Hey guys! Long time no see!
I've been… gone a while, probably some people thought that Covid got to me, or something along those lines. Worry not, I have not suffered through it, thankfully, and I am in perfect health. Quarantine was a massive bitch, and interfered with my studies however, so most of my time and focus went into that, and the rest went into stressing the fuck out.
I won't preface this with anything that's more thoughtful, because frankly I don't think people come over here to worry about the shit that's going on around the place. Just now that I'm going to actively try and get the next chapters out as quickly and as efficiently as I can, so look forward to some great stuff.
Thank you for sticking around for so long and with my god awful upload schedule. A review or a comment of any sort goes a long way.
Enjoy!
Chapter 16
Indomatia, Budding Assassin
Revenge is a dish best served with roses
A loud crack echoed in the distance, and a muffled scream that was drowned out shortly after, Elly's mind working in slow motion, feeling dazed, the world around her shifting and moving slowly. Her head bumped into something hard as she was tugged along on her back, the sound of a door sliding open, and another bump to her head. A slight miscalculation on her kidnapper's part, her tail was perhaps much too big and they were too careless to account for her full body's size. She'd hit her head on the frame as she left the room, snapping her back to reality and looking around in a panic as they passed by Lucy and Zed's room only to see the door open and the room empty.
"What th- Hey!" She quickly snapped her face down and kicked the paw gripping her tail, forcing them to let go, rolling away from them and onto her legs, bringing out her dark matter and ready to pummel them… only to see that the kidnapped was an absent minded Eric, his gaze lost into the darkness of the hallway behind her, the Eevee's mind scrambling as she recognized that stare: the same one the waiter had back in the restaurant. Before she so much had a chance to connect the dots however, she'd notice something sharp rubbing at her neck, and a figure she'd failed to notice behind her bending over, and grabbing her by the ears.
"Awake now… are we?" They were female, but not one she recognized by voice only. You two whores somehow managed to wake up in spite of my drug… I suppose I'll forever remain more effective on males." Elly quickly brought her dark matter back to try and push her attacker off, only to let out a pained scream as she felt something stabbing into her neck, hot liquid rushing out of the surface level scratch, as she felt tingling pain travelling down her neck and to her chest.
"Atta girl~ You're a problematic bitch, you know that? But don't worry, this stuff won't kill ya, just keep ya from using that magic bullshit of yours." She was slammed face down on the ground over and over again, making her scream out and groan repeatedly until she felt blood leaking out her nose, despite being slowly paralyzed by whatever she'd been injected with. "Makes it easier for me to beat the shit out of you though~ Now you, pretty boy! Carry her ass down the hallway! Now!"
She could barely blurt out a response before she felt someone yanking on her tail again, Eric of course, as she slowly looked down at him, on the verge of tears as she also spotted her attacker out of the corner of her eye. "Y-you…"
The same Roselia from earlier glared down at her with a sickening smile. "Me~ Though… we haven't actually ever seen each other before in person. In fact… don't think anyone on your team, except for that icy smartypants over there ever met me. You know how hard it's been to hide from him, hm~? That… sneaky little devil sometimes puts my own skills to shame, let alone that Zorua's… Zed, is it? Oh he's got a pretty little price on his head, so I think I'll be taking it as a souvenir today… Come on move it you lot!" She screeched out and kicked Eric's back, throwing him down with a grunt, as he got up and continued to move, and she moved past him, kicking Zed's side, then Jake's back again, carrying a vine gagged and bound Lucy, and Nox and Serge were slapped soundly.
They were all taken out back to the baths again, the candles hadn't been blown out so the place was lit well enough for the girls to see their mates and the other guys shambling forward into the water, as the Roselia walked in between them, stepping on Lucy's tail and making her let out a muffled growl. "Ooops, my bad... " She lifted her foot… only to slam it back down and twist it, making her scream out in agony. "Now that's more like it~!" She stepped off and pushed Lucy onto her back with a kick, and then the vines seemed to retract and allow her to speak.
"You fucking bitch! That fucking hurt, what the fuck is your problem?!"
"You, you two are my problem, mine, and my boss' problem…" She sighed, shaking her head. "Alright alright, I suppose I should rewind a bit. First! Proper introductions, since only Sneasel boy over here ever knew who I was… my name is Indomatia! A former hired gun, now contracted by a pretty pissed off leader of a cult that wants you two to be delivered to him. You, because he needs… your blood or something I don't give a shit." She pointed at Elly. "And you… I don't know, they never told me why, just that I should deliver both of you intact."
"Well… You've done a terrible job of that so far…" Elly barely gasped through the poison, her fur tainted with blood.
"Hmmm… I'll just say you bumped against the door on the way out. I'm sure they'll believe me. Anything, I honestly couldn't give less of a fuck about what happens to you two, I'm in this for the money… mostly." She smirked, and turned to face the males, as she walked behind them. "I'm also interested…" She brought her hands back, and smacked both Eric and Zed's asses, making them shift and groan in their spots, and instantly made Elly and Lucy's blood boil. "In these hunks of fun you have as mates and teammates~ See, I'm a bit of a collector myself, not unlike my hirer… a collector of studs~"
"You're a sick bitch! What did you do to them?! Zed! Snap out of it! Eric wake the fuck up already!" She kept calling them and the others, but to no avail, and each time she called them Indomatia's face twisted into a sadistic grin, before walking over to Lucy and punting her mouth, the Luxio barely getting the time to twist it out of the way, getting kicked in the nose and saving her teeth from being smashed in.
"Oh shut up you whore! I used my own pheromones and drugs to basically turn them into my obedient little zombies, what do you think? Grass types are pretty resourceful with these things, you know~? I would've done the same to you, but females always resist these things the best… Hell, that disgrace of a pokémon earlier, the Espurr… Cherry, was it? I tried it on her first, she didn't like it and when she woke up she screamed so loudly… well, I just couldn't risk it, now could I~?"
"You… you killed her?! She was just a kid how could y-" Elly got kicked in the stomach again, making her cough out and almost throw up.
"Nah… only lethally poisoned her. I'm sure she's dying elsewhere right now, little bitch teleported away. I was tasked to take her back as well, boss seemed really interested in her abilities, but if I couldn't do it without making a fuss, well…" She drew a finger across her neck, her sadistic smile clashing with Elly's horrified face, before she stomped on her stomach again, and walked away. "Anyways, but again ladies ladies ladies, let's not get too carried away here, because this isn't even the worst part! Trust me, if your evening's not miserable enough yet I will make it so!" She walked in between Jake and Eric, putting her arms around their shoulders and hanging from them, smiling. "Because while this is mostly a business related visit, I do have some personal matters to resolve. Woooo~!"
"You… We… don't even know you." Elly gasped through the pain by this point, everything above her waist hurt, and her legs barely responded.
"That's riiiight! You barely know me but I know you! More importantly, I know what you did earlier this month! You killed my precious little baby, the one I had been nurturing and feeding, to make him grow big and strong and ravenous enough to consume that entire village in the forest… And from there on, he was going to eat up everyone in this village, and make a nice, great outpost for my boss, and I'd get a great cut out of it and a spot in whatever new world order he'll make. Everything was going nice and great… Until you lot showed up and killed it!"
Elly and Lucy understood what she was talking about instantly, and the look on their faces prompted Indomatia to reward them with more kicks. "That's right! The "Parasite" as you've grown to call it was my little pet, that I was meaning to show off to my boss and use it to help with his plans, alongside monsters we were supposed to retrieve from that… Banshee Hook or whatever, all the way from Kanto and that sparkly one from that backwater village in Unova… but the first one got fucked up because that idiot Abomasnow couldn't wait for reinforcements to arrive and the second one got killed by Tharmius! So now we're just sitting here, with no Rebscura… and its thanks to you assholes!" Another punch to Elly's face, and a kick to Lucy's back.
"You'll… kill thousands. What's the point, this world's already suffered enough." Elly's voice was raspy and coughing.
"Meh, I don't doubt it. I really just don't give a shit about this world and its people anymore… I mean, why should you anyways?" She was goading in her position of power over the two females, turned into writhing, seething, and yet shuddering cubs underneath her feet, pushing her foot down on Elly's face as if to drive her point forward, twisting and curving it, increasing the pressure to hurt her. "Far as I know you have been shunned, and no one trusts you anymore… trust me, if anything, you should let Tharmius handle things from now on~."
"Fuck you! That prick works for you anyways!" Lucy screamed out, causing the grass type to laugh at her.
"Really?! Really now! Wow." She changed to step on Lucy now, smiling. "I heard you were stupid, but man you're actually even dumber. I don't know what use he'll have for a bimbo like you, but I assure you it's worse than what I'm offering… I heard he's a monster in the sack~" Lucy growled and tried to snap and bite her foot off, only for her to be kicked directly in the head, dazing her as she nearly passed out. "Bitch, don't you dare pass out on me, we're finally getting to the main act." She pressed a finger to her neck, one of her nails growing and puncturing her flesh, and pumping adrenaline straight into her bloodstream to keep her awake to see the next part, and further stressing her.
"Well, anyways before I got sidetracked by your observations I was going to propose a little game! You know, you killed three of our pets, the monsters that were going to do our bidding yada yada yada… So I thought: hey, they have five guys to choose from." She then snapped her fingers, and each of the males tensed up, and brought up a weapon to their necks: Serge's wings glowed, Nox's claws aimed at his neck, same as Jake, Zed and Eric's, and the reality of the situation crashed down on the girls.
"So choose. I mean… I have a slight intuition as to who you're going to choose to spare. Eric's likely a nice stud, and Zed… oooh, this boy probably has a lot to offer under the surface… but you know my heart will really ache if Jake kicks the bucket, he's so smart, I would love to have him hanging around my pinky finger… I know someone that'll hate it if I kill him too, she'll freeze me on the spot, but such is the way of these things! The Houndour's a cutie, but I don't think anyone will miss 'im too much, and the Pidgeot… Ooooh I've heard many things about this stud~ Females everywhere will shed a tear if his head rolls down his back~"
Elly's tears poured out of her eyes, shaking her head and closing her eyes, then opening them, shaking in her place as she blabbered incoherently, before screams began to roar out of her mouth. "No! Let them go! Please! Let them go, we won't get in your way anymore please! Please don't make us do this no!"
"Sorry, but it's already been decided~ You get to choose who dies and who becomes my personal toy until they break and die by snu snu, as some people say~."
"You're a sick fucking bitch, you fucking whore you fucking let go of them right fucking now or I swear I'll fucking hunt you to the ends of the fucking earth you fuckhead bitch fuck fuck fuck!" Lucy was writhing and fighting against her bindings desperately whilst holding back tears that Elly was letting out for her, pleading for their friend's lives, the Roselia just sat there, humming and waving her hands.
"Aaaah~ So good. Well, if you don't choose in ten seconds I'll kill them all. It'll be a real shame then, but they're all gonna kick the bucket anyways. Anyways here we go ladies! Who's it gonna be! Ten! Nine! Eight!"
"Please! Please! Let Eric live please! Please!" Elly couldn't help it, driven to utter despair as she writhed and screamed out, casting her vote on one of the males.
"Good choice, he'll be a nice little toy, isn't that right~?" She turned to face him whilst keeping an eye on Elly, and… kissed him outright, pushing her tongue into his mouth as he obeyed her every command, and made the Eevee want to kill her. "Now what's your second choice, Elly~? Seven."
"Zed! Please! Zed let him live! Please you fucking… please! I beg you!"
"Six. First choice from Lucy, now what's your second choice then~?"
"Eric, I don't care, please! Please!" Her reaction got Elly to snap at her, wide eyed.
"What do you mean you don't care! They're our friends, Lucy!"
"Five."
"I don't give a shit, I just want Zed to get out of this, and if I have to choose Eric as well then that's it!"
"Four."
"They're our friends! No! We can't do this! Indomatia! Let them go, please, I'll go along!"
"No can do, them's the rules! Three!"
"Elly choose Zed!"
"Two!"
"Elly! Elly please Elly please choose! Choose!"
"One!"
Elly screamed at the top of her lungs, a manic, desperate scream as she couldn't do it, couldn't bring herself to doom three of her friends to die and spare her mate and Lucy's, and as Indomatia finished the count down and she prepared to snap their lives away…
A water blade soared through the air and sliced her hand right off in a split moment, leaving her there, confused and staring at her bloody stump. "What?!"
The two females on the ground stopped their crying and sobbing, and turned their heads back to look at Ayame, with a weakened, yet livid looking Cherry on her back. "I won't tolerate this… any further!"
"You fucking…!" Indomatia fell to her knees, grabbing her severed hand, wincing and shuddering in pain. "How did you…?!" Her voice dripped venom, but before she had any chance to continue, Cherry teleported from Ayame's back and to Lucy's vines, tearing them off with her paws and allowing the Luxio to roar and charge Indomatia down, that adrenaline working against her and allowing the Luxio to blitz her down and bite down on her neck, twisting and tearing off a good part of her throat without remorse, and tossing her aside, panting and huffing, as the males just stood there, impassive.
"You… fuck you!" Lucy kicked and stomped the bleeding Roselia in the water, blood flowing into the water as she gagged and drowned meekly. Ayame quickly ran over to Elly, pressing her fingers into the open wound in her neck.
"Did she poison you?"
"Wh- Y-you… why did… How…"
"Did she poison you?" Her repeated question got a meekly nod from the weakened Eevee, who felt water rushing into her system and flowing through her body. Whatever that water was however, it flowed differently than a normal liquid, searching through her body and veins, seeking and then pushing back out murky looking blood. "There… it'll keep the worst of it from reaching your system, and recover sooner." The Eevee heaved, panting, and noticing the same kind of wound and blood on Cherry's neck.
"Y-you saved her… You saved us… Why?" The mercenary looked down at her, and attempted to help her back up on her feet.
"You helped that village. Not for money, nor fame, but because you saw it was the right thing to do. That kindness is precious in this world, and I cannot let you perish under my watch." Lucy returned to them then, her face bloodied, and looking sort of distant, and with a slight chuckle, trying to wash her maw from the rusty taste of the blood in her mouth. "Will you be ok?"
It took her a few seconds to answer, growling and groaning. "Yeah… yeah, I'll be ok. I'm ok… I'm…" She seemed to be talking to herself as well as responding to the Frogadier. Before they could speak further however, the sound of something splashing in the water snapped their eyes to look back at the now crimson water, where they saw the Roselia gripping a bamboo shoot… and watched it shrivel and die in her grasp, and her wounds healing and recovering. "Wait… that ability…"
"You… disgraceful… fucking… bastards…" She buried her fingers into the soil, huffing and turning to look at the four girls with bloodshot eyes, madness in her gaze. "Who… who… who do you think you are?!" Thorny vines sprouted from the ground and from the rocks around them as the back of her right hand glowed intensely, revealing the dreaded mark on it. There wasn't any time to look into it any further, as she tried to snap her fingers and have Eric and the others kill themselves. To her anguish however, they didn't, merely slumping down like broken toys… and Elly's glowing eyes and disgusted face being the sole culprit. "You… you put them to sleep!" Indomatia stood up, seething as her vines attempted to rush them and finish off the job.
Ayame dashed in, summoning a pair of water blades from the spring water underneath them, twisting and reducing the vines to ribbons, vaulting off of Serge's unconscious body to slice downward at the assassin moments before it disappeared, courtesy of Cherry's powers, forced to swing out of the way with a vine of her own. She whipped her head back at the Espurr. "Cherry! Teleport them out of here, now!" Obviously referring to the wounded Elly and Lucy, the latter of which seemed offended.
"Hey! Wait, I'm not about to let you kill this bitch all on your own!" Lucy roared, blitzing through the tendrils barring the way between Ayame and them. "I'm getting some licks in!" As she said this, she only saw the tendrils to their side moving just the smallest amount, before Indomatia charged through and attempted to skewer Ayame, her rapier being intercepted by her double blades mere inches from her throat, showing to the electric type that she wasn't the only one with great reflexes.
"Hmph! Don't get in my way!" Was the response the Luxio got, even as she whipped around and tried to smack their enemy's side with her tail, only to see another vine approaching to grab her. This one too, was cut down, but it was by Elly's psychic blades, barely standing and groaning in pain as the numbing agents left her body. Ayame pushed back and slashed at her attacker, forcing her to block and back off before she was bisected. "Cherry!"
"N-no! I don't wanna teleport everyone away! You'll get killed!"
"Ayame!" Elly's eyes glowed and a barrier was erected between her companions and the deluge of vines coming from Indomatia, whose calm and twisted demeanour had fallen apart to give way to a truly horrendous and merciless killer. As Elly limped over, any tendrils that snuck around were sliced down by Ayame's swords, shocked into ashes by Lucy's bolts, or ground to paste by Elly's dark matter, shooting around, slicing with wings and claws, or pounding with fists and paws. "This is our fight… She's after us, leave her to us."
"I care not." Ayame brandished her blades again. "She won't get away with attacking us… no one will ever again."
"Then let's cooperate." Elly's suggestion seemed to rock the Frogadier, who turned to stare at her like she was insane. "Like with this whore's pet… We'll work together, and make you pay for all you've done!"
"Hnnnggg…!" Indomatia was on the verge of losing it again… before shaking her head and wiping her face, returning to that conceited smile, as the tentacles withdrew and lost their erratic nature, becoming a lot more calculated, battering Elly's barrier down as a single strike and flowing over and under it, only for a large boulder to be flung their way, Cherry using her powers sparingly, as she was weakened. "Hmph… Four on one… Alright then~" She caressed her body upwards and to her cheeks, flourishing her rapier and barbed whip in either hand. "I'll break you all… You'll be nothing but feed for my garden once I'm done with you!"
(Alraune, Whisperer of Dementia - Bayonetta 2)
Ayame charged in with Elly's dark matter flanking her, protecting her from the vines that attempted to crush her, narrowly dodging Indomatia's whip and going on the offensive, slicing upward with both blades and leaping up before coming down with a cross slash. Indomatia elegantly parried and retaliated in kind, attempting to stab and slice Ayame with what was likely a poisoned blade, their blades clashing and echoing in the bath. Lucy quickly dashed around the mob of tendrils and attempted to snipe the grass type, only for a wall of tendrils to quickly rise up to block the attack, whilst more lunged at Ayame, forcing her to slide back on the surface of the water, twisting and rising upward to escape and cut them down. No matter how many she sliced, more came after her, landing on Elly's dark matter to avoid her falling into the deadly bed of thorns that the water was slowly becoming.
Lucy's vision was impeded by the tendrils, so she didn't see Indomatia charging at her until it was too late. Fortunately, Cherry called it out, floating above them and out of harm's way, allowing her to jump back, getting the rapier stabbed through the side of her chest, staring right at Indomatia's manic expression, unleashing her built up electricity to throw her away, blasting her across the room and into the mess of vines sprouting from the centre. With a howl of anger, the jungle around them thickened, with many of the roots and vines seemingly harmless, showing the limits of Indomatia's control, yet at the same time demonstrating her sheer power. Lucy soon felt her stomach twisting, and the familiar hint of bile rising to her throat, the poison acting quickly. Elly and Ayame were teleported to her side by Cherry's powers, allowing for the Eevee to defend them as Ayame stabbed her fingers into Lucy's open wound, and forced the venom out with her liquid manipulation.
"Elly, can you make another platform to get me up to her level again?"
"Are you going to climb up? How?!" Elly stared at her as she hurled swords at the growing tendrils in the centre of the room, making some sort of twisted tree, stabbing into its hardening bark, and throwing them higher and higher… and Elly saw them forming a staircase of blades of water, at which Ayame jumped and began to escale, jumping and leaping from blade to blade, the water throwing her upward under her feet. Before long however, the vines returned to besiege them, Elly's psychic proving effective to defend herself and her friends, whilst Ayame swung and cut at them as she made her way up, using a branch as she stabbed into it, and using the motion to throw herself upward even higher, brushing another sword on her way up and having the water throw her even higher, spinning as she reached the very top, where Elly's dark matter had made a platform, and Indomatia waited with a stab to her jugular.
She summoned a water blade just in time to push it and her away, but unable to form another, she fought with one blade as Indomatia pushed her advantage, meeting her strikes with precision, keeping her eyes on the assassin as they struggled and pushed. This time however, the poison type knew she would be bested, and played dirty, having her vines surge outward from under the platform to attempt to skewer her. The slight resistance the platform gave was enough for the water type to back down and slice at the offending tendrils, then quickly run and vault over Indomatia's whip, rapier pulling back into her palm and instead a single red rose, which split and started firing off seeds in rapid succession. Ayame kept dodging and running to the side, but eventually had to stop and begin blocking as much as she could. They came at her like bullets, her water katana barely holding on as she sliced and blocked, some pulling through and tearing skin off, but pushing onward, she closed the distance and waited for an opening.
As Indomatia laughed, in her zeal she neglected the state of her arm, withering away from the seeds she was firing, the limb grew too weak to hold steady at the slightest shift was enough for Ayame to quickly jump over the barrage and hurl her weapon at her exposed arm, hacking it clean off. "Fuck!" Ayame was back on top of her with two blades the next moment, rolling away on the ground as her pulled back from behind Ayame wrapping around her foot and tossing her off the platform. Or at least it would have if the Frogadier hadn't stabbed one of her weapons through and sliced off the whip, quickly returning to charge her down as she regenerated half of her missing arm, using the stump as a growth for her rapier to stab at Ayame suddenly, the water type bending backward and narrowly avoiding the venom dripping blade and slicing at Indomatia's feet.
Putting her down on the ground, she quickly reached for the vines underneath the platform, provoking them to stab through to attempt to regenerate, but she was impeded by different spikes: Elly's, as she sensed it all from down below, stabbed her through the chest with her dark matter and tossed her completely off. They all saw the green monstrosity reaching for her mistress, grabbing her body and wrapping her in vines as it swung back and around towards the trio on the ground.
Elly quickly called back her dark matter, forcing Ayame to jump off and slide off the twisting living madness around them as the tower bent and smashed against Elly's dark matter sphere like barrier, shattering it and sending it all crashing through the wall separating the baths, ruining the wall and knocking the wind out of Elly, as she twisted in pain, along with a nearly recovered Lucy and a trembling Cherry, who threw herself at the remains of the wall and using her powers, clamped them up together into a large ball that was hurled at the tower, only for it to be smacked back at her. The Espurr screamed and dismissed her gravity, the rods shooting everywhere and stabbing into the ground and other walls like spears, narrowly missing Elly as she was pulled away by Lucy. "Ugh! No fair!"
"Sorry but I don't make the rules brat!" Indomatia burst out from the remains of that tree, fully healed and forced Cherry to teleport repeatedly to avoid her stabs and bullets, firing off after she moved and exhausting her further. In her desperate chasing however, Ayame expected to find an opening to cut her down from above as she dived down from the curved tree, but the Roselia had been keenly aware of her, and quickly whipped around and thrust her rapier forward at her gut, skewering her. She didn't get a single groan of pain out of her however, instead her legs wrapped around her chest and threw her weight down to the ground, forcing her to kick her off, bleeding and poisoned briefly, having been prepared to get wounded like this. The reason was soon apparent, a blob of water still under Ayame's control was stuck to Indomatia's chest, a nice target for Lucy to blast into, more vines quickly coming to aid the grass type, and some attempting to attack the recovering Elly whilst she was down, though they were too late and were crushed by a wave of psychic force, the Eevee rolling onto the stomach and warning Lucy to step out of the way of those tendrils, a barrage of psychic blades slicing them down and giving Lucy a clean shot.
The bolt struck its mark, the water bubbling before violently exploding, a wave of electricity flowing along the surface of the water as she was paralyzed, groaning in pain and anger, glaring at Ayame as she rushed her down… only for the Frogadier to get smacked to the side by the reanimated vine tree, Indomatia's singed skin being caressed before being swallowed again by the mass. "She's gonna fuckin' heal again!"
"The hell she is…" Elly looked around, using her powers to lift the broken bamboo rods out of the water, using her pyrokinesis to light some of them on fire, but not nearly enough… that was until Cherry used her powers again, forcing them together, and increasing the pressure. With a narrower area to focus, the pyrokinesis light the ball up like a match and hurled it at the tree. A scream of agony followed as the live vines caught fire near instantly and began to burn down, forcing a burnt Roselia out of them as the twisted sculpture burnt down to a crisp. However, in a last desperate attempt, it lunged at the group. Ayame was far away enough, Lucy ran out the way and Cherry teleported herself and Elly out of harm's way, but it fell on top of the entrance to the baths, and on the main building, which quickly caught fire, something that froze Ayame where she stood.
(Stop the music)
"No… No! Not again!" She stared in horror and impotence… before turning to the singed Roselia, who she saw was glaring her down. The mass of burning vines separated them from the others, as the rest of the bamboo walls caught fire, and it all quickly spread around them, turning the area into a burning inferno.
(Alraune, Whisperer of Insanity - Bayonetta 2)
"You'll pay for this!" She summoned her blades again, as Indomatia readied two rapiers, intercepting the water type's blades. "You, and your twisted dreams fall here!"
"No… it's you who will fall here… I won't die to some prissy bitch who's got it easy in life! Not anymore!" Ayame saw the dark determination in her eyes, and pushed her back and away, giving her enough time to dismiss her left rapier and pull out the seed flower to shoot Ayame, the frog crossing her blades and hurling one of them at her. It missed, however, and blew into steam as it got close to the fire, forcing her to fight with one blade again, chasing her down and clashing once again, weaving out of the way of the seed blaster, but getting cut on her arm by the rapier as she moved to the side, only to spin and grasp the hilt of her sword with both hands and slice upward, catching Indomatia off-guard and slicing her flower hand off and leaving a gash in her chest, and once again blocking the follow up that came from above, sounds of metal clashing as their blades scraped together.
The Roselia used her slowly dwindling strength to make a whip from her wrist stump, wrapping around Ayame's left leg and throwing her off-balance, rolling on the draining water at their feet and away from the rapier, having to focus on pushing the venom out as Indomatia pushed her advantage, stabbing forward from the left, the right, up and down, she moved like a dancer, but Ayame swung back like a demon, so much so that the rapier snapped off and broke. Staring at the water type in terror, Indomatia saw the frogadier lunge forward and stab her through the chest with the water blade… only for her to return the favor and jab the part of her rapier still on her arm into the Frogadier's own. The broken off tip didn't poison her, but it hurt enough to release her grip on her water blade, falling apart into foam.
She tried to make distance and summon another blade, only to feel her whip coiling around her neck and tightening, beginning to choke her out as the Roselia laughed hysterically. "You have no idea what it is you got yourself into… You pitiful whore!" She pulled tighter around her neck, choking her as Ayame walked deeper into the shallower end of the spring, her struggles making the grass type roar with laughter, as from the Frogadier's perspective the bath house burned behind her… Her people's work, once again, undone. Anger flowed through her, eyes glowing faintly, and a shiver went down Indomatia's spine.
She wasn't beat. And Indomatia soon found out why, as she felt Ayame gripping the vine coiled around her neck and pulling back and dragging her towards her. When she tried to pull back and choke her however, she found it was useless, the water around Ayame's feet was locking her in place, and with a tug, she pulled her closer still and with a roar pulled her and swung her around with her own whip. At that very moment, she was lifted off the ground, and Ayame felt… small. The fires raged before her eyes, far and above her, knives glittered through the air, and drew blood from his neck, the same eyes of bewilderment that she saw now on Indomatia's face stared back… The memory faded into her scream of rage, smashing the Roselia into the splintering and burning wall of the bathhouse, and through it to the city outside, stabbing her through with a burning bamboo rod before she faded from view, the vine snapping off and releasing her neck.
(Stop the music)
She fell to her knees, gasping for air and coughing repeatedly, before turning around to face the bathhouse… and saw the fires being quenched and put out! On the other side, she saw Cherry firing off the water that Elly gathered like a hose, and Lucy keeping an eye out and staring at Ayame. "What are you doing?! We got this under control, chase her down and finish it off!"
Did she trust them? Complete strangers whose kindness knew no bounds… Could they do it? Her village burned before her eyes, no one came to help, she stood there, frozen in place, clenching her fist. Was she going to run away again? "Ayame!"
"Ayame!" A different voice cried out, turning to look behind her, a Piplup tugged her along… No, not anymore, the scene faded, holding her head, and turning to face the real source of the voice. "Go! We'll put out the fire! We won't lose anything today to that scum! Now put an end to this!" The Eevee's face showed determination… and trust. The water type's eyes widened, and shuddered: she trusted her. Trusted her to finish the job, just as she hoped she'd trust them to put out the fires…
And for the first time in years, Ayame Shimizu trusted in others. With a nod, she turned around and leapt through the hole, sliding down the side of the building and looking at the confused and terrified mob below. A path had been opened in the panicking crowd, and running towards the edge of the plateau, and to the setting moon in the horizon, was Indomatia. She gave chase as she landed, running in spite of her wounds. Not running away. Running towards her goal. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, her lower lip was bleeding. She'd bitten it as she stumbled on a pile of boxes her prey threw down to stall her, picking herself up and continuing. She ran. And ran. Her legs screamed, knees buckled, and she feared she'd get away, as she turned to the left to head towards the elevators… but she knew she was headed there.
She had a water blade ready for her, she hurled it at where she'd stand, the hint of hope in her face faded to confusion. She stared at that sword as it landed near her and began to bubble. It didn't seem real, like this was all a bad dream. The explosion of water that followed knocked her to her back. Everything'd slowed down to a crawl. No. This couldn't be it. Not here. Not now… The sound of Ayame's steps grew louder, and a flash of rainbow lights came out of the bottom of her vision… then pain coursed through her, as her legs were hacked off, screaming as she threw her left arm forward to swipe at her with the remains of her whip… only to have it sliced off, and then her other arm, for good measure, the feral looking Frogadier above her stabbing her blade through her chest to keep her pinned, head hanging over the edge of the cliff, wind howling around them. It all happened in the span of a few seconds, and both of them heaving and panting.
Any other pokémon would be begging for mercy. Any other creature would be screaming in agony, asking for their mother… Not her. She didn't have one to begin with, and she wasn't a normal creature… not anymore. And yet, she screamed. She screamed for her failure and the frustration, and the rage that welled up within her. "Why?! You… who the hell… how did you do it?!"
"You have destroyed… the one paradise my people had in this region… you have threatened my family once again, you demons. No more… No more!" She pulled her blade out of her chest. "Let it be known throughout the world that Ayame Shimizu will tolerate your ilk no longer!"
And in that brief instant, it all snapped into place. It all made sense in Indomatia's head, and like a reflex, she spoke. "I know who destroyed your village!" She stopped. Dead in her tracks, her blade mere inches from the grass type's neck, huffing and staring up… her blood froze. She was staring death in the face, what she had in front of her was death, the rising sun casting a long shadow over her. And yet she didn't stop talking. "I know who sold you out! I know where their children live, I know who they all are… I'll tell you! I can show you there!" She began to calm down. She had this in the bag. Who'd pass up the opportunity? Not her. "You're not like them… Not like those explorers, or Team Star or whatever… What do you care for them?! You want your revenge, right? I can sense it, I see it in your eyes, yes…" It all flooded back into her… she stared at those eyes in fear, but also familiarity. That familiar hollowness. "I can give it to you. I can give you what you want… if you let me go, I can..."
"Show me where the one who betrayed us went? The one who destroyed my world?" She couldn't see the face she was making with the light behind her… but the grass type nodded and smiled.
"Yes! That's right. All you have to do is let me go… and I will show you. And you can exact your revenge. That's what you want, right? I know what happened to the Shimizu clan eleven years ago… a true tragedy. But we both know it wasn't bandits that did it, oh no… It was something else. Something worse." Her smile grew wider. "I know what it feels like, to have everything stolen, to be cast off into this pile of shit we all live in, like festering worms! There's no hope for us, who have lost everything, including their hearts, but revenge… revenge is sweet, revenge is what fuels us, and keeps us moving, until we achieve it, then we run out of it, and die, we are finally allowed to die then, crushed by the weight of our sins. So please… From an assassin to another… Help me."
Ayame kneeled there in silence, staring at her, her face hidden by the shadow she cast… which only grew longer as she raised her arm. "Where the traitor is, huh…" The blade pulled away. "I'll tell you where he is." Then it came down.
Pain.
Nausea.
Everything spun. A stream of blood coated her vision as she stared at the abyss, then the sky, then her executioner, the sun showing the look of sheer disgust and hatred on her face. Disgust at the world. At the Roselia. At herself. She no longer had lungs to speak. She no longer had arms to fight with. She only had ears and eyes.
"He's in hell… where you're going. Rot. Rot with him. Both of you rot, buried by the lives that you have stolen." She kicked her remains off the cliff, and watched them be swallowed by the darkness that stretched beyond, casting a shadow that loomed even longer over her own heavy heart. Turning away, she swung her blade at the air, swiping off all the blood on the edge, and pulled the water back into her body, and then began to walk back to the village. To her people. Home.
Waking up with a headache was one thing, waking up feeling like he'd been run over by a stampede of Tauros was another, but feeling both at the same time was something the Riolu had been spared from for a long time. His luck had finally run out it seemed, as he slowly opened his eyes and recovered. The gentle light from the paper candles in the room hurt his eyes just from staring at it, everything hurt, and his stomach felt sick, groaning as he shifted around in the bed he was laying on as his blurry vision focused again, seeing a brown blur moving besides him. "Eric?"
He'd recognize that voice anywhere, looking at her. "Elly? Ugh… what happened? Was the food really… that bad?" The last thing he remembered was falling asleep, everything in between felt so blurry and confusing he thought it'd been a nightmare. Though as his vision returned to him, he saw otherwise, staring at Elly's bandaged body, and a pack of ice over her left eye, looking pretty hurt. "Wha…" He tried to sit up suddenly and ended up flopping back onto his back in pain.
"Don't push it! Geez… Jake woke up just the same but didn't struggle and move around this much. Calm down, I'm fine, everyone's fine, we pulled through, but you guys probably got the worst of it." She wasn't about to explain what had happened, though she could feel herself tearing up, sniffing as she fought back tears, only to lose and let some stream from her eyes, wiping them. "Damn it, here I told myself I was going to keep my cool." She couldn't help it, she was too happy to see him recovering after what they'd been through in the past few hours.
Eric's recovery was rapid, all things considered, the Riolu's body and head were very much sore, but after drinking some bitter tasting tea, the pain faded progressively, and allowed the fighting type to sit up without hissing and grunting every ten seconds. Elly hugged him lightly, a gesture he returned, and she explained everything to him: the silent attack Indomatia had started under their noses, taking control of the cooks to spike the food they'd eaten the night prior to make them fall asleep, weaken them and in the case of the guys, control them with her pheromones. After that, she skipped over most of the torture, though she couldn't exactly hide the aftermath of it, and the assassin's ultimate fate. All throughout, the Riolu listened carefully, and once the story was done he groaned and chuckled bitterly. "And here we wanted to take some days off, and we ran straight into more trouble… Seriously, just our luck."
"Yeah. But I think it was good luck, if anything. Hadn't we been here, she'd likely have turned this into a second Evergreen." She wasn't exactly thrilled that Ayame had outright executed the Roselia, they could've pried a lot of information out of her… but the water type had plainly stated that she was too dangerous to be left alive. She wasn't wrong, if the current state of the other girls was anything to go by. "Hang on, I'll go tell the others you're awake, and get you something to drink too. That headache is probably from thirst, you guys have been out for almost a day."
"Ugh… was I the last one to wake up?" He questioned as she walked over to a kettle and served him a glass of clear, fresh water.
"Yep. Serge was first up, funnily enough. Then Jake, Zed and Nox. They all woke up feeling like crap though." She left the room for a bit and returned briefly and saw his teammates glancing at him through the door, either waving at him in a friendly way or smiling. Knowing they were all ok brought him some much needed peace of mind, and he soon dozed off again to continue recovering. Elly left him alone to go get some fresh air, and ran into Ayame shouting orders to the workers, noticing the Eevee limping through the hallways, and approaching.
"I'm guessing he's finally awake? If he wasn't, I don't think you'd left his side." The Eevee nodded, and the Frogadier visibly relaxed. "Then it is officially over."
"It seems the others are recovering quickly, so he'll likely be out of bed in a few hours."
"He still has to get out all of her crap out of his body though." Lucy, who was wearing a bandage over her midsection snuck on them almost, with Cherry bounding behind her, the Espurr having gotten out of the fight with a few scratches. "I had to help Zed to the bathroom and… it wasn't pretty." Elly winced, earning a scoff from the Luxio. "Then be glad Jake did it himself and you didn't have to help him." The Luxio grunted back, and sat down. "You haven't sat down yet, have you?"
"I won't rest until I've made sure that reparations are well underway and my people and guests are all safe and at ease… Though it seems we've reached that point as well, with Eric waking up and all. If there's a reason that this entire building, and village wasn't consumed in a fire, or under her heel, is because of you all." She bowed, despite the gash in her side and a subtle grunt. "You have my utmost gratitude."
"Don't do that! And it was nothing, this is what we signed up for."
"Speak for yourself!" Lucy snapped at Elly. "I didn't sign up to fight a crazy immortal assassin, I signed up for some days off of work!"
"I suppose our vacation plans have been ruined once again." Elly's response was tinged with a hint of sadness and exhaustion, which Ayame immediately caught on to.
"Nonsense." They turned to face her, confused. "I won't stand for this. You paid for a service, and instead had your plans twisted and were gravely wounded… all under my roof. I will not rest until you are properly rewarded." Lucy and Cherry's faces beamed with excitement.
"W-wait a minute, you don't have t-" Elly tried to talk her out of it, but Lucy stepped in.
"Hell yea she does! Well… I mean, she doesn't, but we're not going to turn it down!" The Frogadier glanced at the Luxio, and smirked.
"I see at least one of you is blunt. Again, Elly, I cannot express with words how deep my gratitude is for what you have done here today. Naming you guests of honor of the Shimizu clan is the very least I can do for you. Rest assured, your expenses and well being will be taken care of free of charge now and until I draw my dying breath." Elly's mind was trying to find a way to talk them out of this, since she didn't want to take advantage of the water type's generosity, and Lucy could contain her excitement to a certain degree, smirking… But Cherry just outright lunged at Ayame and hugged her, swinging around from her neck.
"Yaaaayyyy! Thank youuuu! Thank you thank you thank you!" She bounced and repeated the words at least a dozen times before Elly pried her away from the clearly sore, yet amused Frogadier.
"Again, it's…"
"The least you can do, we know but… This is just what we do, we don't go around doing this and expect t-"
"Oh put a lid on it!" Lucy cut Elly off, and walked in front of her. "What's with all the humbling talk?! We earned it, we took care of that bitch, and after what she made us go through I'd kill for what she's putting on offer! Besides, she's thanking us, and you want to decline it?! That's… super rude too!"
"Rude or not, I just… feel bad for taking advantage of her like this."
"Then I would recommend you stop. Kindness must be repaid with kindness, that is the way things should be done in such a twisted world. Now, I insist: relax, enjoy your stay, and tonight you shall be served a dinner proper of warriors of your stature… With some clothing fitting for the occasion, if you don't mind. And with that…" She clapped her hands, with three maids approaching. "Please, make sure our guests of honour and their friends are served properly, and are allowed to recover." She turned to the two roughed up girls. "Whatever you and your companions need, ask them and you shall receive it." She bowed, and left them be.
Elly had some reservations, but Lucy got to work instantly and asked for food and refreshments for her and Zed's room, as well as whatever she might need to help him and treat her wounds. Elly was a bit more mindful of her companions however, and also sent one to Nox, Jake and Serge's room, and asked for some more water and something easy for Eric to eat, then returned to his side.
They'd quickly find out that opposed to them the guys recovered much faster than they might've thought. Besides them having the runs, they were up and fine by late afternoon, at which point the maids showed up at their rooms… with dresses. Or at least that's what Eric thought they were originally, upon closer inspection, he realized they were something else. "Are these… kimonos?"
"A kimono for you, and a quadruped yukata for me…" Elly looked at her own: whilst Eric's was white with blue stripes, Elly's was black with white stars scattered across the fabric in a descending pattern. "I've a feeling these were more so designed with bipedals in mind… but I suppose it's a nice detail."
"What I want to see is what they did for Serge, he's way too big for any of these." Eric slipped into the strangely comfortable article of clothing, whilst Elly used her powers to properly put it on and tie it around her waist… and whilst for Eric it looked sort of natural and good, for Elly it made him stare at her long and hard, and eyes widen at the sight of how the Yukata defined her shapes… Needless to say, she looked good in it, his staring earning him a hearty chuckle and a poke to his side.
"C'mon you see me naked all the time but seeing me wearing something gets you going? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around~?" She teased, the Riolu snapping out of it and nodding frantically, walking out of the room and soon enough encountering their companions. Jake's was cyan with white snowflakes, Nox's was bright red, almost orange, but with black flame patterns, Lucy's and Zed's seemed to compliment each others: hers was yellow and with electric blue stars, and Zed's inverted the colors, whilst Cherry's was bright pink and with bright red apples, looking very much happy with hers… and then came Serge. Who instead of getting something fancy like the others had gotten what was essentially a bigger version of the black shirts that the workers wore, which didn't even reach all the way to his legs, making him look somewhat ridiculous and prompting laughter from Eric and Elly.
"Oh come on, not you guys too!"
"I was wondering what they'd do, but I definitely didn't expect this!" Eric walked over to Jake, and checked him out. "And I can see you're as happy as a clam in that. It suits you very well."
"Same to you." The two bipeds shook paws, chuckling, while Serge kept complaining about how good they all looked and Cherry just floated around and went upside down, making the dress fall over her head, and prompting Elly to use her powers to pull it up to cover herself.
"Such a handful… Honestly, I didn't expect these to fit so well."
"I know right? Mine looks so cool!" Nox posed, grinning and showing off the black flames that washed across the trimming of the kimono like waves.
"It's so tight though… ugh, I hate it."
"Oh come on, be nice Lucy. They're gifts." Even with her mate trying to cheer her up, she still pouted and complained while wearing it. As they gathered and headed to the entrance, thinking that this was the extent of their reward, they were surprised when several of the workers stopped them on their tracks, and instead directed them higher than they had gone before.
"Wha… Hey, we were about to hit the town!"
"Oh, miss I am sure you will be able to do just that in the coming days, but tonight master Ayame has ordered that you are treated to the best banquet our cooks can offer up in her private suite… Then again, if it compels you then such an appointment can be cancelled, though the master won't be amused…"
"...N-no uh… that's fine, yea this is fine, we just wanted to uh… check outside, see that everything was ok." Lucy clearly backed away at the back of the group as she turned around and head upstairs like it'd always been the plan… which it clearly hadn't, given how aggressive she'd gotten at the start, but rather than pushing the issue they just followed after her, going up to the second floor, and then third floor, where there were even more workers running around and carrying food or pillows. The moment they were spotted they were received with open arms and gratitude, led to a pair of large sliding doors, which parted to reveal what was likely the single largest feast they'd ever laid their eyes on.
The table, extremely short and clearly intended for them to sit on the pillows on the floor scattered on the tatami, was brimming with trays of steamed and fried vegetables and berries, salads dressed with strange and expensive spices and oils, steamed buns stuffed with mouth watering fillings and more rice and noodle dishes than they'd ever thought imaginable, ranging from sushi to fried noodles still cooking on boiling oil and crippling on the table. "Now THIS is more like it!" Serge was about to dive in, as were Nox, and even Jake found it hard to not step forward and dig in immediately… but all were swiftly grabbed and pulled away by Elly's psychic powers.
"Hold on a minute… Ayame's not here."
"And? This has to be our feast, maybe she isn't meant to be eating with us!"
"We are her guests of honour now…" Eric looked at the clothes they were wearing. "If she gave us these clothes then she's likely expecting to eat with us, so we all look presentable and following their customs. And I doubt she'll take kindly to us eating without her."
"...Fuckin' deformed blueberry… alright, fine! But at least we are sitting down, I want to sit as far away from her as possible."
"Oh trust me." They all turned around on a dime, and found Ayame standing behind them, the Frogadier fixing her kimono: blue with white wave patterns around the edges, arms folded together. "The feeling is mutual. Still, I am glad to see you waited for me before beginning… please, arrange yourselves as you wish." She walked by them and a pale looking Serge, since he didn't know if she'd heard him bad mouthing her just a few seconds ago. So because of that, he was the last to sit down, opposite end of the table from her, and in perfect line of sight of the daggers she was already sharpening and aiming his way… metaphorically speaking. The air of tension slowly faded away as dinner began in earnest and they dug in. Needless to say, the bath house's workers had their work cut out for them with the voracious pokémon that had saved them until their seemingly endless appetites were satiated, and some pastries, tea and sake were brought upstairs for them to speak around.
"...So this Indomatia character was part of a larger organization you have begun to investigate recently?"
"We have reason to believe that, yeah." Elly and Eric had been telling Ayame all that happened after they'd last seen her after Evergreen, and some of what happened prior. "She mentioned some events and pokémon she wouldn't have known otherwise whilst she goaded Lucy and myself."
"She did the very same, but seemed to not realize I could push out her poisons by use of my water… Poor Cherry over there was barely alive when she found me, though she seemed to already know I could do such things with liquids by then… Did you tell her of my ability?" Team Star's exchanged a puzzled look and shook their heads. "Then her observation skills must be above and beyond what one would normally expect, given her…" She was currently dancing on the cleared out end of the table opposite from them whilst Serge, Nox and Zed cheered her on, and Jake watched them whilst solemnly sipping some tea after dinner was finished.
"Yeaaaah… She's been a huge help so far, we've only had her on the team for a few days. Though… say that she's on the team might be a bit of a stretch, we're essentially acting as her guardians, but we can't really keep her alone at home, so we need to drag her all over the place."
"Assassins, monsters and spectres… You have been through quite a bit these past few weeks." Ayame crossed her arms, chuckling. "It's no small wonder you entertained the thought of taking a short break… though to think you'd come to this very bathhouse, on this very day and cross paths with that Roselia. I shudder to think what might have transpired here should you have chosen another destination for your break." She rose the bottle for what had felt like the third time that night and served Eric and Elly another round of Sake, which they accepted, though the Eevee with a few reservations.
"It's nothing… If we'd heard that something of this magnitude had happened, we'd rushed over as soon as we could… it is rather fortunate that we were here and took care of her before things got worse."
"I apologize if you intended to question her."
"We did… But considering her skill set, you made the right call in taking her out." The Eevee had taken over talking, because poor Eric was starting to look tipsier and tipsier as he drank more and more sake, which prompted Elly to tease him. "It seems my mate isn't handling our drinks well tonight."
"Oh… no no, it's nothing I'm just thinking… This has happened a lot, hasn't it?" He hiccupped and covered his maw. "Excuse me… But as I was saying, we're running into these magic users, with these symbols." He showed Ayame the emblem on the back of his right paw, and Elly did the same. "And I remembered something that the Abomasnow said before we fought… He said that elementals attract other elementals."
"So what you mean is that pokémon that have these powers are drawn to others with similar abilities?" Ayame clutched her left hand. "And you have any proof besides simple… circumstantial evidence?"
Eric scratched the back of his head. "Not exactly… But it's a sort of intuition at this point."
"I'd believe it." Elly chimed in. "It's a strange sensation, but… every time we've come across someone with these powers, it feels strange. It's a subtle feeling of welcoming and familiarity…"
"Like you are among others you have scarcely seen in years?" Ayame cut her short, and essentially nailed it on the head for Eric and Elly, who looked at her. "And you also said that when you first gained your powers, it was related to these strange metallic fragments… and that everyone in this team that has had a similar experience did so too?"
"Yep." Lucy leaned into the conversation and showed her the mark on her right paw. "Mine popped up a few days after I evolved into a Luxio, so I guess I'm a part of the freaky powers gang!"
"And yet, there are those among you, like Nox and Zed, who despite having those exceptional abilities have no marks of their own. When you came across them in your paths, and when they joined this team, did you feel what I have just described?"
"Where are you going with this?" Eric cut straight to the point, looking very much on edge… and for good reason, because as much as they trusted Ayame, they knew very little of each other at this point in time. The water type shifted in her pillow, seemingly… uncomfortable, but composed herself and straightened her back.
"I too, once came into contact with one of these fragments. A golden shard, smaller than my palm. Deep underwater, it gave an eerie glow, the currents around it were nonsensical and confusing, like it was bending them to its will. But as you can see…" She showed them the back of her hands, and found nothing on them. "I did not gain a mark, but seemingly, I gained abilities that are not common to others of my species, like my higher grade of control over water in my body or that I can physically touch."
"...Ooooh, ok I think I understand you. You think that just because they don't have their marks doesn't mean that Nox and Zed couldn't have touched fragments of their own in the past?"
"But if that's the case why would they not remember it? We remember, Lucy remembers, Serge and even Jake remember." At this point Ayame seemed to fall silent, and stared across the table at the dancing Cherry.
"Perhaps like her, their memories of the event have been lost to external factors, such as time or trauma." She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply. "I too, can scarcely remember how I came into contact with such a fragment, and I know you have no reason to trust my words, but believe me when I say that I did come into contact with one of those things long ago."
This was certainly a reveal for Eric and Elly… but it made a lot of sense, and explained many things both about the feelings they'd been getting from the Frogadier, as well as her high skill and strange powers. They'd come across many water types in the past, but none had ever been able to make weapons that sharp out of just water. "Well… honestly? You have the powers to show for it, and your description of the fragment, and its effects in the environment and pretty much spot on."
"So you believe me?" Eric and Elly nodded after some brief deliberation.
"You don't seem to have a reason to lie to us after all that's happened, and so far, it seems everyone that we've met with those powers did something along those lines. Plus, we did fight together… and won. You really kicked ass by the way." Elly's compliment got a chuckle from the Frogadier. "Well… if elementals are bound to be drawn to each other, perhaps it'd be best if you joined us? A new team member, and especially one as skilled as you are could be an incredible boon to our strength." Ayame listened to the Eevee's words and weighed them.
"May I have some time to think it over? I must consider my own duties beyond my mercenary work, though to think that they have attacked my people so callously… The mere thought of it makes my blood boil and thirst for vengeance."
"I wouldn't know about vengeance." Elly stepped in. "Considering that you already… killed her, I would say that's been settled no?" Jake overheard this conversation and stepped in.
"Their leaders will rally their troops and seek vengeance of their own against us now, but it was a necessary evil. If she'd been allowed to live, they would've come to rescue her, for I doubt powers like hers were awfully common. If she was allowed to escape, she'd likely have come back to get revenge of her own. In her death, we eliminate one potential threat and only have to deal with the inevitable one." Ayame glared at Jake however.
"Must you interject in a conversation that did not involve you?" She sighed. "But yes, you perhaps put it into far simpler terms than I would have… though I would like to add that they are likely to seek retribution with my main clan as well."
"...Wait, that's bad right? You gonna have to go back home 'n shit?" A slightly tipsy Lucy stepped into the conversation as the other guys were quickly turning to other conversation topics, seeing that Ayame had given such a response to Jake.
"Not necessarily, one of the strongest warriors I've ever met defends the only entrance to the village day and night, her watchful gaze incinerating those that dare enter… I do not fear for my village, I know their protection rests in capable hands. It was an observation meant to include you."
"It wouldn't be the first one. We already took care of one of their elementals prior to this, and from what she said, their pets too: the Parasite, and that strange monster in Unova."
"Ya think that was them too? Looked… pretty fuckin' different." Elly nodded. "Aight fair 'nuff…" Lucy drank some more sake, which was making her friend grow concerned.
"You're… hitting the bottle a little more than usual, are you ok?"
"Huh? Yea, I'm fine, just wanna fuckin' celebraaaate, and forget all of that shit from earlier… Like, just thinkin' about it, tied down and passing out almost from all those poisons…" She looked at the guys, then at Elly, the Eevee knowing exactly what was eating away at Lucy.
"You said that under pressure, Lucy, and delirious as well with all the poisons and pain. You didn't mean it."
"You said some mean ass shit to me as well… To be honest though, I did deserve it, I was willing to let her off-"
"Lucy." She was interrupted, and she took another drink from her glass, Ayame sitting in between the two rather awkwardly, but quickly gathering what had happened between them before she and Cherry had intervened.
"Anyways, returning to the matter we were discussing earlier… I will be honest, collaborating in a team is something I have never given much thought to, and before today I would've been completely against… Well, I lie, perhaps by the time we challenged that monster I already knew that my skills wouldn't be enough."
"Awwww, such modesty~" She almost patted Ayame, only for her paw to get smacked away.
"Don't misunderstand me: I strongly believe in my own abilities and skills, to the point where I could've comfortably challenged and beaten that assassin on my own… But I must concede that my state after those fights would've been deplorable, or downright lethal. And that is without taking into account any potential collateral damage. But if there are to be more creatures such as that Parasite, as you called it, then I cannot idly sit still." Her position surprised the two females, but Elly quickly understood why.
"If the rest of the world is destroyed or large cities suffer, then so will your village. Plus, you have no guarantee your own people will be targeted for an attack after what happened here today, right?"
"Precisely. It is an ultimately selfish reason, but even so, I believe it is imperative that I join your team… It's funny, it almost does feel like fate has brought us together." Lucy snickered and earned herself a glare from Ayame, whilst Elly rolled her eyes.
"What? It sounds romantic."
"And you're hitting that bottle way too much tonight… But I digress. Though tonight is not really the time to discuss this with the rest of the team…" The guys were all clapping as Cherry and a semi-drunk Jake danced together in front of the table, the ice type enjoying himself for once. "But, concerning my own opinion, you're more than welcome on the team, Ayame." She extended her paw, and the Frogadier smiled and returned the gesture, grabbing and shaking it.
"My thanks… I hope that together we can finally put an end to these villains and allow the world to return to normality once more."
"Woooooo!" The Luxio besides them cheered and laughed. "She's a part of the team noooow! Sweet!" She looked at her, smiling. "So, since we're teammates now, how about we get to know each other better~? Let's start with our sex lives!" To that remark Ayame visibly cringed, but kept her composure and shook her head. They instead turned their attention to more understandable things, like their hobbies, some of their previous adventures or marks, the trio of females having quite a fun night whilst the guys slowly calmed down as their exhaustion from the previous day's poisoning took over them.
A few hours later, all the males plus Cherry had passed out and either curled up properly to sleep, and the aforementioned three were talking in whispers amicably. "...so when we finally came back and went to sleep, the Sheriff knocks on our door."
"Oh no." Ayame chuckled, taking another sip from her cup, already sensing where this was headed.
"And he tells us: Get up, we've received word of someone trying to break into houses in the neighbourhood and we need your help to find them!" All three of them roared with laughter, the others too far gone to even shift at their laughter. "Yeah, that was a fun night. Reminds me a bit of this one."
"Minus all the flirting… All of the waiters here are so stoic." Lucy planted her face on the table, groaning. "So boring…"
"Doesn't your mate find offense with it? Flirting with other males when you are supposed to be committed and in a serious relationship?"
"Well… first and foremost, he's my boyfriend, not my mate… haven't gone that far yet, and as for how he feels about it, he's fine: He knows I do it mostly to toy around and see how others react, and teasing. I don't actually sleep with everyone I find on the street! That's more Serge's gig."
"...Right, but still…"
"Still what? What, would I be a slut if I went around sleeping with dudes if I wanted to?" Lucy suddenly snapped. "What's the fuckin' deal then, guys can go around fucking whoever they want and it's a good thing, but girls do it and it's suddenly reprehensible?"
"We don't condone either thing here, Lucy." Elly sighed, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle.
"Yeah I know I know, I'm just talking about society in general… 's a little fucked up when you think about it."
"...When you put it like that, I suppose so. I will admit that I myself am someone who believes having… relationships with just about anyone is not a show of good character for males and females alike, but females specially. Perhaps because I am one myself… But your angle isn't something I'd considered."
"Yeah, I basically do it because I get a kick out of seeing guys get all flustered, like I've got 'em around my little pinkie y'know?" Whether or not she was saying the full story though, was up for debate to Elly. Nevertheless, the conversation continued down that train of thought, and before long, Lucy just outright passed out and curled up beside Zed, looking quite adorable together. Ayame looked at the table before her with an expression that puzzled Elly, caught between nostalgic and awkward, the Frogadier deep in thought before noticing the slightly tipsy Eevee staring at her.
"I'm surprised you haven't already passed out, given you drank more than her and I combined."
"I can hold my liquor, don't worry. It'd been a while since we last hard a party like this anyways." She yawned and stretched, just about ready to hit the hay herself. "Do we help you or…"
"Oh, don't worry, they'll come clean it up tomorrow morning. I suppose it is high time we get some rest, you especially." Elly nodded, and went to pick up Eric at the very least with her dark matter. The others were allowed to sleep where they were, as Ayame said, the Frogadier heading towards the sliding doors, before stopping and glancing at them. "I'd misjudged you."
"Hm?"
"Your character, I mean. When I heard about your achievements, only to then disappear for such a long period of time I thought that you'd simply decided to sit back and relish in the success. I can see now, however, that other matters must've kept your attention, if you've returned now and keep fighting like this."
"Well… we live in this world. We saved it, and brought out a great change… whether it was for better or worse was undecided, and it's up to us now to make it a better place, or at least the best we can make it." The water type stood there, and nodded silently, before wishing her and her friends a good night and leaving the room, Elly grabbing Eric and carrying him over to their room so they could probably lay together and sleep, bodies sore and minds exhausted, but spirits renewed and full of vigor, ready to tackle whatever lay ahead of them.
"So… that's how it is then?" Maximilian sat down in front of what looked like a tall, great, gray tree. Its roots sprouted into the sea and the sand and the land, massive, running underground for miles and miles around them, growing taller and larger, but the rest of the land also growing more fertile and verdant. Slashes and holes on the ground were still present from the great fight that had taken place there, and the beast that had been toppled. "She's gone then, and with her, we lost the chance to get another Rebscura under our control."
"...indeed." The cloaked figure answered back. They weren't the only ones there, a quadruped laying on their backs and resting their head on the lap of another biped, a large, bushy tail coming out from under the cloak.
"What now then boss? That's two we've lost as well, and after losing the sarcophagus and that Espurr…" The quadruped was silenced by the pokémon in whose lap they were resting.
"I'm sure we'll figure something out. We lost two, but we've gained a pretty powerful elemental in the process… ain't that right boss?"
"If by powerful you also mean unstable, then yes. I've called you here together to attempt to come to terms with our next course of action, and come up with a strategy on how to best tackle our next move."
"Which is?" A chilling voice asked from the shade of one of the smaller trees, the leaves above them swaying in the cold wind, glowing blue dust scattering and coming down around them beautifully.
"Attack."