Episode 11: Hybrid connections

"I don't get it. What could you possibly want with Ariala? Who are you really?" Naomi shouted. The flames on her back were going wild.

"My business is with the princess and no one else. The rest of you can keep out of our meeting," Master Lin raised one arm. A dark, slimy substance spewed from the palm of his hand all over the floor. Once enough of it covered the ground, the slime formed into the shape of Pokémon, who lost the texture of the dark substance in replace of a near transparent appearance.

"Spectres? Everyone be careful, he's a cantor!" Naomi said, her eyes fixed on Lin. He kept on spilling out more and more slime until he was surrounded by six of the spectres, all of which resembled different Pokémon. Their ghostly figures were highly visible in the darkness as they couldn't be seen through.

"Spectres? What're they? They look so cool," Charle readied his claws. "Actually, never mind. Whatever they are, rabble like that is why the Cat's Brigade is here. Ready men? Charge!"

Seconds later the temple was filled with battle cries and the clashing of attacks. Charle's small army ended up pushing Ariala's army aside; taking on the spectres with slashes and tackles, whichever their species did best. Despite the ghostly appearance of the spectres, their physical attacks were working. No sounds came from the enemies, but they were being kept back with ease.

"While that's going on, you and I can have our talk," Lin said, using Psychic to pull Ariala towards him again. The others freaked out as she was thrown right up to Lin's face, where he held her up by just below her mouth. "I'm sure you know what I'm after. You've kept me waiting long enough. Release it!"

"Re-release what?" Ariala wriggled in his grasp.

He dropped her and curled his claws, covering them in more slime. "Don't waste my time, Princess!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she huffed. She struggled to her feet and stood guard with her fan, trying to keep calm. "I honestly do not know what you are talking about."

"The Shadow Partition that was sealed within you when you were a child. I believe you had to travel to Eris for their king to do it," Lin informed.

How does he know about that? Ariala gasped in her mind. She stumbled and glanced back, finding her allies separated from her by the six spectres.

"Don't bother, we are safe to talk. Release that Shadow Partition and you will be free to ask of whatever you please from me," Lin pointed a nail at her.

She hesitated and glanced back at her friends again, concluding it was safe to talk without them hearing. "I won't. I don't know how you know about that, but whatever wicked reason you require it, I will not give it to you!"

"Hmpf. I didn't spend all those months in planning just to get this far and have you tell me no. Whether you wish it or not, I will have that Shadow Partition from you!" he raised his voice, throwing the slime to the floor to summon two more spectres. They were formed quicker than the six that had formed earlier, and rushed at Ariala with sharp claws bared.

Ariala gasped again but fell into the flow of battle. She brandished her fan against the two spectres, both Sandslash, and then protected herself by putting up a Reflect. The Sandslash clawed at the red barrier like mad, unable to even dent it.

"I see. It makes sense that you wouldn't come here without being capable of defending yourself," Lin said with a smile as he performed more hand movements.

He summoned more spectres, but before they had even formed, he found himself distracted by a huge pink glow in front of him. Still behind her Reflect barrier, Ariala was holding onto a huge Moonblast attack and let it go with a cry of effort, making Lin gasp and rethink. The attack tore right through the two Sandslash and the two spectres that hadn't formed yet, threatening to hit him head on if he didn't do anything.

To Ariala's surprise, her Moonblast was stopped by a single palm pointed at it. Lin barely let out a sound of effort as he pushed against it, soon swiping that arm aside to send the Moonblast haywire, where it exploded harmlessly on the ceiling away from everyone. He had a cocky smile on his face, his dry features giving that more of a conniving feel that made Ariala shift away in discomfort.

"If that's how it is, I'll defeat you myself!" he said. Instead of using his slime to create more spectres, he tensed his arms and cupped his claws around a glowing orb that appeared in front of him. He didn't charge it for long, and soon after he fired it, it burst into a rain of glowing stars.

"Swift?" Ariala muttered under her breath, reacting with a Light Screen.

The stars passed right through her barrier however, smashing it to pieces after just a few of them hit, and with many stars still to come, Ariala's life flashed before her eyes. She could only gasp before they hit.

The next second, she was screaming at the top of her voice, each and every star slicing deep into her body wherever they happened to hit. Blood splashed out of the miniature stab wounds they all made, and she fell to her backside, barely conscious of the wicked pain that coursed through her.

"Ariala!" Vincent roared.

He hadn't seen what had happened to her, but her scream was enough to tell him and the others that they needed to step their game up. Any mercy that he and Nier had flew out of the window as they proceeded to stab two of the spectres in front of them with their weapons. Vincent pierced the ghostly spectre so that his spear poked right through its back, discarded its body with a flick, and then sprinted right through the battle, ignoring any pain he took from the crossfire of attacks. Once Ariala and Lin were in view, he leapt up high and attempted to smash his spear right through Lin.

"Annoying peasant!" Lin said, drawing back an arm as he spotted Vincent. A psychic force clashed against the hybrid as he thrust that arm directly at the spear, stopping Vincent in place. Vincent growled and hopped back to Ariala's side to prevent getting hit by a follow up, and grit his fangs. "Know your place you sacrilegious plebeian!"

Vincent responded but coughed to stop himself before any words came out. He slowly stood up beside the princess, guarding his face with his spear. Lin didn't seem to retaliate and started smiling at him. "Who are you really? And what's the meaning of this?"

"That's none of your business. If you would be so kind—" Line responded.

"Don't toy with me. My Father was to be called Master Lin. Who are you really?" he raised his voice. Lin lost his smile.

"Vincent? Are you the princess's guard?" Lin replied, his black eyes widening.

"You recognise me? What is going on here?" Vincent shouted. Lin started smiling again, this time more evilly than before.

"Well now, things have gotten interesting. To think you would hang onto life this far, even after becoming the monstrosity you are now. A true wonder you could even evolve!" he snickered. The glowing pupils in his black eyes disappeared, making his eyes look as if they were sockets leading into the darkness of his skull. "The protests I conducted brought the princess here. But now that I know that brings you with it, things will get far more interesting."

Vincent flinched when an attack flew past him faster than he could blink, impacting Lin right in the chest. Lin's screech implied that it had taken him by surprise as well, and he staggered backwards in agony as the attack remained there. He glanced at it in disbelief, finding a shining blue shuriken there.

"Don't just stand there! Take him down!" Tundra said, falling from somewhere on the ceiling.

The way he flashed into colour told them that he had been camouflaged the whole time, having heard and seen everything. Vincent shook his head into focus and lunged at Lin again, but even with the Water Shuriken in his chest, Lin blocked every attack with a psychic force and hand movements. Their clash came to a quick end again, but this time, both Vincent and Lin landed in battle ready poses.

"Wait, what?" Ariala gasped, eyes widened at them both. They were both stood in Vincent's signature pose, with one arm hung forward loosely, one leg knelt down, and their other arm stretched behind them. "So it's true, they are connected."

"Princess!" Tundra shouted. He pulled her to her feet, reminding her of the intense condition of her body. She felt like she was about to split into a million pieces just trying to stand, so she staggered and cringed, holding in a scream. "Hey, Ponyta! Get your ass over here and let's make a break for it!"

"Don't order me around! Charle!" Naomi replied.

Charle saluted her and then stampeded forward with the Cat's Brigade, all of them aimlessly running right into the spectres. Seeing that coming, Vincent retreated, picking up Ariala and jumping over them to return to Naomi's side. He didn't waste time in sitting her on the Ponyta's back, and then made for the exit.

"The doors are sealed, but I can break them open. Don't dawdle!" Tundra said, landing in front of the doors. He performed a few hand signs and then flicked a Water Shuriken at it, having that shuriken shatter a previously invisible barrier. He kicked it open at that, and the team were soon galloping away as fast as they could.

"Fall back now, men! Her highness has escaped!" Charle said, still keeping wary of Lin anyway. Lin had simply protected himself during their attack, taking no visible damage at all. He didn't seem interested in retaliating either, so Charle turned and ran for the exit after his soldiers.

"You there, Meowth. Wait just a minute," Lin called. Charle hesitated and stopped in the doorway, looking over his shoulder. "I've learnt invaluable information from this encounter, so I've no reason to follow you. Yet still, I sense conflict. A desire within you. You weren't trying your utmost in that battle."

"What's it to you, freak? It's just my job to protect her highness and lady Nier from evil like you," Charle replied, pointing at him.

"I see. The Meowstic. She has your heart, but the hybrid stands in the way of your confessions. If you ever desire greater power, come to me. I will tell you all you need to know about that hybrid," he said. Charle's eyes widened.

"Everything I need to know? You know stuff about that freak of nature?" Charle replied.

"I know much that will be of use to you, information that will surely change Pokémon's views of him. A harsh reality that your lovely Nier perhaps is not aware of," he smiled. Charle went quiet, his mouth lingering on a reply.

"I can come back at any time? Can we discuss this civilly?" Charle asked.

"Contrary to my actions today, I am indeed very capable of civil discussion. I am the Stardust Treasury's trusted mayor for a good reason. You have seen the magnitude of my planned protests and the stability of this city first-hand. That should be testament to my claims," Lin bragged.

"Hmpf. You might be evil, but if it's priceless info you're offering and the price isn't too high, I just might come back," Charle scratched his chin.

"Of course. I wish to aid you, in this case. I believe in the demise of a hybrid like Vincent."

…

"Okay. We don't seem to be getting followed, so we should be safe to break here," Naomi said, stopping out in the open space outside of the city. Ariala slid off her back but collapsed to her backside again, cringing and resisting touching her wounds. She had stopped bleeding, but her body was still covered in red marks. "Nier, please. Your healing."

"I know I know, I'm on it!" she said. "Where's Charle, though? We've got the soldiers, but not him."

"I think he stayed behind to keep Lin busy. He's annoying, but that Meowth takes his job seriously," Vincent replied, looking back at the city.

"That was a total disaster, though. Look at you, Princess! This kind of damage is what we needed to avoid. This never would have happened if we had gone right for the meeting point," Naomi stomped a hoof.

"It wasn't a total disaster. To be completely honest with you, I learnt all I needed to. I'm happy that we got that experience," Ariala replied, doing her best to stand up. Nier's healing had barely helped her visually, but the pain had stopped.

"Princess!"

"I'm fine. Being in that city and being able to meet the Pokémon in power allowed me to see a lot of the situation we're in. Despite their different beliefs and urban myths about them, those Pokémon are no different than the ones in the capital," she explained. "Yet, these Pokémon suffer from lack of vegetation, the natural disasters, and more. The Tapu don't help them, and in turn, they have no faith in the Tapu. But what is the true reason why?"

Tundra was still with them, but had his back turned until Ariala started speaking. He half looked back at everyone, surprised to lock eyes with Ariala. "What do you want? I wasn't helping you. I already had suspicions that Master Lin was cooperating with me for his own gains. Thwarting him just happened to work in your favour."

"Tundra, the Pokémon of Stardust Treasury look to you to lead their protests and journey, yes?" Ariala asked. "Please, join us. My pilgrimage is for the unity of Faernia and Eris and the overall peace of Etheria. If your forces joined ours, our conflicts would be resolved for the time being. In turn, I will do my utmost to ensure your city sees the proper protection it should."

"Wait wait wait, whoa, Ariala, you for real?" Nier said. "Tundra and the protesters? On our team? That's next level nuttiness!"

"I can't lie and say the thought of that doesn't irk me. I mean, these are Pokémon that have literally killed hundreds, and are out for you in particular," Vincent added.

"I forbid it, your highness. A Pokémon like him is not to go any closer to you than he is now," Naomi stomped a hoof again. Ariala sighed.

"Naomi, you may be my personal chaperone, but I am the princess of the planet Faernia. I don't stand for dictatorship, but I stand for freedom, peace, and equality," she said, closing her hands into fists. "Not only has Tundra saved our lives, but I- no, we can see that he and his Pokémon are fighting for their fair right in this land. There is no clear reason for the lack of Tapu's blessing out here, nor why we should ignore them or treat them any lesser just for not having the same religious beliefs as us. To that end, I propose we work together to resolve each other's conflicts."

"You really are a class act, you know that?" Tundra spoke up, a smirk hidden behind his scarf. He quickly calmed down and folded his arms. "But my actions against Master Lin have undoubtedly turned him and the Constellars against me. I daren't return to the city anytime soon, which leaves me with very few options."

"So there's that issue as well," Ariala said.

"I don't want to help you. I don't actually care about your Tapu religion or anything. I just want my Pokémon to be safe from these oncoming disasters. As you can see, a famine is certain to start here soon," he said as he gazed over the barren land around them. "If you stay true to your word in your efforts to help me and my Pokémon out of this horrible situation, then I will fight alongside you towards this mutual goal."

"Not just here, but Pokémon all over Faernia and Eris are suffering from natural disasters. This is why I'm on a pilgrimage to meet and marry the prince of Eris. Our unison will act as a link between the two planets, and we can begin working together towards peace," she smiled. "And to be honest, I see more in you than you behave like. I get the sense that you're not the type to act underhandedly or turn your back on someone."

"Hmpf. You're inviting many opportunities for me to do something irreversible, Princess. But fine. You have your temporary alliance," Tundra said.

"No you don't!" Naomi stepped between them. "I refuse to give you even an inch of a chance."

"You've gotta admit Naomi, she's done a good job of keeping Tundra in check so far. I'm willing to give this a shot," Nier smiled.

"But she could get hurt!" Naomi cried.

"If Tundra wanted Ariala dead, then he would have attacked her when he appeared in the Zodiac Temple. Instead, you helped us escape," Vincent said, making her gasp. He approached Tundra and held out a paw, gesturing a handshake. "Effort like that will let us get along."

"I'm yet to see you put that effort in at my end. But no point in doing otherwise. You have my word," Tundra replied, shaking hands with Vincent. He did the same with Nier, going back to smiling.

"By the way Vincent, what was that going on back there? You and Lin having the same battle pose," Ariala asked. Vincent gritted his teeth and looked away.

"I have some ideas, but I can't say for sure. But as long as we stay away from Stardust Treasury, we shouldn't have to deal with Master Lin, anyway. We should focus on reaching the meeting point now," he replied as he pulled his hood over his head.

"You're right. It'll be nightfall soon, too. If we don't hurry, we might actually be late. Tundra, I hope you don't mind travelling by cart," Ariala said.

"What about Charle? He's still not here yet!" Nier said.

"Don't worry about it. We will deal with it, your highness!" A soldier from the Cat's Brigade said. "Half of us should continue to protect you; the remainder will scout the city again. We will catch up to you as soon as possible. Should new orders come, we'll send a letter by air."

"If you say so. I hope he's alright," Nier said as she climbed into the cart with the others. Vincent was last, looking more intense than the others.

Sorry, your highness. But this is a battle I can't get you involved in, he promised himself.

…

"Hmm… there's something I've been thinking about," Tundra said, arms folded.

"What is it? Go right ahead! We might as well learn a bit about each other with a chat," Nier beamed up.

"Dare I ask what you're expecting from this marriage? As far as I know, you've lived a very sheltered life, Princess," he wondered.

"That I have. I don't give myself expectations for things like this as well. I leave my thoughts open, that way I may deal with any given situation appropriately, rather than expecting what might not come," Ariala laid a palm on her chest.

"Well that's an admirable way of thinking, but you've got to have some expectations. I mean, this is a dude you're going to spend your life with," Tundra unfurled his arms. "You don't want him to look good, or have certain skills, treat you a certain way?"

"I honestly haven't really been thinking that way. Am I supposed to?" she said.

"Of course you are! Gods, it's a marriage. You wouldn't mate with any old Pokémon, you go after the one that attracts you the most, right?" he said.

She smiled. "I thought the purpose of this marriage was to help smooth the communication between our planets. That's more important than whether the prince is actually attractive or not."

"Hmpf. I like! You have impressive tolerance," he said. His eyes made it seem like he was smirking. "Now I'm a little interested to see how this relationship will turn out."

"Gotta admit, that does worry me a little, Ariala," Nier said. "Pokémon on Eris are supposed to be rougher too, y'know? You've gotta set some ground rules for yourself."

"Ground rules. that is a good idea, actually," Ariala rubbed her face. "I will ensure I set ground rules in place. Otherwise, I will respond naturally to the man as I must."

"…Why do I have a horrible feeling this is going to go very wrong?" Vincent sighed.

The truth is, I know exactly what I'm dealing with already. Unless you've changed, Rune, Ariala thought, and started smiling. I have faith that you haven't, that you're still the kind Oshawott I met that day.