Gary stood silently by the small fire they had made, his face glowing eerily 
from the light of the flames. Brock had cooked them all dinner, and as much as 
Gary despised him, he had to admit, it was delicious.

It had been a few days since Ash had gone to talk to Jessie and James and Gary 
expected him back soon. They had traveled each day and were close to the coast, 
but they had to remain in the forest outside of Fuchsia, waiting until Ash 
rejoined them before they could head out to Seafoam Island.

Brock, Misty, and Erika sat on the other side of the fire, allowing the flames 
to separate Gary from themselves. They had an unspoken segregation. Gary was by 
nature a loner. The only one who had ever broken through his shell was Ash. He 
spoke very little to the rest of the group except during his shooting sessions.

The former gym leaders had been planning the rebellion the entire trip. Everyone 
had come to the general conclusion, even before Ash had left, that Bruno, who 
was in peak physical condition and was obviously good with weapons, along with 
Agatha, who was excellent in the art of stealth through all her years with ghost 
pokemon, would be the ones to train the rebellion's forces. The training was 
going to take place in a secluded place, the Safari Zone, for the woman who ran 
it was a rebellion supporter. The location was ideal since Team Rocket had long 
ago pillaged the Zone of all the pokemon.

A loud bang caused the three former gym leaders to look up, and both Bruno and 
Agatha who had been sleeping, sat up quickly. Another bang echoed through the 
forest and the ground next to Misty became unsettled, a thick cloud of dust 
floating into the air.

"Someone's shooting at us!" Bruno called, the first in the group to realize what 
was going on. He quickly got out of his sleeping bag and stood up.

"Get behind the trees!" Gary called as he clutched his right arm.

Misty was the only one to noticed the small flow of crimson liquid that was 
quickly seeping onto his light gray shirt. "Gary-" she began.

"Go!" he cried, cutting her off.

She reluctantly followed Brock, Erika, and Agatha, glancing over her shoulder as 
more bullets rained into the clearing.

Gary quickly pulled his gun out of his holster, then glanced at his wounded arm. 
"Bruno!" he called, tossing the gun to the larger man. Another shot came hitting 
a tree dangerously close to Gary, who was obviously the intended target.

Using a tree for cover, Bruno began firing in the general direction of the 
shots, for it was too dark to see where their attacker was.

The bark on the tree next to Cassidy suddenly exploded, the impact of a bullet 
sending bits of wood everywhere. Butch quickly trained his rifle on Bruno, who 
provided a large target, despite the tree that removed much of his body from 
view.

"No," Cassidy hissed. "The boss wants him alive."

"The son of a bitch is shooting at us Cass," Butch protested, flinching as 
another bullet hit a nearby tree.

"He's firing blindly," she told him, pushing her blonde hair from her eyes as 
she crouched by her partner. "Let him shoot, he'll eventually run out of 
bullets. Then we can kill Shigeru and take Bruno and Agatha to the boss." She 
had been surprised to see the older ghost trainer with Bruno, but all she could 
assume was the rebellion was trying to round up all the Elite to fight for them.

"I wonder where Satoshi is?" Butch said, recalling that the dark haired man had 
not been with the group when he had started shooting.

"Who cares," Cassidy said shrugging. "Without him around our job is ten times 
easier, especially now that Shigeru can't shoot."

Butch frowned. "If Shigeru's there, Satoshi can't be too far away. They rarely 
separate."

Cassidy did not answer, for Bruno had just run out of bullets. She stood and 
pulled her gun from the holster around her thigh. "Keep your rifle aimed at 
Shigeru," she instructed Butch. "I don't trust him."

A blonde woman made her way from the forest, and into the small clearing the 
group was using for a campsite. Bruno recognized her as the same woman who had 
been leading the troops back at Rock Tunnel. Her blue eyes gleamed maliciously 
in the fire light as she made her way over to Gary, who had left the sanctuary 
of the tree he had been using for cover.

Bruno, who was out of bullets, went to charge at her, but, sensing the movement, 
she pivoted and aimed her gun at the large man's chest.

"Don't," she warned, grinning as he stopped in his tracks. "My partner has his 
rifle aimed at your friend right now," she informed Bruno. "Try anything and he 
dies."

Gary glared at her, cradling his injured arm, which throbbed in pain. He cast a 
glance at his bag that sat only meters away, his ammunition tucked safely inside 
it. There was nothing he could do now, for although Butch was not the best, his 
shooting usually left his targets with undesirable results. He knew he was stuck 
in a rock and a hard place, for he could do nothing to Cassidy without being 
shot by Butch; that is until he saw a yellow blur run behind Cassidy. He 
grinned, then while Cassidy was busy taunting Bruno, he grabbed her arm with his 
uninjured one, twisting it behind her back until she dropped her gun. He picked 
the firearm up with his right hand, which shook from pain as he aimed it at her.

Cassidy's expression changed from outraged to gleeful as she waited for Butch to 
shoot him dead. When the shot didn't come, she knew something was awry, and 
decided to change tactics.

"Are you going to shoot me?" she taunted, noting Gary's pained expression as he 
aimed the gun at her. "Look at you, you can barely hold the gun."

He glanced down at his steadily shaking hand. "You're right," he said with a 
sigh. He swiftly placed the hand gun in his other hand, aiming it steadily at 
her. A grin slowly spread across his face. "Good thing I'm left handed."

Cassidy's blue eyes widened in shock. "You're lying, she said.

Gary quickly turned and shot at another target he had painted for Misty, Brock, 
and Erika. The bullet hit it dead center. He then trained the gun back on 
Cassidy. "Nope," he said, cocking his head and smiling at the look of horror 
that had appeared on her face.

"Sorry Cassidy," he said as he moved closer to her and slammed the butt of the 
gun into the back of her head for a second time, making her once again fall to 
the ground unconscious.

Misty was the first to come out from behind the tree they had been hiding 
behind. She quickly made her way over to Gary, whose shirt sleeve was saturated 
with his dark red blood.

"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly, as she helped him sit down before he 
collapsed from the steadily increasing pain in his arm.

He gritted his teeth and nodded, gently holding his arm.

"I thought she said she had a partner who was going to shoot you," Bruno said 
curiously.

A thump and the clatter of a rifle hitting the ground drew everyone's attention 
to the edge of the clearing, where Ash stood, an unconscious, aquamarine haired 
Butch at his feet.

"I found him like this in the forest," Ash said shrugging. After a pause he 
added, "Well, after I kicked him in the head."

Gary began to laugh. Pikachu, the yellow blur Gary had seen earlier, which 
signaled that Ash had come back, quickly scurried over to Ash and climbed onto 
his shoulder. Ash made his way to Gary, where he knelt next to him, ready to 
examine his arm.

"Why did you give me the gun if you're left handed?" Bruno asked him, as he 
watched Ash rip the sleeve off Gary's shirt.

"Because they were trying to kill me," Gary said, wincing as Ash used his sleeve 
to wipe the blood away from the wound. "Giovanni most likely wants you alive so 
you can tell him where the other Elite are, so I knew they wouldn't kill you."

Bruno nodded, seeing the logic of it.

Brock watched in amazement as Ash tended to Gary's wound, it was obvious he had 
done this before.

"You were lucky this time Gary," Ash informed him. "The bullet went clean though 
the arm."

"This time?" Misty questioned. She looked at Gary. "How many times have you been 
shot?"

Gary furrowed his brow in thought. "What was this, Ash? Eight?"

Ash nodded as he pulled a bandage from his back pack. "Something like that."

"You've been shot eight times?" Erika asked, amazement in her tone.

"Yeah, well, dangers of the job right?" Gary said, brushing off the idea.

Misty watched him, surprised at the nonchalant attitude he was exhibiting. Ash 
finished, then stood up, helping Gary to his feet as he did so.

"Did you get the weapons?" Gary asked, looking over his now bandaged tricep.

"Yes," Ash told him. "They're sending them to the Safari Zone. We can drop off 
Bruno and Agatha, then rent a boat at Fuchsia to get to Seafoam. They can begin 
training the rebels while we go find Lorelei and Lance."

~*~*~

It had become very quiet in their group since Agatha and Bruno were no longer 
with them. They had stayed at the Safari Zone, ready to train troops. Jessie and 
James had managed to procure the weapons and had had them waiting at the Safari 
Zone when the group had arrived.

Brock, Misty, and Erika had contacted people in their respective cities and gave 
the orders for the rebels to come to the zone for training.

Unfortunately, the group that was now continuing to Seafoam was an uncomfortable 
one. The rebel leaders were refusing to converse with Ash and Gary, despite all 
of the help the two former Rockets had provided. Much of the trip had been 
silent.

Brock groaned as the boat they were on bounced up and down on the ocean waves. 
He eyed Misty jealously as she lay on her bunk, a peaceful smile upon her face.

"Don't you love the feeling of being gently rocked by the ocean?" she asked, 
turning her head to glance at him.

As the boat lurched, so did his stomach. "I don't know what you see in the 
ocean, Misty," he said, leaning back in the chair he sat on and closing his 
eyes.

They had had only enough money to rent a small two cabin boat and a captain. 
Misty and Erika shared a cabin, while the men took the other. Brock spent much 
of his time in Erika and Misty's cabin though, for when he, Ash, and Gary were 
in the same room, the animosity was thick.

It was nearing midnight and Brock knew he should be going. He bid a short 
farewell to Erika who was lying on the bunk above Misty, then waved good-bye to 
them both.

Misty and Erika had the nicer of the two cabins. It was furnished with plush 
armchairs and a small vanity, as opposed to the men's room, which had nothing 
but a pair of bunk beds crammed into a space the size of a walk-in closet.

Erika sighed as she sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk, 
allowing them to dangle.

"What's the matter?" Misty asked, sensing a note of disturbance in her friend's 
demeanor.

After a pause, Erika said, "I never told you about me and Ash, did I?"

Misty became confused, as she too sat up. "What do you mean?"

"We were lovers," Erika stated bluntly, sadness evident in her tone.

Misty's stomach dropped when she heard this, and a wave of jealousy overtook 
her. She knew that there was nothing between her and Ash, but the mere thought 
of anyone else having something with him made her angry. "What happened?" Misty 
asked, keeping her feelings in check.

"He left one day. Without so much as a note," Erika said bitterly. "Now I see 
why, it was because of Team Rocket. But he broke my heart."

Misty was silent, allowing Erika to tell her the story of her and Ash's romance, 
although it was the last thing she wanted to hear. When Erika was through, Misty 
turned off the light and lay in bed, staring at the bottom of Erika's bunk. A 
soft snoring from above her told her that Erika was asleep, but Misty could not 
fall into a peaceful slumber. With a sigh, she threw aside her covers, a slight 
shiver running through her as her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. She 
grabbed her robe and wrapped it around herself and, not bothering to put shoes 
on, she quietly made her way out of the cabin and onto the main deck. It was 
well after midnight, and she wanted to just sit alone, contemplating her 
thoughts.

It was a dark night, filled with only a few stars, although in the distance one 
could see the half moon reflecting off of the sea. Misty was surprised to find 
that she was not the only one on the deck. A lone figure sat, legs under the 
railing as his arms lightly rested upon it. When she came closer she was able to 
recognize the figure by the white bandage around his right arm.

Misty did not feel the tension towards Gary and Ash that Brock and Erika seemed 
to feel. She quietly sat next to him, allowing her legs to also dangle off the 
side of the ship. He glanced at her, but returned his gaze to the ocean without 
so much as a word.

They sat in silence for a while, each admiring the scene as the few visible 
stars shone through the cloudy night sky.

Misty finally broke the silence. "How's your arm?" she asked.

In the dim light, she could just see him glance at his bandaged tricep. "I've 
had worse," he responded as he fixed his gaze on her.

"I take it you couldn't sleep either," she said, trying to engage him in a 
conversation. That was one thing she noticed about Gary. Aside from the 
occasional wise crack, he rarely talked. Ash was the same way, very reserved. 
Misty suspected that they talked to one another quite a bit, but around others 
they were often silent. She supposed the years they had spent in Team Rocket had 
changed them both a great deal.

"Brock snores and Pikachu was on the verge of electrocuting him," Gary responded 
as he returned his gaze to the dark rippling ocean. "Ash has gotten used to 
being thundershocked over the years, but I prefer not to be fried to a crisp."

Misty grinned, then became contemplative. "Pikachu has gotten pretty powerful, 
hasn't he?"

"Yes," Gary agreed. "I'd imagine he's somewhere near level 100 by now."

"Level 100?" Misty questioned, surprise evident in her voice. "How could he be 
so powerful? There's no one to battle."

"Sure there is," Gary told her. She looked at him curiously. Seeing this, he 
elaborated. "Team Rocket has an ongoing pokemon tournament. It is like a small 
version of the old Pokemon League. If you can defeat the six top trainers, you 
can try to defeat the champion."

"Who's the champion," Misty asked. "Giovanni?"

Gary snorted. "Giovanni doesn't enter. He knows better, Ash would easily defeat 
him."

"Ash is the champion?" Misty asked. Somehow that didn't surprise her. While Ash 
had gotten his start due to a lot of luck, he had grown to be a skillful 
trainer, with a deep connection to his pokemon. A warm feeling had begun to grow 
within her at the thought of Ash, then quickly disappeared as she remembered 
Erika's words.

Gary noticed the sudden change in her demeanor but said nothing. He had never 
been close to Misty and did not feel comfortable asking her personal questions.

"I guess you and Ash hate us, huh?" Misty asked suddenly, pulling her legs up to 
her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

He looked at her in surprise. "No," he said, pausing to consider his words. "We 
just have grown used to keeping to ourselves. We haven't had to open up to 
anyone in so long that we have kind of forgotten how."

She pushed her hair out of her face as a slight wind picked up. She wore her 
hair down when she slept rather than in her normal braid, and it framed her face 
in a red halo as she watched him.

"Of course you guys aren't really helping," he added.

"Us?" she said in indignation. "What did we do?"

"You haven't accepted us. Since you found out we were Rockets, you've set 
yourselves against us." Gary spoke softly, meeting her gaze. "The three of you 
are especially hard on Ash because you have placed him on the pedestal over the 
years and none of you can forgive him for not living up to your idea of what he 
should be."

Misty stared into his gray eyes, searching for something, anything that could 
give her access to Gary's hidden self. Obviously he understood more than he let 
on, and he had depth that was difficult to be seen through his outward display 
of ego.

He tore his gaze away, uncomfortable at the scrutiny. He returned to staring at 
the waves.

"You're right," Misty told him. "Brock and I have not been good friends. When we 
separated we just lost touch. It was unfair of us to assume that he was the same 
person he had been as a kid. People change."

Blue eyes met gray again, and for a moment they were silent. For a brief second, 
Ash flashed to her mind, but she pushed the thought away when she once again 
remembered Erika's story. He didn't need her, he had Erika. On an impulse she 
leaned towards Gary and kissed him, a soft warm kiss on his lips.

Surprised as he was when her lips touched his, Gary didn't pull away. He wrapped 
his arms around her small frame and kissed her back. She tasted sweet, and the 
kiss was tender, something he rarely had. All of his romances had been 
passionate one night stands, for he never wanted to get involved.

They pulled apart after what seemed like all too brief a moment, and for a while 
they just stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

~*~*~

The muffled sound of arguing woke Ash from what had otherwise been a peaceful 
slumber. A quick glance at his watch told him it was only six in the morning, 
which made him curious as to who was arguing and why.

Five minutes later he was changed into jeans and a black t-shirt. He headed out 
on deck without bothering to brush his hair, the dark locks were unruly and 
never stayed how he wanted anyway.

He was met with high winds and loud voices when he exited the cabin, and 
although he hadn't noticed it while he was changing, the ship was rocking 
steadily, making balance difficult. The sources of the voices were Gary and the 
captain and it didn't take Ash long to realize that they weren't fighting. They 
had to yell to be heard over the increasing winds.

"What's the problem?" Ash called over the wind when he reached them, turning so 
his hair was being blown out of his face, rather than into it.

"He won't go any farther," Gary said as he pointed out to sea.

Ash looked to where Gary indicated. There, less then two miles away was Seafoam 
Island. Because it was dawn the horizon was hazy and the island appeared to have 
an imposing mist circulating around it.

Ash looked at the captain questioningly. He was an older man, hardened by his 
many years at sea. His short beard was turning slightly gray, as was his brown 
hair. He shook his head as his windbreaker was blown violently around him.

"I won't go no closer," he said, glancing nervously at Seafoam Island, which 
loomed in the distance.

"Why?" Ash questioned, not understanding.

"At least five ships been capsized when they tried to dock at that island," the 
captain said, his blue eyes taking on a frightened look. "There's some sea 
monster out there sinking any boat that comes near the island."

Gary looked at Ash and rolled his eyes.

Ash watched the murky ocean water as it was disturbed by large waves. "You think 
there is a monster out there?" Ash asked, his eyes still upon the ocean.

"I know there is," the captain assured him.

Gary and Ash exchanged a brief glance.

Ash sighed. "We'll pay you double to take us to the island."

The captain stopped, contemplating the offer. After a moment he nodded in 
agreement. "You have a deal." He turned and went about restarting the boat as 
Ash and Gary headed back to the cabin. With a hum the engines started and the 
boat lurched forward, fighting against the waves.

"He made that up so you would pay him more," Gary said angrily. "Some beast will 
sink the boat unless you pay me double." He shook his head, his auburn hair 
blowing in the wind.

Ash shrugged. "Oh well. We needed to get there."

"He ripped us-" Gary began, but he never got to finish his sentence, for the 
boat was suddenly jolted so hard that it was pushed several feet off course.

Ash and Gary were instantly knocked off their feet and slammed into the railing 
that encircled the deck, which was the only thing that kept them from falling 
into the water below. They scrambled to their feet as the boat became level.

Misty, Brock, and Erika quickly emerged from the other cabin, all three unsure 
of what had happened.

"What's going on?" Misty cried over the now howling wind.

Neither Ash nor Gary answered as they quickly made their way back to the bow of 
the ship. Another fantastic jolt sent them sprawling again, but as soon as the 
boat was balanced they continued towards the bow, the rebel leaders on their 
heels.

"I told you!" the captain cried when he saw them. "We're all going to die!" He 
frantically grabbed a life jacket and once he put it on he leapt from the ship, 
landing with a splash in the choppy water.

Gary and Ash looked at each other for a moment before Gary said, "Whatever 
happened to going down with your ship?"

Ash didn't answer, for he was staring at the water, which had begun to swell and 
the largest gyrados Ash had ever seen emerged, water cascading down its scaly 
back like a waterfall. It bent down and with one gulp of its gigantic mouth, it 
had swallowed the now screaming captain whole.

It's two gleaming red eyes fixed themselves on Ash, Gary, Brock, Misty, and 
Erika, who stood gaping at the huge pokemon, before it dove back into the water, 
creating waves that shook the boat. The boat shuddered as it was again hit with 
a huge force as the gyrados rammed into it.

"It's going to sink us!" Brock cried.

Another jolt caused the whole boat to turn completely on it's side before 
shooting back up. Ash did not have a good grip and the others watched in horror 
as he was flung back into the railing, which broke upon the impact, sending Ash 
hurtling to the water below.

"Ash!" Gary cried as he rushed to the side of the ship, where he saw his partner 
treading water, his black hair now plastered to his head. Gary's relief was 
short lived as the gyrados once again rose from the water, his eyes now set upon 
Ash, who never even had a chance to swim towards the ship before the pokemon's 
giant tail was lifted from the water and slammed upon him, knocking him 
unconscious and pushing him deep into the water.

"Pikapi!" Ash's little pokemon called in terror. Pikachu had emerged from the 
cabin just in time to see the gyrados hit Ash with its tail. Pikachu angrily 
charged up, and with an impassioned cry, attacked the water pokemon with the 
most powerful thunder anyone on the boat had ever seen, or was ever likely to 
see again.

With a bellowing roar of pain, the gyrados slumped into the water, fainted.

With the threat gone, Gary kicked off his shoes and dove into the water, trying 
to find Ash. Brock, Misty, and Erika rushed to the edge of the boat, watching as 
Gary dove under the water searching for Ash, then returned without him. Erika 
began to cry and Misty felt her knees go weak, Brock caught her as collapsed. He 
too was gripped with emotion as Gary took a deep breath and dove once again.

The second time Gary surfaced, he had the limp form of Ash under his arm. He 
quickly swam back to the boat and with the help of Brock he was able to lift Ash 
onto the boat. Gary pulled himself on to the boat's deck, and ignoring the fact 
he was soaked, he checked Ash for a pulse. He discovered that Ash had a quickly 
weakening pulse and he wasn't breathing. This meant he miraculously had not been 
killed by the tremendous blow of the gyrados's tail. Gary pushed his soaked hair 
from his forehead as he quickly began CPR, trying to revive his friend.

They watched Gary work for a tense minute before Ash suddenly coughed and 
sputtered, spitting out all of the water he had inhaled. Gary leaned back in 
relief as Misty and Erika rushed to Ash, both hugging him tightly. Water dripped 
from his hair and down his face as he looked at both of them in bewilderment. 
When the too women released him, Ash was even more surprised when Brock suddenly 
hugged him.

They all sat on the deck, full of emotions and speechless, as the boat slid back 
and forth along the waves, which had now calmed to a gentle rocking.



Updated A/N (6/2/01): Wow, thank you so much to those of you who reviewed and 
explained what the problem was with the updating. I've lowered the rating so 
hopefully this will work. I guess I have to lower the rating on all my stories. 
That's ok, I think that they pass for PG-13 anyway, I just had them rated R to 
be safe. Thanks again.

A/N: Fret not ye pokeshippers! Just because Misty and Gary kissed does not mean 
she and Ash are not getting together. All it means is that if they do, there 
will be a bit more of a complication. And to all of you hoping Ash and Erika 
will reunite, don't fret either, for I haven't decided anything, and they may 
still end up together. By the way, if you left your email address you should 
have recived an email telling you I updated. And for those of you who give 
signed reviews and want me to email you, please leave your address in the 
review, because frankly I am too lazy to go to your profile to find it. Thanks 
for staying with me, please read and review.