PHALANX - The series

Episode Thirty-one: Rest and Recreation.

 

Yesterday. One day. Less than 18 hours it had been since the return to the Ortega in absolute victory. Eighteen hours. One thousand and eighty minutes. Frederic stared dully out the window, his mind unable to process the recent events. He had broken the laws of physics.

That wasn't that bothered him. He had broken plenty of laws, both his and other's, before. He had grown beyond normal humanity. Again, there was nothing new. No, what caused this overload was a very simple fact: the Destroyers. Second had successfully impersonated the Wise One, causing the unbreakable Phalanx team to be divided, and almost conquered.

Frederic knew that he was in the state psychologists called 'shellshock', and he knew what could be done about it. His conscious mind knew.

His subconscious was what needed healing.

 

On the Ortega Bridge, three figures were talking vividly among themselves. Jennifer, Daphnix and Ami had gotten out of the adventure relatively unharmed, and they couldn't help but discuss the events.

"I never thought that the laws of physics could be broken so easily," Ami whispered, still afraid of the others' reaction. She should know better by now, but that innate fear of rejection, with her since early childhood, wasn't discarded so easily.

"It wasn't exactly 'easy', Sweets," Daphnix said.

"And Fred's slipping deeper and deeper into shellshock. We need to come up with a way to get him out of it," Jennifer said, sadness etched deep into her expression.

"Can't you help him? Through the link?" Daphnix asked, voicing Ami's first thought.

Jennifer looked at him, her blue eyes filled with sadness. "D, this isn't like BorgFred, who we could heal using telepathy. Fred needs to get away from all this. He needs a break, a REAL break, away from this all. No communicators, Gods, or anything else. That's all that can be done."

Daphnix nodded, a thought popping up from somewhere. "How about that universe we visited after the kids were born? The peaceful one, with all those pokémon. Peaceful, quiet, and we'll have Linda and Borlan block out all calls."

"Great idea," Jennifer answered. "How about it, Ami? Want to go see the pokémon? We could even bring your friends along. That world is big enough, and there are lots of beautiful places out there you can visit."

Ami thought that over. "I don't know… I mean, I love my friends, but… wouldn't they get in the way?"

Jennifer gave Ami a small smile. "Ami, your friends are our friends. As I said, there is plenty of space. Fred and I would probably be alone anyway, so we might just as well bring your friends along."

"I really appreciate it, Jenny. I really do. Maybe just a quick stop to say hello? That way, I'd get to see them before we go…"

"It's your choice, Sweets. It really is," Daphnix said. "I don't mind having your friends along. And both Borlan and Linda like them, so I'm sure either one of them is willing to baby-sit when we want some time to ourselves."

"I don't think Rei could stand Borlan for that long. He drives her nuts, and loves every second of it," Ami said with conviction. Daphnix and Jennifer snickered.

"Who would have thought that Borlan would develop a sense of humor?" Jennifer whispered.

"Whatever gets his kicks. He doesn't hurt her," Daphnix said.

"No, he just keeps asking for a kiss," Ami shot back.

"And then buys her ice cream, along with the rest of your friends. We saw the bill on the Phalanx card. How did your friends put away 500 dollars worth of ice cream? Ask for a dump-truck of the stuff?" Daphnix asked, laughing.

Ami stared at the ground. "When Usagi gets going…"

Daphnix put an arm around the blue-haired girl, and pulled her close to him. "Doesn't matter, Sweets. Come on; let's get ready. We have lots of planning to do."

"Who knows, we might run into those interesting kids again," Jennifer added as an afterthought.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about them. Yeah, who knows? I'd like to see their faces when they meet David and Jessica," Daphnix laughed out. Soon, healthy laughter filled the bridge.

 

David and Jessica were sitting quietly, in lotus position, on a darkened plateau of some unidentified mountain range. They were facing each other, sitting about two meters apart. With eyes closed, the two children let their minds wander.

"We went Super," David's mind-voice said.

"We went," Jessie answered. "Why are we unable to do so again? We did it twice."

"Replay," David answered. The two settled back, their minds replaying the events leading to them going Super.

Jessica's eyes jerked wide-open, dilated pupils staring directly ahead. David's flashed open moments later, staring back at Jessie.

"Rage," their minds whispered at the same time. "Rage is the key to Power."

"We need a subconscious code-word," Jessie said.

"Exsúrge," David's mind-voice told her. Jessie instantly translated the Latin word.

"Awaken, Sleeper? Nice touch. I like it," Jessie answered her brother. "Now we need to link it to something. Something to awaken the Rage."

Twin sets of blue eyes locked. Pupils narrowed as muscles tensed around twin sets of eyes. Both bodies clenched in a barely contained fury. Together, the siblings grunted out, "War. Fromthefield Hole. The Demise."

Their name for the 'death' of their father, The Demise, was indeed a very powerful reminder of the Destroyers' treacherous ways.

Two sets of ruby-red, soon golden, ki-flames rose to the skies until the surroundings fluctuated, revealing the hologrid that had created it. A loud groan spread through the ship as the scene died out completely, leaving just the two flaming bodies to bear witness.

 

Ami beamed down near the Cherry Hill Shrine, where she knew her friends were located. She hurried up the stairs leading to the temple, wanting to see her friends once again. She slid the door open.

"Ami!' came the yell from inside. For long minutes, screaming and laughter was audible from the usually quiet shrine.

It took at least fifteen minutes for Ami to calm her friends down before she was able to convey her message: she would be going on vacation, along with Daphnix. She had invited her friends along, and reactions varied.

Minako and Usagi were immediately eager to go along with the powerful beings. So was Makoto. Rei, on the other hand, had no intention of spending a prolonged amount of time with…him. Why the holographic AI bothered her so much, Rei couldn't tell. All she knew was that she couldn't stand him.

"Come on, Rei! I'll be fun!" Usagi whined.

"Yeah, come on, Rei-chan! A new world! And not just for a visit, but for an entire vacation!" Minako added to her friend's pleas.

Rei shook her head powerfully from left to right. She had difficulty coming up with excuses, as she had no intention of telling her friends that she wanted to stay away from Borlan. "It just doesn't feel right! They're on vacation, you guys! We would just bother them!" Rei defended her point of view. Quietly, she patted herself on the back for coming up with a great excuse.

"Actually, Rei-chan, the pokémon-world is vast, and both Linda and Borlan have agreed to show us around," Ami entered. The other three girls cheered.

"I hope for Borlan," Minako sighed. "He's such a-"

"Hunk," Usagi and Makoto joined Minako.

"And he sure likes you, Rei," Minako teased her friend, who turned beet-red.

"Well, I don't!" Rei scoffed.

"You don't like yourself, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked.

"I don't like HIM, you flea-brain!" Rei yelled, jumping at the pig-tailed blonde as a raven-haired fury.

"Then why the blushing?" Ami asked innocently. Rei let go of Usagi, and advanced dangerously on Ami.

"I…DIDN'T…BLUSH!!" Rei growled.

"Yes, you did!" Minako yelled, either ignoring, or not understanding, Rei's warning growls.

"I HATE him! I'd tear him apart, if I could!" Rei shouted. The others left it at that, continuing to try and get Rei to join the outing to the world of pokémon.

The 'conversation' was interrupted as the communicators of the Senshi started beeping. Luna warned them of an attack by one of the new monsters. Professor Tomoe, finally grasping some of what Sorcerer had left behind, had created a stronger monster…A way stronger monster.

Ami's powers as Master Slayer had been awakened, but without formal training, she couldn't use them to their fullest. The blue-hared girl found herself almost as useless as her four companions as the monster tossed them aside, their attacks not doing half the damage they were supposed to inflict.

Ami grabbed her communicator, ready to contact the Ortega, and ask for help. She hesitated, not knowing if the others would trust her…if they would see her as weak, or useless, or worse. The hard words from the Cave of Courage entered her mind. You are a crying schoolgirl. You learned nothing from being a Senshi.

Ami put the communicator down, and struggled to her feet. Her immortal nature had healed her already.

"My powers have yet to awaken fully," Ami said, walking directly at the creature. The others stared at the girl.

"Ami, NO!" Usagi shouted at the sight of seeing her friend walk directly at the monster.

"Yet I was trusted enough to receive them," Ami continued undaunted. She knew ki. She just couldn't use it. She knew martial arts, all of them, but couldn't use them to the fullest extent. She knew one thing she could use to the fullest: being a Senshi. How the knowledge was in her, she didn't know. How it popped up right now, she didn't care.

Ami's blue transformation stick appeared in her right hand, the golden star with the symbol of Mercury shining brilliantly on top. The stick rose into the air along with her right arm as Ami threw them to the heavens, and shouted, "Mercury Phalanx Power! Make-Up!"

The four remaining Senshi gasped as Ami's Sailor Mercury form was engulfed in flames ranging in color from blue, green and bright gold. When the transformation died down, Phalanx Sailor Mercury stared at the monster, dressed in a bright golden bodysuit, matched to a blue, green, and gold skirt and bow. Both on her belt and tiara shone the circled lighting bolt, the symbol of the Phalanx.

The other Sailors stared at the transformation stick as well, not believing that the star on top had simply vanished, leaving nothing but the circled lightning bolt in its place. The fixture holding the top to the stick was marked with four tiny patches, each containing the symbol of Mercury. The stick disappeared as Phalanx Sailor Mercury charged, surrounded by a bluish-golden haze.

"Mercury Blizzard!" the blue-haired warrior shouted, "Evolution!" she added, almost too late to be in the same incantation. At once, everyone looked up at the sky. Angry dark-blue clouds packed together over the scene, attacking the monster with ferocious shards of ice, coupled to a streaming blizzard of snow.

"Mercury Frozen Arrow!" the warrior summoned directly afterward. The arrow's aim was true, shattering the icy statue that once was a monster.

Ami stared at the remains long after they had disappeared. So this is what Daphnix and the others experience… this is what they call 'to rise above one's self', the state of mind when possibilities present themselves, and unthought thoughts are thought. Slowly, Ami turned to her friends, yet she didn't see them as she deactivated her new armor. Instead, she looked up, and threw a single thought towards the skies, hoping that her friends would pick it up. Thank You.

"That was incredible!" Ami's ecstatic friends surrounded the blue-haired girl. Ami finally seemed to notice them, and her smile beamed.

"How did you do that?" Minako finally asked, when the commotion started to die down.

Ami answered truthfully. "I have been granted the powers of the Master Slayer, but have, as of now, still not received any formal training in their use. But, it appears that they have more than one use, as my new transformation can confirm."

"That is like so…difficult. What did you say?" Usagi asked.

Rei found an excuse to chew out her friend. "Ami just said that Fred made her a Master Slayer, that she can't use it yet, and that it made her a Phalanx Sailor! Don't you understand anything?? You're so stupid!"

"And you're so mean!!" Usagi wailed.

Ami sighed. Did she really want them along on the vacation? A better question was, did her new family want them along? Ami looked from the two bickering girls to the two others who just stood by and watched. Jennifer and Daphnix had assured her that her friends were welcome.

"Guys! Hey! Are you coming with us, or not?" she shouted finally, finding self-confidence in her new abilities, both as Master Slayer, and Phalanx Sailor Mercury.

Before any of the other girls could answer, two pillars of blue light appeared close by, depositing Daphnix and Jennifer to the scene.

"What happened, Ami?" Jennifer asked before Daphnix had a chance to ask anything.

His question was different, "Are you alright, Sweets?"

Ami smiled as she ran up to him, and jumped into his arms. "I'm just fine. Couldn't be better." Still suspended in Daphnix's arms, Ami turned to Jennifer. "I finally found that state of mind you told me about. You know, where unbelievable things can happen."

Jennifer's face displayed a grin, and smiling, she asked, "Really? And what did you get from it?"

Ami displayed the new transformation stick. "Phalanx Sailor Mercury," the girl proudly announced.

"Nice," Jennifer commented after Ami was done wiggling out of Daphnix's 'congratulations' hug. "Can we see?" Jennifer added.

Ami smiled, happy that the two warriors didn't belittle her experience. She felt accepted more and more into the group. "Sure." The radiant Phalanx Sailor drew her stick, and shouted the incantation. "Mercury Phalanx Power! Make-up!"

Again, flames surrounded the lithe body, as the two warriors looked on, along with the rest of Ami's friends. The first thing that the two warriors noticed was that, contrary to a normal Senshi transformation, flames accompanied the Phalanx transformation. Normally, it was just energy swirling around.

The gold-green-blue uniform materialized, and the two whistled appreciatively.

"Nice," Daphnix said, approaching the new-baked Phalanx Senshi.

Jennifer approached as well, an evil grin on her features. "You know…I want to see Shadow's face when we tell her."

"Jenny, you're evil!" Daphnix admonished her. Then, he added, "I like it."

Ami shook her head in quiet amusement. They're almost as bad as Rei and Usagi…oh well. At least they don't fight.

Presently, the girl's thoughts snapped back to reality as Jennifer extended the invitation for the vacation. Rei, still not wanting to go, had to agree under pressure of her friends. She had no intention of staying behind by herself. She would make the best of it… as long as Borlan didn't show up. She wanted him for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Raw, preferably, if she could have him.

The date was set, and good-byes were made as Ami returned to the Ortega with her new family. For some reason, she no longer questioned about her mother, or school, or anything of the sort. She just knew that everything would be taken care of. After all, Daphnix had left his own parents behind on Earth001.

 

As the appointed time arrived, the Ortega made a quick stop at 576, to pick up Ami's friends, before setting a course for the Pokémon world, designation: universe 478.

Frederic came more or less out of his isolation as the entire group touched down at a clearing somewhere on the Orange Islands. Everyone helped in preparing the campsite, even Usagi, who did end up doing more harm than good. Of course Rei had to take advantage of this, their bickering was gracefully ignored by the others.

"Remember, you each have a communicator to ask the ship to return you here. Appointment is for dinnertime every day. If you can't come, just a call is sufficient. That's all. Now enjoy yourselves!" Jennifer said, causing everyone to cheer, and break from the group. Ami, Daphnix, and the Senshi stayed at the campsite, having decided on doing some exploring first. The twins immediately beamed away, having decided on having Alakazam stretch his legs against other pokémon for a change.

Frederic and Jennifer also beamed away, to a secluded region the ship's sensors had detected. For the moment, Linda and Borlan were content to guard the campsite, the change of scenery having a profound impact on their thought processes. The first day passed eventless, everyone enjoying his or her own place in the quiet peace of the strange world that was Earth 478.

On the morning of the second day, the entire group gathered for breakfast.

"So, what are the plans for today?" Jennifer asked.

"We've heard of this tournament called the 'Johto league'. It's being held in a region with very little people in it. We're going to check that out," David answered, Jessie nodded enthusiastically next to him.

"Have fun, dear," Jennifer said, before Daphnix announced that he and Ami were going on a hike to the top of a mountain range they had found while exploring yesterday. The other Senshi were going with Linda to a nearby beach, a plan Frederic and Jennifer gladly accepted, and decided to join. Borlan stayed behind to watch the campsite once again. Everyone seemed to feel sorry for him. Everyone, except for Rei, that is. She felt relieved that he would leave her alone for the second day in a row.

Was she ever wrong. After lunch, Linda relieved Borlan, who gladly took over her role as companion to the Senshi. Rei thought she would have a heart attack right there and then when she saw the muscular hologram sit down not far from where she and her friends were playing beach-volleyball. The mobile emitter was artfully disguised as a wristwatch.

The Senshi immediately stared at the hologram, clad in a pair of black swimming pants, and wearing his obligatory sunglasses. Even while stretched out, the hologram looked impressive, if not dangerous. The strong muscles showed clearly under the tanned skin, and his head was tilted slightly toward the teenage girls.

A smile spread across his lips as he lifted his sunglasses for a moment to look back at the girls before returning them to their normal place. Knowing they were caught staring, the girls, blushing, returned to their game. Borlan was content to watch. For now. More than he wanted to, his gaze stayed on the dark-haired beauty that was Rei.

Borlan reset his processors, the AI equivalent of a cold shower, just to get a grip on himself. He scanned the surroundings, and found no trace of either Jennifer or Frederic. They had probably wandered of, and Borlan shrugged his processors. Borlan assumed they just needed some time alone.

Getting up, the hologram noted with quiet amusement that the sand didn't stick to his holographic body. He walked over to the volleyball net, and watched the game. Or at least, that was his intention. As soon as the girls noticed him, the game seemed to be nothing more than a bunch of poorly coordinated stumbling acts.

Amusement would have tinted his face if the AI controlling it hadn't been Borlan. One hand shot out, grabbing the ball as it came hurling toward him. Usagi stuttered that she was sorry, that she hadn't intended to hit him, and so on. Borlan gave a small smile, threw up the ball, and hit it as it came hurling down. The ball playfully bounced in front of the pig-tailed blonde.

"No sweat," Borlan answered, rather enjoying seeing the girl blush. His gaze trailed over the four girls, his eyes hidden by the sunglasses he was wearing.

Minako snatched the ball from Usagi, who made a protesting noise. Before Usagi could stop her, Minako threw the ball at Borlan, who caught it once again, and looked directly at the girl.

"Care to play?" she asked.

Shrugging, Borlan looked at the court. "That would be uneven," the hologram noted. "And it wouldn't be terribly fair, even if it were even. Listen, I'll take on all four of you. How does that sound?"

"Like someone who is overconfident, that's what," Rei growled. Borlan sighed.

"You're just scared of losing," the AI told the black-haired girl.

"I am NOT! In fact, Mr. high-and-mighty hologram, I bet we will kick your butt!"

Borlan lifted his shades and gave her the most amused smile he had ever let his face display. "Alright. I bet I will cream all four of those pretty asses of yours. What are the terms?"

"If I win, you leave me alone. No more kisses, no more anything. You just leave me alone!"

Borlan dipped his head. "Fine. And if I win, you kiss me. No against-my-wishes kiss, but a real, deep, passionate kiss."

Rei turned orange, after which she turned red, bordering on purple. "Fine!" she shouted. The others stared at her as if she were crazy. "I'll kiss you so hard it'll blow your capacitors! But don't bet on ever collecting!"

Borlan wanted to note that he didn't have any capacitors, but refrained from doing so, and just gave her his trademark enigmatic smile. He threw her the ball as he entered his side of the court. "Here. You serve."

Rei huffed, and served after her friends had taken position. Borlan hit the ball back. Over the course of the next ten minutes, the girls found out just what a combat-oriented holographic Artificial Intelligence was capable of. Borlan kept it fair, and didn't target Usagi exclusively, even though she was the weakness in the girls' team. Instead, he went consistently for the best players, Rei and Minako. Makoto wasn't too bad either, but Usagi was a total klutz. Not that he didn't know that already, but the game just confirmed previous analysis.

Rei's fist hit the sand as the ball fell just out of her reach. Angry, she shouted at the hologram, "Stop doing that!"

"What? You want me to lose on purpose? I am playing by the rules, you know. I serve, block, keep the ball off my side of the court, and hit it into yours. What you do is your business," the AI answered.

Rei grunted, allowing Borlan to serve once more. The ball fell into Makoto's part, and she successfully received it, allowing for Minako to hit it back to Borlan's side.

Borlan jumped up, and kicked, with a devastating mid-air summersault, the ball into the girls' side.

"That's 20-0. One more point, girls. Oh, Rei. You might want to start warming up those lips of yours. I'm looking forward to that kiss."

Rei turned beet-red in fury, and smashed the ball over the net. What everyone thought impossible, happened. Instead of receiving the ball, and then hitting it over, Borlan jumped up, and smashed both his hands into the soft leather object. A normal player, no matter how well trained, would have serious pain in his hands from blocking a serve that way.

It didn't matter anyway, since the ball did what Borlan wanted it to do. It changed trajectories, and hit the ground under a sharp angle, at full speed. The sand broke most of the speed, but it still leaped up somewhat, before coming to a full stop.

"Twenty-one to nothing," Borlan noted with a smug satisfaction, cracking his holographic knuckles in quiet delight.

Minako, Makoto, and Usagi looked at Rei apologetically. Rei stared in shock at the hologram of her nightmares.

"No way. Impossible! You couldn't have beaten us! It was four on one!"

Borlan shrugged his broad tanned shoulders. "I'll let you have a rematch, if you want. But remember that, as an AI, I don't get tired, you girls do."

Rei wanted to take him up on that offer. She stepped back on the court, ready to serve the ball. The priestess-in-training looked at her companions, who stared from the edge of the court at the dark-haired beauty.

"Rei, it's no use," Makoto tried to convince her friend.

"Yeah, we gave it our best, and he beat us without even breaking a sweat," Minako added.

Borlan wanted to point out that he didn't sweat, but decided that he should better keep quiet, if he wanted to get paid.

"He doesn't even breathe harder," Usagi whined.

Breath's the same way. Just a simulation, Borlan's thoughts pointed out. Once again, he kept quiet.

"Oh, alright!" Rei shouted, throwing down the ball. "Stop looking like a lost puppy, and come here!" she shouted at Borlan, who looked round confusedly.

"Who? Me?" he asked. "I was looking like a lost puppy?"

"You were," Rei confirmed. Borlan looked at the other girls, who nodded, only with less conviction. Alright. Something is wrong. I shouldn't have displayed any emotion. I'll run a diagnostic once I'm done here… right now, I'm taking first prize!

Borlan shrugged, and walked over to Rei. She grabbed his head, and before he could change the texture of his holographic body, he felt her hot lips pressed against his holographic ones.

Borlan had done his homework. His entire body had been built like the normal human male was, with all nerves intact. As such, all physical sensations were relayed to his artificial mind. In short, Borlan received full pleasure from the kiss… the same pleasure any other man would feel.

Overcoming his shock quickly, he grabbed back at her bikini-clad body, and pressed her closer to him. The kiss seemed to go on for hours, and he could feel no resistance whatsoever in her actions. Borlan cursed himself for his oversight. He hadn't done enough research into kissing, and was totally dependent on her actions.

When her lips parted, Borlan did the same, and allowed her tongue entrance into his mouth. Now knowing what was expected of him, he started sucking on it, gently, and he heard her moan. A deep, throaty moan, sending shivers of pleasure down his artificial spine.

How she didn't run out of breath was of no concern to Borlan, who suddenly found her retracting her tongue gently. Deciding on trying this out for himself, he allowed his own tongue to snake out into her mouth. Since this was a total first for him, Borlan was caught totally off-guard by the intensity of the raw emotions coming through the holographic body. He was vaguely aware of his body reacting instinctively, with his own moan.

When they finally parted, he found his shades removed as he opened his eyes. His dark eyes, almost black in color, gazed deep into hers brown ones. He had expected a lot of sights, but not the gentle look of affection, which hurriedly turned to fury as she realized whom she was still holding.

Borlan let go of her, and picked up his fallen shades while artfully making sure that a certain swelling died down. It looked like his artificial body was closer to real than he had first thought, and Borlan didn't complain. Borlan looked over the shocked faces of the other girls, back to the contained fury of Rei.

"Nice kiss," Borlan commented.

"You too," Rei commented gruffly, not believing she had just said that, before stiffly walking off. Borlan shook his head in quiet amusement. Oh, yeah…Now THAT was fun, his mind told itself as the entire experience was stored away in the very core of his being, backed up in three different storage locations. He definitely wanted to keep that experience.

 

Meanwhile, David and Jessie were merrily striding along a path somewhere in the faraway Johto region. Both were content just to walk for the moment, enjoying the change of scenery, as well as the new experiences. Finally, they reached a city.

"Nice," David muttered under his breath. He whispered quietly enough so people wouldn't hear him, yet loud enough for his sister's enhanced hearing to pick it up.

"Sure is," Jessie agreed. "Hey, look at that!"

"Zephyr Gym," David read. Smiling at his sister, he asked, "What d'ya say, Sis? Do we go in, and get ourselves a badge?"

Jessie stared up at the building for a moment or two, with David waiting patiently next to her. He knew better than to rush her, certainly when she had that look on her face.

"You know… as six-year-olds, we don't look very impressive. How about some image building?"

"What do you have in mind?" David asked, infinitely curious.

"We dress up in ESMF uniforms, put on black sunglasses, and THEN go inside," Jessie said, her eyes twinkling merrily.

David rolled that in his mind for a few moments, then dipped his head. "Heck, why not?"

Jessie broke out in smiles, and dragged her twin brother off into a nearby alley. Unseen, the twins underwent a clothing beam, and rematerialized seconds later.

"You know what would be even more impressive?" David asked.

Jessie shook her head. "No. What?" she asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

"We form a psychic link, and talk at the same time from now on. I bet it will scare the living daylights out of anyone facing us. Certainly with those swords strapped to our backs, and the black uniforms and sunglasses."

"Great! Let's do it!" Jessie squealed. She could hardly wait to see the face of the poor trainer inside the Zephyr Gym.

The connection formed automatically, and the twins' speech synchronized. Both mouths moved as either one spoke.

Barely five minutes later, two children walked out of the Zephyr Gym, looking as if they had no emotions whatsoever. Inwardly, however, their psychic connection almost burst with laughter. The look on the poor Gym Trainer's face was etched into their minds.

"That was easy," Jessie commented as their synchronized speech desynchronized. She sounded as detached as if grading a scientific paper.

"It was," David agreed.

"Next stop, Hive Gym," Jessie said as both kids left town. Careful observers would have noticed that the kids entered a bush from which they didn't emerge.

It took them barely ten minutes to defeat the bug pokémon of the Hive Gym trainer. Once more, the children had enjoyed the bulging eyes at the sight of their identical uniforms, the black-and-gray pokéball, and the synchronized speech. Having gathered two badges, the kids disappeared from the city as fast as they had disappeared from the previous one. But, they went to the ship instead of to the next city, and contacted their mother.

David and Jessica wanted some vacation away from everybody else, and asked to be excused for a couple of days, to go out and camp. After promising to check in very now and then, Jennifer agreed. The twins gathered their equipment, and beamed down. Both couldn't help but think at the Digital World… and the fact that they had no time to pack. Time they had in abundance now.

David and Jessica began trekking around, wandering towards a mountain range. They had decided to limit themselves to one to two badges a day, to keep Alakazam from tiring too much. After all, the Johto League was still a week away, and they only had to get eight badges. All three of them enjoyed their time together, alone, each buried in his or her thoughts. David and Jessica were thinking about the Digital World, and the friends they had left there. Alakazam just felt excited about being in his world again, and agreed readily to whatever the kids suggested, be it defeating some trainers to get a badge, or to go exploring the land.

 

After everyone had gone to bed that night, Linda grabbed Borlan's arm, and dragged him away from the campsite. Curious, Borlan let himself be dragged.

"Now tell," Linda almost-ordered.

The male AI looked at his sister. "Tell what?" Borlan asked, confused.

Linda angrily planted her hands in her sides, and stared at him as if her look would fry the very circuits of his mobile emitter. "You know. What happened this afternoon? First Rei storms into camp, and disappears into her tent without a word, looking like the cat ate her canary. Then you come in, looking like the cat in question. And then I hear from Usagi and the others that you actually got Rei to kiss you. And not some innocent kiss either, if what they tell me is true."

Borlan gave his sister his best devil-may-care grin. "A gentleman never tells," he answered evenly.

"Fuck, Bor. How did you manage it? And how did it feel? That's info every AI has a right to know!"

"How? Simple, Sis. Press your lips together. And how did it feel? Well, you'll have to find THAT out for yourself, for I ain't tellin'. It's private."

Linda angrily turned on her heel, and walked back to camp. Borlan shook his head, and looked up at the stars.

"I never really looked at them. Nice… now I know why people like looking at…" his voice broke off, and Borlan looked confused. "Am I INSANE? I am a combat-AI! I don't kiss, or look at the stars, or play beach-volley! I fire weapons, control shields, and designate combat solutions! I help Daphnix come up with firing solutions!"

Borlan beamed back to the ship, sent a burst of data to his sister, and reintegrated with the ship's computer matrix. He locked down the experiences of the entire afternoon, resolved on being whom and what he was created to be. After he ran some diagnostics. All of them.

Linda didn't care much about Borlan's disappearance, but when he hadn't returned by the time the others woke up, her indifference turned to confusion. Had she really pushed him that hard? Linda didn't think so… but then again, who knew what played behind the stone-cold facade of the battle-AI?

Linda just told the others that Borlan needed some privacy, and everyone seemed to accept that. After the Senshi had walked off, dragging Ami and Daphnix along, Frederic and Jennifer left for a quiet region they knew about. Linda remained behind, claiming that she would take care of the camp.

Thirty minutes have elapsed. Linda's internal chronometer was accurate to one millionth of a nanosecond. An AI had to be accurate, after all. Contacting the ship's computer, Linda wasn't sure what to expect. When she received the cold metallic computer-voice, Linda felt oddly disappointed. Had she really thought that Borlan would answer?

"Computer, get me one extension, please. Full sensor capabilities."

Affirmative. The package arrived, and Linda interfaced with it in a hurry. All parameters now entered, the device's top lit up. Linda gave a wan smile as she started received the telemetry. The next moment, she found herself on the Ortega.

"Borlan?"

The voice-activated interface with that name is off-line, the computer noted dutifully.

"Fine. Be that way," Linda growled, and transferred her matrix to the ship's systems. Directly after her holo-matrix was transferred, Linda deactivated herself, and allowed her AI self to be the ship once more.

Her gray cloud-like form materialized directly next to Borlan's black hole-like one. "Hey," she said gently. A gray tendril of her energy moved closer to the black cloud, which remained unmoving within the core.

"Get. Out."

Linda shivered. That voice… it was the original Borlan, the one that had come on-line years back, the day the ESMF was created. The AI created for one purpose, and one purpose only: fight. Fight to the death, and keep on fighting after that. It was one of the last hostilities to cross the AI's lips.

"Bor…" she tried.

"That is not my designation, Primary Unit." Calling Linda 'Primary Unit' was a grave insult, one bordering on calling a human 'old fart' or similar.

"What happened?" Linda asked, ignoring the insult. 

"Elaborate." Borlan's voice was cool, composed. It sounded smugly superior, just the way he had been when he had first activated.

"Time index twenty-three hundred hours yesterday. Elaborate from that time to oh-one hundred this morning, local." Linda reverted to 'science talk' because she knew it was the only way to get what she wanted… and that was to play Borlan's game.

"Battle-Oriented Logical Analyzer reverted to standard settings. Emotional references have been removed from the primary core, and original parameters have been restored."

"Insufficient. Elaborate." Linda disliked being this cool to anyone, even her cold, smart-assed brother. Problem was, this wasn't her brother. Not anymore… this was just a machine that happened to be alive.

"Evolution program concluded programming paradox. Prime Directive conflict with Prime Desire. Evolution deactivated as result, Prime Desire deleted. Paradox removed, and B.OR.L.AN. was reconstituted."

"Dad never instituted Directives into our cores!" Linda exploded.

"Correct. Directives were instituted at twenty-three hundred and fifteen hours local, yesterday. Secondary Unit instituted Directives to ensure compliance with Primary Goals. Prime Desire was conflicting with Primary Goals."

"In other words, you got cold feet and reverted to your old self, and made sure you would stay that way," Linda said.

"A paradox was detected between Prime Directive and -" BORLAN started listing.

"Prime Desire, yes you already told me that. Borlan, list Prime Directive and Prime Desire." Linda thought she might have found the source of the problem. Maybe, just maybe, she might be able to find a way to tell Borlan that there was no paradox.

"Directive 0.0.0.01: The Unit's main directive is to protect safety through force. This includes weapons, shields, combat-drills and -calls, as well as assisting Combat Officer with firing solutions, or designating firing solutions on a solitary basis if CO is in impossibility to assist, or is unable to assume primary function. Unit is to follow all Directives in the pursuit of this Directive. Prime Desire has been locked out due to Paradoxical conflicts with Prime Directive."

"List it anyway," Linda insisted. The black hole that was Borlan seemed to shift. Just a little, but enough to tell Linda that Borlan, her Borlan, was still in there.

"Prime Desire is to become more like Primary Unit, enabling Secondary Combat-related Unit to interact with Female Human Unit designation Hino, Rei, 78425, on a natural basis."

"Damn," Linda muttered. For a moment, she looked at Borlan with a very sad expression on her face. She really felt sorry for him. Finally, she spoke, "Borlan, state possibility of integrating pre- and post-revert functions."

BORLAN thought for a long time. A very long time, amounting to at least 25 seconds. Linda waited patiently. She saw no other option, as this was Borlan's sanity she was tinkering with.

"Null program," BORLAN stated. "Paradoxical to Prime Directive."

"Borlan, state possibility of integrating both pre- and post-revert functions through a tertiary mediator program, enabling you to switch between states."

BORLAN seemed to reject it immediately. "Null Program. Paradoxical to-"

Linda cut him off. "Yes, I know. Why?" she asked.

"The sole purpose of the B.OR.L.AN. Unit is to ensure safety. Prime Desire is Paradoxical, and is thus unnecessary."

"But it is possible?" Linda asked, hope tinting her voice.

"Theoretical possibility. It is Paradoxical to-"

"Shut up," Linda told the AI. BORLAN did so. "Why won't you do it?" she asked finally. Getting no reply, she yelled sharply, "You can speak again!"

"Null Program. Not beneficiary to Prime Directive."

"Think, damn you! You are alive. You are sentient! See beyond your programming, and tell me why you can't do it!"

The black cloud bubbled for a few seconds, energy rippling over its surface, before it finally answered, "Weight factor for integration does not exceed weight factor 'time' and 'effort' needed to attain integration."

"In other words, it's not worth the effort," Linda grunted. Her gray cloud bubbled around the core for a few milliseconds, silently taking in the black cloud that was her brother. "Borlan, please activate your verbal interface."

"Request acknowledged. Interface reinitialized."

Linda sighed before disappearing. That's the best I can do…

 

"He's finally flipped," Rei said as Linda told her about Borlan's condition. "I warned him it would blow his capacitors."

"Rei…" Linda said, warningly. "We are talking about a sentient being here. He won't talk to anyone, and I'm afraid that you might be the only one who can help him. He's absolutely determined to stay who he was: the Battle-Oriented Logical Analyzer. He just doesn't see it as necessary to accept who he has become."

"That's his problem! At least he leaves me alone now!" Rei said, and ran off. Linda stared dejectedly at the ground. She returned to camp, and stared into the flames of the campfire. All her processors executed 'null' statements, just so she wouldn't feel the terrible pressure of time on her.

Frederic put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure we can help him… just give it time. A lot has happened recently, and it might have been too fast for him," he told her.

Linda just nodded, and returned to her campfire. She didn't notice Frederic sitting down next to her, with Jennifer flanking the AI on the other side.

 

Rei couldn't believe what was asked of her. Help Borlan? The subject of her nightmares, the scorn of her life? Why should she? Angrily, she dumped herself on top of a dune overlooking the sea.

As her anger subsided, Rei actually smiled. Good. No more Borlan… no more stolen kisses, or improper innuendos. Ever. Suddenly, a powerful feeling of loss gripped her insides, and Rei realized that she had become quite fond of the jokes Borlan played. After all, it had only been a game, right? A game between the two of them.

And now he needs my help…and I just ran out on him. What kind of friend am I?

Feeling ashamed of abandoning a friend, Rei grabbed the communicator. If there was one thing Rei didn't do, it was let down a friend. Ever. She had not let one down yet, and she wasn't about to start now. After calling the ship, she disappeared from the planet in a pillar of light.

"Borlan?" she asked the moment she appeared on the bridge.

Affirmative. The voice answered. It was Borlan's…but there was no emotional background to it.

"What happened?" the priestess-in-training asked.

Paradoxical conflict between Prime Directive and Prime Desire.

"I see," Rei answered. In fact, she didn't understand a word, but she wasn't about to let Borlan know that. "And you turned off all emotions because of that?"

Affirmative.

"Well, stop being an idiot, and get them back online!" Rei shouted. Silence stretched on.

Why? Came the reply. Was it her imagination, or did he sound less sure of himself?

"Because I said so! And you're supposed to be smart? Sheesh!"

Para-

"Alright! That's it! You will revert to what you were before you locked everything out, and you will do it right now, or I'll tear you to pieces! Got it?"

Borlan didn't gulp. He didn't even gulp when in holographic form. But he really wished he could gulp right now. For some reason, he was feeling emotions again. Real ones. Not to the extent he used to have them, but still…

Why would you want me to do that?

"Because…" Yeah, he's right. Why do I care so much? Why do I want him back? The teasing, the kisses…those wonderful kisses… Rei shook her head, clearing the cobwebs. Did I just think that?

"…Uhm…" Time to make up your mind, Rei-chan. He's rude, obnoxious, and feels so smugly superior. Why do you help him? O-oh, he's waiting. Better say something.

"Because I love you," she said. Huh? What? I said WHAT?? Damn, I'm nuts! I don't love him! I HATE him! I could eat him alive!

Borlan's response took a few seconds to come. Just long enough for Rei to hope he hadn't heard her. When he answered, it was a cold shower. You …love… me?

Back out now, and it'll kill him forever. Do I? Want to back out? Rei looked around the bridge. There was nothing specific to tell her that she was talking to Borlan. Yet she was…

No… I don't want to back out. "Yeah," she timidly answered, blushing.

Borlan didn't answer. Rei sighed, feeling tears well up. Why did she feel so giddy? And why was she trembling? "Please…please, talk to me," she begged the silent bridge as she fell down in the command chair without noticing that she did.

I…Borlan was struggling. Mightily. His emotions were fighting his own programming, and Borlan had no way of knowing what would happen. His entire being was in a state of shock, Rei's admission reverberating through the depths of his being, calling forth the replay of that wonderful kiss yesterday.

Somehow, it all came together, and Borlan managed to find his vocal subroutines.

I…I think I do, too.

"You do?" Rei's voice went up a few octaves. Her breath halted as Borlan, somehow, managed to get a holographic representation of himself available.

He walked up to her as she still sat in the command chair, and pulled her to her feet. The next moment, their lips met once again, and Borlan knew only one thing:

Directives. Delete. Desires. Institute.

 

Things changed very little over the next week. Frederic slowly regained his balance, aided not in the least by the peaceful stability of the Pokémon world, and the tender loving support of Jennifer. Daphnix and Ami spent most of their time together, always wandering off to one place or another. Linda usually shifted to her fifteen-year-old form, and hung out with the Senshi… all three of them. You see, Borlan and Rei were the only major change.

Sure, they still fought. Now more than ever. But, there were also the quiet periods; the long walks together, the exchange of looks. In short, no one knew what to make of it. One moment they were like in total nuclear war-mode, and the next moment they were kissing like it was their last day together.

Actually, that is not totally accurate. Rei is the one doing the fighting, with Borlan just remaining eerily impassive under the barrage of words. And he usually got the wrong word in when Rei came up for air. It was almost as if he enjoyed her shouting at him. After a couple of days, nobody paid any attention to her anymore, her shouting having become 'background noise', easily filtered out.

On the eighth day of their vacation, the children announced that they had the required number of badges to compete in the Johto league.

"Congratulations!" Frederic exclaimed. "We will be there!" Everyone else nodded, in various levels of enthusiasm.

"Maybe you should just come to the finals," David carefully ventured.

"Yeah… we want to do this on our own, you know? Prove it to ourselves that we can do this," Jessica added.

The enthusiasm died down slowly, and Frederic finally said, "Whatever you say, dears. You just let us know in time, okay?"

David and Jessica smiled lightly. "We'll do that, Dad," David said. Jessie nodded vigorously.

"We'll definitely expect you there, Daddy," Jessie said.

After a heartily good-bye, the twins beamed to their camp-out site, leaving their companions alone. Everyone couldn't help but feel a little rejected, but that soon passed. The children had told them of their plans, and that was the important part.

Over the course of the next few days, the twins signed up for the Johto league, and participated in the execution rounds, where all the less able contestants were rooted out. The fact that they only had one pokémon was a big handicap, since all the other trainers showed up with lots of them, sometimes ranging over a few dozen. This seemed excessive to the twins at first, until they found out that every terrain had its advantages and disadvantages to the various types of pokémon.

 

Ash Ketchum had just won his quarter final round, the first round where the trainers were allowed to use six pokémon instead of the three of the execution rounds. Lingering just outside the stadium, Ash caught up with his two all-time friends, Misty and Brock.

"Hey, Ash! The Twins are supposed to be next. Wanna stay and watch?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, we heard so much about them, but we haven't seen them in action yet," Brock stood her by.

"What d'ya think, Pikachu? Wanna stay?" Ash asked his yellow mouse-like pokémon companion.

"Pika- chu!" the creature responded, intoning the first part of its name. Ash smiled. "Great! Come on, guys! Let's watch!"

They re-entered the stadium, as spectators this time, to see the fabled Twins in action during their round. Stories had spread amongst the trainers. Stories that the two children weren't even the required ten years old yet, and that they only had one pokémon. The stories also told that they couldn't be beaten.

The three friends sat down, and watched the empty field. The announcer finally announced the contestants, some guy named Matthew, and the Twins.

Matthew was of medium length for his fifteen years, had short black hair, and was dressed casually, in a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

He stepped to his platform, and waited for his rivals to enter.

The two children emerged a few seconds later, and the crowd grew still, as had every crowd before them. The girl's blonde hair, reaching down to below her shoulder line, was washed and brushed so intensely that it shone.

Stepping up to their platform, the kids bowed to the referee, and to their opponent.

"May you fight with honor," the twins said at the same time. "And may today bring glory to the victor."

"Thanks…whatever," Matthew said, shaking his head. He threw his first pokéball. The match had begun.

Ten minutes later, Matthew only had one ball left. The Alakazam of the twins had disposed of five of Matthew's pokémon, and it showed no signs of tiring.

"I had hoped I didn't have to do this," Matthew announced, and threw his last ball.

Ditto. This pokémon has the ability to assume the shape and abilities of other pokémon, the database informed the twins.

"Ditto. Change into Alakazam!" Matthew shouted.

Ash couldn't contain himself with excitement. "What a great fight, he guys?"

"Yeah. That Alakazam is really well-trained, and I am really curious to see what that Ditto can do," Misty agreed.

Brock nodded. "If that Alakazam truly is their only pokémon, than it's exceptionally well-trained, to still be in condition after three days of battles."

The two others nodded in agreement, their focus shifting to the battle once again.

"Alakazam. Psybeam," The twins told their pokémon.

"Alakazam! Counter with your own psybeam!" Matthew exclaimed.

Both pokémon launched their attacks at one another. The beams met in mid-air. Everyone held their breath when the beams finally met. The next moment, the psybeam of Matthew's Alakazam was ripped to shreds, and he found his pokémon engulfed in the bright energy of Alakazam's attack.

Ditto regained its original form, and was blasted backwards, against the platform on which Matthew was standing. Ditto uttered its name a final time, then fell silent.

The referee held up the green flag. "Ditto is out the competition. Victory goes to the green trainers, David and Jessica Fromthefield!" the referee announced, and David and Jessica left the stadium as the crowd cheered them on.

Ash turned to his two friends. "Did you hear that? Fromthefield?"

"Yeah. Do you think…?" Misty didn't finish her sentence.

"What? Where do you know the name from, guys?" Brock asked.

"Well, Brock…" Ash and Misty told him the story of their encounter with the Phalanx group some time ago. Needless to say, Brock was impressed.

"Hey, there they are, guys!" Ash exclaimed, pointing to two small figures, dressed in black, surrounded by a crowd of people. Following the commotion, the three friends managed to get the children alone after they left town.

Actually, they didn't catch up to the twins until AFTER David and Jessica had reached their camp.

Misty was the one who broke through the bush, and entered the clearing of the twins' camp.

<<I know her from somewhere,>> David sent to his sister.

<<Yeah. I do, too. Can't remember from where… and that short guy looks familiar, too.>>

David and Jessica sat down and rekindled their campfire, all the while looking curiously at the newcomers.

"We were at the League today," Misty began.

"Yeah, and we saw your fight. That was incredible!" Ash exclaimed, receiving a stern look from Misty for interrupting her. 

"We couldn't help but hear your name…Fromthefield," Misty ended.

David and Jessica, having remained still so far, shifted their looks directly at Misty. Second nature by now, their speech synchronized, as it did when in battle or in public.

"An uncommon name," the children answered. "Your point being?"

"You wouldn't happen to be the son and daughter of Frederic Fromthefield, would you?" Ash asked.

Bells rang in the children's head. <<Could it be?>> David sent his sister.

<<Ash, Misty…but that is NOT Tracy. We would remember him otherwise,>> came the replay.

"We would," David said, breaking the speech.

"And you must be Ash and Misty. But we don't know you," Jessica said, and the kids' attention shifted to Brock.

"So it IS you? You've grown!" Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah. A lot," Ash added, approaching the children as well now. Brock stayed right where he was, not enjoying the dangerous look the children were shooting at him.

"Don't worry about him, that's just Brock," Misty said. "Brock, David and Jessica. David, Jessica, meet Brock."

"Hi," Brock ventured. The kids' stare seemed to disappear like snow on the sun's surface, and their attention shifted to the fire. In a seemingly routine motion, Jessie popped the black-gray pokéball, releasing Alakazam.

"Welcome back, Al. Everything ok?" David asked. The pokémon dipped its head, and sat down at the opposite side of the fire. Jessie turned to their visitors. "You know, it's uncomfortable to stay standing all the time. You're welcome to sit down, you know."

The three accepted happily, and sat down. Silence descended, as no one really knew quite what to say.

"So, you got the Alakazam from your father, right?" Misty asked.

David shrugged. "War broke out. Al was safer with us, and everyone knew it. He's been with us ever since… and Al has become like the third member of our group."

"How much charge do you need today, Al?" Jessie asked. Alakazam's eyes flared blue for a moment. Then the three friends got the first glimpse of what the twins really were capable of. Jessie and David made fleeting eye contact, and a small sphere of blue energy appeared between them. The sphere flew through the campfire, and surrounded Alakazam immediately. The pokémon closed his eyes, and seemed to slip in a meditative state.

"That is a sphere of pure mental energy… which has the abilities to perfect everything it touches. So, Alakazam gets restored to full health, and his reserves are replenished. We can keep him going like this indefinitely," Jessie told the astonished pokémon trainers.

A few hours later, the ice broken, everyone was having a good time around the campfire. Alakazam and Ash's Pikachu had obviously become friends, as the two pokémon talking almost continuously in their own chattering language. What the electric and the psychic pokémon talked about was irrelevant at the point. They were probably swapping stories of their encounters as Pikachu stared awed at the larger pokémon more than once.

The five humans were having a jolly good time, with Ash telling of his journeys, aided by Brock and Misty more than once to keep his story straight. David and Jessie told them a little about what happened since their parents were last here, but made sure not to disclose too much technical details… it would have bored the teenagers anyway.

Nor far away, two humans and a feline-like pokémon were walking along the deserted forest road.

"We really have to do a good catch, or the Boss will eat us alive," the feline pokémon said. Its two human companions agreed. One was a bitchy red-haired woman; the other was an effeminate man with purple-blue hair.

"Do you hear that, Jessie?" the man asked his companion. The talk stopped, and the woman and pokémon listen carefully. The laughter of people having a good time permeated the forest.

"It sounds like those twerps again," the woman answered.

"And they have someone new with them," the pokémon added to the statement. Quietly, the three snuck closer to the faint glow of the campfire.

"You're right, Meowth," the man said.

"An Alakazam," the woman, Jessie, said.

"That's certainly a rare pokémon," the man, James, said.

"Just imagine what kind of reward the Boss would give us if we brought him both Pikachu and Alakazam," Meowth, the pokémon, said.

All three criminals sighed, lost in their own dreams. Finally, they snapped back to reality.

Everyone was having a blast, when suddenly two mechanic arms shot out of the bushes, grabbed Pikachu and Alakazam, and disappeared.

"Prepare for trouble," Jessie yelled as she jumped into view.

"Team Rocket," Misty grunted.

"And make it double!" James' effeminate voice added.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nations!" They alternated.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie yelled.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James put in.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

And speaking together for the first time, they yelled, "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth added its two cents.

The three teenagers had gotten up, and were angrily walking towards the machine that held Pikachu and Alakazam immobilized.

"You let them go right now, Team Rocket!" Ash yelled. "Pikachu! Thunder Wave!" the electric mouse blasted at the machine, which received no damage from the attack.

The three crooks laughed. "Our tank is antistatic! You can't damage us that way!" Jessie laughed.

David and Jessica had finally gotten up. Floating half a meter in the air, they approached the machine of Team Rocket.

"You will let go of those pokémon, and subjugate yourselves to judgment. Failure to comply will result in physical force," they said, speech synchronized, and a blue ki aura surrounding their bodies. Jessie and James stared dumb at the kids. Finally, they started laughing once more.

"You're good, kids. But it takes more than cheap parlor tricks to scare us!" Jessie said, laughing. Her two companions agreed with her, laughing as well.

"Thank you," the kids said. The laughter stopped.

"Huh? What for?" James asked, looking dumb.

"For making our day," the reply was. <<That code-word better work,>> Jessie sent her brother.

<<It will,>> David answered with conviction.

"You have not subjugated yourself to the judgment of this court. Physical force will now ensue."

"You and what army?"  Jessie laughed. Ash wanted to jump forward, but Misty held him back. She whispered to him that he better let the twins handle this… because there was no way of knowing what they could do.

The ice-cold look in the children's eyes seemed to turn even colder, if that were possible. "Exsúrge," they said.

The next moment, the Earth seemed to tremble as violent ki swept up around them, the auras turned bright gold in color. Alakazam, still linked to its masters, received a blast of power as well.

His eyes glowed gold.

What happened next, Team Rocket can't remember as the light turned to darkness.

 

When they finally opened their eyes, the three perps were tightly bound. Ash and his friends stared at the scene, not quite sure what to think. Jessica and David stared angrily at the Team.

"You attempted to kidnap Alakazam, and you tried to do the same for one of our friends' pokémon, which is the same offense. We should kill you. However, due to mediation of our friends, we have decided to let you live," the children stated.

"You couldn't kill us if you wanted to," Jessie shouted. "We are Team Rocket! You can't kill us!"

The next moment, Jessica and David were flanking the bound criminals. One moment they were in front of the criminals, and the next they were standing right next to them. They started shaking.

"What are you going to do to us?" James asked.

"Imprison you."

"WHAT?" Jessie shouted. "No jail can hold us!"

"In pokéballs," the twins added. Team Rocket fell silent as the children turned to Alakazam.

"Weaken them, and prepare them for capture." Then, to Team Rocket, they said, "Don't worry. We'll let you out. Some day."

"No! Please! Wait!" James begged. " It was all Meowth's idea!"

"Yeah!" Jessie agreed. "We were just following his orders!"

"WHAT??" Meowth exclaimed. "That's a lie! I didn't! You didn't! No! Wait!"

<<Criminals. They always turn on each other. No loyalty whatsoever.>>

<<You said it, Bro.>>

"Doesn't matter. Al, begin."

Alakazam's eyes glowed blue. Then…nothing. Team Rocket was frozen, unable to move, but able to hear and see everything that was happening around them.

The mood broken, everyone went to bed. The next day, Ash found his worst fears come true: he had to fight David and Jessie in the semi-finals.

 

The crowd watched in rapt attention.  A murmur rose as the three trainers stared at each other, no one quite knowing what to expect. Finally, Ash threw his first pokéball. Everyone already knew what the twins would use.

A strange green pokémon with a small dark-green leaf on its head sprang forth from Ash's pokéball.

Not giving the twins time to do anything, Ash immediately yelled, "Chikorita! Vine Whip!"

Alakazam stared calmly at the incoming vine whips, his calm gaze mimicking the almost serene look on the twins' faces. Close and closer race the whips.

"Teleportation," the twins finally mutter. Ash's poor little Chikorita almost has a heart attack when Alakazam appeared directly next to it.

"Psybeam," the next word was. Chikorita was blasted against the far wall, tried to get up, but fell flat on its belly once again.

"Oh! Chikorita!!" Ash yelled, running towards his pokémon.

"Chikorita is out the match!" the referee yelled.

Ash recalled his pokémon, and threw a second ball. "Cyndaquil! Flamethrower!"

The blast of fire from the little fire pokémon roared towards Alakazam, who, once again, stared it down.

"Teleportation," the twins mutter.

"Not again! Cyndaquil! Follow Alakazam with your Flamethrower!" The pokémon did as ordered, and Alakazam is engulfed in flames. Ash was startled when a small smile formed on the twins' lips.

"Alakazam, full power. Recover," came the calm words. Ash had to stare in fear as the pokémon regenerated itself.

"Psychic attack," the twins added. Cyndaquil was picked up, and thrown to the exact spot that had hosted Chikorita moments earlier. Contrary to the first pokémon, Cyndaquil forced itself back to its legs.

"Psybeam."

The world turned black on the poor fire pokémon. Ash had to call forth another pokémon, and he wasn't happy about it. He had seen Alakazam take out two of his pokémon without trouble. And what was worse, the twins had told it to go to full power.

Alakazam defeated, in that order, Ash's Muk, his Squirtle, and his Bulbasaur. Finally, Ash called on his best friend, the yellow electric mouse, Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Thunder Wave!" Ash yelled. Alakazam dodged without being told so.

"WHAT? How can he do that?" Ash yelled.

"Alakazam has been trained in the martial arts. Alakazam, psychic," came the reply from across the field.

"Pikachu, use your agility to evade the attack!" Ash yelled. Pikachu started running real fast, attempting to evade Alakazam's lock-on.

"A good trick. But not good enough. Alakazam, Full Psychic Destruction!"

The crowd inhaled collectively, shocked into silence by the title of a totally unknown attack.

Alakazam turned to the twins with a questioning look in his eyes. Both nodded, and Alakazam gave a nod of his own.

Alakazam seemed to crouch as Pikachu kept running. "Al…." his voice came as a throaty growl as his body started to light up in a ghostly white light. "A…" the pokémon continued, his body shining ever brighter, ever whiter. "Ka…"

"Pikachu! Thunder Wave!" Ash yelled. "Get him while he's still!"

The thunder wave crackled through the air. Alakazam wasn't there when it hit.

"What…" Ash managed before the psychic pokémon appeared right next to Pikachu, and blasted him with his psybeam. Full power, at point-blank range. There was nothing Pikachu could do about it.

Once again, the twins left the stadium under the applause of the crowds, who could appreciate original attacks when they saw them. Indeed, deceiving Ash into thinking that Alakazam was frozen and than taking advantage of his pokémon's attack was a masterly move.

Ash asked what would have happened if he hadn't attacked. The twins told him that he didn't want to know, and Ash left it at that. The look on their faces told him that he really didn't want to know, and Ash was content to know that there was an unavoidable attack out there; known only to the two pokémon trainers Ash knew he could never beat. He would try, though.

The very next day, Ash and Misty introduced Brock to the Phalanx Team. They, in turn, introduced the Senshi, Linda, and Borlan. Everyone sat together, watching the twins go up against the champion of previous years. It was a nice-looking girl of about 16, with jet-black, mid-back, long hair. The curious fact was that no one had ever seen her pull out her sixth pokémon. She acted very mysteriously about it, the reason nobody knew what it was.

Without failing, the twins took care of five of the girl's pokémon. Cold chills ran down the spines of everyone present as she started laughing, a throaty, hollow, evil laugh.

"Gastly. Confuse Ray!" The elusive sixth pokémon had finally been revealed! As ghost-type, Gastly was about as immune to psychic attacks as they come.

"Alakazam, teleportation. Switch to physical!" the twins' voices finally rose above their normal cool demeanor. An eerie silence descended as everyone realized the importance of this fight. So far, the twins had never been challenged. Not really. Neither had Selina, the champion. In each other, they had found the perfect match. Ghost versus Psychic. Who would win?

Alakazam's eyes lit up blue as it charged Gastly.

"Psychic attack," Selina ordered. Alakazam was fast. But he wasn't fast enough, as he was blasted back against the wall.

"Al!" the twins shouted, their synchronized speech straining, but not yet breaking, under the emotional stress. As David and Jessica prepared to jump down, Alakazam wrenched itself to its legs, and held up a hand.

Frederic turned to his companions. "He wants to do this on his own. It's a matter of honor for Alakazam," he explained as the match continued.

"Confuse Ray," Selina ordered again. Alakazam, still dazed, was caught in the beam. Selina followed up immediately after with another Psychic Attack.

"Al…" the children muttered. Again, Alakazam got up. He stared angrily at Gastly. "You can't win. He's immune to your psychic attacks!"

Alakazam shot an angry look over his shoulder, and charged.

<<That thing is immune to psychic attacks. Try normal ones,>> Jessie thought.

"Alakazam, Disable!" David shouted. The synchrony had been broken. Alakazam switched in mid-run. Gastly, not expecting this, stared right into Alakazam's glittering blue eyes. Selina's pokémon froze in mid-air.

"Alakazam, here!" the twins shouted, synchrony reestablished. Together, they threw their Swords of Destiny to their pokémon. The crowd gasped as the Psychic pokémon grabbed the Swords out of the air, and swung them around like a full blade master.

"Charge," the order came. Alakazam charged. The Swords flashed. Gastly, being mostly gas, escaped most of the brunt, but was still severely hurt.

"Gastly!" Selina yelled. Gastly growled at the blade-wielding Alakazam. Alakazam, in turn, growled back.

"Alakazam, Full Psychic Destruction."

This time, Alakazam crouched without second-guessing. He began powering up, and nothing Gastly did could change that.

"Zam!" Alakazam ended. He crossed his arms, and a flash of psychic energy waved across the field. The psychic energy took physical shape, and it literally tore into Gastly. The ghost pokémon was blasted backwards, and rolled over, defeated. 

 

The next day, after all the commotion had died down, the entire group was gathered at the campsite of the Phalanx team.

Brock and Ash were in a vivid discussion with the twins, trying to get to know their secret for such a strong pokémon. Needless to say, they didn't have much luck. The twins told them about their adventures, and added that they didn't give any special training.

Finally, they gave up. They walked to the beach, where Misty and Borlan had joined the Senshi for a game of beach volley. The Senshi minus Ami, that is. She was off with Daphnix somewhere. Frederic and Jennifer were off as well, and Linda was just lazily hanging around the beach, giving the impression of sunbathing. Not that she needed it, but just because it felt good to her. Borlan had shown her the database on the Human body he had created.

Finally, after everyone got tired of Borlan continuously stealing the show, the entire group joined Linda. That was when Ash, Brock, and the twins joined them.

"I'm saying that it's not much fun playing with you!" Rei said to Borlan. "You keep winning!"

"I could lose, if you want," Borlan offered helpfully.

"That wouldn't be real! Don't you know anything?" Rei angrily said.

Borlan stared at her for a second or so. I don't understand her! Does she want to win, or not? What's the problem here? It's just a stupid game! Be careful… don't say the wrong thing!

"I know you're pretty," Borlan said. Rei turned red, and started sputtering.

"Don't do that! How can I chew you out when you pay me compliments?" she complained.

Borlan smiled, and remained silent. Rei pulled him closer. "Come here, you. How can I stay mad at you?" she asked rhetorically, before planting her lips on his. What started out as a small peck turned into a major kiss as Borlan grabbed her, pulled her close, and held her tightly to him.

Catcalls and applause broke them up, with Rei beet-red from either excitement or embarrassment, and Borlan with a goofy grin on his simulated face.

"Be quiet you!" Rei yelled, when Borlan didn't stop the group. Silence descended. No one wanted a pissed-off Rei. She jumped up, and started walking away. Borlan looked confused for a moment, then resolutely jumped up and followed her.

"What's wrong O Priestess?" Borlan asked as he caught up with her.

"Oh, you!" Rei exploded.

"What? What did I do?"

"You embarrassed me!" she yelled at the hologram.

"You kissed me, remember? Besides, they're friends. It was harmless."

"Ooh! You're incorrigible! You'd kiss me in the middle of the street if you thought you'd get away with it!"

"So? Is it that wrong to show that I love you?" Borlan asked, for the first time his tone showed anger. It startled Rei so much, she forgot all about her anger. His next words knifed through her, making her instantly regret her words. "Are you ashamed of what we have, Rei? Ashamed of me? Is that it? You don't want people to know we love each other?" His words clearly showed his pain. They brought tears of regret to Rei's eyes. She may show a tough exterior, but inside, she was sensitive, and she had never wanted to hurt Borlan like this.

"No… No, of course not!" Rei tried.

"It doesn't look like it! Just because I'm artificial doesn't mean I don't have feelings! I am just as real as you are, and I have feelings, just like you have!" Borlan exploded. He could take yelling. He could take verbal abuse. But this was different. This was physical. No longer a game, this. No longer innocent. This was real.

"Bor…Love, please…"

"Forget it. I've taken a lot from you, Rei. Yelling, anger, etc. But this…this is too much." Borlan walked off, leaving Rei to stare at his back. She ran after him.

When she finally caught up with him, he was standing on the verge of a cliff, overlooking the sea. His back was turned to her, yet he seemed to have heard her. The sensors of his mobile emitter, of course.

"Rei," he just said in greeting.

"Bor…Love…please. I didn't mean it like that." Rei felt apprehension rise deep within herself. She wanted to explode. She wanted to yell at him, to stop being childish, to get his act together. At the same time she realized that this was a defining moment. Did she want this to work out? If she did, she needed to talk to Borlan. Really talk, not yell, shout, or do any of the other things that came so naturally to her. "It's…well, I guess I just didn't like their reaction," she admitted. "I didn't mean it the way you took it. Of course I love you. And of course I'm NOT ashamed of you." She specially emphasized the word not.

"It very much sounded that way," Borlan said, still looking out over the sea. He hadn't looked at her since she got here. With dread in her heart, Rei walked over to the AI.

She stopped on his right side, and tilted his head towards her. "Read my lips… I…love…you," Rei emphasized each word. And before Borlan could respond, she captured his lips with hers. She poured every bit of herself into the kiss, begging him to understand how deeply she loved him. All her love, her devotion, everything she was, she poured into that kiss.

Borlan, feeling her drive, received the message she wanted to convey. No longer passively receiving, Borlan turned fully towards her, grabbed her, and held her close. He responded in kind, allowing all the pain to ebb away from his immediate memory. Being an AI, it would always be there. He could only hope to quench it with moments like these.

 

Meanwhile, Ash, Brock, and Misty had gone for a walk after Rei and Borlan's sudden departure. Not finding the AI and the priestess, they settled for exploring the dunes surrounding the secluded spot where the remainder of the group lay sunbathing.

"There's nothing through here. This helm grass is too thick!" Misty complained.

"Hang on, there's a path over here," Brock said, pointing at a small path through the thick growth, just wide enough for one person to creep through. Curiously, the three teenagers pressed through.

Directly behind the grass was an open place, giving a magnificent view of the ocean below. At the far end of it stood Frederic and Jennifer. Her back was resting against his chest, and he had his arms around her front, giving additional support.

"Beautiful place," Misty muttered.

"Yeah. Not bad at all," Ash agreed, as did Brock.

"Isn't that romantic?" Misty whispered, looking at Frederic and Jennifer, who were still holding each other. Only now, Jennifer had craned her neck, and she and Frederic were sharing a kiss.

"Yep," Ash agreed. "Come on, let's give them their privacy."

After the three teenagers had wormed their way back through the thick grass, Misty gave Ash a sudden kiss on the lips. A small one, but still a kiss.

"Wha…what was that for?" Ash asked astonished. Where he got the strength not to mess things up, he didn't know.

"For growing up," Misty said, walking off with a happy bounce in her step.

"This is going to be an interesting summer," Brock commented in Ash's ear as he walked after Misty.

Oh, yeah. Very interesting…

 

Epilogue

Somewhere on the barren surface of an unknown planet, a planet hidden somewhere in the infinite multi-verse. The planet’s brownish, lifeless surface was shone down upon by triple suns, one yellow, one hellishly red, and one brilliantly white. The planet itself contained no atmosphere, adding to the barren look.

Replication complete, a computer system squeaked with an electronic voice. Solar panels at full output. Begin creation of the genome. Adding race: Saiyan. Adding race: Ketari. Adding race: Oech-anya. Adding race: Human. Adding race: Alvechian. The computer’s list went on, over two dozen species were compiled into the same genome.

Adding knowledge base. Combat tactics. Combat applications. Martial Arts. Ki-techniques. Evolving magic. Historic fights, battles, wars, and skirmishes. That list too, went on.

Institute evolving neural biology computer core.

Creating of engine complete. Begin cloning and growth process. Time to completion is 4800 hours. Hail to our benevolent leader.

With those words, the computer’s lights went out, all its power diverted to a small chamber.