Chapter 25: The Royal Peace and Love

Gaia and Babalun were dead. In their Sacred MechaLords, Ash and Kenshi destroyed the two with their swords. Now, they have an army of lovelorn girls after them which they split and so did the girls. Ash perched himself in a tree to escape the throngs of girls willing to marry him. Sensing the coast being clear and with Pikachu on his shoulder, Ash began to hop down from the tree. ("Those girls seemed desperate,") Pikachu squeaked. Ash's Koro found Ash and Pikachu and squeaked to alert its presence.

"Hey, are you doing alright?" asked Ash. Koro squeaked again, alerting Ash and Pikachu to Dagmeyr coming onto the area. A chunk of ruby caught his attention. "Dagmeyr?"

("What's up?") the Mouse Pokémon wondered. Dagmeyr inched toward the broken ruby.

"Is… this what's left of Gaia?" he wondered as he picked up the shard. "So… my father was a fool. He didn't have what it took to rule everything."

"And neither will you!" shouted Ash as he lunged. "This is for your betrayal!" Dagmeyr turned to Ash just as he connected a powerful left hook on the jawline. Ash was only starting. "This is for what you did at the academy!" He nailed the back of Dagmeyr's head with a spinning elbow. Kenshi's training began to show. "This is for breaking Chiaia's heart!" He swung a knee, connecting to Dagmeyr's stomach. "And this…" Finally, Ash performed an uppercut, flipping Dagmeyr's head back and falling. Dagmeyr lost the shard, his footing and his consciousness. He fell to the ground in a sickening thud. "…Is how you'll remember me." He picked up the shard and had an idea. "Pikachu... Thunderbolt." He threw the shard up and Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, striking and destroying it Babalun bellowed one more cry upon his destruction. He closed the ball as Emera reached the scene.

"Dagmeyr!" she cried out as she rushed to his side.

"He'll be fine," Ash advised as Pikachu and Koro rejoined. Emera looked up to Ash. "Besides, Chiaia still has a word with him soon." Emera shed a tear.

"You've never wanted to take his life without a reason," she cried. Lan soon found the group but aimed her sights at Ash.

"There you are, you little bastard," she scowled. Ash, Emera and Pikachu looked to see Lan coming with a gun in her hand. "My mother's dead! My army's gone and now I won't be paid!" Ash stood, willing to protect the others.

"You've got more to worry about now that the Holy War's over," Ash warned.

"What should be over is your life-" Lan's rant stopped when a shot rang out. She dropped her gun before she fell on her face with Ulyte behind her with a gun of his own. Ash and Emera feared Ulyte killed Lan.

"That should silence her," he grinned.

"You didn't…" believed Emera. Ulyte never dropped his smile.

"Sedative," he replied. "This way, she'll be silent until she reaches her new home in the dungeon." He made his way to the group and knelt to Dagmeyr. "Nephew, you disappoint me, but I will grant Ash's wish." He placed the gun by Dagmeyr's neck before pulling the trigger and a small pop was heard. "Unfortunately, you won't see me again…" That's when he began to faint.

"Ulyte!" cried Ash. Emera caught Ulyte as he reeled. She palmed his forehead, only for her to recoil.

"He's burning up," she warned.

"Don't bother treating me," he groaned. "I've been on borrowed time since Babalun's death. Besides, there's a secret I'm… willing to shed with you." In a flash, Ulyte morphed into Rea, shocking everyone.

"Rea!?" gawked Ash.

("Who are-") fumbled Pikachu. ("What are you!?")

"That feels a bit better," he, or she sighed. "I'm sorry for the surprise but now that Babalun's dead, I can come clean to you in that I conspired against the Shitoreyu Empire. See, I carried a Core Crystal like Kenshi and Mexiah." This made Ash and Pikachu blink but Emera realize Rea's point.

"I heard about Sacred MechaMasters and Core Crystals in which they can be transferred to new people upon relationships to replace those who could no longer pilot a Sacred Mechanoid," she believed.

"Just about," Rea replied. "My body couldn't keep the Core Crystal maintain and broke down my body, so I changed my body to withstand it and become a spy against the Shitoreyu Empire." She brought out another gun. "I was meaning to use this to destroy Gaia's core but with Gaia as a whole destroyed, it's no longer useful." To Ash and Pikachu, she was a spy meant to help the Holy Land.

"So, that's why you came to me to help you?" he guessed. "Because you knew I was a Sacred MechaMaster before I acquired Excalibur?" Rea giggled to Ash's guess.

"I sensed something unique about you but I wasn't sure what," she responded. Suddenly…

"There you are!" cried Jessie. Ash, Emera, Rea and Pikachu looked over to find Team Rocket with Jessie in a black leotard and holes where her undergarments covered. James had on a black t-shirt with his uniform pants.

"Team Rocket?" recognized Ash.

"So that's the slut outfit Queen Flora had for the female prisoners," Rea hummed. "Glad I never saw it until now." Jessie steamed at the lack of reactions.

"Because of you, I had men torture me!" she cried out. "Put stuff on and in my body and felt pain all around!" Hearing this, Emera winced to Jessie's words. Ash scoffed.

"You know, I've heard you plenty of times saying that you're the most beautiful person in the world," he shrugged. "And men came after you. That is what you wanted, right?" Jessie's face became redder than before.

"Da twerp's not wrong, Jessie," Meowth admitted. "You've bragged all da time about your beauty." Jessie punched Meowth in the head.

"You shut your Meowth!" she snapped. "Now, you should pay for everything, twerp!" She raced after Ash but he beat her to the punch with a punch to the gut. She spat up phlegm and vomit before Ash swept Jessie off her feet and didn't catch her. Instead, he leaped into the air and gave Jessie's face a stomp onto her nose, mouth and forehead. Jessie's body became limp. She was knocked out cold and blood spurted from her ears.

"JESSIE!" cried James and Meowth as they ran to their fallen comrade.

("You stay right there!") yelled Pikachu as he raced in like a shining yellow comet. When he reached James and Meowth, a huge explosion of light flashed before Pikachu sprung back to Ash and reeling from the shock. James and Meowth were on the ground and unconscious.

"What… was that?" asked Emera.

"That was Pikachu's Volt Tackle," Ash informed. "It's a powerful Electric-Type move but it does recoil damage."

"But why use it?" questioned Rea. Ash stood up.

"Doesn't matter," Ash scoffed. "We can bring these guys to the academy… and Emera, you'll have to discuss with Headmistress and Chiaia about Dagmeyr." That's when he felt something on his side. Looking down, he saw Koro pulling out one of Ash's Pokéballs and it plops to the ground. Knowing which hole on his belt the ball fell from, Ash smiled. "Hey, good idea, Koro!" Ash picked his ball up and tossed it. "Torterra, I choose you!" The ball opened and Torterra came out with a roar.

"Good idea," Rea believed. "Torterra can carry Dagmeyr and the rest to the academy." Ash, Emera and Rea loaded those knocked out onto Torterra's back. They lead the Continent Pokémon to the academy to which men stood by.

"Rea?" one man recognized. "And Prince Ash!" Rea confronted the men and told them the ordeal.

"Gather anyone to escort these to the dungeons!" she ordered. "They won't wake up for awhile so feel free to carry them how you need to."

"Yes, ma'am!" they agreed. With a Mechaworker attached to a flatbed, they loaded the unconscious, including Jessie's and Dagmeyr's deformed faces full of bruises, blood and broken/missing teeth. As soon as Ash could be free from Team Rocket, Lashara and Maria reached him and tackled him.

"You escaped!" they cheered. The girls smothered Ash with kisses.

"Ash, you were amazing out there!" cooed Lashara.

"You vanquished a god!" awed Maria. "You deserve our love more than ever!" As they hugged, half of the army of girls chasing Ash and Kenshi, including Gryino and Yeliss, stopped at the sight of Lashara and Maria over Ash. Morga awed the sight.

"Looks like Kenshi can wait for some time," she sneered.

"I can take him as the new prince," Maria suggested. "Or should I say… the purebred prince."

"Now, hold on!" snapped Lashara. "How do we know that Aunt Flora won't take Ash to fool around in bed?"

"Oh, and you know how to control the funds with your gambling habits when they work against you like with Kenshi?" retorted Maria.

"And you have-"

"Okay, you two!" barked Ash. "I know you two like me equally." Lashara and Maria blinked before turning to Ash.

"Like you?" repeated Maria.

"You know that I love you, Ash!" snapped Lashara. Everyone but Ash and Lashara gasped to the empress referring to herself.

"Cousin!?"

"Well, ever since that night after the talk of Ash and Kenshi's ownership, he has helped me with self-confidence."

"And he has helped keep me safe!" That's when the cousins realized Ash's point. "He's right… we can both take him in as our husband."

"I agree. Ash deserves the two of us." This made Ash smile.

"I can't do anything without you two around, huh?" he joked.

"Nope!" chirped Lashara and Maria. "And we're ready to marry!" Ash gawked to the proposal.

"Marry!?" he repeated with a shriek.

"Of course, Ash!" agreed Morga. "Since you've got the girls before Kenshi, you're in line to be wedded off with Empress Lashara and Princess Maria!" Ash wasn't sure about the idea of marrying someone, let alone the cousins.

"Hold on a second!" he protested. "Don't you think I'm a little too young to marry?" Headmistress came by with assurance.

"As a Sacred MechaMaster and a hero of this world, the obligation of proposals will come," she explained. "The sooner you accept the proposal, the less of a risk with everyone else who wants what you have." Hearing the Headmistress, Lashara and Maria continued to plea for Ash's hands.

"If we get married, we can go to your world," Maria offered.

"And that way, we can have our childhood like yours," Lashara added. Ash surrendered with a nod.

"You two win," he sighed with a smile. The girls cheered to the successful proposal while Lashara and Maria smothered Ash some more. Night fell in the new and peaceful era. A church was being restructured for the occasion as Headmistress entered the Swan's War Room with Kenshi and the main girls, including Doll, or Mexiah in this case. Pikachu's in Wahanly's lap.

"So, the wedding will be in the rebuilt church hall for Ash and the royal cousins," Headmistress announced. "A warrior and a Sacred MechaMaster certainly deserves a reward of a king." Kenshi felt like he was about to lose the Swan.

"I'm not handing the Swan over to Ash!" he whined.

"No, the Swan's yours," rebutted Aura. "Though, it's a big wedding to put those three in."

"True, but you can't argue how much they loved him after he and Kenshi destroyed Gaia," Wahanly pointed out.

"Not to mention the love everyone from this world was after being reminded Kenshi's still single," Mexiah cooed.

"And you need to hold back on that," Chiaia scolded as she pulled her sister off of Kenshi.

"I mean, besides," Kenshi spoke up. "I wanna choose who I wanna marry, but not now. Heck, I'm rather stuck between Yukine and Princess Aura." This made Aura gasp.

"Wait, you intend to fulfill my father's wish and be your wife?" she pondered. "And queen?" Kenshi sighed, believing he stirred a hornet's nest.

"Well… it's one suggestion…" he gulped before shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Anyway, what's with the hellbent discussion?" Chiaia bopped Kenshi's head with a slap.

"Are you stupid?" she nagged. "We're trying to determine who should be Lashara and Maria's bridesmaids!"

"And besides," Wahanly added. "You're automatically Ash's Best Man for the wedding." Pikachu felt hurt that Kenshi became the Best Man and not him.

("Why can't I?") he pleaded. Aura came over and petted the worried Pokémon.

"Not only are you the Best Animal for Ash," she started. "But you'll get the best seat in the event."

"Indeed," Headmistress giggled. "As long as you're on your best behavior." That made Pikachu feel a bit better.

("Why would I let you down?") he squeaked. Chiaia giggled to Pikachu's newfound happiness.

"Somehow, it's always fun to have a happy Pokémon," she snickered. "Anyway, it's been determined that since Yukine and I've been the main attendants to the princess and empress, respectfully… we automatically became Maids of Honor."

"And right now, Ceres is the only groomsman for Ash while Hazuki's one of the bridesmaids," Wahanly added. "Then again, we've all been with Lashara since her induction." Kenshi pondered as Wahanly made a set of lists with Ash, Lashara and Maria on the headers. Under Ash was Kenshi with a mark of Best Man and Ceres underneath. Lashara's list has just Chiaia as "Honor Maid" as was Yukine in Maria's list before Wahanly added Hazuki under it.

"That means Wahan and I would be Empress Lashara's bridesmaids," Aura determined. Wahanly placed her and Aura's name under Lashara's list.

"In addition," Headmistress spoke up. "Queen Flora will walk Princess Maria down the aisle and Maya will walk Lashara." Wahanly added Flora and Maya's names below with asterisks on them. Mexiah thought of something.

"What about my students?" she wondered. "Could they also be Empress Lashara's bridesmaids?" Chiaia giggled to the though and sneered back.

"So would you," she countered. Mexiah had a good snicker.

"I wouldn't mind at all," she agreed before Aura snapped her fingers.

"I've got a better idea," she voiced. Everyone turned to the Dark Elf princess. "We can have Mexiah and her four main students be Empress Lashara's bridesmaids while all of us be with Princess Maria's staff." The girls pondered for a moment but Kenshi found a problem almost immediately.

"Except it doesn't even out," he complained. "Empress Lashara's got five bridesmaids, Princess Maria's got three and Ceres is Ash's only groomsman." Out of nowhere, Aura's attendants came out.

"So, it's not your wedding but Ash's?" the taller Dark Elf wondered.

"Can we request to be in the wedding as well?" the shorter Dark Elf offered. Wahanly was in glee.

"You guys are heroes!" she cheered. "That would give Ash three groomsmen!"

"And I should bring up that two graduates from a year ago heard about this and want to be part of the wedding as well," Headmistress added.

"I'm sure Queen Flora could offer two of her maids to serve as Princess Maria's bridesmaids," Aura suggested. Seeing the lists on Wahanly's screen, Chiaia realized the outcome.

"Whoa, are we all set with this?" she awed.

"Not really," Headmistress denied. "We won't be for a while but I'm sure in a week, we'll be ready." No one argued Headmistress' item. As the days leading to the newfound wedding counted down, Ash, Lashara and Maria were outfitted with several measurements to the gowns and uniforms for the brides, bridesmaids, Maids of Honor, groom, Best Man and groomsmen. Finding what they were after, including rings handmade, the practice runs to know when those would enter… the wedding was set and the night of it meant Ash had to be ready. A pair of young men exited the bath with towels around their waists, both wearing glasses.

"Get plenty of sleep," the blond warned.

"It's gonna be one heck of a day," the raven-haired advised.

"I will, Diego," Ash acknowledged the raven-haired. "I'll see you and Pete before we start." Ash soaked in the large bath by himself. No Pikachu, no Buizel, no Infernape… It was just him. "Marriage… can I really go through with it? And at my age? I know we rehearsed…" Suddenly, arms and legs wrapped around Ash's chest as Mexiah, her plump breasts scrubbing Ash's back, rose from beneath the water's surface. Her breasts rubbing and bouncing over his back made Ash freeze.

"I know what your brides are about to get when you three are declared married," she teased.

"Me- Mexiah?" he shuttered.

"Now, don't get so worked up, little hero… otherwise, you won't know what to do when you have to do the duty." Mexiah's words made Ash quiver. "You dealt with the Shitoreyu Empire, you killed Babalun and Gaia and ended the Holy War."

"…With Kenshi's help."

"I know… but who decided to be so brave to find a way to rescue me from my prison and clutches of Babalun?" She leaned around Ash's head and kissed him on the lips as she swung around his body to face him. She pressed her lips, her tongue and her breasts on Ash. She broke after a minute, saliva drooling from their mouths and into the bathwater. "I cannot thank you enough for what you did to save me, even after all I did to you." Ash finally recovered as Mexiah hugged him, chest and breasts scrunched together.

"I never wanted to hurt you anyway."

"I can figure that and maybe if not for my newfound love for Kenshi…" That's when she morphed from her adult form to Doll. "This would be my form to love you. After all, you did save me from Gaia." Once again, she gave Ash a kiss, burying her tongue into Ash's mouth. "This is to help you in kissing Lashara and Maria." The more she held the kiss, the more Ash began to panic. About 20 seconds later, they broke. After their bath together, Ash and Doll entered Ash's bedroom that hadn't been changed since the initial attack on the Holy Land.

"I wonder… what is it about me that you can't get enough of?"

"Oh, your muscle, your innocence with your Pokémon… You have a lot in common to a lot of people here. Of course, I never suspected you to be a Sacred MechaMaster, let alone control Excalibur. Hearing about this, and learning about Core Crystals, I automatically assumed you had the same Core Crystals like Kenshi and I have. Learning the truth from my father, I feared that you would be unaffected and could kill anyone without concern. Makes me glad that I'm wrong." Ash giggled to Doll's beliefs.

"Like I said… I never wanted to hurt you… and you did give me a good fight when you first possessed the Sacred MechaLord against me." Doll palmed Ash's head and rubbed it, messing his hair. Ash reached for her arm, giggling the entire time. "Okay, I deserve that. Anyway, will this be your last night as Doll and you'll live as Mexiah?" Doll sighed.

"I will always be Doll… and I'll always be Mexiah… I want you to focus tomorrow on Lashara and Maria, and to know that we all have your support." Ash nodded before they turned themselves in. Ash fell asleep as Doll observed his face, adoring the zigzags she fingered. "I will be there for my sister which is the most important thing we all need to worry about." She snuggled with Ash under the blankets before beginning to fall asleep herself. Before she did, she began to sing softly into Ash's ear. Tonight was Ash's last night that he would be alone while Chiaia had Pikachu for the night.

TO BE CONTINUED…