WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THE LINK FOR CH. 11, "Mega Aura", DO SO NOW BEFORE PROCEEDING. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THE REMAINDER OF THE STORY!
Welcome back fellow readers! Sorry I haven't been updating this story as much. Summer work and all. And with school coming up, updates might be even more pushed back. Even so, I will continue to give you guys some fun chapters to read and break away from school with.
So get ready, because Sora and the crew are about to have one crazy misadventure.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. All rights to Game Freak and Nintendo.
Chapter 13:
Maiden Metamorphosis
A new dawn rose as the Aura sailed the briney ocean blue. Everyone was sleeping soundly in their cabins, all dreaming of great things to achieve. Princess Yolanda slept soundly in her room, dreaming of the day when she and Sora would be wed at long last. But then, in the midst of her dreaming, Yolanda awoke to a strange sound, like the whisper of a mother. At first she thought it was partly due to her dreaming, until she heard it again.
Come. Come to me. It echoed softly in the princess's ear, Find me in the sea. Come find me in the sea.
"Who's there?" Yolanda asked. But then the voice vanished. And Yolanda was left to wonder who the mysterious voice belonged to.
As the sun was newly rising, Drake was out barking orders, having Sora and Kenneth halt the ship in the middle of the ocean. During the activity, Drake ran through the halls, ringing a cowbell to wake everyone from their peaceful slumbers. Even the secret room residents were awoken by the obnoxious noise.
When the crew came up yawning and groaning, Tidus was the first to ask, "Why did you wake us up, Captain Drake?"
"You know what they say: 'the early Swellow gets the Wurmple.'" Drake told the young one.
"But how does that relate to our rather rude awakening?" Prince Pewter pressed.
"Yeah! Why did you?!" Sparky griped rather loudly.
"Denne Denne!" Dedenne added.
Sighing loudly, Drake replied, "I guess none of you want to spend the day out here, where you can have the day off to swim in the best part of the ocean."
"Day off?" Yolanda quizzed.
"A vacation, if you will. I believe the whole crew deserves it."
"Um, captain," Kenneth perked up, "Didn't we already have a vacation on Blanco—" But Drake stopped him with a grunt, then gestured discreetly to the water to remind him of their true intention.
"Well, I always did want to go swimming again." Yolanda suggested, "So I'm going to enjoy it." Running to the port side, she cried out, "Geronimo!"
Following suite after the first splash, Sparky cheered, "Yay! Golem-ball!"
"Well don't mind if I join." Kenneth spoke, running after the girls and calling out his Floatzel to catch him. Sketch and Opal followed as well. Deciding to join in, Prince Pewter let out some of his Pokémon, including Swampert, Ludicolo, and Croagunk, then jumped into the waters too.
"Wait for me!" Tidus shouted as he ran for the side. But right as he leaped off, a Vine Whip from Sora's Snivy caught him and reeled him back to the guardian.
"Hold on there, Tidus." Sora told him, "We have to continue your training."
"Aw! But master, it's our day off." The apprentice groaned, "And, everyone is swimming."
"Everyone?" Sora gestured to Drake and Teller, who were not taking part in the fun. "Let's begin with your training with Snivy."
"Snivy!" Snivy huffed as she turned her head away proudly.
I think it might be best for you to break away from training for a bit. Lucario intervened, approaching the duo, Especially after recent occurrences.
"Even so, I haven't been training Tidus all that much." Sora replied, "So, we need to catch up."
Fear not. I shall take it upon myself to train your pupil.
"Are you sure Lucario?"
"Wait. I'm gonna be trained… by Lucario?!" Tidus gasped, now excited by the notion.
Yes. And I will have someone help me. Dropping in behind him, her masked removed, was Violet.
"You go have fun Sora." Violet told him, "You know the prince would say the same thing."
Deciding he wasn't going to convince his own teacher otherwise, Sora replied, "Okay. I'll leave Snivy with you." Calling Pikachu and Larvitar to follow him, the guardian raced below deck.
Gazing at the Aura Pokémon with sparkles in his eyes, Tidus admired, "Wow! I'm gonna be taught by a Lucario? Yay!"
"What a kid, just like his master." Violet chuckled.
Sneaking past Cancer's room, where the avid inventor was working on a new invention, Sora and his Pokémon met up with Drake as they entered the secret room. When they did, the boys were splashed out of nowhere, and Pikachu shielded Larvitar from the waters as best as he could.
"That's for waking us up so early." Kari retorted.
"Oh, funny." Sora replied. Taking off his cape, hat, boots and gloves, Sora leaped into the pool and splashed all three sisters who resided in the water.
"Hey! I don't need you making a mess on my ship!" Drake chastised.
"Aw lighten up." Sarah responded, "We're just having fun. Or do you not like to have fun?"
"Huh?! I do like to have fun!" he protested.
"Doesn't sound like it to me." Rina giggled.
"Never mind! Just, go outside if you're gonna play around."
"Oh no! Not without you." Kari informed. And she grabbed him by the wrist to pull him in. The other three followed shortly after, and Pikachu told Larvitar to go back above deck before following Sora himself. As they swam beneath the ship, Sarah broke away to try and get Kenneth to join her.
As soon as the group surfaced, Drake griped, "I know you mermaids aren't the usual kind, but are you trying to drown me?!"
"That depends." Kari giggled. Then she dove underwater again.
"Oh, not this time!" And Drake gave chase.
After those two left, Sora suggested to Rina, "Well, it's our day off. So let's have some fun!"
And have fun they all did. The waters were nice and warm, and were surrounded by reefs teeming with Pokémon. Sora, Drake, and Kenneth snuck between enjoying time with the crew, and swimming with their mermaid friends. At one point, the prince called upon a splash contest to see who could make the biggest splash. In the end, his Swampert won that contest, nearly soaking the ship in the process. Then they tried a swimming contest using their Pokémon, and Kenneth and Floatzel took the win there. The crew played a number of games after that, and overall having such a joyful time.
A little later, some of the group went underwater to explore the reefs, while Opal and Prince Pewter went on deck to prep a meal for them to eat. Among the people exploring, Sparky looked around to all the sea life that was present. Getting to see all these Water Pokémon made her all giddy and excited. She began to wonder if that mermaid she met back on Topaz Island, Rina, was still following them. It had been a while since that time, and being in such a beautiful reef made Sparky wonder if she would ever see her again.
When she was making that wish, Sparky noticed a blue glow coming from a reef deeper down. She quickly surfaced to get some air, then dove back down to investigate. A Lanturn was swimming by her, and noticed where she was going. So it offered to take her down there, which Sparky accepted with enthusiasm. When they came up to the glow, they found it was coming from some kind of pendant. The item looked like a silver clam shell with an ocean blue string tied to in. Sparky was fascinated by such a find, and pondered the thought that it belonged to Rina somehow.
Maybe Ms. Rina lost this when she was swimming around the ocean. She thought, It couldn't hurt to bring it back to her. So she picked it up, and the pendant radiated in a flash of blue. After it faded back down, Sparky noticed that Lanturn was no longer beside her. Probably because it got scared off by the light, Sparky figured. But then, Sparky realized she was breathing underwater. She looked down, and found something that made her smile so big, half her head was about to come off.
"Wait until everyone sees this." She told herself. Then she swam for the ship.
Back on board, everyone was gathered on deck to eat a marvelous meal Opal and the prince had cooked up for them. Prince Pewter sat next to his sister while she told him all about ideas she had for renovating their castle when they returned; Teller and Sketch reviewed their chronicles to each other about the place, trying to find some common points about their findings; And Tidus was with Lucario and Sora as they reviewed the apprentice's training, while said apprentice was also soothing some sores he got from Snivy while training.
"Sorry about that Tidus." Sora reconciled, "I thought Snivy would have gotten used to you by now."
"It's alright, master." Tidus assured him, "But Lucario did teach me a little bit about how to read a Pokémon."
"How's that?"
But before Tidus could answer, Cancer came up to them and asked, "Hey Sora, have you seen Sparky anywhere?"
"No, I haven't."
"Is something wrong?" Tidus inquired.
"Well, it's just that Dedenne came into my room a little while ago, but Sparky hasn't come back yet. I'm getting worried."
Just then, Lucario's eyes shot open in shock, and he told them, The little one's aura… has changed. But, it is close by.
"What do you mean?" Cancer asked with concern.
Just as Lucario was about to answer, they heard Sparky's voice call out, "Hey big brother! Yolanda! Tidus!" The whole crew became alert, wondering where Sparky was calling from. Pikachu and Larvitar immediately found her, still in the water. But something felt different to them, very different.
When Tidus spotted her, he quizzed, "Sparky, why are you still swimming?"
"I was exploring the reefs further down, and I found this cute pendant really far down." She told him, "But it's really cool."
"Sparky, that was dangerous!" Cancer scorned, "You know better! Now come up on deck."
"Yeah um, that might be a problem."
Cancer's patience was really getting stretched to the breaking point, but Sora intervened by offering, "I'll get her up. Snivy, use Vine Whip." So Snivy sent out its vines for Sparky, and began hoisting her up. As it did though, the three humans and Pokémon were shocked by what they saw. Sparky had on what looked like a brown strap across her top, a pendant that looked like a silver clam-shell with a blue outline tied around her neck, and from the waist-down was an earth-brown fish tail with a yellow coral imprint on the hip, with the tail fins round and spherical, unlike Rina and her sister's tail fins. Somehow, someway, Sparky had become a mermaid! Before she was pulled out of the water, Sora instructed Snivy to set her back in the ocean.
Once it did, Cancer shouted, "Sparky, what happened to you?!"
"Yeah! You just turned into a mer—" Tidus began to say. But Sora covered his mouth to avoid spilling the beans.
"Is something the matter Cancer?" Prince Pewter inquired as he and Drake came over to see what all the commotion was about.
Turning to him with nervous smiles, Cancer and Sora tried to block Sparky from view as Cancer replied, "Nothing's... wrong, per se. My sister was just exploring."
"Quite a while for her to be exploring, don't you think?" Drake pointed out, "Is she okay?"
"Well, you see…" Tidus began to explain.
At the exact moment, however, Yolanda shrieked, "Sparky, when did you become a mermaid?!" Busted.
Having brought Sparky back on deck, questions began flying all over the place. How was Sparky a mermaid? Had she always been one? Why was it found out now? No one had any answers to this phenomenon. It was a great mystery to them all.
Facing a very stern prince and princess, Sora and Cancer apologized for trying to hide what they discovered. At the same time, they solemnly swore they only just discovered her change.
"But this is too weird." Cancer pondered, "Sparky has often gone swimming, and this never happened before today. Honest."
"We believe you, Cancer." Yolanda tried to calm, "But, this is a little sudden."
"But what could have caused this?" Prince Pewter wondered, "If Sparky is like all of us, why is she a mermaid now?"
"I wish I knew." Cancer muttered. While Sora was pondering the matter, Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and began whispering into his ear.
Understanding what was said, Sora told the others, "I'll be right back. Have Tidus watch Sparky while Drake, Kenneth, and I look for answers in our scrolls."
"Are you sure Sora?" Yolanda quizzed, "I could help too."
"Just keep an eye on Sparky for me. I'll be back soon." And he and Pikachu took off, signaling for Drake and Kenneth to follow him below deck.
Rina and her sisters were back in their secret room, eating some of the meal Kenneth snuck to them. They had been enjoying their meal in peace, right up until Yolanda's shriek. They didn't really hear much of what was said, but something had to have been going on above deck. Whatever it was, they figured it wasn't an emergency. So they let the humans be, and continued munching.
While they were still eating, Kari asked, "Did you see all the Water Pokémon down below?"
"Yeah. It's amazing." Sarah responded, "I thought Kenneth's eyes were gonna bug out after that Huntail went by him. He looked so funny."
"That's mean Sarah!"
"Hey, just because I like him doesn't mean I'm gonna go head over tail for him like you and Rina do."
"Oh really? I don't believe that after seeing you chase that pair of Luvdisc."
Her cheeks turning red, Sarah retaliated, "That was gonna be a prank on you and Drake!"
"Not from what I saw, with you trying to get Kenneth to catch one."
"He was gonna be in on it!"
"Alright you two, that's quite enough." Rina interrupted calmly.
"Alright." Sarah pouted.
"We were only playing around." Kari told her.
"You both know there is no playing around when Luvdisc are involved, don't you?" Rina reminded, "If you see a pair of Luvdisc kiss, it means you will have eternal love with whoever you are with."
"We know that." The two siblings said together. As they were about to go back into the water, they were stopped when Sora, Drake, and Kenneth entered the room, all three looking serious.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked as Kenneth sat beside her.
"Trouble." Drake answered next to Kari, "Big trouble. Sparky somehow became a mermaid." The only one who displayed surprise to the news was Rina, which puzzled everyone.
"Something wrong Rina?" Kenneth wondered.
"Yeah Rina, why the big shock?" Kari questioned, "It's not that much of a big deal, besides the fact that there's a new mermaid we know of."
"It's a bit of a long story." Rina began to explain.
After telling them how she knew Sparky, Kari and Sarah were appalled at their elder sister.
"So you revealed yourself to another human?!" Kari gasped.
"How can you blurt out your secret to another human?!" Sarah chastised, "Why can't you keep a secret?!"
"It's not like that." Sora defended, "I brought Rina on board at the time, and tried to keep Sparky from finding out. Don't blame her."
"Besides, you two also got found out." Drake enlightened, "And by your own carelessness, no less." The two young sisters tried to argue back, but Drake had put them in checkmate.
Moving on, Kenneth requested, "Can you guys tell us how Sparky changed into a mermaid? We know she's been a human her whole life. So why this sudden change?"
"We don't know." Kari replied, "This never happened before. And we've never heard of this happening."
"Yeah." Sarah added, "And relatively speaking, it's impossible for something like this to have happened."
"Unless…" Rina contemplated, "It is the work of the Mermaid Pendant."
"Mermaid Pendant? What's that?" Drake pressed.
Taking a deep breath, Rina elaborated, "I don't know the whole story. But the legend we heard from the Pokémon was that there was a mermaid who had been heartbroken for some reason. She was saddened so much, that she sought to take revenge against whoever wronged her. She had the power to summon an army of Water Pokémon, and was rallying them to attack everything. But then, it was said her soul was sealed in a pendant, so that she could not harm anyone, human or Pokémon. However, whoever possesses that pendant she is trapped in would be blessed and become a mermaid."
All was silent after she told the story. It was like time stood still in the room, with nary a soul disturbing its fragile stillness. Even the water seemed to have halted its ebb and flow.
Kneeling next to Rina, Sora summarized, "So, this pendant is what makes people mermaids? Because of the soul it has trapped inside?"
"Only females, I believe." She said further, "I don't think it affects males. But, I believe there was something else tied with it."
"What else?" Everyone edged in, hoping to hear what more was tied to this 'Mermaid Pendant'.
"I… don't remember." Sarah and Kari fell back, embarrassed that their elder sister forgot such a crucial detail.
"Well, if the Mermaid Pendant is that dangerous, I need to retrieve it from Sparky." Sora told them. Then he raced back to the deck. It was in that moment that the memory came back to her. And what she remembered horrified her.
"Sora, wait!" she called. But he was already gone. So, she instructed his faithful companion, "Pikachu, you have to get Sora! He needs to know about the curse!" Not even asking for an explanation, Pikachu raced after his master with all haste.
"Curse?" Drake quizzed.
"Yes. The curse of the Mermaid Pendant."
Right when Sora appeared on deck, that's when trouble happened. Sparky and Tidus were yelling their heads off at each other about sharing the pendant she had. Yolanda and Sketch were trying to mitigate the situation, but the two hot heads would not heed them.
"Why won't you let me see it?" Tidus yelled, being restrained by Sketch, "I just want to look!"
"No, you want it all for yourself!" Sparky shouted back, "Besides, I found it. So, it's mine!"
"What is going on here?!" Sora barked, growing tired of their bickering.
Turning to his master, Tidus replied, "I asked Sparky if I could see that pendant she had, but she won't let me."
"That's a downright lie!" Sparky retaliated, "He just wants it for himself!"
"I said I'll give it back!"
"No! It's mine!" This was definitely not like Sparky, Sora knew this for a fact. It had to have been the pendant that was making her so possessive. To confirm his suspicions, Sora looked at her aura, and found that Sparky's natural aura was being overridden with the influence coming from the pendant. It was as if the artifact was trying to take Sparky over.
Firm in how to resolve this matter, Sora requested, "Sparky, can you let me see the pendant? I know you trust me."
"No!" she pouted, "You'll just let Tidus have it! I don't trust you." That was the last straw with Tidus. Slipping past Sketch, Tidus grabbed the pendant and tried yanking it away by force.
"No one disrespects my master!" he growled, playing tug of war with Sparky, "Now give him the pendant!"
"Never! Let go!"
"Just let go!"
"No!"
The two tykes tugged with all their might, stretching the pendant beyond its limit. The strain on their faces made them sweat as the struggle to take the pendant reached its peak. Then, the string snapped, and the pendant was flung into the air as Tidus and Sparky fell back.
With the pendant no longer in her possession, Sparky's body returned to normal. But the pendant was everyone else's concern as it began to descend. Everyone started going after it, claiming to be the one to get it. But this actually made everybody crash into each other, halting their effort as the pendant neared the deck. When someone finally did catch it, it ended up being Yolanda, who did not take part in the crash fest.
Rubbing the back of his head after crashing into Violet, Sora took notice and told her, "Great job Yolanda. Now, can I have that please?"
A little flustered, she replied, "O-Of course." Slowly, she held out the pendant to give to Sora for safekeeping. Midway through, however, something changed.
She reclined her hand and said coldly, "No." Sora was puzzled by Yolanda's refusal, Just as everyone else was.
So Prince Pewter tried coaxing, "Yolanda, just give Sora the pen—"
"No!" Then Yolanda ran over to the side, putting the pendant on herself. "This is too treasured to surrender to you." She told them, "I won't surrender it to anyone." Just as Pikachu came on deck, Yolanda fell back and dropped into the water.
"Princess!" Sora cried out, rushing after her. When he approached the port side, a blue light flashed, blinding him for a bit. When it faded, a Tentacruel surfaced and pulled Sora into the water, making him drop his staff. Then, the Tentacruel carried Sora under and away.
"Sora! Yolanda!" Prince Pewter shouted after them. He was about to give chase when Violet barred his way.
"Stay back, my prince." She warned.
"Violet, move out of my way!" he ordered.
"I cannot! This matter has already escalated beyond our control. We cannot help. For now, we must trust in Guardian Sora."
"She's right." Sketch tried to assure, "It's all up to him now."
Staring off in the direction Sora was taken to, Prince Pewter muttered, "Is there… really nothing we can do?"
Sora wrestled and struggled to be let out of the Tentacruel's grip, but to no avail. Its grip was too strong, and kept his arms pinned to his sides. And even if he did break free, how would he get back to the Aura? It had already disappeared on the horizon, leaving nothing but blue all around him. After a while, they finally approached a small rock jutting out in the middle of the ocean. The Tentacruel set Sora down hard, causing him to groan rather loudly. But he was grateful to be alive, albeit in the middle of nowhere.
Just when things couldn't be any stranger, Yolanda appeared next to Tentacruel and told it, "Many thanks, Tentacruel." With its job done, Tentacruel disappeared beneath the waves.
"Yolanda, what did you do?" Sora groaned, "Where did you take me?"
As the princess came up to the rock, she sighed, "Oh Sora, there's no reason to be afraid. Now, our love can bloom to its fruition. And ever more, thanks to this."
As Yolanda held up the pendant, Sora inquired, "What do you mean?" But rather than answer, Yolanda pulled herself up next to him, revealing an astonishing sight. All she had on besides the pendant was a red clam-shell bikini top, a willowy blouse that wrapped around most of her front and midsection that looked slightly transparent and was tinged pink, and a cherry-red mermaid tail with scales as red as the shiniest ruby in the world with a pink heart imprint on her hip.
Snuggling into Sora, Yolanda moaned lovingly, "My love, now we can be together forever, with no one to interfere in our deep love."
"Princess?" Sora quizzed with worry.
"Don't you like this? Just us, together, watching the sun begin to set?" That was when Sora noticed that it had become late afternoon. The sung hung about three fingers away from the ocean, casting a yellow and orange glow that glistened on the water's surface.
"It… definitely is very pretty." Sora admitted, "And, so are you." Just then, Sora grimaced as pain flared in his chest. Tentacruel must have broken a rib or something when it pounded him down.
"Oh no! You're hurt!" Yolanda gasped with concern, "Did Tentacruel do that?"
"I'll be fine." Sora tried to assure.
"Nonsense! Here, let me." Yolanda then removed a scale from her tail (which then regrew another to replace it), and pressed it against where Sora was hurt. The scale melded into Sora's body, and just like that he was healed.
"Thank you, princess." Sora said in gratitude.
"Oh Sora, you don't need to keep calling me that." Yolanda giggled, nuzzling against him, "I won't be Princess Yolanda anymore. From now on, I am your Yolanda."
"But, what about Prince Pewter? And the others?"
"He can handle things without me. It won't matter with us anymore."
"But, princess, he's your brother. Aurora is your home."
"No Sora. The sea is my home. I need nothing else, save for you." Now Sora knew something was off. The pendant had to have been influencing Yolanda, making her so focused on her strongest desire: him. He needed to remove it. But Yolanda had his arm pinned against her, and he couldn't use his other arm to take it. He needed to handle this matter delicately.
Laying him down next to her, Yolanda whispered, "Sora, I love you from the bottom of my heart. Ever since I first saw you, I was in love."
"Y-Yes, Princess."
"You have protected me all this time, safeguarding me from people like that human from Tyrannnia."
"Ragnar?" Now she was beginning to sound like Rina. Was the pendant changing her this much already?
"Now, I want to safeguard you. And I shall, my love."
"But Princess, I—" But Yolanda shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips.
"Hush. No more words. Just…" And she crept forward, eyes closed as she inched in to kiss. Sora had no escape, and he was afraid of what would happen if they kissed while Yolanda was like this. He was trapped.
But when Yolanda was mere millimeters from him, they heard someone call out, "Release him, imprisoned one!" This shot Sora up, and he found Rina floating nearby with a fierce look. Despite the circumstances, he couldn't be more thrilled to have her here.
As Yolanda spotted her, she demanded, "Who are you? And on what grounds should I relinquish my lover?!"
"My name is not important. But Sora is. Now, let him go!"
"I will not! If you want him, you must take him from me!" All of a sudden, the pendant opened, releasing a red energy that surrounded Yolanda. She raised her arms, and an army of Sharpedo and Carvahna appeared all around the islet. But Rina wouldn't back down. Sora had saved her a number of times before, and she had only saved him once. Now, it was her turn to be the savior.
Tapping her pearl, Rina called out, "Gyarados, assist!" And the sea serpent appeared, towering over the army of jaw Pokémon menacingly and with a frightening roar. As it appeared, the Sharpedo and Carvahna charged, ready to chomp on their new lunch. But Rina retaliated by calling out, "Gyarados, Aqua Tail!" And Gyarados swept its tail, knocking away hordes like they were ants. Sadly, this maneuver did not come without cost, as Gyarados was hurt by the Pokémon's Rough Skin. But it bore with it, sweeping away more Sharpedo and Carvahna.
As it did, Rina called out, "Sora, I remember the rest. The curse of the Mermaid Pendant." Sora nodded, remaining silent so Yolanda wouldn't notice that he was listening to her. "The seal was imperfect, it couldn't hold the mermaid's soul entirely. So it will seek out a host to inhabit, turning them into a mermaid and granting them her power. And if the wearer possesses the pendant when the sun sets, the metamorphosis becomes permanent, and the person is lost forever." Shock set into Sora when he heard what she said. Yolanda would be lost by sundown? Then that explained her behavior before. That wasn't Yolanda, at least not entirely. The mermaid in the pendant must have acted on her feelings towards him, making it seem like Yolanda was saying and doing all those things. But matters became more dangerous for Rina, as Sharpedo and Carvahna surrounded her and Gyarados.
"That's right, my dears." Yolanda spoke, in a distorted voice, "Sink these interlopers! Make them suffer as all shall suffer." With little alternatives, Gyarados coiled around Rina to protect her as Sharpedo and Carvahna brushed against it with their Rough Skin. They were trapped, but Rina couldn't give up. Sora needed her.
Sora had to act now. The sun was nearly touching the water's edge. If it did, Yolanda was lost forever. He couldn't allow that, not after all the good times he has had with Yolanda. He wanted the old Yolanda back, the true Yolanda.
Taking her by the hand, Sora had her face him and asked, "Yolanda, do you truly love me?"
"I do. I most definitely do." She answered.
"Do you love me so much that you would do what I asked?"
"Of course, whatever your request, I shall grant it. For you, my love." Time was running out, and Gyarados looked like it couldn't last much longer. Sora stroked the princess's face, regretting what he was about to do to her.
"Then, I ask you…"
"Yes?"
"… to forgive me." The next thing they knew, Sora grabbed the pendant and ripped it away from Yolanda. The instant he did that, Yolanda wailed out as the energy that surrounded her flew above, taking the form of a mermaid. Then, it was sucked into the pendant, and Sora closed it once and for all. But he could feel the power wanting to escape, so he used a bit of his aura to create a stronger seal, thus locking its prisoner away for good.
Exhausted, Yolanda collapsed into Sora's lap as she reverted back to her normal appearance. The Sharpedo and Carvahna also regained their senses, and vanished underwater. Rina could feel that Gyarados was very weak, so she recalled it once the other Pokémon left. Then she came up on Sora's left side, face grim with worry.
"Will she be alright?" Sora asked her.
"I don't know." Rina replied somberly, "I feel that she will survive, but her emotional state is in question."
"What do you mean?"
"The Mermaid Pendant acted on her greatest desire, amplifying her feelings towards you. I'm not certain what the repercussions will be from such an experience." This made Sora worried, more so than what else concerned him.
"Will she remember seeing you?"
Looking down at her tail, Rina told him, "I cannot say. But if that memory remains, then it may be time to reveal myself."
"No! Don't do that Rina! We don't know what they'll think when you are discovered." Sora protested, "I'll make something up, say it was because of the pendant."
"Sora…"
"I don't want you to reveal yourself until absolutely necessary. Until such a time, you must remain secret. You must!" Rina was stunned by Sora's conviction. She couldn't believe he was willing to lie to everyone to keep her secret.
How has she changed this much in so little time? She wondered, So strong, so courageous, yet so compassionate.
Taking her pinkie finger in his, Sora vowed, "As long as we travel together, I shall guard your secret from anyone unless you say otherwise. On my honor, I promise this."
"Sora, no!" Rina spoke suddenly, pulling her hand close to her, "Don't make such a promise. This is my burden to bear."
"Rina, it's my burden too. Not just because of my duty to the prince and princess, but because we are friends." Rina did not know how to take Sora's words. A huge part of her was willing to live with what Sora said he would do, and admired him for it. But another part had a sense of dread and fear for what it would bring him. She couldn't bear the thought of what could happen.
"Well, we better get back to the Aura first." Sora suggested, "But without my staff, that might be difficult. And Gyarados isn't at full strength to carry us back."
Re-energized, Rina replied, "Leave that to me. I have an idea."
Princess? Princess Yolanda? Sora's voice echoed as Yolanda's mind returned. She awoke to find herself on the Aura, with everyone watching over her with mixed expressions.
Sitting up, she inquired, "Is everything alright? Why are you all looking at me like you are?"
"Princess, what do you remember?" Teller questioned first.
Pondering for a quick bit, she informed, "I remember Sparky and Tidus fighting over a pendant, then it came to me. I was about to give it to Sora, and that's about it."
"Really? You don't remember anything else?" Prince Pewter inquired. Yolanda just shook her head, rather puzzled by the inquiry.
Holding up the pendant, Sora told her, "Sparky found this on the ocean floor, but it created some problems among the crew. You got caught in it, and I managed to save you."
"That pendant has become too dangerous to keep." Prince Pewter added, "So Sora will return it from whence it came, so no one may ever find it." Yolanda did not quite understand the whole situation, but she was grateful to Sora for rescuing her. Before Sora stood up to toss the pendant, Yolanda hugged him.
"Thank you, Sora."
Returning the hug, Sora replied, "You're welcome, princess." When she let go, Sora went to the bow of the ship, and thrusted his arm to send the object sailing far away, and never be found.
"And that's that." Sketch concluded.
All is well once more. Lucario shared.
"Well, fun's over." Drake reported, "We set sail immediately. Kenneth, Sora, resume course for Salure Isle!"
Aye aye captain!" They both responded. Everyone else went below deck to prepare for bed. As Tidus and Sparky went down, Sora heard Tidus say, "You know Sparky, even if you don't remember it, you were a… pretty mermaid."
"Aw! Thanks Tidus." Sparky returned, "You are a great friend too." And they headed down. Sora chuckled at the exchange, grateful Sparky forgot too. And as Pikachu and Larvitar hopped onto his shoulders, he hoped with all his heart that Rina and Yolanda would remain safe for the remainder of the voyage.
That night, Yolanda sat on her bed, staring at a portrait drawn of her and Sora in the throne room. Today had been a rather bizarre day, but looking at herself and her betrothed together always seemed to calm her right down. As her mind began to settle, she pulled out a small cloth wrapped around something. Unfolding it, she revealed the silver clam-shell pendant Sora was supposed to have cast into the sea. When Yolanda hugged Sora that time, she snuck something else into his hand and hid the pendant with her. She wasn't sure why she deceived everyone, but there was a memory she had that she wanted to figure out. It was of a girl with red hair, in the ocean. Who was this figure? And did she have a connection to this pendant? Yolanda was afraid she would not like the answers she would find.
Rina: Sora is still out of it after losing Pikachu, huh?
Drake: Yeah. Poor guy.
Rina: Well, I'll just go and win Pikachu back for him.
Drake: Huh?! Are you crazy Rina?!
Rina: I have to! I owe Sora too much.
Next chapter,
The Revealing