[attr="class","text"]

That wrecked ship was out of sight, and the doctor would wish it wasn’t. It turned out that using the speed of human boats to track the God of the Sea was a fool’s endeavor. It was the wind and the waves. It was not restrained by typical sea routes.
[break][break]

Suddenly, the Dewgong froze beneath her fingers. Its panicked mewls faded into silence. The redhead found herself relieved. “See? It’s not so bad.” Aubre typically would have seen the sudden shift in demeanor for the panic it was. But her eyes were too fixated on the strand in front of her to see the fishing net. “We’ll have you back in the water soon.” A drop of rain hit her on the forehead as the sky above darkened.
[break][break]

Behind them, the outline of the water titan moved closer. Red glows lit up the water like wartime wounds. Angry golden eyes peered up at the human.
[break][break]

Green eyes lifted up to the ominous clouds. “Huh?” That was strange. The news said they were due for three days of sunshine and eighties. And there hadn’t been any clods when she got up here. This momentary confusion causes her hands to loosen. She felt the Dewgong tense. “Wait! I’m not—” With a panicked slap of its tail, the Dewgong threw itself from the rock. Half of the wires were still wrapped around its neck, but that didn’t matter with that thing barreling at it.
[break][break]

“Ow!” The snapping strands left Aubre with cuts across her palms. With a hiss, the doctor reeled backward, slipping into the water. “Serena, can you grab—” As she moved to right herself, she finally caught sight of Kyogre’s form. The knife dropped into the water with a series of bubbles as she pedaled backward onto the outcropping. It felt like clambering on a table leg to survive the Titanic.
[break][break]

Aubre finds her Swampert frozen in a similar state to the seal.
[break][break]

She swallowed as she beckoned the axolotl onto the rock beside her. “Serena! Get up here! Hurry.” The hushed whisper is barely audible above the crashing waves. “We just need to stay quiet and hope it doesn’t—” The legendary’s maddened eyes lock on them from below. Its cry shook the waves as the isolated cloud turned into a deluge. “So much for that.” A sigh shook her entire frame as she threw a glance toward the shore.
[break][break]

What once seemed a stone’s throw away suddenly seems a world apart. Like a freight chain, Kyogre charges the rock they balance on.
[break][break]

“Leon is going to kill me.” Unless Kyogre does it first. This is the last thing she says as her and Serena dive into the water.

NOTES

✦ Time to run from a giant sea monster! She could use a hand here.

[attr="class","text"]

Shit! Shit! Aubre enjoyed the ocean. But, now, she was trapped in a stormy, tumultuous sea. Normally, the doctor would have tried to calm an angry Pokemon like this. Maybe ply it with treats or some idle conversation. But she’s not—well, she is crazy—but there’s a limit to the risks Aubre will take. And, the legendary’s rage is not something she can surmount.
[break][break]

A shattered stone flies through the water. It draws an angry line across Aubre’s forehead. The ocean’s salt soon turns the wound into a fiery burst of pain. There’s a brief respite as the Kyogre thrashes in the shattered atoll.

[break][break]

“Come on, Serena!” Her hands clenched tightly around Serena’s tail fin. Every time she comes up for air, she’s sank back under by a pummeling of hail and rain. Though the Swampert is moving forward with everything she has, it feels like they’re swimming through molasses. Big green eyes throw a glance behind her, but the doctor can’t see anything but the glow of primal energy.
[break][break]


Suddenly, the gales whipping at her changed directions. Terrified eyes watched as a series of Pokemon flew past her. “Oh, thank Arceus!” The spout from the Kyogre erupted skyward, aiming to knock its new attackers out of the sky. “Get out of there!” An ironic warning considering their risk prevented her from certain death.
[break][break]


The tug from her Swampert reminds her to take a breath as they vanish back beneath the waves. The few hundred yards dwindle as the sea grows shallower. But it still remains dark.
[break][break]


A white shape joins the other attackers as the Dewgong she’d helped launches an Aurora Beam at the beast of the ocean. Its maddened, golden eyes roll in both directions—temporarily resembling a startled Chameleon. “ROOOOOOG!” Its roar shakes the sea itself. The wave tears Aubre’s hand from her Swampert and bashes her against the rocky shore. The god’s anger had freed her from the watery depths.
[break][break]


A scarred hand is torn asunder as the redhead clings desperately to it. Adrenaline allows her to pull herself from its depths. “Serena!?” A large hand raises from the surf and curls into a trembling thumbs-up. “Don’t—” Tears pour as her baby rockets back into the fray. She shakes her head at her own cowardice. Telling the Swampert not to do the right thing was wrong. She lifted her hand to reveal a Tera band. “Hit it with a Screech, then go Ice Beam!” She did not want to hurt the sea god—it’s obviously hurting—but the land around them isn’t safe.
[break][break]


The ground she’s standing on is already dappled with puddles. And she wanted to hug her daughter tonight.
[break][break]


The Kyogre unleashes all of its pain and anger in a sky-high Whirlpool.

NOTES

✦ Time to run from a giant sea monster! She could use a hand here.

[attr="class","text"]

The doctor watched as Serena pulled away from her. Her hands stayed open in the water for a moment grasping limbs that were long gone. A damp hand lifted to her chest. From there, it curled into a weighted fist—something as dense as the ball in her stomach. “Good luck,” Aubre murmured as the Swampert disappeared into the whipping waves.
[break][break]

As Kyogre’s attack gained steam, the wind howled with the force of a thousand Lycanroc. Icy water washed over her in a wave. Again and again, she was buffeted back. “Nngh!” Her visibility faded to nothing as the cylinder of water surged. But somehow, above the din, she heard Ghost cry out. She turned to face his growing silhouette.
[break][break]


“Arceus! Are you—you shouldn’t—! What are you doing!?” She looked wildly around as if she might spot a can of hero repellent “Stay away from—!” Before she could finish, a wave swept her off her feet. It deposited her farther up the shore. Though it’d be more right to say it slammed her there. When Aubre looked up, the man was closer. No! No! No! You’re going to get him killed!
[break][break]


She panicked. Her arms waved in a beseeching, pleading way. She retched seawater as she forced herself to her knees. Just leave me here.
[break][break]


Before she could collect her thoughts, her Swampert burst from the waves behind the maddened Sea Titan. “Serena!” One muscular arm flared with blinding light as the axolotl brought a Hammer Arm down on the Kyogre’s back. As Kyogre turned to confront its attacker, the whirlpool and rain followed. Its bellow was a sound of rage.
[break][break]


The first primordial storm’s thunder. A wail of lost sailors. A noise filled with undeniable, relentless pain.

[break][break]

“Arceus—” Aubre murmured. “What have we done?”

NOTES

✦ Time to run from a giant sea monster! She could use a hand here.

[attr="class","text"]
The doctor’s hands clasp tight in quiet prayer. As Serena fights against the titan, images of another water type come to mind. It was her sister, the Mantine who had been with her from before she could walk. And she’d died against a fight with a fire type. All because Aubre had decided to take a shortcut. Come on, Serena!

[break][break]
Those praying hands were now topped by a pair of crossed fingers.
[break][break]


As the Hammer Arm landed, the Mega Swampert sent herself backward with a Hydro Pump. Angry, glowing teeth snapped on the air where the ground type had been an instant before. Aubre shudders as she notices a spar sticking from between its fangs. It looked like a toothpick in an old Western.

[break][break]

Again, a fist hits in an attempt to drive the thing back. Support from the other two drew Kyogre’s ire for an instant. Ice coated its fins as it launched a frigid blast the way of the other two. Serena managed to evade the trap of the Twister. Salt stings at the beast’s red eyes as the axolotl is sent spinning by a flailing fin.

[break][break]

The whale scuppers Aubre’s attempt to return the Swampert as it sweeps its head in a semicircle. Red energy begins to swell within it. “Serena!” Suddenly, there’s a hand in her vision. The shadow of a Salamence eclipses hers. With a look of determination, the redhead reaches for the man’s hand and jumps.
[break][break]


Sure, the man could be a criminal or terrorist. But that was a far less immediate concern than whatever the Sea God was brewing.

[break][break]

As she swings skyward, the redhead tries again. This time, the Swampert vanishes in a burst of blue light. She cuddled the Pokeball against her chest. “Thank Arceus.” The redhead sighed as her heart began to calm. Then, she turns to Ghost with a wide-eyed smile. “And thank you.” A shaky breath brings her some peace. Now, she draws a connection between him and her mysterious saviors.
[break][break]


“All of you.”

NOTES

✦ Time to run from a giant sea monster! She could use a hand here.