by KJ Harlow
“Arrr, yes the Merediths. They would sit upon the rocks and sing, dashing the hopes, dreams and lives of seamen on shallow reefs.”
“You want Captain Maplefingers to crash the Cruisy McCruiseface?” Starry asked, an eyebrow raised.
“Errr… the version I heard was that the mermaids would lead the ships safely home.”
“That would be the watered-down G-rated version, lad. Yet…” He waggled a finger at him. “The voice of a girlfriend in this oppressive cabin would be welcome.”
“I can try and… tone it down?” Starry suggested, looking between the two men.
“If you can, that’d be great.”
Maplefingers sat upon a stool while Yoshi leaned on a bench. Starry closed her eyes. For half a minute, the sea rocked the ship in her silent lullaby.
Then she began to sing:
Cruisy, our girl, sails through the fog,
We’re heading to Agate,
Maplefingers, the old sea dog,
He’s everybody’s mate!
Slowly, a smile spread over Maplefingers’ face, exposing yellowed teeth. Starry repeated the refrain and soon, he began to hum along. Yes, it’s working!
The captain hopped off the stool, chest puffed out. He strode over to the wheel, disengaged the auto-pilot and clasped the wheel.
“We’re on course,” he said. “Not only that, we’ll get there even faster now, thanks to your lovely star maiden.” He winked at Starry, who graciously dipped her head.
“Good work,” Yoshi said, hugging her around the waist and pulling her towards him.
“Can I go back into my ring now?” she whispered. She glanced at the buckets of chunky yellow-brown and buried her face in his shoulder.
“Clement!” Maplefingers barked into an intercom that bounced on a cord.
“Captain!” Clem’s voice came through. “You’re alive!”
“I was never dead, ya urchin!” the captain roared. “Full steam ahead, get the men to double the coal. We’re going to get to Agate today!”
“Y-yes sir!”
“Yoshi! I feel reinvigorated! A sterling idea to get your lovely lass to sing for me.” Starry smiled again faintly.
“I want to give you something for your troubles.”
“Oh there’s no need–”
“No, I insist,” he said, holding his wooden hand up. He fished in his breast pocket for a while, eventually pulling a round, metal tin out. Its smooth edges contrasted starkly with his weathered hand.
“Don’t be fooled, these aren’t sardines,” he chuckled. “This is an Ever Machine. The lazy anklebiters call it an EM.” He handed it to Yoshi. “They’re called Ever Machines because they can be used an unlimited number of times. In other words, forever. They are developed for real-world use, which can double as battle moves. The only catch is that once taught, you can’t unlearn them. There are only five types in the world. In your hand, you hold the third one.”
Yoshi stared at it, waiting for its details to appear:
EM3 - Mind Mine
10/10 PP
Bestows the ability to place and detonate mines telepathically.
“Ever Machines are also different because you can increase the magnitude of your attack by choosing the number of Power Points you wish to use in a single hit,” Maplefingers explained. “I was going to pass it onto my boy spawn as an heirloom, but alas, it was never meant to be.”
“What happened to him?” Starry asked.
He turned away. “I never had one.”
30
Sea Of Ice
“Great singing just then,” Yoshi praised. “Maplefingers said that we’ll be going around the east coast of Agate in a couple of hours.”
“I think I’m poisoned,” Starry said weakly, gulping down air.
“What? Oh, you mean from the captain’s vomit. Once you got used to it, it wasn’t that bad.”
The interstellar-type threw a glance sharp enough to behead her trainer. “Would you like to go in there again?”
Yoshi raised his hands in surrender. “On second thought, let me check out your stats, just to be sure:
NAME: Serenette (Starry)
NATURE: Reserved
TYPE: Interstellar
ACC.: Cat Eyes Tee
LEVEL: 24
HP: 75/75
- ATTACK: 24
- DEFENCE: 20
- SPCL ATTACK: 26
- SPCL DEFENCE: 25
- SPEED: 22
MOVESET:
Gaze - Type: Normal - 30/30 PP (Lower defence by staring into opponent’s eyes, stun effect for 3 seconds.
Siren Song - Type: Interstellar - 30/30 PP (Devastates foes with a hope-dashing song, 40% chance of confusion.)
“Nope, you’re looking good. Having said that, I’m going to take you guys back up to the Pamper Nurse now.”
“Can I have a look at the EM?”
Yoshi didn’t realize that he was still clasping the smooth, metallic disc. “Yeah sure.” He handed it to Starry and immediately a notification popped up:
Can Learn
“Oh? You can learn this move? You’re not a psychic-type.”
She held it flat in the palm of her hand. The dark-gray gun metal EM seemed to be humming gently.
“Yet. After I evolve into Novaria, I’ll be a dual-type interstellar/psychic.” She held up the disc and looked at her warped reflection in it. “Maybe it can sense that.”
“Do you want to learn it?” Yoshi asked. “Maplefingers said that EM moves are stuck with you forever.”
Starry was quiet. “Not yet. I’ll hold onto it for now and when I’m ready, I’ll–”
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE-CRASHHHHH
“Aaargh!” Yoshi slammed into the wall, slumping to the ground. He took a moment to get to his feet. When he did, he slipped and fell again. With his chin on the carpet, he craned his neck up, just in time to see his star maiden roll into him.
“Ooof! Starry!” She didn’t respond. Her eyes were closed. Surprisingly, she was still holding onto the EM3. Damn, she’s knocked out. “Alright, get back.” He touched her ring to her arm and she zipped back inside.
“Sir?” Yoshi looked up. A Chippie was clutching onto the corner of the wall, looking helplessly down at him. Her mouse whiskers were twitching nervously. “I need you to head up onto the deck.”
Yoshi got to his feet, albeit unsteadily. “What happened? Did we hit another iceberg?” Was Maplefingers alright?
She shook her head. “I don’t know. But it appears that the Cruisy McCruiseface isn’t moving. The crew is investigating a possible breach.”
“A breach?” Yoshi responded. “Like a hole in the ship?”
“Maybe. Please make your way up to the deck.”
“Yes.” The cruise ship creaked and the angle of the floor shifted up another ten degrees. “I’m coming up now.”
What the Frank?
After fifteen minutes of making his way up, he finally emerged onto the deck. It was absolute pandemonium. Hundreds of trainers and girlfriends were cramped for space. Some were arguing with ship staff, who were doing their best to placate the disgruntled clients. Others had settled for staring listlessly at each other and their surroundings, puffs of frozen breath crystallizing in front of their faces.
There was a queue that clung to the railing of the ship, thirty trainers long extending all the way to Pamper Nurse Pete and his colleagues. Some of the girlfriends in line nursed bruises on their arms, legs and head.
A frosty squall blew over the deck and as one, everyone on board cringed, clutching their scarves closer to their faces or burying their noses deeper into the collars of their zipped-up down jackets.
“Please refrain from flying. Once you leave the ship, we are not responsible for your safety. No, stop!” Yoshi looked to where the commotion was. Trainers were taking off from the deck one after the other, riding or being carried by their winged girlfriends.
“Annabelle,” Yoshi said, jogging over. He slipped slightly on the deck s
lick with a thin layer of ice but managed to stay on his feet. “What’s happening?”
The head of client service Blushy spun around, ready to rip Yoshi apart. “Oh, Yoshi.” She lowered her raised hand, combing a strand of stray hair back behind her ear. “Apologies, it’s been a… hectic hour to say the least.”
“Where are the trainers flying to?” Yoshi looked to the distance. Two of them rode on the back of bird-kin, one hung from the talons of another, while the fourth sat atop a scaled girlfriend, her long form reflecting the sunlight as she rippled through the air.
“They are going to Agate Island,” Annabelle said. “Off to find some stupid mythical ice girlfriend.” She glared witheringly at a trainer who had just slipped and fallen on his ass.
“What’s happened to the ship?”
*CRACKLE*
“You’re about to hear it straight from the man himself,” Annabelle said, before she rushed off to defuse a fight that had started to break out a few yards away.
“Ahem, good afternoon passengers, this is Captain Maplefingers.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the speakers placed at intervals on posts around the deck.
“As you might have noticed, the Cruisy McCruiseface is currently not moving. She is sitting in a rather ungainly position, which is making it rather difficult for people to not fall down. The furnace crew have already done checks and determined that there is no breach of the hull.”
Two other trainers took off, their girlfriends kicking up puffs of powdered ice on the deck.
“Most cruise liners would be able to break through a layer of ice several feet thick. The Cruisy was built to cut through ice two or three times thicker than that. However, we have misjudged the harshness of the Agatian everwinter. If you look out over the left side of the ship, you will see that Agate Island is within touching distance. However, all the seawater within a mile radius has been frozen solid.”
Yoshi scuttled over to the railing, clasping it before he could fall. Holy Frank. Maplefingers wasn’t kidding. Translucent, black ice stretched all the way from the ship to the mountain peak on Agate Island. He looked down. He could have sworn the ice was slowly creeping up and freezing around the hull of the ship. Another four trainers had already taken off, abandoning the ship in search of adventure.
Yoshi squinted. His eyes could have been deceiving him, but it looked like there was someone who was running across the ice towards Agate.
“We are currently trying to ascertain how to break free from the ice and continue our journey. It could just be a matter of waiting a few days for the weather to improve and the ice to thaw. We have enough food to feed everyone on board for two months, so there is no cause for concern. If worse comes to worst and we cannot go to Agate, we shall assist you with going back to Sapphire Port.”
The trainers left on board exchanged glances with each other or stared stonily at the speakers.
“I also understand that several trainers have already sought their own passage to Agate. While we do not condone this, we cannot stop you. If you wish to explore Agate, please see a member of staff and we will be more than happy to assist.”
“Nooo!” Annabelle moaned. “No one authorized that! What in Frank’s name is he saying?”
“Bear in mind though that should the ship be ready to set sail, we will not contact you nor wait for you to come back on board. I ask that everyone stay on the deck until further notice. This is Captain Maplefingers, signing off.”
*CRACKLE*
People on the deck resumed their complaining and the area once again descended into chaos.
Yoshi checked his belt. One by one, he lined up his girls.
“Everyone, hold onto the railing!”
He could see the question form on their faces until they started overbalancing. Each of them slapped their hands onto the railing like they were about to practice ballet formations.
“What on earth has happened?” Flick asked. “What’s with all these people? Why is the sea all frozen?”
Yoshi took a moment to explain the situation. By the end of it, the water-type didn’t look any less confused.
“So the Captain didn’t hit another iceberg,” Starry said quietly. She looked a bit dazed but thankfully was conscious again. “The ice just got too thick and stopped the ship completely?”
“That’s what it sounds like.”
“And we’re just lining up to be Pampered now?” Arlif asked.
“Mmhmm.” Yoshi looked towards Agate Island. The monolith of ice cast a shadow over the frozen sea, like it was a giant sundial. It winked at him, beckoning him to come closer.
“Wait a sec, where’s Soph?” Flick asked.
Yoshi snapped out of it and counted his girls. He looked at her ring; the gem was dull and lifeless, signalling that she wasn’t inside.
“She stayed up on the deck,” Crystal murmured, struggling to stay standing. “She said that she would rather become an iceberg than listen to Maplefingers.”
“Oh yeah,” Yoshi said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He scanned the deck. There was a Sophie… another one there too… neither is my Soph, though. Where was she? Usually he’d be able to hear her, even above the noise on the deck now. Her voice was conspicuously silent.
“I’m sure she’s around,” Yoshi said, trying to keep his voice casual.
It took more than an hour, but they did get to the front of the line. One of Pete’s nurses came around with a tablet. He looked over Yoshi’s girlfriends, tapping on it and making notes before moving onto the next trainer behind him.
During that time, Captain Maplefingers made another announcement, saying that it was safe for everyone to move back down below deck. Annabelle and her staff also went back downstairs, no doubt to begin processing the mother of all administrative headaches. Everything was normal, except for the fact that they sat in a sea of ice, their ship on a 30-degree angle.
“What are we going to do afterwards?” Flick said, her voice muffled by her collar.
“After what?” Yoshi asked.
“After we get healed up.”
Yoshi didn’t answer, staring at the ice mountain in the distance
“Ooooh no. We’re not going to Agate Island.”
“Why not?” he said. “We’re already here.”
“It’s freezing enough as it is here!” Flick protested, hopping on the spot. “Besides, my water-type moves won’t be very effective against any ice-types there.”
Yoshi frowned. “I wasn’t very good at Type Studies, but I’m pretty sure that water-type attacks were neither super effective nor not very effective against ice-types. Ice-type attacks against water-types were not very effective either too, so you should be fine.”
Flick muttered something under her breath while Yoshi gazed at his other girlfriends. “Ice would be super effective against… Arlif and Soph, wherever she was.” He continued along. “Rock, fire and steel-types were strong against ice,” he said, glancing at Crystal and Ai. “So you two are going to be pretty important.”
Yoshi glanced back at the island of ice. Had Asshat already come back up, healed his girlfriends and set off for Agate Island before the ship stalled?
“Yoshi Soysauce.”
“That’s me.” He stepped into the temporary Pamper Bay. There were ten beds with sliding sheets across each one.
“I’m Pamper Nurse Paul.” He glanced at his screen. “OK, one girlfriend in a burned state, another couple with HP deficits, one who took a tumble when the ship stopped. Could you go to Bays 2, 3, 4 and 5 please? I’ll be with you shortly.”
Yoshi and his girlfriends followed Paul’s command, hovering outside the bays, which didn’t have their sheets drawn. The sheet from bay 1 slid open abruptly and Paul turned around.
“Pete, where have all the Super Potions gone?” Paul asked.
Pete put his hands on his hips, thought for a moment before sliding out one of the boxes on a shelf. “Which patients are they for?” Paul ges
tured towards Yoshi and Co. “Oh hello again.”
“Any more girlfriends with holes in their chests?” Yoshi quipped. Behind him, his girlfriends sighed in unison.
“No,” Pete replied. “Are we out of Freeze Heals?” He asked Paul.
“If you can’t find one, none of us can,” Pete said. The two Pamper Nurses excused themselves and bustled past Yoshi. Pete was too preoccupied to realise he left the sheet for Bay 1 undrawn.
A frozen girlfriend?
“Yoshi…” Starry warned, shaking her head. Her trainer ignored her stepping towards Bay 1. Yoshi looked through the transparent block, his eyes wide with shock.
31
Agate Island
“So you just found her like that?” Yoshi said, glancing at his bird-kin encased in ice. “Frozen?”
“Another trainer found her after people started rushing to the deck,” Pete explained. “She was moved here so she wouldn’t pose a hazard to everyone else.”
Yoshi and his girlfriends looked at her helplessly.
“Don’t worry, she’s not in any danger. A frozen state is not like being poisoned or burned. She won’t sustain damage over time. But we can’t just smash her out of there. I will make sure to call your room when she’s been thawed and healed.”
“Why would someone do something like this to her?” Starry said under her breath. “Could it have been the same girlfriend who attacked Cindi the Chippie the other day?”
“No idea,” Pete said, resting a gloved hand on the block of ice. “Whoever it was, they picked a good time to attack and cover their tracks.”
“Why would they freeze her?” Flick asked, chewing the inside of her lip.
“Soph doesn’t exactly have a history of being easy to get along with,” Yoshi sighed. He couldn’t help but smile.
“Maybe she saw something that she shouldn’t have?” Arlif suggested.
“I’m sure we’ll all know after she’s been thawed,” Pete said.
“When she comes out, could you let her know that we’ve gone to Agate Island and to wait for us to get back?”
