Ch.60
Choice
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Ocs belong to me
"(Hmm, Dmitri can handle himself in a fight, but Giratina did send him a bodyguard and she can't protect him while in another region,)" Lugia mused as mental images of strange, fish like pokemon tailing the cruise ship the battle ace was on and two strange looking pokemon being discretely carried towards the ship by the fish-like pokemon emerged in her head.
Right now, Oni was grateful for the immense power boost Alice had given her; had she been uncorrupted by her thrall, the task of finding Tomoe would have been a lot more difficult. Thanks to Alice though, all of her hidden power had been unlocked and then bolstered seemingly a thousand times over which enabled her to practically sense every being on this planet and even barely detect life beyond Earth. Alas, her power wasn't strong enough to go further...at least not yet.
Closing her eyes and slowing down her breathing, Oni immediately sensed all the brainwave patterns of every being in Johto and quickly tuned them out before extending her senses beyond the confines of her home region. Soon, she sensed the pulses of brainwave activity of the beings in Hoenn and Orre and ignored them as well before she pushed herself further and managed to sense the neural networks of Dmitri's friends. Smirking a bit at the contemptuous ease on how quickly she had accomplished this task, she found Tomoe's specific neural network and frowned a bit when she sensed the otter was angry, confused, and scared, but Oni knew she could alleviate some of the warrior's stress.
"(Tomoe, you do not know me, but I am Oni, formerly known as Lugia, one of the Greater Legendaries of the Johto region. Dmitri is currently on a boat headed to Olivine City in the Johto region, but it's about to be attacked the by the New Sword of Justice's forces so I will teleport you, and only you, to him. You're friends will have to stay behind in order to protect Sinnoh as pokemon inspired by the New Swords of Justice are planning on neutralizing Dmitri, any of his allies, and attacking humans in general,)" Oni curtly stated causing the otter to gasp at the sudden intrusion in her head before the titan smiled warmly upon seeing her saviors, Maris and Luka, through the eyes of the otter.
"(You're lucky Maris and Luka vouched for you otherwise I would have dismissed this as a trap. Before I go...can I say goodbye to my friends first?)" Tomoe requested causing the titan to think about the ship Dmitri was on and see that the attack hadn't been attacked yet, but the invading pokemon were getting dangerously close.
"(Of course, just make it quick,)" Oni consented causing the otter to smile warmly and turn to her friends while in the meantime the titan prioritized contacting the captain of the ship and anyone of the staff who happened to be capable trainers of the impending attack.
With that task done, the titan quickly informed the other staff members of on the cruise ship about the ambush just as Tomoe reentered their psychic conversation causing the legendary to refocus on the otter.
"(I'm ready to go,)" Tomoe stated with her eyes narrowed causing the legendary tear open a crimson rift using her psychic power as if she was tearing ripping the wrapping paper off a present causing the otter to jolt and stare at the portal dumbly before tightly clenching her paws.
"(You won't have a good explanation for abandoning us, young master, but I want to hear it anyway,)" Tomoe pondered while letting a slight snarl before politely bowing to her friends who either returned the gesture, waved goodbye, or nodded at her as Maris walked up to the otter causing the otter to bow her head respectfully at the martial arts pokemon.
Shaking her head, Maris gripped Tomoe's forearm and pulled her in for a hug causing the samurai to go stiff for a moment before chuckling softly and returning the hug as best she chould. Breaking off the the hold, Tomoe sprinted through the portal while gripping the hilt of her blade as Oni made sure the samurai was on the ship before closing the rift behind her.
"The staff is on edge all of a sudden...I wonder what's going on?" Dmitri mused as he peeked into the hallway and saw some of the staff sprinting down the hall while gripping the pokeballs on their belts while others urged the guests to stay in their rooms despite their angry and confused protests.
"(Oh, I don't know, take a wild guess,)" a voice suddenly remarked causing Dmitri to widen his eyes and before he could say anything, an invisible force akin to a giant hand gently, but firmly pushed him back into his room and set him down at the edge of his bed.
"(L-Lugia?)" Dmitri incredulously exclaimed causing the titan to snort as the battle ace tried to stand up, but the invisible force kept him in a sitting position causing Dmitri to sigh before grimacing as an unseen force suddenly removed his prosthetic arm from it's liner.
"(It's Oni now, but it's good to talk to you again, young one. I'll be frank; the New Swords of Justice are planning on attacking the ship you're on so I'm sending Tomoe so she can help you fight them. Once you're done, I'm teleporting both of you to my cave where I will explain what I'm going to do with you next and after that, I will contact your friends to give them an update on the situation,)" Oni informed the boy as a warm, wet towel suddenly began gently patting the liner of his prosthesis causing Dmitri to wince slightly before sighing heavily upon the mention of his friend and bodyguard being sent to him.
"(She probably hates me for leaving,)" Dmitri sadly replied before yelping as the unseen force gently thumped his forehead as the invisible hands finished cleaning up the area in and around the liner before reattaching his heavy prosthetic arm.
"(Trust me, she doesn't hate you, and none of your friends back in Sinnoh hate you either; they're just mad and confused as to why you made such a stupid decision,)" Oni assured the young boy as Dmitri felt something pat his shoulder like a parent would do to a sad child causing the battle ace to rub the back of his head.
"That doesn't make me feel better," Dmitri deadpanned causing the titan to laugh softly as a crimson rift suddenly opened in his room causing the battle ace to let out a surprised scream and back up towards the wall of his cabin.
"(Yet it's the truth,)" Oni responded with an amused chuckle before the mental link between them disappeared causing Dmitri to sigh heavily as he hesitantly picked his head up and looked at the rift where he saw a silhouetted figure in the rift trudging towards him.
Releasing a breathe, Dmitri kept his gaze forward as the darkened figure came into view and stomped out of the rift with a low, guttural growl as the rift closed behind it causing Dmitri and the figure to lock eyes. Whereas Dmitri looked ashamed and saddened, Tomoe merely folded her arms and glared at her young master intensely like a predator about to finish off its prey before the otter softened her gaze and stepped toward him.
"(Graveler, Floatzel, Kricketune, Ursa, and Vaque wanted me to do this,)" Tomoe stated calmly as she turned him around and lightly, but forcefully kneed him in one of his buttcheeks causing Dmitri to yowl and rub his bum.
"Ahh, what the heck-"
"(Catherine and Luka asked me to give you this,)" Tomoe cut in as she lightly thumped his forehead causing Dmitri to cry out and was about to raise his hand to rub the affected area before his bodyguard gently flicked his temple.
"Tomoe-"
"(Haxorus, Hydreigon, Dragonite, Druddigon, and Lopunny requested I do this,)" Tomoe interrupted her charge as she raised her paw overhead like an axe and gently, but firmly brought it down on the crown of his skull causing the battle ace to squeal.
"Okay, sto-"
"(This is for me,)" the otter cut in once more as she took out her blade from its sheath and gave a swift, stinging slap to the back of Dmitri's hand with the flat end of her blade like a paddle causing Dmitri to screech and clutch his hand.
"Can't we talk about-"
"(Kiera and Sparkplug wanted me to give you this,)" Tomoe commented as she held her paw out toward him and blasted his face with a quick jet of water causing Dmitri to sputter and cough while frantically wiping his face.
"Alright, alright, I get-"
"(And Maris, Delia, Lady Maya, and Sir Jet asked me to do this,)" Tomoe interrupted Dmitri as she suddenly enveloped the battle ace in a tight, affectionate hug causing the boy to briefly go stiff before smiling and returning the hug while resting his head on her shoulders.
Breaking off the hug, Tomoe slugged Dmitri's shoulder with a quick, hard punch causing the battle ace to howl and clutch his arm before giving a hearty chuckle while Tomoe smiled ever so slightly.
"Yep, that sounds like them," Dmitri said with a grin on his face while the otter chuckled before her expression became somber and clutched the hilt of her blade while Dmitri narrowed his eyes and stared at his bodyguard.
"(Let's head up to the deck and see what we can do about the storm,)" Tomoe ordered causing the battle ace to nod and carefully peek out into the hall to see if the attack had started, but saw that things were relatively quiet...for the time being.
"It's clear," Dmitri informed his bodyguard who nodded and stepped out into the hall where he took a right down the which led to a stairwell and quickly ascended up the steps while holding onto the railing while Tomoe simply lept up the entire flight of stairs.
Landing ahead of him, the otter tucked and rolled as she landed on the ground and came up to her feet with her paws on the hilt of her sword while looking up at the black, stormy sky and saw a flash of lightning in the distance. Ignoring the looks the staff were giving her and Dmitri, Tomoe glanced over the railing to see how the waters were while Dmitri patiently leaned against the wall as his bodyguard approached him with her eyes as cool as ice.
"(Both the waves and the wind are strong enough to barely tip the ship, but the sailor's aquatic pokemon are managing to contain any damage that might occur. The only thing that worries me is the lightning storm and the ambush that should be happening any moment now,)" Tomoe informed her charge causing Dmitri to nod and cautiously scan in every direction for perceived threats before noticing a young woman and her golduck approaching the duo causing the otter to fold her arms.
"Excuse me, but we need all passengers to return to their rooms until it is safe," the employee calmly told the young boy causing Tomoe to open her mouth in protest before Dmitri put a hand on her shoulder causing the otter to snort and look down at her feet.
"Of course, ma'am; my friend and I were just wondering if you and any members of the staff needed help with the storm?" Dmitri politely responded causing the woman and her Golduck to exchange glances with one another before the staff member shook her head while Tomoe's ears perked up and glowered at the empty expanse of sea off to her left.
"No, it's fine; we have everything under control," the woman responded cooly causing Dmitri to nod and walk back towards the stairwell while the otter's eyes widened and looked at Dmitri's retreating form before sighing irritably and following her charge.
"(What are you doing? We need to make sure the ship is safe before Oni can transport us!)" Tomoe seethed causing Dmitri to sigh softly and instead of returning to his room, he instead walked to the back of the ship where they passed by a few staff members.
"I know, but I don't expect these agents to attack us from the front where most of the staff is so might as well check out the rear deck if they're trying to ambush us from there," Dmitri explained causing the otter to roll her eyes before the ship suddenly ground to a halt causing the battle ace to stumble forward and land on all fours while the otter yelped as she fell back only to grip the railing before she could land on her back.
Groaning, the battle ace climbed to his feet and walked over to the railing where he saw a strong, massive whirlpool keeping the ship in place no matter where it tried to turn causing Dmitri to grit his teeth while the members of the staff radioed each other on the sudden change in situations.
"(Young master, we have another problem,)" Tomoe coolly stated while tightly gripping the hilt of her blade causing Dmitri to follow her gaze and his blood ran as cold when he saw an enourmous tidal wave the size of the tallest building in the world careening towards the ship accompanied by an overwhelming gale force wind.
"Tomoe, do something!" Dmitri desperately shouted, but saw that his bodyguard had merely narrowed her eyes and beckoned him behind her causing the battle ace to raise a brow while the staff members were desperately trying to keep the supposed tempest under control with their pokemon.
"(Relax, young master; look carefully and you'll see the tempest is barely giving off a faint flicker of light like it's reflecting off a mirror. It looks like a storm, but it's just an illusion, and a powerful one at that,)" Tomoe assured her charge as she stepped onto the back deck while ignoring the stares the staff members were giving her causing Dmitri slowly bring his fists up like a boxer as the supposed tempest drew ever closer.
"The only pokemon that I know of that make such life like illusions are..." Dmitri nervously trailed off as his arms trembled uncontrollably before he took a deep breathe in and let it back out which calmed him down to a certain extent.
"(I know; I've had my fair share of run ins with their species on both sides of the first war so I know how dangerous they can be to untrained minds,)" Tomoe replied grimly as she narrowed her eyes at the tempest and readied herself while Dmitri glanced at her and then at the storm before gritting his teeth.
"(Just in case,)" Tomoe murmured as she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing causing streams of seawater to rise up from the water like a fountain before coming together where they formed around her like an additional set of armor.
Suddenly, the samurai unsheathed one of her swords, a razor sharp, curved sword far longer than the average katana, and stabbed the sky as if she were trying to pierce the heart of Arceus causing a large crack of thunder which then sent a lightning bolt hurtling towards the otter. Widening his eyes, Dmitri wanted to push his friend out of the way, but Tomoe noted his distress and held up one of her paws as the lightning bolt struck her blade with the force of a freight train causing the otter to grimace as powerful, searing hot electricity coursed around her body. Gnashing her teeth, the seawater around the otter brimming with lightning parted from Tomoe's body and formed itself into a look alike of herself save for the lightning crackling and bursting violently around its amorphous form.
Amazed and bewildered at such a technique, all the battle ace could do was stare at his bodyguard and her clone with his jaw dropped as the otter closed her eyes yet again and caused more seawater to rise from the sides of the boat. This time, however, the saltwater didn't form around Tomoe like another suit of armor and was instead conjured into a gigantic orb where it formed another duplicate of the otter where it and the other duplicate walked up to the samurai.
"(Protect young master at all times,)" Tomoe ordered the clones causing them to nod just as strong, pointed pulses of azure energy barreled through the tempest as if they were shot from a cannon which impacted the staff members and their pokemon before they even realized what was going on and knocked them out cold.
With a snort, Tomoe placed her paw against the flat end of her blade and held it out in front of her which stopped the salvo of energy right in its tracks while the burst of draconic energy hurtling towards Dmitri took both of the clones to bar its path before the second duplicate willingly allowed the draconic energy to enter its body. For a very, very brief moment, the second clone shone with blinding azure light as if it was going supernova before the doppelganger had to purge the rest of the energy from its seawater body lest it be destroyed. Tomoe, with expert precision, twisted her blade against the salvo of energy and sliced it right down the middle as part of the energy whizzed by her head and detonated in a bright, brilliant display of light far off into the distance.
Before the other half of the orb could fly past her, Tomoe caught it in one of her paws and tossed it over her shoulder towards the first duplicate who caught it and blankly stared down at the half of the draconic energy sphere before shoving it into its chest. Dmitri's eyes widened as the ball of draconic energy gently flickered in the duplicate's chest as if it were a beating heart before the supposed giant tidal wave and powerful wind was upon the ship and looked ready to demolish it without a second thought.
"(It's not real, it's not real,)" Dmitri repeatedly stated while balling his hand into a fist and glared at the tempest which caused a reddish-black outline to form around the storm and made it shatter like glass which brought him back to reality.
All the battle ace saw now was the dark, stormy night sky and the choppy seawater which fortunately wasn't strong enough to capsize the ship, but barely managed to see what appeared to be a group of basculins carrying two familiar looking pokemon through the darkness.
"Over there!" Dmitri shouted just as two darkened, silhouetted figures lept from the water and lunged toward him causing the clones to protectively step in front of him, but Tomoe managed to jump up and attempted to gore the aggressor with the horn on her helmet.
The figure, however, managed to redirect the horn in such a manner that it merely grazed her yellow, armor-like scales causing red sparks to fly off her scales and fade away before they could land on the ship while the second clone jabbed the hilt of it's blade at the other figure the moment he landed. The second figure, however, managed to push the hilt down and put his paw on the head of the second clone and lept over it to get at Dmitri, but gasped and released a burst of reddish black energy from his paws to catapult himself backwards when the first clone nearly managed to cave in its skull by swinging the hilt of its blade downward like a warhammer. Glaring at the second figure, the two duplicates protectively placed themselves in front of Dmitri while Tomoe suddenly landed in front of the clones with a loud thud and gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
With a low growl, the first figure slowly walked up to the second figure and sized up Tomoe, her clones, and Dmitri before taking a baby step forward causing the otter to snarl and stamp her foot on the ground causing a loud echo that made the second figure jolt. The first figure, which Dmitri could barely make out as a Haxorus while being obscured from view from the clones, suddenly bowed before Tomoe causing the otter to narrow her eyes.
"(Bodyguard of the Legend Killer's hatchling, please stand aside; we only want the boy and would rather not have to hurt you or the child,)" Haxorus requested calmly causing the otter to snort derisively, but made no move to strike down the dragon while she was vulnerable as the second figure, which Dmitri saw was a Zoroark, folded its arms and glared at the otter.
"(You're going to have to hurt me then because I'm not letting you take young master anywhere near Bisharp,)" Tomoe spat fiercely causing Haxorus and Zoroark to glance at one another as the kitsune nodded causing the dragon to nod back before lowing her head nonthreateningly causing the otter to raise a brow.
"(Lord Sawsbuck and Lord Gigalith removed Bisharp from power because his methods were too brutal and extreme so now the domains of the New Swords of Justice are ruled by them and a council of advisors,)" Haxorus coolly replied causing the otter to widen her eyes for the briefest of moments before her expression returned to a hardened, wary expression while never taking her paw off of her hilt.
(It doesn't change the fact that you're still fighting this war so our kind can rule over humanity even if you're using far more honorable and less brutal methods than Cobalion and Bisharp,)" Tomoe retorted gruffly causing the dragon to slightly narrow her red eyes at the otter while Zoroark snarled and glared at the battle ace who nervously stared back at him before quickly looking away.
"(We don't seek to dominate humanity anymore; we merely want to etch out our own kingdoms with little to no human interference and to do that we need to remove the child from the field of play. His ability to rally powerful allies to him is a bane that we must rid ourselves of as quickly as possible,)" the dragon responded calmly as she slowly stood up causing the otter to glower at Haxorus and ready herself which her clones quickly followed suit as Zoroark unfolded his arms and crouched down as if he were on the hunt.
"(Come and try it then; you're not the first soldiers of the New Swords of Justice I've managed to drive off,)" Tomoe retorted as she quickly looked between Haxorus and Zoroark to see which one would strike first just as crimson, razor sharp claws slashed at her throat with impressive speed, but the otter managed to bring her forearm up and stop the blow in its tracks.
The otter proceeded to forcefully ram her bulk into her foe's gut causing the axe jaw pokemon to wheeze and stagger back before it fell onto one knee as Tomoe harshly slammed the hilt of her sword into the dragon's sternum like a sledgehammer causing Haxorus to feel as if she were hit by Lord Cobalion herself. Grimacing, Haxorus suddenly ducked under a hilt strike aimed at its head and harshly tackled the otter into the railing causing Tomoe to dry heave and cough up a wad of saliva. Forcing down the pain, the otter firmly grasped the sides of Haxorus's throat before thrusting her head forward like a spear causing Haxorus to lean its head to the side to avoid being impaled by the horn on Tomoe's helmet.
Haxorus didn't escape the blow unscathed as Tomoe still managed to land a vicious headbutt that caused a wide, spider-web like crack on the scales on the dragon's temple while blood poured between the cracks like little droplets of water. Gnashing her teeth and tightly shutting her eyes as she felt an agonizng tremor of pain course through her entire body, Haxorus quickly trapped one of Tomoe's arms underneath her armpit when the otter tried to smash her palm into her adam's apple. Snarling, Tomoe used her free paw and what little leverage she had to forcefully slam her palm into her enemy's midsection causing the dragon to cough violently before pressing her forearm against Tomoe's throat as hard as she could causing the otter to glare at the dragon while gasping for air.
Haxorus then wrapped her long, muscular tail around Tomoe's wrist and brutally kneed the otter in the midsection causing the natural armor around the otter's gut to break which made Tomoe grit her teeth while trying to maneuver herself in a position to break free from the hold, but Haxorus followed Tomoe's momentum and forced more of her weight down onto the otter's throat.
"(I got his bodyguard, you go get the child!)" Haxorus yelled to its cohort causing the kitsune to nod and speed toward Dmitri like a bat out of Hell as the dragon bulked up by forcing draconic energy into her muscles and forcing more of her weight onto Tomoe's throat causing the otter to retch and her eyes to water.
Seeing black and white spots, Tomoe fought off the encroaching darkness and used her trapped arm to grip her enemy's back before planting her foot behind the dragon's leg and twisting her hips sending Haxorus tumbling off to the side where she hit the deck skull first with a bone crunching thud. Groaning, the dragon groggily got onto all fours and gripped her head as she tried to regain her bearings, but gasped as she felt the air shift behind her causing her to the roll to the side just as Tomoe's water encased hilt impacted the area she once was with the precision of a surgeon and the force of a meteor. The force behind the blow caused large chunks of wood to bounce upward which Tomoe was quick to take advantage of as she expertly kicked the wooden debris at her groggy foe who deflected what debris she could in her dizzied state while rolling out of the way of the rest. While her opponent was occupied, the otter had enough time to summon waves of water from both sides of the ship and then charged at her enemy while firing deadly salvos of pressurized water from the waves like they were wall mounted cannons at the dragon, but Haxorus was more aware than the otter gave her credit for.
Like Delia's Druddigon and Haxorus, Tomoe's enemy used the sheer force behind her blows to throw out pressurized shockwaves of wind in a sort of pseudo-air generation to forcibly dissipate their foe's energy attacks which is what exactly she did with elbow strikes, claw slashes, and swift swings of her tail. Glaring at Haxorus, Tomoe ceased her charge and carefully advanced forward as the dragon glowered back at her and coated its tusks and claws with bright azure energy.
The clones readied themselves for their foes approach with their paws on the hilts of their blades while Zoroark's eyes suddenly glowed a sinister, reddish-black which caused Dmitri, who had accidentally made eye contact with the fox, to see a blinding flash of light. Groaning and shaking his head, Dmitri slowly opened his eyes again and saw to his horror a badly bruised Haxorus standing victorious over Tomoe who was lying completely still on her belly with most of her armor shattered into tiny pieces around the deck while crimson blood pooled around her.
Even more, the two duplicates that Tomoe had created to help him slowly melted into a thick, slimy goop causing Dmitri's breath to hitch and back up until his back hit the railing as the fox trudged toward him like a predator advancing on their cornered quarry.
"(We wanted to take you back alive, but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore,)" Zoroark calmly informed the battle ace as a reddish-black curved blade formed on the fox's hand with the sound of a tortured scream causing Dmitri to widen his eyes before glaring at the fox.
Snorting, the kitsune plunged it's demonic blade through Dmitri's gut and through his spinal cord causing Dmitri's pupils to constrict to the size of dimes before he howled and collapsed onto the railing while tightly clutching Zoroark's wrist. Red blood poured down the boy's gut like a fountain and dripped onto the deck like a waterfall as the battle ace hacked up a glob of the crimson fluid onto the fox's wrist. Wheezing in a tone barely above a whisper, Dmitri gathered what was left of his strength and attempted to push the blade out of his body, but he might as well as been trying to push the Earth out of orbit as the blade was not budging in the slightest.
Shaking his head and giving a sad sigh, Zoroark thrusted the blade further into Dmitri's body causing the battle ace to whimper as his head sluggishly leaned forward while one of his hands went limp and dangled uselessly off to the side as most of the blade up to Zoroark's claw was sticking out of Dmitri's back.
"(I'm sorry it had to be this way,)" Zoroark murmured to Dmitri with his eyes downcast as the battle ace continued to try to shove the blade out of his gut with his one usable arm while blood poured down the side of his mouth like water from a drainage pipe.
Letting out a weak gasp, Dmitri's other hand went limp and landed on the deck with a soft thud where his head slowly tilted to the side and rested against the cool, wet railing as rain drops gently landed on his head. Just as his eyes were about to close for good, he saw a faint, barely visible shimmer of light on Zoroark's wrist causing Dmitri's eyes to lit up like a fire and suddenly, he didn't feel a single shred of pain from the sword stabbed through his midsection.
"(It's a trick,)" Dmitri muttered repeatedly while glaring at Zoroark causing the fox, the blade piercing his gut, and the blood pooling around him to break apart like a vase hitting the floor and bring him back to the real world where he saw the clones fending off Zoroark who was trying to maneuver around them to no avail.
Gasping and taking deep breathes, Dmitri looked down at his chest and didn't a hole in his chest causing him to nod and upon glancing to his side, he sighed in relief when he saw Tomoe alive, but locked in vicious combat with Haxorus. Backpedaling from a skilled, powerful swing from her enemy's tusks that glanced off of her armor, Tomoe promptly blasted the dragon with powerful jet of seawater that would have pierced right through the dragon's soft belly had she not turned her body to the side and allowed the spout of water to impact her scales. Screaming in agony as the burst of seawater pierced right through her scales like a hot knife through butter, the force of the blow sent the dragon harshly sliding across the deck as if she were uncontrollably rolling down a hill where she came to a stop on her back.
Whimpering, Haxorus tenderly touched the exposed, badly bruised section of her lower back near her kidneys, but had not time to rest as she had to dive to the side as Tomoe attempted to slam both of her feet onto the back of the dragon's head while moving at blinding speeds in a maelstrom of water. The part of the deck Tomoe landed on crumpled under the impact of the otter's landing leaving only that part of the floor dented, but did sent out a controlled, destructive shockwave of water soley focused on Haxorus. The dragon gasped as the shockwave impacted her shoulder causing her to wildly spin around and fall onto her leg where she unintentionally forced all of her weight onto the limb.
Gnashing her teeth, the dragon ignored the pain and attempted to get back up only for the otter, who seemingly teleported to her position, to grab the side of her throat and yanked it downward while throwing a brutal knee strike at her adam's apple. Haxorus could only managed to move her chin down to protect the vulnerable part of her neck, but the devastating blow sent her head snapping back and sent a wave of unbearable pain through her head that made the dragon feel as if Tomoe had impaled her through the bottom of her chin and through the crown of her skull with her sword.
A sudden cry caused Dmitri to remember the other battle taking place right in front of him causing him to refocus on the other fight as Zoroark barely managed to sidestep a jab at his gut from the hilt of the construct's blade, but the force behind it still managed to sheer off some skin causing the fox to grunt as the long abrasion around his belly started to bleed. Leaning his head to the side to avoid a powerful hilt thrust at his nose, Zoroark gritted his teeth when the hilt managed to flay of the skin on the side of his head like a whip before slashing at the orb of draconic energy within the construct's midsection with reddish-black energy claws.
With a blank gaze, the first construct rolled with the blow before suddenly smashing the meaty part of its palm into Zoroark's wrist stopping the attempted cut right in its tracks and sent a painful tremor up the fox's arm. Undeterred when the clone firmly grasped his wrist with a crushing grip, the kitsune formed another sinister blade of dark energy and swung at the clone's gut once more causing the construct to maneuver it's body away from the blow as best it could, but the blade of dark energy managed to knick off a small chunk of the orb within the construct's gut. Briefly tilting its head, the first duplicate paid the loss of the small bit of one of its power sources no heed before snatching Zoroark's wrist mid-attack when he tried to run his blade through the orb housed in the construct's body and brutally tightened its grip on its enemy's wrist.
Hissing, Zoroark tried to kick his foes legs out from under them, but the construct simply let its enemy's foot pass right through its legs unimpeded before hardening its legs once again and then attempted to impale Zoroark right between the eyes with the horn on its helmet. Gasping, Zoroark just barely managed to maneuver his head to the side and grimaced as the appendage managed to scrape his cheek before letting out a howl as although the construct missed skewering him, it still managed to land a brutal headbutt right on his temple. Falling onto his knees, the fox felt himself go limp and his vision to become blurry as the clone picked him up and tried to pierce its horn right through his skull yet again causing Dmitri to wince at the sound of what seemed to be meat tearing and bone cracking like glass.
Slowly opening his eyes, Dmitri was partially glad when he saw that wasn't the case as the kitsune had a large abrasion on his forehead that was leaking blood like a crack in a dam, two long deep cuts on his cheek and temple, and a gruesome, bluish purple bruise formed on his temple due to the repeated headbutts from the clone. Blankly staring down at its enemy, the clone suddenly tugged one of the fox's arm in the direction of the other one and vice versa as hard as it could.
Dmitri winced when he heard mutliple, slow, gut wrenching pops and loud, sickening cracks that made Zoroark scream in pain before he writhed in agony as the construct forced powerful jolts of electricity to course through his body causing the agent to throw his head back all while Dmitri couldn't help but feel pity for his enemy. Just as the clone was about to slam it's knee into the fox's throat for the finishing blow, Zoroark managed to lean his head back and plant his foot against the clone's chest who raised a brow before letting the foot sink into it's amorphous body. Feeling a wet, yet strong hand grasp his shoulder, Dmitri jolted and looked at whoever touched him to see the second clone concernedly glancing at him causing the battle ace to look at the construct and let out a breathe.
"I'm fine, or I will be," Dmitri assured the duplicate causing the clone to tilt its head to the side like a confused puppy before nodding as it vigilantly stood guard over the boy as Zoroark focused dark, sinister energy into his foot and with a determined shout, fired off a bright, powerful beam of reddish-black light that tore a giant hole through the clone's gut as if it were a wet, paper bag.
The laser careened past the second clone's head and Dmitri's head where it illuminated the dark, stormy, night sky like a comet causing Dmitri to think it was beautiful before it slowly ebbed away like a dying sun while water from the first clone's body spilt all over the deck. Trying to seize the chance to retreat, Zoroark tried to wrench his wrists free, but he found himself still trapped in the construct's iron like clutches though he noted that the draconic orb had been destroyed in the ensuing blast. Suddenly, the gaping hole in the first clone's gut quickly sealed shut causing Dmitri and Zoroark to widen their eyes as the duplicate picked its head up and stared at the fox with dead, empty eyes before a confident smirk wormed its way onto the clone's lips.
"(Could this get any worse?)" Zoroark thought to himself with his teeth gritted just as Haxorus released a loud, deafening wail which made Dmitri, the first duplicate, the second duplicate, and Zoroark to turn their heads and saw that Tomoe drove the hilt of her blade through the scales covering the dragon's shoulder and into her vulnerable flesh with a sickening squelch.
Growling angrily, Tomoe dug the hilt further into her enemy's shoulder and quickly twisted it like a door knob causing the dragon to let out a shrill, agonzing howl as the flesh on its shoulders tore apart as if it were being feasted on by ravenous predators. Seizing the chance to end the battle, Tomoe placed the razor sharp blade against Haxorus's throat just as the dragon attempted to push the otter's face back with her one usable arm. Snarling, Tomoe brushed the dragon's fingers away by turning her head and bit down on them as hard as she could causing Haxorus to cry out as Tomoe roughly grabbed the back of the dragon's head and forced Haxorus's neck against her tough, chitinous blade.
"T-Tomoe, wait! Don't kill her or Zoroark!" Dmitri pleaded with his bodyguard causing Tomoe to glare at her vulnerable foe who looked back at her with wide, constricted eyes as she tried to shift her body away from the otter.
Following her enemy's momentum and keeping her pinned against the railing, Tomoe brutally headbutted her foe in the temple causing the dragon to let out a pained gasp and go limp where the otter disdainfully stared down at her unconscious foe.
"(Very well, young master, but what happens to her and her partner once they're off the ship is of no interest to me,)" Tomoe hesitantly conceded as she firmly gripped Haxorus's neck causing the unconscious dragon to cough and sputter while the first clone released her hold on Zoroark's arms causing the fox to let out a long sigh of relief.
The kitsune, however, did not get to enjoy the reprieve for long as the duplicate grabbed the side of its enemy's head and dug its thumbs onto the fox's eyes causing the agent to scream as he tightly grasped the construct's wrist and futiely kicked, squirmed, punched, and slashed at the construct in order for it to release its hold on his head. Hauling the fox to where Tomoe was, the construct gave a respectful nod at its creator who nodded back and gestured at the side of the ship causing the clone to hoist the fox into the air while Tomoe lifted the dragon up by its neck with one paw. Frowning, Tomoe chucked the dragon off of the ship and into the whirlpool keeping the cruise ship in place with the construct quickly following suit and throwing Zoroark off the ship like a ragdoll where it saw the fox gasp for air when it broke the surface of the water and cradled the body of his partner close to him.
Glaring at both the construct and Tomoe with red, teary eyes, the agents of the New Swords of Justice quickly disappeared beneath the surface of the water causing the otter to keep a lookout on the side of the ship and nodded in approval when she saw that the whirlpool had disappeared causing her to release an exhausted breathe.
"Are you okay, Tomoe?" Dmitri concernedly asked his friend while putting hand on her shoulder causing the otter to huff and with a grimace, limped over to the unconscious crew members and check their pulses.
"(Young master, you're a smart boy so clearly you can see I am not. Is this a common saying you humans use nowadays when talking to the wounded?)" Tomoe inquired gruffly as she sighed in relief when she saw the crew members were not seriously harmed and were beginning to stir while Dmitri rubbed the back of his head.
"It's just a way for us to express our concern for our friends," Dmitri responded with a bashful laugh causing the otter to roll her eyes as she deconstructed her constructs back into giant orbs of water and returned them to sea with a respectful bow of her head.
"(Then next time ask what kind of help you can offer instead, young master,)" Tomoe retorted bluntly causing the battle ace to chuckle as a sudden, strong presence entered his mind and upon looking at his friend, he assumed it entered Tomoe's head as well as she looked up at the sky while clutching her gut.
"(Interesting choice to ask to spare the agent's lives, Dmitri, and even more interesting that you complied with the request despite the risks, Tomoe. Anyway, sorry the staff members on the front deck couldn't help you; they had their hands full trying to keep the ship from tearing apart and fending off attacks from small teams of Basculins who were trying to keep the whirlpool going,)" Oni explained causing Dmitri to nod and put Tomoe's arm over his neck while gripping her waist underneat her armpit causing the otter to let out a content breathe as she no longer had to force most of her weight onto her bruised, cut up leg.
"It's fine, we understand. Well, I guess I'm about ready to go; just let me grab my stuff-"
"(I already took the liberty of transporting your belongings to my domain and you can get them back after I've explained eveything to you,)" Oni interrupted coolly like a water on the beach advancing and receding causing the battle ace to raise a brow while Tomoe narrowed her eyes, but said nothing as a psychic rift opened up in front of them.
"Alright, Tomoe, let's take it slow," Dmitri told his friend causing the otter to grimace and let out a pained breathe as the adrenaline from battle wore off and the full extent of the agonizing pain she had suffered and repeatedly forced down hit her like a tidal wave.
"(I'll be sure to patch up Tomoe as well so don't worry,)" Oni assured the youth causing Dmitri to sigh in relief as the otter's legs buckled and would have collapsed face first onto the floor had the battle ace not maintained his grip on her.
Gently hoisting the otter up, Dmitri placed his bodyguard over his shoulders without any sort of strain on his part and walked through the portal just as the remaining staff members from the front deck arrived and confusedly looked around for them, but the rift had closed just when they arrived.