Watching the Sky

[Mindy-chan]

Watching the Sky​

Rating: R for sexual content, language, violence and character death.

Shipping (in alphabetical order, not in order of importance):
Appealshipping, Brunettshipping, Cavaliershipping, Contestshipping, Masumishipping, Pearlshipping, Pokeshipping

Disclaimer: I'm not that creative. Also, X-posted at FF.net.

Summary:
The Grand League Winter Championship coincides with a beautiful and mysterious solar eclipse. It is when the sun does not reemerge from behind the moon that Ash and his friends decide to investigate. Sparks and hormones fly.

Table of Contents:
Chapter I: Collisons


x x x x

PROLOGUE

x x x x

Red eye flights, Misty Waterflower decided, were highly overrated. In the early morning hour, she unceremoniously tossed out her second cup of espresso and headed to the hotel's coffee shop, still not feeling the jitters of caffeine flush through her veins.

The sun still hadn't risen, and once she sat down to get her fix (again), she stared out of the window by her small table and sighed. The stars twinkled through the foggy glass, smiling down at the red-haired teen, murmuring to her that she needn't worry, because this time things would surely-

"Misty!"

She glanced over to the door, where the feminine voice had originated, and met a pair of cheerful blue eyes.

"May!" She jumped up from her table as the brunette sauntered over to her, pulling the older girl into a warm embrace.

"Oh, Misty, I've missed you so much!"

"Well, same here. How are you? I didn't know you were coming to watch Ash."

The younger girl grinned. "I wouldn't miss this for the world, Misty! How often does Ash get this sort of acknowledgment from the League?"

Misty's eyes twinkled. "Not enough for his ego." May giggled as the girls sat down at the table. Sipping her coffee, she examined the younger teen.

At fifteen-years-old, May Maple had risen from the local celebrity crowd of Hoenn's coordinators to an international coordinating star. A prodigy who had surprised judges and fans alike from the start with her sheer intuitive prowess in the arena, May had garnered the respect of the top coordinators.

And with that respect came fame, a source of much of her annoyance and stress. While most of May's peers certainly enjoyed their celebrity, May preferred an element of anonymity in her life.

Misty could certainly relate; as a gym leader, Misty too had a very public persona. And when the two girls spoke on the phone, they almost always spent the majority of the time ranting about paparazzi and crazy fans.

But the day was young and the two girls had little reason to worry about being bothered here. For the following two weeks, the creme de la crêpe of the world's population of trainers were to battle for the title of World Champion. And naturally, these best of the best had friends who were considered the best of the best in their respective fields, and so Misty was quite sure that the entire stadium would be aglow with camera flashes.

While the red-haired gym leader had been lost in thought, May had ordered her coffee and returned to the table with a steaming mug of energy.

"So... I'm afraid I've forgotten Ash's latest companion's name," Misty admitted sheepishly. May simply laughed.

"Her name is Dawn, and boy is she a cute little thing!"

The idea that Ash was traveling around Johto with a "cute little thing" bothered Misty more than it should have. However, May didn't need to know that, and so Misty grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, is she?" Hmm, just what I need, Misty thought.

May's eyes narrowed slightly in concentration. She was no fool; the fact remained that Misty was in love with the naïve and stubborn boy from Pallet who seemed to have some cellular attraction to trouble. And that May had just defined Dawn as a "cute little thing" couldn't have eased the already building jealousy, the same blind jealousy that existed as it had when May had been Ash's companion.

For the crime of being Ash's friend and a female on top of that, Dawn had already stumbled into a rather thick stigma. This jealousy was nothing personal, but at the same time it was exclusively personal.

Perhaps Misty wasn't even aware of her brewing dislike, but May certainly sensed it. When she meets Dawn, she'll see how sweet and nonthreatening she is, May reassured herself. Misty's a reasonable person, for all of her passion.

"Do you know when they're arriving?" Misty asked after May hadn't replied.

"Probably later today."

Misty nodded, trying to ignore the awkward silence that had settled on the two teens. She drained the remainder of her coffee and blinked.

"This caffeine isn't working quickly enough."

May laughed. "What an addict."

"Funny, May. I'm not addicted to caffeine. I just-"

"-need it to function," May interrupted, giggling. "Yeah, you're not addicted at all."

Misty puffed her cheeks. "Well, at least I don't smoke." A shade of cheeriness vanished from the younger girl's face.

"That was once, and it wasn't because I wanted to!" she argued.

It was Misty's turn to snicker. "Oh, that's right. Drew made you do it."

"He did!" May threw her hands defensively. "He got me drunk on wine coolers. Not my fault."

Misty folded her arms in her chest. "Precisely why I don't hang out with Drew."

May flushed. "He's not that bad. Just..."

"A womanizing jerk?"

For a moment, May contemplated retorting. But reality soon won over. "On occasion."

Misty's smugness faded and she sighed dramatically. "Oh, May. Why do we do this to ourselves?"

x x x x

Dawn Berlitz stared out of the window of the League car, studying her reflection as the dark sky transitioned from navy to red at the origin of the sun on the horizon. The stars and moon yawned and beamed down at her in one last rush against daylight, but she could tell the fight they put up was failing rather rapidly.

And soon enough, the oranges and reds and yellows overcame the once ensconcing blue. This time of day was, not surprisingly, her favorite. It was the time at which life began, at which the optimism of the new day overruled the somber pessimism of the previous.

On this day, I'll need all of the optimism the heavens will give, Dawn thought excitedly.

For this was the day that she was to tell the boy she loved how she felt. This was the day that would define the rest of her life (or at least the rest of her adolescence.)

Beside her, a mop of jet black hair bobbed against her shoulder gently. "A-are we there yet?" the boy asked sleepily, lifting his head and blinking his chocolate eyes as if he were attempting to squeeze the sleep out of them.

"Almost, Ash," answered the man beside him, Brock Slate. He tapped aggressively away on a laptop, apparently doing research on trainers in the tournament.

Dawn blushed considerably when Ash rested his head back on her shoulder. To her, this was a gesture of affection, and it made her even more certain in her plan.

Ash Ketchum was to battle in the Grand League Winter Championship, one of the most exclusive tournaments the Pokemon League held. It only occurred once in three years, and so Ash hadn't really ever been ready to attend before. At seventeen, he was on the younger end of the spectrum of contestants, but Dawn believed in him regardless of his lack of experience.

Besides, this boy had a special quality that would serve him well. He had a profound connection with his Pokemon, and that was worth more than years of experience.

Brock had invited all of Ash's family and closest friends, including May, Max and the famous Misty, who Dawn had yet to meet. Ash always spoke highly of the redhead from Cerulean who had been with him for the first few years of his journey, and naturally, Dawn wanted to get to know the girl who was immortalized in the form of a fishing hook.

The radio changed to the news, and partially out of boredom, Dawn decided to pay attention to the report.

"...one of the rarest forms of eclipses, the solar eclipse, is scheduled to occur during the opening of the Grand League Winter Championship this afternoon at 3:32.

"Officials will be handing out eclipse glasses to protect the eyes of spectators and participants, and League scientists have advised that all Pokemon are called back to their pokeballs to shield their sensitive eye membranes from the dangerous rays of the sun.

"Let's make this a safe championship tournament, so be sure to be extra aware of your surroundings during the eclipse..."

"That's so awesome!" Ash had also been listening intently. Dawn, however, didn't quite agree.

"I hate eclipses," she muttered to the window, staring at the rising sun as it bade her hello. This was the daytime; daytime meant sunlight. When the sunlight disappeared from daytime, things got unnatural.

"How? They're really cool!" Ash replied incredulously.

"Speak for yourself. I don't think the moon should just trespass into the sun's territory like that."

Brock glanced over at the two teens. "Dawn, the sky isn't like someone's yard. The sun and moon don't have sentience, so I really doubt that they even consider 'trespassing' during eclipses. Eclipses just... happen."

Ash smiled at her. "Don't worry, Dawn. You'll see just how awesome it is this afternoon!"

Dawn nodded, but the concern in her eyes only multiplied when she noticed the unease in Pikachu's expression as he sat on Ash's lap.

x x x x

In an office deep underneath the stadium, a man chuckled to himself as he examined a scroll on his steely desk. Characters in an ancient language filled the parchment.

Without tearing his eyes away from the scroll, he pressed a button on a speaker toward the right on the desk. "Professor, your service is requested in sector 8-A."

Feedback screeched back at him, but he ignored it, waiting for a response. "As you wish, Boss."

x x x x

Comment, criticize, condemn. I'm all ears.

 

[Stranger]

Nice work! I really like your writing style.

But seriously... you're going to add that many different 'ships'? How do you plan to manage the story without the plot turning into something straight out of a soap opera?

 

[Mindy-chan]

Nice work! I really like your writing style.

But seriously... you're going to add that many different 'ships'? How do you plan to manage the story without the plot turning into something straight out of a soap opera?

LOL, well, not all of them will be serious. For example, I can rule out about five of them as used simply for comic effect once or twice.

 

[Mindy-chan]

x x x x

CHAPTER I: Collisions

x x x x

"Well, I heard that Dawn Berlitz is going to be here!"

Gary Oak considered himself an intellectual guy. He spoke eloquently, was politically and socially informed and well-read. How was it, then, that he had been reduced to nothing short of catatonic with the very mention of her name as he paid for his sandwich at the counter of a fast-food establishment?

The two girls who squealed about the famous coordinating teen from Sinnoh turned around to find a very flustered sixteen-year-old boy staring at them as they nibbled on fries.

"What do you want, pervert?" The blond(er) one snapped. The other girl crossed her arms in front of her large chest. "Just because we're hot, doesn't mean you can just stare like that."

"I-I, uh, just heard you talkin' about... D-Dawn."

The blond(er) girl giggled. They certainly do have short attention spans, Gary thought at the sudden mood switch.

"Well, Dawn Berlitz, our favorite coordinator ever, is coming to watch Ash Ketchum battle!"

The other girl grinned. "I heard she and Ash are like, a couple. How cute is that?"

Gary nearly dropped his sandwich. Ash, dating? Was that even a possibility? "That's, er, great. Thanks, ladies."

The girls smiled at him and walked away, leaving him in a bit of a foul mood as he walked the half mile to his hotel.

The first time he had met Dawn Berlitz, he had felt such an unbelievable connection to the young blunette that it scared him half to death. Gary Oak hooked up with girls, but he certainly didn't end up tongue-tied, worrying about his hair or clothing around them.

During that visit, he had pretty much covered any trace of discomfort, even as she fawned over his "poetry." But of course, he saw the glimmer in Dawn's sweet blue eyes when she glanced over at Ash, and he heard the heightened pitch in her voice as she spoke to him. This was a girl in love, and who was he to interfere? Especially considering his dislike of relationships.

Relationships ended in hurt, mostly on the side of the girl. And because deep down Gary cared about the girls with whom he hooked up, he didn't want to cause them pain.

And he cared about Dawn. What a bizarre sensation! Her eyes, her smile, her life force... he was unbelievably attracted to her, so attracted that it ached.

Of course, he had known that Dawn Berlitz was coming to the competition with Ash, but he had attempted to repress his memories of her in the hopes that his attraction had simply been his unruly hormones.

But alas, his unruly hormones acted in different ways. He didn't want to have sex with Dawn like he did with other girls. She was this prim, innocent little thing, and Gary intended to protect that innocence. And she was nearly fourteen, more than three years younger than he; Gary didn't sexually desire thirteen-year-olds. Therefore this strange feeling apparently was not his libido, a fact that really frightened the crap out of him.

He crossed at an intersection and his phone began seizing in his pocket. His grandfather. "Grandpa?"

"Oh, hi Gary. Have you arrived at the Indigo Plateau yet?"

"Yeah, my flight landed about an hour ago. I was just heading over to the convention center to meet up with Ash and the others." And Dawn, he added nervously to himself.

"Great. Look, I'm sorry about this, but something came up here at the lab, and so Delia and I won't be making it out to see Ash."

The level of distress in his grandfather's voice worried Gary slightly, but he reassured himself that that added stress was merely annoyance. "Okay, I'll relay the message."

"Delia's really cut up about this... but I'm afraid we have no choice." He emphasized the last phrase.

"Okay, well, I'm sure you'll be able to at least watch at home, right?"

"Yeah, of course. Goodbye, Gary," he added quickly before the call ended.

By the end of the call, he reached the doors of the great Indigo League convention center. A twinge of longing struck him; the last time he had been here, he had been a star.

But there was barely anytime for nostalgia; a young woman with shoulder-length red hair threw her arms around his neck as she gasped, "Gary!"

Her hair smelled like the sea. "Mmifty," he replied into her neck, choking on fiery auburn silk.

She pulled back and grinned up at him. In the four years since her return to the Cerulean Gym, they had become friends. "So, how are you doing, Gary?"

"Alright, I guess. Are Ash and the others here yet?"

Misty frowned. "No, but May spoke with Brock like fifteen minutes ago. He said that they got caught in some god-awful traffic on Rt. 23."

"Moral of the story," Gary started. "Don't drive to internationally renowned events."

Misty giggled as a pretty brunette ran up to them. Following her closely was a younger boy, about eleven or twelve, with a large pair of glasses obstructing Gary's view of his face. The boy stared at Misty, apparently enchanted, from behind the safety of his sister.

"Oh, Gary, these are May and her brother Max. May, Max, this is Gary Oak. I don't know if you've met each other," Misty added, stepping back as Max giddily shook Gary's hand.

"You're the Gary Oak? Sinnoh's premier Pokemon researcher? Wow! I'm so pleased to meet you finally!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Gary grinned. It was always nice to be reminded of how well-known he was. "Well, thanks Max." He waved at May, who seemed to be in a state of awe. "And you must be that coordinator prodigy, May Maple, right?"

She turned bright red. "H-how do you know my name?"

The womanizer in him was enjoying this. "The media's in love with that pretty little face of yours."

"Well, I, uh, wouldn't call it pretty..."

"That's too bad; you're beautiful!"

Max seemed miffed that Gary had brushed him off in favor of the curvaceous brunette; even though he was a well-respected researcher, he was still an ordinary teenage boy. And May Maple was made for the ordinary teenage boy's enjoyment. Misty just bit her lip uncomfortably and cleared her throat. "You know, maybe we should help you get settled into your hotel room. Ash should be here soon, and I'd like to be around when he arrives."

Gary noticed May smile compassionately at Misty; Max only sighed, watching Misty dejectedly. "Max," she called, and his face lit up considerably. "Can you run to the front desk and tell them that Gary Oak is here?"

Max nodded, throwing a glare at the researcher. "Come on, May. Buy me a coke at the vending machine."

May quickly followed her younger brother to the desk, seemingly anxious to get away from Gary. Once they had left the area, Misty shook her head at him irritably.

"No, no, no, Gary." She wagged her finger at him. "You and I can flirt a little because we each get the game, but May? She's... very impressionable. And she's in love with someone already, so you would only be a distraction."

Gary chuckled. "Misty, hold on. I'm not into May. She's cute, but I think she's the one with the crush."

"She doesn't have a crush on you, Gary. You said she was beautiful; how do you think she was going to respond?"

"I don't know, Misty. That's the look you give Ash whenever you see him."

Misty leaned in, narrowing her eyes as she poked him in the chest. Gary stared back at her, a cocky grin washing over his lips. They were less than six inches apart, and she had opened her mouth to bitch at him some more when she flushed madly at the exclamation of her name from the left.

From the doorway.

They quickly pulled away from each other and turned to greet Brock, who was trying to fight a fit of laughter. "You two sure are cute together."

"We're not-"

"No, she's not my-"

"Sure you're not," the older boy replied, winking at Gary. "Good work, man." Misty's face flushed to an even darker shade of red.

"Who's cute together, Brock?" a surprisingly mature, masculine voice asked. Gary could practically feel Misty's heart beat increase through the floor. A tall, slim young man with a great mop of black hair that fell unceremoniously into his chocolate brown eyes walked up next to Brock and glanced over at the two friends. Gary heard Misty inhale sharply.

"Well, Gary and Misty, of course."

"Pika?" the Pikachu on his shoulder's gasped.

Ash Ketchum's eyebrows flew up as he gaped at them. "You guys are dating?"

"Absolutely not," Misty shouted, shaking her head violently.

"Oh, well, that's... good, I guess," Ash mumbled. The thick awkwardness practically suffocated the group. "Hey Gary," he waved before turning his attention to the willowy-figured redhead.

"Hello Misty," he greeted softly. His tone, Gary noted, was almost tender.

"It's been a long time." Gary was surprised to find the very same, sweet and gentle inflection saturating her voice.

Before he could answer, the spell was broken. "Ash, is this your Misty?"

Gary's eyes widened. He died, he was dead, he was floating on the froth of a distant sea, he was within the center of her soul, he was halfway around the world. He was alive, he was seeing wavy blue hair and crystal blue eyes and gorgeous clear skin and his heart quivered, and his heart stopped, and his heart exploded.

"She's not my Misty!" Ash cried, embarrassed at the notion of Misty being in his possession. "But uh, Misty, this is Dawn Berlitz. Dawn, this is Misty Waterflower."

Misty smiled nervously at Dawn as she tore her eyes away from Ash's. "It's wonderful to meet you, Dawn."

Even in the middle of his psychological blackout, Gary could hear Dawn's supple voice. "I've heard so much about you, Misty! And... Gary Oak..."

His head ached as he returned to life just in time to see her smiling sweetly at him, a hint of some unidentifiable emotion in her face.

"Nice to see you again, D-Dawn." Damnit, he thought. Can't I get through her name once without stuttering like a fucking moron? Her smile broadened.

"Dawn!" May had returned with Max and two bottles of coke. "How are you doing?"

"Fine! I've missed you, May! It gets kinda lonely bein' the only girl out there, sometimes," Dawn admitted as May pulled her into an embrace.

Gary pulled his gaze away from the blunette and glanced at Ash. The trainer blatantly stared at Misty as she cuddled with Pikachu, his eyes filled with some sort of confusion Gary didn't understand.

But from the glimmer in his eyes, the researcher could tell it had to do with the red-haired gym leader from Cerulean City.

Dawn giggled at something May had said, and Gary felt his heart skip a beat. Oh, this was bad, bad news.

x x x x

The sun shone majestically in the sky, waiting for the moon to fulfill her duty. Once the eclipse began, and the darkness began to cover the surface of the planet, the sun's children started to take out the government-issued viewers with which they could stare into the otherwise dangerous sight above.

All around the convention center at the Indigo Plateau people stood in the streets, just gawking in excitement as the sun hid behind the moon.

A few feet from where Misty sat with her friends, a young boy held his mother's hand. "Mama, I'm scared."

The kind-looking woman smiled down at him lovingly. "My darling, remember this: though darkness may cover the world, the light always shines through."

The boy squeezed her hand as he looked back up at the fledgling eclipse through his viewer. "Mama, it's real pretty."

"Make a wish," she replied calmly.

Misty giggled as the boy scrunched his face in thought. "I wish that I could get a bike for Christmas."

"Whatcha lookin' at over there, Mist?" Ash asked, using her old nickname for the first time in years. To her, it seemed quite natural.

"Oh, nothing. Hey Ash?"

"Hmm?"

She winked at him. "Make a wish."

He grinned and looked up at the eclipse as it progressed. "I'd like to win this thing. You?"

Misty bit her lip. Well, my real wish ain't something I can just throw out there, she thought. "I wish to someday have a daughter." There, that's real enough. I didn't say who's, but that doesn't really matter.

May, who sat beside Ash on the hill, giggled. "My wish is to beat Drew at the next Grand Festival. Oh, he'll be so pissed!" she added evilly.

"Pikapi!" squealed Pikachu from Misty's lap. Buneary, who had been sitting at Dawn's feet loyally, swooned.

"What's your wish, Dawn?" May asked.

The blunette shot a glance at an unaware Ash Ketchum. Misty caught the glance, but to her surprise, she felt no jealousy, no bitterness, no anger... she just felt pity. Pity for the girl who yearned for what Misty desired, pity for love wasted on a dense oaf. And Misty knew the feeling of hopelessness well, so she commiserated with the younger girl.

When May had first mentioned Dawn, Misty had felt all kinds of dislike for her. But contrary to all of the unwarranted ill-will and bitterness she thought she'd feel once she'd met the girl, she simply emphasized with her. She simply understood. And perhaps Dawn understood, too.

"I wish to... get some control of Mamoswine?" she finished lamely to May's giggles. "Brock, what about you?"

Brock looked up from his laptop and blushed. "Well, I think that's fairly obvious. I'd like to get laid."

Misty snorted. "Gary, you're the only one left."

Her brown-haired friend from Pallet had been unusually quiet. He watched the darkness above and didn't turn to face the group as he spoke. "I'd like to... do a lot of things."

"Specific," Brock snickered.

The eclipse was nearly complete when Pikachu growled. Buneary and the other Pokemon who had been released tensed as total blackness coated the world. The ring of light around the moon was the sole light for a few moments before the street lights and buildings glowed with electricity and energy.

"How eerie," Misty whispered, and Ash nodded. Pikachu sat up protectively, and the redhead ran her fingers gently through the distressed Pokemon's fur. "Pikachu, settle down. It's just an eclipse. It'll be done in a minute."

But a minute passed, and it was not finished. And then two minutes passed, then four, then ten, and then twenty... and it was not until an hour later that someone broke the nervous silence of the crowd.

"Where is the sun?" whispered a child.

And then the murmuring began. "I can't see my baby!"

"David, where are you?"

"I lost my glasses in this blasted grass!"

And the murmuring grew into shouting. "What the hell is this thing?"

"What kind of sick joke is this?"

Misty scooted closer to Ash as Pikachu's cheeks sparked. They exchanged worried glances as May gaped at the sky. The ring of dim light had disappeared altogether.

"The sun is... gone."

 

[Luna Tiger]

Brunettershipping

Comment, criticize, condemn. I'm all ears.

*psst* It's called Brunettshipping.

 

[Stranger]

More people need to comment on this!

I love the story so far.

 

[Mindy-chan]

*psst* It's called Brunettshipping.

Haha, well, thank you I've been looking everywhere for the name of it, and well, I guess the site was wrong.

More people need to comment on this!

I love the story so far.
[/size]

Why thanks! I really appreciate that!