Aftermath - Figuring things out with Meg!

Kai repeated the sequence of the events in his mind.

However, no matter how he tossed and turned them around, he couldn't find a single instance of deliberate or accidental movement that could explain the abnormality.

Maybe the Focus Punch had some hidden repercussions, Kai thought, but then shook his head. No. The Skill was one-directional, no doubt there. It wasn't using the Skill that had knocked them out. Maybe building up the Focus Punch and adding SP into it?

Kai had just thought of this question when Meg spoke again.

"Not only I and Andrik, master," she whispered, "but also the entire crew had been knocked out. I found it later while making a quick inspection of Actaea. The ship hadn't come out of the storm unscathed, either. No permanent damage, but it needs heavy maintenance. What did you even do? There… there was nothing you could do against the wave, I think. Not to mention, all the time I was having a feeling that there was something unnatural about the storm and the sudden tsunami."

Once again, Meg's assertions based on her experience astounded Kai.

It was also a type of instinct, he knew. He put the matter of this mysterious passing out of all the persons on the ship in the back of his mind, taking a deep breath, and knowing well that Andrik couldn't have seen him clearly, otherwise, he would have already been dead. The only thing of importance was why the Abnormality Limiter hadn't returned to its original value by itself by now.

The answer lies with Andrik, Kai concluded. I must seek him out for a one-to-one session.

"You are not wrong, Meg," he said, leaning back on the bed. It felt good to have his voice back. "It was unnatural. Everything about that storm and the ensuing murderous wave was unnatural, and as you said, I had nothing to match its power. But…"

Then Kai told her everything. Less to see her reactions and more to hear her opinions, lest he overlooks a few details. He started with his realization about the Cosmic Authority Lore, at which she raised her old eyebrows.

"Action, Perception, and Reaction," Morning Mist repeated the three words. "Quite ingenious theory, master. So, according to you, the last part of the lore is the Pokemon timeline's Reaction to your Action, and it is based upon the denizens' Perception of you? I must admit, though, I have never heard of it in my hundred years of life. But then again, a hundred years mean little in the grand scheme of things. May I know on what foundations you have come to this conclusion, master?"

Kai nodded. "The first and second minor epithets, as you have named them, are quite obvious and simple to understand upon thinking a bit," he said, collecting his thoughts. "The third minor epithet is not only indecipherable but also has a retributive nature to it against me (-Meg narrowed her eyes-). When I saw the sudden incoming tsunami, the first thought I had was of the tsunami from Pokemon World that was on an even bigger scale. I think the third minor epithet makes me face the same disaster that I had caused in the previous timeline."

Silence lingered between them for a while as Kai drank his wine. "Indeed," Meg said suddenly. "It may be as you say, master. Also, this retribution must be valid once per world, or it must have some enormous time gap between the two phases, otherwise, it would have returned by now in the last three days. Let me add that the retribution can only come for you while you are out in the sea. Such is its nature."

Kai beamed. These were all the conclusions he too had come up with, and yet hearing it from his Item meant that all his investment into getting her was truly worthy.

"What I don't understand is," she continued to Kai's surprise, "if this Retribution is the negative aspect of the Lore of the Evil Pokemon of Alto Mare, then what is its… positive aspect? Because other than unlocking the new Stat, it has shown no definitive benefit, unlike the obvious drawback that almost killed you, master."

Now, this perplexed Kai. It was in his mind, but he had forced himself to not think about it.

For the answer was something he abhorred to speak out loud. If no benefit to his Cosmic Authority could match the destructive capabilities of the drawback, then didn't it mean that all that he had done in the World of Pokemon was for nothing? For, surely, the Rare Item had turned out to be unusable until he met its Requirements.

Kai licked his lips and just decided to move on for now.

He mentioned his use of Serpent God's Wrath to command the fallen crew, as that was the only way for him to use a Skill without getting killed on the spot by the System.

This tale must made Meg remember the cracks running all over Kai's body and the torn muscles of his throat. Her pallid complexion made her face look utterly terrified at some conjectured notion.

Then, Kai told her his intention to use the combined power of HP capsules and the Iron Tail, and then the sudden dropping of the Golduck-Kai's mind gem out of his forehead. When he mentioned the subsequent notification of fulfilling the condition to use the Focus Punch, Meg also jumped out of the chair.

"You were right!" she exclaimed like a child. "So that's why you were experiencing such an excruciating headache, master. Because the time of the mind-gem dropping out after reaching maturity was coming closer. Hmm… I wonder. I wonder if, like the mind-gem, you have the other items related to the locked Dementor's Skill and the Eon Soul Dew already on you."

Kai couldn't hold himself. He laughed outrageously. Again and again, Meg was hitting the vital points with uncanny accuracy and precision.

"If I have them," Kai told her, looking at her satisfyingly, "then I don't know any way to know about it. Not now, at least. This too, I must leave to the mercy of time, I guess."

Kai then concluded the tale by mentioning the punch and how he had buffed it to such a degree that it had annihilated the entire wave like a bubble of soap before losing consciousness.

Meg, though awed and bewildered at the might portrayed by Kai, didn't go into the details of the buffs. The shock of a 300 Base Damage had already befuddled her mind. "Can you use it again, master?" she asked, holding her breath.

Kai doubted it. With his headache gone, the logic stated that the mind-gem had passed maturity now, vanishing into his body. No harm in trying it out, though.

"Let's find out," he declared, stepping off the bed. As Meg blushed, a bubbling heat coursed through him from his chest, and steam rose from his reddened skin, blurring him. His naked figure transformed into Golduck-Kai smoothly. The tail came out, thrashing, avoiding the bed. His hands and feet became webbed, and all of his body turned blue.

Before, a blood-colored oval gem, the size of half a thumb, was used to adorn Kai's forehead.

Now, there was only a pea-sized red dot, and only by concentrating on it, one could tell that it wasn't a dot, but a curved surface protruding out of his head.

When Meg pointed out this change, Kai nodded. "I'd thought as much," he said, canceling the transformation, his hand going for the clothes. "I can only use this Skill after the mind-gem's next maturation. How much time would it take? We can only wait to know the answer."

After dressing himself as befitting a captain, Kai rubbed his stomach, feeling the pangs of hunger. Meg noticed it and was about to rush to get some food when Kai motioned her to stop.

"I'll take care of the hunger later," he said, smiling at the immensely shocked Meg. "First, I must see to my Abnormality Limiter.

"Call Andrik and let's see what he offers in return for his life."

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