Plain Sailing
By Lord Agravane Undead
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters within.
Written for MoaKing, who suggested the idea. Cheers mate!
Sometimes, Cyrus had to admit to himself, he wasn't at all sure what possessed his Commanders. This was one of those times.
He wasn't sure, either, what was the most confusing. The fact that Saturn, Mars and Jupiter had decided that they absolutely needed to have a day out on a luxury yacht or the fact that somehow, they had managed to persuade him to go with them. Now, instead of being holed up in his room doing something useful with machines, he was instead standing on the deck of said luxury yacht, staring out over Sunyshore Bay and trying to solve the next predicament that had presented itself to him.
Cyrus could remain standing where he was, having his body assaulted by the hot sun, fresh air and salty spray from the ocean. Or he could go below decks where he would have to interact with his Commanders. It was a very difficult choice and one that needed to be thought out carefully.
Trying to ignore the refreshing breeze on the back of his neck, Cyrus finally made his decision. He would go into the engine room and admire the engine. There he would be away from the outdoors and his Commanders would find it far too boring to accompany him. Cyrus felt rather pleased with his logical reasoning, or at least he would have done, had he felt emotions.
"Hey Boss!" A familiar voice behind Cyrus made him jump. Turning round, he saw Saturn standing there. A disturbingly happy looking Saturn.
"This great, isn't it," Saturn said eagerly. "It's the most fun we're had in ages".
"I do not feel emotions, therefore I do not experience fun," Cyrus said in his usual monotone.
"Oh, don't be like that Boss," said Saturn. He patted Cyrus on the back. "We going to have tea and scones with jam and cream on them. Come and join us".
"I do not enjoy tea parties, Commander," said Cyrus.
Saturn thought about this for a moment. "Uhuh," he said. "But…you do not not enjoy them, do you?"
"That is a double negative," said Cyrus.
"Yeah," Saturn agreed. "Sorry Boss but what I meant was, it wouldn't cause you distress to have a tea party with us, would it?"
"Of course not," said Cyrus. "I do not feel the emotion of distress".
"Goody," Saturn said happily and he took hold of Cyrus's arm. "Come on then, before the jam goes all warm".
Cyrus allowed himself to be led away, fantasising about building a torpedo from scratch, to put an end to the luxury yacht once it was moored the next day.
The rest of the day did not pass any easier for Cyrus, as his Commanders seemed determined to get him to enjoy himself. They suggested everything from Beer Pong to sunbathing (Cyrus nearly passed out at the thought of having to remove his shirt) to fishing. Somehow, Cyrus managed to sneak away each time and find himself either studying the engine or admiring the navigational controls. They were state of the art and very impressive to somebody who had a machine obsession.
However, Cyrus was finally captured as the sun was going down, as his Commanders insisted that he needed to watch the sunset. Cyrus protested that he could see no reason why he needed to do such as thing, as the sun set every day and so he could see it whenever (*if*ever) he wanted to.
"Come on Boss, don't be such a stick in the mud," said Jupiter, steering Cyrus up onto the deck. "The sunset will look extra pretty out to sea".
Cyrus had to agree with that. "Yes. The light from the sun will reflect off the waves and be more visually pleasing. Also, the air is clean out here and free from the particles of pollution which hang over Sunyshore. Therefore, the sunset will be of a greater clarity".
"Exactly," Jupiter said, not understanding Cyrus 100% but feeling pleased that he seemed at least, a little willing. She led Cyrus over to the side of the deck, where Saturn and Mars already stood. Mars was fiddling with her camera and Saturn kept casting awkward glances at her, his cheeks rather red. Cyrus suspected that he had become sunburnt.
"Oh good, the Boss is here said Saturn. "Look Boss, isn't the sunset pretty". He pointed to the western sky, where the fiery orange ball of the sun hung over the shimmering horizon.
"Oh, it's so beautiful," said Mars before Cyrus could respond. "It's very romantic, don't you think so, Saturn?"
"Uhhh…"said Saturn, uncertainly. Mars moved to stand closer to him and he backed away, bumping into the railings.
Cyrus had to admit that the sunset was pleasant to view. It was somehow relaxing and calming. He leaned on the rails, watching as the sun sank towards the horizon, turning the sky a splendid golden yellow. He felt something touch his arm and turning his head to look, Cyrus saw that Jupiter had put her hand there. She smiled at him and Cyrus blinked.
"Commander Jupiter?"
"Hm?" said Jupiter, still smiling and making Cyrus feel nervous. He glanced over at Saturn for help but saw that Saturn was having problems too, as Mars seemed to be attempting to put her arm around his waist. Cyrus decided that there was a correlation between sunsets and the girls becoming romantic. Therefore, there was only one sensible course of action…
"Excuse me, Commander," Cyrus said to Jupiter, moving away from her. "I must go and…check the engine".
"Awww," said Jupiter, pouting at him. "Surely it can wait for a few minutes? You'll miss the end of the sunset".
"No, I must check it now," Cyrus insisted. "It could be overheating".
"I don't think that's the only thing that's overheating," Saturn added. Mars had managed to get her arm around him and his face was almost as red as her hair.
Fearing that Jupiter would emulate Mars next, Cyrus hurried away, scuttling below deck. He felt deeply concerned. The main problem of course, was Jupiter and Mars suddenly coming over all amorous because of that inconvenient sunset. The other (much worse) problem was that Cyrus had experienced an odd feeling when Jupiter had touched his arm. If he would have had emotions, he would have believed it to be a feeling of pleasure.
Cyrus entered the engine room, shaking his head. This must not happen he thought to himself. I refuse to feel an attraction towards a woman. He was just glad that he had had the good sense to escape!
AS for the engine, it didn't need checking but just admiring it until the sun had set couldn't hurt. Cyrus flipped the light switch on, expecting the room to become illuminated by white fluorescent light. Instead, there was a loud bang and the room remained dark.
Cyrus raised his eyebrow a fraction. If he was lucky, it was simply the fluorescent tube blowing. If he was unlucky…
The low hum of the engine room faded out with one last whine, as if the engine was reprimanding him for his action in turning on the light.
Cyrus shook his head. He was unlucky. Somehow, he had managed to short out the entire electrical system on board the yacht!