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Told in present tense. ", "count": "86", "submission_left_submission_id": "2599941", "submission_left_file_name": "3837757_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p2a11_josh_s_final_words_and_goodbyes.rtf", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3837/3837757_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p2a11_josh_s_final_words_and_goodbyes.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3837/3837757_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p2a11_josh_s_final_words_and_goodbyes.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3837/3837757_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p2a11_josh_s_final_words_and_goodbyes.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "269", "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "123", "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "91", "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "55", "submission_right_submission_id": "2602278", "submission_right_file_name": "3841385_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p3a13_explorations_of_pleasure.rtf", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3841/3841385_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p3a13_explorations_of_pleasure.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3841/3841385_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p3a13_explorations_of_pleasure.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3841/3841385_Rylasasin_stars_of_iron_p3a13_explorations_of_pleasure.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "269", "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "123", "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "91", "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "55" } ], "description": "\nSo it looks like they had fun. In more ways than one! Expect a lot of that this chapter, and it won't even be off-camera like this time.\n\nAuthors confession by the way: You may have noticed there's a lot of starbound pictures in this one? Truth is, if I had the sprites/spriting capability, I would have made this a sprite comic rather than a story. But since I don't, you're stuck with reading text.\n\nFor those who don't mind reading ahead, the entirety of Part 3 can be found [url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eUYNrDpQ-zUccHHwvXOYJ0YLDCzeQ7DL0afScmfxjmM/edit]here[/url]. This act in particular is quite picture-heavy, so you might want to view it there instead.\n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/submissionsviewall.php?rid=c6a9fd4348&mode=pool&pool_id=59838&page=1&orderby=pool_order&random=no&success=]Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "
So it looks like they had fun. In more ways than one! Expect a lot of that this chapter, and it won't even be off-camera like this time.

Authors confession by the way: You may have noticed there's a lot of starbound pictures in this one? Truth is, if I had the sprites/spriting capability, I would have made this a sprite comic rather than a story. But since I don't, you're stuck with reading text.

For those who don't mind reading ahead, the entirety of Part 3 can be found here. This act in particular is quite picture-heavy, so you might want to view it there instead.

Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.", "writing": "[center][b]Act 12: Training and Relaxation in Eden[/b][/center]\n\nEilumi and crew watch the star-lines go by as the ship speeds through space. \n\"Quite the sight, no?\" Eilumi says. \"Sooo, we'll be headed for Alion 4, an Eden world. Used to be a haven for bandits, but we cleared it out before we arrived on your world. It'll make for a good place for all of us to kick back, relax, and for you two to practice your techs.\"\n\n\"Oh, I see.\" Although now she has a question. \"An Eden world? What does that mean?\"\n\n\"Well, it's a forested world, but it's quite tranquil. Only very basic life, nothing hostile. Oh, and it has Sparkling Water pools. In other words, a great place to kick back, try out new skills, train, and relax. You'll especially love the sparkling water pools.\" \n\"I have to wonder if any of our new members have even seen a forest.\" Khaun comments.\n\n\"I think I heard about it, but I have never seen one myself.\" Veera shakes her head. \"I guess I will find out when we get there.\"\n\n\"I think you'll like it, It's quite pretty\" Eilumi smiles as he puts a hand around her shoulder and pats her. Loona moves over to him, and he does the same to her. Khaun moves over to the other side of Veera, and does the same, and gives her a slight side hug as he does.\n\nThere is a nice feeling of companionship here, which makes her smile. She also returns the sentiment to both of the Avalis beside her, putting a paw around their shoulder and patting them.\n\nKhaun holds her side against his, and Eilumi holds Loona's against his as they watch the stars go by together. \n\"Huh, I wonder what Shia and Spark's up to?\" Eilumi asks.\n\n\"I wonder too.\" \nWhile the trip is going, Shia and Spark decide to go check the one part of the ship that they haven't properly learned about yet, the holodeck.\n\nNine follows them to the holodeck. \nIt's big, black, and quite empty. To naked, unnanited eyes, they're just inside of a dark, overly huge room.\n \"Welcome to the holodeck,\" Nine says.\n\n\"What is here exactly? All I remember was Loona asking why I was in water but I didn't see water anywhere...?\" Spark questions.\n\nNine chuckles. \"IT's the holodeck. Basically, we use it to create any sort of environment we wish. Like a dream, but you're awake for it, and you actually feel what's going on inside of it... well, to a certain degree. That's the best explanation for now. Unfortunately, you need an interface to make that happen. For us, it's nanites and the neural jack. The only other way is with that suit over there.\" he motions towards a bulky suit. \"And... there's only one of them.\"\n\n\"Oooh, it looks kinda heavy...\" Shia comments when he sees the suit.\n\n\"It... is.\" He says. \"It was fitted for Loona, and it will take some time to fit it to either of you, let alone get a hold of-slash-make a new one for the other. As for the 'water', I am guessing that after getting her Nanites, Loona and Eliumi summoned up a 'beach' type scenario and setting, and were... well...\" \nHis face changes to a -_- look. \n\"I'll let you fill in the blanks there on what they were doing, or might have done had they not been interrupted.\" \n\n\"Oh...\" Embarrassed, Spark decides to keep quiet about that. \n\"So this holodeck thing can be anything?\" Shia asked.\n\n\"Pretty much.\" Nine answers Shia. \"We mostly use it for combat sims and the like. That said, it does have its limitations.\"\n\n\"For example...\" He looks at the two of them with a raised eyebrow expression. \"I'm going to bet at least [i]one[/i] of you has already had the idea-slash-question of 'Can I use this to create a made up girlfriend and have sex with her?'\" His expression betrays a slight grin.\n\nBoth of the electric type pokemon look at each other for a moment before looking at Nine again. \"We can?\"\n\nNine chuckles. \n\"Of course you'd think that. Almost everyone does when they hear about the Holodeck the first time. Well, I didn't, but ... let's not go into that.\" Nine chuckles. \n\"The answer to said question is...\" \nHis expression turns back to a more neutral serious one. \n\"The short answer is 'well yes, but actually no.' The longer answer is thus: Remember when I said that we use this for combat training? There are certain... protocols built into the system. While it is capable of making you feel pain, such as if one were to cut your arm or stab your back or shoot you with a gun or such, there are protocols in it to prevent you from feeling [i]lethal[/i] or [i]crippling[/i] pain. This is a safety feature that cannot be disabled. Unfortunately, it also applies to [i]pleasure[/i] as well. Yes, you COULD theoretically create, say, a bordello full of mons to visit and fuck, but the problem is that unless said mons are actually real themselves, you're not going to feel [i]anything[/i] when it comes to the act itself. \nSo, again, 'yes, but actually no.'\"\n\nThey are trying to wrap their heads around what he said. \n\"So sex with it is not really good?\" At least this is what Spark thinks is what Nine just talked about here.\n\n\"Sex with it is not really possible and you won't feel anything.\" Nine corrects him. \nHe decides to change the subject, especially since Eilumi has already made his plans known. \n\"I'm afraid you two won't get much use out of it right now anyway, as Eilumi has other plans for everyone. On that subject, allow me to ask you two a bit of a strange question.... \nHave either of you seen... A tree?\"\n\nSpark and Shia respectively began to make enquirers about what that is. \n\"Three?\" \n\"A tree?\" \n\"What's that?\"\n\n\"From those answers, I presume 'no'.\" Nine chuckles. \"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. Eilumi has decided to go to an Eden world, to train the girls on how to use the tech system their nanites have given them. We will join them down there, mostly just to relax or whatnot. Do not worry, I think you will like it.\"\n\n\"So when are we going to get there?\" Shia asked.\n\n\"We should be arriving shortly\" \n[i]In the bridge, the stars begin to slow down, the lines shortening as the craft slows down to STL speeds[/i] \n\"... Correction.\" Nine says. \"We should be arriving any minute now.\"\nA few moments later, the craft comes to rest over a [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/866980272457515008/unknown.png]green looking planet, with aqua looking seas.[/url]\n\nFrom the bridge Veera can see the planet, from all the way up here the shape of it's continents and other factors certainly make it look different from her old planet. \"It...looks very green.\" She comments.\n---\n\"That's nice!\" Spark smiles but...his smile falters a little bit. \"It's not gonna be dangerous, right?\"\n\n\"Yes, there's a lot of greenery on this world.\" Eilumi says. \"It'll look even lovelier up close.\" \n---- \n\"Shouldn't be.\" Nine assures them. \"We cleared the bandits from this place some time ago. And the wildlife there is mostly non-hostile. And the environment, as far as we can tell, requires no special measures on your end. We should head up to the teleporter room.\"\n\n\"Well, what are we waiting for then?\" She is really curious to see what it's like. \n--- \n\"Well...come Spark.\" Shia said to the Pikachu before he started making his way to the teleporter room.\n\nOnce they reach the teleporter room, Nine grabs onto Shia and Spark. \"The others should be on the planet already. So we'll meet them there.\" \nBefore they can say anything, they teleport them down. \n---- \n\"Alright, time to teleport down. Using your hud, call up the 'teleport to planet' option. See you down there, Veera.\" Eilumi teleports down, as does Loona. Khaun stays behind to make sure Veera gets it.\n\n\"Teleport to the planet, hhhhmmm?\" Veera focuses herself, choosing the 'teleport to planet' option on her hud and selecting it. It worked just like Eilumi said and she got teleported down to the planet.\n\nOnce there they all meet on the planet. [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/867329896576581652/unknown.png]And see the planet for themselves.[/url]\n\n\"And here we all are.\" Eilumi says happily. \n\"Well, you wanted to know what a tree looks like.\" Nine says to Shia and Spark. \"This is a tree.\" \n\"Wait...\" Khaun says. \"These guys have never seen trees before?\" \nEveryone looks at him with an annoyed expression. \n\"Oh... stupid question, I guess.\" Khaun replies flatly.\n\nAll three of the Pokémon are checking out this new environment, they have never seem so much grass in one place before, let alone so much vegetation. Shia and Spark are examining the grass, touching and eventually laying on it. \nMeanwhile Veera approaches a tree and looks up at it. \"Oooooooh, is this it?\"\n\n\"Quite the environmental shock, isn't it?\" Eilumi chuckles. Even Loona, who has seen other environments in the holodeck, is in shock. \n\"So green... so blue... so much vegetation...\" She says to herself. \n\"I can only imagine the looks on their faces once we bring them to a crystaline world.\" Eilumi whispers to Khaun, who nods. \n\"That is [i]a[/i] tree, yes.\" Khaun tells Veera. \"Just one type among many in the universe.\"\n\n\"A tree huh?\" The Jolteon proceeds to touch the tree with her paw, having a feel for the wood and it's texture. \"Are they just big plants?\"\n\n\"That's a... very crude way of putting it.\" Khaun says.\n\n\"S-sorry...\"\n\n\"Sorry for what?\" Khaun says as he raises his eyebrow.\n\n\"I thought my the way of putting it was a bit too rude...?\" She is not too sure why she let that apology slip, she just thought Khaun was disappointed with what she had said.\n\n\"Na, it's fine.\" Eilumi replies to her before Khaun gets the chance. \nHe allows a few more moments of adjusting to the environment and looking around before he gets everyone's attention. \n\"Okay. Now that we've had time to look around.... Veera, Loona. If you'll come with me and Khaun, we'll start the tech practice. As for Shia and Spark...\" He puts his hand to his chin in thought. \n\"You don't have your nanites yet, so no tech practice for you. I guess you can go exploring for a bit, but stick next to Nine so you don't get lost.\"\n\n\"Well, Alright then.\" She looks to Shia, Spark and Nine. \"You guys stay safe okay?\" \n\"Will do.\" Shia nods. And on the topic of exploring, he is feeling scared of doing that...but he promised to get better, so he isn't going to be letting these fears deter him. \n\"Does uuuh...anyone live in this place?\" Spark asks.\n\n\"There used to be some bandits, outlaws, etc living on this planet, but last time we went through here, we pretty much cleared them out.\" Nine answers as they walk through the forest. \"There will probably be someone trying to lay claim to the planet soon. But that seems to be a ways off yet.\" \nIt's then that they also notice that it's raining. \n\"Also, I'd like to formally apologize for the fact that we did not realize it was raining at the moment. \n--- \n\"Alright girls.\" Eilumi says as he comes up to a large hill/mountain. \"Time to show you your techs. First, [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/827525145597181993/867692923542175744/unknown.png?width=1162&height=676]open your tech menu.[/url] You'll see a menu for your head, leg, and body techs. I know there's a lot of options, but for now, we'll concentrate on the basics. For the head, equip \"distortion Sphere\", for body, \"dash\", and for legs, \"pulse jump\"\n\n\nShia held a paw to catch some raindrops. \"It's alright, there wasn't much rain back where we used to live.\" \n\"You mentioned that there were...bandits here?\" Spark questions. \"Around this area in particular or...the whole planet?\" \n--- \nThe Jolteon nods and brings up her hud to do that, it takes a bit of time because she chooses the options very carefully to make sure she wouldn't mess it up, but she gets everything right just like Eilumi instructed. \"Okay done. So what now?\" \n\n\"Pretty much all over. But as I said, we cleared them all. Though that was a few months ago, so don't wander too far.\" \n---\n \"Alright, first we'll go over the double jump. I'll show you what that looks like.\" Eilumi jumps in place. Just as he reaches the apex of his jump, a small blue burst of flame shoots out from under his feet, propelling him upwards, almost as high as his first jump. He lands on his feet. \n\"Alright, your turns.\" \nLoona tries to jump in place, with little success, but then on the third jump, a blue flame likewise jumps out of her feet, propelling her a ways upward, and then she falls back down to the ground. Unlike with Eilumi, she is caught off guard by it and lands on one hand and two knees. \n\"You okay there Loona?\" Eilumi asks. \n\"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine.\" Loona says indignantly as she gets up. \"It just took me by surprise, that's all.\"\n\n\"A-all over?!\" Shia is surprised by that. \"And you guys beat them all...?\" \n---- \nVeera watched as Eilumi jumped in the air, and Loona's attempt at doing the same. \"So...do I just jump and then...jump again?\"\n\n\"Pretty much\" Nine says. \n--- \n\"Pretty much.\" Eilumi says.\n\n\"Wow...\" Spark and Shia are in awe right now. \n\"Soooo...how exactly did you manage to do that?\" Spark asks. \n----- \n\"Alright I guess I will try now...\" Veera took a few steps back, then took a deep breath...Just jump and jump again she tells herself, it can't be too hard right? \"Okay here goes!\" She warned before she began running forward, leaping up with all the strength she could muster, then just like the Avali before her she managed to get a second jump in mid air thanks to a burst of blue flames from under her feet. She didn't quite manage to plant her feet on the hill, she must have jumped too soon...but she did manage to hold on to the ledge. \"Aaaaahh!\"\n\n\"With teamwork and a lot of weaponry.\" Nine chuckles. \"Though keep an eye open, some of their old hideaways might still be around.\" \n----- \n\"Hang on!\" Khaun jumps over to the top of the hill in a few jumps, lands above where Veera is, and reaches for her hand.\n\n\"Yeah, I think we best stay close, Spark...\" Shia said, to which his friend nodded. \n----- \nVeera sees that he came to help. One of her hands goes to hold his so he can help pull her up.\n\n\"I got you. Here we go!\" Khaun pulls her up over the ledge, with some effort.\n\nWith Khaun's help pulling she is easily brought up, she gets back on her feet and looks down, taking note of just how high that jump of her's really was, she was never jumped this high before in her life.\n\n\"Are you alright?\" Khaun asks her, Loona and Eilumi look on.\n \"It wasn't that far down...\" Eilumi comments. \n\"Shush.\" Loona hushes him under her breath. \"They're having a moment.\"\n\nVeera looks at Khaun and nods. \"Yeah, I hope I wasn't too bad with that jump...Thanks for helping me up too.\"\n\n\"It... takes a little getting used to.\" Khaun says to her reassuringly. \n\"Yeah, it's kind of why we're here.\" Eilumi says. \"So we can practice this safely and not in a more dangerous combat situation.\"\n\n\"Yeah, but I think I can get the hang of it.\" Veera says. \"So what were those other options like? I saw 'Rocket Jump', what is a rocket?\"\n\n\"Woah woah! Slow down\" Eilumi says. \"First get used to your pulse jump and the other [i]basic[/i] techs before trying new things. get an idea on how these work.\"\n\n\"Ah...\" She nods. Then looks down at Loona. \"You are going to come up here too?\"\n\n\"Oh, right, I thought we were just jumping in place.\" Loona looks up at the hill, and jump up using the double jump.\n\nVeera smiles when she sees that her friend managed to get this jump better than her herself did. \"You are learning quicker than me, I see!\"\n\n\"Well, I did have a head start,\" Loona says as she looks at Eilumi.\n\n\"Yeah. Are we practicing this jump some more times now?\"\n\n\"If you feel you need it\" Eilumi responds. \"Otherwise we can move onto dashing.\"\n\n\"Hhhhhmmm...alright then, i guess we can move on to dashing. That sounds easier too.\"\n\n\"Okay... Dashing is just like the double jump, but it's done horizontally.\" Eilumi says. \"A demonstration.\" \nHe takes a small run forward, but instead of stepping and running forward, he just sort of floats forward very very very quickly. He seems to leave a blue trail behind him as he does. \n\"Very useful for getting out of deadly situations very quickly. IE: if there's someone with a blade about to stab you in the stomach or something.\"\n--- \nAs Shia, Spark and Nine are coming along, they come across [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/868393962459791380/unknown.png]a desolate scene.[/url] A bunch of black tents, inside of a large, open 'cave'. There is no sign of their occupants anywhere.\n\n\"Huh, looks like one of the abandoned bandit camps.\" Nine says to himself.\n\nFrom what she saw, it looks like Eilumi just ran very very fast there. \"Hhhmmm, okay i think i got this!\" Veera figures it can't be hard, and seems simpler than the jump. \n--- \nBoth of the electric types eye the tents up ahead, unsure if they should approach them or not. \n\"hhhmmmm...\" Spark looks to his Shinx friend. \"So do we check it out?\" \n\"I guess...?\"\n\nLoona does a dash as well. The blue trails behind her. \"Yep, easy.\" \n--- \n\"Well, you might find something we missed.\" Nine says. \"I have to admit, we didn't do a whole lot of looting during our last run here.\"\n\nNow it is Veera's turn. The Jolteon begins running to where Eilumi and Loona are, she tries to make herself go as fast as she can and soon enough she is dashing and leaving a blue trail behind herself as she goes. \n--- \nWell, if there is a chance of there being something of use maybe it's okay to check right? Both Shia and Spark approach the tents to try to have a look inside of them.\n\n\"Very good, Veera!\" Eilumi says happily, and Khaun pats her back.\n\nWell that really wasn't so hard, she might just have to be careful about crashing into things at such speed, that might hurt. \"I think I can really get used to this.\" She smirks a little. \"Is there anything this 'tech' thing can do?\"\n--- \nShia and Spark search the tents, and it results in them coming back with some stuff. \nThe Pikachu found a cap, to him it's just [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/868688464885993492/Cap_Icon.png]a soft, red and white thing[/url] that he is not really sure what it is supposed to be.\n\nAnd the Shinx found a dagger in one of the tents, holding it kind of reminds him of how things were back in his old world. \"There is Iron here as well...?\"\n\n\"Yes. As a matter of fact, there's one more slot I have to show you.\" Eilumi smirks. \"The 'head' slot. You probably noticed it's a little ball thing? And you're wondering why that is.\" \n----------- \n\"You found some goodies.\" Nine says with a smile. \"Good for you!\" \nHe looks to Shia. \n\"Oh yes, there's iron out here as well.\" He says. \"In fact, Iron is actually considered the low end of the spectrum. In fact, melee in general is often considered the lower end of the spectrum in interstellar warfare. That last part isn't really true, as it's still very deadly in the right hands. But the former part definitely is.\"\n\nShe nods. \"Yes, the little ball thing...\" She still doesn't understand why it's in the head slot, does this mean there is a ball on her head? \"Why is it a ball though?\" \n--- \nShia ponders about this, staring at the dagger he found. \"Something stronger than iron...\" Given that he knows what iron is capable off, the idea of something worse than it is kind of scary.\n\n\"I honestly never understood why it's in the head either. But as for why it's a ball-\" \n\"Oh! Can I demonstrate this one?\" Loona asks. \n\"Sure.\" \nLoona backs up, and clears her throat. Right before their very eyes, Loona suddenly turns into a greyish ball, and rolls around in a circle, very quickly. She rolls right up to Veera, bumping her in the leg lightly, then rolls around her. She then rolls back to her spot, and changes back into her normal form. \n\"Ta-da!\" She says proudly. \n\"That's a good demo, Loona!\" Eilumi chuckles lightly to himself. \"Yes, that's the distortion sphere. Lets you turn into a little ball. very useful for traversing quickly, and quietly. or getting in small spaces.\" \n--- \n\"Yes, indeed.\" Nine says. \"Most weapons out there are way past iron level. For example...\" Nine pulls out his hammer. \"This hammer, It's a durasteel alloy.\"\n\nThe Jolteon was surprised by what she just saw, her friend just transformed into a ball before her eyes and rolled around. Suffice to say her mouth is agape and her eyes are wide. \"I...uuhh...Are you okay Loonna?\" She thinks the Linoone had to curl up pretty tight to fit into that ball. \n--- \n\"I see...\" 'Durasteel alloy'. Not a word he is familiar with, but he can understand that is the name of this metal that outmatches iron. \"hhhrrmm...\" \nThe Pikachu leans in a bit, looking at his friend's worried expression. \n\"You scared...?\" He sounds worried. \"It's kind of hard not to be scared...\" He sighs. He wants to be brave again, he has to if he wants to protect his friends, all of them. So at the moment he is internationally berating himself for being afraid from it.\n\n\"I'm quite fine.\" Loona replies back to Veera. \"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all.\" \n\"She's right you know.\" Eilumi says. \"And on that note... I think it's your turn to try it.\" \n--- \n\"Yeah, it's why we decided to start our adventure on a planet with no sentient life on it. I mean there are ways around these weapons. Armors and such, but we'd need time to make those for the two of you.\"\n\nNow this one might be a bit hard, a jump is a jump, running is running but...how exactly does someone manage to get themselves to transform into a ball? \"You got any tips for this one, Loona...?\" \n--- \n\"'no sentient life'? What does that mean?\" Shia asks.\n\n\"Just think 'activate head tech'.\" Loona tells her. \"It's all thought-activated.\" \n----- \n\"Huh? You mean your planet really does not have any non-sentient life?\" Nine asks. \"I'm... not even sure how that works.\"\n\n\"Hhhmmm...\" Activate head teach...activate head tec- it works and she turns into a greyish ball just like Loona did. At first she rolled around in surprised until she realized that it must have worked. She rolls about a few more times before turning back to her normal form. \"Woah...that felt a little weird.\" \n--- \nThe Shinx is still not sure what the Protogen is talking about, he just tilts his head to the side a little.\n\n\"Yeah, it gets some getting used to.\" Loona says. She transforms into a ball again, and rolls around some more, before once again transforming back. \"But it is fuuuuuuuuun!\"\n\"Okay.\" Eilumi says. \"So we'll give you ladies some time to play with your techs. Feel free to try out the others as long as you're here. Afterwards, we have something... very nice to show you.\"\n----\n\"Well, how do I describe this?\" Nine rubs his visor. \"Hmmm... Imagine a run of the mill 'mon. But it can't talk, and has no higher thought processes outside of eating and sleeping and basic survival instincts...\nA noise catches Nine's attention. The snap of a twig. He turns and looks....\n\"Like... [url=https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/827525145597181993/868812066155274290/unknown.png]those creatures over there.[/url]\"\nThey see a herd of brown, quadrupedal, diminuative deerling-like creatures with round snouts, no tails, and single-color coats grazing on some of the blue grass nearby, paying no heed to the trio.\n\n\n\"Something very nice? Alright when we are done here you can show us.\" Veera thinks it would be prudent to work on the double jump, so that's what she starts doing, jumping, jumping in the air and landing. Risen and repeat. \n--- \nShia eyes the creatures. \"So they can't talk and do all the things we do? They just eat and sleep?\" \n\"That sounds kinda sad...\" Spark comments.\n\nEilumi and Khaun watch the two of them practice their abilities. \n\"Feel free to try out the other ones you saw while you're here, now that you know how to operate them.\" Eilumi says to them. \"We have literally all day.\" \n---- \n\"That's about the size of it.\" Nine says. \"Mostly. There are some other behaviors some creatures do as well. But... Not many. Those creatures over there, 'Kelbets' as they're called. They're herd animals. They eat the grasses, which there is plenty of here. Oh, and they're quite skittish.\" \nOne of The Kelbets suddenly notices the three of them. It jumps in place, and then turns around and runs away VERY quickly, along with the rest of its herd. \n\"... Quite so.\" Nine says. \"Now keep in mind, not all non-sentient animals are like this. In fact, some of them are downright dangerous, and will try to attack you. Those types... aren't really found on this planet. At least, not in this part of it. But they're very common elsewhere. Especially during the nights.\"\n\nThe Pikachu is reminded of himself somewhat from what he sees from the creatures, how they quickly run away as soon as they spotted the trio. \"S-so there are things that are just going to up and attack us for no reason...?\" That sounds scary.\n\n\"Yeah, that's about the size of it.\" Nine 'sighs' sadly. \"Though, as I said, they aren't really on this side of the plant. So we don't have to worry about it here.\"\n\n\n[i]An hour or so later. They are still on the planet, and Veera and Loona have exhausted their practice with their techs. They've even tried a few new ones. Like the Spike Sphere that lets them travel up walls and ceilings, but goes very slow. Aqua sphere, which they didn't really get to practice due to it being primarily based for aquatic environments, sonic sphere which lets them dash, the zero burst which causes them to take off like a rocket. Dodge which is like dash, stimulant rig which lets them run faster and dash but makes them really hungry really fast, air dash which lets them dash in the air, blink dash which lets them teleport a ways forward, Triangle Jump/Wall Jump/Magnet grip which lets them cling to and jump off walls, etc. [/i]\n[i]Meanwhile Nine and crew have explored a little bit, they haven't found too much more. Some more kelebts, some rabbits, etc. At least, at the moment.[/i]\nLoona is panting in place. \"Okay, I think I've had enough practice for today.\" She says.\n\nVeera practiced her techs with Loona, they did it for a good amount. Now the Jolteon feels quite tired from all of that but it was good exercise. \"Phew...okay i think i got it.\" \n--- \nAs the two electric types saw new things, Nine had to answer a few questions everytime, mostly things like 'what creature is that?' or 'is that dangerous'?\n\n\"Good. You two are making good progress.\" Khaun says to her. \n\"Anyway, I think it's time we showed you something nice.\" Eilumi says encouragingly. \"Come with us. Don't worry, you'll like this.\" \n---- \nAs they travel along, Nine notices that they are getting a little exhausted. They don't know it, but Nine is in fact, leading them somewhere.\n\n\"Alright then, lead the way.\" \n---- \nThis whole place feel much fresher than the desert, but all this little travel has left them tired. \n\"Can we sit down for a bit...?\" Spark asks.\n\nBoth parties travel not too Far. With the two female mons and avalis, they soon are greeted by a small-ish cave.\nBut what is significant [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/869292602468474940/unknown.png] isn't the cave itself, but rather, what's in the cave, as is evidenced by the bright-aqua glow coming from inside.[/url]\n\"Behold!\" Eilumi announces... \"Healing water pools!\"\nNine and crew meanwhile come across a ruin soon, and come across [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/827525145597181993/869292757108293682/unknown.png]a very similar sight themselves.[/url] A large, ruined building made of grey brick and rusted metal in advanced decay, Its purpose and original occupants long lost to the ages. The only hint of its original occupancy is a large wooden mural of 4 raindrops in a circle near what's left of the ceiling, and a strange statue of a bunny-person near the 'entrance'. Piles of rubble cover the floors, and in the center, there is a large hole, filled with a strange, glowing purple liquid.\nWhat Nine is looking for isn't the ruin itself, but rather, what's outside of it: a pair of healing water pools. Just large enough to fit the two mons in his charge.\n\n\"There, now we can rest.\" Nine says.\n\n\"Healing water pools?\" Veera almost can not believe what she just heard. \"Wow...\" \n--- \nShia looks down at this liquid that he is pretty sure is not water, it's not blue, it looks green and it seems to be glowing \"uuuuh...what's that?\"\n\n\"Yeah, healing water pools.\" Eilumi says. \"Looks pretty, no? And it gets better. Watch this.\" \nSuddenly, he takes a dagger out, and cuts his thumb, letting the purple (yes, purple) blood spill out. He yells a bit as he does this, as it still hurts. \n\"Eilumi!\" Loona says as she's just about to make her way over. \"Why wo-\" \nEilumi puts his other hand up, stopping her. \nEilumi then puts his cut thumb in the water. He waits for about 5-10 minutes, and then pulls it back out. He shows the thumb to everyone. It's healed up, showing no signs of ever being cut. \n\"See? Healing water.\" \n--- \n\"It's called healing water\" Nine says. \"Slow-acting, but can heal even the most grievous injuries given enough time. This part of the planet is full of these little pools.\" \nHe looks over to the ruins. \n\"Or were you talking about the purple stuff?\"\n\nShe is in awe after seeing the miraculous properties of the water. \"T-that's amazing!\"\n---\n\"The Purple stuff?\" They hadn't noticed that one it seems, at least until Nine brought up the fact.\n\"Then...if this is a healing pool, then what is that pool over there?\" Shia asked.\n\n\"As you can imagine, it also makes a great substance to take a skinny dip in.\" He says this as he removes his clothing. Khaun also follows suit. \n\"So... ladies first.\" \nLoona smiles, and goes into the water first. She sighs at how relaxing this is. The ground is a bit slippery. \n\"You're right. This is great.\" \n------- \n\"I'm not quite sure myself. It could be one of two things. Either it's Erchius Fuel, a highly volatile fuel used in space travel... or its organic soup, a substance found on crystalline planets. Either way, it's really odd to find here. Let me check...\" \nNine goes over and dips his hand in the viscus purple liquid. He takes it out, noting where the water touched is glowing purple for a moment, and then fades. \n\"Yup, it's organic soup.\" Nine declares. \"Again, not sure how it got here. But ah well.\"\n\nVeera carefully goes into the water too, right beside Loona, she really hopes it's not too deep. But she admits that the water feels pretty good. \"Yeah, it feels really nice.\" \n--- \n\"So if it's called a soup does this mean we can...drink it?\" Shia asked again.\n\nLoona leans back, propping her arms up above her head, propping herself back. She pushes her chest foward, if she had breasts, they'd be on full display here. \n\"Yeah.\" She says happily. Nice and relaxing.\" She feels it fizzle under her fur, the bubbles and fizzling lightly tickling and massaging their bodies, like a low level spa. \nOnce the ladies are in, the two avalis slip in as well on either side, with Khaun settling next to Veera, and Eilumi settling next to Loona. A slight blush forms on the latter, especially when Eilumi puts his arm around her upper back. \n\"Yeaaaah.\" Eilumi sighs happily. \"This is the stuff. Nothing quite like a sparkling soda bath to end out the day. Especially with packmates.\" \n---- \n\"It may be called 'soup' but I would not advise drinking it.\" Nine warns him. \"It's... not very tasty. or so I'm told. Considering I get my energy from power outlets, I couldn't say for sure. But I heard that Eilumi tried to drink it once, and had an aversion to all things purple for 3 months after that. That said, you really don't [i]need[/i] to drink it anyway.\" \nHe sees the curious look on their faces. \n\"Allow me to explain. This 'organic soup', has this... ability, shall we call it. If you sit in it and bathe in it for a long time, it heals you too, not as effectively as the healing water over there, mind you, but it does do it. It absorbs through the skin, and when it does, it also seems to inject nutrients into your body. Like eating a full course meal [i]very[/i] slowly. Don't ask me how it works though. Plus it's really inefficient. It takes about 3 hours to go from an empty stomach to a full one.\" \n\n\"It's honestly much more useful for watering plants in hydroponic trays than it is for feeding people.\" Nine adds. \"Though, then again, since that's often used for food production, I guess it does feed people, in a sort of roundabout way.\"\n\nThe Jolteon leans into Khaun a bit. She lets out a happy sigh as she relaxes and enjoys the water, she can't remember the last time she had an opportunity to relax like this. \"Feels like i could just sit here forever...\" \n--- \n\"Oh...well in that case i will try not to even touch it.\" If Eilumi think it's that bad, then Shia doesn't want try it it. \nMeanwhile Spark is dipping one his feet into the healing pool. \"Hhhhhmmm, i hope we are not too far away from the others...\"\n\nKhaun smiles a bit, likewise wrapping his arm around Veera, as they relax in the lightly fizzing water. \n\"Well, we aren't in any hurry\" Khaun says. \n\"No hurry at all.\" Eilumi adds in. \nThey relax like this, not saying anything for a good long while. Until Loona gives Eilumi a look. \n\"You know...\" She says with a grin. She rolls over, and sits on his lap as he looks up at her. \"We never did finish what we started in the simulation.\"\nEilumi gives a slight chuckle, as she leans in, and kisses him on the lips. Neither he nor Khaun say anything, not even a protest about being in front of Veera or Khaun. Why would he? For Avali, this is what packs do with each other. Everything is a pack activity. This is normal. \n--- \n\"We are not.\" Nine in forms them. \"In fact, they're just over in that hill over there.\" He points to the cave. \"Although... unless we want a repeat of what happened in the holodeck, I suggest not disturbing them for the moment. In the meantime, we have our own pits of healing water, and even organic soup to relax in. So feel free to do so if you are feeling weary.\"\n\nThe Jolteon blushes and looks away a little. \"Oooh uuuhh...do you two need some...privacy? it's alright if i need to step away if you guys are going do this.\"\n---\n\"That first one we saw seems to better actually.\" Looks like Shia prefers not the purple liquid, so instead he goes to his fellow electric-type to take dip in the healing pool too.\n\n\"That's not needed.\" Eilumi says. \"We're a pack, remember?\"\n\"Right.\" Khaun says. \"One thing you'll have to get used to, Veera. Everything is a pack activity. And I do mean, everything. Including this.\"\n\"ESPECIALLY this.\" Loona chimes in. \"I might be doing this to Eilumi now, but I like them both equally.\" She pauses. \"I know, this is a little weird, but we'll get used to it.\"\nShe resumes kissing him, as does he her. \n---------\n\"I'll stay on the outside, if that's fine with you.\" Nine says. \"Electronic parts and liquids don't mix. Despite my waterproofing, I'd rather not chance it. Despite being 'electric types', you two should be fine though.\"\n\n\"Ah, well if you say so.\" 'Everything is pack activity.' She ponders about this. --- \"Oh, really? does water hurt you?\" With concern, Shia asked.\n\n\"You know Veera...\" Khaun awkwardly tries to start a conversation. \"I... like you too.\"\n----\n\"Well, I have waterproofing. But if it gets into my circuits somehow, yeah, it harms me.\"\n\nVerra looks to Khaun. \"Oh, you do? Like...as a pack member? I hope i'm doing good as one...\"\n\n\"Yeah, you could say that. So far, you're doing great as one.\" Khaun says as he side-hugs Veera.\nThe other two continue to make out in front of them.\n\n\"You know i never though Loona would meet someone she would trust enough to do that.\" In fact she never expected that for herself and Shia too. \"And he seems to like her back just as much.\"\n----\nSpark and Shia begin a coversation.\n\"So...Shia, what did you do back on our world before you got here?\"\n\"I lived with Veera and Loona, it was...pretty much the gist of it, we did that to survive. I'm pretty sure I was very different too...\"\n\"What do you mean?\"\n\"Well i...i wasn't exactly so afraid before...'that' happened to me...\"\n\n\"Well, we both do.\" Khaun says. \"Did either of us tell you the story of how we met her?\" \n---- \nNine turns his attention to Shia as he begins his conversation.\n\nShe shakes her head. \"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't hear it.\"\n---\n\"That Raichu got you?\"\n\"Yeah...\"\nSpark gives him a little pat on the shoulder. \"Look...look, It's alright, you are already way braver than me, Shia. I'm...sure you will get better, you can't let what happened keep you down.\"\nHe nods. \"Yeah, I have been wearing that quite a bit...not that I'm saying it's a bad thing, I don't have any intention of giving up.\"\n\"Oh, that's good.\"\n\n\"Ah. Well... it's like this.\" \nKhaun spends the next few moments recalling the events. About how they found Loona in an abandoned house, gave her a brain scan, and realized that they could not in good conscience simply send her back. At the time, their universal translation software had not been updated yet, so they were unable to speak to her. They'd discussed what to do with her over the course of days, all the while giving her shelter and food. Khaun, to his shame, had proposed sending her back with a sword, but Eilumi protested the idea. It was at that moment that Nine had budded in, and announced that the software was patched. \nHad Eilumi agreed a few minutes earlier, they shuddered to think of what would have happened.\nInstead, they simply asked her about what she wanted to do. Whether she wanted to stay with them, or go back. Loona of course, had no intentions of going back. However, part of her still wanted to find Veera and Shia, so they arranged an away mission to find the former. However, talking to the townspeople lead nowhere, at least until they came across a scared, slightly-blood soaked pikachu. Leading to a series of events that would lead them to their final showdown with Rai, and eventually, to the situation they were now in.\n\"Yeah, it was a bit hairy at first.\" Loona adds in. \"But I really started to like them after a while. Seriously, I'm still not exactly sure what happened to you, or how you became a jolteon, but up until I met Eillumi, my experience with so-called pokemon civilization was nothing but misery. It's sad and ironic that aliens treated the bunch of us better than the civilized mons.\" \n--- \n\"That's good to hear, Shia.\" Nine adds in encouragingly. \nHe looks for a conversation to strike up. \n\"So have either of you had, or maybe... [i]have[/i] anyone you're really [i]interested[/i] in?\"\n\n\"Oh yeah, I think I owe you an explanation about this huh?\" Veera looks down at herself, remembering the time when she had brown fur instead of the yellow she has now. \"You see I almost became a slave to a noble that was collecting Eevees like me to evolve them into different pokémon...\" She explained. \"Thank the maze Shrew told Brene it was me...\" \n--- \nShia feels a little troubled talking about this, it's not his business to dwell on it too much because it is her choice after all. \"T-there was...Loona it kind of looks like she is getting a long pretty well with Eilumi...\"\n\n\"That's... That's horrible! By The Maze, I should never have abandoned you, Veera!\" Loona exclaims. She comes over and hugs her. \"I mean... I always knew you wanted to evolve into an espeon or something. I...\" She cries a little bit. \"I've been a terrible friend.\" \n----- \n\"Do you still have feelings for her?\" Nine asks. \"What about Veera?\" \n... He realizes what he just asked before he could catch himself. \n\"Er... sorry about that second one.\"\n\nThe Jolteon gives her friend a tight hug. \"It's okay Loona, it's okay...i can't really blame you, maybe i should have been more careful too...\"\n---\nHe sighs and shakes his head. \"I know she is considering forgiving me but I don't think that's ever going to happen...\"\n\nEliumi gets up and rubs her back comfortingly. She sits back down beside Veera, with Eilumi on the other side.\n\"Well..\" Loona sighs sadly. \"I suppose sticking by me might not have been the best of ideas either. As you know, I tried to join the guilds. But it didn't work. They all just rejected me out of hand.\n\"Said Guilds are stupid.\" Eilumi says. \n\"I appreciate the vote of confidence.\" Loona smiles at him, but then turns her attention back to Veera.\n\"The last one I approached... there was a pignite there. I insisted I fight him to see if I was guild material. I did fight him, but... he just beat me down. And then...\" She pauses, shaking as she does. She raises her paw out of the water, and it curls into a fist. \"... He raped me. In broad daylight. Without a care in the world!\"\nShe lowers her fist.\n\"That night, when I awoke after fainting, I stole their guild mural, and tried to make Iron out of it. But... it didn't work. That's...\" She looks towards the two avali. \"That's when you guys found me.\"\nShe looks towards Veera.\n\"Yeah, thinking back on it... if you had stuck with me, I don't think it would have turned out much better. At best you would have had to bear witness to that. At worst... he would have hurt you too.\"\nHer eyes shut as she sighs.\n\"At least that bastard paid for it before we left.\"\n--------\n\"I assume you mean Veera and not Loona.\" Nine says. \"You know you will have to talk to her eventually. In person. And as far as Loona goes...\"\nNine: 😌 \"Do you still like her?\"\n\nShe sighs. \"I'm glad that we are far away from that world now...we can finally look up to the life ahead of us and expect better than what we had.\"\n---\nNow really able to muster words due to how embarrassed he is feeling, Shia just responds with a nod to Nine.\n\n\"Yeah... definitely\" Loona says. \"We get to stay in the company of a couple of cute, friendly feathered space raptors and be space explorers.\"\n\"Keep in mind it's not all fun and games out here either.\" Khaun says. \"We relax for tonight, but still, there's a long road ahead for you two, and the other two. A lot of skills to learn.\"\n\"But yeah, out here, it's the life we make for ourselves.\" Eilumi interrupts him. \n\"And speaking of which...\" Loona grins mischievously, and gets up, and picks up Eilumi.\n\"Er, Loona, what are you doing?\" Eilumi asks.\n\"In a few moments... You.\" She whispers lustfully. \"I fully intend to finish what we started with the beach holodeck sim. And I am NOT letting anything stop us this time.\" She looks over to Veera. \"I'll just take Eilumi here and head down to one of the lower pools, and leave you and Khaun alone.\"\n\"But...\" Eilumi begins to protest. But Loona quickly shuts his concerns down. \n\"Yes, I know... 'pack activities' and all that. Maybe someday they can join us properly, but for now, it's just the two of us. Really wouldn't want to scare Veera further.\"\n\"Alright.\" Eilumi says as she sets him down.\n\"Have fun relaxing here you two.\" Loona says as she and Eilumi exit the pool, and head further into the cave together to get a little privacy. It doesn't take a psychic type to figure out what exactly they plan on doing down there.\n\"Sooo it's just you and me again.\" Khaun says awkwardly to Veera.\n-------\n\"And you feel that Eilumi has taken her heart and now she's closed off to you forever?\" Nine asks. \nBefore Shia can really respond, he continues.\n\"I think you ought to know a little something about Avali, then. That being... Avali are not monogamous. The way their pack system works doesn't allow for it. If you wanted to try and pursue something deeper with Loona, Eilumi wouldn't stop you. ... In fact, he'd probably encourage you. 'Pack activities' and all that.\"\n\nVeera watches as Loona and Eilumi go out of sight. She can figure out what they are going to do. She is honestly really happy for Loona being able to consider someone close enough to have intercourse with. \"Yeah, just the two of us. So Khaun, what is your job on the ship?\" \n---- \n\"R-really?\" So Avali pack systems can allow more than two individuals to love each other without any issue? The thought of something like that never crossed his mind. \"So it would be pretty much okay if i...asked to had sex with Loona...?\"\n\nA little while after they vanish, they can start hearing some faint moans. Seems they're out of eyesight, but not quite out of earshot. \n\"I'm the medical officer. And the engineer. Though, Nine does some of the latter as well. I used to be just the latter, but I had to take over the job after Renali died.\" \nHe gives a sad sigh at the mention of that name.\n\"Speaking of medical things, I heard you were interested in learning it as well? Well, it's going to be quite the long road. Now that you have your nanites and nexus connection especially, you'll probably have to take courses. It's definitely not something that can be learned in a few weeks. It took me at least two years to learn... But then again I was also learning several things at once too, so that didn't help matters.\"\n----\n\"Well, yes.\" Nine says. \"I mean, there's the issue of her accepting, but as far as the rest of the pack goes, yes. Eilumi isn't going to accuse you of trying to \"steal his mate\" or any other such thing. As I said, he'd probably encourage you or even try to join you. Though... keep in mind, it's also expected to go both ways...\"\n\n\"Yeah, it does seem like something i would be pretty good at.\" She gives him a pat on the shoulder. \"And if it helps easy your workload then that's a good thing too, right?\" \n--- \n\"Hhhmmmm, well...I see. I wouldn't try to keep her to myself in that case then.\" Maybe he shouldn't worry too much after all. \"For now I guess I will just worry about evolving so I can get those 'nanites'.\"\n\n\"Yeah, it would definitely be appreciated. I mean, if I go down, then we're kind of screwed on that front. Luckily the courses are pretty much all online, and anything you need 'hands on' experience for, there's the holodeck. Which you can use now that you have your nanites. Although, I should warn you, some of the stuff is... not for the faint of heart. Like surgery and stuff.\"\n------\n\"Pardon my ignorance\" Nine responds to the mention of 'evolving' \"but how does that work, exactly? 'Evolution' for your kind seems to work very differently than it does in the rest of the universe, and means something else entirely.\"\n\n\"Well since we are gonna have to do exploration i think i'm gonna have to learn how to deal with complicated situations when the time calls for it so...best to be prepared i guess.\"\n---\n\"I'm not really sure...\" Shia shrugs. \"Pokémon have always called it 'evolution', and it has been like this since...pretty much forever. When it happens you get bigger and stronger. Why do you ask though? How is evolution for other creatures?\"\n\n\"Well, that is definitely the case.\" Khaun says. \nThen, his look gets more serious.\n\"And speaking of 'complicated situations'....\" He pauses, thinking about how best to word this. \"... Are you ready yet to confront Shia on what exactly happened back there? I know we sent that message you wanted to send back there, but if we are going to be an effective team, you are going to have to speak to him in person about it one of these days.\"\n-----\n\"Where we come from, 'evolution' essentially means 'lots of tiny little changes over generations over the course of millions or even billions of years to better suit a species environment.' In other words: quite different to the sudden changes your kind go through whenever they get bigger and stronger, or are exposed to certain stones, or a certain amount of friendship/love/sex, or however it works.\"\n\nShe sighs and looks down a little. \"Yes I know. I will talk with him eventually but I feel like I need a little more time...maybe he needs it too.\"\n---\n'lots of tiny little changes over generations over the course of millions or even billions of years to better suit a species environment'? Shia is trying to understand just why it is like this, it really sounds different from his evolution. \"Hhhmmmm...that's pretty weird to me.\"\n\n\"I see.\" Khaun says. He looks for another topic to go to. He hears the moans coming from further down intensify. ... not the best of topics, but it's going to have to do. \"pardon if I asked already... or if it's too personal, but did you have anyone back on your world you ... well, were 'interested' in?\"\n------\n\"Well, your version of evolutions sounds just as strange to us.\" Nine chuckles.\n\n\"Not really.\" Veera shakes her head to the question. Seems like she doesn't have an issue with him asking too. \"I never really thought about that to be honest.\" \n--- \n\"Hhhmmm...can you, Khaun and Eilumi use moves?\" Shia asked.\n\n\"I see.\" Khaun replies. \"If you're wondering my own answer to the same question... well...\"\nKhaun pauses for a bit.\n\"I'm afraid it's not really like that for Avali.\" He says. He pauses for a bit before continuing. \"You see, we Avali don't have what you would call 'permanent mates'. Well, that's not entirely true. Our packs are... in a sense, exactly that. Being in a pack is more than just being in a crew or a group of friends. It's like what some races would consider family, childhood kinship, and marriage all rolled into one. I know you've heard this mantra before: 'all activities are pack activities', and it's quite true, down to every single meaning you can think of. And yes, that includes sex. ESPECIALLY sex. You see, most mating takes place inside of a pack. There are some exceptions. But even there, it's mostly considered a pack activity, as it's a regular occurrence for pack members to jump into the act. I hope that doesn't weird you out or frighten you.\"\nHe pauses a bit again before continuing.\n\"I guess you could say the closest answer I could give you to my own question... was Renali. She was the former second medic, and psychologist of the group. Well, when not on missions anyway. Oddly enough, she was also what one might call a 'ninja'. She was the only female in our pack, and... well.. it goes without saying that was very close to me, and that yes, we did do... that together. We all did.\"\n------\n\"Not in the same sense you do.\" Nine answers. \"We have our techs, of course. We have certain fighting techniques, we have weapons. But no, we don't have 'moves' in the same sense that you do.\"\n\n\"Oh...i see. That seems to be one way of having a sexual relationship.\" Veera comments. \"I never actually though something like that was possible. But if it's not bad then okay.\" \n----- \n\"Right.\" Shia moves on to another topic of question. \"Are there others like you out there? I mean, Khaun and Eilumi are both Avali. So is there others of your kind?\"\n\nKhaun sits there, thinking of something to say, but nothing comes to mind. Without really thinking much, he leans in close to her, and gives her a light kiss on the cheek. Nothing too intense, just a light peck...\n-------\n\"There are.\" Nine answers. \"We are a rarity, but we do exist. I have seen other protogens from time to time. Or did you mean more Avali? In the latter case, of course there are.\"\n\nThe Jolteon stayed silent for a little moment before smiling. \"I know you want me to feel better, and i appreciate it...but you look pretty cute when doing that you know?\"\n---\n\"Hhhmmmm...were you born from an egg too?\"\n\nKhaun smiles back. \"Thank you... you're quite cute yourself.\"\n------\n\"I... that is a hard question to answer. Thing is, the form you see now was created from another creature. Its memory erased, its body parts replaced. The earliest memory I even have is waking up in that damnable facility with a voice over the loudspeaker telling me to rape some poor victim under threat of torture, and I'm not even sure if they created me, or just captured me earlier and erased my mind. And I am not sure whether or not that creature was born from an egg or not.\"\nHe pauses, and sees their reactions.\n\"... Sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that. My origins are a... touchy subject for me.\" He 'sighs'. \"As for any other protogens... yes and no. Depends on the base creature they're made out of.\"\n\nVeera laughed a little and hugged him closer. \"I probably haven't said this yet but...i don't think my name fits me much anymore.\"\n----\nHe feels a little bad for having asked that now. \"S-sorry...\"\n\"Wait hang on...\" Spark pipes up. \"So you were saying that you used to be something else before what you are now...?\"\n\n\"Oh? Your... name? And why not?\" Khaun asks, thinking a bit. \"Oh, you name yourselves after your species, right? You started out as an 'Eevee' if I recall... Veera? As in.. 'EeVee...ra, right? You know, I don't think we did ask what you are [i]now[/i].\n-------\n \"It's fine\" Nine says to Shia. \"I don't think I went into too much detail when I explained it earlier.\" \"I believe so.\" Nine replies to spark. \"Though as I said, I don't know what I was before the miniknog, the avali, or whoever did it, made me into this.\"\n\n\"Yup, that's pretty much the gist of our naming goes for all of us. Loona is a Linoone, Shia is a Shinx...and i was an Eevee, correct. Now i'm a Jolteon.\" \n---- \n\"I think i get it.\" Spark doesn't get much of it right now though. \"So...what are we going to be doing? Like, i don't we'll be living with you guys for free? not that i'm saying i would like that, just...What do you think me and Shia are going to be doing?\"\n\n\"And then you change your name when you... 'evolve', right?\" Khaun asks. \n--- \n\"We'll find something, don't you worry.\" Nine says with a chuckle. \"First and foremost we'll be getting you two stronger. Probably have you going through training sims at first. And then...\" \nHe hesitates. And sighs. \n\"Look, I'm not going to lie. Whether it's in the near future, or the far future... You will most likely be killing things. Things that attack you, and people that deserve it. Like space pirates and miniknog bastards and such. But... killing none the less.\"\n\n\"Yeah that's how the tradition usually goes.\" She nods. \"Haven't thought a lot about a name, didn't had much time to think about it.\" \n----- \nSpark has never killed someone before, he already saw pokemon dying though. He is feeling hesitant about what to say. \"So be it.\" Shia is a little braver though. \"I guess fighting is something we will never really escape from, but we can be ready for it.\"\n\n\"You know... you're not on your planet anymore. You don't [i]have[/i] to follow those rules. You could keep your name if you really wanted to, or... or even pick a name that doesn't follow the conventions at all.\" Khaun suggests. \"Like Spark, for example. He didn't even have a name when he first came aboard. And he and Loona decided on one for him, they decided to pick a name that had nothing to do with his species... well, okay, maybe not [i]nothing[/i], but nothing to do with the name.\" \n\"Heck,\" He chuckles. \"you could pick an [i]Avali[/i] name if you [i]really[/i] wanted to, and no one would think twice about it.\" \n-------- \n\"I know, it's a sad fact of life.\" Nine sighs. \"But... no need to think about that here and now. Just relax in the pool. You two have been through a lot already. You especially, Shia.\"\n\n\"HHhmmm, so many options, it's a lot to think about.\" She begins to think what name she is going to use, if she decides to change it to begin with, but she is leaning towards changing it. \n--- \n\"Yeah, you are right...\" Shia keeps relaxing with his friend on the healing pool, making the most out of this moment of peace.\n\n\"Plenty of time, Veera.\" Khaun says reassuringly as he holds her close to him in the warm healing liquid. \"Plenty of time.\"\nIt is not long before they hear footsteps, and a heavily blushing, and quite satisfied looking Loona and Eilumi rejoin them. \n\"That was... wow.\" Eilumi says with a grin on his face. \n\"Yeah...\" Loona says as she relaxes as well, snuggling back up to him. She looks over at Veera.\" \n\"Soo...\" She says. \"What have you two gotten up to while we were having fun? Did you guys have your own fun?\"\n---\nNine, despite not being in the pool, relaxes with them, also enjoying the peace.\n\nVeera laughs a little at that. But guesses that her friend isn't completely wrong. \"Well, not exactly. But me and Khaun had a good time relaxing together.\"\n\n\"That's good to hear\" Loona smiles back with satisfaction. Out of the three of them, she was always the more... impulsive one, so it shouldn't be a surprise that she'd be the first to take that adventurous first step, and that Veera would be a lot more cautious.\nEspecially after what happened with Shia. \nA frown appears briefly on her muzzle as she thinks of that. It does not go unnoticed.\n\"Something wrong, Loona?\" Khaun asks.\nLoona however shakes her head.\n\"No. It's nothing.\"\nA little more time passes, and Eilumi gets up.\n\"Okay, so, I think I'm about ready to go. How about you three?\"\n\"Yeah, I think I'm about ready now to get back to the ship.\" She says as she gets up. \n\"How about you two?\"\n-------\nNine gets up.\n\"Looks like Eilumi and Loona are getting ready to go.\" Nine announces to the two boys in the pool. \"I think it's about time for us to go as well.\"\n\nShe nods. \"Yeah I'm ready to get back too. Wonder where Nine, Shia and Spark are at.\"\n---\n\"Aaaaaw, already?\" Spark was having so much fun relaxing in this pool.\n\"It's okay...I would have loved to bring this whole pool with me as well.\" Shia said. Not that he actually wants to bring the whole thing along, he is just trying to give the mouse a bit of consolation.\n\n\"You want to meet them before we go back to the ship? Or?\" Khaun asks as he gets up. He extends a hand to Veera to help her up.\n----\n\"Well, we have been here for a few hours now\" Nine states matter-of-factly.\n\"Not to worry, there are other planets with these types of pools on them, so it's not like this is the last time we'll do this.\" He adds.\n\n\"No, it's fine. We can just go back to the ship, pretty sure they will be there too.\"\n----\n\"Alright so...we do that thing where we touch you like this?\" Shia places grips Nine's leg, expecting to get teleported back to the ship.\nThe Pikachu hurries out of the pool and goes to Nine so he can teleport with them too.\n\n\"Alright. If you insist.\" Khaun says as he helps her up. \n----- \n\"Yes, just like that.\" Nine says. \"When you get your nanites, you won't even have to do that.\"\n\nAfter she got up she began thinking about how they are going to go back, she thinks the same method she used is still valid to go back to the ship. \"So just like before, I can go back to the ship much like how I came down here?\"\n---\n\"Still hope they don't hurt...\" Pikachu mumbled a commen\n\n\"Yup\" Khaun answers her.\nLight surrounds Khaun and Loona and they teleport away to the ship. Khaun remains behind just to make sure Veera is able to teleport away as well.\n---\nLight surrounds Spark, Shia, and Nine. In a moment, they are back in the teleporter room. \n\"They shouldn't.\" Nine responds to spark. \n\"What shouldn't?\" Loona asks Nine as they teleport back.\n\"Oh, they were just asking if the Nanites were hurt.\" He answers.\n\"Oh. No, they didn't hurt.\" Loona says.\nShe goes over to Spark and leans down. \n\"So little guy, did you have fun?\" She asks soothingly.\n\nShe concentrates a little to make sure she is doing this right, she picks the option to beam up to the ship and that's exactly what happens.\n----\nSpark is a little surprised that it seems like they all got here at the same time. \"Well, it was pretty nice down there, I wonder what other different stuff we are going to see in other worlds.\"\nVeera arrives back on the ship now. \"So, what did you guys do?\" Out of everyone she could have asked that from, she asked Shia.\n\"O-oh...\" He was quick to get a little wary at the sudden interaction. \"W-well we...we found a camp and found some stuff, like that thing that Sparks has on his head.\" He points to that red cap the Pikachu has on his head. \"And we rested on some healing pool...\"\n\"Oh, there was a healing pool for you too?\"\n\nAt that moment, Khaun teleports back to the ship after seeing that Veera got it.\n\"Yeah\" Nine says. \"We were not too far away from you, actually. We just didn't interrupt because... well... reasons.\" He looks at Loona with a 🤨 expression, except it's a smile instead of a flat frowned.\n\"Heh. Yeah, after we practiced our techs, we had 'fun.'\" She says with a smirk, and a blush on her face.\n\n\"So what is 'techs' like?\" Shia asked.\n\"It's kind of like moves.\" Veera begins explaining. At least she thinks it is like moves, it sort of felt like it. \"But they let you jump again, run faster and uuuh...turn into a ball.\" She figures this last one might sound weird.\nSpark blinks. \"turn into a ball?\"\n\"Yeah it's what it sound like.\"\n\n\"Like this...\" \nLoona turns into a ball, A regular one, not the fancy-pancy spiderball, and rolls around Shia. She then bumps his feet playfully, before turning back into her normal form.\nEilumi chuckles at this display. \nKhaun and Nine both smile a bit, happy to see that Veera and Shia are at least on casual speaking terms at the very least.\n\nThe Shinx just stared at her with surprised and confusion for the duration of the time she was a ball. \"W-woah...!\"\n\"That looked like it was pretty tight.\" The Pikachu commented.\n\n\"Yeah, it does feel a little weird.\" Loona says as she stretches herself out. \"But it gets better.\"\n\"Oh...\" Eilumi says. \"And Loona and I made pack love too.\"\nKhaun rolls his eyes, as Nine forces Eilumi's head down.\n\"DId you REALLY have to go and say that out loud?!\" Nine growls. \n\"What? They're members of this pack, they should get used to seeing this sort of thing.\" He says. \"All activities are pack activities-\"\n\"That doesn't mean you need to boastfully announce it in front of everyone!!\" Nine almost yells at him.\n\"Alright alright, jeez Nine.\" Eilumi says as Nine lets go, and he rubs the back of his head.\n\"Oh, and while we're at it...\" Nine says. \"No more picking up sluts and whores and no more trips to Lustia.\" \nEilumi looks at Nine and looks like he is about to say something, but Nine's expression changes to one that basically says 'Do not give me any of your shit'.\nKhaun meanwhile simply shrugs. \"Fine by me.\" He says.\n\"... Alright, fine.\" Eilumi relents.\n\nShia and Veera didn't felt like saying anything else when the screaming started.\nThe Pikachu has a question about it though. \"So we can just like...have sex at any time?\"\n\nLoona meanwhile is gripping her temples. \n\"Well, yes....\" Eilumi says. \n\"As long as the partner in question consents to it.\" Khaun adds.\n\n\"Oh, okay then.\"\nNine leans down and whispers into his ear, trying to be a lot more discretionary than his comrades. \"Why do you ask?\" \n\"Aaaanyway, that awkward conversation aside...\" Loona somewhat growls. \"I'm hungry. All that training and... fun... has gotten me into quite the appetite.\"\n\nShe heads off to the kitchen to find some food\nSpark blushes. \"I kind of want some...\"\nVeera decides to stay with Khaun for the time being. \"Any idea of where we are going next?\" \nShia is not sure of what to do so he decides to just sit there.\n\nHaving heard some, Eilumi comes over to him, and whispers into his ear. \"Talk to me later. I might be able to help on that front.\" \nNine gives him a look. But says nothing. \nEilumi turns to the others, and announces loudly. \"Alright, on that note... let's get us some food.\"", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
Act 12: Training and Relaxation in Eden


Eilumi and crew watch the star-lines go by as the ship speeds through space.
"Quite the sight, no?" Eilumi says. "Sooo, we'll be headed for Alion 4, an Eden world. Used to be a haven for bandits, but we cleared it out before we arrived on your world. It'll make for a good place for all of us to kick back, relax, and for you two to practice your techs."

"Oh, I see." Although now she has a question. "An Eden world? What does that mean?"

"Well, it's a forested world, but it's quite tranquil. Only very basic life, nothing hostile. Oh, and it has Sparkling Water pools. In other words, a great place to kick back, try out new skills, train, and relax. You'll especially love the sparkling water pools."
"I have to wonder if any of our new members have even seen a forest." Khaun comments.

"I think I heard about it, but I have never seen one myself." Veera shakes her head. "I guess I will find out when we get there."

"I think you'll like it, It's quite pretty" Eilumi smiles as he puts a hand around her shoulder and pats her. Loona moves over to him, and he does the same to her. Khaun moves over to the other side of Veera, and does the same, and gives her a slight side hug as he does.

There is a nice feeling of companionship here, which makes her smile. She also returns the sentiment to both of the Avalis beside her, putting a paw around their shoulder and patting them.

Khaun holds her side against his, and Eilumi holds Loona's against his as they watch the stars go by together.
"Huh, I wonder what Shia and Spark's up to?" Eilumi asks.

"I wonder too."
While the trip is going, Shia and Spark decide to go check the one part of the ship that they haven't properly learned about yet, the holodeck.

Nine follows them to the holodeck.
It's big, black, and quite empty. To naked, unnanited eyes, they're just inside of a dark, overly huge room.
 "Welcome to the holodeck," Nine says.

"What is here exactly? All I remember was Loona asking why I was in water but I didn't see water anywhere...?" Spark questions.

Nine chuckles. "IT's the holodeck. Basically, we use it to create any sort of environment we wish. Like a dream, but you're awake for it, and you actually feel what's going on inside of it... well, to a certain degree. That's the best explanation for now. Unfortunately, you need an interface to make that happen. For us, it's nanites and the neural jack. The only other way is with that suit over there." he motions towards a bulky suit. "And... there's only one of them."

"Oooh, it looks kinda heavy..." Shia comments when he sees the suit.

"It... is." He says. "It was fitted for Loona, and it will take some time to fit it to either of you, let alone get a hold of-slash-make a new one for the other. As for the 'water', I am guessing that after getting her Nanites, Loona and Eliumi summoned up a 'beach' type scenario and setting, and were... well..."
His face changes to a -_- look.
"I'll let you fill in the blanks there on what they were doing, or might have done had they not been interrupted."

"Oh..." Embarrassed, Spark decides to keep quiet about that.
"So this holodeck thing can be anything?" Shia asked.

"Pretty much." Nine answers Shia. "We mostly use it for combat sims and the like. That said, it does have its limitations."

"For example..." He looks at the two of them with a raised eyebrow expression. "I'm going to bet at least one of you has already had the idea-slash-question of 'Can I use this to create a made up girlfriend and have sex with her?'" His expression betrays a slight grin.

Both of the electric type pokemon look at each other for a moment before looking at Nine again. "We can?"

Nine chuckles.
"Of course you'd think that. Almost everyone does when they hear about the Holodeck the first time. Well, I didn't, but ... let's not go into that." Nine chuckles.
"The answer to said question is..."
His expression turns back to a more neutral serious one.
"The short answer is 'well yes, but actually no.' The longer answer is thus: Remember when I said that we use this for combat training? There are certain... protocols built into the system. While it is capable of making you feel pain, such as if one were to cut your arm or stab your back or shoot you with a gun or such, there are protocols in it to prevent you from feeling lethal or crippling pain. This is a safety feature that cannot be disabled. Unfortunately, it also applies to pleasure as well. Yes, you COULD theoretically create, say, a bordello full of mons to visit and fuck, but the problem is that unless said mons are actually real themselves, you're not going to feel anything when it comes to the act itself.
So, again, 'yes, but actually no.'"

They are trying to wrap their heads around what he said.
"So sex with it is not really good?" At least this is what Spark thinks is what Nine just talked about here.

"Sex with it is not really possible and you won't feel anything." Nine corrects him.
He decides to change the subject, especially since Eilumi has already made his plans known.
"I'm afraid you two won't get much use out of it right now anyway, as Eilumi has other plans for everyone. On that subject, allow me to ask you two a bit of a strange question....
Have either of you seen... A tree?"

Spark and Shia respectively began to make enquirers about what that is.
"Three?"
"A tree?"
"What's that?"

"From those answers, I presume 'no'." Nine chuckles. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough. Eilumi has decided to go to an Eden world, to train the girls on how to use the tech system their nanites have given them. We will join them down there, mostly just to relax or whatnot. Do not worry, I think you will like it."

"So when are we going to get there?" Shia asked.

"We should be arriving shortly"
In the bridge, the stars begin to slow down, the lines shortening as the craft slows down to STL speeds
"... Correction." Nine says. "We should be arriving any minute now."
A few moments later, the craft comes to rest over a green looking planet, with aqua looking seas.

From the bridge Veera can see the planet, from all the way up here the shape of it's continents and other factors certainly make it look different from her old planet. "It...looks very green." She comments.
---
"That's nice!" Spark smiles but...his smile falters a little bit. "It's not gonna be dangerous, right?"

"Yes, there's a lot of greenery on this world." Eilumi says. "It'll look even lovelier up close."
----
"Shouldn't be." Nine assures them. "We cleared the bandits from this place some time ago. And the wildlife there is mostly non-hostile. And the environment, as far as we can tell, requires no special measures on your end. We should head up to the teleporter room."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" She is really curious to see what it's like.
---
"Well...come Spark." Shia said to the Pikachu before he started making his way to the teleporter room.

Once they reach the teleporter room, Nine grabs onto Shia and Spark. "The others should be on the planet already. So we'll meet them there."
Before they can say anything, they teleport them down.
----
"Alright, time to teleport down. Using your hud, call up the 'teleport to planet' option. See you down there, Veera." Eilumi teleports down, as does Loona. Khaun stays behind to make sure Veera gets it.

"Teleport to the planet, hhhhmmm?" Veera focuses herself, choosing the 'teleport to planet' option on her hud and selecting it. It worked just like Eilumi said and she got teleported down to the planet.

Once there they all meet on the planet. And see the planet for themselves.

"And here we all are." Eilumi says happily.
"Well, you wanted to know what a tree looks like." Nine says to Shia and Spark. "This is a tree."
"Wait..." Khaun says. "These guys have never seen trees before?"
Everyone looks at him with an annoyed expression.
"Oh... stupid question, I guess." Khaun replies flatly.

All three of the Pokémon are checking out this new environment, they have never seem so much grass in one place before, let alone so much vegetation. Shia and Spark are examining the grass, touching and eventually laying on it.
Meanwhile Veera approaches a tree and looks up at it. "Oooooooh, is this it?"

"Quite the environmental shock, isn't it?" Eilumi chuckles. Even Loona, who has seen other environments in the holodeck, is in shock.
"So green... so blue... so much vegetation..." She says to herself.
"I can only imagine the looks on their faces once we bring them to a crystaline world." Eilumi whispers to Khaun, who nods.
"That is a tree, yes." Khaun tells Veera. "Just one type among many in the universe."

"A tree huh?" The Jolteon proceeds to touch the tree with her paw, having a feel for the wood and it's texture. "Are they just big plants?"

"That's a... very crude way of putting it." Khaun says.

"S-sorry..."

"Sorry for what?" Khaun says as he raises his eyebrow.

"I thought my the way of putting it was a bit too rude...?" She is not too sure why she let that apology slip, she just thought Khaun was disappointed with what she had said.

"Na, it's fine." Eilumi replies to her before Khaun gets the chance.
He allows a few more moments of adjusting to the environment and looking around before he gets everyone's attention.
"Okay. Now that we've had time to look around.... Veera, Loona. If you'll come with me and Khaun, we'll start the tech practice. As for Shia and Spark..." He puts his hand to his chin in thought.
"You don't have your nanites yet, so no tech practice for you. I guess you can go exploring for a bit, but stick next to Nine so you don't get lost."

"Well, Alright then." She looks to Shia, Spark and Nine. "You guys stay safe okay?"
"Will do." Shia nods. And on the topic of exploring, he is feeling scared of doing that...but he promised to get better, so he isn't going to be letting these fears deter him.
"Does uuuh...anyone live in this place?" Spark asks.

"There used to be some bandits, outlaws, etc living on this planet, but last time we went through here, we pretty much cleared them out." Nine answers as they walk through the forest. "There will probably be someone trying to lay claim to the planet soon. But that seems to be a ways off yet."
It's then that they also notice that it's raining.
"Also, I'd like to formally apologize for the fact that we did not realize it was raining at the moment.
---
"Alright girls." Eilumi says as he comes up to a large hill/mountain. "Time to show you your techs. First, open your tech menu. You'll see a menu for your head, leg, and body techs. I know there's a lot of options, but for now, we'll concentrate on the basics. For the head, equip "distortion Sphere", for body, "dash", and for legs, "pulse jump"


Shia held a paw to catch some raindrops. "It's alright, there wasn't much rain back where we used to live."
"You mentioned that there were...bandits here?" Spark questions. "Around this area in particular or...the whole planet?"
---
The Jolteon nods and brings up her hud to do that, it takes a bit of time because she chooses the options very carefully to make sure she wouldn't mess it up, but she gets everything right just like Eilumi instructed. "Okay done. So what now?"

"Pretty much all over. But as I said, we cleared them all. Though that was a few months ago, so don't wander too far."
---
 "Alright, first we'll go over the double jump. I'll show you what that looks like." Eilumi jumps in place. Just as he reaches the apex of his jump, a small blue burst of flame shoots out from under his feet, propelling him upwards, almost as high as his first jump. He lands on his feet.
"Alright, your turns."
Loona tries to jump in place, with little success, but then on the third jump, a blue flame likewise jumps out of her feet, propelling her a ways upward, and then she falls back down to the ground. Unlike with Eilumi, she is caught off guard by it and lands on one hand and two knees.
"You okay there Loona?" Eilumi asks.
"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." Loona says indignantly as she gets up. "It just took me by surprise, that's all."

"A-all over?!" Shia is surprised by that. "And you guys beat them all...?"
----
Veera watched as Eilumi jumped in the air, and Loona's attempt at doing the same. "So...do I just jump and then...jump again?"

"Pretty much" Nine says.
---
"Pretty much." Eilumi says.

"Wow..." Spark and Shia are in awe right now.
"Soooo...how exactly did you manage to do that?" Spark asks.
-----
"Alright I guess I will try now..." Veera took a few steps back, then took a deep breath...Just jump and jump again she tells herself, it can't be too hard right? "Okay here goes!" She warned before she began running forward, leaping up with all the strength she could muster, then just like the Avali before her she managed to get a second jump in mid air thanks to a burst of blue flames from under her feet. She didn't quite manage to plant her feet on the hill, she must have jumped too soon...but she did manage to hold on to the ledge. "Aaaaahh!"

"With teamwork and a lot of weaponry." Nine chuckles. "Though keep an eye open, some of their old hideaways might still be around."
-----
"Hang on!" Khaun jumps over to the top of the hill in a few jumps, lands above where Veera is, and reaches for her hand.

"Yeah, I think we best stay close, Spark..." Shia said, to which his friend nodded.
-----
Veera sees that he came to help. One of her hands goes to hold his so he can help pull her up.

"I got you. Here we go!" Khaun pulls her up over the ledge, with some effort.

With Khaun's help pulling she is easily brought up, she gets back on her feet and looks down, taking note of just how high that jump of her's really was, she was never jumped this high before in her life.

"Are you alright?" Khaun asks her, Loona and Eilumi look on.
 "It wasn't that far down..." Eilumi comments.
"Shush." Loona hushes him under her breath. "They're having a moment."

Veera looks at Khaun and nods. "Yeah, I hope I wasn't too bad with that jump...Thanks for helping me up too."

"It... takes a little getting used to." Khaun says to her reassuringly.
"Yeah, it's kind of why we're here." Eilumi says. "So we can practice this safely and not in a more dangerous combat situation."

"Yeah, but I think I can get the hang of it." Veera says. "So what were those other options like? I saw 'Rocket Jump', what is a rocket?"

"Woah woah! Slow down" Eilumi says. "First get used to your pulse jump and the other basic techs before trying new things. get an idea on how these work."

"Ah..." She nods. Then looks down at Loona. "You are going to come up here too?"

"Oh, right, I thought we were just jumping in place." Loona looks up at the hill, and jump up using the double jump.

Veera smiles when she sees that her friend managed to get this jump better than her herself did. "You are learning quicker than me, I see!"

"Well, I did have a head start," Loona says as she looks at Eilumi.

"Yeah. Are we practicing this jump some more times now?"

"If you feel you need it" Eilumi responds. "Otherwise we can move onto dashing."

"Hhhhhmmm...alright then, i guess we can move on to dashing. That sounds easier too."

"Okay... Dashing is just like the double jump, but it's done horizontally." Eilumi says. "A demonstration."
He takes a small run forward, but instead of stepping and running forward, he just sort of floats forward very very very quickly. He seems to leave a blue trail behind him as he does.
"Very useful for getting out of deadly situations very quickly. IE: if there's someone with a blade about to stab you in the stomach or something."
---
As Shia, Spark and Nine are coming along, they come across a desolate scene. A bunch of black tents, inside of a large, open 'cave'. There is no sign of their occupants anywhere.

"Huh, looks like one of the abandoned bandit camps." Nine says to himself.

From what she saw, it looks like Eilumi just ran very very fast there. "Hhhmmm, okay i think i got this!" Veera figures it can't be hard, and seems simpler than the jump.
---
Both of the electric types eye the tents up ahead, unsure if they should approach them or not.
"hhhmmmm..." Spark looks to his Shinx friend. "So do we check it out?"
"I guess...?"

Loona does a dash as well. The blue trails behind her. "Yep, easy."
---
"Well, you might find something we missed." Nine says. "I have to admit, we didn't do a whole lot of looting during our last run here."

Now it is Veera's turn. The Jolteon begins running to where Eilumi and Loona are, she tries to make herself go as fast as she can and soon enough she is dashing and leaving a blue trail behind herself as she goes.
---
Well, if there is a chance of there being something of use maybe it's okay to check right? Both Shia and Spark approach the tents to try to have a look inside of them.

"Very good, Veera!" Eilumi says happily, and Khaun pats her back.

Well that really wasn't so hard, she might just have to be careful about crashing into things at such speed, that might hurt. "I think I can really get used to this." She smirks a little. "Is there anything this 'tech' thing can do?"
---
Shia and Spark search the tents, and it results in them coming back with some stuff.
The Pikachu found a cap, to him it's just a soft, red and white thing that he is not really sure what it is supposed to be.

And the Shinx found a dagger in one of the tents, holding it kind of reminds him of how things were back in his old world. "There is Iron here as well...?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, there's one more slot I have to show you." Eilumi smirks. "The 'head' slot. You probably noticed it's a little ball thing? And you're wondering why that is."
-----------
"You found some goodies." Nine says with a smile. "Good for you!"
He looks to Shia.
"Oh yes, there's iron out here as well." He says. "In fact, Iron is actually considered the low end of the spectrum. In fact, melee in general is often considered the lower end of the spectrum in interstellar warfare. That last part isn't really true, as it's still very deadly in the right hands. But the former part definitely is."

She nods. "Yes, the little ball thing..." She still doesn't understand why it's in the head slot, does this mean there is a ball on her head? "Why is it a ball though?"
---
Shia ponders about this, staring at the dagger he found. "Something stronger than iron..." Given that he knows what iron is capable off, the idea of something worse than it is kind of scary.

"I honestly never understood why it's in the head either. But as for why it's a ball-"
"Oh! Can I demonstrate this one?" Loona asks.
"Sure."
Loona backs up, and clears her throat. Right before their very eyes, Loona suddenly turns into a greyish ball, and rolls around in a circle, very quickly. She rolls right up to Veera, bumping her in the leg lightly, then rolls around her. She then rolls back to her spot, and changes back into her normal form.
"Ta-da!" She says proudly.
"That's a good demo, Loona!" Eilumi chuckles lightly to himself. "Yes, that's the distortion sphere. Lets you turn into a little ball. very useful for traversing quickly, and quietly. or getting in small spaces."
---
"Yes, indeed." Nine says. "Most weapons out there are way past iron level. For example..." Nine pulls out his hammer. "This hammer, It's a durasteel alloy."

The Jolteon was surprised by what she just saw, her friend just transformed into a ball before her eyes and rolled around. Suffice to say her mouth is agape and her eyes are wide. "I...uuhh...Are you okay Loonna?" She thinks the Linoone had to curl up pretty tight to fit into that ball.
---
"I see..." 'Durasteel alloy'. Not a word he is familiar with, but he can understand that is the name of this metal that outmatches iron. "hhhrrmm..."
The Pikachu leans in a bit, looking at his friend's worried expression.
"You scared...?" He sounds worried. "It's kind of hard not to be scared..." He sighs. He wants to be brave again, he has to if he wants to protect his friends, all of them. So at the moment he is internationally berating himself for being afraid from it.

"I'm quite fine." Loona replies back to Veera. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all."
"She's right you know." Eilumi says. "And on that note... I think it's your turn to try it."
---
"Yeah, it's why we decided to start our adventure on a planet with no sentient life on it. I mean there are ways around these weapons. Armors and such, but we'd need time to make those for the two of you."

Now this one might be a bit hard, a jump is a jump, running is running but...how exactly does someone manage to get themselves to transform into a ball? "You got any tips for this one, Loona...?"
---
"'no sentient life'? What does that mean?" Shia asks.

"Just think 'activate head tech'." Loona tells her. "It's all thought-activated."
-----
"Huh? You mean your planet really does not have any non-sentient life?" Nine asks. "I'm... not even sure how that works."

"Hhhmmm..." Activate head teach...activate head tec- it works and she turns into a greyish ball just like Loona did. At first she rolled around in surprised until she realized that it must have worked. She rolls about a few more times before turning back to her normal form. "Woah...that felt a little weird."
---
The Shinx is still not sure what the Protogen is talking about, he just tilts his head to the side a little.

"Yeah, it gets some getting used to." Loona says. She transforms into a ball again, and rolls around some more, before once again transforming back. "But it is fuuuuuuuuun!"
"Okay." Eilumi says. "So we'll give you ladies some time to play with your techs. Feel free to try out the others as long as you're here. Afterwards, we have something... very nice to show you."
----
"Well, how do I describe this?" Nine rubs his visor. "Hmmm... Imagine a run of the mill 'mon. But it can't talk, and has no higher thought processes outside of eating and sleeping and basic survival instincts...
A noise catches Nine's attention. The snap of a twig. He turns and looks....
"Like... those creatures over there."
They see a herd of brown, quadrupedal, diminuative deerling-like creatures with round snouts, no tails, and single-color coats grazing on some of the blue grass nearby, paying no heed to the trio.


"Something very nice? Alright when we are done here you can show us." Veera thinks it would be prudent to work on the double jump, so that's what she starts doing, jumping, jumping in the air and landing. Risen and repeat.
---
Shia eyes the creatures. "So they can't talk and do all the things we do? They just eat and sleep?"
"That sounds kinda sad..." Spark comments.

Eilumi and Khaun watch the two of them practice their abilities.
"Feel free to try out the other ones you saw while you're here, now that you know how to operate them." Eilumi says to them. "We have literally all day."
----
"That's about the size of it." Nine says. "Mostly. There are some other behaviors some creatures do as well. But... Not many. Those creatures over there, 'Kelbets' as they're called. They're herd animals. They eat the grasses, which there is plenty of here. Oh, and they're quite skittish."
One of The Kelbets suddenly notices the three of them. It jumps in place, and then turns around and runs away VERY quickly, along with the rest of its herd.
"... Quite so." Nine says. "Now keep in mind, not all non-sentient animals are like this. In fact, some of them are downright dangerous, and will try to attack you. Those types... aren't really found on this planet. At least, not in this part of it. But they're very common elsewhere. Especially during the nights."

The Pikachu is reminded of himself somewhat from what he sees from the creatures, how they quickly run away as soon as they spotted the trio. "S-so there are things that are just going to up and attack us for no reason...?" That sounds scary.

"Yeah, that's about the size of it." Nine 'sighs' sadly. "Though, as I said, they aren't really on this side of the plant. So we don't have to worry about it here."


An hour or so later. They are still on the planet, and Veera and Loona have exhausted their practice with their techs. They've even tried a few new ones. Like the Spike Sphere that lets them travel up walls and ceilings, but goes very slow. Aqua sphere, which they didn't really get to practice due to it being primarily based for aquatic environments, sonic sphere which lets them dash, the zero burst which causes them to take off like a rocket. Dodge which is like dash, stimulant rig which lets them run faster and dash but makes them really hungry really fast, air dash which lets them dash in the air, blink dash which lets them teleport a ways forward, Triangle Jump/Wall Jump/Magnet grip which lets them cling to and jump off walls, etc.
Meanwhile Nine and crew have explored a little bit, they haven't found too much more. Some more kelebts, some rabbits, etc. At least, at the moment.
Loona is panting in place. "Okay, I think I've had enough practice for today." She says.

Veera practiced her techs with Loona, they did it for a good amount. Now the Jolteon feels quite tired from all of that but it was good exercise. "Phew...okay i think i got it."
---
As the two electric types saw new things, Nine had to answer a few questions everytime, mostly things like 'what creature is that?' or 'is that dangerous'?

"Good. You two are making good progress." Khaun says to her.
"Anyway, I think it's time we showed you something nice." Eilumi says encouragingly. "Come with us. Don't worry, you'll like this."
----
As they travel along, Nine notices that they are getting a little exhausted. They don't know it, but Nine is in fact, leading them somewhere.

"Alright then, lead the way."
----
This whole place feel much fresher than the desert, but all this little travel has left them tired.
"Can we sit down for a bit...?" Spark asks.

Both parties travel not too Far. With the two female mons and avalis, they soon are greeted by a small-ish cave.
But what is significant isn't the cave itself, but rather, what's in the cave, as is evidenced by the bright-aqua glow coming from inside.
"Behold!" Eilumi announces... "Healing water pools!"
Nine and crew meanwhile come across a ruin soon, and come across a very similar sight themselves. A large, ruined building made of grey brick and rusted metal in advanced decay, Its purpose and original occupants long lost to the ages. The only hint of its original occupancy is a large wooden mural of 4 raindrops in a circle near what's left of the ceiling, and a strange statue of a bunny-person near the 'entrance'. Piles of rubble cover the floors, and in the center, there is a large hole, filled with a strange, glowing purple liquid.
What Nine is looking for isn't the ruin itself, but rather, what's outside of it: a pair of healing water pools. Just large enough to fit the two mons in his charge.

"There, now we can rest." Nine says.

"Healing water pools?" Veera almost can not believe what she just heard. "Wow..."
---
Shia looks down at this liquid that he is pretty sure is not water, it's not blue, it looks green and it seems to be glowing "uuuuh...what's that?"

"Yeah, healing water pools." Eilumi says. "Looks pretty, no? And it gets better. Watch this."
Suddenly, he takes a dagger out, and cuts his thumb, letting the purple (yes, purple) blood spill out. He yells a bit as he does this, as it still hurts.
"Eilumi!" Loona says as she's just about to make her way over. "Why wo-"
Eilumi puts his other hand up, stopping her.
Eilumi then puts his cut thumb in the water. He waits for about 5-10 minutes, and then pulls it back out. He shows the thumb to everyone. It's healed up, showing no signs of ever being cut.
"See? Healing water."
---
"It's called healing water" Nine says. "Slow-acting, but can heal even the most grievous injuries given enough time. This part of the planet is full of these little pools."
He looks over to the ruins.
"Or were you talking about the purple stuff?"

She is in awe after seeing the miraculous properties of the water. "T-that's amazing!"
---
"The Purple stuff?" They hadn't noticed that one it seems, at least until Nine brought up the fact.
"Then...if this is a healing pool, then what is that pool over there?" Shia asked.

"As you can imagine, it also makes a great substance to take a skinny dip in." He says this as he removes his clothing. Khaun also follows suit.
"So... ladies first."
Loona smiles, and goes into the water first. She sighs at how relaxing this is. The ground is a bit slippery.
"You're right. This is great."
-------
"I'm not quite sure myself. It could be one of two things. Either it's Erchius Fuel, a highly volatile fuel used in space travel... or its organic soup, a substance found on crystalline planets. Either way, it's really odd to find here. Let me check..."
Nine goes over and dips his hand in the viscus purple liquid. He takes it out, noting where the water touched is glowing purple for a moment, and then fades.
"Yup, it's organic soup." Nine declares. "Again, not sure how it got here. But ah well."

Veera carefully goes into the water too, right beside Loona, she really hopes it's not too deep. But she admits that the water feels pretty good. "Yeah, it feels really nice."
---
"So if it's called a soup does this mean we can...drink it?" Shia asked again.

Loona leans back, propping her arms up above her head, propping herself back. She pushes her chest foward, if she had breasts, they'd be on full display here.
"Yeah." She says happily. Nice and relaxing." She feels it fizzle under her fur, the bubbles and fizzling lightly tickling and massaging their bodies, like a low level spa.
Once the ladies are in, the two avalis slip in as well on either side, with Khaun settling next to Veera, and Eilumi settling next to Loona. A slight blush forms on the latter, especially when Eilumi puts his arm around her upper back.
"Yeaaaah." Eilumi sighs happily. "This is the stuff. Nothing quite like a sparkling soda bath to end out the day. Especially with packmates."
----
"It may be called 'soup' but I would not advise drinking it." Nine warns him. "It's... not very tasty. or so I'm told. Considering I get my energy from power outlets, I couldn't say for sure. But I heard that Eilumi tried to drink it once, and had an aversion to all things purple for 3 months after that. That said, you really don't need to drink it anyway."
He sees the curious look on their faces.
"Allow me to explain. This 'organic soup', has this... ability, shall we call it. If you sit in it and bathe in it for a long time, it heals you too, not as effectively as the healing water over there, mind you, but it does do it. It absorbs through the skin, and when it does, it also seems to inject nutrients into your body. Like eating a full course meal very slowly. Don't ask me how it works though. Plus it's really inefficient. It takes about 3 hours to go from an empty stomach to a full one."

"It's honestly much more useful for watering plants in hydroponic trays than it is for feeding people." Nine adds. "Though, then again, since that's often used for food production, I guess it does feed people, in a sort of roundabout way."

The Jolteon leans into Khaun a bit. She lets out a happy sigh as she relaxes and enjoys the water, she can't remember the last time she had an opportunity to relax like this. "Feels like i could just sit here forever..."
---
"Oh...well in that case i will try not to even touch it." If Eilumi think it's that bad, then Shia doesn't want try it it.
Meanwhile Spark is dipping one his feet into the healing pool. "Hhhhhmmm, i hope we are not too far away from the others..."

Khaun smiles a bit, likewise wrapping his arm around Veera, as they relax in the lightly fizzing water.
"Well, we aren't in any hurry" Khaun says.
"No hurry at all." Eilumi adds in.
They relax like this, not saying anything for a good long while. Until Loona gives Eilumi a look.
"You know..." She says with a grin. She rolls over, and sits on his lap as he looks up at her. "We never did finish what we started in the simulation."
Eilumi gives a slight chuckle, as she leans in, and kisses him on the lips. Neither he nor Khaun say anything, not even a protest about being in front of Veera or Khaun. Why would he? For Avali, this is what packs do with each other. Everything is a pack activity. This is normal.
---
"We are not." Nine in forms them. "In fact, they're just over in that hill over there." He points to the cave. "Although... unless we want a repeat of what happened in the holodeck, I suggest not disturbing them for the moment. In the meantime, we have our own pits of healing water, and even organic soup to relax in. So feel free to do so if you are feeling weary."

The Jolteon blushes and looks away a little. "Oooh uuuhh...do you two need some...privacy? it's alright if i need to step away if you guys are going do this."
---
"That first one we saw seems to better actually." Looks like Shia prefers not the purple liquid, so instead he goes to his fellow electric-type to take dip in the healing pool too.

"That's not needed." Eilumi says. "We're a pack, remember?"
"Right." Khaun says. "One thing you'll have to get used to, Veera. Everything is a pack activity. And I do mean, everything. Including this."
"ESPECIALLY this." Loona chimes in. "I might be doing this to Eilumi now, but I like them both equally." She pauses. "I know, this is a little weird, but we'll get used to it."
She resumes kissing him, as does he her.
---------
"I'll stay on the outside, if that's fine with you." Nine says. "Electronic parts and liquids don't mix. Despite my waterproofing, I'd rather not chance it. Despite being 'electric types', you two should be fine though."

"Ah, well if you say so." 'Everything is pack activity.' She ponders about this. --- "Oh, really? does water hurt you?" With concern, Shia asked.

"You know Veera..." Khaun awkwardly tries to start a conversation. "I... like you too."
----
"Well, I have waterproofing. But if it gets into my circuits somehow, yeah, it harms me."

Verra looks to Khaun. "Oh, you do? Like...as a pack member? I hope i'm doing good as one..."

"Yeah, you could say that. So far, you're doing great as one." Khaun says as he side-hugs Veera.
The other two continue to make out in front of them.

"You know i never though Loona would meet someone she would trust enough to do that." In fact she never expected that for herself and Shia too. "And he seems to like her back just as much."
----
Spark and Shia begin a coversation.
"So...Shia, what did you do back on our world before you got here?"
"I lived with Veera and Loona, it was...pretty much the gist of it, we did that to survive. I'm pretty sure I was very different too..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well i...i wasn't exactly so afraid before...'that' happened to me..."

"Well, we both do." Khaun says. "Did either of us tell you the story of how we met her?"
----
Nine turns his attention to Shia as he begins his conversation.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm pretty sure I didn't hear it."
---
"That Raichu got you?"
"Yeah..."
Spark gives him a little pat on the shoulder. "Look...look, It's alright, you are already way braver than me, Shia. I'm...sure you will get better, you can't let what happened keep you down."
He nods. "Yeah, I have been wearing that quite a bit...not that I'm saying it's a bad thing, I don't have any intention of giving up."
"Oh, that's good."

"Ah. Well... it's like this."
Khaun spends the next few moments recalling the events. About how they found Loona in an abandoned house, gave her a brain scan, and realized that they could not in good conscience simply send her back. At the time, their universal translation software had not been updated yet, so they were unable to speak to her. They'd discussed what to do with her over the course of days, all the while giving her shelter and food. Khaun, to his shame, had proposed sending her back with a sword, but Eilumi protested the idea. It was at that moment that Nine had budded in, and announced that the software was patched.
Had Eilumi agreed a few minutes earlier, they shuddered to think of what would have happened.
Instead, they simply asked her about what she wanted to do. Whether she wanted to stay with them, or go back. Loona of course, had no intentions of going back. However, part of her still wanted to find Veera and Shia, so they arranged an away mission to find the former. However, talking to the townspeople lead nowhere, at least until they came across a scared, slightly-blood soaked pikachu. Leading to a series of events that would lead them to their final showdown with Rai, and eventually, to the situation they were now in.
"Yeah, it was a bit hairy at first." Loona adds in. "But I really started to like them after a while. Seriously, I'm still not exactly sure what happened to you, or how you became a jolteon, but up until I met Eillumi, my experience with so-called pokemon civilization was nothing but misery. It's sad and ironic that aliens treated the bunch of us better than the civilized mons."
---
"That's good to hear, Shia." Nine adds in encouragingly.
He looks for a conversation to strike up.
"So have either of you had, or maybe... have anyone you're really interested in?"

"Oh yeah, I think I owe you an explanation about this huh?" Veera looks down at herself, remembering the time when she had brown fur instead of the yellow she has now. "You see I almost became a slave to a noble that was collecting Eevees like me to evolve them into different pokémon..." She explained. "Thank the maze Shrew told Brene it was me..."
---
Shia feels a little troubled talking about this, it's not his business to dwell on it too much because it is her choice after all. "T-there was...Loona it kind of looks like she is getting a long pretty well with Eilumi..."

"That's... That's horrible! By The Maze, I should never have abandoned you, Veera!" Loona exclaims. She comes over and hugs her. "I mean... I always knew you wanted to evolve into an espeon or something. I..." She cries a little bit. "I've been a terrible friend."
-----
"Do you still have feelings for her?" Nine asks. "What about Veera?"
... He realizes what he just asked before he could catch himself.
"Er... sorry about that second one."

The Jolteon gives her friend a tight hug. "It's okay Loona, it's okay...i can't really blame you, maybe i should have been more careful too..."
---
He sighs and shakes his head. "I know she is considering forgiving me but I don't think that's ever going to happen..."

Eliumi gets up and rubs her back comfortingly. She sits back down beside Veera, with Eilumi on the other side.
"Well.." Loona sighs sadly. "I suppose sticking by me might not have been the best of ideas either. As you know, I tried to join the guilds. But it didn't work. They all just rejected me out of hand.
"Said Guilds are stupid." Eilumi says.
"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Loona smiles at him, but then turns her attention back to Veera.
"The last one I approached... there was a pignite there. I insisted I fight him to see if I was guild material. I did fight him, but... he just beat me down. And then..." She pauses, shaking as she does. She raises her paw out of the water, and it curls into a fist. "... He raped me. In broad daylight. Without a care in the world!"
She lowers her fist.
"That night, when I awoke after fainting, I stole their guild mural, and tried to make Iron out of it. But... it didn't work. That's..." She looks towards the two avali. "That's when you guys found me."
She looks towards Veera.
"Yeah, thinking back on it... if you had stuck with me, I don't think it would have turned out much better. At best you would have had to bear witness to that. At worst... he would have hurt you too."
Her eyes shut as she sighs.
"At least that bastard paid for it before we left."
--------
"I assume you mean Veera and not Loona." Nine says. "You know you will have to talk to her eventually. In person. And as far as Loona goes..."
Nine: 😌 "Do you still like her?"

She sighs. "I'm glad that we are far away from that world now...we can finally look up to the life ahead of us and expect better than what we had."
---
Now really able to muster words due to how embarrassed he is feeling, Shia just responds with a nod to Nine.

"Yeah... definitely" Loona says. "We get to stay in the company of a couple of cute, friendly feathered space raptors and be space explorers."
"Keep in mind it's not all fun and games out here either." Khaun says. "We relax for tonight, but still, there's a long road ahead for you two, and the other two. A lot of skills to learn."
"But yeah, out here, it's the life we make for ourselves." Eilumi interrupts him.
"And speaking of which..." Loona grins mischievously, and gets up, and picks up Eilumi.
"Er, Loona, what are you doing?" Eilumi asks.
"In a few moments... You." She whispers lustfully. "I fully intend to finish what we started with the beach holodeck sim. And I am NOT letting anything stop us this time." She looks over to Veera. "I'll just take Eilumi here and head down to one of the lower pools, and leave you and Khaun alone."
"But..." Eilumi begins to protest. But Loona quickly shuts his concerns down.
"Yes, I know... 'pack activities' and all that. Maybe someday they can join us properly, but for now, it's just the two of us. Really wouldn't want to scare Veera further."
"Alright." Eilumi says as she sets him down.
"Have fun relaxing here you two." Loona says as she and Eilumi exit the pool, and head further into the cave together to get a little privacy. It doesn't take a psychic type to figure out what exactly they plan on doing down there.
"Sooo it's just you and me again." Khaun says awkwardly to Veera.
-------
"And you feel that Eilumi has taken her heart and now she's closed off to you forever?" Nine asks.
Before Shia can really respond, he continues.
"I think you ought to know  a little something about Avali, then. That being... Avali are not monogamous. The way their pack system works doesn't allow for it. If you wanted to try and pursue something deeper with Loona, Eilumi wouldn't stop you. ... In fact, he'd probably encourage you. 'Pack activities' and all that."

Veera watches as Loona and Eilumi go out of sight. She can figure out what they are going to do. She is honestly really happy for Loona being able to consider someone close enough to have intercourse with. "Yeah, just the two of us. So Khaun, what is your job on the ship?"
----
"R-really?" So Avali pack systems can allow more than two individuals to love each other without any issue? The thought of something like that never crossed his mind. "So it would be pretty much okay if i...asked to had sex with Loona...?"

A little while after they vanish, they can start hearing some faint moans. Seems they're out of eyesight, but not quite out of earshot.
"I'm the medical officer. And the engineer. Though, Nine does some of the latter as well. I used to be just the latter, but I had to take over the job after Renali died."
He gives a sad sigh at the mention of that name.
"Speaking of medical things, I heard you were interested in learning it as well? Well, it's going to be quite the long road. Now that you have your nanites and nexus connection especially, you'll probably have to take courses. It's definitely not something that can be learned in a few weeks. It took me at least two years to learn... But then again I was also learning several things at once too, so that didn't help matters."
----
"Well, yes." Nine says. "I mean, there's the issue of her accepting, but as far as the rest of the pack goes, yes. Eilumi isn't going to accuse you of trying to "steal his mate" or any other such thing. As I said, he'd probably encourage you or even try to join you. Though... keep in mind, it's also expected to go both ways..."

"Yeah, it does seem like something i would be pretty good at." She gives him a pat on the shoulder. "And if it helps easy your workload then that's a good thing too, right?"
---
"Hhhmmmm, well...I see. I wouldn't try to keep her to myself in that case then." Maybe he shouldn't worry too much after all. "For now I guess I will just worry about evolving so I can get those 'nanites'."

"Yeah, it would definitely be appreciated. I mean, if I go down, then we're kind of screwed on that front. Luckily the courses are pretty much all online, and anything you need 'hands on' experience for, there's the holodeck. Which you can use now that you have your nanites. Although, I should warn you, some of the stuff is... not for the faint of heart. Like surgery and stuff."
------
"Pardon my ignorance" Nine responds to the mention of 'evolving' "but how does that work, exactly? 'Evolution' for your kind seems to work very differently than it does in the rest of the universe, and means something else entirely."

"Well since we are gonna have to do exploration i think i'm gonna have to learn how to deal with complicated situations when the time calls for it so...best to be prepared i guess."
---
"I'm not really sure..." Shia shrugs. "Pokémon have always called it 'evolution', and it has been like this since...pretty much forever. When it happens you get bigger and stronger. Why do you ask though? How is evolution for other creatures?"

"Well, that is definitely the case." Khaun says.
Then, his look gets more serious.
"And speaking of 'complicated situations'...." He pauses, thinking about how best to word this. "... Are you ready yet to confront Shia on what exactly happened back there? I know we sent that message you wanted to send back there, but if we are going to be an effective team, you are going to have to speak to him in person about it one of these days."
-----
"Where we come from, 'evolution' essentially means 'lots of tiny little changes over generations over the course of millions or even billions of years to better suit a species environment.' In other words: quite different to the sudden changes your kind go through whenever they get bigger and stronger, or are exposed to certain stones, or a certain amount of friendship/love/sex, or however it works."

She sighs and looks down a little. "Yes I know. I will talk with him eventually but I feel like I need a little more time...maybe he needs it too."
---
'lots of tiny little changes over generations over the course of millions or even billions of years to better suit a species environment'? Shia is trying to understand just why it is like this, it really sounds different from his evolution. "Hhhmmmm...that's pretty weird to me."

"I see." Khaun says. He looks for another topic to go to. He hears the moans coming from further down intensify. ... not the best of topics, but it's going to have to do. "pardon if I asked already... or if it's too personal, but did you have anyone back on your world you ... well, were 'interested' in?"
------
"Well, your version of evolutions sounds just as strange to us."  Nine chuckles.

"Not really." Veera shakes her head to the question. Seems like she doesn't have an issue with him asking too. "I never really thought about that to be honest."
---
"Hhhmmm...can you, Khaun and Eilumi use moves?" Shia asked.

"I see." Khaun replies. "If you're wondering my own answer to the same question... well..."
Khaun pauses for a bit.
"I'm afraid it's not really like that for Avali." He says. He pauses for a bit before continuing. "You see, we Avali don't have what you would call 'permanent mates'. Well, that's not entirely true. Our packs are... in a sense, exactly that. Being in a pack is more than just being in a crew or a group of friends. It's like what some races would consider family, childhood kinship, and marriage all rolled into one. I know you've heard this mantra before: 'all activities are pack activities', and it's quite true, down to every single meaning you can think of. And yes, that includes sex. ESPECIALLY sex. You see, most mating takes place inside of a pack. There are some exceptions. But even there, it's mostly considered a pack activity, as it's a regular occurrence for pack members to jump into the act. I hope that doesn't weird you out or frighten you."
He pauses a bit again before continuing.
"I guess you could say the closest answer I could give you to my own question... was Renali. She was the former second medic, and psychologist of the group. Well, when not on missions anyway. Oddly enough, she was also what one might call a 'ninja'. She was the only female in our pack, and... well.. it goes without saying that was very close to me, and that yes, we did do... that together. We all did."
------
"Not in the same sense you do." Nine answers. "We have our techs, of course. We have certain fighting techniques, we have weapons. But no, we don't have 'moves' in the same sense that you do."

"Oh...i see. That seems to be one way of having a sexual relationship." Veera comments. "I never actually though something like that was possible. But if it's not bad then okay."
-----
"Right." Shia moves on to another topic of question. "Are there others like you out there? I mean, Khaun and Eilumi are both Avali. So is there others of your kind?"

Khaun sits there, thinking of something to say, but nothing comes to mind. Without really thinking much, he leans in close to her, and gives her a light kiss on the cheek. Nothing too intense, just a light peck...
-------
"There are." Nine answers. "We are a rarity, but we do exist. I have seen other protogens from time to time. Or did you mean more Avali? In the latter case, of course there are."

The Jolteon stayed silent for a little moment before smiling. "I know you want me to feel better, and i appreciate it...but you look pretty cute when doing that you know?"
---
"Hhhmmmm...were you born from an egg too?"

Khaun smiles back. "Thank you... you're quite cute yourself."
------
"I... that is a hard question to answer. Thing is, the form you see now was created from another creature. Its memory erased, its body parts replaced. The earliest memory I even have is waking up in that damnable facility with a voice over the loudspeaker telling me to rape some poor victim under threat of torture, and I'm not even sure if they created me, or just captured me earlier and erased my mind. And I am not sure whether or not that creature was born from an egg or not."
He pauses, and sees their reactions.
"... Sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that. My origins are a... touchy subject for me." He 'sighs'. "As for any other protogens... yes and no. Depends on the base creature they're made out of."

Veera laughed a little and hugged him closer. "I probably haven't said this yet but...i don't think my name fits me much anymore."
----
He feels a little bad for having asked that now. "S-sorry..."
"Wait hang on..." Spark pipes up. "So you were saying that you used to be something else before what you are now...?"

"Oh? Your... name? And why not?" Khaun asks, thinking a bit. "Oh, you name yourselves after your species, right? You started out as an 'Eevee' if I recall... Veera? As in.. 'EeVee...ra, right? You know, I don't think we did ask what you are now.
-------
 "It's fine" Nine says to Shia. "I don't think I went into too much detail when I explained it earlier." "I believe so." Nine replies to spark. "Though as I said, I don't know what I was before the miniknog, the avali, or whoever did it, made me into this."

"Yup, that's pretty much the gist of our naming goes for all of us. Loona is a Linoone, Shia is a Shinx...and i was an Eevee, correct. Now i'm a Jolteon."
----
"I think i get it." Spark doesn't get much of it right now though. "So...what are we going to be doing? Like, i don't we'll be living with you guys for free? not that i'm saying i would like that, just...What do you think me and Shia are going to be doing?"

"And then you change your name when you... 'evolve', right?" Khaun asks.
---
"We'll find something, don't you worry." Nine says with a chuckle. "First and foremost we'll be getting you two stronger. Probably have you going through training sims at first. And then..."
He hesitates. And sighs.
"Look, I'm not going to lie. Whether it's in the near future, or the far future... You will most likely be killing things. Things that attack you, and people that deserve it. Like space pirates and miniknog bastards and such. But... killing none the less."

"Yeah that's how the tradition usually goes." She nods. "Haven't thought a lot about a name, didn't had much time to think about it."
-----
Spark has never killed someone before, he already saw pokemon dying though. He is feeling hesitant about what to say. "So be it." Shia is a little braver though. "I guess fighting is something we will never really escape from, but we can be ready for it."

"You know... you're not on your planet anymore. You don't have to follow those rules. You could keep your name if you really wanted to, or... or even pick a name that doesn't follow the conventions at all." Khaun suggests. "Like Spark, for example. He didn't even have a name when he first came aboard. And he and Loona decided on one for him, they decided to pick a name that had nothing to do with his species... well, okay, maybe not nothing, but nothing to do with the name."
"Heck," He chuckles. "you could pick an Avali name if you really wanted to, and no one would think twice about it."
--------
"I know, it's a sad fact of life." Nine sighs. "But... no need to think about that here and now. Just relax in the pool. You two have been through a lot already. You especially, Shia."

"HHhmmm, so many options, it's a lot to think about." She begins to think what name she is going to use, if she decides to change it to begin with, but she is leaning towards changing it.
---
"Yeah, you are right..." Shia keeps relaxing with his friend on the healing pool, making the most out of this moment of peace.

"Plenty of time, Veera." Khaun says reassuringly as he holds her close to him in the warm healing liquid. "Plenty of time."
It is not long before they hear footsteps, and a heavily blushing, and quite satisfied looking Loona and Eilumi rejoin them.
"That was... wow." Eilumi says with a grin on his face.
"Yeah..." Loona says as she relaxes as well, snuggling back up to him. She looks over at Veera."
"Soo..." She says. "What have you two gotten up to while we were having fun? Did you guys have your own fun?"
---
Nine, despite not being in the pool, relaxes with them, also enjoying the peace.

Veera laughs a little at that. But guesses that her friend isn't completely wrong. "Well, not exactly. But me and Khaun had a good time relaxing together."

"That's good to hear" Loona smiles back with satisfaction. Out of the three of them, she was always the more... impulsive one, so it shouldn't be a surprise that she'd be the first to take that adventurous first step, and that Veera would be a lot more cautious.
Especially after what happened with Shia.
A frown appears briefly on her muzzle as she thinks of that. It does not go unnoticed.
"Something wrong, Loona?" Khaun asks.
Loona however shakes her head.
"No. It's nothing."
A little more time passes, and Eilumi gets up.
"Okay, so, I think I'm about ready to go. How about you three?"
"Yeah, I think I'm about ready now to get back to the ship." She says as she gets up.
"How about you two?"
-------
Nine gets up.
"Looks like Eilumi and Loona are getting ready to go." Nine announces to the two boys in the pool. "I think it's about time for us to go as well."

She nods. "Yeah I'm ready to get back too. Wonder where Nine, Shia and Spark are at."
---
"Aaaaaw, already?" Spark was having so much fun relaxing in this pool.
"It's okay...I would have loved to bring this whole pool with me as well." Shia said. Not that he actually wants to bring the whole thing along, he is just trying to give the mouse a bit of consolation.

"You want to meet them before we go back to the ship? Or?" Khaun asks as he gets up. He extends a hand to Veera to help her up.
----
"Well, we have been here for a few hours now" Nine states matter-of-factly.
"Not to worry, there are other planets with these types of pools on them, so it's not like this is the last time we'll do this." He adds.

"No, it's fine. We can just go back to the ship, pretty sure they will be there too."
----
"Alright so...we do that thing where we touch you like this?" Shia places grips Nine's leg, expecting to get teleported back to the ship.
The Pikachu hurries out of the pool and goes to Nine so he can teleport with them too.

"Alright. If you insist." Khaun says as he helps her up.
-----
"Yes, just like that." Nine says. "When you get your nanites, you won't even have to do that."

After she got up she began thinking about how they are going to go back, she thinks the same method she used is still valid to go back to the ship. "So just like before, I can go back to the ship much like how I came down here?"
---
"Still hope they don't hurt..." Pikachu mumbled a commen

"Yup" Khaun answers her.
Light surrounds Khaun and Loona and they teleport away to the ship. Khaun remains behind just to make sure Veera is able to teleport away as well.
---
Light surrounds Spark, Shia, and Nine. In a moment, they are back in the teleporter room.
"They shouldn't." Nine responds to spark.
"What shouldn't?" Loona asks Nine as they teleport back.
"Oh, they were just asking if the Nanites were hurt." He answers.
"Oh. No, they didn't hurt." Loona says.
She goes over to Spark and leans down.
"So little guy, did you have fun?" She asks soothingly.

She concentrates a little to make sure she is doing this right, she picks the option to beam up to the ship and that's exactly what happens.
----
Spark is a little surprised that it seems like they all got here at the same time. "Well, it was pretty nice down there, I wonder what other different stuff we are going to see in other worlds."
Veera arrives back on the ship now. "So, what did you guys do?" Out of everyone she could have asked that from, she asked Shia.
"O-oh..." He was quick to get a little wary at the sudden interaction. "W-well we...we found a camp and found some stuff, like that thing that Sparks has on his head." He points to that red cap the Pikachu has on his head. "And we rested on some healing pool..."
"Oh, there was a healing pool for you too?"

At that moment, Khaun teleports back to the ship after seeing that Veera got it.
"Yeah" Nine says. "We were not too far away from you, actually. We just didn't interrupt because... well... reasons." He looks at Loona with a 🤨 expression, except it's a smile instead of a flat frowned.
"Heh. Yeah, after we practiced our techs, we had 'fun.'" She says with a smirk, and a blush on her face.

"So what is 'techs' like?" Shia asked.
"It's kind of like moves." Veera begins explaining. At least she thinks it is like moves, it sort of felt like it. "But they let you jump again, run faster and uuuh...turn into a ball." She figures this last one might sound weird.
Spark blinks. "turn into a ball?"
"Yeah it's what it sound like."

"Like this..."
Loona turns into a ball, A regular one, not the fancy-pancy spiderball, and rolls around Shia. She then bumps his feet playfully, before turning back into her normal form.
Eilumi chuckles at this display.
Khaun and Nine both smile a bit, happy to see that Veera and Shia are at least on casual speaking terms at the very least.

The Shinx just stared at her with surprised and confusion for the duration of the time she was a ball. "W-woah...!"
"That looked like it was pretty tight." The Pikachu commented.

"Yeah, it does feel a little weird." Loona says as she stretches herself out. "But it gets better."
"Oh..." Eilumi says. "And Loona and I made pack love too."
Khaun rolls his eyes, as Nine forces Eilumi's head down.
"DId you REALLY have to go and say that out loud?!" Nine growls.
"What? They're members of this pack, they should get used to seeing this sort of thing." He says.  "All activities are pack activities-"
"That doesn't mean you need to boastfully announce it in front of everyone!!" Nine almost yells at him.
"Alright alright, jeez Nine." Eilumi says as Nine lets go, and he rubs the back of his head.
"Oh, and while we're at it..." Nine says. "No more picking up sluts and whores and no more trips to Lustia."
Eilumi looks at Nine and looks like he is about to say something, but Nine's expression changes to one that basically says 'Do not give me any of your shit'.
Khaun meanwhile simply shrugs. "Fine by me." He says.
"... Alright, fine." Eilumi relents.

Shia and Veera didn't felt like saying anything else when the screaming started.
The Pikachu has a question about it though. "So we can just like...have sex at any time?"

Loona meanwhile is gripping her temples.
"Well, yes...." Eilumi says.
"As long as the partner in question consents to it." Khaun adds.

"Oh, okay then."
Nine leans down and whispers into his ear, trying to be a lot more discretionary than his comrades. "Why do you ask?"
"Aaaanyway, that awkward conversation aside..." Loona somewhat growls. "I'm hungry. All that training and... fun... has gotten me into quite the appetite."

She heads off to the kitchen to find some food
Spark blushes. "I kind of want some..."
Veera decides to stay with Khaun for the time being. "Any idea of where we are going next?"
Shia is not sure of what to do so he decides to just sit there.

Having heard some, Eilumi comes over to him, and whispers into his ear. "Talk to me later. I might be able to help on that front."
Nine gives him a look. But says nothing.
Eilumi turns to the others, and announces loudly. "Alright, on that note... let's get us some food."", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Stars of Iron P3A1: Training and Relaxation in Eden", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "60" }