[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]While the Ultra Crater didn't hold the same innate appeal for Aurelie as the Mechanical Kingdom had, it certainly contained plenty intriguing mysteries and breathtaking wonders. The foremost of these were the craters, which were linked somehow with the moon and could be satisfied with strange offerings.

Unlike last time, when Jack had done all the work, Aurelie came prepared this time. From her backpack, she drew a stone bowl from a kitchen supply store, as well as a bathrobe printed with Typhlosions from her favorite thrift shop. For the jeweled branch, she offered an eyepatch adorned with leaves made of semiprecious gems.

Together, they toured the other craters to leave the offerings. With each stop, the moon grew larger and brighter overhead. At the last crater, it rose into dazzling prominence, a silver disc shimmering at the zenith of the sky, so huge that it looked close enough for them to reach out and touch.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aurelie caught sudden flashes of white. Turning, she gasped when she saw a group of Kartanas reacting to the sight of the great, luminous moon by leaping away through the fields and into the jungle beyond. She tugged at Jack's arm and pointed.

"Look at that!" the redhead whispered. "Where do you think they're going in such a rush? Maybe we should follow them and find out..."

Planting her feet cautiously to avoid stepping on a twig or rustling the grass, she hustled after the fleeing Pokemon. The jungle was dense and dimly lit, yet the trail left by the group of Kartanas was clear and easy to follow. Aurelie and Jack stayed at a distance, careful to avoid alerting them of their presence.

It didn't take long until they reached what looked like a spectacular emerald-green pagoda rising in the heart of the jungle, seemingly fashioned all from towering bamboo stalks. Dozens of Kartanas guarded the multi-story tower with gradually tiered, gracefully sloping eaves. Even in the celadon-tinted light filtering through the leaves and vines overhead, their blades gleamed bright and sharp.

As the party they were tracking through the jungle approached the pagoda, there seemed to be a guard change. For a few minutes, it seemed like no one was patrolling outside. "Do you think we should explore inside?" Aurelie whispered, catching Jack's eye.

Then suddenly, a single Kartana emerged from the entrance and stared directly at the two of them. Its sword rang free of its sheath as it hissed a fierce challenge at them and charged swiftly forward.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie let out an astonished gasp when Jack's Aegislash swiftly dispatched the attacking Kartana with a single decisive strike, cleaving through not only its arm but even its torso. Realizing where they were, she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her reaction. Still, her eye twinkled with delight.

"That was incredible!" she whispered to Jack, her face and tone openly impressed. "After we get out of here, you need to tutor me sometime on using Aegislash! I never knew how many powerful things it can do.

"But right. First things first, let's keep exploring." She took Jack's outstretched hand in hers and squared her shoulders in readiness.

Trailed by his Aegislash, they quickly ducked inside the entrance to the towering bamboo fortress and looked around hurriedly. Instead of the magnificent great hall she was expecting, Aurelie and Jack found themselves inside what looked like a narrow antechamber with low ceilings. I guess this looks very defensible... she mused, when a sudden noise caught her attention.

It was a sound she recognized well: the rhythmic rasping of a whetstone along the edge of a blade. She froze and gaped as another Kartana strolled around the corner, absorbed in sharpening its sword. Then, her eye narrowed and she let out a disapproving grumble as she watched its technique.

The Kartana froze at the sound of her voice and whirled to stare at them with its enigmatic eyes. It did pause in its sharpening, though, and didn't immediately attack them. Aurelie stared back at it, glanced quickly at Jack, and then hurriedly explained herself.

"You're doing it wrong," she told the Kartana, feeling exceptionally odd that she was lecturing a Pokemon, of all things—even one that seemed to speak in a human tongue. "You want to hold the whetstone at a shallower angle to your blade. About 20 degrees or so. That'll give you a better edge to your blade."

To her amazement, the Kartana slowly nodded and adjusted the angle of the whetstone before it began sharpening itself again. Its face seemed to brighten at the change. Aurelie grinned despite herself.

"I know a lot of tricks to strengthen and sharpen metal, if you're interested in learning more," she offered. The Kartana took a step toward her. "I can..."

Her words were drowned out by a growing cacophony of metallic, cymbal-like footsteps. Drawn by the sound of a human voice, a squad of Kartanas raced around the corner and lunged forward to confront the intruders. Seeming just as startled as they were, the receptive Kartana dashed toward her and Jack.

"Crap, are they mad at you? Or us? Or both?" Aurelie exclaimed, her face going pale. "Either way, I'm not sure how much more exploring we can do! Jack, let's get out of here. And you..."

She fished a Pokeball out of her pocket and tossed it at the Kartana with the whetstone. To her fleeting satisfaction, it disappeared into the Pokeball. Pocketing it, Aurelie was already releasing her Golurk to help defend them as they made their escape.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but Argile, I need you to buy time against the avenging angels over there," she told the looming Pokemon, who planted its feet solidly before the onrushing Kartanas. "Use Deathly Defender, please!"

The Golurk nodded solemnly, and she whirled away to run out the front door. Under its feet, the earth groaned and buckled, rising to cover its massive body in a suit of adamant armor. One stretch of earth expanded into an immense scythe that curved outward from its right hand, gleaming dully.

Just in time too, for the Kartanas struck its earthen armor with their blades and the Golurk staggered under their blows—but its armor held strong. The Kartanas couldn't get past it in the narrow chamber to reach Aurelie and Jack. With a cracking noise, the Golurk struck one Kartana and knocked it several feet back, sending it crashing into a bamboo wall.

Aurelie recalled the Golurk once they were out the door and fleeing the bamboo forest. Right now, the open field with the craters and geysers seemed a lot more inviting than a fortress full of angry Kartanas. At least, she had managed to persuade one of them to come with her, which felt like victory enough.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Startled but grateful for Jack's fortuitous discovery of the cave system running underneath Ultra Crater, Aurelie breathed a little easier when they no longer heard the clatter of pursuing Kartana behind them. Her heart was still racing, and she halted to catch her breath. When Jack turned to her to marvel at how she'd managed to befriend the Kartana, all she could do at first was grin and nod at him.

When he leaned forward for what he probably thought would be a quick, affectionate kiss, though, it set off a fire in her. The adrenaline from the chase and her relief over their getaway transmuted into sheer lust. Grabbing his shirt in her hands, Aurelie tugged him forward to press his body hard against hers.

Tilting her head backward, she captured his lips with hers, her hot mouth moving fiercely and hungrily on his with an almost ruthless intensity, as if she were trying to devour him whole. She didn't even realize she'd begun walking them backward until his back bumped into the cave wall behind them.

Aurelie pulled back, and a flush spread across her face when she heard a distant rustle of bamboo. It was a reminder that they weren't in bed or even in Hoenn, but in dangerous, extraplanar territory surrounded by unfriendly Pokemon. She shook her head.

"Clearly, I, uh, find you a little too irresistible for my own—no, our own—good," she said apologetically, clearing her throat. "Sorry for...well, that.

"We should keep moving. Stay ahead of those Kartana and see more of what's out there." Then, a smirk curved her lips, even as Aurelie forced herself to step back and let go of Jack. "But I do hope we can continue this conversation when we're back home."

Letting the brisk cavern air cool her off, the redhead took a deep, calming breath and willed her pulse to stop throbbing. The Pokeball containing the surprisingly responsive Kartana was a satisfying weight in her pocket. As they heard more rustles of bamboo above, she looked up worriedly and pointed in the opposite direction from where they'd first come into the cave.

"Let's see if there's an exit," she suggested. "These tunnels have to end somewhere, right? I feel like I can smell grass or at least fresh air coming from over there..."

Trusting her nose, she beckoned questioningly to Jack and then struck off further into the cave. Around the next turn, though, Aurelie stopped in her tracks and simply stared, her momentary rush of desire forgotten in astonishment.

"Jack..." She pointed with a shaking finger. "Is that what...what I think it is?"

Aurelie thought what she saw was a smaller, broken-down version of the Megalopolan spaceship they'd discovered and boarded under Route 119, during the pursuit of the Bloodmoon Beast. Frantically, she scanned the spaceship for any signs of life. Nothing moved in the wreck, not through the doors that hung loosely from their hinges or the cabins that gaped open and empty.

Her eye widened when she spotted a damp scrap of paper that had fallen to the cavern floor. Though she kept her distance, Aurelie could see the markings from here. "It looks like...like a map," she whispered aloud. "A flight path from some other world or planet to here..."

[player]https://file.garden/Zdzc0bwq23DtYBEi/Shrine%20Battle%20(The%20Legend%20of%20Zelda_%20Breath%20of%20the%20Wild%20OST).mp3[/player]

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"Yeah, I think you're right," Aurelie agreed, reluctantly pulling her gaze away from the crashed Megalopolan ship. Even though it appeared manifestly empty and deserted, she couldn't help fearing some blue-skinned alien was about to leap out and attack them both.

"Considering how unfriendly the Kartanas were to us, I can't imagine they would have been any more welcoming to a bunch of hungry, greedy Megalopolans. Who knew aggressive and territorial Pokemon could sometimes be a good thing?" She chuckled wryly.

Still, a shudder rippled through her at the memory of the Megalopolans. They had just left them there in Hoenn, roaming around somewhere, wounded but still alive and free. And the poison powers they'd displayed... Aurelie still woke from nightmares of the Toxic Chain some days, sweating and crying.

Thankfully, for most of those days, Jack was usually right next to her to comfort her. Just as he was here now, watching for her reaction. She shook her head and smiled weakly.

"Let's get out of here," Aurelie told him, reaching out to take his hand. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to see some sky again soon."

Together, they looked around for another tunnel that showed a hint of light and started following it. A few minutes later, the redhead was ecstatic to discover there was in fact daylight on the other end. They climbed up out of the tunnel to find themselves in a vast, verdant field stretching on seemingly forever toward the horizon.

"Now, this is much better," Aurelie sighed, taking a deep breath of fresh air. "So peaceful too! Though...is there something moving over there?"

She squinted curiously toward what looked like a large hillock maybe a hundred feet away, nudging Jack to look in the same direction. Suddenly, the large hillock itself started to move. Shedding a layer of moss and grass, it revealed itself as a towering Celesteela, shining in the moon's light and launching skyward with a burst of steam.

"Arceus!" she yelped, alarmed but also intrigued. Other similar shapes nearby started to quiver just like the first Celesteela. "Did you know they could do that, Jack?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Even as the Celesteela visibly vibrated in preparation for launching itself moonward, Aurelie hesitated for a moment to look skeptically up at the sky. "Do you really think we can make it? I guess it looks a lot bigger and closer than the moon in our world, but... Even if we do make it, do you think there'll be air we can breathe?"

Still, Jack was waiting, with that excited glow on his face that she'd always adored, and the Celesteela looked just about ready to take off. She hesitated. Maybe this is safe enough. The Pokemon surely have to breathe up there. And, well...

It was morbid, but the next thought that sprang to mind was, If this is how I die, riding a Celesteela up to a moon in another world, that's kind of a cool way to go.

"Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming!" the redhead exclaimed, grabbing Jack's hand and pulling herself up next to him. "If we survive this, this should be a hell of a post for your blog!"

Just as she wrapped one arm tightly around his waist and grabbed the edge of the protected space at the Celesteela's neck, it leaped for the sky. Aurelie's knuckles turned white as she held herself in place with a death grip. Their rapid, soaring ascent was breathless, terrifying—and exhilarating.

After what seemed like an eternity but also only like an instant, the Celesteela's flight slowed and then stopped entirely. Aurelie couldn't even remember squeezing her eye shut in fear, but now she warily opened it to look around. Her jaw dropped.

"Jack! We made it!" she cried out, unnecessarily but euphorically. Her gaze swept over the pristine, pockmarked landscape in wonder. The Celesteela they were riding started to lurch toward the large group gathered nearby, and she let out an excited laugh.

As her heart stopped thumping so rapidly and her breath came easier on this moon that somehow had plenty of breathable air, she could feel herself relaxing. She giggled a little when she glanced back down at the world below and noticed how small the craters looked on the ground, as well as the arcing flight of the Celesteelas heading toward them.

"I...I didn't expect it to be so beautiful up here," she murmured. "I...I don't know how we get back down, though. But maybe we can stay up here for a while anyway.

"It's so quiet up here. So safe." She squeezed Jack's hand. So unlike Hoenn...

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT