A Tricky Situation ~Touch and Go~ is ©1999 Seiya (starr.evans@mailcity.com) and Hotaru (faris.greyweirs@mailcity.com). Steal it and Dias Flac will slice you into two vertical halves with his Chaos Sword maneuver. If you haven't visited it yet, A Tricky Situation can be found at http://fly.to/touchandgo/ Opening Theme: Our Evolution Title Screen: You Don't Understand Anything Starr is hammering away at the controller of her PlayStation. On the screen, Cloud, Tifa and Vincent are pounding the hell out of Jenova LIFE. Just as Starr is about to unleash Bahamut on Jenova and finish it, a loud WHUNK outside the door makes her jump. She presses the wrong button, and Jenova wipes out the entire party. "DAMN'T!" Starr exclaims, sticking her head out the door and yelling, "ALL RIGHT, WHO'S THE SOON-TO-BE-DEAD PATHETIC WEASEL WHO MADE ME KILL CLOUD?????" At first glance, no one appears to be present. The little flames dancing in the background go out and Starr loses the two little fangs, feeling kind of stupid. Then she looks down and notices a very smashed James lying on the floor twitching. Around him are the shredded remains of twelve red roses. Starr rolls her eyes, then looks down the hall to see Sami--or rather Faris--brushing off her hands. "Hey Faris, could you kick him down the hall into someone else's door next time? When he hit the door I messed up a command and Jenova killed me." Faris shrugs and grins. "Sorry. Next time I'll kick him into Jessie's door." Starr begins to head back into her room, then turns back and calls, "Oh, yeah...any hints on killing Jenova LIFE? That damn thing keeps mangling me." Faris rolls her eyes. "I always just pretend she's James, and that makes smashing her all that much more FUN." Starr blinks. "O...kay." She retreats to the safety of her bedroom. It's never good when Faris' eye twitches like that... Raichu is poking at the controller and watching the pretty wavy lines dance on the screen from the static he generates when Starr plunks back down on the floor and sighs, restarting. "I have to watch that depressing cinema agaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin..." she mumbles. "Chu, chu." Raichu pats Starr's shoulder comfortingly. When the cinema ends, Starr is sniffling, as she always does after this particular part in Final Fantasy VII. "Frickin' Sephiroth. I'd massacre him if he wasn't so beautiful." Raichu, who's now wearing a 'been-there-done-that-got-the-T-shirt' expression, pokes the controller again for fun, making the screen turn trippy colours. "RAICHU, cut it out." Starr grabs the controller away and the screen stops tripping. Raichu displays a faintly Sephiroth-ish Evil Grin. Starr admires the dent James' head has made in her door. She's surprised he's not brain-damaged by now, since whenever Faris kicks him down the hall, he seems to land headfirst. "Maybe he can't get any stupider..." Starr muses. After all, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the girl you're chasing keeps smashing you into walls and doors, she doesn't really like you all that much. She actually feels a little bit sorry for James. Clueless though he is, being rejected stings--even more than hitting doors at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Starr can now hear James whimpering outside the door. She opens it and he falls into the room. "Hi," Starr says. James only sniffles. "Did you hit the doorknob this time?" Starr asks, getting a bit concerned. James usually whines, but she's never seen him look like he's about to cry before. "I don't understand it..." James sniffs. "I've tried everything they say you're supposed to do when you like a girl...flowers, candy, romantic poetry... but she still keeps kicking me into the wall every time I come near her!" "Maybe she doesn't like roses," Starr guesses. "Why not, though?" James jumps up off the floor, whipping out a trademark red rose from the void. "Red roses are the flower of true love!" "Maybe she thinks that's cliché and it bugs her," Starr suggests, shrugging. James blinks. "Hmm..." Starr can practically SEE all the little gears in his head going full tilt. Five minutes later, James is still staring straight ahead in deep thought and Starr is getting bored. "I think the hamster just fell off the wheel..." she says to Raichu, staring into James's ear. Suddenly James flings out his arms. "I'VE GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Got whad?" Starr says, rubbing her sore nose from where James clobbered her. "Uh...oops..." James turns red. "Neber bind. Whad idea did you ged?" Starr inquires. James blinks and goes into thinking mode again. Starr realizes this could take all day and kicks him. "TELL ME YOUR IDEA!" "Oh, that...I'll just keep trying! Eventually Faris will see how much I love her, and she'll love me, too! Thank you so much for your help, Starr!" James flings his arms around Starr, a large goofy grin pasted all over his face. "Thank you thank you thank you..." "Aaaacckkk...get OFF!" I have to breathe!" Starr gags, pushing James off. He hits the floor, gets up, and runs out of the room humming some demented song under his breath. "That failed miserably," Starr mumbles. "I hope Faris keeps her promise about not kicking him into my door." She sits down again, then blinks, wondering what the heck that cologne is that James always wears. It's kind of nice... "BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" Starr screams. "YECH. I can't believe I THOUGHT that! My mind is weirder than I thought." She shivers. "Seeing Sephiroth should calm me down..." Starr goes back to FFVII, and soon all thoughts of James leave her mind as Sephiroth appears on the screen. WHUNK. "FARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!" "Sorry..." The routine begins again. Starr sighs and restarts FFVII. She doesn't get to play far, though, because the videophone on her dresser begins yammering away. *Ring ring ring, phone call, phone call!* Starr picks up, and the image of a black-haired, brown-eyed guy appears on the screen. Behind him are two other guys--one with light brown hair and blue eyes, the other with brown hair and green eyes. They aren't paying much attention to the phone, though--the guy with black hair is too busy trying to stop everyone else from badgering him. "Hi," Starr grins. All three guys stop annoying each other. "Hi, Starr!" the guy with blue eyes says. "Hey, Alex. You made me kill Cloud," Starr informs him. "Oh, sorry," Alex sweatdrops. "Where are you in FFVII now?" "A little after the City of Ancients." "SAVE! SAVE!" the green-eyed guy screams. "I WAS! I WAS! And I think you just burst Kenji's eardrums, Jason," Starr says, watching Kenji (the black-haired guy) start twitching. "Oops," Jason says, though he doesn't look like he really means it. "So what do you three psychopaths want?" Starr asks. "How's life in Pallet?" "Boring. I miss you," Alex shrugs. "How's being a Team Rocket member?" Jason asks, shoving Alex out of the way. "Geez, of all of us, I figured you were the least likely to become an evil genius. I was sure it was gonna be Kenji." Starr nods. "Don't worry. He'll be an evil overlord before we know it." "Oh leave me alone," Kenji mutters, grinning and getting a sweatdrop. Suddenly a little icon flashes up in the corner of the screen. "Oops--I have a call on the other line. Hang on, I'll be right back. Enjoy the singing Pikachu screen saver!" Alex and Kenji both scream. Jason cracks up. For some reason, Kenji and Alex find large groups of Pikachus frightening, especially when they sing. Jason enjoys watching them both have a spaz whenever Starr puts on that screen saver. Starr snickers and answers the other call. /Starr, I'm very pleased with the work you and Sami did on the last mission./ Starr jumps at the sound of Giovanni's voice, but composes herself and says, "Thank you. I was concerned you'd be disappointed with the mishap at the convention." Giovanni actually laughs a little. /Compared to the nonsense I've seen from those idiots Jessie and James, that's hardly a matter of concern. Besides, you completed the mission. Team Rocket has acquired many rare Pokémon thanks to Sami's and your efforts. Good work, and stand by for your next mission. You'll be going alone./ "By myself...?" Starr blinks. /You've more than proven your capability./ Giovanni presses a button on the arm of his chair (large chairs are necessary for any villain) and the mission brief downloads onto the videophone's screen. /I expect the same quality of work this time. I know you won't disappoint me./ Giovanni hangs up and Starr switches back to the other line. She sees Alex and Kenji pretending to die and Jason with a serious case of the hiccups. "Look what you dumb-asses did to me!" he yells, still laughing. "The Pikachus are gone now..." Starr informs them. "WHEEHEE!" Alex cheers. Kenji is still twitching. Alex, could you hit him in the head, I can't get him from here," Starr says. Usually when Kenji won't be serious, Starr either flicks him in the ear, messes up his hair (Kenji is even more hair-obsessed than Rufus Shinra) or yells TREEEEEEEE and latches onto his arm, refusing to detach until he calms down. Alex understands this tradition and opts to flick Kenji in the ear. "OWWWWWWW!" Kenji falls over. Starr laughs. "Guys, I'm serious, could you get to the point of the phone call? I'm busy, I have a mission." "DUN-DUN-DUN!" Jason intones. "What is it?" "I don't know, I never checked." Starr starts to click on the icon, but is distracted by a scraping sound outside her door. "Hey." "I think it's the enemy agents," Alex remarks. "You Bond-obsessed nutcase. I'll call you guys back later." Starr hangs up, tiptoes over to the door...and abruptly hauls it open, sending Jessie tumbling into the room. "What the heck are you doing, listening in on my conversation?!" Starr snaps. "You're going on a mission ALONE?!?!?!?! What does the Boss think he's doing, sending you alone?!?!?!" Jessie shrills. Raichu hides under the bed. "He thinks I can do it," Starr shrugs, "so I will." "What mission did he give you? Something easy, I'll bet," Jessie sneers, calling up the mission on the phone. "HEY! Get out of there, that's my business and not yours!" Starr shoves Jessie out of the way and calls up the mission. Jessie reads over her shoulder. A pair of green eyes and a pair of blue eyes go very, very big as they see: Get Pikachu. "But NO!!!!!" Starr exclaims. "How can he send you alone to go after that lousy little kid and his Pikachu?!?!?! James and I can't capture it when we're both working together, and we're geniuses! What makes the Boss think YOU can do it????" Jessie snarls, acquiring little fangs. Starr twitches. Jessie bangs her fist on the bedside table. The videophone jumps. "Of all the dumb luck! The only reason you made the last mission is because James and I were helping! You're just a goody-goody novice KID!" Starr's eyes narrow. "You'll see how hard it is! When it comes down to it, some of us have it and some of us don't and--" Starr now resembles Sephiroth on a very bad day. Jessie notices and promptly shuts up, but Starr pitches her out the door anyhow, slamming it as Jessie breaks Mach 3. "Rai raichu?" Raichu blinks. Jessie has by now landed with a very resounding THUD, but Starr is too angry to enjoy it. "Goody-goody novice, hmm. I'll show her a freaking novice." Starr slams open the door and stalks down the hall, running head-on into James and plowing him over. "Oh, Starr, you're just the one I wanted to see! How does this poem sound?" James clears his throat, and begins. "Roses are--EEP!" Starr has turned the Sephiroth Glare on James, who squeaks, "Bad timing?" Starr calms down. "Tell you what. When I get back from stealing that friggin' Pikachu, I'll listen to your poem." "Stealing Pikachu?" James blinks twice as Starr storms out to the vehicle storage area. Faris cracks her door open a little. "Starr's going to steal that kid Ash's Pikachu on her own? Cool! She has a lot of potential, and I'm glad Giovanni had the brains to see that. It's a shame, though. Ash seems to be a pretty good trainer..." She shrugs. "Oh, well, what are you gonna do. She'll just have to think about what's best for Pikachu." Starr is going full-tilt down the road on the motorcycle she's borrowed. Raichu is hanging onto the back for dear life. He's never SEEN Starr so ticked off. This can't be good. Starr swerves to avoid a bunch of Squirtles crossing the road on the way to the park, yells "SORRY!" over her shoulder, and slows down a little. "I need to calm down," Starr sighs, bringing the motorcycle to a halt. "I can't let that skanky freak Jessie get to me. She's not worth spazzing over." "Raichu," Raichu agrees, pulling off his helmet. "Chu chu. Rai raichu?" "Of course I have a plan, Raichu," Starr grins. "Devious schemes are my specialty." Pikachu Obedience Training Today 7-9 "Look at this, Ash!" Misty giggles, pointing to the sign on the door of Starlight City's Pokémon Center. It's getting late, and true to its name the city sparkles like a thousand stars. Lots of people are still walking around, though. Ash turns away from Brock, who's drooling over a girl walking her Growlithe, and asks Misty, "What is it?" Misty continues to giggle. Togepi stares up at her wonderingly from her arms. "Pikachu obedience training! I know someone who could use thaaaaaat..." "Cut it out, Misty! Pikachu and I are fine the way we are! We're friends!" Ash says crossly. "Pika," Pikachu agrees. Misty shrugs. "Sure didn't look that way in the last battle, when you tried to get Pikachu to fight and got thundershocked." "Toge, brrriii!" Togepi adds, smiling cheerfully. "I didn't know Pikachu wasn't feeling well!" Ash defends. "I can train Pikachu just fine without some know-it-all telling me what to do!" "Obedience courses don't mean you don't know how to train Pokémon, they just give you some tips," a lady's voice sounds behind Ash. "And I hope that I'm not a know-it-all." Ash, Misty and Brock turn around to see a redheaded, green-eyed Pokémon trainer standing in the doorway. She's wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and dark blue sneakers, and she doesn't look angry about Ash's comment--in fact, she looks like she thought it was funny. Brock doesn't seem to notice. "Ash! Don't you know never to insult a girl?" he yells, then dashes up to the girl and bows. "I apologize for Ash's behaviour..." The girl laughs. "It's all right. Some instructors can be know-it-alls, believe me. That's why I'd never be. Come on inside. You might learn something new." She opens the door and Ash walks in. In the room are about ten trainers, each with a Pikachu. There are mats on the floor, an obstacle course at one side of the room, a table with cookies and milk at another (which Pikachu keeps eyeing) and at the front of the room is a Raichu. "Pi pika pi!" Pikachu waves to the Raichu, who jumps. "Rai rai?" "D'you know that Raichu?" Ash inquires. "Pi~~~! Pika pika pi!" Pikachu replies cheerfully, still waving. Raichu just looks confused. "All right, everyone," the trainer claps her hands. "Let's get started. Training an electric Pokémon like Pikachu can be tricky and takes real talent. It looks to me like everyone here has that talent since nobody's been shocked yet and the cookies are still here." Everyone laughs a little as the trainer goes on, "I'm just going to teach you some basic tips on Pikachu training, as well as some interesting facts you may not have hard. Now, the first thing we have to do is find out your Pikachu's level and electric potential." She indicates a scale. One by one, all the trainers place their Pikachu on the flat surface, and a level and voltage reading flashes up on the screen. As Ash goes by, the trainer blinks. "Wow, your Pikachu's really advanced for its level! You must be a great trainer." "Well...heh heh heh..." Ash blushes and puts his hand on the back of his neck. Pikachu sweatdrops. "Pi pikachu." Misty, who's been smiling and watching all the cute Pikachu's play around, suddenly looks hard at the trainer. She's sure she's seen this girl someplace... It's something about her eyes... The trainer catches Misty's gaze and Misty abruptly looks away, but the trainer smiles. "What, am I that scary? You think I am, you should see my friend Kenji," she says. Misty blushes and laughs nervously. The rest of the evening goes by fairly smoothly. The trainer knows a lot of neat facts about Pikachu, and soon Misty's forgotten about any initial déjŕ vu. While Togepi's playing with the other Pikachu in the class, she's completely fascinated by the trainer's level of knowledge... Then, abruptly, the lights go out. "What's going on?" one of the female Pikachu trainers says nervously. The obedience trainer turns on a flashlight. "Don't worry. Another thing about Pikachu is, a large amount of them in one place can cause electrical disruption. We probably just blew a fuse. I'll be right back." The obedience trainer leaves. "Something's funny about this," Misty mutters. "She's really pretty..." Brock says, staring after the obedience trainer. Misty clobbers him. "This is serious, Brock! Something about this whole class is really weird! I'm getting nervous." "Maybe you're just worried about the new Team Rocket members," Ash suggests. "They're really good. The only reason they messed up a little is because of Jessie and James." Misty agrees, "Yeah. I hate to think what'd happen if those two replaced Jessie and James for good." The lights flicker back on and the obedience trainer returns. "I was right, it was just a fuse, nothing to do with Pikachu power--RAICHU, get out of those cookies!!!" The trainer's Raichu jumps off the snack table and she crosses her arms. "He's supposed to be trained, but I guess we're all hungry. Break time, everyone!" Everyone stampedes at the snack table. Ash is inhaling cookies at a high speed when Misty yawns. "That's weird... usually I'm not this tired this early." "It's been a long day," Ash yawns too. "If you're tired, you can sit down awhile. Training's tiring," the obedience trainer says sympathetically. Soon, all the trainers and Pikachu are sleeping peacefully around the room. Except the obedience trainer. "Nice, Raichu," she says. "You finished spiking the punch just in time. Now all we need to do is find Ash, get his Pikachu, and leave. No destruction, no chaos, no stupidity." Starr searches the room. Ash has zonked out against the slide on the obstacle course, and his Pikachu is sleeping on top of his head. "There you are...shh..." Starr whispers, picking Pikachu up gently and cradling the small yellow Pokémon in her arms. "Come on, let's go." An hour later, Ash wakes up, yawns, stretches... And realizes he can't find Pikachu anywhere. The other trainers, after checking to be sure their own Pikachu are safe, help him to search the Pokémon Center for Pikachu, as do Nurse Joy and Togepi (who's crying for his missing friend), but they have no luck. "Pikachu..." Ash says worriedly. "Did you see anyone weird-looking leave the gym?" Misty asks Nurse Joy. "Anyone from Team Rocket?" Joy thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. "No...the only person who left in the past while was the girl running the obedience course...she was very polite...I think her name was...Starr Evans." Upon hearing the name, Ash, Misty and Brock crash to the floor. "Is something wrong? You don't look well," Nurse Joy says, concerned. Ash doesn't reply, he just charges out the door with Brock and Misty close behind. "Ash, wait!" Misty exclaims. "I have to find Pikachu!" Ash yells, searching frantically in the bushes outside the Pokémon Center. "Who knows what Team Rocket might do! They might hurt Pikachu! I have to--" "Calm down!" Misty yells. "Don't panic! It's late, so she can't have gone far. We'll tell Officer Jenny and look for Pikachu, but we should go to sleep soon and try again in the morning." "How can you think of sleeping??????????????" Ash yells. "Misty is right," Brock interrupts. "If Officer Jenny puts up a roadblock, Starr won't be able to leave in the morning. Come on, let's go tell her what's happened." Ash nods, calming down. The three of them charge off to the police station. Starr sighs. Pikachu is not happy with her. She just woke up a little while ago, and when Starr picked her up to check if she was all right, Pikachu thundershocked her. Starr didn't really blame Pikachu too much. Waking up in a cabin belonging to some girl you don't even know when you're only a foot and a half tall can't be fun, but Starr is determined to get Pikachu to like her and trust her. "If I'm ever going to get Pikachu back to Viridian City, I'm going to have to make friends with her, otherwise she's really going to fry me," Starr mumbles to Raichu. Raichu's stomach growls and he turns pink, then seems to get an idea. "Rai rai chu?" "That's a great idea...maybe if I make some food she likes, she'll see that I'm not such a bad person!" Starr immediately goes to work making a great midnight snack. Raichu just kind of gets underfoot. Pikachu sniffs the air and her stomach growls a little, but when Starr turns to her hopefully, Pikachu turns up her nose. "Pi." Starr sighs, "Rats..." but keeps cooking. After messing around in the kitchen for hours, Starr finally emerges bearing munchies. "Okay, you guys, snack time," Starr announces cheerily, setting two plates of Pokémon food down on the table. Raichu jumps up and practically inhales his snack, but Pikachu only says, "Pi," and turns to face the window again. Starr blinks. "What's the matter, Pikachu? Aren't you hungry?" "Ka." Pikachu crosses her arms and turns her back to Starr. "Is something the matter?" Starr shifts around to the other side of Pikachu so she's looking her in the eye. "Chu." Pikachu turns away again, this time whapping Starr in the nose with her tail, whether intentionally or not. "Ouch!" Starr loses her balance and sits down hard, holding her sore nose. Raichu turns around and Starr holds up one hand and shakes her head. "I'm fine, Raichu." "Rai rai chu?" Raichu says to Pikachu. "Pika pika," Pikachu replies, turning to face Raichu but still avoiding Starr. "Chu?" "Pi pikachu." Raichu turns to Starr. "Chu. Rai raichu chu." "She won't eat?" Starr's expression becomes worried. "Chu." Raichu shakes his head. Starr looks at Pikachu. "Come on, Pikachu, don't be like this. You have to eat something. I don't want you to get sick..." She reaches into her pocket and produces a familiar red package. At the sight of this Raichu's face lights up. "Do you like these? Skittles..." Starr shakes the package. "Yummy...taste the rainbow..." Pikachu sniffs at the colourful sugar pellets, then turns up her nose again. "Pi." "You don't like Skittles...am I giving you the wrong kind of food, then? What's the matter?" Pikachu is silent. Starr turns to Raichu. "Raichu, could you talk to her?" "Rai chu," Raichu nods. "Pikachu, will you talk to Raichu if you won't talk to me?" Starr says, almost pleading. She's getting worried about Pikachu now. There's a long silence. Starr holds her breath. "Pika." Pikachu nods finally. Starr sighs in relief. "Oh, good...." Raichu hops down off the chair and up next to Pikachu on the window seat. "Raichu, chu? Rai rai chu?" "Pika pika pi." "Rai rai?" "Pi pikachu!" "Rai..." Raichu nods slowly, then looks at Starr. "Rai rai chu. Raichu raichu rai." Starr thinks for a second. "She's mad because I stole her?" Pikachu pokes Starr in the head. "Pika! Pi! Pi pika pika chu! Kachu! Pika pika PIKA!" "No one likes being stolen, and how would I feel if someone stole Raich--" She breaks off, then murmurs... "If somebody stole Raichu..." A memory that forgot for a long time surfaced. She was about thirteen, trying to fit into the 'in' group at Pokémon Tech. One day, a group of girls came up to her and were actually nice to her, talking with her and laughing as though they were old friends. Starr was wary at first, since usually people hanging around like this meant they needed their homework done, or something. As days went on and they stayed nice, though, Starr grew to trust them. However, one day when the girls left, Raichu's Pokéball was gone. He'd still been a Pikachu then, her first Pokémon and best friend, and she'd been devastated that people she trusted would steal someone so important from her. She wondered why they'd been so cruel. After a week, though, they returned Pikachu to her, half from the guilt and half because he was causing havoc and thundershocking everything within range. She was overjoyed when he was returned and vowed to be more careful next time. All the old feelings of being so sad come back to Starr, and she realizes Ash must feel the same---kicking himself for being so dumb as to let Pikachu out of sight and wondering if he'll ever see her again. Pikachu watches Starr closely. The redheaded girl is looking straight down. A tear runs down her cheek and splashes on the windowsill. "Pika..." Pikachu looks at Starr. She sniffs a little, then looks at Pikachu. "Thanks for not frying me, Pikachu." "Pika pi?" Pikachu looks confused. "Never mind." Starr puts a hand on the back of her head and giggles. "Just the product of my weird mind. Tell you what, let's go find Ash. I'll give you back to him and I'll leave a note of apology, that sound good to you?" "Pika pika pi!" Pikachu nods enthusiastically and leaps onto Starr's head, then points at the door. "Pika!!!" Starr sniffs, but grins. Even if this does mean getting kicked out of Team Rocket, who cares? "Pi pikachu." Pikachu leans down and wipes away the last tear from Starr's cheek. "Pika!" "You got it...back to Ash. You're the navigator. Lead on, Pikachu! Raichu, would you mind staying here and guarding the cabin?" "Rai rai!" Raichu salutes as Starr, with Pikachu in tow, heads off. "Pika," Pikachu whispers, pointing at the embers of a dying campfire. "That's where they've camped?" Starr says under her breath, peeking out from behind the shrubs and attempting to make as little noise as possible. "Pi pika." "Okay...then let's go." Starr carefully tiptoes around the sleeping Ash, Misty and Brock and sets Pikachu down next to Ash's sleeping bag. As she does, he mumbles a little and stretches. "...eep...!" Starr stays perfectly still. Ash yawns and goes back to sleep. "Whew..." Starr gasps. "Chu..." Pikachu wipes her forehead. Starr pulls the note of apology from her pocket and reads it over again. Ash-- I'm sorry I took Pikachu. The same thing happened to me when I was younger, and I cried my eyes out. I got my Raichu back, so I'm giving you Pikachuback. She loves you lots. You've really got somebody special. Good luck with your training. --Starr Below the words is a little SD drawing of Starr giving a peace sign and winking. "Pika," Pikachu whispers, holding out her hands. Starr gives Pikachu the note. Pikachu jumps onto the foot of Ash's sleeping bag, pulls a blanket out from somewhere, and curls up to sleep, using the note as a pillow. Starr smiles and stands up, then turns to exit the camp. Unfortunately, she doesn't see the obstacle in from to her. "Psy yy?" Starr puts on the brakes an instant too late, trips over Psyduck, and goes flying forward to land gracefully on her head. "OWWWW!" Ash sits straight up, as do Brock, Misty, and Togepi. "What's going on?" Ash yells. "YEEEEEEK, this was NOT supposed to happen!!!" Starr gasps, scrambling to her feet and attempting to make tracks back to the cabin. However, luck has decided not to be on her side tonight. She hears a Pokéball open, hears Ash yell something to Bulbasaur, and seconds later the Vine Whip gets her around the ankle, causing her to fall on her head again. "OWWWWWWWWWWW!" Starr says again, rubbing her head. "How can Jessie and James or Kenji do this over and over again...?" She opens her eyes... And says, "...eep." Standing over her is a very pissed Misty, Brock and Ash. Starr sighs. "I deserve this." "If you think you can make us feel sorry for you, you're wrong. I knew there was something weird about you at the Pokémon Center. What are you doing here?" Misty demands, the Togepi in her arms equally livid. "I--" Starr begins, but she's cut off. "Probably trying to steal more Pokémon," Brock snorts. "That's all Team Rocket does, anyhow." "No wait, I was--" Starr sputters nervously. Pikachu suddenly launches into the middle of the circle, landing on Starr's head. "OUCH!" Starr flinches. "This is REALLY not my night." Pikachu faces Ash. "Pika pikachu! Kachu! Pika PIKA PIKA! Pikachu!" "What's Pikachu saying?" Misty asks. Ash looks puzzled. "Pikachu says she wasn't trying to steal anything...she was trying to return--" He blinks, then says to Starr. "Is that it? You were trying to give Pikachu back?" Starr nods. "Yes, but if you don't believe me, I don't blame you." "Good," Misty turns up her nose, but Brock puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hang on...even if she IS in Team Rocket, she's sure not acting like she did before." He turns to Starr and asks, "What made you decide to give Pikachu back?" "I remembered when somebody stole my Pikachu and how terrible I felt, and I didn't have it in me to let you go through the same." Starr removes Pikachu from her head. "Here." Now Ash, Misty and Brock look as though they'd fall over if a stiff breeze came up. Finally, Ash speaks. "Thanks for giving Pikachu back." Starr smiles. "No problem. And I was serious in the class. You're a great trainer." Ash is now very, very red. Misty starts to giggle. Starr starts to get up. "Um...would you guys mind...letting me leave...? I promise I'll leave Pikachu alone from now on...ow!" "Bulbasaur," Ash says severely. Bulbasaur stops headbutting Starr's ankle and sits down. Misty says, "We'll let you leave if you promise not to steal any more Pokémon." Starr snorts. "You got it. I'll just kind of hang around and mess Jessie and James up from now on. That's more fun." "Okay, then." Misty and Ash nod (Brock has gone back to drooling). "Maybe I'll see you later," Starr says as she runs off. "Good luck with your training!" "Say hello to Raichu for me!" Ash yells back. Officer Jenny comes through the trees just then. "What's going on, you guys are supposed to be sleeping--hey! Is that your Pikachu?" Ash nods. "The trainer from the Pokémon Center found Pikachu and brought her back." "It turns out Pikachu got scared in the power failure and ran off. She got lost." "Pika..." Pikachu blushes. "Well, it's good that Team Rocket wasn't involved," Officer Jenny smiles. "We've had enough trouble with them already. Now, go back to sleep. You should be in bed!" Ash, Misty, and finally Brock comply and get back into their sleeping bags. Officer Jenny walks off. "Hey, Brock, what's wrong? You weren't blushing and drooling at Officer Jenny this time!" Misty snickers. "I think that girl Starr is really cute, don't you, 'cause I think she's really really cute..." Brock mumbles. Misty hits him with her pillow, rolls over, and goes back to sleep. "The insanity has returned!" Starr announces as she walks down the hall, ducking James as he goes by. "Did you read her that one poem anyhow?" Starr asks once he's landed. James shakes his head. "It was a different one, but she still doesn't like me." Starr shakes her head as Faris' Kadabra, Batts, comes out into the hall. he announces. "AND some lessons on talking to girls!" Starr adds. "You'll help me? Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I need all the help I can get!!!" James says enthusiastically. Batts remarks to Starr, who giggles as James dances off down the hall. En route to Starr's room, they run into Jessie. "So, you failed your mission?" Jessie sneers. "Actually, no. I had Pikachu, but I lost her due to some extenuating circumstances." Once Jessie figures out the meaning of 'extenuating circumstances', she demands, "Like what?" "Raichu and Pikachu together in the same room created an electrical disturbance and there was a power failure. When we got the lights back on, Pikachu wasn't there." "Oh..." Jessie says lamely. "Well...well..." "Well what?" Starr looks interested. "I'm trying to say something nice and it isn't easy! Give me a break!!" Jessie whines, then continues. "Well...maybe you'll have better luck next time but the job you did this time was actually pretty good." Starr blinks as Jessie sighs. "Thanks!" Starr says. "Now, if you'll excuse Batts and me, we have to give James some tips on dealing with girls." "Love tips?" Jessie squeals, a galaxy of starts shining in her blue eyes. "I love romance. If you need help with love, I'm the woman to call!" Jessie dashes into Starr's room. Starr sighs. This meeting is going to be very interesting. "Uhh..." James says nervously. "What is it I have to do again, Jessie?" "You have to be dashing! Handsome! Charming!" Jessie repeats, beginning to lose her patience. "And cover her with expensive gifts!!" James takes out his wallet and opens it. Out flies a moth, crying in a high-pitched voice, "I'm free, I'm free, I'm freeeeee!!!" Starr, James, Jessie, and Batts all stare. "I didn't know moths could talk," Starr finally pipes up. James sighs, and returns his wallet to his back pocket. "Well, even if it was weird, that kinda said everything: I'm broke. I can't get any expensive gifts for her." He sighs again with a frustrated tone. Jessie demands, "What happened to your paycheck!?" "You," James grumbles. "Remember? You went on a shopping spree and had me pay for everything." "Ohhhh, yes, that's right..." Jessie murmurs, recollecting that event. "Well, we're getting our paycheck for the latest job tomorrow, so you can still get her something nice." Starr pats James on the back. "That's okay, you don't necessarily need expensive gifts to win a girl over," she says comfortingly. "If you give her a gift from the heart, that's good enough." Jessie snorts. "That's a crock!" she snaps. "If you want to charm a girl, give her diamonds!" "Maybe a slut girl like you is won over by pretty stones, but Faris isn't like you!" Starr snaps. She smirks, and continues, "But then, I bet a lot of boys have shown you their stones, huh!?" Turning bright red, Jessie gets to her feet and snarls, "What did you say!?" Rising to face her, Starr snaps in reply, "You heard me!!" Batts orders sharply. Jessie looks as if she wants to strangle Batts, but in the end, she complies along with Starr. "So what does Faris like, Batts?" James gives the psychic Pokémon a beseeching look as the girls calm down. "I'll never get anywhere with her if you don't help me!" Batts replies patiently. "But she doesn't like the roses I give her!" Batts clarifies. James blinks, confused. "But why?" he tells him softly. James finishes jotting this down. "Okay, continue." Batts pauses so James can finish writing this down, then continues. "H. P. Lovecraft...hmmmm..." James murmurs to himself as he scribbles the last of it. "That name sounds kinda familiar. What's he written?" Batts informs him. James looks largely clueless for a moment, then shakes his head. "Never mind. So, if she likes to read so much, why doesn't she like my poetry?" Batts tells him bluntly. This catches everyone's attention. "She...she has?" James queries in a slightly quivery voice. "Who with?" Jessie eagerly demands. Batts replies. James nods slowly, contemplating this. "So what should I write like?" he queries. <...> Batts remains silent for a moment. Batts clears his mind, and begins to recite the poem. Jessie, James, and Starr are silent for a long moment. Finally, James utters, "...wow." Starr nods, agreeing. "That's really powerful...it's beautiful." "What kind of person is Faris if she likes such depressing stuff?" Jessie wonders out loud. Batts chuckles at this. "Really? What else has she written?" James queries, getting interested. is Batts' reply. James nods. "Okay," he says half to himself, "I should get her tiger lilies and forget-me-nots, give her that poem you just recited--" Batts interrupts. James scratches his chin. "Like what?" he queries after a moment. "Here, I've got a book of poems somewhere around here," Starr says, getting to her feet. She begins to search her bookcase, and extracts a thick, red-covered book. "Here we go! Famous poetry. Let's see, flip to the love section..." She flips to the index, then heads over to the section of poetry devoted to love. Then she hands the book to James. James flips through the pages, looking for a decent poem. He appears to find one, but looks faintly confused. "Hey, Batts, what's this poem mean?" He shows the poem to Batts, who swiftly and silently reads it. A slow, wide smile spreads across James' face. Jessie grabs the book. "Lemme see!" she demands, reading the poem for herself. "Mmmm, that is a good poem. Just the way to charm a girl!" "Which poem is it?" Starr queries, getting curious. Jessie lets her see, and she reads it. "Ooooooh! A symphony of words! You're such a Casanova, Jaaaaaaaaaames!" she teases, causing the target of her teasing to blush and rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Well," he smiles shyly, "it *is* how I feel about her." "So you're all set!" Jessie says cheerfully. "Forget-me-nots and that poem! You'll knock Faris off her feet!" James smiles a little more. Faris wakes up in an exceptionally good mood this fine Saturday morning. All good dreams, sunny and bright outside with a cool breeze coming through her partially opened window, nowhere in particular to go today because it's the weekend, and because it's the weekend she can sleep in 'till 11... a great day to wake up to. Because she's in such a cheerful mood, she sings Fly Me to the Moon to herself as she takes a quick morning shower, then gets dressed in light clothes. She stretches out to her body's length, then settles down at her kitchen table to read the news. Annoyingly enough, someone decides to come knocking at her door just then. The sound of it grates on Faris' nerves. 'I'm cool, I'm cool...' she thinks to herself. 'I don't *know* if it's James or not... I can still be in a good mood...' She mentally repeats this to herself all the way to the door, until she opens it. Upon which her good mood completely flies out the window. "Uh, hi, Faris," James says nervously. "You have to the count of two," she snaps in reply, ruby eyes glittering dangerously. "One!" Before she can reach the second number, however, James quickly offers her a bouquet of gardenias, willow, and forget-me-nots. Faris' astonishment allays her from counting off the final number. James opens his eyes carefully, as they'd been shut tight upon his offering the flowers to her. He meets eyes with the object of his affection. Slowly, she takes the flowers, almost as if she's not sure if this is real or just a very strange dream. "Uhh..." she starts, not knowing exactly what to say. "...Thank you?" Relieved, James smiles. "Do you like them?" Faris eyes James a little suspiciously. "How'd you get it into your head to stop giving me red roses and start giving me gardenias?" "Oh... well..." James falters. He rubs the back of his neck, and replies, "You keep on kicking me down the hall whenever I give you roses, so I thought I should get you something else." Faris frowns a little. This soon disappears, and she breathes in the scent of the flowers. "They're beautiful," she smiles. "How'd you know the forget-me-not is my favorite flower?" James beams with happiness. "Batts told me." Realizing his mistake, he slaps his hand over his mouth. The smile on her face freezes and she lightly taps her hand with the bouquet of flowers. "Batts did, huh." She takes a step forward; in turn, James takes a step back. "I figured as much. Although I didn't realize you'd be dumb enough to just come out and say it. I thought I'd have to charm it out of you." "Does that mean you didn't like my flowers?" James queries, his heart sinking into the vicinity of the center of the earth. "No, actually," Faris tells him, slightly amused. "I like gardenias, I like willow, and as I--and Batts--already told you, forget-me-nots are my favorite flower. No, this time you actually did something right. For that, this time around I won't kick you down the hall." James breathes a sigh of relief. She advances one more step, pushing James into the opposite wall. "However." He gulps at the tone of her voice. "However...?" Her face grows severe. "I do NOT like that you've been going behind my back." "I just asked Batts for help!" James insists, beginning to fear for his life. "And he told me what you liked! Th--that's all, I didn't mean to go behind your back or anything! Really!!" "What else did he tell you?" she questions, voice dangerously quiet. "Nothing! Honest!" he pleads. "I asked him for help, and he gave it to me! That's all, I swear!" Faris beats the bouquet on her hand, contemplating this. Finally, she says, "All right. Since I already promised I wouldn't kick you down the hall, I'll leave you alone this time." She drops the bouquet on his feet and glares at him coldly, causing him to cringe. "But next time around, no matter what flower you give me, I'll kill you. I'm tired of your so-called 'love'. All you want is a pretty face." With that, she starts to head into her apartment. "W--wait!!" James yells, grabbing her shoulder just in time. She glances over her shoulder, glaring at him with a frown on her face. He hesitates, but continues anyway. "Look, Faris, I know I'm not the smartest of guys--" "Damn straight," she mutters under her breath. "--but I really *do* like you a lot! Can't you at least give me a chance to prove myself?? Please???" He gives her an imploring, sad-puppy look. She sighs, irritated. "Look. James." She turns around fully. "It wouldn't matter if you were the smartest, most charming man on earth. I'm not interested in falling in love. It happened before, and I swore to myself that it would never happen again." Her eyes soften. "You're a sweet boy, James, and someday you'll find someone who'll treat you right." They harden again, and she steps back. "But that someone won't be me. Trust me, you're better off forgetting about me. I'm telling you this for your own good, because it's not only your heart I've broken." With that, she retreats back into her apartment and shuts and locks the door. With a defeated air surrounding him, James picks up the flowers. He stares forlornly at the card he's made for her. 'I didn't even get to give it to her...' he thinks, depressed. He glances at Faris' door, then discreetly slips it underneath. Almost as if he'd felt he'd done something wrong, James quickly and quietly exits the hallway. Faris sighs and leans against her front door. 'Maybe I was a bit harsh on him...' she thinks to herself. 'He does seem to mean well.' She crosses her arms. 'But then, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If it ends in tragedy, then it's decidedly better to have never loved than to have loved at all...' She sighs and stares off into the distance. '...Because then, at least you won't have the memory of the bittersweet taste of love to haunt you for the rest of your life.' She begins to return to her kitchen table when a soft scratching noise grabs her attention. She glances behind her at the door. "?" She turns and approaches the door to open it again when she steps on something. Moving her foot out of the way, Faris sees a purple card lying on the floor. With a sigh, she picks it up. "Poor fool, persistent as ever. I almost pity him." She opens it out of curiosity and prepares herself for the last bad poem. To her surprise, James hadn't even written it. The message on the card reads: Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove. O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never write, nor no man ever loved. I'll love you no matter what, Faris. ~~James A faint crimson blush spreads over her cheeks as she blinks rapidly, reading and re-reading those silver-printed words. "Purple..." she whispers, "...and silver." Her ruby eyes shut as she smiles mirthlessly. "Batts must have told you." She snaps the card shut, tosses it over her shoulder, and leaves for the kitchen to read the paper. Once she's done with the paper and comes across the card lying alone on the floor, she hesitates. Faris picks it up, opens it, and re-reads the poem inside. Her eyes soften. "You sentimental fool. You'll only get hurt by loving me." She glances to the trashcan, then shakes her head. Moving to her bedroom, she opens the bottom drawer of her dresser and places the card underneath the pile of socks. "Veni veni venias, Ne me mori facias..." Starr sings along with 'Katayoku no Tenshi'. She's resumed another FFVII game she'd saved earlier on and ditched since Sephiroth kept wiping her party off the face of the earth every time. Now she's trying again, with re-organized Materia and a different party--Vincent, Cloud and Tifa. This is a good idea considering damage, but a bad idea seeing as Sephiroth keeps picking on Cloud and ONLY Cloud. Starr scowls at the sleeping, mute, death-sentenced Cloud and gives Sephiroth the finger as she revives him. This is seriously beginning to irritate her. "Why just CLOUD? Is this an omen?" As if in reply, Sephiroth promptly begins his huge-assed SuperNova summon just as the music comes to "veni veni venias" again. Starr is completely absorbed in the game, watching intently and praying that the Barrier and MBarrier she'd cast on the party is warrantied against happy big-assed comets coming out of nowhere and incinerating one's ass. As the summon ends, Starr contemplates what to do next. She doesn't contemplate for long, though, as out of nowhere a black-gloved hand settles lightly on her shoulder... "AUAUAUAUAUAUAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGHHHHH!" Starr screams, windmilling her arms around and whacking whatever's behind her. "OWW!" Starr finally summons the courage to look at who it is and sighs with relief. It's James, and he's looking very upset. It seems to Starr that being mistaken for Sephiroth is not the cause of his sad face, though. "What happened?" Starr asks, pausing the game. James sighs. "She didn't like it." "WHAT?" Starr looks shocked. "Why?" "I was a moron and told her Batts had helped me out...and I found out she's..." He breaks off and looks down. "Found out what?" Starr presses gently. Two tears hit the carpet and James says (barely audibly), "She just isn't interested in falling in love." "Oh, no..." Starr holds James's hand. "I'm probably the one who turned her off of love in the first place..." "James, don't say that!" Starr cries. "Why not? I'm klutzy and clueless and my poetry is terrible and now that I think about it, I have terrible fashion sense! Why would anyone want to hang around someone like me...?" "Because you're nice and you mean well and you'd never hurt anyone and you make people laugh," Starr replies. "What girl wouldn't want a boyfriend like you?" "The only girl I've ever really loved..." Starr suddenly feels very sad inside, but isn't quite sure why. She hesitantly leans forward, then hugs James. "You may think I'm just a psycho optimist, but in my experience, love will come when she knows you're serious about how you feel...and maybe she's just freaked because one of her past boyfriends was mean and doesn't want to have to go through that again." "I'd never be mean to her..." James squeaks into Starr's shoulder. Starr smiles at the little tiny voice James has suddenly acquired. "Faris doesn't know that. She thinks I'm still the same clumsy airhead as always, and she's right." "James..." Starr says threateningly, "if you trash yourself one more time, I'm shoving my PlayStation controller up your nose." "What's going up whose nose?" Jessie asks from the hallway, then sees James and Starr. "I thought we were trying to set him up with *Faris*!" "Shot down again," Starr informs Jessie. Jessie looks astounded. "WHAT? How is that possible?!? He did everything right! Unless he told her that her Kadabra helped..." James nods miserably and Jessie pats him on the shoulder. "You'd think I'd be used to failure..." James says, voice still squeaky. "Being shot down always hurts," Jessie says. Starr blinks, and Jessie explains, "I know, I know, you think I'd have men tripping all over themselves to get to me, but whenever they talk to me, I freeze! I've never been able to get over this silly shy thing..." "I somehow never pictured you as shy." Jessie pulls down one eyelid and beda's. "Well, you can't tell a book by its cover, so nyah." Starr raises her eyebrows, then turns back to James. "You have to keep trying, James. I know it hurts badly when someone you love pushes you away, but if you want her to know you care, keep trying." James sniffles but looks up. "You're right!" He clenches one fist and raises it determinedly, grinning his old I-am-invincible grin. "I love Faris, and someday she'll see and she'll love me too! Now, where's my paycheck? I need to go get some more flowers!" With this James rises and strides confidently out of the room. Starr examines the wet spot on her shoulder where James cried on her. "Yew." "You get used to being cried on when you're with James as much as me. I always keep this around just in case." Jessie whips a towel out of the void and gives it to Starr, who dries off. "Thanks!" Starr grins, then something catches her eye. "Hey, Faris!" she calls. "Hey, Starr," Faris calls back. "Where are you going?" "Picking up my manga order from the comic book place. FINALLY it came in... I've been waiting for that tankoubon for months!" "See you later, then!" Starr waves as Faris heads out the door. "I wonder if James heard right, that she's not interested in love..." Jessie sighs. "I hate to see James like this. We have to get Faris to fall in love with him somehow." "'We'?" Starr blinks. Jessie dashes into the closet, then dashes out wearing a red bikini, a pair of little wings and carrying a little bow-and arrow with a heart for a tip. "Of course! THIS is a job for Jessie, matchmaker extraordinaire!!!!" Starr sweatdrops. "Yeah, that's great, but before we go anywhere can you please ditch the Naga outfit?" Jessie looks down and blushes. "Ehehe.... Sure." Out of uniform and wandering down the street, Starr sighs. After crashing around in her closet for fifteen minutes, Jessie finally decided on an outfit-- a tight pink shirt and jeans. Starr is wearing her favourite green shirt and her jeans. It took all of five seconds to decide on an outfit. Starr is wondering if all that gel has somehow seeped into Jessie's head and dissolved her brain somewhat. "Now, let's seeeeeeee...." Jessie murmurs, gazing into the crowd. "If I was Faris Greyweirs, where would I go..." Starr notices Jessie's gaze turning toward a classy fashion boutique and pokes her in the arm. "That would work...except for NO. We're here to look for Faris, not go on yet another shopping spree." "But that's where I'd go if I were Faris," Jessie explains. Starr admits that this is logical and refrains from clunking Jessie. "You aren't Faris, though. I know her the best out of anyone--although I admit there's still a lot about her I need to learn--and I think if I were Faris and I were pissed with James and wanted to blow off some steam, I'd go to..." With a little whip-crack noise, Starr jabs her index finger at a building across the road. "THERE. Rio's Pokémon Battle Arena. People fight their Pokémon there for fun. Every time you win, you pick up a certain number of points, and you can trade those in for stuff later. I went once; it was fun. I kicked the heck out of everyone...the prize was weird, though." Jessie listens hard. "From the sound of it, someone's really cleaning up in there." "Wonder if they beat the longest streak record." Starr listens as well. She can faintly hear a chant. "They're cheering for Faris in there! Come on, let's see how she's doing!" "If James were here, we could set up a cheering section," Jessie sighs. "I wonder where he is..." Starr cringes, remembering the time she saw Jessie and James practicing their infamous Pikachu Cheer, and says, "Eh...you don't have to go to all that trouble. Just seeing you there will be enough for Faris. And James probably isn't far. There are florists all over the place here." "Oh. Okay!" Jessie says cheerily, bad mood flying out the window. James watches as yet another moth goes flapping out of his wallet, and pouts. Even if Faris did threaten to mangle him if he gave her more flowers, he knows he has to keep trying. He knows he has that paycheck around somewhere... "I HAVE to try. Otherwise she'll never see how much I care about her!" Suddenly a mob of cheering fans from the Battle Arena down the street goes charging by, flattening James. "Hey, what's the big idea?" he demands. "You should see it! There's some girl in there with a Clefairy and she's beating EVERYBODY!" James freezes. A Clefairy...? Who does he know with a Clefairy...? Just one person... And that person is.... "FARIS!!!!!!!!!!!" James yowls, jumping three feet up off the pavement and dashing down the street to the Battle Arena. He hopes Faris hasn't gotten bored with winning and left yet... "And Dodrio is down! Once again, the winners are Faris Greyweirs and her Clefairy, Usa-chan!!!!" "Cle, Clefairy!" Usa-chan sings, jumping up and down for joy. "Dodrio, return!" Faris' opponent presses the button on his Pokéball and the passed-out three-headed bird disappears in its red light. "Wow, you're good! I've never seen a Clefairy beat ANYTHING before! I know they're rare, but I always heard Clefairy was a weak Pokémon." "There's no such thing as a weak Pokémon, only weak trainers," Faris tells him matter-of-factly. "Always remember that." The Dodrio trainer nods and walks back into the crowd. "Let's go Faris, let's go! Yaiya..." someone sings in the crowd. Again. Whoever this person is, they've been going "yaiya" for the past three matches, and while it's not exactly annoying, it's very, very weird. Faris scans the crowd for the source of the insane cheer and picks out a redheaded girl in a green T-shirt waving two little paper fans with Pikachus printed on them. "Starr!" Faris laughs. "YAIYA!" Starr yells again. "I had Skittles!" She makes her way through the crowd to the first row of seats and says, "Have you beaten the all-time streak record yet?" "She's only got one more match to go!" a guy yells directly into Starr's ear. Jessie whips out the paper fan and makes a dent in the crazed fan's head, then turns back to Faris. "That's amazing!" "Yeah..." Jessie begins to babble away excitedly (much to Faris's dismay) and Starr is hoping a migraine doesn't set in when suddenly somebody taps her on the shoulder. She turns to see a guy wearing a black trenchcoat, sunglasses, and a hat pulled down over his forehead. Effective as this disguise is, it doesn't hide the light blue hair wisp hanging in front of his eyes. Starr calls, "Jessie, come with me to get more Skittles!" "But I'm talking to Faris!" "Skittles NOW." Starr grabs Jessie's arm and pulls her away. Once they're in the snack bar, Jessie demands, "What was that?" James takes off his hat and sunglasses. "Whew. This disguise is too hot for this building." "What are you going In Cog Nee Toh for, James?" Starr asks. "Is someone out to kill you?" "No, but Faris is angry at me, and I don't want her to see me and get angrier and break her streak." He puts his head down. "I really want to talk to her, though! If only there was a way I could make her like me..." "THAT'S IT!!!!" Jessie yells, jumping up and overturning the table. "What's it?" James asks from underneath Starr (who scrambles to her feet as fast as possible). "Challenge Faris to a battle, and say if you win, she has to go out with you! Faris won't turn down an offer like that! Use your strongest Pokémon against her...she's only got a little Clefairy, what can it possibly do?" "You're right! Without a Moon Stone, all Clefairy does is dance around. Weezing will win for sure!" James says confidently. "Are you sure?" Starr says hesitantly. "Has Weezing ever won any battles before?" James makes a face. "It's nice to have friends who believe in you." "Starr, it's a Clefairy!" Jessie snorts. "Exactly," James agrees. "I'll win and Faris will go out with me and she'll realize how much I love her!!!!!" "Er--" Starr begins, but it's too late. Jessie and James, laughing conspiratorially, are already heading back to the arena. She sighs and drops her head, but follows. "I hope she doesn't kick his rear TOO badly..." As the latest challenger returns her Vileplume and slumps out of the ring, Faris is ready to call it a day when suddenly almost all the lights in the stadium go out. "Prepare for trouble!" "And make it double." "GUYS! I HARDLY THINK THE DAMN SPEECH IS APPROPRIATE FOR THIS SITUATION!" Starr roars at Jessie and James, who blush and step down off the judges' desk. James quickly regains his composure and walks up to Faris. "Since you won't talk to me, I'll make you a deal. One battle. If I win, you have to go on a date with me!" he grins. "And if I win, you piss off and don't bug me again," Faris returns calmly. James almost crashes to the floor, but nods. "All right." The bell rings to signal the start of the new match, and James and Faris square off at opposite ends of the ring. The referee announces, "One battle will decide whether the new champion breaks the all-time winning streak of Rio's Battle Arena. The champion, Faris Greyweirs, has chosen Clefairy. The challenger, James, has chosen Weezing." The bell rings again. "Go, Usa-chan!" Faris calls, throwing the Clefairy's Pokéball out. A small, cute, pink Pokémon emerges. "Clefairy!!!!" "Go, Weezing!" James yells, throwing out his own Pokéball. The floating purple-gray Weezing wheezes, "Weeeezingggg..." and floats in mid-air in front of James. "I can't watch," Starr mutters, covering her eyes. "Usa-chan, Sing!" Faris encourages. "Clefairy.... Clefairy.... Clefairy...." Usa-chan warbles. Weezing begins to move back and forth slightly in the air in time to the rhythm of Usa-chan's song, until.... WHUNK. James's mouth drops open as Weezing crashes to the mat, snoring away. For five seconds, there's dead silence... ...Then suddenly James begins to spaz. Growing two tiny fangs, he whips out a megaphone from the void and yells at Weezing, "WAKE UP! WHAT KIND OF POKÉMON ARE YOU ANYWAY?! WAKE UP! THIS MATCH IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING! PLEASE WAKE UP! I HAVE TO WIN!!!!" Faris doesn't seem to notice. "Pound it, Usa-chan!" Most of the audience members crack up at the sight of Weezing being pounded by the small pink Pokémon, but the death glare from Starr quickly shuts them up. The bell rings, signaling the end of the match. Weezing has officially been defeated. Jessie says quietly, "I thought for sure he'd win." James blinks, holds out his Pokéball, and Weezing returns. Without waiting for the announcement of who's won, any remark from Faris, or for Starr and Jessie to catch up, he wanders out of the arena. "Wait! James!!!" Jessie cries, leaping to her feet and running after him. Faris calls Usa-chan to return. Finally, James will stop annoying her... She knows she should feel great, but something seems off somehow... Looking up into the crowd, her gaze catches a pair of bright green eyes. It's Starr. And she looks sadder that Faris has ever seen her look. This is a shock-- usually Starr is cheery, or a walking sugar rush. Starr notices Faris looking at her and smiles a bit, then wanders off. "Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaames! Where are you!?" Jessie wails. "Please come out!!!" "James, are you even still here?" Starr yells. "I wish I had the megaphone," Jessie mumbles. "It wouldn't work anyway, James bent it in half, remember?" Starr reminds Jessie. "Oh, right." Jessie sweatdrops a little. Starr is drawing breath to yell again when she hears a faint sniffling noise coming from a shadowed hallway. Peeking around the corner, she sees a sad-looking figure hunched over and leaning against the wall. "James, that you?" she calls quietly. The only answer is another sniff. Starr goes closer and sees that it IS James. He's been crying for a while. "Oh, no...." Starr puts a hand on his shoulder, then gives him a hug. James returns it, crying onto Starr's shoulder and getting her soaking wet, but she doesn't really care. "I thought for sure I'd win! I should have listened to you, Starr...now I can never ever talk to Faris agaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!!!!" James sobs. "It's okay...we'll figure something out..." Starr soothes. "Yeah, like tearing Faris limb from limb!!!" Jessie snarls, flames dancing behind her. Starr scowls. "Usually I'd be on her side, but that was the cheapest shot I've ever seen! Weezing was out of the match as soon as he fell asleep; she didn't have to beat him up, too." She gently detaches James and says, "Stay here. I've got to talk to Faris." "Eeef...." James responds. Starr doesn't know what Eeef means, so she and Jessie look at each other, nod, and head off to find Faris and talk to her about hurting James. Faris is roaming around the back hallways in search of a pop machine that works when she hears a faint, weird sound coming from someplace. Peeking around a doorframe, she sees a familiar light-blue-haired guy sitting slumped against the wall. Floating next to him is a Weezing with three Band-Aids plastered on its heads. "Weeeezingggg," it says sadly. James sniffles. "It's not your fault. I didn't know Clefairy could sing that well." "Weeeeeez." "It's all right," James repeats, sighing. "I guess I just wasn't meant to ever be with her..." "Weeeezzzzzzing." Faris can't help but feel sorry for James. Even if he did go behind her back, he doesn't deserve this kind of sadness. She walks out of the doorframe, stands next to James, and asks, "This seat taken?" James looks up and blinks in surprise, then shakes his head, "No...." Weezing politely moves out of the way so Faris can sit down. Faris sighs, "James... This is hard for me to say, but... I'm sorry about acting so cold back there. I should have just left it after Weezing fell asleep. I'd won then, and it was really heartless to beat Weezing up like that. But...I couldn't see any other way.... I thought if I acted heartless, you'd see I wasn't worth going after and give up. As I said before, I don't want to fall in love.... It isn't because of you...." James listens patiently, and she continues. "When I was about 13 or so, I met someone over the Internet. Let me state beforehand that even though all my previous relationships were over the Internet, they still affected my emotions like I'd met and loved them face to face. Anyway, at first I didn't like him much--actually, that's putting it mildly, I despised him and I enjoyed nothing more than annoying the crap out of him--but lots of different things happened between us and I ended up falling for him." She smiles reminiscently. " 'You idiot! I'm a girl!' " Faris giggles at the memory. "That's what I told him when I told him I loved him, and he pointed out that I was a guy. He thought I was a guy, since my regular handle for a long time before then was Prince Demando, after someone in Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon, and that's what he knew me as," she explains. "And his exact response was, 'OH.'" She giggles again. "I still think that was exceedingly funny." "So what happened?" James queries. Faris leans against the wall. "Well, eventually, we hooked up, although we did have our ups and downs in our relationship. I don't remember how long it lasted--I've never been much of one for remembering anniversaries--but we were really close. We almost got cyber-married a couple times, but we never really officially got around to it." James' eyes go very wide, and he nods mutely. "But..." she sighs. "Eventually, school started up, and he never had any time for me anymore. Needless to say, I started missing him almost immediately." She leans forward. "Now, someone else comes into play... I met this second guy, Mercurius, a little after Malachite--that's my first boyfriend's regular chat handle--and I fell in love. At first, I thought he was a girl, so I didn't think much of the hugs he gave me until Malachite got jealous and told him hugging me was *his* job." She smiles at the memory, but it fades away before long. "Anyway. Mercurius apologized, then left, and some other people in the chatroom we were in at the time told us he was a guy. I had previously thought he was a girl, so Malachite's jealousy made me wonder if there really was something there. "Mercurius and I became very good friends, and he came to call me his Singing Princess, as I liked to sing a lot back in those days. There's a lot to talk of about those days... lots of memories..." Her eyes soften. "But those memories are for me alone, so I'll get straight to the point. When school started, Malachite got caught up in homework and almost never had time for me anymore. As can be expected, I started missing him almost immediately. I told Mercurius this once when we were alone, and then I asked him something that had been bugging me since Malachite had been jealous: if he loved me. He asked me if I wanted the truth, and I said yes. "He told me, yes, he did love me, and had loved me since we first met, when I had sang for him to cheer him up." "..." James replies to this. "Go on." Faris closes her eyes. "I was surprised by this, but I told him that maybe I could love him too. So, Mercurius and I started seeing each other privately. "Oh yes, a detail I forgot: Mercurius already had a girlfriend at this time, and I was well aware of this." James winces. "Ouch." "Ouch, indeed," Faris says dryly. "We spent a lot of time together afterwards, and I think in the end, we were far closer than I was with Malachite. However, I felt guilty for going behind Malachite's back, because Malachite took love very seriously, and didn't even want to kiss anyone he didn't really love. He wanted his first kiss to come from the person he was going to spend the rest of his life with. We kissed several times, as did Mercurius and I. "Eventually, I told Malachite about us, and Mercurius' girlfriend about us, because I was selfish and wanted to alleviate myself of my guilt." Faris and James are quiet for a moment. Unnoticed by the two, they're being watched by two figures in the doorway. "Mercurius and I broke up, and he couldn't return to his old girlfriend because she knew about us. So, he was alone. As for Malachite... I'd betrayed his trust, so we didn't really talk after that; as a result, it was just like before, except now I wasn't pining for him. I'm not sure what ever happened to Malachite, but I do know that I ruined Mercurius' life." Her eyes shimmer at the memory. "He spent the next few months of his life crying most of the time... and later, even though I'm still not sure if it's true or not, I heard he'd gone insane." She stares down at her feet. "It probably isn't *all* my fault, but I dealt a major hand in it. That still hurts me even now, because Mercurius was a good man, and because of me, he became a broken man. All three of us went through a lot of pain; not only do I not want to experience that pain, I don't want to bring that pain on someone else again. This was a strictly online relationship, and it ended this bitterly; how horrible would the dissolution of an offline relationship be? I don't want another man's ruined life hanging over my head for the rest of my life, even if it's yours, James." James is silent. He can now understand why she fears falling in love, but doesn't feel any better. She sighs. "I still don't want to fall in love, but... James, you seem to be a nice guy, even if you are for the most part largely clueless. Being just friends is fine with me. Would you like that?" James crashes to the floor, as does Weezing. Faris grins. "That's a yes, right?" James nods and grins, sitting up and wiping away his tears. "But you have to promise one thing...don't touch me, all right? No hugs or anything...it--" "You don't have to explain. I get it," James says. "Um....we can shake on it, right?" Faris smirks. "Bakame! Of course." The two of them shake hands. *Piku* "What was that noise?" James asks. CRASH! Faris and James whip around to see Jessie and Starr lying on the floor and twitching. Both look kind of stoned. Faris pokes Starr's foot. "You should really cut down on the Skittles. This can't be healthy." "I can't believe this," Jessie says. "You are not alone," Starr mutters. "Yaiya." Suddenly there's a buzzing noise and James falls on the floor giggling hysterically. "What exactly is your problem?" Faris asks. "It's--EEEEHEHEHEHEHE!--my pager! I have it--HEHEHEHEHEEEEE!--on vibrate so it won't disturb anyone! HEEEEEHEHEHE!" Jessie and Starr exchange a look as James retrieves the buzzing pager, then they collapse on the floor giggling hysterically. Faris stares at them sideways, then questions, "Who's the message from?" James presses a button, then reads, "It's from the Boss! We've all been assigned a new mission and we're to report to back to him for details right away!" Faris raises an eyebrow. "I really don't understand what's so funny, but..." She shrugs. "Let's go." The three other Team Rocket members get off of the floor, and they all head to the Viridian City Gym. Dressed in their usual Team Rocket uniforms, Faris, Starr, Jessie, James, Meowth, Batts, and Raichu crowd around the video screen in the Viridian briefing room. "So what's the deal, Boss?" Faris queries coolly. "What's our job?" -You're to go to Cinnabar Island immediately. The annual Summer's Festival will be beginning soon, and many trainers attend it. You are to collect as many rare Pokémon as possible, which is why I'm sending all four of you.- "We won't let you down, Boss!" Meowth says eagerly, hanging from Jessie's shoulder. -I'm sure you won't,- Giovanni replies with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. However, Meowth doesn't seem to notice. –Anyway, Sami, I'm placing you in charge of leading this mission.- Faris nods. "Understood." She turns to the others. "All right, you heard the Boss. Let's go." Faris starts to hang up the connection. -Wait, Sami,- Giovanni says before she can. –I want to speak with you privately for a moment.- "About what?" -When I say 'privately', Sami, I mean not even a hint of it is to be uttered before the others' ears.- She shrugs. "Whatever. Anyway, you guys beat it and get the helicopter ready. I'll catch up." The group of Team Rocket members and Pokémon head out the door. Faris turns back to the Boss. "So what is it you wanted to tell me that you couldn't tell the others?" Giovanni leans forward in his chair. –The assignment I gave you was a lie.- Faris raises an eyebrow. "Come again?" -You are still to go to Cinnabar Island, but that deal about the Summer's Festival was a lie. I couldn't care less about that thing. What I want you to do, Sami, is to contact the Cinnabar Island scientists. Some of them are in league with us, and they've given me word that the Mewtwo Project is nearing completion. I want you to steal Mewtwo, Sami, and you alone. Only Team Rocket will have that Pokémon, and you're the only one I trust with such a monumental task.- Her eyes narrow slightly. "Mew... two..." she whispers. "What's the deal with this Pokémon?" -It is a genetically engineered Pokémon, designed by Cinnabar's scientists to be stronger than any other Pokémon. It is a psychic-type, and exceedingly powerful dangerous; that's all I can tell you.- "And you want this Mewtwo for the betterment of Team Rocket, hmmm?" -Yes. If we have control of Mewtwo, nothing could stand in our way,- Giovanni replies. –Do not tell the others of Mewtwo; they must not suspect anything about it. The Mewtwo Project is top secret.- Faris notes the intense level of seriousness in his voice and nods. "I won't tell them a thing about it, Boss. By the way, what's this Mewtwo look like?" An image flashes up on the side of the screen, revealing a large, threatening-looking white-and-purple Pokémon. Its eyes seem to radiate hostility, and the air surrounding even its picture makes it seem powerful and deadly. "Cute," she remarks dryly. "This is going to be a lot of fun, I can tell." Giovanni ignores her comment and orders, -Sami. You are in charge. Make sure none of the others even suspect what we're after is Mewtwo, and remain as inconspicuous as possible on the trip to and your arrival and stay at Cinnabar. Once Mewtwo is in your possession, quickly and quietly make your exit. Mewtwo's disappearance will stir up a lot of trouble, and it's best that you don't stay any longer than you have to. If possible, find someone uninvolved to accompany you for an alibi so no one suspects.- He leans back into his chair. –I expect the best of results from you. You are the best member of Team Rocket, and that is the truth.- Faris smirks. "Yeah, whatever, Boss. If this Mewtwo is as valuable and dangerous as you say, I can't guarantee 100% success, but I'll do my damnedest to succeed." Giovanni smirks back and nods, then the screen goes black. She sighs in the darkness, running a hand through her bangs. "Mewtwo..." she mutters to herself. Then she walks out of the briefing room to join the rest of her teammates. Ending Theme: Amour Sonnet NOTES FOR EPISODE II of TOUCH AND GO: Going in order of what shows up first... - That whole skit about FFVII at the very beginning? You'd just have to have played the game. ^_^; But the reason why it's FFVII in particular is because both Starry and myself are nuts about the game, particularly over Sephiroth :D~~~~~~~~~~~ Mmmmmmm.... Sephiroth-sama...... (*sighs blissfully*) Er, ahem, um, never mind, ignore that ^_^;;; - Rufus Shinra is from Final Fantasy VII. He just has this... hair. ^_^;;; It's sort of a running gag among FF7 fans that Rufus obsesses with his hair. (There are a variety of running gags-- and inside jokes too, like Cloud gets wood from trees... (*snicker*) ) - One-Sided Love is a poem I wrote ^_^ Well, technically, it's a song, and it's sung to the orgel version of Ginga Isshi Mibun Chigai na Kata Omoi (A Galaxy of Difference: One-Sided Love), Seiya Kou of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon [Sailorstars]'s image song. - The version of Fly Me To the Moon that Faris is singing is the Shinseiki Evangelion one. - The poem James gave Faris was written by Shakespeare. - Naga was explained in last episode's notes. ^_^ - Rio's Battle Arena is a parody of Dio's Battle Arena, which is from Final Fantasy VII. - Yes, even Faris has a conscience ^_^ It annoys the hell out of her, but it refuses to go away. - That whole boyfriend thing that happened to Faris? That really happened to me, too. The only thing different was that Mercurius' net name was SailorMercury (which is why I thought he was a girl at first). - "Bakame" means "idiot", and from here on, you'll be seeing Faris saying that a lot.