DIN-06 Serena's Story

As Jennifer and DIN-05.2 inevitably find themselves upon the streets of Lumiose City something odd begins to occur. A greninja, then two, then three and then twelve leap from over a building, gracefully hopping over and under anything in their way as what felt like an endless flock of them migrated across the streets all around the group, taking care to avoid bumping into anyone.

DIN-05.2 puzzled over the spectacle, stopping to watch for a moment.

One greninja suddenly slips from betwixt the rest as if emerging from thin air, beelining right for the two girls and grabbing them without any warning. Suddenly the two of them were being hauled off in a moment's notice, and not a soul in the rest of the city was any wiser. Within moments the greninja had bodily carried the both of them to a forsaken alleyway.

DIN-05.2 seemed oddly complacent with her kidnapping, though Jennifer would simply lack the strength to break free on her own. Just like that however, they were dropped on their respective butts in the middle of a clearing. Greninja stood up straight, blocking the exit, which then promptly ceased to exist in a shimmer of mystical energy. Relatively smooth vertical walls were all that remained in all directions, the sun casting a deep shadow upon half of the area from it's current position above them. Within that shadow, something shifted. It appeared to be a girl, glowing lavender eyes piercing the darkness to pierce Jennifer's soul.

"Nice robot. Is she yours?" the girl asked somewhat accusingly.

DIN-05.2 stood up and looked around. "Six?" she mused aloud in mild shock.

"Okay, White, you got a LOT of explaining to do. It was like you were expecting to be kidnapped and dumped here. If you wanted to take me to meet a friend of yours, could you just tell me next time?" Jenny was equal parts impressed and scared at the squad of frogs and their coordination. The muscle-bound woman had been taken unawares, and it was over as soon as it began...and there was a new girl here.

"So. White. She, uh...this friend of yours, she kinda freaks me out. Why don't you make the introductions? And what WAS that Pokemon that grabbed us? I've never seen one of those before."

DIN-05.2 blinked, peering at Jennifer confusedly. "I recognized my sister's Greninja..." she replied softly. The set of purple eyes places her hands on her hips, stepping forward into the light to reveal... a well dressed and primped girl. She'd look entirely non-threatening if it weren't for the piercing, glowing eyes full of judgement.

"Model D-I-N Zero Six Kalos General Serena, Jennifer Harsdoff" DIN-05.2 went on.

DIN-06's gaze remained locked on Jennifer. "...See that? Does that seem like normal people speech to you?" she began lecturing, apparently mad at the other. "She's incomplete! Her systems aren't even completely installed! Are you even taking care of her? Do you know how dangerous it is to have her out in public like that??" DIN-06 drilled, becoming somewhat irate. She then quickly calmed herself a bit. "She could get hurt... People don't like us." she went on rather anxiously.

DIN-05.2 seemed to jump in rather abruptly. "Jennifer has been my friend. She doesn't look at me like others do. It's pleasant." she explained rather bluntly. This seemed to cause DIN-06 to stop and consider DIN-05.2's words for a moment.

"So what if she acts a little weird sometimes? I bet we all do. I mean, look at me. Most girls don't like bodybuilding. Does that make me strange?" Jennifer tried to calm the Butterfree in her stomach, re-centering her gaze on the haute couture and away from those piercing eyes as she started to flex a bit. "Some kinda general of this region, eh? That, um, Greninja of yours...was that the one that grabbed me? I gotta see what it can really do! Plus, I just met you, so what better way to get to know each other better than with a battle? Three on three, come on!"

She was...gaining courage? Even challenging her?? Surely this might give the so called Kalos General pause. "Oh, sure, I've taken great care of her. We went to see a football game at the stadium, and man, she got UP to snag that game ball! And wait till I tell you the story of how the two of us met! But first, how about that battle?"

There was no way Jennifer was going to let this new girl talk about her friend like that!

DIN-06 just sort of blinked. Was... Was that human challenging her to a fight? NOW?! Irritation tainted her complexion and she stared at the other for a moment as if questioning how real she was being right about now. After a moment she closed her eyes. "...Alright." she replied softly, drawing two pokeballs pokeballs.

"Greninja, take the field. Use double team." DIN-06 commanded thoughtfully. Greninja leapt over the group's head and placed herself before DIN-06, standing straight and performing a rather mysterious hand gesture. Suddenly the flock of greninja had returned, only this time the illusion was revealed for what it was.

There had never been more than one greninja.

It was debatable as to whether Jennifer's ignorance of the situation's gravity was a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, it allowed for unfettered expression of how she felt. This was a "happy to see you" battle, not a "fate of the world" battle. On the other hand, perhaps she wasn't taking this foe seriously enough to win.

"Aggron, let's go! Heavy Slam!" Squashing it with the awesome power of a STAB head smash wasn't the best option here due to this thing's impressive mobility. Spreading its arms out wide to catch as many illusory doubles as it could, the armored kaiju launched itself into the air, all 720 kg of muscle and steel coming down hard on the squad of 40-kg frog ninja, offering few avenues of escape with its large body in the enclosed space.

"I thought I saw a dozen or so coming at me and my friend earlier. Knowing it was all just the one--that's so cool! I can't wait to see what else it can do!" Jennifer flashed a huge grin at White and Serena. She was managing to have fun, even as she had to shield her face from the dust cloud of the colossal impact.

As the dust clears only Aggron's form becomes distinct, suggesting Greninja had fallen. Within but a moment of this however Aggron's form would suddenly lurch as, in a startling display of brute strength and raw will, a greviously bruised greninja forcefully the almost one ton pokemon off of her.

"Greninja is a pokemon of grace and subtlety, but what you might not know about her is that she's also the roughest, toughest pokemon on my team!" DIN-06 explained, gesturing to the battlefield. "Greninja, low kick!" she commanded. Greninja suddenly shifted her weight forward, lifting Aggron off of her and abruptly dropping to strike at Aggron's legs with titanic strength, violently knocking the other off balance. Delivering a pavement shattering shove to finish the deal, she quickly bounced a dozen feet away in retreat.

Another dust cloud. This time, Aggron wasn't getting up after that blow to the knee toppled the iron giant. "Hey, nice move there!" Jennifer gave a huge grin, enjoying herself despite the setback. "Go get 'em, Lucario! Extremespeed!" Quicker than even a Pokemon's keen eyes could track, the dog-like fighter zipped behind Greninja and delivered several powerful blows before coming back into view. After the meteoric impact earlier, it was pretty clear that this would not be a survivable assault.

"Come on, Serena! I bet you have a bunch of other Pokemon I've never seen before!" Another huge grin was flashed in the direction of the cybernetic brunette, trying to get the detached and allegedly dangerous robot girl to show some emotion. "Hey, White? After this battle, I need to ask you something. But first things first. Let's win."

DIN-06 seemed to consider the situation as she returned Greninja to a pokeball. So Jennifer wasn't familiar with Kalosian pokemon? A plan came to mind and a smile to face. Twisting her body to one side, she produced a second pokeball. With a gentle toss an Aegislash appeared, it's silhouette aligning with DIN-06's as it mimic'd being held for a moment. The blade and shield pokemon then took a defensive stance in the air.

"...Sounds like I owe you a welcome to Kalos~" DIN-06 remarked, her neon lavender eyes peering into Jennifer's. They seemed to search for something, ask her something, though it was unclear what exactly was on her mind.

The spectral sword and shield struck an intimidating pose, acting as Serena's literal armament for a second, before assuming a battle pose with the shield first and "arms" crossed. This concerned Jennifer greatly. There was a reason Serena chose this switch-in...but what? "Holy moly, that's really cool!" she smiled. "I knew swords were once made from discarded Skarmory feathers, but to know that they can become Pokemon...that's wild! Lucario, return! Let's go, Ferrothorn!"

Serena was up to something. Clearly Lucario was at some sort of disadvantage. Besides, it was a sword, it was gonna try to slice and dice. Perfect bait for Iron Barbs. Meanwhile, Jennifer took careful stock of White's expression as a gauge of how bad the situation was. The former leader knew she was playing from behind, but it was useful to try to figure out just how deep the hole was.

DIN-06 placed a hand upon her hip, casually watching with an expression of exhilaration upon her synthetic face. "Legend has it that Aegislash are very picky about who they answer to. Once upon a time being chosen by an Aegislash was a sign that you were worthy to become a king." she explained, gesturing idly with her free hand. "Aegislash, autotomize!" she commanded. Aegislash seemed to shift it's stance slightly, an aura of heat rising off of it as it tensed in anticipation.

"Nowadays they seem fit to recognize queens too~" DIN-06 went on to remark in a humorous tone.

"Kingmakers, huh? We'll see about that. Ferrothorn, use Leech Seed!" A big hit was coming. Ferrothorn was not expected to survive what was coming next. This was all about giving Lucario the best possible chance to pull off the sweep, and in this case it meant Ferrothorn had to sacrifice itself to be a wallbreaker. It looked like a steel type, but there was something going on in that electronic brain over there.

"White, any idea of what else this thing can do? There's a reason this thing came in on a fighting type. Given your frosty reception, I don't think she'll be inclined to share that tidbit after the fact." This was another part of the reason Jennifer had challenged Serena to a three on three. The two part victory by retreat strategy. The first part was gathering intelligence in a skirmish, then the second part consisted of using that knowledge to unleash a full scale assault in the decisive battle, slamming away at any weak points. The odds were most definitely against the human--but that was no excuse for holding back in a fair Pokemon battle!

DIN-05.2 seemed to peer at Jennifer searchingly for a moment, as if processing your request. Please hold while you are transferred to our next available representitive.

"Aegislash--Swords Dance! Follow it up with Sacred Sword!" DIN-06 called out. Aegislash seemed rather apathetic to the leech seed, a metallic noise reminiscent of a blade being drawn being it's only reply as it began to waver erratically in the air, blade whirling around shield as it shifted forward rapidly to meet Ferrothorn. Suddenly a powerful energy enveloped it's blade, elongating it as it delivered an earth shattering blow unto the unfortunate mon.

Meanwhile, DIN-05.2 clicked into gear. "...Aegislash is a malevolent spirit--The kings it selected were more like it's subjects. Aegislash is the true king, using it's ghostly influence to possess those that wield it." she explained in a rather matter-o-fact tone, as if reading from a script. "Fighting type moves may not be effective." she finished after a thoughtful delay.

Oh, shit! That power...and that speed...and it was a ghost type to boot? Well, thanks, White! No point wasting strength on a futile endeavor! "I surrender, Serena. You win...my Lucario can't beat that. Makes me wanna go out and get one for myself!" A stupid grin spread across the loser's face after having seen such incredible power on display. "Thanks again for a great battle! I gotta ask, though...how many more of you are there? You said you were the sixth one, and White was the fifth...so where are numbers one through four? And are they all as strong as you?"

Truth be told, the surrender was a tactical retreat. If Serena were to try anything, Lucario's strength would be held in reserve along with Krabby and Scizor to make a getaway. Maybe she'd come back for a rematch after catching some of these new Pokemon...ooh, Jennifer could hardly wait!

DIN-06 seemed slightly surprised by the gesture, puzzled even. After a long moment's hesitation however she returned Aegislash. "You did well, Aegislash... Rest for a bit." she murmured, beaming at Jennifer. "Well... There's about a dozen of us." DIN-06 began thoughtfully. "And I'm actually the tenth to be created." she went on, musing aloud. "But as for how strong we are--I guess that depends! Each one of us fights for something different. It's our dreams, our ideals that shape our strengths." she explained, casually walking over and wrapping an arm around DIN-05.2, pulling the other into a side hug. DIN-05.2 appeared relatively comfortable with the embrace, though she made no effort to return it. "Personally?" Serena started again.

"I fight for my friends." the lavender eyed robot said rather proudly.

Jennifer would only have a couple of moments to respond before DIN-05.2 would abruptly interrupt.

"Clarification:" White began. "Model DIN-00, Model DIN-00A, Model DIN-05.1A and Model DIN-05.2 offset DIN-06. DIN-06A, DIN-06B, DIN-06C and DIN-06D were never constructed. DIN-06 has no partners." the beta bot offered rather casually. Serena winced slightly, moving to grasp White with both hands now.

"See that? She's not supposed to be able to say those things. That's 'lower level functions' talking." DIN-06 added, her mood dampened by the stinging remark.

"So what? That makes her unique," Jennifer retorted. "I'm glad we had this little battle, anyway. But there does remain the small question of which way is the Pokemon Center, thanks to your, ahem, unusual method of getting our attention. Could you perhaps escort the two of us back to town? Since, you know, you're so concerned about letting your little sister wander about on her own," the bodybuilder added with heavy sarcastic overtones.

"White, this is getting really fucking weird. Was that supposed to be a secret or something?" Jennifer whispered to the brunette android. "All I'm getting so far is that you two don't like each other. Four other versions of Serena? We need to talk. Alone. And I need to get one of those sword and shield Pokemon, they look really tough."

DIN-06 frowned, apparently not entirely amused by the other's sass. DIN-05.2 seemed as confused as Jennifer was, shrugging gently at the situation. She leans in a little closer. and returns the whisper. "Serena protected me--I feel safe around her..." DIN-05.2 replied, confused by the notion. What do you mean I accidentally hurt her feelings??

DIN-06 wasn't patient for very long. She took a step forward to join the conversation. "...They murdered our sister, okay?" she blurted out, very serious in tone. Pausing for only a moment, she continued. DIN-05.2 looked between the two of them, mildly uneasy with the situation. "DIN-00?" she asked. Serena nodded quickly. "Please, just listen to me for a moment... We can go go back to the pokemon center right after." she pleaded. White seemed to hesitate a moment before relenting.

"You want to protect me again--Like you used to, before we were separated." DIN-05.2 observed thoughtfully. DIN-06 was once again quick to nod. "...Right. I'm just... scared." Serena replied, her gaze shifting to Jennifer. "As of a couple of days ago our kind, robot kind, is considered public enemies of the league." she explained solemnly. "Our sister had problems, okay?" she was quick to continue. "We all have problems..." she said, trailing off for a moment. "But I don't want to see anyone die, especially not my little sister. People might... attack us. The police might come after us. If they take us, it's over." she explained, seeming to summon her courage.

"...So I need to ask you. Can you trust us?" DIN-06 asked, holding her hand out to Jennifer. DIN-05.2 furrowed her brows and turned, peering at Jennifer searchingly.

"Y-yeah. Where I come from, there's a whole lot of stuff weirder than android Trainers. You just learn to not care about what things are and focus on what they can do." Jennifer gave a warm smile, taking Serena's hand and giving a strong shake. "You can trust me. And if some trumped up official gives you shit..." She reached into a pocket in her windbreaker, pulling out a badge. "You have my word as a Gym Leader of the Terran Pokemon League. With the portal in Castelia gone, I'm holding you guys until that situation gets resolved. You will be safe with me."

Technically speaking, Serena and White were being detained, but the sentiment was more genuine. Jennifer wanted to be friends and help everyone. Both of their facial recognition software packages were reading empathy and friendship. The detained status was simply to buy time until the red tape necessary to launch a joint investigation was navigated. "Now let's get back to the city. I bet it looks really pretty at night."

DIN-06 puzzled over the forreign badge for a moment before accepting it. She then smiled in relief at Jennifer. Her own grip was rather strong, though it was also uncannily soft. Someone had gone through great effort to to mimic the sensation of skin, getting quite close. "Thanks, Jennifer. We're putting our trust in you." she replied gratefully. Suddenly DIN-05.2 had shifted to hug Jennifer, having taken the expression 'hold' a tad too literally. Serena offered an awkward smile of consolation, backing off and shifting towards where the entrance to the area had once been. "I don't believe that's what she meant, White. Anyway--" she began, grabbing hold of the wall. It bunched up as if it were made of paper. She then promptly pulled it aside--It had been made of paper! The elaborate illusion gave way to an alleyway leading back into the crowded streets.

"Let's get your pokemon healed up. Hopefully nothing dumb happens on the way there." DIN-06 mused aloud, shifting into the alleyway and stopping to wait for the other two to join her.

"Yes, let's hope." Jennifer smiled and let Serena lead the way. "I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with this area. Mind leading the way? There's just so much STUFF around here. That, and I'm surprised there weren't any hidden cameras behind that scenery you just tore down."

Jennifer sighed. It was always tough to swallow a loss like that, but getting beat by a steel type? She was equal parts impressed and infuriated. "Hey. White. How do you two know each other, anyway? Sorry if I seem a bit upset, because I am. Just...nothing a good meal can't help. I could really go for some sushi tonight."