Raphtalia strode into the training floor of the empty barracks, clutching the Vassal Katana in its sheath on her hip. Vulpix whimpered nervously.

"Don't worry, girl," Raphtalia said gently. "We'll win this."

Atop the walls surrounding the training floor, the Siltveltian council and the Knights of New Hyrule stood to spectate. The council occupied one wall while the Knights had congregated on the opposite one. It was as though the two groups were sports fans attending a ball game and each rooting for a separate team.

Jaralis stood opposite Raphtalia; his eyes were filled with bloodlust. "Now, before you are utterly annihilated," he seethed, "let us arrange the stakes of this duel."

Raphtalia nodded. "If I win, Aris stays with the Knights of New Hyrule and you have to prepare a ship to Q'ten Lo for us. Preparations for said ship need to begin immediately following this duel."

"And when I win," said Jaralis, "he will stay here in Siltvelt for the rest of his life, and you charlatans who call yourselves his friends must leave Siltvelt and never return. From there, he will act according to Siltvelt's tradition for Shield Heroes."

"I accept," Raphtalia replied, "but I'd like to make a correction to your wording. You mean if you win, and that won't be happening. Especially not with that bullet in your leg."

"Vul!" added Vulpix.

Jaralis roared with laughter. "You seriously thought I would fight you directly?! Think again, wench!" He turned around and roared out a command. "Bring forth the Lion of Flame!"

The ear-piercing sound of metal scraping against stone struck Raphtalia's ears as Jaralis's servants pushed a large cage into the arena. Jaralis stepped aside, revealing the creature contained in the cage.

"A Pyroar?!" Aris shouted. "This son of a bitch has a Pokémon?!"

The caged Pyroar gnawed and clawed at the bars of its containment, desperately attempting to set itself free.

Raphtalia felt sweat drip down her face as her hands began to quiver. She could never bring herself to hurt a Pokémon directly. Granted, she had done so against Gaelion during the Dragon-type's corruption, but that was in the name of quelling it. This Pyroar had been captured seemingly by Jaralis and was being forced to fight for him.

Jaralis left the arena and hobbled up to where the Siltveltian council stood. "Release the creature!" he bellowed.

A heavily armored Demi-human soldier broke the lock on the Pyroar's cage with a battle ax before swiftly vacating the premises. Pyroar burst from the confines of its prison and bared its fangs at Raphtalia.

Raphtalia nodded to Vulpix. "Just like we practiced, remember?"

BGM: Battle! Team Galactic Commander - Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl

Vulpix nodded in response, jumping from Raphtalia's shoulder and facing the enemy Pyroar.

Pyroar's predatory instincts took hold, causing it to shift its attention from Raphtalia to Vulpix.

The captive Pokémon charged, roaring as its red and yellow mane lit ablaze.

It's using Flame Charge! Raphtalia thought. "Vulpix, use Double Team!"

Vulpix's form shimmered as a set of illusory clones of itself appeared before Pyroar. The illusions moved in tandem with the real Vulpix, confusing the charging Pyroar.

Pyroar mistakenly used Crunch to attack one of the illusory clones, causing all of them to disappear. Only the real Vulpix remained.

You fell for it, fool! Raphtalia mentally cheered.

"Flame Wheel, now!"

Vulpix howled as it sprinted towards Pyroar. The tiny fox pounced at its target, somersaulting forward as its body became wreathed in spinning fire. Pyroar let out a wail of pain as Vulpix collided with its flank.

"Good hit, girl!" Raphtalia praised. "But we're not done yet!"

"How spectacular!" Werner breathed. "The small creature listens to her commands and carries them out without fail! And the creature looks positively overjoyed to be fighting for her!"

"Surely her bond with the little beast will allow her a chance to prevail," one of the councilmen said hopefully.

Meanwhile, the Knights of Hyrule were all cheering on their friend.

"No mercy, mom!" Filo exclaimed. "You and Vulpix show that overgrown cat who's boss!"

"You can do it, young Raphtalia!" Sadeena called out.

Dante raised a fist. "Give 'em hell, kid!"

Raphtalia nodded at them. "We won't let you down. Vulpix, use Fire Spin!"

Vulpix conjured a raging cyclone of flames, lunging in Pyroar's direction to send them out. The whirling fire engulfed the opposing lion, trapping it in place. The Pyroar cried out as flames licked its body.

"Alright, Vulpix!" said Raphtalia. "We've got this guy right where we want him! Time to lay in! Flame Wheel!"

Vulpix leaped through the fire tornado with some spinning flames of its own and slammed into Pyroar.

"Again! Flame Wheel!"

Raphtalia's Pokémon followed the given command to the letter.

"One more time, Flame Wheel!"

This time, Vulpix's raging attack set Pyroar free from the raging flames of Fire Spin. Vulpix ran back towards Raphtalia as Pyroar gave chase.

Soon, Vulpix found itself backed into a corner, both literally and figuratively. Pyroar let out a blood-curdling roar, channeling its pent up hatred into a fierce attack. The lion reared one of its front legs.

"Endure, quick!" Raphtalia desperately cried.

Vulpix heard and obeyed, bracing for imminent impact.

Pyroar's paw connected. Vulpix sailed across the arena like a comet through space, colliding with the nearby wall and leaving a small crater. The fox staggered to its feet.

"What?!" Jaralis bellowed. "That puny abomination survived?!"

"Let's finish this, Vulpix!" Raphtalia cheered.

"Wait, mom, not yet!" Filo ran along the wall closer to Raphtalia, holding an empty Great Ball. "Use this!"

Raphtalia held out a hand. "Toss it here!"

Filo reared her arm and chucked the Great Ball towards Raphtalia. The katana-wielding tanuki caught it, pressed the button, and hurled it towards the weakened Pyroar. The fiery lion disappeared with a flash of light as the Great Ball closed.

It shook once. Vulpix gritted its teeth, preparing itself.

It shook twice. Raphtalia's heart began to pound, threatening to burst out of her chest.

It shook a third time. Everyone held their breath.

The Great Ball clicked shut.

BGM: Victory! Gym Trainer - Pokémon Sword/Shield

"Yes!" Raphtalia cheered. She ran over to her battered Vulpix. "You did amazing, girl!"

Vulpix let out a happy yip.

Aris couldn't contain his happiness. He vaulted over the side of the wall and landed on the training floor, sprinting towards Raphtalia. "That was amazing!" He squeezed her in a tight hug and lifted her off the ground, spinning with her in his arms as the two of them laughed and cheered.

The others joined them in celebration. "Mom, you're the coolest!" Filo whooped.

End BGM

Jaralis roared with rage. "Impossible! The mighty Lion of Flame could never lose to such insignificant vermin!"

"Believe that, you truly did, hmm?" croaked the old genmu. "Prevail, the Lion could never, over the cunning of the Fox."

"Chairman Jaralis!" one of the councilmen said firmly. "Your stand-in, the Lion of Flame, has lost. Therefore, victory belongs to Raphtalia and Vulpix of the Knights of New Hyrule."

"Furthermore," added Werner, "you have repeatedly committed the crime of displeasing His Excellency and His Excellency's associates! Punishment for such a grievous act is a swift and decisive execution!"

Before the lion therianthrope could try to escape, a loud bang resounded from nearby. Jaralis froze as blood ran from a small hole in the side of his head, taking small chunks of bone and brain matter with it. He fell face first to the floor, moving no longer.

On the opposite side of the arena, Dante blew out a small trail of smoke from Ebony's barrel.

Werner addressed the victors once Jaralis's corpse had been removed from the scene. "Knights of New Hyrule! I will begin arranging preparations for your ship to Q'ten Lo at once!"

"Finally!"

"So, how're things back in the village?"

"Could be worse," Cloud replied over CD-Comm. "There's been a number of attacks from the assassins. Nothing we couldn't handle, though."

Aris breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. What else is new?"

"Oddly enough," said Cloud, "we've been noticing an increasing presence of Heartless. No idea why."

"Maybe because we have three Keyblade wielders in Lighthaven now," Aris suggested.

Riku joined their conversation from a CD-Comm of his own. "It can't be that. Otherwise, they wouldn't have attacked at all when I went to Fivendom with Keel and Kairi."

"Take some time to look into that, if you can," Aris told them.

"We will," said Riku. "Did you reach Q'ten Lo yet?"

"Nope, not yet," Aris replied. "We got...pretty held up in Siltvelt. Luckily, though, their governing council finally agreed to arrange a ship to take us there, and we should be underway soon."

"Good to hear," said Riku. "Take care, then."

"And teleport over if you need any extra people," added Cloud before he and Riku hung up.

BGM: Sweet Surfin' - Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

"You want us to do what?" Raphtalia raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Oh, right," said Loretta. "You've never seen Titanic, have you?"

"Lemme guess," Aris deadpanned, "you want us to re-enact that scene with Jack and Rose."

"You bet your ass I do!" Loretta replied. "Come on, it'd make a great photo! Especially with where the sun is right now."

Aris looked at Raphtalia. "I'm okay with it if you are."

Raphtalia shrugged. "I don't see why not. What do I do?"

"Simple," said Loretta. "Just hold out both your arms sideways, like a 'T'. Stand like that right where you are."

Raphtalia exhaled, lifting her arms and asserting dominance over the ocean with a stiff t-pose.

"Relax a little, you're stiffer than a tree," Loretta laughed. "Aris, you know what to do."

Aris nodded, gently embracing Raphtalia from behind. "Is...Is this okay?" he quietly asked his lover.

"Y-Yeah, I don't mind."

Loretta put a hand to her forehead. "I swear, you two have been dating for more than a year and you still get all shy."

"Hey, lay off, we've never done this before!" Aris shot back. "Now take the picture already."

"Okay, okay, I will." Loretta activated her Sheikah Armor and flew out in front of the ship's bow, holding her palm towards Aris and Raphtalia. "Aaand...done!"

Fohl leaned back over the stern of the ship, his face pale and sickly. "Sora, how are you not seasick?"

"I'm an islander," Sora replied. "I learned to swim pretty much as soon as I finished learning how to walk. And once I could swim, I learned how to sail a small boat. So, yeah, you could say I'm pretty used to being at sea."

"Do...Do you have any advice for not getting seasick?" asked Fohl.

"Simple," said Sora. "Try to stay near the middle of the ship. You'll feel the sway of the waves less."

Fohl nodded, staggering to his feet and heading towards the main mast. He sat back down on the starboard side of the deck, staying close to the edge of the ship.

Ost pointed ahead. "Are those...whirlpools?"

"Not exactly," Werner replied. "Look closer. The current flows outward instead of inward."

Ost squinted at the whirlpools. "Oh, yeah," she said. "It does."

Dante turned to Sadeena. "So you're telling me you and Raphtalia's folks sailed through those reverse whirlpools?"

"We did," said Sadeena.

End BGM

That night, Aris and Raphtalia woke to the violent shaking of the ship. They could hear screams, roars and thundering footsteps from above them. They looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement. The couple donned their combat wear as fast as they could, grabbing their weapons before rushing out of their cabin to find Atla and Fohl having done the same thing. "You guys heard that, too?" said Raphtalia.

Fohl nodded. "Let's go."

Aris rang Joker via CD-Comm. "What's happening up there?"

Joker replied, "An attack. A big one. There's monsters in the water and the sky, and some of us are fighting these orca therianthropes. I think they're from Q'ten Lo."

"Ten-four, I'm coming with backup."

Aris hung up. "Okay, here's the plan," he said to the others. "We take out all the monsters, but leave at least one Q'ten Lo assassin alive so we can interrogate them."

"Permission to use lethal force on the others?" Atla requested.

"Granted, but make sure to leave one alive." Aris stopped in front of a closed door, slamming it open. "Other than that, go crazy."

Aris, Raphtalia, Atla, and Fohl burst from below deck to find everyone else locked in battle. A large group of orca therianthropes were engaging Ost, Joker, Rishia, and Filo. Sora, Sadeena, and a group of Siltveltian mages were firing off magic at the aquatic monsters swarming the ship. Sadeena's Lapras and Lanturn were actively in the water and fighting the monsters up close and personal. Meanwhile, Dante had attained his demonic form (which he'd referred to as his Sin Devil Trigger) and had taken flight to kill a swarm of flying goblin monsters with help from Loretta and Pit.

Aris made a large sweeping motion with his arm. "Triforce Judgement!"

Golden lightning struck from above the orca therianthropes, who raised their harpoons to absorb the bolts.

"Firaga Burst!" Ost swung her Keyblade, casting a volley of fireballs.

Fohl managed to knock down a therianthrope assassin with a powerful kick, leaving an opening for Raphtalia to cut them down. "Stardust Blade!"

"There can be only one Heavenly Emperor!" a therianthrope assassin shouted. "Die!"

The assassin didn't hit Raphtalia. In fact, they had attacked in the opposite direction. Raphtalia's form shimmered.

An illusion! Aris realized. That was genius!

Suddenly, the assassins all began to focus on Raphtalia. Aris gritted his teeth. "Dammit."

Raphtalia reared her sheathed Vassal Katana. "Instant Blade: Approaching Storm!"

Time slowed around her as she darted about the battalion of assassins, slashing the air and leaving glowing cuts in the fabric of space. Time returned to normality, causing the assassins to suffer major lacerations all across their bodies. The force of the attack sent them flying overboard.

"Don't go after them!" Aris exclaimed. "They're orcas, they have an advantage in the water!"

A few scorched goblins fell from the sky, having suffered lasers through the head or chest and occasionally clean sword cuts in various places. Loretta, Pit, and Dante were hard at work.

The enemies' numbers dwindled faster and faster as the Knights of New Hyrule did their same old song and dance of fight and win.

A horn of some kind sounded through the air. Suddenly, the few remaining orca therianthropes jumped overboard and fled. The timing couldn't have been any more perfect, as the remaining aquatic and aerial monsters had just fallen.

"I wouldn't recommend going after them," Sadeena warned once the proverbial dust had settled.

The captain barked some orders to his crewmen, commanding them to remain on high alert in the event of another attack.

"Wait..." Fohl realized. "We didn't catch one, did we?"

"That's the least of my worries right now," Aris told him.

Rishia wiped sweat and seawater from her forehead. "To think they'd attack us in the middle of these strong currents and have no trouble swimming through them."

"Yeah," Sora agreed.

"Some kind of special protection, maybe?" Ost suggested.

"It's entirely possible," Sadeena concurred. "I have a feeling that the gear they carried was imbued with a blessing from the water dragon itself."

Dante whistled as he landed and returned to his human form. "They seriously don't want us getting to Q'ten Lo."

"Well, we won that battle," said Fohl. "That's a relief."

BGM: The Chase - Deltarune

Something shot out of the water towards Raphtalia. Whatever it had been missed by a reasonable margin, but managed to take out a sizable chunk of the deck. It disappeared into the dark sea below.

Immediately after it had disappeared, the reverse whirlpool below the ship shot up, appearing like a waterborne tornado and sucking up a larger section of the deck. Everyone held on for dear life.

Aris could feel the tornado attempting to rip him from the ship. He tried using the Power of Flight for the first time in a while to out-speed the force of the suction, but to no avail. He tried casting Air Strike Shield to give himself something to stand on, but failed to catch it in time.

Raphtalia managed to grab his hand. "Don't let go!"

"I'm trying!" Aris cried.

He tried and failed, taking Raphtalia with him on a tumble into the tornado.

Loretta flew after them with her armor. "Guys, grab on!"

She was too late.

Aris and Raphtalia were swallowed by the waterborne cyclone, tossing and turning violently as though in a giant washing machine.

All the while, their hands gripped one another and refused to let go. Even as they both fell unconscious amidst the cyclone.