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Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 78: Give me Celebrations

With the assurance that Oddish's life was out of danger, Delia focused on getting ready to attend Daisy's wedding. She followed Giovanni to the elevator, which went up to their suite where the pokemon were. Delia's cell phone rang on the way up and she answered it, "hi, I was just heading up to the suite. Yes, I need to shower first," she certainly didn't want to smell like blood. "Okay, I'll see you in a little while."

The call ended and Giovanni asked, "who was that?"

"Laiki," Delia replied, she was relaxing a little more by the second, as she focused on the coming celebration. "She said her mission was to help me get ready. She seemed to be enjoying it."

Giovanni remember how that started. Since he wanted to keep headquarters clean, most medical cases were tended to in the laboratories north-east of Vermilion City. Additionally, Team Rocket had reduced its field activities and pokemon theft significantly until the illness problem could be sorted out. It wouldn't be long before it became an epidemic if things were left to progress.

All those aspects left Laiki with basically nothing to do as the local nurse of the Viridian headquarters. Giovanni assigned her to help with all matters concerning Delia. She was Binks' sister, so Delia felt a certain familiarity towards her. Giovanni thought that Laiki may not be so happy to be further excluded from the medical happenings. She looked rather bored when she reported to him. To his surprise, Laiki's face brightened when he spoke of her new mission helping Delia prepare for the coming event.

Laiki didn't mind playing the role of maid at all, she seemed ecstatic about it. Giovanni decided not to try to understand her unexpected reaction. Laiki couldn't be happier with the arrangement. The Viridian gym leader's romantic involvement with the lady identified as the Indigo League champion's mother, was the hottest gossip in Kanto at the moment. It was a nosy girl's dream to be so close to the news.

"Did she forget to pack something?" Giovanni inquired, as far as he knew, Laiki's mission should have ended when she finished making sure Delia had all the things she needed in her luggage.

"Oh no, she's here to help me get ready," Delia repeated, it apparently wasn't as clear as she thought. "It's a special occasion so it would make things a lot easier if I have some help. I helped the Waterflower sisters get ready when I went to the Cerulean gym. It's easier as a group."

"I didn't think your dress was that difficult to get into. You could have just asked for my help," Giovanni offered, a cocky grin appearing almost unconsciously.

Delia laughed, "stop it Charmander, that's not what I need help with. It would just be nice to have some hair and makeup assistance."

The elevator doors opened at the final floor. "I'd rather leave that to Laiki," Giovanni decided.

They went inside the suite where the pokemon were amusing themselves watching the big 3D mirror TV. Delia carefully retrieved her dress from their bed room closet and took it to the bathroom with her.

Giovanni was nearly ready, he had already showered a little earlier while Delia was out and only really needed to change. He finished preparing just as the sound of running water ended.

A knock on the door was heard and Giovanni opened it to find Laiki dressed in the uniform of a hotel maid instead of her usual custom made Team Rocket uniform. "Agent Laiki reporting for duty!" She saluted as she chirped cheerfully.

Giovanni didn't understand what was so exciting about her current mission. If anything, the cheerful enthusiasm would be good for Delia, so he didn't question it. Laiki practically bounced into the suite when Giovanni stepped aside to let her in. "I trust you are informed of the situation?"

Laiki's cheery face turned serious, "of course, I was having a look around. I can keep an eye on the local investigation and report. I have an odd feeling about this. Maybe it's a crazy attempt at vengeance."

It was a possibility that Giovanni had also considered. Perhaps the culprit had no goal in mind beyond Delia's death. It had to be someone who knew of Giovanni's double identities as the gym leader and mafia lord. It had to be someone desperate for vengeance, but who? It was too early to reach any real conclusions. "Yes, keep an eye on things and investigate any suspicious details. Delia is in the bedroom, she should be out of the shower by now. Don't bring up what happened."

"Understood, you can count on me, boss!" The nurse turned maid, happily bounced away. Her serious face had been restored to the excited cheer with which she entered the suite.

In the bedroom, Delia was already in her dress, brushing her hair. She greeted Laiki happily and the two began to chat. It was only small talk, though Delia made sure to ask Laiki to occasionally check on Oddish just in case. Delia got started on her make-up while Laiki worked with her hair.

The minutes ticked away as Giovanni waited in the living room, crowded by all the pokemon. He examined the fancy grandfather clock, its golden pendulum swinging from side to side in a steady rhythm. Finally, the chatter that filtered out through the open bedroom door ceased, replaced with the sound of footsteps.

Laiki cheerfully announced, "presenting her royal highness, Queen Delia!"

Amused, Delia followed out of the bedroom and into the living room with a smile. She was wearing a pale lilac strapless long dress. Shiny thin silk was layered on top of the first fabric, giving it a sparkly look that was still subtle. Her fine diamond necklace sparkled with impressive elegance. Her makeup was light, but perfect, accentuating her features. Her eyes seemed to sparkle more than the diamonds themselves. The top part of her hair was pulled back into a flower shaped bun, with the lower portion flowing down her back.

It had been a long time since Giovanni last saw Delia all dressed up like that. In a split second, the pokemon surrounded her, speaking all at once in their own language. Delia talked to them, thanking them for the compliments. She couldn't really understand what they were saying, but there were other ways to interpret the messages. One by one, all but Persian were returned to their pokeballs to be set free when they arrived at the wedding.

After the crowd of pokemon disappeared in flashed of red beams, Delia and Giovanni were again face to face. She closed the distance between them and for a moment they didn't say anything, their faces speaking volumes. Laiki had to swallow a happy squeal while witnessing the scene.

"You look beautiful," Giovanni finally spoke.

Delia's radiant smile became more so, "thank you, handsome."

For a moment they didn't even notice Laiki snapping out of her daze and hurrying to help Persian get dressed. If he was going to follow Giovanni around he would have to stand out from the many other pokemon she was sure would be at the wedding. She succeeded in getting the feline into his tuxedo top without incident. She thought he would protest, since the garments might feel odd to a pokemon, but he only walked over to the mirror and examined his reflection with pride.

Finally, Delia, Giovanni and Persian left towards the roof. The black helicopter with the green leaf would take them to the church. Afterwards, they would fly to Vermilion City to Lando's mansion.

The trip by air was very short since the destination was within Cerulean City. The city had grown over the years with less residents and more commerce. Not too far from the Cerulean gym and Razzo Albergo, there stood a majestic pure white structure. The helicopter landed in a large parking area near it. The parking was full of several other aircrafts including various helicopters similar to Giovanni's. However, the majority of the helicopters were larger, with two sets of blades to be able to fly. Those were brought over by Lando to transport the guests that didn't bring their own aerial transportation.

The church seemed to sparkle in an ivory glow under the bright light of the sun. Summer was nearing its end, but the weather was still quite warm and sunny on most days. The church had tall glass windows with several pastel colors blending into one on the glass that sparkled as a pure prism. The structure was built at an angle, slightly thinner as it went up. It gave the impression that the building was reaching out to the skies above. The tower in the center was made of a strong clear glass, culminating in an ivory cross. It looked as if the cross was floating atop a pillar of pure light.

A red carpet stretched out from within the church's long corridor all the way down its stairs, to the edge of the sidewalk. It looked like the red carpet of a celebrity awards show. As Delia walked down that carpet with Giovanni, she couldn't help it but to wonder if that was how it felt for famous actors and actresses.

The multiple voices coming from inside the church at least reassured them that the ceremony had not yet started. A man in a tuxedo received them at the entrance. "Good afternoon, friends of the bride I assume?" He recognized Giovanni as the Viridian City gym leader. All the gym leaders had been invited because the bride was from the Cerulean gym. "Do you have other pokemon with you that will be witnessing the ceremony?"

"Yes," Giovanni replied back into his gym leader persona. "Other than Persian we have six pokemon." Golem, Machamp, Rhydon, Cloyster, Kingler and Mimey.

"Excellent," the man looked pleased for no particular reason; he was simply trained to look happy about everything. "One pokemon may go with you to your seats; the others will sit with the other pokemon. That way it won't be too crowded over there. This way, please," his constant cheer was a little much, but at least he was quick to get people to their places. Delia and Giovanni released their pokemon from their pokeballs, instructing them to go sit down as the man indicated.

The church's ceiling was rounded, painted with pictures of angels and clouds. A thin unperceivable sheet of glass was place horizontally at the base of the rounded ceiling. It gave the paintings a 3D effect that made it look like the church had no ceiling and angels could be seen flying through the clouds above.

The long seats were not the hard seats found in most churches. The style was similar, long benches rather than individual chairs. They were made of wood that was polished like mirrors and had fluffy ivory cushions on the seats and backrest. The important guests such as gym leaders and those with high business positions sat close to the front, along with the closest relatives and friends. Everything was arranged for those who were known to be familiar with each other to be close enough to carry out conversations while they waited for the ceremony to begin.

Delia and Giovanni, along with Persian, ended up sitting near the front, next to Ash. Ash had been talking to Misty focused on their conversation and didn't see them coming. The Waterflower sisters were all in their bridesmaid dresses. The fabric held various shades of blue that blended together as if the dress was made of water. It was accentuated with white at the end, like an ocean wave on the shore. Misty's hair, like Violet and Lily's was done up in a nice bun, a few wavy strands fashionably falling from it.

It wasn't until Misty smiled and looked towards the new arrivals that Ash finally noticed. He looked to the person who had sat beside him, pausing before realizing who she was. "Mom?"

Delia laughed, amused by Ash's surprise, "it looks like you're so happy staring at Misty you don't even notice anyone else," she joked.

Ash smiled, with a light red tint on his cheeks. Misty did indeed look especially beautiful that day. Ash had not been able to take his eyes off her.

"I knew it, I was right," Delia teased.

"I won't deny she looks like a movie star," Ash admitted, "and you too." He almost didn't recognize his own mother, until he took a good look at her face.

Before their conversation could really get going, the ceremony was ready to begin. Misty went to stand on the bridesmaids' side with Violet and Lily. The entire church became silent. A live orchestra occupied the area beside the altar where a chorus would usually stand. They began to play the classic wedding march as Daisy entered the church.

Daisy's white dress was adorned with detailed embroidery. Though the thread was also ivory, it stood out subtly with its shine. Her long blond hair cascaded in elaborate curls, with a golden glow and small white daisies. A semi-transparent veil originated from her golden tiara, adorned with diamonds and pale sapphires. Her dress had similar jewels like drops of water. She walked slowly with a beautiful bouquet of white daisies with gold centers in her hands. All those present focused on the bride as she slowly walked towards her husband to be, her long dress trailing behind her.

Daisy finally made it to the altar where she joined Lando in front of the priest. The altar had a cross in the center with various paintings left and right of it, depicting legendary pokemon such as Arceus. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. Do you Lando Ackbar take Daisy Waterflower to be your wife, to love and cherish for rich or poor, in health and in sickness, for all of eternity?"

"I do," the husband had a silly grin on his face as if he was about to burst with joy.

"Do you Daisy Waterflower take Lando Ackbar to be your husband, to love and cherish for rich or poor, in health and in sickness, for all of eternity?"

"I do," Daisy had an absolutely dreamy expression, as if her life had suddenly become a happy fairytale.

"If there is anyone who would object to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace," after a short silent pause, the priest continued with the exchange of rings. "With this ring a thee wed, as a symbol of our love more endless than the ocean," the priest recited for the groom and bride to repeat.

"With this ring a thee wed, as a symbol of our love, more endless than the ocean," Lando placed the ring on Daisy's finger.

"With this ring a thee wed, as a symbol of our love, more endless than the ocean," Daisy placed the ring on Lando's finger.

"I now declare you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride." The newlywed husband and wife kissed among the applause of all those present. The orchestra played again as they walked out of the church in a rain of rice. The ceremony went by perfectly, like a dream.

The guests soon exited the church as the newlyweds boarded their helicopter. Many pictures were taken before the aircraft took off. It carried a large sign that read 'just married' with a multitude of ribbons culminating in golden bells tied to the back of the helicopter. The bells rang in the wind all the way to Vermilion City. The guests all boarded the aerial transportation and flew to Vermilion City.

xoxox xox xoxox

After landing at Lando's mansion the festivities continued. The guests were led to the large party room where there would be food, music and dancing. The guests conversed and socialized with each other in the cheerful atmosphere. The party room was remodeled in a hurry, but it was a job well done. It was cleaned and polished. The hole on the ceiling was repaired with the addition of a glass dome that showed the sky.

"You did what?" Lando whispered under his breath as Daisy made a surprising revelation to him in secret.

"I invited the people from the secret club," the term secret club was their code name for the mafia. "I thought that if we're all going to be like one big happy family, we might as well be like friendly towards each other. I had Violet ask Kenobi to contact them. I like even spoke to someone high ranked over the phone. He said that an important person from their group would be here, but I might not like realize who that person is. It could be like anyone, I suppose."

Lando cautiously looked over his shoulder, "it could be... anyone..." he repeated nervously. He took a deep breath and decided to be brave. "My beloved, you are so courageous, embracing our situation in such a way. You truly are my greatest treasure and my inspiration!"

Daisy smiled brightly, "and you are the same for me, love." The newly weds were then reminded that the music was about to start. All the guests had arrived and settled into the party. The couple could have their first dance as husband and wife for all to witness. The guests gathered around watching them dance. At the end of the song there was a vast applause and everyone was free to join the dancing on the next song.

At one of the snack tables, Jessie, James and Meowth were happily stuffing their faces. Their pokemon were having fun enjoying the party along with the other pokemon there. Daisy had only gotten to know Jessie briefly when she joined the Waterflowers for a girl's night out. Daisy had invited her to the wedding and encouraged her to bring her family, pokemon included. "There he comes," Meowth spotted Ash heading towards the snack table.

"Hide!" Jessie and James went under the table, but Meowth did not.

Ash arrived at the table, looking at Meowth curiously. Misty was talking to some guests with the other bridesmaids at the moment. "Meowth? Are Jessie and James here too? I didn't see them at the church." The reason for that was that Ash was sitting near Giovanni, whom Jessie and James were hiding from. They weren't sure how he would react to seeing them there, so they decided to avoid trouble. They hoped to blend in among the guests and not be spotted.

Meowth nodded, "yup, they're hiding under the table for no reason."

Jessie and James peeked out from under the table then went out of hiding and stood up. "When you say there he comes, be specific about what he!" Jessie scolded; she and James thought Meowth was warning them about Giovanni.

"Who are you hiding from?" Ash curiously inquired. He could think of no reason why they would need to hide. "You're not planning to cause trouble, are you?"

"Not at all, we just want to eat, dance and have fun," James cheered, while Jessie nodded in agreement.

"Yes, exactly, we sent a gift too," Jessie pointed at the big pile of presents that held a prominent spot on the party room. All the gifts from everyone had been sent in advanced and arranged in a tower. "It's somewhere in there."

"So if you're not planning to get into trouble why were you hiding?" Ash curiously insisted.

"Um... because we're shy?" James nervously replied.

"Force of habit," Jessie added nonchalant.

Ash shrugged, "I guess that makes sense," he then lowered his voice to a whisper, "if you want to battle I really don't mind. I know that's not in the program, but it'll save me from having to dance. When we were practicing I kept accidentally stepping on Misty's feet and she got mad at me. Daisy might get mad over the battling, but Misty has a bigger temper."

James shook his head, "poor Misty, I know how that feels. Jessie steps on my feet when we dance too, ow!" A pain on James' foot shut him up.

"I do not," Jessie removed her foot from James' foot and tried to look innocent.

Some distance away, Giovanni was playing his good gym leader role with Delia by his side. He thought he saw Jessie and James, but they had apparently not noticed he was watching them among the crowd. They were talking to Ash, but Giovanni couldn't hear what they were saying from that distance. As soon as he was free of the conversation, he began to move towards them. "I saw Jessie and James over there," he whispered to Delia without thinking much of it.

"Let's go say hi," Delia didn't take it as a big deal. She sounded like she was familiar with them.

"Friends of yours?" Giovanni inquired.

"Oh yes," Delia smiled.

"Those two better not be troublesome, I don't feel like dealing with more trouble today," Giovanni's patience was at its very limit.

"Don't worry, they're nice people," Delia looked at Giovanni, curiously, "I take it they're somehow in Team Rocket again?"

"Part time," Giovanni admitted, "they work in information gathering. For the most part they can continue living normally and running their pokemon day care center. They're surprisingly good at collecting rumors. Not many are more than just rumors, but it's still good to know what's being said."

"There he comes!" Meowth ducked under the table as Giovanni and Delia approached.

"Which he is it this time?" Jessie didn't sound alarmed.

James spotted Giovanni and gasped, "hide!"

Jessie realized what was going on and rushed to get under the table with James. She scolded Meowth, "why didn't you warn us?"

"I did warn you, but if I warned you by name the twerp will know who we're hiding from," Meowth argued.

"He knows now anyway," Jessie retorted, "you could have used a code name."

"You mean like saying the ultra rare bottle cap is coming?" James inquired under the table.

"Too crazy," Jessie disagreed.

"Awesome is coming?" Meowth suggested.

"I thought you were over your obsession," Jessie rejected the idea. "You should have said orange alert."

"He doesn't wear orange anymore," Meowth argued.

Giovanni decided it was time to make the fact that he was aware of their presence known. "Have you seen any suspicious people around here?"

"Not really," Ash wondered why in the world were Jessie and James hiding. The realization hit him as he remembered the events that demolished the Viridian gym in the past. "Just out of curiosity, if you won a gym battle then decided to take a break. Then returned to find that the gym has been pretty much destroyed... Would you forgive the culprit if they were really sorry?"

Giovanni thought about what Ash said. He was talking about Jessie and James, but it reminded Giovanni of Ash involvement in 'recovering' the Viridian gym from them. He found himself wondering how much of the destruction could truly be blamed on Jessie and James. "Why do you ask? Did you ever do something like that?"

"No, I was asking because..." Ash paused, how would he word things so that Giovanni would forgive Jessie and James? "Actually..." Ash realized something, "that time was kind of my fault too."

Delia observed the exchange wondering what kind of conversation would continue to flow out of it. Part of her wanted to say something and another part didn't want to interrupt.

"The twerp is taking the fall for us," Jessie realized, whispering in a much quieter voice than before.

James was impressed, "wow, he must be a better friend than we thought."

Meowth got all emotional, "how noble!"

"I don't think he really knows what he's getting into. With the new relations being built..." Jessie referred to the situation with the Waterflowers, which was still unclear to her and James. "He shouldn't be getting in the boss' bad side now... or ever."

"You're right, we can't let him," James tried to dramatically stand up and bashed his head against the table. "Ow!" He crawled from under the table with Jessie and Meowth.

The trio stood there, their presence revealed. They froze up completely and their minds went blank. Giovanni glared and they became more paralyzed. "I'm glad you decided to come out from under the table," Ash greeted, much to their dismay. "See? It's not scary out here."

"Twerp, your courage borders suicide at times," Jessie finally found her voice in a sarcastic remark.

"What are you talking about? You're not mad anymore, are you?" Ash gave Giovanni an innocent smile. "I mean you have a new gym and everything. Jessie and James are reformed... mostly," the last word was a whisper under his breath. "We didn't mean to break the gym. It was my fault too and we're all really sorry!"

While Ash confessed James whispered to Jessie, "don't you think they look alike when the twerp doesn't wear his hat and actually brushes his hair?"

"They kind of do," Jessie whispered back, their voices inaudible to anyone else.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. There have been some pretty buildings in this story, yes? XD I was tempted to interrupt the wedding with something actiony, but decided to let them have their celebrations in peace. I tried to keep the wedding vows relatively short so we could move on to the fun stuff. The stuff about the ocean was Daisy's idea, as I'm sure you all guessed. Here's another little cliffhanger, enjoy. More action is to come and more shipping!