She’d shrug in return. “Hmm, do you really think I’d need an excuse~?” Well, probably she did. It would be a bit rude to just constantly orbit around someone that she had sorta kinda broken up after sorta kinda being with. But Violet certainly could have found much, much easier way to weasel herself in if she’d really wanted to.
On the other hand, though, she’d figured if she took a job like this, she might as well get some quality Skyler time out of it, too. Thus, Vio gave the other a toothy grin in return, coming closer just as she’d been told. Last year, she would have come much closer. But that would be a bit out of place, in her opinion.

Things were….kind of weird between them. Honestly, Vio would not have minded picking up where they’d left off before. But they had also separated and, well, changed. It didn’t quite feel right yet. Mostly because they didn’t have a dimly lit night in a club to build on this time. It was all nice and bright and sunny. That let one see things more clearly, act more cautiously. Sometimes, that was why she disliked the light. But she couldn’t bring herself to hate it, either.
However, she had enough experience now to quickly and steadily board the boat, much unlike the first time she’d done so. “Though I am hurt that you think me such a material girl,” she fake lamented, doing her best not to swoon from the sheer audacity of it. Or, well, pretend to. “You know I am not someone in desperate need for money. But I do like working like this once in a while regardless.” Well, that was part lie, part truth. She certainly wasn’t as wealthy as she pretended to be. But she worried about cash rarely. It came easily to her. Just not through good, honest work.

Banter comes easily to them, as it always had. Violet's comment is met with a sharpening of Skyler's grin, mischievous lips curling into something that was as inviting as it was brazen. If there are any conducts on how to properly behave in a given situation, Skyler is more than fine with kicking them aside for her own benefit - and amusement.

"Is there such a bad thing about being material?" Skyler has never associated the word with herself since she'd never been one to buy things for herself. Clothing stores specifically brought forth a strange panicky feeling; it was one of the places where Captain Dross felt utterly at a loss. Thankfully most of her clothes are either bought for her or easily acquired in sports stores and preferably in under five minutes. 

Regardless, perhaps their time apart has erased some of her details from Violet's mind. No matter, she thought, the sailor would remind her. "You do know that I'm a treasure hunter, right? Material things are pretty much my specialty. Usually shiny ones, if I get lucky." Greed is palpable in her voice, halfway hidden beneath her usual cheer. Less of a facade and more of a layer.

It's a matter of minutes to get the speed boat working, the engine's purr bringing a flash of something feral to the silvery depths of Skyler's eyes. With a skill born out of practise, Skyler maneuvers the boat out of the docks and into the sea proper. Waves immediately crash against the side of the boat, though the captain's sea legs easily keep her vertical. 

The speed boat quickly starts to accelerate, cutting through the ocean's surface like a knife through butter. "You better sit, Vio! Or hold on to something!" Eggs were fragile merchandise after all. 

Violet Fairbanks

mission

“Hmm? Noooot really,” she replies, joyfully, while making sure everything is properly in place. Wouldn’t want to lose the egg through some mishap. Violet was the kind of person who only truly acted completely careless like this, she wasn’t truly. It did take a lot of care to appear as if one didn’t care at all. But she was going to see this through no matter what. It was something she had already resolved herself to. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t join in with the casual banter present there. “It’s only a problem if one gets too obsessed with material goods. I mean, treasures are all fine and good and such. But all the goods in the world do not measure up to pleasant company, wouldn’t you agree?”

She chuckled, but she meant it. Time spent with people like Skyler was more precious to her than all the money in the world, really. It was kind of the reason as to why she still travelled the world and looked for interesting people. If comfortable living was all she’d cared about, she would be in a more long term relationship with someone rich to leech off of.
Experiences were what she truly valued the most.
For now though, she simply sat and made sure she was snugly secured. “Don’t worry about me, I will make sure nothing happens to the cargo. It isn’t like I have a lot more to do while you take care of the steering and such.”

[newclass=.missionBG]--missionColor:#4d72a0[/newclass]

"Vio," that single world carries no small amount of teasing, expertly weaved into her voice and punctuated by a devilish curl of the mouth, "are you telling me that you value me above any material good?" A short bark of laughter briefly travels over the rising wind. "I feel flattered." Her voice is carried away in gusts of briny air as the boat gains speed, yet the softening of her smile into genuine pleasure can't be mistaken for anything else. "But I agree."

There are things far more valuable than wordly treasures. With, perhaps, one single exception that the sailor carries around with her, close to her chest and hidden from view. A thing that she'd damn herself for. And maybe others too if need be.

The mists that start curling above the surface of the ocean have Captain Dross narrowing her eyes in sudden suspicion. She knows these waters like the back of her hand, having proven herself against its moods and whims a thousand times over. So when broken carcasses of long shipwrecked boats start to poke through the lazy waves, a cold trickle of dread pools in Skyler's stomach. 

She knows this place. No, she knows of it. How it crept up on her without her noticing, however, is a mystery - since she always takes pains to avoid it like the plague.

The ship cemetery, is what local sailors call it.

A death trap, Skyler would aptly name it.

"Vio, I might need your assistance." Eggs all but forgotten, Skyler motions for the smaller woman to approach with a tilt of her head. Why was it always ghosts with Violet? Did she somehow summon them? "You know ghosts well, right? We might be-"

An unearthly howl rises from the depths along with a horrifyingly bloated, spectral shape. Materializing at the bow of the ship like some ill-fated spirit, the Jellicent reaches out with its immaterial tentacles, phazing through the ship like it isn't part of the same reality.

Giving no time for any sort of reaction, a tentacle shoots out into Skyler's chest, the icy cold of death prompting a gasp from the captain's lips. All at once, muscles seize in a recreation of rigor mortis, and the thud of her body falling onto the deck of the ship follows soon after.

Violet Fairbanks

mission

Putting it this succinctly did actually succeed in making her blush and look down, at least briefly. There were quite a few retorts she could have given, up to and including the notion that a living being should always be more important than a mere thing. But she didn’t bother. The moment she’d allowed this toget to her in such a way, she’d already lost. No point in somehow trying to deny that.

There isn’t really a good response she could give either, not even a snappy one or anything like that. Instead, she just continued to look down, trying to think of something – and thereby missing most of the clues coming in. It is only when Skyler addressed her again that she’d snapped out of that particular funk, blinking, but at least a bit alert all the same. Assistance? With what?
The answer was given soon after. Naturally, ghosts. Immediately, a thought springs to mind, remembereing that day not too long ago when a certain someone had proclaimed that she didn’t need no help with ghosts. That was a sassy remark in the making, for sure.

But she didn’t get to make it, since quite a few things happened in quick succession. First, there was a low rumble, a noise similar to something she’d heard before. Sounded vaguely familiar, but deeper, somehow…bigger. Then, tentacles. Then, Skyler falling to the floor.
Vio just stared at the sight. Her hand had gone down to her Pokeballs when the shaking had started, but now it froze, hesitating, unsure if it even wanted to move. After all, if she didn’t move, time would not go onward. At least she felt like that for a few moments. Then, the tentacle moved again and she was forced to acknowledge the limitations of her powers.

But that also served to spur her into action. Finishing her motion, she threw a ball right as she lunged forward. Carefully side-stepping the emergent tentacle, Violet swiftly makes her way towards the fallen Skyler. “Sucker Punch it back,” she calls out – well, more cries out, given that there is a very panicked note in her voice – to the Spiritomb she’d called forth near the bow of the ship. The dark spirit briefly retreated back into its vase, only to then expand straight from it with great speed and strength, trying to hit the huge ghost straight in its body.
Violet didn’t have time to spare to look at the ffect of this, instead cradling Sky while leaning down, an ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. Skyler did appear deathly still, but the captain had been right in one thing: Violet knew ghosts. And, as something the other didn’t know, the smaller woman did have some ranger training. She knew that Pokemon like the Jelicent could curse or drain the life out of people. But those were slightly different from dying. At least if someone didn’t have all their life drained just yet. If there was a pulse or so still, then there was also a chance.

And Vio, really, really wanted to find one, so she looked rather desperately for one.

The captain comes back to consciousness in the only way a seasoned sailor could: with a string of profanities slipping from her lips, swiftly followed by a groan as her awareness spreads to the weakness in her body and the sinking chill within her ribcage. When her silver eyes open to the expanse of blue above, they're met with the sight of looming tentacles - poised in a predatory manner above their heads, dripping salt water onto the deck.

The pressure against her chest startles her at first, until she recognizes the length of pale hair brushing over her collarbone. There's a moment in which a teasing remark almost materializes from her mouth, but Skyler manages to bite it back in favor of using her elbows to weakly pull herself up. "Shit, that ghost sapped my strength..." Quite literally. Her muscles felt like they were made out of water. Like a newborn babe.

Her fingers spasm when she attempts to move them, frustration swiftly reflected in the grimace that overtakes her expression. Something savage flashes from behind her eyes, barely held in check behind the strength of her gritted teeth. If there's anything that Skyler loathes, it is feeling powerless. "Vi, my belt. Second pokeball to the right." Urgency and unease color her words as she shifts her hips just so, making it easier for Violet to reach the aforementioned object. "Get it."

Should Violet do so, the familiar, serpentine shape of a Gyarados would emerge, sinking its body into the water and emerging not a second later - closer to the ghostly abomination. Its maw constantly open in a rictus of violence, the sea serpent turns to the only threat it sees. 

Darkness gathers between its sharp fangs, swirling in place like a tiny, inky nebula (DARK PULSE). It grows in size, pulsating in time with Gyarados' breath - before it is unleashed at the Jellicent, the impact with its bulbous body causing an unearthly screech to escape the creature. 

"This is why I fuckin' hate ghosts..." Try as she might, the captain makes no headway in trying to raise herself up from her prone position. It is only when an ominous groan of wood and fibroglass reach her ears, accompanied by a sudden lurch of the boat, that a deep-set horror widens her eyes.

"Vio, get me to the steering wheel!" 

Ahead of them a whirlpool grows rapidly in size, fierce ocean currents already pulling the boat into its hungry maw. 

Violet Fairbanks

mission

For once, Violet ignored the profanities. In fact, she ignored pretty much anything and instead surged forward and upwards, arms slinging around that battered body and forcing a hug. More tears were involved than she would care to admit, too, but she would spend a good while just hugging the other, while Spiritomb held off the Jellicent momentarily. However, Skyler’s words did break through, somewhat. Granted, she doesn’t quite realize why her friend would ask her to use a pokeball on her behalf, but she just mechanically did so without fully breaking the embrace, even when a huge Gyarados broke through. It probably spoke volumes about her skills with her fingers that she’d still managed to toss the right one in this situation.

Spiritomb barely retreated in time to not get hit by the dark pulse and instead hovered menacingly above the vase, accessing the situation. Like most of Vio’s Pokemon, it was usually left to its own devices in combat – and therefore better at it than she would have been.
Speaking of the young woman, there was another favour asked, but one that would actually involve getting up. So, she did so in a slightly sluggish fashion, slowly disentangling herself from the other. She tried to say something else but somehow, all she got out was “Glad you are alive,” which was so sappy, she couldn’t help but be ashamed off.

However, there was a good opportunity to hide that, so she took it and didn’t even attempt any sort of bridal carry. She’d never be able to do that. All that muscle that would have allowed Skyler to do so in reverse was now useless weight, preventing her. Instead, Violet tried to awkwardly get Sky to lean against her shoulder, limply, half pushing the other to come with her. Hopefully, there was enough strength left in that body to at least slightly assist with that. Vio was giving her all. But when it came to physical strength, that really wasn’t all that much.

"Glad to be alive too." Captain Dross would have grinned impishly with her statement, except that she quickly finds her attention shifting to other more urgent matters.

She uses Violet's support to rise from her prone position. Her movements are disjointed, suffered through gritted teeth as she demands of her body that which it has been robbed of. "Thanks, Vi." The woman's obvious distress is overlooked for now, though Skyler does make note of it - a reassuring smile flashing over her lips before she takes her position at the helm.

She doesn't even blink at the Spiritomb stuck to the bow like some sort of ghostly figurehead, shaking hands reaching for the steering wheel like a desperate sailor sighting land.

Beyond the glare of sunlight on white fibroglass, the ocean has turned against them. Ahead, the ocean waters funnel down into the darkness, gathering speed with each second and growing into a wide maw of turbulent currents. The speed boat's already caught in its grasp, lurching into the whirlpool with deadly speed.

They are, Skyler realizes with sudden horror, a shipwreck in the making.

"Vio, keep distracting the Jellicent." Unless the other woman wanted both of them to end up paying a visit to Davy Jones' Locker, Skyler would have to focus entirely on steering the boat to the best of her ability - and pray that it proved enough. "Gyarados will help."

An unearthly howl escapes the Jellicent, jarring Skyler's bones and causing a cold shiver to climb up her spine. It distracts her just enough that the boat inches ever so slightly closer to the whirlpool, its front bowing to the descending waters. Biting down a curse, Skyler pushes the throttle to full speed - and instead of heading away from the whirlpool, she heads instead towards the edge of it. 

"Hold on!"

The Jellicent's rampage is thankfully interrupted by a raging Gyarados. Surging up from the nearby waves, its sharp fangs BITE into the ghost with the intent to destroy and devour.

"Careful, Vi-!"

Her words are cut off when a tentacle shoots past, colliding with the boat - and causing it to sway dangerously. 

Violet Fairbanks

mission

Really? Quips at a time like this? Vio had to blink at the other, briefly. She did fancy herself somewhat witty at the very least, yes. But this situation was quite dire and dangerous enough for her to get serious. Yet, the captain seemed somewhat undeterred. Her body seemed slightly broken, sure, but quite obviously, she spirit was still strong. In a way, that was both admirable and….infuriating. Vio knew she couldn’t do that. This whole situation was way over her head. If it wasn’t for Sky’s guidance and telling her what to do, she’d have tried to run away or something like that. And even with that, she felt a bit shaky on her feet, even when she’d brought the other to the steering wheel.

Especially since that alone did not exactly fix their problems just yet. Not at all, in fact. There still was a dark abyss building up in front of them, above which floated a huge Jellicent. Gyarados and Spiritomb did their best to keep the beast at bay, while the ship groaned under the strain of fighting the primordeal forces of water.
And Skyler somehow expected her to do something about it. Vio blinked again. Being told what to do ironically made her want to do so. She’d broken with her family over just that. Yet, when it came from this woman, it felt different. Quite different indeed. But that didn’t mean she knew what to do. “Confuse Ray,” she ordered her Pokemon, though it was half a question, really. Did make sense in her head. This thing was powerful, sure, but it probably could be confused like any Pokemon. It was the best idea she had. After all, she had not come here to fight. She’d –

The egg!

Immediately turning, she rushed back towards the back of the boat – Vio still did not know the proper terms – and found it still half-contained in her bag. But then something hit the boat and the world decided to tumble for a little. Vio, mid-motion and decidedly not holding on struggled to stay on her feet at all, while the egg was dislodged from the bag. Without thinking, Vio threw herself onto the floor to catch the egg before it could be swept overboard, which in turn earned her a slightly nastier impact as she was pushed against the railing, lightly crying out.

The violent lurching of the boat has Captain Dross holding on tightly to the steering wheel in order not to be thrown overboard. An ominous groaning of twisting steel and fibroglass makes her heart sink, but it holds no candle to the alarm that overtakes her expression at Violet's cry.

Flashing silver eyes seek out the smaller women, finding her crumpled shape awash in salt water and clutching an egg. "Vio!" She isn't moving. "Shit!" It takes a conscious effort not to run to Violet, not to let go of the wheel in her grasp and make sure the other woman is okay. Gritted teeth face off against the frothing sea foam, awfully aware that should she let go of it, both of them would find themselves under the raging waves.

Fortunately it seems Violet's strategy has born some fruit: the round, bloated shape of the Jellicent floats, stationary. Its tentacles have stopped their onslaught against the boat, belligerence all but wiped from its stance - for the time being, at least.

Most importantly, Jellicent's sudden distraction proves enough to slow the spiralling maelstrom pulling the Mariner 2 into its watery depths. Beads of sweat gather over Skyler's forehead as the boat carefully navigates past a certain encounter with Davy Jones' Locker. 

As soon as she's sure they aren't in any danger of being swallowed by the ocean, her attention shifts to Vio. Captain Dross's strength trickles back to her much too slowly, muscles long used to making themselves useful creaking in protest as she tests them. Still she stubbornly makes her way to the pale haired woman, kneeling down on still shaky legs. "Vio... Hey, Vio. Are you okay?" A rough fingertip tilts the woman's head up as sharp silver eyes catalog every bruise.

Seizing her opponent's confused state, Gyarados coils around the ghost and sinks her fangs into Jellicent's gellatinous body in a BITE.

An unholy screech travels over the waves, drawing Skyler's attention. Teeth bared against the phantom in silent fury, a pokeball materializes in her grasp.

She couldn't allow a ship-sinking ghost to haunt these waters. Better she let it sink in its prison to the bottom of the sea. Left to rot forever.

Sunlight glints off of its rounded surface as the pokeball is thrown at the Jellicent.

Violet Fairbanks

mission

Ugh. That hurt. More than she was used to, certainly. More than she had expected to feel on this, definitely. After all, this was just a quick egg delivery. No one had ever told her she would be fighting sea monsters. But by all that was holy or not, she wasn’t going to fail just because an annoying ghost appeared. Sure, she liked the type in general, but every type had its jerks. This was just a huge one.

And no, she was not going to curse like a sailor. Life-threatening situation or not, she was still pretending to be at least a bit of a lady. And a fake identity that faltered in sea water was worth nothing at all.
Skyler was cursing – and calling out for her – certainly but she was only going to share in the concern, not the curse. Because that was who she was, wasn’t it? Someone who was around for the good times, not the bad.

Unless, of course, the bad times snuck up on her like this. Carefully, to not break the egg, she got on her knees again and simply held onto the railing, watching the fight from her perch, thinking. Say what you want about Sky, but the captain did take all of this rather well. It was almost hard to tell that she’d been sapped by a ghost not too long ago. But this was, likely, her life. No wonder she disliked ghosts. Vio couldn’t agree, but she could understand at least. There was also something else to this, though, something that got her thinking. So that, she did, hoping that her Pokemon could fight on its own if need be. She just held onto the gg, kept it safe.