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Chapter 90 - Life After Death...

Optional track to LWR - Listen While Reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16i0_NdPowE

Rapidly rubbing his arms, Chris's teeth were chattering as he looked around, nothing but darkness surrounding him as he did his best to rid himself of the cold that had seeped its way to his bones. Feeling himself over, he noticed his clothes were suddenly rapidly drying off, a gradual warmth surrounding him bringing his body some much needed relief. "Wh-Wh-Where a-am I n-now...?" he stuttered, doing his best to shake off the last of the cold before noticing a tiny light slowly fade into view before him. "Wuzzat...?" he muttered, his body slowly floating towards it on its own. Looking at it curiously and tilting his head, Chris was finally able to make out what looked like a Pokeball, reaching out and feeling it over. "Huh... I wonder wh...!!" he paused, feeling something long attached below it. "W-wait a sec, this is my..." he thought, grabbing the object causing it to suddenly flash, revealing it to be his staff. "Oh man, I'd almost forgotten about you... Sorry gramps." he sighed before looking around again. "S-So how do I get outta here?" he asked. "I saw him die... So doesn't that mean it's finally over with?" he wondered, holding his staff out, trying to find some kind of answer. "Is there like... A door or someth...!!" he said, pausing when his staff suddenly quit glowing, the light flashing away leaving him in pure darkness once more. "H-Hey!!" he shout, waving it and letting out a groan. "I don't suppose you feel like answering me now?" he thought, hoping Ninetails might finally speak again only to find himself remaining alone. "Oh well." he sighed before turning around. "Can't blame a guy for try-EAAAAGH!!!!" he screamed, jerking himself back when he suddenly saw Captain Smith hovering in front of him, now eerily glowing and transparent, his head and body dangling as if he'd been hung on a noose before him. "S-S-Smith...?" he muttered, blinking wide eyed.

Looking around, he cautiously let himself float up to the man. "C-Captain...?" he asked, waving his hand below Smith's face. Lowering himself down, Chris looked into his eyes, noticing they were looking down as if something were below them. "Cr-Creepy..." he thought. Backing himself away, he looked over the Captain's dangling form before noticing something in the corner of his eye. Looking towards the right, he saw a small ball of light slowly drifting downwards, then noticed another, and another... Bit by bit, the darkness was slowly engulfed by thousands of orbs, all slowly drifting downwards together as if it were snowing all around them. "Wh-What is this?" he asked. Turning around, he jolt wide eyed once again when he saw the Arceanic fade into view beneath them, now laying on the sea floor. "Th-The ship?" he asked, both he and Smith slowly drifting downwards the same as the orbs around them until he was standing on the bow of the ship. "I can't believe it. The wreck, right after it sank..." he murmured in awe, looking at the collapsed funnels and jolting when the crows nest remaining base began snapping apart, causing it to slowly fall over the bridge. Looking around, he saw Smith hovering up to the point of the bow, maintaining his dangling appearance as if his body were being pulled along like a puppet. Following close behind, Chris looked up at all of the orbs falling like snow, giving the wreckage an almost magical appearance until one drift down in front of him. "Pretty..." he thought, holding his hand out as the orb float in place. "Huh, wonder what these..." he asked, pausing and jerking back when the orb flashed before slowly dimming away, revealing a golden mask now floating in its place. "W-Wait a sec..." he thought, reaching his hand out and freezing when a dark figure seeped out of the mask and rose above it, revealing a Yamask.

"Th-These are...!!" he said wide eyed, looking around as the thousands of orbs raining down began flashing, more and more turning into Yamask's themselves along their way down and gathering around the wreckage. "Look at them all..." he muttered, watching as they began looking at themselves and at one another. Turning back, he saw Smith hovering along the deck, his body continuing to dangle as if pulled by an invisible force. "H-Hold up!" Chris shout, hurrying along as best he could. Following the Captain, more and more souls began gathering on the deck and taking on their new form, the sound of their somber moans growing louder and louder the more they appeared, wallowing in despair as they wept out of discovering their fate. Feeling his spine shudder, Chris shook off the feeling as best he could, only to jump and scream when one of the Yamask let out a loud cry right next to his ear causing him to stumble and clutch his chest with a pale look on his face, inching his way around the Pokemon and hurrying along once again. Following the Captain, he found himself journeying through the promenade and into the fore Grand Staircase. "Oh man..." he muttered, looking up to see the dome shattered, large fragments of glass twinkling around the lobby, floating about within the glow around the Captains figure and the souls floating down through the domes opening, each continuing to turn into a Yamask as he climbed his way down, leaving them behind as the Captain made his way eerily along. "Wh-Where are you going?" Chris asked, looking around warily as they went past deck after deck. Eventually, they reached the ships cargo hold, where countless objects and pieces of wood were floating all over the place, dozens of crates having broken apart exposing their contents to the water as they made their way through, the Captain simply phasing through everything leaving Chris to climb and swim his way about. "Oh sure, now the water doesn't affect me..." he thought, noticing he no longer felt the frigid temperature of the icy grave around them and how he was able to breathe once more, just like when he was in the present.

"So what's the deal...? Shouldn't he be up there consoling those people?" Chris muttered, continuing to make his way along through the object and debris littering the cargo area until noticing Smith had stopped just ahead. "Huh, about time." he thought, making his way over several crates before stopping below Smith, looking up at the Captain before hovering his gaze around. Just ahead of him, a long object lay on the floor, shrouded by the darkness. "Huh, wuzzat?" he asked, making his way up and pausing when the Captain began lowering himself, the light from his figure allowing Chris to make out the object as a golden coffin. Jolting in surprise, he took several steps back as Smith slowly turned into an orb of light himself, continuing to lower towards the coffin before the orb phased through the lid. Next thing Chris knew, the shape of the coffin began glowing brightly and changing, the object slowly rising before resting on the deck as if standing, a face appearing as a mask formed on its forehead. "C-Captain?" Chris said, carefully walking up and looking the coffin over before standing in front of it, watching as a pair of red pupils began glowing and hearing an eerie groan come from a mouth that had appeared. "So THIS is where you got it." he thought, stepping back as four arms seeped out of the coffin and formed hands at the tips, its eyes looking down at them all with a somber look before the lid of the coffin opened, several of its hands reaching inside itself and pulling out a figure wrapped in bandages, releasing it as if trash and letting the figure sink to the deck. "That's... Creepy... There was a mummy in that thing? K-Kinda gross..." Chris muttered before jolting and stepping aside when the coffin, now a Cofagrigus, float past him. Following it back through the cargo hold, Chris looked back at the body Smith tossed away and left on the deck, shuddering and shaking his head before facing forward and focusing on Smith once more.

Making their way along, Chris followed the glow coming from Cofagrigus. "Where to next?" he asked, noticing they were making their way through several corridors of the ship, every step along the way covered in objects and debris from the ships plummet and impact with the ocean floor. Eventually, they finally stopped in front of one of the cabin doors, the Captain showing a somber look before knocking. Unsure of what to make of his actions, Chris suddenly heard quiet sounds coming from the other end and watched as Smith forced the door open, allowing them to see the Yamasks huddled together inside the room. "W-Wait a sec... These are...!!" Chris said wide eyed, noticing the bodies of the Andersson family floating around the room, several having already sank to the floor, laying pale and lifeless before him causing Chris to stumble back, unable to keep from urking when he saw the children's bodies, little Anna's floating past him and Smith with her eyes still open. "O-Oh God..." he urked, having to turn away from them as Smith hovered into the room causing the Yamask to let out terrified shouts. Jolting from the sound of their cries, Chris rubbed his throat to ease back the sense of nausea before warily turning, seeing Smith gathering the bodies as the Yamask watched him in terror, thinking he was a monster of some sort as he rest the body of Mrs. Andersson on the floor, taking her infant floating nearby and shutting its eyes before laying it with its mother, adjusting her stiff arms around the infant before gathering the remaining bodies floating about and resting them alongside one another, exactly in the same positions Chris had found their remains in the present. Seeing this, the Yamask's looked at one another bewildered and wary until Smith float up to the group, looking down at them as they huddled together in a corner.

Letting out noises in his new Pokemon language, the Yamask's found themselves able to understand Smith and jolt together in surprise, hovering up around him and chatting in their own language, seemingly asking for explanations only for Smith to look down in silence with no answer to give before hovering his way back into the corridor, looking back and motioning for the group to follow. "He remembered them and came back..." Chris thought, watching as he and the Andersson's hovered their way along the corridor. Following behind, Chris looked at Smith's back in silence. "He's still focusing on his job after all..." he muttered, following the group back up and to the deck, making their way to the bow causing the Andersson's eyes to widen, their mouths agape at all of the Yamask's now swarming the ship from every direction. Making their way along, Chris found himself following the group along a detour, finally coming to another stop at the entrance to the wireless room. Looking around, the Andersson's were just as intrigued as Chris as he walked up to the doorway. Peering inside, he walked in with Smith, his glow lighting up the room revealing Bride's body floating above, while at the wireless controls Phillips body could be seen floating over the desk, his headset still on revealing he stuck to his duty even as the room flooded and the ship plunged. "Oh man..." Chris muttered, walking up only to jolt back when Smith suddenly stopped right in front of him. Tilting his head, Chris's eyes widened when he suddenly heard something akin to crying. Poking his head out from behind Smith, he saw a Yamask on the desk, trembling while it sobbed with a second Yamask by its side, patting the one sobbing on the back and rubbing its shoulder. "That must be..." Chris thought, looking at Phillip and Brides bodies. Looking down at the two, Smith hovered up, clearing his throat and letting out a growling sound causing both Yamask to jolt and turn to him, jumping back against the controls in fear before listening to Smith, recognizing their Captain and looking at the Adnersson's as they float up from behind Smith as well with wide eyes causing the one that had been Phillips to turn away, lowering his head before letting out hicking sounds. With a somber look, Smith reached out and put his hand against Phillips back, the Yamask that was once Bride backing away with a bow as the Andersson's gathered around Phillips as well, all of them consoling the man who had done his best to find help for them all.

"It's not your fault man..." Chris muttered, looking up at Phillips body. "You stuck to it, that's all that matters..." he thought. Once they managed to calm Phillips down, Smith reached up and pulled his body down, sitting the corpse in the chair before pulling Brides body down as well and laying it against the desk before backing away, the Andersson's joining Smith by his side and giving a collective salute for all the two had done, smiling somberly at the men. Looking at them all and at their corpses, Phillips and Bride faced one another with a somber smile and a nod before floating up to smith, chattering their thanks. Turning towards the exit, Smith motioned for the two to follow alongside the Andersson's, all of them leaving together leaving Chris in the room. "Good job." he smiled before turning back and looking at the men's bodies, both beginning to slightly float once more. "They're here, but looks like Ismay managed to come to and fly the coop..." he muttered before facing the exit, thinking back on the mans actions during the sinking. "Figures." he sneered before jolting and shaking his head. "Agh, really gotta quit thinking about people that way." he thought to himself before following the others. Once they reached the bow of the ship, Chris stepped aside near the railing and watched as Smith hovered to the tip and looked at all of the mourning Yamask's around the wreckage, Phillips and Bride floating above him while the Andersson's remained at Smith's sides, looking around at all of the sad souls looming about. After a moment, Smith raised his hands and let out a shout for their attention, followed by another, and another only for his voice to fall on deaf ears, most of the Yamask too caught up in their own despair to pay attention. However, there were a few that took notice of him and swarmed around, behaving familiarly with the Captain before joining the Andersson's and the operators above Smith. "They must be the officers... Crew maybe? Or... The musicians?" Chris muttered, looking around at the Yamask's floating about. "Asides size differences they all look pretty much alike, it's hard to tell who's who..." he added, scratching his head.

Looking around, he suddenly found himself nearly falling over the railing when he jumped back, slamming against it in surprise and covering his ears when Smith let out an ear piercing shout for attention, the noise loud enough to send a ripple through the water that gave Chris and the Yamask's a jolt, sending many of the small Pokemon flipping through the water before seeing them all freeze and face the Captains direction wide eyed. "Yeesh..." Chris muttered, digging in his ears and facing the Captain as well, listening to him speak to everyone in his Pokemon tongue. "Seriously wish Serenity was here right now..." Chris thought, walking up to him as the Yamask's gathered all around, looking at one another warily as Smith continued speaking. Watching as they settled bit by bit, it seemed as though everyone was finally coming to terms with their fate when Chris noticed several eerie orbs glowing in the distance ahead of the ship. "Huh... More of them arriving?" he thought, squinting his eyes as the orbs grew the closer to the ship they got. Looking around, he noticed the others spotting the orbs as well and pointing them out, until everyone was nervously watching their approach. "Gotta admit, they do look a bit weird compared to how these folks looked..." Chris muttered, squinting his eyes while Smith continued speaking to the crowd below, he and the Yamask around him unaware of the objects approaching from behind. Once they were close enough to cause the crowd to panic, Smith finally paused and looked at them all, grumbling quietly as if asking "What is it...?" before he and the others finally turned, facing up to see the orbs just as they let off a bright flash of light. As everybody jolt back and covered their eyes, they began warily looking at what had approached their ship as the light faded, the orbs slowly morphing into humanoid figures before they flashed once again, revealing the Dusknoir leader and his group of soul hunters that had come for them.

Recognizing what and who these Pokemon were, all of the Yamask's began screaming in terror and flying about, quickly falling back inside the ship in hiding while Smith and the Yamask around him remained in place at the bow, taking on defensive stances together save the Andersson's kids who hid warily behind Smith's back. Loudly shouting at the Dusknoir, Smith clenched his fists with his teeth grit, the Dusknoir group looking down at him before facing one another and talking among themselves. "They work fast..." Chris thought, walking up to the Captain and Yamask surrounding him, facing up at the Dusknoir as they nodded at one another and lowered down to Smith's level in front of the bow. Talking in their Pokemon tongue among themselves, Chris watched as the leader motioned towards the Yamask hiding in the ship while speaking before motioning upwards and pointing at itself. "Guessing it's some "We'll take you to the other side" kind of speech going on." Chris muttered, watching as Smith and the Yamask's lowered their fists and faced one another before turning back and looking at all of the Yamask poking their heads out from the ship. Remaining silent for a moment, Smith faced the Dusknoir and motioned for them to stay where they were with grunts, the Dusknoir crossing their arms and tapping their fingers impatiently before the Captain hovered over the deck and motioned for everyone to come out, coaxing them with gentle noises to assure them they were safe. Warily doing so, they gathered above the ship once more, the Dusknoir group jolting and inching back slightly in surprise from seeing the sheer number of souls, with each of their eyes as wide as the others. Seemingly trying to coax them all into hearing the Dusknoir out and following, Smith made several motions towards the group, only for the Yamask's to maintain their wary stance and shake their heads in objection, letting out scared noises and inching back towards the many entrances to the ship.

Seeing this, Smith tried to coax them into obeying the Dusknoir more firmly, this only causing the crowd to panic all the more, many retreating within the ship leaving Smith groaning in frustration, rubbing his head as if at a loss for what to do. Looking at the Andersson's and other Yamask around him, he tried coaxing them to head towards the Dusknoir as well, only for them to object just as strongly and seemingly insist on staying by his side. Looking at them all, he let out a groan before trying to coax everyone into giving the Dusknoir a chance, only for his words to fall on deaf ears once more as those that had remained outside retreated within the ship as well, leaving only Smith, the Andersson's, and those Chris figured were the crew on the deck. Letting out irritated noises, the Dusknoir proceeded to force obedience, hovering along the deck together ready to hunt everyone down. Seeing this, Smith quickly turned and held out his arms, letting out warning growls as the Dusknoir float up before him, looking down at Smith. Motioning for him to move, the leader let out a warning grunt of his own, only for the Yamask that had remained by his side to gather as well with their arms out, refusing to let them force those in the ship to leave. Seeing this, the rest of the Dusknoir let out their own warnings, motioning for them to move just as firmly only for the Yamask's to bravely shake their heads. Furious over this delay, the leader motioned for the others to take action, and next thing they knew, the Dusknoir's vanished before yanking Smith's arms in their grasps and reappearing by his sides, the Captain looking at them in shock before facing the leader as it hovered up and reached its hand out, an eerie aura seeping from it. Caught off guard themselves, the Yamask's blinked in surprise before jolting when they heard Smith let out a shout of pain, noticing the chest area of his body starting to glow as the leader grinned, likely wanting to make an example out of the Captain as the light from his soul began to glow, a portion of his orb seen being forcibly removed from his Cofagrigus form.

Seeing this act of torture, the Andersson's and other Yamask's began violently smacking the leader with their masks, causing it to jolt and growl before easily smacking them all away like leaves in the wind. Pulling out more of his soul, Smith let out an even louder shout of pain, struggling against the Dusknoir's restriction. "H-Hey!!" Chris shout, reaching towards Smith only to freeze when a swarm of Yamask suddenly rushed by and through him, gathering and battering the leader with their masks together. Trying to swat them away as well, it was to no avail as more and more rushed out of the ship, smashing their masks against the rest of the Dusknoir group as well. "G-Geez..." Chris muttered in surprise, blinking wide eyed at the sheer number against the Dusknoir. Continuing to struggle, Smith suddenly let out another ear piercing shout, a massive collection of dark energy gathering within his mouth before unleashing a powerful Shadow Ball on the distracted leader sending him flying back, the rest of the group quickly releasing Smith and backing away as the Yamask swarm continued bashing and shouting at them all. With their anger and frustration boiling over, the Dusknoir suddenly unleashed a collective blast of their own energy that sent the countless Yamask flying through the water, the display of power causing them all to quickly retreat within the ship leaving the Captain panting on the deck as the exposed portion of his soul seeped back into his Cofagrigus form, covering the spot with his hands and growling at the Dusknoir as the Andersson's, Phillips and Bride, as well as the others brave enough to remain by his side rushed up in concern, the Captain waving a hand assuring he was alright as the rest of the Yamask watched warily from their spots within the ship. Straightening up, the Captain let out an urk sounding noise, covering his mouth before looking at his hands, an "I can do that...?" expression on his face as the Dusknoir gathered around their leader, ensuring he was alright before gathering before the bow and staring down at Smith and the others.

Pointing down at them, the leader spoke in an ominous tone before they nodded at one another and held out their hands. "What are they...?" Chris muttered before jolting in surprise when the whole ship began to glow with an eerie aura around it, hearing all of the Yamask hiding within letting out terrified screams, Smith groaning before Chris saw an odd chain of sorts appear, with one end going inside his Cofagrigus form and the other within the ship itself. Looking at the Yamask's around Smith, they dodged about as those within the ship raced out, thousands of chains appearing from the aura engulfing the ship as the Pokemon did their best to dodge them, the chains attacked like serpents until they successfully stabbed into them one by one, yanking them back by force. "I get it, trapped. Or, cursed?" Chris thought, watching as the Yamask's lowered onto the deck and ground around the ship, tugging at the chains now inside them, only for their bonds to suddenly vanish in a flash along with the aura around the ship. Lowering onto the deck themselves, the Dusknoir crossed their arms and nodded with a grunt before speaking to Smith once again, the Captain sneering at them before facing the Yamask's, his expression turning from angry to somber and letting out a quiet noise, seemingly accepting the fate in favor of having everyone forced away to a place they knew nothing of against their will. "Since the Yamask outnumber them a thousand to one, instead of fighting them tooth and nail they just locked them away here instead. Guess they figured eventually they would surrender and come peacefully." Chris thought as the Dusknoir looked around and began exploring the ship, welcoming themselves to their new home and growling at the already terrified Yamask along the way. "Yeesh, who would follow you to some random place when you act like that?" Chris asked, scowling at the group as the leader took a shine to the crows nest, sitting itself inside and leaning against the post to relax, its tail over the edge while the others fade through the ship below.

Warily making their way to Smith, the Yamask gathered and chattered quietly, Smith letting out calm noises to assure them they'd all be alright. About to walk up to the Captain, Chris paused and jolt back when they all suddenly began moving at blinding paces, his eyes going wide as everything around him began rapidly skipping through time. "G-Geez..." he muttered, looking around as the ship began deteriorating in random increments. Watching everything as time rushed ahead, he saw countless Yamask try to escape the ship throughout their time of imprisonment, only for each to find themselves yanked back by the chines that bind them, suffering a torturous zap as if mere bugs. Because of how quickly time was moving, it was as if he were watching a light show unfold, with more and more trying to escape out of desperation, only to continue suffering despite their efforts throughout the years. Not only did he watch everyone get zapped again and again however, as before him on the ever crumbling deck, he could see Smith and the Dusknoir randomly appear and vanish, having spent all their years going back and forth with one another over what to do with everyone's souls. In between these instances, he would see Smith appear with random Yamask instead, likely trying to coax them into leaving only to fail each time. "Poor guy... He's been in the middle of it from the very start." Chris muttered, suddenly getting a flash back to when he accused Smith before they fought. "You think I haven't TRIED?! I could have passed myself long ago but I remain here because THEY wish to remain!!" he heard the Captains voice echo in his mind, causing his eyes to widen. "You arrogant, closed minded, trespassing little bigot!! Coming here just to spout your nonsense and take out your frustrations on those you know NOTHING about." he also heard echo, wincing and letting out a groan of guilt. "Tsss... He's right." Chris muttered, a somber look on his face, having shoved his foot in his mouth.

Continuing to watch the ship further deteriorate, he saw Smith continuing to squabble with the Dusknoir on the bow, on occasion fighting physically with one another while other moments he saw Smith appearing with more Yamask, his unyielding perseverance shining despite the passage of time. "He's been holding those Dusknoir off for a hundred years... Trying to get everyone to pass on for a hundred years... I thought taking care of three girls was tough, but the Captain... This is insane." he muttered. Eventually, everything seemed to finally come to a standstill, the ships deterioration ceasing while everyone around him moved about normally. After all the years of failed escapes, everyone showed somber looks of defeat on their faces, letting out sighs and morbid moans as they drift along the bow, many just laying motionless around him while he noticed the Dusknoir group hovering overhead, speaking among themselves while seeing Smith on the remains of the bridges balcony, several Yamask's, likely the officers by his side looking down at everyone. Suddenly, he heard one of the Dusknoir let out a furious and frustrated roar, looking up to see the others backing away from the leader just before it charged towards the bow and began grabbing at the Yamask, shouting furiously as it took several in each hand and raised them over its head. Seeing this, Chris saw Smith and the Yamask by his side jolt before the Captain rushed towards Dusknoir, the Yamask in its clutches screaming as they began glowing, the light from their souls being forced out of their forms just as the Dusknoir had tone to Smith. Covering his ears, Chris groaned from the blood curdling sounds of their suffering, the leader having snapped while the other Dusknoir watched from above, the countless Yamask surrounding them rushing into the ship for safety as Smith reached the Pokemon and slammed into it sending the Yamask in its hands flying, rushing into the ship themselves as their souls quit glowing.

"Nice tackle..." Chris said, blinking in surprise as he uncovered his ears and looked at Smith, who had pinned Dusknoir down on the deck beneath him and was preparing another Shadow Ball in his mouth. Seeing this, the other Dusknoir jolt and rushed to their leaders aid, only for the maddened Pokemon to send Smith flying on its own and slam Smith to the deck instead. Tussling about, they exchanged blow after blow while everyone watched, Chris getting in on the moment shouting "Get em'! Get em! In the face man!" and punching the air excitedly, rooting for Smith as the two slammed into each other, trying to capture one another in a headlock. "Atta boy Captain!! Give em' a good...!!" he shout, pausing when a light suddenly flashed on from somewhere above causing everyone, even Smith and the leader to freeze in one anothers arms, slowly looking up wide eyed. "W-WE'VE FOUND HER!!! BY GOD WE'VE FOUND HER!!!" he heard a familiar voice shout through what sounded like speakers, the light gradually shining down brighter and brighter on the ship. "W-Wait a sec..." Chris muttered, turning and squinting above, shielding his eyes. "I-Is that?!" he said wide eyed, turning and noticing only clouds of dust on the deck, Smith and the Dusknoir having run off in a flash along with the Yamask leaving the ship seemingly abandoned from the outside. "This... This is..." he thought before turning back and looking up at the lights, watching as they grew closer and closer before lowering towards the side of the ship, making out a barrier as the object crashed down nearby causing the Arceanic to tremble, hearing sound of various things creaking and giving out throughout the ship. "Th-THE GUARDIAN?!!" he shout, stumbling back in awe. "I-I just went through a hundred years of memory..." he added, watching as the lights scanned the Arceanic. "I-I'm back?" he asked, looking around and up at his forehead. "Ninetails! This mean we're back?!" he asked before looking around.

Suddenly, he noticed things moving about rapidly again, the ships lights scanning the Acreanic at a blinding pace while seeing the tiny figures of people on the Guardian speeding along. "Another skip?" he muttered, the lights from the ship constantly flashing in his face like strobe lights forcing him to turn away and rub his eyes with a groan. After a moment, the lights quit moving allowing him to uncover his face, squinting his eyes and blinking away the sparkles in his vision before looking around. "...Kay, what n...??!!!" he said, freezing and shooting up straight when a figure passed right through him, seeing a man in a white coat warily walking forward towards the crows nest, engulfed in a golden aura. "O-Oh no way..." he muttered, his eyes wide as can be before walking up to the person and having a look at his face. "Holy crap!!' he shout, rushing in front of the man and grinning. "It's me!! It's really me!!" he laughed excitedly. "Ooohhh if only you knew what you were in for..." he said, letting out a sigh of relief for some reason at seeing himself before turning to the bridge and noticing Smith warily watching him through the remains of the windows, looking at the Yamask's by his side and giving them a shush signal before warily backing away into the shadows, seeing the Dusknoir leader glaring him down from the crows nest before ducking in hiding as well. "This is so awesome... Now THIS part I definitely remember!" he smirked, watching himself curiously explore the crows nest. "Wa-wa-wa-what was that...?" he heard himself say nervously before seeing himself walk back right into a hole in the deck, twitching his eye and slapping himself on the forehead with a groan of embarrassment as he saw himself shoot up, shouting "I-I'm okay!! I'm okay!!" causing Chris to groan. "Yeah, I remember this..." he muttered before watching himself warily make his way along. "...What a pu..." he said, cutting himself off and clearing his throat at the thought of mocking himself.

About to follow as his past self nervously made his way along, Chris paused with a jolt when everything around him began fading into darkness, finding himself standing in nothingness just as when Smith passed away only for another memory to appear, this time within the remains of the bridge. Seeing the Captain and Yamask before him, he watched as they grunt and chattered among one another, with Smith motioning for them to leave before they heard noises outside of the bridge, Chris recognizing his own voice. "Whatever's in there, WHOever's in there, I have to find out. You don't need to go in with me, but I'm not turning around now that I know where my biggest chance at help is." he heard himself say, turning to see Smith once again motioning for the Yamask to hide, getting a salute from them before they hurried off, Smith rushing into the remains of the wheelhouse. "Ohhh, yeah..." Chris smirked, walking up to the door and phasing through, standing next to the Captain and watching himself walk into the bridge. Grinning at watching himself again, he jolt and let out a humiliated groan at watching himself play Captain at the remains of the helm. "Oh... Yeah..." he groaned, rubbing his head as Smith growled in irritation next to him, crossing his arms with a sneer before he heard the sound of himself falling all over the telegraph on the floor, Smith letting out a furious shout with his fists clenched. "Oh... Yeah..." Chris repeat, now even more humiliated and hiding his face with his hand, not wanting to watch himself fumble about. After a moment, he heard himself trying to get into the wheelhouse. Jolting, he saw Smith retract his arms, his eyes fading away and standing still as if he were lifeless. "And this is where things really got shook up..." he muttered, watching himself enter the wheelhouse and look around.

As he watched himself warily approaching Smith, he backed away as he touched the Captain and looked him over. "Curiosity killed the cat..." Chris muttered. " I really invaded the guys personal space... Really need to apologize for that." he added. As the Captain began to stir, the scenery around him began fading once again, until just as before he was left standing in darkness, with nothing but silence and emptiness surrounding him. "So... What now...?" he asked, looking around only for something to flash brightly before him, forcing Chris to cover his eyes. "Again with the flashing!! Stop the flashing!!" he shout in irritation, warily opening his eyes and blinking away the sparkles once more before seeing a familiar figure standing in front of him with a bright glow around it. "Huh... NOW you come out. Where WERE you?" he asked, walking up and looking down at Ninetails as she faced up at him. "It was best I remained silent when it was important to do so. If you felt my presence constantly I felt what you experienced wouldn't have the same impact as feeling though you were alone." she explained. "Well, definitely felt the impact alright." he replied, thinking back on the events with a shudder. "A-Anyway, if you're showin' up now, I take it that means the rides finally over?" he asked. "Yes... You're ready to return." she replied with a nod before looking up at him in silence. "Wh-What...? Something on my face?" he asked. "If I can get back to the real world now, I'm WAY beyond ready. I wanna get out of this mess and finally catch a break... Got any idea how long this stuff's gonna scar me?" he added, walking past Ninetails and looking around, the fox watching him before turning to face his back. "I must admit, you made me proud." she told him, causing Chris to jolt and blink in surprise. "Wait, wuzzat now?" he asked, looking back at her.

"I'm proud of you. Although silent, I watched your actions, your behavior throughout the events. I'm not one to shed a tear for humans, but your compassion for them despite your limitations is... Admirable, I suppose. You handled witnessing their death well, and you surprised me jumping into the sea like you did for that human, despite knowing your inability to help. Another moment where your heart surpasses your fear of your own demise for the sake of another, even if futile. An act that leaves me all the more bewildered by your behavior earlier revolving those Dusknoir..." she explained. "Th-That's a circumstantial kind of thing. Don't judge." he replied, waving his hand with a scowl. "Be that as it may, you handled yourself well. I half expected you to fall apart and find myself pulling you out mid-way, but you made it to the end. I suppose saying... You've grown, is in order. It's reassuring to know you can handle such things" she added, nodding her head. "Y-Yeah well, j-just don't throw this kind of thing at me too often. Death and all that..." he replied, Ninetails responding with silence, save for her ears twitching causing Chris to raise an eyebrow. You... DON'T have any other death related stuff planned, right?" he asked, Ninetails remaining silent save for her ears twitching once more. "C-Come on, don't play that with me!" he panicked, a light suddenly flashing behind him. "There's your exit. Walk through and you'll appear where you were before entering this humans memories." she replied while standing. "I-I'm serious here!! You better not have anything else like this set up!!" he shout, Ninetails looking around and sniffing the air. "I suggest a bath when this is over. You wreak." she told him, Chris gritting his teeth with slight redness in his face. "Ninetails!! I mean it!! No more death!!" he shout, the fox looking at him as he felt the light sucking him backwards.

"No more death!! I'll do whatever but don't throw death in my face again!!" he shout, struggling to step forward as she began turning away. "Good luck getting that ship out of the chasm. It's as I said, don't screw up." she replied as the suction grew stronger and the light glowed brighter, pulling him back forcibly. Shouting her name, Chris tried to reach out to Ninetails only to find himself flying back through the air, disappearing through the light with another flash. Standing silently for a moment, Ninetails faced back and began walking towards the light herself. "He'll handle it." she said before jumping through, both leaving the emptiness behind and returning to the present world...