet. “Of course. What other kind of party would it be?” She turns to Faris and says in a low voice, “Faris, your friend is sweet, but she’s a little bit… odd, don’t you think so?”
    “HEY!” Starr says indignantly.
    “No, I don’t think so,” Faris replies.
    Starr smiles at her.
    Misty pokes Ash. “Do you suppose all members of Team Rocket are this weird?” she whispers.
    Faris hears that. “Misty? Be a dear and shut the hell up.”
    Misty jumps and blushes. “Oops.”
    Jessie, meanwhile, has begun cackling maniacally. ‘When we go to this party, I can get dressed up, and I’ll blow all the other girls—INCLUDING Faris—out of the water with my superior beauty! James will be mine for sure!!!’
    The maniacal cackle becomes a full-scale, top-volume evil laugh worthy of Naga.
    Everyone looks at her, sweatdrops adorning their heads.
    “ehe…” Jessie giggles nervously, smiling.
    Misty is wide-eyed. “I’ve never been to a party like that before! I don’t have anything to wear!”
    “Neither do I,” Starr reassures. “The nicest thing I have is in Pallet, and it’s a semi-formal dark pink dress that probably doesn’t fit me anymore.”
    “Do I have to wear a tux?” Ash says in disgust.
    “I don’t even have a tux,” Brock blinks (more or less).
    Martina laughs, waving her hands. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I expected this type of thing might come up. Faris hasn’t got anything to wear either. It looks like….”
    “Oh no,” Faris moans.
    “…we’ll have to…”
    “Oh, Touga-sama, no….”
    “GO SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Martina finishes in a happy cheer, grabbing Faris’s hand and pulling her out of the shop. Starr-tachi follow, running to keep up with Martina on a shopping high.

    Starr, Misty and Jessie gaze in amazement at the display of formal wear in the dress shop. “Wow,” Starr finally utters.
    “‘Nuff said,” Misty nods.
    Jessie only stands there shiny-eyed for a few seconds. Then she pounces and begins flipping through the racks with a happy giggle.
    Starr gazes out the window at Ash and Brock, who are having a conversation with some random Pokémon trainer. Togepi’s with them, as it felt like playing with Pikachu when it woke up. She wishes she was out there—the guy has a Raichu.
    “Behold the bimbo in her natural habitat,” Faris remarks out of earshot, pointing to her mother.
    Martina seems to find what she’s been looking for and pulls a short red dress, not unlike her own, off the rack. “Here we are! Faris, this would look wonderful on you.”
    Faris scowls and is silent.
    “Um…Mrs. Greyweirs…Faris doesn’t like the colour red…” Starr says.
    “Oh…OH! I completely forgot,” Martina giggles.
    “How do you forget a thing like that?” Misty whispers to Faris, looking worried. “Are you okay?”
    Faris nods a little. “Yeah, fine. I’m used to this.”
    “All right, Faris, I’m sorry I forgot about your little thing with red…how about this then?” Martina pulls another dress off the rack. It’s in the same style as the micro-skirted red one, only this dress is black.
    Faris groans.
    Misty, meanwhile, has been poking around on the rack and suddenly gasps. “Oh wow! I’d love to wear something like this.” She indicates a light sea-blue dress sewn with pearls.
    “That is pretty, but I think it’s kinda big,” Starr says.
    “I know,” Misty sighs. “But still…”
    “I don’t know if there’d be anything your size here, Misty,” Jessie remarks loftily. “You aren’t exactly… developed yet.”
 Misty turns cherry red and looks as though she’s about to explode or burst into flames.
    Faris searches through the display for a while, then pulls out a Japanese-style black dress, embroidered in gold. “This looks around your size, Starr. Why don’t you try it on?”
    “It would probably look good,” James adds.
    Starr smiles, but shakes her head. “It’s pretty,” she replies, “but whenever I wear black, I look wonky.”
    “Besides which, she’s too short,” Jessie puts in. “It’d be so long on her, it’d drag on the ground!”
    “Are you going to criticize everyone?” Faris asks.
    Jessie crosses her arms. “Excuse me for being helpful!”
    Starr taps Martina on the shoulder. “Mrs. Greyweirs, Faris, James and I are going to help Misty find a dress. You can help Jessie. We’ll be over there.” She points to another display.
    Martina nods absently. Then she and Jessie begin exclaiming over a tiny blue dress.
    Faris shakes her head as they wander over to the other side of the store.
    Misty smiles. “These ones look more my size.” She holds up a yellow dress in front of her. “They are!”
    Starr flips through a rack, then suddenly begins to giggle. She points at a lime-green dress with huge poof sleeves and a large, full skirt. “This looks like the kind of thing Jessie would wear.”
    Faris grins, then turns and pulls a deep forest-green dress from a hanger. “Misty, I think this would fit you.”
    Misty takes one look and her aqua eyes fill with stars. “WAOWWWWW! That’s even prettier than the other one! I’ve got to try it on!”
    She dashes over to the fitting rooms and shuts the door.
    Starr smiles. “I wish I had that much luck. Usually I never find anything while I’m shopping.”
    James has been helping Faris flip through the racks. “How about this?” he asks, holding up a white dress.
    Starr smiles. “Thanks, but I can’t wear white either…”
    “They have the same style in pink,” Faris says.
    Starr takes the dress off the rack and takes a good look. It’s shell pink, and looks like it would be form fitting, but it’s layered so it wouldn’t be too tight. It has a V-neckline, and a deeper pink rose sits on the left shoulder. She blinks and looks up. “Guys, thank you…this is pretty…do you think I can get away with wearing it?”
    James nods. Faris pushes Starr toward the fitting rooms. “Stop being so underconfident.”
    “Wait,” Starr says. “You’ve been so nice to me, now I have to help you. It’s a rule.”
    She digs thought the rows of dresses with James and Faris. Finally, James finds something.
    “Faris…you like lavender, right?” he asks.
    “I like any shade of purple,” She replies.
    “Then how about this?”
    James carefully pulls a dress off the rack.
    It’s the palest shade of lavender possible, with a tiered skirt. It’s sleeveless, with a band of fabric across the shoulders and a white lily in the center of the chest.
    Faris goes silent.
    “You’re trying that on,” Starr says.
    “I will if you will,” Faris grins.
    They both head for the fitting rooms.
    To Misty’s joy, the green dress fits. She comes out and does a model-turn in front of James, who applauds solemnly.
    From inside the third fitting room, Starr gasps.
    “What? Does it fit?” Misty asks.
    “Yes…” Starr squeaks.
    “Does it look good?” Misty asks.
    “Yes….”
    “Can I see?” Misty says eagerly, jumping up and down a little.
    “Um…”
    “Oh, come on!” Misty pleads.
    “Are you making the Big Cute Eyes?”
    “Yes!” Misty makes even bigger, cuter eyes at the door.
    There’s a long pause.
    “All right, all right,” Starr grumbles.
    The lock clicks and Starr steps out.
    “Don’t laugh. My hair is nuts,” she warns.
    James shakes his head. “It actually looks good that way.”
    Starr’s hair has gotten slightly unspiky since the little bit of spray gel she puts in has been brushed out. It curls around her face and the back flips up.
    “You should do that to your hair for the party!” Misty cheers.
    “I wanna see what Faris looks like!” Starr says at Faris’s door.
    “Okay, okay…” Faris says. “Be patient.”
    When she comes out, James’s jaw almost hits the floor.
    “I’d take that as a compliment,” Starr smiles.
    Faris looks down at herself and smiles a little.
 

    After getting changed back, Faris, Misty and Starr decide to buy the dresses they tried on. At the counter, the lady picks out a white lily clip for Faris’s hair, a deep green headband for Misty, and a pink rose clip for Starr. Not only that, she suggests a place they might look for a tuxedo for James.
    “Just down the road a little ways…my best friend runs it. Tell her I sent you and she might even give you a discount!”
    “Thank you,” Starr says as she, James, Misty and Faris head out, leaving Martina and Jessie at the store.
    “Did you find anything?” Brock asks, walking after them. Togepi walks up to Misty’s leg and smiles. “Brrriii, toge!”
    “Yes, we did,” Misty smiles and looks at the garment bag, eyes shining.
    “I bet,” Ash laughs. “I bet you had to look in the little kids’ section.”
    “I did not.” Misty puts her nose in the air. “It just so happens I fit the smallest size there. Starr found a dress for me.”
    “Can I see?” Ash asks.
    “Later,” Starr says.
    “Oh, come on…”
    “Not now. Maybe in the tux store,” Starr says.
    Finding a suit for Brock poses no problem. Ash is a little harder to buy for, since he refuses to wear a tuxedo, but finally Misty and Faris convince him to at least wear a suit jacket and dress pants. They find a set in navy blue that Ash says he’ll wear.
    James, however, finds it a little harder.
    “I don’t know…nothing seems to look that good…” he sighs, sitting down on the floor after trying on the third suit that doesn’t fit.
    “It’s okay, James, don’t worry. I have the same problem. I’ll help you find something,” Starr reassures. “I still owe you for finding my dress.”
    Faris suddenly waves. “I think I’ve found something.”
    Everyone rushes over to look.
    “Oh, COOL!” Starr says. “It looks like…it kind of looks like a Duelist’s outfit!”
    The suit in question is white with gold and royal blue trim. It has tablets across the shoulders, with two matching blue lanyards connecting the tablet and the blue lines running down the middle of the white jacket. A tiny gold rose is embroidered on the chest pocket.
    James grins, then looks pensive. “You think it will fit?”
    “Try it and see!” Misty says.
    James obliges.
    “Well…it fits…” he says inside the fitting room, a little shocked.
    “So come out and show off,” Starr says. “We did.”
    “That’s a girl thing!” Ash laughs. “Quit bugging James.”
    “What if Faris wants to see?” Starr says. Then she turns to Faris. “How about it…. Want to see your Bara no Bishounen?”
    Faris looks warningly at Starr, who smiles.
    “Sorry about that,” Starr sighs.
    Faris shrugs, smiling a tiny bit. “It’s okay. Just not too much…it’s still a touchy subject.”
    “James, come on out…” Starr says.
    James heaves a huge sigh and comes out.
    Everyone is silent.
    Finally, Starr breaks the silence.
    “You look…. Wow.”
    “He looks wow?” Faris repeats, poking Starr.
    “Well, it sounds like crap when you say it that way!” Starr protests.
    James beams, cheeks a bit pink.
    Faris smiles at him fondly. “You look like a prince in that outfit.”
    Starr nods eagerly. “It looks great on you, James! You have to get it.”
    James smiles shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well… okay. Since you said so.”
    “You’re a real pushover when it comes to girls, aren’t you?” Ash interjects.
    Misty elbows him, grinning. “Sounds like Brock.”
    “HEY!” the ex-gym leader in question protests.
    “Aww, poor Brock,” Starr smiles. “Don’t worry, I’ll bet you look cute in a tux.”
    To which Brock blushes bright crimson.
    “I rest my case,” Misty comments dryly, rolling her eyes.
    Faris smirks lightly at this, then turns to James. She runs a hand through his hair, smiling at him. “You’re beautiful, James. Truly a regal prince in that uniform…” She leans her head against his chest; James blushes slightly in response, wrapping an arm around her waist and smiling slightly.
    Misty notices this and smiles fondly at the display. She taps Starr on the shoulder, then points it out to her.
    Faris continues, almost whispering, “A handsome young prince on a white horse, travelling the world and saving any and all numbers of princesses…” She smirks again and looks him in the eyes. “James, are you aiming to be my prince?”
    Brock and Ash have now noticed what Faris and James are doing.
    James appears startled by Faris’ question. Hesitantly, as if he thinks he’ll get smashed for giving the wrong answer, James replies, “Well… you aren’t really a girl who needs saving, Faris…”
    To his surprise and relief, Faris laughs. “Good answer,” she smiles before kissing him on the cheek.
    Brock grins and claps. Misty goes shiny-eyed. Ash makes gagging noises, for which Misty smacks the living daylights out of him. And Starr smiles big.
    All of that cause Faris and James to blush pink and turn away from each other.
    “Awww, c’mon, you were so cute together…” Misty and Starr protest.
    Faris eyes them. “I suppose it was my own fault for showing off in front of you,” she finally remarks before taking James’ hand. “C’mon, James, let’s pay for that uniform.”
    “But I haven’t changed back yet!” James protests.
    “You can wear it outside,” she smiles, pulling him along. “The girls will flock over you like Nanami to Touga-sama.”
    James blinks, going along. “Who?”
    “Oh, just one of my favorite charas from Shoujo Kakumei Utena…”
    As the cashier at the front desk takes Martina’s VISA (which Faris had swiped off her several years back) to ring up James’, Brock’s and Ash’s new clothes, Faris wanders around the tuxedo store, flipping through the various outfits as she waits. Something in one of the racks catches her eye.
    “Are?” she says to herself, going back to the outfit and pulling it out.
    Her eyes get big.
    The uniform in her arms is a replica of Utena’s Duelist jacket. A black jacket with a red pocket on the left breast and red-and-white pockets on the hips; golden triangles on the neck, which are surrounded by red lines; white tubes of cloth hanging from red jewels on the shoulders; and a round aqua brooch at the base of the throat. Hanging from the brooch over to the right shoulder gem is a golden cord that hangs down loosely; white cuffs lined with red are at the wrists of the jacket. There are splits on the hips and the front and back, lined by red; white ruffled silk is underneath the splits. True, the rest of Utena’s uniform isn’t with it, but they’ll be a cinch to find compared to this…
    After quickly checking if it fits (it does), Faris marches back to the counter with her newfound jacket. “I’m adding this to my purchase,” she states, lying it on the counter.
    After some commotion from Starr over where on Earth she found Utena’s jacket, everyone is off with their new purchases. After some searching, Faris finds the rest of Utena’s uniform (which basically is only comprises of short red stretch pants, red socks, and black and white shoes). Upon completion of her search, Faris adorns her Utena outfit.
    “Lucky,” Starr grumbles. “You get an Utena outfit.”
    Faris grins at her, but says nothing.
    “Erm,” James speaks up, “I really hate to say this, but shouldn’t we get back to the dress store where Jessie and your mom are, Faris?”
    She sighs. “Damn… I’d forgotten all about them. Yeah, I suppose so; without Martina we’ll have to walk back to her place, and that’ll be a pain in the ass… her mansion is 20-so miles from here.”
    So, with much regret, the troop heads back to the dress shop up the street.
    Martina and Jessie are still inside, obsessing over dress after dress. However, luck’s with them, for by then Jessie’s finally decided on a dress she wants, so they’re all ready to go.

    Faris yawns a little, leaning on James’ shoulder. He smiles a little at her, wraps an arm around her shoulder, and rests his head on hers.
    “Isn’t it nice, being by ourselves like this?” he says quietly. “Walking to this park was such a great idea, Faris… I love just being with you.”
    Faris smiles. “Well, I wanted to get away from the crowd,” she admits, toying with the golden cord on her chest. “Being alone with you is just an added bonus.”
    He uses his free hand to play with Faris’ hair. “Should I take that as an insult or a compliment?”
    “Take it whichever way you please,” she replies, taking his hand into hers.
    James kisses her forehead. “Then I’ll take it as a compliment.”
    Faris smiles and tilts her head up slightly, as if to nuzzle his neck.
    The two of them are silent for a moment, enjoying each other’s presence, snuggled up to each other on the park bench.
   Faris finally says, “James?”
    “Mm?” her counterpart murmurs in reply.
    “I was wondering something… about us.”
    “What’s that?”
    She pauses for a moment. “How intimate do you want our relationship to become?”
    He gives her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”
    “Intimate, sexually speaking,” Faris clarifies.
    “………………………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” James turns bright red, catching on. “I… er… um…” he stammers, growing redder. “I—”
    Faris cuts him off, speaking in a mild tone. “I had actually been wondering that since you started coming on to me. I suppose that answers everything. After a while, though, I expect you’ll get used to the idea and try something.” James begins to protest, but Faris tilts his head to face hers and kisses him.
    Once she gently breaks the kiss off, she smiles up at him lovingly. “Demo… I wouldn’t mind being touched by you…”
    James stares at her, surprised. “I…”
    To his confusion, Faris laughs into her hand. “Bakame! It’s what you want, isn’t it? I know your type. To you, physical union is the proof of love.”
    James blushes a little deeper, and admits to himself that at least the latter is true. “It crossed my mind…” he confesses, looking her in the eyes, “…but… I don’t know if I’m ready for it yet……… I love you with all my heart, Faris, and I don’t want to do anything that would scare you away……”
    She smiles at him, a soft glow in her eyes. “Oh, James.” With that, she kisses him again, and James returns the loving embrace.