Pokemon - Tale Of The Guardian Master - CH 98 by ModestImmorality

Pokemon - Tale Of The Guardian Master - CH 98

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#98 of Pokemon - Tale of the Guardian Master

Original Preview Images Used For This Chapter made By

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http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8873622/

Chapter 98 - The Royal Treatment

After relaxing in bed with Serenity for a few minutes, Chris got up and went into the bathroom, allowing Serenity to continue resting while he cleaned himself up and prepared for his dates with the others. "Have to end date now?" Serenity asked, sitting up with a somber look on her face as he stepped back out, fixing his hair in a nearby mirror and fixing his clothes. "Well, it's only fair. You each deserve to have your own time tonight. There's a lot I've got to squeeze in you know." he replied, Serenity blinking at him before grinning from ear to ear, Chris jolting with a flush and quickly turning around. "D-Don't be dirty!!" he lectured as the Pokemon burst out in laughter. "Really gotta think before I say stuff in certain situations." he muttered while facing the mirror and tucking his shirt in. "Anyways, you had a good time right? Everything we did and all, the dance, the food and stuff. Even got to see it start snowing, which is... Still a surprise." he added, walking up towards the balcony and watching as it slowly accumulated. "C-Crap, forgot our stuff." he muttered, quickly opening the sliding door and bringing in Serenity's guitar and his staff. "Spent all that time carrying this around and you didn't even get a chance to play anything." he sighed while cleaning the snow off it and leaning it against the bed. "I like what we play better." Serenity winked causing Chris to glance away shyly. "A-About that, sorry if I came off as weird or anything, or if I got too carried away. I wanted to try doing that stuff in a way I figured would, you know, excite you." he explained. "I-I still don't want you going around calling me master or anything more than necessary, but I figured if you did that while we were, you know, it would get you into it more. Figured it'd make a nice reward for you." he added, Serenity tilting her head before facing down and fidgeting with a nod. "I liked, it different. You not do that way before. I think it better when we do that way. Make feel... Better. Like want me more. Next time, I be on top?" she asked causing Chris to jolt and clear his throat. "S-Sure, whatever you want, but that's next time. Right now, you should fix yourself up too. I gotta get back to the room." he affirmed causing Serenity to scowl before sighing with a nod.

Once he had his back turned to her, Serenity climbed out of the bed and went up behind Chris before suddenly jumping against him, giving Chris a peck on the cheek with a grin on her face. "O-Oy, c'mon, times up." he scowled with a blush on his face. "I know, just want to show love." she replied before jolting when she felt the contents within her drip out. "What uh, what's with the weird look on your face?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow as Serenity flushed wide eyed before rapidly shaking her head. "I-It nothing!! Be back!!" she shout before rushing off into the bathroom and shutting the door, leaving Chris tilting his head with an "eh?" before shrugging and finishing up his task at hand, giving himself a final look before nodding and taking his staff in hand. "Alright, that's one date down." he smirked while taking out his Pokedex and flicking it open. "One successful one might I add! Rep point for me." he grinned, letting out a chuckle as he cleared away Serenity's portion from his planner before glancing over the remaining list, sitting on the side of the bed while muttering his plans to himself, looking at the time and shifting things around. Once Serenity returned, Chris looked her over and sweat slightly, noticing the various spots now decorating her dress and shaking his head. "You uh, you can't wear that out there." he point out, Serenity tilting her head and asking why, Chris taking her in front of the mirror and pointing out the spots causing Serenity to blush slightly. "G-Guess can't, not notice we make that much mess." she replied. "Well, that's what I get for making you wear it while we did stuff. My bad." Chris apologized, Serenity shaking her head before stripping causing Chris to jolt and quickly turn himself away, avoiding allowing himself to fall into another moment with her as she touched her horn and restored her body to its former state. "There, no problem!" she smiled while looking at the dress in her hand.

"Not think this come out..." she muttered with a slightly saddened look. "W-Well, it can be a souvenir." Chris replied, scratching his cheek embarrassed, the Pokemon tilting her head before smiling with a nod. "This kind of souvenir I really like. Can always remind how much love you, and love me." she giggled before giving him a hug. Reaching for her guitar, Serenity nodded at Chris before heading towards the door, stepping out alongside him and looking back inside the room. "Sad not be alone more, but for what worth, enjoyed while lasted." Serenity smiled. "Don't worry, I'll think of more ways to give you girls the time you need." Chris assured before shutting the door and heading down the corridor with her. Once they arrived back at Chris's room, Serenity paused and gave Chris's sleeve a tug, causing him to pause as he reached for the knob before finding himself given another kiss, this time on the lips with her arms wrapped around him causing Chris's eyes to widen while flushing in surprise until she finally pulled away. "Thank you again... I really liked time alone." she smiled. "Y-Yeah, glad I finally thought of something you could actually enjoy." he replied with a nod. "It not that I not enjoy other things we do, I not hate having to do things with others too much, but it really is better when we alone, that always how I liked it best, just you and me. I always enjoy time with you, no matter what, but best time of all when just us." she affirmed, holding his hand before pecking him on the cheek. "G-Geez, quit buttering me up would ya? It won't be fair if I'm with them and thinking about you." he point out with a shy scowl. "Oh? But I like sound of that very much." Serenity giggled, poking his cheek teasingly. Looking at her, Chris let out a sigh and smiled before putting his hand on her head. "Such a handful." he chuckled, Serenity grinning before he opened the door.

Heading inside, the two looked around and saw Alicia and Rose in front of the couch, facing one another silently causing them to raise a curious eyebrow. Reaching her hands up, Rose looked like she was about to pounce on Alicia, taking a deep breath and puffing her cheeks out before noticing Chris and Serenity and freezing, dropping her hands in a flash and quickly letting the air out of her body. Blinking at the rabbit, Chris and Serenity faced one another with a bewildered shrug before walking towards them behind Alicia, and as Chris was about to reach out and put his hand on the snake, Rose point out the two causing Alicia to turn around, revealing she'd made a ridiculous looking expression causing Serenity to twitch an eye, asking "heck you doing...?" while Chris jolt wide eyed with a "j-jeez..." in response to her face. Blinking at the two, Alicia turned pale and sweat slightly before quickly turning back to the rabbit, snapping her tail around Roses torso and yanking the rabbits face just inches from her own with a deadly glare and a sadistic grin. "I'm going to kill you..." she threatened with a pulse of anger on her forehead causing Rose's ears to slump while the color drained from her face, her eyes wide as can be and gulping in response. "H-hey now, none of that!" Chris lectured, Alicia twitching an eye and growling before releasing Rose causing her to fall on her butt with a thud and groan, rubbing her tailbone with a hiss and a quiet "oowwwwie" from the pain. "What in the world were you two doing in here? What... WAS that exactly?" Chris asked, Serenity looking at the two just as curious. "W-Well, we were bored, so I thought we'd play a game." Rose explained, standing and smiling nervously. "So you were... Making faces at each other?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. "B-Basically, it was better than nothing." Rose replied as Chris looked up at Alicia, the snake keeping her back to him with a humiliated flush on her face. "I-I'm surprised you went for that idea, I didn't think you'd be interested in games like that. Especially after what I did earlier." Chris point out, the snake groaning in response.

"Guess boredom makes you do some out there stuff sometimes. Can't say I'll forget that look on your face anytime soon though. That was, well, aha." he added, Serenity shaking her head. "Snake just lose so much respect." she point out while walking off, finding a bag and tucking her dress inside before tying it up and putting it away. "Well, on the plus side it means you and Rose were bonding." Chris point out, rubbing the rabbit on the head. "Mm! It was pretty fun until you two came back. We didn't think you'd just pop in like you did." Rose smiled nervously. "Oh? So you'd been doing it for a while then, huh? What other faces did Alicia make? Do tell!" Chris asked with a grin, Rose about to speak up only to see Alicia looming up behind him and glaring her down with glowing eyes, causing the rabbit to squeak and seemingly shrink in front of him. "I-Is there something on my face?" Chris asked, the rabbit showing a tear in her eye and remaining silent as she cowered before him. "G-Geez, really on edge, huh? Better take it easy when we go out then..." he muttered, reaching out and rubbing Rose on the head, the rabbit relaxing and showing a smile only to jolt and freeze up when Alicia glared at her from Chris's side causing Rose to quickly run off and hide at the end of the couch. "H-Hey! What's the dea...!!" Chris asked, only to notice Alicia's head sticking out next to him. "ALICIA!!!" he shout, leaning over her head only to find his chin slammed into when the snake jerked her head up from the startle, both letting out a loud shout of pain as Chris fell back and clutched his face, rolling on his sides and cursing while Alicia rubbed her head with the tip of her tail and hissed.

Watching the two, Serenity sighed and shook her head before glancing at Rose and giving the rabbit a pat on the head. "You okay, not need be that way. You know snake not hurt you." she coaxed, Rose facing up with a nod before standing next to Serenity, the both of them watching Chris sit up and grumble profane things while keeping his mouth covered. "Must really hurt if you talking that way." Serenity point out causing Chris to give her an enraged look with a muffled "no duh!!!" in response before standing and walking up to a nearby mirror, uncovering his face before looking his teeth and chin over, giving it a rub with a hiss while Alicia shook off the pain in her head. "Snake do good job. We know who not going on date next for sure." Serenity said with a thumbs up, adding a "good job" causing Alicia to scowl at her before sulking with a groan and glancing at Chris as he carefully touched his chin. "Gah, teeth look good and nothing's busted... But geez that's gonna swell." she heard him mutter before hearing him let out another hiss. Facing down for a moment, the snake slithered up behind him, causing Chris to jolt as he noticed her in the mirror before quickly turning with his back against it. "A-Alright now! I've had enough accidents for one day!" he point out causing Alicia to scowl at him. Next thing he knew, Alicia raised her tail up, causing his eyes to widen, Serenity and Rose looking surprised as well. "Y-You're seriously gonna hit me?!" he panicked, the girls about to intervene as well only for Alicia to glare at the two and let out an irritated hiss, both jolting in response. "Y-You really just do that?!" Serenity asked in irritation, Rose quickly grabbing Serenity as she readied herself to attack the snake.

"A-Alright now! Seriously, don't start this up again!!" Chris lectured, only to freeze up when Alicia lowered her face just inches before his, keeping her tail raised. "Wh-What's the deal with you?" Chris asked, the snake examining his chin before guiding the tip of her tail towards her mouth. Next thing they knew, Chris and the girls watched and jolt simultaneously when Alicia bit one of her leaves and tore it off, causing her to freeze and shudder momentarily with a winced expression. "G-Geez Alicia..." Chris muttered. Watching her raise up, she took the leaf in one of her vines and held out her other, squeezing an almost aloe-like substance out of the leaf and rubbing it along her free vine. "Just hold still." she ordered before rubbing her vine along his chin as if putting a lotion of sorts on him. "It's just like when you had that drink. It should make you feel better." she added before slithering off and throwing the leaf away, finding a nearby cloth and wiping her vines clean. "Y-You could have just told me your intentions then. You had me worried." Chris replied, turning back to the mirror and looking his chin over. "Although, it does feel better, and the pain's still fading. That's some good stuff." he muttered as Alicia slithered back up to him. "Do you really think so low of me? I'm not a brute you know." she replied causing Chris to let out a quiet "urk" before facing her. "S-Sorry, you're just kinda hard to read when you get upset. You and Serenity are the same when it comes to getting angry." he point out causing Serenity to gasp. "What that mean?! I have good control!! I not show that?!" she argued causing Chris to jolt and quickly wave his hands. "N-No!! I didn't mean it like that!! I-I mean..." Chris tried to explain, only to feel himself eating his own foot with every word as Serenity stood with her hands on her hips, squinting at him with a growl, Alicia's response to him the same as Serenity's causing him to seemingly shrink between the two.

"S-So about the next date...?" he said meekly, poking his fingers nervously as the two backed away from him. "You know, we have good date, but you really mess up ending." Serenity scowled with her arms crossed. "I-I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Chris apologized, the Pokemon turning her back to him with a "hrmph" in response, causing Chris to continue begging forgiveness. Looking between him and Serenity, Rose noticed the sly and somewhat smug look on Serenity's face, smirking with her tongue out teasingly causing the rabbit to give her a "that's not right..." expression, giving Serenity a slight push causing her to stumble and scowl at Rose before sighing with a nod. "You party pooper. Should let have fun." she grumbled before facing Chris and waving her hand. "It okay, just watch what say. I nice, so I forgive." she told him before patting his head. "S-Sorry again." he affirmed before facing Alicia, the snake turning her nose up to him. "She may but why should I? Going out of my way to injure myself for the sake of repentance only to have you respond with a remark like that." she point out causing Chris to slump. "I-I'm sorry okay? Come on, I want this to be a good night for everyone." he affirmed, Alicia glancing down at him for a moment before sighing with a nod. "Oh, very well. I suppose I'm at fault for causing the incident in the first place. I was humiliated is all." she replied, scowling at Rose causing the rabbit to laugh nervously. "I-I didn't mean for that to happen! I just wanted to have some fun was all! Y-You were having fun too you know." Rose point out, poking her fingers with a guilty look on her face causing Alicia to groan. "Alright, alright. What say we all just leave the moment be and move along?" the snake suggested, getting a nod from the others and Chris in response. "Long as you not hiss at me again. Next time do that, I slap tongue out of mouth." Serenity warned with a scowl on her face.

"Pah! I'll have you know it's impossible to do such a thing." Alicia scoffed, flicking her tongue out at Serenity causing her to flash a claw into view around her hand. "Try me. I think I can." Serenity growled. "C-Come on!! Easy you two!!" Rose panicked, both girls glaring at one another before Serenity cancelled out her claw and faced away with a hand on her hip. "Whatever, there reason she not get picked first anyway, so I not care." Serenity point out causing Alicia to grit her teeth with a pulse of anger on her forehead. "H-Hey!! Not cool! You know stuff like that had nothing to do with it!" Chris lectured, only for Serenity to shrug in response before heading to the bed and plopping down with a stretch and a yawn. "So, do tell. Who taking on date next?" Serenity asked, resting against the headboard with her hands behind her head causing Alicia and Rose to jolt and face him, abruptly putting Chris in a corner between the two. "W-Well, g-guess I should get the second date going." he replied nervously, looking at the two. "I-I had plans b-but some of them are kind of falling through." he point out, all three looking at him curiously as he walked towards the curtains, opening them before flicking the light on outside, showing the snow continuing to fall and build up on the balcony. "I-is that?" Alicia asked. "Ooohhh, we haven't paid any attention to the outside! I didn't know it was doing that!" Rose added excitedly, running up to the sliding window and looking at the flakes with a grin. "Y-Yeah, it started snowing a while ago and its been coming down ever since. I-I'm afraid its going to turn things around a bit." Chris said in an apologetic tone, Rose and Alicia looking at him nervously.

"Y-You see, with the snow coming down out there, and Alicia sensitive to the stuff, I'm gonna have to change the order I take you girls out, and swap out things I do with you." he point out. "I-I was going to take Rose out next, and save Alicia for last..." he began, only for Serenity to burst out in laughter and point at Alicia, the snake turning a bright red and screaming at Serenity in response. "I-I was next?" Rose asked, pointing at herself and blushing slightly, blinking in surprise. "I was trying to schedule things based on stuff each of you would like, things you'd like seeing and experiencing and all, but because of the snow, I'll have to work around it and do things inside the ship with Alicia instead, and to do that I'll have to take her out before things start closing. Even though passengers are shook up over everything that happened, they still can't keep everything running 24/7 so... I hope you don't take it too badly, but I'm gonna have to take Alicia next." Chris explained causing Rose to sulk slightly, Alicia looking at the two and putting her nose up. "Well, if it's such a burden then forget it. Take her and be on your way. Dating isn't a Pokemon thing anyway, that's something you humans do." she replied, facing away with a scowl on her face while Serenity snickered, muttering "you last, that bad" causing Alicia's eye to twitch, responding with an agitated "whatever" before slithering onto the couch and resting along it. "H-Hey, you need to quit that." Chris lectured, Serenity laying with a plop. "I quit, but I not forget. This make laugh for looooonnng time." she replied, snickering causing Chris to cross his arms. "Man, I really have been raising you girls up the wrong way." he muttered, Rose walking up next to him and tugging his coat. "A-Ah, sorry." Chris apologized with a nervous smile before glancing at Serenity and Alicia, letting out a sigh.

"I-I really don't mind if you take Alicia first." Rose point out, Chris blinking at her before smirking. "I didn't think I'd get too hard a time from you out of it." he nodded. "I'll not do anything out of pity!!" Alicia spoke up, maintaining an irritated scowl. "What? It natural to feel bad for loser! Should thank Rose!" Serenity mocked, causing Chris's eye to twitch before facing the Pokemon. "One more time..." he muttered before pointing at her. "And we'll see which one loses their tongue... I mean it Serenity, behave yourself. Enough is enough. The crap stops." he warned, causing the Pokemon's eyes to widen, both Rose and Alicia taken back by his response as well. "I-I not say more. I sorry." Serenity apologized, crossing her chest with her hand up and getting a nod out of Chris before letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "...Oy, I shouldn't have had to do that. None of you are babies." he reminded. "I've done the best I can to avoid having to get forceful just to get you girls to respect one another. But it's like the softer I am over it, the more I try to coax you into behaving nicely, the worse you get. And when you do start finally behaving, when you do seem to bond, just for a moment, you resort to this behavior between one another that's, more often than not, worse than before!" he lectured, Serenity facing down and poking her fingers. "Believe you me I love each of you to death, but you're driving me up the wall and into an early grave with this mess! I'm especially ashamed of you Serenity! You started it!" he point out causing the Pokemon to jolt.

"After everything I just did for you to show you a good time, and after everything you know we did, after how close we got, here you are, showing off and acting so obnoxious it makes me not want to look at you. After everything I did to make you happy, all you want to do is come in here and go back to showing your sass and rubbing every little thing you can in someones face! I'm not going to allow it anymore! I'm not doing this to make any of you feel better than the other!" he shout, Serenity looking at him wide eyed while the girls watched with silent "woah..." expressions. "I'm sick of watching the abuse you throw at each other. I didn't take you into my life just so you could ruin each others. I have a news flash for you, there isn't a single one of you in this room better than the other. Not you Serenity, not Alicia, not Rose, there is no number one! Get it in your head!!" he affirmed loudly causing Serenity to inch back on the bed. "You really don't understand how sick it makes me, every time you go at each other, every time you try to act better than one another... It makes you no better than the humans that left you behind. I took you in to help you girls find a better life, to help you grow, and now you're using that against one another... I'm not asking you to stop it anymore, I'm telling you to." he added. "When I say I love you more than life itself I mean it, but that doesn't mean I love you any more than I love the others, that goes for all three of you. Every time you act up towards one another it makes me feel the same about you as I do the people who left you girls behind. I-It's disgusting! It really is! You girls just don't understand that! Don't you see how hard it is on me, doing my best to make you happy, trying my hardest to rethink how to make you get along, only for you to constantly make one another miserable and ruin every good mood I manage to set up between us?!!" he point out, Alicia facing down while Serenity teared up on the bed, remaining wide eyed as Chris vent his frustrations with them.

"I do my best to love you equally, to show you equal time and attention, to praise you equally and let you know how EQUALLY important you are! But no matter how much I focus on equality, that's one word you girls just can't get in your heads! Stop it, do you hear me? Stop it!!" he ordered. "We're a family, and if this is what it takes to make you understand that, if being this way is the only way to get through to you, then so be it." he affirmed before facing Serenity. "You need to understand... I'll never love you more than Alicia or Rose." he point out before facing the others. "I'll never love Alicia more than you or Rose, and I'll never love Rose more than you two... I don't have any room in my heart to give exclusively to one of you, and I never will." he explained, facing Serenity again. "I have too much respect for all three of you to let that happen. I would never pick a favorite, I would never give more to one of you and leave the rest with less. And if you honestly think I ever could, that I ever would, then you're not only selfish, but sad because you can't accept, respect and appreciate my feelings for all three of you. And it's insulting to me because you think I'd ever be the same as the people that abandoned you BECAUSE they played favorites. I'd never wound any of you like that, and I never will Serenity, so the sooner you, all three of you really, drop the hope that I'll somehow think you're better than the others, that somehow my heart will belong to you more than them, the sooner we can all be an actual, happy family, and you can finally stop making enemies out of one another... I'm not going to just stand around and play the middle man anymore, I'm not going to be Mr. Settle Down anymore. I'm giving an order this time, I'm telling you to put a stop to it." he affirmed, Serenity facing down while biting her lip before sobbing, covering her eyes causing Chris to jolt before facing away.

"I've bit my tongue for a long, LONG time now on the matter, I've tried waiting things out in the hope you'll bond on your own, in your own ways. But if this is what it takes instead, then fine. And it's not because I'm a jerk or anything, it's not because I'm suddenly cruel or evil. It's because you girls pushed and pushed until I had no other choice, and all of you should be ashamed you made me have to stand here and say all of this. You know this isn't the kind of person I am, and the fact you forced me to be this way? What does that say about you?! You forced me into the most uncomfortable position I've ever been in and gave me no other choice BUT to stand in this position! It really is despicable on your part!" he lectured, Serenity continuing to sob while Alicia and Rose kept their heads lowered in silence. "I love you all so much... Don't you think this bothers and hurts me as much as it does you? It feels like I'm being ripped apart from the inside out, but this is my only option if I ever want peace between all of us... Don't you see how cruel it is on your part, after how much I did to help each of your lives be better, only to have to fight for a moment of peace in my life by doing so? I helped you, and in return every single day you girls punish me for it to no end!!" he point out causing Alicia to jolt wide eyed, Rose poking her fingers and keeping her face lowered with tears in her eyes while Serenity tried wiping away her own as they streamed. Noticing the rabbit, Chris sighed and rubbed her on the head. "L-Look, this one isn't really about you, so don't feel bad." he affirmed, nodding at Rose and pulling her against his side getting a sniffle out of her and a nod in response as he looked at Serenity and Alicia.

"This hurts you, it bothers you, but... Think about how you're feeling right now. That's how I feel everyday. You're constantly going at one another, and by doing so you're constantly disrespecting me, you're ignoring what I want the most right in front of my face, treating me like my only wish doesn't matter to you whatsoever. And because of the way you act, the way you treat me by doing all this bickering... It really makes me wonder if you really do love and care about me or if I'm just some object to you. Are you girls just using me? Is that really all there is to it? Am I just some prize you think you can somehow win and keep to yourself?" he asked, Alicia facing down while Serenity shook her head. "If you really do love and respect me... Stop abusing each other. Otherwise you're showing you don't care about me at all... I'm not an item, or a trophy, so stop making me feel like one." he affirmed before squatting down and wiping Rose's eyes. "Sorry for kinda dragging you into that rant." he apologized, giving the rabbit a kiss on the forehead. "...I don't have anything else to say, but just because I'm finished talking that doesn't mean you should stop thinking about what I've said. With that out of the way..." he paused, looking at Serenity as she continued hicking and wiping her eyes before facing Alicia. "Are we going to finish what I started, the way I wanted, or are we going to let this mess up the whole rest of the night?" he asked, Alicia facing down before shaking her head. "If you still intend to take me somewhere, I'll go..." the snake replied, slithering off the couch and up to him, keeping her gaze away from his with a somber and guilty look on her face. "Good... This has taken up enough time as it is." Chris nodded before turning to Serenity and walking up to the side of the bed, pulling out several tissues from a box next to the bed and sitting next to the weeping Pokemon.

"It shouldn't be my place to apologize, but I'll say I'm sorry anyway because all of this isn't me. It's something you girls forced out, and I don't want it to happen again. This kind of moment makes me hate myself, but if it's what's necessary to find peace in our lives, to finally settle you down, then I have to deal with the pain of being someone I hate. I just hope you never make me have to be this way again... Don't make me be this way towards you. It's torture for me." he affirmed, wiping Serenity's eyes and putting an arm around her. "I'm done now, so come on. Don't make me leave with you sobbing all over the place..." he coaxed, rubbing Serenity's arm while getting a nod from the Pokemon in response, wiping away more tears and letting out a few remaining hicks. "I-I sorry. B-Be better." she replied. "The only thing I'm asking for is peace... You girls don't have to be perfect towards one another, you don't have to be best friends, but please... Just get along and respect each other the way you each deserve. That's the only thing, the ONLY thing I've asked of you since we've been together. I don't ask anything else of you so... Respect that, and respect me, okay?" he asked, Serenity nodding before wiping her eyes once more. "Y-You go. Have date." she replied, waving her hand before taking one of the tissues in her hand and facing away, blowing her nose while standing and heading towards the balcony. Watching her, Chris showed a guilty look before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, standing and heading for his staff. "Next is me and Alicia then, you're okay with that, right?" he asked, looking at Rose and Alicia and getting a nod from the both of them before facing Serenity, standing at the sliding door and looking out at the snow with her head lowered.

"...I'm sorry Serenity, believe me, I really am." he affirmed, walking up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I still love you just the same... The only thing I wanted to do was get my point across... Despite everything, I do still think all of you are the best, and I don't take back or regret any of the praise I've given you. I hope you don't think any less of me, or dislike me, for letting everything out the way I did." he added, stepping back as Serenity turned to him before facing down. "You not do anything wrong. Like you say, not place to say sorry... You right. That just hit hard... Humans say truth hurt, it does." she replied, sniffling again and wiping her nose. "Not worry, I be okay." she assured, giving Chris a smile before facing the glass again and leaning her forehead against it. "...Well, you need me, just give me a call. Just... Try not to let it get you down for too long. Keep what I said in your thoughts, but don't let all the good times we just had be wiped out because of it either... I really do love you Serenity. If I didn't, I wouldn't be honest with you." Chris replied, taking her hand and giving it a kiss before heading towards the door, stopping next to Rose and squatting down. "Thanks again. And uh, think you could...?" he asked, motioning towards Serenity and getting a nod from the rabbit in response. "I'll look after her and see if I can cheer her up some." Rose smiled, giving Chris a thumbs up. "I promise I'll make it up to you once we get back, alright?" Chris smiled, rubbing her on the head before straightening up and motioning for Alicia to follow, getting a nod as he opened the door and walked out. "This certainly feels... Rather odd." Alicia point out as he closed the door behind them. "Yeah... Sorry for letting everything get ruined. I'd hoped to have a great time, then move onto the next date all smiles and stuff. But, well, of course plans always have to fall through for me." he groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "What's done is done. I've said my piece and there's no taking it back." he added. "I agree, nor' should you. Although your response to the situation was a shock, I'll admit, somehow I find it admirable that you finally did such a thing. I suppose hopeless won't make a very good nickname for you at this rate." Alicia smiled, Chris looking up at her before laughing nervously.

"At this rate? Still have work to do huh?" he asked, Alicia smirking with a nod. "You're well on your way, but there's still room for improvement." she replied, giving him a flick on the nose with the tip of her tail before facing away with a somber look. "I suppose... That goes for me as well. Perhaps it's something we can work on together." she added, glancing at Chris causing him to blink at her curiously. "After everything you've done and evolving into that, you're still willing to admit such a thing?" Chris asked causing the snake to face away with a scowl. "A jewel means little and is worth just the same if within it's impure." she replied causing Chris to tilt his head bewildered. "A jewel and, what now?" he asked causing Alicia to groan. "I-I'm trying to say..." the snake replied, blushing slightly with an irritated look. "It's no good if I'm not attractive on the inside. We've made you view us as repulsive, have we not? Or were those words not directed at me as well?" she asked causing Chris to let out an "urk" before glancing away and scratching his cheek. "I-It's not that I think of you that badly. B-But guess there's no denying you could work on a few things." he replied with a nod before facing the door. "You both could, but... I can't tell you what those things are. That's for you and her to figure out, to find answers to in your own ways. It'll take time but..." he paused while looking up at the snake. "With enough dedication, there's no denying you both could definitely become someone that has my wholehearted respect. I already love and respect you as it is, but I'd love a time to come when I look up to you in more ways than this, when I can admire you for more than just your victories and evolution and what you've done for me, but for much, much more." he nodded with a smile causing Alicia to blush slightly before facing away. "I-I suppose it couldn't hurt to work on a few things then. There's no point in being the bes...!!" she began, pausing when Chris growled and raised an eyebrow in the middle of her word making Alicia correct herself.

"I-In furthering myself, I mean." she smiled nervously, getting a smile and a nod out of Chris. "If I can't obtain your adoration properly. It's an insult to my kind to have a human of all things looking down on me because of being improper." she point out, causing Chris to raise an eyebrow once more. "S-Sorry, that was rather derogatory towards you..." she apologized, Chris waving his hand with a nervous smile. "A-Anyways, come on. I'd just rather we put the subject behind us. You've both heard what I had to say, and all that matters now is what you do from here on out. If I didn't still have faith in you two I wouldn't have gotten onto you like that." he affirmed, Alicia nodding in response. "I can't guarantee perfection on the matter, but I'll do what I can to allow you the peace you desire. I... Do owe you an apology for the disrespect. I hadn't focused on how personal you may have been taking things. This makes the second time you've lost control on this ship because of our bickering." she apologized. Nodding in response, Chris faced the door. "Well, once we leave here you won't be able to talk for a while, is that all?" he asked, looking up at Alicia as she glanced away with a slight blush. "I-I suppose it would be appropriate to say... That is, considering the situation, you should know that I..." she replied nervously, Chris raising a confused eyebrow. "N-Never mind! I suppose that's all..." she finished, facing down with a scowl. Tilting his head, Chris sighed and shook his head before smiling and putting a hand on Alicia's side. "I love you too Alicia, really I do." he nodded before heading down the corridor, the snake looking at him wide eyed before turning red. "Wh-Who said I had any intention of saying such a thing?! I was just going to say I had mutual respect!!" she snapped, Chris waving his hand in response with a "Yeah yeah" before asking if she was going to follow, Alicia groaning in embarrassment before slithering along by his side.

"Alright, so with it snowing outside, and the cold and all, the best thing would be to take you down to the lower decks and see if any of the ritzy places are fixed up and re-opened. I've noticed different places I think you'd like while we were walking around with the others." he point out, Alicia tilting her head curiously as they made their way to the lobby. "Before anything, lets see..." he muttered, taking out his Pokedex and flicking it open before going through various lists. "Wait here a sec. Be right back." he instructed before walking off to a corner, making a call on the device leaving Alicia watching bewildered. After a moment, he returned and put his Pokedex back in his coat pocket. "We're good to go." he smiled. Tilting her head, Alicia point out his pocket with the tip of her tail, signalling her question "What were you doing?" and getting a nod out of Chris in return. "Had to call the Captain, just wanted to play it safe and double check on what all was open. Plus had to let him and Smith know some plans were changed... I've got a pretty sweet surprise in store for you." he replied with a wink, Alicia blinking at him and watching as he walked past and headed for the stairs, offering his hand allowing Alicia to grab hold with her vine while making their way down. Once at the lobby leading to the shopping and recreation facilities, Chris led Alicia along until stopping at one of the benches in front of a nearby window display, the shop within full of jewelry. Seeing this, Alicia's eyes widened, an "ooohhh" expression on her face before jolting and facing down, touching the tip of her tail on her neck with a somber "oh..." look. "Seems like they're still arranging things in there, but for the most part everything looks good. It's really something to see these people able to take their jobs so seriously after what they went through. You've gotta respect people that can still push on even after enduring so much." Chris point out, Alicia looking at him silently for a moment before looking inside the shop as well and nodding, surprising Chris by patting him on the head with the tip of her tail.

"U-Uhh, what's that for?" he asked, blinking at the snake only for Alicia to shake her head in a "nothing" type of response. "Well, thanks I guess... We'll go in and have a look in a sec, before that I've gotta wait for something." he point out, Alicia tilting her head curiously. "It's the surprise. Wouldn't be any fun if I told you what it was." he explained, giving the snake a wink. "It's way ahead of time since I'm taking you out first, plus we're in a completely different part of the ship than planned. Gotta wait a minute so they can meet us." he smirked, bewildering Alicia all the more as she looked around, an expression showing "they?" in response. After a moment, Chris muttered about his throat being dry and something about Serenity, her mention causing Alicia to raise an eyebrow making Chris jump when he noticed the snakes irritated look. "Ahh, ha ha. S-Sorry about that. It's nothing. Just dehydrated is all. Want a drink?" he asked, Alicia squinting at him in a suspicious way before nodding. Looking around, Chris hurried to a nearby stand and bought them each something to enjoy while they waited, returning and handing Alicia her drink before quickly having a taste of his own, glancing away nervously as Alicia continued giving him suspicious looks, wondering what he meant about Serenity. Not long after this, a pair of Yamask alongside two crew members finally arrived, making their way up to the two with a bow. "Hey there! Sorry for messing things up so much. The snow outside caught us off guard." Chris apologized with a bow in return, the Yamask and crew waving in a "no worries" kind of way before motioning for him to follow. "Alright then, time for your first surprise of the night!" Chris grinned, Alicia tilting her head and about to follow only for Chris to hold out his hand. "I need you to wait here. Enjoy the drink and I'll be right back." he assured with a smile, Alicia blinking bewildered before nodding warily and inching back. Thanking her, he put his hand on her side with a wink before heading off into a nearby shop, Alicia blushing slightly before facing away and mumbling to herself while continuing to enjoy her drink, held within one of her vines while watching people pass her by, many, especially children and smaller Pokemon, looking up at her in surprise causing the snake to smirk and lift her head proudly, an expression showing "ahh, the little people." on her face.

After several minutes had passed, Chris walked out of the shop he'd entered and waved at the Yamask and crew, thanking them before making his way back to Alicia who had her back turned, continuing to present herself to passerby's. "Well well, aren't we popular? Bet you're enjoying yourself!" he chuckled causing Alicia to jolt, clearing her throat with an embarrassed blush. Turning towards him, Alicia took another sip of her drink only to suddenly spit it out wide eyed in Chris's direction, forcing him to make an abrupt dodge with a loud "woah!!!" in response. "G-Geez!! I get dressed up and you wanna ruin it!!" Chris lectured, looking himself over and straightening his outfit with a sigh, Alicia's eyes remaining wide while a flush spread across her face. "Doesn't look like anything got on it, kinda made a mess of the floor though." he muttered before facing Alicia. "Well, wadaya think?" he asked, turning for her before bowing. "Tonight I am at your service madam. It's an honor." he chuckled. Looking him over, Alicia didn't know what to make of what he'd done, having changed into one of the Guardian's waiter uniforms and altered his hairstyle to fit the uniform. "...Is it too much?" he asked, having gotten no response and showing a nervous look on his face, only for Alicia to rapidly shake her head before glancing away, muttering shyly in her Pokemon tongue in an "I-It's fine" kind of way getting a smile out of Chris. "I know you like this kind of stuff, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It's only for the date though, so enjoy it while it lasts!" he affirmed, the snake nodding in response before looking him over again. "Can't say I'll be very good at this sort of thing, but I'll do my best to make you feel like royalty tonight!" he grinned, causing the snake to flush all the more before clearing her throat, trying to shake off the initial surprise and adjust.

"Well then ma'am, shall we seek out a new necklace? Surely there's bound to be one befitting someone as divine as yourself." he offered with a bow, holding his arm out towards the entrance of the jewelry shop with his other arm behind him causing another wide eyed look to appear on Alicia's face before nodding excitedly. "Well then, ladies first." Chris smiled, opening the door allowing Alicia to slither inside, the snake looking down at him before facing away with a flattered "Is he serious?" smile on her face. Once the two were inside, they looked around before making their way along the displays. "Anything strike your fancy?" Chris asked, Alicia looking everything over with an indecisive mumble. Looking around, Chris paused when he noticed a display containing a single piece of jewelry on display, specially set aside from the rest with small lights enhancing its quality. Glancing at the distracted snake, he made his way over for a closer look. "...The Heart of the Sea..." he muttered, reading the details of the necklace. "Also referred to as The Love of the Sea, this elegant chain is the only of its kind, created in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the legendary Arceanic. Lined with some of the purest white and blue diamonds found in recent years, with blue being the rarest of all diamonds, this chain embodies the beauty and elegance of both the sea and Arceanic, with its blue stones representing the boundless sea, and the white representing the divine and elegant beauty of the northern snow. Each round cut diamond lining this chain is flawless in quality, both externally and internally, and contains only natural color, a quality found in only one out of every 10,000 colored diamonds." Chris read quietly, his eyes wide from the details.

"The blue diamonds which line this 24in chain alongside the white are of vivid quality, the deepest shade of blue diamond available and the most valuable. For those seeking only the finest for that special someone, look no further than The Heart of The Sea, a treasure that will prove the recipient is as breathtaking and divine as the forces of nature it represents, as unforgettable as the legend it commemorates, and just like this piece, is truly one of a kind." he finished, squinting over the details once more before glancing back at Alicia who was still browsing the countless pieces of jewelry on the other side of the shop, losing herself in the glimmering atmosphere before her while people around watched her curiously and bewildered, unsure what to make of such a large Pokemon ogling things in the shop, employees showing wary expressions fearing for the displays safety as she loomed over them for closer looks. Nodding, Chris faced the necklace once more before motioning for one of the employees, pointing out the necklace and getting a raised eyebrow in response, followed by the employee smirking and shaking her head. Scowling at this, Chris pointed it out once more and quietly ordered to have it taken out, the woman looking at the other employees and motioning them over before doing so, keeping a wary eye on both him and the necklace as they held it out allowing him to looked it over. Thinking for a moment, Chris closed his eyes, with his arms crossed, the employees looking at one another and shaking their heads while attempting to return the piece securely in the display, only for Chris to hold his hand out with a grunt and shake his head, glancing at the preoccupied snake once more before motioning towards the register.

Looking at him in disbelief, the woman holding the necklace raised an eyebrow before nodding and doing as he wished, taking the piece to the register and ringing it up as Chris followed and took out his card. Noticing this, many of the customers curiously surrounded him, eyeing the necklace themselves and jolting when the price came up on the display, murmuring among one another causing Chris to feel a slightly disturbed sensation along his spine. Quietly telling the woman he was paying with the card in hand, the employee couldn't help but smile in a "whatever you say..." type of response, causing Chris to scowl again and murmur "some service..." before running his card through the scanner, those around him shaking their heads with comments such as "no way" while the woman behind the register waited for the machine, shaking her head and about to speak up only for the machine to suddenly let out a "cha-ching!!" sound and print out a receipt, causing her to freeze wide eyed with her mouth agape before slowly taking the receipt and looking it over, facing Chris as the color drained out of her and those gathered reacted the same, looking between the register and Chris in pale silence. "I'll uh, be taking that now?" he replied, holding his hand out causing the woman to jolt before quickly grabbing a box to set it in and handing it over, stuttering a "thank you" while doing so and giving him the receipt. Asking for the description in the display where the necklace was, she took it out and handed it to him with another thanks, both the employees and customers unsure of how to process such a sudden purchase of what was the most expensive thing on the ship by someone so young. Looking at them all nervously, Chris faced the employee and bowed, giving his thanks before returning to Alicia, putting the box in his vest along with the description of the necklace.

"Hey, uh, Alicia?" Chris called out, tapping the snake on the back causing her to jolt before facing him. "The stuff in here, it looks nice and all, but... I don't think what they've got suits you enough. I mean, anything in here would look good on you, but... I don't feel like any of it matches how great you are, you know?" he point out, Alicia blinking at him before looking back at the selections and nodding, putting her nose up in a "quite right" kind of way, waving her tail while shaking her head and sighing in a "how sad" manner. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can find the perfect thing for you in time. Just trust in me and I guarantee you'll be satisfied." he affirmed, bowing to her with a hand on his chest. "That aside, what say we be on our way madam? Don't you feel being surrounded by such inferior trinkets does you poor justice? If you're not careful, their dullness could rub off on you!" he point out, Alicia laughing haughtily with the tip of her tail against her chin and nodding in agreement before patting him on the head and slithering towards the exit, Chris following and waving at everyone with a nervous laugh as they left. "That sounded so bad..." he murmured to himself while closing the door, everyone inside still looking at him through the windows as he caught up with Alicia. Watching her slither along, the look on her face made Chris smile despite having to act as he had, nodding and thinking "This is good" before giving the snake a nudge. "Look at you! All full of grins and pep. Havin' a good time huh?" he asked, Alicia pausing and looking down at him before nodding with a smile. "You know, it really is something. Putting the whole butler act aside for a sec, when you're with a girl you can walk into a jewelry store with only to find out she's the best looking thing in there, you know you've got someone really amazing. I've got a girl more beautiful than any jewelry!" he praised with a thumbs up before jolting with a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I-If saying that kind of thing is okay. That does sound kinda possessive." he apologized, Alicia shaking her head with an "it's alright" smile, lowering her head and giving his cheek a rub with her own before looking around.

"Wondering what's next huh? Well, since we couldn't find anything for you in the jewelry store..." he began, turning away and acting as if looking around while patting his vest where the necklace was with a smirk. "How uh... How about we go somewhere fun? I know of a place to eat that has a pretty cool feature included, one you could really move to, and with that new form of yours, I'd love to see how you'd do." he point out. Alicia tilting her head curiously before looking herself over, an expression saying "move?" before looking at him confused. "Let me put it to you this way, it's the second surprise I've set up. You liked the first one, right?" he asked, bowing before giving her a wink making the snake jolt and blush slightly before facing away with a nod. "Just go with me on this, you'll love it! Especially after you find out what I've got in store once we're there." he smirked, peaking Alicia's curiosity all the more. Clearing his throat, Chris bowed before holding his arm out to the side. "If the breathtaking madam would be so kind as to follow instructions, it would be an honor to escort you to your next surprise." he added, causing the snake to smile in an "oh boy" kind of way, shaking her head before nodding with a sigh. "Hey, this act might be cheesy, but at least there's heart put into it." Chris point out with a smirk, Alicia rolling her eyes before slithering past with a chuckle, brushing the tip of her tail atop Chris's head while passing. "H-Hey!! Don't ruin the do!! That took work." he grumbled before straightening his hair, getting a playful giggle out of Alicia in response before following behind. Looking around, Alicia found herself at a loss of where to go, looking beside herself only to notice Chris walking behind her, tilting her head before motioning with her vine for him to walk by her side. "Oh no no, YOU walk in front. Just head over in that direction, then make a left." he explained, Alicia blinking at him before nodding in an "a-alright..." manner and facing forward.

"Think about it, I'm always either walking in front of, or beside you. All things considered, you deserve to be the one I'm following for a change, don't you think? Just enjoy being a Serperior for tonight!" Chris point out with a smile, Alicia thinking it over before smirking and raising her head up. "Atta girl. That's how you represent." he grinned with a thumbs up, the snake nodding as they continued along. Not long after this, they reached a blocked off section of the recreation deck, with guards stationed to ensure only first class passengers were granted access, checking identification of every passenger with a Victorian themed entrance to a restaurant behind them. "Well, that's where we're headed. Looks pretty snazzy, huh?" Chris asked with a smirk, Alicia blinking in surprise and nodding. "Well, go on! Sooner we get inside, the sooner you get your next surprise." Chris winked. Slithering along, Alicia stopped in front of the crew, causing them to jolt in surprise while looking up and blinking at the colossal Pokemon with slight sweat on their faces, the snake looking down at them before motioning with her head and making a noise signalling them to move with a scowl. "E-Er, excuse us but where is your...?" one of the men asked, only for Chris to pop his head out from behind Alicia with a finger over his mouth before swiping his hand along his throat, shaking his head in a "no no no!!" manner, motioning silently for them to move causing the crew to jolt and nod. "P-Pardon us, you may pass." the man apologized, Alicia getting a collective bow from the group before spreading and giving her room to continue along. Smirking, she gave them a "much better" nod before slithering past, Chris letting out a sigh and showing the crew his identification.

"N-No need sir. We hadn't noticed you at first. As soon as you made your presence known we got the idea. We already knew of your arrival but was thrown off by the lone Pokemon, we must follow protocol you see. Forgive our wariness but you must keep in mind this is a very special location." one of the women point out. Giving them a "no worries" response, Chris made his way along just as Alicia turned back, making a sound to ask "what's taking you?" with her head tilt. "S-Sorry, you've got looks that get you into first class places no problem, but a guy like me has to show identification apparently." Chris apologized with a nervous laugh, the snake scowling at the crew before wrapping her tail around Chris and pulling him against her side, giving them a "he's with me" look. Confused by this, they simply blinked at the snake before noticing Chris motioning with his hand for them to bow and mouthing the command, getting a quick nod before they bowed collectively in response. Nodding herself, Alicia let out a "that's better" grunt before smiling at Chris and patting him on the head, motioning for him to follow as she slithered along towards the entrance of the restaurant. Letting out a sigh, Chris turned to the crew and apologized, getting a collective "no worries" wave from them before he hurried along behind Alicia, the two pausing at the restaurants entrance due to crew standing on guard in front of the doors with a long line of customers waiting along the wall. "Tsss, hadn't considered a waiting list or anything." Chris muttered, scratching his cheek while looking at the customers, the crew guarding the doors looking up at Alicia warily. Looking down at them, Alicia repeat her actions, motioning with her head and letting out a sound ordering them to move aside causing Chris to sweat slightly and tug on his collar.

As the men crossed their arms, he stepped out from behind Alicia once more, causing them to jolt as he bowed with his hands together, giving them a silent "pleeeeeaaase" expression before doing the same to those waiting in line. Now recognizing the two immediately, both the guards at the door and those waiting in line went wide eyed, looking at him and up at Alicia before allowing them to pass and enter, those in line giving the guards a collective "it's alright" wave to do so while the guards nodded and quickly opened the doors, bowing and gesturing for them to enter with an arm outstretched. Letting out another grunt, Alicia nodded before raising her head and entering, glancing at those waiting in line and giving them a victorious smirk, Chris quietly apologizing as everyone showed looks of agitation from Alicia's response to their gesture, finding himself scowled at as some shook their heads. With a nervous smile, Chris gave them another bow and thanked the wealthy passengers once more, trying to apologize again for Alicia's haughty behavior only for the snake to poke her head out from the entrance, scowling at Chris before biting the back of his vest and pulling him inside causing him to shout in surprise and stumble backwards. Once she had him far enough inside and the doors were shut, Alicia released Chris and turned him around, scowling at him and showing a "what was that about?" look on her face while grumbling, seemingly insulted from him apologizing to everyone behind her back. "I-It's the job of a servant to be h-humble, right? I-It was to save you from any trouble." Chris explained nervously, Alicia squinting at him forcing Chris to glance away while tugging his collar with a nervous laugh before she put her nose up and spoke in her Pokemon tongue, giving an "I can take care of myself thank you" type of response causing Chris to slump and apologize.

Glancing down at him, Alicia sighed and shook her head, turning away before waving her tail in a "never mind" manner before slithering along, Chris following and scratching his cheek. "Oy, this act is tougher than I figured it'd be. And I thought the date with Serenity was exhausting..." he muttered, looking at the snakes back. "Maybe this act is working a little too well, she might get hooked on things being this way." he added warily, noticing an excited smile return to Alicia's face as she looked around. Seeing this, Chris put his hand where the box was in his vest before smirking. "Guess I shouldn't let it get to me too much. The whole point of this is to let her experience what it's like getting to behave like a real Serperior for a change. If she's enjoying herself, that's the point and all that matters." he nodded to himself. "A night of spoiling... Everyone deserves that now and then." he chuckled, Alicia jolting before facing him and tilting her head curiously. "A-Ah! Just talking to myself!" Chris laughed nervously, waving his hand before walking up to her side and looking around. "This is it, pretty nice, huh?" he asked, the two hovering their gaze along the dining sections encircling a ballroom floor in the center, performers providing music for guests while people dined and danced with chandeliers scattered above. "I thought I'd treat you to something good, and after that, maybe step on the floor there and see what you could do!" Chris grinned, Alicia giving him a nervous look in response. "What? Worried you can't dance? I'm not the best either you know!" he laughed before facing away and scratching his cheek with a groan. "In fact last time I tried to dance I just froze up." he muttered, recalling his experience with Serenity and grumbling over her behavior causing Alicia to tilt her head confused, poking him with the tip of her tail. "A-Ah! Ha ha, nothing! Never mind!" he panicked, the snake scowling at him causing Chris to sweat slightly before suddenly hearing a familiar voice call out.

The both of them jolting in surprise, they turned to see Sally wheeling up with her grandmother following, both showing a smile as they stopped and nodded at the two. "H-Hey there! I-I'm surprised to see you guys... Er! Girls! Girls I meant! Sorry..." Chris apologized, bowing as the both of them giggled, Alicia rolling her eyes before nodding at them. "My my, you seem a tad unnerved. Is everything alright?" Victoria asked. "F-Fine! Just fine!" Chris assured, waving the question off causing Sally to show a worried expression. "You are looking a bit off. Fatigue perhaps?" she asked, Chris shaking his head. "Nah, I'm fine." Chris assured again with his hand up, Alicia looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. "Wh-What? I'm fine! Honest!" he affirmed, crossing his finger over his chest with a nervous smile. "A-Anyways, great minds think alike, huh? How's the food here? I know after all the action things are probably pretty limited, but, any good?" he asked. "Oh indeed. I'd say half the menu is still available." Victoria replied. "Sweet, at least I'm having a little luck tonight." Chris laughed before looking around. "Where's Mr. Hartley? I'm surprised he's not floating around you." he point out. "Oh! He's with the Captains, they're getting a bite to eat here as well. Ever since the action came to an end they've both been spending their time mingling with passengers of every class. You haven't spotted them elsewhere?" Sally asked. "N-No, focusing on the girls and all I've been too busy to notice anything beyond them really." Chris replied. "The passengers can't get enough of Mr. Smith, hearing all his tales from sailing so long ago. He's a rather admirable man for sure. One might even go so far as to say desirable." Victoria point out, facing away with a slight blush and a small smile on her face with a hand on her cheek. "Grandma!!" Sally lectured. "Oh come now dear! Don't shame an old woman for having a fling, men like him don't come around as often as they used to." Victoria replied, waving her hand in response as Sally scowled. "He's not really a man anymore you know..." her granddaughter point out. "A-Actually he is, just not on the outside. Even though physically he's a Pokemon, inside his soul is a hundred percent human." Chris explained, Victoria crossing her arms and nodding with a "thank you!" in response before smirking at Sally, her granddaughter sighing and shaking her head.

"I know it's the inside that counts but don't you think that's taking the saying a bit too far?" Sally asked causing Victoria to scowl at her with a frustrated grunt in response, Sally putting her hands up with an "alright, alright" in response before sighing and looking up at Chris and Alicia. "It's truly hard to believe, the relationship between you and your Pokemon." she point out. "It really is a shame in a way, you know? Seeing everything you're capable of doing for others, and after what you've done for me... I still haven't forgotten the way you carried me all the way up so we could ride that slide together." she point out, smiling at Chris with a slight blush causing him to jolt before glancing away with a shy blush of his own. "Y-Yeah, it was nice..." he replied. "Oh...? It was? Do tell, what part of our time together was nice to you in particular?" she asked with a sly smile, leaning back in her chair with her chest slightly stuck out while swiping her fingers through her hair, Alicia watching the two and twitching an eye when glancing at Sally's chest before facing Chris, his reaction to her causing the snake's cheeks to puff out and the tip of her tail to flicker. "It's a shame you're taken. It would've been nice to have a chance with you myself. You were the first, you know." she added, causing Chris to flush with an "eh?" while her grandmother jolt and faced her granddaughter wide eyed, Alicia's eyes just as wide while looking between the two. "Oh, you know. I've never had, or rather, never let a man touch me in such ways as you have. Having me strip my skirt so you could carry me in such a skimpy thing all the way up such a towering staircase. Makes a young girl think it wasn't to help me at all, you likely just wanted the experience itself of having an exposed girl like me atop your back. Mm?" she asked, causing Chris to jump back with a loud "wha?!" in response, Alicia towering behind the scene with a fire behind her and a dangerous glow in her eyes.

"S-Sally!! How rude!!" Victoria lectured. "Oh come now grandmother. You should've seen how insistent he was. I can't tell you how much he was ogling me and pressing me to climb on his back! And let me tell you, he had rather mischievous hands. I'd say he took advantage of me even, knowing when he had me so high I had no choice but to hold onto him." she went on, facing away with a teary eyed expression as if she'd been soiled, Victoria looking between her and Chris while pulses of rage appeared on Alicia's face, her tongue flicking rapidly causing Chris to feel an eerie aura of death behind him. "I-I-I-I didn't do anything!! I-I was just!! I-I mean all I!! S-Sally!!" Chris panicked, only to get a snicker in response as she faced away and covered her mouth while Alicia slithered up to Chris and glared him down, suddenly grinning evilly before snapping her tail around him tightly. "I-I-I-I didn't!! S-Seriously!!" he tried to explain as Alicia lift his face towards hers, speaking in her Pokemon tongue in a "oooohhh you're in trouble..." tone. "S-Sally!! C-Come on!! Q-Quit fooling!!" he pleaded, Sally keeping her hand over her mouth as Victoria sighed and shook her head, mumbling "I knew it..." before rolling up a menu she'd had in hand and giving Sally a swat on the back of the head causing Sally to finally burst out in laughter, Alicia jolting and squeezing Chris in response by mistake causing him to let out a "gack!!" as if he'd been squished like a bug, his head dangling back with a groan. Facing Sally, Alicia blinked and tilt her head as Sally wiped a tear from her eye, taking a deep breath and sighing before waving her hand. "It's just a bit of fun is all, he did nothing wrong. In fact, if anything I'd say he was disappointingly appropriate." she explained. "I'll be honest, it was I trying to seduce him a tad. Being in a situation such as my own, I haven't found much romance in life." she added, facing down with a smile.

"He was nice to me, but he didn't do anything unbecoming rest assured. Even though I was merely in a swimsuit, and admittedly, perhaps, had anticipation for more, he endured my advances until our time together was up. He has a great respect for you girls indeed." she nodded, Alicia tilting her head in a "really?" kind of way before facing Chris, only to jolt and shout in a panic when she saw Chris had turned colors, quickly shaking him and setting him down. "You're a lucky one to have someone so faithful. Not only is he willing to go above and beyond for people, but when a girl like me comes along with an earnest desire for him..." she paused before giggling. "No matter how little one may be wearing, he stays true to those he's already promised himself to. He's really... Something. But, perhaps I'm saying too much?" Sally smiled before reaching down into her dress and pulling something out, looking down at her closed hand. "In a unique kind of way, I suppose the things you hold so closely to your hearts aren't so much trinkets, or souvenirs if you will, as they are a form of engagement perhaps?" she asked, Alicia tilting her head while Chris groaned and shook his head before facing Sally. "Trinkets? Engagement? Do what now?" he asked, Sally looking at her grandmother and getting a nod in response. "Circumstances in mind, I take it the two of you are on a date?" she asked, Chris blushing slightly and nodding in response. "Grandmother wanted me to wait until the proper time to give this to you. Circumstances what they are, I suppose this would be it." she added before wheeling up to Chris. As she reached her hand out to hand him what was within, the group jolt when a Yamask hovered up with a happy shout, carrying glasses up to Sally and Victoria with a smile. "Oh! Thank you dear." Victoria nodded. "Aw, you didn't have to go through the trouble." Sally added, the two each taking a glass as the Yamask noticed Chris and bowed.

"Ah! Wallace, right?" Chris point out, the Yamask nodding with an "indeed!" noise in response. "Good to see you again sir. It really is an honor getting to be on the same ship." Chris smiled, bowing to the spirit causing Wallace to rub the back of his head with an embarrassed grin, waving his hand in a "come now" manner. "So uh, what was it you wanted to give me?" Chris asked, looking at Sally curiously causing her to jolt and nod. "R-Right, you see, Wallace and I noticed you and yours while you were on the deck outside earlier. I hope you don't consider us rude, but we overheard Alicia's dilemma. Seeing how distraught she was, and considering how we felt you were entitled to a favor in turn for saving us, especially Wallace and the other spirits that had been trapped on the Arceanic for so long, well..." she paused, looking down at her hand before holding it out with her palm up, opening her hand to reveal Alicia's Commorall Badge, its Pokeball design shimmering under the chandelier lights. Seeing her badge, Alicia froze up, her eyes wide as Chris took it. "H-How? I mean, it's the OCEAN..." he asked, looking the badge over before facing Sally and Wallace. "Just call it a spot of teamwork is all. With so many spirits aiding in the search, it still took time, but they managed to bring it to the surface nonetheless. I cannot give you exact details, as I speak not his language sadly." Sally explained with a guilty laugh and an apology. "But rest assured it was a group effort on their part. I was merely a spectator really. It was Wallace here who organized everything." she point out, Wallace grinning and rubbing the back of his head.

"I apologize for the chain, but it was in ruins and portions of it were missing altogether, so instead of keeping it I thought, perhaps, it may have been a better idea to leave it down below with the Arceanic." she revealed, Chris showing an uncomfortable look on his face. "You and yours are just as much a legend as that ship now. It's a memento of our rescue by your hands, further proof of all that has occurred here." Sally insisted. "I-I dunno, that's still littering... The whole area's a grave, no matter the purpose, you really can't just leave stuff that belongs to us down there willy nilly." Chris point out before turning to Alicia and showing her the badge, allowing her to take it between her vines and hold it. Facing Sally again, Chris jolt when he saw Wallace hovering just an inch from his face, scowling in agitation before suddenly waving a finger in his face and chattering, seemingly lecturing Chris causing him to blink wide eyed and sweat slightly. "I'm afraid I can't understand him either, but I do believe he's telling you not to fret over leaving the chain with the wreckage... I believe he and the other spirits want it there the same as Sally here." Victoria point out, Wallace turning to her with a surprised look before nodding and making a "c-correct" kind of noise. Looking at the three, Chris thought it over for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh and nodding. "It's their grave, if they want it there, then it's fine with me. But I don't want anything else put down there... And I'll take that to Rostron and Smith themselves if need be. Even if the spirits agree to leave stuff, I don't want anything else put anywhere near that wreckage." Chris affirmed. "My, you can be a rather serious one." Sally replied with a surprised look. "That's because I know what will happen. You let one person do something, another will want to. Someone leaves one thing, another person will. Someone leaves two or three things, someone else will want to do the same. Next thing you know the wreckage is chalk full of crap piled everywhere, and a grave will become nothing more than a dump site for people to inadvertently do two things, first, draw in things to wipe the ship away all the faster, and second, litter the ocean causing who knows what harm to not only the wreckage but the Pokemon in the vicinity." he warned before looking up at Alicia, the snake jolting when she noticed his gaze.

"Even though they've left us alone, those Gyarados are still down there too. Think about what could happen if they see stuff being left all over the place. This is a grave, and it's also the home of some of the most dangerous Pokemon out there. Anyone goes putting stuff in the sea here for any reason, and trust me, you'll be doing way more harm than you realize." he explained, reaching up and holding Alicia's face causing her eyes to widen. "...No more putting anything down there. You'll just risk making it a grave for a lot more people by doing so. I'm glad you think it's so special, but leaving some memento behind isn't worth risking lives all over again. I hope nobody else knows you did that." he point out, facing Sally as she shook her head in response. "...Good. Hopefully nobody else will try doing the same thing then. As far as you Wallace, again, thanks for thinking it's so special, but you should have considered what I said about the Gyarados before even saying it. What if you putting that down there spurred them into attacking again? I want all of you to avoid the ocean as much as possible, alright? They could attack for any reason, you know this. The peace we've been given is miracle enough, don't push things." Chris instructed, Sally and Wallace looking at one another before nodding in response. Nodding back, Chris thanked them before giving Alicia a hug, the snake freezing up surprised and looking down at him confused, tilting her head before patting him on the back, letting out an "i-it's alright?" sound. "Always fretting over the lives of those around you, aren't we?" the group heard a familiar voice say, turning to see Captain Smith hovering up. "I'll admit, he's right. No matter the reason, best we not go doing unnecessary things and risk stirring up more trouble. I don't exactly fancy knick knacks being left down there myself... You should have consulted me first Mr. Hartley. That's still my ship after all, not yours nor Ms. Sally's here." Smith lectured, the spirit lowering its head with an apologetic sound in response, Sally doing the same with a "sorry sir" causing the Captain to sigh before waving his hand. "Never you mind, just see to it no others do such a thing, pass the order along if you will Mr. Hartley." the Captain instructed, Wallace saluting with an "aye!" noise before hurrying off.

"Being a spirit, I can see things the living cannot." Smith said while watching Wallace disappear before facing Chris and Alicia, the two looking back at him curiously. "I was listening, or rather, watching your conversation, and certain things caused some curious responses from within you." he point out, the two looking at one another. "That badge, may I?" Smith asked, holding out his hand causing Alicia to jolt and face Chris, getting a shrug out of him followed by a nod. Looking back at the Captain, the snake begrudgingly gave it to him. "I expected excitement once you received this, knew about it for some time you see. Not much happens revolving those from my ship I'm not aware of, which is why I behaved as though I were clueless earlier as to their whereabouts when you questioned me. I didn't wish to spoil the surprise. However, for someone so concerned over this little trinket, the moment you saw it I could see your soul burst to life, yet just as quickly, and quite strangely, it fizzled out and had a rather somber glow to it." Smith explained, holding it up to Alicia's face causing the snakes eyes to widen before glancing away. "There it is again, your soul shudders in excitement, yet grows immediately still." he point out, Chris looking between the Captain and Alicia bewildered. "You don't want it back or something?" Chris asked, about to reach for the badge only for Alicia to let out a shout and snatch it out of Smith's hand first, the Captain blinking in surprise as Chris did the same. "Such a curious one you are. I do hope I'm not concerning myself with matters too personal, but I felt it queer enough to bring to attention, perhaps worthy of the two of you giving it some thought among yourselves?" he suggested, Chris nodding in response before looking back at Alicia, the snake looking down at her badge silently. "As far as you're concerned lad, your soul has been all over the place since we fought off those Gyarados together." Smith point out, facing Chris causing him to jolt. "If you don't settle down, methinks you have a possibility of..." he warned, causing Alicia to panic and attempt to pull him away. "A-Alicia!! H-Hey!! Settle down!!" Chris shout, pulling back while Smith smiled nervously.

"I... Was merely going to say you might pass out." the Captain explained, Alicia pausing and blinking at Smith before releasing Chris with a wary look on her face. "Oy oy, don't do that. I'm trying to show her a good time, not give her a heart attack over me." Chris scowled, straightening his suit. "M-My apologies. I suppose it's wrong of me to analyze things I've no business being a part of. My only intention was to ensure you don't wind up harming yourself. I'm not too certain of what your souls behavior means exactly, but from the looks of it I'd say there's a lot on your mind, and that, combined with the fact you've been on the move constantly since the rescue, it appears to be taking its toll inside you. A fire cannot burn without fuel forever. My advice would be resting up to stoke that furnace of yours before it fizzles out on you." he suggested, Chris letting out a sigh and shaking his head. "I'm fine, I'm fine." he assured, raising a hand only for Alicia to lower her face down to his with a scowl, looking him over closely. "I said I'm fine! Look at me, I'm fine!" he affirmed, walking to and fro like a soldier and hopping on one foot then the other before holding his arms out in a "ta-dah!" manner. Looking at him for a moment, Alicia shook her head and muttered in a "stubborn fool" manner before nodding at him, Smith along with Sally and Victoria looking at one another and sighing. "Thank you. With that out of the way, come on, lets find you a seat." Chris coaxed, holding an arm out for Alicia with a slight bow, returning to his act. Deciding to let the matter rest, Alicia nodded and slithered along, with Chris following behind. "He's certainly got his mind set on keeping himself busy." Smith muttered, looking at Chris's back as he and Alicia left them behind. "Was returning that badge a bad idea?" Sally asked. "I don't think so dear. I believe there's merely a few unresolved matters between them." Victoria point out. "That was a gift from him, correct? If she's unsettled, or rather, saddened by its return, I'd wager it's a rather personal matter that has her in such a state. Rest assured, it'll be resolved. I needn't remind you the type of person he is. I highly doubt it's a reaction due to ill behavior on his part." she assured with a smile, Sally and Smith looking at her before agreeing and facing the two once more as one of the waiters led them to a table.

"Well then, if you'll excuse me ladies. I do believe I've taken up enough of your time. Do forgive me." Smith apologized, Sally and Victoria smiling and replying with a "worry not" in response before Smith returned to Rostron's table, the Captain giving Smith a confused look and quietly asking what had occurred between him and the others while Sally and Victoria left. Explaining the situation, Rostron tilt his head curiously while glancing towards where Chris and Alicia had been taken, the two Captains conversing before finding themselves distracted by another group of passengers wanting to spend time with the two, nodding and offering to let them sit as a nurse arrived to check on Rostron's arm and leg. At their own table, Chris helped Alicia settle in comfortably, the snake coiling around the table atop a soft circular booth and relaxing before looking down at Chris, giving him an "are you certain...?" look causing Chris to scowl. "Hey, didn't I tell you I'm fine? And what did I lecture you girls about a while ago? You know, ruining the good moods I set up? Just enjoy yourself would you? And stop worrying about me." Chris ordered, waving his hand and getting a wary nod from the snake in response before she faced down at the badge on her vine. "That's another thing, if having that's going to ruin your mood, then you should let me hold onto it until the date's over." he added, holding his hand out causing the snake to jolt and rapidly shake her head. "...Fine, but if you're gonna keep it then you've gotta stop looking so down about it." Chris affirmed, waving his finger at Alicia causing her to scowl. "There you go. Now that's a normal look! I'd rather see that then have you looking all depressed." Chris nodded, preferring the snake be agitated with him over depressed. Hearing this however, Alicia wasn't too sure of how to take his comment, hearing her agitation was considered so normal and preferable in his eyes. Watching him take hold of a napkin on the table and wipe it off, rearranging the decor on top to make space for a meal, she decided to put his comment aside and show a slight smile, nodding when he stepped back and letting out a "thank you" sound.

"Well now, that's even better." Chris smirked, giving Alicia a thumbs up before clearing his throat. "Now then, as for your surprise madam. I'd like to first apologize for the distracting delay upon our arrival. I promise you my undivided attention from here on." he assured. "Not only are you dining in the finest restaurant on the Guardian, but I will also be your personal waiter for your meal tonight." he revealed, bowing with a hand on his chest causing Alicia's eyes to widen. "I'll have a menu brought out shortly, and once you've determined what you'd like to eat, I'll have it prepared post haste. Would you like something to sip on while you browse the menu?" he asked, the snake blinking at him before nodding in response. "Very good. I will be back shortly. Please, relax and enjoy the atmosphere." he replied before walking off, leaving Alicia at the table, scratching her head with the tip of her tail, bewildered and lost due to the suddenness of everything. After the chaos in his room, the snake didn't know what to make of how persistent he was being in trying to forget the moment and appease her, having pushed from one mood to the next so quickly since their date began, coming out of nowhere donning a servants suit, taking her in, then just as quickly out of the jewelers, and now taking the role of her waiter out of the blue, offering to serve her dinner and acting as if all were right with the world. Shaking her head, Alicia let out a sigh and looked at her badge once more, a nostalgic, yet at the same time concerned look on her face as she set it on the table, smiling slightly before looking around, noticing customers and staff giving her curious and surprised looks. Raising her head up, Alicia showed a proud smirk on her face until Chris returned, toting a platter on one hand with a vintage tea set arranged on it while holding a cloth on his other arm, menu in hand.

"Sorry for the wait! Here's some tea... I think you'll like this kind. Has a mixture of nuts and berries in it." he paused, setting the platter on the table and arranging the set before Alicia, pouring her tea and offering the menu. "There aren't many pictures of the food here, so I'll have to help you decide. Is that alright?" he asked, Alicia looking over what pictures were available and tilting her head before nodding. Standing next to her, Chris point out the various things available that would suit her tastes most. Once she'd made her decisions, Chris took out a small notepad and a pen from his vest, twirling the pen on his finger before smirking and writing down her order, Alicia rolling her eyes in an "oh brother" manner before chuckling. "Alright! Looks like I've got everything down here. I'll send in your order and you'll be dining in no time." he said with a bow before heading off once more, leaving the snake with her tea. Looking at it curiously, she lift the cup with her vines and gave the contents a wary sniff, jolting from the familiar scent of the forest coming from her cup before blowing the steam and taking a sip, shuddering with a sigh from the taste which reminded her of the meals Chris blended up for her when they first met consisting of the nuts and berries he would find in the woods. Showing a nostalgic smile, the snake couldn't help but giggle after taking each sip, looking at the kettle and pouring herself another helping while listening to the majestic music performed in the center of the restaurant for those dancing on the ballroom floor, further emphasizing the ritzy atmosphere around her causing the snake to nod in a "this is my kind of place" way, raising her glass to the musicians before sipping her tea once again.

Eventually, Chris returned once more, this time balancing plates of food along his arms, hands, and even toting a platter atop his head, slightly wobbling along as those around him watched nervously, keeping their hands up should any of the contents he carried along fell. With many sighing in relief when he safely passed by, customers muttered among one another in surprise over how he was managing to carry so much, employees showing looks of both, admiration and annoyance as he reached Alicia and arranged everything, the snake showing a look of awe herself as he unloaded her meal. "Okay... I think that's everything." he sighed, wiping his forehead before taking out his notepad and looking everything over, checking things on his list one by one before nodding with a smirk and putting the notepad away. "Yep! Your order madam." Chris bowed, Alicia nodding and letting out a "th-thank you" sound in response before looking over the arrangement. "I hope everything is to your liking. I even helped cook a lot of that stuff! Made with love, guaranteed." he assured with a wink causing Alicia to blush slightly, looking around at those watching and listening causing her to show a shy and embarrassed look before reaching towards the food. "No no!" Chris lectured, his sudden response causing Alicia to jolt before giving him a confused look, tilting her head as he reached for the utensils wrapped in napkins. "A beautiful and admirable lady such as yourself shouldn't be burdened by having to feed herself. I humbly request..." he paused before taking a fork in hand and picking up a portion of food with it before holding it up to Alicia, the snake flushing as he smiled. "That you allow me to feed you, as a means of showing my appreciation for being allowed to serve someone as breathtaking as you tonight." he chuckled, the snake snickering in response, trying to avoid bursting out in laughter as she put the tip of her tail over her face and shook her head in a "you can't be serious" manner before facing Chris as he continued holding up the fork, an earnest smile on his face.

Seeing this, Alicia sighed before nodding and smiling back, letting out a "very well" noise before leaning forward with her mouth open, allowing Chris to feed her and grin as she chewed. "This is actually kinda fun. I always did love getting to feed you girls. It's a good way to bond, don't you think?" he asked, offering another fork full of food and getting a nod from Alicia in response as she took another bite, people around them watching in silent surprise. Picking up on this, both Chris and Alicia looked around after she'd been given several bites, wondering what the reason was for all the gawking surrounding them. "You're certainly going the whole nine yards with this, aren't you?" they heard another familiar voice say, noticing Captain Rostron limping up with a crutch under his good arm as Chris gave Alicia another bite of food, allowing her to chew before offering a sip of her tea. "Of course, when it comes to them I always give it my all when I want to do something nice." Chris replied, maintaining his focus on her as promised. "Not only do I have a deep love for her, but she's also a real life saver. You've gotta give it your all when someone is that important to you." he chuckled, Alicia blushing slightly and smirking. "I believe that's what has so many in awe of your behavior here tonight." Rostron point out, looking at the customers and staff randomly glancing at them. "You saved two ships worth of souls simultaneously. If not for you lot, we'd all be suffering a watery grave with our ship right next to the Arceanic, yet now here you are dressed in staff uniform playing servant to another. It's a shocking sight, I admit." Rostron point out. "Yeah well, the spotlight isn't really for me. I'm glad everyone's alright, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna change just because I did what was right for everyone. I'm still the same person I was when I got on this ship, the only difference now is that I have another feat on my list of accomplishments and more people know me now is all." Chris replied, shrugging while continuing to feed Alicia with a smile on his face.

"Just because you do what's right, you shouldn't expect anything in return for it. I was given this life, these powers, for the sake of others from the very start. It's my purpose in life to save whatever lives I can. To serve basically. I don't want any adoration or anything like that. It's my fate and I just want people to go on enjoying their lives like normal as much as they can and move on from their troubles. That's what I'm doing with the girls here. Moving on and living life per the norm." he explained, Rostron looking at Chris silently before smiling, turning and motioning for those around them to stop looking at the two as they enjoyed themselves. "For what you've done I'd wager most people would expect a reward of some sort. Surely there's something you expect out of all this?" Rostron asked, limping up and putting a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Not really, there's something I'd like to have, sure, but that can wait until I have time to talk to you and Captain Smith in private. There's something important we need to talk about before we reach the valley, and it's something the both of you need to hear." Chris replied, offering Alicia yet another sip as Rostron gave him a curious look. "Is anything the matter lad?" he asked. "I'd say so, but nothing revolving me per-se. I'll tell you when I'm not preoccupied, but right now I've promised my time to the girls so it'll have to wait. I'll get back to the two of you later and we can set up a time to talk." Chris replied while letting Alicia pick what she wanted a bite of next before lifting another fork full into her mouth. Raising an eyebrow, Rostron nodded in response. "Well lad, we'll keep our ears open for you then. Keep in mind we've no idea how long Mr. Smith and the others will be with us." the Captain point out, Chris nodding before the Captain turned. "Until then lad, you take care." he said before limping off back to his table, Alicia looking at Chris before pointing at Rostron with the tip of her tail and making a "you sure?" sound.

"Don't worry about it. They can wait. How's the food?" Chris asked, ignoring the subject. Looking at him, Alicia nodded and smiled. "Good, you've made some nice progress. Not surprising considering how much you've been through. You gonna want a second serving?" he asked while holding her cup up. Wide eyed in response, Alicia shook her head, letting out a "no thank you" noise before taking a sup of her tea. "Aw c'mon, don't be afraid to pig out!" Chris grinned, Alicia scowling at him and letting out an irritated "pig...?" noise in response causing Chris to jolt before quickly apologizing. "I-I just mean you should dig in, enjoy yourself! Eat until you're ready to burst, you deserve it." he point out while continuing to feed her, Alicia looking at the remaining food before shaking her head with the tip of her tail raised in a "no thank you" manner. Letting out a sigh, Chris replied with an "alright, alright" in response before noticing food on her face. "Oops, can't have that now." Chris chuckled, taking his cloth and wiping the snakes mouth causing her to blush and let out an embarrassed noise. "Aww, don't worry about it! I think it's adorable." Chris smiled before wiping off the other side of her mouth as well, having noticed food on the opposite side as well. "It does my heart good to see you enjoying a big dinner like this." he point out before stepping back, his smile turning slightly somber as he placed the cloth on the table. "You already know how worried I was about you girls, about how we'd never do these kinds of things again. That's another reason why I'm doing all this tonight. Everything I was terrified I wouldn't get to experience with you girls, I want to do it now, before we go through anything else. I want to take advantage of the peace, the time we've got to ourselves, as much as possible." he revealed, Alicia looking at him silently before facing down, her gaze hovering towards her badge.

As Chris cleaned up the table, piling the empty plates together and reorganizing those with food remaining, Alicia opened her mouth to say something only for her Pokemon language to come out, pausing and facing down as Chris looked up curiously. "Something the matter? Looks like you've got something on your mind." Chris point out, the snake looking at her badge before facing him and shaking her head. Although she had something to say, without Serenity nearby she was left without a means of him understanding her, so she merely let out a sigh and point out her cup, Chris nodding in response and holding it up so she could have a sip. Continuing to feed her for a short time, it wasn't long before the musicians finished their current performance, everyone throughout the restaurant and on the ballroom floor applauding. "Huh, already gone through another song?" Chris muttered, turning to watch the musicians stand and bow in response to the applause, wiping his hands clean in his cloth after having arranged more of the empty plates together, Alicia letting out a satisfied coo and patting her stomach with her vine. "Guess it's time for me to get going again then. You okay with finishing what you've got left on your own?" Chris asked, Alicia tilting her head confused before groaning and pointing at the table with her vine, making a sound asking "you're bringing more?" in response. "Don't worry. It's not for food or anything like that this time. I had it arranged so that, in between the musicians performances, I could get some spotlight of my own. I think you'll like what I've got planned." Chris winked, the snake blinking at him curiously before nodding. "You just sit there, relax, and enjoy what few bites are left there. Sip some tea and all, and keep an eye on the floor down there." Chris smirked before placing a hand on his chest and bowing before walking off.

Watching him leave, Alicia sighed and shook her head before showing a smile, admiring his perseverance before looking at her badge and touching it with her vine, still wishing she could say whats on her mind yet shrugging it off as she worked on finishing the remainder of her meal. Once everything was finally gone, she took a napkin in her vine and wiped her mouth, letting out a "whew" of relief from finishing it all and looking over the empty plates with a nod of satisfaction before hovering her gaze around the restaurant, trying to spot Chris only to find herself at a loss of where he'd vanished to. Looking around, she noticed a nearby clock and started keeping tabs on how long it was taking him to return, and by the time ten minutes had passed by, she was ready to leave the table and search for him only to pause just as she made her way off the booth when a spotlight flashed on over the ballroom floor, watching as one of the staff walked into the light with a mic in hand. Tilting her head, Alicia backed up onto the booth and sat, curiously watching as the man turned on the mic and gave it a tap. "Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for your gracious patronage tonight and hope your meals, and the atmosphere, have equally met your highest expectations! We would like to offer our sincerest apologies for our limited menu due to the events earlier today, and would also like to make you aware of an honored guest among us tonight, or rather, honored guests!" the man point out, everyone including Alicia blinking curiously, while nearby both Captain Rostron and Captain Smith gave one another a grin.

"First off, we have our very own Captain Arthur Henry Rostron the Third, grandson of the original legendary man who gave his all to reach the Arceanic one hundred years ago!" the man point out as the spotlight hovered over Rostron causing him to jolt before waving with a smile and a nod while those around applauded. "And next to him, due to recent shocking events, we also have the one and only, long lost Captain Edward John Smith joining us tonight, who has proven without a shadow of a doubt that there truly is life after death for those with true perseverance. Although he has the form of a Pokemon today, we all still honor and herald him as the greatest man who sailed the seas during his time among the living, and we still welcome him as a fellow man despite his form today, isn't that right?!" the man asked, those around them standing to cheer, many men shouting "here here!!" with their glasses and cigars raised in response causing Smith to grin and rub the back of his head embarrassed, giving the crowds a wave in response. "However, they aren't the only stars shining among us tonight. As you all know, none of us aboard the Guardian would be alive now, and the spirits among us awaiting their departure to the great beyond at long last would still be imprisoned, if not for the actions of one man and his Pokemon, who together valiantly stepped in and gave their all for the sake of we many strangers, risking their lives when ours were in danger most. This man who did so much for our sake has made a request of us tonight that we felt impossible to turn down, and I'd like to welcome him now onto the ballroom floor." the man finished, Alicia going wide eyed when she saw Chris walk into the spotlight, taking the mic from the man before looking at everyone, the man bowing before backing away as Chris cleared his throat.

"Thanks for the announcement and all. But I'm not here tonight to get any recognition for what I've done." Chris point out, the Captains looking at one another confused, those around them and Alicia showing the same expressions. "Instead, there's someone else I want to give recognition to, who I want to show appreciation towards, and that's the person I've brought with me on a date tonight." he explained causing Alicia to jolt and show a shy and nervous expression. "You see everybody, the girls you call my Pokemon, they aren't my Pokemon at all really, not to me anyways. They're my family, I love them and treat them the same way I would any human, any girl. A long time ago, we humans were much closer to Pokemon in many ways, but due to whatever reasons, we humans segregated ourselves from them overtime, and instead of forming families, by and large most of us turned to forming relationships based purely on Pokemon and trainer, or human and pet... The relationship I have with the Pokemon you see by my side is one born of a bygone age, and it's a relationship I'm not ashamed of in the least. Many of you have given us many glances tonight, throughout this voyage really, some of intrigue, others of confusion, but I can tell there were many looks given out of discontent, discomfort. Because of this, I'd like to remind you that long ago, legends say human and Pokemon were one in the same, born of the same source. I know it's hard to fathom, likely impossible for many, blasphemy even, but if you really have respect and appreciation for me and the girls by my side out of what we've done, I ask that you not judge nor' shun me or the girls with me for having the relationship we've developed. What humans have done to separate themselves and put themselves above Pokemon isn't our fault nor' our problem, and we shouldn't be criminalized nor' penalized for having a relationship that, long ago, was considered just another normal, everyday occurrence between us." he point out, the crowds looking at one another and muttering among themselves, Rostron rubbing his chin while Smith closed his eyes with an "mm" grunt.

"That bit in mind, the reason I'm here tonight is not only to show someone I hold near and dear to my heart a good time, but also because I've got something to say, both to and about her, and I'd like her to come down here." he went on, looking towards Alicia and motioning for her to come to him. Jolting and looking around nervously, Alicia slithered off the booth, taking her badge and making her way down to the ballroom floor, those standing moving aside so she could reach Chris, slithering up before looking down at him with a shy and embarrassed look on her face before glancing around and letting out a "wh-what are you doing?" type of mutter. Looking around, Chris put a finger up, signaling for her to wait while he scanned the restaurant. "There's also a pair of reporters that have been following us since our time back in Millennium City, can I have you two come up as well?" he asked, the crowd looking around bewildered before the two were suddenly brought up by security, the cameraman and reporter stumbling forward and freezing up when their eyes made contact. "I've known you two were around since we bumped into each other in the corridors the other day. Believe it or not I'm actually glad you've been tailing us, I've got a good use for you at the moment." he point out, the two looking at one another warily before nodding in response. "You, that camera has plenty of space left to record something for me, right?" he asked while pointing at the cameraman, causing him to jolt before quickly nodding in response and lifting the camera over his shoulder, pointing it at Chris. "Good, good! I can squeeze in some other stuff too then while I'm at it." Chris smirked, nodding before facing Alicia as the snake looked between him and the news team, bewildered and in a slight state of panic, only for Chris to put a hand on her and assure her everything was fine.

Optional track to LWR - Listen While Reading - Pouring Out An Ocean Of Memories https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wz1xA5kxVI

"This is the main part of your surprise Alicia. I've put a lot of thought into what's about to be said here, so I want you to listen to every word and hold what I say close to your heart." he smiled, the snake blushing slightly and nodding before Chris ordered the cameraman to "start rolling" before stepping back from the snake and looking into the camera. "I'm not sure how widespread this project of yours is going to be once it's finished and released, but what I'm about to say, I want to make sure it's heard by as many as possible, especially by a select few in particular." he point out, everybody watching curiously and silently. "Alicia here... Some time ago, I found her along my travels, pretty much near the brink of death." he began, looking at the snake as she groaned and glanced away, not too sure how she felt about her past being exposed in such a widespread manner. "When she was found, she was a Snivy at the time, and the person who she traveled with before me had forced her to endure a life of starvation and abandonment. And the reason for her torment...?" he paused, looking around as the crowd grew all the more intrigued. "The trainer pit her against a Serperior, and it went insane when its trainer tried to make it fight Alicia here. I guess fighting a Snivy was a disgrace to it or something. It went from your typical battle to one Pokemon suddenly craving the blood of the other, a match you see everyday turned deadly, and the Serperior Alicia here faced even turned on its own trainer, likely wanting to kill that trainer as well. Going through such an ordeal, Alicia became terrified of her final evolution. A form so full of beauty, almost to a divine level, suddenly became a demonic nightmare to her, and she was left paranoid of her own evolution as a result." he revealed, the sound of "aww"s heard randomly in the crowd.

"Because of this fear, she was unable to evolve for the longest time. The person she traveled with before me saw this as a weakness he didn't feel like dealing with, so instead of helping her overcome her fear, he spent weeks, leading into months trying to force her to evolve by cutting off her food and ignoring her, forbidding his other Pokemon from showing her any compassion as well and making his attention, his love and affection, and her very life a prize for her evolving." he revealed, the crowd looking more and more somber the more he spoke, Rostron and Smith looking down as well. "No matter the age, those types exist, well into today... Sad." Smith muttered, Rostron nodding in agreement. "In the end, this didn't help her at all of course, and eventually there came a point where she'd given everything she had to remain by this persons side despite his mistreatment. Crawling in the dirt behind him, she finally had to stop, laying there on a trail in the forest without an ounce of energy left to spare, literally skin and bones, nothing more." he continued, looking up at Alicia and putting a hand on her. "She gave her all to earn his recognition, to show how much she could endure, even if she couldn't evolve. Hoping he would find the tiniest worth in her even if she remained a Snivy, but in the end, all the guy could do was turn to look at her and call her trash before continuing along his way, it was then and there she was left for dead entirely, and where we met shortly after." Chris point out before facing the camera. "She was starving to death, so while I was off doing a little foraging, Alicia here came across my stuff and nibbled on what supplies I had at the time. I caught her in the act, and she ran away from me... She didn't make it very far though, and when I found her she was doing the strangest thing." he added, looking back at her. "My grandfather, he was cremated and placed inside his Alakazam's Pokeball so I could bring him with me along my travels. She'd taken it out of my rucksack and was trying to capture herself with it... Despite everything she'd endured, all the abuse, she still held onto hope deep inside, hope that she could be valued despite her faults, that she could be cared for, that she could still be... Loved." he went on, Alicia's eyes widening as he spoke.

"I had no idea what she'd endured at the time, but when I saw her trying so hard to become my Pokemon despite her condition, that was the moment I knew I had to have someone as persistent as her in my life, and once I learned the details of her past, I knew she was someone I could never live without... To be able to endure so much, yet carry on despite the conditions life threw her way... She was, and still is one of, if not the greatest inspiration in my life to this day. Thinking of her past and how she has always pushed onward, it's what helps keep me going everyday." he revealed, Alicia showing a touched expression and letting out an "aww" sound with a tear in her eye. "That perseverance... After taking her in, it took time to get her back on her feet of course, but in no time at all she managed to regain the strength she'd lost. I've told her this before, but it kind of made me sad in a way. I liked spoiling her, I'll admit. Holding her in my arms, blending food so she could get things down easier, even in her condition when we met, she was the most adorable and precious girl in the world to me." he chuckled, Alicia letting out an embarrassed groan before giving him a nudge. "Alicia... She fought hard to regain her figure and her strength. I couldn't believe my eyes, the way she progressed so quickly. And the moment she was ready, I took her to the gym over in Commorall Town and it was there she proved there wasn't a thing in this world that could hold her back, not even her own fears." he smiled, putting a hand on Alicia again. "She fought so hard to win, and after she claimed victory, she accomplished another feat thought impossible. After toughing out an incredible battle against a fire type Pokemon, her greatest physical weakness, she then overcame her greatest mental weakness and evolved right before my eyes, turning into the most amazing Servine you'd ever seen." he praised, the snake blushing and mumbling in a "th-that's enough" kind of way while looking away shyly.

"That day, she won two of the hardest battles of her life, and it was that day I knew I wanted to meet the person who let her go. Just so I could say..." he paused, facing down with a smile before looking up at Alicia, putting a hand on her and coaxing her to look at the camera before doing the same himself. "Look at her, look at who she has become. You thought she was nothing, you told her she was worthless. You treated her like trash, and after all that torment you put her through, do you see how incredible she is now? Do you see what you've lost? Everyday she holds her head high, proud of herself, of who she is. She has more power in her than you could imagine, more bravery than any girl you could dream of! Just by showing her the love and respect she deserved, she has become a Serperior that I guarantee will never be matched by any in this world. And all it took to make it happen, was a little support..." he point out before looking up at her. "And real, honest love for who she is. To let her know what an honor it is to have her by your side each day, and how grateful you are just for getting the chance to know someone as inspiring as her." he smiled, Alicia tearing up and letting out a sniffle as the crowd let out random "aww"s once more. "She's not just a Pokemon, she's a girl. One with an amazing heart and a brilliant mind all her own that both deserve every ounce of appreciation you can muster." he praised, reaching up and wiping her tears before facing the camera. "She became a Serperior in order to save my life, willing to sacrifice herself for my sake. How could somebody as brave as that be worthless? She faced the freezing ocean head on, knowing it could've killed her, all in an effort to keep me alive. She's the greatest partner anyone could ask for, and there will never be a day that goes by that I won't think about how special she is, and what a miracle it was for such an average guy like me to wind up with someone most people can only dream of having in their life. There's not another girl in the world like her, and that's why she is my world, because she's worth that and so much more to me." he affirmed, nodding at Alicia as she sniffled again and continued welling up with tears.

Reaching up, he wiped them away for her once more with a smile before reaching into his vest. "With everything I've said in mind, I'd like to present her with something befitting how special she is, both as a person..." he paused, pulling out the box with the necklace within along with the description. "And to me." he added, the crowd swooning from his words as he unfolded the description, facing the camera before reading it aloud. "What's in this box is called The Heart of the Sea." be began, Alicia sniffling once more while leaning down for a curious look at the note and the box while select people within the crowd gasped, Captain Rostron nearly spitting out his drink before quickly swallowing his mouthful and coughing with his hand over his mouth, Smith looking at him in surprise before giving him a rub and a pat on the back. As Chris read through the description, the crowd began showing more looks of awe as word spread between them of what the item in the box actually was, more and more eyes widening while Alicia let out a flattered "aww" sound and rubbed her cheek against Chris's while Captain Rostron listened wide eyed, leaving Smith curious of the reasoning behind his reaction. Asking the Captain why he nearly spewed his drink all over the table, Rostron motioned for Smith to lean close before explaining what was in the box, Smith letting out "mm" and "ah hah" sounds while listening until Rostron revealed the price of the object. Hearing this, Smith's eyes went just as wide as everyone else, his mouth slightly agape as the two men looked at Chris in disbelief. Once he finished reading the description, Chris coaxed Alicia back before he bent down on his knee and held up the box, the snake flushing in response as he slowly took the lid off the box, the spotlight causing the necklace to shimmer as it was exposed making Alicia's eyes widen as her mouth dropped.

"For the girl in my life that's worth more than life itself... I give you this gift so you'll always know that, to me, you've got potential as boundless as the sea, that your beauty is more divine than anyone or anywhere in the world, and you're a girl that deserves everybody's attention. I hope this helps everyone else see the same things I see in you, and if nothing else, that it makes sure you never get passed by without a look of admiration, because you deserve no less than the respect of all who look at you." he finished before standing and taking the necklace out of the box, noticing her badge and taking it from her before putting it on the chain and holding it up towards her. Unable to resist sniffling and tearing up once more, Alicia lowered her head and allowed Chris to put her new chain around her neck, his arms wrapping around her while doing so and giving her a hug once the necklace was securely in place. "I love you Alicia, you'll never know how thankful I am for having you in my life. To me, no matter what, you'll always be the very best." he told her while rubbing along her back, the snake showing a "that did it" look before suddenly sobbing in front of everyone, Chris smiling and continuing to rub the snakes back as the Heart of the Sea shimmered around her neck, her badge doing the same, now returned to its home once more. Continuing to hold her, Alicia gradually calmed down before slowly pulling away, motioning for Chris to stay where he was before slithering off back to her table for a tissue leaving him under the spotlight alone momentarily. Looking around, Chris faced the camera before clearing his throat and continuing his speech.

"Although they're not with me here tonight, I'd also like to share with these reporters, and all of you, the stories revolving Serenity and Rose, the Gardevoir and Lopunny that live by my side respectively." he began, everyone quieting down to listen once more. "To start off with, both of them suffered similar abuse by the hands of the person they were with before me. As many have witnessed, Serenity, that is, the Gardevoir by my side, has a pretty bad opinion of humans. Friendly isn't exactly the best way to describe her attitude towards most people... But the reason for this is because, back when I first started my journey, I found her lying at the bottom of a cliff. Once she opened up to me, I found out the reason she was there, was because she had been beaten by both, the person who she was with, and that persons Pokemon." he explained. "He kicked her around and ordered his Pokemon to attack before having her thrown off the cliff where she was discovered. He crushed her Pokeball beneath his foot and left her behind. And the reason for this you ask?" Chris paused, looking at the crowd as they faced one another, shrugging and shaking their heads, Smith and Rostron listening in silence. "It was because she was born blind. Because of something she had no control over, and because of something that had no affect on her value as a living being might I add, this person tortured her and abandoned her right off the bat. What use was a blind Pokemon to him, right? What could a blind Pokemon possibly do? How could it be worth anything, right?" Chris asked, the crowd muttering among one another, Smith and Rostron giving one another a silent glance. "After climbing down the cliff to help her, nurturing her through the night, and watching her behavior the following day, I also realized that not only was she blind, but she was a newborn as well, as she had zero capability of using any of her remaining senses to guide herself." he went on.

"She was the first Pokemon to come into my life as a partner along my travels, and I devoted myself then and there to helping her master her senses to make up for her defect. Along the way, she mastered things pretty well, learned how to eat and all, and believe it or not, and keep in mind she was just a tiny Ralts at the time, she managed to beat the gym leader in Sagacity! It was tough, and maybe by a little of both luck and accident, she defeated a massive Pangoro in order to win the first gym battle, and likewise gym badge, of my life! You might not believe it, or maybe you do after seeing her power protect this ship, but she managed to win by sending a massive comet-sized chunk of ice and debris smashing into the gym. Even the leader said he'd never experienced a defeat like it." Chris chuckled, looking at Alicia as she collected herself at the booth while looking at her necklace using the mirror-like platter on her table before facing the camera. "Right after she won, she evolved into the most adorable Kirlia you've ever seen, and things went on pretty swell from there. But... Now we're reaching another somber turn in this story." Chris warned, the crowd looking at one another warily. "I've heard bits of their travels, but it's something to hear it in detail." Rostron muttered. "Aye, a rough time they've had." Smith replied before listening once more. "On our way to Millennium City, after we met Alicia and she won her gym battle as well, we wound up attacked by a pack of Houndoom, the biggest surprise being their leader which had managed to Mega Evolve." Chris point out, the crowds eyes going wide as Alicia jolt and looked at him as well. "It was a tough fight, and unfortunately it's one we weren't prepared for at all. They outnumbered us greatly, and with their Mega leader involved, it didn't take long to overwhelm us. You've seen me walking around with my staff, right?" he asked, getting random nods from the crowd.

"Ahh, yes, I was a tad curious about it." Smith muttered. "I'd been told it was because of this attack. Didn't get many details however." Rostron added. "During the attack, I was sent slamming into a tree. My back took on most of the impact, and before I had time to even think about the damage done to it, I saw the pack taking Serenity and Alicia to the cliff we'd been camping along. I got up and ran towards them, and with every step I could feel something snapping in my spine. By the time I reached the girls, they'd already been hurled into the air, so I used what strength I had left to jump as far into the air as possible and managed to catch them along the way down." he explained, the crowd murmuring impressed. "Problem is, that really messed up my spine and I was almost left paralyzed. I almost died pretty much. In order to take on most of the impact, I held the girls in my arms as we fell, and it wasn't long before we hit the ground and I blacked out for a while. I fell from a cliff after all, so really I shouldn't even be standing here right now. But you see, I've got someone looking out for me, and it's this same someone who gave me the powers you witnessed that saved us all. I'm sure you're curious of the details, right?" he asked, the crowd nodding intrigued while Alicia returned to his side. "A long time ago, my grandfather saved a Ninetales, and the only way he could do so was by grabbing its tails before it fell to its death after being hunted. Most people know the best way to get a curse put on you is by grabbing one of their tails, and that's how I came to have the powers I've got today. Ninetales cursed my grandfathers descendant to live a life taking care of others, going to those in need of help, and that descendant is yours truly. When I was about to die, Ninetales saved my life by giving me part of its own essence, and thanks to that, I can tap into her power from time to time. I'm kind of half human, half Pokemon I guess." Chris tried to explain, laughing nervously while those around him scratched their heads.

"Anyways, that explanation out of the way, once I came to I found out Serenity had forced herself to evolve into a Gardevoir so she could get revenge on the Houndoom and their leader. It was actually pretty terrifying, as she'd gone into such a bloodthirsty rampage she was forcing herself into the state of an insane Shadow Pokemon." he revealed, those around him gasping while Rostron's eyes widened, Smith showing a confused look on his face. "Shadow Pokemon? What in blazes is that?" Smith asked. "I'll explain later." Rostron replied, raising his hand before the two listened once more. "Everything's pretty hazy, but what I do remember is calling out to her, talking to her and then, well, next thing I knew I was in Millennium City, put up in my own room in a hospital and everything. Alicia was with me, and Serenity had become a normal Gardevoir." he continued. "Once I was able to leave the hospital, I was still confined to a wheelchair for a while, and during that time, Rose, the Lopunny by my side, became the next Pokemon to join my family." he revealed. "You see, with Rose it's a bit of a different story. It's... Well..." he paused, looking down with a guilty and remorseful look on his face, Alicia looking at him in concern. "What happened to Rose is actually, it's uh..." he went on, the crowd listening closely, many leaning forward anxiously. Clearing his throat, Chris tugged on his collar before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I met Rose twice before I took her in. The first time I met her was before we arrived in the city. The person she was with was trying to force her to battle another trainer, and she hates fighting. So he started abusing her thinking if he beat her enough, she'd do what he wanted. I got in his way and had the guy arrested before taking Rose to a nearby center. But instead of taking her with me, at the time, I thought it better to leave her with the guy, I was... Ignorant enough to think what I did would teach him a lesson... And because of that, because I left her with that person, she was almost killed." he revealed, the crowd showing displeased looks and facing one another, shaking their heads while Rostron and Smith let out a simultaneously sigh.

"The best of intentions can cause the worst of consequences." Rostron muttered. "Aye, a tale I know all too well." Smith replied as Chris continued. "The next time I saw Rose was in the city, people were freaking out nearby where we were and when we decided to check out what was going on, there the guy was, beating her, smashing her into the pavement, holding her by the ears and threatening her life..." Chris explained, his voice beginning to sound off as he tugged on his collar once more, clearing his throat again. "He uh, he was doing this because the only way for her to evolve was through friendship, by bonding with her and forming a close relationship. He was furious over this, so he used her life as bait to force her into evolving. When she wouldn't, h-he uh, he broke some bones and uh, sh-she was..." Chris struggled, fighting back his grief as the crowd showed somber looks. "Easy lad, easy..." Rostron muttered. "Getting to a rather personal part. Not surprising since he claims responsibility, and while I hate admitting it, I must say it's rightly so." Smith added, Rostron glancing at him before letting out a sigh and nodding begrudgingly as Chris let out a sudden sniffle and wiped his eye with a quick "pardon" before continuing. "He threw Rose into the middle of the highway and left her lying there, mocking her, enjoying her suffering even... And it was because of me, because I left her behind." Chris confessed, sniffling again while Alicia rubbed a cheek against his, making a "that's enough..." sound with a worried look, only for Chris to nudge her back with an "it's alright" response. "After seeing this, I wheeled myself into the highway as fast as I could as a truck headed right for her. This is where things get hazy for me, but I remember how angry I was, and next thing I knew there I was with Rose in my arm and the truck in front of me, stopped dead in its tracks." he revealed.

"This was the first time I ever used Ninetales powers on my own. It was hard to control and my mind wasn't all there, but I remember attacking the guy who hurt Rose, and I almost went too far... Luckily, just as I did for Serenity, my friends helped me overcome what I was going through and I returned to normal. After that, I had the guy arrested again, and this time I vowed to do for Rose what I should've done the first time we met. While she recovered, I broke into the prison her trainer had been confined to and took, not only her Pokeball from him, but all of the ones he had. I got in trouble of course, but it was worth it after seeing he'd been abusing all of his Pokemon just like Rose. Hoping they'd live a better life, I sent his Pokemon to live with the kids at the hospital I'd been staying at while keeping Rose by my side. Because of breaking the law, even though it was to save Rose, the Warden set up a match between us to determine whether he let me go free, or made me serve time. It was a surprise to find out he was the Millennium Gym leader, and also a stroke of luck. Even though I was confined within the city limits, he gave me enough time to finish recovering, and it was during this time I bonded with Rose, and when I also lost the vision in my left eye." he revealed, the audience slumping back in their chairs with overwhelmed "whoo" noises, many showing "wow" expressions on their faces and shaking their heads. "Good lord, it doesn't end." Smith muttered. "Some life, I'll admit that. A tad hard to believe. If not for seeing these Ninetales abilities first hand, I doubt anyone would trust such a tale." Rostron nodded, taking a sip of his drink and shaking his head while letting out a quiet "wow" of his own.

"I won't go into many details here, but thanks to the help of Professor Rose and her staff, I was able to get back on my feet pretty quickly, and it's thanks to all of her support that I gave the Lopunny you see by my side the same name. Rose, the Lopunny, went through her rehabilitation alongside me and we supported each other. I did my best to make up for being the cause of her... Well, suffering, and we were both back on our feet at just about the same time pretty much. While we were healing, I was working on a side project with the Professor for Serenity, and as luck would have it, the project was complete right around the time Rose and I finished our rehabilitation together as well, and once final preparations were made, I brought Serenity to the place in the lab where the project was waiting. As we'd spent our time together, Serenity became more and more attached to me, obsessed with protecting me, to the point where the only thing in her life, TO her life, was me basically, and I wanted her to have so much more than that. If she wanted to dedicate her life to me, I wanted her to have the right to SEE the life she'd chosen at the very least, and thanks to the Professor and everyone at the lab working tirelessly, I was able to donate and transplant the vision in my left eye to her, and she has been able to see in her right eye ever since." he revealed. "Although the vision in my left eye is gone now, not a second passes that I regret it, as every second without my vision is another that Serenity gets to enjoy one of the most basic rights in life, the right to see the beauty and wonder the world has to offer, despite the kind of people that may reside within it. Each day that right eye of hers shines with wonder and excitement, and it's the most beautiful eye anyone could ever gaze at." he smiled, looking down silently for a moment.

"Although she seems scary, intimidating perhaps, maybe cold and distant... Even though she has a bad outlook on humans and has her moods, Serenity really is one of the purest, most delicate girls you could ever know. Despite her outward appearance, inside she has a heart full of tenderness, she's like a child that's eager to see the world, that yearns to love and be loved, and finds wonder in the simplest things. She has this delicate, sensitive innocence about her that makes her precious beyond words. Although she experienced the worst in life the moment she was born, she still lives on, enjoying her life to the fullest each day. And when you see her smile, oh man, does it make your heart melt." he chuckled, Alicia started to get annoyed with his speech before looking down at her badge and letting out a sigh, letting him continue. However, Chris noticed the snakes behavior in the corner of his eye and smirked before moving on. "As far as Rose goes, the Lopunny, the way she evolved was a... Shock to say the least." he point out before facing the camera. "After all the suffering she went through because of my mistake, when the time came for me to face the Warden for the sake of my freedom, she jumped in out of nowhere and took it upon herself to fight. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but not only did she offer to fight, the thing she hates doing more than anything, for my freedom, but when she stepped in she Mega Evolved right in front of my eyes. She went from a tiny Buneary, right through her Lopunny evolution before bursting out of a magnificent shell in her Mega state, and all I can say is it really, REALLY took your breath away." he point out. "If it weren't for her and the friends I'd made along the way, I'd probably be in prison right now. But thanks to her, here I am a free man, who's still trying to think of a way to repay her for forgiving my mistake." he finished, looking at the crowd as they nodded and muttered among one another.

"You see everyone, the reason I'm telling their whole story now is because it needs to be known that, just because someone has a problem, be it person or Pokemon, be it physical or mental, that doesn't determine their worth whatsoever, that doesn't mean he or she can't still surprise you. By taking in these three girls, each of which were deemed worthless for one reason or another, and giving them the support and love that any living being should be rightfully entitled to, they've become so much stronger in the end because of it. They've reached a level of success and growth thought impossible by those who didn't believe in them. If you have faith in someone, if you push them to strive for greatness, if you support them no matter how hard their struggles, both that person, and you, can be rewarded and surprised in so many ways, even in ways you never expected." he explained, putting his hand on Alicia with a smile causing the snake to blush before glancing away shyly as he faced the camera. "To the three who let these girls go, who abused them and tossed them aside so easily just because they didn't suit your demands, your expectations, you know who you are, and do you see what their new life without you has done for them? They've obtained the power you were seeking, way more than you could ever imagine! They've taken on the forms you desired, and stood up for themselves when for you they would only cower. And all it took was a person willing to love them for who they were and support them enough every step of the way... All it took to obtain what you see here..." he paused, looking up at Alicia before motioning for her to face the camera, the snake nodding before doing so as he put an arm around her and held her against his side causing her to jolt and freeze up. "Was someone willing to treat them as an equal. To admire them the way they deserve, to respect them the way one should always respect another. You'll never get anywhere in life just by treating a Pokemon as some tool, some creature for fighting and amusement. That's as empty and sad a relationship you could ever have in life, and the Pokemon who endure such treatment deserve so much better than that. Pokemon are no different than humans, and should always be treated as such." he affirmed.

"Let me put it this way. Would you beat another human being? Would you abandon someone or try to kill them just because of being who they were? Would you order someone to do something they didn't want to do, and you knew you had no right forcing them to do it? Would you enslave a person just to further your own ambitions, to satisfy your whims? Inside, both humans and Pokemon have minds, they have hearts. We may seem different on the outside, we may look different than one another, but despite the gaps time has put between us, one thing that hasn't changed is that inside, we're one in the same, we always have been, and we always will be. Pokemon have feelings, they have dreams and ambitions, everything we humans have, Pokemon have as well. And if you're willing to ignore that fact, if you're willing to spend your life atop a podium and think of humans as superior to them, that they're just animals living among us... You don't deserve to live by their side. And they deserve better than a person like you." Chris point out. "These girls aren't just Pokemon, they're people too no matter what they look like or how they speak. Every single Pokemon in this world is, and the sooner humankind remembers that fact, the sooner the world can start becoming a much better place for everyone. We began as equals, as two races living harmoniously, and there was never a reason to change that, asides the selfishness and greed within us. I've told Alicia to stick to every word I'm saying here tonight, to keep my speech close to her heart, and I want everyone here listening tonight, and for whoever out there that see's this video, to do the same. Otherwise, no matter who you are, even if I know you and perhaps we were friends, not only are you not worthy of being allowed near Pokemon, you aren't worth my time either. Or anyone's time if you're truly that selfish and self centered." he affirmed, looking at the crowd. "And not only that, but if there's anyone here tonight that thinks so lowly of Pokemon, that feels the way the people who treated these girls so horribly felt, then the only thing I've got to say to you, is that I'm sorry for saving your life, because you'll probably go on spending the rest of yours thinking you're better than Pokemon, mistreating and disrespecting them, when in reality it might just be Pokemon that are better than you. And in most cases, I'd go far enough to say I'm sure they are. You don't see Pokemon catching us, dragging us away from our homes and tossing us into battle after battle... Do you?" Chris asked, the crowd facing down silently with some showing guilty looks, Rostron nodding while Smith grunt in response to Chris's words.

"To all of you, both here tonight and those who watch this video in the future, who actually do share the same common respect and admiration for the Pokemon in this world as I, the only thing I can do is offer my apologies if my words give you any grief. To those of you who gave the effort to bond with the Pokemon by your side, those of you with Pokemon who offered themselves to join you, to travel the world, and fight by you through thick and thin, I offer my thanks for maintaining the type of relationship and lifestyle we should all share with these amazing beings." he finished before bowing to the camera, letting the cameraman know he was finished before facing Alicia with a smile. Looking back at him, Alicia giggled before lowering her head and rubbing her cheek against his once more, Chris wrapping his arms around her neck and giving her a playful noogie in response causing the snake to pull away and shout at him in agitation, giving him a scowl before rubbing her head with the tip of her tail and murmuring as the man who introduced Chris returned for the mic. Nodding at the man, Chris gave his thanks while handing it back, and just as he placed the mic in the mans hand, Chris jolt in surprise when he heard someone clapping in the distance. Looking around, he noticed it was Captain Smith who was applauding his speech, Captain Rostron smirking before standing next to Smith, wobbling slightly before giving Chris a salute with his good arm. Seeing this, those surrounding the two men began clapping as well, many standing while doing so until the restaurant was roaring with the sound of applause, the crew joining as well causing Chris to blink in surprise before grinning and rubbing the back of his head shyly, giving everyone a bow and thanking them repeatedly.

Looking around, the reporter and cameraman nodded at one another before the reporter held out her mic, the cameraman lifting the camera back over his shoulder and filming everyone's reaction to what Chris had to say. "Didn't think it'd be that much of a hit." Chris said, maintaining his flattered grin while Alicia looked around and showed a smirk of her own. Once the applause finally began to quiet down, the man Chris returned the mic to came back into the spotlight, raising his hands and motioning for the audience to quiet down causing Chris and Alicia to tilt their heads curiously, watching as he turned the mic back on and gave it a tap. "I apologize for the interruption ladies and gentlemen, but it turns out we have now have one more surprise in store for you!" he point out, Alicia looking at Chris and giving an "is this your doing?" kind of look, only for Chris to shrug and shake his head with a "beats me" response while those around them looked at one another just as curious and confused. "In honor of the souls lost aboard the Arceanic that have now regained their freedom after so long, and in honor of the man standing before you and his Pokemon, one of our performers would like to sing a special song in tribute to him, his Pokemon, and the spirits that now thrive among us tonight." he revealed before a woman walked onto the nearby stage where the musicians had been performing for the passengers. "Not only that, but we have some special performers from the Arceanic joining her as the musicians for this tribute! Please welcome Mr. John Law Hume, Mr. Georges Alexandre Krins, and Mr. Theodore Ronald Brailey!" the man began, a Yamask hovering onto the stage with every name called out, stopping at their instrument of choice and readying themselves. "Mr. Roger Marie Bricoux, Mr. John Frederick Preston Clarke, Mr. Percy Cornelius Taylor and last, but certainly not least, Mr. Wallace Henry Hartley, bandleader of the Arceanic musicians!" the man finished as the last of the Yamask hovered on stage and prepped themselves for their performance, Chris looking at the spirits in surprise.

"I'll be, a speech from the lad who saved our lives AND a performance by the Arceanic musicians? This IS turning out to be an extraordinary evening." Rostron chuckled. "One last go among the living, I can understand their enthusiasm to perform again. Its been a long, LONG time." Smith point out. As the singer and Arceanic band continued prepping themselves, Chris smirked with a nod. "Well, we were gonna dance some anyways, after all, I told you I wanted to see how you moved now, remember?" Chris asked, Alicia jolting and nodding nervously. "I didn't expect us to get a special performance or anything. I just figured I'd get you something nice, give you some good food, make a speech and dance a bit. But, hey, this works too I guess!" he grinned, the snake inching back warily and letting out a groan. "What? Come on, you've got a figure perfect for dancing! And the way you slither around, I think you'd look pretty good swaying to the right tune." Chris winked with a thumbs up, Alicia blushing slightly with an "I don't know" noise in response. Once Wallace and his musicians had their sheets prepared, they started practicing with their instruments briefly, plucking strings and playing keys before grinning at one another and nodding excitedly, Wallace facing Chris and giving a wink along with a thumbs up as they took their stances for their first performance in a hundred years, the singer looking back to make sure they were ready to perform before having the man holding the mic hand it over and counting down with her fingers from three before swiping her hand down, the spotlight flashing off over Chris while another flashed on over the stage, the woman's black dress shimmering under the rays.

Optional track to LWR - Listen While Reading - Farewell To The Past https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLHY0Pqeyzw

Once Brailey started playing the piano and the singer voiced the first few lines of the song, followed by the other musicians joining in, Chris's eyes went wide before snickering and shaking his head. "Oh wow... How the hell?" he muttered, Alicia listening to the song before tilting her head at Chris, a "what was that?" look on her face before he turned to her and bowed before holding his hand out. "It's just fitting is all, especially for you. Care to honor me with a dance..." he paused as she nervously gave him one of her vines. "My queen?" he asked, causing Alicia to jolt and flush before nodding as he started swaying from side to side, the snake doing her best to follow. "Just let your movements come naturally." he coaxed, aiding her in using her snake figure to her advantage as they moved about. "That's it... That's it! Sway to the music, let it flow and glide along the floor around me." he instructed, Alicia nodding while keeping her eyes on the floor, only for Chris to motion for her to focus on him instead before guiding her in a circle, the snake slithering around him before swaying once more. "Excellent! I knew you'd get it in no time. Expect nothing less from a Serperior, right?" he winked, Alicia blushing before smirking with a nod as her moves improved bit by bit until she was matching Chris's movements, the both of them dancing like a snake together, Chris swaying alongside Alicia with both appearing as if dancing to the spell of a charmer. "Ha ha! Ya know, I said this song was fitting because it feels like the perfect theme for you. After everything you went through before we met, and how you progressed and changed after we met, it feels like it's telling your story in the form of music." he point out, Alicia giving him a curious look before facing the stage and listening until a smile appeared on her face and she nodded in agreement, facing him once more as they continued dancing to the performance.

Eventually, Chris found a chance to sneak his way into holding Alicia's actual hands when she slithered around him, smirking slyly before reaching out and catching her hand causing Alicia to jolt and flush as he pulled her in his direction and grabbed her other hand as well. Embarrassed by this, she tried to coax him into holding her vines instead, making sounds as if to say "vines, vines!! these, these!!" while waving them in front of his face and pressing them against his chest, only for Chris to shake his head with a "nope" response causing Alicia to groan, looking at her hands in his and turning all the redder. "They sure are soft, and crazy beautiful too... It's a shame you keep them behind you so much, I love em." he smiled, Alicia replying with a shy "sh-shut up!!" type of noise in response, trying her best to keep dancing despite her hands being grasped. "Know what? I don't remember ever seeing anyone holding a Serperior's hands. Talk about feeling like the luckiest guy in the world!" he grinned, continuing to flatter Alicia for the sake of seeing her flustered. At one point, he decided to lean towards her hand and give it a kiss, the snake jerking back and making an "enough, enough!!" sound, pulling her hands back against her sides and glancing away with a scowl, only for Chris to sway around her and stand against her back, the snake freezing up with another flush on her face as he dragged his fingers up her sides and along her hands before taking them in his a second time, now swaying behind her as Alicia let out shy and nervous sounds while her body trembled from the closeness and having him behind her, a situation most Serperiors avoided as a natural defense. "Careful, try not to trip me up with that tail now. That'd be worse than me holding your hands in front of everyone, wouldn't it? Talk about embarrassing, tripping up your dance partner. Bi---g disgrace." he point out, grinning slyly out of purposely frustrating the snake as she did her best to follow his lead, her tail stuck between his feet below limiting her movement.

Once the song neared its end, Chris stepped out from behind Alicia allowing her to sigh in relief, only to find herself caught off guard yet again and let out a surprised shout when he reached up and pulled her down, leaning her back in his arms with a smirk on his face, causing her own to turn beet red as he supported her with one arm and touched her cheek with his free hand, causing the flustered snake to stutter before he leaned in close and gave her an abrupt kiss making her tail shoot out straight and her eyes widen in an instant, almost as if she'd been hit by a gong of sorts. Seeing this, everyone around them let out whistles, Smith laughing and nudging Rostron while the Captain smirked and shook his head, muttering "what a dog" as the song finished and Chris pulled away from Alicia, allowing her to raise back up in a frozen stance,remaining red and continuing to stutter while Chris scratched his nose with a grin from ear to ear as another round of applause echoed throughout the restaurant. Responding to this, the singer and musicians bowed repeatedly, Chris doing the same before letting out a satisfied sigh and nodding. "Awesome, that was awesome." he chuckled, turning to Alicia as she stared into nothingness, slightly shuddering until Chris put his hand on her and called her name causing the snake to jolt and let out a startled shout before facing him. "Wow, was that seriously too much for you?" he asked, looking at her for a moment before snickering and laughing at her flushed expression, the snake gritting her teeth before snapping her tail around him and growling. "S-Sorry?" Chris said with a nervous smile before getting an earful of lecture, Alicia harping away in his face despite his inability to understand her.

"M-My word..." Smith muttered, looking wide eyed at the snake and understanding every word, putting his hands over where his ears would be causing Rostron to tilt his head curiously. "What's the matter Mr. Smith? It's just a lovers quarrel from what I can tell." he point out. "Ooohhh it's a quarrel alright. Quite a mouth on that one." Smith replied, muttering "WOW" as Alicia continued her lecture before releasing Chris and slithering off with a flushed and humiliated scowl on her face, leaving Chris on the ballroom floor as he laughed nervously and rubbed his back, the crowd letting out taunting "ooohhh" sounds and making "tsk tsk" noises while shaking their heads causing Chris to scratch his cheek embarrassed. Looking at the crowd and everyone on the stage, he gave his thanks before quickly following Alicia, trying to apologize only for the snake to respond with a "NO!!" kind of noise, keeping her nose up and away from him as he put his hands together and continued apologizing, pleading for her forgiveness only for the snake to hiss at him, facing away with a shy and flustered grumble while those who saw the kiss gave the snake winks and thumbs up, some raising their glasses and nodding at her causing the snake all the more embarrassment as her face seemingly glowed and she made her way towards the exit. "H-Hey now! No need to leave! Wallace and the guys are probably gonna make another performance! You don't wanna miss that do you?!" Chris asked, the snake continuing along only to jolt when blocked by several women, swooning over the scene between the two and calling Alicia things like "lucky girl" with nudges and winks, giggling together causing the snake to twitch an eye before shouting and rushing past them.

"Aw man, I thought it'd be something sweet. Did she actually hate it?" Chris muttered, beginning to show a worried look as the girls watched Alicia leave and faced one another with a bewildered shrug before smiling at Chris and giving him a wave and a wink before walking off, telling him "good luck" in a teasing tone while patting him on the back. "Ha ha, got a feeling I'll need it." Chris replied, smiling and nodding at them as they passed by before facing the exit, Alicia having already left. "Geez, guess that's a yes?" he wondered, watching the doors swaying while staff welcoming passengers and seeing them off blinked in surprise, looking towards the doors themselves before turning to Chris who waved with a nervous laugh. Remembering he'd yet to pay for their stay, Chris jolt with a quiet "crap" before making his way back to the table Alicia had used, finding staff already in the process of cleaning everything. "H-Hey, uh, I gotta get going but I..." he paused, reaching into his vest and taking out his card. "Forgot to pay for everything, who, er, who do I...?" he asked, holding the card out causing the staff to look at him, both bewildered and surprised. "What's with the looks? C'mon, supplies are limited so I owe you!" Chris scowled, continuing to hold the card out only for the staff to continue looking at him before continuing with their task at hand. "H-Hey!! I said I wanna pay!!" Chris affirmed in irritation, causing the staff to jolt. "Take it easy there lad, there's no need for that." he heard a voice say from behind, turning to see Smith hovering up. "They've orders to tend to you and nothing more. You've no need to pay." the Captain affirmed. "Not pay...? Say what? I told you I don't want this kind of treatment!" Chris affirmed. "It's not my orders, it's from Rostron himself. It's his ship and dinner's on him tonight lad, so take it easy. Rest assured it's paid in full." Smith point out causing Chris to sigh. "My word, I've never seen a man so dead set on refusing the thanks of others. Be careful, it can come off a tad rude." Smith point out causing Chris to let out a slight "urk" before looking at the staff and putting his card away with a sigh.

"Alright, alright... I need to catch up to Alicia, could you tell him I said thanks?" Chris asked, Smith nodding with a grunt before Chris hurried along, Smith watching him leave before letting out a sigh of his own. "The man does all that and won't even accept a free meal, that level of modesty is pitiable." he muttered before returning to Rostron's side as the Arceanic band began another song. Once Chris reached the exit and stepped out into the entertainment corridor, he looked around only to find Alicia having seemingly vanished. "Who knows where she is by now..." he muttered, trying to figure out which direction to take before finally walking along the deck. Looking around, he called out for Alicia several times, pausing now and then to make a wild guess at which direction to take next, until out of nowhere he found himself with a tail snapped around him before being yanked into a concealed gap between the entrances of two shops. "A-Ah, there you are!" he smiled nervously as the snake scowled at him. "I-I'm sorry I did something you disliked so much. I thought it'd be kind of romantic. I really didn't mean to upset you, th-the opposite really." he apologized, glancing away while tugging his collar. "Everything seemed to be going so well, I figured it was an opportune time to, you know, give you a kiss and all, show off in front of everyone." he explained, only for Alicia to snap at him in response. "I-I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to do something bad! I won't do it again, honest!" he assured, crossing his chest with a hand in the air causing the snake to jolt before glancing away and murmuring. "I-I'm sorry Alicia but there's only so much I can understand right now. You've got to be more, er, specific here." Chris reminded, the snake looking at him silently before warily poking her head out of her hiding place to look around. "I-Is someone following you or something?" he asked before Alicia backed up into the gap and coiled around his body, causing Chris to freeze up as she looked down at him. "A-Alicia? R-Really, I'm sorry, honest it won't happen again." Chris tried to affirm a second time, about to raise his hand and cross his chest once more only for Alicia to suddenly kiss him as abruptly as he had her in front of everyone, causing him to freeze up with a shot of electricity running up his spine until she pulled away, showing a bothered flush on her face. "S-So you did like it?" he asked.

Doing her best to explain, she looked out at the people and Pokemon passing by their hiding place and pointed with her tail at everyone, shaking her head before having him look around the gap surrounding them and nodding. Tilting his head, Chris let out a quiet "huh?" before jolting with an "oh!" and raising his finger, quickly digging in his vest before pulling out his Pokedex and flipping it open, looking through its data on her before showing a scowl. "Mmm... That's not very helpful either." he sighed before closing it and putting it away, looking up at Alicia as she glanced away. Tilting his head, Chris looked out at everyone once more before looking over where they were hiding. "Privacy?" he muttered, Alicia jolting before rapidly nodding in response. "W-Wait, that's what all that was about? Privacy?!" he asked, the snake scowling and glancing away in an "is that so wrong?" kind of manner. "N-No! I'm not bothered by it! I was worried you hated me doing that!" he explained before glancing away. "I-Its been a while since you and I had anything happen between us so I was kinda thinking, in our case, it was more of a regular relationship between us, more of a good friend kind of thing." he added, Alicia letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "So you were upset over doing that in public huh? Guess it was kinda bold to do that to you. It was a lot of people after all." he admit, Alicia scowling at him with a "ya think?" kind of noise. "B-But you DID like it though, right?" he asked, Alicia blushing and glancing away with a "y-yeah" kind of noise in response. "Well then, I'll be." he chuckled, the snake giving him a curious look. "I've got a Serperior that likes making out with me! I definitely know that's a first!" he laughed causing the snake to show an irritated and embarrassed look before snapping at him, causing Chris to jolt before quickly covering her mouth. "G-Geez, kidding, kidding! I'm just trying to poke a little fun is all." he grumbled, Alicia giving him a "seriously?" look before pulling her mouth away. "For someone who wants privacy you sure like making it easy for someone to notice us you know." he point out, getting a growl from Alicia in response, only to jolt and go silent when he put a hand on her cheek.

"So, if it's in private, it's alright?" he asked, Alicia blinking at him before blushing and glancing away with an "mm" noise, giving a slight nod in response before her eyes went wide as he pulled her face towards his and gave the snake another kiss, her wide eyes slowly turning dazed and slightly rolling up until he pulled away and put his arms around her neck for a hug. "Love you Alicia, sorry for upsetting y-ACK!!!" he said, cut off when her coil suddenly tightened around his body, nearly crushing him incidentally as the snake looked at a crowd that had discovered them and watched their kiss, her color draining while Chris's drained for an entirely different reason, gasping her name and digging his nails into her tail. Oblivious to this at first, Alicia finally noticed what she was doing when the crowd started warily backing away and pointing Chris out, muttering things revolving her being dangerous causing Alicia to tilt her head before looking at him and letting out a shout, releasing him in an instant and making "I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!" noises in panic as he collapsed on the deck, gasping and wheezing while groaning about his back and rubbing it with his hand. Facing the crowd, Alicia tried assuring them it wasn't what they thought, only for everyone to back away with their hands up and quickly go about their business leaving Alicia alone with Chris once more, unfortunately with a scene now ruined by their curiosity as she turned to him. Watching as he lift himself up using the wall, the snake winced and let out a "tsss, ooohhh" sound as he froze up when his joints throughout his back popped, allowing him to sigh in relief with a coo in his voice. "D-Damn that felt good." he muttered, rubbing his back with another sigh before straightening up and facing Alicia, the snake looking down with an apologetic sound.

"H-Hey, it's what I get for pushing our luck in a place like this. I asked for that one." he assured. "W-Wadaya say we get out of here and be on our way? Still stuff we can do before heading back!" he point out, showing a smile and patting her on the side before walking past. Watching him leave the gap, Alicia showed a somber look before grunting in agitation, murmuring to herself over the spoiled moment before letting out a sigh and following him out of her hiding place. Making their way along, Alicia repeatedly looked at herself in the display windows of the various shops and diners, looking at her new necklace and badge as they shimmered under the lights above. Thinking about his speech and actions, she faced Chris as he walked along, letting out a quiet hiss and rubbing his back causing Alicia to let out a worried sound making him jolt before turning back to her. "O-Oh yeah, right. You first." he replied with a nervous smile, bowing slightly before backing up behind her and nodding. "Shall we continue on our way?" he asked, the snake opening her mouth to say something only to pause and nod instead, letting out a sigh as she slithered along. "So then, you've had a feast, enjoyed some music and danced, what would you like to do next?" Chris asked, Alicia looking around before facing down with a "dunno" sound in response. "Mmm, let me think..." Chris muttered, looking around and at Alicia's figure before showing an "oh!" expression and raising his finger. "Wadaya say we look around for some new accessories for you to wear? I'm sure I could find some good stuff to put together something nice for you to wear!" he offered with a grin. Looking down at her necklace, Alicia showed a somber look before shaking her head, causing Chris to blink at her in surprise.

"YOU'RE turning down an offer to buy stuff for yourself? I didn't feed you too much and make you sick, did I?" he asked, Alicia feeling slightly insulted by his statement and looking back at him with a scowl causing Chris to jolt and apologize. "J-Just trying to make sure you enjoy yourself as much as possible." he point out with a nervous smile, the snake looking down before facing forward and nodding with an "I know, I know" noise in response. "Hey uh, Alicia? Are you sure I haven't done something to upset you?" Chris asked in concern, walking up to Alicia's side and putting a hand on her. Stopping and looking down at him, Alicia glanced away and shook her head before pointing at herself with the tip of her tail, then pointing at him. Confused by this, Chris tilt his head, causing Alicia to sigh and face down. "Is it something about us that's bothering you maybe? I figured I made my feelings clear during the speech and the whole kiss thing." he point out, Alicia jolting and nodding rapidly, making a "that's it! that's it!" noise. "S-So it IS something about us?" he asked, Alicia nodding once more. "Boy, this charades stuff is hard. At least we're getting somewhere I guess." he smiled nervously. "Alright then, so it's about us. Is it something about me, or something I've done?" he asked, Alicia thinking for a moment before waving the tip of her tail in a 50-50 gesture and making an "ehhhh" noise in response. "It's about us, and... Kind of about me?" he asked, Alicia nodding. "But it's mainly about you then?" he asked, the snake facing down before nodding and letting out an "mm" noise. "So putting all that together, something's bothering you about us. It's not so much about me, or that I've done anything bad really, but it's about you and... Something you're feeling bad about?" he asked, Alicia looking at him before nodding in response.

"Well, I can't think of anything you've done wrong, or anything you've done that was bad really. I mean, heck, you did jump off a ship to save me so I'm not sure where your negative thoughts are coming from." he point out, Alicia looking down at her badge and pointing it out. "Eh? What about it? Up until this point that badge has been something you treasured. It was a symbol for you, now all of a sudden you keep acting like it makes you miserable. Just like that necklace there, I let you have that badge because you earned it, and, well, because I love you." he point out, glancing away with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. Looking down at him, Alicia shook her head and showed a slight smile, giving him a nudge with the tip of her tail and letting out a "fool" type of noise before slithering along, leaving Chris blinking at her and tilting his head bewildered. "Girls really are complicated." he thought before following along, looking at the snake as she kept her focus forward. Making their way along the deck, the both of them looking around to determine the next activity, the two had to stop when Chris felt another pain run through his back, sitting at a nearby bench for a moment while reaching back and rubbing his spine until the sensations subsided. "Boy oh boy." he muttered before letting out a sigh and facing the snake. "Sorry about this, I really hate having to stop for something like a bad back. I promise I'll be up in a sec." he assured, Alicia showing a guilty and concerned look in response. "H-Hey now! Don't make that face! You know it isn't your fault so don't stand there feeling sorry over it!" he affirmed with a scowl, Alicia scowling back due to his response to her concern before the two stuck their tongues out at one another.

Once he was able to stand up again, Chris leaned back and popped his joints once more before letting out a relieved sigh and nodding at the snake. "Alright then, should be good to go for a while. Decided what you'd like to do next?" he asked, Alicia looking around before noticing the spa they'd been to before nearby and nodding. "Well alright then! What'll it be?" he asked, Alicia pointing out the spa with the tip of her tail. Looking at where she was suggesting, Chris raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Ahh, I know exactly what you want." he chuckled, giving Alicia a thumbs up causing the snake to flush and shout in a "wh-what's that supposed to mean?!" manner. "Calm down, calm down. I don't mind at all! If anything, it suits the atmosphere I'm trying to go for. I'll be happy to serve you." he affirmed, smiling with a bow causing the snake to stutter before shaking her head and letting out a "th-that's not the point!!" noise in response. "Relax, relax! We'll have a good time." he nodded, putting a hand on her side before heading towards the spa, the snake blinking before letting out an embarrassed groan and following, thinking he was completely missing the purpose of her suggesting the location. Making their way along, the two went inside and looked around, with Chris walking up to the reception desk and tilting his head. "Where's the worker?" he muttered, ringing the bell causing a woman to shoot up before him and shout "Y-YES!!" in response making Chris jump back with a shout of his own, bumping into Alicia by mistake. Looking down at him, the snake raised an eyebrow and scowled with a "what's wrong with you?" noise as he stepped forward with an embarrassed laugh and apologized, the receptionist apologizing as well. "W-We uh, we'd like to use one of your rooms?" Chris asked, the receptionist nodding in response. "I apologize for startling you, we're still cleaning up after everything that happened. I've got merchandise all over the place behind here, as well as reservation files that fell all over the floor." she sighed, Chris leaning over the desk and letting out a whistle.

"Do you need a ha...!!" Chris tried asking, only for Alicia to whack her tail on the deck with a snapping noise and clearing her throat making Chris shoot up straight. "S-Sorry, c-can we get a room?" he asked, sweating slightly as the snake grumbled in a "yeah, that's better" manner and nodded with a grunt. "A-Ah, yes, of course. We've had several guests since returning to the surface, but by and large most rooms are currently available. Feel free to take your pick from the catalogue here. With so few guests at the moment, there's no need to offer a predetermined space." the receptionist smiled, handing the two a pamphlet showcasing the various rooms based on scale and class. "Huh, they gave us a pretty tiny one last time." Chris muttered, comparing their past room to the others available. Looking over the pictures, Alicia pointed a room out with the tip of her tail, Chris looking it over and blinking in surprise. "Yeesh, the bath in it has the width of a pool!" he muttered, Alicia nodding with a smirk before looking herself over. "G-Guess you DO kinda need the room though, this place is made for both people and Pokemon so they probably have to have bigger stuff for certain types." he point out. "Alright then, I guess we'll take this room." Chris point out, showing the receptionist the room and getting a nod in response. "Your Serperior is a perfect candidate, that room is intended for large gatherings and Pokemon that take up more space... Now, would you like our staff to tend to you and/or your Serperior, or will you be tending to yourselves?" she asked. "No need for anyone, I'm here to take care of Alicia myself." Chris smiled, waving his hand. "I'm rewarding her, so naturally it's up to me to do the work." he added, Alicia scowling at him in another "that's not the intent..." manner. "Some bath supplies, stuff to massage with, those would be nice." he added, the receptionist nodding before gathering what he needed from the shelf behind her and the floor combined, apologizing for the mess once more.

After he'd been given the supplies requested, Chris thanked the receptionist before she helped the two find their room, guiding them along while Alicia slithered behind Chris, looking down at him with a slight blush on her face. Turning back, he was about to say something to the snake only to pause when he noticed her expression, tilting his head and asking "you alright?" causing her to jolt and shake her head, letting out a "f-fine!!" noise in response as they came up to their door. "Alright then, this is your room. You're free to lock it if need be, and we have a color dial here. You can switch it to red to let staff and customers know it's occupied and you'd prefer privacy." she point out, Chris nodding and thanking her before she bowed and left the two behind. "Alright then, looks like you finally get some more one on one TLC from me! Last time I had to split my attention between you, but this time it's all about you. Bet that sounds pretty nice, huh?" he grinned, Alicia's blush returning as she glanced away and muttered in a "y-yeah" kind of way with a nod. Smirking at her, he nodded back before opening the door and allowing her in first before following, shutting and locking the door behind him and turning the dial before looking around. "Huh, kinda reminds me of those big onsen things. The ones communities use here and there in parts of the world." he point out, Alicia tilting her head curiously as they made their way up to the colossal bath. "Everything's wood in here pretty much, nice oriental touch. What they were going for I guess? With passengers boarding from around the world, guess it's good to make everyone feel at home, in a familiar place and stuff." he nodded, rubbing his hand along the edge of the bath while walking along. "Not too deep really, goes up to my thigh. They haven't filled it yet so we'll have to do that and wait a bit, that alright?" he asked, Alicia tilting her head before nodding in response.

"It's kind of a good thing actually. I can do stuff to you while we wait for the bath to fill!" he point out causing the snakes eyes to widen and a flush to spread across her face as he looked around, noticing an area to wash off. "Ahh, guess you use that first." he muttered, walking into the bathing section and looking around, noticing a poster on the wall. "Going by the instructions here I'd say my hunch was spot on" he smirked, looking the poster over before setting everything down on a small table nearby. "Alright, you wait here while I figure out the bath. After I've got the water running, I'll come back and focus on making you feel good, alright?" he asked with a smile, the snake giving him a "do you know what you're saying?" look, wondering if he was thinking of his statements in the same way she was before sighing and nodding in response. Slithering into the bathing section, she looked at the handheld shower heads, tilting her head curiously and tapping one with her vine while Chris got the water running, having found a control panel for the oversized bath. "Hey! It's just like working a jacuzzi!" he grinned, the snake rolling her eyes and letting out an "oh boy..." noise in response. Looking around, Chris noticed a nearby changing screen as well, blinking at it curiously before walking up and looking over its artistic design with a whistle. "Classy room alright..." he muttered before smirking and snapping his fingers, the snake jolting and facing him as he walked towards the supplies and took a towel. "Give me a sec, I need to look the part!" he said before returning to the screen and disappearing behind it, causing Alicia to raise an eyebrow and tilt her head bewildered.

After a moment, she gave a "meh" shrug of sorts and returned her attention to the shower head before her, noticing the knobs beneath it and tapping one with her vine. Tilting her head, she wrapped her vine around it and started twisting the knob, just as Chris finally walked out from behind the screen and went up to her. "Well? Wadaya think?" he asked, the snake jolting before turning to him only for her eyes to shoot open and her face to seemingly glow, freezing up as she looked at him now wearing only a towel around his waist. "Being a spa and a bath of sorts combined, figured it would be more suitable." he point out, the snake inching back towards the wall beneath the shower head while making stuttering noises. "...What? You aren't gonna tell me it's too much are you? It's not the first time you've seen me without a shirt and all. It's just like wearing swim shorts in a way." he point out while setting his clothes aside. "You want me to put the outfit back on? I'd probably ruin it with soap and all but if you want me to I will." he offered, the snake looking wide eyed at his towel before shaking her head. Nodding in response, Chris was about to grab the sponge and soap when he heard something start clanking and groaning, pausing to look around. Hearing this herself, Alicia looked back at the wall, hearing the sound trailing up along the wall before stopping overhead. Facing up, next thing she knew the shower head unleashed an abrupt blast of freezing water, causing the snake to scream before shooting out from beneath the frigid shower only to slam into Chris, sending the both of them tumbling resulting in her body tangling up around him. "G-Geez Alicia!! The heck?!" he complained, rubbing his head and letting out a hiss as the snakes teeth chattered, her body trembling while letting out "c-c-c-c-cold" noises.

Looking at the shower, Chris sighed and shook his head. "You messed with it, didn't you?" he asked, Alicia raising up before shaking off her trembling and letting out a "brrrr" sound. "That's what you get, curiosity killed the cat." Chris lectured, standing up as Alicia untangled herself and let out a sigh. While Chris walked towards the shower, Alicia froze when she looked at him, watching as he headed for the knobs and turned off the water, bending over slightly to do so making the snake flush more than when he'd unveiled his towel. Stuttering in response to what she saw, Chris turned to the snake and raised an eyebrow. "...What now? Seriously, should I just put the suit back on?" he asked, only for the snake to continue stuttering with her gaze focused on his lower half. Scowling at her, Chris waved at the snake with a "hellooooo?" before letting out a sigh and shaking his head, heading towards the supplies and picking up the bucket containing their sponge and soap. "Alright, lets get you taken care of. That's enough gawking." he affirmed, walking up to the snake causing her to react in a panicked manner, inching back as he grew closer and closer until she was backed up against another wall. "What's the deal? You wanted to come to this place! Now you're acting like you're bothered by being near me." he scowled, the snake continuing to flush as he stood before her. Stuttering once more in response, Alicia let out an embarrassed groan before hiding her face with the tip of her tail and pointing out his lower half with her vine. "What's with you?" Chris asked, tilting his head with a scowl before looking down, only to notice his towel had gone missing. Looking at himself silently for a moment, he suddenly shout and covered his crotch with the bucket, having realized he'd let his rear shine and manhood sway right in front of the snakes eyes and quickly apologized, backing away from her causing Alicia to groan again and shake her head.

Looking around, Chris noticed his towel laying nearby and quickly snatched it, backing up to do so before backing his way behind the screen. "S-Sorry!! Sorry!!" Chris repeat several times, Alicia letting out a "whooo" sound while fanning herself with the tip of her tail. "I-It was your fault you know!! It came off when you slammed into me!!" Chris point out, Alicia scowling with a "well pardon me!!" noise in response, only for Chris to poke his head out from the screen with a scowl of his own and raising an eyebrow. "Or did you do that on purpose...?" he asked, the snake jolting with a flush before snapping at him in a "certainly not!!" kind of manner. Continuing to scowl at the snake, Chris gave a suspicious "uh huh" response before walking out with his towel around him once more, the snake sighing and letting out an embarrassed noise as he walked up. "Alright, alright. Lets just continue from where we were." he suggested, Alicia nodding as he walked past, looking at his lower body once more causing images of her recent eyeful to pop into her mind, the snake going wide eyed and quickly shaking the thoughts out of her head as he filled the bucket with hot water, putting the sponge back in the bucket before walking up to her. "That spot over there, the bench where people sit? It's long enough for you to lay on, why don't you do that and I'll get started?" he asked. "Think of it as a massage table instead of a bench, get the picture?" he added, tapping his forehead as she looked at the bench and let out a nervous sound. Seeing and hearing her reaction, Chris raised an eyebrow and tilt his head. "I don't get it... I mean, yeah I'm sorry about the towel thing, but what's with the weird behavior all of a sudden? You've never been this high strung over seeing me without clothes before I don't think, and to top it off this is the one thing you got to decide on yourself during this date. Plus we're in private the way you wanted. So why are you acting all, I dunno, unsettled? This should totally be your thing, about to get a massage and all, getting some real deluxe treatment. Nobody else but the two of us, the others back in the room... It's hard to tell if it's what you really want, if you're actually having a good time. If being here's just gonna make you flip out, you sure it's the best decision?" he asked, the snake wanting to snap back only to restrain herself and grumble instead while glancing away.

Looking at the bench, Alicia turned to Chris and point at him with her tail before taking the sponge herself. "Yeah, I know, that's the plan. Massaging, a scrub down, that's the idea." he replied before taking it and motioning for her to get on the bench. "Now go on so I can actually start doing all that!" he coaxed. Scowling at him, the snake turned away with a frustrated "idiot" kind of noise before slithering towards the bench and laying across it, flopping down and grumbling to herself with a slight blush leaving Chris at a loss of what to make of her behavior and responses. Walking up to her side, he set the bucket down and scratched his cheek. "Just uh, just so we're clear, you DO want this, right? I don't wanna go trying to make you happy this way if it's just going to anger you and all. I feel like I'm not reading something right here." he told her, Alicia letting out a sigh and closing her eyes before giving an "it's alright" noise in response. "Er, well then, I'm at your service, I uh, guess." he replied before lathering up the sponge. Glancing back at him, Alicia jolt when she felt the sponge touch her back. "How's it feel? Not bad?" Chris asked as he started scrubbing her, the snake letting out an "i-it's alright" noise in response before closing her eyes once more. Working his way up and down along her body, the snake shuddered when he had her lift her head, allowing him to rub soap under her neck he'd lathered onto his hands before returning to the rest of her body. Over time, her look of irritation turned to one of relaxation, his delicate scrubbing gradually lulling the snake into a state of peace until he asked her to roll over, wanting to scrub her underside causing the snake to flush before looking back at him. "What? I'm finished with your back. Since you don't have legs now, your underside goes through a lot, having to move about all over where countless people walk and all. Your underside needs to be kept clean a lot more than your back does now when you think about it." he point out.

After a moment, the snake glanced away with a scowl before nodding and doing as requested, slowly and warily rolling so her underside was up in the air giving the snake an exposed atmosphere about her. Looking her over, Chris muttered "not bad" causing the snake to flush and snap at him, making Chris jump back and respond with a quick "easy, easy!" with his hands out. "I mean not bad as in the colors and patterns. The lighter shade of green, and the way you've got this, kind of insignia pattern going on. Your bodies beautiful, but it's also pretty cool." he praised, the snake blinking at him before looking at the coat of arms styled pattern on her underside and the yellow markings ending in various points. "The more I look at you, the more I find to appreciate. I went on about your eyes already, but really there probably isn't an inch of you I couldn't make a speech over." he smirked, the snake blinking at him once more with another blush on her face. "It's true! You're a neat girl Alicia, all the colors your body has, the patterns and all, I really love what happened to your face and neck to with the white going on. It's really, well, pretty." he nodded, giving her a warm smile making the snake glance away shyly and embarrassed, showing a scowl yet giving him a "th-thank you" type of noise in response. Dipping the sponge in the bucket and lathering it again, he gave Alicia a "just relax" heads up before touching the sponge on her underside, making the snake jolt and shudder as he began gliding the sponge up and down. "It's really smooth, soft too." Chris point out, the snake raising her head and looking at him with an "eh?" noise in response, only for her eyes to widen and her body to freeze up when he touched her underside with his bare hand and essentially helped himself to feeling her up.

Sliding the sponge and his hand along her skin simultaneously, the snake wanted to snap at him for the act, yet bit her tongue nonetheless and allowed it, feeling the sponge rubbing her underside downwards while his free hand rubbed upwards, right over where her heart was causing the snake to shudder and let out a pant. "Hmm?" Chris said, stopping his hand as he felt her heart and looking where his hand was. "W-Wow, b-big." he said with a surprised look on his face, blinking at his hand for a moment as he continued subconsciously rubbing the sponge around her underside despite his free hand having paused atop her heart. After a moment, due to her pulse starting to rise causing Chris's eyes to widen more as he felt the size of her heart all the more clearly, the snake finally let out a frustrated and embarrassed shout, making Chris jump in surprise and snap out of his state. "S-Sorry about that! It's just..." he paused, looking where her heart was. "It's big, like, wow big. I can't believe a girl that was so tiny could wind up with a heart like THAT." he point out with an impressed tone. "You're really amazing, you know? I don't think there's many people that have been able to feel a Serperior's pulse hands on like that either, it's actually kinda intimidating, when you compare the size of yours and mine. That's just, well, cool." he added, the snake giving an "mm" sound and a nod in response, barely able to handle the touching combined with the flattery making her feel all the more shy and embarrassed. Apologizing once more, Chris resumed scrubbing her by focusing on making his way down her underside, once again feeling her up with his soapy free hand causing the snake to scowl despite the soothing sensation it provided, unsure of how to take letting him touch her as he pleased in such a casual way.

Eventually, he went down far enough to reach where her tightly sealed slit was, and the instant his hand slid over it the snake immediately shot up, reacting with her tail subconsciously and nearly smacking Chris away, only for him to duck with a loud "woah!!" before grabbing the tip of it. "G-Geez!! Again with this?!" he complained, Alicia freezing up and letting out an apologetic sound with a flush on her face. Letting her tail go, Chris let out a sigh and rubbed his neck. "Way to nearly swipe off a guys head, you gotta control yourself. That body can be, you know, dangerous." he emphasized. "Now c'mon, I'm almost finished. Chill out and wait just a minute longer, then we can rinse you off and get you in the tub, and I give you my word I'll stay away, alright?" he asked, raising his hand causing the snake to jolt an let out a "that's not what I want!!" type of shout. Jumping back, Chris blinked in surprise at the snake as she paused and glanced away, letting out an "ugh" noise before facing him with a blush. Doing her best to force an explanation, she begrudgingly point out the spot he'd touched that caused her abrupt attack using the tip of her tail, Chris tilting his head unable to see anything. "What? You got a sore or something?" he asked, the snakes mouth gaping before letting out a "NO!!" type of shout and pointing at the spot again, glancing away and groaning in humiliation as he scowled and leaned closer, squinting his eyes. "I don't know what you're..." he muttered, continuing to look closer before reaching out and feeling over the spot. Rubbing his hand about and trying to figure out what was bothering her using his fingers, Chris thought she may have a growth of some sort beneath the surface causing her discomfort before finally feeling something under the suds on her skin causing Alicia to freeze up and twitch her tail, wanting to act on instinct and give him a swipe yet restricting herself, letting out a "th-that's it" kind of noise making Chris look at her curiously.

"Feels like you might have slithered over something and slit your skin. Hang on a sec." Chris instructed before lifting the bucket of water, dumping it on the snake just as she panicked and let out a "N-No!!" kind of shout. "Relax would you? After what happened to my body and the condition I've seen you girls a little cut isn't going to..." he paused, looking at her now soap free underside with her slit exposed. "Phase... Me..." he muttered, blinking at the slit and looking closely as Alicia stuttered and seemingly glowed. "Ooohhh, my bad! That's your va-eOOOWCH!!!" he shout, Alicia giving him a snap across the face with her vine and shouting at him in humiliation, leaping off the bench and coiling up tightly in a corner away from him while stuttering and mumbling to herself, her body trembling as she remained flushed leaving Chris with the mark of her vine across his face, rubbing the sting away and muttering "yeesh" while facing the snake. "I-I'm sorry, I couldn't tell with the suds and all. Your, uh, you know, wasn't exactly what I was focusing on. J-Just trying to, you know, er..." he explained, cutting himself off out of feeling he'd only put a foot in his mouth. Looking at Alicia, she remained faced away from him within her coil, facing the corner she'd ran to and continuing to shudder causing Chris to let out a sigh and a guilty "man..." before facing the bath, noticing it reaching the top causing him to jolt and run to shut off the water. "Tub's ready..." he point out, looking at the snake only for Alicia to continue keeping her face in the corner and body securely coiled. "You uh, wanna wash off the rest of that soap and climb in?" he asked, walking up behind the snake.

"Hey, Alicia? Seriously, my bad on that. I'm sorry." he apologized, putting a hand on her causing the snake to jolt in response. Blinking at her, he took his hand away and put them both up, stepping back before looking towards where he'd laid his suit. "I uh, think it's best we try something else. I guess I'm not exactly the best person for you to do this kind of thing with. I'll be right back, and the soap... I don't think it would hurt if you went ahead and used the tub to get it off right quick." he told her before taking the clothes and heading behind the screen, looking back at her along the way and muttering something about "way to go me" and feeling like a molester while rubbing the mark on his face in guilt. Once he had his outfit back on, save for his shirt and vest remaining unbuttoned, he walked out from behind the screen and looked at Alicia, the snake still in her corner causing him to sigh before returning to her side. "H-Hey, look. I'm dressed now, see? I'm descent again! Wadaya say we just put this bad attempt at bonding behind us, huh?" he asked, putting a hand on the snake and feeling her continue to tremble causing his look of guilt to return. "I'm sorry Alicia... I really didn't mean to violate you or anything. I just wanted to show I cared... And you're always frustrated by the others, so I thought the attention in here would make up for it, at least a little. I'm sorry for messing up the thing you chose for us to do, really I am." he affirmed, only for Alicia to let out a quiet sound in response. "Huh? What's up?" Chris asked, walking around her and leaning towards her face, the snake keeping it hidden within her coil. "Alicia? Something you want? Anything, just name it!" he assured, showing a smile only for the snake to let out another quiet and muffled sound in response.

"Huh? I can't understand you like this. I-I mean it was hard before, but this makes it worse." he point out. Making the same sound repeatedly, Chris leaned in closer each time, leaning his ear towards her face only for Alicia to suddenly shoot up and shout at him causing Chris to jump and fall backwards. "A-A-A-Alicia?!" he panicked, holding up an arm as her shadow loomed over him, giving her an apology repeatedly and keeping his eyes shut. After a moment, Chris warily opened an eye, looking at her body before slowly looking up at her face. "A-Alicia?" he said quietly, looking at the teary eyed Pokemon and blinking in surprise. "H-Hey now, n-no need to cry!! I-I promise I'll make it up to you!! Anything you want, anything at all!! Seriously, name it and I'll get right on it!!" he panicked, standing and holding his hands out to console her only to get another shout from Alicia in response, making him freeze and quickly pull them back. "Y-You don't... Dislike me or hate me now, do you?" he asked nervously. "I-I mean it!! I'll do anything!! O-Order away ma'am!!" he panicked, straightening up and giving her an at the ready type of salute, the snake facing down as her tears began streaming and dripping to the floor. "I'm sorry Alicia, seriously..." Chris apologized in a somber tone, lowering his head and taking on a guilty posture. "I just wanted to do my best was all... For all of you." he affirmed, looking at Alicia as she kept her head lowered. "I-I'm gonna get started on a plan to make it up to you right now!! I'll plan something so good it'll just wipe everything that happened from your mind, alright?" he assured her, taking a steadfast stance and nodding. Digging inside his vest, he flipped his Pokedex open and quickly started browsing various lists, turning away and muttering in a state of panic.

However, just as he started walking away, Chris found himself stopped when the back of his vest was grabbed, causing him to pause and turn back to find Alicia clinging to it with the tip of her tail. "A-Alicia?" he said warily, turning to the snake. Seeing her expression having turned frustrated, her teeth grit giving her an angry appearance despite her tears, Chris glanced away and rubbed his arm. "Y-You wanna hit me again?" he asked. "I-If it wipes this and how you're feeling away, go ahead!" he told the snake, causing her eyes to widen. "I know it was wrong, I shouldn't of been that stupid. Putting my hands all over you and touching something I definitely shouldn't have, you've got every right to land a hit or two!" he affirmed. "B-Besides, that's how it is for some servants, right?" he laughed nervously before quickly getting on a knee and apologizing again, holding the tip of her tail and patting it against his cheek with a "silly me" expression on his face. Seeing this, Alicia's tears worsened, biting her lip before yanking her tail away and shaking her head. "P-Please forgive me...?" he asked on his hands and knees, looking up at the miserable Pokemon. With her face turned away, Alicia's eyes widened once more when she saw their reflection in a large mirror on the wall, herself standing tall with her extravagant new necklace donned and her badge attached while Chris was on all fours in front of her, causing a sudden endless wave of unsavory flashbacks to race through her mind before tightly shutting her eyes before seemingly falling apart in front of Chris, sobbing loudly causing him to look at her in bewildered shock. "H-Holy crap, wh-what did I do to you?!" he panicked, inching back before pausing when Alicia tried to speak.

"Serper-Serpos-Seposry...!!" she struggled, Chris blinking at the snake. "A-Alicia?" he replied, warily standing and slowly holding a hand out. "Sssep-Sssopr-Sssorpery...!!" she continued, struggling to pronounce something. "T-Take it easy! S-Settle down!" Chris tried to coax, only for Alicia to jerk herself back and shake her head. "Sssopery-Ssopry-Sorpry...!!" she went on, forcing herself to pronounce a word desperately, Chris growing all the more concerned over her state. After repeatedly trying time and again, Alicia finally managed to nail what she'd wanted to say to him throughout the date, and although she couldn't detail everything she wanted to tell him, the tone and emotion behind her single word was enough to get her point across, and while looking at him with tears streaming and grief in her face, she told him again and again "sorry" without pause, shouting and sobbing the word while slithering up and rubbing her cheek against his whipped face, incidentally rubbing her tears all over him in the process causing Chris to stand frozen in shock, his eyes wide as she repeated the word despite having said it countless times already. Pulling away, she point out her necklace and shout, seemingly telling him "take it!! take it!!" before saying "sorry" once more with her head lowered, her loud apologetic tone fading into quiet and somber repetition as Chris looked at her, remaining silent and awe stricken by her outburst. "I-I've never seen you like this. I-I mean I've seen you bad off and emotional but, w-wow." he replied, stepping up and reaching out to Alicia before finally managing to put his arms around her. "So this is why you've been so high strung and weird tonight." he said quietly, rubbing her back as she hicked and repeat "sorry" to him

"Easy now, easy. Come on, quit before you shrivel up." he coaxed, easing her back before taking off his vest and using it to wipe her tears away. "Look at you, you're ruining those eyes. If you're sorry, quit messing up the scenery... You know it's my favorite view." he smiled, the snake continuing to hick and sniffling. "Here, go ahead and blow into this. I don't think it'll matter much." he coaxed, holding the vest up to Alicia's nose allowing her to blow before letting out another "sorry" and glancing away. "Man, you had me terrified... When you let it out, you REALLY let it out. Go big or don't go at all I guess, that's the Serperior way right?" he asked, the statement causing Alicia to start hicking even more making Chris jolt and quickly wave his hands. "S-Sorry! Sorry! Still getting a grasp on the causes here!!" he panicked, coaxing her into settling down while wiping her eyes and allowing her to blow her nose again. Once she'd settled down enough, Chris let out a sigh of relief and plopped down onto the nearby bench, clutching his chest with a long "whoooo" while Alicia slithered up to him, looking down at her necklace somberly before facing him and motioning for him to remove it. Looking at her for a moment, Chris chuckled and shook his head in response. "No, it belongs to you, both that chain and that badge. They both represent how much I love you, how much I admire you, and those are feelings I'd never take back no matter what. You're too important to me Alicia, that's all I wanted to emphasize tonight. You can't put a price on how much I think you're worth, so I try to find something that's at least somewhere, I dunno, in the half way there range?" he explained, motioning a 50-50 sign with his hand. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you're the greatest treasure in my life, the only one I want, or need really, but it doesn't hurt to give you a treasure from time to time, even if you feel the same about me." he affirmed.

"I-I can't say I completely understand what you're apologizing so much for, but I'm glad you feel so strongly for me that you're willing to come out with it the way you did." he thanked, nodding at Alicia. Looking down at her necklace, Alicia showed a small smile and nodded before facing him, and after a moment, she surprised him a second time when, instead of her tail or vines, she held out her hand towards him. "E-Eh?" he asked, blinking at her before slowly reaching out and taking her hand, thinking she wanted to shake only for Alicia to guide his hand towards her chest and press it against where her heart was. Looking at his hand, he tilt his head before looking up at her face, and seeing her earnest smile, he was able to understand and nodded at her. "I love you too Alicia, really I do." he smiled back. Looking at one another for a moment, Chris finally cleared his throat and started standing. "S-So then, how 'bout you get those suds cleaned off? Then we can see about spending time together in a way that doesn't stress you out, alright?" he asked, the snake glancing away before shaking her head and letting out a "no" sound, nudging him with her tail as a sign to sit back down. "Y-You still wanna stay here?" he asked, blinking in surprise while sitting and tilting his head. "You sure about that? We don't have to." he affirmed, only for the snake to nod with a smile in response before looking around, finding the towel he'd had on and pointing towards it with the tip of her tail. "What? You mean you want me to change back into it? I-I dunno about that." he said warily. "You sure it won't, you know, make you all...?" he asked, the snake shaking her head before pointing towards the screen and smiling. "I-If you say so... For real?" he asked, standing while Alicia scowled from his repeated question, giving him a firm "go!" noise in response and pointing at the screen again. "A-Alright but remember, your idea..." he reminded, smiling nervously before heading toward the screen.

While he was preoccupied, Alicia took a deep breath and faced the shower heads, nodding at herself and letting out a quiet "alright" and "you can do it" type of noise before slithering up to the knobs, looking them over before cautiously turning them bit by bit causing the shower head above her to trickle out water before it abruptly shot out, the snake letting out a shout and jumping from the frigid temperature causing Chris to pop his head out from behind the screen. "You okay?!" he asked, the snake facing back while shivering and letting out a "f-f-f-fine!!" noise in response, smiling before facing the knobs and quickly adjusting them until she felt the waters temperature changing, letting out a sigh and cooing in relief. Once she had it hot enough, she worked on washing the soap off her body until Chris returned from behind the screen, once again wrapped in his towel and placing his vest safely aside. "You're uh, you're not gonna turn all weird on me this time, right?" he smiled nervously, Alicia glancing looking at him and blushing before facing forward. "S-So uh, anything I can do or, er, something?" he asked, Alicia facing down before looking back at him and motioning for him to come over. Tilting his head, Chris nodded and walked up to the snake, standing next to her curiously. "Well, you're a lot calmer this time." he smiled. "We've got lotions and all, want me to put some of that on you?" he asked, Alicia looking towards the supplies before nodding in response. Heading for the table, he grabbed several bottles and brought them over to her, setting them down on the floor and taking the nearby sponge in hand, only for Alicia to let out a sound causing him to pause before she reached out and took the sponge, tossing it aside before pointing out his hands with her vine.

"N-No sponge? Really?" he asked in surprise, blinking at the snake as she glanced away shyly with a nod. "A-Alright then, sure." he smiled, nodding back before squirting out a handful and lathering the lotion between his hands. "S-Should I walk under the shower with you, or do you wanna lay on the bench?" he asked, Alicia blushing and motioning for him to come into the shower. Nodding, he walked up close to her and, pausing for a moment, looked up at Alicia, the snake facing down at him before letting out a "w-well? go on." noise, glancing away quietly while sticking her chest out. Going slightly wide eyed, Chris nodded silently before warily putting his hands on her, the snake jolting and shutting her eyes tightly as he began rubbing the lotion up and down. "Th-This is a pretty drastic change. Just let me know if I do something you dislike, alright? And uh, go easy on me if I do?" he smiled nervously, the snake scowling at him from the reminder causing Chris to apologize before continuing to rub the lotion along her body. Lathering up more in his hands, he made his way along, thoroughly massaging her from her head, which she had to lower for him to access, surprising her with a peck on the lips in the process, to the tip of her tail, which when in his hands, caused Alicia to shudder due to a strange sensitivity in the location. "Mm? Nice reaction." Chris grinned, the snake blushing and glancing away only to jolt and shudder when he rubbed the tip of her tail between his hands and fingers. "Without a giant leaf here now it's just a little stub, but it's really cute I'll admit." he praised, Alicia murmuring shyly as he pulled his hands away. "Alright, all rubbed up!" he point out, Alicia looking herself over as the suds oozed to the floor and into the drain under the running water.

Looking at him, Alicia shook her head in response, causing Chris to show a confused look on his face. "I didn't miss anywhere. Except the lower half of your underside, but probably best I don't try to go there." he laughed nervously, the snake scowling with a blush before pulling him towards her with her vine around his arm until he was up close. "A-Alicia? Didn't do nothin' wrong did I?" he asked, blinking at the snake with a wary look, only to jolt and freeze up when she began coiling around him until he was wrapped to his shoulders, feeling her tighten around him causing Chris to gulp as she looked down at him with a shy and blushed look on her face. "U-Uh, a hug?" he asked, only for Alicia to shake her head before lowering her face to his and rubbing her cheek against him, Chris feeling the snakes coil moving about around him, sliding and massaging as it tightened and loosened in random places. "U-Uhh, i-is this what you meant when you shook your head?" he asked, smiling nervously as she pulled her head away and nodded in response as he felt the lotion on her rubbing and lathering all over him. Inching her face close to his, Alicia looked in his eyes before letting out a quiet sound, loosening up around his arms allowing him to pull them out of her coil. "Wh-What now?" he asked, the snake scowling and giving him a sudden, slightly tight squeeze causing him to let out an "urk!" before glancing away and scratching his cheek shyly, Alicia rubbing her face against him again and letting out another quiet noise. "I-If you're sure." he replied, looking at her before putting a hand on her cheek, then the other holding her face causing Alicia to shudder before she leaned her face towards his. "Alright then..." he told her before having the snake tilt her head slightly, pulling her all the closer until their lips touched.

Pressing them firmly together, the two shared the kiss for several seconds before pulling away, Alicia letting out an "again" sound before rubbing her cheek against his, Chris nodding before giving the snake a second kiss, followed by a third, then a fourth as he held her face, Alicia shuddering more and more around him until suddenly tightening up around his body when she felt him give her lips a tiny lick, her eyes shooting open before pulling back nervously. "No?" Chris asked, patting her tail softly to signal her to loosen, the snake apologizing while doing so before glancing away. After a moment, she looked back at him before nodding and resting her cheek back in his hand. Coaxing her to try what he wanted, Alicia allowed him to pull her lips against his again before she felt him give her lips another lick. Reacting just as before, she tightened up and let out a nervous sound, only for Chris to softly rub her cheeks and soothe the snake with a quiet voice until she finally followed his guidance and let him lick her lips several times before slowly opening her mouth, Chris telling Alicia she was good in response before slipping his tongue inside making the snake shudder all the more and let out a shy whimper as he moved his tongue about, coaxing her into using her own until she obeyed and used it to coil around his. After a moment, Chris suddenly put his arms around the snake and abruptly pulled her tongue into his mouth with a hard suck, the snakes eyes shooting open as she let out surprised and muffled sounds. After a moment, Chris slowly began pulling away causing her tongue to stretch out between their mouths making Alicia whimper until he pulled far enough away for her tongue to slip from between his lips, leaving it dangling from her mouth as she showed a dazed expression.

"Well? Not bad?" he asked, the snake jolting and quickly pulling her tongue back in her mouth, glancing away with a "wh-whatever" type of noise in response. "I gotta say, I liked it! Long tongues taste pretty good!" he grinned, showing a piece sign causing Alicia to flush and groan embarrassed, shaking her head before giving him a squeeze making Chris laugh and let out an "aww" before rubbing her cheek and apologizing. About to respond, Alicia felt something twitching against the inside of her coil, blinking at Chris curiously for a moment before looking at where she felt the movement. Noticing this himself, Chris froze before laughing nervously and waving his hands. "J-Just having muscle spasms!! It's all the action from today and all, being on the move!!" he explained, Alicia looking at him before feeling the twitching once again, becoming more like that of a throbbing sensation causing the snake to tilt her head before a slow, sly and wicked smile spread across her face before looking at Chris and grinning. "J-Just spasms?" he repeat, only for Alicia to shake her head and let out an "I know what it is" noise in response. Lowering her head, Chris panicked and quickly tried convincing the snake to avoid what she felt, only for the snake to ignore him before spreading her coil where the sensation was, looking within to find something sticking out under Chris's towel causing a grin to show on Alicia's face and a mischievous blush. "H-Hey now! C'mon!!" Chris shout, reaching down trying to grab her only for Alicia to welcome herself the way he had with her body. Nudging her face into her coil, she giggled before giving the bulging object a nudge with her nose, making it twitch and harden in response while Chris shuddered within her grasp, this reaction making her grin in satisfaction.

"C-Come on now!! O-Outta there!!" he panicked, only to find himself ignored as Alicia giggled again, the tip of her tail wiggling excitedly as she gave the bulge another nudge making Chris's eyes widen before he tried twisting himself out. In response to this, Alicia let out an "ah ah ah" type of "no" sound, followed by Chris immediately freezing when she snatched his towel between her teeth and suddenly snatched it right off from within her coil, pulling it out and showing it to him as it dangled from her mouth. "G-Give that back!!" he panicked, reaching out and struggling against her making the snake shudder in excitement from having his nakedness rubbing all over her within her grasp, the sensation getting to Chris as well causing him to freeze with a flush. "C-Crap..." he muttered, trying to reach down into her coil and cover himself to no avail, the snake tightening her grasp so he couldn't slip his hands inside while giving his towel a toss. "Wha-wa-wa-what's with you?! Just a minute ago seeing me in a towel made you freak out!! N-Now you're..." he point out, only to stop and glance away when he felt himself getting all the harder, Alicia feeling it as well and grinning again. Lowering her head back down, Chris jolt and started panicking again, trying to reach out and stop the snake only for Alicia to tighten her grasp forcing Chris to remain still as he let out an "urk!!" and wheezed, Alicia making sure to avoid squeezing him where his manhood was as she leaned her face in where it was and spread her coil open, exposing it causing Chris's eyes to widen once more as a flush spread across his face. Pausing for a moment, Alicia looked up at Chris as he faced her with a humiliated redness about him, telling Alicia she wasn't being fair only for the snake to smile and giggle slyly before leaning her face closer to his crotch as his manhood stuck out, pausing once more as she grew mere inches from it before poking it with the tip of her nose, making Chris freeze up wide eyed and bite his lip as she poked it again, repeating this several times before slowly rubbing her cheek against it, gazing it over while she felt its warmth and pulse against her face causing the Pokemon to shudder, resulting in a vibration of sorts running all over Chris making his bulge grow all the harder and shoot up all the more causing Alicia's eyes to widen as she watched it, showing a flush of her own before looking up at Chris, seeing his frustrated and bothered look. Amused and satisfied with his reaction, she leaned forward and stuck out her tongue, giving the very tip a sudden lick making Chris clutch the top of her coil, the snake giggling before nuzzling her nose under his shaft and lifting his member straight up, exposing his sack beneath it and allowing the snake to rapidly flicker her tongue all over it making Chris suddenly shout in surprise and quiver from head to toe, Alicia especially pleased by this as she toyed with him and continued rapidly flicking her tongue against his sack before thinking about their kiss and getting another idea.

Nuzzling her mouth closer to his sack, she opened wide and coiled her tongue around it before suddenly pulling it into her mouth and sucking on it, causing Chris to let out another shout and dig into her with his nails, groaning as she pulled her mouth away making his balls pull outward in the same way he'd pulled on her tongue until finally coming out of her mouth with a pop, Chris jolting and letting out a sigh of relief as Alicia felt his legs tremble. Looking up at him, Alicia smiled and let out an "hora hora...?" type of noise. "N-N-Nah..." Chris stuttered, a dazed look on his face before quickly shaking it off. "Wha-wa-what's with the bondage thing?! A-And everything you're d-doing?! If ya wa-wanna do something then le-let me go!!" he shout, Alicia grinning slyly and shaking her head in response. "Wh-What are you, one of those dominatrix types?" he asked, Alicia tilting her head before thinking the word over for a moment, finally managing to recall it causing the snake to show an "oh!" expression before smirking at him and letting out a "maaaaaaybe" noise in response, Chris sweating slightly. "W-Wait, seriously? You know what that means?" he asked, Alicia nodding with a mischievous giggle. "S-So the way you were acting, you turned into mush and freaked out when I was in charge, but when you got in control, THAT'S how you suddenly changed?" he asked, Alicia giving him a sudden squeeze and raising up before giving him a kiss on the forehead and smirking, causing Chris to blink for a moment before facing away with a scowl. "Th-This still feels w-weird, restriction is k-kinda out there." he point out, Alicia licking her lips and giving an "I'm an out there kind of girl" noise in response, smirking once more before lowering her head back down.

Going wide eyed, Chris panicked again and tried convincing the snake to release him, only for Alicia to ignore his request as she nuzzled his manhood before slowly opening her mouth. Recalling what she'd done to him before, she suddenly paused as a spark of shyness lit up inside her, hesitating for a moment as his member continued throbbing and pointing upward. "W-Would ya let me go-oooOOOH...!!" Chris tried to say, only to find himself silenced when Alicia coiled her tongue around his manhood, twirling it around and around until his shaft was covered to the base before she pulled his manhood into her mouth. "A-A-Alicia!! T-T-Too much!!" Chris panicked, gritting her teeth and clinging to her as she rapidly massaged his manhood within the coil of her tongue, his member now ensnared the same as the rest of his body. With him unable to resist, Alicia was free to toy with and explore him as she pleased, and taking advantage of this, she started sucking on him as well with a flush on her face, closing her eyes before she started bobbing her head releasing slurping noises from her mouth, these sudden sounds on top of her actions causing Chris to shudder and let out frustrated, yet aroused sounds as the snake pulled his member from her mouth, releasing the tip with a pop before loudly slurping the entirety of him back inside causing Chris to call her name loudly by incident, letting out an embarrassed groan while the snakes eyes widened and her flush reddened all the more before she began bobbing her head enthusiastically, shuddering as much as Chris was as her tongue completely covered his shaft, twirling seemingly endlessly and massaging him while strongly sucking his length into the back of her mouth, the tip poking her throat causing the snake to jolt and let out slight urking sounds whenever the tip of his manhood made contact until she pulled away with a loud "pwuah!" noise, trails of drool hanging from his manhood and her mouth with a dazed look in her eyes, Chris looking equally dazed and muttering a weakened "d-damn" as he pant.

Looking at one another for a moment, Chris reached out and pulled the snake in for another kiss, Alicia now freely, and happily, playing with his tongue and exploring his mouth. Suddenly, the snake let out an evil giggle before pressing her mouth even harder against Chris's, catching him by surprised as he leaned back before feeling the snake shove her tongue down his throat, making Chris let out muffled shouts and clinging to the snake as she coiled her tongue rapidly and twirled it about before finally pulling away, Chris letting out a gasp for air as Alicia giggled and wiped her mouth with her vine. "Wha-wa-wa-whaaa?!" Chris asked in shock, looking at the snake wide eyed while wiping his own mouth before rubbing his throat. "G-Geez Alicia!! That's..." he paused, clearing his throat and glancing away embarrassed. "A-Actually, not that b-bad..." he muttered shyly, Alicia giggling and rubbing her cheek against his before giving it a peck and winking at him. "I-I wanna do stuff too. Can I?" he asked, Alicia jolting wide eyed before glancing away nervously. The reason she'd been as bold as she had was due to his restriction. With her in control, doing what she had came far easier, but him being free and doing whatever he wanted instead was a different story for her entirely. "I uh, feel weird here, you know." he point out while the snake was debating, remaining naked and having already been played with by the snake. Continuing to hesitate, she finally glanced away with a nod and uncoiled his body, Chris letting out a sigh, followed by a "geez!!" shout when he looked down at himself while picking up the nearby bucket to cover his crotch with, now covered in red markings from being trapped by the snake. Blinking in surprise herself, Alicia looked away with a nervous laugh and an apologetic sound, about to say sorry only for Chris to shoot up his hand. "Believe me, you've said that enough to last for quite a while, no need to repeat it again." he replied before an awkward sensation returned inside him, looking down at himself before rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"I uh, I said I wanted to do stuff, but now that I carried a conversation I kinda threw myself off here." he told the snake, blushing shyly as she glanced away again with a slight blush of her own, nodding with an "mm" noise in response. "H-Ha ha, it's kinda funny when you think about it. Here we are, me talking stark naked, and despite how we've tripped all over ourselves since coming here and had our moods explode, we can do what we just did and stand here all casual like despite everything. Hard to tell if that makes us normal or weird!" he point out, laughing while Alicia let out a slight "y-yeah" type of laugh of her own, looking away and clearing her throat causing Chris to pause and look away himself, scratching the tip of his nose nervously. "S-So um, think you could, you know..." he asked, motioning for the snake to turn around. Tilting her head, Alicia nodded warily before slowly doing as requested, keeping an eye on him before facing forward and jolting back slightly, letting out a "w-wall" type of sound as she blinked in surprise, with the wall just inches from her face. About to look back, Alicia froze when Chris stepped over her tail and stood behind her, her eyes widening and a flush spreading across her face when his hands felt up her sides. Fidgeting nervously and moving her tail slightly, Chris coaxed her into relaxing as he put his hands over hers, taking each in his. "I think I'm assuming right when I take a shot in the dark here and say your kind don't like having someone behind you like this very much?" he asked, Alicia muttering shyly in response. "That's kinda part of the reason I wanna do things this way, at least for a little bit. It'll help you learn that it can be good, with me I mean." he point out, causing Alicia to blush all the more and gulp in response.

"I think it's great the way you are. When you're in control, you let yourself go and do what you want, you act more free and assertive, and when things are like this, you're more reserved, shy and all. I like it. Granted binding me up might take getting used to when you're given the reins, but it'll be interesting." he chuckled. "I guess it's a snakes nature too, isn't it?" he asked, Alicia responding with a "huh?" noise and glancing back before shuddering when he pressed against her back and put his arms around her, facing forward and closing her eyes to collect herself. "When a snake's in control, when it knows everything that's going on, when its got its prey, a snake can be the way you were, assertive and all. But when a snake doesn't know what's happening, when it's the one being intimidated, it retracts itself, tenses up and gets all defensive. Especially in the situation you're in now, cornered." he point out, Alicia letting out a "cornered?" sound and raising an eyebrow, about to look back only for Chris to suddenly pull down the extensions on the sides of her neck so he could reach more of it from behind easier, dragging his lips along the exposed portion causing Alicia to freeze up with a gasp, a sensation in her mind similar to a man abruptly yanking down a woman's dress to expose her to him, leaving the snake feeling all the more vulnerable as he kissed and sucked his way along her neck causing her to blush and close her eyes, pressing herself against the wall. Dragging his lips to the back of her neck, he nibbled his way up and down while rubbing his manhood against her back, causing Alicia to shudder excitedly until he returned to the side of her neck and suddenly dragged his tongue slowly up from the base of her extensions to the highest point his tongue could reach, Alicia letting out another gasp as he pulled away and blew a soft breath against her skin, causing Alicia to coo in relief before opening her eyes, dazed and bothered as he stepped out from behind her.

"Alicia, raise your tail up for me." he instructed, the snake letting out a dazed "h-huh?" sound in response, looking back as he reached down and began lifting it. Confused for a moment, she helped him by lifting it herself, Chris telling her to raise it higher until putting his hand on her and letting her know it was enough. Looking at her underside, he'd gotten Alicia to raise her tail enough to expose her slit from behind, the snake unaware of this or his intentions in her euphoric state until her reached out and touched it, causing Alicia's head to shoot up before nearly sending her tail slamming down only for Chris to shout her name loudly and assertively making the snake freeze, her eyes wide as he touched her slit once more, this time dragging his middle finger along it and saying her name softly, coaxing her into relaxing as her mind switched between knowing what was going on, resulting in a bright flush on her face, and a fierce instinct to retaliate, her pupils turning more dagger-like than usual as she stared at the wall, almost as if cutting right through it with her gaze. Speaking to her continuously, Chris planted firmly in her mind the fact he was there, that it was him touching her, and gradually he managed to work past her instincts and maintain a link with her rational and aroused side, until the snake finally started blinking and shook her head, saying "sss-s-ssorry" for her initial response. "There you go... Just stay with me, you know I'm not going to do anything bad." he assured, continuing to coax the uneasy snake as he continued rubbing the tightly sealed slit before him. Speaking to Alicia throughout the process, he kept the snake in a relaxed state, soothing her through both his touch and voice until he finally started getting a response from her body, feeling a stickiness seeping out of her slit showing her body was giving into the continuous yet delicate stimulation, with Chris noticing Alicia's eyes had lost their savage appearance and returned to their normal, albeit dazed state.

"Does it feel good Alicia?" he asked, slowly sliding his middle finger all the way from one tip of her slit to the other. Remaining silent for a moment, Alicia showed just a slight nod before letting out a "k-keep talking" kind of noise, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes as he nodded and continued speaking softly to the snake, showing her loving care through both his touch and his words until Alicia's slit was covered in her own arousal and had started puffing up, the snake biting her lip and waving her tail about, following Chris's touch until he slowly stopped, pulling his hand away before getting on his knees. With his touch gone, Alicia opened her eyes and let out a weak "wh-what are you...?" kind of sound. "Relax, relax..." he coaxed. "I'm gonna try getting you to open up. Just close your eyes and let yourself feel everything. It'll help you focus." he assured, Alicia nodding and relaxing, only to tense up when she felt his hands around her slit, his fingers trying to gently pull her open finding resistance. Biting her lip, Alicia shook her head with an "uh uh" kind of sound. "Okay, okay, not ready. Just do what I said, just feel me." he coaxed, Alicia letting out a nervous sound as he leaned forward and let her feel his breath. "How's that? You like?" he asked, softly breathing on her slit again causing Alicia to shudder before nodding, letting out a "g-good" type of noise. Continuing to rub her, after a moment he tried spreading her once again, still meeting resistance as Alicia bit her lip and was about to object, only for her eyes to shoot open and her teeth to grit when she felt something new dragging along her slit which caused her to tremble and her eyes to slightly roll. Behind her, Chris held out his tongue and was dragging it along, taking her wetness into his mouth before giving her slit tender sucks, making the Pokemon groan in frustration and press herself against the wall once more, flicking and waving her tail as he licked her slit over and over while continuously working on pulling her open, her slits resistance dwindling as he flicked his tongue along its length making Alicia gasp and quiver in response.

Saying her name quietly, Chris gradually increased the strength he used to coax her open, feeling her muscles relax bit by bit until he finally managed to expose just the slightest bit of pink, her long inner lips. "There we go. Just relax and enjoy." he coaxed, and while holding her open, despite how little he'd exposed, he took advantage and started pleasing her lips directly, dragging his tongue along them and sucking them out of her slit causing Alicia to moan and coo in response, a dazed, seemingly hypnotized look on her face as he pulled her lips further and further out using a gradually stronger suction until they were freely dangling from her slit. "W-Woah, she's huge now..." he thought, looking at the length and side of her lips in surprise before touching them and dragging his finger along. "They're probably big and long enough to get my whole face between em'... I wonder..." he muttered before sliding his tongue between her lips and dragging it up, he snake letting out another moan and arching her head back. Eventually, he managed to spread her slit further and further apart until Alicia had allowed herself to be fully exposed to him, and just as Chris thought, her new body had produced an extraordinarily large genitalia, and smirking at his discovery, he spread her lips apart as well before finally trying what he wanted, stuffing his face into her and giving the Pokemon a starving slurp making Alicia shout in response, her tail thrashing about as he enjoyed the feeling of his face engulfed by her lips and womanhood, her wetness covering his face as he pressed himself harder into her, his nose poking against her entrance while his mouth felt her clit pressing against it.

However, he noticed her clit was a lot different than the girls as well. The more he stimulated her, and the more he gave it direct attention, the more it swelled and stuck out, and rather than being rounded, her tip had more of a point to it. With her clit, he could suck it into his mouth and twirl his tongue around its length, causing Alicia to grit her teeth every time and roll her eyes up from the intensity his stimulation provided. Pulling his mouth away, he measured her clit and found it was as long as his pinkie when fully aroused, throbbing and twitching against his finger while Alicia pant heavily, quivering from her head to the tip of her tail. Smirking, he gave her clit a pinch before teasingly sucking on the tip sliding his fingers along it and twirling them about. After a moment, he started sucking the entire length of her clit in his mouth once more, twirling his tongue all over it while bobbing his head causing Alicia to moan all the more, tears welling up in her eyes as she grit her teeth and drooled slightly from the intensity, his fingers wiggling about all over her lips simultaneously, and soon, Chris found himself rewarded when Alicia let out a shout and tensed up before she began squirting all over his face, forcing him to back away due to the sheer volume as her orgasm sprayed all over him, Chris blinking wide eyed with a quiet "w-woah" in response to the show before him, and once she'd finished, Alicia slumped to the floor, panting with tears streaming from her eyes and a bright flush on her face from the powerful experience, leaving her limp and convulsing before him. Looking down at her, Chris gulped as his manhood throbbed, sticking straight up as he saw her womanhood glistening and continuing to let out tiny squirts with each convulsion.

Remaining still for a moment, he suddenly made his way over the snake, crawling on top of her until his manhood was hanging right over her exposed and tender pink skin before he suddenly lowered himself and laid on top of her, helping himself by grinding his manhood along her lips and clit making Alicia shoot up and shout, panicking only for Chris to cling to her tightly, gritting his teeth as he thrust his hips even stronger against her making Alicia thrash her tail and shake about, unready for the abrupt contact between them only for Chris to shout her name, digging his nails into her as he enjoyed the pleasurable sensation of her slit engulfing him without even inserting himself, his shaft thrusting against the length of Alicia's clit making the snake grit her teeth, gradually ending her resistance until she was laying beneath him, allowing Chris to help himself to her as she pant and looked at the ceiling while falling into another daze. Showing a dazed look of his own, Chris started muttering "i-in, in..." repeatedly, thrusting his manhood wildly until he pulled his hips back and felt for her entrance using his tip. Once he found it, he pressed the tip against it causing Alicia to grit her teeth, raising her head and looking at his aroused and frustrated expression. Seeing this, how assertive he'd suddenly became and how desperate he was for her, the snake started having a different kind of wave rush through her mind, this one consisting of their time together as he restrained himself, continuing to push his tip into her entrance yet refraining for actually going within her as he repeat himself, groaning "in, inside..." yet keeping himself from doing so. After a moment, Alicia bit her lip before resting her back against the wall and letting out an "i-it's alright" noise before glancing away shyly, Chris looking up with a "h-huh?" in response, his face appearing as if drunk from the pleasurable feelings beneath him.

Letting out the same noise in response, Alicia reached out with a vine and rubbed his face, nodding at him and giving her approval a second time. Going wide eyed, Chris said her name in surprise before suddenly clinging to her again and pressing himself against her entrance harder, repeating her name while doing so as his tip began pushing its way inside her. Despite the massive size of her womanhood as a whole, Chris was having difficulty getting himself inside due to her surprising tightness, her entrance actually more akin to the other girls compared causing Chris to shudder while Alicia shut her eyes tightly and grit her teeth, groaning in an "e-easy, easy!!" manner. Continuing to cling to her, Chris muttered her name as he felt her spreading around him, making his way in little by little until the two both felt something seemingly pop inside her, causing Chris to suddenly slide in half his shaft while Alicia let out a shout of pain, thrashing her tail about and shaking her head, making a "no more, no more!!" noise. Leaning back, Chris looked down as blood appeared, causing him to blink in surprise as Alicia stopped moving, shuddering and biting her lip with an "ouu-ch-ch-ch" type of noise and a hiss. "I-I didn't think it'd be the same." Chris muttered, Alicia wincing and opening an eye with a "h-huh?" noise in response. "N-Nothing. I'll just have to take it easy for a bit." he replied before leaning back down, Alicia jolting wide eyed and letting out a "r-remove it!!" type of panicked noise, only for Chris to gently grind his hips in a circle, working her open and getting rid of the remainder of her hymen causing Alicia to shout again and grit her teeth, flushing with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna take it nice and easy. Just lay back and let me do this." he coaxed, kissing along her underside while Alicia groaned and sniffled before nodding and slowly laying with her back against the wall once more. Reaching down, Chris rubbed and massaged the snakes clit, licking the palm of his hand before gliding it up and down the shaft of her clit to help rub off her pain, trying to distract her with the extra stimulation as he claimed Alicia for his own, working his way more and more inside of her until he raised up, telling Alicia to take a deep breath before thrusting his entire member into her depths, his sack and hips slamming down against her causing Alicia to arch back with a loud gasp, her eyes widened as Chris laid on top of her and started thrusting, causing the snake to let out grunts and moans combined as tears streamed from her eyes, struggling to take on the pain of having his girth in her depths while at the same time feeling an inner pleasure rising from deep within. As he skillfully combined his thrusts with moments of grinding about inside her, he worked on continuously easing her feelings of pain and focused on seeing more signs of pleasure from Alicia, kissing and licking her underside while rubbing her body and holding her. Eventually, her signs of torment faded leaving her looking as dazed and pleasured as before, panting and gasping between her moans as Chris gained more freedom to move within her, leaning back as he thrust allowing Alicia to look at his body as he had his way with her, the snake flushing as his sweat combined with the drops of water all over his body making the snake shudder and gulp. After a moment, he pulled out causing Alicia to let out a sigh of relief as he bent down and spread her long lips, her virginity now mixed with her arousal and the water.

Looking at him, Alicia let out a "wh-what are you doing?" noise, only to freeze up wide eyed when she felt him dragging his tongue along her womanhood once more, letting out a loud slurp causing Alicia to quiver before letting out an "i-it's dirty!!" noise in panic, raising up and nudging him away with her vines only for Chris to refuse, grabbing her vines and pinning them down as he leaned down and gave her another slurp, forcing her body to arch as he licked away at her lips and entrance before latching his mouth onto her and sucking on the snake, drawing out her sticky arousal from her depths making Alicia's mouth gape in shock, trying to take in air as her eyes rolled while feeling him push his tongue inside her and swirl it around like a spoon causing Alicia to shout in a "s-stop!! stop!!" kind of way, this time out of the intense sensations of pleasure he was sending through her as she felt as though he was going to suck her dry. After a moment, he pulled away with a slurp followed by a loud "pwuah!" as he took in a deep breath of air, wiping his mouth while Alicia let out a relieved sound and slumped to the floor, laying limply once more as shudders ran through her. Standing up, Chris asked Alicia to raise up as well, ordering her to face the wall as she had when he was fingering her. Doing so with a dazed and woozy look, Alicia turned to the wall as she pant, her breath steaming up the tile as he touched her tail and asked her to raise it again. Biting her lip, Alicia shut her eyes tightly before doing so, and once her womanhood was exposed, Chris walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her tail before rubbing his manhood against her lips, pushing himself between them using his tip before aiming himself at her entrance, warning the snake to brace herself before suddenly thrusting himself into her body, all the way to the base once more causing Alicia to shout and press herself against the wall.

Continuing his dominant assault on the snake, Chris grit his teeth and clung to her tail tightly as he thrust into her harder and harder, the snakes mouth agape as she gasped and moaned against the steamy tile, her flush remaining as he called her name repeatedly making Alicia quiver and tighten around him. As he brought himself closer and closer to his climax, Chris began flushing as well, his expression turning dazed the same as Alicia's as he reached down and gave her long clit a pinch before stroking it rapidly causing Alicia to shout and grit her teeth, now enduring the intense sensations of being rammed into from behind on top of having her clit mercilessly stroked. Calling her name more and more, Chris's thrusts became wild and unpredictable the closer he got to the edge, his strokes on her clit losing their rhythm as well causing Alicia frustration until he suddenly let out a loud grunt and rammed himself into her, standing on his toes as he pushed his body against her and his legs trembled, the snakes eyes widening and her mouth gaping as she felt a sudden warmth shooting into her body, Chris giving her clit a sudden hard pinch causing the snake to go through another orgasm of her own simultaneously. Releasing her clit, Chris wrapped both arms around her tail and slammed his manhood into her several more times, each thrust delivering another shot of his seed inside the regal Pokemon causing Alicia's tongue to hang out, trying to gasp for air as she convulsed due to the sensations of both, his climax and her own overwhelming her. Once he'd released his final shot, Chris went still and let out a growl of relief, keeping himself pressed against her tail as he clutched it, trembling weakly until he finally released her and backed away, pulling himself out causing Alicia to fall to the ground once again, the snake now spent and struggling just to beg "n-no more" with a defeated look in her eyes, dazed and seemingly lost in another world as her slit tightened back up, closing herself off from any further assaults by his girth while at the same time sealing in his seed within as Chris slumped to his knees, now spent himself.

Spending a moment relaxing, catching his breath and allowing the jelly sensation in his legs to pass, Chris looked at Alicia as she continued swooning, noticing tears still in her eyes. Crawling along and sitting beside her against the wall, he wiped her tears away before pulling her into his arms, kissing the snake on the head and rubbing her cheek. "You okay...?" he asked, Alicia nodding before raising up and rubbing her cheek against his. Letting out a hiss and wincing from her sensitivity, Alicia looked at him in silence, Chris looking back before she slithered over him, sharing another kiss before resting atop his body, laying her head on his chest.

Looking down, Chris smiled, telling Alicia "I love you" causing the snake to smile shyly in response before letting out a noise telling him the same, raising her head to nuzzle her nose against his before the two lay in silence and peace together, the snake seemingly glowing while Chris rubbed her head to help calm her down after their first experience going all the way at last...

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