Chapter 9: Three's Allowed

It's hard to please everybody, especially when love is a factor. Tango realizes that perhaps she made a mistake, mating with Waltz, but also really likes him as well. Waltz, too, feels bad about betraying Tommy and insists that Tango remain with Tommy. How will these two be able to redeem themselves in Tommy's eye and how will Tommy react to their fling?

DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All original characters, plot, and concept is copyright 2008 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment. Do not alter.

After a rough night sleeping, morning finally came for the little Buizel. Tango had woken up to the discordant yelling of Tommy and Waltz.

"You call yourself my Pokemon?! You're nothing more than a fucking prick that sleeps around with other people's mates!" shouted Tommy over to Waltz, who was yelling back several feet away, waking up the whole island.

"Shut up! You don't even care about me, so what makes you think that you can ever love Tango? You only want her for the sex!"

"I do not! She was my mate first, not yours! For fuck's sake, Waltz, you freaking knew that we were mates and you still had to screw her!"

"She felt bad for me, Tommy. She felt bad because you never let me mate! All she wanted to do was help, and you know what? It felt great!"

Tommy raised his hand and extended his middle finger towards his Typhlosion. "Great stabbing me from behind and fucking me in the ass, I'm sure!"

Hearing that caused the Typhlosion to scowl, staring angrily at his Trainer. "Don't make me, because I just might!"

"Guys, please stop!!" screamed Tango, hearing enough of their verbal warfare.

"Tango!" exclaimed both Tommy and Waltz as they halted their assault and looked over to the small Buizel off to the side. Already she was crying, deeply saddened hearing her two friends and mates argue like that.

Tommy took charge and walked over to Tango to see if she was alright, although he was perhaps more upset with her than he was with Waltz.

"So what, huh? You're sad? You're sad, little Buizel? Sad because you just had to go around and fuck another Pokemon because I just wasn't good enough? Huh, is that it? Is that it!?" shouted Tommy, his tone growing angrier throughout his interrogation.

"Tommy... I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" Tango exclaimed, looking up at her mate with pleading eyes.

Without any warning, the human swung his foot back and then kicked Tango several feet back, hitting her hard in the chest. "You think you can apologize or suck up to me or something? Little whore. I loved you, Tango! I wanted to spend the rest of my time on this islan-"

As Tommy was speaking, a powerful blast of fire was shot right by the Trainer's face, nearly burning it. The source of the fireball was a very angry looking Waltz, panting and scowling wildly at the human. "Don't you dare..."

"You want some too, huh? Damn Waltz, I wish you would have just died in that storm and then I never would have been betrayed like that in the first place, although she probably would have found another Pokemon to screw, so I'm sure it doesn't matter."

Tango, who had fallen onto her back and was still feeling the pain of being kicked by the powerful human, was feeling awful about what was happening. If only she hadn't mated with Waltz, then none of it would have happened.

She then heard a loud scream come from Waltz. Looking over, she saw that Tommy had ran over to where he was and was tightly gripping the Typhlosion's neck with his hands. Waltz looked in tremendous pain.

"Waltz! No!" shouted Tango, desperate to try and save him. She got up and, through the pain, ran over to try and help him, but by the time she arrived, it was too late. Tommy released his grip and Waltz collapsed to the ground, not moving.

"You're next, bitch." Tommy reached his hand down to try and grab her, although he missed as she started running back. She was too scared to look back. All she wanted to do was get to the water so she could get away from the violent human as she did in the past. She was almost there when...

"Gotcha!" exclaimed Tommy as he grabbed the Buizel by the tail and hoisted her up in the air, leaving her hanging upside-down in front of him.

Tango was crying profusely, scared and frightened of Tommy just as she had been in the past. She deeply regretted betraying him and causing so much damage to both Tommy and Waltz. In her mind, she couldn't tell if she just wanted to help Waltz, or if she needed to mate that bad.

"Let's see just how sorry you are, sound good?" he taunted. To the surprise of Tango, he swung her behind his shoulder using her tail, slamming her back against his, and then threw her back over his shoulder and onto the sand, causing her to land on her front. Hard.

"Ahhhhh!!" screamed Tango as she felt the feeling of her bones smashing into the sand. She couldn't move; the pain was far too overwhelming. "Tommy, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!"

It was no good. She felt the vengeful human place his foot on her back and begin to apply pressure to it, pressing her down into the sand and increasing the amount of pain that she was feeling. "Sorry yet, are you? I want to hear it more."

"Tommy! Ahhh! Stop, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry...! I only wanted to help Waltz!" The pain was beginning to become too much for her to take. He was literally crushing her with his weight. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

"Tango! Come on, Tango!"

"I'm sorry!! Ahhh! I'm so sorry!!"

***

"Tango, it's alright, get up."

The pain she was feeling quickly went away as her eyes shot open to see Tommy looking at her intently. Although, unlike just a minute ago, she was on her back, all of her limbs were intact, and Tommy looked a lot less threatening.

"Tommy? I was just dreaming...?" mumbled Tango in Pokemon speech, sitting up and looking at Tommy. She didn't realize it yet, but tears were pouring from her eyes.

"What's wrong, Tango? Were you having a nightmare?" asked the human.

She looked up at him, sobbing and finally realizing that she was finally awake and looking at perhaps the one person she feared most right now. It was dark out, although it looked like the sun might soon rise.

Tango knew that, although it would be hard, she had to tell him and apologize to him from the very bottom of her heart. Her dream was very telling of her feelings. She got up and clung tightly to Tommy's leg, hardly opening her eyes through the tears that she had failed to stop from flowing and proceeding to cry out into the human's leg.

"Tommy! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for everything! I... I mated with Waltz... he told me to stop, but I just wouldn't listen! I really wished that I would have stopped, though, because now you're never going to forgive me and I'm going to lose you both! Tommy, I don't know what to do, because I like Waltz so much, too! It's not that I don't like you... I really do... but he's just so sweet and kind... he really needs someone to care for him like that. He needed a mate! I only wanted to help him out at first, but then I got carried away like I always do! I know that he's your friend and I don't want you to be mad at him for what I did... it's my fault... it's all my fault! Please forgive me, Tommy!" Tango's confession was deep and heartfelt. Immediately after speaking it, she buried her guilty face against Tommy even further, breaking out in tears.

"Don't worry, Tango," he reassured her, sparking the interest of the Buizel. "I'm sure that whatever it is, it'll be better in the morning." He pet her softly on the head.

Tango felt crushed. She had forgotten that Tommy wasn't able to understand a word of everything she just said. This only made her more sad and dejected, forcing even more tears to pour from her eyes.

Tommy then picked her up and hugged her tightly against his chest, resting her sobbing head against his shoulder. He wasn't sure what had her down, but whatever it was, it really seemed to be depressing her. He hated to admit it, because now wasn't really the best time to be thinking it, but he did think that she looked very cute when she was crying.

"Tango... there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he spoke, grabbing her attention. "Waltz and I were talking about everything that went on between us... he could hardly believe that we had sex. But it was something he asked me that really got me thinking about things. He asked me if I love you, telling me that he would be fine with it as long as we both loved each other.

"So I thought about it... I've been trying to understand if what I feel for you is 'love' or not for the longest time now... the thought of loving a Pokemon -- or loving anything, actually -- is still pretty new to me, but the more I thought, the more I realized that I do love you and want to be with you. You're always so cheery and happy, and it was that sad look you had on your face while you were sleeping during my little talk with Waltz that made me see just how much it meant to me.

"And seeing you crying like this only reminds me even more of how much it hurts not being able to ask you 'Why?' and to help you through your problem. It doesn't stop me... it makes me want to do everything I can to make you feel better without words, just actions."

Tango didn't know what to feel in response to his speech. It both cheered her up and depressed her further. She couldn't believe how badly she wished she could speak human right now. Now, more than ever, she wanted to track down a capable psychic Pokemon so she could at long last communicate with him freely.

In the morning, if she could just survive her guilt until then, they could start their voyage to the sheltered land in pursuit of the only thing she knew that could finally put her heart at ease: the ability to finally talk with Tommy. She needed to talk to him and let him know exactly how she felt. If she could do this, maybe she could quell her insatiable sexual desire that seems to spark any time she gets excited around a male. If she could do that, maybe she would finally be able to answer that question rattling at the back of her mind: does she really love Tommy or is she just obsessed with mating?

Before long, Tommy felt the Buizel's sobbing turn to snoring as she fell asleep in his arms. He took her back with him to where he was sleeping and then fell sleep himself for the next few hours.

***

"Ey, get yerself up, sleepy'ed! C'mon, lunch is ready fer 'ya!"

Tango was awakened by the Azumarill's voice. Blues was shaking her, trying to wake her up so she could eat lunch.

"I'm not hungry..." she mumbled.

"Nah, yer jus' kiddin', I know 'ya bett'r 'an that, doll! Now get up already, 'uh!" she cheered, knowing Tango would never miss out on one of her meals.

Knowing that Blues was impossible to argue with, she decided to get up, although dazed in a grog. She was really out of it.

Tango fumbled her way over to where everyone was sitting down to see a nice pile of berry seaweed salad neatly placed by what seemed to be a spot in the sand just for her. She sat down and wasted no time in grabbing a bite, although still looked far from awake with her eyes only half-open.

Waltz was bashfully glancing over at Tango as she was eating. Last night with her felt as if it was just a dream, or perhaps a nightmare. He, too, was having difficulty accepting what happened between them and knew that he needed to talk to Tango about it at some point.

"Sis? Can I talk to you for a sec?" asked Jazz, beating Waltz to the punch.

"Sure..." she grumbled, not really wanting to talk about things right now. She got up and followed Jazz as he led her to the other side of the island.

"Sis, I know it's none of my business... but what were you thinking when you decided to mate with Waltz, too?" he asked, catching her completely off-guard.

"Huh? How did you-"

"It wasn't too hard to tell... Waltz had such a strong scent of mating this morning, and who else would have mated with him besides you?"

"What about Tommy?" she pointed out, knowing that it sounded a little Farfetch'd.

"Sis... his scent is all over you, too. Stop lying." Her brother sounded a lot more stern than usual. Something was irritating him.

"I'm sorry... I-"

"Are you even sure you still want to go to the sheltered land? I thought you were dying to be able to talk to Tommy?" he asked, getting a bit riled up.

"I do! I want to go! You have no idea how badly I want to talk to Tommy..." she answered, trying desperately to defend herself.

Jazz's pacing was a clear indicator to Tango that something was really troubling the Floatzel. She'd never seen him like this before. "If you wanted to talk to him so bad, then why in Mew's name did you mate with that Typhlosion instead?"

"He was real sweet... and he never mated before, so I just-"

"Mated with him?" he interrupted once again.

"Yes, fine, are you happy now?! I don't know what came over me! I wish I didn't, but I also care for Waltz! He's been through so much and has been alone his whole life!" she shouted. "Why are you giving me such a hard time about this when you were fine with me mating with Tommy?"

"Sis... I just don't want to see you hurt... there may be... consequences behind your actions," he remarked, knowing very well in his mind what his sister may have to go through because of this.

"What do you mean 'consequences?!' I already feel bad enough about it! As soon as we get to the sheltered land and find a psychic Pokemon, I'm going to tell Tommy exactly what I'm feeling!"

Jazz sighed. He didn't mean to worry her; he just couldn't help but be overprotective of his little sis. Having two mates is not an easy thing on any Pokemon, but when the two mates are Trainer and Pokemon, he knew that, coupled with what Tango may possibly find out, would be too much for her to take.

"Mating isn't something to be taken lightly... sure, it's fun, but you also need to consider the feelings of your mate... or mates. What do you think Tommy will think when he finds out that you mated with his Pokemon?"

"I... I'm sure he'll understand. He has to!" Tango was already feeling sorry for herself, but the thought of hurting both of the ones that she cared for was really eating away at her conscience.

"What will he think of you, though? If he cares about you, or even loves you, do you really think he'll just understand that you went around behind his back and mated with Waltz? Tommy wants to be your mate. I'm sure of it. He really cares about you. To think that his two most trusted friends, you and Waltz, would betray him... that's a tough bite to swallow."

"Well, what do you want me to do about now, then?! I feel bad enough about it as is! But I'm really not sure about anything now... I want to love Tommy, and I really want Waltz to be happy... they both deserve much more than me..."

Jazz smirked. "It's not so much that you mated with Waltz... it's just, you know, the situation. There's more to being mates than mating. Loyalty is something that a lot of Pokemon and particularly humans seek in a mate."

"Hey, wait a sec," said Tango, pointing at her brother curiously, "I thought you and Blues agreed that you could mate with other Pokemon if you wanted to."

The Floatzel placed his paw on Tango's head and rubbed it a little bit. "Some Pokemon are fine with it. We know that we both love each other more than we love mating, but we also love mating a lot, so as long as we just mate for fun, fully knowing that we aren't going to be upsetting the other, neither of us has a problem with it." Jazz took a few steps back and smiled at his sister. "But don't worry, just because we agreed to that doesn't mean we went ahead with it. She's been the only mate I've ever needed! And she's only tried one other after she met me, and he was pretty bad at it."

"And you didn't get mad when she mated with another Pokemon?" asked Tango, seeing that her brother had been in a similar situation.

"Well... I never told her this, but it did make me a little nervous. I mean, we both agreed on it, sure, but I was always wondering to myself, 'Was he better? How big was his meat? Did she like him more than me? Was she going to leave me for him?' You know, stupid stuff like that. It's a natural thing to worry for those that you love, especially when they're being tempted by something that often signifies love."

It still wasn't making sense to Tango. How could Jazz yell at her for mating with two mates when his own mate was guilty of the same, yet he was being so much easier on her. "Wait, so why are you giving me such a hard time, then?"

"Did Tommy ever say that he'd be fine if you mated with other Pokemon? Think about how awful you'd feel if you thought that Tommy had another mate."

It didn't take long for Tango to remember her awful dream. The burning feeling of jealousy and disappointment was fresh in her mind. Even though it turned out to be far, far from the truth, she couldn't forget it even if she tried.

"Bro... I did think that. That's why I was so upset last night..." said Tango sheepishly.

"Then you see exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?" he asked, putting more pressure on her already troubled conscience.

The little Buizel could only nod her head in defeat. Jazz was completely right and his point emphasized. What she did last night was wrong.

"Well then, are you going to apologize to Tommy and hope for his forgiveness? Or do you think that Waltz is a better mate for you? Now is the time to think that, 'Tango.' Mating is fine -- as long as you'll accept the risks, that is -- but breaking hearts is not."

"I tried to apologize to him! But it's just so stupid, he doesn't understand anything I say... and I don't want him to hurt me..."

"He'll hurt you a lot more if you don't tell him and he finds out about it, I'd bet. True, he may be fine with it, but don't you think you at least owe it to him to let him know what you did?"

Tango sighed. She really didn't want to have to do that. Suddenly, though, an idea hit her. She had an idea of a way that she could probe to see if Tommy would get upset by her and Waltz mating.

"Bro, you know, I just got an idea, so thanks for the help!" exclaimed Tango cheerily.

"Idea? What?" asked Jazz, wondering how she could have thought of something so suddenly.

"Yeah, just trust me. I'll tell him, or at least get an idea of if it was right or not... Let's go back and finish eating!" she said, tugging at her brother's paw to try and drag him back.

"Uh, alright...." Jazz mumbled, letting her drag him around the island and back to the rest of the bunch.

***

As Tango returned with Jazz back to the shore, she saw Waltz waiting eagerly for her to return. As she noticed this, she saw his eyes quickly shift downward, but she knew that he was looking at her.

"Ey hubby, dun let it getcha. It's 'er problem, she'll work it out, dun worry!" said Blues to her mate as he sat down beside her, still looking a bit puzzled.

"Tango... uh," spoke the Typhlosion, trying to get her attention, "Do you think we could talk for a few minutes?"

She smiled back at him. "Of course!" she answered, looking a lot cheerier than she was before she went back with Jazz.

"Well... I need to talk about something on my mind if that's alright... ...alone?"

This made her a bit worried, fearful that he might also be upset with her for what she did last night. "Okay, let's go..."

She led him back over to where she just got done talking with Jazz at, sitting herself down on the sand while motioning for the Typhlosion to join her. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Last night..." he answered shyly. "I wanted you to know that it was wrong... we shouldn't have done that... you're Tommy's mate."

'Greaaaat...' she thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, Waltz continued his sentence. "But, what happened happened. Nothing can change that. It did feel incredible... although that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Huh?" she asked. "What was it, then?"

"I don't know how you feel about me... I don't know if you love me, like me, or just wanted to mate with me... but the fact is, we did mate, and I have to respect that."

'Where's he going with this?' the Buizel wondered to herself, looking at him intently.

"I don't think you believe it... not a lot of Pokemon -- or humans -- seem to... but I do believe that mating is a sacred act of deep love. I believe it creates a bond between the two Poke- I mean... well, the two mates." Waltz let out a sigh, but remained confident in his speech. "I know that you have already mated with Tommy... and I also know you care more deeply for him than you do for me..."

"Aww, Waltz..." uttered Tango, touched by Waltz's sincerity.

"But I want to honor that bond. I know that your heart belongs to Tommy... and just as I care for you, I also care for him, and that's why I want you to love Tommy. I just want to be there for you if you need someone to talk to... or a furry chest to cry in... or someone to keep you warm... I want to protect you and would gladly risk my life for you... just as if you were my mate."

"Waltz, why are you saying all of this? Why?" she was so touched by the Typhlosion. She was expecting an extremely awkward situation with him, trying to explain herself as she tried with Jazz. But not this. Not him treating her as if she were a queen he was serving.

"Because I love you..." He paused, looking reluctantly at her like he still had more to say. "It makes me so sad... mates mate out of their love for each other. We mated... so logically, that means I love you..." He wished that he could assert what he was saying was true. Even he didn't understand exactly what he meant.

"Waltz..."

"I just want you to be happy." That much he knew.

"Waltz! You're saying all of this just because we mated?" she asked, shedding a heartfelt tear for the Typhlosion's compassion.

"Yes," he answered surely.

"You mean if we didn't mate, you wouldn't be saying all this? You wouldn't have just told me that you loved me?"

"Yes."

"Stop! Think about yourself for a moment, here, and listen to what you're saying!" she shouted at him.

"Tango... do you know what loyalty is?" he asked her abruptly.

"Of course!" answered Tango with confidence.

"If you did know what it was like to be truly loyal... you wouldn't have mated with me. Loyalty means putting the feelings of those you care for above your own at any cost. I am loyal to Tommy. I am loyal... to you. You said it best last night; had we been meant to become mates, it would have been me that you saved instead of Tommy..."

"Waltz..." He was right. She hated to admit it, but he really was. "You can be loyal and still happy."

He smiled at her, masking how he really felt about all of this. "As long as you and Tommy are happy, I'll be happy."

Waltz was trying to stay tough, but on the inside, a part of him deeply wanted to be with Tango rather than forcing himself to let her go. She was his first mate. She would always be the one he first created a bond with through mating. With all the talk of confused love going around, he wasn't sure himself if what he felt towards her was love or just a dutiful sense of loyalty.

"I think you're taking this too seriously, Waltz... we mated; it happens between Pokemon all the time. It feels good and is fun! You have to agree with me!" Her efforts to cheer him up seemed to be ineffective.

"It did feel good... and it was fun... I'd love to do it again... but-"

Tango interrupted him. "But what? But you don't want to upset Tommy?"

"No... it's just I think that... I think..."

Again, the Typhlosion was left unable to finish his sentence as Tango jumped in again, although this time it was a bit more appreciated due to his lack of knowing what to say next. "What if you asked Tommy, then? What if he said that it was alright for you and I to mate?"

Waltz thought about it for a moment. "It still... it wouldn't be right."

"What if we both wanted you to do it? What then? Would you do what we both knew would make you happy?" she asked him.

She was really starting to push her limits, but she did have a point; if it were something that they both wanted, he couldn't refuse, even if he may have felt it to be wrong. "I..."

"We care about you, Waltz... you're a real sweet Pokemon and deserve to be loved. I'm sure that Tommy would agree. There's no reason you shouldn't mate if we both are fine with it. It - feels - good!" She was starting to become more settled with the possibility that Tommy might actually be alright with it.

"Tango..." he muttered softly, really trying to sort it all through in his head. "Last night was wrong. I mean, no, it wasn't, it's just-"

Yet again his words were cut off, although this time not by Tango. "Hey guys!" shouted Tommy as he walked over to his two Pokemon, smiling and looking a bit wet. "Man, your brother is quite the swimmer, Tango. He was swimming me all around the island!"

Tango looked over at Tommy, shifted her eyes to Waltz briefly, and then set her sights back to the human. Looking at the boy made her remember the dilemma she was facing... what if he didn't understand that she had mated with his Pokemon without his knowledge? Her brilliant idea had better work, otherwise she'd be sunk.

"Waltz," she whispered to him, "I'm going to do something. I know how to tell if what we did will hurt Tommy's feelings, but you have to go along with what I'm going to do, alright?"

Waltz looked a little nervous. "Wha-what do you mean? What are you going to do?"

Tango smiled at Tommy, waved her paw, and then nuzzled herself against Waltz, snuggling into his furry underbelly.

"Aww, aren't you two cute! I'm glad to see that you guys are getting off on the right foot, or paw," said Tommy with a smile, happy seeing the two Pokemon he cared most about right now showing affection towards each other.

"Tango...?" whispered Waltz, still unsure of what she was planning.

Without any further notice, Tango reached her paw down between Waltz's legs and started fondling his sheath.

"Tango...!" exclaimed Waltz, looking quite surprised by her actions. What was she thinking?

"Tango? Are you...?" Tommy asked her, seeing a clearly devious look in her face. Waltz looked to be quite hesitant about her actions, although wasn't doing anything to back away. "What's going on with you two?"

Waltz's member began peeking through his sheath. Two inches of it was exposed to the daylight, greatly embarrassing the modest Typhlosion. "What are you trying to do?" asked Waltz, appearing very uncomfortable over her sudden fondling.

"I want to see how he's going to react to us playing like this. Don't you think that it'd be a bit better than telling Tommy and having him instantly be angry at us?"

"No! I- ahh... I don't!" shouted Waltz, trying to knock Tango away from him, although failing.

"Waltz? What's going on...? Tango?" Tommy was in disbelief. It looked more innocent than passionate, but was she really trying to pleasure Waltz? It then hit him: she must be assuming that what she did with Tommy is socially acceptable. Perhaps she was more of a wild Pokemon than he thought...

"Tango," said Tommy, "You can't just do that to anyone you see. It's not a greeting. It's, uh, more for close friends, if you know what I mean..."

Tango responded by appearing a little more upset and irritated that he didn't understand. Her grip on Waltz's malehood, which had traveled down to his balls, suddenly became firm, sending a yelp of surprise from the male Typhlosion. "It's not a greeting, you dummy! I'm trying to tell you, here!" she said to him, knowing fully well that he couldn't understand her.

"L-let g-go, aaahhhh!" Waltz yelped in pain from Tango's tight grip, although his struggling went unnoticed to her as she was too focused on trying to get Tommy to understand.

"What's going on with you two? You're really acting weird," the human stated, donning a puzzled look on his face. "You okay, buddy?"

Waltz had struggled and eventually stumbled forward onto the sand to break free from Tango's clutches. He looked up at Tommy, saying to him, "Better now..."

'Hmm, he seemed a little confused, but I don't think he really saw it as too bad... Maybe if I...?' thought Tango to herself as she tried to come up with the next chapter of her book of schemes. She walked over and hopped up on Waltz's back, eliciting a light 'Oof!' from the Typhlosion beneath her. She then began to hug his back tightly and rub herself all over his furry back.

"What the heck are you doing up there, Tango?" inquired Waltz, a bit baffled by her odd behavior.

"I... have no idea! But I'm running out of ideas quicker than I thought I would! Maybe it'd be better if we just, you know, kept it between us...?" she asked while continuing her humping motions.

"No, I don't think so. He needs to know. He's your mate and my Trainer... We owe it to him."

"Huh? What do I need to know?" asked Tommy, interrupting Waltz and Tango's discussion. Both Pokemon looked over at the curious Trainer, who Waltz had forgotten was able to understand him.

Without a word, Tango jumped up off of Waltz's back and nervously looked at Tommy. Waltz followed suit by standing up, although looking incredibly guilty for reasons unknown to the boy.

"Waltz...? I just... I don't want him to get mad..." said Tango quietly, remembering his actions to her in the past over after she stole his clothes and her most recent dream.

"Then we have to be honest," he reassured her, giving a confident smile. He was nervous as well, sure, but he also knew that things would never be right if Tommy didn't know about their experience together.

"Honest? Waltz, what's going on?" Tommy asked, starting to get worried.

Waltz took a step forward and sheepishly looked Tommy in the eye. "Tommy... I really need to talk to you. And actually, I'd like all three of us to talk."

Tommy's understanding of Waltz wasn't perfect or absolute, but he could definitely make enough sense out of it and most everything else he would say to understand it.

"Okay. What about?" he asked, still wondering what was on his two Pokemon's minds.

"Where do I begin...? Umm, uh, well, we... I mean, uh, well..." The fiery Pokemon was having a tough time mustering the courage to talk to his Trainer about mating with his partner. He figured that he'd better start with a little bit of background. "Tommy, how long have you known me?"

"About five years, I think," answered Tommy.

"We've been partners for awhile... ever since I was just a little Cyndaquil. That's, um, a long time for a Pokemon... but you've only made me battle in that time," he stated.

"Hey, wait, there was that one Pokemon Contest I entered you in, too!" Tommy interrupted, remembering that whole experience. While in Goldenrod City back in Johto, there was a Pokemon Contest going on. They were still new to Johto but were evidently quite popular in Hoenn and Sinnoh, so he figured he'd try enter Waltz.

"We didn't do so good in that..." groaned Waltz, remembering being dressed up in a cape and accidentally igniting it while performing, earning a low score and losing because of it. "But that's beside the point. In Goldenrod City, do you remember the breeding facility they had there?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered. They checked out a small breeding center for Trainers to leave their Pokemon, either to help train them up or to let them mate with other Pokemon and produce eggs.

"There was a Flaaffy there... she was beautiful. I talked to her a bit, but she had no interest in a Quilava like I was back then, so she just went off. There were pheromones all over that place... I, uh, umm... I really wanted to..." Waltz stopped there, blushing wildly and far too embarrassed to continue his sentence.

Tommy thought he understood where his Typhlosion was going. "Oh... I'm sorry. I guess I could have let-"

Waltz interrupted Tommy mid-speech. "And then there was Ecruteak City... Remember that Flareon that I had to fight? The one I couldn't beat?"

"The one that used Attract?" Tommy jumped in, remembering the battle clearly.

"Yeah... that one... I... she said really flattering things about me, and although I realize it was just an attack and a strategy, it still felt nice, because no female ever said nice things about me like that before..."

Tommy looked a little confused again. Exactly where was Waltz going with this? "Waltz-"

Tommy's Pokemon interrupted him once again. "All throughout our travels, I'd see happy Pokemon couples. In Goldenrod City at the breeding facility, the Teddiursa and Smeargle in Azalea Town, the two Nidorans from Cherrygrove... Mareeps, Rattatas, a Chikorita and a Totodile... I never said it, but I really wanted a partner like that... I really wanted a female Pokemon that I could love."

"Aww, Waltz, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to-"

"I know... you only caught males. You said it yourself that you thought they would be tougher, although I know for a fact that females have beaten me in battle more than males have... Remember the female Vulpix you caught? I was so excited when I heard that you caught her, because I hoped that maybe we could talk and, you know, become friends... but then you traded her away before I even got to meet her for Mambo, all because you already had a fire Pokemon on your team."

"Why didn't you say anything then, bud? You could have asked me and I would have caught one for you in a heartbeat!" exclaimed Tommy, feeling bad for his friend but also realizing that he had plenty of chances and just turned them down.

"I don't know... I'm just... shy, I guess. We all just wanted to be good Pokemon to you. That's why none of us spoke up, I suppose..." Waltz's defense was slipping. Tommy had made a very good point. If Waltz wanted it that badly, he could have asked or begged Tommy to have something done about it.

Tommy took a few steps forward and gave Waltz a comforting hug, softly nestling into his smooth fur. "It's alright, it's in the past... As soon as we get off of here and back home, I'll make sure to catch you a girlfriend."

Hearing that only troubled Waltz more. He had only scratched the tip of the iceberg so far. "I'm not done yet..." Waltz started, breaking out of Tommy's hug and hanging his head low, afraid to look Tommy in the eye. "I just told you what I've always been too afraid to for the past few years, pretty much as long as I've known you, but now I have to continue and say something else that has me very afraid."

Tommy looked at his Pokemon with yet another confused look. He was really beginning to wonder what he was talking about. "What... what is it, Waltz?"

"Last night, you talked and you told me a lot... you opened up your heart to me. While you were asleep, I heard Tango rustling around and sounding like she was having a bad nightmare, so I went to wake her up and out of it and see if she was alright."

That started to rouse Tommy's suspicions. Up until then, Waltz had left Tango out of it, yet made it very clear that she stuck around for a speech that would have been rather irrelevant for her. He wasn't certain just yet, but he was starting to consider the possibility of the unthinkable happening between them.

"I figured I'd talk to her for a bit, since we got off a bit on the wrong paw, and besides... I wanted to meet your mate, you know, the one you kept talking about," Waltz continued.

Tango, who had been silently and intently listening to every word said, began blushing hearing again that Tommy was talking about her. She was really enjoying hearing the two talk so naturally to each other, although Beautiflies fluttered around in her stomach as the anticipation and anxiety grew over what he was about to confess.

"She was really nice. We worked out our differences and talked for awhile. That's something that I never had the opportunity to do before, but had always longed for... being able to talk to a female like that."

"Waltz," said Tommy in a bit of an unsettled tone, "Where are you going with this...?"

"I, um... Tommy... I... we..." started Waltz, frightened beyond words of continuing his sentence.

Tango felt like she was going to fall through the sand and into a gigantic black hole. The intense feeling of regret and fear of hurting Tommy was overwhelming the poor Buizel. She placed her paws over her eyes and wished that it would all just go away...

"Umm... I'm sorry... we... I had... ummm... I... uh, I... I had... I had sex... ... ...with her... ...I'm sorry! Tommy, I never wanted to hurt-"

Tommy clenched his fists. A mixture of anger and confusion flowed through the human's body as he was taking in an overwhelmingly difficult truth. The two Pokemon that he cared for the most right now, both knowing his feelings, knowingly betrayed him.

"You call yourself my Pokemon?!" yelled Tommy in a frustrated tone.

A chilling shiver rushed through Tango's spine. It was exactly like her dream. The fear and terror she felt in that single moment was overwhelming, deeply afraid of what might happen next.

"How could you...? I literally just told you my feelings for her, and you knew her for, like, a few hours and already had to screw around with her?!"

Tommy's yelling and aggressive movements were highly intimidating both the poor Typhlosion and Tango, who was feeling particularly guilty since Waltz was currently receiving the full blame for what was her doing.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't even know what came over me... I've never felt feelings like what I felt last night, so I was confused and didn't know what to do..."

"Waltz! Stop!" shouted Tango over to Waltz, appearing quite defensive. "It wasn't even your fault! You have to tell Tommy that I was the one that made you do it!"

"Tango, I can't..." he said in response, not wanting to get her any more involved.

"What is she saying, huh?" asked Tommy, followed by looking down at the guilty sea weasel. "Tango...? I thought you cared about me? I thought you loved me like I love you?"

Tears were welling up in the small Buizel's eyes. She felt overwhelmingly sad and upset with herself for allowing last night to happen. Tommy was clearly hurt; her worst fears had been realized.

"Stop blaming her... please... I will never do that again... I never meant to hurt you, Tommy, I just... I don't know what came over me."

The angry teenager looked back at his Pokemon with a scornful look on his face. "But for fuck's sake, you knew that I loved her! I might have understood it if I, like, caught her or something and you two had been my Pokemon for awhile, and, I don't know, if I didn't just get done telling you how much I care for her! Shit, you just met and you don't even waste a night before trying out the toy, huh?"

Shame poured over the Typhlosion's face. Already his head was hung low, but after that, it felt almost severed from his neck. "Nothing I can ever say or do will justify my actions... I'm sorry..."

"Waltz! Come on! You're getting all of the blame... and it was all my fault in the first place. Please, can you tell Tommy what I'm saying?" Tango begged Waltz.

"Tango... you don't deserve it..." answered Waltz, still intent on defending her if at all possible.

"No! You're the one that doesn't deserve it!"

"Remember what I said about loyalty? About putting others above yourself? I said I would protect you at all cost," stated Waltz.

"What are you two talking about?!" shouted Tommy, frustrated that they were talking something about loyalty behind his back.

Tango looked up to Waltz with tears gushing from her eyes. She could hardly take it anymore. "Waltz! Please! You said we need to be honest! You're not being honest! Just tell Tommy what I'm going to say, alright? Please!"

Waltz nodded his head reluctantly. "Fine." He looked over to Tommy. "Tommy, Tango wanted to say something to you... I'll translate."

The pissed off human tapped his foot and looked on anxiously. "Go on..." Under any normal circumstance, he would have been thrilled to be able to finally hear what Tango had to say, but he was just too frustrated now to appreciate any of it.

The Buizel stepped up closer to Tommy and looked up at him sincerely. The human could clearly see the enormous guilt in her eyes.

"Buii... Ibu. Bu-bui, ibi-buuui..." she said to him.

"Tommy... I'm sorry. It wasn't Waltz's fault... but mine..." Waltz said in translation.

"What do you mean? It was your fault?" Tommy asked her.

"Bui. I-... ibui, buuu bui-ib..." said Tango, which Waltz translated as "Yes. I... I don't know what came over me..."

"Buii... Ibuu bui. Ibi-bui-ibu bui buiii, bui ibuuui, bui-bu. Ibu ib-bui-buu buuuii," Tango continued.

"Tommy..." Waltz said to Tommy, again translating for Tango, "I was really envious of Waltz for no reason when I first met him. I was mad that you went to take care of him instead of me, and that only made me increasingly mad throughout the evening. I had a nightmare that you two were mating- wait, what?!" exclaimed Waltz, breaking his speech and causing him to look back at Tango.

"Heh... maybe I forgot to mention that?" said Tango to Waltz in embarrassment. "Please go on," she instructed.

"Umm... okay... Then, uh, Waltz woke me up," Waltz said, finishing the rest of Tango's previous sentence.

Tommy just continued to look on at the two Pokemon, tapping his feet and still looking quite upset.

"Bui ibuu-bu ibu-buii bui. Ibu-bu bui... ibu ibui bu. Bui, ib..."

"We ended up talking for awhile and realized that we were both envious over the other. He never had mated before... he felt really sad finding out that we had mated after you'd known me for only about a week. He felt like you cared more about me than you did about him..." Waltz began shedding tears of his own as he got to the end, seeing what he had felt all along in even more of a vibrant light. He was getting all of the blame for Tango's wrongdoing and Tommy wasn't even defending or forgiving him.

"Waltz... that's not true," Tommy said, breaking his silence. "I love you, too. You're a great Pokemon."

"Then why is it that you always kept pushing me and never thought about my feelings?!" Waltz snapped back, deviating from his duties as translator to jump into his own frustrations. "You really didn't think that I might like a female friend? You really didn't think that after five years and seeing countless couples, that I could just shrug it off? I'm practically past my prime now from all that waiting... Yes, I could have asked you then, but it's not like Tango even had to! You rushed into it with her almost as quickly as I did, then!"

"Well what do you want me to say, huh? I'm sorry?" asked Tommy, starting to sympathize a bit more for Waltz than before.

"I don't even need that much..."

"Bui! Ibu, buii!" exclaimed Tango, trying to get the attention of her two mates once more.

"I'm sorry, Tango... please continue," said Waltz, ready to continue.

"Buii... bu-ibu. Ibui bui-ui, buiii buu-ib bui, ibui. Ib-ib-bui buii ibu! Bu-ibui... Ibu-bu, bui ibui buii-ib, ibu... ib... ibu-ib buii ibu-bui..."

"Tommy... it was my fault that we mated. I felt so sorry for Waltz, going on all that time without a mate or anyone to care for him in that kind of way, and I also remembered that I felt exactly the same way before I met you. I wanted to know what it was like to mate for so long and it was driving me crazy! That's one of the reasons that I mated with you... I wish I would have thought that through, just like I wish I would have thought it through with Waltz, but I just get so... I... I just have this feeling like I have to have it or else I'll go crazy..."

Tommy looked at Tango, starting to understand her predicament. "Tango," he said, "What about us? Was I... not good enough for you?"

"Ibu! Bui ibu-bui!" she answered hastily.

"You were! You were incredible to me..." Waltz translated, feeling a little demeaned near the end. Perhaps their time together wasn't as memorable as he would have liked his first time being. Of course, even he could hardly remember it, so couldn't have been that great in the first place.

"Buii bui, ibu-bui bui. Buu ibu ib-bui... ibui?"

"He's your Pokemon and you never let him mate. He's really sweet and he deserved to know the feeling... don't you think?" Waltz ended up blushing from hearing her say that.

"I... Waltz, you know you deserve it... I'm sorry I never let you have one before... You know, to be honest, I was curious, too, about what having sex felt like," said Tommy, looking now less angry and more depressed.

Waltz and Tango looked on at the lamenting human, curious to see what else he was going to say.

"I've never had a girlfriend before... I'd look at a lot of porn and stuff, but could never stick around in one place to actually get to know anyone that well. Besides, I guess no one took that much of an interest in me in the first place. But really, I wanted to know how it felt... just like you two, I guess. And that was a lot of the reason why I had sex with you, Tango. I wanted to know what it was like, even if it was with a Pokemon...

"I'm glad I did, though, because it did feel good and it also helped me see things that I've never seen before, like how good it feels to care about someone the way I care about you, Tango..."

"Buu ib-bui? Ibu buu ibu-bui? Buu bui," Tango said to the human, looking quite sympathetic.

Waltz looked a little reluctant to help translate. "What about Waltz? Why don't you... why don't care about him that much? You've known him longer..." Another tear passed down Waltz's face, remembering his emotional breakdown over Tommy last night.

"Waltz... I love you, I care about you, but it's just a little different with Tango," said Tommy apologetically.

"Why?" questioned Waltz, looking quite frustrated. "Why is it? Is it just because she's a female and I'm not? Is that the only reason you care more about her in just one week than you did about me for five years?"

"Buu..."

"No, Waltz, that's not the only reason, although I'm sure that's a lot of the reason I'm attracted to her, obviously."

Waltz took a more aggressive pose. "So it was a reason that you found in just a week but never found with me?"

"Wait, what are you trying to say? You're not gay, are you Waltz?" asked Tommy curiously, wondering why it was that Waltz was so jealous over his feelings towards Tango.

"Huh? I-... I don't think so... I just care a lot about you, Tommy. You're my best friend and the only person or Pokemon that ever really cared about me. I really am happy for you that you love Tango... but it does make me jealous and feel like nothing I ever did for you in those five years was good enough for you."

"Buuu..."

"Come here," Tommy said to him, motioning him to come closer to him. Waltz complied, earning another comforting hug from his Trainer. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry if I made you feel that way... Waltz, you're probably my best friend, too, especially now that everyone else I knew is gone. I just... I can't help the way I feel about Tango."

"I can't, either... She is a really nice Pokemon. I know that we mated and it was more of an accident... but I still respect that and feel that I need to protect her like she really is my mate, although I know that she'll always be yours."

Tommy hugged his Pokemon even tighter, firmly gripping against the Typhlosion's back. He was unsure of exactly what to say in response. His Pokemon was smitten with his mate, putting him in a very awkward position. Then again, he did know how he felt towards her, particularly after the first time they had sex, and if what Waltz said Tango said was true, he couldn't really blame him for it, could he?

Tango walked over to the hugging pair and hugged at both of their legs, nuzzling against them adoringly.

"Tango..." "Phlo..." said both Tommy and Waltz to Tango, acknowledging her presence. She looked up at them and smiled, knowing that the anger had at least seemed to pass. It was down to just a matter of understanding each other rather than yelling and arguing.

"I really do love you both... You're both such awesome Pokemon."

"Tommy, why can't we all be mates?" asked Tango in her Pokemon tongue, being understood only by Waltz.

"I can't ask him that, Tango," said Waltz to her. "You know he loves you and you two are meant for each other..."

"You can't ask me what?" asked Tommy.

"But I care about you both! I want you both to be happy!" exclaimed Tango, trying to persuade Waltz.

"And I care about you both, too... but you two are mates, not us."

"Waltz," Tommy jumped in, "I care about both you and Tango, remember that. You can ask me what Tango was asking me, it's fine."

"She... she asked why can't we all be mates..." spoke Waltz, taking a sigh out of the ridiculousness of it. It went against his principles, but at the same time, he sort of hoped that Tommy would agree to it, as it would let him get closer to both his Trainer and Tango.

The human had to think about it for a sec. He broke his hug, although not forcefully, and looked carefully at the two Pokemon in front of him. Would it really be so bad letting Waltz and Tango become close as well?

Being trapped in the middle of nowhere with only each other -- and the Floatzel and Azumarill he saw earlier -- was no easy thing as is, but being trapped and watching quietly as your two best friends had sex while leaving you out... that would definitely be hard on the Typhlosion. There was no certainty that Tommy would ever see home again, even if he could convince Tango or her brother to swim him to land.

Although it was more simple before he was reunited with Waltz, he was also very glad to have him back by his side. Tommy loved Tango, there was no doubt, but he also cared a lot for Waltz, as he had done over the many years he's had him. He wanted him to be happy as well.

A part of him wished that he could just keep Tango for himself, like it was, but that part seemed so selfish after hearing Waltz's pains that he kept hidden for so long. To finally find a happiness like that and have it taken away...

'What if that Floatzel really was Tango's actual husband? How would I have felt? What if he took her away and I never got to see her again...?' he asked himself in his mind, realizing just how bad he would have felt if Tango were taken away from him entirely after having sex with her and also realizing that's what Waltz would feel if Tango stayed exclusive to Tommy.

"You know... if that'd make all of us happy... I guess it wouldn't be so bad. I love you both, and we do need to stick together," said Tommy to the two Pokemon staring at him anxiously. He still wasn't sure if he rushed into a decision or not, but he did want Waltz to be happy, and if sharing Tango with Waltz was what would do that, he'd have to respect that. And after all, it was Tango's idea in the first place. Although that unsettled him, fearing that she might grow to care more about Waltz than himself, he couldn't stand abandoning Waltz for Tango, especially after all of the points that he brought up.

Waltz's reaction was a bit of a surprised one while Tango's was a lot more enthusiastic.

"Waltz! See? He's okay with it!" exclaimed Tango, thrilled to see that Tommy was not only forgiving, but accepting of the idea.

"Yeah..." Waltz sighed, still uncertain about their arrangement. He was at least relieved to hear Tommy say that he loved him with no comparison to Tango.

"Can you pick me up, please, Waltz?" asked the little Buizel, wanting to get up closer to her two mates.

Waltz complied, lifting her up and letting her rest against his shoulder so she was eye level with the two males. She suddenly turned around, placed her paw on Waltz's face to tilt it in her direction, and planted a loving kiss of joy on his lips, catching him completely off-guard.

The little Buizel then jumped over and wrapped her paws around Tommy's neck, pulling him down slightly. She used her rear paws to climb up his chest and get better situated, then she proceeded to kiss him tenderly as well, letting her feet go limp and enjoying the comforting feeling of kissing her first mate.

Finishing her kiss, she climbed up on Tommy's shoulder. "Buu ibu-ib buii!" she exclaimed, pointing over at Waltz with a sly look on her face.

"I'm not doing that!" Waltz retorted, uncomfortable with the idea that Tango suggested.

"Buuuiiiii...?"

"No, it wouldn't be- it's not- Tommy wouldn't-" The Typhlosion was having difficulty speaking, blushing a bit and trying to avoid getting himself into a situation like that.

"What's she saying?" Tommy asked him, wondering what it was that had him so worked up.

"It's, uh, nothing, really," answered Waltz nervously.

"Buu! Ibu-bui!"

"Come on, you can tell me!" said Tommy, insisting that Waltz tell him.

"She wanted, umm, she, uhh... she wanted us to, ummm... to, uh... she wanted us to k- err... kiss." Waltz's face shot red, embarrassed for even saying that in the first place. Tommy blushed a bit, too, also embarrassed that Tango would suggest such a thing.

Tommy tilted his head and looked to the Buizel perching on his shoulder. "Tango? You don't really want us to do that, trust me."

"Ibu buui? Buu ibu buii, bui-bui!" she exclaimed, giving a pleading look back at him.

"Tango, we, umm, I don't think we were all really going to, uhh, um... be mates like that, were we? I mean, uh, umm..." answered Waltz, feeling nervous and mixed over her response.

"Uh... well, what do you think, Waltz? Do you want me to kiss you?" Tommy asked, feeling a bit silly for even asking such a question, but also curious to see Waltz's response. "Answer honestly."

Waltz didn't really want to admit it, but he would actually love it if Tommy did that. It would make him feel loved like he loves Tango, as awkward as it might be. And to Waltz, Tommy's approval and affection is something he's always sought, be it in either a platonic or intimate way.

"I, uh... um... well... it would be kind of nice... ... ...I mean, well, ummm... you said you love me, but, well, uh," the nervous Typhlosion said, having difficultly supplying a clear answer.

Although Tommy considered himself to be straight as a toothpick, somehow the thought of kissing a male Pokemon didn't seem quite as 'gay' as kissing, say, a male human. It just seemed to be a sign of greater affection. He did want Waltz to know that he loved him. Sure, not quite in the same way as Tango, but if a kiss would help reaffirm that he cares, it'd be a small price to pay.

"Aww, Waltz, it's alright," said Tommy, rubbing Waltz's furry cheek with his hand. Normally, he would have regretted and felt guilty over what he was about to do, but he felt alright about it now. After all, they were all 'mates' now, right?

Tommy leaned in closer to Waltz and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, shooting the nervous Typhlosion's eyes wide open in surprise.

"I hope I'm not interrupting something," said Jazz, who had walked over to see what was taking them so long. He looked over to see Tommy and Waltz kissing, which was probably the very last thing he thought he'd see them do. "Oh, I'll come back later, then."

Tango jumped down from Tommy's shoulder and ran over to Jazz while Tommy and Waltz embarrassingly broke their kiss.

"What is it, bro?" she asked him.

"Well, I was just going to say that if we were going to go to the sheltered land, we should be leaving now, since we'll want to get there before dark."

"Oh, right! I forgot about that!" exclaimed Tango.

"I take it things went well over here, then?" asked Jazz in a certain tone.

"Yeah, heh heh, they did! He was really mad at first, but now I think he understands."

"That's good. Well, I'm glad. Anyway, work out whatever else you need to and come see Blues and I and we'll go."

"Okay! Thanks bro!" Tango gave her brother a hug, then let him head back to his mate. He made his way down the beach until he was hidden behind the small forest over on the other side of the island.

Tango walked back over to Tommy and Waltz, who were still looking at each other a little oddly. "Okay you two lovers, now that we're one big happy family, we've gotta get going! We're going to be going to the sheltered land!"

Waltz looked down at her and blushed at her comment. "Wait, what's the sheltered land?" he asked her.

"Sheltered land?" queried Tommy, hearing Waltz say that and not knowing what it was.

"It's where I'm going to go and find a psychic Pokemon that will let me talk to Tommy! That way, I won't have to go through you to talk to him!"

"Oh," said Waltz. "Well... if that's something you want, let's go."

"Go? Huh? Go where? To the 'sheltered land?' " asked Tommy, still confused over what the two Pokemon were talking about.

"Yes, Tango wants to go there to find a psychic Pokemon so she can talk to you," Waltz said to him.

Tommy looked over at the little Buizel and took a few paces towards her. "That sounds like a plan, Tango. It would be really awesome to be able to actually talk to you for a change! But, hey, maybe we could find someone that could take me home, too! Or some beds and real food...!"

Tango nodded her head and then tugged his hand, proceeding to lead him around the shore back towards Jazz and Blues. Waltz eagerly followed the two, feeling much better about himself than he did before the conversation started.

***

"Are you all ready to go?" asked Jazz, looking at the two Pokemon and single human in front of him.

"Yes!" chirped Tango, eager and more than ready to go.

"We're ready, Jazz," said Waltz.

"Jazz?" asked Tommy. "Is Jazz her brother's name?"

Jazz looked at the human and gave a hearty nod, giving a simple "Floaa!" back to Tommy.

"Alright then, Jazz. Good to know your name!" responded Tommy.

Jazz walked along all of the Pokemon and surveyed them carefully to figure out how to transport them all there. Chances are, Tango would have to carry one while he carried the other.

"Sis, you want to swim Tommy, I take it?" Jazz asked her.

She looked at her brother and gave an excited nod. "I'd love that! And it'd actually work really good, because Waltz is afraid of the water."

The shy Typhlosion hung his head and gave a light blush. "I really don't like water... I know we have to swim there, but..."

Jazz smiled. "Don't worry, bro, I've got it covered. You can ride on my back and you should stay pretty dry."

"Oi Jazzy, are we leavin' so soon?" asked Blues as she got done packing some salad tied in leaves for a later meal.

The Floatzel nodded. "Yeah, we're about to go. You've got the food, right?"

"Righ' 'ere!" she answered, holding up the sacks of salad.

"Wait," interrupted Tango, "Blues is coming, too?" Somehow, her little trip of just her, Jazz, and Tommy seemed to grow substantially from what she thought.

" 'course imma goin'! Whad'dya think I'da been doin' all 'round 'ere all alone? Is jus' silly when I could be goin' out an' seein' some a'venture!" Blues said back to Tango, looking excited about tagging along.

Tommy began flexing and stretching, showing his anticipation for the big trip. "How far away is this place, huh?"

"Floa, ozul floa."

"He says about two hours away," said Waltz, helping Tommy understand what the Floatzel was saying.

"Two hours, wow, that's going to be a long swim!" exclaimed Tommy.

Tango giggled. "Bui ibui buii!" she said back to the human, chuckling a bit.

"What'd she say?" asked Tommy, wondering just what the little Buizel was saying. He had to admit, he would also love to talk to her through means of a psychic Pokemon. That was actually a pretty good idea if it'd work!

"She said that she's going to be carrying you. Just hold onto her buoy and you won't have to exert yourself."

"Oh, that sounds great!" exclaimed the human, relieved to know that he wouldn't have to swim across the ocean for two hours straight.

Jazz walked up to the water's edge and immersed his bottom half in the refreshing sea. He turned around and motioned over for the rest of the group to join him.

Three of the other four quickly followed while Waltz took his time. Tango and Tommy had already gotten completely wet and were swimming around the beach, Tommy riding Tango by using her flotation sac as a buoy. Blues was also swimming around, eager and excited to get going.

"Come on, Waltz," instructed Jazz, who was now lying down in the water on his stomach, letting his back with the powerful flotation ring stay above the water.

Nervously, the much larger Typhlosion sat on top of the Floatzel beneath him. Waltz was more than twice as heavy as the Floatzel, although thankfully for Jazz, his flotation ring provided a lot of extra support and allowed him to carry Waltz without sinking into the sea.

It wasn't the most comfortable ride for either of those two in the world, since Waltz was nervous and frightened of the water and Jazz had a heavy load on his back, but they managed, and the group of five swam off into the distance.

Their next destination was the large, mystical island known to the Pokemon that know about it as simply 'the sheltered land.' Tommy's time on the isolated islands has come to an end; only the memories of those two islands he'd been on will remain, as his next destination is one destination closer to getting home.

End of Chapter 9

Gah, there were so many different ways I could have taken this, so I can only hope that it all works out in the end. I tried to just listen to the characters and wrote it down as I heard it rather than attempt to guide them in a particular direction. After all, I've always been about the characters, so let them settle it out. Regardless of if it "works" to my plot or or whatever, if it's what I felt they would have done, well, that's how I write things. XD

Anyway, this is officially the last chapter of Middle of Nowhere that will take place on the islands. Everything up until now was pretty much purely character development, but the future chapters will introduce some actual plot. Yup, it should get interesting. I'll be taking a break from writing Middle of Nowhere to write another story, which is effectively the prequel to Middle of Nowhere (a real prequel, not just an alternate-reality romp-fest like Teaching the Tango was), but then it'll be back in full force.

Oh, also, I have broken down and decided that I am going to give Tango a birth name. While working on the aforementioned story, it got to the point where the dialogue just plain and didn't flow always referring to her as "little sis" and other cutesy names. She needs a name that Jazz and Polka would call her other than Tango, because Tommy was the one to give Tango that name.

Anyway, her name has to be either a type of music or a type of dance. I have some good ideas from the people that I've asked on my FA page, but if you've got an idea as to what her name should be, please do speak up! :3

Questions? Comments? Complaints?
Write a review (preferable),
and/or contact me at:
FA: Zephyr_Paws
E-mail: [email protected]
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