We're really glad we could surprise all of you last chapter with the big reveal, but now we continue to hope that we can take you on this awesome ride. Time for Chapter 11!
Chapter 11
A Strategy of Despair
Ash's fists clenched at the sight before him. It was all starting to make sense now. Or, at least, Dawn being controlled made perfect sense now. It was them. Though, he knew he'd be lying if he said he had seen it coming. The Malamar floating above them in the middle of the dining hall was most certainly not what he expected. Even more so, he hadn't expected them to be controlling Mr. Cecil of all people.
"What's wrong, Ash Ketchum?" asked Mr. Cecil, his feet touching the ground and a smirk twisting his face. His cane tapped onto the floor, scraping around the edge with an all too eerie sound. Ash's own face now twisted into a scowl, he looked around, wondering why so few were no longer reacting to the horrifying revelation before them in that moment.
"Ash…" Serena whispered, stepping closer and placing her hand upon his. He felt it heat up from the touch, but focused more on the tone of her voice than any of her touch. She sounded…scared? No, not scared. Serena was too strong for that. She was concerned. "Look at them…"
"Huh?" Ash vocalized at her words, squinting a little at the people in the dining hall. They were just standing there, some of them frozen in mid-dance as though it were a snapshot, others with their hands raised to their mouths in an endless scream. It was eerie, causing Ash to feel his hairs stand on edge and Pikachu's fur bristle as his beloved partner ran up to him, cheeks sparking angrily. No doubt he was remembering the first time he'd been controlled by the foes before them.
"What's wrong with them…?" Ash asked, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. Serena squeezed his hand as he looked at Brock and Lisia, both frozen, with the latter leaning in, her nailed fingers almost caressing his face. Ash felt bad for thinking that it looked so utterly wrong, considering how much Brock wanted to be with the girl.
"No…not…again…" Dawn's voice suddenly groaned out as she dropped to her knees. Miette was at her side, trying to pull her up, but the other bluenette wasn't budging. She was gripping at her head, staring down at the floor with wide eyes. More than that, her body was heaving, like she was struggling to breathe, almost. Ash's fingernails dug into his skin.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded instantly.
"Chuuuuuuu!" Pikachu acted instantly on command, sending a raging arc of lightning at the Malamar in the air. For just a second, it looked like it would connect…until the image of the Malamar faded away, falling like water onto the floor, but leaving no trace behind. "Pika? !"
"Ash, behind you!" Clemont's cry pierced the air, and Ash turned around in time to feel a tentacle wrap around his arms. Ash struggled for just a moment, wanting to call a command, but suddenly feeling his windpipe restricted by the tentacles.
"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!"
"Bunnelby, Mud Shot!" His friends' commands were acted upon in seconds and Ash could feel the Malamar hit by the Mud Shot and then the Fairy Wind blasted him forward, into the counter by the kitchen. Slamming into it, Ash shook his head and stood while Pikachu ran to him. He looked to where Malamar had been, a centerpiece for a table in the shape of a Magikarp clattering to the floor. Ash squinted, but stood. Behind him, Jasper was standing, stock still, just like the rest of them. It was almost comical, the way that his glass was touched to his lips like he was drinking but hadn't completed the action.
The situation itself, however, wasn't comical.
"Clemont!" cried Bonnie's voice. Ash finished standing and saw the lemon-haired girl come skidding up to her brother's side, completing her journey to him. For once, Viggo wasn't at her side and Ash noticed the boy had retreated, shivering in a corner of the room. He must have been scared out of his mind, and one of the few not being controlled…or whatever was happening.
"Stay close, Bonnie," Clemont commanded. For the first time in a long while, Bonnie nodded and hugged her brother instead of arguing with him. Meanwhile, Serena had called out Braixen and Pancham and had formed a ring of defense around Ash's mother, wearing a fierce expression on her face. Ash felt his heart jump at that, but looked around for any other sign of the Malamar.
As he did so, he caught sight of Sawyer, frozen in mid run, sweat pouring down his face with a look of distress. It was clear now how everything had happened. Particularly the strange light that Dawn had seen before her control had vanished. He had experienced it once before. All of them had, especially Pikachu, who was more on alert than ever. It made Ash wonder when another memory came to him: one of a controlled Serena chasing after him slowly when Meowth had been just as viable a target. His eyes widened a little at that. Had she been acting just like Dawn in that moment? Acting on some part of her despite being under control?
"Maybe…" he muttered, but then allowed himself to push it from his mind in the face of the moment. "Come on out, Malamar!"
"Mala?" one of the Malamar's voices echoed slowly, its sinister tones reminding Ash of the tentacles slithering over him, threatening their control. The sound of the scraping cane once more indicated Mr. Cecil's movement. He wasn't the only one. As Ash looked, he heard the loud, stamping footsteps of Captain Ryker, and the high heeled tapping of Lisia's heeled shoes now that she'd separated from Brock.
"Why should we emerge from the shadows?" Mr. Cecil's now-robotic voice echoed over the dining hall. As he approached, he exuded a rather menacing aura that almost seemed to make his monocle opaque. "Staying in them served us quite well until this point."
"Heh heh heh," Lisia laughed, making a shudder pass up and down Ash's entire body. He took a step to the side, inching his way towards his friends again. "Humans are so easy and predictable. We've been on the ship the entire time, and you never even noticed. So blind…"
"It is no surprise," Ryker said. The three were now even with each other, creating a practical wall on their advance. Ash finally reached the others, standing in between Clemont and Serena, who came to flank him. Looking past their opponents, Ash could see Dawn had stopped her heaving while Miette had frozen, obviously now hypnotized herself. Dawn, ironically, looked to be resisting it, a glint of defiance in her eyes. That gave Ash one less thing to worry about, especially when she gave him a thumbs up that said "no need to worry". Ash slowly nodded.
"No surprise, indeed," Mr. Cecil spoke. "Humans are fickle. They bicker amongst themselves, create unnecessary strife in their lives. They cannot accept simply being one with their own species."
"But they are astute," Lisia said. Ash looked at Serena, who was scowling at her friend being used like some kind of puppet. Seeing her with such a distressed expression struck a chord in him, and he wanted to pull her close and assure her that everything would be okay, but opted for a far more direct route to the situation.
"What are you talking about? !" Ash demanded, flinging his fist up in the air. "Why are you here?"
"Yeah!" Bonnie yelled angrily. "And what did you do to all these people?"
"Why did you control Dawn? !" Serena also yelled, her righteous anger leaking out of her voice. "What purpose did that have?"
"Surely your science friend, the one who aided that filthy Inkay that didn't know its place, will be able to figure it out. Humans may be disgusting creatures, but I have to admire your ability to learn and obtain knowledge to ensure your own demise," Mr. Cecil said. His voice was still as robotic as before, but he sounded like he was practically cackling.
"You…" Clemont said, looking almost disgusted. "You wanted to drive a wedge between us!"
"Mala mala!" laughed out one of the Malamar's voices, echoing around the room in true sinister fashion.
"How observant," Lisia said. She broke off from her formation to walk up to Brock and begin caressing his face like she was his lover. Ash blinked at the all-too disturbing sight (and not because it looked like a girl was actually into Brock). "Humans are so easy to manipulate. Inject a little drama into their lives and they fail to see what is actually in front of them. This boy was the easiest to manipulate, though we had to be more careful with this girl's human body. If she was too off, people would question too much. Instead, we watched and waited for the right time. After that, keeping him occupied was too easy."
"You even played right into our hands," Ryker chuckled out. It sounded foreign and disturbing to Ash's ears. "Looking for your lost friend…our control let us see everything. Shame the other girl couldn't get the job done."
"Yes…Dawn…" Mr. Cecil continued. "She was the biggest problem. We thought it would be so easy to manipulate you and your kind by controlling a friend and destroying you all from the inside with the petty fights you humans so seem to love. But she resisted…It broke her a little, made her do things over the top. You caught on…"
"You're horrible!" Serena screeched. Ash found himself nodding, sick to his stomach at the way that the Malamar had used his best friend to do such things. If Dawn hadn't seemed to be feeling better, he'd be even angrier. As it was, Ash just wanted to punch the Malamar out…wherever they were.
"Either way, she served her role," Lisia said, only a smirk had stretched itself across her face, distorting her otherwise pretty features. They may have sounded robotic in the same vein as when the Malamar had controlled them before, but clearly, they had improved if their targets were able to show some modicum of human emotion. In fact, Ash realized…
"You must feel very confused," Ryker said. Next to him, Mr. Cecil reached down and grabbed a pokeball, calling his Arcanine forth from it. At the same time, Lisia had called out her Altaria. Ash's foot shifted backwards and he could feel both Serena and Clemont gearing up for the fight. Even Dedenne's antennas appeared to be bristling. "Confused as to how Dawn could appear so 'normal' while under our control."
"The simple fact is, we improved. The future is replete with opportunity and advances," Mr. Cecil told them, stroking Arcanine's fur. Arcanine looked confused a moment, wondering what was going on, no doubt. However, its eyes quickly changed, going blank. "Your race is most assuredly a useless one, but sometimes they can do things that surprise you. From illusions for ourselves to greater control over humanity…the things you humans do from time to time can astound even us."
"Yeah, you'll find a lot of humans are like that!" Ash challenged, his eyes now swiveling around the room. He'd still yet to find the Malamar, and feared that the longer they stayed hidden, the worse it would be.
"Will we? Because so far, you are the only ones left," Mr. Cecil barked out with laughter. "But perhaps we prefer it this way. We prefer that look of despair on humanity's strongest before they know there is nothing they can do. Do not hate yourself, human. It's not your fault. There is simply nothing you could have done to stop us."
"Yes," Lisia cackled, "we do so enjoy watching humanity squirm in its final moments. Soon, our dream of a world for we Malamar alone will be a reality! Fear not, though. Our control becomes difficult to exert over such a wide net of people. We'll release them before the end, just so you can all experience despair at the same time!"
"Not if we can stop it!" Ash yelled out. Things were clicking in his brain, and not in a good way. The artifact, the temple they were over, he and Serena nearly being killed in the Temple Baca, Gary removed. All of it had been driving to this point. And if they were revealing themselves now, it could only mean they no longer cared. They were beyond being stopped.
Well, he would just have to stop them regardless.
"Ash! Serena!" Clemont suddenly yelled, and the two turned in time to catch a pair of strange glasses in their hands. "Put them on! I anticipated a situation such as this and developed my Hypnosis Stopper!"
"Thanks!" Ash said, jamming them on his face as he grabbed Pikachu and hugged him against his chest to ensure he wouldn't get hypnotized. He didn't need the explanation or directions, and just hoped that it would work.
"Pointless…"
"Mala mala malama-a-a-ar…" chuckled one of the Malamar, and suddenly there was the bright light filling the area. Ash refused to look, even with the glasses on, knowing that there was every possibility of Clemont's invention not working. That didn't seem to be the case because Ash felt Serena latch onto him, followed by Clemont and Bonnie. He even felt his mother gripping the back of his clothes.
"We'll be okay…we'll be okay…" Serena was muttering. That was when Ash both saw and felt the tentacle slithering over their shoulders, reaching up towards the glasses that Serena was wearing, lifting them a little.
"Don't you dare!" Ash yelled. He didn't want to see her like that again. He didn't want her to be controlled the way that Dawn had. He wanted her to just be Serena. He wasn't going to lose her. He'd rather be controlled a hundred times over than have that.
"Iiiiiiiinkay!" There was a slamming noise, and the tentacle disappeared. With it, so did the bright light and another smashing followed. Ash finally raised his head, opening his eyes to see an Inkay in front of him, wearing an angry expression that he, himself, had likely been emulating mere moments ago. One of the Malamar was now visible, crashed into a table on the other end of the dining hall. It was like things were moving in slow motion, the way that those under the hypnotism moved slightly, as though the control was slackened.
"Better get ya face ready!" yelled another voice.
"Huh?" Ash barely had time to say before he felt nails digging into the surface of his face. He yowled loudly and pitched backwards, falling with the rest of his friends to the floor who were equally screaming. Blinking a little after ripping the glasses off, Ash saw a Meowth standing there, claws extended with a smug look on his face. In the slight distance, Piplup was pecking at Miette before moving towards Brock. Mr. Cecil, Ryker and Lisia remained in their places, still watching them with blank expressions.
"You better not be controlled, twoip," the Meowth said and the light bulb went on in Ash's brain. He twisted around in time to see three other figures leap past a slightly twitching Jasper and the counter to pose professionally with Meowth. At the same time, Malamar was getting back up as two more floated down to join it.
"Team Rocket!" Ash screamed, though it was rather obvious at this point. Really, he wanted to kick himself for not seeing it sooner, considering they had been in front of him the entire time as the janitors and cooks. Perhaps the Malamar had a point. Dawn had been quite the ample distraction.
"Prepare for trouble on a cruise line!"
"And make it double, we're getting paid overtime!"
"To protect the world from creepy hypnosis!"
"To save the twerps from developing psychosis!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blast off on this ship of frights!"
"Surrender now or Inkay will send you flying into the night!"
"Dat's right!"
"Wobba wobb!" Ash could only blink at the four standing before them with almost comical expressions and poses. Then he actually smiled, grateful that they had shed their disguises to presumably stand against the Malamar. Ash let go of Pikachu, who shook his head with his freedom. Then he touched his hand to his face and could feel the claw marks jettison pain into it.
"Thanks, Meowth," Ash said, nodding at the feline on the floor. Meowth's claws were still extended, like he was ready to battle. He turned briefly and nodded, acknowledging the bond they shared in fighting the Malamar once, back in Kalos.
"Get up already, twerp!" Jessie demanded, stomping her foot. "We only helped you out because we share a very common opponent. That's it. But since the Malamar started all this, and we're bound together and all that stuff…well, you might as well help us!"
"Yeah, but did you have to scratch our faces so hard…?" Serena whined out. Realizing that Serena was on the floor next to him, Ash finally pulled himself up to his feet and turned around to help her up. She had red marks on her face that were slowly fading, but obviously Meowth had scratched all of them to prevent the hypnosis from taking over. Making sure she was okay, Ash reached over to his mother while Clemont helped Bonnie and Mimey up.
"You guys all right, then?" he asked. Serena nodded, pumping her fist a little. Next to her, Braixen and the others were all pawing at their faces, obviously unhappy about the attack. Ash was just grateful they weren't walking like zombies. His mother also nodded, though she seemed to have more attention split between Ash and Serena. It weirded him out slightly, but he ignored it to step forward.
"So…Inkay…you still resist?" Mr. Cecil asked, stepping forward once again. Ash finished closing the gap to Team Rocket's side as he stared down their opponents.
"Kay inkay!" Inkay shouted defiantly. "Inkay inkay ink inkay!"
"Of course that is your answer…" Ryker said. "Then you do not belong in our reformed world! We will claim utter dominion. Humanity will meet its end."
"Not if we can stop it!" Serena yelled, hiking her dress up a little and closing the very small distance to Ash. Clemont wasn't far behind. The lead Malamar floated forward, the omnipresent smirk on its lips conveying nothing.
"Malamar…mala malamar…" Malamar said, once more laced with the threatening chuckles they had come to hear from them.
"Translation, Meowth?" James said, leaning down to his feline comrade. Meowth didn't budge from his attack-ready stance, but answered the query nonetheless.
"'Your kind is doomed. Everything we did was to bring us here, to the place you could not stop us!'," came the response.
"That was way too long for that," Jessie complained.
"I'm paraphrasin', Jess," Meowth told her bitterly. Jessie didn't say anything in response, which was a bit of a surprise to Ash, considering that she seemed to fight with her friends on everything. It spoke to the current stakes of the situation.
Wincing at the slight sting on his face, Ash took another look around the room at the hypnotized passengers. Only Dawn was fine, though Viggo was still huddled in a corner. "Meowth…I have an idea."
"What kinda idea, twoip?" Meowth asked, only somewhat turning his head. Ash kneeled down to look Meowth directly in the eyes. Pikachu remained on alert as Mr. Cecil shifted his foot.
"You helped us out back there, but now we need to help the other passengers. Who knows what the Malamar will make them do?" Ash insisted. He reached forward and put a hand on Meowth. The feline reacted with slight shock but relaxed into it. "If we let them cause a riot on the ship, it might sink, and…well, we don't want a repeat of…"
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Meowth said in quick agreement. "Jessie, James, our turn to do some damage! Get down, twoips, this is gonna hurt!"
"Not if we put you down, first," Mr. Cecil said coldly. "Arcanine, Fire Blast!"
"Take it Wobbuffet!" Jessie ordered, waving her hand dismissively. Ash once more grabbed Serena, this time by the hand, and pulled them both to the floor. James and Jessie instantly took cover as well, while Clemont helped Bonnie. Ash briefly caught a glimpse of his mother diving over the counter, Mimey erecting a Barrier to help them.
The Fire Blast slammed into a glimmering Wobbuffet, holding for just a second before bursting out in glittering flames. They impacted with Mr. Cecil, who didn't even scream. Ash grit his teeth; even that kind of fire wasn't enough to break the connection. Or perhaps the Malamar were just trying to exert all their control over Mr. Cecil, Lisia and Ryker. Next to him, Jessie had called out Gourgeist.
"Captain," Mr. Cecil said, his voice creepily even, "go and secure the artifact for us. We will begin our other preparations. Then we will make an example of these humans that dare to stand in our way."
"Stop him, Pikachu!" Ash yelled.
"You, too, Sylveon. Use your feelers!" Serena shouted. Sylveon stood her ground and her feelers whipped out as the captain began to shuffle for the exit. They caught around his midsection and pulled him back.
"Now! Sorry, Captain Ryker, but Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Chu pika!" Pikachu cried, his tail glowing brightly before slamming it onto the captain's back. For a second, the captain stopped and then fell to the ground, suddenly groaning with some pain. It looked like the hypnosis had been broken.
"Now, let's make some moves!" Meowth said, running right up to where Brock was, reaching him at the same time as Piplup. The two of them slashed and pecked the doctor across the face. Brock groaned, like he was waking up from a groggy sleep. Meowth, obviously taking note of the change, bounded off of Brock's head to slash Sawyer, quickly.
"While Meowth's busy, let's help out!" Ash called to all of them. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Braixen, use Flamethrower! Pancham, Dark Pulse! Sylveon, Fairy Wind!"
"Bunnelby, Mud Shot!" All of their attacks moved at once in concert for Mr. Cecil. Jessie and James seemed to have also called out for attack, each of them aiming for Altaria and Arcanine. Ash looked back at Dawn helping Miette to not fall over. Brock, meanwhile, stared around until he saw the actions that Ash and the others were taking.
"Ash, what the heck is going on? !" Brock demanded loudly. "Why is Lisia over there and why…why are you guys…?"
"We'll explain later, Brock!" Ash yelled out. He looked at Pikachu, who nodded, having received the message. "Right now, see to the passengers. They've been hypnotized by the same Pokémon controlling Dawn!"
"Okay, I'll see what I can-"
"I'd much rather have you help me, Brock," Lisia's voice said. Gone was the robotic tone, now replaced with the flirty one that Dawn had been using. It made Ash sick, clenching his fist. Pikachu leapt forward and flung an Electro Ball at Altaria. It landed right in its puff clouds right before Braixen's Flamethrower made contact and sent Altaria flying back. The Malamar continued to watch in what looked like amusement while their vanguard acted for them.
"Don't listen to her, Brock!" Serena yelled. "That's not Lisia! The Lisia who I met and knew would never be this way."
"And what way is that, Serena?" Lisia asked with a mocking laugh. As she did so, she walked over to Brock, who appeared conflicted between enamored and sensible. When she reached him, she trailed her hand down Brock's chest and the doctor stood stock-still. "I've been looking for a man like Brock for a long time. Someone who can show our love for Contest Spectaculars all over the world!"
"Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, this time pointing right at Lisia. Pikachu blasted forward, streaks of white light coming off from his body as he charged at Lisia. Altaria appeared to have course corrected, zipping in with surprising speed to protect his trainer. The two collided, tumbling off to the side and leaving Lisia wide open for Serena. Only she was occupied as Arcanine was picking up speed with an Extreme Speed attack. Ash turned to grab her just as Arcanine hit and bowled over their entire group, including Clemont and Bunnelby. Only Team Rocket were standing, seeming to focus on more than the battle against Mr. Cecil.
"Come on, Brock, just ignore them and we can be together…forever," Lisia whispered, reaching over to him. Ash, struggling to stand again, couldn't see what she was doing on the other side of Brock's face, but his oldest friend was shivering.
"No, you won't!" Dawn suddenly yelled. As Ash finally stood, he saw Dawn standing defiantly. "You won't control us anymore! Piplup, Ice Beam!"
"Luuuup!" Piplup cried out, turning towards Lisia and opening his beak. From the beak fired the icy cool jets of an Ice Beam, engulfing Lisia and Altaria. Pikachu skidded away from the opponent he had been entangled with and let a Thunderbolt rip through the air like a cracked whip until it slammed into Lisia and Altaria.
"Now, Inkay, Foul Play!" James commanded. Ash turned just in time to see a sneaky Inkay grab hold of one of the Malamar and send it tossing into the other two. There appeared to be no more illusions here and for a moment, Mr. Cecil's body slumped. Then Gourgeist shot out of nowhere and hammered the group with a Seed Bomb.
Mr. Cecil's body dropped to its knees as Arcanine gave a bark, clearly regaining itself. The Mr. Cecil fell, passed out on the dance floor. Their three controlled individuals had fallen in a matter of seconds. Ash turned to the Malamar.
"You're done!" he told them angrily. The Malamar got up from the floor. A bright flash of light indicated that Sawyer had called Sceptile out and was helping their entire group to form ranks around the Malamar.
"Mar mar malama-a-a-ar!" laughed the middle one; the one that Ash knew the best of them all. Each of them looked to Meowth for an instant translation.
"'We aren't done'," Meowth told them. "'Humans are violent and ugly; unfitting of this world. We'll just leave you to see that for yourselves'."
"What does that mean?" Clemont demanded. The Malamar didn't answer this time. Instead, they all huddled together in a triangle formation and bright, glowing, purple energy formed above their heads before zapping upwards. A large circular hole was blown through the ceiling allowing the now moonlit sky to shine in on them all. Before anyone could stop them, the Malamar began to fade away, only their shadows zipping out through the hole.
"We gotta go after them! Noivern, Talonflame, I choose you!" Ash yelled, grabbing his pokeballs from the pockets of his dress clothes. His two fliers burst from their pokeballs with cries. "Find the Malamar!"
"Flame!" Talonflame said with a nod, jetting off with light sparks of flame behind it. Noivern followed shortly behind, obviously using his echolocation to complete his task.
"Now, let's get onto the-"
"Um…don't think that's gonna happen…" Miette told them, pointing at the passengers there in the dining hall. Ash turned, wondering what she was talking about when he saw all of the passengers facing them like zombies. Some had called forth Pokémon while others just started shuffling forward like the restless undead, wanting to do nothing but catch them.
"Then let dem have a taste of my Fury Swipes!" Meowth shouted out, suddenly coming to bear on one of those closest to them. The man and his dance partner both gave a start at the slicing across their faces, blinking a moment. "You twoips head out to the Malamar! Team Rocket will handle dese bozos!"
"Got it!" Ash said, facing everyone with a fierce expression. "Everyone, let's go. Team Rocket, stay safe!"
"I'll stay with them," Brock insisted. Ash tilted his head, confused. "Like with Dawn, I need to make sure there were no adverse effects on them. After I've made sure they're all okay, we'll move to the deck. If we need to get out of here, we'll be ready this time."
"Right!" Ash said, holding out a fist for Brock to bump. The two friends nodded at each other and then ran forward. Behind him were Serena and Clemont, followed by Dawn, Sawyer and Miette trailing the group. In the corner of his eye, Ash could see Bonnie racing for Viggo. The boy seemed to have calmed down, now that the Malamar were gone, but didn't want to budge.
A sudden Thunderbolt seared the area, slamming down to the area in front of them, and Ash ducked low to avoid a swipe from a Honedge. Swiveling a bit, Ash caught sight of Jasper standing there, his drink lowered with his finger pointing out. Next to him was Manectric, whose fur was lighting up again before sending another Thunderbolt at them.
"Piplup, Counter Shield!" Dawn ordered, her hand raised in the air. At the same time, Miette called out a command that Ash hadn't heard. He figured it out soon enough as puffs of cotton mixed in with the bubbles and created a shield around their bodies. Ash looked back to his friends before Dawn spoke. "The rest of you go on. We'll handle things here!"
"Lup!" Piplup cried happily. Ash continued staring at them for a moment longer before nodding. Then he reached forward and gave Dawn a high five; he was glad to have her back again. Without a moment's hesitation, he whipped around and ran through the puff clouds, dragging Serena, Clemont and Sawyer with him. Once they had exited, he saw Bonnie dragging Viggo back over to them. More than that, he saw a Barrier erect itself around Dawn and Miette. His mom had clearly joined the fight in a support fashion. It felt a little awesome to him.
"We can't fight all of them," Serena reminded the group, holding onto her dress as she kicked off her shoes. Actually, Ash noticed that with an almost pained expression on her face, she was ripping the bottom of the dress off to allow for better movement. Ash couldn't blame her as he grunted with confirmation, shedding his jacket and leaving only his shirt on underneath.
"Pikachu, break through! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu was all too happy to oblige. He quickly bounded over onto Serena's shoulder, then Ash's head before leaping into the air and sending a sharp Thunderbolt into the clustered zombie passengers before them. The Thunderbolt sent them skittering, scrambled across the floor. It allowed for an easy path out as they jumped up the stairs and onto the fresh air of the deck. "Everyone here?"
"We…seem…to be…" Clemont heaved out, obviously still exhausted from the running. "What now?"
"Those Malamar are after the artifact, right?" Sawyer asked, drawing their focus onto him. "We need to secure it right away…"
"We also need to restore power to the engine," Serena noted, folding her arms. "And then there's Gary…"
"Right," Clemont said, his face screwed up into one of contemplation. "All right, if Gary was held captive, then perhaps he would know of how to truly stop the Malamar. If we can secure the artifact, then restoring the engine won't be as much of a primary concern. And we all know where we might be able to find him…"
"But…but….b-b-b-but what if the Malamar attack us," Viggo stuttered out in absolute fear. Bonnie quickly took his hands and smiled.
"We'll all go together. That way, if the Malamar attack, we'll be fine. My big brother and Dedenne can handle anything!" she told him with confidence. It didn't quite seem to placate him.
"I'll go with you. Ash, you and Sawyer should head to secure the artifact," Serena said, turning to face him. Ash did the same and continued to look at her. He knew the desperate situation they were in, but couldn't help but admire the fierce and determined expression on her face. For a brief second, he once more thought of doing something he'd never thought of before; he actually wanted to kiss her back, for whatever reason it was. "That way, we don't have to worry. We'll free Gary, secure the artifact and then go together to restore power. Dawn, Miette, Brock and Team Rocket can handle the passengers."
"Great idea, Serena," Ash told her. Without thinking, he held his hand out, and when she took it, he pulled her forward, almost in the same way he had during summer camp all those years ago. Then he whispered in her ear, "Please be safe, okay."
"You, too," she whispered back, turning her head to brush her lips against his cheek.
"Be lovey-dovey later, Serena! We have a ship to save!" Bonnie insisted. Serena drew back, surprisingly with no tinge to her cheeks. That suited Ash just fine. She was focused, and he wouldn't have her any other way. Offering another nod, Serena turned around to kindly take Viggo's hand as she, Clemont and the two younger kids ran off towards the corridors they'd explored earlier in the day. That was a surprise to Ash: had this really all happened in one day?
"I really hope it's safe…" Sawyer commented. Ash gazed at him a moment, noticing the key jangling from his hand. The Hoenn native held it up as they dashed across the deck. "I grabbed it from Mr. Cecil before we ran."
"Great thinking, Sawyer," Ash said, thumping his rival on the back as they ran. They picked up their speed a little, aiming for the large double doors on the side and skidding to a stop outside it. With all haste, Sawyer slid the key into the door and unlocked it, pushing it open wide. Ash stepped into the large room, where he noticed the still cloth covered artifact sitting there safely. They weren't quite too late.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried. Ash whipped towards his partner in order to see Pikachu fall to the ground slumped. The same soon happened to Sceptile, both slamming upon the floor. Turning back towards the entrance, Ash saw Watchog, more alert than he was when infiltrating the captain's quarters earlier. It didn't last long, though, as Watchog also slumped, once more asleep…as though it had served its purpose.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried, running towards his beloved partner. Sawyer did the same for Sceptile, but it didn't last long. He felt something suddenly jab him on the back of his neck, like an open palm for a karate chop. His eyes started losing vision and his ears could only hear the sound of contained footsteps…no…two pairs of them. Or was it a human pair and a Pokémon pair? He couldn't be sure.
All Ash could do was reach out to Pikachu before collapsing and blacking out.
Serena padded along the deck of the ship, almost sliding over its smooth surface. Her feet felt the coolness of the planks, given that they were barefoot, and breeze blew past her legs, now exposed from the ripping of her dress. Some part of her lamented the loss of such a beautiful dress, but she didn't let it distract her from the mission at hand.
Just behind her was Bonnie, dragging an ever-reluctant Viggo along, while Clemont, huffing and puffing, took up the rear. Surprisingly, though, he was rather closer to his sister than he would have been a couple months ago, and it made Serena glad that she had someone she could rely on so closely. Clenching her fists and looking towards her trio of Pokémon, Serena steeled her determination. Ash was going to do his part, so she would undoubtedly do hers. There was a small bit of worry for him inside, but she kept telling herself that he would be fine.
"This way, guys!" Serena indicated, waving them over towards the hallway they had all traversed earlier. She figured they knew that, but were simply too preoccupied to actually notice. After all, it was only as she ran that she thought of finally opening the locked door from earlier and discovering the source of the moans; the most likely explanation was that Gary was inside, and they would save him by going there. Looking at Braixen, the Fire type nodded, knowing what would be coming up. The group of four started down the brightly lit hallway, aiming for the path they had split off down before.
Vwoooooom! Serena stopped, Bonnie slamming into her from behind, followed by Clemont and Viggo, making them all fall to the floor. The low-pitched and eerie whine moaned out simultaneously with the lights in the hallway suddenly going out. Serena groaned, pushing the others off of her as very dim emergency lights came on, not enough to actually see anything. It was already hard enough to move in the tattered dress.
"Clemont, what's going on?" Bonnie's voice called out, and she actually sounded frightened. It was no surprise. A sudden loss of power would do that to anyone.
"I'm not sure…" Clemont admitted. Serena suddenly felt something on her waist and she took it gingerly to remove it. They turned out to be Clemont's hands, floundering in the dark. "The Malamar must have cut the power to the ship to do whatever they need to be doing…though I don't know what it is…maybe the artifact needs power."
"Whatever it is, we can't stand around talking about it, right?" Serena reminded them. She couldn't quite see Clemont in the dark, but she could tell he was nodding in agreement. This was proven true enough, seconds later, as Braixen lit her wand on fire and illuminated the hallway.
They were met with an all too unwelcome sight before them.
"Mar!" came the sudden sharp cry and Serena dove forward, latching onto the pair of Bonnie and Viggo to bring them out of sight from the Malamar's Hypnosis.
"Bunnelby, Wild Charge!" Clemont ordered. In the tightness of the hallway, Serena could feel the sparks bristling around Bunnelby's body before he charged forward and slammed into Malamar. Serena gripped the two younger children tighter, fingertips pressing into both of their skins. Bonnie was sweating, but Viggo was not; an odd (though not entirely unpleasant) surprise given how freaked out he was.
"Sylveon, use Swift!" Serena ordered from her place on the ground. Sylveon acted in an instant, flicking her feelers out and the golden stars with them to slam into Malamar. It impacted with a door to a room and fell in, crashing over a bed. "Now's our chance. Let's run! And keep your eyes peeled."
"Right!" was the affirmative response from all of them. Serena stood, bringing the two up with her before hiking her dress (or what was left of it) up before joining up with Braixen and making a dash down the hallway. She'd no idea whether or not Malamar would give pursuit…or rather, she'd no idea how fast they would, since their presence there indicated they wanted to stop the four of them as quickly as possible.
"Right ahead!" Clemont yelled out, and Serena narrowed her eyes, noticing another of the Malamar floating at the intersection they had split off down earlier in the day. He reached for another pokeball and called out Luxray in an instant. "Use Thunder Fang!"
"Pancham, Stone Edge!" Serena yelled out alongside her friend. The two acted right away. On one side of the cramped hallway was a line of racing stones, while on the other was a charging Luxray. Malamar suddenly glowed yellow. "Don't look!"
"Keep going!" Clemont ordered as he followed Serena's suggestion. His Pokémon heeded his order and Luxray bit down on Malamar just as the stones sent it flying up into the roof. Malamar hit the ceiling and then dropped and flopped along the ground. Serena didn't stop. She merely raised her head as they entered down the familiar and equally dark hallway. Braixen went ahead of her, illuminating the space while they all kept an eye out for the Malamar that would no doubt try to assail them.
Serena's feet hit cold water, the mess left behind from when she had battled the controlled Dawn earlier in the day. That didn't matter to her, knowing that she had to do this. Her feet splashed through the water, drenching the remaining hem of her dress until she reached the door that she and Ash had stopped outside of before: the very one they had heard moans behind. Skidding to a stop in the water, and making sure her companions were still with her, she issued a quick command. "Pancham, use Arm Thrust!"
"Cham cham!" Pancham complied, slamming into the door with a fist at the same time that Chespin happened to ram into it with Tackle. The door budged, but didn't fly off. However, with Pancham's second Arm Thrust, the door went flying off the hinges, sailing across the room and slamming into a door on the other side. Serena instantly took a look inside and at first saw nothing. Still, she stepped in, Braixen with her, and as the room illuminated they could finally see a bound Gary, slumped over in a corner, only he clearly wasn't in a state to moan, as he seemed to be unconscious.
"We don't have much time," Clemont reminded her. "Those Malamar will be here any second, and they obviously didn't want us coming this way if they worked so hard to stop us. So, let's wake Gary up and have him tell us what we need to know."
"Right," Serena answered simply, stepping over to Gary, the boy unstirring. Bonnie trailed behind her while Viggo hung a bit back, fidgeting back and forth. Serena kneeled before the prone Gary and took him lightly by the shoulders, shaking him. It didn't work.
"Can we hurry up?" Viggo asked. "I don't want to be caught by the Malamar…"
"I can handle it," Bonnie said confidently, reaching into her bag and pulling out a dozing Dedenne. That was no surprise, but when Bonnie tickled her partner and he woke up, Serena was forced to raise an eyebrow; both for wondering just what Bonnie planned to do and for the fact that Dedenne was actually awake. "Dedenne, Nuzzle."
"Dedenenenenenene!" Dedenne cried out happily, rubbing his cheeks furiously as he jumped over to Gary, shocking the older boy with little hesitation. The brunet jumped, shocks convulsing along his body while Serena went to work at untying the ropes around him. As one set of them fell away, Gary appeared to wake up, blinking his eyes as if coming out of a dream.
"H-hurry up, Serena!" Clemont cried, poking his head out into the darkened hallway, now lit by Luxray putting sparks out from his fur. He was barking madly, too, obviously seeing or sensing the danger. "They're coming!"
"Gary, can you fight?" Serena asked, not even bothering with the rest of the wake-up call.
"Can I…what? Where am I?" Gary demanded before catching sight of Serena. He relaxed a little at her face, despite the fact that it wasn't smiling. "Serena…where's Ash?"
"He's busy securing the artifact with Sawyer," she informed him. Gary looked confused about that, and then his eyes widened.
"That's right, I was…" Gary turned his head, gazing at Bonnie…or maybe past her and Viggo towards the door. His eyes narrowed, like he noticed something he didn't like. Serena followed his vision, but could only see Viggo trembling with fear, hugging himself and not letting go along with Clemont, shaking with tension. "The ship's in danger."
"We know that!" Bonnie insisted testily. "The Malamar are behind everything! They controlled Dawn! They want to use the artifact to do bad things! They even tried to stop us from finding you, but now that we have, you can help us fight back."
"It's the reason we came for you first," Serena told Gary sternly, standing up and holding a hand out. Gary reached for it, but his alarmed expression didn't fade.
"They're not trying to stop you," Gary said sharply while he stood. The sound of Chespin firing a Pin Missile into the hallway was heard, but it seemed to strike nothing more than water. "They were trying to herd you, and I was the convenient bait. But more than that, it's not the Malamar you should be worried about, it's-"
"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!" Serena whipped around in time to see Clemont and his entire team fly backwards, smoking. His dress clothes were ruined and he looked almost charred. A thrill of fear passed through Serena's heart and she grabbed Bonnie. Viggo also retreated to a different corner of the room as the Malamar suddenly materialized in the space, bearing down upon them. Yet, Serena could feel they hadn't done such an action to Clemont. No…it had been an Electric attack. At first, her fear was that Ash and Pikachu had been controlled…but that was quickly proven impossible.
"You three can be so useless…and you chide us humans," said a voice, one that was familiar to Serena's ears. "You can't even handle some kids? Honestly, if I hadn't been helping you all this time, I wonder if you'd have made it this far. You almost let Ketchum get to the Clavis, for Arceus' sake!"
"Wh-who's there? !" Bonnie demanded fiercely, but it couldn't override the fear they were now all feeling. The sloshing of water was heard and two shadows appeared behind the Malamar, taking slow and deliberate steps forward.
"Mar malamar," the lead Malamar said in a clearly disgusted tone.
"True, true, I have to thank you…" the man (because it clearly was) said. "Though, let's not forget you needed me to do all the ultimate planning…and you were the one to get me into this situation in the first place. Ah, but regardless…I do enjoy being a little more active in things. I must admit, Serena, you and Ash looked lovely together as you battled my comrades.
"Too bad he never took my advice to talk to you about everything sooner. Wonder if you would have discussed that chaste kiss over a plate of my chicken parmigiana."
Serena's eyes widened as far as they could, and her Pokémon moved into protect her. The Malamar moved aside, allowing a glimpse at the man and his Manectric, a small pen sticking out of the pocket on his collared shirt with a bright gem upon it. Serena's eyes narrowed, and she said his name with equal fright and chill.
"Jasper."
Author's Note: What is this? The Malamar weren't alone? It was actually Jasper behind it all! Yes, that's absolutely right, the lovable chef who gave Ash such great advice is the true villain behind this ship of horrors. I know many suspected him...well, as much as "I'm guessing everyone and Jasper is suspicious" could be considered suspecting. Of course, the big question is why and how as we begin tying everything together. Granting we played a mind game on you with the Malamar, but it was all part of our plan to shock. I hope the reveal surprised you!
potat lasaro: Jasper!? I mean, his reasoning is yet to be explained as are his plans, yet we now know who's been working alongside the Malamar this entire time. How will his involvement affect our heroes? And just why does he want the Clavis? Well, that will all be answered shortly. Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this story! Hopefully you've all enjoyed it so far.
So, now that we've said our pieces, we want to thank everyone making this story so great: Rebelling Death, The Aura Gardian, c00k33s and FluidMedal for favoriting; Drk Mgcn, Gilded Shadow Phoenix and Norse Kode for following; and the heartiest of heart thanks to Cottonmouth25, Montage17381, ultimateCCC, Cato Yugi, Culius Jaesar, AdvancedAlto, FantasyLover88, Q-A the Authoress, Jayfeathers friend, ManleyTogekiss, aliensinnoh, Djiprad, MossDeepThinker, Girlgamer98765, StillPushingTheTruck, StarMaidenWarrior, CommanderAwesome3, ThePersonalOne, AmourshippingCanon, Xiaolin Dinosaur Master, Tanker one, PandasInMittens and 2 guests for reviewing! We really appreciate it now that we're heading into the climax. Until the next chapter, please Review and Dare to Be Silly.