A Tricky Situation ~Touch and Go~ is ©1999 Seiya (starr.evans@mailcity.com)
and Hotaru (faris.greyweirs@mailcity.com). Steal it and Xelloss-sama will
thoroughly mash you into a bloody, hideous, mangled, very not-nice-looking
pulp.

Everything else belongs to somebody else; they know who they are. At least, we hope
they do, 'cause we sure don't ^_^;;


If you haven't visited it yet, A Tricky Situation can be found at
              http://fly.to/touchandgo/




                      Opening Theme: Our Evolution
           Title Screen: Even if the two of us are ever torn apart...



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

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



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



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

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



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


    Faris and James are still holding hands as they walk up the driveway to
Martina's door. However, the sweet moment doesn't last very long. From within
the house, suddenly they hear, in order, Ash cracking up, Misty yelling and
a door slamming. 
    "Oh boy." Faris shakes her head. 
    One of the upstairs windows opens, and a messy-haired Starr pokes her head
out. "Utena, Touga, are you guys still going to the party or not?" 
    Faris looks up and calls back, "Yes. Don't be so impatient. We're coming."
    "Yay," Starr says, looking a little nervous. "Because I need a little
reassurance." 
    "Reassurance?" James looks confused. "I thought she was excited about this."
    "It's her first formal party." Faris shrugs. "She's just nervous. Come on."
She gently pulls James to the door. "Let's go help another damsel in distress."

    The first thing James and Faris see as they come up the stairs is Misty--in
full formal attire, no less--beating Ash around the head with his Official
Pokémon League hat. The door to the room Starr's in is shut. 
    "You should know better than to talk to girls like that, you little creep!"
she roars. 
    "What happened?" James asks. 
    Misty points to Ash. "When Starr came out of the room to show her dress, THIS
thing said it looked like a tablecloth!"
    Faris grins a little bit, but says nothing. 
    Starr cracks the door open a little. 
    "What's up?" Faris asks, seeing the nervous look in Starr's green eyes. 
    "I don't know if I can do this." Starr replies, looking down. "This is...I
mean...this whole party....I don't know anyone here...and....and.........."
    Abruptly she flings the door open, asking, "Does it *really* look like a
tablecloth?" 
    James shakes his head no. "Of course not." 
    Starr still looks doubtful, turning and going back into the room. She looks
in the mirror, pulls her hair back with the rose clip, then leans a little closer
and sighs. 
    Faris and James walk into the room. 
    Starr closes her eyes and sighs. When she opens them again, James is looking
over her shoulder. 
    "You look pretty. Don't worry," he says, smiling. 
    "Seriously..." Starr asks. 
    James nods. "I'm your friend. I'd never lie to you about something like that."
    Faris pats Starr's shoulder. "You'll do fine."
    "Are you sure?" Starr turns suddenly, hands clasped in front of her, green
eyes big and cute and imploring. 
    Faris cracks up. "YES. Starr, you look fine. You will probably have males
following you around all evening. As long as you just relax and have fun, you'll
be fine." 
    Starr sighs and smiles. "Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to hear."
    Faris says, "Trust me, formal parties are a lot more normal than you'd think.
You ready? Martina's taking all of us to dinner first."
    "Food is always a good thing," Starr replies. "I'm almost done. I'm just going
to put on what minuscule amount of make-up I ever use, then I'll be ready."
    "Okay, then." Faris says as she's leaving.
    Misty walks into Starr's room, pulls out her ponytail, and puts in the
hairband. "Don't worry. I'm nervous too. But we'll have fun."
    "I know." Starr smiles as she faces Misty. "Shall we?" She puts out her hand.
    "Let's shall," Misty nods, linking arms with Starr. The two of them stride
down the hall and down the stairs, to where Togepi, James and Brock are waiting
in the living room.
    "Tada!" Misty sings, doing her 'model spin' again. 
    Brock blinks. He stammers and blushes before managing to say, "You look
pretty, Misty...." 
    "Brriii, toge toge!!" Togepi cheers, clapping its little hands.
    Ash is the next one to be ready. He comes down the stairs humming with
Pikachuon his head.
    His Pokémon League hat is also still on his head.
    "Aa~sh!" Misty puts her hands on her hips. "You can't wear that silly
hat to a formal party." 
    "Says who? I'm only going to wear this silly outfit if I get to wear my
hat." Ash crosses his arms and looks down at his suit with a funny look on
his face. 
    "Ash, you look fine. Your tie is even straight," Starr says.
    Ash stops grumbling and looks proud. "First try, too."
    "Why Pikachu, don't you look fancy," Misty giggles. Pikachu is wearing
a string of beads around her neck. 
    "Pika." Pikachu bows. 
    "Martina insisted that even Pikachu and Raichu be formal," Faris says
apologetically from the top of the stairs. 
    James looks up at her. His eyes go wide for a second, then he blushes
a little and looks proud. 
    At Starr's teasing grin, he says a bit defensively, "Well, who wouldn't
be proud to be with someone as beautiful as Faris?" 
    "Where's Jessie?" Misty speaks up. "She's been up in the bathroom for
hours."
    As if on cue, Jessie appears at the top of the stairs. She's wearing a
long, tight pale-blue dress with fairly puffy sleeves and a low neckline.
Her hair is in a high ponytail held up with a pale blue scrunchie. 
    "Sorry," Jessie says. 
    Faris shrugs. "It's all right. Martina still isn't ready, and if I know
my mother, we're in for a wait before she is."
    Fifteen minutes later, just as everyone is getting bored, Martina emerges
from wherever she's been. Her normal little red dress has been replaced by
a tight red floor-length strapless dress with a long slit up one side. 
    "Are we all set?" she says cheerily. 
    For once, Faris smiles at her mother. "Ready when you are, Martina." 
    Everyone gets in the limousine that's pulled up in front of the house,
heading for the party on East Cinnabar. 



    Surprisingly, Martina doesn't say a word about IT all through dinner.
Rather, she merely gushes about what a cute couple Faris and James make.
Jessie seems happier. She sits beside Starr and talks to her about the
fashion magazines Martina's worked with, and Martina might give her a job
sometime. 
    The night only gets better when they arrive at the party. 
    The dance hall is beautiful, with a polished wood floor. Chandeliers
like midair castles hang from the ceiling and the mirror walls reflect
their light. Ice sculptures of Articuno and Lapras grace the punch table.
    Starr is awestruck by this. Misty's eyes fill with a galaxy of stars.
    "I feel like Cinderella!"
    Even Faris looks impressed. "This really is beautiful. They went all
out."
    When no one is looking, James sneaks a small pink rose and a large
white lily from a flower arrangement, giving the rose to Starr and the
lily to Faris. 
    "For my best friend and my girlfriend," he says, bowing.
    Misty sighs happily. James blushes a little bit, but at the next
opportunity he manages to sneak a little pink carnation for Misty.
    "Thank you!" she smiles. "You're really sweet when you want to be,
James." 
    "Playboy." Ash pokes James in the arm.
    Brock is busily taking notes.
    Jessie has gone off and is flirting with a large group of guys near
the punch table. Starr shakes her head.
    "Jessie's in her element," James sighs. "There's no way we're going
to be able to get her away from there." 
    "Oh well. Let her have some fun, I guess." Starr shrugs. 
    The group separates. Ash & Pikachu, Brock and Misty & Togepi go off
to talk to some of the other kids. Misty recognizes Giselle from Pokémon
Tech. Faris and James walk off together. 
    Starr looks around to see if she knows anyone. Aside from Faris,
James, and Ash-tachi, she doesn't. 
    A long, bored sigh escapes her lips, and she leans on the windowsill
to watch the stars. 
    "Pretty, aren't they?" 
    Starr blinks and turns to see a guy about her age smiling at her. He
has blue eyes and deeper blue hair. He's a little taller than she, about
two inches, maybe. 
    And he's cute. 
    Very cute. 
    He goes on, "Are you interested in astronomy, or you just like the
view?" 
    "I guess a little bit of both." 
    "Me, too." He leans on the sill next to Starr, looks down at his hands,
and then looks up at her again. "I saw you come in with your friends." 
    Starr nods. "Hmm. All of them are busy, though. So I just figured I
do what I used to whenever I had time on my hands at night, watch the
stars." 
    The guy smiles. "When I was a kid, I used to be fascinated by the
night sky. All those mystical shining things up there. I set myself to
finding out as much as I could about the sky. But knowing everything
there is to know about the stars takes away some of the mystery and they
don't seem so wonderful anymore. Some things are better left to the
imagination." 
    Starr smiles and says, "That's really beautiful." 
    "You think so?" The guy turns a little pink. 
    "Yes...what's your name?" 
    "Michael Corwin. What's yours?" 
    "Starr Evans." 
    Michael's smile gets bigger. "It figures I'd meet a girl named Starr
while I was talking about the night sky." 
    "You like my name then?" 
    "Yes." Michael is turning pinker. He clears his throat twice, looks at
the sky again and then abruptly says, "Starr, if it's okay with you, would
you like to dance?" 
    Starr nods. 
    Michael takes Starr's hand and leads her out onto the dance floor. 
  

    The orchestra has begun to play a slow song. Faris looks over at the
dance floor and happens to see a familiar person with cherry-colored hair
dancing. 
    "James, look," Faris says, putting a hand on James's shoulder. 
    James does, and smiles. "I'm glad she found somebody. I was worried she'd
get bored all by herself." 
    Faris looks at the guy Starr is with and smiles. "He looks almost exactly
like...." 
    "Like who?" 
    "Forget it." Faris shakes her head and laughs. 
    James looks out again at Starr and her partner, then turns to Faris. "You
know, that looks like fun. Faris, may I have the honor of this dance?"
    Faris only takes James's hand, smiling. 
    The two of them join Starr and Michael out on the floor. 
  
    Starr rests her head on Michael's shoulder as he holds her just a
little bit closer. 

    Faris puts her arms around James's waist and breathes in the smell of
his cologne and roses as he kisses the top of her head. 
  
    Misty tugs on Giselle's sleeve suddenly. "Oh, wow! Look!" 
    "What?" She tries to look past Ash to see what Misty is so shiny-eyed
about. 
    Misty indicates two couples dancing slowly around the floor. "The girl
with the red hair is my friend Starr, and the guy with the light blue hair
and the girl with the lavender hair is James and Faris! Oh, they look so
pretty! It's so romantic!"
    Giselle and Misty sigh almost in unison. Togepi looks shiny-eyed.
    "Who's Starr with?" Brock asks.
    "I don't know," Misty replies. "But he's handsome."
    Ash takes one look at Misty and Giselle and cracks up.
    Misty and Giselle, however, are too busy sighing over the romance of
the scene to whap him. 
    Ash rolls his eyes, then looks again. For a second, he can almost see
what Misty and Giselle are so worked up about. It does seem neat...almost
like a fairy tale. 
    Suddenly someone remarks behind Ash, "Well, well, if it isn't Ash the
Loser!" 
    Ash cringes, grinding his teeth together at the sound of the familiar
voice. Collecting himself, he turns to face Gary. "Oh, hi, Gary," he says
nonchalantly, deciding not to lose his cool, much as he wants to clobber
his archrival. 
    Gary looks a bit shocked--usually Ash would have spazzed by now. "Uh...
so, what's a no-good trainer like you doing in a place like this?" 
    "I'm here with my friend," Ash replies, having fun watching Gary's eyes
bug out at his calmness. 
    "What friend?" Gary demands, cool-obnoxious-guy persona flying out the
window. 
    "Faris Greyweirs." 
    Gary facefaults. "No way! A loser like you knows her?!? A loser like you
is FRIENDS with her!?!?!" 
    Ash nods smugly, grateful to finally have an edge over him. "Yeah."
  

    The slow song is drawing to an end. Starr looks up at Michael and smiles.
"Thank you." 
    Michael smiles back. "I should be thanking you."
    Starr blushes and looks down, then looks back up.
  
    Faris looks up at James.

    Michael leans in to Starr.

    James leans in to Faris.
  
    Then, suddenly, the moment is shattered when someone says, "James! What
on earth ARE you doin'??" 
    James freezes. 
    He twitches a little. 
    Faris turns to see what's disturbed him so much, and sees...
    A girl in a ridiculous pale yellow Nanami-esque dress. Complete with
huge gold and pink bows. 
    The girl resembles Jessie, but her hair is pulled back from her face in
two ringlet ponytails. 
    "And just *who* is this gal you're dancin' with?" the girl goes on, her
southern accent getting more pronounced as she does. 
    James squeezes Faris' hand and says determinedly, "Jezebel, this is my
girlfriend, Faris Greyweirs." 
    "Girlfriend?!?" Jezebel exclaims. "But James honey, y'all and me are
engaged! Y'all can't have a girlfriend, toooo!" 
    "We broke the engagement off," James says firmly, though his voice
shakes a little. After all, this IS the girl who's terrorized him for
most of his natural life.
    "Jezebel? What's goin' on over there?" someone calls from the crowd.
    "Oh no." James drops his head as a woman with purple hair in a bun
and a man with blue hair and a mustache comes over. 
    From across the room, Michael watches. "Who's causing the ruckus?"
he wonders. 
    Starr looks. "Oh, great, someone's bothering my friends." She starts
to head over. Michael follows. 
    James looks at the floor as his mother asks, "James, who's this girl
y'all were dancing with?" 
    "Mom, this is Faris. Faris, meet my mom and dad," James says with a
complete and total lack of enthusiasm. 
    "James, you should know better than to just dance with any old girl.
Our family has a reputation to keep up, and if our son goes off dancin'
with some stranger, what will people think?" James's father pats his
son's shoulder.
    "Faris isn't a stranger. We've been going out for more than a week." 
    "What's going on?" a girl's voice comes from behind him. Peeking past
his dad, James can see Starr and a guy with sky blue hair. 
    "James, what's going on?" Starr repeats. 
    "This is James' parents," Faris explains. "And his former fiancée,
Jezebel." 
    "Former fiancée? James, honey, what have you been telling this girl?"
James's mother scolds gently. "Y'all know you an' Jezebel are still
betrothed." 
    "Not anymore," James replies firmly. "It's been broken off."
    "By who?" Jezebel demands.
    "By me!" James retorts.
    "James, y'all know you probably didn't do it right." Jezebel
shakes a finger at him.
    James's mother nods. "James, we only want what's best for you."
She puts a hand on Faris' shoulder and delicately shoves her away
from James. "Don't take it too hard, darlin', but as much of a
delinquent as our son is, we can't have him marryin' a commoner."
    James turns red. "Faris is not a 'commoner'. If you'd listen, you'd
have heard when I said her name is Faris GREYWEIRS. As in Martina
Greyweirs' daughter." 
    James's parents blush. His mother puts her hand over her mouth. "Oh,
dear, what a faux pas."
    James's father turns back to Faris. "Forgive us, we had no idea..."
    The two of them hurry off.
    Jezebel, unfortunately, stays, determined to get this not-engaged-to-
James-anymore business straightened out.
    Faris chooses to ignore her and turns to Starr. "Starr, who's your
friend?" 
    "Michael Corwin," Starr's friend replies, extending his hand. James
and Michael shake hands, then Michael smiles at Faris.
    "Faris Greyweirs...right?" 
    Faris nods. 
    "Neat," Michael smiles. 
    Jezebel can't take being ignored anymore. She watches the back-and-forth
introductions for about five seconds more before stomping in between and
shrilling, "Ah can't take this anymore! James, y'all had no right to go behind
mah back and break off our engagement!" 
     "Yes, he did," Faris says levelly. 
    "Y'all STAY OUTTA THIS!" Jezebel demands, glaring at Faris. 
    "Why should I?" 
    "Y'all had no right to encourage him!" Jezebel huffs, trying to grab James'
arm. "He's MAH betrothed, and y'all better keep your hands off him! He belongs
to ME." 
    James jerks his arm away. 
    "I. Am. Not. Yours," he says in a low voice. 
    Jezebel laughs. "Why, James, silly, of course you are!" 
    "I don't belong to anyone." 
    "James--" 
    "I am not a possession!" 
    "But--" 
    "I am a human being and I am NOT going to change and do what you say just
because you want me to. The only part of me that belongs to ANYONE is my
heart, and that belongs to Faris Greyweirs!" James announces confidently,
standing up to Jezebel for the first time in his life.
    And for the first time in her life, Jezebel looks up....
    Swallows...
    And steps back.
    Starr looks levelly at Jezebel. "I think you should probably go before
you make a bigger idiot of yourself," she says calmly. 
    Jezebel gasps and faces Starr. "Y'all can't tell me what to do." 
    "Just the same as you can't tell James what to do," Starr reminds her,
smiling sweetly. 
    "James is MINE," Jezebel insists, glowering at Faris and Starr. 
    "You wish," Faris states simply. 
    Jezebel stands there fuming for a second, then points at Faris and screams,
"Y'all aren't gonna walk away from this! You and I are gonna settle this once
and for all, y'hear?!?!!?" 
    "How do you propose to settle it?" Faris inquires. 
    "I might have a solution," Michael speaks up. He reaches into his pocket
and pulls out a small white card embroidered with blue and gold, then hands
it to Faris. 
    Faris reads it over. "'Pokémon Duels...'" 
    "Some friends of mine and I have been running formal Pokémon battles (we
call them duels) for about eight months now here on Cinnabar." 
    Faris nods. "That sounds reasonable." 
    "Yeah! And the winner of the duel gets James!" Jezebel declares, crossing
her arms over her chest. 
    Faris gives James' hand a don't-worry squeeze, and he relaxes a little. 
    "I can schedule your duel for next week at the East Cinnabar Arena,"
Michael says. "Between then and now, we can set up the time frame. The number
for our office is on the card, so you can contact me at your leisure. Will
I see you all then?" 
    "You'll see me," Starr replies. 
    Faris nods. "I'll be there." She then turns to Starr and James. "Do you
three want to come get some fresh air? It's a little warm in here."
    "Sounds good to me," Starr nods.
    As the four of them start outside, Jezebel screeches, "Y'ALL BETTER NOT
WALK AWAY FROM ME!"
    Michael turns to face Jezebel, producing a small piece of a certain green
herb garnish from within the void. 
    "And why shouldn't we? You're as meaningless as a sprig of parsley."
    The door closes behind them.
    Much to Jezebel's embarrassment, almost the entire hall of people busts
up laughing.
    Martina wipes a tear from her eye with a hankie given to her by one of
her many male admirers. "I haven't had so much fun in weeks!" she laughs.
    James' parents shake their heads.
    "Sugar, I'm beginnin' to have second thoughts about Jezebel," his mother
frets. "Sometimes she's even more of a delinquent than our James."
    "Maybe we could arrange to have James betrothed to Miss Greyweirs,"
James's father muses. "Now *there's* a girl who'd be good for him." 
    That settled, the two set out to find Martina. 
  

    "As meaningless as parsley." Starr grins and leans back on the bench.
"Michael, that was hilarious." 
    Michael shrugs. "She was annoying." 
    "She always is," James snorts. 
    Faris leans against James. "You handled that really well. Most other guys
would have run screaming in the other direction." 
    "There's a girl like her at my old school," Michael smiles faintly.
"She's the younger sister of one of my friends who runs the Pokémon
duels. So, after years with having to deal with her, I know how to handle
people like that." 
    "Someone exactly like Jezebel?" Starr cringes. "Somehow I have trouble
picturing two of those." 
    "Sometimes she's okay," Michael explains, "but when she puts her mind
to it she can be even louder..." 
    Suddenly James looks terrified. "Faris, what if my parents ask your
mother if she'll betroth you to me????" 
    Faris blinks. "James, my mother gets hives if you so much as mention
commitment within one square mile of her. She'll never agree."
    James lets out a happy sigh of relief.
    Michael looks out at the bay. "They're finished setting up the barge
for the fireworks display." He pulls a stopwatch out of his pocket. "If
I'm right, they should be starting right about...." 
    *cPhOiWk*. 
    A burst of golden and red sparks showers out across the sky.
    "Now." Michael grins and pockets the stopwatch.
    Starr looks at Michael. "You're good."
    Michael only grins more and holds her hand as more coloured starbursts
paint the night, reflecting on the bay and glittering out across the dark
water.


    From the window, Misty and Giselle can see the two couples silhouetted
in the rainbow fireworks' light. 
    Jessie can also see, and wonders who Starr is with, but soon turns her
attention back to the lavender-haired, green-eyed guy who's currently hitting
on her. 
    Martina sighs, thinking that this just may be Faris' big night. 
    James's parents think of how perfect Faris will be for their son. 
    Michael gives Starr a tiny kiss on the cheek. 



    Faris raises an eyebrow. "'The Ends of the World Arena', you call this
place?" 
    "Yeah," Michael replies. "The Ends of the World Arena: revolutionizing
Pokémon battles!" 
    Starr and Faris both give him strange looks, then shake their heads. 
    "So, anyway," Misty cuts in, eager to take a look around (she wanted to
duel too; it sounded cool, and Michael said that a group can fill a day for
duels), "where are your other friends who help run the duels? Umm... what did
you say their names were again, Michael?"
    "Briii... toge..." Togepi says in awe as it looks around from Misty's arms.
    "I remember Nancy Cunningham..." Ash says (he also wanted to duel). "Wasn't
there a Thomas something-or-other?"
    "Pika pichu?" Pikachu speaks up. 
    Raichu shakes his head. "Rai, rai..." 
    "Nathalie Cunningham," Michael corrects him. "Yes, and Thomas is her older
brother. He's in charge of the duels when Orion Abraxas, the founder of Ends of
the World, isn't around or is too busy to take care of things. Julie Allenson
and Kevin Sanders are the other two. You'll meet them all in a minute; Orion's
in town at the moment, so he's here too." With that, he lets them all in.
    "Of course, I'll win all the duels!" Gary Oak boasts (he's been dying to
battle Faris, so he found a way to get into the duels, even though none of this
really concerns him). "But I'm sure you'll give me a tough fight, Faris," he adds
quickly.
    Faris only rolls her eyes (discreetly). 
    "Hey! Don't forget, you're gonna duel me, too!" Ash snaps. 
    "You're hardly worth noticing," Gary smirks. "I bet $10 our duel will be over
in less than thirty seconds!" 
    Ash growls to himself for a moment, then manages to remember that he's going
to keep his cool around Gary and smiles very falsely at his rival. "I'd take that
bet, except I've got too much pride to win such easy money."
    Their argument is cut short by an acute Southern accent. "Who cares 'bout you
two! These duels are between me an' Faris!" Jezebel states hotly (of course she's
here, she's the other Duelist, remember?). 
    "Faris and I," Faris corrects her absently, looking around the Arena. "Nice
digs, Mikey. Do we get Duelist uniforms to go with everything?" 
    Michael looks startled. "How did you know?" 
    Faris gives him an equally startled look, then shakes her head. "Don't ask."
    Meowth pokes Batts. "Hey, what's with Faris?"
    Batts regards him coolly. <You shouldn't ask.>
    The kitty-like Pokémon gives him a cross look. "Why shouldn't I?"
    "You're the group of eight dueling on Thursday, right?" an indifferent, feminine
voice sounds from behind them, cutting Meowth off. The group turns about face to see
a young woman with tightly curled tangerine hair, green eyes, and a beautiful but
cold face leaning on the wall behind them. "Michael told me about you." Her eyes
slide over to Starr. "Especially you."
    Starr and Michael blush slightly. "Th- this is Julie Allenson," Michael
stammers.
    "The group of eight includes Faris Greyweirs, Jezebel Delany, Starr Evans,
Jessica Langley, Ash Ketchum, Misty Harbrook, and Gary Oak as the seven Duelists,
with James Dupont acting as the Rose Bride," a cool, male voice recites. The group
turns again to face a young man with long, wavy forest-green hair, violet eyes, and
a hardened face. "Is all this information correct?" He turns his gaze to Brock, who
doesn't want to duel, but wanted to come anyway. "You're not on the list. What are
you doing here?" 
    "Kevin Sanders," Michael introduces quickly. 
    "I'm here with my friends, so I'm just going to watch the duels," Brock says
quickly, not wanting to get on this weird guy's bad side. 
    "I don't like being called 'Jessica' by anyone other than close friends,"
Jessie states flatly, pointedly adding extra pronunciation to 'close'. "Call
me Jessie." 
    "In the duels, you'll be referred to by a codename," another male voice, deep
and smooth, sounds. "So it doesn't matter what name you go by." With long, silky
vermilion hair with a light-red bang, and deep blue eyes, the final man is tall
and gorgeous. His smile is both charming and dangerous, and his stride is filled
with self-confidence. Standing next to him is a much shorter girl with blue-gray
eyes and light blond hair which is held back by a braid. She adds, "The codename
you choose goes with the Duelist uniform you wear. If you're lucky, you'll get
'TOUGA' or 'NANAMI', the best ones." 
    Ash grins and whispers to Misty, "A codename.... Cool...I feel like James
Bond...."
    Meowth mutters at his feet, "Jaaaaaaaames Bond..."
    Pikachu and Raichu giggle, "Chu, chu, chuu..."
    Faris smiles a little at them as Michael coughs and introduces them. "Everyone,
this is Thomas and Nathalie Cunningham. Er, Thomas, where's Orion?"
    As if timed, the sound of a roaring engine and screeching tires grinds in the
parking lot of the Ends of the World Arena. All heads turn towards the glass doors
as footsteps approach, a dark-skinned man with a red shirt, white slacks, a purple
tie, and lavender hair held back in a long ponytail. With the grace of a prince, he
coolly enters the Arena. He nods to Thomas, who nods back, before stopping at the
end of the hall to face everyone in the room. "I apologize for my lateness," he says
a bit formally. "The traffic was terrible. I worried all the way here that I wouldn't
be in time to meet the newest Duelists." He faces Faris-tachi. "Please forgive my
rudeness. I am Orion Abraxas, the owner of the Ends of the World Arena." He smiles,
his verdant green eyes friendly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
    Starr and Faris are both getting the major heebie-jeebies from him. "I swear,
he's freakin' Akio!!" Faris hisses. 
    Starr nods vehemently, staring at the Akio-lookalike with wide green eyes. "I
believe we've dived headfirst into the Twilight Zone here."
    "Dived?! We're DROWNING!!!"
    "Is something the matter, ladies?" Orion queries politely.
    The two jump. "Um, nothing," they chime nervously. (Everyone is giving them
strange looks by now.) 
    Orion smiles pleasantly, then nods to Julie. "S'il vous plaît, Julie?"
    She nods back, then walks over to the crowd. "Follow me," she states/requests/
orders. "Kevin and I will instruct you on the Rules of the Ends of the World. Once
we're done briefing you, Thomas and Michael will show you the list of codenames
available to you, and Nathalie will bring out the Duelist uniforms." Without another
word, she and Kevin begin to walk off. After a couple seconds of hesitation, Faris
and Starr follow them, and the others take their lead.
    Orion and Thomas watch them go. Thomas then turns to Nathalie and Michael.
"Michael, get the computer ready for the time setup. With a group that large, it's
going to take some time to arrange all the duels. Nathalie, get the Duelist uniforms;
this is the first time we've had people so young duel, so you'll have your work cut
out for you getting uniforms for them. I'm counting on you two to make sure
everything's ready once they're done."
    Nathalie and Michael nod. "Leave it to me, big brother!" Nathalie smiles
courageously before striding to the dress room. "You can count on me," Michael
adds. "I'll be waiting for you, Thomas."
    Thomas and Orion watch them go.
    Thomas turns to Orion. "It's been a while, hasn't it."
    Orion turns to Thomas. "Since someone like her has shown up?"
    He nods. "I won't lose this time."
    Orion smiles pleasantly in return. "We'll see how you fare, Thom. For now,
we'll just have to wait." 



    "I'll say this once," Julie announces before the eight potential Duelists.
"If you speak while we are, Kevin and I will throw you out, and you will be
penalized during the duels if you break a rule just the same as if you had known
them." 
    Her deadly serious tone and face convince the crowd. They all shut up and
listen. 
    Kevin steps up next to Julie. "There are seven rules for Ends of the World,
and all the original rules from the Pokémon League apply as well. Break any of
the rules, and you will automatically be thrown out. Rule One: Only three Pokémon
may be taken with you to the Duel Arena. With these three Pokémon, you are only
allowed to duel three times, using one Pokémon per duel."
    This news causes some discontent among the Duelists until Julie silences
them. "Rule Two," she states. "Once you have sent out your Pokémon, you MUST
duel with it, no matter what your opponent's Pokémon may be. Recalling a Pokémon
counts as an unconditional surrender. Once you have sent out your Pokémon, you may
not send it out again. If you wish, once you've used a Pokémon, you may give it to
us for safe-keeping to ensure you do not accidentally send it out again. Sending
out a Pokémon twice, even if it's by accident, will cost you the duel, so it would
probably be in your favor to do so."
    Kevin continues, "Rule Three: You are allowed to duel with the same person
twice, either separately or in a row, granted that neither of your duel schedules
are filled. A third time, however, is not allowed." 
    Ash glances at Gary for a split-second before Julie speaks again. "Rule Four:
You must register as a Duelist, then be given the Rose Seal as authorization and
a Duelist's uniform to identify you as an official Duelist before you will be
allowed to duel. This is to prevent third parties who simply want to duel for
dueling's sake from interfering." 
    Faris gives Gary a pointed glance. Kevin smirks slightly at this, then
recites the next rule. "Rule Five: Cheating is severely prohibited. If caught
cheating, you will automatically lose that duel and be thrown out of the duels
altogether. Our definition of cheating includes breaking any of the rules as
well as using any outside force to help you win." 
    "Rule Six: You must be on time for your duel," Julie continues. "If the time
scheduled for the duel comes and goes without you, your opponent will win by
default--providing that they aren't late either."
    "And the last one, Rule Seven: All the Pokémon you use must be in their
Pokéballs from the beginning of the duels to the moment you send them out.
They are NOT allowed to roam free," Kevin concludes. "Are there any questions?"
    Ash raises his hand, much as if he was in class.
    "Yes?"
    He stands, nervously petting Pikachu, who's sitting on his shoulder. "About
that rule about Pokémon not allowed to be outside their Pokéballs when the duels
start... what if they don't like being in a Pokéball?" 
    "PI pika chu!" Pikachu follows up, crossing her arms. 
    "Then use another Pokémon that doesn't mind being in a Pokéball," Julie
replies fluidly. Ash reluctantly sits down. 
    "Anyone else?" Julie's gaze sweeps the room. Tentatively, Jezebel raises
her hand in the same fashion as Ash. She stands. 
    "Ah was just wonderin'... Mr. Sanders, you said that James was gonna be
actin' as the 'Rose Bride'? I jes' wanna know, what's the Rose Bride supposed
to be?" she queries. 
    "The Rose Bride is the prize of the duels," Kevin replies, not smiling. "It
seems the reason all of you are dueling is because you are vying for possession
for the Rose Bride." 
    "HEY!" Misty, Gary, Ash, and Starr yell in unison. "WE don't want the Rose
Bride!!" 
    "Then you shouldn't be dueling," Julie states, giving them THE Look. 
    Everyone looks at their feet, saying, "......" 
    "Anyway, why a Rose Bride? Since James is a man, wouldn't it be Rose
Groom?" Jezebel continues. 
    "Oh, but James would look so much better in a dress," Faris comments dryly.
She slides her eyes over to Julie and Kevin. "Just like Mikage thought Mamiya
would." 
    Julie and Kevin glance at each other for a split-second, but otherwise pay
no heed to this comment. "Traditionally, a woman plays the role of the Rose
Bride," Kevin states. "This has been going on for so long that, even if a man
is in that role, he is still referred to as a Bride." 
    "He's not going to wear a dress, is he?" Jezebel queries dubiously. 
    Julie and Kevin glance at each other and smirk a little. "Not if he doesn't
want to," is their answer. 
    "Oh, good," Jezebel says, relieved. She sits down. 
    "What colors does the Rose Bride dress come in?" James queries. 
    "Red with white stripes, or white with indigo stripes," Julie replies
smoothly. "It depends on your own innocence." 
    "James will be wearing white," Faris states. Her tone of voice says she's
not going to argue over this. 
    "JAMES! You'd willin'ly wear a DRESS???" Jezebel demands, her face scrunching
up with disgust. 
    "You don't know the half of it, lady," Ash mutters under his breath.
    "I happen to think I look cute in dresses!" James says defensively. "So
there!" 
    Faris busts up laughing at the look Jezebel gives him. "God, I wish I had
a camera!" she grins. 
    Julie and Kevin exchange a glance, and shake their heads. 
    A knock comes at the door, and Michael enters. "Hey, are you guys done?"
he asks. He views the general chaos ensuing inside, and sweatdrops. "Erm..." 
    The chaos comes to an abrupt halt. "Yeah, what is it?" 
    He says slightly meekly, "The scheduling and register system are both
ready..." 
    "Oh, good, this was getting boring," Faris smiles, standing. "I claim
codename UTENA." 
    Julie, Kevin, and Michael all look startled. "How did you know UTENA
was a codename?" Kevin demands. 
    "I'm psychic," Faris says dryly. "Let's go already!" 
    Julie and Kevin exchange their third Look in that room today, then
usher the potential Duelists out of the room. 
  

    "Hrm...." Ash mutters, biting his lip. "I dunno which codename to
choose..." 
    "Yeah, there are so many," Misty agrees. Togepi reaches wildly for
the screen, entranced by the glow. 
    Faris smirks slightly. "I'm glad my decision was so clear-cut."
    Thomas steps up next to them. "You don't have to decide your codename
yet," he informs them. "The codename you choose assigns you to a Duelist
uniform, so if you're having that much trouble, you could just look at the
uniforms, pick out the one you like best, and take the codename that goes
with it. My sister Nathalie is in charge of the Duelist uniforms, so if
you'd like to look them over, talk to her."
    "Really? Gee, thanks!" Ash smiles. He and Misty leave to seek out
Nathalie, leaving Faris and Thomas alone at the registration table.
    Thomas turns his attention to Faris. "Faris Greyweirs... it's a
pleasure to meet you. I'm curious. You seem to know quite a bit about
how the duels work. Have you done this before..." he pauses slightly for
effect, "...elsewhere? I don't recall ever seeing you here before, and
I never forget a pretty face." He smiles charmingly. "Especially one as
lovely as yours."
    "I've never dueled before," she replies flatly, eyeing him suspiciously.
    "Really..." Thomas leans in a little. "Never? Not even once? Have you
seen any duels, then?"
    Faris raises a delicate lavender eyebrow, remaining silent for the
time being. She contemplates her answer, and after a moment, she quietly
answers, "I've seen several duels." 
    Thomas leans against the table. "Is that so? What kind of duels?"
    "Sword duels," she states flatly, reverting to her old tone.
    A ghost of a smile flickers onto his lips and stays there. "How
fascinating..." He runs a hand through her hair. "Faris, you're
absolutely marvelous..." 
    Faris steps out of his reach with a cold deliberance. "I bet I am,
Seitokaichou-san." With that, she walks off to the outfit rack in the other
room, where all the others are trying to decide on their Duelist uniforms.
    Thomas' smile remains and grows slightly, with a certain knowing. "Take
it easy, Tenjou-kun," he murmurs, eyes following her until she walks out of
sight. 
  

    "Ne, ne, so have you guys chosen anything yet?" Faris queries, peeking
at the clothes the potential Duelists are considering.
    Jezebel clutches a yellow and black uniform to her chest. "Ah'm takin'
THIS uniform, so yew better not try to take it away!!" 
    Faris spares her a withering glance. "If you're this grabby with everything
else, no wonder James doesn't want to be near you," she mutters under her
breath before saying in a louder voice, "Keep it. I don't want it. I never
liked Nanami that much anyway." 
    "Why not!?" Nathalie demands, overhearing. 
    "Because she's petty, obsessive, and a spoiled brother-obsessed brat,"
Faris returns smoothly. As an afterthought, she adds, "And she has HORRIBLE
fashion sense." 
    "Are you kidding me?!" Nathalie argues. "She's certainly got better taste
than SOME dykes I could mention!" 
    Faris grants her a serene smile. "One word: Cowbell." 
    "HMPH!" Nathalie growls before turning away. Jezebel, puzzled by this
outburst, wanders over to the women's dressing room. 
    Starr, in the meantime, sweatdrops. "I am not getting involved in this
insanity." 
    The lavender-haired Rocket grins at her. "Smart girl." 
    Starr grins back. "Glad you think so." 
    A wai-ful gasp directs their gaze to Misty, who's obsessing over a uniform
with light blue pants. "I love this uniform... I SO want it!!"
    Ash, standing next to Misty, isn't nearly as resolute. Biting his lip, he
keeps flipping through uniforms until he finally picks two he likes. "I dunno
which one to pick..." he says out loud. "The dark blue one or the green one?" 
    Misty glances over at them. "Wear the green one."
    Ash stares at her. "Why?"
    "'Cause I'M wearing blue!!"
    Ash grumbles a little at Misty's tone, but concedes and puts the dark blue
Duelist uniform back on the rack and heads to the men's dressing room. Misty in
turn walks to the women's dressing room with her find.
    Faris and Starr glance at each other, then break into grins. Starr then turns
her attention to the uniforms left on the rack. Her gaze switches from the white
Duelist uniform with red lines to the orange one, and back and forth and back.
"Hrm. Faris, opinion needed. I really like pink, but..." She makes big cute eyes
at the white one. 
    "There are no pink uniforms. Probably the closest you'll get is Touga's
uniform," Faris muses. 
    Nathalie immediately swivels her blonde head to stare straight at Faris.
"Touga's?" 
    She nods over at her. "Yeah. The white one with red." 
    The Nanami-lookalike stares. "How did you know that one was Touga's????" 
    Faris smiles. "I'm psychic." She turns to Starr. "Besides, I don't think
Juri's uniform would suit you very well... you're too damn cheerful."
    Starr smiles over to Nathalie. "If you'd rather I didn't wear it, it's
okay." And her smile gets even warmer and friendlier, if that's possible.
    "...."Nathalie scowls and fidgets a little.
    "It's settled, you've got Touga's uniform," Faris announces, taking it
off the rack and giving it to Starr. "Here, go try it on."
    "Thank you," Starr says as she heads for the girls' changeroom.
    Gary, who's just joined Faris on her side, looks pensive. "Let's
seeeeee...." he mutters. Looking respectfully up at his superior (he's smart
enough to not be obnoxious to HER, he's heard too many true rumors about her
to do something as stupidly dangerous as that), he queries, "Faris, you know
about this kind of thing. What one of these uniforms do you think would suit
me?" 
    Faris bites her lip a little. "Herm." She flips through the remaining
outfits, mostly comprising of Kurobara duelist uniforms, which aren't really
that great for a serious Duelist. "Hmmm..." She catches sight of a blue and red
one with white slacks, and an Evil Grin slowly grows onto her face. "Oh, I know
the PERFECT one for you." She takes the outfit from the rack and offers it to the
young trainer. "This one is superb."
    Gary looks doubtful, but seems to decide to trust Faris' judgement and takes
it anyway. "Thanks." 
    Finally, Jessie enters the dress room after a bout of flirting with Kevin
(which had failed miserably) and Thomas (who simply asked too many questions
about Faris for her liking)... and facefaults. "Damn... all the good uniforms
are gone..." She frets, "Now there's only an orange one and that white one!" She
approaches the white one and pulls it off the rack; Faris can see there are dark
blue lines on it. "Hmmm, this one isn't so bad..."
    "Take the orange one," Faris immediately states. "Juri is cool. Ruka's a
jackass."
    Starr pokes her head out of the changeroom. "Ruka is gay."
    Jessie shrugs, replaces Ruka's uniform, takes Juri's, then heads into the
changeroom with it.
    "How gay could he have been if he screwed Shiori?" Faris counters.
    Starr shrugs. "I know. I just thought I'd insult him a little since all guys
are scared of being gay."
    "Except for Touga and Akio." 
    "True, true. Speaking of Touga...how does this uniform look? (The red's not
bugging you, is it Faris?)" Starr queries as she steps out, showing off her
Duelist uniform. 
    Faris smiles. "Nah, there's too little red for it to bother me too much. It
looks cool on you. 'Sides, I like Touga." 
    Nathalie flashes Faris a DEATH GLARE, but she ignores it. Gary finally
exits the men's changeroom, feeling rather conspicuous.
    Starr grins and cheers, "WAI!" and poses a la Sailormercury. "Tee. I always
wanted to do that." 
    Faris raises an eyebrow, a strange smile crossing her lips. "It looks
exceedingly strange when you're dressed up like Touga."
    She smiles and looks down at herself. "This does look kewl. Now all I need
is a sword...." 
    "Too bad Anthy's not around, we could borrow the Dios no Ken from her." 
    "Oh well. As it is..." Starr grabs a blue plastic sword from out of the void.
"Break the world's shell! For the sake of revolutionizing the world!!!!" she
announces, and she and Faris laugh insanely. 
    Jessie exits the changeroom wearing Juri's uniform and akimbo arms. "Excuse
me, but what the hell are you two talking about?" 
    Starr completely ignores that and instead chooses to reply, "That uniform
looks good on you, Jessie." 
    Before Jessie can say anything, Thomas enters the dress room. "Have you all
chosen your Duelist uniforms?" he queries. 
    Faris rewards him with a cold look. "It's not very gentlemanly to walk in on
girls changing their clothing." 
    He grins, winking a little. "Sorry, but I thought that the changing room was
behind a curtain. I didn't think that the construction of the dress room would
have been adjusted without my knowledge." 
    Starr faces Thomas and crosses her arms. "Even if it is behind a curtain, you
should knock." 
    Thomas bows, though whether it's sincere or not, they can't tell. "My sincerest
apologies. But my question still stands: are you ready to schedule the duels?"
    The cherry-haired Rocket looks to the others. "I am if everyone else is."
    Faris nods. "I am."
    Jessie shrugs. "I guess I am."
    Misty, wearing Miki's uniform and dragging Ash along, announces, "We are!"
    Ash, blushing and wearing Saionji's uniform, mutters, "I feel silly..."
    Jezebel declares proudly, "Ah'm gonna win in this uniform!"
    "Guess that means she's ready," Faris smiles faintly.
    Gary crosses his arms and smirks. "Of course, I'm ready too."
    Starr looks over at Jezebel and shakes her head.
  

    "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMES!!! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING???!?"
    James almost leaps three feet off the ground at Starr's insane screech.
    "Have they scheduled the duels yet?" he asks once his heart stops pounding.
    Starr calms down and nods, then asks again, "What are you doing?"
    James follows her gaze around the rose garden he's found. True, it is a little
oddly shaped (birdcage-shaped, to be exact) but otherwise it's the nicest rose
garden he's ever seen. Best yet, none of the roses are red. He was thinking of
taking Faris here later when Starr ran in. 
    Speaking of Starr, right now said Rocket is very out of breath and sprawled very
flat on the floor. 
    James helps her get up, then asks, "What's wrong?" 
    Starr shakes her head. "Nothing. Just I've been exposed to a bit more weirdness
that I prefer during the past little while and this just clinched it."
    James nods. "Yeah, I noticed too. You know that Orion guy? While I was on my way
here, he asked me, wasn't Faris really something special? Then he said I had nice
hair...he was talking like Faris's friend Ianthe when she had green eyes!" James
looks genuinely rattled. "This place is weird...but I like it here. There's not much
you can do to roses to make them weird." James pulls a white rose off the bush and
strikes a pose.
    Starr laughs. "Thank you for allowing me to totally stop taking this seriously
at all. It is serious," she muses, sitting down on a bench and pushing a stray strand
of cherry hair behind one ear, "but it's nothing to completely stress over."  James
is about to agree when suddenly out of nowhere Starr asks, "You know I'm not dueling
Faris." 
    Though surprised by her suddenness, James nods. "I guessed you wouldn't. You two
are too good friends to be dueling." 
    "That...and something else." Starr looks anxiously at James. "You know why?"
    "You aren't in love with me anymore since you've met Michael?" James guesses.
    "Close, but no fromage," Starr replies. She shifts one sneakered foot around
before looking up at James again and saying, "It isn't that I don't like you--I do,
you're my best friend--but I don't love you like a boyfriend anymore."
    James blinks.
    "Don't be insulted!" Starr says quickly, holding up her hands. "You're a wonderful
guy, and I would be happy to be with you...but I'm happier that Faris is with you.
You guys deserve each other." She smiles. "I'll be happy if you just tell me we'll
be best friends, like we were."
    James' grin grows until it matches Starr's. "That's what I wanted anyway. You're
almost like a sister. Right from the beginning, I knew you cared a lot about me.
You really helped me out, and I'll always be thankful. Starr, you're my best friend."
    Starr hooks pinkies with James. "The symbol of a solemn oath when I was a little
kid. Best friends?"
    James nods again. "Um, Starr? Can I ask you a favor?" 
    "Anything." 
    "Tell Faris where I am and tell her I invited her here?" 
    "No probbies." Starr stands and starts to leave, then turns. "By the way...you saw
the look on Jezebel's face when you said you looked cute in dresses, right?"
    James gets his evil grin. "Yes, as a matter of fact."
    Starr giggles then smiles. "You do look cute, though."
    She leaves.
    James blushes.
  

    To one standing in the halls of Ends of the World at that moment, a certain Rocket
would resemble a pink and cherry-red blur as she dashes though the halls, propelled by
a very good mood and a minimal amount of sugar.
    Okay, perhaps a mid-size amount of sugar and a good amount of caffeine, since there
was a pop machine and Starr practiced the ancient Chinese art of Five-Fingered Discount
(it's a Ranma-type Chinese art--is Cat-Fu fighting any less weird?) to obtain a Jolt.
    The Starr-esque blur speeds down the halls and into the main lobby, spies Faris,
and... 
    GLOMP. 
    "HI, FARIS!!!!!!!!!!" 
    Faris is thrown a little by Starr's abrupt jumphuggle, but she manages to stay
standing. 
    "What are you so happy about?" she inquires. 
    From Faris's back, Starr grins. "I just talked to James." 
    "And?" Faris prompts when Starr dissolves into giggles. 
    "Oh. I told him what I wanted...just for the two of us to be best friends. We
promised that any time either of us needs someone, the other will be there." 
    A faint look of relief crosses Faris' face. The four-way love triangle has just
decreased to a normal, run-of-the-mill three-pointed one. 
    Then she remembers Jezebel, but this elicits more of a smirk than a frown.
    Starr peeks over Faris' shoulder, trying to read her expression.
    "Hey, you're throwing me off balance!" Faris protests.
    Suddenly Starr goes silent, then utters, "eep."
    "Eep?" Faris inquires, walking forward a few steps.
    Starr abruptly lets go of Faris and lands on the floor with a resounding thud
and a yelp of, "OW!" 
    "What was that all about?" Faris inquires, raising her eyebrows. 
    "Nothing beats crashing down off a sugar hit at the realization that you're
turning into Wakaba," Starr replies. 
    "As long as you aren't crushing on Kevin, you should be all right," Faris
deadpans. 
    Starr stands up. "This is too weird for me... James is in the rose garden--he
wants you to join him there, by the way. I just latched onto you and you managed
to carry me a few steps. And I could have sworn I heard Thomas call you Tenjou-kun
once..." 
    Faris shakes her head. "I know. It's bizarre. But I don't think it's serious."
    "It takes a lot to impress you, though."
    "True..."
    Starr sighs. "I'm going to go find Mike. No accepting rose crests from princes
while I'm gone, okay?"
    Faris smiles at the half-serious tone of the last sentence. "I promise," she
tells Starr, who smiles back and wanders off.
  

    "Hey, you aren't supposed to be wandering around here." 
    Starr turns to face the person who's just spoken. When she does, she sees a
slightly disapproving Julie studying in the middle of the hall.
    Starr looks down. "Ehe.... Sorry. I just needed some time to collect my
thoughts." 
    Much to Starr's shock, Julie looks as though she sympathizes. "All right. Just
as long as you're quiet." 
    "I will be," Starr assures her seriously. 
    An invisible smile crosses Julie's face. "Michael's practicing, if he was the
one you were looking for." 
    "Oh...Oh! Thank you for telling me," Starr smiles. 
    Julie leaves with a 'don't mention it' shrug. 
    For a while after, Starr just stands in the middle of the hall wondering. 
    From the experience she's had with the strawberry-blonde girl, informing Starr
as to Mike's whereabouts was a rather un-Julie-ish thing to do. Maybe the world
is sane after all. 
    Suddenly her ear twitches a little bit. She thinks she hears slightly off-key
piano music coming from somewhere. Starr debates whether or not to go see who's
the impresario, and decides she's going to when she affirms that whoever it is
isn't playing Hikari Sasu Niwa. 
    Wandering down the hall, she comes to a fairly large, cheery, modern-looking
lounge of some kind. Near one wall is a grand piano, and seated behind this is a
guy in a white T-shirt and jeans studiously playing the beginning theme of all the
Final Fantasies as a finger exercise.
    "Hey!" Starr whispers, smiling. "Mike!"
    Mike doesn't hear; he just starts again, going up and down the scale.
    Halfway through his finger slips, and he plays a rather whacked note. He
flinches, stops, and looks annoyed. 
    "Rats," he mutters under his breath, though he looks like he originally wanted
to say something a lot worse.
    Starr knocks on the doorframe and calls a little louder. "Michael, you busy?"
    Michael jumps and his hand hits the piano keys. 
    *BONG* 
    Both of them jump. 
    Michael recovers and then blushes. "How long have you been waiting there?" 
    "Only a little..." 
    "You heard me mess up." The blue-haired musician looks glum. 
    "I can't even play the piano," Starr says. ''Don't feel bad. Do you mind if I
come in and watch you?" 
    "Only if you promise not to laugh at my mistakes," Michael smiles.
    He moves over on the bench so Starr can sit down. "Any requests?"
    "D'you know 'Interrupted by Fireworks' from Final Fantasy VII?" Starr smiles.
    Michael nods. "First thing I learned to play from that game. My sister gave me
the sheet music for my birthday...which is also her birthday since we're twins." 
    "Neat. Where is she now?" Starr asks, feeling a little uneasy. If Michael's
sister is anything like Kozue, Starr's in for it.... 
    "She left to study at Cerulean City Collegiate a while ago. It's been slow
here since Orion's sister and her friend left, and Chloe was bored." 
    Starr nods. Michael holds his hands over the keyboard, moves his fingers a
little, then starts into it.  At first the song is simple and pretty. Halfway
through the first run-though, Michael looks over at Starr with an amazed smile.
Starr smiles back, humming a little to the music.
    Michael's smile gets huge and he goes at the keyboard with everything he has,
throwing in improvisations and flourishes. The song sounds absolutely gorgeous by
now.
    Starr moves a little bit closer, swaying back and forth, eyes closed, smiling
happily. 
    Michael stops abruptly and smiles at Starr. "That's so weird....I was sucking
until you came here." 
    Starr blinks. "You sure as heck don't suck now."
    Michael blushes lightly. "Thanks...but...that's not the point....Starr....
there's something really special about you...I though so ever since I saw you at
that party, but now I'm sure of it." 
    Now Starr is blushing. "Something special....?"
    "Almost something...almost something shining," Michael blurts out. Then he
really blushes, staring at the keyboard. 
    There's a long silence, during which Starr begins picking out Chopsticks
with one finger. 
    Michael looks at her from under his bangs and starts playing the other part. 
    "Hey, I thought this was supposed to be serious practice," Thomas says from
the doorway. 
    "It is." Michael grins at Thomas and immediately starts playing the main Final
Fantasy theme again. 
    Thomas actually looks impressed, even smiling a bit. "Hey, that sounds much
better than yesterday..." He looks from Michael to Starr with a slightly wondering
expression, then grins at Starr again. "Don't distract Mikey too much."
    "Sir, no sir." Starr salutes.
    Thomas goes, leaving Michael and Starr to their music.



    "Three?" Nathalie inquires hopefully of her big brother as Thomas walks back
into the room and sits down, picking up his cards. 
    Thomas hands her the card in question, then turns to Kevin. "So, what do you
think of the new participants?" 
    Kevin shrugs. "They seems normal enough. Younger, but what can you do." 
    "The 'we don't want the Rose Bride' bit was interesting." Julie fans out her
cards and looks them over. 
    "Some of them have another motive," Thomas shrugs. "But the ones who matter
are dueling for the Bride." 
    Kevin looks sideways at Thomas. "You're falling for Faris Greyweirs, aren't you?"
    Thomas responds with a smirk. "Don't jump to conclusions. I just want to see if
she's returned." 
    Julie glances at Thomas over her cards. "Don't use your lady-killer methods
on her. It's obvious she's in love with the Rose Bride--James--and although I
agree that she looks like her, she's not."
    Kevin nods. "You can't hang onto the past forever."
    Thomas shrugs. "We're all here, aren't we? Now, what about the others?" 
    "The young girl seems to be taking this whole matter pretty lightly. The two
boys are serious." 
    Nathalie nods emphatically, light blonde curls bouncing. "I had to break up a
fight between them only half an hour ago. They're so loud, and at first they
wouldn't even listen to me! It took that little red-headed girl hitting them both
over the head to make them stop." Her lower lip quivers. "They're terrible!"
    "Those two girls who look almost exactly alike are serious," Julie puts in.
"The ones going by NANAMI and JURI."
    "What about the last one?" Thomas inquires lightly.
    "Starr, her name is?" Kevin asks. "Something unusual like that."
    "It was Starr," Julie nods. "Michael seems to like her."
    Thomas' smile becomes dazzling. "I always knew someone as cute and agreeable
as Mikey would find a girl someday."
    Julie's gaze drifts to Nathalie. "Why did you let her have TOUGA as a codename?
Usually you have Thomas reserve that for someone you like, or don't let him give it
out at all."
    Nathalie turns pink and fidgets. "I don't know. She smiled at me and she seemed
so nice and I just couldn't help it!"
    "It's not a big issue," Thomas reassures her.


    The glass door of the rose garden glides open noiselessly. "You wanted to see
me, James?" 
    The blue-haired bishounen turns at the sound of the voice and smiles. "Yeah,
Faris." 
    Faris walks in, looking everywhere to absorb her surroundings. "The roses here
are nice. Fragrant, too; roses don't usually have a scent." 
    James gives her a sideways look. "Really? Why not?"
    "'Cause they're genetically engineered," Faris replies smoothly, fingering a
pale blue rose. "The reason why a rose's petals are layered like this is because
they're bred to be like that. Wild roses only have five or so petals."
    "'Cause they're genetically engineered,” Faris replies smoothly, fingering a
pale blue rose. "The reason why a rose's petals are layered like this is because
they're bred to be like that. Wild roses only have five or so petals."
    James’ eyes close. "You're wrong," he says matter-of-factly. "Multi-petaled
roses have been around for hundreds of years, so they couldn't have been
engineered. And roses DO have a scent. I love roses, so I studied them a while
back. I know."
    Faris smiles at him. "Wow... you knew something I didn't." She turns to him.
"What did you want to see me for?" 
    He blinks. "I just wanted to see you. Why? You weren't busy with something else,
were you?"
    She shakes her head. "Nah." She walks over to him and admires the roses he's
standing next to. "I've never seen blue roses before. Well, outside of anime."
Faris' eyes flick over to James' profile.
    He shrugs, not really knowing what else to say. "At least there aren't any red
ones," he offers.
    Faris smiles slightly, then kneels. She pats the spot next to her, and James
sits down next to her. Faris curls her legs underneath herself and leans on James'
shoulder; in response, he wraps an arm around her. There is silence for a moment.
    Faris begins to sing softly. "Tamago no kara o yaburaneba... hinadori wa umarezu
ni shindeiku... Warera ga hina da... Tamago wa sekai da. Sekai no kara o yaburaneba,
warera wa umarezu ni shindeiku... Sekai no kara o hakai seyo. Sekai o kakumei... suru
tame ni... sekai o kakumei... suru tame ni~..."
    "That's pretty," James comments, which causes Faris to abruptly stop singing.
"What's it called?" 
    "Sekai o Kakumei Suru Tame ni," she replies. "It's the Seitokai's song from the
Utena musical. The title means For the Sake of Revolutionizing the World. The lyrics
I just sang are the only lyrics I know from that song anyhow."
    James blinks. "Oh." After a moment, he asks, "What's Utena? And who's the
say-toe-kye?"
    "Seitokai," Faris corrects him. "The Student Council. And Shoujo Kakumei Utena,
or Revolutionary Girl Utena, is one of my favorite anime. Batts told you that."
    "Oh yeah, I remember now..." 
    Faris smiles dryly before continuing. "SKU is pretty deep. I don't know if
you'd like it or not." 
    James gives her a wounded look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    She ruffles his hair a little. "I'm saying, you probably wouldn't be able to
grasp the greater depth of the series." 
    "Why not?" he persists. 
    Faris wonders how she's going to word this without hurting his feelings.
"Well..." She hesitates. 
    "Well?" he presses. 
    She shakes her head, giving up. "Because you're an idiot," she states bluntly.
    James' expression immediately falls into that of a loyal puppy who's just been
kicking in the face by his master. Withdrawing his arm, he says quietly, "That's not
a very nice thing to say." 
    "What do you want me to do? Lie?" Faris counters, not liking where this is going.
"Besides, it's the truth. You know it, too. Your missions in Team Rocket have proven
again and again that you and Jessie have zero common sense."
    James looks genuinely upset and betrayed by this. "Well... so I'm not that
smart..." he says, voice quivering a little. "Does that mean you don't like me as much
as if I was smart?" 
    She gives him a helpless look. "It would help," she finally says.
    He stares down at his feet, a shadow covering his face.
    Faris sighs, a tinge of regret shading her tone. It was cruel, but that was all
that came to mind for her to say. An awkward moment of silence passes.
    As if to make up for what she'd said, Faris pipes up, "I have to admit, though,
that you've gotten a lot better since we were first paired up." 
    James glances at her hopefully. "...Really?" 
    "Yeah, well..." Faris shrugs. "You didn't have any common sense before. Now at
least you've got a little. Maybe I'm rubbing off on you."
    A relieved smile spreads across his face. "So you think I'll get smarter?"
    Faris glances at him. "I love you, James, but even I wouldn't expect miracles."
    His face falls a mile, and he looks away again. 
    Another silence falls over them. Faris begins to sing again, this time in
English. "I know, I know I've let you down... I've been a fool to myself... I thought
that I could live for no one else... But now, through all the hurt and pain, it's time
for me to respect the ones you love mean more than anything. So, with sadness in my
heart, I feel the best thing I could do is end it all and leave forever. What's done
is done, it feels so bad; what once was happy now is sad. I'll never love again, my
world is ending...
    "I wish that I could turn back time... 'cause now the guilt is all mine; can't
live without the trust from those you love. I know, we can't forget the past--you can't
forget love and pride... because of that, it's killing me inside. 
    "It all returns to nothing... it all comes tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling
down... it all returns to nothing... I just keep letting me down, letting me down,
letting me down... In my heart of hearts, I know that I could never love again...
I've lost everything... everything... Everything that matters to me, matters in this
world..." 
    James grabs her shoulders roughly; Faris stares at him in shock, her song rudely
interrupted. His eyes intensely serious, he whispers, "Faris, I love you with all my
heart, but PLEASE don't sing such depressing things; I feel bad enough as it is."
    Faris, shaken by this outburst, nods dumbly. He lets go of her, and the two of
them sit next to each other silently. 
    Long moments, stretching out like eternity, pass before the glass door opens again
and Thomas walks in. He spies Faris, then smiles dazzlingly at her. "Faris! I've been
looking for you." 
    She glances up at him, not smiling. "What for?" 
    He approaches her and offers her his hand. "I was wondering, would you like to
sword duel with me? I could teach you a few tricks." 
    She gives him a wary look before taking his hand. "Sure, why not. James, you
want to come too?" 
    James looks up, startled. "Huh? Oh, no. You go by yourself. I'll be fine by
myself." He looks away, but not before Faris sees the pained expression that flashes
onto his features.
    Faris grants him the benefit of a guilty look before she walks off with Thomas.
  

    CLANG. 
    "You're not paying attention, are you?" 
    Faris shakes her head, trying to recover from the hit Thomas just dealt her.
She's not hurt, but her arms hurt like hell from trying to block it. "I'm just not
into it," she replies half-heartedly. Her thoughts keep wandering back to James, and
that's wreaking hell on her swordplay.
    Thomas nods sympathetically. "It's because of James, isn't it?" he guesses. Her
flinch tells him, to his satisfaction, that he's right. "You were awfully quiet when
I walked in on you, so I figured you might have had an argument. I didn't comment,
though, because I didn't want to pry." Faris sits down at the end of the arena, and
he joins her there. "If you want, you could talk to me about it."
    She sighs and turns her face away from him. "...Maybe later."
    He nods. "I understand. It's a touchy subject, and you don't want to talk about
it to a stranger. I won't pursue it. But, if you want someone to talk to, you can
always come to me, all right?" He smiles charmingly at her, a smile that would make
a lesser woman melt into a puddle of buttery goo.
    Faris has gone through hundreds of such would-be suitors, however, and is a pro
at resisting such smiles. She manages to return the smile weakly, however, purely
out of politeness. "I'll keep that in mind." 
  

    Starr wanders the halls humming with a big happy Gourry Gabriev-esque smile on
her face. Things couldn't get any better right now. Mike really likes her, Faris
and James are getting along (as far as she can see ^_^;)...true, maybe they've
landed in an alternate dimension, but hey, if worse comes to worst she can always
get on a sugar high and scare the beejeezus out of Orion-tachi.... 
    WHUMP. 
    "OUCH!" 
    "Excuse me." 
    Starr looks up. 
    Then sweatdrops. "speak of the devil..." she mutters under her breath. 
    Unimpressed emerald eyes meet playful forest-green ones as Starr blinks at one
Orion Abraxas. 
    "I was just looking for you," Orion says, smiling charmingly. 
    Starr puts a hand on the back of her head. "Oh...heeeeeehh...well, I was looking
for Faris, have you seen her?" 
    Orion shrugs as though to brush this off. "She's getting a dueling lesson from
Thomas." 
    Starr WANTS to crash to the floor. She really does. But not in front of Orion,
he'd probably take that as an invitation. She she only wobbles a little, standing
her ground. "Oh?" 
    Orion nods. "It's not really safe to walk into a kendo room in the middle of a
duel. I wouldn't want any of my guests to get hurt." 
    Starr decides not to favour Orion with her smart-alecky remark about untouched
virgin sacrifices, as he might also take that as an invitation. 
    Fortunately, Orion hasn't seen the I-will-not-be-a-wise-ass-this-time look on
Starr's face. He's looking off into the distance at the rose garden, which Starr can
just see out one of the windows. She thinks she sees James still in there and wonders
what he's doing by himself, but she doesn't have much time to contemplate this before
Orion comes out of nowhere with, "Faris certainly is beautiful."
    Starr isn't sure how to respond to that one. 
    Orion isn't expecting a response, thankfully. He goes on, "...as are you, and
the other girls...even Misty..." He laughs a little. "She'll be gorgeous when she's
older." He turns to Starr. "It's not every day we're favoured with guests as lovely
as Faris and yourself." 
    Once again Starr wills herself not to fall flat. "Thank you......." she manages
in a weird voice. 
    Orion starts to leave, but before Starr can heave a sigh of relief and finally
crash to the floor, he turns. 
    Starr thinks, 'oh shit....' 
    "Since you've given me the honor of a beautiful girl's presence, perhaps I should
repay you by showing you something beautiful in return." 
    "What, the ends of the world?" Starr says lightly. 
    Orion laughs. "Intelligent as well as beautiful! But not yet." He puts a hand on
her arm and starts leading her off down the hall. 
    Starr politely shrugs him off. "I kind of need to talk to Faris." 
    "This won't take long." 
    Starr is staggered by how easily she's finding double entendres these days.
    "Where are we going?"
    "Don't worry, it's not far."
    Orion flashes a knee-melting smile.
    Much to her horror, Starr feels herself almost caving. A tense fifteen seconds
of flailing wildly for ANY excuse go by before Starr refreezes her knees and says,
"Sorry...not right now, okay? Where's the kendo room, I really NEED to talk to Faris."
    "Down the hall to your right." Orion points, then smiles, stroking Starr's hair.
"It's been nice talking to you." 
    Finally, thankfully, he leaves. 
    Starr listens to the receding footsteps. 
    THEN she crashes to the floor. 
    This act done, she leaps back to her feet and dashes down the hall. Now she has
two things to tell Faris: one, Michael likes her, and two, she's successfully evaded
becoming a member of No-Tell Motel. Disturbing though her most recent experience has
been, she's not about to let that screw up her good mood.
    She turns to where Orion was, says, "Feh. Lechboy," and strides off to the kendo
room. 



    Thomas is showing Faris the finer points of sword-thrusting (not like THAT,
gutter-brain) in a mock duel when Starr walks in on them. Faris blocks a hit from
Thomas' bamboo sword with her own, then slices wide in front of her to ward him off.
With a quick duck-step, she touches the end of the sword to his chest, and the mock
duel is over. 
    "Well done," Thomas says with some measure on honesty in his voice. "Especially
for someone who 'wasn't into it' only moments before." 
    "Well, you were going easy on me," Faris retorts. She drops her sword, stands
up straight, places her hands on her hips, and faces Starr. In her familiar mild tone,
she asks, "What have you been doing?"
    Starr draws a deep breath before replying in a dignified manner, "Practicing
evasive maneuvers. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
    Faris gives Thomas a slight Sephiroth grin, hands her practice sword back to
him, and she and Starr head for the girls' changeroom. 
    Once they're inside and have made sure there are no humans present other than
themselves, Starr announces, "I have just been hit on by Akio-lech."
    Faris regards Starr with genuine sympathy. "Oh, no. Are you okay?" 
    Starr regards her jeans with interest. "I never knew it was humanly possible
for somebody's knees to melt..." 
    Faris rolls her eyes. "That's Akio for you." 
    "He asked if I would come to see something with him." 
    "The ends of the world," Faris guesses with slight contempt. 
    "Surprisingly, no. Although I did guess that. That made him crack up and say
I was 'intelligent as well as beautiful'." She shudders. "I have never in my life
felt so acutely nauseous. And I almost caved, too! How can such a slimy human being
manage to be alluring?" 
    Faris shakes her head. "One of the mysteries of the universe." 
    Starr looks pensive. "Is there a planetarium here? Maybe that's where he wanted
me to go." 
    Faris gives a wan smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if there was...that's Akio's
number-one make-out spot, along with the Akio-car." 
    Starr shakes her head. "Ew." 
    Faris's smile gets bigger and eviler. "He's probably going to hit on you again,
you know. That was only the first time, and if you think THAT was bad..."
    Starr yowls. "AAAAAUAUAGH! WHY??????"
    "You almost caved?"
    Starr nods. "Sadly. It's a low point in my life."
    Faris closes her eyes and shakes her head, still grinning. "Poor Starr. You almost
fell for it but you got away." 
    "So...?" Starr prompts, wanting to know but scared of what she might hear. 
    Faris's ruby eyes close and she smiles like a certain purple-haired Mazoku
trickster priest (ssolleX). 
    "Now he's gonna think you're fun to play with."
    Starr's eyes go wide.
    Seconds later there's only blank air and some stirred-up dust where Starr
used to be, the cherry-haired Rocket having dashed out with an indignant scream
of, "EWWW!!!!" 
    Faris regards the current of air Starr stirred up with sympathy and respect.
Her friend has just survived a brush with the real-world counterpart of possibly
the horniest male in existence, and survived with only slightly wobbly knees. It
really isn't fair that Orion's going to go after her again...
    But, Faris admits a bit guiltily, it'll be fun to watch.
    However, she only has thirty seconds to savor the thought, for Starr strides
back in, looks at Faris with an evil smirk of her own, and points out, "Well, if
he thinks the flirt-resistant ones are fun to play with, he's gonna LOVE you."
    Faris facefaults. "Shit."
    Starr smiles. "Don't worry. if all else fails, we can borrow Jessie's paper
fan and knock him into next week." She eits the changeroom stage right, saying,
"I'm gonna go check if this place has a swimming pool. It's frickin' hot here."
  

    James, in the meantime, has wandered over to the dress room, where Jessie and
Nathalie are having a deep philosophical discussion about the impact of figure-
fitting clothes on boys. James bites his lip, hesitating to interrupt Jessie, but
he decides in the end it's worth it.
    He taps her on the shoulder. "Jessie?" he says, barely above a whisper. He
hadn't realized he was that upset, he muses to himself...
    "What is it, James?" she snaps impatiently, not looking at him.
    "Could I talk to you for a minute? It's really important."
    Something about his tone breaks through to Jessie, and she glances over at him.
Seeing his forlorn expression, she sees a chance to get back in his good favor.
"Okay, sure." She turns to Nathalie. "I'll be right back, okay? I won't take long."
    James flinches a little at that, but neither girl notices. 
    The two Rockets walk off together until they're out of earshot. Eager to get
thisstarted, Jessie prompts him with a "Well?" 
    He hesitates. "Well..." He pauses for a second more, then rushes on as if afraid
she'll interrupt, "Jessie, do you think I'm an idiot?" 
    Jessie's patience immediately flies out the window. "An idiot?" she snaps.
"James, you interrupted me to ask me a trivial question like THAT!? James, you are
the biggest idiot I've ever known. Do you want me to list all the stupid things
you've done since I met you?" 
    He grimaces. "No, that's okay," he whispers, dragging himself away. "Sorry for
bothering you. I'll go talk to someone who cares." 
    The last sentence is lost on Jessie, who's already walking back to join Nathalie. 
    The next person he finds is Ash, who's complaining about Gary's obnoxious attitude
to Brock. "...and HE has the guts to call ME a loser!? When he just thinks of Pokémon
as tools for success!?! I can't believe the NERVE of him!!" Ash rages as Brock nods
sympathetically. 
    "Is this a bad time?" James says from the doorway. 
    "No, not at all," Brock replies. "C'mon in. It's just $5 a customer." 
    "Huh?" 
    He laughs. "Don't worry, James, I'm just kidding. If Ash gets to gripe to me, you
do too. You look like something's really bothering you."
    Ash, in the meantime, grumbles to himself about the audacity of his rival to be so
insensitive towards his Pokémon. 
    James smiles weakly. "Thanks," he almost-whispers. "This won't take long... I just
have a question to ask the two of you." He pauses as Brock and Ash both give him
inquisitive looks. "Do you... do you guys think I'm... stupid?" 
    Ash stares at him a moment longer, then busts up laughing. "One word," he grins,
holding up a single finger. "Magikarp." Then he starts to laugh again. 
    Brock knocks him over the head. "If you're not going to help, keep quiet!" He
turns back to James. "Now... well... why are you asking?" 
    James scuffs his foot on the floor, eyes locked on the rose-printed marble tiles.
"I... I was just wondering what you guys think of me... that's all." 
    Brock considers this for a moment more before replying. "I guess you're only as
smart as you make yourself out to be." 
    "Meaning...?" James presses. 
    "Well, if you think you're an idiot, then you'll be an idiot. But, if you think
you're smart, and you work at studying hard and becoming smart, then you'll be smart,"
he clarifies. "Does that help?" 
    James frowns a little, then sighs. "Not really," he says, downcast. "I guess that
says enough by itself. Thanks anyway, though. Sorry to be a bother." He turns and
wanders off before Brock can reply.
    Ash stares after him, eyebrow raised. "I wonder what's up with him?" he muses.
    "He seems really bummed out," his close-eyed friend comments, holding his chin.
"That's really not like him. Maybe he had an argument with Faris?"
    "You think so?" Ash queries, a tinge doubtfully. "They seem to be getting along
fine now." 
    "Yeah, but they could have had a fight. Faris could have called James an idiot,
and that's why he's asking us what we think of him," Brock points out, arms crossed.
"I know exactly how he feels." 
    Ash gives him a slightly exasperated expression, a small sweatdrop adorning his
cap. "You do, huh?" he mutters. 
  

    James finds Starr with Faris at the pool with Thomas. The three of them are
splashing each other and laughing. As much as he wants to approach them and get
this misunderstanding ("That's what it has to be," James assures himself) worked
out, he can't bring himself to do it with Thomas there. He's obviously older, cooler,
more mature, more handsome, more gentlemanly, smarter (James' shoulders sag at he
ticks the reasons off in his mind)... all around better than himself, in short.
Better for Faris. He wouldn't blame Faris if she decided that he was just a waste of
her time and started going out with Thomas instead... wouldn't blame her at all...
    Tears blinding him from the thought, James quickly walks away, with intent to
leave the Ends of the World Arena. He just can't stand it anymore; it hurts too much
to stand there and listen. Besides, Starr would call him an idiot too, of course she
would, that's what he is...
    James bumps into Misty on the way out.
    "Hey, watch it!" she says in an annoyed tone. James doesn't reply; he instead
shields his face from her and rushes past her. 
    Misty blinks, staring after him. 'What was that?' she wonders. However, James
had an air of not wanting to be bothered around him. Misty figures Faris will know,
and so she starts searching for the lavender-haired Rocket.



    James takes a deep breath, then lets it out in the form of a long sigh. He's
taken a walk to a nearby park, and is resting on a bench in the shade. There's
nothing he really wants to do, nowhere he can go except back to the Arena, and that's
the last place he wants to be right now... He stares sightlessly off into the blue
afternoon sky, looking at but not seeing the world around him. Who cares anyhow, he
never did fit into the world, ever since he was born...
    "Hey." James blinks, then looks over at the smiling boy sitting next to him. He
has light beige-white hair and red eyes, and a strange smile that is oddly comforting.
The boy offers him an ice cream cone. "You look down. I don't suppose you like
strawberry ice cream?"
    James blinks again, startled by the generosity of this total stranger. "Err...
sure," he says, taking the cone but not taking his eyes off the strange boy.
"Thanks... thanks a lot. ...How much does this cost?"
    The boy laughs a little, still smiling that strange, cryptic smile. "Nothing.
You look like you're lost, and someone who's lost usually can't afford the small
pleasures in life. Consider it a gift from someone who cares." He takes a lick from
his own cone (vanilla). James smiles, blushing a little at the generosity of this
slightly odd but kind stranger, and takes a bite out of his own cone.
    Moments go by as they eat their ice cream. When the strange boy finishes his
(minutes after James had finished his), he stands. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing
you." And he starts to walk off. 
    James stands with a suddenness that surprises himself. "Hey, wait!" he says with
noticeable urgency in his voice. The boy stops and looks over his shoulder at him,
still smiling. "I just want to know... what's your name?"
    The boy closes his eyes and turns around. "I'm Kerry Nelson. You are?"
    "James Dupont," the blue-haired Rocket replies. "Why'd you give me that ice
cream?"
    The boy, Kerry, opens his eyes again, still smiling. The wind ruffles his messy
hair slightly. "Because you looked so upset, like you wanted to run away from life.
Kind gestures, even a simple smile, can bring someone back from over the brink. Now
I have a question for you, James. Why were you upset?"
    James blinks at this. "Oh... well... because I had a fight with my girlfriend."
    Kerry raises an eyebrow, but his smile doesn't leave his face. "A fight?"
    "Well, not really a fight," he adds hastily. "More like... a misunderstanding,
I guess. She called me an idiot, and I guess I took a little more offense to it than
I should have."
    Kerry chuckles a little, walking over to James and sitting down next to him
again. James sits as well. "And why do you say that?" 
    "Well, because I *am* an idiot," James explains. "I'm no good at anything. I
never win Pokémon battles, and whenever I'm out on a job for Team Rocket, I fail."
He pauses, realizing what he just told him. "And I say incredibly stupid things with
no provocation at all." 
    "Like what?" Kerry prompts him.
    He gives the albino boy a strange look. "I just admitted that I work for Team
Rocket to a stranger," he says a little slowly.
    Kerry gives him a warm smile, a smile that tells James he's not so stupid for
doing that. "I don't care, personally," he tells him, "and I won't tell anyone. It's
your own choice to do what you do, and I don't have a right to order you around.
Especially since I don't know you."
    James... blinks. And blinks. And blushes slightly. "How old are you?"
    "Fourteen," Kerry smiles. "Although lots of people have thought I'm older than
I really am. You?" 
    "Nineteen," James replies.
    Kerry's smile continues. "It must be tough, thinking you're stupid and no good
when you're nineteen years old." 
    "No, but, you don't understand," he insists. "I am stupid. Once I bought a
Magikarp for $300." 
    "Really?" Kerry looks intrigued. "What's a Magikarp?"
    "What's a--" James gives him a long stare. "It's a Pokémon."
    "Ohh, I see now," Kerry nods. "I have no interest in Pokémon, so I don't know
these things." 
    "Well, I'm a Pokémon trainer, so I should," James says glumly. "Magikarp's no
good at all. It's a water Pokémon, and it can't even swim!" 
    Kerry smiles a little more, but James gets the feeling it's not at him. "Pokémon
training is a tough business," he says. "That's why I stay out of it." 
    James tilts his head slightly. "Stay out of it...?" he repeats, not following
his line of logic.  He closes his eyes and laughs a little. "Hey... tell you what,
James. Let's meet back here at 10 tonight, okay? There's something I want to show
you then." He stands. "Until then, I'd like to talk more with you. Would you like
to come over to my apartment?"
    Although James knows he should be going back to the Ends of the World Arena,
Kerry's smile is so friendly and inviting, he finds himself saying, "Sure, I'd love
to. Just lead the way." 
  

    "NyaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAha!!!" Starr laughs evilly, sending a huge splash of
water at Faris. What began as a simple, innocent splash-fight has now become a
full-scale water war to the death. Thomas began dunking Faris and Starr every once
in a while five minutes ago. Faris found a stash of pool noodles (you know, those
colorful foam floaty woggle things) somewhere, and at this moment she proceeds to
clobber Starr with one. 
    "OW! OW! That's cheating!" Starr grabs a pool noodle herself, screams,
"CLIMHAZZARD!" and defends herself with it. 
    Faris blocks the barrage of pool noodle hits--or at least most of them.
    Thomas shakes his head at Starr. "That's no sword technique."
    Starr hits Thomas with the pool noodle.
    Thomas shakes his head again with a faint grin, then picks up Starr, holds
her over his head, and drops her. 
    SPLASH. 
    On the way down, Starr thinks she sees a figure in a blue T-shirt disappear
from the doorway, but this sighting can neither be confirmed nor denied because
one second later Starr is underwater with a very nice view of the rose-patterned
pool tiles. 
    She surfaces sputtering and shaking water out of her hair. She makes the
time-out sign with her hands and says, "Hey Faris, did you see anyone near the door?"
    Faris shakes her head. "I was busy laughing at Thomas dropping you."
    Starr makes a face at her. "Ha ha ha."
    Then, from behind them, they hear a familiar voice say, "Hey, Faris?"
    Everyone turns to see Misty standing on the deck near the windows with Togepi
in her arms, looking concerned. 
    "What happened?" Starr and Faris both ask. 
    "Faris, is something the matter with James? I bumped into him in the hall a
little while ago, and he looked really odd. Did something happen between you guys?"
    Before Faris can answer, however, the solemn quiet is shattered by, "WHAT ARE
YOU DOING WITH MY BIG BROTHER?" 
    Thomas flinches. 
    Starr and Faris whip around at the sound of the eardrum-shattering screech and
see a certain blonde looking VERY pissed off.
    "YOU'RE TRYING TO SEDUCE MY BROTHER!!!!" Nathalie screams.
    "Au contraire, ma copine pénible. HE'S trying to seduce US," Faris points out.
    "LIAR!!!!!"
    "You're spitting," Starr points out.
    "You two are so SHAMELESS," Nathalie huffs.
    Thomas only grins a subtle you've-hit-the-nail-right-on-the-head grin.
    Starr snickers.
    Nathalie glares evil flaming horrible nasty badness at Faris, Starr and Misty.
    None of them even so much as blink.
    This effectively pisses Nathalie off even MORE. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!
I'LL--"
    "Punish us??" Faris suggests. "You already have. You're giving us a headache."
    "Check that. She's giving me the mother of all migraines." Starr massages her
temples.
    Nathalie draws breath for another screech, but her mouth snaps shut into a pout
when Thomas says, "Nathalie, that's enough."
    "But--but----"
    "Nathalie...."
    Nathalie pouts for a few seconds more, just for dramatic effect, then storms
out of the room, nearly tripping on a pool noodle on the way out.
    Starr shakes her head. "That was needlessly irritating." 
    Misty looks squiggle-eyed at the spot where Nathalie was, then turns back
to Faris. "As I was saying, what's up with James?" 
    Faris looks at the water, then calmly meets Misty and Starr's concerned gaze
and explains. 
    "Fariiiiiiiiiiiiis!" Starr exclaims. "WHY? James is still really sensitive!"
    Faris sighs. "I don't know...I was trying to explain about how he might not
understand Shoujo Kakumei Utena, and he didn't get the subtle hints, so I snapped
into blunt mode and said he was an idiot."
    Starr crosses her arms. "Faris, I know you feel bad, but would you mind not
looking as though you expect me to put the smack down any second? I'm upset, but
it was an accident. All you need to do is talk to James again. He'll be sad, but
he trusts you. He believes you. Tell him the truth. He may be clueless, but he's
certainly not an idiot. In some ways he's got a real edge over the average
person."
    "How?" Misty looks guilty. "I mean, I want to agree that James isn't dumb,
but..."
    "He's perceptive. He knows how he feels. He's never confused. Sometimes his
conviction about how he feels can hurt him, yeah, but if you ever take time to
talk to him so he'll understand, he catches on right away and he's right into it."
Starr breaks off and looks at Faris, cheeks a little pink. "I mean, when I talked
to him before...he really has a sense of things, Faris.  If you really talk to him,
he's so understanding, and he isn't afraid to let his true feelings show up. He's
the only guy I know like that."
    Thomas is just listening, with the slightly detached, disinterested look of the
true cool guy. "There's a reason for that." 
    Starr gives Thomas a Look. "I happen to like sensitive guys. You can talk to
them, and you know they'll never let you down. I'd prefer a sensitive guy to...I
don't know...a jock or a playboy. James is kinda girly, but what good's total
masculinity if the guy is a total jerk?"
    Thomas blinks.
    "And by the way, I did not just call you a jerk. I said that to explain James,"
Starr adds. 
    Thomas nods, looking satisfied. "I guessed that. You don't seem l like the type
to insult anyone directly, you're too sensitive to their feelings."
    Faris looks at Thomas with a faint grin. "Was that a compliment?"
    "Depends how she takes it. I prefer strong girls...like you." Thomas smiles and
runs a gentle hand through Faris' hair.  Misty, meanwhile, has begun staring at...
something, cheeks bright red, sea-green eyes wide. 
    Starr follows her gaze and grins. 
    "At least he isn't wearing a Speedo," she whispers to the orange-haired Cerulean
Gym leader. 
    "EEE!" Misty squeaks at the mental image, both hands covering her mouth, dropping
Togepi, and then swiftly recovering and catching the baby Pokémon before it can hit the
concrete floor. "STARR!" 
    Starr loses it. 
    "Don't laugh, you'll sink!" Faris announces, dunking Starr.
    "ACKPTH." Starr surfaces and spits out a huge mouthful of water. "So are you going
to talk to James?" 
    Faris sighs again, but smiles a bit and nods. "Misty, where did he go?"
    Misty shrugs apologetically. "I don't know, really..."
    Suddenly a PHS rings faintly from the changeroom. Starr recognizes the ring as that
of her cell phone and runs for it. She removes the phone from her jeans pocket and
answers, "Hello?"
    "I'm going to be out for a while. Don't worry. I'll be back."
    "James!?" Starr says, relieved. "Are you okay? Where are you?
    *Click.* 
    Starr glares at the phone, annoyed. "Dammit."
    "Who was it?" Misty asks, poking her head around the door frame. 
    "James, but he didn't say where he was." Starr sighs and replaces the PHS in her
pocket. "Damn't. At least he sounded okay. A little sad, but not as bad as you said
he was."
    "Oh, good."
    Starr and Misty wander back into the pool area, planning to relay the information
to Faris. However, they're greeted by the sound of splashing and pool noodles bashing
over human heads. Looking into the fray in the pool, Starr sees the top of someone's
head... someone with azure hair.
    "Mike!" she waves. 
    Michael looks up at Starr and freezes, cheeks pink at the sight of the green-eyed
Rocket in a swimsuit. 
    This effectively gives Thomas the chance to clonk him one. 
    Michael goes under. 
    "Damn't...." Starr drops her head. "Sorry..." 
    Michael surfaces and shakes the water out of his hair. "Ah heh..." he says. 
    "Sorry about staring like that....You look....erm....emmmrnsb......" 
    Thomas messes up Michael's hair. "What Mikey is trying to say is, you look
beautiful."
    "Thomas, cut that out..." Michael says mildly, ducking away. But he smiles at
Starr, letting her know that was what he meant. 
   Starr smiles at Michael and slides into the pool. "Thanks."
    Faris smiles knowingly at Starr.
    Now Starr blushes. 
    Michael swims over to the deep end of the pool with the diving well, motioning
for Starr to follow. She does. Once they reach the opposite end of the pool, Starr
looks back at the water fight, which has come back in full force thanks to Misty
joining in. She still blushes whenever Thomas says anything to her, though. Michael
is also smiling. "Looks like Faris and Thomas are getting along in spite of
Nathalie..."
    Starr nods, then asks, "What'd you want to talk to me about?"
    Michael says a few indistinct things before clearing his throat and saying, "Starr,
would you like to go to the Cinnabar Festival with me tonight? I'd really like it if...
I mean, if you want...."
    Starr taps him on the shoulder. When he turns to her, she smiles and nods. "I'd
really like to go to the carnival with you."
    Michael smiles hugely. "Great!" he says happily. Then he turns pink again, but this
time he holds his ground without trailing off. "...I'll pick you up around seven, then?"
    "Seven is good," Starr agrees.
    "HEY!" Thomas calls. "Quit flirting with Starr and get over here! I need someone
else on my side! I'm being tag-teamed." 
    Faris and Misty proceed to laugh evilly and beat him with the pool noodles again.
    Starr and Michael look at one another.
    Before Michael even asks, Starr grins and shakes her head. "Not a chance. I'm on
Faris' team." 
    Michael smiles back. "En garde." he says, brandishing an imaginary sword before
swimming back into the shallow end with Starr close behind him.
  

    "Wow..." James breathes, taking in as much as he can in the first sweeping
glance of Kerry's two-room apartment. 
    Kerry smiles over at him. "I live alone, so I can't afford much; but I don't
mind. I have my books, and my music." He pats his bookcase filled with theology,
poetry, philosophy, sociology, psychology, legend, and fantasy books.
    James blinks. "Where's your music?"
    Smiling, Kerry taps his temple. "Right here." He spreads his arms wide, spinning
around the room. "All the happiness I need is right here, in me." He looks back to
James and his smile grows a bit. "I guess that's the biggest difference between us." 
    James stares at him for a moment; then his eyes soften and he nods. "Yeah...I
think I know what you mean." 
    Kerry gives him a curious, regarding look, never losing his smile. "Oh? So what
do I mean?" 
    "You mean..." He struggles to find the right words. "You're happy with who you
are, and I'm unhappy with who I am. But you don't understand, Kerry. I wouldn't care
at all if it was just me. I never used to care that much. But the girl who's more
important to me in the world--she deserves so much better than me. She's beautiful,
she's smart, she's kind, she's smart, she's strong, she's... she's SMART!!" James
finishes with no little frustration. "I'm too dumb to deserve her. I don't know what
she sees in me."
    The albino boy sits down on his bed. "What made her fall in love with you in the
first place?" 
    James sits down next to him. Though he's not sure himself why he's being so open
with such a stranger, he still relays to Kerry the entire story of how he kept trying
to woo Faris, how she kept rejecting him, and eventually she relented and they fell
in love. When the story's over, Kerry looks thoughtful, and his lips are hidden behind
his hands.
    "I can't tell you Faris' feelings," he finally says after a long silence. "I don't
feel the same way as her. But I like you, and at least I can explain my own reasons.
It's because you have an air of innocence around you. Even though you'd done lots of
bad things in your life, you remain innocent. Only now, after nineteen years of living,
has that innocence truly started to crumble. This intrigues me, James. You intrigue me.
With the exception of one, you are by far the most fascinating human I've ever met."
    James blinks and stares. "Human?" 
    Kerry simply smiles. 
    He stands and crosses the room to the bookcase. After a couple seconds of searching,
Kerry pulls a thick, black book out from one of the shelves, then flips to a page.
"Here," he says, handing the book to James. "Read this. It's one of my favorites."
    James takes it, then silently begins to read.




			"CRIME OF INNOCENCE" 

	    Darkness. Darkness. Everywhere you turn, darkness. Everlasting darkness,
	encompassing darkness, darkness, darkness, darkness. It seems as if there is
	nothing you can do to escape it. You cry out into the darkness, hoping someone
	will hear you, hoping someone will help you, but the only thing that answers is
	your own echo. You shiver within this horrible darkness, the darkness that
	hunts, the darkness that chases you into an abyss-like fear, darkness with no
	hint of light. 
	    Yet, you feel you are not alone. 
	    There are others like you in this darkness, calling out, yet only hearing
	themselves mirrored a thousand times over. 
	    How you know this is a mystery to you. You simply /know/.
	    So you do not give up. You do not pray for death. You continue to search
	throughout the darkness, searching for someone like you, searching for someone
	to comfort you, searching for someone you can comfort. It doesn't matter who it
	is. 
	    At last, you can hear someone! Someone besides yourself shuffling in the
	darkness! You call out, and they call back, a voice different from your own--not
	an echo, another living creature. You keep calling out to each other, until you
	can almost touch each other. You reach out your hand to grasp theirs, and
	something brushes against you--
	    Then they are gone. You cry for them over and over again, but there is no
	answer. It is as if that person, whomever it had been, had been spirited away.
	As if they had been swallowed up by the insatiable darkness.  You sob in the
	darkness, great sobs that wrack your entire body, but to no avail. You are again
	alone. That other person had betrayed you, given you false hope--now you know
	there is no such thing as hope. You have paid for being so trusting, thinking
	that you could find someone like yourself. You have paid dearly for your crime
	of innocence. Feeling exhausted from the entire ordeal, you lie where you are,
	weeping. 
	    But because you are human, you do not give up. Even though you are without
	hope, you do not give up. 
	    Because that is what it means to be human--never giving up, even though
	there is no hope left. 


	    I have no hope for the future. Perhaps this quest of life is meaningless,
	and I think it probably is. I ponder death, I question life, but I do not end
	it. Maybe I am weak. Maybe I am not. Maybe I'm in denial, and maybe I'm lying to
	myself. I just know that, as long as I am alive, I have not given up. Even though
	I want to die, I am not dead yet, and I do nothing to kill myself.
	    So I keep searching for that hope for the future. 
	    Maybe, one day, I'll find it. 
  
  
  

    A cold, tingling sensation washes over James as he reads the passage. Softly, he
closes the book; on the cover, flowing, golden lettering spelling out, THE TRUE HUMAN
MAGIC. Beneath it, more simple silver lettering writes, "An Anthology of Poetry and
Passage". He hands the book back to Kerry. 
    "It's..." James searches for the words, and fails. "Beyond description." 
    Kerry smiles. "Everything in here is. Everything in here holds pure emotion, so no
matter which path the piece takes, you simply can't describe what you feel as you read.
That passage I showed you reminds me of someone important to me. It's the only book I've
found with it, and that's why this anthology is my favorite amongst all of the many
books I've read." 
    "Oh..." James gazes at the engraved lettering, tracing them with his finger. The
book has an air of ancient age to it, even though the lettering is still as bright as if
it was new. He wonders where his train of thought could possibly be coming from to think
such things... 
    "Would you like to borrow it?" 
    The sound of Kerry's voice snaps James out of his daydream. "Wh- what?" 
    Kerry smiles, closing his eyes. "That book is for enriching the mind and soul. I've
read it many times over, myself. I think you'll enjoy it." He opens his eyes slightly.
"Would you like to borrow it, James?"
    James stares at him, flabbergasted and struck speechless. After a moment, he blushes
a little and stammers out an assent and thank-you. 
  

    Faris lies face-up on one of the white leather couches at Ends of the World Arena.
True, that's a dangerous thing to do, but at the moment she doesn't really care. Her
thoughts are dwelling to something she hasn't thought of since they all left Pallet:
    The mission to capture Mewtwo.
    'I should probably call the Boss to let him know how things are going...' she thinks
to herself, brushing some hair out of her eyes. Pulling her PHS from the same void where
Touga keeps his own cell phone, Faris presses one of the three speed dial buttons, then
puts the phone to her ear.
    -It's me,- a familiar voice sounds on the other end.
    "Hey, Boss," Faris replies in a less-than-enthusiastic voice. "We're at Cinnabar."
    -Good, good. I'll have my pet scientist give you the information you need on Mewtwo,
Faris. I'll call you back once I've set it up.-
    "Ano NA... you know I told you I don't want to be referred to by my real name in
Rocket dealings, *Giovanni*," she reminds him dryly.
    -Point taken. My sincerest apologies, Sami.-
    "Hai, hai... Ne, Boss, I've been meaning to ask you something."
    -Yes?-
    Faris closes her eyes and crosses her legs. "You only told me about this mission,
yet you sent Jessie, James, and Starr along too. If you think they'll mess things up,
why did you have them come along too?" 
    There's a dry chuckle on the other side. –I was actually wondering when you'd ask
that. They're cannon fodder.- 
    Faris raises an eyebrow. "Nan desu tte?" 
    -Despite being a top-secret project, if Mewtwo is found missing, all of Cinnabar
Island will be in an uproar. I don't want you getting caught, so you're to use Jessie
and James as scapegoats. It's a win-win situation in the end. As for Starr, I sent her
along as well because those idiots would suspect something if she weren't sent along as
well. If you can, try to keep her from getting arrested, but if you have to, throw the
blame on her as well. Just make sure you get out of it alive and with Mewtwo.-
    "You really want that Mewtwo, don't you." It's more of a statement than a question.
    -Anything to achieve what I desire.-
    "And what exactly is it that you desire? World conquest?"
    To her mild surprise, he actually laughs. –It would appear that way on the surface,
wouldn't it?- 
    "You mean to say you're searching for something greater?"
    -Something I doubt you'd understand.-
    Faris remains silent for a moment. Finally, she says softly, "Might it have anything
to do with Lenna Inverse? She *was* your lover, after all." And she hangs up. Who cares
if she was rude? Giovanni doesn't have her livelihood in his grasp, like he does with
the majority of the Rocket members. 
  

    A bell gongs, and the shadows of two girls, one with a bow on her head and the other
with two pigtail braids, appear on a red-tinted rose print. They are in a rowboat. The
girl with the bow, A-ko, is in a pirate captain's costume; the other girl, B-ko, is in a
pirate henchman costume. B-ko is rowing the boat.
    A-ko holds up a hand, which is covered by a hook, and announces, "Behold! this vast
expanse of ocean! Bringing a hundred men with me, I have set sail on the seven seas! I
am a pirate. All the world's riches are now in my hands."
    B-ko looks up at A-ko, still rowing, and wonders, "I wonder, I wonder, but Boss?
Why's your treasure chest missing ONLY what you want?"
    A-ko stares down at B-ko. "What I really want?"
    B-ko nods up at her boss. "'Cos... That's why ya can't quit being a pirate boss,
ain't it?" 
    A-ko murmurs, "What I really want..."
    B-ko continues, as if to urge the kashira on, "Boss, what you really want... what
you really want is..."
    A-ko seems to decide and finally declares, "What I really want is--"
    "Oops!" B-ko cries, cutting her off. Water is gushing into the boat, and they are
sinking rather rapidly. "Boss, we've sprung a leak!"


    The night breeze is cool against James' skin as he and Kerry walk back to the park.
In the distance, the festival is alive, but this park is sacred ground; it's as serene
as if there was no festival at all. 
    "Here. Come on. It's just a little further," Kerry says to James, pulling him past
the bench they'd sat on earlier that day. "We can't get a good view from there."
    "What are you going to show me?" James queries for the hundredth time.
    Kerry's smile is cryptic, yet comforting. "Something that every human needs to look
at, once in a while. Don't worry, we're almost there." 
    After a few more minutes of walking, the two reach an open field. Kerry brings James
out to the middle of it, then sits. "We're here." 
    James blinks, then takes a look around. "I don't get it," he says in a puzzled tone.
"What's so special about this?" 
    Kerry points up to the sky. James follows it... and remains puzzled. "What? There's
nothing out of the ordinary in the sky tonight." 
    Kerry laughs a little. "Lie down," he suggests. "Relax, and look at the stars. That's
what I brought you here to see. I'm going to tell you something." 
    Not quite understanding the point, James complies, and Kerry lies down next to him.
A moment of silence stretches between them.
    Finally, Kerry says quietly, "James. How many stars do you think are in the sky?"
    "Huh?" James blinks, then looks, really looks, at the stars for the first time. "I
dunno... a million?" 
    "Even more," Kerry smiles. "Because for every one star you see in the sky now,
there are billions more that you can't see. Maybe it's because they're too far away.
Maybe it's because they're not bright enough. And maybe it's because the earthly lights
are blocking them out. But in a sky with millions, there are trillions more you can't
see. And of those millions, only a handful is bright enough that we can notice them. Do
you understand what I'm saying?" 
    "...No." 
    "Hmm. Well, as we become interested in earthly things, like money and power, we
begin to forget that in the cosmic sense, we are nil. Gaining money and power is good
for within your lifetime, but what about after? Do you want to rot in the dust, or shine
in the heavens with the stars? The stars continue to live and die, but that's okay,
because we're the same way.
    "In other words, humans are a lot like the stars."
    Kerry pauses a moment to let this sink in, then continues. "Though there are billions
of humans in the world, only a few thousand can be seen by one human in one place, and
of those few thousand, only a handful are bright enough to be noticed by other humans.
As you get closer to places where man-made lights are more prominent, fewer and fewer
stars can be noticed. Humans are the same way. Once you're in the city, you're nothing
unless you can make a name and place for yourself." He sits up. "Do you understand?"
    James pauses a moment, then nods slowly. "I think so..." he says, also sitting up.
"You're saying that, only a few people are great enough to be something special."
    "That's close, but not quite," Kerry smiles. "Everyone has the potential to be
great. Everyone has the potential to become a legend in their own time. However, not
everyone has the means to do so... and that's why we often curse our lot in life."
    James' eyes soften as he gazes up at the sky. "Yeah... I understand. We all want
to be someone important... but sometimes, you just can't get any higher than the bottom
of the barrel." He sighs. "I know how that feels..."
    To his surprise, Kerry laughs. "You're too negative! Whatever past experiences
you may have, if you learn from them, you become richer and stronger. Think of what
you do have instead of what you don't, but avoid fooling yourself into thinking you're
something you aren't. Even if you lived on the streets at one time," and James flinches
at this, "surely you would have learned something from that ordeal? It is learning from
life that makes you great. Those who refuse to learn condemn themselves." Kerry places
a hand on James' shoulder; James jumps a little, and stares at him. "From what you told
me, I believe you have been granted a miracle. You've been given a chance to be reborn
from the ashes of your present life. As you are, you aren't very much. You live in the
shadows, fearing capture by not only police, but your own boss as well. The missions you
and your partners go on, you fail. They say if at first you don't succeed, try, try again,
but there's no sense in dragging something out if it's obvious you aren't good at it. If
you're no good at being a Rocket, then quit and do something else with your life."
    Kerry's gentle smile and voice sooth James' nerves; he smiles back gratefully. "I
don't think I would have thought of that on my own," he confesses. "But then, I don't
have anywhere to go to other than Team Rocket. I don't have any money, and I don't have
any decent skills. Team Rocket's the only reason I'm not living on the streets right
now... like I used to..." He sighs, flicking his eyes away. "When I ran away from home,
I didn't have any money or skill then either, so I ended up having to beg on the streets
to survive. I knew Jessie from school before then, so when I met her on the streets, she
helped me out, and introduced me to Team Rocket. Ever since then, we've been partners.
It's kind of hard to leave something that's the world to me..." He looks up suddenly,
cutting off anything Kerry might have had to say to that. "But then, that's what it means
to grow up, right? I'm starting to understand what you've been saying. I've got to grow up
if I want to shine, and leaving Team Rocket behind is a part of growing up." He smiles
nervously and glances back at Kerry. "Or did I mess it up?"
    Kerry's smile seems to glow in the moonless night. "No. You got it exactly right. I
couldn't have said it better myself, James." His crimson eyes turn back to the stars. "I
think, just now, you've grown up a little. You used to see things in plain black and
white." He closes his eyes, smiling. "But, things are not black and white. Sometimes
things are a spectrum of colors, so many colors you can't even see them all..."
    "And sometimes," James adds, "things are so crystal clear you can't even see them in
front of you."
    Kerry's smile could warm up the coldest of nights. "That's right, James. That's
exactly right."
  

    Starr and Michael walk hand-in-hand down the boardwalk, looking out at the lights
glittering across the bay. 
    Starr looks up and smiles. "I'm surprised so many stars are out tonight. Usually
they kind of hide away from bright lights, and you need to go out where it's dark and
quiet to see them all." 
    "I have all the stars I need right here..." Michael says shyly. 
    Starr's response is to blush and be thankful Mike can't see her pink cheeks in
the moonlight. However, the same moonlight makes her green eyes eternally green as she
looks up at Michael and asks, "Do you want to go someplace else...? I mean, where there
aren't so many people... I never really got a chance to talk to you except when you were
playing the piano, and even then, that was a better time for just listening."
    Michael looks quizzical for a minute, then nods. "All right. What do you have in
mind?"
    Starr indicates the gondola ride. "That okay? I mean, you aren't afraid of heights
or anything?" 
    Michael shakes his head and laughs. "You kidding? One trip up to the arena and your
fear of heights goes out the window--it HAS to, or you're doomed. I agree, today's been
pretty hectic. Let's go."  Once on the ride, the first five minutes are spent in silence.
Starr isn't quite sure how to begin. Fortunately, fate picks that time to step in and
create a diversion.
    Starr glances out the window and says. "Wow! Mike, how pretty! Look!"
    Mike follows her gaze...
    Colored and silver lights like tiny stars below...
    Fireworks scattering their golden blue and red light over the bay....
    The ferris wheel like a pinwheel in the darkness. 
    Finally Starr remembers what she's come up here to do. She faces Mike, hands in her
lap.
    "Michael...this is going to sound really funky to you, I know it...but....do you
ever get the feeling that you're not seeing a person's real self....?"
    Michael looks surprised, but he nods. "We all hide behind some kind of mask at one
time or another of our lives. It takes a lot of courage to come right out and be
yourself around someone." 
    "Have *you* ever?" 
    "...Once," Michael finally says. "When you sat down by me while I was practicing....
it was so weird...but...it made me feel real." 
    Starr blushes, but answers, "You, too." 
    "Really?" Michael puts a hand on the back of his neck and smiles. "...." 
    Starr nods. "But....I haven't seen that side of you since then. Only little glances
of it, like when we were in the pool. You seem to hide around Thomas and the others...
why?" 
    Michael looks uncomfortable and shrugs. "I don't know... Orion's kinda overbearing...
so's Thomas...they're older, they have more power...Kevin acts all cold constantly...
Nathalie's just loud...Julie's the only one I really talk to, and even then not often.
I just never really get a chance to be myself." He laughs a bit. "If I did, I'd probably
scare them." 
    "You don't have to hide. Aren't they your friends? They'd understand."
    Michael shrugs again. "I really don't know..."
    Starr reaches across the car and takes Michael's hand. "I'm not that scary, am I?
I'm not gonna laugh if you be who you are around me."
    "I know... I guess I've just gotten used to being the quiet smart guy...strong
silent type, you know. It gets annoying, but what can you do?"
    "You can stop."
    Michael blinks. Big blue eyes meet emerald green eyes.
    Starr grins. "I'm serious. It's not easy and it takes time, but I was quite and I
hid like that once too, and look at me now: The walking sugar high."
    "You aren't that bad," Michael scolds gently.
    "You've never seen me on Jolt!" Starr retaliates.
    Michael finds that funny, but soon his grin fades away and he looks seriously at
Starr. "So, what do you want? I want to make you happy."
    "What do I want? Michael, I want to meet you."
    Michael blinks. "But I'm right here."
    Starr shakes her head. "I know I'm going about this very oddly, but please bear
with me... I want to meet you. Not just what you are there at Ends of the World, but
who you really are...the Mike Corwin inside. I saw who you were that time you played
the piano, and I want to see it again, because I like what you are."
    "Really?" Michael looks genuinely surprised and happy.
    "Really."
    "That's good." Michael squeezes Starr's hand. "Because I like who you are, too."


    A slightly spiky-haired shadow moves quietly along the wall of Martins Greyweirs'
house. 
    Casting that shadow is an equally quiet Starr Evans carrying a half-full cup of
cocoa. 
    She looks into the cup and makes a face. 
    "This was supposed to help me sleep. What a crock." 
    She wanders into the kitchen, empties the room-temperature hot chocolate down the
drain, and walks back upstairs, the thick carpet tickling her bare feet. She passes
Ash's bedroom, who is happily snoring away, his prized Volcano Badge which he'd earned
just yesterday set in a place of honor on the dresser. A few rooms past his is Jessie's,
where the redheaded Rocket has collapsed on her bed, as ecstatic as Ash in her recent
capture of a Ponyta. Passing the two without a thought, Starr catches a glance at
herself in a hallway mirror.
    Bright green eyes.
    Spiky red hair made evem more spiky by bedhead.
    Pink pajamas, short-sleeved, the pants a little long on her, with a tiny daisy print.
    "I look like a little kid." 
    She rolls her eyes. 
    "I AM a little kid. I have one bad dream and I fall apart." 
    She closes her eyes. 

    *faris dueling in the utena outfit, dueling thomas, but i cant tell whether they
have swords or pokémon now faris and i duel me at first in wakabas kurobara no duelist
uniform, then I drop my sword and hug faris were friends why would I fight her now im
standing by again watching james in his rose bride uniform take faris' hand ~ the
victor of the duels
    then i feel a sharp pain in my chest
    i cant help it it hurts too much I fall and faris runs over and holds my hand
asking whats wrong orion says something michael and faris pull me up to my feet then
somebody bends me backwards
    "Hey! I'm not Anthy! What are you--"
    thomas pulls the dios no ken from my chest while im standing bewildered and thomas
has turned to Faris whered the sword go faris yells something to me and someone behind
me runs the sword right through me*

    Starr woke up gasping in a cold sweat and had actually had to ckeck her jammies
for both where Thomas had supposedly gotten the Sword of Dios and where someone had
pulled a Sephiroth on her.
    Finding no holes was only a small relief, thus Starr made a beeline for the
kitchen.
    Martina only has that diet cocoa mix, and it tastes terrible. 
    Starr's mind wanders from the cocoa aftertaste back to the dream. 
    'Sometimes dreams mean something. Does this mean anything?' 
    Starr leans on the mirror, hand on her forehead. 
    "I guess I'm  like Wakaba to Faris...I cheer her up and for a while I hated her
for having James. It hurts when she pushes him away...and if those End of the World
psychos take this whole Duel protocol seriously..."
    She looks up at her reflection, eyes wide.
    "Faris might really be engaged to him when she wins." 
    She shakes her head. 
    "No...no...she'll push him away even more! That'd kill him and her...and I'd be
so...just so--" 
    She jerks her head up. 
    "It'd be like stabbing me in the heart." 
    Two green eyes narrow in determination. 
    "This is not Shoujo Kakumei Utena. Faris is NOT Tenjou Utena and James is NOT
A ROSE BRIDE. We have to be dreaming here...all the same stupid messed-up anxiety
dream. I refuse to carry on anyone's dream, not Akio's, not Orion's. I am not a dream.
I am real and Faris is real. James and Jessie are real, Misty and Ash and Brock are
real. Michael is real and he CAN get out of the dream. So can everyone, they just
aren't trying...or they can't because they need a catalyst..."
    She smiles. 
    "Or...or......" 
    A pause, then... 
    "Or a revolution." 
    Starr gazes at the mirror. 
    "Well, Akio-lech, this time you have two Shoujo Kakumei on your hands. And this
stupidity is going to stop."  She turns away from the mirror, emerald eyes full of
conviction and determination, and goes back to bed, falling into an untroubled sleep.



    CREAK. 
    The doors leading into the duel arena apparently need oiling, Faris muses to
herself as she approaches the elevator. 
    /The Absolute Destiny: Apocalypse   The Absolute Destiny: Apocalypse   My
own birth, Absolute birth, Apocalypse/ J.A. Seazer's masterpiece song thrushes
forward as Faris enters the elevator and she presses the button for the top
floor. 
    /A wet-nurse and a midwife in a dark desert A gold-gilded Shangri-La Day and
night reversing A time-gilded Lost Paradise/
    Several floors pass as the song plays into the elevator. Faris hums along,
tapping her foot to the tune. 
    /Darkness over Sodom Darkness ever glowing Darkness over yonder Darkness
never ending   The Absolute Destiny: Apocalypse/
    The elevator hits the top floor, and opens with a half cheerful, half
ominous *ding*. Faris steps out, in full Utena attire, to face the other
Duelists. 
    /The Absolute Destiny: Apocalyptic Darkness; Apocalypse/
    She steps into the arena to face the others, and as she does, a scene with
spiraling red roses and black borders starts at her feet and stops at her head,
showing all of her off. 
    /mokushi kushimo shimoku kumoshi moshiku shikumo mokushi kushimo shimoku
kumoshi moshiku shikumo/
    "All ready and accounted for?" she grins grimly, looking over all the
Duelists--Jezebel, Jessie, Starr, Misty, Gary, and Ash. And then, the Rose Bride,
James, wearing a white dress. "Sorry I'm late."
    /mokushi kushimo shimoku kumoshi moshiku shikumo mokushi kushimo shimoku
kumoshi moshiku shikumo
    Thomas shrugs from behind her; standing with him are Nathalie, Kevin, and
Julie. "It's tradition. UTENA always arrives last. You're not late."
    Faris grins at him. "That she does."
    /mokushi kushimo shimoku kumoshi moshiku shikumo mokushi kushimo shimoku
kumoshi moshiku shikumo mokushi kushimo shimoku kumoshi moshiku shikumo/
    She turns back to the others. 'The days passed like they were nothing,' she
thinks to herself, her hand moving to her belt where her three chosen Pokéballs
are. 'I'm just glad that I could settle with James.' She places a hand on her
hip, and turns her gaze to the tower on the other side of the arena, which
apparently is replacing the upside-down Castle of Illusions. 
    /mokushi kushimo shimoku kumoshi moshiku shikumo mokushi kushimo shimoku
kumoshi moshiku shikumo..../
    What Faris can't see from her position is James' parents along with Martina
in the tower with Michael. Said blue-haired boy switches on the light system,
and the street lanterns decorating the arena burst with light. He announces over
the PA system now that the song has ended, "Now that the final Duelist has
arrived, we may begin." 
    'Kettousha-tachi' begins to play softly in the background. 
    "You seven Duelists each have three Pokémon. Which Pokémon you have, only
you know. The duels will proceed accordingly: Amour, Raison, Amitie, Choix,
Justice, Fiérte, Conviction, and Adoration. The two Duelists participating in
that duel will be ushered up to the Arena, and the other Duelists will wait with
the panel of judges. A panel of judges, comprised of Kevin, Julie, Nathalie, and
Thomas, will be watching to make sure all the Ends of the World Rules are upheld.
Orion Abraxas, the founder of Ends of the World, will also be watching, so make
sure you do your best. 
    "First up are UTENA and NANAMI, fighting for the Rose Bride. NANAMI is the
current Victor of the Duels."
    Faris and Jezebel walk out into the arena and face each other. The others
stand back, behind Thomas-tachi.
    "Upon the sounding of the duel song, The Transparent Period of Adolescence,
the Duelists will send out their Pokémon and duel," Michael states once they're
in place. "The duel called Amour will now begin." 
    The music starts, and Jezebel and Faris throw out their Pokéballs
simultaneously, shouting, "Pokéball, GO!!" 
    /Vanish! Fade away!/
    In a spray of red and then white light, Jezebel's Pokémon emerges.
"Vahhlplewwm!" the Vileplume says with a Southern drawl not unlike Jezebel's.
    /Melt away! Get out of my sight!/
    Swirling with the light of the Pokéball, first red and then white, Faris'
Pokémon comes forth. "..." the residing Kadabra (whom we all know as Batts)
counters pointedly.
    /Any and all people!/
    "Ah'm not gonna lose t'yew!" Jezebel declares, arms crossed. 
    "Talk later. Duel now," Faris replies with a smile. 
    "Grrrrr..." her opponent growls, hands twitching a little. "FINE THEN!!" 
    /Vanish! Fade away! Melt away! Get out of my sight!/
    Jezebel takes a daring step forward. "Vahlplume! Use your Stun Spore t' keep
that horrid Kadabra from movin' around!" she orders.
    "Vahhhlpleewwm!" the Vileplume says, sending out a spray of movement-
inhibiting pollen. 
    /The instant imposters./
    Faris flips her hair a little, crossing her arms. "Batts, Teleport out of
the way of the Stun Spore," she instructs.
    Batts complies, disappearing in a flash of light and reappearing behind
Vileplume. 
    "Vahl?" Vileplume wonders, puzzling over the whereabouts of its opponent.
    /Betrayed by wishes... Avenged by hope. Periods like this are tedious./
    "VAHLPLUME, DON'T JUST SIT THERE!!!!" Jezebel screeches, freaking upon
seeing her Pokémon clueless in the midst of danger. 
    "Vahl?" Vileplume turns around to face Batts. "PLEEWWWWWM!!!!!!" it shrieks
before trying to run away. (It just trips over its own feet, though; plant
Pokémon are not built to run.)
    "How pathetic," Faris smiles, chin resting on her hand. "Batts, Disable it."
    Mysterious blue glow lights up Batts eyes, and a similar blue aura surrounds
Vileplume. 
    "Plewm?" it says, blinking a couple of times. "PLEEEWWWWWMM!!!!!!!!!!!!" it
repeats upon being psychically thrown across the ring. Its tiny eyes turn into
kawaii swirlies after it rolls over a few times and finally stops on its back.
    /I will run away. Everyone, disappear! Even now, there's nothing that I
want!/
    Jezebel is now jumping up and down frenziedly (and in turn greatly amusing
the other Duelists). "VAHLPLEWM, PULL YOAHSELF T'GETHAH!!!!!" she screams, her
Southern accent more pronounced than ever. "HURRY UP AND USE YOAH SLEEP
POWDAH!!!!!!!" 
    Somehow, this message manages to get through to Vileplume. It recovers
instantly, shakes its head, than sprays sparkly blue pollen at Batts before
Faris can react. As a result, the Sleep Powder overwhelms Batts, and with much
regret, he falls over, asleep. 
    The song goes into a short instrumental, and Faris curses, "Shimatta!!"
    "OOOHOHOHOHOHOO!!!" Jezebel laughs into her hand. "This duel is as good as
won!!" 
    Faris closes her eyes. "That's what you think," she whispers, concentrating.
    However, Jezebel doesn't hear this, and even if she had, she would have
ignored it. "Vahlplume, finish off that horrid Kadabra with Petal Dance!"
    Vileplume nods, almost falls over from the weight of its head, balances with
one leg to keep from falling over, then rights itself.
    /Straddling an unmanned sidecar, Daydream journey of three thousand leagues/
    "Plewm!" Sprays of pretty pink cherry blossom flow out from the blossom on
its head and strew themselves onto Batts. It does rather minimal damage at
first, but then starts cutting him slightly. Vileplume in turn is out of control,
charging as fast as it can (which isn't very fast for a plant Pokémon) at the
stilled Kadabra. 
    /Subway, freeway, runway/
    Faris opens her eyes, an unearthly gleam reflecting off her crimson irises.
"Batts, awaken!!" she snarls.  Batts' eyes, glowing as red as Faris' own, snap
open. He is instantly on his feet, much to the shock of Jezebel. Vileplume
doesn't care, however, and continues to charge.
    /I'm going! At a hundred kilometers per hour.../
    Jezebel shrieks desperately, "VAHLPLEWM, USE SLEEP POWDAH AGAHN!!!" 
    Both Faris and Vileplume ignore her, and Faris orders with coldness beyond
the Arctic, "Batts--Psychic attack."
    /A hero, a swift wind, a fugitive./
    Psychedelic mental waves coalesce into a compact ball at the star on Batts'
forehead. Eyes still burning bright red, the ball explodes into a full mental
attack, assaulting Vileplume to the point where it's not only knocked
unconscious, it is also knocked twenty yards out of the ring.
    And the duel song ends.
    The church bells used to signal the conclusion of a Pokémon duel chime
resoundingly. "The winner of the duel Amour is UTENA!" Michael announces over
the loudspeaker. "UTENA is now the current Victor of the Duels!"
    "NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO!!!!!" Jezebel shrieks, falling to her knees and crying.
"Ah was so CLOSE!!!!!" 
    The red light fades from Batts' eyes; Faris approaches him. "This one was
close," she whispers, kneeling down next to him. "I'm glad I sent you out
instead of Utena, like I originally planned. If it wasn't for our psychic link,
I would have lost."
    <Nothing will keep me from fulfilling your wish,> Batts replies. <That's the
promise we made, eight years ago...>
    Faris smiles gently, reminiscently.
    An unsympathetic Julie and Kevin lead a now dazed Jezebel out of the duel
arena. Faris stands, and she and Batts walk together out of the duel arena.
    Ash, Gary, and James all rush up to her. "That was COOL!!" Ash obsesses,
his hands clasped and his eyes shining with admiration. "I didn't know that was
possible!"
    "Incredible!" Gary follows up, obsessing in the same manner as Ash. "I've
NEVER heard of anyone being able to wake up their Pokémon by just ORDERING them
to!!"
    "It's a talent," Faris replies dryly before turning to James and smiling.
"That was close."
    James nods. "For a moment, I was really scared for you. I thought you were
going to lose."
    She grins. "Up until you learned that my link with Batts is so acute I can
force him out of sleep if I have to."
    James grins back, and she hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. He smiles
fondly and hugs her back.
    Gary and Ash make faces. Both of them find this somewhat disturbing, mostly
because James is the one wearing women's clothing.
    Faris notes this. "OI!" she says, smirking. "Don't look so disgusted.
Someday you two will have girlfriends like this."
    Gary and Ash picture themselves hugging James in a dress...
    ...and a blue streak of disgust crosses over their noses. "Yeucchhh..."
    Faris whaps them lightly. "Urusai, omae-tachi! Remember, you and I are up
next, Gary." She raises a delicate lavender eyebrow and smirks. "Or should I
call you MIKAGE?"
    "You can call me whatever you want!" Gary retorts. "But I'm not going to
lose to you!"
    "If you win, you'll get engaged to James," is Faris' smiling reply.
    Gary pauses for a moment.  Then he mutters something under his breath.
    "Lose-lose situation for you, ne?" Faris smiles sweetly. "See you at the
duel arena."
    "In the second duel, UTENA and MIKAGE will be facing each other," Michael
announces as she steps up to the arena. Grumbling at his rotten luck, Gary
follows her. Once all the Duelists are in their rightful places, he continues,
"Upon the sounding of the duel song, When Where Who Which, the Duelists will
send out their Pokémon and duel. The duel called Raison will now begin."
    A drumbeat thrums up. /When; where; who; which? When; where; who; which?/
    Gary almost kisses his Pokéball, then seems to think better of it and just
pitches it. "Pokéball, GO!!" he yells, throwing it out. The ball snaps open,
and in a spray of white light, a Jolteon appears. "Jolt-E-on!!" it snaps.
    At the same time, Faris throws out her own chosen Pokéball. "Pokéball, go!"
she cries, sending it flying. From the depths of the red and white ball, a
Gengar appears in a flash of white light. "Gennn-garrr!!!" it grins wickedly,
not at all impressed by its opponent.
    /Flow of blood from the cage of my memory/
    "A Gengar..." Gary murmurs to himself, eyes hard. "This might be tough." He
considers his opponent for a few seconds, then smirks. He points to Faris'
Gengar and orders, "Jolteon! Give it a Thundershock!"
    "Joooolt!" Jolteon snarls, its spiky fur riling up. With a burst of light,
a minor electric shock hits the Gengar Ayanami.
    Ayanami takes it smiling. 
    /In the cradle of a thousand years of bliss./
    Faris crosses her arms, a bemused look on her face. "I sure hope that was a
practice shot, MIKAGE-kun, 'cause if that's the best you've got, you're doomed!"
    "Of COURSE it was a practice shot!!" Gary snaps from across the arena. "I'm
not so stupid that I'd just rush into a battle--"
    "Duel," Faris automatically corrects.
    "--a duel with Faris Greyweirs!" Gary finishes, taking her correction in
stride.
    /And I, a holy actor, cast eternally/
    She shrugs, smiling lightly. "Hai, hai... Then, let's go. Ayanami!" she
snaps, her tone changing completely from before.
    Ayanami moves into battle stance. "Gennn..." 
    "Now! Confuse Ray!!" she snarls, a breeze blowing her bangs around her face.
    /as the Sphinx in the desert winter, Phinx./
    The scene snaps apart to show Ayanami, flying up and back. A burst of light
flushes out slowly from its body, and Jolteon stares, puzzled.
    "Jolt?" it wonders before the light blinds it, overtakes it, and basically
thoroughly muddles it.
    Jolteon's eyes become neat little swirly things, and it now steps as if
somewhat intoxicated. 
    "Oooohh, how annoying!!" Gary growls to himself, fists twitching a little.
"She just HAD to use Confuse Ray at the BEGINNING of the duel!" 
    /Now you know the sadness of the stillborn flesh./
    "Iie~i!" Faris calls over to him. "This duel is almost over!" 
    Gary's left eye twitches a little. "So SOON!?" he growls. "Who does she
think she is!?! JOLTEON, THUNDER ATTACK!!!"
    Jolteon sways a little, then manages to steady itself while sweating a
little. "Joooolt..." it growls, sparks flying wildly from its spikes. It
concentrates for a few, deadly seconds.
    /And I, a holy actor, cast eternally As a dark shining Margineaux, cast
into Hell./
    "Ayanami! Toxic attack!" Faris calls, and the ghost Pokémon Ayanami washes
Jolteon over with a very very VERY large wave of poison.
    Attack interrupted, Jolteon collapses to the floor of the arena, wounded
but not beat.
    "Don't give up, Jolteon! You can still win! Charge up your Thunder attack,
quick, before Gengar can follow up with another attack!!" Gary yells, sweating
from the pressure, but determined not to lose his head like Jezebel had.
    Jolteon slowly raises to its feet, electricity bursting and flashing from
every hair. "Joooooooooollllltttt......." it growls from deep within its throat.
    "Gen!" Ayanami replies, grinning mockingly at it.
    /Glow! Burn! Cool down, And sing!/
    Faris flips her hair, crying out, "It's almost over, Ayanami! Finish Jolteon
with Night Shade!" 
    /Born in the world Born in a moment Born all over again/
    As Jolteon charges towards it, Ayanami spreads out its etherial arms.
"Gen... GARR!" it shrieks. The entire arena goes dark, then coalesces onto the
Jolteon. With a searing noise, the Night Shade blasts Jolteon clear across the
arena, slams its head on the stone wall, and knocks it unconscious.
    The duel song abruptly ends.
    "Awwwww, nuts," Gary grumbles, holding up his Pokéball. "Jolteon, return!"
    The church bells burst into song like an angelic choir to announce Faris'
second victory as the unconscious Pokémon is engulfed by the red light.
    "The winner and still Victor, UTENA!" Michael announces. "Oh, by the way,
that duel took one minute, thirty-seven seconds... pretty bad, MIKAGE. Even
NANAMI held out longer than that."
    "Oh, shut up!!!!!" he snaps up at the PA system, storming off the arena.
    Faris grins, calls Ayanami back, and gracefully exits the arena.
    "The third duel: TOUGA versus JURI. Enter the stage, Duelists."
    Starr and Jessie rise to the arena in unison. "You're determined to do
this?" Jessie frowns at her friend.
    "You're just so selfish, Jessie!" Starr yells, clenching her fist. "You're
always plotting against Faris, but why can't you think of how happy she and
James are together? I can't let you do that any longer--I'll go nuts if I have
to put up with it any longer!!"
    Jessie rubs her forehead. "Yeah, whatever..." she mumbles.
    Michael interrupts their conversation with his announcement. "In the third
duel, TOUGA and JURI will be facing each other. Upon the sounding of the duel
song, Spira Mirabilis Theatre, the Duelists will send out their Pokémon and duel.
The duel called Amitie will now begin."
    The music begins. Jessie nods to Starr, and Starr nods back. The two throw
out their Pokéballs, and in unison, they call, "Go, Pokéball!!"
    In a split scene, Jessie and Starr's balls crack open. In a flash of white
light, Jessie's Pokéball reveals a Likitung, and Starr's reveals a Vulpix.
Together, they cry out their respective names.
    /The theatre, gifted spirits, a collective phenomenon./
    Starr stares. "I didn't know you had a Likitung, Jess," she comments, her
arms akimbo.
    Jessie laughs into her hand. "I skillfully captured it before the two of us
met!"
    "She got mad at it when it ate our stuff, threw a Pokéball at it after it
beat Arbok, and caught it," James whispers to Faris, who's sitting next to
Thomas.
    Faris smirks.
    /The theatre, gifted characters, a phantasmic reality./
    "In any case, you'd better start minding your own business!" Jessie snaps.
    "I could say the same about you, Jessie! Vulpix, Ember attack!" Starr
orders, the screen splitting apart to show her Vulpix racing into battle.
    "Vul!!" it cries before sending a volley of small fireballs towards
Likitung.
    /Ammonite, alchemy, scarab... spira mirabilis/
    Jessie points Likitung, who deftly dodges most of the mini-fireballs, to
Vulpix. "Likitung! Use your Stomp move!!" she orders.
    "LiKI!" Likitung replies, then swats Vulpix on the head with its tongue.
    "PIX!!" Vulpix complains, disgusted, but Likitung pays it no heed and
continues to whap it with its tongue until Vulpix bites it.
    "TUNG!!!" Likitung shrieks, waving its arms and tongue wildly.
    /Dying just to live once more. Spira mirabilis in the vortex of miracles./
    "Good move, Vulpix!" Starr cheers. "Now, give it the Flame Thrower!" 
    The cute auburn Pokémon's eyes glow gold, and it roars, "VUUUULLL!!!" as a
volley of flames bursts from its mouth and burns Likitung to a crisp.
    Likitung blinks a couple of times before collapsing, clawing at its tongue.
"TUNG TUNG TUNG!!!" it whines, trying to cool it down. In its struggles, it
knocks Vulpix off its feet and accidentally whaps it around a few times.
    /Maimai maimai; maimai maimai; never-ending theatre/
    Jessie and Starr both stare. "Anoo..." Starr mutters, "...moshimoshi??" 
    "Did I lose, or what?" Jessie wonders, turning to the judge panel.
"Likitung's still fighting!"
    Thomas-tachi shrug. "You lose when your Pokémon can't move anymore," Thomas
calls to her.
    Jessie hmmm's and turns back to the duel. "Likitung!"
    /On the geometric stage of life and the mystery of death, Exeunt, all!/
    Eyes filled with tears, Likitung looks up at its master. "Lihhi?" it says
in a muffled voice.
    "You CAN still move!" Jessie says, relief clearly evident in her voice.
"Okay then! Likitung, Slam attack!"
    "LIHHITANNN!?!?! LIHHI LIHH TAN LIH!!!!!" Likitung screeches, which
translates roughly into, "Are you INSANE!?!?! I am in quite a lot of pain
here!!!!!"
    Starr yells out, "Vulpix, Fire Spin!"
    Vulpix springs to its feet.
    /Death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death
rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth death rebirth
death rebirth!/
    Likitung jumps in surprise at the speed of its response, and whines.
    "HURRY UP!!!!" Jessie roars, her patience dying fast.
    Vulpix's eyes glow deep red, and a vermilion aura surrounds its six tails.
It opens its mouth, and a tornado of fire swirls out from it and wraps around
Likitung. It traps the unfortunate Pokémon for several seconds before letting
it go.  Likitung remains suspended in the air for a second, wherein the duel
song abruptly ends; then it drops to the ground, very much so unable to move.
    The church bells sing out for the honor of TOUGA's first victory.
    "DAMMIT!!!" Jessie screeches. Composing herself, she holds out her Pokéball.
"Likitung, return!!"
    The very badly burnt Pokémon is encased in yet more red, then is summoned
back into its Pokéball. Starr follows suit with Vulpix.
    "The winner of the duel Amitie is TOUGA!" Michael announces. "Next is the
duel CHOIX, between MIKI and SAIONJI."
    Thomas turns to Faris. "Who do you think will win in this duel?" he queries.
    Faris shrugs. "Who knows? Why do you ask, anyhow?" 
    He smiles. "They're both children, and they seem to have a fondness for each
other. They mask it with their constant quarreling, but I've played the game too
many times for them to fool me."
    Faris smirks slightly. "A playboy simply couldn't be my prince."
    Thomas looks slightly startled, but composes himself. "Is that so?" 
    "A~a," Faris smiles elusively. 
    Ash and Misty face off against each other. Ash looks supremely confident in
himself. "I'm gonna win again," he declares.
    "No way!" Misty snaps. "Last time was just a fluke! If Psyduck hadn't come
out, I would have whipped you bad!" She holds up her chosen Pokéball and smirks.
"But I didn't bring Psyduck this time, so you're out of luck!"
    "HAH!" Ash grins. "You're just in denial! None of your water Pokémon will be
able to defeat Bulbasaur!"
    Misty rolls her eyes. "Egotistical jerk," she mutters.
    "MIKI and SAIONJI will be dueling in today's fourth duel. Upon the sounding
of the duel song, Paleozoic Within the Body, the Duelists will send out their
Pokémon and duel. The duel called Choix will now begin."
    "POKÉBALL, GO!!" Ash and Misty shout in unison, sending their Pokéballs out.
From Ash's Pokéball, of course, emerges Bulbasaur. From Misty's Pokéball
emerges... 
    "Tentacool!" the dual-type Pokémon calls in a high-pitched voice.
    /Astrologic eras, primeval oceans, erosion and sediment Three billion years,
genesis of life, geologic eras Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian,
Stromatolite, bacteria, collenia./
    "HUH? No way!!" Ash yells. "I thought for sure you'd use Starmie!!"
    "Well, for YOUR information, Mr. Pokémon Master, I knew you'd use Bulbasaur.
And since you're SUCH a great trainer, you should know as well as I do that not
only is Tentacool a poison-type as well as a water-type, but grass-type attacks
are no good against poison-types!!" Misty tells him triumphantly before laughing
at her own genius. 
    "Grrrr..." Ash growls, clenching his fist. "She thinks she's so smart! Well,
I'll show her!!" He turns to his Pokémon. "Bulbasaur!"
    "Bul!" the grassy creature nods.
    /Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous/
    "No you don't!" Misty yells. "Tentacool, get ready!! Use your Wrap attack!"
    "Cool!!" Tentacool blubs before throwing its stingers around Bulbasaur and
squeezing down on it. 
    /Lycopsida, selaginella, pleuromeia. Caytonia bennetites, ammonite/
    "Bulbasaur, hang on!!" Ash yells as Tentacool wraps tighter and tighter.
"You can break free!"
    "BulbaSAUR!!" Bulbasaur snarls before rolling over.
    "TEN!" Tentacool shrieks, letting go and throwing itself a few feet away
before it can be crushed.
    Misty looks severely annoyed. "Okay, so that didn't work! Tentacool, use
Supersonic!"
    A high-pitched whine emanates from its watery body, and the sound grates on
everyone's ears, especially Bulbasaur's. It hides its ears underneath its arms,
leaving the rest of its body defenseless.
    /Oceanic Rose, Oceanic Lily, Oceanic Apple Oceanic Flower Buds. Oceanic
Angel, Oceanic Mirror, Oceanic Gate, Oceanic Haze/
    "YEAH!" Misty cheers. "Tentacool, cool Bulbasaur down with Water Gun, then
follow up with your Poison Sting attack!"
    Tentacool complies, and although the attacks don't do much damage, Bulbasaur
isn't in much of a position to defend itself, much to the annoyance of Ash.
    "C'mon, Bulbasaur, fight back! You're ten times more powerful than that
piece of jelly! Tackle it, then use your Sleep Powder, and Tentacool will be
helpless!!"
    /Carboniferous, Permian, Paleozoic./
    Bulbasaur raises its head, growling, and tackles it. The two Pokémon
struggle together for a few seconds before Tentacool forces Bulbasaur away.
    /The Oceanic You... The Oceanic Me... are the Paleozoic within the body./
    Bulbasaur, in response to this move, wiggles its bulb a little; from the
plant on its back, a shining blue powder blooms out and shimmers over Tentacool.
    Tentacool's eyebrows waver, and begin to close.
    "No WAY!!" Misty protests to this. She pulls a bucket of water from the
void. "There's no WAY I'm gonna lose to you!!" she says in a determined tone
before dousing her Pokémon with it.
    With the Sleep Powder washed away, Tentacool is revitalized.
    /Continuing to live...continuing to die... the Paleozoic telling the story./
    Thomas frowns deeply at this display and exchanges glances with Orion, Kevin,
Julie, and Nathalie. The five of them nod to each other, and Thomas sends
Nathalie running over to the tower where Michael broadcasts his announcements.
    Faris notices this and smirks up at Misty and Ash, the latter is livid about
this turn of events. The two are arguing quite vehemently.
    /Just like the whale, I go... Just like the dolphin, I go... Just like the
seal, I go/
    "That's not fair, Misty!!" Ash protests. "Why can't you just accept that I'm
a better trainer than you!?"
    "Get real, Ash!!" Misty snaps back. "We both know *I'm* better, and I'm
gonna prove it once and for all!" 
    Ash gets a catty look on his face. "You're better until you're battling with
Psy~du~ck!" 
    /to the bottom of the sea, the oceanic me. At the bottom of the sea, a grand
history. To the bottom of the sea, where I will be me./
    Misty turns red. "SHUT UP!!!" she roars. "Tentacool, let's finish this!!
Constrict Bulbasaur with your tentacles!"
    Tentacool whips Bulbasaur down, then wraps it up and squeezes as hard as it
can. Bulbasaur rapidly turns several different shades of blue and purple.
    "Augh, Bulbasaur, noo...!!" Ash cries.
    "Ahh... ahhh... Ammonite!"
    "Keep Constricting, Tentacool!!" Misty shouts.
    Tentacool continues to put the squeeze on Bulbasaur, until its eyes turn
into little swirly things and it holds up a white flag on a stick from out of
the void.
    The duel song ends.
    Tentacool lets go, and Bulbasaur gasps for breath. Ash runs up to it.
"Bulbasaur, are you okay...?" he says.
    "Bulba..." his Pokémon murmurs in reply. 
    The church bells cry out for the victory. 
    The PA system comes alive, and Michael calls out, "The winner of the duel
Choix is... SAIONJI!"
    Misty's mouth drops open. "WHAT!?!?!"
    From the judge panel, Thomas stands. "You used outside means to aid your
Pokémon during the duel," he tells her in a loud, clear, calm voice. "At that
moment, you forfeited the duel, so whether or not your Pokémon defeated
SAIONJI's, he would have been granted the victory."
    Ash grins wide and cheers while Misty groans, cursing her bad luck.
    Thomas looks up at the tower. "Michael, announce the next duel."
    As Ash struts off the arena with Bulbasaur back in place, and Misty trudges
off, Michael announces, "The fifth duel for today is NANAMI vs. TOUGA, the duel
called Justice."
    Jezebel and Starr step up to the arena. Jezebel huffs at the redheaded girl,
arms crossed. "What on Earth ARE you tryin' t'do, girl?" she pouts at Starr. "I
haven't got any quarrel with you." 
    "That's where you're wrong!" Starr snaps. "You're trying to control James.
I can't let anyone get away with screwing with my friends!!" 
    Jezebel shrugs. "Ah really don't know what you're talkin' about, but oh
well."
    "In this duel, TOUGA and NANAMI will be dueling for the honor of the Rose
Bride and her--err, I mean, his--Victor. Upon the sounding of the duel song,
No One Has Anything to Tell, the Duelists will send out their Pokémon and duel." 
    Faris raises an eyebrow. "No One Has Anything to Tell?" she comments to
Thomas. "That song is three minutes long. How is Jez supposed to last that
long?"
    "It's a truncated version," he informs her. "Like Spira Mirabilis Theatre
had been." 
    She nods. "That makes sense." 
    "By the way, Faris--" Thomas starts. 
    "Shh," she cuts him off, waving a hand. "Later." 
    "The duel called Justice will now begin." 
    The music plays, and the two Duelists throw out their Pokémon. "POKÉBALL...
GO!" they yell as their respective balls snap open. From Starr's side, a
Wartortle emerges. On Jezebel's, a Weepinbell emerges.
    James blinks. "She didn't used to have that thing. Jezebel, I mean."
    Faris shrugs. "She could have always caught it, I guess."
    /No one has anything to tell There is nothing to be told/
    Jezebel laughs in delight. "Ah'm gonna WIN!" she cheers. "Tough luck, girl!
Ah've got the advantage!! There's no WAY you're gonna win when ah've got a plant
Pokémon and you've got a water! There's just no way! Ah'm SO--"
    "Shut up and fight!!" Starr snaps. "Wartortle, Skull Bash!"
    /Only in the sealed darkness known as memory/
    "TortortortorTOR!!" Wartortle proclaims as it charges towards the Weepinbell,
head down. 
    "Bel?" it blinks. 
    The attack hits it straight in the face and sends it flying. 
    /Only in the glint of a mere split-second of creation/
    "HEEEYYYYY!!!" Jezebel shrieks, her voice raising an octave. "You can't *do*
that!!! She can't do that, right!?!" she demands of the Student Council
lookalikes. 
    Julie raises an eyebrow. "Using physical attacks is perfectly legal." She
mutters under her breath, "Idiot."
    /Only in the darkness waiting for the light known as tomorrow, in the
theater./
    "Oh, POO!!" Jezebel shrieks in the closest that she's ever come to a curse.
"Weepinbell, get up!!"
    The ridiculous-looking Pokémon gets back up on its leaves. "...bell..." it
wheezes.
    "YOU'VE got the advantage, Weepinbell! Use yoa Razah Leaf attack!!!" she
demands.
    Weepinbell rises, then spins around, sending myriad razor-sharp leaves at
Wartortle. "BelbelbelbelBELBELBELBEL!!!!" it yells as it does so.
    /Ah, dance! Ancient continental theatre of the actors who wore the mask of
Time/
    "Bite those leaves out of the air, Wartortle!!" Starr yells, sweating a
little.
    Its chompers moving at lightning speed, Wartortle snaps every leaf that
swoops its way before it can touch it. "Wartle!!" it grins, standing tough in
front of a heavily sweatdropping Weepinbell.
    "B, b, belllll..." it worries, eyes very very wide.
    Ash blinks. "Wow..." he whispers.
    /Like a star, like a firefly/
    "This CAN'T be HAPPENI~~~~~N'...!!!!!!!!!!" Jezebel shrieks, completely
losing whatever composure she had to begin with. "WEEPINBEEEEEELLLLL!!!!!!!"
    /Shining during birth, I shone then disappeared Born, then disappeared, the
star that is me./
    "WEE PIN BEEEELLLLL!!!!" Weepinbel frets in turn, not knowing what to do now
that its master has lost control of the situation.
    "Wartortle, take a Bite out of that Weepinbell's fronds!" Starr cheers,
delighted now that she knows victory's inevitable.
    "Tortle!!" Wartortle grins evilly before making a snack out of Weepinbell's
left leaf. 
    "BEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Weepinbell screams,
sobbing a waterfall.
    /The Evening Star, Ego Star... Shine and disappear, Firefly Star!/
    "That's the way to go!" Starr grins. "Now, finish Weepinbell with Skull
Bash!!"
    Wartortle saunters a distance a way, lowers its head, then charges full
speed at Weepinbell.
    Weepinbell cries a little before it's launched into the stratosphere.
    With a resounding THUMP coinciding with the end of the duel song, the
unfortunate Pokémon lands outside the duel arena, fortunately missing falling
off completely.
    "NO NO NO NOOOOOOO, ****I**** HAD THE ADVANTAGE!!!!!!!!!" Jezebel complains
at the top of her lungs.
    The church bells disagree with her.
    "Winning her second duel, TOUGA comes out successful once again!" Michael
cheers over the PA system. "The duel Justice belongs to TOUGA!!"
    With a frustrated scream, Jezebel calls Weepinbell back, then storms out of
the arena to the elevator to head to the Pokémon Center to find treatment for
her badly beaten Pokémon.
    Starr sweatdrops a little as she calls Wartortle back. "Maybe I was a little
rough on her." She grins devilishly before hopping off the arena.
    Faris grins as well. "Ne, so you were saying, Thom...?" she says, turning to
the red-haired kaichou-lookalike.
    Thomas gives her the most charming smile he can muster, but before he can
say a word, two dark-skinned hands begin to massage Faris' shoulders. "I
apologize for not saying so before, but the way you dueled was fabulous," Orion
smiles, bringing his face to hers.
    Thomas scowls at him.
    Faris elegantly pulls away from him. "Go away, Orion, I was talking to
Thomas," she says sweetly. "I don't like you."
    It's Orion's turn to scowl as she turns to Thomas. Thomas smiles
triumphantly over to his rival before turning his attention to the red-eyed
Rocket. "Faris, I was just wondering, would you like to have dinner with me
sometime soon?" he offers in the most charming voice he can muster (which is
pretty darned charming).
    Faris smiles. "I'll consider it," she replies, much to the surprise of both
Thomas and Orion. Thomas recovers quickly, however, and beams at her.
    "I hope you'll say yes," he says honestly.
    Orion turns his back on them and walks to the other side of the table.
    She laughs and gives him a sweet smile. "Sure, it'll be fun! I'm sure James
would love to. Who are you taking with you?"
    "Taking with--" Thomas looks startled. "I was hoping it would just be you
and me. Alone," he adds pointedly. 
    "In that case, I'll have to refuse," she says lightly, smile not wavering.
"Your sister would gut me if I accepted."
    Thomas considers this for a second, then laughs. "You know, you're right,"
he smiles. "It's a good thing she decided to stay with Michael up in the tower."
    "It's a miracle that she didn't immediately flock to her brother's side,
especially with a temptress present," Faris replies dryly.
    "In the current duel, JURI and MIKI will be dueling. Upon the sounding of
the duel song, Earth as a Character Gallery, the Duelists will send out their
Pokémon and duel," Michael calls, the other part of his announce already spoken
during Faris and Thomas' conversation.
    "Shiori-chan's duel song," Faris observes. "I liked her. She was a bitch to
Juri-san, but I still liked her."
    Julie stares over at them as Thomas raises an eyebrow. "Juri?"
    "Yeah," Faris says breezily. "Juri's in love with Shiori-chan, and Shiori
just toyed with her heart like it was nothing. But then, she was innocent...
cruelly innocent, but innocent nonetheless." She turns away, smiling and eyes
closed. "Innocence can sometimes blind you, ne?"
    Julie's full attention now rests on Faris, though Jessie and Misty are ready
to duel. Over the loudspeaker, Michael says, "The duel called Fiérte will now
begin."
    The music begins, and Jessie and Misty take their Pokéballs in hand.
    /Twin relationships are the capricious, heartless lies of desires/
    "Pokéball, GO!" they yell together, throwing the red and white orbs out. 
    They snap open together, and together, the Pokémon inside are released. 
    Misty's Staryu emerges; so does Jessie's Ponyta. 
    Misty sweatdrops. "I didn't think she would be *that* stupid..." 
    Jessie also sweatdrops. "Shit... I forgot I had that in there..." 
    /Propagating endlessly in the interval between two mirrors: Ahhh.../
    "I hope you threw that thing out by accident!" Misty yells across the arena.
"Otherwise, I'm gonna have to start worrying about you!" 
    "What are you talking about!?" Jessie snaps. "Why on earth would I take a
duel with a flat-chested little punk like you seriously?"
    Misty's right eye twitches. "Flat-chested..." she seethes, "little...
PUNK!?!! STARYU!!!"
    "Hyaa!" Staryu calls, ready for action. 
    /Ah, man does not exist; Ah, within the darkness; Ah, the sound of the
waves.../
    "WATER GUN THAT PONYTA INTO THE NEXT HEMISPHERE!!!!" the red-headed gym
leader roars.
    Staryu sweatdrops a little, starting to get worried.
    "Oh no you don't! Ponyta! Stomp that Staryu into jewel dust!!" Jessie orders.
    Ponyta neighs, and begins to charge at Staryu. The star-shaped Pokémon turns
to its opponent, turns its top spike down, and shoots a spray of water at it.
    Ponyta leaps and dodges out of its way. Each graceful leap takes it closer
to the Staryu, until it's right in front of it. Ponyta bucks, readying its
hooves to land on gem-like energy core...
    /Even light casts shadows, making a pair out of me and me/
    And Starmie blasts Ponyta right in the stomach with a Water Gun.
    Ponyta screams in back and backs up a little, then brings its hooves down,
narrowly missing the core but slamming onto Staryu's lower body.
    Staryu screams silently and pulls away, spinning wildly.
    /Isolation outbreak, that's the reason making a pair out of me and me./
    Lightning fast, it spins around in a rebound, and strikes Ponyta across the
torso. Ponyta neighs in pain, then as a reaction torches Staryu with Ember
attack.
    "As long as you hit it, I don't care!" Jessie yells. "Use your Tail Whip
attack!"
    The fire-horse raises its head and nods fervently.
    /Twins, twins-in-law, Scheming twins, absent twins... Since we see the
invisible, The contrived world rises to the surface. Amusement apparatus and
optical illusions, Then contrived world rises to the surface./
    Ponyta flips around and singes the round, ruby core slightly with its tail,
knocking Staryu to the side. Just as quickly, it spins around to face the
starfish Pokémon, ready for another round.
    Misty's aqua eyes narrow slightly. 'I've never seen her battle like this...'
she thinks, gritting her teeth. The grimace melts instantaneously into a smirk.
'Well, even if I lose--which I WON'T--at least I'll have the pleasure of knowing
she took me seriously!' "Staryu! Swift attack!"
    "Hya!" Staryu's core glows slightly, and a multitude of golden stars swirl
out from it and strike Ponyta across the muzzle, neck, torso, and legs. Neighing
in surprise, since every star is hitting its mark, Ponyta vainly attempts to
defend itself.
    "Ponyta! Fight back with Stomp attack!!" Jessie snarls, not liking the path
this duel is going down.
    Already in a bucking position, Ponyta brings its legs down.
    "STARYUHARDENQUICK!!"
    The golden water Pokémon flashes red just before Ponyta's diamond-sharp
hooves come into contact with its energy core... and slide off.
    Misty takes a relieved breath as Jessie's blood pressure rises.
    However, before either of them can say anything, Ponyta kicks Stary several
feet away. Misty's Pokémon bounces five times before it stops, then leaps back
to the things resembling feet. Ponyta's already growling, eyes glowing bright
red. Much to everyone's surprise, the horse Pokémon takes on a very familiar
bright white glow.
    /Earth is a toybox of personalities; Earth is a department store of
personalities; Earth is a curio box of personalities./
    Shining with evolutionary light, Ponyta grows during the first line, and
reveals itself as a Rapidash between lines.
    Misty gasps. "No WAY! Ponyta evolved into Rapidash...!?!"
    "YAY!!!" Jessie cheers, jumping for joy. "Another Pokémon for me!!"
    Misty scowls. "No big! Staryu, Hydro Pump!"
    "Hyaaa!!" Staryu cries as a nexus of water surrounds it. Super spouts burst
from all five of its points, then encase Rapidash in a waterspout.
    /Earth is.../
    The waterspout disperses, a defeated Rapidash falls to the ground, and the
duel song ends.
    Crashing with heavenly sound, the church bells cheer for Misty's victory.
    Jessie's mouth drops open as Misty parties and Michael announces, "The
victor of the duel Fiérte is MIKI! MIKI has won her first duel!"
    "No WAY!! That's not fair!!!" Jessie almost wails. Growling unnaturally,
she slams her Pokéball on the ground, where it snaps open and retrieves the
fallen Rapidash. Stalking off the arena, many of the other Duelists heard her
speaking various unrepeatable curses.
    Misty smirks and returns Staryu, then saunters over to Ash and crosses her
arms. "Well?"
    Ash gives her a look. "Well, what?"
    "Your comments, SAIONJI," she says dryly.
    Ash smirks--this is the opportunity he's been dreaming of. "Well," he grins
viciously, "as you said to me once, how much skill does it take to win a battle
against Team Rocket?"
    To which Misty promptly bashes Ash over the head. "You were supposed to
*compliment* me, you jerk!!!" she roars.
    The other Duelists, Gary and Faris in particular and with the exception of
Jessie, watch the show, bemused.
    "What for?" he asks, smirking. "After all, I won our duel."
    "YOU won by DEFAULT!!" Misty points out.
    Ash makes a face. "As if! If I hadn't been going easy on you, since you're a
girl and all, Bulbasaur would have whipped Tentacool in no time flat!"
    "YOU whip ME!? Yeah, right!!" Misty sneers. "Why can't you just get over
yourself and admit that I won!?"
    Ash snorts. "YOU'RE the one who needs to get over herself!"
    "Heh!" Gary smirks, interrupting their argument. "You're BOTH losers!
Arguing over who won over that duel like that, when you BOTH lost!"
    "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!" Misty and Ash snarl in unison.
    Gary remains unimpressed as he continues, "It's pathetic, you know. You two
need to grow up!"
    Faris stands.
    "You're never make a decent trainer if you keep winning by default, Ash,"
he smirks. He raises an eyebrow and adds, "I bet that's how you got all your
badges!"
    She walks around the table.
    Ash promptly turns into a stone statue and a beam of light shines over him.
Misty gives him a curious look, and sighs. "Dope."
    Gary laughs cruelly. "I figured as much! Let me guess: they gave you badges
'cause they felt sorry for you. Well, I'm not going to go easy on you, just
because you're such a losGLEUCKGH."
    Faris has captured Gary in a headlock. "You better cool down, Mr. Would-Be
Pokémon Master," she smiles, and here she pointedly looks over at Thomas-tachi
and continues, "or I'll have to revolutionize that obnoxious attitude of yours."
She turns back to him. "Catch my drift?"
    "Glrglefh," Gary replies, beginning to turn blue.
    Ash snickers at his rival's plight.
    "Is that a yes?" she grins evilly, grabbing his spiky head of hair. Faris
roughly nods Gary's head for him, and she smiles big. "That's a good boy!" She
shoves him forward, and he gasps for breath. "You be a good boy and behave, or
I'll send the Swords of Hate after you."
    Thomas-tachi's eyes are as big as saucer plates.
    Orion broods in the corner, contemplating this new turn of events.
    "Did you hear--" Kevin hisses to Julie, who nods slowly.
    "There's just no WAY--" Nathalie whispers to Thomas, who raises a hand to
cut her off.
    He locks eyes with a smirking Faris. A long moment passes before Faris
states:
    "Why the surprised look, Mr. President? Innocence is hardly eternal... and
I don't intend to play the fool this time around." She flips her hair, still
smirking, then returns to her seat next to the red-haired man, whose deep blue
eyes never leave her for a second.
    He whispers something under his breath.
    A long period of silence ensues.
    The PA system crackles to life, causing everyone but Faris to jump--mostly
because it hadn't crackled in the past. "Umm..." Michael's voice says nervously.
"The second-to-last duel, Conviction. MIKAGE vs. SAIONJI."
    Gary and Ash step up to the arena a little too fast.
    "In the current duel, SAIONJI and MIKAGE will be dueling. Upon the sounding
of the duel song, Fuuin Jubaku, the Duelists will send out their Pokémon and
duel," Michael announces. "The duel called Conviction will now begin."  The
music thrums over the PA system.
    'I'll show you, Gary,' Ash scowls to himself as he throws out his Pokéball.
    'I hope Faris won't hold beating him against me,' Gary worries at the same
time as he sends his Pokémon out to duel.
    On Ash's side, a familiar small blue Pokémon emerges. "Squirt squirt!"
Squirtle calls.
    On Gary's side, a large flowery Pokémon emerges. "Venus!!" the Venusaur
grumbles, disappointed at its opponent's small size.
    /Unwritten seal spell; iron mask of misfortune/
    Gary raises an eyebrow. "How disappointing," he mutters to himself. "Just a
Squirtle? I was hoping he'd have a stronger opponent for me than that..." In a
louder voice, he calls, "Well, Ash, are you ready to lose?"
    "No!" Ash yells back.
    Gary rolls his eyes. "Idiot," he sighs, crossing his arms. "How's he expect
to win when I've got a Venusaur and he's only got a tiny little Squirtle?" He
shakes his head. "Venusaur! Solar Beam attack!"
    "Squirtle! Retaliate with Skull Bash!!" Ash yells, sweating a little.
    The sun brightens as if to respond with the order, and its light pours onto
the flower on Venusaur's back. Slowly, an orb of solar energy grows...
    /Blue skies - sea - then the wind blows. Grassland - rabbits - even the
river flows./
    Squirtle puts its head down and charges as fast as its little legs can take
it...
    And Squirtle smacks Venusaur in the face before Venusaur lets loose its
energy and blasts Squirtle to the other side of the arena.
    Venusaur rubs its face, annoyed that such a small thing managed to get a
hit in.
    The church bells sing.
    /Time, the era does not change. Time, the era is something existent and
nonexistent./
    Ash's mouth drops open in disbelief. "No WAY!!" he yells. "That's not fair,
it was over too soon! I demand a rematch!!"
    "Oh, stop whining!" Gary snaps.
    Thomas-tachi glance at each other. "Should we let them?" Juri whispers to
Thomas.
    Kevin and Nathalie frown. "Don't let them," the blond-haired girl snaps.
"Serves that obnoxious kid right to be beaten so fast."
    "I agree, don't let them," Kevin adds.
    /Man is described by the blood of "make-believe" Man also drowns in a flood
of "lessons" All the word handed down is that a man is a man. Without
metamorphosis!/
    Faris glances over at them. "Gary's the more obnoxious one," she comments.
"Besides, the duel song isn't over. Let 'em go at it again."
    Thomas nods. "The rules say they can have a second duel." He stands. "You
can go again!"
    Gary shrugs. "Whatever. Venusaur, return. Go, Pokéball!" he says in one
breath and motion.
    Ash in turn returns Squirtle, then sends out his last Pokémon.
    Gary's Pokémon is Marowak.
    Ash's is Pidgeotto.
    /In the daytime I can see it, in the nighttime I cannot. In the nighttime I
can see it, in the daytime I cannot. Anagram.../
    Ash grins wildly. "All RIGHT! Now *I've* got the advantage! Pidgeotto, Wing
Attack!!"
    Gary scowls. "Darn! I can't do anything that'll hurt it..."
    Crying its Xena yell, Pidgeotto smacks Cubone across the face with its
right wing, then soars back up into the sky in one fluid motion. Marowak cries
out in pain, shaking its head. Gary looks on with crossed arms, not bothering
to do anything.
    /Those puzzle words, those masks of words The source of which is... dich!/
    "YEAH! Finish Marowak with Gust attack!!" Ash cheers.
    Summoning a whirlwind and another Xena yell, Pidgeotto hurricanes Marowak to
the other side of the arena, much like Venusaur had done to Squirtle.
    The duel song ends, and the church bells as well as Ash rejoice.
    "Marowak, return," Gary states in a monotone. Ash does the same after a
moment.
    As they return to the judge panel, Ash smirks, "NOW who's the loser, huh?"
    Gary decides not to dignify the question with an answer.
    Ash continues to gloat.
    Faris shakes her head. "Such children."
    Michael hesitates, not sure exactly who to call the winner. He decides not
to bother in the end. "The final duel: Adoration. JURI vs. UTENA will duel."
    Faris pushes out of her chair, and strolls up to the arena.
    Jessie climbs up into the arena and faces her rival. She says nothing; she
merely glowers at Faris.
    Faris, in turn, rewards her with a purely indifferent look.
    "In the last duel for today, JURI will be fighting UTENA for possession of
the Rose Bride. Upon the sounding of the duel song, 'Angelic Creation; Namely,
Light', the Duelists will send out their Pokémon and duel," he announces.
    Faris blinks. "Hmm," she murmurs to herself. "One of my favorite duel songs." 
    "The duel called Adoration will now begin."
    A guitar riff thrums up as Jessie and Faris throw out their Pokéballs. In
unison, they cry, "Pokéball, go!!"
    In a split scene, Faris' Pokéball snaps open to reveal Utena, her Dragonair.
    Jessie's Pokéball opens to reveal her recently caught Gyarados.
    Both Pokémon let loose mighty battle roars as they face off.
    /Nature's light Mosaic light Child of daybreak; the Angel Lucifer/
    Jessie's voice holds a deadly quiet as she orders, "Gyarados, Bite it."
    Amazingly, it follows her order, and dives down at Utena, jaws wide open.
    "Utena! Use your Agility move to get out of the way!" Faris shouts.
    /Apocalyptic light Michael's light Child of darkness; Androgynous/
    The miss margin is only a few inches.
    As the dust settles and the Pokémon collect themselves to move again, Faris
calls across the arena, "You're acting a lot calmer than I thought you would...
sempai."
    /Fire's light Heavenly light Hierarchia of the heavens Illusory light
Eternal light Phantasmic deception; capricious birth/
    Jessie raises an eyebrow at this. "Sempai...?" she murmurs to herself.
    Julie's eyes narrow slightly.
    Jessie shouts back after the brief moment, "I'm not gonna make a fool out
of myself, not against you. I'm going to win! And if I lose, I'm going to lose
with dignity!! Gyarados, put Dragonair down with Leer attack!"
    Gyarados growls slightly, then glares down at Utena, eyes starting to glow.
    /Nyx Erebus Uranus Thanatos/
    Utena trembles slightly at the leer, backing off a little. 
    "This isn't a problem, Utena," Faris states. "Paralyze Gyarados with Thunder
Wave."
    A spark shoots up from Utena's ears, and a mild electrical shock courses
through Gyarados' body. It does the job, though, and succeeds in paralyzing it.
    /Shining bodies, all of them spherical, gynous Just as if born with every
miracle, gynous./
    The entire left side of Jessie's face twitches. "Stupid *(@%&," she curses
to herself. "Gyarados! Don't wait any longer! Use your Dragon Rage!!"
    A collective gasp rises among the other Duelists.
    Gyarados twitches a little, and groans nervously.
    A few seconds pass.
    /The pleasure principle, the Nirvana principle Death's inevitability, dubbed
"the light"/
    "I don't think it can attack, sempai!" Faris yells to Jessie, smiling.
    "SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!!!" Jessie roars, finally snapping. "Gyarados, I don't
care HOW long it takes, keep trying to use Dragon Rage until that Dragonair is
in the next time zone!!!"
    /Without having to have lived, Phenomenon of mobile life In the cerebral
universe Shape of floating life/
    Faris' eyes narrow. "That's not going to happen! Utena, Wrap up Gyarados to
keep it from moving!" 
    "Dranair!!" Utena cries before curling its long body around Gyarados' and
squeezing.
    "That fool," Julie mutters. 
    "Hmm?" Thomas turns to her. 
    "Why doesn't she get serious? Faris would have won long before now if she'd
stop playing around," the strawberry blond-haired girl growls to herself.
    Thomas smiles. "We all have our personal reasons."
    Julie glares at her elder. "That's beside the point! She doesn't need to
drag it out!" She shifts her gaze back to Faris. "She called her... sempai..."
she murmurs under her breath. "Even though she's older and obviously more
talented..." She closes her eyes. "Maybe... maybe it *is* her..."
    Kevin glances over at her.
    /Glory, ephemery, hope for eternity! Incomplete returning to the primitive
beginnings./
    Jessie, by now, has gone into a rage for the same reasons Julie is
displeased with Faris. Charging for the lavender-haired girl, she completely
ignores Gyarados and Utena, instead opting to tackle her rival.
    Faris dodges this attack, but Jessie manages to take her by surprise in a
shockingly swift rebound.
    "You ALWAYS get what you want, you stupid spoiled bitch!!" Jessie snarls,
pinning her to the ground. "Why can't I have what I want, for *once* in my
life!??!"
    /Male/female, positive/negative are the two of me. Up/down, left/right are
the two of me./
    Faris snarls back, "You're the selfish one! You're just thinking of
yourself--you aren't thinking of James at all! Besides, if you love him so
much, why didn't you get serious BEFORE I came along!? You just want him
because he's no longer yours to control!!!"
    /Front/back, Heaven/Earth are the two of me. Angel and devil are the two
of me./
    "What did you say?!" Jessie snarls, but she loosens her grip. 
    This is enough for Faris, who's been ready for several seconds. She flips
Jessie over in a miracle of strength and acrobatics, and snarls to Utena,
"Hyper Beam!!"
    /The center is hollow hollow hollow hollow hollow hollow hollow hollow
hollow hollow.../
    Black and white energy coalesces on Utena's head as she flips away from
Gyarados. A second seems to be forever...
    ...And the destructive beam shoots out and overtakes Gyarados.
    After several seconds, Gyarados collapses with a great crash across the
duel arena.
    All is silent. The duel song had ended before Gyarados had hit the floor. 
    Then, finally... 
    The church bells cry out, their song of victory crashing out into eternity. 
    "The winner is UTENA! UTENA remains the Victor of the Duels!!" Michael calls
out, a little frantically. This is the first time he's seen such a devastating
duel...
    Faris calls Utena back and crosses her arms, turning to Jessie. "Happy?"
she questions sharply.
    Jessie screams in rage and rushes Faris.
    The lavender-haired girl, however, had predicted such and action and side
steps her. Jessie twirls around just in time to receive a knee in the stomach
from Faris.
    The others watch on silently, some in apathy, some in horror, as Faris
continues to fell Jessie down with strike after strike.
    A kick to the uterus. A punch to the jaw. A flip over the shoulder, and
then a roundhouse kick, crunching into her side.
    Faris lets Jessie drop to the ground. The redheaded girl, once proud and
arrogant, now covered in bruises and humility, sobs.
    She flips her hair, then glares down at Jessie. She remains silent for a
moment, then opens her mouth. "You are worthless."
    Orion stands, then slowly approaches Jessie, who is crumpled into a fetal
position. Gently, he picks her up, and carries her to the elevator. Together,
they go down.
    Faris and the others watch this silently.
    The PA system comes to life. "Erm..." Michael says. "There's something
else..."
    Faris-tachi glance up at the tower.
    It's at this point the red-eyed girl notices Martina and James' parents.
    "Well..." Michael hesitates. "As is the custom... since Faris is the Victor
of the Duels..."
    Starr and Faris' eyes widen. James looks at them curiously.
    "...she and the Rose Bride are engaged." He coughs. "To also correspond the
wishes of their parents," he adds apologetically.
    Their mouths drop open.
    "...uso da..." Faris whispers, paling. "Uso da... uso da!!"
    "Faris?" James says, rushing to her side.
    She knocks him away, crumpling to the ground. "USO DA!!!!!"
    Her arms cover her face. 'How pathetic I am,' she thinks, involuntary tears
forcing their way out of her eyes.


			Ending Theme: Amour Sonnet