It's fucking dark out and now she wants to speak to me? Winter's gorgeous moss eyes twitched in irritation as she walked barefoot toward the pool. At least the sun had gone down, leaving the air cool enough to not hurt her.

Summer and Fall were cracking jokes with each other, nudging each other as they laughed. Winter walked slightly behind them, her hair falling down her back in loose curls that formed after it dried.

The pool wasn't the host for some rabid party, much to Winter's surprise. Then she realised that it was the pool that no one used because it was extremely deep, maybe Winter's height x 1.5. Winter walked up to Professor Acacia, arms crossed with a resting bitch face.

"Oh, Winter."

"Don't 'oh' me, Professor, you asked for me," Winter grumbled. "Hurry up because I have work to do."

"Right, right." Acacia smiled. "I just wanted to let you know that there's an art convention on day 6 or the last night on this cruise ship."

Winter froze before throwing her hands up in frustration. "That's even more work for me to do because I need to get in contact with people who are almost impossible to contact, like my sister."

"The day before, so day 5, there's a Contest and I think you might be interested. There's also the battle tournament on day 3." Acacia continued, ignoring Winter's pain.

Winter's eyes trailed to the pool, which was apparently chlorine free because Pokemon were swimming around in it whilst their trainers sat on the edges, their legs submerged from the knee down. A beautifully raised Samurott caught her eye, looking calm and poised. She admired it as Acacia rambled on.

His deep blue fur seemed to glitter under the moonlight. His creamy scales were glowing naturally and its entire being shone with health. His red eyes shimmered brightly as it looked around, looking extra regal and gorgeous.

The Samurott suddenly flinched and let out a piercing screech of pain, craning his neck. Winter froze, trying to detect anything that could've gone wrong.

"Samurott?" Lack-Two yelled, diving into the water to swim over to his partner.

Samurott continued to screech and cry, clambering onto the deck and waddling around as if it was completely confused. Female dexholders screamed and moved out of the way whilst Lack-Two tried to calm him down.

Suddenly, Samurott just jumped off the side of the ship, landing in the water with a deafening splash.

Winter immediately tore her top off and wriggled out of her shorts, ignoring any gazes on her. Ignoring her fear in favour of her instincts to guard and to protect, she ran toward the side of the deck, almost slipping before diving down into the dark waters.

Winter gasped for air as the rough currents knocked her around. "Samurott!" she yelled out through the salty taste on her tongue.

"WINTER?"

"FUCK!"

"ARE YOU OKAY?"

"WINTER?'

Winter flailed her arms, trying to keep herself afloat desperately as more and more salt water filled her lungs. Her heart pounded in trepidation as her thoughts finally caught up.

Winter couldn't swim.

"M-milotic!" Winter gasped weakly. "Samurott, where--"

A violent wave sent Winter under. Unable to hold her breath, Winter began to choke on the sea water. The empty space in her lungs minimised until it was almost nonexistent. Weakly, she still reached up, trying her best to concentrate and use some sort of magic, anything.

Winter squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth together as she tried her best to stay conscious. She kicked her legs, hands grasping the water.

A breath.

Winter panted, greedily breathing in the air before another tide threw her under. She choked on the water, resisting the urge to cough as the water enveloped her.

She coughed, trying to breathe for the spare moments she had before the wave tossed her under again. Weakly kicking and flailing, she felt her conscious slipping, so she bit her lip, trying to keep herself together.

Another breath.

Winter inhaled some water as she bobbed helplessly in the water. She coughed forcefully, tasting copper at the back of her throat.

"Milotic!" Winter gathered her strength to yell out. "Samurott!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Winter found herself in darkness. She tried to move her legs and arms, clawing to try and reach the surface. It was hopeless though, her fingers caught nothing, simply slipping through the velvety water.

When Winter surfaced again, her blurry vision told her that the ship was getting further and further away. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inh--

Dunked under the violent currents again. Winter's body was too tired to obey her commands, falling into the depths of the ocean. The water enveloped her, hugging her, but it wasn't comforting at all.

It was dragging her further and further down, trying to claim her, her life.

Smooth scales wrapped around her torso before dragging her away from the depths of the unforgiving ocean.

Winter tossed her head as soon as she broke the surface, spluttering and coughing vigorously. She wrapped her arms around the serpentine Pokemon, grasping onto something tangible to keep her conscious grounded.

She squeezed her legs around the smooth, creamy scales, grateful for Milotic's speed. If Milotic was any later, there was a possibility that Winter could've drowned due to her own haste and stupidity.

Milotic cooed, asking if Winter was okay. "I'm fine..." she murmured weakly, incredibly shaken. "Just... find Samurott, I think he's..."

~~~~~

Winter snapped her eyes open, feeling someone's lips on hers, fingers pinching her nose and fingers wrapped around her chin. She sat up, slapping whoever it was out of the way and coughing out the remnants of water in her lungs.

Her heart accelerated, feeling the cold breeze on her chest and a thin towel crumpled in her lap. She scrambled to hold the thin fabric up to her chest and hide herself. She looked to her right, glaring at Silver who just performed CPR on her and probably took her top off because of the underwiring.

"Nice to see that you perv whenever you can like the rest of the dicks," Winter muttered sarcastically, pretending to not be grateful that he helped save her life. She knotted the towel to her body roughly, making sure it was going to stay.

"What the hell! I was just--"

"Normal people would have the decency to look away." Winter raised and eyebrow, ignoring the intense pain in her chest. She pushed herself up to her feet, ignoring her weakened state in favour of looking around for Samurott.

Winter took a tentative step forward, feeling her legs buckle and her chest heave with effort. Silver reached out to try and catch Winter, but Milotic's tail got there first, wrapping around Winter's knees to help support her.

Winter began to cough, vision blurred.

"Winter!" Whitley cried, running up the stairs to get to her sister. She almost tripped several times in her haste and Red was hot on her heels.

Slowly, Milotic began guiding Winter toward Samurott and Lack-Two. As soon as she was there, Winter crashed down, arms reaching out to try and feel Samurott's heartbeat. Her breathing was ragged, but she rested her head on Samurott's neck nevertheless.

Winter couldn't hide her cries of relief, hearing and feeling the steady pulse, wiping her tears as she cried quietly in relief.

Whitley scrambled to sit next to Winter, checking her sister over.

"Did someone do mouth to mouth?" Whitley demanded to know since Winter's lips were a little swollen.

"Silver did." Gold responded almost immediately, gaining a violent punch to the gut from Silver.

Whitley held Winter in her arms as the latter continued crying in relief.

"Don't you know that you don't to mouth to mouth because it's an easy way to transfer oral infections?" Whitley yelled.

"Bitch, don't yell at Silver! He was just trying to help!" Lyra cried.

Winter tugged at Whitley's top weakly. Whitley turned to look at Winter, who was gesturing Samurott.

"I'll need you to back up a little to check on him, Treasure," Whitley murmured.

Winter dried her tears and nodded, shuffling back and holding onto Milotic instead. She was dishevelled, holding onto Whitley and Milotic as if they were her toys and she was a child. She still looked beautiful, but instead of sexy like Silver usually saw, he saw a cute, innocent and defenceless girl.

Whitley checked Samurott over quickly and carefully, making sure that Samurott would be completely okay. She rummaged through Winter's and her own bag to create this deep blue liquid using berries and pills from little jars with a mortar and pestle.

"Mi, can you use Safeguard and Aqua Ring?" Whitley asked absently.

Milotic slithered forward, but Winter held her in place. Milotic looked down at Winter and cooed gently, settling down beside Winter. Instead, Milotic craned her neck and used both moves, setting them near Samurott.

Safeguard was a precaution just in case Samurott was still confused and Aqua Ring began to slowly heal Samurott, allowing him to wake up.

Winter almost choked in relief, burying her face in Milotic's body to hide a few more tears.

Whitley whispered soft words to Samurott before allowing him to consume the mixture that she had created. She smiled back at Samurott as he regained strength, slowly but surely. Whitley shoved everything back into her bag haphazardly before slinging it back over her shoulder and moving toward Winter.

"Winter, you can't jump into an ocean like that when you know that you can't swim!" Whitley cried, checking Winter over. "I know that your instincts overwhelm you and you can't control yourself sometimes, but..." she trailed off, holding both of Winter's hands.

"I can't help my instinct to protect friends." Winter laughed weakly. "The thought that I couldn't swim didn't catch up to me until I was drowning." Winter looked over to Red, who was trying to hide his winces.

"Winter, thanks for saving my Samurott." Lack-Two smiled, bowing. "I don't know how to emphasise how grateful I am."

Winter looked up at him and nodded with a weak smile. "I couldn't help myself but to just jump in."

"Treas, you're going to accidentally kill yourself one day." Whitley sighed, fixing the towel that kept Winter hidden, much to several men's disappointment. "Can you sit up straight?"

Winter obeyed quietly, allowing Whitley to lift the towel a little and poke around her chest. Both girls were past the point of shame when around each other since they've known each other for so long and they were going to know each other for the rest of their lives. The boys however quite liked the view, especially the revelation of Winter's snow white skin.

Winter tried to hide her pain, controlling her body to not react or make a sound. She had also used a little bit of her power to glamour people from seeing the hideous bruises along her rib cage. Whitley knew that Winter was probably trying to stifle her pain, making her frustrated.

"Winter, I swear! I can't help you if you hide all of your symptoms, including glamouring me." Whitley scolded. "If it hurts, I need you to tell me."

Winter remained stubborn, refusing to say anything.

Whitley continued checking Winter over before sighing. "You have at least two broken ribs. Silver probably broke them when he was doing CPR. It's a normal thing because you need to push pretty hard and honestly, I think you have three or four broken ribs we can heal overnight. You're also in a bit shaken, so take things slow. No fear of pneumonia or anything cold related besides a minor fever."

"Whi, fevers have the ability to kill me." Winter reminded her.

"Come on, you're sleeping this off." Whitley ignored the comment.

"What's Milotic going to do?"

"She'll stay in our room." Whitley brushed it off. "Mi, help me carry Winter back to our room."

Milotic cooed, lowering her head and using her tail to wrap around Winter's waist and help support her to stand.

"Miloti--" Winter tried protesting, brushing Milotic's tail away and standing shakily on her own. Milotic slapped Winter using her tail, barely hard enough to hurt. In her weakened state, Winter almost fell again, giving Milotic the perfect opportunity to coil around Winter more and guide her.

Winter allowed herself to be dragged as she focused her power. Concentrate, concentrate.... Winter breathed out a little, eyes fluttering close to help her concentrate.

Milotic cried out in shock, feeling Winter's small body disappear. Whitley just stared at the empty space, mouth agape and eye twitching in irritation. Realising where she was, Whitley held her tongue and rolled her eyes.

"Let's go, Mirokarosu." Whitley smiled before walking down the stairs.

Lack-Two bit his lip and lowered his eyes to Samurott. Whi-Two... why does fate hate us? Did you even realise that it was my Samurott you just helped?

I have so many questions, all of which will probably go unanswered.

~~~~~

Lack-Two stripped off his shorts and his shirt, about to step into the shower for the morning. The fiasco the night before allowing him to sleep in for once in his life. He showered and walked out of glass door, grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist.

He froze.

Why was there something black on his hip in the mirror?

Lack-Two looked down at the right side of his hip, his blood running cold. Covering his hip was a series of strange and elaborate swirls that looked feminine and masculine all at once. It was breathtaking, but Lack-Two was confused.

When the hell did I get a tattoo?

He used his towel to scrub at his hip until it was red and painful. Lack-Two grimaced before reluctantly getting dressed.

Why do I suddenly have a tattoo there?

~~~~~

Whitley hummed pleasantly as she skipped down the halls happily, returning to her room with some food for Winter. Rounding a corner, Whitley cried out when she found herself on her butt.

"Ah, I'm so s--"

Whitley looked up, eyes widening to see him. Neither of them spoke for a moment, frozen as they stared into each other's lovely irises.

Oh my god, I'm on the floor right now.

She's staring up at me.

He hates me anyway. Any chances of him liking me died the second he realised I'm a filthy plasma.

She looks so gorgeous, I just want to wrap her in my arms and kiss her a million times over, but I can't because I put her through hell when I arrested her.

Why can't I look away?

I know he hates me.

I know she's scared of me.

But he looks so...

She's so...

No! Look away!

Don't say something rude, don't say something rude Blake.

Her eyelashes fluttered.

His lips twitched.

This... isn't Stockholm syndrome, I've liked him since I met him.

Those secrets we kept are tearing our bond in half.

We're never going to get back to the way it was before.

Because...

I'm just a dirty plasma to him.

I'm just a horrible inspector to her.

I'm a devil.

And he's an angel.

And she's the angel.

Like a forbidden romance,

We'll never reach a happy ending.

Whitley quickly got up, grabbed the food and sprinted down the hallway.

Lack-Two quickly stepped aside, cast a glance and walked the other way.

I can't face him.

I can't face her.

Because I'm too much of a coward.

~~~~~

Winter stretched out her tender body, smiling at Whitley. "Thanks for the treatment."

"It's fine." Whitley waved it off dismissively. "It's weird how we get treated. No normal human should be able to cure us and I just have the instincts to be able to do this naturally."

"True." Winter nodded. "It's a pretty big hassle honestly and I've been overusing the potion lately. How long until the ribs heal?"

"28 hours, give or take." Whitley chirped. "You're under house arrest until those hours are up and I deem you as okay."

"But Whitley!" Winter whined. "What am I going to do about my legs if they cramp up?"

"What you used to do back in the day when the injury was still fresh," Whitley answered.

Winter narrowed her eyes, sensing something off about Whitley. She sighed and turned a blind eye to it. Whitley could have her secrets or deal with issues on her own. Winter only had the right to intervene if Whitley went to her for help or she knew that Whitley wouldn't be able to handle it alone.

"Anything about the use of magic?" Winter asked.

Whitley stared, dumbfounded. "How damaged are your body and brain, seriously?"

"Ummm, enough so that I'm careful." Winter chuckled uneasily.

"Winter!" Whitley gently slapped Winter to prove her exasperation.

"Look, I'm trying to take care of myself, okay?" Winter cried.

"Yeah, and we'll start with this. Milotic, use Hypnosis on her." Whitley commanded.

Milotic obediently did as she was told, using Hypnosis on Winter, sending the pink haired beauty into a deep sleep.

"What am I going to do with you?" Whitley muttered fondly.

* * * * *

Not gonna lie, I had fun re-imagining Samurott's incident. Not sure if I ever mentioned this in the first copy, but it was canon that Winter couldn't swim. Hint hint, nudge nudge. I'm pretty sure that nothing eventful really happened (besides Winter almost drowning), but I assure you, I has plans!

It's really early in the morning, but I took a nap earlier and is kinda bored. I might make some edits before posting again to make the story consistent. I'll probably redo the first chapters, as in, rewrite completely, so don't expect such frequent updates.

Actually, it's a miracle that I've been able to get updates out every day/ every other day because I'm actually drowning in school work... oh well, my books take priority!

Well, I think that's it.... Maybe....

Mata ne~