Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any part of the Pokèmon franchise and give full credit for Pokèmon characters named in my fanfiction to Nintendo, Inc. and (until recently) 4Kids Entertainment.

Note: If you were confused by last chapter's seemingly contradicting usernames, that was an accident by me. I have, in the past, used MysticMelody, but used DragoonKain for my username as an author on the Pokèmon Tower. Hope I cleared up any confusion that may have resulted!

Chapter 2: Letters Abound!

By: DragoonKain

It had started raining, and the villagers of Shamouti Island, protected under their umbrellas, watched a familiar young brunette rush home on her bike. "Dang," she thought, "I should have gone to the post office earlier. Now I'm soaking wet and I'm still a mile away from home!" She heard a whistle and groaned; she had grown accustomed to the men her age on the island, but still winced every time she had to deal with their idiocy and perversion. She still couldn't believe she had tried to date them at times, but what is a girl to do? She looked back just in time to see the perpetrator trip over himself and fall flat on his face, too busy looking at her to notice where he was going. "Serves him right," she mused; "I can't wait until I make it back home." Of course, she knew this aversion to the Shamouti men only pleased her father; he wouldn't dare let her escape his close gaze with a boy ever. It was frustrating at times, but gave her a good excuse to scare off guys she didn't like. She smiled as her home came in sight, dreaming of the fireplace and towels that would await her. She parked and locked her bike and ran to her front door, almost falling through as her older sister opened the door before she even had a chance to knock.

The two women stared at each other for a moment in silent amusement, before they heard an exclamation of "Ah! Melody! What are you doing? You're getting water everywhere! I told you to go when it was dry!" Melody looked up to see her father rushing over with towels, giving her a quick, disapproving glance. "Why won't you ever listen to me?"

"Sorry Dad," she mumbled; "I guess I got a little caught up earlier and didn't realize it!" She turned to her sister, who was obviously trying hard not to laugh at her soaking clothes and wet, messy hair. "As I can see I've made your day, would you mind taking the mailbag into the kitchen Carol?" She tossed the bag to her older sister as she went to shower and change her clothes. "DON'T open any of my mail!"

"Haha alright," Carol said as she burst out laughing, unable to contain it anymore, "just as long as you don't borrow any of my clothes!" That prompted a smile from Melody just as she was sneaking out of view upstairs. Carol turned to her father; "Dad, why do you have to be so hard on her? You know she doesn't disobey you on purpose!"

"I would believe that more if that were her proven record," Tom Flura said sternly; "But enough about that; I want to see if the letter about my company's annual picnic has arrived yet!" And with that, they strolled into the kitchen and dumped the contents of the mailbag on the table. Letters upon letters fell out, as well as a cyan notebook. "Isn't this notebook Melody's?" he asked, "I think I should look at it just in case." He reached for the notebook and instantly felt pain shoot across his hand.

"Are you serious, Dad?" Carol was fuming. "She's 17, almost 18, and you still treat her like she's 10. Give her some privacy!" She slipped the notebook into her own bag. "I bet you can't resist even once from trying to find out information about her!"

"Now Carol, you know that's not true!" Tom was clearly embarrassed. "The next time I have the chance to find out info, I'll pass it up; I promise!"

"Good, because that chance is now: there's a letter here for Melody from Trovita Gym. I hope you will hold up on your bargain and leave it untouched by the time she gets downstairs?"

"...But isn't Trovita's gym leader male?" Tom sighed. "Alright, but I'm telling you; it better not be anything that puts her at risk, or you'll be partly responsible as well!"

Carol was about to retort when Melody came bounding downstairs in a white/orange blouse and a black skirt. "Hey, what'd I miss?" she asked with a twirl. "Oh hey, my mail is actually sealed this time! Finally, Dad..." as she rolled her eyes and tore open the envelope. "By the way, how come Carol never has to get the mail?"

"You know I'm working on my Literature major, Melody! It takes up pretty much my whole day, and I haven't been helped by a recent bout of writer's block." She grimaced as she thought of the hours she had toiled in front of a computer screen, merely trying to think of what to write. At least she had the whole semester to write her novel, but she couldn't use those months just trying to think of the storyline!

Her thoughts were broken as she heard a harsh "What is it Melody?" from her father. She glanced over at Melody, and was taken aback at the sight. Now Melody was typically a pretty hyper girl, but Carol couldn't remember a time where she had ever been like this. She was bouncing up and down, obviously excited, and her eyes were wide-eyed.

"Oh my god, Carol, I think I found your muse!" Melody was so frantic that she was having trouble stringing her words coherently. "Look! Look!"

Carol took the letter from Melody, eyes mirroring Melody's as she read it:

Hey Melody, I don't know if you remember me, but this is Rudy from the Trovita Gym. I'll get straight to the chase. I and two of my best friends were going to visit Cerulean City to see how one of the Kanto Gyms compared to ours in the Orange Islands, but my friends couldn't attend, both going on vacation with their families right before we were supposed to leave for Cerulean. Anyway, I sent you their two plane tickets just in case you want to go, since I know you know Misty! You will need to take a boat to Trovita Island, but you are an expert sailswoman and it's a short distance regardless! Anyway, the flight is on Monday, September 12th, so if you want to go, just come by Trovita on the 11th!
~ Rudy
P.S. Heard you graduated high school a year early last May! Congratulations!

Carol now knew why Melody was so excited; she had been trying to find a way off Shamouti for forever. Melody was an adventurous girl, and, outside of her meeting Ash and Misty, there had never been very much excitement on the island. Melody was right, too; this trip to Cerulean could be just the thing she needed to get some inspiration back for her novel, especially if Ash and Misty were both there. "I'd love t...." Carol paused mid-sentence and realized that there was no way their dad would let Melody out of his sight for one second without an incredibly solid reason. She took a deep breath and pocketed the letter. She couldn't believe she was about to do this, but she needed this trip as much as Melody did. "Dad, that letter was a forward to Melody from the Cerulean Gym. Misty was inviting Melody and I to come hang out for a few months. It would help me tremendously, and Melody honestly needs a change of scenery after all these years stuck on the island. It would help to get her a little traveling! Misty also paid for two tickets from Trovita Island; she didn't know our exact address, but she knew Rudy did, and so she sent them to him to forward. Can we go, just for my first semester of senior year?" She felt horrible lying, but she knew her dad would never approve an invitation from a guy, and she could clear the story out with Misty after arriving in Cerulean. She exchanged knowing looks with Melody as they awaited their father's answer.

"......Ugh, alright," Tom exclaimed, frustrated, "BUT you must keep an eye on her Carol! And I want updates on how both of you are doing periodically. Oh, and Melody! If you pull anything like you did when you were younger, I will only have one daughter; do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Dad, I get it; jeez, why can't you be trusting for once?!" And Melody stormed off, shouting back that she was heading up to pack. Carol soon followed, shaking her head condescendingly at her dad, and they prepared for their departure the next week.

Hope you enjoyed Part 2 of the story! This and Chapter 3 (coming next week) were originally meant to be one chapter, but this part turned out so great (and long ^.^) that I'm going to split them into 2 chapters. Again, please review!

Thank you for reading! - DK