Ch. 3 - Dusk

Chapter Three - Dusk

"Aah, you bitch!" Zageith screamed, clutching at his face. I saw blood coming from under his hands.

Mom dove towards Jessica after performing the slash, and I mentally cheered while trying to get to my feet again.

Why were things so slow? My eyes were hurting, but I'd just gotten smashed in the face, so I assumed that was a logical enough reason. My vision was a little blurry as well, but I was getting strange afterimage effects, and it felt as if things were moving slower than normal.

Mother whipped backwards in slow motion, pulling Sis along with her. Zageith growled from where he landed and pulled two more blades out of his cloak! With his hands down, I saw the frozen groove going from his left cheek to the middle of his forehead. Blood was flowing from all sides of the ice. Badly.

The rock girl finally pulled her fist out of the ground and was spinning to face Mother too, though! "Look out, Mom!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, as I watched the rocky fist go in slow motion towards her back! Mother's ears twitched and she instinctively dodged to the side. Zageith threw the knives…

Mother rolled out of the dodge, with her right arm still around Jessica, and her left hand holding one of Zageith's blades… Where was the other one?! My eyes widened, and hurt even more as they saw the hilt sticking out of Jessica's side! The rock pokégirl smashed another crater into the ground, this time spraying her own master with rock and dirt.

Mom winced as she saw the blade hilt, and hesitated for a split second, before making a dash towards the house. I finally managed to stand up, and ran after her as best I could. Kari had apparently tipped our table over and had used it as a barrier verses the flying rocks and flames. She peeked out around it and watched, wide eyed, as we ran back towards her.

My eyes seemed to suddenly give a violent throb, and the light heightened in the area by several times! Things slowed down again and I managed to look to the right, just as that mouse Pokégirl flickered in! Her image was hazy and out of focus, but I managed to see her barely. Some sort of… strange technique? Mom leapt and tried to dodge, but Mishka's sword seemed to have more length than it actually did somehow! The blade missed entirely, by mere inches, but a burst of blood still came from Mom's ankle! She screamed, but still managed to tuck and roll in the air, coming down on her back while cradling Jess.

In a split second, Mom glanced at me as I was running towards her. She then whipped her right arm out and flung Jessica at me! My eyes widened but I managed to catch my sister gently, careful not to hit the hilt sticking out of her side, and lower her to the ground. Mom whipped Zageith's blade up just in time to hook the side of Mishka's, and alter her trajectory. The mouse Pokégirl's blade entered the ground barely an inch from Mom's head. She then whipped her good foot out and launched Mishka into the air and away from her!

Mishka recovered fast in the air and did a flip, releasing some type of throwing knife as she did so! Her throwing pattern was totally erratic, though! The knives fanned out in the air and spread out, like a shotgun of blades. Reacting purely on instinct, I rotated around…

The pain was insane, but I took two knives directly to the back! Wincing, I bit my tongue again, and felt more warm liquid in my mouth. I fell forward onto one knee, and heard the clash of metal on metal again behind me. Turning a little, I noticed Mom had managed to roll to the side to dodge two knives, and get up on her knees, anyway. Mishka had charged her again though, and was starting to do that weird dancing attack again! Mom blocked the first attack head on with the sword and was actually knocked over by the spin. The knife she had used to parry was sent flying out of her hands! It skidded to a stop on the ground about four feet from me…

Mishka let out a scream of rage and a lunged at Mom again! Everything hurt so much… My body didn't want to move, and was starting to lock up on me again, but I forced it to! I lunged and grabbed the blade on the ground and ran at them…

Compared to the entire fight before hand in almost slow motion, everything happened rather quickly. Mother caught Mishka's hands and stopped the blade. The skin on the collar bone where the blade was pointing still acted as if it had been punctured though, and Mom cried out! My eyes widened as I wanted to scream…

Mishka ripped her blade sideways… Blood hit me in the face and splattered down my chest. My scream of rage erupted and I slammed into the mouse Pokégirl, knocking her sideways off Mom and, at the same time, driving the blade I was holding deep into her ribs…

She screamed in agony, and whipped her blade around to try to hit me, but I was way too close for her to effectively use it. She hit my left cheek with the middle of the blade, thought, and it felt like fire was consuming my face again! I didn't care though and only growled louder, twisting the blade in her side and trying to drag it around to her chest, carving as I did. She cried out again and ground the sword upwards, causing the vision in my left eye to vanish completely, just as I tore with the blade…

She screamed, blood gurgling pathetically from her mouth as the beam of light hit her and she de-materialized from under me… The point of the blade I was holding drove into the ground as I fell the remaining foot or so to the ground. I just lay there… My body hurt so badly, and I had used… everything… to hurt that Pokégirl as much as I could…

Shifting my hands under me, I managed to push myself up onto my knees again, shaking badly. There was no sight in my left eye. It was open, but there was just… nothing. Looking back towards Mom… She was still staring upwards at the sky. Her foot bled lightly, compared to the gash across her lower throat which almost separated her head from her body. I tried choking back a sob, and threw up instead…

Dizziness. Everything had darkened considerably, but I watched the blood drip into the vomit on the ground. I knew I was losing a lot of blood. But… I moved weakly over towards Sister as Patrick and Kiya rushed past me. I heard, "Kiya! Thunder Bolt!" behind me, but ignored it, even as the ground around me shown with yellowish white light from the attack.

Jessica… She lay there against the table, just opening her eyes. Kari was crawling out from around the table and held her up lightly, as I wobbled and stopped in front of her. She didn't look good. Burns were all over her skin, and the blade was buried deep in her right side. Blood leaked from around the edges, and flooded like a waterfall down her side and hip. She coughed then, and some came out her mouth. I knew the blade must have went into her lung… Then I noticed her leg… It was… black? Veins spread up and disappeared under her skirt, black running along with them, and red spreading out from the black! Poison?! Looking further down, I saw one of the throwing blades sticking out of her ankle that I must not have blocked!

Feeling the two in my back, suddenly, I slumped backwards and sat on the ground. "No… no, no! No!" I heard to my right. The world seemed to lag behind as I turned my head, only to catch up slowly and give me a lightheaded feeling. Dad was crouching before Mom and just shaking his head, holding his temples… I fought the urge to throw up again, then decided that I was too tired to. My legs had already locked up…

Jessica was watching the black slowly going up her legs, as Kari crawled over to me then and whimpered weakly. I… couldn't take my eyes off Jess. She just smiled so softly suddenly. Leaning forwards, she crawled the three feet towards me and slid into my lap? "Thank you… Brother… for trying… I know you tried…" she muttered then, before coughing again. I felt the warm liquid running down my chest from where she coughed against, but held her to me softly. I couldn't stop them. Warm tears ran down my right cheek as I held her. Maybe I started it, or maybe she already was, but Kari was crying too. There was… nothing I could do… was there?

"Jess! Keith!" Dad suddenly shouted out before running to us. Sis tried her hardest to look up at him, smiling weakly, regardless of the blood running out of her mouth. I felt so sleepy… None of this felt real. This couldn't be real, could it? "God, no… no… I can fix this, I can stop this…" he muttered weakly, shaking off his own tears as he put a hand on each of us?

Kari moved to the side and stared at him questioningly. "Come on… work!" he screamed… no, more begged… It sounded distant… as distant as the sirens that could be heard now. Dad's hands started to glow with a soft, warm light… but the darkness was spreading faster it seemed. It felt warm, and I was holding Jess, with Kari right beside me. Nothing was wrong, was it? No, of course not. Everything was… normal. Right… It was all so right. I drifted off to sleep…

* * * * *

The sirens were getting closer. Patrick glared and watched the man who was introduced as Zageith, ran. He was almost five blocks off now, and there was no way to catch up as he didn't have any fast movement types. Damn it! He shook his head and looked over at Kiya. She was nudging the still sizzling Galem with her foot. It had dropped after two attacks. The Pokégirl Keith attacked probably wouldn't last the night with the wounds she'd received. That means probably only one of his Pokégirls lived. One hell of a fight for someone looking to challenge. So chances are, he had attacked for different reasons… "Come on, Kiya," Patrick ordered gently. She nodded to him and followed as he went back into the yard. 

Danni was sitting quietly on the porch where he left her. Burning craters were everywhere, as well as a light frost over the grass, leaving an unnatural feel to the scene. The house was reasonably untouched, but the fence was still on fire. Patrick winced as he saw the amazingly nice Foxymaiden mother laying on the ground, unmoving. Her tamer… the twins' father, Jason, was ten feet away, hunched over both of the twins! Patrick ran towards them, only to notice the strange scene as he got closer…

Jessica… the Pokégirl who was going to be his in just a few hours, was glowing a faint blue color! The boy… Keith, was glowing a light golden color as well. Both hands of the father were glowing bright white! Wait… this was a blood gift! "What are you doing?! You can't force a soul bond like that!" he shouted, running faster. He saw all the blood, the burns, and the poisoned daggers. She wasn't going to make it…

Jason either wasn't listening, or didn't care. "Stop it! That won't save her!" Patrick tried shouting again. Jason shook his head rapidly.

"No! I can preserve her soul, then we can fix her body and put her back in! It's perfect!" he shouted. His face was in the image of a broken and twisted grin. Kari looked on in horror as she tried to grab one of his arms to stop it. 

He flicked his elbow into her shoulder and sent her sprawling, though. "You can't undo that!" Patrick shouted, running forward and lashing a kick into Jason's side! Just as the foot connected, there was a flash of light! Jason landed five feet away, next to the body of Kess. Patrick rolled out of the way and onto his knees fluidly.

Nothing… had changed. Jessica lay unmoving now, on top of Keith, who was breathing… barely, and slouched over forwards, unconscious. The two daggers were sticking out of his back still, blood flowing down his shirt. It was a mess. Patrick shook his head and glared over at Jason. "There… are you happy?! She's gone already… Help your son, who needs it!" he shouted.

Jason didn't move, and instead just broke into tears, shaking his head over and over again. "No… no, this wasn't supposed to happen… we were supposed… to…" he muttered, reaching down and holding Kess' hand softly. 

Patrick shook his head and felt drained. It made sense now… "You two were Recognition Bonded…" he said softly, not really asking. Jason didn't do anything other than stare at the ground and shake. Patrick made a fist with his right hand and glared over at the smoking Galem, before shaking his head sadly. "Why? Why attack this family?"

Kari sat next to Jess and Keith, shaking her head over and over again, tears pouring down her face…

* * * * *

"Damn it!" Zageith shouted. The G-Pointdexter, Mariemi, winced but continued bandaging her Master's head. She had been trained in basic medicinal use and first aid just for such an occasion. "I didn't think that bitch would be so sharp still! If I would have known I'd be going up against someone even a few steps below Kessandris, I would have brought twice the amount of Pokégirls!" he shouted, seemingly at the phone that lay a foot away from him in the darkened alley.

"Calm down, Zageith. We underestimated how skilled she'd be. I know. You still killed her, though, and crippled her family…" the phone spoke, the sound of a much older man coming through the speakerphone. 

Zageith shook his head rapidly, and Mariemi released the bandages just long enough for him to stop, before patiently going back to work. "The bitch took my fucking eye out, and you tell me to calm down?!" he growled, glaring with his right eye towards the phone.

"Yes, I do. If you would have attacked the Kessandris of old, you'd be counting your blessings to be alive, and you know it. You're very lucky that she was rusty. Now shut up and report back now, or you'll be missing more than your eye…" the phone lectured, before audibly clicking and going dark.

Zageith shook in fury in the dark, but sighed after several seconds. "There's nothing I can really do now to get revenge anyway. Both Pokégirls are dead, and it will be more painful to leave the two humans alive, at this point…" he reasoned, to nobody in particular, before smiling gleefully…

* * * * *

The haze finally cleared. It was as if waking on a frosty morning and greeting the sun coming out, warming the world. A crisp clarity focused upon my mindset, and I sat up slowly.

Eyes closed, I felt whole again. My body didn't hurt anymore, and I could move without aching. I smiled. My eyes opened softly. My breath caught as an Elysian field expanded before me, before both my eyes to see. The wind blew past gently. It was warm, and smelled of lilac and a warm apple cinnamon, causing me to relax and exhale gently.

I knew she was there. Looking to my left, I saw a feminine form outstretched in the grass. Jessica smiled upwards softly, eyes closed, and let the sun shine over her. I smiled at her, and it felt like something… Something I'd forgotten about… it was okay. It perplexed me that I couldn't remember, but I suppose it didn't matter. Joining her in looking upwards, I fell backwards as well.

Ages passed around us, and before us. It didn't really matter. After a while, of indefinable timing, she finally spoke. "It's so peaceful here. It would seem I forgot why we were here…" she muttered. I'm not sure we were in a place where "why" existed. I sat up again…

"I know. It's strange. It feels like we've forgotten something important… but I can hardly think of why it would matter," I pondered, feeling almost as if it was to myself.

Jessica smiled over at me. "Hmm… we probably are. But I doubt we'll have to deal with it if you don't want to. Although it could have something to do with the storm clouds behind us…" she pointed out.

Storm clouds? I frowned and started to turn. She grabbed my arm and shook her head. "No, you probably shouldn't look at them. It's never a pleasant thing to look behind you, right?" she asked, smiling gently.

"I guess so. Although if it's important, we should probably look at some point. We'd hate to get rained on…" I reasoned.

Jessica just shrugged, causing her furry ears to droop a little. "I somehow doubt we can get rained on here. This place is far too beautiful for that. Besides, the rain is behind us, right?"

It was weird, but I couldn't see a flaw in her reasoning and nodded, laying back down. "I suppose you're right. I wonder where Kari is…" I pondered, after several moments of silence.

Jessica snickered and pointed out, "You always think about her. Although admittedly, she's probably getting rained on… It's probably not worth getting wet to go look for her, if she'll just find us soon anyway, right?"

I frowned. I suppose that's right. But… you know… "I'd hate to get rained on by myself, if I were her, right?" I asked.

Jessica didn't move for a few seconds. Then, a small, but light smile formed. "Yes, I suppose I was avoiding it, wasn't I? But then we hit a quandary. I'm afraid I can't see the storm clouds…" she pointed out. 

She couldn't? That was weird. I wonder if that was what I was forgetting. But it hardly seems like something one would usually have aggravate them. I was probably missing the larger picture, again.

"Oh yes… the storm clouds. I forgot you can no longer see them…" I affirmed, turning around.

Also, as it was expected on some lower level, I didn't flinch at the hellish purgatory erupting from the ocean of grass behind me. Perpetual storm front and downpour washed over the sulfuric, charred, and broken mountain range, in which one path cut through. A path, like the inverted spine of the world, overlapped by many a gnarled tree and shattered rock. I beheld the abyss, and it looked back, knowingly. The sky was split at this divider, nightmarish grays to blissful white, two sides of a coin. I was unfazed.

"If you're going to go back to her, don't forget about me. You know where to find me, you know…" Jessica pointed out. I nodded gently back at her before walking onto the path…

* * * * *

My eyes opened. Abruptly. Dim light hit my senses. My body felt intact, if not a little on the stiff side. My memories returned, along with the tingling sensations in my extremities. Shifting my gaze, miraculously of both eyes, I saw that the curtain was partially drawn, showing a weak dawning sunlight into the room.

A room? I sniffed gently. Chemical smells assailed my poor olfactory sense. A light chemical smell, but of base, not acids. The kind typical of industrial cleansers. Latex was picked up after that, followed shortly by fresh linens. Strange. Given that I was in an unfamiliar bed, in a reclining position, I'd hazard a guess at me being hospitalized.

A light pressure was felt as I tried to take my first deeper breath. A soreness, but not entirely unwelcome, as I was happy to feel again. But no, something beyond internal. Glancing down, I discovered a head, as the source of the pressure. Kari's head, to be specific. She seemed asleep, her arms tucked in under her head, while she rested against my upper body in its almost entirety. Well that was a strange place to fall asleep, Kari…

Now that location was out of the way, and company assessed, I decided the next order of business was to evaluate my condition. My left hand found my left I rather rapidly, but, as far as my sensory lacking fingers could ascertain, the eye was back again in its entirety. That was strange. Last I knew, that wasn't one of the parts humans could regenerate.

Sighing, I decided there was little I could discover on my own. It's a pity they didn't leave a medical chart within arm's reach of me. Failing that…

My ears twitched a little. I heard a distant phone ring, and the quiet voice of a nurse answering. Shifting the focus of my hearing a little bit to the right, I heard the sounds of a heeled foot walking across laminate flooring. Strange. Shifting my attention to the right instead, I heard the soft sound of Kari breathing in and out, causing me to smile. The smile didn't last very long as I also focused harder and could hear the rhythmic double thumping coming from her. Wait… that wasn't right at all.

That's when I realized that I was somehow shifting where this enhanced sense of hearing was detecting. Frowning, I reached up with my left hand again, and felt along my ear gently. My eyes widened when I hit fur…

…then they hurt. And then they really hurt! I wanted to close them so badly! But it felt like someone had stabbed fishing hooks into the top and bottom of them, and was busy pulling in both directions at once!

My left hand, the only useful one at the moment as its partner was lodged securely under Kari, dug into my bedside table drawer. Come on… My hand found a book. Religious text… Nope. It pushed the book aside and hit something cold and smooth. Bingo! I slid my fingers around on the pane of glass for a few seconds before I found the rim. A quick circle around the rim indicated the handle was pointed down. I latched firmly upon it, and pulled the hand mirror out of the drawer. 

Kari stirred on me, but only mumbled something before apparently resuming sleep. I exhaled, making sure she was asleep, before I finally brought the mirror up to my face…

My eye was intact, alright. Neither eye I truthfully recognized, though. My right was as of my original color, only significantly brighter, a gold color now. My left eye was totally foreign, unfortunately. A strange, bright blue color. The irises on both eyes however, had expanded vertically! This shifted my pupils into elongated slits, not unlike vulpine in appearance. Vulpine…?

Bright blue. The same color as Jessica's eyes… That's weird.

My thought processes were utterly stopped as my sight drifted upwards off my eyes and at an angle, hitting my ears. Ears. They were huge, comparatively to what I had before! What the hell?! They curved up at an angle, were soft, and additionally, furry. I blinked, seeing if my vision was just screwed up… or maybe I had a concussion and didn't know it or something? Nothing. They didn't change. Damn it… I twitched my ear and watched the whole thing move at command. Damn…. So category two pokegirl gene mutation? But why now? Why not when I went through puberty?

Kari stirred again, and I hadn't realized I had shifted my right hand when I saw the ears. My eyes widened further as I realized I had grabbed her hip! Her eyes fluttered a little and I froze, hoping really hard that she stayed sleeping! Alas, luck was not with me. Her eyes flickered open and looked up at me, directly into mine. For several seconds, we just stared at each other in uncomfortable silence. Then her eyes went wide and she grinned…

Wham! Her head was buried into my collar bone as she literally crawled on top of me. "You're awake! You've been unconscious for four days and I was so worried about you!" she exclaimed before I even had a chance to react. Four days?!

Regardless, a slow blush crept up my cheeks as I reached around her with both arms and held her there. She just released a soft sighing sound, and didn't move, so I guess she wanted to be hugged. And now I didn't need to worry about the hand thing! "Um… I had a few questions if you… uh… didn't mind answering them?" I asked weakly, averting my eyes away from hers as she looked up from my chest.

Her cheeks turned slightly pink, but she still didn't move, instead nodding and assumingly electing to answer them from her current position. 

"Uh… priorities first, I guess. Where's Dad, Mom, and Jessica?" I asked, just spitting it out and getting it over with.

Kari lost her smile and my heart sank a little bit. My memories were correct then… "Well… I have no idea where your dad is right now. I think he's still making arrangements. Your mom and Jess… well… they didn't make it…" she muttered, resting her cheek against my chest again.

The feelings rushed back and I couldn't stop my arms from shaking as I squeezed her more tightly. If it hurt her, she didn't say anything, and just closed her eyes. "I'm sorry…" she muttered, after several more seconds.

"I'll… be okay. I remembered but… I guess I didn't want it to be true. What's going on about… that?" I asked tiredly.

Kari shook her head. "They're still awaiting burial. Your dad wanted to go ahead and bury them, but Patrick knocked some sense into him and told him to at least wait a week for your sake. I… don't know what's wrong with your dad…" she muttered in reply.

He didn't even want to wait for me? That didn't sound like him at all. Although… he did just lose… we just lost Mom. I don't know… what to think anymore. "Well… I'll thank Patrick the next I see him. Thank you for telling me, Kari. How are you holding up?" I asked, concerned.

She shook her head and smiled. "I'm doing okay. It's a shock, really. I don't think it's fully set in yet. But your Dad is out of it totally, so I wanted to be with you as much as possible," she informed, seeming sad.

"Well thanks for looking after me, regardless.  It... still feels like a dream to me, I guess. A horrible, horrible dream. But I'm here for you too, you know," I reminded, trying my hardest to smile.

I think I failed, but she smiled regardless. "Thank you, Keith. You're the most thoughtful man I know."

"M-man?" I muttered, blushing a little.

She smirked and rested her head on my chest again, before adding, "Well you are fifteen."

Oh yeah! In everything that happened, I had forgotten. "I guess there wasn't much cause for celebration, so I hadn't remembered."

"Jessica would scoff at you about now, and told you that you'd better celebrate," Kari pointed out.

I nodded softly and absently squeezed her a little harder, swallowing a lump in my throat. "I know... Thank you. Oh, I did have another question..." I replied, attempting to change the subject.

Frowning, she looked up at me again. After several seconds, she broke into fits of giggles, suddenly. "It's about the adorable ears, isn't it?" she asked knowingly. Scowling, I nodded, twitching the right one as if emphasizing the point. "Well the doctor said that for some reason, he suspects trauma, the dormant Pokégirl genes in you activated while you were unconscious. He said that it might improve your hearing as well, but also warned that it might not be the end of the activated trait changes…" she recited, as if she'd been practicing it. She puffed up afterwards, as if proud of herself for remembering that for four days. It was so adorable…

I really have no idea what I was thinking. It was one of those reactions, where you feel as if something is solidly natural and right… Correct for the given situation. Then you realize afterwards how utterly nonsensical your action was. I kissed her cheek…

Kari's smile was gone in a heartbeat. In fact, I heard hers speed up… I stopped seconds after and realized in horror what I had just done. Then her mouth elongated and she got a faint smile on her face as her cheeks exploded into a color comparable to beats. Mine was probably rapidly following. "Er… I'm sorry! I didn't… You just looked so cute that I didn't realize what I was doing for a second, sorry!" I muttered apologies rapidly, looking away from her.

She giggled lightly and shook her head. "Um… no, it's okay. I didn't mind… so don't worry about it," she assured, sitting up on me, still pink.

"But… uh… thank you for telling me. Did he mention anything about my eyes?" I asked, trying to subject change while regaining my composure. 

She lost the color to her cheeks finally, and leaned in to look at my eyes. "Uh… besides being shocked that the left one totally regenerated, not really. Hey! They're weird looking and different colors now!" she exclaimed, getting a closer look.

"Yeah. Vulpine irises. One's my eye, the other is the color of… Jessica's eyes," I explained what I'd noticed. Kari looked taken aback for a few seconds before peering more closely at my left.

"Hey, you're right! That's weird… Maybe what your dad did… had an effect after all," she deduced.

I frowned. "What was that, anyway? Did you ever find out?" I asked her, it having bugged me at the time.

She shrugged. "I talked to Patrick about it. He said some people with blood traits have the ability to attach a person's soul to an object or other person, but he said it shouldn't have worked so spontaneously like that. That usually it takes a while to build up the bond, or something. I didn't really get it…" she informed.

"I didn't know Dad could do that in the first place…" I added, shaking my head sadly. Needless of why he'd want to. Could it have saved her if it was actually successful?

Kari shook her head. "There's a lot of questions about that night, really. So few answers, though. But something tells me your Dad has some..." she reasoned.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But we should give him… and us… some time, first…" I agreed. Kari nodded and slid off the bed then.

"You're probably right. I should go alert the nurse that you're up and about…" she told me, before walking towards the door. She was still smiling softly. I just rested back against my pillow.

* * * * *

The doctor had briefed me entirely after the nurse had left. It hadn't looked good for a while, it would seem. The poison did a very thorough attack on my immune and nervous system. Plus I had a few broken ribs, my left eye was entirely missing, and multiple stab wounds dotted my back. Oh, and I got a concussion from hitting my head against the ground so many times.

They flushed the poison out of my system with little to no problems. It wasn't very pervasive, and seemed to be focused on fast acting instead, with the coup de gráce to be performed in a separate attack. That never happened, so I guess I was lucky. They were worried that it interacted with the concussion and I was as high risk of coma.

A day into my recovery, though, the doctor noticed the sudden altering of my DNA structure. This was followed shortly by the rapid regeneration of muscle and skin damage, along with my eye and ear modifications. He was very surprised, to put it lightly. He also informed me that he's unsure if this is a form of regeneration, or if I simply restored myself because of the transformation. I suppose it's a blessing either way, as now I only had a few sore muscles and a hairline fracture.

Of course, what they didn't tell me about was the other added feature. Apparently my spine lengthened by about a foot. It's kind of weird and impractical having a fox tail, even if it is a small one.

Standing in front of the hospital bathroom mirror, I gave it a few swishes back and forth. It was a little difficult controlling it, but I was getting the hang of it. Bleh. Thankfully Kari had picked up new pants for me to use. This had to have been something to do with what Dad did. If he did try to force her soul into me, maybe my DNA reacted to it somehow? Although the fur on the ears and tail were black, just like my hair, so it was at least a little me I guess.

"How do they fit?" Kari called out from the other side of the door.

I sighed. They fit fine. The only issue was that I had a fox tail in the first place! "They fit perfectly fine," I responded, keeping my irritations to myself. As if I wasn't popular enough with girls, now I had to look like a half-Pokégirl too! At least the only modifications were tail, ears, and eyes. No snout, claws, or whiskers, I guess.

Shaking my head at the image once more, I clicked off the light again and reached for the doorknob. Wait, something was wrong. Stopping, I glanced around the darkened bathroom, and was surprised to notice that I could see reasonably okay still. That was… weird. Not as well as I could in the light, but what little was coming from under the door allowed me to make out the entire bathroom. Testing it, I closed my right eye. The room went pitch black, the only light visible being under the door. Frowning, I closed my left and opened my right. The room seemed brighter than it had been with both eyes open, but just brighter. The quality hadn't actually gone up from both eyes.

So only my original eye did it? Some type of enhanced light detection or something, I guess. It didn't really matter. Shrugging, I turned the knob on the door and wandered out.

"I was afraid you'd gotten lost…" Kari muttered, winking at me as she leaned against the wall. She was in green cargo pants today and a simple, form fitting, white spaghetti top. Her dark blue hair was done up in long pigtails, mostly angled down the back of her head still.

I shook my head at her and reached out to mess up her hair. Giggling, she danced away lightly without dropping the bag of my things she was carrying. "You're such a brat. Are we ready to get out of here?" I asked, smirking at her.

She nodded gently, smiling again. It felt… surreal. This entire situation didn't feel valid to me. I kept expecting to get woken up for school by Sis at any time.

Following Kari, as she actually knew where she was going, we both exited the hospital. I winced at the daylight and looked about the street. Everyone was continuing as they were, as if nothing had happened at all. I sighed and cracked my back. Nobody even blinked an eye at my ears or tail. I kind of expected as much. Pokégirl mutations were fairly common place anymore, what with less and less actual humanity in our genes. I'm only a level two mutation, which is uncommon, but not enough to be rare.

Kari looked up at the sky quietly until I was done stretching out my extremities. Then she smiled over at me and nodded. She went back to simply following as I lead the way back to my house. I half-heartedly wondered if Dad was home or not. I thought he'd be here at least for my release, but I guess he was busy. Maybe he was planning the funerals… or maybe he was burying himself in his work to get away from it all.

The walk was a pleasant one, regardless. The sun was out and the wind, while still a little on the cool side, was far from winter temperatures. And it wasn't raining. I mentally chuckled in regard to the pre-war Ireland's stereotypical weather patterns. Kari was walking next to me by the time we'd reached our block, and was looking down at the pavement quietly. Something seemed to be bothering her…

After dropping my bag off in my room, and discovering the whole house was empty, I was at a loss as to what to do next. Kari sat down next to me on the couch and played with one of her pants' pockets. It felt awkward. In truth, I was surprised she was still hanging around me. I figured I'd remind her of Jessica, and make her far more sad than it was worth. But she seemed to not mind at all. Or she was just being nice to me due to pity or something…

"Oh, before I forget, my mom wanted to see you whenever you can make it," Kari suddenly spoke, breaking the awkward silence and knocking me out of my train of thought.

I raised an eyebrow towards her, and she snickered. "Oh? Any particular reason?" I asked warily.

Kari shook her head. "She didn't tell me. I figured it was just for consolation or something. She was good friends with your Mom. I don't know…" she replied, shrugging afterwards to add emphasis.

"Well I suppose we can. You haven't been home in a little bit anyway, so do you want to go there now?" I asked, smiling gently at her.

She returned it, then nodded back. "We don't have much else to do, it being Saturday and all," she pointed out, getting up off the couch again. I wouldn't have much to do in a month or so anyway. There wasn't much school left, which brought about a sense of urgency I guess.

Lagging behind a little, I followed her across the street regardless. I'd only been inside her house once, and I didn't know what to think about it. I don't know how her or her mom tolerates it, really. For an Elf, and perfectionist, living in a house in disrepair and typically extremely untidy must drive them crazy.

We entered through the side door, as the porch was inside the house and not entirely possible to navigate. The side door served as their primary entry, and went directly into the kitchen. Burnt smells far more potent than I remembered assaulted my poor nose. Underlying wafts of a wet mildew as well. I shuddered involuntarily, but Kari didn't notice thankfully.

We headed through the kitchen and turned the corner into a rather tight hallway. Kari seemed guided and with purpose, so I just followed. We passed the bathroom, which was littered with toiletries and extremely wet. I know, a usual for a bathroom, but this one put most to shame, and seemed to need a mop.

Then we passed what looked like a darkened bedroom. Snoring assaulted my ears instantly, and I knew it was inhabited. Then I almost gagged as I walked past. The smell was extremely intense! Sweat mixed with grime, mostly, but also a heady underlying smell of musk and body fluids… Well I knew what went on in that room a lot! Kari's Mom was his third Pokégirl, if I recalled correctly.

Kari sighed ahead of me. "Dad's home. He must have left work again. The idiot's going to get fired if he keeps doing that…" she muttered in a low whisper before continuing into a side room. This room was better taken care of, and at least smelled nice. There were two smaller beds in it, and a nice sized couch. Kari's Mother was tending to a small tree she was apparently growing on the bedside table near the furthest bed.

"Here's Mom and I's room," Kari informed, resting on the other bed. They shared a room? That seemed stingy, but I don't think her stepdad really tries to earn money all that hard, nor spends it correctly.

I nodded and looked around, smiling. Her mother looked up from her plant and smiled softly at me. She was a very beautiful and earthly woman. Long, pointed ears extended about half a foot in height to each side of her face, while her blue hair framed her features nicely. She was a lot more endowed in the chest than Kari, but also considerably older. Not that I was looking, or anything…

Sitting on the floor next to Kari's bed, I looked at the plant she was working on. It was in flawless condition, and she seemed to be shaping it, then arranging a miniature scene in the dirt around the base. I think the pre-war civilizations had something like that too, but I didn't know what it was called.

"Do you like the tree, young Man?" she asked softly, apparently noticing my gaze.

I nodded to her, smiling. "Yes, it's beautiful. I didn't know trees could be kept that small."

She nodded. "Normally they can't, but it wouldn't be practical to have a full sized one inside," she pointed out, logically. I chuckled.

"Very true. I wouldn't imagine the roof would like it much either," I added.

She smiled and held her hand over her mouth politely as she chuckled softly. "I do suppose not. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, though. I do hope you're coping well, Dear."

I shook my head. "I don't think it's fully set in yet. It's like a blur, the last week or so," I explained, frowning as I looked back to the plant again, absently.

"I imagine not. It was a terrible shock to us as well. The injustice of it all is infuriating," she agreed, shaking her head gently before continuing, "but I forget our company. Kari, would you be a dear and go make some tea for us?"

Kari smiled and nodded, before standing without a sound and moving out into the hallway, past the nerve rattling snores.

"She's young still. This is hard on her, to see such pain in the world, regardless of what… an upbringing such as this has conditioned her to…" her mom suddenly said after she left.

I looked up at her and locked eyes. This… There was something I was brought here for. I had a feeling this was what she really wanted to talk to me about. Her eyes spoke volumes more than her voice, and she seemed very sad. I decided not to interrupt…

Her mother looked intently at me for a while longer before smiling. "You have very strong eyes, regardless of the changes you're going through recently. I feel I must be… truthful with you, as I have a favor to ask and will be indebted to you if you'll grant it," she continued, looking down from my eyes slightly.

"What is it that you need? If I can, you know I'll do it," I answered without hesitation.

She smiled again and nodded. "You've been a very good friend to Kari over the years. You're a good person, regardless of what's happened. You're maturing rapidly and are very dependable. That's why I simply must ask this of you," she started. I noticed that she said I've been a good friend, and not my family, which I thought was a little weird, but I just let her continue. "Things are going… poorly here. We're rapidly approaching a threshold and her life here is about to change. I can't stop it, no matter how much I want to. That's why I must ask you… no… beg you… as the mother of a very wonderful daughter. Will you please allow Kari to stay with you instead?" she finally asked.

I was utterly shocked. For one, she was asking me, not my dad. Two, she wanted Kari to live with me, for some reason. Were things really that bad here? Or did she know about something that Kari and I didn't?

"Um, shouldn't you be asking my dad? It is kind of his house, after all…" I asked, frowning and still trying to get around what she was asking.

The elf Pokéwoman shook her head politely. "No, that man is not dependable anymore. I sense he is falling fast, and soon, it won't matter much. I need you to take care of my Kari, not him. I trust you, and nobody else," she concluded, looking upwards and directly into my eyes again.

I swallowed hard and hesitated. Dad wasn't trustworthy? What did that mean? But she seemed very serious. This was really happening…

There was a loud crashing before I could answer. Frowning, my left ear angled back towards the doorway. The first thing I noticed was the snoring had stopped. Then I heard scrapping of metal on wood. "You little bitch… what the hell are you doing home from school, and with all that crap in the hallway…?" I heard, slurred then. Oh hell…

Her mother sighed and shook her head sadly, as I stood up. I looked at her for a few more seconds before nodding and running out into the hall.

A large man stood there, over a fallen Kari. He was in sweat pants and a really stretched out t-shirt.  Both had multiple stains on them, and a very nasty smell hit my nose about then. Kari was picking up glasses and a large kettle of tea off the floor. He must have run into her. She was avoiding eye contact with him… "I'm sorry, Dad… I didn't mean…" she started.

He actually kicked her! She fell over backwards and hit her head on the wall, dropping the kettle again. Glaring, I ran past him and knelt down next to her. "Are you okay, Kari?" I asked, putting cups back onto the tray on the floor.

"Who the fuck are you? Get out of my house now… As for you, bitch, I want this cleaned up," he ordered, not waiting for me to answer. He then reached down and grabbed her by the neck!

Without thinking, really, I grabbed his forearm and dug my index and ring finger into the soft spot directly over the wrist. Hard. He screamed in pain, then glared at me! "You little bastard! You'll pay for that!", he growled, before launching his other hand out and latching around my next instead! I tried to grab my hands around his wrists, but he lifted me upwards and I couldn't get the leverage… So I did the next best thing.

Whipping my right leg up, my foot caved into the crotch of his pants. His eyes bugged out instantly, and he dropped me while doubling over. Grabbing the kettle from the floor, I ignored Kari's look of utter shock and bashed him in the side of the head with it! His head went sideways from the force of my blow, and smashed into the opposite wall. He then slid backwards and flopped loudly onto the floor…

Kari slowly stood up, after several seconds passed of us just staring at him. I rubbed my neck wearily. Damn, that hurt. He really was an asshole. "Are you alright?!" Kari asked, suddenly leaning over to look at my neck.

"Yeah… I should be asking you, though…" I pointed out, smiling at her.

She blushed and nodded lightly, before looking to the right suddenly. I followed her line of sight and saw her Mother in the doorway of their room, staring down at her unconscious Tamer sadly. "I apologize for his actions, Keith. Do you see now what I mean?" she asked weakly, looking very tired then. Kari frowned and looked over at me questioningly.

I nodded. "Yes. It… won't be a problem. Don't worry about that," I finally decided. Just the thought of Kari having to be around this bastard for even a moment longer got my blood boiling.

Her Mother nodded then, and smiled. "Thank you, Keith. You have my eternal gratitude. Kari, you'll be staying with him from now on, to get you away from all of this…" she suddenly told her.

Kari's eyes widened considerably…

Chapter 3 - End