MONSTERS IN PARADISE
Chapter Three
By: Curtis Wildcat
Pokémon and the Touhou Project are the properties of their respective owners and copyright holders.
Spot the Space Ghost Coast To Coast shout-out in this chapter and have yourself some barbecued shrimp.
The chapters keep getting bigger. I hadn't anticipated this. Huh... anyway, I was in a bit of a rush to finish this today; I've kept you guys waiting long enough. If I see anything that needs fixed, particularly towards the end, I'll take care of it during the next update.
/-/-/-/
"...So, that's pretty much the entire story, Reimu."
"Huh... well, it explains what I've heard from Marisa and Remilia, at any rate... they've been seeing similar creatures popping up here and there."
Reimu leaned back, staring up at the clear skies over the shrine. A short time past Ran had paid her an unexpected visit, with Chen and a strange cat youkai in tow. Over tea, the kitsune told her how they had discovered the cat, Yukari's belief that it was not native to this world, and the overseer's subsequent decision to travel and investigate the matter personally. Until further notice, she was told, life would continue on as normal; neither the cat nor the other animals that had been discussed over the grapevine bothered anyone outside of self-defense.
Ignoring the playful cries of Chen and the cat as they pursued each other around the shrine grounds, Reimu allowed her thoughts to drift. Genji had decided to sit in on the conversation, and was even willing to have some tea for himself; the shrine maiden had placed a cup- - -originally reserved for Marisa, who hadn't shown up at all- - -before him, then had dismissed him out of her mind up until now. If he wanted to stick around and listen, that was fine with her; but if he wasn't going to contribute anything to their discussion, she intended to ignore him.
For a moment, though, she wondered how life had been treating Genji since they had last met. At some point between the battle against Shinki and the Scarlet Mist incident, Reimu had finally mastered flight; since she was no longer in need of his services, Genji had elected to retire and spend his days at a small lake near the shrine until such a time that Reimu appointed a successor for the Hakurei line. She had not heard from him since, and she'd assumed that old age had finally claimed him. Apparently it hadn't.
Ran watched her shikigami at play for a little while. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, looking as if she wanted to say something but wasn't quite sure how to say it. Finally the kitsune gave up and turned to Reimu. "Excuse me, but..."
"Yeah, Ran?"
"What's that turtle doing sitting next to you?"
Reimu waved off her curiosity. "That's just Genji. I told you and Yukari about him before, remember?"
"Yes... your means of transportation before you learned to fly." Ran raised a finger, tapping her chin with it. "But I was under the impression that Genji was an old bearded turtle..."
"..." Reimu froze. "You're saying it's not Genji? Then... who was it I was giving tea to?"
Slowly, the shrine maiden turned to her left. Sitting there was a large blue turtle with two metal protusions sticking out of its shoulders. The turtle had the cup of tea clenched between its front feet, and was sipping from it. After a little bit of this, it set the tea down, turned towards Reimu and gave her a thumbs-up. "Blastoise."
Reimu shrieked in surprise and jumped to her feet, ofuda already in her hand. "...! What the...?! What are you, and what are you doing here?!"
Ran hung her head, shaking it slowly. "It has begun..."
/-/-/
Chen and the cat had reacted to the turtle's presence as well, but in different ways. On hearing Ran's exasparation, the shikigami had edged over to her master in case she had orders to give. Better to be safe than sorry, she had decided.
The yellow-orange cat sensed Chen's distress and decided that he didn't want to disappoint his new friend. Deciding that none of the three looked qualified to give him orders as trainers, he assumed a battle-ready position and meowed: /-You! Did you come here to disturb us?-/
/-I could ask the same of you, fancy-fur,-/ Blastoise rumbled, setting aside the now-empty cup. The Pokémon was completely uncaring of both the cat's and the human's threatening postures. /-You're the first one I've seen here since I was forcibly removed from my home. It is easy to think that you're the one disturbing me.-/
/-I didn't even know you were here until the red-white human discovered you!-/ Delcatty growled, tail twitching. /-Don't give me that garbage!-/
"Translation: 'the innocent bystanders are completely confused, and we don't care'," the 'red-white human' complained. "Does anyone understand what they're saying to each other?"
"I think the cat's upset at being bothered, and he's calling out the turtle on it," Chen mused. "I'm probably wrong... the dialect's kinda weird..."
Everything else that Delcatty's friend was saying was drowned out by Blastoise's reply. /-I was behaving myself just fine; I'm not out to cause trouble. You'd do well not to overreact.-/
/-Overreact? OVERREACT?!-/ Delcatty hissed, its flur fluffing up. /-Get out here right now. I'll show you an overreaction!-/
"...Aaaaand he just challenged it to a fight," Chen explained, ears drooping.
"Not on my porch, its not," the human declared, brandishing an odd stick threateningly. "I've had this shrine repaired and rebuilt enough times already. If you're going to fight, do it away from the building!"
Blastoise looked at the human out the corner of its eye. Delcatty could see the gears turning in the Pokémon's head as it determined what to say; Miss Red-White didn't look really threatening at all, even with the stick, so to it obeying the threat was optional. Therefore, he wasn't surprised when Blastoise withdrew its limbs and head into its shell and stayed put.
A vein above the human's eye pulsed. "I said off!" she yelled, walking over and delivering a swift kick to the back of Blastoise's shell. Delcatty flinched, expecting her to cry out in pain, but did a double-take when Blastoise was obligingly booted out onto the grass; the abrupt ejection from the porch had startled the turtle Pokémon too, if the off-put grumbling was any sort of proof.
"...Reimu, that may not have been a wise thing to do," Ran informed her, sweatdropping. "If it wasn't hostile before, it will be now."
"Did you have any suggestions on how to deal with an intrusive tea-drinking turtle?"
"Well, no..."
"Didn't think so."
Delcatty overcame his surprise as Blastoise righted itself and pushed itself back up onto its feet. /-Troublesome human...-/ it groused. /-Does anyone know what 'respect your elders' means around here?-/
/-More like common sense is in short supply in these parts,-/ Delcatty suggested, ignoring Chen's indignant exclamation. /-But since you're over here now, can we just fight? I made that big show of anger a minute ago, and I want to have something to show for it.-/
/-Tch...-/ Blastoise reluctantly aimed its cannons at Delcatty. /-Fine. I have a long day of relaxation to get back to, so let's be quick about it.-/
"Yeah! Go for it, Creampuff!" Chen cheered, one hand in the air. "You can do it! Go get 'em!"
"...Creampuff...?" Ran mouthed inaudibly, her lips twitching upwards.
Reimu's left eyebrow disappeared into her hair. "Creampuff?"
/-...Creampuff?-/ Delcatty asked out of pure confusion.
/-Creeeeeampuff,-/ Blastoise uttered, partially confirming the term but also expressing its own minor disbelief.
Chen frowned when everyone's eyes directed themselves towards her. "...What? It's a cute name. I like it."
The newly-christened Creampuff sighed, bracing himself for battle. /-Chen, you've got a lot to learn. C'mon, Blastoise; lets show them how we do things back home.-/
/-Agreed.-/
/-/-/
Blastoise kicked things off with a bang, two high-pressure water jets bursting from its cannons. The things weren't big on accuracy, though, and Creampuff was able to twist himself out of their way in time. Deciding to give the turtle a taste of its own technique, the cat glowed with a soft light... and spat out a watery beam of his own. Blastoise quickly withdrew into its shell, though, and effectively nullified the ersatz Hydro Pump via type resistance and just flat-out being strong defensively.
Chen ducked behind Ran's tails as some of the water splashed too close for her liking. "Hey, be careful with that!" she warned.
/-Sorry!-/ Creampuff meowed, occupied with dodging another shot of Blastoise's favored attack. In retaliation, he opened his mouth and fired a crackling whitish-blue beam at one of his opponent's cannons. A misshapen lump of ice formed around it, freezing it solid.
"Huh..." Reimu was watching closely, interested despite herself. "Not a bad strategy. Keep it from firing, and it becomes a matter of tiring it out."
"Water and ice attacks from a cat, of all things..." Ran mused. She reached behind her and gave Chen's head a playful pat. "Have you been holding out on us, Chen?"
"I hate water," Chen growled cutely, pouting. "You know that, Ran-sama."
Before Ran could tell her that she was just teasing her a little, a battle cry from Creampuff directed their attention back to the duel. A ring of green projectiles-danmaku, probably-had begun encircling the Pokémon; once they were fully formed, Creampuff launched them at Blastoise's head and upper body. The bullets exploded on impact, making Blastoise stumble backwards several steps as it took the first real damage of the fight (the Copycatted Hydro Pump notwithstanding).
To Creampuff's disappointment, it wasn't enough to make Blastoise fall. The turtle remained upright, that ever-present smirk still in place. It spoke again, and to the human(oid) observers it sounded like nothing more than bits and pieces of the same word.
As it did prior to the fight, the language barrier was visibly annoying Reimu. "Chen, do you understand it by some chance?"
"No. I don't speak 'turtle'."
/-Blastoise was asking me if I had anything harder to hit him with,-/ Creampuff growled, teeth bared. /-I do, but without my trainer here it has little to no power./-
Chen's ears pricked up. "Trainer?" she asked curiously.
/-Yes.-/
"Someone owns this cat?" Reimu wanted to know.
/-No,-/ Creampuff hissed. /-Not 'own'. No one owns me. My human and I are partners on a never-ending quest to become as strong as we can be, to surpass everyone else and stand at the top of the heap. We travel and compete, battling against or assisting others of our kind, like Blastoise here.-/
Chen provided the translation to Ran and Reimu; the latter of the two calmed down some. "Blastoise, huh? So that's what it is called... is it safe to assume that it's working with a human, too?"
Blastoise spoke again, resulting in another Creampuff-to-Chen translation. /-He says, quote, "My trainer was an ignorant fool. I couldn't work with him before, and I don't work with humans now", unquote.-/
"..." Reimu was silent, trying to determine the meaning behind those words.
/-Chen, I have a favor to ask of you. From one cat to another.-/
"...A favor?"
/-My trainer is not here, and I don't know if I will ever see her again. I beg of you: please help me to become stronger in her stead. Command me, and help me to attain victory!-/
"...!" Chen's speech patterns momentarily abandoned her. "Wha wha wha what?! How... wha... but... wha... how?! I... I don't know what you call those things you were doing, those pretty looking attacks!" she protested. "I used to be a housecat myself; I'm good at ignoring orders, not giving them!"
Ran had a hand over her mouth, but that wasn't enough to suppress her amused chuckles. "I'd say give it a go, Chen. You've got nothing to lose by trying."
The nekomata turned to her, still in a state of surprise. "But... Ran-sama...!"
"Look at it this way," said Ran, smiling encouragingly. "You get to have that cat shikigami that you always wanted."
For a few moments Chen thought back to the time when she tried to gather a group of cats together under her leadership, something which was ultimately unsuccessful. Unless you knew how to work with them, cats were notorious for disregarding suggestions and commands; they weren't miniature dogs that could be trained on a whim. "But..."
"Blaaasssss-toise."
Chen's ears flattened, and the fur on her twin tails fluffed up. There was something in the turtle's voice that she just knew was taunting her. "What... did it say?" she asked, her voice carrying just enough venom to make Reimu wary of her.
Her feline friend provided the translation, his own ears horizontal. /-Creeaaaaampuff.-/
The noise that Chen made in reply was a half-yowl, half-screech that made Creampuff's spine arch reflexively. Ran and Reimu both recognized it for what it was: the nekomata was furious. It took a few moments before she was able to keep her words calm. "Fine. I will work with you if you'll have me. Just... be patient with me."
The smile on Creampuff's face was beyond words. /-Glad to have you, partner. Let's be quick about it; this is going to happen awful fast.-/
"This won't take long," Chen growled, although a smile too was in the midst of forming. She stepped out from behind Ran. "Ice 'em."
Understanding the intention, Creampuff let fly with another icy blast. Blastoise had more than enough prep time to counter this attack, its body shimmering behind the translucent shield that it raised. The beam struck the shield and bounced off, heading straight back to its sender...
"Creampuff, watch out!"
The Delcatty jumped away at an angle, dodging its own attack and leaving it to freeze over a meter-wide patch of grass. Reimu fumed silently at this, knowing that somehow she'd be the one responsible for cleanup work, but the battle continued regardless of her feelings.
Blastoise got down on all fours, positioning itself as if it were getting ready to run a race. /-Chen?-/ Creampuff called. /-That attack I mentioned? It should go a long ways towards beating him, but I'll need your OK to do it!-/
"You'd better talk to me about this later, okay? Go for it!"
/-That's all I needed to hear!-/
Creampuff took off full tilt at Blastoise, shining yellow like the sun. Its newfound loyalty towards Chen resonated through every cell, filling it with strength. At this moment the turtle Pokémon launched itself forward, startling the onlookers, and practically flew towards Creampuff head-on-
BOOM.
Blastoise's Skull Bash greeted Creampuff's Return explosively, exchanging high-fives with it and trying to bypass it to get at the buffet; the air was displaced at the impact point from the force. For all that Blastoise was larger and stronger than the cat, though, the strength of their attacks was equal; neither of them made any headway in finishing what they started. Creampuff jumped away sideways after the Return wore off; he landed with his back to Chen and waited for the catlike person to issue another order...
And only then did he realize that the collision had broken the ice around Blastoise's cannon. His ears drooped and his eyes widened. /-Aw, crud-/
Nothing further was said. A titanic volume of water billowed forth from Blastoise's cannons, slamming into the distressed Creampuff and bodily throwing it backwards... straight at a panicking Chen. Pokémon and nekomata gave way to the aquatic force, getting washed against the trees that bordered the shrine grounds; Ran had taken to the air to avoid becoming an accidental target.
The flow of water stopped, and the turtle Pokémon stared disappointedly at the drenched duo. "Blaaasssss-toise," it grumbled again, turning and trudging off to rejoin Reimu on the porch.
/-Owww,-/ Creampuff groaned, its will to fight on completely sapped. It slid down the tree it had been embedded in, slumping onto the ground. /-Chen, are you okay?-/
Chen's shikigami connection with Ran had been broken via exposure to water, and she was a bit loopy anyhow; as such, a dazed "Meowwww" was the only reply he received.
"Oh dear, oh dear..." A worried Ran flew down to collect Chen's bedraggled form, paused a moment, then picked up Creampuff as well. "Reimu, I have to go and get her wits back in line. Talk to you more about this later?"
Reimu waved them off, preoccupied with her thoughts. Without another word, Ran departed the shrine grounds towards home.
/-/-/-/
In all honesty, Reimu was impressed with what she'd seen them do. It wasn't true danmaku, as the cat's bullets had been limited in number and could easily be evaded by anyone with half a mind. Still, the attacks were interesting. Blastoise's shield could be compared to what Reimu had seen Youmu do with her swords on several occasions, and Creampuff's freezing beam was a level up from most of Cirno's abilities (although according to Marisa, she'd been stepping up her game in recent years).
On the negative side, the attacks could still do physical harm if used improperly; that final attack of the turtle's showed as much, as did what Remilia had told her about the fiery rooster. She guessed that wherever these creatures were from, they needed to have trained doctors available to treat any wounded. If they really did have competitions like Creampuff said they did, it was the only thing that made sense from her point of view. The problem with this is that in Gensokyo, there wouldn't be anyone that knew how to treat these creatures or would want to (except Eirin, maybe), assuming that they were mistaken for unusual breeds of youkai.
Speaking of which, she didn't know what they were called as a collective, if they weren't youkai. She'd have to check into that when she felt like it. Yeah.
Reimu watched as the ice on the grass melted under the sunlight. They showed me how things worked in their realm, and that's fine. But if they're going to be living here, their battle styles will have to change. We'll have to teach them how things work in Gensokyo, and see if they're game enough to adjust.
She looked to her left when her shoulder was nudged. Blastoise sat there, offering her the empty cup that it had been drinking out of. Offering it to her, or... "Maybe I ought to teach you how to make tea," Reimu complained, but accepted the cup and walked off to check how much she had left.
-GAP-
Most of the day passed by quickly. Yukari could swear that she had spent most of an hour just trying to wipe her face clean; fox Pokémon were just as susceptible to enthused greetings as the average canine, it seemed. Ah, well... nice to know that it evolved.
To pass the time while they waited for Kevin's wife, Harmony, to return home, the homeowner gave her a whole slew of updates on what had taken place in Hoenn over the years. Leadership of the gym at Lavaridge had passed on to the newest generation. Technology had moved on ahead, surpassing what Yukari had seen of the Outside in some areas. The region's legendary monsters, Kyogre and Groudon, had been briefly awakened in the far east of Hoenn...
It was this last one that interested Yukari the most, and she conversed with Kevin at length on the subject. He didn't know much overall about it beyond the news reports that trickled into town, and the anecdotes of travellers from Mossdeep City and small towns who had seen the effects of their short battle. In the end it had been a group of courageous children and a visiting Elite Four member who calmed the Legendaries down, but the methods used and how they acted weren't part of Kevin's story.
During her first time in Hoenn, Yukari had read stories about great beasts that had altered the geography of the islands: Groudon, master of the land, and Kyogre, herald of the sea. Impressive and mighty, they were said to be, with powers and strength that-from what she could discern-were equatable to high-tier youkai...
Yukari's thoughts brought what was spoken of that foreign Elite Four trainer to her mind. I didn't need the proof, necessarily, but that shows that there are other lands out there aside from Hoenn. It is likely that those lands have their share of legends as well, and the Pokémon that have their roles to play. It is best that I start by doing my research on them... and who knows? Maybe this expedition won't take as long as I had feared.
And it had better not... I don't want to succumb to my winter hibernation while these animals are overrunning Gensokyo. Reimu would never let me hear the end of it.
-GAP-
Harmony returned home some time later. Traces of a bright and cheerful personality were still evident, and while her ponytailed hair was gray, her face did not show the same signs of age. Yukari suspected that if she wanted to, all she'd need to do was dye her hair black and she'd have young men falling over themselves trying to impress her. That had, in fact, happened when Harmony was still reasonably young; out of all of them, she'd chosen the only one who could defeat her Sceptile in a Pokémon battle. She was still married to that man today.
To Yukari's relief, Harmony's reaction to her return was a bit more subdued than those of Ninetales and Kevin: she just gave her a beaming grin and left it at that. Despite just having returned from her job, she immediately went to work on providing a full-course meal for her guest and her husband. That gave Yukari enough time to organize her thoughts and determine how she wanted to phrase her explanation for her visit.
It was towards the end of dinner that she dropped the metaphorical bombshell on the couple.
-GAP-
"...Are you serious?"
"Very much so, Kevin."
"...That's hard to swallow, Yukari dear..."
"I should've offered it to you in smaller chunks then, Harmony."
Harmony's hands trembled as she tried to maintain her calm. "You're... not human?"
"I said as much, yes... this curry is excellent, by the way." Yukari cleared her throat. "And before you ask, I'm not a by-product of a ghost Pokémon's illusion, either. I can understand if you don't believe me..."
"Yukari, explain. Now."
The tone and expression from Harmony was so much like Reimu's that Yukari plucked her fan out from within her blouse's left sleeve, opening it before her mouth to hide her amusement. "What I am, dear, is a youkai."
"You...kai?" Kevin's eyebrow raised. "What are they supposed to be?"
Either they have simply not heard of youkai, or there are none that exist in this world. Perhaps its my pride telling me this, but I'm assuming the former. Yukari crossed her legs as she spoke, careful not to bother the Ninetales that still nestled near her. "The long and the short of it is that the majority of us are fantastic or unrealistic creatures that, for varying reasons, have humanoid forms." And discovering our primary food source would make you hate me forever, but you don't need to know that. "Usually the eye color would've given me away, but apparently they're in all colors of the rainbow around here."
"True," Kevin confirmed. "Lavaridge's gym leader has red eyes. It's not an unusual thing."
"Anyway..." Yukari's fan wasn't large enough to hide her yawn. "Excuse me... along those lines, how familiar are you with the concept of magic?"
The couple actually bristled at this, faces becoming stern. "It's not an unfamiliar concept, but we still don't like it," Harmony admitted. "We have a grandchild in Johto who claims to be a practicer of magic. She supposedly has the ability to change people into Pokémon, but we've never seen it for ourselves. Had we had our way, she would never have gotten involved in such a thing."
Good enough. "You just made it easier for me to explain, Harmony. Where I'm from, as technology progressed, belief in the unnatural started to fade in favor of the mundane. With the aid of a powerful young lady, I had a magnificent barrier erected to shelter those magic-based beings that still clung to life. This eastern wonderland, Gensokyo, a paradise that's dangerous for the unwary but beautiful for the fully prepared, I have guarded for over a century." Granted that's only part of the truth, but it's not necessary to tell them the full story-
"Wow," Kevin breathed. "And here I thought my mother-in-law was ancient."
Yukari pinched the bridge of her nose. "...Harmony, you're sitting over there. Could you kick him in the shins for me?"
Harmony didn't comply with her request, but shot Kevin a sour look. The man held up his hands defensively. "Hey, it's alright, it's alright. Just kidding."
"May I please continue?" Yukari sighed.
The couple settled down, allowing her to keep speaking. "Thank you. Anyway, the reason I came back here is because my homeland is in danger."
Harmony inhaled sharply, eyes widening.
Kevin frowned. "What kind of danger?"
"Pokémon, as you're aware, are more than just living beings over here: humanity's lives revolve around them. However, back home outside the barrier, they're little more than a franchise. Anime, video games, plush toys and T-shirts... they have never existed on Earth as flesh-and-blood creatures." Beat. "...Although I guess in a way, their lives still do revolve around them. Just... not in the way you're used to."
This revelation had to have been harder to stomach for them than the statement that Yukari wasn't human. A world where Pokémon didn't exist, where they were basically one collective cash cow? Impossible! "And what does this have to do with the supposed danger that your home is in?" Harmony asked, shelving her disbelief for the moment.
Yukari's eyes narrowed. "I woke up this morning, and there was a Delcatty sitting on my chest."
...
It took a few minutes for Kevin and Ninetales to stop laughing.
-GAP-
"Anyway, Harmony, I'm sure you can guess at the trouble. Pokémon are not supposed to exist back home; if more showed up, not only would it upset the status quo, it would make the lives of both us youkai and the resident humans very difficult... never mind what would happen if they began to appear outside the barrier. They just wouldn't be prepared for that sort of thing. And what if Pokémon as powerful as Kyogre or Groudon appeared there and went out of control? The damage to the environment and lives alike would not be worth the cost of keeping them there. If there's a way into Gensokyo, I need to find it. Find it, put any loose Pokémon back where they belong, and shut the door so that they can't get back in."
"Sounds like a difficult quest, if it's true... Is there anything we can do to help? I assume that's why you're here specifically."
"Actually, yes. Could you lend me Ninetales?"
"Ninetales? Why?"
"Because I- down, Ninetales, stop licking my arms! -Because my primary means of self-defense is non-existent here. If it comes down to power I could probably take something my size in a fight, but raw strength will do me little good if I face off against, say, a full-grown Tropius alone. If I have Ninetales backing me up- AGH! Ninetales, not the face, not the face!"
"Eh-hahahaha... I don't have any problems with it. She really likes you regardless... so, do you know where you want to begin looking?"
"Well, I know what to look for, but not where. Are there any major libraries in Hoenn that I can do research at?"
"Hmm... several, but the biggest one is in Rustboro City, where the Pokémon Trainer's School is located. I strongly suggest that you travel to Littleroot Town first and get yourself registered as a trainer, though."
"How come? Would it really be that much more difficult to get things done?"
"Not 'difficult', really, just less expensive. If you have a license, you get a basic discount for any goods and services you may require. And the man who handles the registration is a professor himself; he should be able to point you in the right direction if your search doesn't pan out."
"...Thank you. Thank you very much, Harmony. I won't forget thiMMPH! Paws off the mouth, please! I still need to breathe!"
"...I knew distance made the heart grow fonder, but..."
"Not funny, Kevin!"
...
And so the conversation went.
By the time dusk had descended upon the town, Yukari had more or less collapsed where she had sat. Quiet snores filled the room as she slept, and she gave no sign of reacting to anything. Ninetales had curled up near her, using her tails to keep the snoozing youkai warm. The scene was amusing enough that Harmony didn't want to disturb her by moving her to a futon.
Kevin had already gone to bed, leaving Harmony to regard Yukari silently. The conversation from earlier was still settling into her mind; she still had trouble believing that the physically younger woman was anything other than human. She had considered the possibility, however slim, that the woman had been lying about 'Gensokyo' and her status as a paranormal being.
After Yukari was able to settle Ninetales down, though, she was able to tell them about how she'd vanished the last time...
...
"There are some youkai, such as myself, that choose to hibernate for long periods of time according to the season. In my case, due to... personal circumstances, winter is my time to snooze. And while I sleep, I dream...
"In most cases, my dreams don't have any connection to each other. That winter fifteen years ago was unusual, for reasons I'm still not sure I can explain. I dreamed that I'd woken up inside the home of a happy couple, who doted on me, fed and sheltered me... me, a complete stranger. I dreamed of Pokémon, those wonderful creatures that lived everywhere I looked and tended more often than not to live in harmony with humanity... a far cry from the Gensokyo I knew at that time. I dreamed of a land whose beauty seemed to stretch for many miles, where even the populated areas flourished. ...I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, since I've always been fiercely proud of my home, but I recall thinking that if it was a dream, I wished it would never end. You two had been my first genuine human friends in centuries, and for that I was grateful to you.
"I remember going on a trip later in the season to the hot springs at Lavaridge, where I encountered Vulpix. I'd startled it, and it shot me with a Will O Wisp out of reflex. My special ability, the manipulation of borders, normally would've allowed me to recover from such an injury extremely quickly. Since I couldn't access it, I needed to have my left shoulder and the side of my face treated for burns. Vulpix was very distressed at what it had done, and clung close to me in case I needed anything; it even went so far as to follow us back here, and it wouldn't let me out of its sight. It was touching, very much so, and I came to see it as a smart and dependable companion.
"The urge to awaken was too great, sadly. The two of you had been out working, while I was housebound trying to teach Vulpix the Energy Ball technique. Everything became a blur, and I could hear my servant quietly calling my name. Before I knew it, I was back in my bed in Gensokyo, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I'd thought of my experience as one long dream, and at first I didn't think anything of it... and then my servant asked me why my shoulder and face were such a mess. I got up and hurried to the nearest mirror, and I saw the halfway healed injuries from the Will O Wisp. The memories, everything I'd seen, heard and felt... all of them had been real.
"It was the first time since my best friend had died ages ago that I gave in to the urge to cry."
...
Kevin and Harmony had said nothing to that, letting Yukari think about the experiences she'd had in Hoenn. Ninetales had regarded the woman's melancholy expression at length, finally breaking it by reaching up and taking hold of the woman's hat with her teeth. The resulting chase was short and energetic, and it had gotten some chuckles out of the Laydens, but it had been enough to rouse Yukari out of her funk.
Now, looking down at her sleeping form, Harmony gave the matter some further thought. Certainly her claims of being a "youkai", a strange term at that, were hard to swallow like she had said. Yukari's statement that magic was part of life in Genokyo didn't sit well with her either. However, aren't Pokémon in themselves magical in their own ways? Their strengths and weaknesses, what we've done for them, what they've done for us... this co-existence may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it's not to be looked down upon. And if it's powerful enough to affect the emotions of this inhuman woman...
"...Mi...mi..."
One had to be paying attention to see it, but Yukari's eyes had opened a sliver. They didn't focus on anything at all, but one hand slowly reached up to pat Ninetales' head. "Mi...Midori..." she whispered, eyes closing again and signalling her safe return to Dreamland. Her hand slid back down to the floor as the snores resumed.
Harmony's smile was broad. Turning away, she left the room to begin her own preparations for sleep, feeling as happy as she did at the initial reunion. Well, give me a coupon and declare a sale; I think I actually buy her explanation!
/-/-/-/
Utilizing one's full power to open a portal across universes, then trekking for five hours on foot... Gensokyo's overseer could be forgiven for sleeping clear through breakfast and down through the rest of the morning.
Yukari woke up at noontime the next day, and found that the Laydens were out working at their respective jobs. They had been thoughtful enough to fill Harmony's old backpack with some supplies she'd need to make her trip, along with some spending money and food for Ninetales and herself. Included in the supplies was Ninetales' Poké Ball, and a message: "Do your best."
She could not help but send a reply back to them, she knew. Quickly tracking down a sheet of paper and a pen, she spent the better part of ten minutes composing her reply. When Yukari left with Ninetales alongside her, the letter placed where the backpack had been, she felt as if her heart weighed just a little bit less.
"Dear Kevin and Harmony,
"By the time you read this, I'll be long gone. I all but told you that I was a monster in human form, but you still found it in your hearts to do all of this for me. I do not have many friends for reasons I can only describe as mean-spirited and calculating, so it feels wonderful to have experienced your kindness.
"I cannot promise that I will return. What I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to keep Gensokyo safe from harm. If I succeed in getting to the bottom of this mystery, I suspect it'll be all over the television networks soon enough. Still, I'll be sending periodic letters to keep you informed of my progress.
"It was an honor to have met you. Continue to live well and be healthy, and who knows? Our paths might very well cross again.
"All the best,
Yukari Yakumo
The Border of Phantasm
P.S. I have decided to call Ninetales 'Midori' from now on. The name makes sense in context, trust me."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
During her lifetime, Remilia Scarlet was not one to let teams of hunters discourage her from being a borderline socialite. Through hook or by crook, she refused to let the stigma of her race or her weakness to sunlight keep her from dying of boredom; she liked to be entertained. Once a month, or once every two months at the most, she would sneak out and see if there was anything new in the world (this had the added effect of throwing prospective hunters far off her trail). This practice stopped after her home was transferred to Gensokyo; she couldn't see the sights if the sights were out of reach.
Using the Mansion as a base of operations over the centuries, she had seen history go by. When she was still very young, she had listened to a story about the Notre Dame cathedral's mysterious bell ringer. She had been present at several of Beethoven's performances, toured long-abandoned and forgotten castles, seen much of Europe during its good times and bad...
On one occasion during Napoleon's reign, Remilia had hidden herself in the background while a distinguished officer sang a song at a dinner party. The song had been catchy enough that even weeks later, long after she had returned home, she had caught herself singing it while walking about the Mansion's halls. She had counted herself fortunate that only the most trusted members of her staff at the time had heard her going on in that fashion.
What she hadn't counted on was that Flandre had overheard her singing as well, and the younger sister had found the tune very funny. Having little in the way of personal entertainment, she took whatever she heard to heart; butchering lyrics was fun in itself, after all.
/-/-/
And so it was about two centuries later that Flandre was engaged in one of her favorite pasttimes, dancing about the dungeon-turned-bedroom and singing whatever came to mind. A new toy had arrived in her room: a steel-covered bird as big as Sakuya, presently perched atop her canopy bed; she didn't know how it got there, but she suspected that Sakuya had snuck it in here with her time manipulation trick. Secretly she dreaded the day when the toy would meet the fate of the many others she'd had before; it was rare when one of them would last more than a week, when she would inevitably forget her own colossal power and accidentally trigger her ability.
But for now she laughed, sang and danced.
(BGM: Danny Kaye - Gypsy Drinking Song)
"~Fluttering here and there and to and fro with too much bright energy, with a flap-flap-flap and a tap-tap-tap who seeks to upstage Remi, flies the sister! The sister! The siiii-iiii-yii-yii-yiister, the si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si-si-sister...!~"
Atop the canopy the bird watched her every movement, its features locked in a perpetual grimace. As she gave her performance, it slowly occurred to Flandre that the bird was not a toy, but a living being. With every lyric she recited, its disgust became increasingly evident.
And she did not like the fierce look it was giving her. Come on! She had two centuries to work on those lyrics! Her performance should've been flawless by now!
"~...in her hands... there is nowhere to stand... and this is what they are sayiinngg... ...'Yum... yum...'~" ...with a little whine at the end just to make herself sound cute.
The bird ruffled its metallic feathers, unimpressed. Flandre's anger burned, and she decided to bring a premature end to the song as only she knew how.
"~Sing, Flandre swing, Flandre fly, Flandre dance, Flandre leave, Flandre maul, Flandre eat, Flandre drink...~" A menacing stare as an eye-shaped aura formed in her hand. "~Flan-dre... drink to hellos and drink to good-byes, drink to the lows and drink to the highs...~" Her expression softened. "~Drink to this life so it all goes, and I will drink with my eyes...~" ...And then a sharp turn to the extremely deadly. "~...and so we drink!~"
Her hand tightened around the eye-
...
Nothing. The room was dead silent.
Flandre glared first at the eye, then up at the bird. The steel toy stared back at her curiously, yet unflinchingly. "I saiiiddd, 'and so we drink'!" she shouted, squeezing her hand as tightly as she could-
But she was rewarded not with an explosion of atoms, but a sensation like that of unyielding iron against a human hand. She blinked, mouth open a centimeter in surprise. The oddity of something withstanding her ability was so unfamiliar that she paused, thinking this over...
"Skarrrr!"
An angry call caught Flandre's attention before she could ponder things for too long, and she met the bird's gaze eye to eye. She wondered for a second why it was mad. It wasn't that bright; it couldn't have figured out what she was doing, could it-?
The bird flapped its wings furiously, kicking up a fierce gust of wind. Flandre was lifted off her feet and thrown against the nearest wall with a thunk, grunting with the impact; the 'eye' she was holding disappeared. Okay; maybe it does know. She slid down to the floor, but quickly stood upright; the attack wouldn't have been enough to injure Meiling, let alone one of the Scarlet sisters-
A whoosh of air, and the bird had lifted off of the canopy and flown right into her face, hovering just a few inches away. Flandre smiled nervously, not sure what game she wanted to play. "But first we dance?" she offered tentatively.
The pecking order that was instituted immediately showed Flandre what her would-be plaything thought of that idea.
/-/-/-/
Crash!
Sakuya and Remilia looked up from the dining room table, the latter with a fork halfway to her mouth. The two looked at each other with puzzled expressions before the head maid decided to see what the matter was.
"Let me try that again..." a childish voice murmured from outside the room.
Before Sakuya could reach the door, one of the Mansion's fairy maids threw it open and entered. She frowned, recognizing this particular staffer: short brown hair, grass-green uniform, twig-like wings, a dandelion-shaped hair decoration behind her maid's headdress, and an intelligence quotient that made the rest of the staff look like geniuses; she also had a bruise on her forehead where she had collided with the door. Sighing, Sakuya asked: "How many times do we have to tell you? You open the door, then charge through it."
"It's okay, scary lady, it's okay," the fairy said, brushing that aside and beaming up at her. "Hey, did you know that the funny sister has a new pet bird?"
"What sort of nonsense are you going on about over there?" Remilia asked between bites. "We can't give Flandre any pets."
"Really? Hrmmm..." The fairy tapped her lip with a finger, thinking hard. Sakuya was getting ready to tell her that there was steam coming out of her ears when she finally spoke up: "Does the bird know about that? Someone should tell it."
A sigh from Remilia. "Sakuya, go and find out what she's talking about. D.F., attend to me."
Sakuya bowed. "As you wish, my lady," she said before freezing time and exiting the dining room.
D.F. tried to mimic the bow, but smacked her face against the edge of the door instead. "Ow! Hey, who put this wall here?" she complained. "That's not polite!"
Remilia silently regretted the day that she decided to round out the staff.
/-/
"SAKUYAAAA! BIG SISTER! SOMEBODY HELLLPPP!"
This was the yell that Sakuya heard as soon as she released her grip on time, standing before the dungeon/bedchamber door. Although she hid it well, it immediately made her nervous. Even when the shrine maiden and the thief surpassed her in their respective duels, Flandre never became afraid. What is in there that would make her fearful enough to cry for assistance?
Sakuya shook her head, gathering her courage. For my lady. For the Scarlet family, she told herself, undoing the magic locks on the door one by one. Passing through the door, she went down the staircase beyond and into the bedroom proper to see what was amiss...
For the second time in as many days, Sakuya witnessed a bizarre situation. Flandre was half-running, half-flying around the room, hands behind her head as she tried to protect it from her pursuer. Chasing her was a steel-armored avian, gleaming in the room's candlelight; between enraged caws, it would try to poke Flandre with its beak whenever it got close enough. Although it hadn't registered with either of the two that the pecking would not do her any serious harm, though...
Sakuya pinched the bridge of her nose. First the martial arts rooster, and now a kite in sour armor. "Birds... just what is your problem, birds?" she mumbled to no one in particular, drawing several knives from their sheathes. Shutting down time again, she carefully placed the knives so that their trajectory would cut across the path between the pursuer and the pursued, then released her grip on chronology-
The bird halted itself the best it could, surprised, as the knives flew across its vision. Flandre was agreeable to this, taking this chance to dive beneath the bed. "Sakuyaaaaa!" she cried. "Where did you get that steely thing? It's so mean!"
"I had nothing to do with it." Sakuya retrieved her weapons, watching the bird all the while. It was staring at her, shrouded in an aura of indignance at having its chase interrupted. "Same with your sister. You know that we can't give you any pets, young mistress."
"But you had to have something to do with it!" Flandre insisted. "Animals don't just appear out of thin air! Especially ones that don't break!"
"...What."
"Huh? What is it, Sakuya?"
"...Could you run that by me again, young mistress? That last part you said?"
"Oh, right." Flandre's hand reached out from under the bed, a familiar eye in its palm. She tightened her hand as much as she could, and Sakuya reflexively braced herself... only for life to laugh and go about its business. "It won't break. The bird won't break-AHHH!" she shrieked, quickly dispersing the eye and retracting her hand when the bird tried to peck at it again.
"You shouldn't be trying to break living things, anyway," Sakuya said, keeping the surprise out of her voice. Immune to the little sister's power? What manner of creature is this? "Young mistress, do you think you can get it to chase you again?"
"What do you think it's been doing?" Flandre asked a trifle bitingly, her fangs visible.
"Do you have any objections to leading it towards the library?" Sakuya inquired, not letting herself be drawn into an argument. "This is the sort of thing that Lady Patchouli needs to know about."
"But I don't want it to peck my neck again!" the younger Scarlet complained. "Those kisses hurt!"
"Please, young mistress?" Sakuya inquired sweetly, a bit of the steel that formed her public persona entering her voice. "It won't hurt you if you stay ahead of it."
"... ...Oh, okay," Flandre reluctantly said, pouting. Cautiously keeping an eye on the bird, she crawled out from under the bed and tried to edge past-
"SKARRRR!"
And with a flap of its wings and Flandre's panicked yell, the chase was on again. This time, she had the mind to lead it out the room's open door.
By the time the two of them had left, Sakuya was already gone.
/-/-/-/
"...Another one."
"Indeed, Lady Patchouli."
"First the kickboxer. Then the 'ghost hat', as Marisa called it. And now..." Patchouli gestured at where the bird was chasing Flandre around the library's main reading area. "...this. What in Gensokyo is wrong with this place?"
"It looks super shiny," Koakuma commented, placing several fresh books onto Patchouli's desk. "Are you sure it's wearing armor, Sakuya? It appears too natural to be man-made."
"Correct." Another gesture from the librarian as the bird flapped its wings. "See, right there? Even the feathers are tempered steel. You can't get that sort of workmanship from the average blacksmith. I'm curious as to how its able to stay aloft in that state."
"Shouldn't we worry more about how it's irritating the young mistress?" Sakuya asked, keeping her anxiousness to stop the intruder from surfacing.
"Why Flandre-sama, though?" Koakuma turned to them, arms folded. She paid the chase no mind even when it passed within a meter of her. "What did she do to get it angry at her?"
Sakuya frowned. "I assume she tried to attack it. She said in her own way that the bird is immune to her ability."
Patchouli had been reaching for one of the books when she stopped in mid-motion. Koakuma's mouth fell open. The two of them looked at each other for four seconds, then slowly rotated to face Sakuya again. In one of those rare moments where two people are fully in sync, they both spoke to the maid the thought that was on their minds.
"What."
Cue the sweatdrop. "That's what I said."
"YAHHH! Back off! It's trying to kiss me againnnnn!"
"SKARRRR!"
The chase passed by about a meter away from Patchouli. Following Koakuma's lead, she ignored it. "In the past five centuries there has never arisen a material capable of surviving an experience with the younger sister. Only the most powerful magics can keep objects intact for casual day-to-day usage, lest we spend everything we have just replacing her wardrobe, and those spells are ineffective on living beings. How in the name of everything in existence can this creature laugh off her strength? It makes no sense at all."
"Ya got me there, ze."
"There has to be some special quality embued in the metal-excuse me, the bird itself. Something must be keyed specifically to thwart attacks beyond a certain level of strength, or else it would be flat-out impossible to stop. Come, Koakuma. I will require your assistance in ascertaining the secret behind this phenomenon. Marisa, stick around; I need someone I can bounce ideas off of. Sakuya, inform Remi that I must not be disturbed, then lock the doors and prepare to keep the bird away from Flandre."
"A-alright."
"Sure thing, Patchy."
"I shall tell her immediately, Lady Patchouli."
Everyone set off to carry out their tasks... then stopped. A bead of sweat rolled down Koakuma's temple. Patchouli, disbelieving, dropped the book she was holding. Sakuya's aura darkened a bit.
...And as one, the trio whirled around and yelled: "MARISA! What in blazes are you doing here?!"
Marisa sweatdropped, but grinned. Next to her, Mismagius was watching the armored bird apprehensively. "I came back here to drop off that potions book I borrowed, but it looks like you've got hairier problems on your hands. Need any shears, ze?"
"...You're returning a borrowed book," Patchouli intoned.
"Well, yeah. That book was what got me merged with the ghost hat over here, remember? I got what I wanted out of it, so I don't need it anymore." Marisa gestured at said 'ghost hat', then folded her arms. "Meiling was nice enough to let me in through the main entrance."
"...You actually entered through the front door," Sakuya said with quiet surprise.
"Yep."
"...And you volunteered to help us with our problems," Koakuma murmured, awed.
"Yeah. So?"
Patchouli was silent for a few moments before turning to her assistant. "If anything should happen to me in the next ten minutes, Koakuma, you will find my copy of Gone With the Wind hidden behind my bed."
"And I shall see to it that Meiling inherits my cutlery," Sakuya added in all seriousness.
"I love everyone," Koakuma whined, teary-eyed. "I denounce every prank I ever played in my life!"
Marisa scratched the back of her head, looking put off. "Hey, now..."
/-/-/-/
Flandre had lost track of time while the chase was in session. All of her efforts to dodge the angry metal kite had proven useless up to now; the thing was as fast as she was, and any attempts to evade it through flight were ended by one of its wide-area whirlwinds. She had considered using danmaku and Spell Cards, but aside from her not knowing if those would effect it, she hadn't forgotten the last time she used Laevatein in the library. The nightmares she'd gotten from witnessing Patchouli's fury had lasted for a week.
Something zoomed past her, then turned in her direction. Flandre's face brightened. Marisa! Sakuya!
A hatlike being flew in towards the bird from the side, fiercely tapped it with its shadowy aura, then shot straight upwards. The tap was too weak to harm the bird, but the suddenness of the attack made it flinch. When Flandre saw that her rescuers had Spell Cards in their hands, she hit the ground and stayed there.
"Star Sign: Meteonic Shower!"
"Lightspeed: C. Ricochet!"
"...Skar?"
The spell card system's signature magic circles materialized beneath the four of them. Marisa struck first, and the steely bird was peppered with a barrage of weak stars; some of them deliberately missed their mark, serving to keep the target caged in. The bird had no time to react and no way to see where Sakuya's favored weapons were bouncing around. Sure enough, once the Meteonic Shower wore off, the last of the thrown knives had bounced off a bookshelf and was zeroing in on its target... and once it hit, they all hit; purple streaks of light, each one a knife-shaped energy bullet, struck home one after another.
The shock of being hammered by so many attacks in such a short amount of time was too much for the poor thing's senses. Despite the magic circle having some power left and there being no way to suffer any actual harm, the creature's brain was telling it that there was no energy left to give. With a muffled crash, the bird dropped out of the air, hit the ground bellyfirst and remained still.
As Flandre sat up, Marisa turned to Sakuya. "Alright, raise one hand up."
"Huh?"
"Raise your hand up." Marisa demonstrated for her. "Like this."
"Anyyyy... particular reason why?"
Marisa gave her a weird look. "What, you've never been congratulated before? You need to get out more."
Sakuya smiled, ignoring Koakuma's approach. "Oh-ho? That's a funny thing for you to say."
"Yeah. Shouldn't you be directing that to Miss Patchouli?" Flandre chimed in. "She's the shut-in of the bunch."
"...Fine. I'll do it myself." Marisa raised her left hand into the air, then gleefully smacked it with the other. "Way to go, Marisa-chan! You rule! Ze-hahahahahaha!"
Sakuya wasn't quite sure what to make of her behavior, but she decided that it must not be terribly important. "Let's just get this thing back to the others, shall we? We've got work to do."
Marisa complied, cackling. With Koakuma's assistance, the downed bird was transferred back to Patchouli's desk via a wooden cart.
Flandre joined Sakuya as she followed them, wanting to cheer her up. "That's okay. I think you did a very fine job too."
"Thank you, young mistress, but I would ask you to change the subject if the tengu ever shows up and asks about any of this."
The younger Scarlet shrugged noncommitally and trotted off ahead, muttering about not having a Flandre song without a Flandre chorus. Sakuya rolled her eyes and sighed quietly, thankful that no one knew what the Mansion's residents were really like outside the public eye.
/-/-/-/
Remilia and her attendant fairy maid joined the group in the library a short time later, the former having just wrapped up her meal. D.F. kept herself occupied by being useless, gawking at the library's expanse, so Remilia waved her off and left her alone.
The intrusive bird, whom Mismagius had referred to as a "Skarmory"-whatever that meant-was seated on the cart next to Patchouli's desk, looking grumpy for good reason: a set of magical chains were keeping it tied down. Koakuma was examining it from every angle and taking notes, while Patchouli extracted what information she could through scrying.
"Appeared right out of nowhere, huh?" Marisa was saying to Flandre. "You'd think that it was one of Sakuya's parlor acts..."
"That's what I thought, too. But..."
"I hadn't been down to Flandre's room since her previous meal," Sakuya informed the magician. "And as we've said a few times by now, she's not allowed to keep any pets. You know why."
Skarmory squawked something indignantly. Oh, don't be that way, Mismagius cheerfully replied. I'm sure they'll let you go if you're really nice about it.
Marisa idly tapped her broom's handle a few times. "What did he say, ghost hat?"
He said that he's no one's pet. Mismagius waited until Skarmory finished reading them all the riot act before continuing. He's saying that he'd been eating fruit from his favorite tree when he was grabbed and thrown into this bright and colorful tunnel, that he didn't ask for any of this, and that he's mad at Rainbow Wings for her sudden attack.
Flandre stared at the ground, unwilling to meet Skarmory's glare.
"A bright and colorful tunnel... hey, didn't you end up in a tunnel like that?" Marisa asked of Mismagius.
Yeah, but I wasn't grabbed or anything like that. I was just curious about a hole in the wall, and there I went.
"...A Mismagius... a Skarmory... and of course that fire rooster from the other day," Remilia mused aloud. "I wonder what sort of connection they have..."
That's an easy one, Mismagius replied, smiling pleasantly. They're both Pokémon. Same as me!
Everyone's eyes save Patchouli's were fixed on the ghost. "Pokémon?" they asked at once.
Yep yep. Pokémon, pocket monsters, whatever you want to call us.
"But you don't look like a monster," Flandre said, puzzled. "You look too cute for that."
Patchouli coughed something which might've been the words "pot", "kettle" and "black", but no one paid attention to her.
"Well, we have a name, at least." Koakuma wrote down the term for later research. "Now then, all of this still leaves the question of what we're going to do about Skarmory. That takes first priority, I think."
Skarmory rattled off some words for Mismagius to pass on to the others. He says that so long as he's no one's pet and Rainbow Wings says she's sorry, do whatever. And he wants some spicy food, too.
Amusement from Marisa. "'Rainbow Wings' would make an awesome nickname."
"I should say not," Remilia disagreed. "She needs to keep her reputation inta-... Flandre! Flandre! What are you... get off the floor!" she shouted, fists clenched at her sides. "Have some dignity, for Vlad's sake!"
Patchouli, having dismissed the scrying circles, drifted over and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Let it rest, Remi. Let it rest."
"Rrrr... Patchy, look at this! What is she doing?"
Patchouli closed her eyes, smiling. "Growing up."
Flandre was on her knees before Skarmory, hands on the floor and her head bowed. "I know you said you're no pet, but I've always wanted to play with something that wouldn't break. I've been locked up for centuries because of my lack of restraint. I understand why, and it's for my own good, but just once I'd like to spend the day with someone who isn't scared of my strength! Please, Skarmory, don't hold my anger against me! Forgive this humble child!"
No one moved. Remilia was torn between berating her sister and hoping for the best outcome. Sakuya and Koakuma waited with baited breath. Marisa whistled, impressed; Mismagius stayed quiet, not understanding the repercussions of Flandre's actions. Patchouli still smiled, likely knowing the outcome already. In the background, D.F. tried to count all the books she could see but lost track at seven.
Finally, Skarmory relaxed a bit and spoke. Mismagius obligingly translated: Um, spicy food? Anytime now?
"YEAHHHH!" Marisa pumped a fist and yelled, making Koakuma jump.
The younger Scarlet did not hesitate; she bolted from the floor and grabbed Skarmory in a hug, which seemed to greatly embarrass the Pokémon. "I like it, I like it!"
While no one was looking her way, Sakuya sighed quietly and added another notch to the "incidents resolved" tally.
Remilia facepalmed, but even then the corners of her lips kept twitching. "Flandre, Flandre, Flandre... were those lessons on etiquette and decorum for nothing?"
A low chuckle. "Friendship trumps pride," Patchouli said, dissolving the chains that kept Skarmory secured. "Maybe you'll have a better hand next time."
"The way things are going, there won't be a next time," Remilia complained. She straightened, stretching her arms. "What would you know about friendship beating pride, anyway?"
"Plenty. I'm friends with you, remember?"
Remilia slapped a hand over her heart, cried out as if she'd been staked, and slumped to the floor. Marisa snorted in amusement. "She's a total drama queen, isn't she?"
"You have no idea, monochrome."
...
Flandre's joyous laughter would resound throughout the library for quite some time. Following a celebratory feast she would attempt to finish her performance before an audience, but that is a story for another day. What was important was that the moment that Skarmory agreed to be friends with her was one of the happiest moments of her life. Even Remilia couldn't dispute that.
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Blastoise's moveset: Hydro Pump, Withdraw, Skull Bash, Mirror Coat
Approximate Level: 41
Reimu's Notes: Marisa freeloads from time to time if she forgets to restock. Suika? Whenever she's not bothering the Celestials or visiting the oni underground, here she is. Now we have a fully-armed turtle in residence here at the shrine. Did I anger someone to have this done to me? Tell me honestly. I mean, it's not like it's helping me bring in donations or anything. So why am I willingly putting up with 'Blastoise', whatever that name means? Why am I thinking that letting it stay here would be a good thing? Is my intuition telling me something? This requires further thought.
Delcatty's moveset: Hidden Power, Copycat, Ice Beam, Return
Approximate Level: 38
Chen's Notes: Creampuff took his loss a lot better than I did. Feeling disconnected from Ran-sama is not nice. Still, life with him around is fun. I can tell he misses his trainer, or master, or whatever you want to call it, but he's making the best of the situation. I can't wait to show him to Mystia and the others! Just imagine the games we could play!
Skarmory's moveset: Whirlwind, Spikes, Steel Wing, Peck
Approximate Level: 33
Flandre's Notes: Remi let me have a pet bird! ...Wait, I can't call it a pet. Oops! Anyway, this is a dream come true! Patchy confirmed that it really is living armor. I don't understand all those fancy words she used, but I could figure out that it's why it can't be broken! It doesn't like being cooped up in here every hour, though, which I understand. I kinda wish I could follow it wherever it goes... curse my lack of self-control!
