Ron the True Fan: (Sees review flood) …You know, it's a good thing I made it clear that it was Jorn's idea. You're all pretty pissed at him. But because of the fact you're not asking yourselves WHY we did it, I'm a bit mad myself. People keep asking me why Ash doesn't just ask Celebi to take him back in time and undo the things that caused the events in question. The answer was shown quite clearly LAST CHAPTER! TIME TRAVEL IS NOT A TOY! Ash knows that. This ENTIRE FIC is the result of Ash knowing that! He learned that in Ilex Forest and Sinnoh! Now Kyoji's unwittingly changed the timeline and replaced Brock, a brother/father figure to Ash, with a younger and softer (at least on the eyes) peer. The fact I even let this happen to beginwith shows that I have a plan with it. A LITTLE faith would be nice.
Takeshi Yamato: Seriously, people, give Ron the benefit of the doubt! He has a plan, and even if Jorn's suggestion was a surprise, it still worked well enough with Ron's plan that Ron was able to use it!
Ron the True Fan: Now, this is the last setup chapter for a BIG subarc. Now, I'm going to make this clear: the fic has been lighthearted so far, but considering all the shit Ash has gone through, he DESERVES a little downtime and the mood has been light and comedic over here. The comedy is about to end. So no, there is no gag. And the next person to suggest the last chapter was an April Fools gag is not going to like my response. I HATE April Fools Day.
Pallet Town, 1021 hours local time, Day 249 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey
The Royal Guardsman cackled to himself. This was PERFECT. He'd thank that Ranseian bastard for messing with time and providing his Prince with another strong concubine, right before putting a stake through his head.
Him and his lot got the last king killed. He would never forgive and never forget.
Fortunately, Ash had a rule about traveling through time: don't. He would never ask Celebi to go back in time and undo whatever Kyoji had done. Apparently, he thought no matter what, it would make matters worse.
And Taggard would praise the Creator for Ash's wisdom. Right before tossing the two into a closet, pumping it full of drugs and waiting for her to finish the job.
"I presume you set it up?" he said into the vid phone, smirking.
"I had little choice." came the voice of Duchess Iline. "You have a great deal of political clout and influence in the Royal Court thanks to Orre. Even the Parliament has to listen to them now. And you put in a word or two to get your way."
The guardsman looked at the image. "Because of interfering nobles and Ranseians, the last king died. I refuse to allow that to happen again." he snapped. "People like you, Duchess, prevented me from protecting him properly. NEVER again."
The regent of Rota glared at him through the screen, but considering the fact she knew he was right about how Ash's grandfather died, it was impotent at best. "You will show me the respect my station is owed, Guardsman." she returned evenly. "You do realize Ash may not appreciate what you have set in motion."
"Oh, PLEASE. He will." he stated smugly. "A stabilizing presence in his life is necessary with all the broken and moderately insane women he's now engaged to."
Misty was insecure thanks to mental violation by Shadow Pokemon, Serena was literally mentally fractured, Iris was abused by her fellow Unovans for tainted blood, Anabel was terrified of other psychics, Mei, who used her order's religious authority to get herself engaged to Ash, was Ranseian and even Robin was not exactly good as a stabilizing influence.
Becca had none of their issues from what little he could find. She was a bit overworked, but young, cheerful and most importantly for Ash, mentally undamaged.
In one word, perfect.
Now he just had to stuff them in a closet for six hours, pump it full of pheromones and let nature do the rest.
Ash knew that Taggard was up to something. And seeing as the first thing the old man did on seeing Becca was run into Ash's house to make a call, probably to beg Lance and Iline to engage them?
Yeah, he wasn't going anywhere near an enclosed space for a while. The man had issues.
Becca was a mixed bag for Ash. On one hand, having Brock around again, in ANY form for any amount of time, made him nostalgic for the old days, before Shamouti and learning he was Arceus' problem solver. On the other hand… this was also a very, very pretty tomboy who was wearing an outfit like Brock's that exposed a lot more of her assets and shorts shorter then Misty's.
'Note to self: when I get back, have Lapras use Ice Beam on me.' he thought. 'I'll survive.'
If he wasn't so adamant on making sure time travel was not part of his life, he'd undo what happened. Hell, Celebi offered after seeing the look on his face.
He said no. And Celebi understood why.
Time travel was not a toy. Bending reality into a pretzel was never an option.
"Hey Ash!" cried the source of his current problems, jogging up behind him and… Arceus, be kind and spare him.
Even in the cooler air, she was still wearing short shorts and her top that exposed too much of her bust then he would like. And he could see… oh, boy. He didn't need THAT image.
'Ice Beam, Blizzard, Water Gun and Surf.' he mentally noted down after trying to keep his eyes away from her chest and on her face and forget the fact he could see the girl's undergarments through her shirt.
"You're avoiding me." she said, giving him a look, but more teasingly then anything. "Look, I know it was sudden, but I really did want to go with you when we fought, but bureaucracy's a right bitch and my father wasn't cooperating."
Well, on the plus side, at least Brock's dad was alive. Now he just needed Brock himself back.
"I think you heard the news." Becca continued. Oh, Ash knew. He could hear Taggard cackling.
"Look…Becca…you can talk to Lance." Ash started. "The girls traveling with me didn't have much choice-"
"I know. But you're a nice guy." she cut off. "It's easy for a girl to fall in love with you. I can say that with experience."
Ash tried keep his eye from twitching as he mentally screamed. 'Making this more awkward then it ALREADY WAS!' he shouted, preempting the smartass comments from the King with a giant monster bug thing. "Becca, I'm trying to give you a chance to say 'no'." he said aloud. "The others didn't get that and were forcibly engaged to me. I want you to choose for yourself."
Becca stopped squinting, opening her eyes to reveal deep brown eyes. Ash always wondered what Brock's eyes looked like. Becca was as close as he was going to get. "You know it's words like that that make girls fall in love with you, right?" she asked, amused. "Frankly, Ash, my siblings have been asking when you're coming back. When I was going to marry you and all that. Mount Moon was… Oh, boy. And all the stories of the things you did, helping Sabrina, facing Mewtwo, Indigo…"
Great. The hero shtick did this. If Ash didn't want anyone else to deal with Mewtwo and the like, he would've avoided doing it. But he had personal experience with each incident.
"And then there was Orre," she finished. "You went into the den of the ones who more or less caused the end of civilization and destroyed them, asking no reward. The Rotans can say what they want: I know why you went there. Not for rewards, honor, glory or anything like that. You went there because you thought it was the right thing to do."
He decided not to mention it was also selfish: he dealt with one Team Rocket. He wasn't dealing with a more insane one.
"That kind of thing… well, you know." she said. "I kept trying to deny it, but after a while I couldn't. So while I'm not happy about how it…" she shook her head. "I would be happy, eager, even, to marry you. Misty said something about you needing all the help you could get. It's not out of obligation, before you ask. I… ok, this is really embarrassing-"
"You love me." Ash cut off. "I'm sorry, just… with the whole engagement thing, I'm just… tired. Serena didn't get a choice, Misty didn't get a choice, no one got a choice in asking if they wanted to marry me. I didn't even get asked." And marrying Brock, even if Kyoji had accidentally turned him into a girl, was… CONFUSING.
Becca didn't pick up on that. "Well, I doubt they minded very much. They love you, too." she said, smiling before her eyes closed, almost like an eyesmiling Gible. "And as you pointed out… so do I."
He hoped Kyoji was getting his ass handed to him by Sabrina for this. He might not want him dead, but he was NOT happy with the Ranseian right now.
"You should know Ash is rather pissed." Sabrina said to her boyfriend.
"I already knew that." Kyoji quipped. "He DID try to stab me."
"He was angry and not in his right mind, as you pointed out." the psychic said evenly as she paced in front of him. "Once the shock was done, he heard you out, but he's not happy. Brock was a massive pillar of stability to him. Knowing he was safe, happy and alive was a good thing for him. Now thanks to this… debacle, that's changed."
"How many times do I have to say it was an accident?" Kyoji asked. "Celebi-"
"We know. And while I'm REALLY curious about what you saw, just remember that Ash trusted you." the greenette explained. "He does not take a breach of trust like that lightly. Consciously, he KNOWS you didn't intend anything and Celebi was just trying to help. But part of him is asking if you breached it knowingly."
Kyoji looked at her, insulted.
"It's not a dominant part of him. He IS only human." she clarified. "And we both know who's feeding that part of his mind."
"The King of Pokelantis." Kyoji spat. "If this was any other situation, I'd've tossed him out the front door, but all the crap he's gone through in both timelines, watching the universe die, having that thing in his head?"
"That's one of the few reasons you've been nice about the whole thing." Sabrina said, even as Gible napped in the ground. "Extenuating circumstances. He can't control it. And Arceus isn't exactly returning our calls. No wonder Ash isn't exactly his biggest fan."
"Hopefully the visit to Ransei will solve that. I mean, Arceus made Ransei in his image." the soldier said, smiling. "Once Ash puts one foot on the ground, those things will be ripped out of his head and we can focus on the other big problem and he can finally get laid."
Vun-vun.
"Speaking of…" Sabrina said before giggling. "Have fun."
Kyoji's eyes widened. "No, wait-"
"Relax. You're dating a princess. A Rotan one." she rubbed in. "Polygamy's legal, remember? And I personally don't mind if you see other women."
She teleported away.
"Aw, fuck." he said before the music picked up.
Oak Ranch - 1452 hours local time
Misty and Anabel poured over the information on Becca they got. Apparently, she was almost exactly the same: bad luck with romance (most just stared at her chest and Ash was the only one not to dismiss her as a Gym Leader, though he was confused for obvious reasons) good with kids… otherwise the only real changes were her gender and age. She was only 18 months older then Ash.
At least that was a comfort. Of course, that meant now her eyes were only on Ash, the only one NOT to stare at her chest and show her the respect she was due before he did the things that made her fall for him.
"He's not going to be comfortable with this." Anabel said, looking at her Espeon as she levitated a ball as Ash's own Eevee watched. "She's too much like Brock in every way."
"Well, thanks to Kyoji and Taggard, there's nothing we can do about it." Iris groused before an explosion outside signaled the defeat of her Dragonair by Ash's. Her 'ghost' wasn't exactly happy about someone… new-ish. It was confusing.
They could deal with May and Dawn. This? Not so much.
Serena, until then just watching for Ash, stood up from her chair and smoothed out her skirt. "I'll go looking for him." she declared. "He's going to need help getting used to this."
"And you think you're the best option?" Misty asked. "Nothing personal, Serena, but he's kinda scared of you."
"Scared that I'll jump him in his sleep, you mean." came the very Jade-esque reply, showing who was technically running the show. "Remember, Misty, consent. He doesn't want to do it right now and to be honest, while I DO like teasing him, none of us are ready for that final step into…" She closed her eyes and smiled in a way that Misty would later admit was… well, both kinda disturbing and arousing at the same time. "Blissful intimacy."
"Someone's looking forward to THAT." Anabel said, Serena giving her a sultry look that the psychic wasn't scared by.
"There's a reason I pop up more than the others, you know." the now-fully Jade-d Serena said before her eyes softened, becoming a mix of all of them. "Every single part of Serena dreamed of the moment where we would finally have that connection. But we are NOT old enough for that, Ash is emotionally uncomfortable with the idea of that kind of closeness and… well, he's afraid of being his father's son."
They all knew the first half of the last part thanks to the ghosts. Ash had two layers of daddy issues: one from him never being there in the original timeline and…well, having Grimsley get turned to dust on top of him in this one.
He had justifiable problems. His vow of celibacy, which was understandable in the last timeline, was not. After all, Latios was still alive.
"His fears are not unfounded, but they're a little exaggerated." Serena continued. "When he's ready… Anyway, I'll go talk to him."
"Do attempt to convince the Chosen that he isn't cursed." Mei said, finally speaking up from her meditations. "Arceus does not allow anything to happen without reason."
"Somehow, I don't think Arceus had a hand in this." Iris retorted. "This seems almost like a cruel joke."
"Only to the uninitiated." the shrine maiden said. "His soul suffers. He needs to heal, but the Chosen of Arceus is forced into being by times of great crisis. There has never BEEN a greater crisis in history. And the last time he walked this earth was only three centuries ago during the last Unovan Civil War. Not enough time to remove the stain of that agony he suffered."
"So Arceus dropped him into someone that could have a massive emotional support base? Is that what you're saying?" Anabel asked. "I mean… he latched onto his Pokemon as emotional crutches."
Mei nodded. "Love can heal all wounds. And while Kyoji's latest slight against the Creator has momentarily confused him, Ash will only benefit from the presence of one he holds dear, no matter their form." she explained. "From what you've told me, Brock was a good influence. His… younger sister will also be one."
Serena giggled before leaving, Misty shuddering. "I almost feel sorry for Ash." she said.
"Yes. We should." Robin said, having the whole thousand-yard stare. Serena did SOMETHING to her.
Mei opened an eye. "I do not want to support the devil in Kalosian silks, but perhaps we should consider the fact that we are not Ash and thus not bound by stricter rules and guidelines on how far she will go." she said, getting every girl to look at her. "After all, it is clear that Misty is all but one step from sleeping with her."
All eyes turned to Misty. "…Well, it's better then us fighting…" she muttered. "If we fight, we might hurt Ash's psyche. He's a step away from falling into the abyss already. So if we're… well, lovers instead of rivals for his affection, it might help."
That prompted Iris to get to her feet and slowly walk towards Misty, then suddenly and gently place her lips on hers, getting a surprised reaction from the swimming trainer as her eyes went wide, but she didn't resist.
The Unovan pulled back after a moment, everyone staring at her. "She has a point." the dark-skinned girl said, no trace of a blush on her face. "Why not see if we can love each other like we do Ash?"
Iris then looked at Mei. "Or will eventually love him." she said pointedly.
"That horny Kalosian is going to corrupt you." Mei stated simply.
"She's not as bad as she seems. She's not going to molest you in your sleep unless you outright tell her to." Misty said. "I would know. I asked during the trip to Orre. When it comes to that, Serena is all about consent. And right now, while I'm certainly interested in giving it… no one has."
The good part about being a latient psychic was that after her awakening, Serena could find Ash anywhere. Fortunately, a lot of the time, he wanted to be left alone. …She blamed her overeager forwardness.
'You should.' Astral Serena groused. 'If you had any self-control-'
'After almost ten years, we finally got to see him again.' Yuno snapped. 'The minute you saw him on TV, you wanted to do the same. Don't lie, because we know: we ARE you.'
The psychic imprint scowled. The only thing stopping her was her mother.
After a few minutes, she found Ash, who was sitting, staring at the sky, lost in thought. He was clearly mulling over what happened.
"Poke for your thoughts?" she finally asked, startling him for her refined Hime persona gracefully guided her to the ground to sit beside him. "Relax. I'm just here to talk."
Ash settled back down, Serena putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're thinking about what happened with Becca." she said, knowing.
"I am SO confused." he admitted. "She's Brock… but not. Like a younger… girly Brock."
Serena pulled herself closer, making Ash stiffen. She couldn't blame him: she was aggressive and forward early on. "Can your wife give you some advice?" she asked. Ash looked at her, Serena giving him a look that all but said 'we're due to be married. Please get used to the idea' before he nodded. "Consider this a blessing in disguise. She may not as you remember, but Becca is Brock. She's got the same mannerisms, the same traits, the same personality, the same bad luck with the opposite sex…"
"She's Misty's age." Ash cut off. "Brock was like an older brother. Hell, he was a father figure. I'm pretty sure Gaffery is going to be having a hard time with this one."
Ash's psychologist had helped a LOT. But now… well, during the hard times, the weird times and the things Ash did NOT want to talk about but had to, Gaffery broke out the alcohol. Ash, apparently, was reflective when he was boozed up.
"Well, if you want to talk about it with me…" she said, all hands on deck to help him. "I'm willing to listen."
Ash nodded. He could use that.
The next day - 0614 hours local time - near the Ketchum Residence
"I am going to make this very clear." Taggard said as he paced in front of the ex-Rockets. "We are going into enemy territory. Our Prince does not know the danger he is walking into, so it is our SACRED DUTY to protect him."
"Uh… Ash can handle himself." Meowth stated, the old man turning to glare at him. "Oh, crap."
"It DOES NOT MATTER!" he snapped. "He might be better suited to defend himself then his grandfather, but that changes nothing! You will take your duties seriously or by Arceus' left hoof I will toss all of you at the Regis!"
I would suggest doing as he says. I'm almost tempted to toss you to the musical golems.
With that… encouragement… they suddenly took their jobs very seriously.
"You will accompany Ash at ALL TIMES. If I can't be there and Robin can't be there, YOU HAVE TO BE." the head of the guard stressed. "I lost his grandfather to these Ranseian bastards, I will NOT lose Ash."
With that, Taggard looked to the home of his lord. Ash's choice to accept the Emperor's invitation was a chance to discover why the bastard's family wanted his lord's line purged.
And exact justice for the attempts.
The door to Ash's room opened, Kyoji poking his head in.
"I'm not going to have Pikachu electrocute you, Kyoji." Ash said dryly, packing up a much larger bag then he had before, filled to the brim with Pokeballs. "I'm done with being mad."
Kyoji chuckled as the Kantoan slung the bag onto his back. "Because you saw her as just Brock's sister?" he inquired.
"No, because there's no point." Ash corrected, shifting the weight, Pikachu eying which shoulder to ride on. "I won't ask Celebi to undo the damage done-"
"It was-" Kyoji cut off before Ash gave him a look to let him finish.
"Accident or not, I'm not going to ask Celebi to change the timeline just because I'm not happy." the Pallet trainer finished. "You pushed the snowball downhill and changed the timeline by asking Celebi to show you what she could do. Her mistake was taking that as showing you her ability to travel through time, but yours was not being specific enough to say what she could do other then time travel."
"And I'm owning that." Kyoji said, somewhat testily.
"I never said you weren't. But what's done is done." the future King of Rota said. "So far, the only real change to the timeline was Brock being born as a girl and Flint being alive. Becca weirds me out because… well, she's Brock in all the ways that matter except being a girl!"
Kyoji decided to smirk and dig his grave a LITTLE deeper. "And your age and in love with you." he said, regretting NOTHING.
Ash only mustered an exasperated glare in response. "Flint being alive is a plus." he continued. "He was gone in the… last version of this timeline. I don't know what Celebi would call it. Or if she could even describe it to me in words I could understand!"
Kyoji knew that. Little Celebi tried explaining it, but eventually said "Daddy's human, so he can't really get it!", but more apologetic then mocking. "So… you come to this on your own, or…" Kyoji asked, trailing off.
"Serena actually made me take a step back and look at it from a larger perspective." Ash said as Pikachu climbed onto his right shoulder, getting settled. "Nothing really changed other then Brock being Becca and Flint being alive. Becca's going to give me mixed feelings for a while, but Flint being alive is a good thing, so… sorry for overreacting."
Kyoji waved it off. "You had every right to be mad. I admit it. I fucked up." he said. "At least something good came out of it. Brock's family gets their dad… back…" Kyoji facepalmed.
"It's fine." Ash said, actually smiling for the first time in a while. It was brittle, but true. "At least something good came out of it."
"Well, maybe-"
"No. No more time travel. You got LUCKY." Ash stressed. "You could've easily made it so Team Rocket ruled the world or Cipher was back and was about to win some big war. No."
Kyoji considered that for a moment. "Ok, that's fair." he finally admitted. "But… well, I was told about Ilex Forest-"
"If everything goes as it should, the only one there will be Professor Oak." Ash cut off. "Sammy. I'm actually wondering if I teach him anything this time around. I'm dreading Greenfield, but looking forward to Ilex. Weird."
"You want to see a friend. That's not weird." Kyoji shot back. "Come on, let's go find your harem."
"Don't call them that." Ash said darkly. "They're my friends. I didn't ask for them to get married to me."
"I am NOT in the mood to have this talk with you." the Ranseian said, livity gone. "We're going to my homeland. I want you to ENJOY it."
"And I hope I do!" Ash said back. "I also hope this cycle of mine ends."
Kyoji grinned. The whole 'new region, new girl' thing was HILARIOUS as far as he was concerned. While he was kinda jealous…with all the crap Ash went through, he needed all the help he could get.
He just needed to FINALLY convince Ash to give up on that vow.
…Well, ok, to be fair, no one wanted a teenage pregnancy, so convincing Ash to give up on the 'no romance' part of the vow. Baby steps. Ash had three years or so to mentally prepare himself for THAT.
Serena grinned in a way that made the two she was looking at blush. Iris and Misty looked away from one another, both regretting the kiss.
Because NOW she was going to be actively trying to get them… intimate.
"Stop it." Misty asked.
"No. We're finally on the right track to making Ash a VERY happy man." the Kalosian declared. "The sooner all of us are happy lovers with one another, the better chances we have of healing Ash's emotional pain."
Mei actually rubbed the bridge of her nose at that comment. "I hate the fact she has a point." she admitted. "I cannot believe I am being roped into your sexual olympics."
Serena turned to look at the shrine maiden. "How old are you?" she asked, both curious and slightly annoyed.
Mei didn't get the point of the question, but answered nevertheless. "15 in six months." she said.
"Then count yourself lucky that the 'sexual olympics' will not begin for another three to four years." Serena said cheerfully before seemingly consulting the other parts of her personality. "Correction, the opening ceremonies can begin when you are comfortable, but the main games will not begin until we are all 18 years old. Then we get to see who is the gold medalist."
Anabel tried not to blush. "How is it she turned the events of the Olympiad into innuendo?" the psychic asked aloud.
"It's a gift~" Serena purred before leaning forward, smiling. "Buuuuuuuuuut you know I have a ru~le~"
That being consent. But nothing was stopping her from trying to seduce them into giving that consent.
One small step at a time into becoming her little playmates in bed. But first…
"Please tell me she's not doing anything bad." came the voice of Ash as he and Kyoji approached, Becca nodding approvingly at his big backpack.
Serena turned to face her husband-to-be and smiled. "Nothing untoward, mi amour." she said. "They're not ready for that sort of thing yet. But they're getting there."
"Serena, please don't push them into doing something they don't want to do." Ash pleaded. "They've had enough of that lately."
Serena pouted. "I'm not forcing them or coercing them. Teasing isn't coercion, mon bien-aimé." she explained. "After all, they can brush it off. You do. I tease you a lot, but you don't react. If they do… well, that's on them."
"She's got a point, Ash." Kyoji said right before there was a slight flash as Sabrina and Neesha teleported in, the latter looking a little… uncomfortable.
"Not the same, not the same, not the same…" the trainer said, Sabrina shaking her head.
"She's not used to me teleporting her." the psychic explained. "But when I mentioned going to Ransei… well, she couldn't resist."
"Don't you have a gym to run?" Ash asked, more confused about her being there instead of maintaining her livelihood then offended or fearful. Sabrina, thankfully, noticed.
"My change of personality notwithstanding, I am not one of the more popular choices for battle." she explained. "Besides, I hired someone to handle the paperwork while I'm gone. She's a bit of a workaholic, but Kobayashi seems to enjoy it."
They then heard droning, like a buzzing bug. Everyone turned their attention to the sky, where a giant plane was approaching, with two massive prop engines on a gull-wing attached to an almost boat-like fuselage.
"A flying boat." Ash said, having flown on a few. "Not what I was expecting."
"Well, the air fleet's kinda busy with Ferrum. The commies REALLY don't want to give up." Kyoji said. "I mean, their government's gone thanks to Groudon turning the capital into a lava field. Why keep fighting?"
Ash gave him a look. "I'm fighting what might be called a losing battle against Cyrus." he said, making Kyoji blink. "He's got a head start and we're not ready for him. I think I can sympathize with them."
"You REALLY shouldn't." Kyoji said, forgetting Ash's political experience was more Pokemon then human for a second.
…Then feeling JEALOUS before Poke-politics were EASY. Especially Gible-politics. All the land sharks did was chomp to communicate!
"Even if they're the bad guys, I can respect them for not giving up." Ash said, Kyoji supposing that made sense. "Just not Cyrus. Fuck. Him."
The flying boat splashed down, Misty getting onto the ferry, Sabrina having to push Robin onto the tiny boat because she was terrified.
"Can't you just teleport us-" she pleaded before Misty forced her into a chair. "I do not like large bodies of water!"
"Shock therapy." Misty said before starting the engine. "Next stop, Ransei."
"Next stop, the plane, THEN Ransei." Kyoji said, before grinning. "You're gonna love the place. I mean, Neesha and Sabrina've already been there-"
"We get it. Local pride." Ash deadpanned, a light smile on his face. "I know."
The ride was brief, with Robin shaking like a leaf before Iris forced her onto the plane as soon as the door opened and the ramp lowered, everyone else more… calmly boarding the plane.
"Look, I know it seems like I just want you guys to enjoy Ransei, but… it's my home. I WANT you to enjoy your stay there." Kyoji stressed. "That and… well, you'll be meeting the Emperor-"
"Kyoji, we'll be ok." Sabrina said. "We might not've seen much during our stay there, but i'm sure everyone's going to find something to like. …Though I get the feeling you're REALLY looking forward to Violight Province."
Kyoji grinned before he sat in a window seat, Sabrina sitting behind him before Ash quickly took the aisle seat beside him.
Apparently, as he buckled up and the pilots made their announcements to prepare for takeoff, Ash thought Kyoji would prevent any shenanigans from happening. A fair thought.
Sadly, Kyoji wasn't suicidal enough to stop Serena from unbuckling, getting up midclimb and jumping onto Ash's lap. And the steward and flight attendants were ALSO not dumb enough to stop her.
"Hiiiii~" she said, planting her lips on Ash's before he could respond. Apparently, she wasn't going to repeat the mistakes of Kalos and waiting to the LAST MINUTE to show her affections.
Adoptive daughter and eventual quasi-son-in-law both gave a thumbs up of approval at this.
Ash just tried not to have an unfortunate reaction to Serena settling on his lap. THAT would've sent the wrong message.
One of the flight attendants cautiously approached the two. "Sir? Ma'am?" she asked.
Serena broke her lock on his lips, giving the woman a vailed glare. "Yes?" she asked TOO sweetly.
"…If you are going to engage in… intimacy of that sort…" she started. "There is a small bunk in the back. For decency's sake."
Ash's face DRAINED of color and not just out of horror. Serena apparently noticed. "While I would LOVE to…" she purred. "My fiance might not want that just yet… I am staying here." the unspoken 'attempt to move me and DIE' hung in the air. She was NOT being taken away against her will.
The message was received CLEARLY. "…You may want to hang onto him when we begin landing checks in eight hours." the attendant said, backing away.
Serena turned her gaze back to Ash. "So…you want to go into the back~?" she teased.
Ash just remembered what happened when Latios died. "No." he said, forcefully.
Serena accepted this, then turned around, planting her rear end on Ash's lap, sitting pretty, then leaning back. "You make a very good seat." she said, only a bare trace of the lust in her voice, almost… like normal. "VERY comfy." she leaned back, her head brushing by Ash's. "Je t'aime tellement. Donne ta parole et au diable la loi, je ferai de toi un homme heureux."
Ash would not admit it to anyone until his marriage to Serena and even then long after… he was VERY tempted by her offer. So VERY tempted.
Serena would never know the damage she caused as the walls in his mind turned from cracked foundations to near collapse from the contradictions caused by his temptation and his guilt over Latios and vow to never repeat that mistake.
"J'apprécie l'offre… mais la réponse est non." Ash responded in Kalosian, unknowingly papering over the cracks.
Kyoji looked back at Sabrina. "Can you-" he started.
"No." Sabrina said, more like a child protecting her parents then a grown woman. "What they're saying is for their ears only."
Curious or not, he left them be, even if the others were… a little jealous.
"Return trip, his lap is mine." Misty growled.
Entry 103: Becca Slate
Rebecca Slate is the oldest daughter of Flint and Lola Slate, Rebecca took over the gym after her father left, after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of a Galarian Farfetch'd.
Despite taking care of 8 younger siblings and dealing with the gym, she remained cheerful and bubbly, even trying to make a romantic life, but no one believed she was a gym leader and due to her tendency to wear somewhat revealing tops, she had no success in getting a boyfriend that met the approval of her family.
That changed when Ash Ketchum faced her in battle. While confused for reasons unknown to us, he defeated her, but was courteous and even protected her siblings who were watching the battle when her Onyx lost control due to a sprinkler malfunction. He also never looked anywhere below her chin, much to her family's approval.
Since then, she has shown clear interest in him, but her duties prevented her from joining him in his journey. Her younger brother hunted down their father and dragged him back, but paperwork prevented him from retaking control of the gym until two months after the Orrean War.
Ron the True Fan: Only one entry. Now, you might be wondering… 'how did he get this done so fast? It usually takes him a MONTH to get one of these things shot out.' Well, here's why: backlog. I have enough vid backlog to allow me to actually focus on SOT. That said, don't expect too much in the way of updates: I'm going to need to get back to work on that, depressingly. But if you want to support me there… well, I welcome the subs if you are willing. That SAID… remember when I said I HAVE A PLAN?
Takeshi Yamato: Yes. He has a plan. We might not understand it at the time, but remember, he does things for a reason. Or lets the suggestions Jorn and I have go through for reasons.
Ron the True Fan: Like the whole Becca thing. See, the Celebi thing we've been plotting since Rising Tides, but I wanted to show to the people who KEPT ASKING THE STUPID QUESTION 'Ash has a Celebi. Why not use it?'. I mulled over how to show you all why asking this question was so stupid it didn't NEED an answer until Jorn suggested a few things, including Becca. THEN I went 'perfect', we discussed it more and I oked it after a few revisions of her appearance and introduction.
Takeshi Yamato: Now, I will admit Robin was a slightly different case way back in Orre. I figured 'new region, new girl', thought of tying the new girl into the actual Orre games, so Wes and Rui's descendant, and the girl that made the best choice for that with the right hair color was Robin from Fire Emblem. Now, I was PERFECTLY willing to back off what I wrote down in the planning doc if Ron said no.
Ron the True Fan: I did not. Because it tied into Taggard's plot into getting Ash into fatherhood WAY ahead of schedule, the King's plotting and Ash's need for a large emotional support base considering the SHIT HE'S SEEN. Just like the TRio's continuing existence in spite of the fact I REALLY don't like them. And just like I approved of Jorn's Ranseian Empire and the things we're going to see there. While it is slightly exaggerated at times, especially in the harem department, this is something actually done to deal with suicide risk patients. Large emotional support base, care and attention, all that. Ash IS at risk of suicide! The minute Cyrus takes a plunge and Ash hasn't had his emotional trauma dealt with, he's jumping off a tall bridge. Ashes of the Past does not deal with this. Pokemon Reset Bloodlines doesn't even come close to dealing with the consequences of watching the universe die and knowing you are the reason it was allowed to happen in the first place. To be fair to Seph and Cross, they might feel uncomfortable even CONSIDERING these themes. I do as well. Yet it's NOT STOPPING ME. Why? Because reality does not care if you're comfortable with the idea.
Takeshi Yamato: Indeed. To quote earlier versions of the 'warnings' section of the stories of Fanfic Writer , a friend of mine who I also beta for, "To strive to be Politically Correct serves no purpose, for real life makes no such distinction. Therefore I will not do so." To not consider the prospect of suicide is to be Politically Correct.
Ron the True Fan: Wisdom. Now that I've spent a page and a half beating the heads in of people who reacted instead of thinking, then asking if there was a good reason, know that the readers and reviewers who just laughed, asked questions or were just confused and wanted answers while being silent about it are NOT the target of this rant. Y'all did good. It's the ones that kept going 'use time travel to fix things' who deserve it. It's not just because there would be no plot that I don't use the option. It's because the butterfly effect is a ROYAL CUNT and ASH KNOWS IT! And since Ash KNOWS it, I have to make sure I write him as such! KINDLY consider that before you post another Celebi-related review!
Takeshi Yamato: Time travel should be used SPARINGLY as a plot device, and ONLY IF YOU ABSOLUTELY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! If you do not know what you are doing, BAD THINGS lay down that road!
Ron the True Fan: I know what I am doing. Hence, last chapter.
Ja Ne!