Chapter Text
Slowly but surely, brightness began funneling its way through the window. The formerly dim room slowly saw that dark vanish. Beneath the sheets, a girl slowly opened her eyes from a very deep sleep. Despite being well conscious now, she felt zero urge to get out of bed. The idea of getting out of bed seemed too much to be asked. The quiet time of laying down was fleeting, but eventually even she couldn't sit still any longer. She was still tired, but not enough to go back to bed.
She looked around slowly, gazing through the orange room. It looked like a hotel room, but there was something off about that presumption. It had it all, two close beds, a television, all that and more. A loud horn blared through the air, reverberating in her still tired eardrums, causing her to wince a little.
“Lune?” To her side, she saw through her foggy feeling and vision a woman sitting next to her bed.
“Oh, you're finally awake my dear. It's almost noon, you know” The girl rubbed her eyes, and looked over towards the woman sharing her pink hair.
“M-mom?” The woman raised her eyes a little, before smiling gently.
“Mhm. Rise and shine sweetie, are you feeling any better?” Lune tilted her head slowly, before nodding softly. She felt so warm next to her, she didn't know why, but she wanted to feel this feeling forever.
“That's wonderful. Once you're ready, we're gonna go walk around the ship, alright?” Lune paused for a second, her words sat with her for a split second.
“Ship..?” Slowly but surely, she nodded in response, still groggy from waking up.
“I need to take care of something really quickly, but I'll be back very soon.” The pink-haired woman smiled as she stood up, and a wave of discomfort washed over her. She quickly reached out her hand, softly grabbing onto her mother’s sleeve.
“Hm? What is it dear?” Lune didn't know what she was doing, she hadn't even processed herself reaching for her arm like she did. “S-stay..” she muttered. Her mother sat still for a moment, contemplating whether or not she could, and a smile crept back onto her face.
“Alright honey, but not too long.” She reached over and grabbed Lune's shoulder and pulled her closer, patting her head gently. She was surprised, she hadn't expected Lune to do something like that at her age, but the 18 year old girl seemed so happy from it she couldn't help but listen to her wish.
Lune sat there, and almost felt her eyes get watery, but before they could her mother stood up. “I'm sorry darling, but I really do need to go. I'll be back in a few minutes alright?”
She stood up, and smiled back at Lune. Lune stared at her blankly, wanting to ask her to stay longer. Yet the words never came out, and her mother took it as an acceptance, leaving Lune on her lonesome. Thinking was somehow really difficult, it felt as if she had been dealing with some tremendous brain fog for the longest time.
She could feel it slowly fading away, bit by bit, so that proper thought could finally prevail. She stretched her arms and let out a yawn, before rubbing her eyes awake again. The cabin room was small, with two beds and 1 bathroom. Still, it was plenty for her to be able to walk around in. Lune gathered her balance after stumbling forward a little. Just how long had she been asleep for?
The bathroom door opened and Lune walked in to wash her face. The grogginess slowly but surely wore off from her mind as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her own pink hair matched her mothers, but her ruby-colored eyes set her apart from her mothers magenta. She looked down, and saw the outfit that gave her a sense of familiarity. A pair of overalls, with a comfy pair of leggings and a white V-neck underneath it all. She shook her head, and moved to walk out of the bathroom. Her pants were out of frame, not even a stool could help her see them in the mirror. Being 5’5 would do that to a person.
The gaps in Lune’s memory slowly were starting to come back to her. According to her mother she was pretty sick the last two days, and could barely function without help. Even walking had been beyond her. “At least that’s done now..” She took a breath and moved to walking out of the bathroom. Though, as she was, she thought she could hear talking through the walls. She thought she had been above eavesdropping, but that was hardly the case.
“You’re late, Nancy. What held you up? You were supposed to be here 3 minutes ago.” Lune couldn’t really see this woman’s face, but her voice was almost certainly laced with a short temper. The type of person you wouldn’t want to cross.
“I’m sorry. Lune had asked me to stay there for a little longer.” Lune’s eyes rose high at hearing her mother speaking, least of all them talking about her. Just.. just who is she talking to?
“That’s good... Maybe she’s starting to calm down.” The woman's tone changed a little, but in what way Lune couldn’t tell. Still, why were they talking about her? She was just under the weather... The door to the bathroom snapped shut as Lune left the room, wanting nothing to do with the conversation they were having. It was wrong of her to eavesdrop anyway. The idea of her being discussed filled her with a unique sense of fear she could barely describe.
Lune walked over to the bed and sat down. There was a TV in the room, maybe she could watch something. Searching slowly for the remote, she finally found it resting atop her mother’s nightstand. Mindless flicking through the buttons, Lune finally got the TV on the default channel. It was the news, nothing exemplary. The newscaster was a yellow-haired girl with a thunderbolt patterned hairstyle, apparently her name was Volta. They were going over a bunch of various stories, but one caught Lune’s eyes in particular; a scattering of pillars have been appearing in a desert portion of the region. Some little place called Sashila Desert, apparently.
Staring at it blankly, Lune felt the premonitions of an incoming headache. She shook her head and turned the TV off, throwing her head back against the pillow behind her. Clearly, bright lights were causing her a problem right now..
The exhaustion was slowly creeping back up on her, the sweet temptation of more sleep spoke to her with gentle whispers but she knew she couldn't sleep in her mother's bed all day either. “Uuuu… Maybe there’s something better..” The TV rotated through the channels again, avoiding the news channel entirely and instead trying to find more pleasant and relaxing shows. There were sports, mostly. Hockey seemed hectic and way too chaotic for her to keep track of right now. And loud. Too loud..
Lune flicked to the next channel, and it was a game called Curling. Though, they were using Pokemon and rolling them around towards a specific point. Apparently it's a sub-type of the sport called Spheal curling. Lune giggled softly watching, they were really cute..
The door creaked open and snatched Lune's attention away from the happy round Spheals. “I'm back dear. Oh, you got the TV on! Did anything catch your interest?” Her mother walked over and sat beside her as Lune pointed towards the TV with a small smile on her face at the Spheal rolling around. “Aww, that's adorable!” Her mother gestured towards her hands. “By the way, you can have this!” She pulled something- no, two things out from behind her. “I got you registered as a trainer. We’ll be stopping by Gearen City to get you a Pokemon.”
“Eh?” Lune’s expression tilted to confusion.
“Mhm. Even if you choose to not battle, being a trainer is always good. You’ll enjoy the company of Pokemon, I’m sure.” Her mother’s smile beamed as bright as the room did, in a way that warmed her up to the idea just a little bit more.
“After that, we’ll take a train to Akuwa town. We’ll be able to enjoy life peacefully there.” Lune liked the sound of that. She vaguely remembered hearing her say that before, probably from yesterday? She had said Akuwa was a coastal town, one where the view was breathtaking. “Also, I got you this. Your old phone broke, so I got you a new one.” Her mother looked at her expectantly, while Lune reached and took the phone and turned it on. “I already registered my number in there.” Lune smiled as the phone turned on properly, displaying all the stuff one would expect from a phone. Her mother was registered as she said she was. Lune smiled a little at the contact; “Nancy”. It wasn’t a Rotom phone or anything, just a standard cell model. She had felt a little naked the whole time, as if something was missing. That feeling had probably.. stemmed from not having a phone, huh?.
Nancy stood up and reached out her hand to her. “Come on, let’s go for a walk. You haven’t been able to enjoy much of the boat yet.” Lune thought about it, but ultimately welcomed the invitation. She took her hand and stood up, still feeling a little wobbly. Nancy reached over and held onto her back. “Do you want me to hold your hand, or are you fine on your own?”
Lune shook her head. She was warm around her, but doing that around other people was a bit embarrassing, or so she thought. The two of them walked out of the door together, and Lune was slightly taken by the scenery of the ship. Despite the room itself being average by all metrics, the open sections of the vessel were far prettier to her. Nicely decorated wallpaper, potted plants, and the sound of an instrument from afar. She couldn’t tell what it was though.
Walking through the corridors, Lune took the scenery in like a star struck child younger than she was, eventually reaching the bow of the ship. Lune’s eyes began sparkling at the sights of the water, something her mother got a chuckle out of. To her mother, even she thought Lune was acting a little childish, but she shrugged that off as a mere intrusive thought. Seeing Lune this happy was a sight for sore eyes, especially with how distant and dazed she had been the past 2 days. Lune walked over to the railing and stared out at the sea, seeing four separate landmasses far in the horizon. She couldn’t make them out, except for the closest one, where she could see tall buildings and a mountain to the northeast of them.
Tilting her head to the left, she saw a girl that stood out to her. She’d walked by a multitude of people on the way here, but she felt like time was stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing her. Her outfit style seemed almost maid-like, with a black skirt, tights and a white button shirt. But more than that, Lune couldn’t help but stare at her etiquette be damned. The woman turned her head to the side and saw Lune blankly staring at her, the deadpan expression she had broken; if only for a passing moment. As if a small scattering of hope was ignited. “Do you.. know who I am?”
Lune was snapped out of her trance when she heard her speak, and realized she was the same person her mother was talking to before. She was hardly able to process what she said and only blinked a couple times, almost as if she was malfunctioning. Lune’s mother walked over and put her hand on her shoulder, helping Lune’s breathing get properly in order. “Ah-” Her mother looked at her with a look she hadn’t seen before, and the black-haired girl had the same expression. “Are you ok Lune? You spaced out there.” Lune apologized for her bad manners, and the black-haired girl frowned quite strongly.
The black-haired girl walked- no, stormed off. It seemed like she was quite mad, and Lune felt bad about it. But more than anything, she..
“U-um..!” The girl turned around for a second at the sound of her being called out for.
“Wh-what’s your name?” The woman bore an expression that Lune couldn’t fathom. Just what type of emotion was that? Fury? Annoyance? Pensive?
“...It’s Crescent.” Lune felt like her name reverberated in her head just a little, and before she knew it, Crescent had already disappeared. Her mother held her hand for a moment, before sighing. “Try not to pay it any mind, alright? Crescent has her own problems.” Lune looked at her surprised, it seemed like she knew her.. but it was the first time she’s heard about this. “Do.. you know her?” Her mother paused for a moment, before shaking her head. “Not really. She’s an acquaintance. That’s all.” Lune nodded along, though her mood was slightly worsened after that small ordeal.
Nancy pulled Lune in for a quick hug, pressing her forehead against hers. Her head was a little bit hot, but besides that she seemed fine. “I think that Toxapex’s poison is finally wearing off a bit.”
Lune tilted her head. “So that’s what it was..?”
“Let’s go meet up with the Captain, alrigh-” Lune looked back up towards her with concern as she pulled up her phone, and saw the message she had received. She frowned ever so softly, before looking over at Lune.
“I’ve got to go take care of something, why don’t you go walk around by yourself? Go and look for the captain, he’s a sweet guy.” Lune's eyes drooped a little, before gently giving a thumbs up.
If she was being truthful, her head was pounding a lot. Even to the point she hesitated to talk more than she already should. But she didn’t want her mom stressing about her too much.
Before she knew it, her mother left and she was standing alone again. She stood still with confusion of what to do, but felt she should listen to her mother’s advice. Slowly, she went to walk around inside. Countless people. Some were playing with their Pokemon, some were on their phones, but what really caught her attention was the sound she was hearing from above. That gentle melody was very soothing, she could almost feel the tranquility of it. A smile crept up on her face. She wanted to hear more. She felt like she wanted to immerse herself in just listening, even if it's something simplistic.
She walked through the corridors, looking for some kind of a staircase. Before she ever did, she saw an opening in the ceiling revealing the upper level and here she could hear the music even better. There was a chair nearby, and she thought it’d be nice to take a seat while listening. She didn’t remember liking music so much, but something about it was extremely pleasant.
Lune let the time pass by, savoring every note. She felt like she hadn’t listened to music in forever, so it was a nice change of pace. She closed her eyes in relaxation, her mind wandering back to her overhearing her mother and Crescent discussing her. Why? Why were they talking about her, and why did it bother her as much as it did? Really, it shouldn’t feel wrong for a mother to talk about her child. So why did her heart churn?
The music sadly came to a stop for a little, and her small immersion was interrupted. She pouted like a child, but let out a soft sigh. “I.. should find the captain.. right?” Lune pondered about where to go to find him, putting her hand to her chin. “Captain’s are.. usually near the top of the ship, right?”
Lune walked with her mind elsewhere, thinking about little beyond finding the captain that her mother told her to. “But um.. how do I tell who's the ca-”
Her trail of thought was cut short by bumping into a random stranger. “A-a-ah! S-sorry..!” Lune looked upwards while she apologized, to the towering man in front of her. He was mountainous, if she had to guess he was practically a full foot taller than her. 6ft 5’ maybe?
He looked down at the girl, his demeanor seemed incredibly harsh and made her seem even more skittish than she would've been. “It doesn't matter, don't worry.”
Lune watched the dark skinned man walk off, but it clued to her the outfit he was wearing indicated he was staff. Actually.. Was he..?
“U-umm..!” Lune grabbed onto his white uniform. “Are.. are you the captain..?”
The man's gaze changed if only for a split second. “..No I'm not. I just work here. You're looking for the Captain?”
Luna felt a wave of embarrassment. He really looked like a captain.. “Y-yea..”
The man shook his head, not out of frustration but out of exhaustion. “..He should be in his quarters right now.” He lifted his hand and pointed towards the staircase up ahead. “It's up the staircase, hang a left.”
Lune smiled at his help. “Th-thank you..!” Lune walked a little faster, disappearing into view up the stairs. The man sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “..What a strange one.”
“Something wrong?” The man turned his head around in surprise. “Oh. It's just you. No, nothing's wrong. Is everything smooth on your end?”
The woman adjusted her glasses. “Naturally. Everything's set in place. Things will be getting hectic here before long.” The woman continued typing away on her laptop and returned to her coincidentally adjacent lodgings. The sailor, left on his lonesome, sighed deeply. “Right.”
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Lune took the left the man had told of her. She slithered past clusters of people, giving them all apologies as she went. The haze covering her brain was slowly lifting, and her ability to have rational thought was coming in its place. Her walking became less dazed, but that extremely timid disposition was not going away anytime soon. “Ah..”
She arrived at the door, with the words “Captain’s quarters” carved upon a nice wooden decoration upon the door. She moved to open the door, and realized just how.. difficult it was to do. Not the physical act of opening. She may be weak but not pitifully so. No, it was almost paralyzing how difficult it was to waltz into that door regardless of whether it’d be or not. She stood still, trying to reminisce of her mothers words that he was a good person.
“Oh? You’re Nancy’s kid aren’t ya?” Lune jumped forward and faceplanted into the door out of surprise. “O-oww..” She crouched onto her knees and held her poor forehead, before remembering that she was being interacted with.” “Ah-a-aahh.. Umm.. M-mhm..”
The man seemed to be quite surprised with the girls showing. “I knew I recognized you! Are ya feeling better? I heard you got strayed by a Toxapex Sludge Bomb.”
“Umm..” Lune put her hand over her mouth, trying to stoke some sort of proper answer for him. Trudging through memory lane, in her current state though? A fruitless endeavor, unfortunately. “I th-think so?” Such a half-baked answer was sufficient to get the point across, she hoped.
The Captain focused on her mannerisms a bit. Keeping his conversation about Lune’s strange behavior in the back of his head, he figured he should at least oblige on Nancy’s request for him to see her.
“Well, it’s good to meet ya. Name’s Augustus. Follow me, I’ll show ya the Captain’s vantage point. It’s the best view on the boat!” Lune’s interest was piqued. The view from the bow was gorgeous, but the idea there was better? She wanted to see it, quite a lot. “O-Ok!” The man opened the door to the command room, and she followed him as he walked towards the captain's view, more specifically the highest point on the boat. Apparently, Lune was nowhere close to it, despite trying to get there.
“By the way youngin’, you enjoying the boat so far?” Lune nodded enthusiastically. Augustus let out a hearty laugh, and Lune couldn’t help but think of Santa Claus in that split second.
“Glad to hear it. I come from a family of sailors, after all.” Lune felt that type of familiar warmth she felt from her mother in this man, even if it was lesser. He was.. definitely a gentle soul, the type of person Lune felt most at ease with.
“She’s a real beauty though, this one. I’ve captained many a vessel before, but this one is near and dear to my heart.” Lune listened to him discussing his story, something she actually enjoyed hearing about. Soon after though, he opened the door to the captain's piloting room, decked out with a window to the open sea.
Lune was enamored at the sight quite quickly. A scattering of Pokemon she didn’t recognize. There was a bird with a large beak bigger than its body, a spiked fish with large lips, a crab, and so much more. Augustus couldn’t help but chuckle at her glee.
“Tis’ a pretty sight. I haven’t seen a reaction quite like that in years, must admit.” Lune stood back in embarrassment a bit, something Augustus found particularly amusing. “Bahaha, no need to shirk about it, girlie. It’s a good thing. Most people don’t respect the world around them enough.”
A smile grew on Lune’s face again. She was worried her admiration for them would be shunned upon, but she admitted to herself that she shouldn’t have been worried about that with Augustus.
Augustus’s gaze reached towards the clock, and his eyes rose in surprise. “Ah, goodness me! I gotta head down for the farewell banquet. Sorry lassie, I can’t let people in this area without me, not even you. C'mon, let’s go.” Lune was disappointed a little, but she followed along anyway. She was surprised at the mention of a banquet, nobody had told her about one.
“B-banquet?” Augustus smiled at Lune’s question.
“Mhm. One made to celebrate the finalization of a voyage. It’s a tradition I’ve kept up for years. Your mother should be attending as well, I think.” Lune raised her eyes in surprise, considering how she never mentioned this to her. But well, maybe she wasn’t invited. It wouldn’t hugely surpris-
“Anybody’s welcome, so you can join if you’d like. The food is always to die for!” Lune’s trail of pessimistic thought was cut off, and a smile grew back on her face once more. “Mhm.”
Augustus patted Lune on the head. Really, she was a strange one. Very clearly an older teenager, looked to be 17-18 years old at that, but the way she acted was... “You sure are a quiet one, huh? No worries, everybody’s got their preferences. Well, I’ll be off. I hope to see you at the banquet!” Augustus waved as he walked down the stairs ahead of her.
The empty silence, save for the scattering of footsteps on the floor below, filled her ears again. “Umm…” After some quick thought, Lune decided to attend the banquet with her mom, assuming she was ok with that.
She walked on the way down, and that soothing Piano filled her ears again.
Skipping past how Lune could only now could tell what the instrument being played was, Lune felt a wave of motivation from how it sounded incredibly close by. Her eyes rose, and like a moth to a flame, she followed the music all over again. She turned the corner to the left, and a platinum-blonde woman was playing a piano. She was taken aback by her talent. There wasn’t anything special to it, but it was something she felt like was something to be cherished.
“Oh, did you need something darling?” The lady stopped playing, and it snapped Lune out of her staring. “Oh- I- uh- n-no, sorry..”
The lady witnessed her stammering and chuckled. “No sweat, honey. I’ll keep playing if you want.”
Lune was about to nod, but then her thoughts were interrupted by a loud ringing coming from the ceiling. “Hello, everybody! The banquet will begin in 5 minutes. If you wish to attend, please make your way to the main lobby.”
Lune averted her eyes back and forth, trying to maintain eye contact with the woman. “O-oh.. sorry. I- um, have to go..” The woman smiled, nodding along. “No problem sweetie. I'm glad you enjoyed it.”
Lune nodded as she walked off. She thought about asking her name, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She could ask another time, maybe. For now, she felt she should get going. She walked down the stairs, walking alongside some other people towards the banquet entrance. Just as she was walking down, she saw her mother turn the other corner and stopped as she walked in, noticing her from the corner of her eye. “Lune! I’m guessing Augustus invited you as well?”
Lune nodded, though she frowned a little at the idea her mother didn’t plan to bring her along. From what Augustus had said, the food was supposed to be good and she doesn’t remember the last thing she even ate. “Good. I told him to tell you, after all. Come on, let’s go.” Her mother grabbed her hand, and they walked into the banquet. The regret Lune felt for doubting her mother quickly washed away with her adornment of the room. Really, it was a spectacle as a room. Moreover, she was surprised by the sight of a second Piano, with the same platinum-blonde haired woman sitting by it. “I guess she works here..?”
But the room was by far the most impressive thing to her. “It’s pretty..” Nancy looked over at Lune and patted her on the head a little. “It is, isn’t it? Let’s have our seat, alright?” Lune followed behind as they took a seat, and realized the black-haired woman was right next to their table. She feared she had bothered her with her earlier encounter, so she tried her best not to look her way. Though, Crescent’s Pokemon did seem to glance her way every now and then.
Lune didn’t recognize it, but she was fairly certain it was a Gothitelle at least. Lune found her rather unnerving, if she was honest. Her concerns were swept aside once Augustus walked up onto the podium in front. She and Nancy were in the front row of tables, so their view was nice.
“Hello, everyone. My name is Augustus, the Captain of this ship. It’s been my pleasure to be accompanying you all on this trip, and to welcome you all to the Farewell Banquet.” Lune was listening intently, but the corner of her eye saw some people’s reflections in front of the glass doors. Well, she supposed they weren’t wishing to interrupt his speech, so she thought little of it.
“Where we celebrate the end of our voyage, and the welcoming of a new stage. I hope this trip remains a fond memory for you all. More than that, I presume you are all hungry, yes? Then let’s partake, shall we? Cheers!” A round of applause filled the room, something Lune joined in late on, but still chose to participate in. She turned towards her mother, wondering how she should go about getting food for herself.
“...Sorry, but I think there’s something that needs to be taken care of first.” Lune turned around to the unfamiliar voice, and three people walked out from behind the glass doors after their announcement. Augustus furrowed his brow in confusion, but then in disappointment. “Hrm? What seems to be the issue, you three? Please, return to your seats.”
The three looked at one another, and let out a small chuckle amongst themselves. “Hmm.. no sorry, I don’t think we will be. This ship is under our control, from here on.” The faces of Lune, but moreover everybody else on board, shifted when the three threw what Lune presumed were disguises and all three revealed a similarly themed outfit, donning a large X symbol on the chest. Lune thought these three might mean trouble, which made her reaction to her mother jumping in front of the three all the more shocked.
“What’s the meaning of all this!?”
“Is this a hi-jacking!?”
Both Lune’s mothers words; and the words of the Pianist echoed out in the tense atmosphere of the room. Lune was surprised. Scared, maybe. She didn’t know what she should be doing in a situation like this. So she ended up doing nothing at all.
The three of them cocked their eyebrows in surprise. “You both must be insane to jump in front of the three of us.”
The three of them sneered between one another. “We’re charitable though, you see. Go back to your seats, the both of you. Take this offer of generosity, will you?” Luna sat there wide-eyed, but her mother’s reaction to their words, laced without an ounce of sincerity, was unfazed.
“No.” A firm, solid no.
The trio's faces contorted into one of frustration. “Tch, you wretch! You’ll be regretting this..!” Her mother watched the man reach into his pocket, and saw a smidgen of a remote control-device, and her expression immediately shifted to one of shock. Lune saw it as well, but failed to connect the dots as fast as her mother did. She shook it off her shock just as quickly, remembering some of the things Crescent spoke to her for.
“Remember your role. Above all else, you’re to keep Lune safe. No matter what.”
“Get Lune out of here! Crescent!” Lune's head bolted in confusion, before she turned and saw the Gothitelle smiling in her direction, and then she saw nothing at all.
It felt like an ethereal space, as if she was floating in limbo without much purpose. She can't smell anything. Nothing to hear besides her own distorted thoughts. A constant stream of purple swirls coated the edges of what her eyes could see. “M-mom..? Where.. where is everyone!?”
Lune started to panic. What is going on? What about the bomb!? Is mom ok!? Lune couldn't tell anything apart in.. whatever this was. In the farthest distance, she thought she saw something. SOME type of difference in her surroundings. Something to make her not go insane.
Squinting her eyes, a blue butterfly was fluttering towards her. It was beautiful, and at the very least, let her distract herself from the visual hellscape she was in. The butterfly roosted for a moment, before fluttering towards a direction. “U-um.. you want me to follow..?”
Its wings flapped faster, seemingly as a means to agree. Faced with little choice and a bout of confusion, Lune obliged. Floating through the nightmare, this butterfly somehow felt like the most blessed messenger she could ask for. Each footstep came with the anxiety of falling through a hole she couldn’t perceive. Each time Lune felt like her sanity was slipping away, she was entranced by the butterfly’s antics. Until, finally, a large triangular white portal was in full view.
“Th-thank you.. mister butterfly..” Lune could only assume this was an exit, as she reached towards the portal with her right arm.
“Am.. Am I back?” Lune puzzled to herself before her outstretched arm began to sear REALLY badly. “O-Owww!” Lune flinched backwards, before shock filled her face. Fire. Smoke covered a small amount of her vision, but those were most certainly flames. She looked down at her hand, and restrained the urge to scream in pain. She flailed her arm around, dispelling fears of catching fire entirely.
Her breathing was labored, the tingling and searing pain in her hand. Her palm was thoroughly scorched, skin melted off and then even more. Was this a second degree or third degree..? She tried clenching her hand in pain, but try as she might she couldn't, so she tried her absolute best to ignore just how badly it stung.
Her mind led to a new direction. “What.. happened..?” She saw that remote that man had, and now everything is on fire. He.. blew up the ship. He actually blew up the ship..?
But then it hit her. “Where’s Mom?” reverberated in her head in a panic, and she realized how poor her breathing felt. Whether from the smoke or panic, she couldn’t tell. She raced down the stairs, and saw a man in front of the banquet. Thank god, she wasn’t alone. Maybe.. Maybe he can help her.
“You there, girl! Thank god you’re all right! I was just standing around, but that explosion sent me flying right on my face!” Lune’s eyes were wrought with fear at the word explosion. “I.. I wanted to be wrong..”
The man could tell she was concerned for him, and sought to relieve her concerns. “Don’t worry, I’m not hurt. Unfortunately..” His words trailed off. “There’s no way forward for a man like me. The floor ahead has sunk under.” The man gestured to his left with his finger, showing a massive hole in the middle of the pathway in front of the banquet hall’s entrance. “You’d need to jump, a jump better than I’m capable of..”
The man spoke in an extremely pensive tone, as if he was trying to come to grips with the fact his life.. was almost certainly over. “You can still get out of here, kid.”
As he was talking, a creature spawned behind him. He turned around, sensing the kineticism the creature exuded behind him. In his shock, and before the creature lunged and grabbed him, he uttered a single word out in his surprise.
“Deoxys?!?”
Lune looked frantically for the man in her immediate surroundings, but no dice. The smoke was getting thicker, and it was making it even harder for her to breathe. She started to panic a little, but remembered the ballroom. She needed to go there. No matter what. She winced, and began running the short distance and burst the doors open. The pianist was on the other side, and made the motion to deck Lune in the face, but stopped herself just shy.
“Oh! Oh it's just you. You had me scared for a moment! I'm glad you're alrigh-” She stopped herself, when she saw her hand, and how poor it looked. Her own face had some burn marks as well, but nothing as severe as her hand. Lune was in far worse shape than she herself had even realized.
“Dearie you're a mess! Here, take my han-”
“W-where's mom..”
The pianist was surprised if only for a moment's time. She coughed from the smoke, before shaking her head. “..I'm sorry, I don't know. I got knocked out from the blast but.. Augustus might know.” The pianist grabbed Lune's uninjured hand, and walked with her to where Augustus was. His expression was ghastly, but more distraught than anything else. The type of face when you cannot fathom what just happened. That type of grief.
“My.. my ship.. she’s.. She’s done for..” The pianist tapped her foot, before shouting at the man to snap him out of his grief, if only for Lune’s sake.
“Forget the ship! Their lives are irreplaceable!” The woman pointed to Lune. “Where’d her mother go? Did you see her?”
Augustus was shocked but grateful to see Lune was still alive, but her condition upon inspection wasn’t particularly good. It was pretty bad, in fact. He took out an inhaler he had in his pocket, and handed it over to her. “Here. I keep this on me for my Asthma, but you will probably want it most. Your mother..” Augustus’s vision trailed into the large hole in the epicenter of the room, and Lune eyes followed that trail.
“She pursued them to the bottom layer.. Down that hol-” Augustus didn’t even get to finish his sentence. Lune had already jumped down as quickly as she could, and the disappearing shouts of the two of them from above vanished from her perception.
“Oww..!” Despite her bravado, Lune landed with middling grace, and it did a number to her right leg. It was adrenaline, more than likely, but she couldn’t even feel it that much. Or rather, it blended in so much with the rest of the pain that she can't even process it anymore. Thankful as she was for Augustus for giving her that inhaler, she had no idea how to use one. She kept it in her usable left hand, and stormed off. “Just find her.” rang throughout her head as she sprinted down through the ship.
The smoke was suffocating. Random tentacles were sprawling in some of the holes. Red. Not slimy, more.. gelatinous. It was a scene that Lune refused to acknowledge. Her head hurt badly. Like drums blaring in her mind. The pain was all over her body now, and it was choking her.
“Sprint faster. You can go faster than this. You have to.” Lune booked it around a corner, and came face to face with a familiar figure standing around. It.. was the same man that guided her to the captain! “Y-you..!” The man may have been wearing different clothes, a tattered trench coat and what seemed like protective gear underneath instead of his previously worn sailor. But his scar and towering presence was unmistakable.
The man stared at her silently. His eyes darted around the area. On alert for something. He could wager a guess to what the girl wanted, even if she was struggling to catch her own breath from the smoke and burns covering her body. “Your mother is down in the storage room. Bottom floor.” The girl ran towards him, but despite his expectation of her to run past him, she didn’t, and ran right into him.
“C-come with me..!” Lune wanted to bring him along, to thank him for his help. As minor as it is. Her right hand seared when she pressed on his chest, but that came second. Second to her wish to help as many people get away as she could.
The man stood still for a moment, his otherwise sharp gaze shattered for just the briefest of moments. Any words he would’ve chosen to say though, were interrupted. A sharp, dazzling purple blast broke through the walls and further still. An entrancing sound came from the hole, and the Pokemon who stood by Crescent’s side emerged from the wreckage.
The monochromatic Pokemon turned its attention to the two of them. Lune couldn't help but quiver slightly, something that gave the man pause. “Tch!” The sailor quickly shook her off his body and booked it, beckoning the Pokemon towards him. Its gaze sharpened, as a second torrent of blasts went after him down the hall, with the Pokemon blasting past where Lune stood.
Lune wanted to help him so badly. But she knew full well she couldn’t. Shaking off her concerns, she had to run. Now. Her mother is at the bottom. That's all she needed to know.
Flights of stairs came and went. Lune hadn't run into anybody on the way down. Does that mean nobody was down here? Or was it that nobody was left?
A large metallic sliding door was blasted through; with the edges coated in black charring befitting of a Fire-type move.
Lune walked through the hole and froze. Her mother was right there, and she was fighting something.. or someone. But.. they didn’t seem to be fighting back, only dodging. Something Nancy had found frustrating.
“Enough of this running around! What are you doing here and why?!” The culprit they were fighting jumped off the crate they were on before, and met her mother’s gaze.
“I’m not sure that should be your concern. I think you should be more concerned about our guest that just joined us.” Nancy turned around and her eyes went wide with dread.
“You- but.. why? I thought Crescent.. got you somewhere safe..”
The purple-haired woman leaned against a crate, keeping her gaze most focused on the Sylveon growling at her, ready to fire more volleys in her direction.
“Sorry to say, safety is long out of your reach, for the both of you.” The woman looked through a hole in the wall, and that same Deoxys from the upper floors stanced up next to her. “For now though, I’ll be going ahead with securing my target here. You.”
Lune’s expression rose, when she saw the woman wasn’t looking in her direction at all. She was looking at her mother. Her mother bore the same surprise. “...Me?”
“Yes, You. What, did you think we would be after Lune or something?
Her mother stayed silent, while Lune started silently wincing. Her adrenaline was starting to wear off, and the damage to her hand was starting to really get to her. Her mother seemed to not notice, or at least she didn’t say anything, and that was something she was thankful for.
“Well, either way. I was only playing to secure you, but since you are both here, I’ll take you both back to HQ.” Lune looked at her mother with the same expression she’s had the entire time. One seemingly filled with dread for her mother. Meanwhile, her mother took a deep breath. She knew, deep down, regardless of what happened, that this ship was finished. A multitude of the passengers had been grabbed by those creatures. Between the fire, smoke and what have you, the hope that was left for most of them was no longer there.
“...There’s no future for this ship..”
The purple-haired woman's expression remained unchanged. “Glad you see things my way.”
But Nancy shook her head. “But I can make hope for one person.” Lune’s eyes began to water up, as her Mother turned around and faced her, ignoring completely the purple haired woman behind her.
“Lune, I’m sorry I haven’t been able to help you as much as I would’ve liked. I’m sorry it wasn’t much, but I’m glad for the time we spent together. I’ll hold her off-”
Lune’s eyes were unable to hold her tears back any longer, and she cracked. Her mother rubbed her eyes, fully taking in just how bashed up she was at the moment. She patted her on the head, one final time. She knew that, odds are, this would be goodbye. She hoped she would be able to escape, but even that was something she didn’t fully believe in. But for her, she’d lie. Lie to keep her standing.
“Run. Run as much as you can. No matter how confined and cramped the ship may be, you need to run anyway. As long as you run, there’s a chance. Now chase that chance, to the best of your ability. Even if you don’t know where to go, never stop moving forward. Now, go. I love you, forever and always.”
Lune felt the weight of her own body become unmanageable. She wanted to scream to the contrary so badly, but she couldn’t even do that. With the smoke, doing anything was already an extremely tall ask. But.. but she’d listen. No matter how much her body protested, or how much she protested. She’d listen.
She kept running, absolutely aimlessly. She figured, if there was anywhere salvation would be, the ocean was it. Everything else right now was a hell.
Every sprint and lap down the halls was met with resistance from herself and her surroundings. The smoke. Her own Lungs. Her legs. Her right hand. Tendrils out to catch her when she least expects it. She’s dodged it twice already, and Lune knew it was still following her.
The clumpering of her own footsteps were drowned out by the sizzling of the walls, and by her own breathing becoming coarse and barely functional. Still, she kept running. Forking a corner, and the Pokemon floated in front of her direct pathway. Horror erupted all over her face as its body morphed and contorted in front of her.
The blue and red creature arms morphed into longer, more thin and lean appendages. Its bare core extended to envelope its entire torso, and its head seemingly grew a longer end behind its head, and everything in Lune’s mind screamed that running from this thing was NOT possible. As if its entire purpose was now giving chase to her.
She blinked without thinking about it. That tiny second, and in the next she felt suffocated in a way that didn't compare to the smoke from before. Her legs dangled off the air, as the Pokemon slowly choked the life out of her from afar. “C-can't.. breathe..!”
Her physical resistance wasn't bad, but it wasn't effective. Her legs flailed instinctively. Trying her best to kick herself off, even if it was fruitless. Her short stature was cursing her. Lune winced, hearing a scraping sound from above. A slow crawl of metal screaming upon a surface.“Wh..”
A massive thud boomed through, crushing the Pokemon from above. Lune fell to her knees as the Pokemon's grip was undone on her neck. Despite the markings, her breath finally caught back up to her. Through her panting, she could hear shouting from above and she looked upwards.
“Hah.. hah.. H-how's that! Keep running, kid!” Lune did exactly that, she kept on running. The woman who played that beautiful piano sat down and slouched in exhaustion. She pushed an entire piano 4x her body weight into a hole in the floor after all. She was sad, all told. Even in all the time she’s performed in various vessels, nobody showed as much genuine attention as that kid had.
“It’s a shame. I would’ve liked to play for you.. One final time.” She said that soliloquy to nobody in particular, but she smiled at the knowledge that someone else did hear it. It was just a shame. A shame that individual was another Deoxys.
“Just.. just keep running” she said that internally, and saw the entrance to the stern, and.. was met by the purple haired woman once more. She moved to turn back around, but she was blocked by the grey-haired man. “Sorry, kid. End of the line.”
Lune's eyes told a story of betrayal. She had thought, at least for a split second, he was on her team. As naïve as that was. “Your mother's speech was lovely, but unfortunately this is the real world. Now, be a good girl.”
Lune's knees buckled, leaving her to fall to the ground. She couldn't even stand at this point, let alone resist the two of them. Standing was beyond her a while ago, and her adrenaline was starting to waver. There's nothing left. It's done.
Lune looked up at him. To that man in front of her. Hoping that maybe, just maybe he'd help her. Sadly, that wasn't the case. “You fought well, for what you're capable of. But sorry to say, there's no salvation for you from me.”
Lune felt the tears flowing properly, and just as they were walking towards her, she heard a screeching sound and a blaze fly right past her. It was a flying Pokemon, and it was coming back. Back towards her. It quickly grabbed her by the shoulders with its talons and took off away from the boat.
The two of them stood there dumbfounded. “What just happened?”
The woman sighed. “The real world happened. And in the real world, any manner of things can happen.”
The man nodded, and looked behind him towards the ship's interior. It was trashed, and the flames were fast approaching. “Should we give chase?”
The woman shook her head to the contrary. “No, we already secured our target. We'll see Lune again, I'm sure. We'll get her then, for now we need to abandon ship.”
“Aye.”
Lune was completely dazed on top of the Pokemon's back. She expended every ounce of strength she had, and the difficulty she was having to breathe even now was excruciating. The sparkling blue waters were stained, with the blood dripping down her head. From where? She didn’t even remember. She thought about her mother, and the gentle warmth and joy she felt she'd never feel again. Why.. couldn't she have just stayed with her? She shouldn't have ran..
Sight escaped her soon after. She was conscious, sure. But it felt more as if she wasn’t there at all. No sensations reached her beyond the thundering headache from all the pain making her feel numb. The Pokemon landed somewhere. At this point, being awake was too much for her to keep up, and the absolute final thing Lune could remember was hearing a woman shouting.