{"sf1_id":829340,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Finale-Future Plans","author":"Volcan MacAingeal","words":5060,"posted_at":"2015-03-11T13:31:00.000Z","tags":["Romance","Swampert","blaziken","lucario","pokemon","samurott","vaporeon","zoroark"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/829340-finale-future-plans","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/829340","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=829340\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nLater on, Luke's group was getting ready to leave Team\nWarmachine's island; with the tournament now over, there was no reason to stay,\nso they gathered whatever belongings they had from the cruise ship to take them\nto the new boat given to them by Kurtia. Volcan, having been cleared to leave\nthe ship's medical ward, walked aboard the ship with clear discomfort, holding\nhis bandaged ribs; Hank stood close at hand in case the Blaziken needed help,\nbut he seemed to be managing so far.\n\"Ya gonna be alright there man?\" Hank asked as he\npatted his shoulder. \"Personally I think you need crutches or even a\nwheelchair...\"\n\"He broke my ribs, not my legs,\" Volcan pointed\nout, chuckling. \"Thanks to Sage and Mikhail they're already half-mended\nbut there's still a lot of bruising; I'll be fine long as I breath normally and\ndon't make too many sudden moves.\"\n\"I also recommend a LOT of bedrest.\" Mik piped up\nas they headed to their boat. \"Which means no training for the time being\nuntil you're 100%\"\nVolcan shrugged. \"Doctor's orders,\" he remarked\nwith a snicker.\n\"I'm serious.\" Mik urged. \"Any sudden shift in\nyour body could result in your ribs loosening up and you'll be back to square\none.\"\n\"Aw lighten up Mikkie.\" Rigel stated as he slapped\nhis back. \"The Rookie's not stupid.\"\nSerena was standing by the boarding ramp, watching the three\ntrade remarks before she looked down the ramp and saw Luke and Katsu coming\naboard with the last of their belongings -including the prize money and mega\nstones given to them by Team Warmachine for winning the tournament, the former\nof which they still had to divide between them. But then, she looked past\nKatsu, and saw someone else approaching. \"Hey guys,\" she said,\nraising a paw and pointing behind them.\nWhen they turned, they saw the most unexpected visitors\napproaching. Members of Team Warmachine, namely Torolf, Kurtia, Leon and the\ntwins, Sage and Gall.\n\"Great; what do they want now?\" Volcan asked,\nnone-too-pleased to see them -especially Torolf.\nLuke glanced back to the team as they approached them, slowly\nturning back to face them as the stood before him and his own team. Hank, Eagle\nEye and Katsumoto also stood at his side, in case they tried anything against\ntheir leader.\nTorolf was the first to the dock, and waved to Luke.\n\"Excuse me,\" he called. \"Do you mind if I speak to you all for a\nmoment?\"\nLuke nodded, motioning for his team to relax, seeing as Torolf\nhad no ill intentions. \"I think we both have things we'd like to say to\neach other, Torolf...\"\n\"Agreed,\" he called as the group came down, Volcan\nincluded, as he too wanted a few words with Torolf.\nLuke motioned politely for Torolf to speak first, figuring it\nwould be best for him to start off.\nThe Swampert rubbed the back of his head in frustration,\ngroaning. \"Man I'm bad at this kind of junk,\" he grumbled before\nclearing his throat, facing the members of Team Valiant. \"I didn't\nproperly apologize to you all at the arena, so I've come to do it personally. I\napologized to Kaen before he left, but now it's your turn.\"\n\"Kaen's gone?' Volcan asked.\nTorolf nodded. \"He said he wanted to try it on his own\nfor a while... but we told him he'd always be welcome back if he so wanted.\nIt's only thanks to him,\" he nodded to Luke, \"and you that I found\nout what Maggie was doing behind my back.\" He sighed. \"If I'd known\nshe'd go that far, I'd have stopped these tournaments long ago. But after she\ntold me on the ship you guys had every intention of taking our fame for\nyourselves, she went on to convince me you'd even go the extra mile to rob us\nall of everything we've fought for. I hope you can forgive my misguidedness.\"\nHe looked at Volcan. \"Though I imagine your forgiveness will take more\ntime?\"\nAs if to answer, Volcan delivered a right hook to Torolf's\nface that made him wince -he clearly had been expecting it, but it still hurt.\n\"Does that answer your question?\" Volcan asked, but then he tensed\nand grabbed his chest again. \"Agh... okay, bad idea...\"\nMik looked angrilly at Volcan. \"What did I just\nsay...?\"\n\"Cool it Mikkie...\" Rigel patted his shoulder to\ncalm his brother down.\n\"I deserved that,\" Torolf said, as much to Mikhail\nas to Volcan. \"Anyway... I hope you all can understand. I...\" He\npaused, looking at his team. \"We all worked very hard to get where we are;\nsome of us came from harsh beginnings, and I guess that dark part of my past\nmade it easier for Maggie to manipulate me, especially since she started a\nsimilar way.\n\"Nevertheless,\nI never should've let it go so far, and it's only thanks to all of you it was\nstopped before it could get out of hand. For that, I thank you.\" He bowed\nhis head. \"And humbly apologize for my assumptions.\"\nLuke took in a deep breath before he spoke. \"It's\nalright Torolf...in the end we were both played, and this is as much my fault\nas it is yours.\" He said as he took a step forward toward Torolf. \"I\nwas in such a state of anger I didn't even bother to think that there was\nanother hand involved; I only assumed that you were only in this for your own\nselfish goals and to maintain your reputation.\" He flattened his ears and lowered\nhis head a little in apology.\n\"You have nothing to be sorry for,\" he stated\nfirmly. \"But my blindness is what allowed Maggie to do all this; that\nlevel of favoritism does not befit a team leader, which is why I've also\nstepped down as leader... or at least I will after we decide who among us is\nbetter to take over. We were going to ask Kaen, but I already told you about\nhim.\"\n\"Maybe you could tell us about these 'harsh beginnings'\nso that we can have a better understanding?\" Volcan suggested.\n\"Well I guess I owe you that much,\" stated Torolf.\n\"I warn you though, my origins aren't exactly pleasant. You sure you want\nto hear them?\"\nLuke nodded. \"I can assure you I've heard worse...\"\nhe returned. \"We're listening...\"\nTorolf took in a deep breath and exhaled before he began.\n\"I was born in the city of Blackcoast, a long ways away from here; it was\na grim town, rampant with Grimer in every waterway, polluting the city supply;\nsickness was rampant there. When I hatched from my egg as a baby Mudkip, I\nwasn't in the care of my own kind, but in those of a nest of Rattata, who later\ntold me they had found my egg floating in the sewers, amazed I had survived the\ncold dirty waters. They raised me as their own, but we were always hiding; we\nrarely saw the sun at all, too afraid to come out to the city streets except at\nnight to look for food -much of which we stole, just to survive. \n\"In addition to its pollution, the city was also home to\nsome of the meanest Pokémon in the world, who extorted from the populace. Every\ntime one of them found our hideout they demanded  'contributions', and failure to do so usually\nresulted in us getting beaten to within an inch of our lives -sometimes even\nkilled. We moved regularly, trying to hide from them, but eventually they'd\nalways find us, and any attempt to leave the city was promptly thwarted; they\nhad barred every drain that led out, and the city gates were always watched.\n\"But one day, when I was a Marshtomp, I found a way out;\na set of broken bars that they hadn't checked recently, that were so rusted I\nwas able to break them. I and my Rattata family escaped from the city, but they\nweren't going to let us go that easily. When they found out someone had\nescaped, they chased us down; I ended up separated from half my family. The\nrest... they didn't make it. I wandered alone with only one of them, a young\nfemale Rattata I grew fond of when we were growing up, but living in that sewer\nhad taken its toll on her; her health was so delicate, she didn't survive long.\nWhen she died, I wandered alone for several years.\n\"I first met Maggie after my fourth year; I found her at\na circus set up near Thunder Mountain. The place ran a good show; many loved to\nsee the performances. Maggie was their local hypnotist, doing things like\nmaking a Pidgey think it was a Moltress or stuff like that. But behind the\nscenes, a lot more went on; their ringmaster, this big brute of a Pangoro, was\nvery hard on them. He barely fed them, keeping most of the circus proceeds and\ngroceries for himself, and whenever one of them made a mistake in practice,\nhe'd beat them; Maggie was no exception. \n\"I was hanging around the circus after hours, hoping to find\nscraps, when I saw her practicing, with him watching her like a Pidgeotto while\non the hunt. She was hypnotizing an Aipom, though what for I don't remember,\nbut she made a mistake and he bolted away from her; as soon as that happened,\nhe flew into a rage, and clawed her with a Shadow Claw. As soon as I saw that,\nI hit him with the hardest Water Gun I could muster, and convinced her to run\naway; we left that circus behind, learning about each other, and vowed that our\nold lives were forever behind us.\n\"Not long after, we also vowed we wouldn't let anyone\nelse be treated that way anymore either, so we formed our Rescue Team. Shamshir\njoined up with us first after we helped his brother save a friend of theirs\nthat was trapped in Thunderwave Cave. The three of us made the perfect team,\nand as time went on, we found we were very good at what we did. But our biggest\ncareer maker was when Groudon was awoken by this idiotic young Abra who thought\nit'd be funny to use Dream Eater on the dormant deity. Needless to say, he\ndidn't like the prank.\"\n\"So you started out poor and worked your way up to greatness,\nonly to have one of your own manipulate you all for her own desires,\"\nKatsu stated.\n\"Yes... After we defeated Groudon and Maggie put him\nback to sleep, our names were known across the entire continent. We found more\nand more jobs coming, and recruited more people; Timber and Redfang were\nactually the first ones who joined us after we stopped Groudon, and Kurtia not\nlong after them.\" He gestured to the Ninetales next to him. \"We kept\nneeding more members as time went on, though; Leon, Razor and Oceana were\nrunning their own team previously but they merged theirs with ours, and we\namassed so much money, we were able to by this island and,\" he gestured to\nthe massive ship moored nearby, \"the Kyogre's Rest. Then, Maggie proposed\nwe host those contests; they were harmless fun at first, but things escalated\nquickly when Timber found a Salamancite and suggested we offer it as a prize\nfor one of the contests; we stared collecting Mega Stones to keep doing that.\nBefore long, it was a fight to be the best, for everyone who came along. I\nguess it's there where things changed for us. And, well... here's where it\nends, I hope.\"\nLuke nodded softly. \"Truly a tragic lifestyle. I'm sorry\nTorolf.\" He returned. \"Frankly I don't know which is worse... not\nknowing who your family was...or watching them die right before your eyes.\"\n\"Unfortunately, I got to experience both,\" stated\nTorolf, shutting his eyes. \"And Maggie used that against me, making me\nthink I'd be forced back to that lifestyle if we ever lost in these contests. I\nthought she was being a little paranoid at first but she became more adamant\nabout it when you started showing signs you might actually win, and used Kaen's\nso-called 'betrayal' to cement my decision to give it all I had against you\nguys. Now that I know the truth, however, I don't know if I can make up for\nwhat I did -what I allowed Maggie to make me do.\"\n\"Start from scratch Torolf.\" Luke quickly replied.\n\"You stepping down and letting another take the mantle as leader is a\nstart, and you still have some of your reputation going for you. Given the fact\nyou stay true to your heart and not let anyone sway you into doing something\nyou feel is wrong, there's no doubt in my mind you'll earn the public's\nrespect.\"\n\"I probably don't deserve it... but I'll do my best to earn\nit again nonetheless,\" he promised. \"Say Luke,  if you ever run into Kaen out there while\ntravelling, tell him I wish him the best, won't you?\"\n\"I'll make sure he knows.\" He then lifted his paw\ntoward Torolf. \"...I hope the next time our paths cross, it will be as\nallies.\"\nTorolf reached over with his big paw and touched his finger\nto Luke's paw, since his whole hand was almost big enough to engulf Luke's\nentire arm. \"Anytime you have need of some extra muscle, just send your\nspeedy bird our way,\" he said, nodding at Eagle Eye. \"We'll be there\nbefore you know it.\"\nLuke nodded and smiled at him. \"I'll hold you to that.\"\nHe returned, then he slowly pulled back his arm and turned back to his team.\n\"Let's head home...\" He said as he strode past them toward the boat.\n\"Sounds good to me,\" agreed Volcan. \"Say...\nanyone actually know how to drive this thing?\"\n\"I'm sure I can pick it up rather quickly...\" Mik\noffered.\n\"I can vouch fer that. Mik's got an outrageous IQ\nman...\" Rigel added in.\n\"...This is gonna be some trip.\" Volcan muttered.\nTorolf looked at Leon. \"Maybe you better show\nthem,\" he said.\n\"At once,\" the Empoleon replied before he followed\nthe crew onto the ship.\nAfter a brief lesson from the Empoleon, Mikhail had a general\nidea of how to operate the boat; once the engine was active, that's where it\nwould get easier. He gave him a list of do's and don't's lastly before taking\nhis leave from the boat to rejoin his team on the pier, the group waving to\nthem as they began to slowly pull away.\nVolcan stood at the stern with Luke, watching as the members\nof Team Warmachine began to make their way back to their mansion. \"Yanno...\nthey're not so bad after all,\" he admitted. \"They had some bad eggs\nbut those've been cracked, and now they have a chance to get some proper\nrespect again.\" He looked down at Luke, chuckling as he asked, \"is\nthis a regular job for Rescue Teams around here; to help other teams keep their\nheads on straight?\"\n\"Sometimes...\" Luke returned. \"There are other\nteams out there that do go rogue or are misguided...and sometimes it takes\nanother to set them on the right path...\"\n\"Well, I'd say you did that,\" said Volcan, and then\nlooked up as they sailed alongside the Kyogre's Rest. \"Hey, check\nit,\" he said, pointing up to the rail.\nWhen Luke looked up, he said Sickle and his team waving to\nthem as they passed. This time, they had a fourth; Kaen was standing with them\nby the ship's rail, smiling warmly down at them as they passed, nodding a\nsilent 'thanks' to Luke.\nLuke waved back and smiled at the team, then he looked\nspecifically and called up to him, \"Torolf sends you his best wishes,\nKaen! And that he hopes you're successful in your endeavours!\"\n\"I'll make sure to do him proud, Luke!\" Kaen called\ndown. \"It was great meeting you all; hopefully we can see each other again\nsometime!\"\nVolcan glanced at Luke. \"Say, wasn't there a Sceptilite\nin that box of Mega Stones?\" He asked, flashing Luke a sly grin.\nHe flinched. \"...Hey you're right!\" He looked back\nat Volcan. \"Can you quickly run and get it?\"\n\"Sure,\" he said, turning and walking over to where\nLuke had left the box, on the deck near the boathouse, popping it open and\nlooking over the stones. \"Uh...\" He looked around, spotting Kage\nnearby. \"Hey, uh, Kage? Which of these is a Sceptilite?\" He asked the\nGreninja.\n\"The\ngreen one with red and orange markings.\" He plainly answered.\nVolcan glanced over the stones, and quickly found it.\n\"Ah, here we go,\" he said, and waved to Kage, saying 'thanks' before\nhe went back over to Luke, passing him the Sceptilite. \"Not sure I should\ntry jumping up to the ship with my ribs so screwed up, and I don't trust my\nthrowing arm either,\" he admitted with some mild embarassment.\nLuke took it in his paw and looked up to the Kyogre's Rest\nonce more. \"Sickle!!\" He called to him. \"Catch!!\" He said\nas he hurled the Sceptilite as hard as he could toward the Grovyle.\nSickle saw the object flying towards him, and reached out\nwith his hand to catch it, looking at it. His eyes widened with shock as he\nrealized what it was, and he looked back down at Luke's boat, sprinting up the\nrail a short distance so he could call down to the Lucario. \"Why give this\nto me? You guys earned it!\"\n\"We don't have a Sceptile on our team; better you have\nit!\" Volcan replied.\n\"You sure?\" The Grovyle asked.\n\"Positive!\" Luke returned with a nod. \"I know\nyou'll put it to good use when the time comes!\"\nSickle looked at the stone in his hand for another moment,\nbefore allowing himself a small smile before he looked back down to Luke.\n\"I owe ya for this one, buddy! If you guys are ever heading towards Spear\nPillar, stop by my hometown of Bluegrove! I'll buy you guys lunch!\"\n\"We'll take you up on that...Perhaps sooner than you\nthink!\" Luke called back to him. \"Safe travels!!\"\n\"You too!\"\nVolcan, at the mention of Spear Pillar, let his gaze fall,\nand slowly drift off in the direction of the mainland. The pillar couldn't be\nseen from where they were, but he knew it was out there, and the answers he\nsought were waiting for him there as well. \"Yes... much sooner than you\nthink,\" he whispered, but it didn't go unnoticed by Luke.\nLuke's ear twitched and he glanced back to Volcan.\n\"...You alright...?\"\nVolcan nodded. \"Yeah,\" he said. \"I just got\nthinking... by now, I'm probably experienced enough with this body to make the\ntrip to Spear Pillar.\" He rubbed his chest. \"After I finish healing,\nof course,\" he added. \"It's time Serena and I went to find some\nanswers; if six days pass in my world whenever one passes here, we've already\nbeen here a month. We have to find out how we can get home as soon as possible,\nbefore our world believes we're dead.\" His expression soured. \"But...\nat the same time, I still wish I could spend longer here.\" He looked at\nLuke, giving him a wry smile. \"It's... really been quite the\nadventure.\"\nLuke nodded back. \"I have to admit...it will be hard to\nsee you go, but your world needs you Volcan, and far be it from me to keep you\nhere.\" He admitted. \"It has been an adventure indeed.\"\nVolcan turned fully to the Lucario, leaning against the\nrailing as their eyes met. \"I'm certainly going to miss you, most of\nall,\" he said, plainly. \"From the moment we met, you've been helping\nme get through all that's happened... you were a true friend right from the\nget-go. If only there was a way we could keep in touch even when I do find a\nway home.\"\nLuke nodded. \"We'll find a way...things tend to do so in\nmy experience...\"\n\"Let's just hope I don't have to fall out of the sky\nagain to come visit though,\" the Blaziken joked. \"Next time there\nmight not be some nice soft foliage to break my fall.\"\nLuke laughed audibly and gently patted Volcan's shoulder.\n\"Indeed; your first impression was a little....odd...\"\n\"Yeah. Least I didn't land on something harder than\nthose tree limbs,\" He remarked.\n\"Yes, that would have been rather painful...\" Luke\nreturned, glancing to the side a bit and adjusting his scarf.\nVolcan turned his gaze back towards the sky. \"Maybe\nsomeday, you'll get to see my world, too,\" he said. \"Just, if you\nappear over Unity Falls, try not to hit a Skyscraper on your way down.\"\nThen he blinked. \"On second thought, if you appear over one, DO try to\nland on it, otherwise it'll be a long way down.\"\n\"Well I have survived some pretty long falls...but I'll\ntake your word for it.\"\nVolcan chuckled again, but grunted as he once more grabbed\nhis ribs. \"Mother of...\" He groaned. \"Alright, better go lie\ndown before I hurt myself... wake me when we get back to town, alright?\"\n\"Will do.\" Luke returned. \"Best hop to it\nbefore Mikhail catches you overstraining yourself.\"\n\"Right... your brother may come across as a brainiac but\nwhen he wants to make a point, he can get pretty damn stern,\" remarked\nVolcan, waving to Luke as he made his way over to the hatch that led below\ndecks. \"In the meantime, ought to get to know your new boat. I'm sure\nit'll come in handy someday.\"\n\"Good idea.\" He said as he leaned off the railing\nand started to explore their newly acquired vessel\nMeanwhile, Serena, who had heard part of the conversation\nwhile resting by the boathouse, watched as Volcan and Luke parted, her gaze\ndropping as she considered all that she heard. She too was reluctant to be\nleaving so soon; her mind continued to drift back to Katsumoto as she thought\nabout them going home, and she wondered... after meeting someone like that,\ncould she really be happy leaving this world? For the first time, she had found\nsomeone who she not only felt comfortable around but felt... warm...\ncomplacent... like she had nothing to fear. She liked that feeling. But it\nwould all soon be coming to an end, when she had to leave...\nGetting up from her spot, she looked around on the deck for\nthe Samurott; the boat, although sizeable, wasn't large enough she wouldn't be\nable to see Katsu if he was above deck, but he was nowhere to be found; only\nKage and Hank were on the deck, with Mikhail in the boathouse and Eagle Eye\nflying overhead, but no sign of Katsu.\nCurious, she walked over to Hank, poking his shin with her\npaw to get his attention. \"Excuse me, Hank; have you seen Katsu anywhere?\"\nShe asked\n\"Eh?\" He turned back toward her. \"Yea he's\nprobably down in one of the cabins or something. Saw him go down there not too\nlong ago.\"\n\"Thank you,\" she said gratefully before she turned\nand headed down the stairs leading below decks, seeing Volcan go into his own\ncabin before she started checking some of the other ones, looking for Katsu.\nShe found Rigel and Trish in one, but didn't peer in too long in case they were\ndoing something private, and made sure she was quiet as she passed Volcan's, before\nshe finally found Katsu's, peering inside to see what he was doing ---\nHe sat there on his bed, gazing out the porthole at the ocean\nahead. His upper body still bare after his kimono top was torn thanks to him\nusing his Torrent ability during the tournament. His Seamitars also were rested\nagainst the wall next to him. To top it off, his Shellmet was also removed,\nrevealing quite a long head of white hair that flowed down his back and over\nhis face a little as well.\nSerena tapped the door with her paw to announce her arrival\nas she stepped in. \"I never noticed you had such long hair,\" she\nconfessed. \"It suits you.\"\nHe glanced back toward the door and smiled a little. \"I\nusually keep it bundled in my shellmet...but I do air it out and wash it from\ntime to time...\" He said as he shuffled a bit to face her more.\nShe stepped into the room, crossing over to his bed and\nseating himself next to it. \"How are you feeling?\" She asked.\n\"Anything broken from your battle with Timber?\"\nHe shook his head. \"Not physically, though my pride is a\nlittle beaten down, but I shall recover.\" He then scooted a little to the\nside. \"Come.\" He beckoned, allowing some room on his bed for her to\nsit as well.\nShe hesitated, but knew it was rude to refuse, and so hopped\nup onto the bed, turning about before laying at his side, scooting close to\nhim. \"I admit, I was... afraid, when I saw him pounding on you like\nthat... I thought he was going to beat you to death; I wanted to jump in to\nhelp you but...\" She shut her eyes. \"I was too afraid, and I knew if\nI did, the team would be disqualified,but he was just being so cruel...\"\nKatsu gently slid his arm around her and nodded. \"Indeed\nhe was cruel...and I'm touched you even considered jumping in to stop the match\nfor my sake, but alas, I wouldn't want you to endanger yourself for my sake,\nSerena.I am a warrior through and through. I live by the sword, and I will die\nby the sword, but not before I have lived a long, meaningful life will I\neternally rest.\"\nShe laid her head against him. \"It always worries me\nwhen people say that... they always seem to get hurt,\" she said.\nHe looked down toward her, slowly lowering his head down to\nher level and looking into her eyes. \"I understand your concern...but what\ndoesn't kill me will make me stronger, and I will learn not to repeat that\nexperience again.\" He returned. \"It is a constant risk whenever I\nembark on missions with the rest of my comrades...but it is a risk I gladly\ntake as long as it means I do my part in protecting others.\"\nShe nodded. \"I understand... but still.\" She shut\nher eyes. \"I... I also overheard Volcan talking to Luke. He wants to head\nto a place called 'Spear Pillar' soon; from the sounds of it, he feels\nsomething there will help us get home.\"\nHe froze for a moment upon hearing that piece of news. \"I\nsee...\" He returned. \"That location houses both the Deities of Space and\nTime; if anyone can assist you in returning home, I'm sure it will be them.\"\nShe nodded again. \"That makes sense... but...\" She\npaused, suddenly feeling her face becoming warm, as she realized what she was\nabout to say.\nKatsu closed his eyes for a moment. \"You don't really\nwant to leave... do you?\" He asked softly.\n\"I don't know,\" she replied. \"I miss my\nfriends and kin back home... but ever since coming here,\" she moved her\npaw to rest on top of his arm. \"I found something I haven't before... a\nperson who feel so... happy to be near; someone who has been kind to me and\ntreated me with such tenderness and care, despite me being a stranger.\"\nShe leaned more against him. \"Our time together has been short... but I\ndon't want it to stop yet...\"\n\"I...I feel the same.....\" He returned, blushing\nsomewhat as she leaned on him and touched his arm with her paw. \"I\nadmit...I've never felt this close to anyone before...I have friends, yes, but...when\nI'm around you. I feel an even deeper connection.\" He said, almost in a\nwhisper. \"Forgive me for sounding selfish but... I do not want our time\ntogether to end.....ever....\"\n\"Nor do I,\" she replied. \"I want to stay with\nyou, Katsu...\"\n\"Serena...\" He whispered, slowly moving his face\ncloser to hers and wrapping more of his arm around her back, their noses\ntouching lightly.\nTheir eyes met, and they could feel each other's breath with\ntheir faces so close together. A tear fell from the Vaporeon's eye, either of\njoy or of fear at the idea their newfound bond might end when it had barely\nbegun. But then, she moved closer, and her lips touched to his. The touch was\ngentle at first, as she waited to see how he'd respond.\nA small gasp was heard through his nose when their lips met\nfor the first time, then everything seemed frozen in place for what felt like\nan eternity before Serena then felt his paw slowly stroke her cheek. His eyes\nclosed and he pressed in deeper, sliding his other arm around her and pulling\nher in closer.\nShe shut her eyes as they shared their first kiss, her tail\nsliding over to wrap around his leg, using it to pull herself even closer to\nhim, so that her body was right up against his as they shared in this moment.\nHis own tail started to wag up and down, thumping a little on\nthe bed as they pressed firmly against one another and kissed even deeper than\never. His ears folded back and a low purr emerged from his throat as he\nexpressed his deepest feelings toward Serena.\nFinally, they pulled apart, and their gazes met again. She\nsmiled weakly at him. \"That was my first ever,\" she said.\n\"Mine as well,\" he said, panting softly and\nwrapping both his arms around her, smiling a little back at her. \"That\nfelt...divine...\"\n\"It did,\" she agreed, nestling her head against his\nchest.\nThey lay there, wrapped in each other, for what felt like\nhours... perhaps it was, as the sun was already beginning to set before they\nmade themselves more comfortable on the bed, and slowly drifted off into sleep.\nTheir minds would still be burdened with the question of what the future held\nfor them... but for now, they just did not want to be apart...\n"}