Boat
They both finally fell asleep, both drifting through their own dreams until the morning sun filtered through the windows, waking Kat from her sleep. She had been having a nightmare about... something, but as most dreams often did, this one slipped away with the night. She tried to remember it, but, nothing came to mind, so she simply shrugged it off. She attempted to get up, but something was weighing her down and she smiled slightly as she looked up to Mike's sleeping face. "Good morning...." She sang very softly as she nuzzled against his neck.
He opened one eye as she nuzzled him, and gave a small groan as he rolled off her, keeping one arm draped over her body. "Ugh, what a nightmare..." he muttered, rubbing his eyes, and looking over to her.
"How did you sleep?" he asked her quietly.
"I had a nightmare too," she said in response to what he had said first, but then shrugged. "I slept fine though. I don't even remember what it was about," she added. "What went on in yours?" She asked him curiously, intrigued by the coincidence that they had both had a nightmare.
He glanced away, unsure himself. He could remember one detail, however... "Flowers... Strange, I know, but something to do with flowers. I'm not sure what." He shook his head. "It's not important, I guess..." he grunted, rolling off the side of the bed, coming to a crash on the floor next to it. He chuckled, brushing himself off and sitting up.
"Flowers in a nightmare... there's a combination you don't hear everyday," Kat remarked as she floated out of bed. It was pretty odd, but still, anything was possible in dreams. As he remarked that it wasn't important, she gave a small shrug. "Aw, I wouldn't say that. After all, some say dreams can predict the future," she said before grinning. "Maybe we'll be attacked by killer Bellosom," she joked, walking over to his side of the bed and offering him a hand to help him up.
"It's probably some strange symbolic stuff. You know the crazy way fate works and all," he said, taking her hand and standing. He looked down to her with a small smile, then his smile turned to a frown. "Are you... ready to go?" he asked quietly. Kat sighed and nodded. "Yeah... Let's get the sad good-byes out of the way." She said, wanting to get the farewell over with quickly, like a shot; maybe it would be less painful that way. She headed over to the door and opened it, allowing more of the mornings light to shine through, even through the rain that seemed to have lightened a little.
"Huh." He poked his head outside, looking up. The sky was blue again, yet still raining. not as heavily, but there were large puddles all around, and several of the holes he and Kairi had made were filling with water. "Let's make it quick, then." he nodded, stepping outside tenderly, so he didn't get too muddy. She floated off the ground so she didn't get muddy, but walked along with Mike as the headed towards Kairi's hut. It was surprising how it could still be raining with the sun out, a little sun shower she supposed. It was actually kind of pretty in its own little way, a balance between the whether. But now they stood in front of the door, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the ground. She sighed and knocked on the door, seeing if Kairi was even awake or not.
The hut was silent as they knocked, and only the sound of rain on the roof was apparent as they waited. Mike blinked, stepping up to the door and pushing; surprisingly, it opened. "Kairi?" he asked, stepping inside. Her room was made, and her stuff was missing. He walked over to the bed, which had been made nicely, and picked up a piece of paper on it. He looked at it, and then gave a small sigh, looking away as he seemed to... smile?
"Hmm... Where did she go?" A confused Kat asked as she looked around the familiar room that suddenly wasn't all too familiar with Kairi's things gone. She glanced over to Mike to see him smiling and noticed the small note in his hand. "What's it say?" She asked him as she reached over to take the note and read it for herself. He passed it over to her. There were only a few lines, reading:
"Came to say goodbye, huh? You're not getting rid of me that easily, you know. I'll meet you soon enough, guys!" and then a small heart, with a fingerprint, reminiscent of a dog stamping its paw as its signature. Under it, there was a Post Script. "P.S., I left a few effects in my top drawer Kat might remember, to make sure you meet with me again. Take those along, would you?" her letter asked.
Kat smiled, and then laughed as she read the letter. "Ah, once we meet up with Kairi... remind me to whack her in the head for making it seem like a goodbye," she said to Mike with a small smile. Well, it seemed their friend was tagging along after all. Kat opened up the top drawer and took out the effects Kairi had left and slid them into her bag quickly. "Well then, guess it's off to Lilycove now." She said as she closed the drawer.
Mike laughed, wiping his eye a little. "She must have been planning this..." he smiled, putting the note into his bag, then turning back to Kat.
"Let's go, then," he smiled. She nodded and the two of them headed outside of the hut. It had seemed now they had both become victims of Kairi's little pranks. "Alright, now to find our way from out of this village..." she said, looking around before closing her eyes. "And the exit is... that way," she finished, pointing in some random direction. Well that was one way of finding your way. She smiled to Mike and headed forward into the woods.
He walked behind her, putting his hands behind his head as they walked through the forest, away from the village. Mike caught up and walked next to her, asking if she really know which was was the right direction or not.
"Erm..." She hesitated, looking around for a momment before nodding. "Sure, its as good a direction as any other." She confidently said she had absolutely no clue as to where they were heading. She had never had a very good sense of direction.
He groaned, but shrugged, following her until the trees parted slightly, and the main road was just up ahead. Hopefully they were going the right direction, he thought, poking his head out of the trees and looking around the road.
"Ha, knew it was the right direction," she grinned triumphantly and looked up to the sky. Now to figure out which way was east - that she could tell as much. "Alright then, this way," she said as they headed down the road in the direction the sun had risen, off towards Lilycove.
He blinked as she started walking, taking a few steps forward and thinking, then nodded and followed behind her with his tail swaying a little. They walked down the path towards Lilycove; or at least what was left of it after the virus hit.
Soon, after a bit of walking and Kat mumbling to herself about whether she had indeed picked the right direction or not, they arrived at the major city. It seemed much emptier than it normally had, as most morphs had left already and because the Pokemon Contest Hall was closed, there was certainly no reason for the tourists to stick around. The Contest Hall itself was a bit of a mess as a few windows were broken from when the virus had gripped some performing pokemon. Stray pokemon wandered the streets as did a few people who kept their distance from the pokemon, not knowing whether the virus had taken its effect on them or not. Still, either Kat didn't notice or didn't care as she smiled and sighed. "Ah, sweet Lilycove..." she murmured and then glanced over to where the ferry was. "Seems the ferry's still open, good. Come on," she said to Mike as she took his hand and started to lead him to where the ferry was.
He put his hands behind his head as they walked, a wandering Houndour padding up to them, before bounding away again. They wandered to the docks, where a single ferry was waiting, bobbing in the water slowly. a rough looking bouncer type was standing in front of the entrance to the ferry, and eyed them as they walked up. "Ferry's closed," he told them. "We're working on shipping humans off the mainland, no room for pokemorphs." he said, crossing his arms.
"Aw, we're just heading to the Sky Pillar, not all too far from where you guys are probably heading. Can't we just hitch a ride at least half way?" she asked, seeing if she could reason with the guy, because short of hitching a ride on a Wailmer, the ferry was the only way to the Sky Pillar.
"Can't do it," he said, shaking his head. "Gotta tend to the people aboard. And most are afraid of your kind. Can't be done, or else it would start an uproar with the crew."
She sighed. Well, that was unfair, but she saw the reason behind it. "Alright, fine," she said in defeat, before gesturing to Mike to come, since it seemed they weren't going to get past the body guard. She led him away before leaning against the wall of a small, abandoned house, looking at the ferry. "Well... That went well..." she muttered, then noticed something. Some crates, probably food and water, were being loaded onto the ferry. "Hey Mike, do you think we would fit in a wooded crate about this tall and this wide?" she asked him curiously as she pointed out the approximate measurements of the crate. People can't be bothered by things they can't see.
He groaned. "I don't think it would be the best method of getting to Sky Pillar..." He grumbled, trying to think of a different method. He then sighed, giving up on that. "Fine, pick a box," he said, crossing his arms. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it would get them there, at least.
"Don't worry, we can sneak into an empty room once we're too far away from land for them to turn back around if they do catch us," she assured him, unwilling to stay in a box for the whole entire trip. She looked at the pile of boxes that remained unloaded and picked out the biggest one. She faded out of sight, becoming invisible. She gingerly crept over to it, careful the packers didn't sense her presence and moved it a little way away so that it would be hidden from sight until they started on the other pile of boxes. She opened it and emptied it silently before setting it up right and getting in, leaving enough room for Mike. She winced, looking at the open box; it was definitely a tight squeeze, but it would do.
As she climbed into the box, something slipped in around her, and in the darkness, something red glowed as it reared up to look at her; fangs glistening on black scales, as a Seviper appeared to be inside the crate she had hopped inside.
As soon as she saw the red eyes she froze, looking into the almost hypnotic glare before remembering to look away. 'Alright, don't panic. Don't panic, just get back out very slowly. Very slowly,' She thought to herself to calm her racing heart as she tried to inch back out of the box without giving the Seviper a reason to attack her with those very sharp, very poisonous fangs and tail blade.
As she backed off, the Seviper's tongue caught a hint of her fear, and it gave a low hissing noise before springing at her. Before it could attack, however, Mike had his hand around it's tail, just above the tail blade. "Move!" he whispered harshly to her as the Seviper tried to move, only to be stopped by him. it turned around and was planning on lunching at Mike, next, its fangs glistening with purple toxins.
She got out of the box extremely quick and as soon as she was out, she focused her mind enough to create an illusion of a very large and angry Zangoose, a Seviper's natural enemy, in order to distract it from attacking Mike and attack the illusion first, giving Mike a chance to get away. "Zangoooooose!" the hallucination cried to draw the Seviper's attention.
The Seviper, startled by the Zangoose's sudden appearance, halted its attack and drew itself back into the crate. Mike managed to get away from it as he was released from its hold. The Seviper's tail lashed out to the crate's top and closed it up again, hissing.
Kat stood back, trembling a little as the complete fear finally set into her mind. She breathed out shakily and shook her head. "Alright, or we'll not sneak on... That works too," she said, then walked over to Mike and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for that save," she thanked him with a small grin. Had he not stopped the Seviper she would be in a lot of pain, possibly dead.
He shook his head. "Group effort, it would've bitten me if you hadn't distracted it," he said with a smile, hugging her. However, the question of their method of transportation was still going to be a problem.
She smiled back and released him from her hug and then sighed. "Now to figure out how to get to the Sky Pillar..." She muttered. "Any ideas?" She asked him to see if he might be able to think of any ideas because any she had were incredibly risky and extremely flawed.
He opened his mouth to speak, then something moved nearby. "Looking for a ship?" Something whispered from behind a crate, and something slid out to them. it was a small card, marked with a rainbow. "Show the man on the docks that card, and he'll be forced to give you a ship. not the ferry, but it'll get you around," the mysterious one said, then the sound of something moving and then splashing into the water was the only thing left. Mike picked up the card, blinking.
Kat looked at the card in Mike's hands curiously before shrugging. "Wonder who that was, but might as well give it a try, right?" She asked. They didn't need a ferry as long as it floated and kept out any Sharpedos.
He rubbed his chin, looking it over. "I dunno... it looks a bit shady," he muttered. He was talking about a card with a rainbow on it, though, so that argument didn't hold much water. "Well... I suppose we can check if it works," he sighed, handing it to her.
She took it and shrugged again. "We've got nothing to lose," she said. They didn't have anything of any real value with them that she could think of, so if the person who had just handed over the card was looking for something to steal, they would only find disappointment. She walked back over where the guard was standing and wordlessly showed him the card, looking to see his reaction.
The guard glanced at the card, and looked away, then did a double take and looked at it again with surprise. "A Rainbow pass?!" he exclaimed, his sunglasses falling to his nose and his mouth open. He took a moment to collect himself and put his sunglasses back on properly, then took the card and looked it over. "Wait here," he said, and headed into the ferry for a moment.
Kat couldn't help but laugh about his reaction. "So much for Mr. Macho. Now to see what exactly a rainbow pass does..." she muttered as she managed to calm her small fit of laughter.
After a moment, the guard returned with a man who looked quite seafaring, with a bandanna and an eye patch. He moved the eye patch away, showing it was only for show. "Morphs?" he asked the guard. "They had the rainbow pass, sir," the guard said, and the sailor waved a hand. "You told me, you told me." He then turned to them. "Alright, normally this takes you to the Sevii Islands, in Kanto. yet I take it that isn't your destination. So, where you two headed?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Kat looked at the man curiously as the eye patch was shown to be a fake, but said nothing about it. "We're heading towards the Sky Pillar, if that's alright," she answered him, wondering if the rainbow pass would get them there, or if it was strictly for accessing the far off Sevii Islands. She doubted that they would be able to track down the two legendaries as they had probably already had left and headed towards the meeting place as they would have heard the news before Entei.
"Sky Pillar?" he asked, rubbing his arms as he thought. "... Fine, I'll take you out to the island, but you'll need to go in and get back on your own. I've got a small boat down the docks," he pointed in the general direction, to a fair sized speedboat. "I'll be your captain, then. You can refer to me as Captain Jacob, then. Shall we?" he asked, brushing past them to where his boat was moored.
"Got it," Kat said in response to what he said about getting in and out, resisting the urge to make any pirate remarks that might make this Captain Jacob throw them off the boat. She stood by the boat and helped get it untied and ready to go. After the set up was finished and they were ready to go, she floated into the boat and stood by the side rail, holding on, not trusting her ability to balance once the boat started going, ghost type or not.
Mike hopped in as the captain got into the driver's seat of the boat. "Before you say anything," he said as they started to float out from the docks, "There was a pirate gala on the ferry tonight, I was just well prepared. So no jokes, it's demeaning enough as it is," he said as the motor started, and they began heading east further, so they didn't hit land.
Kat nodded, glad she decided not to say anything. "Ahh... I was wondering about the eye patch..." She said to herself more then anyone else as they started drifting further and further from the docks and land. She honestly had never understood pirates always had an eyepatch.
As they drifted further out, they could see Mossdeep in the far distance, with its large mosslike trees, with labs and such glowing slightly with lights even though it was just about noontime. "Up ahead are some currents. If we try to motor through, we'll break the engine, so I'll turn 'er off when we get there and we can follow the current down to near Sootopolis." He explained, turning back to them.
She nodded again, though she was only half listening at this point, distracted by the scenery. She watched as the sun winked off of the small waves in the sea, glistening and glimmering playfully. She smiled slightly to herself. She liked the look of water, even if she didn't like being in it. "How rough is the current?" she asked him curiously as she continued to watch the water go past them.
"Not too bad, but enough that if you try directing against it it could cause some damage. It makes getting up to Lilycove from here a pain in the ass, though," he said with a nod. Mike was looking down into the water over the railing on the edge of the boat, seeing some Tentacool swimming past.
Kat thought about the it before shrugging. Probably was a pain, with having to go around the current to avoid any damage to your ship. She looked at a few tentacool herself and thought she might have seen a Mantine, though she might have imagined it as she believed Mantines did not exist in Hoenn.
"You guys don't mind if I trail a line while we're out here, do you?" he asked, motioning to a fishing pole on the front of his boat. "There's always a chance to fish, and all, and since we're out here anyway..." he shrugged.
She shook her head. "Not at all," she responded with a glance to Mike to see if he cared about it. She thought it might be fun to watch the captain go fishing and see what he managed to catch, and there was rarely anything too dangerous out at sea.
"I don't mind," Mike waved a hand, leaning back in his chair calmly as he watched the captain get set up, putting the fishing pole into a small hole in the back of the boat and fetching a tackle box as well. After about three minutes to set up, he was ready, and slowed the boat down a bit. "Alright, we'll be fine coasting like this. Still a while to go," he said, sitting down and kicking his feet up.
Kat watched the line trail out and stop after a few moments before watching the water and finally turned away from it. She didn't take a seat anywhere, but leaned against the side, holding to the rail so she wouldn't lose her balance and fall wherever. She tilted her head up and looked at the sky as it was still sprinkling a little, though she spotted some nastier looking clouds in the west. She hoped they didn't run into those later on.
The ship swayed and rocked a little as they sat and waited, drifting along slowly as they calmly moved through the water. After a moment, the fishing pole jerked, and Jacob grabbed it before it slipped away, holding the rod with both hands as something caught on the end. "Shit," he muttered, pulling back on it.
Her attention returned once more to the boat as the captain struggled against his catch. She cautiously walked over so she wouldn't be in the way of his catch but she would be able to see. She looked over the side to see if she could catch a glimpse of what had taken the bait. Seemed big, whatever it was. "Need any help with it?" She asked Captain Jacob, doubtful he would accept the offer, but never hurt to ask.
"Get a net, up front," he told her, and Mike went ahead and found one up on the front of the boat, bringing it back and holding it for when the fish emerged. slowly, a shadow could be seen under the water, and the line pulled out again, and the boat seemed to jerk back slightly from the force of it. "Shit," Jacob muttered again.
"Whoa." Kat had to steady herself after the boat being jerked like that and deemed it safer to float rather then stay on the surface of the boat. She watched the shadow rise and wondered slightly what it could be, the form of the fish starting to take shape. Well, they would see soon enough.
As the shadows floated up higher, the water above it parted slightly, and a menacing looking fin like a dark blue shark's emerged from the waters below, and the glint of red eyes shone from a sharpedo as it tugged the line again. "Damn!" Captain Jacob pulled back harshly, and the pole strained as the sharpedo flailed around below, trying to get the bait... or pull them back.
"Always the ones with sharp teeth." She muttered, cursing their luck that gave them a Seviper earlier and now a Sharpedo. She stood back a little, readying herself in case its sharp fin sliced through the net. She returned to look over the side at a safe distance, a small shadow ball in hand as it seemed to be fighting a losing battle against the captain, more of its body begin to emerge from the water, little by little.
He gritted his teeth and pulled quickly, the Sharpedo emerging with its head above water, the line clenched between two of its teeth. It shook its head violently, and the rod almost slipped from the captains hands, but he held on, Mike helping him keep hold of it. They both pulled up, and the Sharpedo broke from the water, sailing through the air with a surprised, yet still determined look on it's face, before it flopped onto the middle of the boat, thrashing around. "Hit it!" Jacob shouted to Kat, meaning her shadow ball.
She nodded and moved back a little at first, but tossed the shadow ball at the Sharpedo and quickly made another and threw that out as well, looking at its size and unwilling to allow it a chance to attack back. Though there was a small pause in the time it took to make a second ball, she was pretty confident the first one stunned it long enough to allow her that pause for the second.
The Sharpedo grunted as it was hit, it's flopping ceasing, as it rolled over and seemed to be weakened. The captain pulled out a knife, turning it in his hand before moving over to the Sharpedo, planning on using it for meat. But with it flopping around like this, it would only make a mess of things, he figured.
Kat leaned against the side of the boat again, content that she had weakened it so that it wouldn't do any harm. Her eyes widened as she saw the small glint of light off the knife and instantly got back up again as he moved towards the Sharpedo. "Wait, what are you doing?" she asked the captain, another shadow ball unconsciously forming in her hand, a form of defense, though she didn't even notice it was there.
"Cutting the line out. What are you doing?" he asked, putting his hand down to where the fishing line was wrapped around the Sharpedo's teeth. he cut it loose, and the fish flailed around again as it got free, but the captain stepped back. "Alright... now there's a Sharpedo on my ship," he muttered as Kat rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment as he simply cut the line out. "Knives just make me nervous, sorry," she apologized sheepishly. The shadow ball remained in her hands until she glanced down and saw it and finally realized that she had summoned it and then willed it away. In any case, the captain was right. There was a Sharpedo on the ship now, though she had just assumed he would catch it and that would be that, it seemed not. She shrugged. "I'll throw it back out if you want." She offered.
"No, I got it. My catch, I'll throw it," he said, moving around to the side of the Sharpedo, making sure it wasn't moving as he put one hand up on it's fin, pulling it up slightly, the rough skin rubbing his hand slightly as he lifted it. "alright, one, two..." he picked it up with a huff, and then carried it to the edge of the boat, before tossing it out into the water. She watched as he threw it back out and opened her mouth to mention something, but decided against it. In hindsight, it might have been a little safer for him to allow her or Mike throw it back out. They didn't run a risk of getting infected with the virus, like he did, but she supposed it didn't matter, as long as he hadn't been cut by the Sharpedo. There was also the chance that the Sharpedo hadn't gotten the virus, but seeing as it traveled through water, that was doubtful.
He wiped his hands on his pants, noticing the sharpedo skin had made his hands rougher than usual. He was used to the harsh nature of the sea, and his hands were callous, so the rough skin didn't even phase him. He went back to the wheel, after he successfully got his catch. "Entering rough water..." he muttered, noticing the current picking up, and he killed the engine. She glanced down to his pants and saw no blood, so that was at least some good news. Looking back up as he mentioned rough water, she nervously peered over the side. "Just how rough?" she asked, unsure if she should hold onto the side of the boat again so she didn't lose her balance.
"Not too rough..." he said, looking around as the boat rocked slightly, but continued coasting on course. Mike held on to the railing as it hit a small wave, tipping slightly before stabilizing again. "I'd hang on," Jacob said, walking over to one of the seats and opening it, tossing them both life vests, and putting on his own. One hand grabbed the railing and the other caught the vest thrown to her, as Kat floated in the air for a few moments as she struggled putting on the stupid life vest. She lightly growled at it, which seemed to work as she finally fitted it right. "Ha!" she said triumphantly with a grin and landed back on the deck, just as it tilted with another wave. She was knocked off balance but managed to stay on her feet as she clung to the side railing.
The boat rocked constantly as they sailed in deeper, and the clouds started to darken as they could begin to see the top of Sootopolis in the distance. "Hope the bowl hasn't filled yet," Mike muttered, his vest already on. Jacob stood to go back to the wheel, and the boat lurched, sending him backwards. "Shit," he muttered, stopping a moment before he flipped over the railing. "Grab the wheel," he called as he tried to get up, but the floor was slippery. Kat floated forwards and took the wheel, not liking the dark clouds at all at the moment. She could only hope she could figure out how to steer this thing, but found it easier than she believed it would be. She kept the boat pretty much on course, having to fight the current a little while she waited for Captain Jacob to return and take over.
He finally got back up, as the boat seemed to float calmly for a moment. it was just long enough for him to get his footing back, and he took the wheel again. "Alright, we're gonna have to-" He was cut off as the boat rocked again, but this time it wasn't from the current. "What the..." He glanced over the side of the boat as it rolled again, and seemed to veer off his course, because he spat and grabbed the wheel, turning it back the way it was. "Something is under us!" he called. "Ah crap..." Kat muttered as she quickly got out of the way of the captain before leaning over the side to see just what was bumping their boat so violently, and only catching a glimpse of its underwater shadow before the boat thrashed again, nearly throwing her over the side.
She quickly backed away from the side and was thrown off balance again, knocking her onto her back. She looked up at the sudden change in view for a second before getting back up. Alright, that was not fun and whatever was underneath them was about to receive an unpleasant surprise once she figured out what it was as she looked over the side again.
As the boat rocked with the tides, the thing swimming under them continued to ram the underside of their transportation, harder than ever. Mike struggled to keep hold of the railing, but a sudden slam sent him sideways, into the floor. He was taken by surprise and was stunned for a moment, before managing to stand again, the floor of the ship slippery. another jerk of the boat, and he was down again. He looked up as he scrambled to his feet, and noticed their captain was missing. Kat quickly caught onto this when she turned around to say something to him. "Oh no, where's the captain?" she asked Mike, not expecting him to actually answer as she went over and saw that he wasn't at the wheel, nor on the ground. She muttered another "Crap." before quickly scanning the length of the boat, but he was gone. "Mike, take the wheel." She told him before jumping over the side of the boat and floating on the water. "Captain!" She yelled, hoping he would respond so she wouldn't have to go underwater and find him.
"Fucking A!" His voice shouted from nearby water, as the captain's head emerged from the tides as mike grabbed the wheel, keeping the boat steady. "It's a bloody school of Wailmer!" he called over, before disappearing under the surf again. "Shit!" he shouted. "One of them is fucking biting... damn it!" he seemed to struggle, then swam to the boat again, grabbing the side. "Hang on!" Kat called to him, then held her breath and dove underneath the waves with two shadow balls in hand. She fired them off at the Wailmer around the captain. It didn't do too much damage against the Wailmers' massive bulk, but at least it scared them off a little way and got them a safe distance away from him. She resurfaced and took in a deep breath before swimming over to him and boosting him up into the boat again. She quickly flew back into the boat before the Wailmer decided to attack again.
He landed on the deck again, his right leg bloodied and scraped from the Wailmer's bite. They didn't have teeth, but their muscles and the rough bristles in their mouth were enough to tear his skin. "Fuck," he repeated, wincing as the saltwater entered his wounded appendage. "Go below deck and get some bandages," he ordered Mike, limping over to the wheel and taking it. Mike nodded and went to the small hatch below, disappearing inside it for a moment, returning with a first aid kit. Kat landed and leaned against the boat, feeling a little tired from using so many shadow balls. But she only paused for a moment as she looked at her hand and saw blood, not hers but the captain's. She looked over at Mike treating the wound and winced slightly, knowing that it must be pretty painful. She stood and walked over to them, not knowing the first thing about first aid, so she stayed away from the wounded leg, unable to help. "Other than a bloodied leg, are you all right?" she asked Captain Jacob, making sure there were no broken bones to worry about.
"I'll be fine," He told her, shaking himself slightly to get the water out of his clothes. "The Wailmer were moving out as I fell in, they shouldn't bother us for now. but I'm turning the motor back on to get us out of here," he said as Mike finished bandaging him, tossing the first aid back under the deck as Jacob took the wheel again still limping slightly. "Just don't stress it too much," Kat advised, meaning both the engine and his wound. She eyed the bandage that had already soaked up some blood one more time before standing away and went back to the side of the boat, looking over it to find that he was right, the Wailmer were leaving already. Only time could tell if that wound was anything to worry about.
As the boat picked up speed, they began to move through the currents, which shifted slightly, then began to slow as they sped along, passing by the great stone walls of Sootopolis as they continued under them, not having time to stop by. She looked up as there was a shadow in the water, but not in the water itself. There was Sootopolis, their previous destination before they had discovered about the legendaries. She looked to the top of the walls and saw that it hadn't been flooded yet, so that was a good thing. Her eyes went back to the water as they moved past the town. She turned around and walked over to Mike, just to stand by him and enjoy his company.
As she approached, he put his arm around her, holding her next to him as they talked quietly, their captain only concentrating on the route ahead. He began to drift to the right as the turn came up, steering them skillfully around the rocks scattered about the path. She smiled and her head rested slightly on Mike's shoulder once he put his arm around her.
"Hey, Mike? You don't think...?" she asked him quietly, with a small gesture to the captain's leg since he wasn't paying attention at the moment. She wanted to know his opinion on whether the Wailmer had been infected and that's why they had attacked the boat or if there was another reason behind it.
"I can't be sure," he said, shaking his head. "But he'd know, if he was infected..." he looked at their captain's back as he steered, not looking like he was swayed any.
"Either he isn't infected, or he doesn't want to worry us..." she shrugged.
"I don't know, it was just odd though. I mean, I've never heard of a Wailmer attack. Usually they're pretty friendly..." She trailed off before shrugging once more. "I just thought it was weird and thought you might know since you're the smart one," she grinned as she nuzzled against his shoulder slightly.
He smiled, then nodded a little. "If I had to say so... I would think he was, but I don't want to worry him..." he whispered. Captain Jacob turned back to them, "It's bad luck to whisper on a ship!" he shouted over. Mike laughed a little, nodding as she hugged her closer to him. She laughed as well as she was hugged closer. She didn't quite believe in superstitions like that, but hey, who was she to go against the captain? Besides, she didn't want to curse the ship when the trip had finally begun to calm down. She gave Mike a small kiss on the cheek when he was not looking before turning her head to look out at the water, seemingly much calmer then it had been before when the current had been rougher.
As they completed the right hand turn, the sky up ahead was clear, and the Sky Pillar could be seen up ahead. "Almost there..." Mike said into her ear, nipping it a little as the boat swayed with the slow tide. The captain hit the gas again, not wanting to waste it as they coasted, and the rain lessened as they sailed past rocks and Pokemon, a few Wingull flying behind them. She looked towards the tall Sky Pillar and smiled slightly, knowing how close they were. She slightly wondered in the back in her head what the legendary Rayquaza would be like. All she had to go by were the stories that she had been told as a kid, like most tales of legendary Pokemon. "Can't wait," she replied and gave his neck a small nip since he had nipped her ear.
Suddenly, the boat seemed to stop, and Jacob looked around. "What the hell? Must be caught on some seaweed below us," he muttered, getting out a pole, which he prodded at the underside of the boat, to get what was on them off. As he prodded what seemed like a Tentacool, he looked out at the water and began to get seasick, all of a sudden, quickly holding his head over the edge and vomiting.
"Captain?" Mike stood. Kat looked concerned and pulled away from Mike's embrace. "Are you alright?" She asked the captain as she walked over to him, making sure he was alright. She wouldn't expect a captain to become sea sick so suddenly, so there had to be something wrong.
"Swallowed seawater..." he muttered, coughing again as he pulled back. "I'll be fine. Only a bit more to go, though," he said, wiping his mouth with a sleeve, taking the wheel again. his eyes were narrowed and intent as he let the boat roar, tilting it back slightly as it sped up, waves crashing on the bow as they rode faster in the direction of the Sky Pillar. She watched the captain for a few more moments as he handled the wheel, before giving a soft sigh and a shake of her head. She doubted it was the seawater, but she wasn't about to create an argument right before they reached the Sky Pillar. She stood next to Mike again as she watched the large tower grow closer and larger as it seemed to loom over them.
Up ahead, a string of rocks was in their path, and gaining quickly as he increased the throttle further, and the captain turned quickly, sending up a spray of seawater as his body seemed to clench up, and he held back a yelp of pain as he felt warmth flooding over him. They were right on the path to Sky Pillar, yet another rocky barrier was in their way. She had to steady herself with the help of the side rail after that sharp turn which revealed the rocks that stood in their path. She considered blowing the rocks away with a shadow ball, but that seemed way too risky as there would be no telling if the gap would be deep enough for the boat to pass. She also thought of asking the captain to circle around the island and see if there was a gap, but with what seemed to be a transformation at hand, she thought it best to stay quiet and leave the captain alone.
As the rocks came in quickly, the boat veered sideways and turned, its hull scraping one of the rocks as they made a 180 degree turn, splashing water around as they continued down a path parallel to the one that brought them there. The Sky Pillar was towering over them, and they passed under its shadow as the captain coughed sideways, sending blood over the side of the boat. as he turned back to the path ahead, he sped up, turning sharply again, back onto another parallel waterway. She kept her grip on the rail, now especially unwilling to let go as it seemed they were going in a dizzying circle.
She watched the small streak of red go over the side of the boat and decided now to speak. "Captain, what are you doing?" She asked, still keeping to the rail in case the boat spun again, a very likely happening since they were heading back towards the rocks.
The boat suddenly seemed to slow down as it coasted, the captain steering it around a small corner, before the beach was in view, as well as a cavern up ahead. This was the route to Sky Pillar, of course, and the complex waterway to get there would have wasted time the captain didn't have.
"Go!" he told them, coughing again. "Send my regards to Rayquaza, if you make it!" he said with a bloodied smile, motioning to the beach ahead.
Ah, so that had been the way in... Kat nodded to the captain's request. "Will do. Take care of yourself." She told him, hoping he would be alright. She might have been a little more concerned about his condition if they didn't have work to do. She smirked slightly as a small idea on how to get to the beach entered her mind and went behind Mike, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Ally-oop," she said before kicking off the boat and floating into the air with him in her arms and floated out of the boat and to the beach. "Oof... No more pudding cups for you, love," she teased him jokingly as they landed on the soft sand, taking advantage of the position to nuzzle his neck before letting go and coming to stand beside him. "Shall we?" she asked him with a smile, looking at the gigantic height they would have to climb.
He opened one eye as she nuzzled him, and gave a small groan as he rolled off her, keeping one arm draped over her body. "Ugh, what a nightmare..." he muttered, rubbing his eyes, and looking over to her.
"How did you sleep?" he asked her quietly.
"I had a nightmare too," she said in response to what he had said first, but then shrugged. "I slept fine though. I don't even remember what it was about," she added. "What went on in yours?" She asked him curiously, intrigued by the coincidence that they had both had a nightmare.
He glanced away, unsure himself. He could remember one detail, however... "Flowers... Strange, I know, but something to do with flowers. I'm not sure what." He shook his head. "It's not important, I guess..." he grunted, rolling off the side of the bed, coming to a crash on the floor next to it. He chuckled, brushing himself off and sitting up.
"Flowers in a nightmare... there's a combination you don't hear everyday," Kat remarked as she floated out of bed. It was pretty odd, but still, anything was possible in dreams. As he remarked that it wasn't important, she gave a small shrug. "Aw, I wouldn't say that. After all, some say dreams can predict the future," she said before grinning. "Maybe we'll be attacked by killer Bellosom," she joked, walking over to his side of the bed and offering him a hand to help him up.
"It's probably some strange symbolic stuff. You know the crazy way fate works and all," he said, taking her hand and standing. He looked down to her with a small smile, then his smile turned to a frown. "Are you... ready to go?" he asked quietly. Kat sighed and nodded. "Yeah... Let's get the sad good-byes out of the way." She said, wanting to get the farewell over with quickly, like a shot; maybe it would be less painful that way. She headed over to the door and opened it, allowing more of the mornings light to shine through, even through the rain that seemed to have lightened a little.
"Huh." He poked his head outside, looking up. The sky was blue again, yet still raining. not as heavily, but there were large puddles all around, and several of the holes he and Kairi had made were filling with water. "Let's make it quick, then." he nodded, stepping outside tenderly, so he didn't get too muddy. She floated off the ground so she didn't get muddy, but walked along with Mike as the headed towards Kairi's hut. It was surprising how it could still be raining with the sun out, a little sun shower she supposed. It was actually kind of pretty in its own little way, a balance between the whether. But now they stood in front of the door, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the ground. She sighed and knocked on the door, seeing if Kairi was even awake or not.
The hut was silent as they knocked, and only the sound of rain on the roof was apparent as they waited. Mike blinked, stepping up to the door and pushing; surprisingly, it opened. "Kairi?" he asked, stepping inside. Her room was made, and her stuff was missing. He walked over to the bed, which had been made nicely, and picked up a piece of paper on it. He looked at it, and then gave a small sigh, looking away as he seemed to... smile?
"Hmm... Where did she go?" A confused Kat asked as she looked around the familiar room that suddenly wasn't all too familiar with Kairi's things gone. She glanced over to Mike to see him smiling and noticed the small note in his hand. "What's it say?" She asked him as she reached over to take the note and read it for herself. He passed it over to her. There were only a few lines, reading:
"Came to say goodbye, huh? You're not getting rid of me that easily, you know. I'll meet you soon enough, guys!" and then a small heart, with a fingerprint, reminiscent of a dog stamping its paw as its signature. Under it, there was a Post Script. "P.S., I left a few effects in my top drawer Kat might remember, to make sure you meet with me again. Take those along, would you?" her letter asked.
Kat smiled, and then laughed as she read the letter. "Ah, once we meet up with Kairi... remind me to whack her in the head for making it seem like a goodbye," she said to Mike with a small smile. Well, it seemed their friend was tagging along after all. Kat opened up the top drawer and took out the effects Kairi had left and slid them into her bag quickly. "Well then, guess it's off to Lilycove now." She said as she closed the drawer.
Mike laughed, wiping his eye a little. "She must have been planning this..." he smiled, putting the note into his bag, then turning back to Kat.
"Let's go, then," he smiled. She nodded and the two of them headed outside of the hut. It had seemed now they had both become victims of Kairi's little pranks. "Alright, now to find our way from out of this village..." she said, looking around before closing her eyes. "And the exit is... that way," she finished, pointing in some random direction. Well that was one way of finding your way. She smiled to Mike and headed forward into the woods.
He walked behind her, putting his hands behind his head as they walked through the forest, away from the village. Mike caught up and walked next to her, asking if she really know which was was the right direction or not.
"Erm..." She hesitated, looking around for a momment before nodding. "Sure, its as good a direction as any other." She confidently said she had absolutely no clue as to where they were heading. She had never had a very good sense of direction.
He groaned, but shrugged, following her until the trees parted slightly, and the main road was just up ahead. Hopefully they were going the right direction, he thought, poking his head out of the trees and looking around the road.
"Ha, knew it was the right direction," she grinned triumphantly and looked up to the sky. Now to figure out which way was east - that she could tell as much. "Alright then, this way," she said as they headed down the road in the direction the sun had risen, off towards Lilycove.
He blinked as she started walking, taking a few steps forward and thinking, then nodded and followed behind her with his tail swaying a little. They walked down the path towards Lilycove; or at least what was left of it after the virus hit.
Soon, after a bit of walking and Kat mumbling to herself about whether she had indeed picked the right direction or not, they arrived at the major city. It seemed much emptier than it normally had, as most morphs had left already and because the Pokemon Contest Hall was closed, there was certainly no reason for the tourists to stick around. The Contest Hall itself was a bit of a mess as a few windows were broken from when the virus had gripped some performing pokemon. Stray pokemon wandered the streets as did a few people who kept their distance from the pokemon, not knowing whether the virus had taken its effect on them or not. Still, either Kat didn't notice or didn't care as she smiled and sighed. "Ah, sweet Lilycove..." she murmured and then glanced over to where the ferry was. "Seems the ferry's still open, good. Come on," she said to Mike as she took his hand and started to lead him to where the ferry was.
He put his hands behind his head as they walked, a wandering Houndour padding up to them, before bounding away again. They wandered to the docks, where a single ferry was waiting, bobbing in the water slowly. a rough looking bouncer type was standing in front of the entrance to the ferry, and eyed them as they walked up. "Ferry's closed," he told them. "We're working on shipping humans off the mainland, no room for pokemorphs." he said, crossing his arms.
"Aw, we're just heading to the Sky Pillar, not all too far from where you guys are probably heading. Can't we just hitch a ride at least half way?" she asked, seeing if she could reason with the guy, because short of hitching a ride on a Wailmer, the ferry was the only way to the Sky Pillar.
"Can't do it," he said, shaking his head. "Gotta tend to the people aboard. And most are afraid of your kind. Can't be done, or else it would start an uproar with the crew."
She sighed. Well, that was unfair, but she saw the reason behind it. "Alright, fine," she said in defeat, before gesturing to Mike to come, since it seemed they weren't going to get past the body guard. She led him away before leaning against the wall of a small, abandoned house, looking at the ferry. "Well... That went well..." she muttered, then noticed something. Some crates, probably food and water, were being loaded onto the ferry. "Hey Mike, do you think we would fit in a wooded crate about this tall and this wide?" she asked him curiously as she pointed out the approximate measurements of the crate. People can't be bothered by things they can't see.
He groaned. "I don't think it would be the best method of getting to Sky Pillar..." He grumbled, trying to think of a different method. He then sighed, giving up on that. "Fine, pick a box," he said, crossing his arms. It wouldn't be comfortable, but it would get them there, at least.
"Don't worry, we can sneak into an empty room once we're too far away from land for them to turn back around if they do catch us," she assured him, unwilling to stay in a box for the whole entire trip. She looked at the pile of boxes that remained unloaded and picked out the biggest one. She faded out of sight, becoming invisible. She gingerly crept over to it, careful the packers didn't sense her presence and moved it a little way away so that it would be hidden from sight until they started on the other pile of boxes. She opened it and emptied it silently before setting it up right and getting in, leaving enough room for Mike. She winced, looking at the open box; it was definitely a tight squeeze, but it would do.
As she climbed into the box, something slipped in around her, and in the darkness, something red glowed as it reared up to look at her; fangs glistening on black scales, as a Seviper appeared to be inside the crate she had hopped inside.
As soon as she saw the red eyes she froze, looking into the almost hypnotic glare before remembering to look away. 'Alright, don't panic. Don't panic, just get back out very slowly. Very slowly,' She thought to herself to calm her racing heart as she tried to inch back out of the box without giving the Seviper a reason to attack her with those very sharp, very poisonous fangs and tail blade.
As she backed off, the Seviper's tongue caught a hint of her fear, and it gave a low hissing noise before springing at her. Before it could attack, however, Mike had his hand around it's tail, just above the tail blade. "Move!" he whispered harshly to her as the Seviper tried to move, only to be stopped by him. it turned around and was planning on lunching at Mike, next, its fangs glistening with purple toxins.
She got out of the box extremely quick and as soon as she was out, she focused her mind enough to create an illusion of a very large and angry Zangoose, a Seviper's natural enemy, in order to distract it from attacking Mike and attack the illusion first, giving Mike a chance to get away. "Zangoooooose!" the hallucination cried to draw the Seviper's attention.
The Seviper, startled by the Zangoose's sudden appearance, halted its attack and drew itself back into the crate. Mike managed to get away from it as he was released from its hold. The Seviper's tail lashed out to the crate's top and closed it up again, hissing.
Kat stood back, trembling a little as the complete fear finally set into her mind. She breathed out shakily and shook her head. "Alright, or we'll not sneak on... That works too," she said, then walked over to Mike and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for that save," she thanked him with a small grin. Had he not stopped the Seviper she would be in a lot of pain, possibly dead.
He shook his head. "Group effort, it would've bitten me if you hadn't distracted it," he said with a smile, hugging her. However, the question of their method of transportation was still going to be a problem.
She smiled back and released him from her hug and then sighed. "Now to figure out how to get to the Sky Pillar..." She muttered. "Any ideas?" She asked him to see if he might be able to think of any ideas because any she had were incredibly risky and extremely flawed.
He opened his mouth to speak, then something moved nearby. "Looking for a ship?" Something whispered from behind a crate, and something slid out to them. it was a small card, marked with a rainbow. "Show the man on the docks that card, and he'll be forced to give you a ship. not the ferry, but it'll get you around," the mysterious one said, then the sound of something moving and then splashing into the water was the only thing left. Mike picked up the card, blinking.
Kat looked at the card in Mike's hands curiously before shrugging. "Wonder who that was, but might as well give it a try, right?" She asked. They didn't need a ferry as long as it floated and kept out any Sharpedos.
He rubbed his chin, looking it over. "I dunno... it looks a bit shady," he muttered. He was talking about a card with a rainbow on it, though, so that argument didn't hold much water. "Well... I suppose we can check if it works," he sighed, handing it to her.
She took it and shrugged again. "We've got nothing to lose," she said. They didn't have anything of any real value with them that she could think of, so if the person who had just handed over the card was looking for something to steal, they would only find disappointment. She walked back over where the guard was standing and wordlessly showed him the card, looking to see his reaction.
The guard glanced at the card, and looked away, then did a double take and looked at it again with surprise. "A Rainbow pass?!" he exclaimed, his sunglasses falling to his nose and his mouth open. He took a moment to collect himself and put his sunglasses back on properly, then took the card and looked it over. "Wait here," he said, and headed into the ferry for a moment.
Kat couldn't help but laugh about his reaction. "So much for Mr. Macho. Now to see what exactly a rainbow pass does..." she muttered as she managed to calm her small fit of laughter.
After a moment, the guard returned with a man who looked quite seafaring, with a bandanna and an eye patch. He moved the eye patch away, showing it was only for show. "Morphs?" he asked the guard. "They had the rainbow pass, sir," the guard said, and the sailor waved a hand. "You told me, you told me." He then turned to them. "Alright, normally this takes you to the Sevii Islands, in Kanto. yet I take it that isn't your destination. So, where you two headed?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Kat looked at the man curiously as the eye patch was shown to be a fake, but said nothing about it. "We're heading towards the Sky Pillar, if that's alright," she answered him, wondering if the rainbow pass would get them there, or if it was strictly for accessing the far off Sevii Islands. She doubted that they would be able to track down the two legendaries as they had probably already had left and headed towards the meeting place as they would have heard the news before Entei.
"Sky Pillar?" he asked, rubbing his arms as he thought. "... Fine, I'll take you out to the island, but you'll need to go in and get back on your own. I've got a small boat down the docks," he pointed in the general direction, to a fair sized speedboat. "I'll be your captain, then. You can refer to me as Captain Jacob, then. Shall we?" he asked, brushing past them to where his boat was moored.
"Got it," Kat said in response to what he said about getting in and out, resisting the urge to make any pirate remarks that might make this Captain Jacob throw them off the boat. She stood by the boat and helped get it untied and ready to go. After the set up was finished and they were ready to go, she floated into the boat and stood by the side rail, holding on, not trusting her ability to balance once the boat started going, ghost type or not.
Mike hopped in as the captain got into the driver's seat of the boat. "Before you say anything," he said as they started to float out from the docks, "There was a pirate gala on the ferry tonight, I was just well prepared. So no jokes, it's demeaning enough as it is," he said as the motor started, and they began heading east further, so they didn't hit land.
Kat nodded, glad she decided not to say anything. "Ahh... I was wondering about the eye patch..." She said to herself more then anyone else as they started drifting further and further from the docks and land. She honestly had never understood pirates always had an eyepatch.
As they drifted further out, they could see Mossdeep in the far distance, with its large mosslike trees, with labs and such glowing slightly with lights even though it was just about noontime. "Up ahead are some currents. If we try to motor through, we'll break the engine, so I'll turn 'er off when we get there and we can follow the current down to near Sootopolis." He explained, turning back to them.
She nodded again, though she was only half listening at this point, distracted by the scenery. She watched as the sun winked off of the small waves in the sea, glistening and glimmering playfully. She smiled slightly to herself. She liked the look of water, even if she didn't like being in it. "How rough is the current?" she asked him curiously as she continued to watch the water go past them.
"Not too bad, but enough that if you try directing against it it could cause some damage. It makes getting up to Lilycove from here a pain in the ass, though," he said with a nod. Mike was looking down into the water over the railing on the edge of the boat, seeing some Tentacool swimming past.
Kat thought about the it before shrugging. Probably was a pain, with having to go around the current to avoid any damage to your ship. She looked at a few tentacool herself and thought she might have seen a Mantine, though she might have imagined it as she believed Mantines did not exist in Hoenn.
"You guys don't mind if I trail a line while we're out here, do you?" he asked, motioning to a fishing pole on the front of his boat. "There's always a chance to fish, and all, and since we're out here anyway..." he shrugged.
She shook her head. "Not at all," she responded with a glance to Mike to see if he cared about it. She thought it might be fun to watch the captain go fishing and see what he managed to catch, and there was rarely anything too dangerous out at sea.
"I don't mind," Mike waved a hand, leaning back in his chair calmly as he watched the captain get set up, putting the fishing pole into a small hole in the back of the boat and fetching a tackle box as well. After about three minutes to set up, he was ready, and slowed the boat down a bit. "Alright, we'll be fine coasting like this. Still a while to go," he said, sitting down and kicking his feet up.
Kat watched the line trail out and stop after a few moments before watching the water and finally turned away from it. She didn't take a seat anywhere, but leaned against the side, holding to the rail so she wouldn't lose her balance and fall wherever. She tilted her head up and looked at the sky as it was still sprinkling a little, though she spotted some nastier looking clouds in the west. She hoped they didn't run into those later on.
The ship swayed and rocked a little as they sat and waited, drifting along slowly as they calmly moved through the water. After a moment, the fishing pole jerked, and Jacob grabbed it before it slipped away, holding the rod with both hands as something caught on the end. "Shit," he muttered, pulling back on it.
Her attention returned once more to the boat as the captain struggled against his catch. She cautiously walked over so she wouldn't be in the way of his catch but she would be able to see. She looked over the side to see if she could catch a glimpse of what had taken the bait. Seemed big, whatever it was. "Need any help with it?" She asked Captain Jacob, doubtful he would accept the offer, but never hurt to ask.
"Get a net, up front," he told her, and Mike went ahead and found one up on the front of the boat, bringing it back and holding it for when the fish emerged. slowly, a shadow could be seen under the water, and the line pulled out again, and the boat seemed to jerk back slightly from the force of it. "Shit," Jacob muttered again.
"Whoa." Kat had to steady herself after the boat being jerked like that and deemed it safer to float rather then stay on the surface of the boat. She watched the shadow rise and wondered slightly what it could be, the form of the fish starting to take shape. Well, they would see soon enough.
As the shadows floated up higher, the water above it parted slightly, and a menacing looking fin like a dark blue shark's emerged from the waters below, and the glint of red eyes shone from a sharpedo as it tugged the line again. "Damn!" Captain Jacob pulled back harshly, and the pole strained as the sharpedo flailed around below, trying to get the bait... or pull them back.
"Always the ones with sharp teeth." She muttered, cursing their luck that gave them a Seviper earlier and now a Sharpedo. She stood back a little, readying herself in case its sharp fin sliced through the net. She returned to look over the side at a safe distance, a small shadow ball in hand as it seemed to be fighting a losing battle against the captain, more of its body begin to emerge from the water, little by little.
He gritted his teeth and pulled quickly, the Sharpedo emerging with its head above water, the line clenched between two of its teeth. It shook its head violently, and the rod almost slipped from the captains hands, but he held on, Mike helping him keep hold of it. They both pulled up, and the Sharpedo broke from the water, sailing through the air with a surprised, yet still determined look on it's face, before it flopped onto the middle of the boat, thrashing around. "Hit it!" Jacob shouted to Kat, meaning her shadow ball.
She nodded and moved back a little at first, but tossed the shadow ball at the Sharpedo and quickly made another and threw that out as well, looking at its size and unwilling to allow it a chance to attack back. Though there was a small pause in the time it took to make a second ball, she was pretty confident the first one stunned it long enough to allow her that pause for the second.
The Sharpedo grunted as it was hit, it's flopping ceasing, as it rolled over and seemed to be weakened. The captain pulled out a knife, turning it in his hand before moving over to the Sharpedo, planning on using it for meat. But with it flopping around like this, it would only make a mess of things, he figured.
Kat leaned against the side of the boat again, content that she had weakened it so that it wouldn't do any harm. Her eyes widened as she saw the small glint of light off the knife and instantly got back up again as he moved towards the Sharpedo. "Wait, what are you doing?" she asked the captain, another shadow ball unconsciously forming in her hand, a form of defense, though she didn't even notice it was there.
"Cutting the line out. What are you doing?" he asked, putting his hand down to where the fishing line was wrapped around the Sharpedo's teeth. he cut it loose, and the fish flailed around again as it got free, but the captain stepped back. "Alright... now there's a Sharpedo on my ship," he muttered as Kat rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment as he simply cut the line out. "Knives just make me nervous, sorry," she apologized sheepishly. The shadow ball remained in her hands until she glanced down and saw it and finally realized that she had summoned it and then willed it away. In any case, the captain was right. There was a Sharpedo on the ship now, though she had just assumed he would catch it and that would be that, it seemed not. She shrugged. "I'll throw it back out if you want." She offered.
"No, I got it. My catch, I'll throw it," he said, moving around to the side of the Sharpedo, making sure it wasn't moving as he put one hand up on it's fin, pulling it up slightly, the rough skin rubbing his hand slightly as he lifted it. "alright, one, two..." he picked it up with a huff, and then carried it to the edge of the boat, before tossing it out into the water. She watched as he threw it back out and opened her mouth to mention something, but decided against it. In hindsight, it might have been a little safer for him to allow her or Mike throw it back out. They didn't run a risk of getting infected with the virus, like he did, but she supposed it didn't matter, as long as he hadn't been cut by the Sharpedo. There was also the chance that the Sharpedo hadn't gotten the virus, but seeing as it traveled through water, that was doubtful.
He wiped his hands on his pants, noticing the sharpedo skin had made his hands rougher than usual. He was used to the harsh nature of the sea, and his hands were callous, so the rough skin didn't even phase him. He went back to the wheel, after he successfully got his catch. "Entering rough water..." he muttered, noticing the current picking up, and he killed the engine. She glanced down to his pants and saw no blood, so that was at least some good news. Looking back up as he mentioned rough water, she nervously peered over the side. "Just how rough?" she asked, unsure if she should hold onto the side of the boat again so she didn't lose her balance.
"Not too rough..." he said, looking around as the boat rocked slightly, but continued coasting on course. Mike held on to the railing as it hit a small wave, tipping slightly before stabilizing again. "I'd hang on," Jacob said, walking over to one of the seats and opening it, tossing them both life vests, and putting on his own. One hand grabbed the railing and the other caught the vest thrown to her, as Kat floated in the air for a few moments as she struggled putting on the stupid life vest. She lightly growled at it, which seemed to work as she finally fitted it right. "Ha!" she said triumphantly with a grin and landed back on the deck, just as it tilted with another wave. She was knocked off balance but managed to stay on her feet as she clung to the side railing.
The boat rocked constantly as they sailed in deeper, and the clouds started to darken as they could begin to see the top of Sootopolis in the distance. "Hope the bowl hasn't filled yet," Mike muttered, his vest already on. Jacob stood to go back to the wheel, and the boat lurched, sending him backwards. "Shit," he muttered, stopping a moment before he flipped over the railing. "Grab the wheel," he called as he tried to get up, but the floor was slippery. Kat floated forwards and took the wheel, not liking the dark clouds at all at the moment. She could only hope she could figure out how to steer this thing, but found it easier than she believed it would be. She kept the boat pretty much on course, having to fight the current a little while she waited for Captain Jacob to return and take over.
He finally got back up, as the boat seemed to float calmly for a moment. it was just long enough for him to get his footing back, and he took the wheel again. "Alright, we're gonna have to-" He was cut off as the boat rocked again, but this time it wasn't from the current. "What the..." He glanced over the side of the boat as it rolled again, and seemed to veer off his course, because he spat and grabbed the wheel, turning it back the way it was. "Something is under us!" he called. "Ah crap..." Kat muttered as she quickly got out of the way of the captain before leaning over the side to see just what was bumping their boat so violently, and only catching a glimpse of its underwater shadow before the boat thrashed again, nearly throwing her over the side.
She quickly backed away from the side and was thrown off balance again, knocking her onto her back. She looked up at the sudden change in view for a second before getting back up. Alright, that was not fun and whatever was underneath them was about to receive an unpleasant surprise once she figured out what it was as she looked over the side again.
As the boat rocked with the tides, the thing swimming under them continued to ram the underside of their transportation, harder than ever. Mike struggled to keep hold of the railing, but a sudden slam sent him sideways, into the floor. He was taken by surprise and was stunned for a moment, before managing to stand again, the floor of the ship slippery. another jerk of the boat, and he was down again. He looked up as he scrambled to his feet, and noticed their captain was missing. Kat quickly caught onto this when she turned around to say something to him. "Oh no, where's the captain?" she asked Mike, not expecting him to actually answer as she went over and saw that he wasn't at the wheel, nor on the ground. She muttered another "Crap." before quickly scanning the length of the boat, but he was gone. "Mike, take the wheel." She told him before jumping over the side of the boat and floating on the water. "Captain!" She yelled, hoping he would respond so she wouldn't have to go underwater and find him.
"Fucking A!" His voice shouted from nearby water, as the captain's head emerged from the tides as mike grabbed the wheel, keeping the boat steady. "It's a bloody school of Wailmer!" he called over, before disappearing under the surf again. "Shit!" he shouted. "One of them is fucking biting... damn it!" he seemed to struggle, then swam to the boat again, grabbing the side. "Hang on!" Kat called to him, then held her breath and dove underneath the waves with two shadow balls in hand. She fired them off at the Wailmer around the captain. It didn't do too much damage against the Wailmers' massive bulk, but at least it scared them off a little way and got them a safe distance away from him. She resurfaced and took in a deep breath before swimming over to him and boosting him up into the boat again. She quickly flew back into the boat before the Wailmer decided to attack again.
He landed on the deck again, his right leg bloodied and scraped from the Wailmer's bite. They didn't have teeth, but their muscles and the rough bristles in their mouth were enough to tear his skin. "Fuck," he repeated, wincing as the saltwater entered his wounded appendage. "Go below deck and get some bandages," he ordered Mike, limping over to the wheel and taking it. Mike nodded and went to the small hatch below, disappearing inside it for a moment, returning with a first aid kit. Kat landed and leaned against the boat, feeling a little tired from using so many shadow balls. But she only paused for a moment as she looked at her hand and saw blood, not hers but the captain's. She looked over at Mike treating the wound and winced slightly, knowing that it must be pretty painful. She stood and walked over to them, not knowing the first thing about first aid, so she stayed away from the wounded leg, unable to help. "Other than a bloodied leg, are you all right?" she asked Captain Jacob, making sure there were no broken bones to worry about.
"I'll be fine," He told her, shaking himself slightly to get the water out of his clothes. "The Wailmer were moving out as I fell in, they shouldn't bother us for now. but I'm turning the motor back on to get us out of here," he said as Mike finished bandaging him, tossing the first aid back under the deck as Jacob took the wheel again still limping slightly. "Just don't stress it too much," Kat advised, meaning both the engine and his wound. She eyed the bandage that had already soaked up some blood one more time before standing away and went back to the side of the boat, looking over it to find that he was right, the Wailmer were leaving already. Only time could tell if that wound was anything to worry about.
As the boat picked up speed, they began to move through the currents, which shifted slightly, then began to slow as they sped along, passing by the great stone walls of Sootopolis as they continued under them, not having time to stop by. She looked up as there was a shadow in the water, but not in the water itself. There was Sootopolis, their previous destination before they had discovered about the legendaries. She looked to the top of the walls and saw that it hadn't been flooded yet, so that was a good thing. Her eyes went back to the water as they moved past the town. She turned around and walked over to Mike, just to stand by him and enjoy his company.
As she approached, he put his arm around her, holding her next to him as they talked quietly, their captain only concentrating on the route ahead. He began to drift to the right as the turn came up, steering them skillfully around the rocks scattered about the path. She smiled and her head rested slightly on Mike's shoulder once he put his arm around her.
"Hey, Mike? You don't think...?" she asked him quietly, with a small gesture to the captain's leg since he wasn't paying attention at the moment. She wanted to know his opinion on whether the Wailmer had been infected and that's why they had attacked the boat or if there was another reason behind it.
"I can't be sure," he said, shaking his head. "But he'd know, if he was infected..." he looked at their captain's back as he steered, not looking like he was swayed any.
"Either he isn't infected, or he doesn't want to worry us..." she shrugged.
"I don't know, it was just odd though. I mean, I've never heard of a Wailmer attack. Usually they're pretty friendly..." She trailed off before shrugging once more. "I just thought it was weird and thought you might know since you're the smart one," she grinned as she nuzzled against his shoulder slightly.
He smiled, then nodded a little. "If I had to say so... I would think he was, but I don't want to worry him..." he whispered. Captain Jacob turned back to them, "It's bad luck to whisper on a ship!" he shouted over. Mike laughed a little, nodding as she hugged her closer to him. She laughed as well as she was hugged closer. She didn't quite believe in superstitions like that, but hey, who was she to go against the captain? Besides, she didn't want to curse the ship when the trip had finally begun to calm down. She gave Mike a small kiss on the cheek when he was not looking before turning her head to look out at the water, seemingly much calmer then it had been before when the current had been rougher.
As they completed the right hand turn, the sky up ahead was clear, and the Sky Pillar could be seen up ahead. "Almost there..." Mike said into her ear, nipping it a little as the boat swayed with the slow tide. The captain hit the gas again, not wanting to waste it as they coasted, and the rain lessened as they sailed past rocks and Pokemon, a few Wingull flying behind them. She looked towards the tall Sky Pillar and smiled slightly, knowing how close they were. She slightly wondered in the back in her head what the legendary Rayquaza would be like. All she had to go by were the stories that she had been told as a kid, like most tales of legendary Pokemon. "Can't wait," she replied and gave his neck a small nip since he had nipped her ear.
Suddenly, the boat seemed to stop, and Jacob looked around. "What the hell? Must be caught on some seaweed below us," he muttered, getting out a pole, which he prodded at the underside of the boat, to get what was on them off. As he prodded what seemed like a Tentacool, he looked out at the water and began to get seasick, all of a sudden, quickly holding his head over the edge and vomiting.
"Captain?" Mike stood. Kat looked concerned and pulled away from Mike's embrace. "Are you alright?" She asked the captain as she walked over to him, making sure he was alright. She wouldn't expect a captain to become sea sick so suddenly, so there had to be something wrong.
"Swallowed seawater..." he muttered, coughing again as he pulled back. "I'll be fine. Only a bit more to go, though," he said, wiping his mouth with a sleeve, taking the wheel again. his eyes were narrowed and intent as he let the boat roar, tilting it back slightly as it sped up, waves crashing on the bow as they rode faster in the direction of the Sky Pillar. She watched the captain for a few more moments as he handled the wheel, before giving a soft sigh and a shake of her head. She doubted it was the seawater, but she wasn't about to create an argument right before they reached the Sky Pillar. She stood next to Mike again as she watched the large tower grow closer and larger as it seemed to loom over them.
Up ahead, a string of rocks was in their path, and gaining quickly as he increased the throttle further, and the captain turned quickly, sending up a spray of seawater as his body seemed to clench up, and he held back a yelp of pain as he felt warmth flooding over him. They were right on the path to Sky Pillar, yet another rocky barrier was in their way. She had to steady herself with the help of the side rail after that sharp turn which revealed the rocks that stood in their path. She considered blowing the rocks away with a shadow ball, but that seemed way too risky as there would be no telling if the gap would be deep enough for the boat to pass. She also thought of asking the captain to circle around the island and see if there was a gap, but with what seemed to be a transformation at hand, she thought it best to stay quiet and leave the captain alone.
As the rocks came in quickly, the boat veered sideways and turned, its hull scraping one of the rocks as they made a 180 degree turn, splashing water around as they continued down a path parallel to the one that brought them there. The Sky Pillar was towering over them, and they passed under its shadow as the captain coughed sideways, sending blood over the side of the boat. as he turned back to the path ahead, he sped up, turning sharply again, back onto another parallel waterway. She kept her grip on the rail, now especially unwilling to let go as it seemed they were going in a dizzying circle.
She watched the small streak of red go over the side of the boat and decided now to speak. "Captain, what are you doing?" She asked, still keeping to the rail in case the boat spun again, a very likely happening since they were heading back towards the rocks.
The boat suddenly seemed to slow down as it coasted, the captain steering it around a small corner, before the beach was in view, as well as a cavern up ahead. This was the route to Sky Pillar, of course, and the complex waterway to get there would have wasted time the captain didn't have.
"Go!" he told them, coughing again. "Send my regards to Rayquaza, if you make it!" he said with a bloodied smile, motioning to the beach ahead.
Ah, so that had been the way in... Kat nodded to the captain's request. "Will do. Take care of yourself." She told him, hoping he would be alright. She might have been a little more concerned about his condition if they didn't have work to do. She smirked slightly as a small idea on how to get to the beach entered her mind and went behind Mike, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Ally-oop," she said before kicking off the boat and floating into the air with him in her arms and floated out of the boat and to the beach. "Oof... No more pudding cups for you, love," she teased him jokingly as they landed on the soft sand, taking advantage of the position to nuzzle his neck before letting go and coming to stand beside him. "Shall we?" she asked him with a smile, looking at the gigantic height they would have to climb.