SS Libre wreckage 0936 hours local time - Day 154 of Ash Ketchum's Journey
It was time. After over ten years, countless operations and millions of manhours… he was going to do it.
Rin was busy working on the power armors, Kyril quite happy that Ash's grass-types removed the radiation from them. Death by radiation poisoning was a painful, sickening affair.
"Rin?" he said, getting her attention, but she continued working on the Defender suit as she was in the middle of adjusting the artificial muscle bundles.
"You have horrible timing." she retorted as she continued working on it. "You couldn't wait until I was done?"
"I wanted to surprise you." he said before beginning to pace. "Rin… how long have we known each other?"
"13 years, 9 months and 4 days." Rin answered. "Long enough for me to continue to put up with your off-the-wall shit with little question."
Kyril chuckled. "It's been a wild ride… and...well… you know I love you." he said, trailing off, Rin stopping her work and getting up to look at him as he pulled out a box.
"Do not insult me, Kyril. You better be serious if that's what I think it is." she said as she turned to face him. "DAMNED serious."
Kyril smiled happily. "I would never be anything but for you." he said, opening it to reveal a ring. It was made of steel, but it was only an engagement ring, after all. "Rin Uzumaki, you've been around me, helping me in my mission, but I can't just call you my assistant. I love you and… will you marry me?"
Rin blinked before tears began welling up in her eyes. "You're an asshole." she finally said. "Way to make a proposal! In the worst region on the planet, surrounded by those damned parrots?!" The Natus just watched, failing to hide their amusement. "Natu." said one to another. "Natu." replied the other one.
"It's not the most romantic place in the world, but… What better place?" he asked. "We might not survive this. We're fighting a war, Rin. You know that people DIE in war. And I don't want to lose you without knowing exactly how I feel."
Rin pursed her lips. "You're still an idiot." she said before jumping and glomping him, knocking him to the deck.
"Natu!" said the birds, flapping their wings.
"Fuck off, birds!" the couple shouted.
RMS Olympic - midway between Kanto and Orre - 1120 hours local time
Misty assumed tea was more of a Galarian thing. Or at least the blackened kind: the green teas of Nihon were a different story. There was a chilled container of milk, sugar cubes and very fancy ceramic cups and plates for those cups to rest on on a small table that Serena was sitting at, complete with that very pink dress she wore back when she arrived in Kanto all those months ago.
Why was she sitting there? I mean, she asked to talk to her last night, but… this?
"Please sit down, Misty," she said, almost like she was addressing another noble. "The tea is to help with our conversation."
The water trainer looked at the teapot suspiciously. "You didn't put anything in there, did you?" Misty asked. "Half the things you say…"
Serena chuckled mirthlessly. "Well, I can't deny that." she answered. "But there's a difference between teasing and actually doing something against your will. If you want me to drug you and have my way with you, please, say it now."
Misty stared. "That's… not necessary." the redhead replied as she slowly sat down. "That was a joke, right?"
The blonde chuckled. "It was. I'm not used to speaking with those not of the nobility and my mother tends to keep me away from anyone." she said. "Ash was the first 'normal' person I ever spoke to and he has been avoiding me. Not without good cause, mind you, but…"
"When you're so demanding that he sleep with you and all that, could you blame him?" Misty asked before Serena poured them both a cup of the dark tea. "He might've been afraid you would…" she trailed off as she thought of an appropriate term.
"Rape him in his sleep?" Serena answered, much to Misty's surprise. "I was too forward, I'll admit, which put him on edge. But I would never have done it without his permission. Besides…" she sipped her drink, which made Misty relax as she wouldn't drink it if she put anything in it. "The minimum age for that sort of thing is 16 in Kalos. But in Rota, 18 is the legal minimum and I AM marrying a Rotan monarch, so I will follow the rules. Which brings us to the topic of conversation."
Misty gingerly sipped her tea, waiting for Serena to continue. She didn't, so Misty took the initiative. "And that is?" she asked.
"You love Ash. That's not in question. You love him because he's kind, willing to take risks and sweep you off your feet." she said, hints of something… different edging into her voice. "Because you love adventure as much as he does and both of you HATE being stuck to one place."
Misty blushed, chuckling nervously. On the nail. "You're not wrong…" she muttered.
Serena's wistfulness faded. "He's marrying me. That's also not in question." she stated before sipping again. "But Rota allows him to marry multiple people. There's been a historical precedent for men-"
"FUCK NO!" both Misty AND her past self yelled, much to Serena's surprise. "Just… no. Ash is the only man I want."
"You and me both." Serena replied before closing her eyes. When she opened them, the blue irises were replaced with ruby red. "But we are not adverse to sharing."
Astral Misty then began tugging. 'RUN! THIS MONSTER WILL EAT US ALIVE!' she screamed. 'AND NOT IN THE LITERAL SENSE!'
The real one didn't move an inch. It was time to face whatever this was head on. "And what are you?" Misty demanded, putting her cup down. "Another parasite like the one that possessed Sabrina?"
The seemingly-not-Serena chuckled. "Oh, nothing of the sort." she answered. "I am purely of Serena's mind. When she was eight, a psychic fool tried to make her fall in love with him instead. He only made me and four others, all fragments of her personality. All of us are deres. He made the mistake of angering the yandere." The seemingly possessed girl took a sip of her tea. "He got a crossbow bolt to the lungs for it and was nearly beaten to death with the crossbow."
"And… what are you?" Misty asked. "You're flirty. With everyone."
"Only girls. Ash is OURS. We belong to NO ONE ELSE." she ground out. "A bit of yandere, a bit of tsundere…" with that, she winked flirtatiously. "But you can just call me 'Jade'. I am Serena Yeonne Gabena's libido given a full personality. We only became truly 'aware' after Mewtwo's little shitfest, but we've been around for years. And Kalos doesn't discourage homosexuality. Serena-and therefore all of us-happen to be bi."
Misy now wanted to run. "And… what's this about?" she asked, preparing to bolt.
"Ash is broken. We can see it. ALL of us, you, me, Anabel, even Iris, can see it." Jade answered. "He needs all of us to heal him. But we can't do that if we're in constant conflict! I would know: I have four other personalities to keep in line! Serena's a nice girl, but she lacks confidence. I make up for that. I was couching her the entire time she was talking to you and only took over at the end there."
"So what are you trying to get at?" the redhead demanded, fear passing over her now that she knew this wasn't something to be terrified of.
Jade smirked. "Polyamory." she answered. "An equal romantic relationship between all parties. Ash is the glue that keeps us together, but we need to learn not just to tolerate one another's presence, but LOVE each other."
Fear then returned in full force. "I ain't gay!" she yelled.
"Neither am I." Jade answered. "I-and therefore Serena and all parts of her mind-happen to be bisexual. Even if they deny it. Which some of them do." the blonde leaned back in her seat, red eyes boring into Misty's cerulean blues. "Would you like to explain to Ash's mother why he's depressed enough to jump off a cliff if we get into a fight somewhere down the line? Because he is on that knife edge right now. The only reason he's not marching towards it is because he thinks he's not worthy of any of us! I am willing to try and fall in love with any girl that's interested in Ash just to make sure my beloved lives to a ripe old age. Are YOU?"
Astral Misty was shocked into silence along with her flesh and blood counterpart. '…Sweet Arceus, she's right.' the ghost of timeline's past said at last. Serena and her living libido loved Ash, but saw he was practically suicidal and that if any of them got into a serious fight…
The only thing Ash had to do was deal with Cyrus and after that, there was a mountain he could jump off of. Or he could take Cyrus and himself out at the same time.
She wasn't just wanting to bed her and any of Ash's paramours, she was trying to SAVE him.
"…Yes." she answered after a moment. "I'll do whatever it takes." Misty then closed her eyes, Jade giggling.
"Sweety, you don't need to be scared…" Jade said before Misty heard her get out of her chair, high heels clacking on the wooden flooring as she walked around the table, the redhead cracking an eye open to see her slowly kneeling to level with her head. "Just relax…" with that, Jade-or Serena, Misty wasn't sure anymore-pressed her lips to Misty's. And Misty was surprised at how gentle it was. Ash's lips were cracked when she kissed him on New Island, but Serena's were… smooth as silk.
She almost forgot about the seriousness of their talk and nearly gave into it. But as quickly as it started, it ended, as Serena pulled back. "I'm willing to try if you are." Serena, her eyes fading back to blue, said, almost flirtatiously.
It was weird, but… Serena was right. Or Jade. SHE was right. Better that they were all together than vying for Ash's attention all the time. THEN she realized one problem as there were flecks of red in Serena's eyes.
"Uh… I'm 15." Misty said in an attempt to object.
"So? That just means we're not going THAT far." the Jade-influenced Serena said. "But...let's wait for Ash before we have any of that kind of fun."
Misty almost felt disappointed at that.
Dratini glared at Dreepy. The ghost dragon's existence offended him.
Iris was just happy he wasn't biting her. But half the reason he was biting her was now being brushed off by soft yet stiff metal bristles as she ran a special brush over his snake-like body.
Lance had told her that Dratini shed. Often. And the poor thing was stuck in his skin, refusing to do anything but attack her because his skin was bothering him.
So, out came the brush. And dragon skin was, surprise surprise, tough as hell. It could take fire, grass and water and didn't conduct electricity well. They needed to be subjected to cold temperatures to actually flake, thus why dragons either flew high, dove deep or were cranky as hell.
Or were just plain weird like Goodra, which didn't HAVE scales. But Goodra was actually really nice, now that she thought about it.
"Keep brushing. The dead scales will just fall off." Lance said as he scrubbed Dreepy's arrow-shaped head. "The brush is too soft to do anything to the new ones."
"So…" Iris started. "How do you train a Dratini? I mean, I think he wants to be a Dragonite-" the dragon in question all but PURRED at the mention of his final stage. "Never mind, he wants it BAD."
"How do you start?" Lance asked. "Dragons learn slowly. Unless they're Gibles, they don't learn a dragon-type move until a certain point. Professor Rowan calls it 'levels', but as Pokemon are living things and not digital constructs and constantly improve themselves, that doesn't really fit. But it's the universal standard anyways."
Iris looked at Dratini before she pulled a MASSIVE cluster of dead scales off his head, the dragon looking like he was in heaven from that. "So what level is Dratini right now?" she questioned, wanting to know how long she had to wait until Dratini evolved.
Lance pulled out an older model of Pokedex that opened like a clamshell, with two screens. "Rowan's older crap still works. Oak's in charge of Pokedex development, but it works." he said as he scanned the little dragon. A beep and an answer came seconds later. "Level six."
Iris had a bad feeling about the number Dratini would evolve at. "And when does he evolve?" she asked, ready for the worst.
"Thirty. Dragons age VERY slowly. Unless you put them into a situation that's life-or-death, in which case the level logic goes out the window." the champion answered. "I mean, it happens to Pidgey all the time. Just ask your boyfriend."
'Loathe as I am to say this, Ash ain't our boyfriend.' Astral Iris said. 'YET. He's gonna hook up with us.'
Iris blushed. "Ash isn't my boyfriend." she said.
Lance scoffed. "Yet. I know how Rota works. Those nobles will turn you into one of his concubines as soon as they know you're into him." he retorted, Iris staring at him in shock. He noticed after a moment. "You didn't know Rota practiced polygamy? It's a result of a dozen things all culminating in legalizing it. It also ensures there's always an heir to the throne. It's never simple with monarchies."
While fleshy Iris was confused, Astral Iris was all but cackling. Denied her Kantoan 'kid' no longer! Sure, she'd have to share him, but there was always the option of 'accidental' death. That was a thing in royal families, too.
"Anyway, I suggest letting your mini-dragon beat the crap out of something." the usually-cape-wearing man (he took it off for the dragon grooming) said cheerfully. "There's a couple thousand trainers on board and I bet-"
"DRA!" yelled the Dratini, who rushed out of the pool, missing his dead skin and out the room and into the bowels of the ship.
"…That is one excited dragon." Lance said dumbly, letting his guard down for the other loose dragon in the room to take advantage.
He only realized it too late as the shadow covered his head.
CHOMP!
On the forecastle deck, Natu and Beldam were tossing a ball between them… with their minds.
Being a psychic meant CONSTANT training in the mental arts, even something as simple as telekinetically tossing a ball around, just to maintain their focus and control.
There was a reason Mewtwo was so easy to beat, after all. He had nothing beyond the absolute basics and too much raw power. Power was good, skill was better, both made you a god. More or less.
But one Pokemon wasn't playing toss the ball. She really wanted to, but… she couldn't. Mostly because she wasn't a psychic.
Eevee loved Anabel and Anabel adored Eevee. But friendship did not make evolution, sadly. She WANTED to play, but she knew this was a game for psychics and she was a normal-type. What would it take to change?
"I'm sorry, Eevee." Eevee perked up at her friend and legal trainer's voice as she kneeled to pet the fluffball. "There's just… You need to be pushed to evolve. And I… I don't want you to get hurt. I mean, you want to be Espeon, but I don't want you to get seriously hurt doing it."
"Vui…" replied the little normal-type. Anabel hated it when this happened. Beldam and Natu were psychics, Abra was used to sleeping and was ALWAYS working on his mental powers, as contrary to popular belief, Abra were not excessively lazy, just psionically overstimulated.
It got better when they evolved to Kadabra.
Eevee just looked over the side of the ship, pouting. Then her ears twitched as she saw something approach the ship, a stream of bubbles erupting from it. "Vui?" went the Evolution Pokemon, getting Anabel's attention.
"Holy Arceus above." she gasped as she looked where Eevee was looking. "TORPEDO!"
Lance had finished bonding with his newest dragon and was on his way to the bridge when he heard the cry.
He knew the Olympic was a tough ship, but it was also VERY old. It might actually crack in half if a torpedo hit the hull. So he ran faster, heading for the bridge of the liner, the captain already barking orders to get the ship moving.
"Turn us into the torpedo!" Lance yelled as he barged in, the helmsman obeying his command despite the glare from the captain to not do that.
"Belay that! Full speed ahead!" Hiroshi ordered before Lance knocked the man off the wheel, turning the ship to port, the massive ship turning towards the weapon of destruction.
"We need to have a smaller profile! Less chance of that thing hitting us!" Lance yelled as the ship began to turn. "Drop port anchor!"
"Are you insane?!" the XO yelled.
"DO IT!" Lance shouted back, one of the junior officers doing just that as the ship lurched, the anchor's sudden drop helping in the turn, just as the torpedo began closing in, narrowly missing the hull.
"Cut it loose!" Hiroshi ordered as the Olympic surged forward, Lance going towards the point of origin for the torpedo. "What the hell are you-"
"Taking aggressive action." Lance said. "I have a sub to sink."
The Ferran Type-36 long-range attack sub was an ancient, yet enduring design, harkening back to the days before the Cipher War. Armed with a 50mm deck gun and five torpedo launchers, one aft, four in front, it was a nasty convoy raider.
It was also designed for wolfpack tactics and meant to be crewed by people that knew what they were doing. The sub was alone and Cipher Peons were not well-trained in submariner tactics.
So when one of them looked through the periscope and saw the MASSIVE prow of the Olympic coming towards them, the only thing they did was panickingly try to dive. But they were too slow and thus eighty-five thousand metric tons of reinforced steel hit the tiny sub and tore it in half, quickly flooding the cigar-shaped vessel and sending it to the bottom.
But Cipher would not give up. This was just the opening salvo in the effort to sink the fleet and keep them from Orre's shores.