The scrawny-looking young man at the controls of the S.S. Aqua looked up. "Uh, sir?" he squeaked. The muscular man in the opposite corner of the room looked up. "Hold yer Ponyta - just get the damn thing back on course. It shouldn't be that hard. The radar -" "But Captain Surge.." the skinny man began to protest. "Just fix it! How hard is this? I can always get someone else to do it if.." "I can't read any of the instruments! Come look! It's like there's this big.. hole. In the radar screen. It's blank." Surge leaned over the screen and released a string of vocabulary not often encouraged for use in the lastest edition of Webster's Dictionary. -------------------------------------------------------------- The phone dropped from my hand and clattered to the ground, and bounced back up on its curly cord. I watched it dangle there for a moment, trying to suspend my mind from the utter chaos overtaking it. The voice - it wasn't one I knew. But the tone was. Someone was in trouble. And someone was in trouble right now. I felt myself shaking with every step I took as a hobbled over to Nurse Joy's desk. I gently shook her arm until she woke up and looked at me. The first thing she did was put a hand to my forehead. "Misty! Are you all right?" "Yes. But someone else isn't. They were talking about - the Marina. So I'd guess it's a boat or something. I'll go turn on the lighthouse. Wake everyone up." She looked at me like I was crazy as I stumbled over the words and I rushed out the door. It was high tide, and I felt the water seeping through my tennis shoes as I splashed along the shore. I arrived at the lighthouse and almost ripped the door off the hinges as I pulled it open and slammed it shut behind me, then ran up the stairs, skipping every other step. I finally reached the room below the light itself, and after slipping off my soggy socks and shoes, I adjusted some knobs and dials and had the light streaming across the murky ocean withing seconds. I sighed and dragged myself over to the window. And what did I see on the sea? You'll never believe me. ------------------------------------------------------------------ The S.S. Aqua was being tossed about like a little toy boat in a bathtub. Every now and then, a sharp rock would scratch the side, or dent the hull. Captain Surge was enraged. "So the radar's blocked, you lost contact with the shore, and now this? A storm around OUR boat, but about a kilometer out, it stops - but the wretched thing moves with us. Forget this, get out the maps." The skinny man pulled out a number of maps, and pulled up the Global Positioning System on the computer. "According to the GPS, sir, this is our latitude and longitude." Surge looked at the numbers, and glanced down at the map. His eyes grew wide with fear. "H-hold on. Read those numbers out loud. I don't know what kind of crud this is, but..." Surge's fingers trembled. "That's right sir. Would you like me to point it out on the map? It's right here, sir - " he pinted at the page, and then the man stopped, and rubbed his eyes. "I think we have a problem, sir." "Yes, you could say that. we're only, what, a mile and a half away from a tropical island that we're going to hit head on in a matter of minutes? Yes, I guess that's a problem." Surge's beet-red face was twisted in anger. "Is there not any way we can change course? Why didn't we notice this sooner, sir?" "We can't change course. No time. And don't call me Sir. Call me Captain Surge." "Okay sir. So what do we do?" the little man asked, his whole body shaking. Surge shouted his answer to the whole ship, screaming at the top of his lungs: "ABANDON SHIP!" ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Oooooooh my God. God, God, God." A large boat was being tossed across the waves by a solitary storm, one that seemed to only surround she ship itself. It was a matter of kilometers away from smashing into the flimsy piers and fishing boats at the Marina. It looked like the ship that used to sail from Olivine. The one that he always sailed on... ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ash was tearing apart the whole cabin looking for his life jacket as the boat tipped from side to side like some sort of amusement ride, each time taking his belongings and furniture with it the the opposite side of the room. Finally spotting the self-inflating garment, he slipped it over his head, and checking that his six pokeballs were still firmly attached to his belt, he flew out of the room down the long, pitch black hallway. Suddenly, an ear-splitting crack and an immense flash of light filled the room. A tall shadow loomed above him, and he looked up just in time to see a large wooden beam which appeared to be rapidly increasing in size. And then everything went black. ------------------------------------------------------------------- I tore myself from the window and threw open the door. I missed the first step and tumbled down the stairsto the landing where my room was. Ignoring the aching in my head, I looked down at my ankle, which seared with pain. Trying to put my mind on something else, and reminding myself of what was going on, I recomposed myself and forced my legs to get me to the bottom of the lighthouse. Everyone stood on the beach. Watching. Hoping. That was all we could do. Marina saw me limping and rushed over so I could lean on her. Children clung their mother's skirts, wondering what was going on. We all watched helplessly in horror. I remember that sound. I think we'll all remember that sound. It was the sound of Metal crushing metal, metal crushing wood, evil crushing souls. It was a creak, a crash, a scream that rang out as the ship collided with boats, docks, land, and rock. It was true that most people had gotten out on lifeboats, as we noticed all but one were gone. All of the crew, and most passengers had probably made it safely, though we couldn't see through the mist that now covered the black waters around the island. But from what remained of the S.S. Aqua now, the people who didn't get on the lifeboat didn't appear to be survivors. I could have just gone on with my life then. But I had to know. Ash sailed on the S.S. Aqua all the time. Yeah, there was a slim chance that he had ever been on the boat. And if he had, 90% of the people got out safely. But I had to know. I took a step away from Marina, and looked around at everyone to make sure no one was watching. Before anyone could stop me, I bolted across the sand and plunged into the dark, treacherous waters. Naturally, everyone screamed at me to get out. But an I wouldn't. I swam over to where the wreck had occoured and began to search for any sign of Ash. Suddenly, I spotted him. Right there in the water, next to a huge wooden beam. I held my breath and dove. The water was pitch black. I still to this day do not know why - but that's why I'm afraid of going underwater. I fought the darkness, and finally managed to grab his arm. Now all I needed to know was which way was up. I let myself stuf fighting the water for a moment and felt myself dirfting upward. I was now dying for air. I shot to the surface of the water and burst through, gasping for oxygen. I looked at Ash. He was coughing. Coughing. A miracle, I thought. A steady trickle of blood seeped from his forehead - what knocked him out, I guessed. I dragged Ash onto a piece of floating debris, and then pulled myself on top of it. And, being the most helpful and person I am, I did a very useful thing at that moment. I fainted. I don't own pokemon, I don't own Nintendo, blah blah blah. I do own the characters I made up. So don't sue me.