Maybe I should go work on 101 kisses instead. It has more inspiration

Disclaimer: Phantomness does not own pokemon. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction was written by Phantomness and belongs to her under international copyright laws. Stealing and archiving without permission is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Chapter 8

 

            They did not tarry any longer in Saffron, but headed immediately north to Cerulean, to obtain the legendary artifact there.

            It apparently belonged to a family of performers, ballet dancers, all four of them. The three sisters who greeted them were courteous, quite beautiful, with a high Charisma score, but were low on Intelligence, and immediately offered up the tear in exchange for some fool’s gold.

            Well, it wasn’t worthless, what they got in exchange. The sapphire rings were very beautiful, just not very useful. That was all… no magical enchantments of any sort.

            They had been careful not to let the Waterflower sisters see that of real value… the Heart Amulet Lance wore, for instance, and Red’s Gloves of Holding…

            But ah, the artifact they received, was a single drop of water from the Water of Life high beyond the Crystal Falls….

            That was more than worth the price of treasure they had forfeited.

           

            “Fools…”

            “The better for us, tis not?”

            “Oh yes.” Red grinned brightly. “And so, fortunes sometimes fall upon incidents such as these. We are halfway there, Lance. That is more than any of the other explorers have ever gotten...”

            Lance smirked. “We are talented, compared to them.”

            Red’s grin had a hint of promise. “Performing, yes?”

            “The next city… where should we head next?”

            Red frowned. “Here in the Kanto region, we have… Blaine and Giovanni left…”

            “You forgot Surge, my dear companion.”

            “So I did. I am blessed to have your presence around to remind me then!”

            “Surge would be the closest.” Lance took another glance at the map. “There is apparently another tunnel…”

            Red groaned. “Well, if it saves travel time, we can always buy new clothes.”

            “The last set had to be burned, I know… there were some poisonous fungi in that tunnel after all, and we could have carried spores…”

            “At least tis not our armor that needs to be scrapped. It would be irritating to have to find someone to make adjustments to a new set.”

            “I know.”

 

            Without further ado, to the tunnel they went. Red led the way, a smoking torch in hand to light their path.

            They were attacked by something invisible that almost strangled Lance before Red chopped it apart, revealing a scary spider, but that was all…

            And so, to Vermillion City it was.

           

            Surge was not too happy to see them. He was a tall man dressed in sand colored robes, but his bulk was impressive, and he took his duties as mayor very seriously. He was not at all willing to part with his lightning bolt.

            Well, in all honesty, it was just a shard of pretty yellow rock, but it gave off electric charges…

            They needed it though! It was one of the sixteen magic talismans that would hopefully bring peace. The two adventurers found an inn to rest in and debated their options. What to do?

            “I could beat him up and make him surrender it.” Red opted.

            Lance laughed. “Too obvious. The information would be networked all over the place by tomorrow.”

            “Then do you want to seduce him?”

            Lance put her glass of wine down with a deceptively mild air, but her eyes were pinpoints of angry gold. “Don’t you dare, Red..."

            “I wasn’t going to. It was just a suggestion.” Red said placating, holding his hands up in a submissive gesture. “Besides, I’m not into the whole sharing deal.”

            “I approve. I’m not either.” Lance grinned.

            The barmaid came by and asked if they required anything else. Both travelers pushed their plates away and stood up, shaking their heads in an identical fashion. They trooped upstairs to their room, sealed the door with some fancy papers, and began to plot.

           

            “He wears it on a chain around his neck. Did you get a good look?”

            “I wish I had, it would be easier to slip him a fake!”

            “Yes, your thieving skills are excellent, aren’t they?”

            Lance smirked at Red. “You’re the rogue, you know.”

            “I know, I know!”

 

            They chatted for a bit longer, before Red left, one hand with a Sleep scroll and the other with a creation scroll. It was not difficult to cast sleep on the mayor while he was walking down an alley, and than swap his real thunderstone for a fake one. True, it was thievery, but in the name of good, one does do these things.

           

            “We could just get the Kanto set, if you’re feeling stressed.” Red pointed out unnecessarily. “We already have six of those, and it might be simpler than the Johto set.”

            “But the Kanto set alone will not give us enough power…”

            “I suppose you’re right. Even so, it’s dangerous.”

            “Red, if you falter now, I will continue this quest alone.” Lance said seriously. “If you have any misgivings, I would like to know.”

            “It’s not that! I just wish…”

            “You just wish…?”

            “I almost wish we wouldn’t finish.” Red muttered miserably. Lance’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

 

            “Why?”

            “You’ll leave me then.”

            “I still owe you my life.” Lance pointed out, shaking her head. “What has gotten into you?”

            “I don’t know…”

            “I think you’re just worried that the rest may be difficult to obtain.” Lance shook her head. “The stress is probably getting to you. You should probably take a nap.”

            A nap? He wasn’t a child anymore, but Lance’s suggestion did sound awfully tempting…

            He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and the girl shook her head, slightly exasperated. Didn’t he ever know when to push and when to stop pushing?
            He was human after all, not a machine.

            Lance frowned for a moment, at the odd phrasing. Perhaps she was just overworked as well…

            How odd.

           

End Chapter

FINALLY COMPLETED 1/31/06

Started a while back… 1/19/06

Ugh, so much homework! *Cutting sleep* Sighs…

The illusion cracks once…