In a nearby pub was Eve, like the other two mons with her, looking for company for the night. In her case she wanted a guy around her size who wouldn't run by looking at her face and call for her dead.
And as they were there, a Raichu noticed her and approached, "Hi there. What's a nice lady like you is doing in this place?"
"Looking for company," was her reply. "My friends and I had a busy day and I don't want to spend the night with them."
"Ahh, I see. Well, my room is right upstairs, wanna join me?"
"Sure thing," told Eve with a grin.
The Raichu then offered his hand to lead her in his room, "Oh, and by the way, my name is Tyler."
"Eve," replied the Mesprit while taking his hand.
"Eve? Such an adorable name."
"Thank you Tyler," smiels smiled Eve as they moved up to his room.
As he closed the door, he tackled Eve pushing her on the bed.
"No clothes off?" she murred, hinting on the fact she is wearing a lot.
"Oh, but that was the next step my dear," he smirked as he started to undress her.
She raised her arms, wondering how he would react to the patches and scars she had...
As her body was naked, his eyes widened at the view of her signed form.
"Surprised?" she asked, while making sure he had a good view on her.
"... A lot."
"Long story," she shrugged. "Still interested?"
"Well... not really. In fact I have another one who's waiting for me," he chuckled nervously as he got down from the bed and rushed out.
"Seriously?" she sighed loudly and got clothed again, looking for somebody else.
But it seemed all the males were busy with other females or getting drunk.
She groaned, not wanting to be the only one who wouldn't get any fun.
"Hey Eve, unlucky tonight?" Walter asked, visibly drunk and in company/supported by two Espeons.
"I am," mumbled Eve. "While you got two girls."
"Too bad. Hey girls, why don't we go in my room? There's a friend who's impatient to meet you!" Walter said swinging a wine bottle. The female giggled as they lead to his room.
Eve sighed loudly and took a seat before ordering a wine, "I hate my love life."
After drinking the wine, she went to her own room and got into the bed... however she was unhappy about her lack of luck with guys.
On the next day, everybody met to breakfast and Raven asked how the night was. Eve's reaction was just to look away and Simon mused, "Guess she is the only one who didn't had a good one."
"Uugh... don't mention it," Walter said while rubbing his eyes.
"But didn't you find two girls with who spend the night?" Kalahari asked.
"Yeah, but they used their psychic powers to control me. They were dominant, in short."
"Then I was lucky with my Kirlia," chuckled Simon and Eve groaned. "Thanks for putting salt into my wounds!"
"Hey, that's not your fault," Kalahari said.
"Oh? Then whose fault is it?" asked Eve.
"No one."
"Still doesn't help," told Eve and Raven told. "Let's have the breakfast. Perhaps you have luck later."
"How about you?" asked Eve to Raven and he turns to her surprised.
"We slept in the same room, we had a quiet night," Kalahari replied.
"I guessed it already," told Eve. "I mean, if Raven is interested in having a night with me."
"EVE!"
"I was joking!" she replied. "I mean, I know he got a girl."
"Let's finish breakfast and let's go," Walter protested.
And they continued to eat.
After some minutes they were out.
"Which temple next?" asked Raven.
"The dragon one is the closest," replied Sebastian.
"One of the most troublesome Temples," sighs Raven sighed. " Let's go then."
"Wait a second. Simon you should go," Kalahari stopped.
"Why?" wondered Simon.
"'Cause you're half ice type, and dragon are weak against ice."
"Alright... I just hope they don't kill me on sight."
"They won't. Anyway, need a tip?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Then I'll give you some tricks telepathically now and then."
" My dark type?" countered Simon.
"Telepathy doesn't count with types."
"Then I better go now."
"Good luck," told Raven.
"Thanks," he told and began to go.
A Dragon Breath 'welcomed' him.
And he jumped away to not get hit.
"Who violates our temple?!" a Gyarados asked.
"Ehh... name's Simon... and... I thought Gyarados were no dragon types."
"SHUT UP!" he roared using Dragon Breath again.
"Stop all of this!" A Salamence interfered.
Simon sighed, "I would like to talk with your leader."
"I am. What do you want?"
"In short, ask for the key, to prevent a mad king and his demon to get the Crown of Arceus."
The two pokémon looked at each other then laughed.
"Thanks for considering my words as joke," told Simon. "And I am not joking."
However he guessed in his mind that their pride was thinking that way.
"Oh you're welcome. No mortal is so crazy to aim at such dangerous item," the Gyarados said.
"Ehh... than newsflash. Here is one who is so crazy. And now, me and a group of other mons and I are trying to get it in hands first with the goal to either make sure he never gets it or get the Legendaries back."
"Pff, you're crazy."
"Except for my weapons choice I am quite sane."
"Well then, prove it," the Salamence said. "If you defeat me, we'll trust you and give you the key."
"Where is the battlefield?"
"This is. And now fight!" and the Salamence uses used Dragon Claw.
Simon jumped and shot an Ice Beam.
The Salamence dodged and replied with Hyper Beam. Simon threw two Shadow Balls while running, reading the dragon's movements to start his aiming skills.
The Salamence threw them back with a tail swing as he rushed to attack.
Simon got ready and released a Snarl attack.
The dragon didn't look affected a lot as he countered with Dragon Pulse.
Simon rolled forward and shot Ice Beam at his head.
The dragon dodged as he kept on using Dragon Pulse, finally getting opponent in a moment of low guard.
And then Simon aimed for the eye with an Ice Beam.
The dragon got hit as he fell back with a hurt eye.
"MASTER!" the Gyarados yelled as he roared at Simon and used his ability Arrogance.
Then Simon went to shoot at the wings to take the flying capacity of the dragon off.
"NO!" the Gyarados got between to defend his master.
"Hey!" shouted Simon as his Ice Beam hit the water/flying body.
"Nngh..." the Salamence got up a he used Dragon Pulse again.
Simon jumped up a tree and shouted, "Your friend there cheated! He took a hit for you."
"That's called friendship, you idiot!"
"Doesn't change the fact we are in a battle!" told Simon. "In a war or other types of battles I wouldn't complain but this is something just between the two of us!"
As he spoke the two pokémon attacked with Dragon Breath.
"Now it's two against one?" asked Simon while running, going for a Surf attack.
The Gyarados tamed the wave as he grew closer to Simon and hit him with Bite.
And Simon hit the eye with Shadow Ball.
The pokémon fell defeated as the other one struck with Dragon Claw.
Simon cried in pain and flew against a tree.
"Hehehe, never mess with a dragon, Sneasel!"
"So much for honor," mumbled Simon and threw his next Shadow Ball.
The dragon dodged as he cornered Simon against the tree, holding his neck, "Honor more than anything."
"So forcing me to fight two at once though it was only between you and me?" asked Simon.
"Shut the hell up!" he yelled scratching his face. "You think you're worthy to achieve our key!?"
"You're an idiot!"
Simon held the face while shooting an Ice Beam to the head.
The Salamence then fell defeated as well.
Simon pulled his hand from his face and looked at the blood, mumbling, "This will leave a scar..."
The temple was desert, the key was free to take.
"Only two guards? I expected more," told Simon and went over to the key and put both hands on it to lift it up.
"And you're wrong!" a voice said as many dragon pokémons shown up.
"More?" groaned Simon "And here I thought defeating your leader would grand me the key. At least I understood him that way."
"STAY AWAY FROM THE KEY!"
"I just battled a Salamance and a Gyrados out there!" shouted Simon. "And the dragon told me if I defeated him, I could take the key."
"This count for nothing!" a Bagon said as he used Butthead.
Simon jumped out of the way and wondered what happened to the honor of dragons. Or was their pride that strong?
Many dragon pokémons attacked him from many directions, as a Druggigon protected the key itself.
Realizing that staying there was suicide, he made his escape to get out alive.
"AND NEVER COME BACK!"
"We will see," mumbled Simon and went to find this Salamance from earlier, finding him as he just woke up.
"You again!?"
"Your friends didn't let me take the key," was Simon's reply. "They were actually trying to kill me."
"Hehe, you thought defeating me was enough? Now you'll have to fight through all my fellows!"
"So much for dragon's honor" told Simon dryly, going to get backup... getting the key by himself was impossible with his wound and amount of dragons waiting for him.
"So you still wanna fight!?" a dragon pokémon asked.
"Yeah, but not under conditions where it is a honorless kill for you dragons."
"Tsk. You just care to stay alive!"
"What use does the key have for me, if I am dead?" asks asked Simon.
"Why should we give you the key if you don't show to be worth of it!?"
"Sometimes showing something takes time. And I am not so dumb to jump right back to a death trap without a plan."
The pokémons laughed at him as he was pathetic.
And then a second Sneasel came out with the key, walking up to Simon, "Or my plan worked already with my Substitute."
"WHAT!?"
"Once I was in there, I realized I could not get it on my own... at least not alive, given the wounds I took from you. So I made a Substitute who moved to grab the key while I took the attention."
"You little!... Heh, alright, you have shown to be smarter than us. Go away."
"Thanks... and next time we meet I hope this isn't something I get killed for," told Simon and made his way back to his friends... beginning to notice his wounds took effect on his body.
"Hey how… you're wounded!" Walter exclaimed.
"Got the key... but with heavy hits," told Simon and fell on the ground.
"Heh, maybe I've been stupid to choose him for this," Kalahari said as he knelt next to him and used his powers to heal Simon.
"Do you think one of us would have fared better?" asks Raven
"I don't know." Shrugs Kalahari
"I bet this will leave a scar," told Eve.
"Well, better a scar than life." Told the psycho type
"Agree on this... wonder how he got the key." Mused Raven
"Surely he fought hard."
"And that for somebody who prefers to stay behind the lines to shoot his arrows," told Raven.
"The important is that we have the key."
"True!"
"We should find a safe place for now."
"It's a good idea," told Raven. "In the near lives a Lord I worked for once. His home is a fortress. I bet if we offer bodyguard service until Simon recovered, he will let us live there."
"Good idea."
"Three marching hours south from here," told Raven. "Do you think you can teleport us so... 12 minutes west from it? Would help us to let him believe we are all mercenaries... because most teleport users are not just showing up in the front doors. At least not without risking to be hit by arrows."
"I think I can, but I cannot while supporting Simon. Someone has to carry him," Kalahari said.
"I can," Louis offered.
"I take him," told Raven and shouldered Simon. "After the teleport we are going to move... fast."
"Alright. You're the boss," Kalahari said as he started the teleport.
Once they were in the forest near the fortress, they began to move until they reached the gate. Two guards blocked it but one asked, "Raven? Is that you?"
"Yes it is!" told Raven and the guard replied. "Never thought I would see you again."
"You know... mercenary business could bring me anywhere. My friends and I happened to be in the near but the Sneasel here got hurt by a fight against a dragon," explained Raven. "Could you ask Lord Krankenstein if we could get a place for us until he recovers in exchange for our services?"
"I can! But... dragon?" asked the guard and Eve told replied. "Business."
"Alright..." mused the guard and went to his Lord.
In his palace, Lord Krankenstein the old Carracosta was working on a new creation, when a tiny Buneary peeked in his office."M-Mister Krankenstein?"
"What is it?" the turtle asked not taking his eyes off.
"Your old friend Raven, the Zangoose is here."
"Raven?" he immediately took his walking stick and moved from his office, the little Buneary kindly helped him.
The guard brought Raven and the others to a hall where they waited for the old Lord of this place.
"Aaaaah Raven, my old friend!" the Carracosta said with a smile as he moved to the group. "What brings you here?"
"We happened to be around Lord Krankenstein. And one of our friends got wounded after facing a dragon... so we would like to offer our services in exchange for a place where he can recover from the wounds."
"Oh my my, but what service? Raven's friends are my friends! Bibi!" he called as the Buneary stood there. "Call the nurses and let this Sneasel go in the infirmary!"
"Yes sir!" he replied obediently.
Raven handed Simon over so he could be brought to the infirmary. Turning to Krankenstein he told, "Thank you Lord Krankenstein."
"No problem at all Raven. But please, follow my dear servant Bibi, he'll show you your rooms. I'm deeply sorry to leave you, but I have to work very hardly in these days."
Eve followed the old Lord and wondered what he was working on.
The old scientist held on his walking stick as he moved back to his laboratory, but feeling someone was following him.
"Excuse me," told Eve.
"Yes Mrs. Mesprit?" the old pokémon kept on walking until his lab. "Sorry if I don't stop, but I have to hurry at my project. But you're welcome to follow me."
"I understand! And I am very curious about your work," admitted Eve.
The Carracosta turned and pointed his stick at her, "You have to talk about this project with no one! You heard me? NO ONE! This is a secret!"
"I rip out my heart out if I tell it to anybody," she promised.
"Good," he then turned back and moved away a dirty cloth, showing a Lucario's arm, a REAL arm connected to different electrical machines. "Can you guess what's this is?" the Carracosta asked.
"A reversed version of Raven's situation?" she guessed. "Are you searching for a way to attach a REAL arm back on Raven?"
"I say your psychic nature is really smart. Yes, I'm working on something like that. Raven told me about how much he has to spend to check and fix his arm, engineering and magic, and all that stuff. If my calculations are right, and the experiment goes well, all pokémon with fake limbs will be able to have new ones, connected to their brain. They won't even remember those limbs that aren't theirs!" the old tortoise explained.
"I thought last time it was tried, there were complications... like the body rejecting the limbs," told Eve. "Or did you find a way to work around it?"
"Exactly. Every pokémon is different, as well as their limbs connection to their brains. First I have to understand, which are the main differences are. Look," he pointed at the other side of his lab. "There are other four mons limbs. Five different pokémon."
She shruddered a little, "Don't know why... but this reminds me on my creation."
"Mind if I ask, why are you wearing that mask? Some accident, perhaps?" the scientist wondered.
"Skin didn't regenerate like my creator wanted it and... I am missing an eye. Just like Raven, but since I am alive thanks to magic, it was easy to make a crystal that replaces the eye."
"Ah, I see. May I give it a look personally?" he asked as he approached to her.
She nodded and removed it... showing the empty eye socket and the bare flesh underneath the mask... even a small spot of pure bone was visible.
"My my, what an awful fate you crossed my dear," the Carracosta said looking at her signed face closer. "Mhm… mhm. Tell me, what happened exactly."
"Well... I don't know what happened in the old life of my body. As for me: I am a reanimated and patched up corpse of a Mesprit."
"What in the world…!?" the Carracosta stumbled back nearly falling. "That's NOT your REAL BODY!?"
"Well... I was 'born' that way... my first memory is waking up in this body."
"Mmh, quite interesting, actually. And so you don't know how that Mesprit's face burned that way, am I right?"
"That's right... according to my creator, he found the body that way... but we cannot ask him anymore. Died 150 years ago."
"My, I'm impressed," the Carracosta said. "I'd love to analyze you," he said, moving to one of his desk searching for something.
She watched him, wondering how he wanted to analyze her... as long it didn't involve cutting her open she would be fine with anything.
"Aha!" he exclaims taking a syringe and a little knife. "Don't worry dear, I just need some of your blood and a tiiiiny piece of your burnt skin, and good skin. I want to understand more about your mixing with a foreign body."
She gulped, not really liking it but held out her arm.
"Good girl you are," he said as he pinched her skin with the syringe and took some blood. "Mhm. That's enough. Now," he then cut really carefully a tiny square of her skin. "It hurts, I know, but hold on."
She was gritting her teeth.
"There," he said while lifting a tiny piece of her skin, and carefully placing it on a towel on his table. Then he took a clean knife. "Now let's get some of your burnt skin," he then got closer to her face.
Gritting her teeth more, she prepared to be cut again.
The Carracosta grinned as he carefully took a piece of her damaged skin, "You're giving me a great help dear. Just think that I may even discover how to fix your skin perfectly back to normal."
"It would help me a lot if you manage that..." she replied.
" And voila!" he said as he carefully placed the other skin piece on the towel. Then with a medical spoon he put the pieces into different tubes. "Gonna study them later," he said wetting a towel with a natural disinfectant. "There, use it to clean your wounds. I'm really grateful to you."
" You're welcome," she told and cleaned her wounds before telling. "Is here anything else? If not, I go back to see Simon... I am worried about his wounds."
"No no, actually that wasn't even planned. But you're free now. And thank you again," the Carracosta thanked her bowing and then turned to his table.
She sighed and moved out, to the room which held her Sneasel friend right now. Sleeping in there was the now patched up Simon and Raven sat on a chair to watch him. Turning, as he noticed her, and asks he asked, "Want to take over?"
Eve nodded and Raven headed for the door, "He is tough... unless his heart is pierced, he won't die that easy."
A Leavanny nurse was taking away the bloody clothes he used to clean the wounds, "In a couple of hours he should wake up. Geez, who's so stupid to challenge a dragon type?"
"I was so stupid a few times," told Raven. "And Eve had her share as well."
The Leavanny shrugged and moved away, leaving them alone.
Raven began to leave while Eve sat next to Simon, gazing over his face.
After a couple of hours, the Sneasel finally woke up, with a bad headache, "Uuurgh... where am I?"
"In the castle of Lord Krankenstein," the Mesprit replied.
"Lord who?" Simon inquired.
"Krankenstein," replied Eve, "Raven worked for him some time ago."
"AH... Ugh, I'm damn sore!" he complained as he looked at his bandaged body.
"Well... you took quite a beating," she replied.
"Tsk, I could have beat them all!" he objected.
" So, did you use your Substitute tactic to get the key?" she guessed.
"I did, I did. But they caught me too soon," was the Sneasel's reply.
She nodded and stroked his head.
He blushed a bit as he looked at her, "Erhm... okay?" she blushed as well, though the mask hid it, and stopped. "I hope... you are recover soon."
"Thanks. I'll try," he said smirking.
She nodded and gazies gazed into the distance.
He noticed her wounds. "What happened!?"
"Oh right... you never knew since it was covered by my mask..." told Eve. "This is something I have since I was created. Not a clue what caused this."
"Oh... but I mean, why is your arm hurt!?" he questioned, taking her arm where there was the wound. "Who did it? It looks fresh."
"Krankenstein... he asked me for some samples to examinate why I don't regenerate some parts of my body like my creator wished to."
He growled looking at the wound, "When I'm better he's gonna taste my Ice Beam!"
She looked at him in surprise at his reaction while she put her mask back on, "I didn't know that you cared that much."
He blushed madly and looked away, "it's just not fair you get hurt."
"Well... it's better than getting hurt in combat," replied Eve.
Simon snorted and rolled his eyes, "Fair enough."
She looked to him and just gazed.
"... Thank you for caring," he said rubbing the back his backneck neck nervously.
" You're welcome," she replied. "Did I ever tell you, that you have an handsome body? When not bandaged up, of course."
Simon blushed more and said nothing
Eve felt awkward and blushed deeply.
Simon smiled and took her hand, "I think you're pretty too."
She blushed and answered, "Thank you Simon..."
"You're welcome."
And she smiled to him, going to nuzzle his head
He chuckled as he returned the nuzzles back.
And she gazed at his eyes, stroking his cheek.
He smiled and gently poked her nose.
She blushed and looked away, not sure about her feelings.
"What's wrong?" he asked, getting down from the bed, and carefully holding onto it.
"Last time... I had a chance... I was nearly murdered as the truth came," she answered lowly.
"I see..." he said looking away.
"Sorry..." she whispered to him.
"It's okay," he said.
She sighed and was about to pull back but then Simon did something unexpected: he pulled her closer and kissed her. At first she was shocked about this bold move but soon she began to return the kiss and closed her eyes.