5th treasure [walling it up]

[captainash]

[Hey, guys, do you know what Johto and Kanto have been missing these last few years?

Giant robots. Pirate-themed giant robots.

But luckily, this one will be flying around and stopping pretty much everywhere on the way, so if you want a ride now's the time to say it.]

Comments

[captainash]

[No he isn't! There totally a few of them... somewhere, deep within obscure UC series... maybe? ...What, can't a guy be too awesome for psychic powers these days?

Still, those are rather unusual. Ash activates the strider mode and starts flying around them, hoping to get a better look.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo watches the black giant transform and circle around, the cockpit basically being a chair and controls suspended in a spherical display screen making seeing what's going on fairly easy. Whatever the black giant is it seems interested in the things (metal birds? what are these?) he and the two Pokémon are riding. Maybe it can talk? Apollo thinks about wanting to talk and video feeds of the other two cockpits appear to each side, the Solrock and the Lunatone headtilting in confusion. No, that's not it. He wants to try talking to someone outside. There we go. A video feed's being sent out now.]

Hello?

[captainash]

[Hey, would you look at that, all of their communications systems are compatible. How convenient. Ash opens the feed and- huh, familiar kid over there.]

...Hello. It's good to know those things actually have a pilot, at least. I was starting to wonder.

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Considering that the Vectors are 12000-year-old machines and the Dark Hound is from X00 years in the future, "miracle" might be more appropriate, or maybe "Acceptable Breaks From Reality".]

What are these things? They flew overhead and then there was light all around me and I was inside one.

[captainash]

[...The AGE System Did It, then. Or something.]

That's a good question. They don't look like any mobile suits I've seen, even Vagan ones... Is there a manual for them somewhere in the cockpit? I could see if it mentions anything about grabbing pilots at random.

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Sure, we'll go with that. Also, this is the cockpit.]

I don't know what any of that means.

But... I feel like I've seen these before.

[If the Dark Hound has the right kind of sensors, it'll be clear that the three fighters are suddenly starting to power up. Especially the red one in the lead.]

[captainash]

[Man, that chair is even nicer than his.]

In positive or negative circumstances? I mean, if you feel like you've seen them burn villages before I'll start to worry.

[Well, the Dark Hound is sensing something at any rate. Ash is just not sure what.]

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

I'm not sure. It's like I've sat here before. I know how to make this do what I want it to. And... a name...

[He's suddenly looking awfully calm. Almost unnaturally so, especially given how confused he was just a moment ago. The way he's moving is like someone who's intimately familiar with the machine they're piloting. Ash should recognize that look of being comfortable in a cockpit. It's not Kio's level of comfort, it's the kind of comfort that Woolf and Flit have; someone who's been in dozens of battles.]

[captainash]

[Oh, he recognizes that look alright; it's the one that would tell him that he'd need to pilot damn well to win if this were a fight. And coming from a kid who had no idea what was going on a few seconds ago? It's really damn freaky.]

Hey, are you alright...?

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo doesn't seem to hear him, and whatever his gaze is focused on, it's not on the video feed in front of him.]

Aquarion.

[Cue this music replacing the background music, along with an enormous energy surge from within the lead Vector. Apparently Johto's decided that a love song is what this moment needs?]

Genesis Merge! Go! Aquarion!

[And cue this as the three Vectors combine into Solar Aquarion.]

[captainash]

[Ah, the beauty of a well-designed transformation sequence, the elegance of strong mecha, the poetry of music that doesn't have the same chiptune as every other song in this world...! It's a shame Ash isn't in a state to appreciate it.]

Seriously, if those things are doing anything they're not supposed to do say it now.

[whateveryoueatliveitspart]

[Apollo doesn't respond, just staring straight ahead. The feed switches to split-screen to show the Solrock and the Lunatone in the other cockpits along with Apollo still staring at nothing. This probably isn't what's supposed to be happening now. The Solrock and Lunatone make confused noises for a bit.]

The time is not yet right for the Wings of the Sun to soar once again.

[The voice sounds like an older, more authoritative Apollo, but Apollo's mouth isn't moving. Aquarion trembles for a moment, then pulls back its right fist and throws a punch at the sky. It's arm extends as far as it can go, then the forearm opens up to reveal another identical forearm, which extends along with the fist. The new forearm opens up to reveal another identical forearm, which extends along with the fist. And then it happens again. And again. And again. As Aquarion's fist continues to ride an ever-lengthening arm, it becomes painfully obvious that these extra forearms can't possibly all fit inside the original one, and that conservation of mass is being blatantly violated here. Eventually the fist punches a hole through the sky to reveal glowing energy beyond, and Aquarion flies towards the portal, retracting its arm as it goes. A moment before it enters, it separates into the three Vectors, Apollo and the two Pokémon glow and vanish from the cockpit, appearing on the ground below, and the Vectors fly through the portal and out of Johto, the portal closing behind them. Finally, the 4th wall distortion washes over Apollo and the two Pokémon and they all get sent somewhere else.

Congratulations, Ash. You've had your first encounter with a Super Robot that's capable of leaving Johto under its own power, taking all explanations for what you've just seen with it. Enjoy.]

[captainash]

[Well, that is. Well. That's. How. ...What the hell did he just witness here?]

.........Great. Now Father and Kio are never going to believe me when I tell them about this whole thing.

[Ash, sweetie, that is the least of your problems, believe me.]