It was roughly a week since Ash had revealed the truth to Clemont, with the latter conceding and allowing his step brother to keep the hypno pen. As the duo were packing their bags, readying themselves to join the rest of their class as well as Bea's class on a shuttle to the airport, Ash decided quickly to check in on Hilda, Rosa, and all his other slave girls that would still be in Lumiose.
"So you all know, right?" Ash said over the conference call. "I will be out of the country for 2 weeks. I trust you all will know what to do, yes?"
"Of course, Playboy..! I'll keep investigating on my end with my job as a journalist." Perrin affirmed. "With Lusamine also granting me a role as an Aether representative, I can also be a middle man between the support her company will discreetly offer to the Vipers."
"I'll keep a lid on things on my end, as well." Hilda added. "Thanks to Lorelei and Korrina offering our group a few extra safe houses around town. I guess a gal involved in her line of work needs to have a couple fall back places like that auto body shop and the garage she offered us."
"Oh, you know I couldn't turn down helping one of my Master's fellow slave girls..!" Lorelei joked in response. "Of course, my Cabaret is always open to my slave sisters. I can always close shop early to allow us to meet here in private."
"We will make sure to keep an eye on Calem as well." Rosa chimed. "With the generous offers Lusamine's group and Lorelei have offered us, we've managed to win back some more respect from the rest of the Vipers. That should buy us enough time until we find our next target to cripple the Prospects."
"Nessa and I are really only activity instructors, mostly, so with most of our classes leaving the country, our schedules are tantalizingly free." Kahili added.
"You all have each other's contact info now. I've linked you all to my other slaves' phones as well. If anything worthwhile or troubling comes up, you can always feel free to let us know." Ash reminded them. "We may be on the other side of the world, but we can still at least offer advice, if even that's all you'd want to ask. Now, if there's nothing else, I've got a plane to catch. See ya laters, my cute little pets."
"Have a fun trip, Master!" Ash's slaves said with glee, with Ash hanging up shortly after, with Bonnie handing him his luggage.
"It's gonna be boring without you..." The blonde teen muttered, sad to see she'd be on her own again.
"Don't sweat it, sis." Ash smiled, kissing her on the lips. "If you want, you can pop in to see mom every now and again. I'm sure she'd love to see you home."
"Yeah, I think I'll do that." Bonnie smiled, letting her brother's kisses continue to her neck, the blonde letting out a hum of gratitude. "Have fun with your girls, Master..!"
Leaving his apartment, hypno pen in hand, Ash joined Clemont in the campus square, the duo walking to meet the others at the front gates.
"You have it, right?" Clemont asked discreetly, keeping his talk vague in case anything prying ears happened to catch wind of their talk.
"In my suitcase. We'll be around people non stop once we get on the bus, so if we wanna talk finer details, it'll have to wait once we've made it to Alola." Ash affirmed Clemont.
Meeting the remainder of their class at the bus, the group set off. Traversing the airport terminals, getting onto the plane and waiting for the flight to end felt like nothing short of an eternity for Ash. He was in the company of so many of his secret slaves, yet could not act on his desire to claim them until they finally touched down in Alola, over half a day's worth of travel. Getting off the plane, both classes, now getting out of the Mele Mele Airport, took yet another bus to their hotel.
Exhausted from jet lag and keen on going to bed, all the students were groaning and desperate to get assigned their suites.
"Now, everyone, I know we're all tired and want to get some shut eye for tomorrow, so we'll make this quick. You will be assigned in pairs as to what room you will be staying in!" Cynthia instructed the group, the teacher herself tired and disheveled, her hair all messy from an uncomfortable sleep on the plane. "When we call your names, take your room key. Remember, you only have the one key, so don't go forgetting about your bunkmate and locking them out!"
As role call went on and on, Ash had found that he would be sharing his room with none other than Clemont. Making their way to the room, Ash and his brother quickly collapsed on the bed. Although Ash was eager to get to bed, his step brother was far too inquisitive to let the private moment be passed.
"So?" He asked.
"So..." Ash repeated.
"Oh come on, don't play dumb man." Clemont scoffed. "How efficient has my device been?"
"Oh yeah..." Ash remembered, realizing that he had to humor Clemont, lest he frustrate his brother further by ducking his questions and falling asleep. "The device is nearly perfect. Every single girl I've used it on has felt compelled to obey my every order."
"And how's the process been? Does it work as I envisioned? Are you able to instill mental suggestions as you have them locked in their trance?" The young inventor inquired.
"When I used the laser, they seize up completely, standing stiff as a board and their eyes become listless and vacant." Ash described. "After that, it's usually just me enforcing commands onto them."
"And? That's all?" Clemont asked, pulling a notepad from his luggage.
"When they've come to, they show no resistance. In fact, I've brought up on several occasions how I specifically brainwashed them into obeying me, and yet even making them aware of that fact doesn't change anything." Ash continued. "In fact, it seems that every time I bring it up, they seem to enjoy the changes I made in them. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it. It's just, I guess I wasn't expecting that, initially."
"So they're aware that you've done something to effect their minds, and yet the programming you implanted unto them is so strong, they don't even have an urge to resist that? That's wonderful!" Clemont said excitedly. "And have you had any acts of defiance come up? Any points where you've needed to reapply the device's effect on your subjects?"
"Never. Every single one I've brainwashed using your device has obeyed me without question. Never once needed to remind them they belong to me, either." Ash added on. "They seem to share a lot of my vision for what I wish to use it for, as well. They even desire to see others subjugated, even in cases where I don't even decree that in the programming phase."
"So the servants sort of 'sense' their subjugator's will, and will actively pursue any action that will allow them to please their Master." Clemont noted. "In short, they still have a degree of free will, but they use it strictly in the service of their Master and his wishes...amazing..!"
"Any of this helpful at all?" Ash asked.
"Of course! You know, when I finally figured out you lied to me the whole time about the device, I had half a mind to punch your lights out, but I can see your time using the device has paid off!" Clemont ecstatically cheered. "The Mind Alteration Machine is working even better than I envisioned!"
"Mind Alteration!" A muffled voice came from behind the door to their suite.
"Shut up, you idiot! They'll hear you!" Another voice shrilly whispered, though it was quite audible now that Ash and Clemont heard the eavesdroppers.
Opening the door, Ash and Clemont gasped as the door flung open, with Trevor and Alain crashing onto the floor, the duo clearly having been pressing their heads up to the door to listen in.
"What the-you two?!" Clemont groaned.
"Get in here now!" Ash grunted, pulling both of his peers inside, peeking his head out to door to check for any more nosy listeners, and then shutting the door behind them. "What are you two doing here?!"
"W-well our suite was right next to yours, and we heard you two talking, and-!" Trevor began spurting words out quickly, leaving himself no pause for breath.
"What he means to say is we were about to go to bed when this idiot heard you two still awake, so he thought he'd be nosy and hear what you were talking about." Alain cut in.
"Oh shut up, dude! You were just as curious as I was! You had your head to the door, as well!" Trevor stammered, calling Alain out on his hypocrisy.
"Well-well that's..."Alain began to stammer, clearing his throat with an awkward coughing sound.
"How much did you two just hear?" Ash demanded.
"Too much..!" Trevor sighed before rushing to Ash. "I knew it! I knew you had some secret technique! All the babes from our class just flocking to you all of them sudden! You brainwashed them, man!"
"Look, before you condemn me, let me-" Ash began to say.
"TELL ME YOUR SECRETS, OH WISE ONE!" Trevor pleaded, Ash' friend getting on his knees, his hands clasped together, begging for Ash to teach him this supposed 'secret technique'. "We're in Alola, dude! Bikini city! You gotta tell us how to make the babes grovel to us! Come on, be a pal!"
"While I'm not nearly as desperate as Trevor here clearly is, I won't lie, I've kinda been envious of you lately, Ash." Alain admitted. "I'd figured something had been going on ever since Shauna and Astrid started getting real close with you. Plus, that new transfer girl, Nemona, came onto you immediately as well. Whatever you got, we want in."
Sighing, Ash looked at Clemont, who simply shrugged.
"They already know enough as it is. Might as well tell them the rest of it." Clemont relented. "It was only a matter of time they found out anyways."
"You two might wanna sit down for this." Ash said, offering the duo to sit down on the pair of beds in the room. "And Trevor, keep your damn voice down when you hear this."
After a long retelling of Ash's time he spent with Clemont's hypnosis device, including all the details of who he enslaved, barring Bonnie, who the Vipers were and how he met their leadership, how his mother got involved in the Prospects, who had now threatened her, and how Ash teamed up and subjugated multiple girls and women in order to take the fight to the Prospects. Finally wrapping things up with Lusamine's plan to eradicate the Prospects, leaving the Vipers the sole gang in the city, Ash gave the two pause for thought.
"That's...quite a story to tell us." Alain sighed, still processing how his best friend got roped into such an ordeal.
"But dude, talk about being a playboy. You even got Lusamine Aether under your thumb. THE Lusamine Aether, who's currently running for Lumiose Governor!" Trevor excitedly added.
"Lusamine seemed to already have a degree of attraction to me." Ash corrected Trevor. "Even before I brainwashed her, she'd already offered her daughter to me, as well as a vast majority of her family inheritance, including a private island, with a mansion and everything, right here in Alola. I'm pretty sure Lillie wants to take me there tomorrow to see it"
"Dude, you ain't seeing the big picture! If Lusamine becomes governor of Lumiose, and Prospects gets trashed, you have control over both the Lumiose Government, and the city's underground!" Trevor said excitedly. "You'd become a fucking KING! And you wouldn't even have to lift a finger, cuz you'd have your slaves doing most of the day to day shit."
"Trevor actually kinda has a point there. Not only would Viper control make the city a far better place, in general, but with your slave being the leader of the city, imagine the possibilities!" Alain added. "Wealth and power aplenty, there. Well, you'd already had Lusamine's wealth, anyways, but what's wrong with having a little more..?"
"You guys make it sound so easy. Trust me, I've thought on such a thing before, but Prospects is big. So big I don't even know how much so. They've got international ties, even entrenched in companies halfway across the globe, like that Faba guy I told you about." Ash reminded the two. "I want to get my mom out of trouble and out of reach from them, first and foremost. After that's settled, then we can talk about this whole 'shadow ruler' notion you're suggesting."
"I wouldn't mind that, either. You might have lied to me about keeping the hypnosis device, but I'd like to look past that. If you have the power to bring great change to our city, then you and your Vipers have my support!" Clemont said, offering his allegiance. "If you could ask her for me, maybe Lusamine could allow me funds or access to resources. Maybe I could make a few neat gadgets that can help the Vipers in their fight. You know, the kind that don't combust."
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Trevor asked Alain with a playful smile.
"You know, I think I do." Alain smiled back before turning back to Ash. "If the Vipers need manpower, the kind that can offer strength with their Pokémon, the my Charmeleon and I are more than ready to offer back up."
"Alain..!" Ash grinned in gratitude.
"And my Pokémon are with you too. And hey-maybe you could offer us the chance to have our own slave girl or two as payment for our services-" Trevor said, quickly adding in a quip before getting elbowed in the chest by Alain.
"What he means to say is-" Alain began to say before Ash stopped him.
"No, Trevor's got a point. I suppose I've been a little greedy with my device. I think it's time I share this gift, with my closest friends." Ash smiled, offering to use his hypno pen for his friends and brother's benefit.
"Oh Ash! Thank you, my lord! You're too kind for but us mere peasants!" Trevor bawled, theatrically thanking Ash for the offer he proposed. "This calls for celebration!"
Reaching for the mini fridge in the corner of the room, Trevor pulled out four glasses, with a bottle of açaí juice to pour into them.
"They didn't seem to stock the fridge with alcohol, but oh well! Once we kick Prospects butt, we will be the ones call thing shots!" Trevor cheered, handing each of his friends a glass before raising his own. "A toast! To us! The four Arboks!"
The remaining three remained quiet, leaving Trevor hanging.
"What, not cool enough?" He asked, awkwardly standing amongst the other three as they regarded his title for them with quiet shaming. "I figured, cuz Arboks, ya know? King of the snake...Pokémon? Vipers?"
"If you yelled 'go us!', I'd somehow feel more inspired than by whatever that was..!" Alain chuckled.
"Ash is the one who's got the rein on things here." Clemont added. "What do you say, Leader? Any words for this toast of ours?"
Raising his glass, Ash began to play along, mocking the posh nature of a snobby Galarian gentleman.
"To friends, one and all! May we indulge ourselves as kings from here on, with gold in our pockets and buxom slaves in our beds." Ash chuckled, barely keeping his composure during his little act.
"Especially that last part!" Trevor quipped, raising his glass.
"Cheers!" The four said together, clinking their glasses and swigging down the juice.
"I don't know about you fellas, but I feel a lot better knowing how things will be, if we're fighting together." Ash grinned, turning to look out the window of his suite, his fifth floor view of the moon lit ocean of Alola peaceful, the pale moonlight rippling against the waves of the ocean.
"We'll take it to those Prospect assholes!" Trevor added in.
"Catching Pokémon is part of our school assignment anyways. Let's catch some strong ones to bring home." Alain grinned, joining Ash at the window, patting his best friend on the shoulder. "They won't know what hit 'em!"
With newfound vigor and anticipation for the events to come, the four friends continued to party through the night, playing card games, making small talk, with Ash even asking his friends and brother who among the classmates that joined them to Alola would they desire as their sex slave Ash would gift to them. After finally losing steam, Trevor and Alain returned to their room, with Ash and his brother falling asleep shortly after the other two left.
As Ash drifted to sleep, his last thoughts were upon the Aether family island. What would it be like, he wondered, as he finally drifted into blissful slumber.