117Jorn: Hello everyone! Once again into the breach that is SoT: Rising Tide!

Ron the True Fan: At least the lynch mob's off my ass for the next, oh, five minutes. These things take TIME.

117Jorn: You can't rush perfection ladies and gentlemen, please give me, Ron and Take time here!

RRAS Musashi, 40 kilometers from the southern coast of Kanto - Day 112 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey, 1736 hours local time

Well, he had to admit. This wasn't the way he WANTED to go home.

Sabrina was already somewhat of a breach in orders. Having two civilians, one of them not even being a Pokemon Trainer, dragged along for the ride? If General Hiruzen wasn't a reasonable man, he'd have Kyoji's hide.

The captain wanted them in the brig, but they were allowed to wander freely so long as Kyoji kept them out of restricted areas. Though even then, they just ended up deciding to stay in the quarters they had been assigned.

"…so yeah, not exactly a five star hotel…" Kyoji muttered as he looked at the three women in the quarters, "But… its better than sinking with the ship, right?"

"Suuuuuuuuure." Neesha said sarcastically. "You're Ranseian. This ship is Ranseian. Forgive me for thinking you were from Johto or something. You've got the accent!"

"Actually, they got it from us." Kyoji said, Gible sitting at the door. "A lot of our people immigrated from Ransei during the Unification Wars five thousand years ago. They lost the language, but they kept the accents. Same with the ninja clans."

Neesha looked at Sabrina. "You knew?" she asked, almost knowing the answer.

"He met up with Ash in Grandpa Canyon." she said. "I only joined the group he was with at Cinnabar Island. And I offered to join him for this… mission."

Maren huffed. "Look, I get you just wanted to get back, but couldn't you get anywhere with that Charizard you said you have?" she asked. "You didn't need my boat. Which I blame you for sinking. If I waited for that battery to charge, those serpents would've moved on and I'd still have my ship."

"Charizard is strong, but she can't carry two people at once," Kyoji shrugged, "Besides, it was an emergency call - when your superiors tell you to RTB, you do it."

"Plus, she couldn't handle my raw sex appeal," Sabrina shrugged.

Maren blinked. "Wait, what?"

"ANYWAY…" Kyoji said, cutting them off. "The Ranseian government will compensate you for your loss. Probably with a better boat."

Maren was still annoyed, but less so. "Alright." she said, leaning back and relaxing somewhat. "But why the hell did Ransei decide to disappear off the face of the earth? You could've helped with the Shadow Pokemon bullshit that's been plaguing the world for seventy years."

Kyoji sighed. "We… kinda saw it coming." he said, shaking his head mirthlessly. "Look, you want the whole story, talk to the General."

"So… what happens to us till then?" Neesha asked.

"Well, I'm using my authority to keep you, well… kinda under house arrest?" Kyoji shrugged, "At least until I can get this cleared up with my CO back at Ransei - just don't go or do anything unless I'm around, alright?"

"Hard to leave." Sabrina said.

"Bullshit. You can teleport. We all know it." Neesha said, shuddering. "Me more than anyone."

Sabrina looked at the Ranger Union citizen. "I'm sorry for what happened to Shellshocker." she said. "I was under the influence of a psionic being that was controlling my body. It took-"

Neesha raised her hands. "I get it!" she exclaimed before sighing. "I don't know what Ash did to scramble your brain and make him think you're his kid and I don't want to know."

Maren looked at Kyoji in confusion, picking up Gible and putting her on her lap, scratching his fin. "Mind filling me in?" she asked, utterly bewildered.

Kyoji sighed. "It's a long and complicated story that I don't have all the details about." he admitted. "But Ash Ketchum kinda killed the thing controlling her. Don't ask me how; the only thing I can think of that would make it kill itself would be seeing the Distortion Realm without the protection of an Unown or Giratina itself."

Maren stopped stretching Gible's fin. "Are you telling me he went to Giratina's Realm?" she asked fearfully.

Kyoji couldn't blame her: the Distortion Realm was a place of insanity for the living and only meant for the dead, their personal place of torture or paradise, depending on what they did in life.

"Yup." he said. "According to some ancient texts, some in Ransei, some throughout the world, one born of fire will be Arceus' Chosen, to save his-"

"Her." Neesha said, interrupting. "Arceus is a female."

"Technically, the Greater Legendaries don't have genders, I'm just using 'he' for convenience!" Kyoji snapped before wincing. "Sorry. It's kind of a national pride thing."

Sabrina gestured for him to continue. "I want to hear more." she said inquisitively.

Kyoji nodded. "To save his chosen realm. Everyone knows Arceus created the universe, but chose to make his-hers-it's home here." he said. "And what is born of fire?"

"…Charcoal?" Maren suggested.

"…technically yes, but not exactly." Kyoji sighed, "What else is created from fire?"

"Ash…" Maren blinked. "…no fucking way…"

"Yeah, I first thought it was a coincidence, but then…" He glanced to Neesha "The whole Mewtwo thing happened… among a lot of other things..."

Maren raised a hand in confusion. "The Shamouti tablet?" she asked, getting a nod from Sabrina. "Fuck me, I was born in the wrong time."

Neesha huffed in astonishment. "The Soul Child of the Creator," she said. "We're doomed."

Kyoji blinked as he registered that. "What?" he asked. "That a myth from the Ranger Union?"

"Almia, where I'm from. It tells that Arceus has four children: the Creation Trio and one that could never hold its' form," she answered. "It's said that this soul would incarnate itself into a human body, essentially being the son of the Creator, the Chosen of Arceus."

Kyoji hoped that wouldn't go to Ash's head. 'This might explain a few of Ash's problems.' Sabrina pathed to him. 'He has two souls in one body. One mortal, one divine. And both of them are stuck in one mortal body.'

A morbid thought as to the result passed through his head as he saw two Ashes fighting one another to the death.

"Anyway, I think command's going to be REALLY interested in learning I've been hanging around the Right Hand of the Creator." Kyoji said before glowering at nothing. "Might even get everyone to stop thinking I'll stab them in the back…"

"…why would they think that?" Neesha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…it's a long story…"

Kuroyuri City, Valora Providence, Ranseian Empire - 1817 hours local time

The journey was not a long one… well, when compared to travelling by boat. The Air Battleship Musashi cut through the clouds like a ship would the waves, before finally the clouds began to part - as Kyoji brought his guests up to the deck. "Well ladies… you're about to be the first foreigners to ever lay eyes on Ransei in the past few thousand years…" He smiled, "Enjoy."

In ancient myth, at least for the foreigners, Ransei was said to look like Arceus. And in a way, it did. But only vaguely. Kuroyuki was a busy port, with dozens of ships, military and civil, all about, with the city looking like a mix of new and old, with old temples and estates co-existing with skyscrapers.

"How in the hell did you manage this?" Neesha asked. "Shadow Pokemon would be drawn here like Gibles to a head!"

Kyoji's land shark gave her a look. "Gible." 'I'm not sure whether or not I should be offended to be compared to one of those freaks.' he said.

Kyoji shrugged "I mean, she's not entirely wrong," He admitted, "Besides, it just means you're super friendly!"

"Gib!" 'Fair!' Gible Eye-smiled.

"But anyways, we manage to avoid Shadows with a mix of technology that helps to deter them, among other policies." Kyoji turned to Neesha, "Plus… by the time the Shadows really got out of hand, Ransei had already begun their policy of total isolationism. So the Shadows unleashed by Cipher back then never really spread out to our lands."

"Until you were sent out." Sabrina said. "You and Arceus knows how many others."

Kyoji shrugged, picking up Gible. "Command's probably wanting an in-person report." he said. "Encryption's good, but nothing's perfect."

Maren sighed. "Let me guess." she said. "Ferrum."

"If I had to guess, yes." Kyoji nodded, "Even before the isolation, Ferrum was the closest nation to bordering Ransei - so they're always a bit of a problem… of course that commie takeover hasn't helped lessen worries..."

The so-called People's Republic of Ferrum was anything but a republic. In a republican-style government, there was an actual voting process to get people in and out of office. Ferrum, with the exception of the island of Selan off the coast, was a communist country with all the lack of rights that entailed.

Put a toe out of line, you died. It was that simple.

"Attention all hands, we are setting down." came the voice of the ship's XO over the ship's PA. "Lieutenant Akamura, report to the base as soon as we land. Repeat, Lieutenant Akamura, report to the base commander."

"Well, let's get this over with…" Kyoji sighed as he grabbed his gear, "Come on girls… please don't humiliate me in front of my boss…"

Sabrina made a show of latching onto Kyoji's arm, making stereotypically girly giggles. "Now why would we do that?" she asked.

Kyoji sighed before gible latched onto his head. "Gible!" 'Home!' cried the land shark.

"Yup. We're going home." Kyoji said, petting the land shark with his free hand. "At least for a bit. Ash would kill me if he learned I left the girls behind."

Maren gave him a look. "Girls?" she asked pointedly.

Well, his life just got harder.

20 minutes later, they had departed the ship, making their way to the crowded docks. They got a fair number of… odd looks as they moved from the docks towards the military base - mostly directed towards the women. "Why are they looking at us…?" Neesha whispered.

"Well, you are the only outsiders we've let in since… well, several thousand years," Kyoji chuckled, "They're obviously gonna be a bit… surprised by all that… "

"Well, as long as they don't try and lynch us." Maren said. "Or lock us up just because we're here."

Kyoji scoffed at that. "We're not xenophobic." he said. "It's just that until recently, we wanted nothing to do with the outside world. That's changing. Mostly due to the whole Shadow Pokemon bullshit Orre sicced on everyone, but we weren't going to be isolated forever."

"I can imagine..." Sabrina looked around, "A lot of military personnel around though… and most of the others give off those same vibes…"

"Ransei has a citizen military," Kyoji explained, "Basically, if you want to have a say in politics you need to complete two years of service in the Ranseian military at minimum."

Neesha gave him a look. "So the military gets all the say?" she asked. "Sounds like a… what's the word-"

"Junta." Maren supplied, the would-be ranger looking at the ferry captain. "I've been around the world. I just prefer to stay in the Orange Islands. It's boring there. I LIKE boring."

Kyoji chuckled. "We're not a military-run government." he said. "But if you want the right to speak for the nation, you have to serve it first. And there's plenty of people that don't. They're not ostracized or anything. Civil servants that never join up are kinda envied by the grunts."

Neesha turned her attention back to Kyoji "And what about you?" she asked. "Why'd you join up? Just the right to vote?"

"No no," He shook his head, "It's… complicated… I joined for my own personal reasons, that's it…"

"Lieutenant Akamura?" their attention turned to a man in what looked like a military police uniform, complete with one of those fancy caps as he approached them, calling Kyoji by rank and name. "General Hiruzen's waiting for you. Come with me."

"Might as well bite the bullet." the Ranseian said, Gible trying to help by latching onto Sabrina's head.

"Gible!" 'Welcome to Ransei!' cried the land shark. Who then electrocuted the psychic by accident. Though she just shrugged it off - as she giggled while petting Gible.

"…seriously, how do people survive that?" Neesha muttered.

General Hiruzen Nagama was not an unreasonable man.

In fact, he was considered the most reasonable military official in the Royal Ranseian Armed Forces, considered many times for the role of chief military advisor for the Emperor. He instead chose to command the Special Forces.

Which was why he hoped Kyoji Akamura had a damn good explanation for why he brought three foreigners, including Sabrina FUCKING Natsume, arguably the most powerful psychic on the planet that wasn't a Lati or one of the Creation Trio, to Ransei.

A knock on the door got his attention. "Come in." he said, the door opening by the MP he sent to pick them up, with the four people in question walking in, Kyoji saluting. "Lieutenant Akamura, reporting, sir!" he said, as if expecting execution.

"At ease." he ordered. "And sit down, all of you. We have much to discuss."

"Yeah…" Kyoji gulped as he sat down - along with the others, "So… about the visitors…"

"Yes…" Hiruzen looked at him, "Care to explain to me why you brought the strongest Psychic in the known world to our doorstep?"

"Cause… she's my… Girlfriend?" Kyoji answered hesitantly.

Hiruzen was rather shocked. "…Girlfriend?" he repeated, as if to comprehend the idea of someone so dangerous being romantically involved with… anyone.

Sabrina was known from their intelligence reports to kill anyone that annoyed her.

"Reports of my… rampages are not entirely exaggerated…" Sabrina spoke up, "But not entirely my fault. Don't worry, I'm not as dangerous as you think."

"I mean, you are just as dangerous…" Kyoji muttered.

"I'm also not insane," She added, "At least not anymore, thankfully."

"I see…" Hiruzen muttered as he looked at the others "And them?"

"Uh… wrong boat, wrong time really…" Kyoji chuckled, as Maren grumbled. "She was transporting us, we got attacked by the Gyarados and well… it all sorta fell apart…"

Hiruzen facepalmed. Only to Akamura. This could only happen to him. "Well, I see you had an interesting voyage." he said, making what was likely to be an understatement. "And you've gotten a lot of intel for us that we need to confirm. Because it sounds insane. A clone of Mew? You know those only result in new Pokemon species, correct?"

"Well, not just a clone - but apparently a genetically enhanced clone of Mew," Kyoji added, "But uh… that doesn't even scratch the surface…"

"Then what else is there?"

Kyoji took a deep breath. "I… I think I may have met with Arceus's Chosen…"

Hirazen's pen dropped to the desk. That was tantamount to heresy, just casually mentioning meeting the Right Hand of God. "…Were I a more religious man, I would have you shot." he admitted. "But you wouldn't be saying this without a reason."

Kyoji sighed before taking in a breath. "'On a shadowed island, a broken child of the gods will rage, eager for blood'." he recited, recalling a myth from the Temple of Arceus. "'From the soul of the Chosen, humility will come and Arceus' daughter will weep'. New Island had this… Mewtwo, a rage filled, lonely, broken Legendary."

A 'broken child of the gods'. Mew was the Mother of All. Hiruzin wasn't liking this.

"And a Mew connected Ash's mind to his." he said, mentioning the name of the supposed Chosen One. 'From the soul of the Chosen, humility will come'."

"And Mew was sad to have to do it." Sabrina added, looking at her boyfriend curiously. "I'm surprised you didn't mention this earlier."

Kyoji rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not that religious. And I've had a month or two to mull over the whole thing." he said. "But as it stands… there are too many coincidences for Ash Ketchum to not be the Chosen One at this point. Not to mention how so many Legendaries rallied alongside him to stop Mewtwo…"

"…the Shrine Maidens are going to lose their shit when they hear of this…" Hiruzen muttered.

"Words cannot describe how sorry I feel for Ash," Kyoji shook his head 'Or lucky-SHIT!' He thought for a moment, waiting for a retaliation from Sabrina… which didn't come. '…I REALLY need to keep my mind out of the gutter…'

Sadly for Kyoji, his girlfriend was probably as much a pervert as anyone. And contrary to everyone saying otherwise, everyone was a bit of a pervert. Hell, even the most seemingly prudish woman probably had a stash of suggestive literature hidden under their bed.

'He knows nothing about women.' Sabrina thought to herself. Though she did share his concern about these 'Maidens', whoever they were.

But back to the important part.

"Putting aside the fact you may or may not have been travelling with the Child of Arceus…" Hiruzen said, trying to actually get that through his head that might've happened. "The attack on Indigo Plateau."

"Yes, sir. They were Type-36 Wǔshén-class Airships." Kyoji replied. "Only one region has the resources and technology nowadays to make those."

"Ferrum." the general said. "Neighboring directly to Orre, the largest source of iron, copper, tin and other ores on the planet, including uranium. And I doubt the commies are going to be making nuclear power plants. They don't care enough about their own people for that."

"Not if they want to use that energy for other things," Kyoji added. "But either way, this just confirms what we thought - Ferrum is in fact working with Orre and Cipher."

"And Cipher only specializes in the mass-production of Shadow Pokemon." Hiruzen said. "Arceus preserve us."

A dark thought passed through Kyoji's head. And was voiced by Sabrina. "The Creator sent Ash to us." she said. "In a way, he is. He's just in way over his head. He's en route to Orre as I speak."

The general paled. "'And the Chosen walks to a land of darkness, finding those to bring the light'." he recited. "'And there he will suffer greatly'."

Neesha chuckled. "Given whatever Mewtwo saw in his head, he's already suffering." she quipped. "But going to Orre is suicide. The Shadow Pokemon alone will overwhelm any trainer, not to mention the radiation, the heat-"

"If need-be, I will inform the Maidens," the old man said. "I just hope I don't. But we will have to take down Ferrum to ease his journey."

"Or at the very least, keep them distracted," He shrugged. "Give Ferrum something else to worry about, prevent them from sending help to Orre."

"What would you suggest, Lieutenant?" Hiruzen asked.

"Well, obviously there is Selen Island," Kyoji began. "It's independent, but we all know Ferrum's been wanting to claim it to assert further dominance in the region… not to mention that they have plenty of enemies within their borders as well…"

Neesha raised a hand. "What about the URN?" she asked, getting scoffs from the Ranseians AND Sabrina, surprisingly.

"The world relies on Ferrum's cheap production for everything from silverware to bullets." Sabrina said, clearly annoyed by that fact. "The human rights violations get ignored due to the dual virtues of convenience and the fact that we have bigger problems, like the Shadow Pokemon plague preventing us from being self-sufficient."

"And take into account just how much they need all that stuff just to fight the Shadows, they sorta are encouraged to… turn the other cheek as it was," Kyoji said, "This ain't just the URN, this is the TATO as well. This is what happens when you go for quantity over quality."

Nothing could be done legally. So it was time for extra-legal measures.

"You will be sent into Ferrum to disrupt operations within the week." the old man said. "The young lady will have her new ship to assist in infiltration." he looked to Maren with a smile. "Think of it as a down payment."

Maren did not look joyful at this. "Yay." she deadpanned.

"You have the rest of the day to yourselves. Report to Raiden Base first thing tomorrow morning." Hiruzen said. "I presume you remember where it is?"

Kyoji chuckled. "Barely?" he more then asked. He had been dragged through Kanto for nearly two months: it wasn't easy to remember where everything was given the more extreme shit.

The group then left, Hiruzen smiling at them until the door closed...then he pulled out a bottle of sake, only barely remembering to get a cup to drink it out of.

He might've been on duty, but there was no reason not to use alcohol to numb the fact that God's Right Hand was on earth and they were in for a rough ride.

"So…" Sabrina said, getting Kyoji's attention with that near-singing tone. "Who are these 'Shrine Maidens' and why are you scared of them?"

"Eh… well, you see… they are sorta like Priestesses who act in the name of Arceus and the other deities," Kyoji explained, "They sorta help make up the religious body of Ransei… though they also double as a paramilitary group, as they often operate as nurses and supportive roles for the military, and even engage in military operations if it involves recovering artifacts related to Arceus, or protecting shrines of the gods."

Maren shuddered. "A religious militia? You know how well that ended in Rota, right?" she asked. "How Sir Aaron died ending it?"

"Technically, we don't know what happened to him." Sabrina said, though she knew DAMN well what happened from Ash's recollections. "And somehow, I doubt they're that bad."

Sabrina then sensed a feeling of dread from Kyoji. This was not going to be good.

"Actually, they're… a bunch of crazed religious zealots." he admitted. "Sure, on the surface and in normal conversation, they seem perfectly fine, like ordinary women, but the second you mention ANYTHING involving Arceus or the other legendaries…"

Gible shivered. "Gible…" he said, clutching onto his trainer's leg out of fear. "Gible!"

Neesha sighed. "And what will happen if they learn about Ash?" she asked, deciding to get it over with and just ask. Ash seemed like a good kid, if...massively broken in his own way.

"...Imagine, if you would, if a bunch of Pre-Teen girls realized that their favorite boy band was coming back together," Kyoji began, "And their star member that all the fangirls squeal over has announced that he was coming back to the band. Now… give them power armor, guns and crank their fanaticism up to 200%"

Neesha and Sabrina just stared. There was no way that was true.

"And as we've established, Ash is basically the son of God." Kyoji added, before gaining a thousand yard stare. "…And all of them have one thing in common."

"Other than religious zeal and insanity?" Maren quipped before she felt talons on her head, though faintly, as she was wearing her hat.

"Natu." said the bird, staring them all down. And this wasn't Kyoji's or Sabrina's Natu. Neither of theirs had the imperious look in this bird's eyes.

"Every single one of them has at least one Natu." Kyoji said, his own Natu popping out of a ball, jumping onto his head.

"Natu!" cried the bird.

"Natu." retorted the stranger.

The birds 'Natu'ed back and forth, with no one but Kyoji knowing what they said.

"Natu, don't you fucking dare…" He looked up at his Natu.

"Natu," 'I can't exactly lie to my own brethren, you know?' Natu retorted.

"You KNOW what this will cause, right?" Kyoji said, almost terrified… but not for himself.

"Natu, Na, Natu." 'I know, but I must.' It looked to the other Natu. "Natu." 'The Chosen One has returned.'

"NATU!" 'THE CHOSEN ONE HAS RETURNED!' The Natu shouted, its eyes lighting up before vanishing. Soon followed were the cries of more Natu, then more, and then…

…somewhere in the distance, there was a loud, feminine screeching sound - like thousands of fangirls rejoicing in symphony.

Neesha grabbed the bird from his head. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she demanded of the parrot.

"Natu." 'Be glad I like you.' said the bird, before returning himself to his ball.

Sabrina pinched the bridge of her nose. "I suspect we're going to have to talk to them." she deadpanned.

"Not now." Kyoji said, almost too quickly. "Let the excitement die down and we'll deal with them after we get ready for our trip to Ferrum."

Sabrina sensed a good amount of fear from him. Then again, crazed zealots were never a good thing to deal with.

Temple of Arceus, Aurora Province - 1857 hours local time

Excitement was… an understatement. Natus did not lie. And their singular Aura user was by no means even able to lie.

Those trained by Lucario tended to be horrible at such things. Lucario treasured truth and honor, not fallacy.

The Shrine Maidens of Arceus, however, were not immune to the effect of this news. Even the oldest, the leader of their order, was looking forward to meeting the Chosen of Arceus, the one hand-picked by their god to serve as the vessel for the Neverborn Legendary, the human son of the Creator, effectively.

There was just one problem. While Natus did not lie, they also didn't have all the information. Therefore, they needed to discuss the situation.

"May the Creator continue to look favorably on this world and his most faithful." declared Megumi Odaka, head miko of the Maidens, effectively bringing the meeting of the most senior of the 'crazed zealots' to order.

Seriously, they were quite reasonable people. And if stones needed throwing at the heretics, they were the first people to line up. It was only natural.

"I believe it goes without saying what the… subject matter is," She said, looking at each of the Maidens present. "At long last, our saviour Arceus has bestowed upon our world… our saviour."

"The Messengers claim the name of the Chosen is Ash Ketchum," A blue-haired Maiden spoke, her hair tied up into a pair of twin tails. "Born on the mainland of Kanto, from a Pallet Town."

"Hm, I had hoped he would have been born among the people of Ransei..." Another one, this one with dark pink hair mused. "But Arceus may believe the world outside needs him more than Ransei does - after all, we have survived against the tides of Shadows for so long already… yet the world beyond still suffers from the sins of Orre."

Their Natus all looked to one another, making 'Natu's to talk amongst themselves. They shared a closer link to Arceus then any other Pokemon other than the Legendaries, due in no small part to their psychic ability to see past and future.

Thus why anyone lucky enough to have a Natu was more than welcome.

Except that boy with the Gible. That damn land shark electrocuted dozens of Natus and effectively stole one of them.

"Mistress, we cannot remain here and leave him unguarded." Momoko Kochi, Odaka's subordinate, said. "The risk to the Chosen is unacceptable, given he has gone to that forsaken hellhole!"

"This goes without saying," Odaka said, "However, we must not forget our current duties to Ransei as well… also, we must take into account the reality that it will take some time to secure proper transport to take our sisters across the seas with our necessary equipment… however, there are alternative ways we could help the Chosen One…"

"How so?" Mika Katsumi asked, brushing her blue hair away from her eyes.

"It's no secret that Ferrum is one of Orre's main suppliers of weapons and material," Odaka informed, "They are in fact, their only contributor of aid since the Shadows rose to prominence… imagine if we could cut off their one lifeline?"

"…Cipher will be unable to maintain their control over the region," Momoko nodded, "Without the supply of rations and equipment, the whole country would descend into anarchy in months, if not sooner."

"And Ferrum is a far closer target as well, with no shortage of enemies." Mika agreed.

Odaka stood, her red and white robes flowing with her movements. "Then it is decided." she declared. "Find the one the Emperor will send to Ferrum and send one of our number with him. We do not know where the Chosen is… but we can claim vengeance for those Yveltal's uncontrolled spawn have wrought. The faithful will have their revenge."

"Heresy has no cure," Momoko smiled in agreement, "It must be purged by a cleansing fire."

"Natu," All of the Natu's present nodded in unison.

Even though no Natu could learn a damaging fire attack, theirs were rather nasty pyromaniacs.

"Find one whose piety and zeal are unmatched." Megumi ordered. "She will go to Ferrum and send those heretics to the pyres of judgement. Arceus forgives, so we do not!"

Kyoji winced slightly. "…I got a bad feeling..." he muttered.

"You really need to learn to relax," Neesha countered, patting his back.

"Not when my 'Nuns with Guns' senses are tingling…" He sighed.

"You know that religion died out about 7000 years ago, right?" Maren said. "Why do we even keep their phrases around when they mean nothing?"

Sabrina shrugged. "Cultural reminder?" she suggested.

"Don't care. Nuns. Guns." Kyoji said, almost in catatonic terror.

"Gible…" 'Keep them away. They still don't like me after the zapping…' Gible said, latching onto Kyoji's leg with his maw.

It would be cute if it wasn't so horrifying.

Ron the True Fan: …Well, we knew religious crazies were in here somewhere. Here they are! (Natu pulls out flamethrower) …NO. (Natu torches my ass)

Takeshi Yamato: Well, religious fanatics are honestly better than the alternative. These shrine maidens may be based on the Adeptus Sororitas, but at least they aren't the Rip-Off Church.

117Jorn: …you know, Japanese culture works really well with the Imperium… everyone keeps saying that the Tau are basically Space Japan, but really when you think about it, the Tau aren't Japan. They are basically Space Commie China. Kinda what I am going for here with Ransei and Ferrum. *dons Aquila Power Armor*

Ron the True Fan: (Nurses burns) And before anyone goes 'that's a bit ridiculous' in regards to the Maidens and potential harem membership… you're right. But making Ash more uncomfortable amuses me almost as much as putting myself through hell. (Natu torches me again) WHY DO YOU PARROTS HATE ME?!

Ja Ne!