Another Day at Unity (10) (Patreon)

Water already filled the hold to knee height, swamping crates and barrels and slowing the fight. Captain Blackwood fought bravely, holding the opening beside his gardevoir. But their enemy was prepared to fight and kill a psychic type, so they'd prepared accordingly. Dark types, ready to hunt the lady of the house.

"You attack a peaceful vessel on a diplomatic mission!" she yelled, magnifying her voice with psychic power. She flew above the water, though she was still completely soaked. "Turn your weapons away, or die."

Three warriors backed against the rear of the hold, behind a shimmering barrier. The captain and his gardevoir held them behind it, though deep cracks penetrated it. A blade had pierced the captain's shoulder, judging by the slow seeping of blood through his uniform, and he leaned against a stack of crates for support.

As his strength waned, so did the barrier.

"Lady Hayden?" he yelled, without turning around. The daemon stood before him, both arms outstretched. "You should be in your quarters!"

"Too many corpses in there." She floated beside him, with Liz clearly visible behind her. She wanted them to see, even if it meant the captain would too.

She glowered through the opening, holding both hands in front of her. The barrier would prevent attacks from her direction too—it took special coordination to let them slip through. But this gardevoir was still a stranger to her.

"How is she alive? Commander was upstairs?"

Some powers worked easier than others—like understanding their meaning when she didn't speak the language—and speaking it in return.

"Commander is dead, along with two of your shield-brothers. Vile assassins who raised their weapons against a lady of the Great Families, recognized by Eldest. Did you come to do the same?"

One of them answered with an attack, lunging at the barrier with incredible speed. A bright red pokémon, with blades wrapped around its torso and emerging from its head.

The barrier shattered into shards of light, but not before gardevoir tackled the captain into the water, pushing him out of the way. That was just fine—the pokémon wasn't aiming for him anyway.

Hayden looked forward as she had before, seeing a dozen different paths to defend herself—and found none that ended with her survival—at least none where she stayed a celebi.

The attacking bisharp was fast, but Liz's transformation was faster. She landed in the water on two legs, rising up to match Hayden's own height. Only one creature she knew had the strength to win a fight like this, a sprout of long legs with sharp leaves as arms and a pair of little purple eyes.

Hayden became a warrior too—taller, stretching the fabric jumpsuit, with a body of hard muscles and lightning reflexes. Like her sensei, but a creature of grass instead of steel.

Liz brought those leaves together in an implosion of force. A terrible noise echoed through the ship as vacuum crushed down on her attacker. The daemon buckled, its momentum dying in mid-strike. It dropped face first into the water. Liz caught the pokémon in grassy limbs, then shoved her down, smashing the axe-head so hard that it stuck against the ship walls.

Another warrior paused over the captain, shield raised—and started to drown. He clutched at his throat, face turning red as he reached for his daemon. Hayden elbowed him in the face, smashing his nose and twisting the spear out of his grip.

She shoved past him then, stepping over the injured captain. Two opponents remained, and Hayden no longer had the benefit of a view into the future to watch them fight. She couldn't speak their language anymore either, and had to rely on them understanding hers.

"They say no ship survives when the Myrmidons strike!" she yelled, louder than the man drowning behind her, struggling in vain to free his daemon from the floor. "We came for peace!"

Liz eyed their daemons—greninja and samurott, both as armored as their humans.

"You were a commoner's child," the captain whispered, shuffling behind her. His movements came sluggish now, the water around him stained red like his clothes. "You don't fight like one."

A glowing tentacle of water reached up from beneath, swallowing one warrior. They shot forward at Hayden, harpoon at the ready. He closed too fast for a common pokémon to react, smashing into her. She tumbled through the air, with the harpoon tangling in her dress. It smacked her chest, which got instantly hard, deforming around the weapon.

She flopped past the warrior, sinking into the water.

Stronger, we need— Liz thought of it before she did, and changed. The Spiral rocked, wood groaning under the sudden force of a massive pokémon. Liz filled the corridor, crushing boxes and barrels against the walls with her incredible size. Liquid metal stepped across the hall, blocking the Sea Crown's watery tentacle with her massive bulk.

The warrior dropped to the flooded corridor with a splash, drawing a dagger and tossing it directly at Hayden.

It passed through her head, sinking to the hilt in flesh made partially of metal.

Hayden grinned, digesting it in a matter of seconds. She caught the leathery hilt in one hand, then dropped it into the water.

She lunged for her attacker for a devastating physical strike, tearing through Cody's futuristic suit as her body deformed. She crushed the warrior against the wall with a Superpower so bright it boiled water near her and scorched the ship’s superstructure.

By the time she reached the captain, she found the last warrior had fled. Water kept pouring in, already up to her waist. The ship listed and groaned, sinking lower by the second.

"Blackwood," Hayden said, helping him to his feet. She could barely see him then, other than the faint lines of iron in his blood, dribbling out into the water. "Is your daemon strong enough to bail some of this water out? I'll seal the breach."

Liz deformed as she said it, warping sideways to press against the wall. "Ready."

"I... yes, I believe so. One moment, lady." He gestured, and his daemon spread her arms wide. The corridor glowed, and water rushed out, carrying broken boxes with it. Hayden caught one corpse by the arm as the water moved, anchoring herself to the floor. The dead wouldn't vanish into the ocean tonight.

It wasn't perfect, of course. Even a powerful psychic couldn't stop the ocean from flooding in again. That was where Liz came in, throwing herself at the opening. Metal formed there, mingling with the wood. Shimmering silver outlined the shape of the prow, and remained as the daemon pulled away. She landed on Hayden's shoulder in her familiar form, long tail curling around her neck.

"Let's get that knife out of your shoulder, captain," Hayden said. "Can't have you bleeding out on me."

"Not... sure I've much time left, lady." He slumped against the wall, sliding to a sitting position in the bloody water. It remained at ankle depth now, full of various little chunks of debris from the cargo hold. "It was an honor. If you could give word to my family. My son deserves to—"

"I will do no such thing." She gestured, gathering several drops of clear water from the floor in front of them. Liz drifted down to the dagger, touching against it with one little pink paw. "Tell him yourself, captain."

Life flooded into him, mending the wound and replacing missing blood. The man spasmed once, clutching at the wound. His head twitched, and one eye focused on her. Hayden watched the blue iris stain red.

"A healing move?" he asked, eyes wide. "I didn't think that was... possible."

She offered her hand. "For a pokémon, no. You have to know human anatomy to repair it. Fortunately, I do. Mostly. Minor side effects."

Liz brushed past the gardevoir, whispering to her. "You might have to help him. Humans get reaaaal confused when they start sensing thoughts."

"I don't..." The captain drew a fallen blade from the water, holding it before him. "Thank you, noble lady.”

"The vessel is yours, captain. Though I would ask to remain on deck while we wait for the Manaphy to respond."

The captain lingered beside the dead warriors. One showed few signs of harm, other than the dribble of water down his lips. The woman's face was crushed beyond recognition, little more than a bloody smear. He bowed, bringing one arm across his chest in a salute. "I see now why Lady Gracidea sent you with no personal guard."

Hayden did little over the next few hours. There were more wounded to treat, pokémon and human alike—but that was all. She changed into a fresh dress, combed the tangles out of her hair, and tied the traditional braid again.

At her request, the Spiral crew brought the six dead warriors to the deck, piling the bodies near the prow.

The Spiral sailed on towards their destination. Hayden brought the fine dining table to the deck, along with her personal tea set. There she waited, staring out into the ocean with Liz's mew senses.

"Lady—" A sailor stopped beside her, saluting. "I have word."

She opened one eye, then floated back into a vertical position, arms stretching into a tall, satisfying yawn. "What is it?"

"I sent the message you requested. Attacked by pirates. Three injured of our crew, six casualties. But why lie? Should our navy not know who was responsible? And your noble mother..."

My noble mother would not be happy you were questioning her if she were here.

"Knows exactly who is responsible," she finished. "The message is an obvious lie. There's no pirate at sea who would strike a ship bearing those flags." She nodded up at the mast, and the pair of bright symbols there. The pink on green Gracidea flag, and the one beneath it. The Johto Mews were the first house, and so theirs was even simpler—a round moon against a black background, faintly luminous with a dusting of moonstone.

He bowed to her. "As you order, great lady. We've heard nothing of reply—but we may not. Our equipment suffered damage in the attack. Our call for help may be silent."

She shrugged. "So long as it's loud enough for the Manaphy to find us. If things are in order on deck, tell the captain I request the crew get below. I want you out of sight when our visitor arrives."

She wasn't waiting much longer—their scheduled meeting was at dawn, after all.

Hayden felt them coming, and got herself ready. She sat up straight, smoothed her gown, and settled a mask of confidence over her mind. But while she floated calmly, her tension overflowed into Liz. The mew circled around her rapidly, eyes scanning the ocean from every angle.

That meant she was ready when another tentacle of light burst from the sea, rocketing towards the deck. It arched over the ship once, circled around it, then stopped dead. A woman dropped out from within, her flowing dress dripping wet and clinging to damp skin.

She was older than Hayden, with bright marks around her eyes and long blue tentacles trailing from her head. "Six dead Myrmidons are an interesting way to sue for peace."

Tell me when you're ready, Hayden thought.

Liz bobbed up and down, circling near the manaphy, then pulling away again. She studied the pokémon with mythical intensity. How much time would it take?

Hayden shrugged, removing a piping-hot kettle from the flame, and pouring it into two glasses. "An assassination is an interesting way to accept it."

The manaphy glared at her, body tense. Hayden saw few signs of Unity on her—but that didn't mean her daemon wasn't much stronger than Liz.

"You should not exist, common-born. You're imitation and falsehood, born of weak blood. Your ascension was cancer in the body of the Great Families."

She forced a smile in return, settling the teacup back into place. "This is passho tea. I'm told it's held in high regard in Pokélantis. Would you like some?"

Her enemy glared at her for a few more seconds—then pulled out the chair, and sunk wetly into it. "This doesn't mean I won't kill you."