This is a piece of fiction and should be considered as such. It is also an adult-themed story, and should not be read by those who are easily offended by such or are not old enough in their respective country to be allowed to read it. This particular work is the property of
The PokeGirl Universe was first created by metroanime. He isn't doing it any more, so don't blame him- find someone else on the site to. In other words, I didn't create the setting, and I'm not taking any credit for it, Original Characters aside. Feedback is encouraged, it provides ego and morale boosts equivalent to the power of the Stim Pack in Starcraft, or in modern terms several grams of crack.
A/N: Been a long time, but my muse is firing up again, my computer is fixed and ready to go, and I'm going to do this! Yay me. I hope I can pull off some OMGDRAMAZLOL ._.
Toman wasn't the most athletic soul in the Ruby League, that much was sure. He would have rather curled up in bed with a good book in hand then hone his skills in pointless physical games. Now, dashing through twisting forest paths and over obstacles, he really wished he had worked out more. He was panting hard, and feeling light headed, by the time they saw the sonic repellant spikes. The large spikes pulsated at a frequency that he could just barely perceive in his bones, but Marya seemed to be bothered by it. For any Ferals it would be so painful that they would have to retreat or pass out.
The spikes formed the border of safe territory, and although Mosertack maintained a regular watch for another kilometer or so, civilians were heavily dissuaded from crossing them. Well, I'm no civilian any more, he thought to himself, wiping sweat from his forehead and trying to ignore the fire in his extremities.
"Master," Marya said, dashing slowly alongside him, sometimes going ahead to clear obstacles and make his path a little straighter. She also located the most recent tracks through the forest, and though she wasn't skilled in tracking, she had a decent idea of which direction they had to go. "The forest is too big for you to keep running like this."
"I'll," He tried to choke out, forcing himself to take deeper breaths instead of the instinctive shallow, rapid breathing, "Be fine, Marya." Toman knew this wasn't the truth, though, and checked his PokeDex. It had taken him twenty minutes to reach the spike barrier. By this time, Dom had spent the better part of an hour in travel. It was likely that he had slowed his pace after passing the barriers into the thicker forested lands beyond, though, so if Toman could keep it up he held out some hope of gaining ground.
Making it another three hundred meters, he was finally halted when he tripped over a large bramble that Marya had missed in her haste. Unable to recover, the thin boy fell face-forward onto the mossy dirt. His glasses dug a painful imprint into his face from the force, and his chest felt like Dom had punched there, instead. He tried to get up, but weakness claimed his resolve, and gravity pressed him back down.
He found the gun, which had fallen in front of him, just within his reach. The watcher slowly retrieved it, turning himself over so he was on his back. He didn't care about the backpack, although it was slightly uncomfortable to lay on. Marya had just began to pant, sitting down next to him and making sure he wasn't injured. Toman stared up at the thickening barriers of leaves that still let in many of the sun's burning rays, high overhead. The canopy almost symbolized his goal... stupidly far away. "Impossible," He said, so breathlessly he wasn't sure Marya had picked it up.
"Master..." She looked into his eyes, concern brimming from her own.
Toman took another minute or so, and then abruptly ordered her, "Carry me." He barely weighed anything, even with his pack on, and he figured the PokeGirl could easily handle the load. "Go at a pace that you believe you can sustain as long as possible."
In the face of a direct order, she squelched her complaints and replied, "Alright." Normally Toman would have told her to give him a piggyback ride, but her bulb would make that about as comfortable as bear-hugging a shaking boulder. Instead, he shakily got to his feet and allowed her to sweep him up into her arms. "You know," She said, adjusting the weight and balancing him as best as she could before starting, "If we run into any Ferals, then I'll have to use you as a weapon."
"Or I could just shoot them," He objected, waving the safetied weapon in the air. "This thing should be able to inflict some nasty sorts of damage on a low-level PokeGirl, assuming I can aim correctly. Either that, or just toss me into the dirt."
"Yes, Master," She enthusiastically replied, and took off at a trot. The tree density climbed, and it got harder for her to find any paths at all through the brush and trunks. The odd leaf or two was slightly discolored, as if eager for the upcoming autumn. None of them were falling yet, though.
It actually became easier to track Dom, as so few viable routes between the claustrophobic 'clearings' and winding 'paths' were possible. In several instances they could see where a Fire PokeGirl had burned narrow routes through otherwise impassable stands of trees, while viable paths existed to either side. "Why would they chose the path of most resistance?" Toman wondered aloud. "If they were just searching, then why not go with the flow, and save his Girl's energy?" The logical answer is that Dom thought he had to go a certain way; he caught sight or sound of the Penance. Or he was running from something. "Marya, can we go faster?"
She didn't say anything, beginning to run. She took the physical stress as a challenge, and felt invigorated still from her brief recharge. That quickly turned to a yawning fatigue. Boobisaurs were not meant for long-endurance tasks, such as carrying about a fourth again their own weight for kilometers. Marya doggedly pressed on, not complaining once, but Toman could easily tell it was wearing her out.
He felt a little better, enough to carry his own ass again. "Alright, put me down," He requested, and was quite surprised to find himself being tossed down onto his back roughly. "Ow! You smartass," He grumbled. Toman got to his feet, brushing himself off briefly and then taking off. Marya, giggling and gasping at the same time, did her best to keep up. "If we find Dom in one piece, I'm going to let you kick his ass," He said soon after, half-seriously. "I've never run so much in my entire damn life!"
"Same," She nodded in understanding, barely avoiding her own embarrassing fall and regaining her balance. Luckily, the forest was her ideal territory, and the plants all around her spoke with her in whispers. She asked them all about a human and a PokeGirl, and they answered as best they could- which was little to no help, considering their limited sensory abilities.
Some of the ferns' memories of being trodden upon were very, very recent. "Master, I think we're gaining on them," She called out, and the news invigorated him into a third wind.
They continued their romp through the forest, Toman willing himself not to fall again. His energy was spent, and his legs were in such intense pain that he was sure he was going to have muscular damage. Abruptly, he skidded to a halt at the fringes of one of the larger clearings he had seen so far. He dropped down onto his knees roughly and hung his head. "I.... can't do it..." Was that his voice? He couldn't even tell any more, his vision had tunneled and the speech sounded like it came from the other end of a cavern.
"Master, look!" She grabbed his head with both hands and forced it up, bringing his eyes up with it. They tiredly swept the grassy terrain of the clearing, landing on three humanoid forms, sprawled out around each other. None of the three showed signs of movement. "We've found them! Come on!"
"Marya... I can't move," He informed her, trying. "... Literally." Panic began to rise in his mind. Here he was, in dangerous country and so close to Dom. He knew it was Dom and his PokeGirl, but the third figure troubled him. Was it a Feral, and had they all three fallen victim to something more deadly? His only comfort was the lack of blood, either on the bodies or the surrounding blades of grass. "I'm trying."
"Then I'll carry you again," The PokeGirl growled, before she stooped over and pulled him up and into her powerful arms. Toman clung to her for the short ride, eyes glued to the three. As they approached, it became visually evident that one of the two PokeGirls, the presumably Feral one, was... laying on top of Dom, using him like a pillow. None of the three bodies had clothing on, although only Dom had been clothed to begin with. All of his garments were scattered in almost a ring around the three of them, hastily discarded.
"What the hell?" Toman vocalized the question that was also on Marya's mind. "Did Dom... Tame this Feral girl?" He told Marya to go over to Grace, Dom, and the Feral, confirming that all three were still alive with nods of her head. He pulled out his PokeDex with a hand that shook slightly, fighting off the urge to pass out, and pointed it at the almost fox-like anthropomorph. "Identify," He commanded it visually, without the strength to type in the command.
The machine turned on, and a second later it beeped, finding an easy match. "Uncaptured; Mynx," The Dex spoke up, in a clearly artificial female tone, "The Nimble Pokegirl. Animorph-Type, Element Normal, Libido Average to High. Frequency Uncommon. One of the normal-type breeds created by Sukebe for his war, the Mynx has an incredible number of evolutionary paths, comparable to an Eva. They are generally very affectionate, and useful both in and out of battle for Tamers. However, a genetic defect in their respiratory system precludes them from sustained physical exertion and gives them a special weakness to certain attacks. For the expanded entry, or the evolutionary tree display, tap the corresponding keys on the display now." Toman wasn't particularly interested in either, and so closed the Dex again. The most interesting part for him had been the classification of 'Uncaptured'. If the Girl was Feral the Dex would have picked that up and said so, which meant she had been Tamed, but not Balled.
The events leading to Dom and the two PokeGirls laying in the clearing began to construct themselves in his throbbing mind. "They ran into this Feral, got beaten the crap out of, and then she Tamed... I'm gonna guess both of them."
"You think?" Marya said. "Oh, I get it. If they beat her they would have just kept on moving, Dom only has one Pokeball on him right now."
"Yeah," Toman nodded in appreciation, stopping to wipe the sweat from his brow again. "Plus the wounds." He pointed to the bruises and such on Dom and Grace's naked bodies, while trying his damnedest to focus on the PokeGirl. "Also, even he wouldn't be stupid enough to nap here after Taming unless he was already defeated."
He considered feeling angry that Dom had made him run all the way out into the forest for pretty much no reason, but then he remembered that they were still sitting ducks for wandering Ferals. In that light what he had done still made him a Big Damn Hero, as he would still be saving them. The scientifically minded youth snorted in amusement, looking over the PokeGirl that had conquered Dom and Grace in several senses of the word.
The Mynx in question was about as tall as Marya was, and her coat of fur was very beautiful. She had what looked like more of a snout than a fully human face, and he could just see the claws on her hands. Her fluffy tail was about half again as long as she was, and occasionally twitched slightly. Her breasts were nowhere near Marya's, but still looked like more than enough. Certainly an interesting specimen, and his first close contact with the breed.
He said, "Hey, Marya, grab Dom's PokeBall and toss it here. I'm going to return his Torch Chick so we don't have to carry her. Can you manage Dom?" She stooped over, retrieving it and throwing it his way. After fumbling and dropping it, he leaned over and groaned, stretching out his arm to get it back.
"Yes," Marya lied. "You look like you'd probably have a worse time than me." Toman, to be blunt, looked somewhat like roadkill. The thin boy had suffered greatly from the long activity, and just as he was summoning up some retort, he lurched and dry-heaved. Just like being shot, he didn't feel most of the effects of his marathon until after he had come to rest for a little. "Master!" She dashed over to him as he continued to try and throw up a breakfast he hadn't eaten.
Toman had become miserable, feeling a profound embarrassment from his pitiful state. He weakly tried to turn away, not wanting her to see him in such a state. After a while, his intestines finally relented, and he mercifully regained some control, eyes squeezed shut. Marya waited for him to recover, and said gently, "Are you ok?"
"Doubt I can walk," He managed, before choking out, "Return," and clicking the release on Dom's PokeBall. The red beam of light instinctively sought the Torch Chick, snatching her up and shifting her components over into the much more confined space. The action of returning Grace had triggered an idea in his mind, and he pulled out one of his own PokeBalls from the pack. Wordlessly, he lobbed it in the general direction of the sleeping Mynx, falling onto his back again and trying to catch his breath.
The Girl yelped at the impact of the Ball, and started, but the beam of light caught her all the same and shoved her into the storage device. It only rattled once, glowing red, before the safety ping sounded. It was officially captured. Marya looked from her Tamer, now on his back and trying to recover, to the other human, Dom, who had been startled awake when the Mynx yelped. She grinned widely. "Dubious, Master." She scuttled over and plucked up the Ball, giving it to Toman before Dom was fully aware again.
"Nonsense," He said, "I was merely taking an opportunity."
Dom sat up, and looked around, alarmed. "What the..." He saw Marya and Toman on his back, and then noticed he was naked. ".... What's going on?" In reply, Toman handed off Grace's ball to Marya, who threw it at Dom hard enough to leave an impression on his stomach. "OW!" He grunted, catching the thing with one hand. "Jesus, that hurt!"
"Good," Marya replied. "Look at my Master. It's all your fault he's like this. If we hadn't come along when we did, you could have gotten eaten."
The blast of vitriol had taken him aback. "Wh-what did you say, you uppity little who-" He clipped off the end of his sentence.
"Like father, like son?" Marya asked. "Yeah, Master told me the basics on our way through the forest. Your dad's real lucky that I wasn't around when the Penance evolved." It was well-documented that any PokeGirls except a select few breeds that were near when an abused PokeGirl evolved into the victimized husk of a Penance became very violent.
"Enough," Toman said, barely louder than a whisper. It reigned in the Boobisaur, though, who took a deep breath and silenced herself. "And for the love of your gods, get your fucking clothes back on." Only after hearing that did Dom realize how truly naked he was, and the blonde got considerably more pale. Luckily, the clothes were right there, and he hastily got more decent.
Dom brushed himself off, and said, "... You know what? Maybe coming out here wasn't my brightest idea." He and Toman shared a short laugh. "Hey, where's that Feral Girl who... uh, beat us?" God, he probably knows either way, He thought miserably. How humiliating.
Toman took much delight in his reply. "Caught her."
"... Excuse me?" Dom blinked, going over near him and looking at his smug expression. "You... caught the Mynx?"
"That I did." The shorter boy replied as if everything was right with the world.
"But... but that isn't fair," Dom protested. "You can't just swoop in and steal her from me, man. I... had her!"
"Wasn't registered to you," Toman shook his head gently. "In fact, you got your ass handed to you. I hope you're very sore. There's only one sense of the word where I'd agree you 'had' her. Although, really it seemed more like she had you." Finders keepers, and all that.
Dom worked his jaw to protest again, but no words came forth. "I can't believe you actually followed me! You shouldn't have."
"Agreed," Marya nodded. "He should have gone home and had a nice, long, thorough Taming session with me. But instead he decided your life still had value."
"It was really more because I was worried about the Torch Chick," Toman replied, unable to stop his laughter. "My family raised that Girl, like all the starters, you know. A shame for all that work to be wasted by some hotheaded fool who didn't know the limits of his capability."
Most of the confrontational attitude had vanished, now, and left Dom with a profound sense of regret and vulnerability. "Yeah. You're right. Let's... let's just go home. I'm done searching for her. At least, not until I'm a lot stronger."
Toman was still smirking. "It's good you feel that way, since you're gonna have to carry my ass all the way back. Marya needs what's left of her energy in case we get jumped." The three of them got themselves ready, and Toman hitched a piggy-back ride on the stronger teenager's back. "Onward, noble steed," He declared, which made Dom want to drop him. "Seriously, though, let me get my phone..."
He pulled out the cell phone, which he reserved for emergencies, and attempted to call home. "Ugh," He said, shaking the device. "Damn thing. Only the emergency line has any reception at all, and I don't think this qualifies yet."
They went at a walking pace, but instead of going back through the way they had come, Toman recommended that they locate the nearest semi-passable trail to make the going easier. They found a large, semi-paved dirt road that was slightly depressed compared with the trees on either side, and started back towards Samara. The group had been moving for about half an hour, not counting two long breaks, and had just spotted the sonic spike lines ahead when trouble finally hit them.
Two figures emerged from the cover of the forest on either side; obviously Steel-type humanoid Pokegirls. Toman identified the Pokegirls standing in front of and behind him, cursing. "Bombshells," He said, and Dom tensed up. That breed was capable of exploding any part of their bodies and turning their 'skin' into a deadly shrapnel, blast force aside. They regenerated, and were able to control the blasts to varying degrees, making them incredibly useful weapons.
In their Feral state, they were easily excitable, and tended to blow up if startled. That was bad enough, but he had a sickening feeling in his stomach that these Girls were under the control of someone who had noticed their vulnerability, and was looking to take advantage.
A voice came from the trees near them; a man, dressed in a plain ice-blue uniform and face-mask had emerged partially from cover. "Good day, gentlemen," He said in English.
"Who are you?" Dom replied, speaking the secondary language perfectly and backing up a step. Marya, who couldn't interpose herself between all three of the potential threats, decided to place herself towards the man. The blonde knelt down, letting Toman get onto his own two unsteady feet again.
"I am a member of what will soon be the most feared crime syndicate in the Ruby League; Team Avalanche." He leaned against the sturdy trunk and looked over his first catch of the day. Not many people traveled the route between Samara and the next village, another of the small hamlets that dotted the forested regions. They were obviously starting Tamers; through an illegally modified PokeDex he accessed their League profiles and found that between them they only had three PokeGirls, all of them low-level. Even so, he would take what he could get. "I will make this simple. These, as you have correctly observed, are Bombshells, primed to blow on my order. In the crossfire of close-range shrapnel, you will not survive. If you surrender all of your Pokegirls to me now, I will spare you and allow you to return to your village unharmed."
A Team Rocket clone , Toman thought. Just lovely. Just our luck, too. His eyes went to his holstered pistol. No, fighting was not an option- even if Marya took one Bombshell down and he somehow brought the other down through incredible marksmanship... Bombshells didn't feel pain, and would simply blow up in their faces. If he shot the Tamer, he doubted the volatile Girls would react well. They were stuck.
Even so, his defiance blazed in his tired eyes, and he was at the cusp of telling the Avalanche tamer what he could go do with his Bombshells when Dom spoke to him quietly. "We should go for it. There's no guarantee, but it's our only shot at getting out of this alive."
"Give him our PokeGirls?" Toman said, shocked. "Maybe some of that stupid still hasn't worn off, yet. Marya's fate will be the same as mine."
"You're too much of an idealist, Toman," Dom shook his head. "You always liked them too much. In the end, we can get new PokeGirls. You've only known Marya for a day! Human life, that's the one thing we'll never get back if we lose it. Come on."
"Fuck that. If I sacrifice my Girls to save my own hide, I'll lose something worse than my life," Toman said. "You do what you want, I'm not surrendering to this creep."
Dom looked away from his unflinching, fiery gaze, and stared at the ground. "Alright," He said. "I'll give you my PokeGirl." He slowly put one hand into his pocket and retrieved the minimized PokeBall. All the time, he felt Toman's scorn piercing the back of his head.
"And the darker one?" The bandit inquired, his visible face a victorious smirk. "I hope he isn't contemplating anything stupid."
"How about you go fuck yourself on that tree you're leaning up against. How's that for an answer?" Toman denounced, the first English he had spoken during the exchange.
The man sighed in disappointments. "Odd, you looked like the smarter one." He motioned to Dom to step forward, while drawing a pistol of his own. "I'll even give you a last chance to reconsider while I take his." His open gloved hand was extended, and Dom placed his PokeBall into it. "Well?"
Toman did something that he hadn't done in a long time, given his generally somewhat polite manner. He hocked a small amount of saliva and spat it like a projectile, right at the man. It landed far short of it, but it served, along with a number of Russian oaths, to give an answer. The Team Avalanche thief shook his head, raising the gun. "Alright. I warned you. Die." Toman knelt to take cover behind Marya's much harder body, but saw the Bombshell on the left begin to look incredibly tense all of a sudden. He had to make a snap-decision; his PokeGirl could only shield him from one threat, and the other Bombshell was likely to try and explode with her harem sister. He made his choice. "Marya! Block the blast on the left!"
As he issued his futile order, Dom acted, trying to slap the gun away just as the man pulled the trigger. The weapon belched flame and smoke, flying several inches back and onto the ground, but not before having done its job. The report was deafeningly loud, the two males locking eyes as time seemed to grind to a halt. The regular metal slug sailed inches past Dom's body. It found another mark, however, and imbedded itself within Toman's shoulder in a fateful impact. The impact tore a large hole in his shirt and sent a spray of blood out, shoving him backwards. Marya looked back in time to see her Tamer fall, and began to scream.
The Bombshells froze up for several moments, relatively young domesticates who still weren't used to the sight of such violence. Their owner, however, was seasoned enough to react, by hitting Dom with a solid punch that sent him sliding back down onto the dirt path. He took in a deep breath, and started to order the PokeGirls to use Self Destruct, when he felt an odd sensation around his torso.
He looked down instinctively, and saw human arms, extended like rubber. The skin tossed up hazy reflections in the proud sun of afternoon. The man had just started to figure out that he was in the grasp of a Stretchymaid when he felt her breasts press up against his back and warm breath on his ear. The PokeGirl's arms passed into a second, and then third loop around his torso, like large rope or the coils of a snake.
She used a bearhug attack, suddenly increasing the pressure of her embrace and pressing the human between her impervious arms and body. He tried to surrender, to beg for mercy, but his lungs simply couldn't hold air any more. "Stretchy," She cooed even as he tried to squirm and thrash. He used his unbound arms in a completely useless effort to stop the torquing, shiny, rubber limbs. "Streeeetchy~" The man heard, his attacker drawing out her word as she applied a long and sudden increase in pressure that yielded the sickening noise of bones snapping.
Marya was on her knees beside Toman, beginning to sob. Neither of them were in any condition to see the Team Avalanche man's sudden distress, but Dom and the Bombshells did. Both of the other PokeGirls felt such worry about their master that they began to shiver and vibrate, and Dom knew it wouldn't be long before they used Self Destruct, if just by accident. He sprang to his feet. "Marya! We have to get Toman out of the crossfire!" She didn't listen to him. "Damnit!"
Dom grabbed her chin, turning her to look at his face. "We have to get him to safety, NOW," He yelled. Something clicked, and the Boobisaur nodded, scooping Toman's bloody form up and bounding towards the opposite bank of trees. Dom was right behind, and tossed himself to the ground as both Bombshells exploded.
The ground underneath him shook and noise assailed his ears so loud that it caused him pain. Concussion rattled the forest around them. Various metal bits were thrown in every direction imaginable, tens of thousands of shards and pieces. Many flowed down the path at each other, in a killzone where nothing could have survived, had anything been there in the first place. Perhaps more were tossed into the trees, splintering bark with massive kinetic force and felling several of the smaller trunks.
Marya covered Toman with her body, taking half a dozen shards of metal. Five of them just left lacerations in her green skin on the sides; glancing impacts, but a triangular part several inches long imbedded itself between her shoulder blades, digging in. She screamed again in agony, but their ears were all still utterly deafened by the explosions. Dom had the partial cover of several trees, and only sustained one cut on the cheek, nothing serious.
It was over in a minute, and Dom got into his knees, looking over to Toman and Marya. He saw how lucky the teenager had been; if Toman had sustained the hits instead of Marya he would probably have been mutilated. The professor's son still held an empty, vacant stare, totally in shock from the gun wound and beginning to cough blood, in addition to the red liquid pouring out onto his shoulder. He tried to call to the Plant PokeGirl, but couldn't tell wether he had even spoken; the ringing hadn't even started to dissipate from his ears yet.
The other human went over to Toman, gently moving him enough to get into his pack and looking around for human medical supplies. Professor Kross had compiled two makeshift medkits full of sterilizing gauze, a variety of painkillers and other common medicines. He tried to recall his first aid training from school, but guns were rare enough that the subject was barely brushed upon. There were so many more common ways for Tamers to sustain injury, almost all from natural hazards or Pokegirl abilities. He sighed, and put his hands over the wound, trying to at least stem the flow of blood until he could think clearly. The ringing died down enough so he could hear his own loud breathing.
Marya had to look away from the sight of Toman, who was beginning to get more pale than usual from the blood loss, and surveyed the situation. Both Bombshells seemed to be gone, except for the metal 'spines' that were left in their blast craters. All of the trees around the explosions showed varying scars, carvings, and mutilations, with two toppling eventually from weight imbalance into the path. Her eyes walked up to the opposite treeline, and she spotted the Stretchymaid for the first time.
The PokeGirl's elastic nature had allowed her to quite literally hug him to death. Her constriction continued on the collapsed human body that seemed almost like it was going to pop in some horrific manner. She appeared to have completely ignored the explosions, letting the meatshield of the Team Avalanche member soak up most of the abuse. She used her legs, as well, and kept repositioning her arms so that every part of the human was violently crushed. "Stretchy," She repeated, savoring the feeling as the last flickers of life left him.
This murderous intent, plus the fact that the Stretchymaid was utterly naked and had long, unkempt hair, made Marya reevaluate who she had at first assumed to be Kiera, coming somehow to help. This Girl was Feral, and as she tossed the devastated human away and found the only other visible targets, the Boobisaur realized she was out for more blood.
"We have to get him to the PokeCenter," Dom declared. "I can't remove the bullet, but it has to be taken out before we dress the wound." He now spoke to Toman directly. "Come on, man! Hold on! Don't fall asleep! Keep awake, focus on my voice."
"Tired," Toman managed in a scraggly, winded voice. He shifted slightly, sending new tendrils of pain shooting throughout his entire body and making him moan.
Marya saw the Feral step out onto the path, trotting directly for Toman, Dom, and herself, arms outstretched. Dom's voice in a cry of surprise let her know that he had seen it coming, too. "Take her down, Marya," He said to the PokeGirl.
"Yeah, thanks for the advice," She replied, bracing her feet into the ground. Oh, shit. My first battle... Alright, breathe. You can do this. Think... the Stretchymaid's best in melee combat, so I'm not going to let her get close. She decided to use her Vine Whip, concentrating with all of her might and trying to sprout the tendrils from her back. After ten seconds of absolutely nothing happening, the Stretchymaid got close enough to reach out and touch her.
Touch she did, and wrap she did, extending her limbs well past what any other Pokegirl could have possibly done, treating her arms like a lasso. Marya tried to resist, tried to throw her off, but the other girl was strong enough to hold her grip, and as the Maid closed, more of her rubbery body was formed into tense coils. She used more strength than on the human, and the Plant girl could do nothing.
They were soon inches apart. The Feral was taller, but had squatted down to better grab her lower back, and avoid the bulb, and thus had planted her face in Marya's ample cleavage. Marya began to struggle again, but in moments the grip around her waist as so tight that even she felt the loss of breath. The sadistic Pokegirl shook her, tightening harder all the time, thoroughly enjoying her prey's weak attempts to stop her. She balled fists and pounded on her back, trying to punch her head, but nothing phased her or even slowed her constriction. Marya's breasts and butt seemed to bulge proudly in either direction from the sheer force of the squeeze. "Stretchy," The Feral said, her voice muffled by the mammaries.
Things were at their most grim when a sudden idea came to Marya. She began to release as much Lust Dust as she possibly could, coating the other Pokegirl in it. The effect was literally instantaneous, as the Stretchymaid loosened her fatal grip. She pulled her body back, and then stretched out again, spinning Marya away from her and pushing her onto the ground. The impact hurt a hell of a lot less than the wrap, so she figured it was a positive.
When they were Feral, Stretchymaids naturally lost some of their coordination, but this girl retained enough to completely 'unhinge' her arms, turning them into something approximating long, thick tentacles. She used one of the tentacles to get down in the valley between Marya's thick female thighs and the other probed her rear. The plant girl gasped and squirmed still catching her breath as the lusty advances of the Maid came at her full-force. "Dom," She said with all the wind she could muster before the Maid pressed her down more with her legs, "Gun. Shoot." The Girl was unlikely to be gentle with her body, and she didn't feel like being raped today. "End her!"
Dom's eyes looked over at Toman's gun, which was somehow almost pristine and lying in the grass next to its owner's form. He leaned over and picked it up, examining it for a moment before looking back to the source of several pleasured moans. Marya was, in fact, being used, both tentacles probing inside of her very quickly. Her cries turned to pain, and became shrieking screams.
Clasping the handle with both hands, he brought the SW 640 up. He, unlike Toman, didn't have any form of firearms training, and just hoped for a hit. He took a moment to aim, his hands shaking with adrenaline and fear and slick with the warm blood of his friend, and then he squeezed with all his might into the trigger.
The first shot was high, and smashed into a tree behind the entwined pair of Pokegirls. Upon impact, the fire elemental shell exploded into a small burning sphere, melting away a part of the bark and exposing the young tree's insides. The startlingly loud bang didn't seem to affect the Stretchymaid at all, and Marya cried out, "It hurts!" In a strained voice. Somehow, the Plant was quickly left wishing that her assailant was merely trying to kill her.
He fired again, the heavy-caliber weapon kicking at his wrists and making them hurt. This time, he managed to take the Stretchymaid in the lower back. Her skin would have almost easily absorbed the pure kinetic power of a regular projectile, but the explosion was a different story. She wailed like a banshee, instinctively dragging the tentacles further into Marya and causing her to scream out in concert. The Feral's thick skin protected her spinal cord and other vital organs, but it still burned like hellfire.
Following up, he sent two more shots in quick succession, walking them up her upper back and leaving more seared elastic flesh. Dom was very conscious about avoiding Marya, and thus, his fifth shot was high again, mimicking the Bombshells on a tiny scale as it blew a crater into open grass. The screaming of the two Girls had bored into his mind, and his shaking had only gotten worse. He jerked his head, trying to clear it and steady himself. He aimed once more for the head, and said a prayer with his sixth round.
The Stretchymaid's upper skull and the skin covering it flash-vaporized. Marya felt the intense heat in her bulb from the fiery round. Dom could only stare, eyes wide, at the exposed chunk of brain matter. Finally, the Pokegirl turned, to stare straight at him with eyes full of hate and pain, fogged over by her Feral state. Some force or will compelled him, at that moment, to fire once more. The seventh bullet. The explosive force burned through the weakened skull, and the acrid stench of burning flesh assailed his senses, making him gag. Marya looked back over her shoulder to see the horror.
Not ready to give up on life yet, the Stretchymaid retracted one of her tentacles, artificially enhanced libido drowned out in the shattering agony. She formed the hand protrusion into a flat, shovel-like thing, and was about to spear him with all of her might when Marya suddenly bucked, tossing her off-balance. The arm extended five meters up, past the human's shoulder, and smashing into the trunk of a damaged tree.
"Kill her," Marya ordered. With no choice, and no time, Dom drew a bead on what was left of the top of her head and fired the final round in the magazine. Her brain matter became a wreath of smoke and a river of blood, and the suddenly lifeless husk of the Stretchymaid snapped back to its humanoid form and fell on top of Marya. She, in turn, struggled for several seconds, finally tossing the corpse off and onto its back in the soaked red grass. The human and the surviving Pokegirl shared a single look, as the empty SW 640 dropped limply out of Dom's hand and landed near his feet.
He slowly turned, getting into the heavily panting Toman's pack and getting his cell phone. He flipped it open and called the Emergency number. An operator, probably a League Ingenue, appeared in the small video display, and looked at his face. "Ruby Emergency Services, what seems to be the problem, sir?" Her voice said in standard Russian, professional and stained with genuine curiosity and concern.
So Dom told her the details of the event. The operator quickly nodded, and said, "Samara Police and Medical services have been notified, sir. They'll have units at you in... eight minutes. Try to keep controlling his bleeding, and keep him awake. Do you want me to stay on the line until they arrive?"
"Thanks, but I've had enough Pokegirl interaction for now," He replied, cutting off the line and falling backwards, images of the fell shot still playing through his mind as if stuck on a loop. He had killed another, even if she was a PokeGirl, even if she would have done the same to him. God, forgive me...
/\/\
Toman Kross looked nearly beautiful with his glasses off and his eyes closed, with a gentle glow about him. He looks like his mother. Professor Kross smiled slightly, watching his son in the starch-white room, under starch-white sheets and on a starch-white bed, his hair matching the surroundings perfectly but his skin making him stick out. His medical gown covered the large, nasty bullet wound, which had been treated and was already beginning to scar over. One thing was for sure, that injury would stay with him in some form for his entire life.
The variety of medical technology hooked up to his son was all familiar to the Professor, and he read the displays. Everything was steadily getting stronger. His boy had a tough spirit. The only thing that he could see was an irregularity in his heartbeat. It was seemingly slight, but it caused the Pokegirl Professor to avert his eyes. He knew that was genetic- heart issues ran back ten generations in the Kross Family.
A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked over it to find the NurseJoy. "Sir," She said, motioning to the hallway. He nodded, gently closing the door and turning towards her.
"So, how is he doing?" It had been several hours since he had been brought into the emergency room of Samara's only medical facility, and it was nearly dusk outside. "When can he come back home?"
"Hm." She bit her lip. "May I assume that you're already aware of his heart?" He nodded briefly. "Luckily, your family's conditions have all manifested in a light or noneffective manner. It was only the intense physical exertion of today that caused these... flutters. We have medicine to help stabilize his heart, and if he takes it for about a week, then he should be healed very nearly up to regular and full. I would rather administer the dosages, but I'm sure you are competent to do it. Even Toman himself could manage, I suspect. The bullet wound itself is healing, that will take a long time, but now that the bleeding has stopped, it shouldn't trouble him more than some moderate pains occasionally. And it's going to leave a large scar. We also treated him for fatigue, exhaustion, and other minor conditions with some injections, and when he wakes up I plan to administer a hearty dinner." She got him to smile, which she took as a very good sign. "All goes well, I would be prepared to discharge him tomorrow afternoon to your care. I do strongly suggest he not do much more intense work... although now he does have two Pokegirls to Tame."
"Yes, I'm aware of that situation," The Professor confirmed, thoughtfully. "Kiera and the lab aides can help out, although both of the Girls have had Tamings very recently. A few days from now, by the way it sounds, he'll be strong enough for a few quick bouts."
"Is there anything else, Professor?" She asked.
"No," He replied. "I think I'm going to head home now. Thank you, Nurse." With that, he turned, and walked at a slow pace down the hallway. He had just made it to the elevators, and summoned one, when it abruptly arrived.
The doors opened, revealing Dom and his Father in the elevator car. The two of them stepped out of the lift, face-to-face with the Professor now. "Prof," Dom's father, Mr. Barrett, said in recognition and respect.
"Phil," Kross replied, impassive. "I see you brought the Junior along."
"Yes... is Toman awake yet?" The older man asked, crossing his arms. He had a hard, weather-bitten look about him, and it had come from many years of working the land as a farmer. Only in recent years had he moved into Samara, which was a metropolis compared with the dense farmlands north of the village. "We came to see him, obviously."
"My boy is still resting," He said. "Sorry."
"Ah..." Dom looked at his feet, as if they were suddenly very interesting. "In that case... let's go back. Wouldn't want to disturb him."
"Yes," His father nodded, turning and sticking his foot in the way just as the door was about to slide shut. It paused in its progress, a fail-safe, and he ushered the two others in. He himself got in last, and set it to take them down to the lobby floor. The cart jostled slightly, using anti-gravity technology instead of gears or rope pulley systems to descend.
The trip down was completely silent. Both Barretts looked on the verge of speaking up several times, but never actually did so. Professor Kross continued to exude an air of complete confidence and professionalism, pretending to not even notice. When they reached the lobby, they parted ways without a word.
Kross met up with Kiera, who was waiting in the lobby and chatting up the only veteran Tamer and his harem in the Center. Once outside, the middle-aged man paused to catch his breath once he was outside. He still felt weakness from his heart attack days ago, but was much too proud to admit it. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and gave Kiera a look. "I'm perfectly healthy."
"Except for your heart," The Stretchymaid replied. "Come on."
/\/\
His eyes opened, and he saw pure white on the bare ceiling. Toman smelled the distinctive scent of sanitized and filtered air, and took in the noise from the medical equipment. The dull throb in his shoulder only confirmed to him that he was, in fact, in a ward of the PokeCenter. He examined the common looking room, and found on a nearby stand both his glasses and a single minimized sphere of white and red that could really only be one thing.
Every time he woke up, he did the same thing, and had done it for years, ever since he had gotten glasses. It was nearly a reflex. He reached out and grabbed his glasses, placing them on their natural perch near the top of his nose. The lenses were pools of clarity, taking up all but his peripheral in a suddenly sharper world.
Now able to see, he confirmed that he was indeed in a bland-looking medical ward. There was a TV mounted on the wall in the corner, and remotes for it and the hydraulic bed sat on a tray near one of the metal side-guards. He didn't care about that, though, and instead took the PokeBall into his hand. They left Marya here with me... He maximized the Ball, watching it grow to its regular size, twice as large as the compact version. He had known her for so little time, and yet it felt completely natural that she was by his bedside.
Toman thumbed the release and tossed the Ball into the air, exercising his voice for the first time, in a groggy, "Marya, come on out." It broke open at the apex of its flight, and a cascade of white light appeared, streaming like lightning to the ground. Marya's figure formed in the light, and soon took material form. The Ball fell back onto the bed near his feet, closed again by its own devices.
Marya took a look around, blinked, and then leapt without regard onto the bed, landing on the lighter, frailer human with an 'oof'. "Master!" She cuddled happily up to him. "I'm so glad you're ok." She had been put in the PokeBall upon arrival to the Center, and passed through a welcome healing cycle. Then, she was left in the twilight reality of Pokeball storage, and what thoughts she did have mostly revolved around the feral Stretchymaid and her demise.
Toman laughed. "You could have injured me, you better curb that enthusiasm. And honestly, I've felt a hell of a lot better. But, I'm alive. And I've still got you."
The Boobisaur nodded, looking up at his face. "Yeah. I heard what you said to Dom when that Clone Team Grunt threatened us, Master... You want our fates to be the same..."
He didn't say anything, looking away. The way she was looking at him, with such love, made his face begin to heat up very quickly.
"You are one fine Tamer... strike that, one fine man, Master," Marya cooed, snuggling into him even more with her voluptuous figure. "I can't believe you nearly risked your life for me out there. It's... usually not done, from what I've heard."
"Yeah, well I'm going to look at changing some Tamer standards," Toman said. "I know you'd do the same for me." The dichotomy was obviously false- of course a PokeGirl would put her life on the line for her Tamer. That was as elemental as their very existence. Of course, focusing on intellectual arguments was rather difficult with such a beautiful female specimen rubbing against him. "Note to self, revise Boobisaur entry. Libido average to high."
Marya chortled. "Oh ho ho. I'm flattered, really. Now, we didn't get to the wonderful Taming session today like I wanted, so let's make up for that bit of lost time." Toman had protested, but Marya was removing the sheets and pulling up the medical gown by the time they both heard the door creak open. She had already managed to expose quite a bit of flesh, and tried to pull the sheet over it again, sitting on it.
NurseJoy leaned in, and saw the human and his PokeGirl. "Ah, I see you've come around," She said, closing the door behind her. "You're going to make a relatively very fast recovery, Toman. How are you feeling?"
"I'm grateful," The new Tamer said. "Just grateful the bullet didn't hit somewhere important. And, apparently, this uppity Girl right here saved my life while I lay bleeding." He reached up one hand and gently ruffled her hair, as if she were a favored pet. Marya stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head, evading the touch. "So, tell me, how long is it going to take for me to heal?"
"The gunshot should be healed enough in a month or two, minus a large scar," The League PokeGirl said. "Your fatigue and other conditions just need you to take it easy for a day or two, and the heart... well, either your father told you or you could have guessed from the machines."
"Yes." Toman's voice got quieter. "My special affliction. I probably aggravated that so much with that stunt we pulled... it felt like my heart was going to... explode." Luckily, that severe discomfort had been replaced by a second subdued throb in his chest.
"All of the treatments and recommendations are fairly straightforward. I'll send you home tomorrow with a one-week prescription for the required medication. Make sure to clean and change the bandaging on your shoulder every day until it's healed over."
He leaned back in his bed. "So, sleep, take medicine, and keep my bandaging fresh and clean. Sounds like it should work. Um... you probably don't get this request a lot, but do you have the bullet that you dug out of me?"
This took the NurseJoy by surprise. "I believe so, it's been sent to the police as evidence along with your gun. It was all I could do to convince them to let you keep your PokeGirls."
Marya gave her a big, lovely smile. "I appreciate it."
She appeared to blush a little, and replied quickly, "Oh, my, it was nothing much." Toman noticed this, and also how the nurse's eyes appeared more interested in her patient's PokeGirl than the patient himself. That would explain why she never asks for Tamings from any of the guys in the village, He thought with a hint of amusement. Marya, of course, was oblivious to this. "I sent word down to the cafeteria, they're preparing a hearty meal for you, since you haven't eaten all day," She said. "It should be ready in about ten minutes, I'll have it brought up to you."
Toman nodded rapidly. "Yes. Good. I'm so hungry..." At least that's the most of my woes at the moment.
With nothing else to say, she excused herself. Marya said, "Aww. I suppose 'taking it easy' means we aren't going to Tame for a while, right?"
"Afraid so," He confirmed. "At least with your libido you can hold out for a while, right?" Boobisaurs were not particularly known for being sex fiends, despite their Lust Dust ability and various forms of Vine naughtiness. They could go for about five days without a taming and suffer no ill effects at all. After that, it was a steady degeneration of mental abilities for three or so days until finally, after a little over a week, she would revert to being Feral. All of that was approximate, and different per individual, of course. Whenever it came, Toman wasn't going to let that happen to her.
"Yes. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though." She teased him through the sheets for a while more, getting him nice and hard, before standing up. "Well, I'm going to soak up what remains of the sunlight and rest in the soil. I'll be back in an hour or two." Toman was about to say something rude, squirming, now hot and bothered, but she blew him a kiss and made her escape before had the chance to.
"Ugh, troublesome..." Toman rested his head on the pillows again, chuckling. "Two days in and I've already gotten shot and I have two PokeGirls. I can't decide if I'm ahead or behind the average."
Two police officers stopped in some time before he fell asleep, and took his statement about the events on the road. He told them everything he remembered- that is to say, everything until after he took a bullet. After verifying the details, they told him that the investigation would be short, and of course everything was in order. The senior of the pair even raised the possibility of a slight increase to his Tamer rank for discouraging Rocket Clone activity in the area.
The next morning, Toman played host to concerned visitors, including many of the villagers who wished him the best and praised his courage. All the time, Marya laid in his bed, cuddling him lovingly and soaking up the light from the fully opened window. He was polite and thanked all of them for coming to see him. For seemingly the twentieth time, he heard the knocking, and called out, "Come in!" He was somewhat startled to see Dom walk in, followed by Grace, who was looking very healthy. "Ah. Look, Marya." The plant girl spared to them a lethargic look.
Dom started to speak. "Hey, man, I just-"
"Marya told me about how you killed the Feral," Toman interjected, acting like he hadn't spoken. "And helped defend me when I was down. I guess we're fairly even, then. Just wanted to clear that up in case you wanted to start apologizing for getting me shot or something like that."
The blonde blinked, taking that in, and then grinned slightly. "Of course. How stupid of me. Don't worry, I was actually here about the Mynx."
"She's, apparently, waiting at the Lab in her Ball," Toman observed. "Since I'm like this, I decided that if you really wanted her you can go ahead. I'm going to always have my hands full with this girl over here." He squeezed her lightly, provoking her to let out a slight 'eep' and giggle, rubbing against his body under the sheets.
"Nah. After going out there like an idiot, I think I've proven I don't even deserve responsibility for Grace, much less another Girl. Maybe one day when I learn better and get stronger, we can have a fight over it."
The two men shared a moment of respect, and then Toman said, "Fair enough. Kiera will find some way to keep her entertained." At the mention of the domesticated Stretchymaid, Dom looked away, face darkening. Toman could certainly understand why. The experience of taking another's life must have given the charismatic, usually friendly guy a lot of trauma. "How're you holding up?"
"Tried to make peace with it. Hasn't worked so far." Dom turned, and said, "See you later, man."
"Yeah, alright."
/\/\
As predicted, by the end of the day, Toman was welcomed back home by a large dinner. After everyone had eaten, life began to return to a semblance of normalcy, with him happily reading pre-Sukebe literature until past midnight. Marya joined him, and he made a good attempt at showing her the joys of reading. She, in turn, appreciated the thought and tried to get into several of her Master's books, although none were really to her liking. She possessed the abilities to read and write passably due to her upbringing in a PokeGirl Lab, although like most Harem PokeGirls was never expected to have to actually use them.
Two more days passed uneventfully, with Toman slowly regaining the strength he had lost and starting a very light exercise plan that would scale up with his health. Worries about his two Girls plagued the back of his mind most of the time, and he knew that he would need to be up to the challenge of two Tamings soon. Dom visited his room and they hung out, and let their PokeGirls do the same, just like they had when they were kids. It was almost unreal after what had happened, but Toman was willing to accept the continuing friendship.
After lunch on his third day back, his father summoned him up to his study. As he never left home and continued to rest up, he got there very quickly, after a quick check of the stairs to avoid falling Stretchymaids. He knocked on the closed doors, and they swung open to reveal Professor Kross on the other side. "Son, come in," He said, walking into his study. Toman followed him wordlessly, having a seat.
"So, what did you call me up here for?" He only spoke with Toman in his study when it was truly important, like that not so distant day that seemed like a lifetime ago, where Toman had 'decided' to become a Tamer. That put him a little on edge, although he honestly thought nothing could be more shocking than that.
"There are a few topics we need to discuss." The father closed the doors and walked back, sitting next to him. "First, have you decided if you're going to report for Boot Camp?" In the Ruby League, a majority of the people possessed wilderness and survival skills, and were toughened by the harsher climate than in other regions. In that way, Taming requirements were loose, and the only real training offered was Taming Boot Camp, a voluntary three-week course that was held by League trainers in all major cities.
"Yes, I'm going to go there," Toman confirmed. "I've studied most of the aspects of Taming, but, as you yourself are trying to teach me, I'll need all the 'real world' experience I can get. When is it?"
"It starts in a little under two weeks," Professor Kross said. "I recommend that you head for Shelaya City by train, from the Mosertack Village's station. It should take about fifteen hours to get there, but it certainly beats walking. The training facility is on the outskirts of town, and you won't have to worry about finding housing until it's finished. Oh, and while you're there, you can stop in at Aaron Shields' studio. He's an old friend of mine, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking you in for a time." The industrial capital of the Ruby League would make a fine springboard for his son to start his adventure, he figured.
The teenager took it all in and nodded. "Very well. Sometimes it pays off to be the son of a fairly respected Professor."
"Yes, it does." His father chuckled. "And the other matter I wanted to talk to you about, before you left..." He took in a deep breath. "I think I'm finally ready to talk about your mother, Toman."
He'd be damned if it didn't feel like an eternity as Toman stared at him, slowly realizing that he was serious. After avoiding the topic by any and every means possible since the boy had been old enough to ask about it, the sudden event felt like a second bullet impact.
"I had figured I'd give you a few days of rest beforehand, just so you don't have your own heart attack." Toman did not appreciate that particular bit of humor.