a little bit
A door whirred open to allow through a figure in a tentacruel-masked mantle into a square, metal-tiled room. A few consoles of some sort were set up against the walls. One wall was made of glass. A shorter, like-dressed figure, standing in front of this glass wall, looked up as the first came in.
Stop. "What is the progress?"
Crossed arms. "Things are coming along nicely—about 69% by now."
Look to the glass. "...How can you tell? I thought you were..."
"I was told by another."
"...Oh."
The shorter figure flicked its wrist. A cane extended and clicked on the floor. "I should return to my own duties, as should you." It left out another doorway.
The taller figure crossed its own arms. "I'm still not sure what to think of you, Bravest Soldier," he murmured. He stepped closer to the glass. "Or..."
Behind the glass, a grand machine stood in the center of a huge, round, white room, arms of metal moving in and out of the mechanism.
Piece 4: Destiny Islands
Day 8
The next day came, and Ash awoke to find a tray of food bearing some breakfast by his bed. He happily ate it, then found a bathroom inside the shack and used it. There was a sink with running water, but nothing like a shower or bathtub. Frowning that he'd have to smell like an ape, Ash shrugged, got his clothes on (with a fresh change of underwear), and went outside to start the new day.
He found Sora and the others in the same spot. Kairi looked up and waved. "Morning, Ash!" she called.
"Good morning!" he called back. "Thanks whoever brought me breakfast! It was great!"
Kairi smiled. "That would be me, and no problem!" she answered. Ash came over and stretched. "Sora wants to see you," she mentioned.
"Hm?" He turned and yelped as another wooden sword was tossed at him. He managed to catch it this time, though.
"Ready to start training?" Sora asked, smiling. He had his own toy sword ready.
Ash raised his eyebrows, then grinned and nodded. "Ready!" he said. He and Sora left to a little cove in the shade. There, he and Sora began.
***RECEIVED Wooden Sword***
A wooden toy weapon perfect for practicing swordplay.
The day pretty much went on like this for all of it. They had breaks, lunch, and Ash spent some time having fun exploring the island. But he spent a fair amount training. Sad fact of the matter was, though, that although he did get a lot better, he still wasn't very good. Despite this, he kept at it, since it helped to keep his mind off of Pikachu and his other friends. So as not to lose them, he'd put his badges in his backpack, and kept his backpack around wherever he went—except while fighting. While he never went anywhere without all his badges, he knew that his bag would only hinder him.
Ash also decided to take a few shots at fighting the other people on the island, except Riku, who he knew...wouldn't be very fun. He lost against all of them, unsurprisingly, but didn't let it dampen his spirits. "I've just got to try harder, that's all!" he told himself.
At last, the sun dipped and dyed the sky red. Ash sighed and lay underneath the tree holding the treehouse while he viewed it. Nearby, Sora, Riku, and Kairi decided to watch from the beach, sitting in the sand.
Since they were out of earshot, Sora asked, "What if he does get a Keyblade?"
Riku and Kairi shrugged. "If he does, he does," Riku replied. "He wouldn't get anywhere without a Gummi Ship...as we're living proof..."
Sora frowned, worried. "Sorry to say, but he totally stinks at swordsmanship," he said. "If he was given the chance to try and find his friends, he'd fail pretty quickly. After working with him all day, I've seen he's got humongous amounts of energy and determination, but he's not that strong, nor is he very good at swordfighting itself. He's probably better off telling his pokémon friends what to do instead of fighting on his own..."
Kairi held up a finger. "Remember, Sora, you weren't all that much better than he was when you first got the Keyblade," she reminded him. "You had a lot more talent, sure, but you weren't that skilled. You just got really good from fighting tons of Heartless."
Sora sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know, but..." He trailed off, looking at the waves absently.
For a few moments, all that could be heard were the waves lapping against the shore. Then, a soft sound of something scraping against the sand occurred. Kairi, closest to the direction of the noise, barely heard it. She turned her head and squinted. "What the...?" She leaned over, trying to see around the cliff that acted as a corner of the island, then gasped. "Well, I'll be—" She stood up.
"What?" Sora looked up at her. "What is—huh?" He had leaned over and seen what she did. He stood up, too.
Riku joined the party and stood up as well. "Where's the fire?" he joked, then looked. "Oh."
Sora walked forwards a little, then stopped and gasped slightly as what he saw began to move.
A shaking figure got up onto what appeared to be its hands and knees. It slowly, arms rattling, got into the position, then, carefully, brought a leg up under it and began to try and stand up. It tried...but fell back to the sand, barely catching itself with an arm. After an effort, it eventually stood up, very unstable and forced. It slowly stepped one foot forward, then another. A very, very weak voice was heard:
' '...sh...ease...re you...' '
The figure slipped and fell down again. Even slower, it got back up once more.
Sora and friends looked at each other, then Sora slowly walked forwards again. When he saw the figure up close, he gasped fully. "Whoa!" he shouted in surprise.
Ash, who'd been dozing for a moment, snapped his head up at this. He saw the three standing and looking at something. "Huh?" He got up and jumped down from the ledge the tree was on, beginning to walk towards them.
The figure, meanwhile, was up again. It brought its head up and looked around. ' '...eel...ere...lp...' '
Sora held his head. "It's...It's talking to me in my head!" he realized. Then he saw the figure completely collapse. "Whoa, hey!" he cried, running over to it. He bent down and picked up the figure gently. "Are you alright?" he asked.
The figure blearily opened an eye and looked up at Sora. ' '...A...ere's...' ' It let out a grunt, fighting to keep its eye open. It was breathing hard.
Sora frowned, puzzled. "I can't understand you," he said. "You look hurt. Please, just rest or something!"
Surprisingly, the figure brought up an arm and pushed off Sora's helping hand. ' '...o...eed...find...m...' ' The voice sounded croaky and faint.
Ash got over to Riku and Kairi. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Someone just washed up on shore," Kairi pointed.
"Hm?" Ash leaned to look, then froze. "...What the..." He ran forward, then, seeing the figure closer, exclaimed, "NO WAY!"
Sora looked up and saw Ash racing towards him. "Do you recognize this thing?" he asked.
Ash skidded to a halt and took the figure in his arms from Sora. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?" he asked with such deep worry it impressed the Keyblader.
Weakly, the figure opened its eyes and looked up. It gasped. ' '...A...' ' it weakly sent. ' 'I...nd...ou...Ash...' ' It finally fainted.
Ash gaped in shock and amazement. "I can't believe it," he breathed. "I thought...I thought..."
Kairi and Riku joined Sora, and the latter knelt down and asked, "Is this one of your friends, Ash? Or...one of those pokémon?"
Ash gulped and nodded. "Both," he replied softly, and looked at Sora. "One I saw sacrifice itself before my very eyes."
The figure was that of a dog-like creature, with blue and black fur and a blue, slightly jagged tail. It had a cream-colored front and a spike on its chest and on the backs of its front paws. On its head, which resembled that of a jackal, were four black, dreadlock-like appendages. It was a pokémon Ash knew very well.
-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-
~The Lanes Between~
Maru came onto the bridge, stretching. "The cabins here are not bad," he muttered, "though I wish they had a hammock instead of a mattress..."
"Mornin', Maru!" chirped Figment from his seat. "You ready to get to our first world?"
Maru frowned. "Yeah, but...I still can't decide which one to go to..." he murmured.
"~Well, why not flip a coin?~" suggested Elliott, looking back from watching out the window. "~There's only two worlds, right?~"
"True, but..." Suddenly, the ship's dashboard began to emit a sound akin to a cell phone ringing. Maru raced over and saw "Call Incoming" on the screen. He touched it, and an image of Merlin appeared onscreen. "Oh! Merlin!" Maru raised his eyebrows.
Merlin tapped the screen. "I-Is this thing working? Maru?" he asked quite loudly.
Maru chuckled. 'Old people and technology...' "Yes, Merlin, I can hear you fine," he reported.
Merlin nodded, satisfied, though still wary of the device. "Alright..." He cleared his throat, then spoke in an indoor voice. "Maru, I know you're busy with your quest and all, but I thought you might want a little practice fighting with a group. Perhaps spending a day getting acquainted with the way your comrades fight is in order before setting off for another world...?"
Maru raised his eyebrows. 'That would be perfect, actually,' he thought, glancing at Elliott, who gave him a quizzical look back. 'I've seen Figment fight, but not Elliott...' He looked back at the monitor, nodding. "I'd appreciate that, thank you," he said.
Merlin smiled. "Good! Then come on down here; I've got a special spell prepared for this kind of thing," he said. The image blipped out, the call ending.
Maru nodded and got into the pilot's seat, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, you two, we're going to do some team training," he informed, manipulating the controls to land at Radiant Garden again. "Get ready!"
"Really? What about going to a new world?" Figment asked, a little disappointed.
"Would you rather we end up getting into a bad situation because we can't work together?" Maru asked back, raising an eyebrow.
Figment paused a moment, then nodded, defeated.
~Radiant Garden~
Maru, Figment, and Elliott appeared in Merlin's house, blinking into existence at the place where Merlin had set up a save disc. Merlin looked over his shoulder from the massive computer in his room, smiling happily. "Ah, you did get my message! I was afraid I'd hit that button too soon," he said.
Maru nodded, stepping over. "What is this spell you mentioned?" he asked.
Merlin produced his wand. "It's a spell that allows you to relive your greatest battles," he explained. "I was planning on having you three relive yesterday's battle, but as you are now, so that you can get a feel for how each of you works."
Maru raised his eyebrows. "That sounds interesting...and a good idea." He turned to the dragons. "Figment? Elliott? Are you two ready for combat?"
Figment nodded readily, but Elliott gulped before nodding.
"Don't worry, Elliott," assured Merlin, batting a hand and smiling. "This is only an illusion—you won't really get hurt. If you all get defeated, you'll simply return here, and you can try again. As well, I'll be tweaking the spell to have the battle be gentler, at least at first." He let out a small hoot. "Hoo! That was quite the experience!"
Maru grinned. "You have no idea..." He nodded. "Merlin, we're ready," he said. (Elliott raised his eyeridges at this in slight alarm.)
Merlin waved his wand, shapes and sparkles appearing from the end. "In that case, off you go!" he said before the three vanished in light and shapes.
When they reappeared, they were in the Great Maw, scads of Heartless facing them. The trio drew their weapons, the dragons looking intimidated. "This is only a simulation—we're here to train," Maru assured them firmly. "We're safe. Just fight as well as you can—" he hesitated, "—together."
"Right!" Figment nodded. He readied a card.
"~O-Okay,~" Elliott gulped. He set his face determinedly and got into a defensive stance.
"Then let's begin!" Maru cried. The Heartless came upon them.
They spent their entire day training as such. By the end of it, Maru felt he understood how Figment and Elliott worked. Figment was much more of a ranged, magic-based fighter, while Elliott was a tank. The dragons were able to gain some experience, growing to about level 5 by the end of it, Maru sensed. They were much less afraid of the concept of fighting by the end, too. Maru spent most of his time observing them, staying out of their way so they could gain more experience, so he didn't level up, himself. "If they have to stick with me, I can't have them dying on me," he muttered.
"Well, that's one way of looking at it," Navi murmured.
Whenever they needed a break, they called out to Merlin and he brought them back to rest, them vanishing and reappearing much the same way as before. Before they stopped for the day, during their fifth total visit to the Great Maw, Maru announced, "I think that is enough for today. Let's get back on the ship and rest. We still have a world to get to tomorrow." The dragons heartily agreed.
"You three look stronger already," commented Merlin when they returned. "Do you understand one another well, too?"
The three looked at one another, then nodded. "I think so," Maru said. "We get each other's fighting styles enough that we won't utterly fall apart during the real thing."
"Good! Now, it's getting a little late, so you three go off to your ship, now," Merlin shooed, smiling.
"Don't need to tell me twice!" Figment breathed exasperatedly as he turned and walked to the save disc. He cleared his throat. "Beam me up, Scotty!" He vanished in a flash of light.
"~See you, Merlin!~" waved Elliott as he went into the save disc and beamed up, too.
Maru bowed. "Thank you very much, Merlin," he said. "I'll take you up on that offer to fight my past foes again, someday."
"My pleasure, Maru," Merlin smiled. "Now, off you go, your friends are waiting for you."
Maru looked over his shoulder. "...They're not my—" he began quietly before suddenly gasping, eyes widening. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end again. "Heartless...?" He turned and dashed outside.
"W-Wait!" Merlin called, reaching after.
Outside, Maru looked around carefully. "They're here, I can feel it...but where?" he muttered.
He heard a flapping. A big flapping. A shadow with a peculiar, familiar shape appeared on the ground. He looked up as something large and black fell to the ground with a slam. Maru took a step back.
It appeared to be a dragon of sorts, standing at about four feet tall. It had a long, hooked snout that appeared to have no line for the mouth when closed, bearing only one large, wide fang at the corners. It looked as if it wore a big, blue, bat-winged mask over its Heartless eyes. Medium-length, shaggy, dark gray hair came from atop its skull. Its smooth scales were black, the hide dark gray, and the chest, lower legs, and forearms were wrapped in silver. As well, a small tuft of dark gray hair sprouted from the top of its chest. Red markings were on its chest and kneecaps, and its stomach bore the Heartless emblem. Its very basic wings were rather colorful, mostly purple with green and red. It had three pointed fingers on each hand-like forepaw and three purple-clawed toes on each feline-like hind paw. A long, arrow-tipped tail came from behind it.
But its most distinguishing feature was the arms. They were enormous—thick and long. It could likely swing around like a gorilla if it tucked up its normal-length (but powerful) legs.
The draconic Heartless stared at Maru intently before lurching forwards, reeling back a white-glowing fist. Maru grunted and dodged away quickly, realizing why the beast had such large arms. They gave it an impressive reach, and they sure weren't made of molasses. They hit Merlin's house, making it shake hard and leaving an indent in the side. The shockwave also made a hexagon barrier in front of the door ripple—Maru must have been locked in, he realized, looking at the barrier around other exits. Maru got behind it and attacked it with a combo. It swung its tail around, smacking the psychic away painfully. Maru got some distance between him and it, and found out it was still relatively slow because of its bulk. It was just faster than it looked. He avoided a slash from white-glowing claws.
It tried to attack with slams and charges, mainly, using its great bulk to try and beat Maru. It didn't fly again. Maru, in turn, fought with quickness and skill. He was able to use Slashfest on it, and did so. He still got hurt a lot, though—the thing was pretty wild and strong.
Regardless, Maru eventually got the thing down to a sliver of its health. He was about to attack again when, suddenly, he felt a strong chance in the Keyblade. He hadn't yet this entire fight. "Eh?" He looked at it and froze.
He was holding a black, eye-shaped-buttoned pokéball. His Keyblade had turned into one of his old Monster Balls from New Island.
"No...No way..." he breathed, bringing it up to his face to look. "I...This...It...Does this mean that...?" Over the ball, he looked at the beast...which was charging right at him. He gasped as it quickly grabbed him around his body, staring right into him as it lifted the purple-haired fighter. Maru then realized how natural it looked compared to the other Heartless...Thought about how some of its attacks glowed a familiar white light...
Thought about how he now ever so faintly felt something inside of it, something familiar...
He wasted no more time. Before the beast tore him apart, or threw him down, or slammed him against the wall, or ate him, Maru kicked it in the jaw, making it drop him, then jumped aside, narrowing his gaze with determination. He raised the ball high, then tossed it up and spun around left. He used telekinesis to grab the ball and spin it around him in the opposite direction. "Monster Ball..." He grabbed the ball with his hand as he passed it, stopped the telekinesis, and, with one last left spin, finally threw it, all of this in nearly a single, fluid movement. "...GO!"
The Monster Ball screamed through the air, spinning and radiating a strange black energy Mewtwo didn't remember ever coming from them when they flew out to capture the Trainers' pokémon so long ago. The ball struck the Heartless and stopped in midair, turning and opening up, like any normal pokéball. However, instead of red energy capturing the Heartless, it was violet energy laced with light and darkness swirling about the beam. The Heartless slowly went inside the ball. When it finally got all the way in, the ball snapped shut with a subtle small burst of black and white sparks. It fell down and began to wiggle around. Maru held his breath, watching avidly as the red light pulsed and the ball moved back and forth. (And he didn't have any controller with him to try one of many rumored tricks for capturing easier.)
It felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds. Finally, the well-known soft puuun emitted from the ball as the light faded and the ball went still. Maru blinked, then smiled. He held up a fist. "Gotcha," he whispered, and then pointed his fist at the ball. "I caught...a Heartless."
Suddenly, the ball glowed bright, entirely whiting over, and a huge heart burst out from it, floating up to the sky and away. The ball remained, however, and Maru walked over and picked it up.
***Maru caught a Heartless-pokémon!***
He felt darkness within...but it was tamed darkness. As if he'd just caught an enormously evil pokémon, but it had somewhat given up as soon as it realized it was captured. Thoughtfully, Maru held the ball out. "Come out," he commanded in a curious tone. The ball opened up and, in the traditional white flash of light, with an additional brief ring of white from the ball, the Heartless reappeared.
But it was still. It didn't move. Well, until it looked about, then around and a little up at Maru. It looked expectant.
Maru smirked. "I see you are mine, now," he said. He chuckled. "Don't worry..."
He looked into the vibrant, glowing green, snakelike eyes. He also noticed the Heartless emblem was replaced by a new design on its stomach. He could faintly see a pulse on its neck. "...You won't do any evil anymore."
The Heartless bowed its head, then whipped its head up and let out a roar. It was proud, free, deep, and fierce. Maru smiled and held the ball up. "We'll fight sometime, don't worry," he assured him (as he decided from the pitch of its voice). "For now, though, return." The red beam shot out and took him, and then the changed Heartless went back into his ball. Maru smiled, then shrank the ball and put it in his pocket. 'I can't believe it...these things can capture Heartless just like pokémon! Or at least, mine can...' He wondered something, then called the Keyblade. It came, and he checked his pocket. Yep, still there. He gave a thoughtful smirk as he dismissed his weapon.
"M-Maru!"
"Hm?" Maru turned to see Merlin standing outside his door, looking very worried.
"Are you alright? I-I saw the whole thing!" Merlin said, waving his arms. "I daresay I've never seen anything like that before, neither the Heartless, nor that ability of the Keyblade!"
Maru looked at the ball again. He noticed a keyhole design had formed about the button, the round part being, of course, being around the button itself. "Huh..." He looked up again. "It appears he was actually a pokémon, a creature from my world," he said slowly, thoughtful. "But when I fought him, he was definitely a Heartless...I think..." He felt his chest. "I felt...something familiar when he grabbed me...Could that have been a heart, bathed in darkness, hidden from the world?"
Merlin frowned in thought. "Mmmm...Perhaps," he nodded. He beckoned, and Maru followed him back into the house. "Come on, those dragons are probably wondering if you're trying to escape them by looking for another ship!"
Maru's face brightened. "There's another ship I can use?" he asked, smirking.
Merlin laughed and smacked him on the back. "A sense of humor! Oh, there's hope for you, yet!"
"Eh?"
"N-Nothing..."
When Maru returned to the ship, Figment was tapping his foot impatiently at the "airlock", the room the door they leave out of is in. Elliott was standing there, holding his tail in worry, but he looked relieved when Maru came in. Figment crossed his arms, frowning. "Where have you been, young man?" he scolded. "We've been waiting a whole five minutes for you! We thought you'd try and find another ship or something!"
Maru shook his head. "I detected Heartless outside, so I fought," he explained. "Come to the bridge—I want to show you something..."
Maru released the Heartless-pokémon, and Figment and Elliott both yelped and stepped back. "~What the—?~" Elliott squeaked.
"Are you nuts?" Figment screeched at Maru, pointing at the creature. "That's a Heartless you've got there!"
At this, the Heartless-pokémon turned around, looking blankly at them. Navi came out of Maru's collar and claimed, "He followed me home. I'm just too shiny."
Figment snorted, shaking his head. Elliott, meanwhile, looked at the creature's eyes. After a moment, he visibly relaxed. "~I think he's alright,~" he said to Figment.
"Eh?" Maru translated for Figment, who raised an eyeridge and looked at him. After a moment, he frowned and nodded. "Yeah, I think I see whatcha mean...I mean...Heartless don't have anything but hollows for eyes, so..."
Maru stepped over to the beast, who looked at him. "I'm going to train you," he told it. He placed a hand on his scaly arm, smiling at him. "I don't know what you are, exactly, but something tells me you're a pokémon..." 'Like me...' "...and I want you to help us...to help you get stronger. You understand?"
It took a long moment, but the creature blinked and nodded slowly. Maru smiled and patted him. "Good. I'm honored to be your Trainer."
"~Can you speak?~" Elliott wondered, tilting his head at him.
The creature just stared blankly back at him. Elliott bit his lip and stepped back, unnerved.
"He can, just...well, not speak-speak," Maru explained. He looked thoughtfully at him. "...You need a name."
"Schwarz!" Figment cried almost instantly, smiling.
Maru looked at him with wide eyes. "You been waiting to say that all day, or something?" Navi marveled in slight sarcasm.
Figment shook his head. "Nah, just since I laid eyes on him," he replied. "I always think about what would be a good name for stuff when I look at 'em. Heartless, too! Too bad they already have names..."
"Well, I doubt 'schwarz' is the name of his species," Maru muttered, looking at him over his shoulder. "But I know what you mean here...I think..." He turned the name over in his head, arms crossed. "'Schwarz' is German for 'black'...obviously the color sprang to Figment's mind," he murmured to himself. "It's a basic name, but...it does have a nice ring to it...but..."
Figment could see that Maru wasn't exactly satisfied with the name. The little guy looked at the creature, frowning in thought. "...Stark? German for 'strong'?"
"Hm? Um..." Maru thought about that.
"...Noir?"
"...Nah, not really him—"
"Then how about something meaning 'big', since he looks pretty big? Magnus? Didelis? Malaki? Goljam? Kbir? Iso? Ulaxan? Bozorg? Gran—"
"Whoawhoawhoa—what was that sixth one? Fourth-to-last?" Maru stopped him, blinking in amazement at the dragon's vocabulary. "And do you have Wiktionary inside your head or something?"
"No, I just memorized every language known to man because then, you've got a lotta cool things you can name characters," Figment explained, smiling brightly. "And you mean 'iso'?"
"Yeah, what language is that, again?" Maru crossed his arms.
"Finnish."
"Really?" Maru looked at the beast, who looked back at him, head tilted very slightly. "I was thinking about how it means 'eye' in Zulu...and perhaps...maybe how he's isolated from other Heartless, being a real living creature..." He nodded. "Do you like the name 'Iso'?" he asked him.
The beast paused another moment. He blinked a couple times as he stared at Maru. Then, slowly, he nodded again.
Maru smiled and patted him again. "Then your nickname shall be 'Iso'," he declared. Iso just looked at him still. Maru frowned at this behavior. "Why do you keep staring...?" he muttered.
It was then that he realized there was a malevolently purple aura around Iso. He hadn't looked hard before, but now he was close, he could just see it. He cranked up that psychic power, then jerked back. The aura was flaming around Iso! "What on—?" Maru gasped. It looked familiar to him...He raised his eyebrows. "A...A Shadow Pokémon? I thought that all of them were taken care of in Orre...!"
"Huh?" Figment and Elliott both went, raising an eyeridge.
Maru nodded resolutely. "Iso, I swear I'll help you, now," he promised. "Your heart is still locked away within you, covered in darkness, closed tight..." Maru clenched a fist. "I'll open it up, and then you'll really be free!"
He swore he saw the faintest flash in Iso's eyes.
-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-
~Cheer Base~
The day was rather uneventful for the cheer squads. The normal Ouendan trained a little, as did the EBA-P. The normal EBA was busy with various things Commander Khan asked, and Khan himself remained unseen by the new squads. The Pokédan spent most of the day resting—Mew and Netsui in particular.
One member, however, had a very busy day. The sawk, dressed in his normal white gi, sat in his room, sewing kit and damaged uniforms around him. By the late afternoon, he had finished repairing everyone's uniforms...except for one. He had been taking a break, sitting cross-legged on his bed and meditating, when a knock came at his door. "Come in," he called, looking up.
Netsui opened the door, naked save for the worn baseball cap on her head. She smiled sheepishly as she walked in with her uniform in her other arm. "Hey, Sobat," she greeted.
Sobat smiled and held a hand up. "Netsui-hancho," he greeted back, tenor voice calm. He looked at the bundle in her arm and raised his large left eyebrow. "I was wondering when you'd ask me to repair yours..."
Netsui nodded, closing the door behind her. "Yes—it got rather hurt when we fought that jerk," she agreed. She gave the folded clothes to the sawk. "I'm...really sorry, Sobat," she apologized, bowing and blushing.
Sobat chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, my job's the team seamster," he dismissed it. He held up a piece of uniform—and paled as he saw the massive tears, bloodstains, and other bits of damage to the fabric. There were even a few burn holes! "Sa-ah...!" he squeaked.
Netsui sweatdropped and put a paw behind her head, brow knit in worry. "Eh-heh-heh...that's why I'm sorry..." She looked away. "If I'd only fought better..."
Sobat bit his lip, looking at the other article, then sighed. "Netsui-hancho, it's alright," he assured his leader. "You're only mortal. That man was beyond anything we were prepared to fight."
"Yeah..." Netsui said, looking away. She thought of Mew, currently lying in bed, sleeping. "Not even Mew was ready...She's still trying to recover her energy..."
Sobat looked at the uniform again, frowning. "Hrmmm...There's an awful lot of damage here," he stated. "I'm sorry, but..." He hesitated and gulped, half-eyeing. "...We're going to have to make you a new uniform."
Netsui bit her lip, putting a paw to her mouth. "Oh, Sobat...I'm so sorry..." she murmured.
Sobat shook his head, looking at the uniform still. "Not to worry," he assured, holding a hand up. "They have machines here that can sew seams in seconds. I should be able to learn how to use them. That'll make life much easier." He got onto the floor and went to his sewing kit. "I should say sorry, though, Netsui-hancho—you're going to have to stay here. I lost your measurements in the storm of darkness." He extracted a roll of measuring tape.
Netsui sighed and nodded. "I understand. And don't worry, my sandals are fine." She stepped to the middle of the room.
Sobat chuckled. "Good, those were a pain to make."
Netsui stood still, looking down at her naked self. "...You know, it feels strange to go around naked after wearing clothing for so long," she noticed.
Sobat, tossing a pencil and pad onto the bed, nodding. "I don't think half a month is 'long', but I do understand," he agreed. He unrolled a length of tape. "(Hold up your arms, please.) Sawk and throh wear clothing their whole lives, practically, removing them only when needed." He measured around her waist.
Netsui, crossing her arms, nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah; I always thought full clothing was a pain, especially when you gotta go, but it's not as bad as I'd thought," she described. She paused, then chuckled. "I bet not having fur kinda helps, though."
Sobat smirked as he pinched the tape together, getting the measurement before turning to his pad and scribbling it down. "So glad I learned how to read and write Human," he muttered. "(Waist—check.)"
Netsui frowned. "You know, you never told me where you learned to sew," she noticed.
Sobat returned and went behind her, raising his small right eyebrow. "Really? That's (lift your tail, please?) surprising," he replied. "Well, we have to get our uniforms somehow, don't we? Us sawks and throhs, I mean."
"True," Netsui nodded.
Sobat jotted down her tail base's measurements, then returned to her. He took measurements and jotted them, going back and forth as he spoke. "(Tail—check.) Most of us actually inherit the ones our fathers had, some of us steal real uniforms from various (hold still, I'm doing your hips) dojos. I was lucky enough to be raised in a dojo. (Hips—check.) One day, I (stand straight, please, so I can do your leg) accidentally tore my sleeve. The sensei, who took care of me, said it was fine and sewed it up. (Pant length—check.) I thought it was a miracle, and I motioned that I wanted to learn about it. (Raise your arms all the way, please.) I worked on patterns and repairs for most of my life until Mew scouted me out, I came here, and I learned Human. (Chest—check.)"
"Huh...Interesting," Netsui raised her eyeridges, arms out straight.
"Could you give me a lift, please?" Sobat said as he came back again. Netsui complied, letting him step onto her tail as she lifted him up. "I'm still surprised I'm here in a cheer squad instead of a fighting team...fold your wings, please...though I've always had a penchant for music, I suppose." He got his pad out from his belt, where he'd put it for the moment, and scribbled down the measurements from shoulder to wing, from wing to wing, and the size of the wings themselves at thickest. "(Wingholes—check.) I can't help but think I don't quite belong here sometimes..."
Netsui smiled behind her. "But you're excellent, Sobat," she said. "You may still be running on raw talent, but I'm sure you'll get better with more training."
Sobat gave a small, thankful smile back for a moment before making a rotating gesture. "Turn around, neck time."
Netsui turned her head back around. She felt the tape come carefully around her collar. "...Well, we wouldn't look this good without your design skills," she gave. "And we wouldn't be a full team without at least three standard-style leads. Mew said she saw a lot of promise in you, so..."
"Well, Mew helped a lot...and she said that, did she, now?" Sobat asked as he recorded the measurement. "(Neck—check.) Well, I'll keep tryin'."
Netsui chuckled fondly at the memory that pulled up. "Good."
Sobat recorded her shoulders and then her arms, then got down. "Alright, that should be enough," he said, looking up at her. "You can leave now, Netsui-hancho."
Netsui bowed briefly. "Thank you so much, Sobat," she said. "I'm sorry about all this, I really am."
Sobat smiled and waved again. "It's nothing, I can handle it," he assured her. "I'm going to go get the fabric I need. I'm told I can find it around here somewhere..." He walked past her with his pad, nodding at her. "Until next time, Netsui-hancho." He left his room.
Netsui followed after, turning off the light and shutting the door. She went down the halls until she came out at a pool. Around the walls of the room were planters full of grass and trees and flowers. The view outside revealed dust-colored clouds all around. Feral was swimming, Ursa (jacketless but otherwise clothed) was sitting on a planter, reading while munching on a green apple, a dripping-wet Yena was sitting and watching Feral swim as he dried in the window's light, and a few humans were around the pool, hanging out.
Netsui smiled and went to Ursa, sitting next to him. "Hey, Ursa."
Ursa looked and smiled, marking his place. "What's up, Netsui?" he greeted.
"Sobat had to take measurements from me because my uniform was so banged up," she shrugged sheepishly.
Ursa smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Man, you really got hurt pretty bad, there, didn't you?" he asked.
Netsui sighed, sinking her chin onto her paws. "Don't remind me," she grumbled. Ursa laughed, the gruff sounds echoing around the large room.
"What do you think was up with that guy?" asked Feral as he swam up to the edge of the pool, frowning. He growled, shaking a fist. "That jerk was toying with us, I know it..."
Netsui shook her head. "I haven't a clue," she admitted. She narrowed her eyes. "But when we find him again..." A little spiritual fire flared up around her to finish her sentence.
Ursa took another bite of his apple. "Calm down, you two," he admonished. "If we couldn't take care of him before, we won't again. And I doubt we'll be able to surprise him next time."
Netsui's and Feral's faces fell. "True..." Feral muttered. He got out of the water and shook himself dry, Ursa squeaking and shielding his book behind him. "Sorry," Feral chuckled afterward, sitting on the other side of Netsui. "So, Netsui, you're gonna have to go streaking for a bit, huh?" he asked playfully.
Netsui chuckled. "Yeah, guess so." She looked at herself. Most dragonites had a large, round belly that curved to their tails very smoothly. Hers curved like that, as well, but was much smaller; she was quite skinny. This helped immensely with her intense cheering routine, but she couldn't help but wonder at it...and feel a little embarrassed. "I'm so underweight," she chuckled, patting her thin stomach and feeling her strong muscles beneath, hardened from training and spending most her life as a serpent. "I keep hoping I don't run into any male dragonites...I'm sure they'd laugh at me..." Sitting between the two, she recalled that her closest pokémon friends had the same issues with theirs—Feral was much thinner than a feraligatr had any business being if not starving, and Ursa was a bit slimmer than most ursaring. She looked at them out the corners of her eyes.
They noticed and smirked. "Well, hey, at least you're not in danger of being accused of weakness," Ursa shrugged, holding his arms up.
"I don't mind it much, though," Feral shrugged, patting his own middle. "I mean, sure, it'll suck when I get to some cold water, but not much more than normal."
"Besides, we're perfectly suited for cheering like this," added Ursa, holding a claw up and smiling. He frowned. "Though I have no idea how that happened..."
Netsui held her chin for a moment. "...I wonder if it's because we hung out with Kioshi, Suzu, and Hibiki," she wondered. "We had it in our hearts that we wanted to cheer by the time we evolved, so maybe that had something to do with it, too..."
""Maybe,"" Ursa and Feral muttered, crossing their arms and looking at themselves. All three hummed in thought.
~Author's Note~
I originally decided to go back to Ash first and shorten Maru's day because it'd be too long a dramatic pause between Lucario being found and him waking up if Maru went through a whole world in between. (I'm also saving my ass because I still hadn't decided what world to send Maru to next.) However, with the way I'm doing things, a new day means a new Piece, generally. That's why this is an unbelievably short chapter this time around.
Speaking of deciding the world, thanks to someone on the Slightly Damned forums, I have now received another vote for one of the things, meaning I don't have to cheat and decide myself! That said, voting is now closed. The winner is...
Devil's Bayou!
Thank you all so much for voting. I think this might be best, however; it'd be easier for me to rewatch the movie and do something new without fear of intruding on any currently-coming-out games, like the other one would. (Hunchback is gonna be in KH3D, and I still feel ambivalent towards it in terms of my story. I want to at least play through it and figure out how they interpreted the story before I do it.) This'll take a while to do, since I've gotta, well, make the whole thing anew, but you're all used to whiles from me, right? ^^;
Regardless, I also realized that this could be the perfect way to have Maru catch his pokémon. It's not Terroge, it's the pre-ev; go to my dA account if you wanna see what he looks like and what he's called. I didn't think having him caught in another world, his first pokémon, would have been a good idea. Sure, I could've included a fight with one in both worlds, but that'd be a bit of effort, and this was a lot more personal with it being forced one-on-one. Sorry it's so Giant Space Flea from Nowhere, but...heh n_n; The little message that he caught Iso comes in the form of a little box that you press A to get out of like in other RPGs, pausing the action (well, putting things in an idle loop) until you do.
I'm not sure I should be posting this now, so close after the last post; I might get people's hopes up for more updates. But hey, I might as well. With all the stuff taking control of my life these days, I don't know what to do with the story sometimes, so sorry if this chapter felt a little wooden.
~8D OMAKE 8D~
*Maru is walking around the ship with Iso in tow. He walks into Figment's cabin (small, like the other two—just a bed, dresser, desk, and mirror). Figment is there, pencil and ruler in paws and drawing at his desk...with the latter half of the Inheritence cycle helping him reach the desk itself.*
Maru: *To Iso* This is where Figment sleeps. *looks and notices drawing. He leans over and looks at it; raises eyebrows at the straight lines and such* What are you working on, there?
Figment: *looks up and smiles* Oh, just a little perspective exercise. I'm not very good at backgrounds, so I'm working on some isometric drawings.
*Iso cocks his head over to Figment expectantly, looking into his eyes.*
Figment: *pauses, then smiles nervously, waving a paw* Sorry, didn't mean you, Iso. I said "isometric".
*Iso blinks, then looks at Maru again. Later, Maru enters his own cabin.*
Maru: *gestures around* This is where I sleep. *notices a glass of water on his desk* Oh, shoot—never put that away...*has a sudden thought; brings out a Pokémon Potion and a Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy Potion* Huh...you know what, I've always wondered how these work...what kinds of isotopes they share...They've got to share some...
*Maru turns to see Iso looking quite intently at him, staring into his eyes.*
Maru: *pauses, then sweatdrops, waving a hand* Sorry, I didn't mean you, Iso. I said "isotope".
*Iso blinks. Later, Maru enters Elliott's cabin. Elliott is sitting on his bed, cross-legged, twiddling his thumbs, humming to himself. He perks up when he sees Maru—then gulps when he sees Iso.*
Maru: *to Iso* And this is where Elliott sleeps. *to Elliott* Hey. I'm showing him around. Hope you don't mind.
Elliott: *shakes head* ~Not at all.~ *looks at Iso's tail, then his own, frowning curiously* ~You know, it's strange, isn't it—Figment and I are the plain ol' dragons, but the one with the isosceles is him—oh!~ *looks up at "him" to Iso, then starts*
*Iso is staring at Elliott, gazing into his eyes.*
Elliott: *pauses, then knits brow, waving a paw* ~S-Sorry, I didn't mean you, Iso—well, not that way—I said "isosceles"...~
*Iso blinks, then looks at Maru again.*
Maru: *blinks at Iso in amazement* You got confused when the word was both pronounced slightly differently and in another language...That's impressive.
Elliott: *frowns, mutters and crosses arms* ~I thought you'd be more impressed I even knew that word...~