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: Well the best time to learn how to swim is when you're in the water, so I figure I'm about to gain a lot of experience writing battles. Or at least a bit. >.<
Also massive credit to the most virile and beautiful Strife Zubia for aiding me and basically writing the mini-orgy.
Toman felt something approaching anger at his friend, for she had dragged him into the focus of the big lights and the view of a thousand people, not to mention a lot closer to Dahmune's Girls lined up against the far wall. Overall this was not the place he felt like being, but he didn't bother to complain, simply standing at one of the boxes for Tamers and watching Flurry run over to the other side. "Strategy?" Marya asked, even as she did a bit of stretching that turned her body into a welcome distraction for the male mind.
He wasn't as reserved about it as usual, admiring his Pokegirl's form with hungry eyes. "Blast her with Lust Dust and then keep her away. Use Razor Leaf a lot, don't rely on your Vine Whip."
"Got it," She said, feeling her own tension as she tried to stretch. This wasn't her first battle, and she'd had dozens of practice matches with Pokegirls from the Lab already, but this was the first time she was going Tamer-to-Tamer with Toman in a regular fight. She couldn't help having a bit of doubt about her Tamer's ability, although she really tried not to think about it as she stared Joan down across the field. Shit. The guy's really bright, he's probably got this covered, she told herself.
Toman's mind raced as he contemplated what he was going to do. In low-level fights, a Tamer's direction was possibly even more important than epic-level high power battles, for the Pokegirls lacked the experience to think up advanced strategies and act on their own initiative yet. Plus every move would count, since their stamina wasn't spectacular. With that said, he wasn't sure how much direction to give. If he tried to orchestrate every one of her moves, well, that had its own disadvantages, because the enemy could hear and react to everything-
"Ready?" Dahmune called out and Toman blinked in surprise, yanked out of his spiraling contemplation. Both of the Tamers nodded and he went on. "Toman Kross of Samara Village versus Flurry Josephine from Shelaya City. You guys know the rules, if you cheat we feed you to the Mantis." Flurry snorted and Toman managed a grin, but neither would have found that as funny if a Mantis wasn't actually around ten meters away. "Alright. Go!"
"You want the first move, Toman?" Flurry asked, knowing he wouldn't bother adhering to historical traditions like Dom had.
"If you insist. Marya, get her blood pumping." The Boobisaur nodded, bracing herself as she called up the dust she had stored up for days. Toman looked around and then said, "Try not to nuke the entire gym, though. That could be. Um. Messy." Despite his words of caution, or perhaps because of it, the cloud of Lust Dust that was released bloomed and billowed just like an explosion, spreading out until it had hit both Tamers, Grace, the combatants in the other lane, Dahmune, and whiffs of it billowed through the climate-controlled room and got to the Girls on the wall. Nobody was prepared for it, and they all took it in, their lungs clouding with the mostly harmless material.
The Dust's effect was as stark as it was immediate. Grace looked like she'd been shot with high-grade adrenaline, and her eyes got hazy. Everyone else looked about the same once they were under the Dust's sway, although Dahmune, Toman, and the two other Tamers in battle all began to sport erections that were almost impossible to hide. The spectators saw the Girls in the other lane collapse in a pile of flesh and start to go at it, laughing and cheering.
"Dirty trick," Flurry grunted, staring directly at Toman in a way that made the thin boy very uncomfortable, especially as her eyes tracked down. "Very dirty."
Marya waited for follow-up commands and realized she had inundated Toman, as well. Sigh. At least I'll be getting some wonderful post-battle Taming now. She decided to open up with Razor Leaf, sending a volley of sharpened, hard leaves right at the Chikotit.
The Pokegirl tried to dodge but her mind and body both flatly refused to focus, and she was sliced up by the leaves, one of them even impaling itself into her stomach. She gasped in harsh pain, and her arousal made the feeling even more intense than it might have otherwise been. She felt a flare of anger and charged at Marya even as another wave of leaves hit her and knocked her back.
Flurry forced her mind on track through sheer indomitable will, and promising herself she would get some of Joan, and Toman, and everything else in the room, later. "Nice try Toman! But it's not enough! Whip her until she moans in submission, Joan!"
"First you have to get to Marya," Toman retorted, mind full of images of his voluptuous Girl moaning under the harsh blows of a whip. "Um. Keep her away," He said lamely, and Marya shot him a sarcastic gaze as she sent even more of the flat, sharp missiles at her opponent.
"Dive on your back to get in range," Flurry yelled, and even as the leaves slashed her, Joan threw herself to the ground forcefully and felt her back smack into it. She slid for a while on her own momentum, and she looked up and saw Marya come within what she figured was maximum range for a Vine Whip. Before the Boobisaur could react and backpedal, she reached out with two powerful vines, aiming right for her feet.
Marya went down, and on her back, no less, landing on her bulb and yelping in surprised pain. Toman's concern for his Girl managed to override how her arched back showcased her breasts, and he yelled, "Roll!" She obeyed without thinking, and a second vine attack missed her by centimeters. The third blow, though, smacked her lower legs and pain shot through them as the Boobisaur cried out.
Joan leapt to her feet and closed the distance, smacking Marya several more times with incredible violence and force and causing terrifying bruises to form on her green skin. Toman winced in sympathy with each crack of the vines, and said, "Marya, you have to fight back! Vine Whip!" Pain fogged her mind, though, and Toman didn't know if she even noticed his command. "Marya!"
The Chikotit was on her. Desire to hurt and desire to mate achieved some dark fusion, and even as she continued to slap the curvy girl with one of her vines, the other went exploring in a way usually totally inappropriate for a formal battle. Marya closed her legs on instinct while trying to bring her arms up to protect herself, but that only got her arms a few searing bruises.
"Stop!" Toman screamed with enough force in his normally wispy voice to make Flurry stare. "We give. Stop, Marya can't fight back. This is over." He didn't care one bit about the shame of surrender. He couldn't stand by and just watch until Marya finally just passed out or ended up raped. They had been defeated and he was unwilling to let her suffer more for no reason.
Flurry nodded her understanding and drew her Pokeball, knowing that the fastest way to get the enraged Joan to stop attacking was to return her to her ball. "Alright, Toman. Joan, return!" The red beam of light snatched her away and Toman let out a sigh of relief.
"Toman has surrendered, Josette-Josephine is the winner," Dahmune announced, watching the teenager go over to the prone form of his Boobisaur and kneel. Even though he had surrendered a lot of the crowd was cheering for him, for he had been the one who had sprayed the Lust Dust onto the field, and even the next group of contestants was going to have more things on their mind than battle. Which, of course, was great to watch.
Marya stared up at her Tamer, pain and lust evident in her large eyes, but something else also swirled about there. "I could have taken her, Master," She insisted, her voice bereft of its usual will and vitality.
Despite his worry, Toman gave her a genuine grin. "Of course," He replied evenly, "But I wanted to spare Joan a humiliating defeat." He pulled out her ball and clicked the button.
"You're a humanitarian, Master," She assured him even as she vanished into the energy state and was sucked into the storage device.
Flurry walked up to him, and it was only now that Toman noticed he was still hard, although to a lesser degree, and saw on her shirt that she was, as well. At least he was still civilized enough to blush at that, and he adjusted his glasses. "Interesting tactic, Toman," She said, offering a hand, which he took and used it to stand up.
"Thanks," He replied. "You definitely earned that victory, though-"
Flurry kissed him.
In retrospect, knowing her character and her artificially-lusty state, he could have probably seen it coming. When it happened, though, it struck him as though he'd been blind-sided by a car, and he watched in shock as she claimed his lips and pressed against him. She definitely tasted more like Marya than Irena, his mind figured, but she had a quality that was different and interesting. Meanwhile, the rest of his thought processes were whirring about and threatening to break down on the spot. His body, bereft of direction, took the natural course, and his erection, which had been tapering off slowly, rushed back to full, insistent force.
Of course, the crowd of Tamers thought this was a great end to the match, and cheered them on with greater gusto. Toman honestly thought, and sort of maybe hoped, that Flurry was going to escalate this to a full-blooded Taming on the floor of the arena, but luckily for whatever remained of his dignity, and his sensitive back, she only pulled away after the long kiss and said, "Let's go." When he failed to move quickly enough she grabbed his hand and dragged him away, heading for one of the arena doors.
"Um. Flurry?" Toman turned to look at his group on the bleachers. All four of the guys were grinning approvingly at him. Dom cupped his hands together to yell encouragements. The brilliant teenager wished for an instant death of embarrassment.
"We're going to the Center for a healing cycle," She said. "Then we'll try to return to the gym to watch our friends, but become regrettably tied up and you will end up Taming me."
Toman took a moment to process this, and looked back at Irena, who had brought up the rear. She gave him a little encouraging smile and he sighed. "Understood," He said. "I hope this 'pushy girl' thing isn't going to be the same everywhere I go..."
He hadn't noticed it before, but the Gym had been well positioned in terms of medical facilities; one of Shelaya's modern PokeCenters was only a block and a half away, and the small living chain covered the distance quickly. They hadn't grabbed their coats, but neither human felt the cold at all, their blood still boiling over from the Lust Dust.
Toman was glad that the lobby was almost empty so far; as more battles went on he had no doubt the place would become packed with victors and vanquished. As it was, only a few bore witness as he approached the front counter, still fully erect and breathing heavily, and placed Marya's Ball on the healing tray. The NurseJoy took in his appearance with an impassive look, and once her computer started scanning the Pokegirl within she suppressed a grin. "Don't worry, sir, I'm sure your two companions here can help you with the secondary symptoms of the Dust."
"Consider me reassured," Toman replied, forcing himself to stare at nothing in particular. "How long will this take?"
"Not more than a few minutes," She assured him. "If you kids can hold out that long your Girl can join in the fun."
"I am a weak, weak woman," Flurry said, placing her own Ball on the tray. "Might as well get her topped off while we're here. Now, give us a room and send the two up to us when they're healed, please." Her tone was remarkably businesslike given how flustered she was. The Pokegirl plucked a card-key from the rack and put it in her waiting hand.
"Have fun," The nurse said, feeling a bit of concern for the thin boy as the girl almost ripped his arm off in a sudden dash up the stairs.
/\/\
Toman was aware of few things. He was in a PokeCenter room, he gathered that much; how he got there was a mystery. It probably had to do, he reflected, with the same reason he had Flurry in his arms, pressing against him, her lips crushing against his, their tongues dancing a dance he'd only danced with a precious few before. A familiar squeaking moan made a hazy eye flick to behind Flurry, where Marya and Flurry's Chikotit, Joan, were busy expressing their dominance over the meek Irena with shared kisses, exploring hands, and probing vines. A small voice in his mind told the lust-drunk Toman that Marya had something to do with this, that it was somehow her doing, but his investigative thoughts were thrown off when Flurry gave him a hard shove to the chest, making him stumble backward and onto the bed provided so generously by the Center.
"Got'cha now..." She muttered to him, grinning that same cat like grin he'd seen once before as she crawled onto the bed, her hips straddling his. He simply panted up at her, painfully aware of how tight his pants were as her hands crossed over her abdomen, catching the hem of her shirt and lifting quickly, leaving her upper body covered only by the meager restraints of her bra. She again dove down for a kiss, which Toman was happy to oblige her with, as her hands reached behind her own back to unhook the piece of clothing she knew the male would have had no practice with, and with deft fingers, had the thing unhooked and ready to fly. The kiss was broken just short of how long Toman would have liked, but any complaints were silenced when Flurry again sat up, letting the cloth fall into a single hand before being thrown carelessly away.
For a human, by human standards, Flurry was beautiful. She was symmetrical, she was well built, and proportionally at that. In his opinion, the girl had nothing to be ashamed of, and she had never indeed shown any of that shame, but despite himself, he couldn't help but compare her to Marya, whom was still trying to make Irena cry out louder than the Chikotit could. Flurry might have caught a glimpse of those thoughts as she forced his shirt off of his body, and leaned down to deliver a sharp bite to his neck for his transgressions, eliciting a cry earned all her own.
"Me. Not her, me." Flurry was as lust-mad as Toman, and the entire thing was forgotten in seconds as they shared another kiss, their hands caressing and exploring one another, a soft gasp drawn from her lips as his hands danced along her mounds. He felt a sharp pang in his pants as she gasped for him, and the pain was nearly unbearable; she seemed to be somewhere in the same boat, because it only took another second for her to be again upright on his lap, panting and gasping as she undid her pants, a sheen of sweat making her body glisten before Toman's eyes as his own fingers danced along his trocsss. The two finished their work in nearly the same amount of time, and before long, Flurry was blushing as she stared down the beast that was Toman.
"Yeah... you're staying on bottom." She gulped, panting hard as she drove the fear and uncertainty from her own mind; she needed this, needed him, nearly as badly as he did her. His gasp as her warm, soft hand grasped him was sharp, and he had to clench his eyes shut as his sensitive member was made to stand erect, somehow more sensitive to touch than was usual. "Just... behave." She pleaded weakly, panting hard as his swollen tip came to rest against her. With a slight drop of her body, they both gasped and hissed in pleasure; she was tight around his head, so hot he wondered if he'd be able to last at all. In his mind, he couldn't help but marvel at how similar, and yet how different, she was to either of the girls. Physically, the similarities were there, but this... this was how it felt to be with another human.
Unable to stay still, Toman had to move, had to do something, and he expressed that need by reaching up to slowly caress and fondle her breasts. She gasped at this as well, he imagined partially because she was as sensitive as he at the moment, and gave a shuddering moan as she forced herself to lower on him. Her body twitched and fidgeted in his hands and on his lap as she panted, quivering atop him. They were both mumbling and moaning one another's names, and louder cries from beyond Toman's perspective told him that Irena was in the process of being put through 'the paces' by two needy plant-types out to one up one another. Flurry lowered herself lower on him, and he whimpered gently in pleasure, earning a gasping pet on the cheek from the female atop him, begging him to hold out, to last, for her. He found the will somewhere, gasping deeply as he clenched muscles he didn't know he could clench as her tight body slid further down his length; by the time her waist and his had met, they were both crying out in agonized pleasure, neither willing to the 'the first' yet, not at this point.
His body needed to thrust, to exert itself, but the female atop him was stronger then she let on, and in the absence of that ability, Toman found himself grinding within her, his hips moving in a wide, tight circle; Flurry arched her back and cried out at this, muscles contracting and twitching as the feeling of his stirring inside her grazed against her in a terribly pleasing way. She gasped and whimpered as her hips rose involuntarily, sliding precious inches of him out of her before she found herself practically dropping the distance again, his shaft stabbing into her as it re-filled her, making them both cry out. To Toman's mild shock, it was Flurry who came first, her nails digging into his chest as she practically screamed his name into the air, her walls clenching spastically on him; he was not long in following, crying a strangled howl as he erupted within her. He squeezed her chest as they shared the orgasm, and she simply whimpered in response, her eyes clenched shut as she gently bit her own lip to cut off the cries, her body spasming and twitching atop him; behind them both, Marya and Joan were already recovering from their grinding against Irena, who at this point was beyond saving, nearly hyperventilating as her dazed eyes simply stared at the Master and Mistress on the bed, not exactly registering what she saw, the consecutive orgasms having completely wiped her mind for the time being.
Still attached to one another, Flurry found herself simply laying atop Toman, panting hard and nuzzling into his neck as he, too, gasped for breath, stroking her hair slowly. He was still like a rock within her, a fact that both amazed and frightened her; he was made for being a Tamer, that much was clear. Moaning softly, Flurry moved to extract him from her, to roll to the side and try to clear her head, but she was stopped by a pair of hands coming to rest on her lower back. They weren't Toman's hands; those were still in her hair. Before she could turn her head to see who had put her movement to a halt, she instead felt her eyes shoot wide open as she hissed in pleasure, a hot tongue gently caressing the base of her opening from the bottom. The tongue similarly caressed Toman's shaft, making him cry out in surprised pleasure; looking back, Flurry saw Marya on her knees behind the two, leaning over the edge of the bed with her face buried between their connected crotches, licking slowly and lovingly at the point where they connected, where white seed could be seen dribbling out of her and down him.
Intent on collecting as much of her beloved Master's seed as she could, Marya was deaf to the moans and cries of Flurry and Toman, who's cries for pleasure only slightly masked their pleas for a ceasefire. These cries were further muffled by Joan, the needy Chikotit having straddled Toman's face and seized Flurry by the hair, whimpering as she demanded her Mistress lick at her; with traces of lust dust running through his system still, and with the aromatic, distinctly female scent of the needy Chikotit before him, Toman couldn't help but assist, and soon, Joan was writhing and crying out as two tongues assailed her, caressing against one another as often as against her. Between attacking Joan and being attacked by Marya, it wasn't long before poor, untrained Toman was again crying out into Joan, arching his back and trying to thrust weakly as his still-raging hard on poured its seed deep inside of Flurry.
To Joan's dissatisfaction, Marya saw this as her prime opportunity, practically ripping Flurry off of Toman and pushing the human onto her back before nearly diving into her sex, the Boobisaur's tongue assailing Flurry with all the zeal she could manage, the human girl crying out in pleasure as her fingers clench the bed sheets, her legs wrapping around the plant type's head as Toman's seed was milked from her depths. Joan, still having her own pussy eaten by Toman, leaned down to where her Mistress had vanished from, panting as she caressed and kissed the half-erect cock that smelled so much of her Mistress. His hands squeezing and caressing the soft flesh of Joan's ass, his nose drowning in the scent of the Chikotit's hot arousal, it didn't take long for his body to respond yet again, growing stiff in Joan's hands, the tip caressing her lips. Drawn by the need shared by all 'Girls, Joan couldn't stop herself crawling forward, her hips leaving Toman's grasp as she sat up, her back to Toman as she drew nearer his cock, caressing it as though a relic to be cherished.
Toman panted weakly as he watched the small frame of Joan rise up on his lap, his breathing speeding up as he watched her lower herself, his breath hitching as he felt her tight warmth come to rest against his shaft. Her gentle gasp made him shiver, and as he began to vanish into her, he moaned in return, his hands moving up to caress her waist as she slowly drew him into her. Joan matched her Mistresses' moans, slowly beginning to bounce on the hard length of Toman as Marya licked and kissed at Flurry's hot, sticky crotch. Irena had managed to come to enough to crawl over to her Harem Sister, nuzzling and kissing Marya's hips as her fingers lovingly caressed and explored Marya, making the Boobisaur moan weakly into Flurry's cunt.
The cacophony of cries and moans began to build again, Flurry whimpering as she ground herself into Marya's face, Joan crying out as she rode Toman needfully, the male groaning heavily as the females around him began to sing a heavenly chorus. Flurry and Marya cried out in orgasm at the same time, Marya due to Irena, and Flurry because of the girl between her legs. Joan came only a few thrusts before Toman, clenching down on his shaft and squeezing as she practically screamed, her aching depths milking his cock for all he was worth, which was still a considerable amount, despite his several orgasms previous. Collapsing onto the bed, or around it in the case of Irena and Marya, the many bodies began to slowly catch their breath, Flurry and Toman's hands managing to find one another as they lay beside each other, Joan stretching languidly over the both of them as Toman gave her a weak smile.
"So... are we..." He was cut off by a soft kiss, and a wicked smile in return.
"Sorry, but you haven't defeated me yet. It was a tie."
/\/\
Their lusts had been sated, the air of release and relief almost as thick as the musk of sex itself. They lied together, cuddling under a warm sheet and with no other material to separate their bodies. "So," Flurry spoke up. "First time with a human. How was it?"
Toman pondered on this question for minutes. "I dunno. Maybe we need to conduct another session so I can get more experimentation in." The teenager was currently sandwiched by his Girls, and was running a hand through Marya's sort of mossy hair.
"After you have time to recharge, we will," Flurry nodded, all thought of returning to the Boot Camp for today forgotten. She pressed against her own Girl and was rewarded with a coo of affection from the Grass-type.
Suddenly, a huge roaring noise slipped through the non-soundproofed walls of the room, and the entire building shook around them. This was enough to awaken all of them, and Flurry sat up in alarm. "What the hell..." She rubbed her eyes, still tired from the passionate Taming. "Is the Center... under attack?" A second shiver, much less strong but still enough to rattle the foundations of the structure, made sure to grip their attention.
"What kind of idiot would attack a fucking PokeCenter?" Marya demanded, clinging desperately to a pillow as though she could go back to sleep through sheer will. Loud noises, shouting, could now be heard from the lobby. Something was definitely up.
"Come on, get up," Toman demanded, stumbling to his feet and trying to find where the various bits of his clothing had been scattered. Flurry did the same, but the Pokegirls could get a bit more awake as they waited, glad they could all go nude. With his hair still down and messy, his clothes wrinkled and dirty, and still half-blind, Toman stumbled out into the hallway and clipped into another Tamer heading towards the lobby. "Sorry," He said out of pure reflex.
The yelling had stopped, and by the time the group emerged into the lobby, sirens were wailing in the distance. Flurry gasped as she saw the smoldering hole in the wall, and then the half-dozen Tamers and Pokegirls in the lobby, standing around several figures bound together with rope. Chilly air flowed in through the large opening, and Marya suppressed a shudder as she tried to get a better look at the captives.
"What happened?" Somebody asked and the NurseJoy at the counter turned to look at the groups of new arrivals.
"These three men and the Bondage Elf blew up the wall," The nurse explained, obviously still panicked herself. "They stopped to pose and say some weird motto or catch-phrase, and the Tamers in the lobby took them by surprise. It was over in seconds." The Domina responsible for the distress of the mysterious attackers gave a proud grin and took a bow. A Growlie physically sat on the evil Elf, preventing much of her movement, while a Witch stood ready to blast some magic at any of the troublemakers.
Toman allowed himself to blink a few times in confusion, and rubbed his eyes to clear the last of the blur. Definition returned to his vision and he got a better look, first at the men, who were all garbed in lavender jumpsuits with a logo in English emblazoned in painful red writing. They also had on similarly colored berets and surgical masks. They all had bondage gags in their mouths and were unable to speak, although their indignant muffles carried their message well enough. The Bondage Elf herself was trying to look angry even as she enjoyed being so tied up and helpless, which was kind odd for her breed.
Disregarding the tense air of the room, he walked up to the criminals and tilted his head, adjusting his glasses. "Why did you attack a PokeCenter, anyway? That seems incredibly stupid." Their expressions seemed to guiltily agree with his assessment. Stunned at what a poor plan it was, Toman became naturally suspicious. There has to be something more here. This isn't an anime. "Um. How'd they blow up that wall, anyway?"
One of the Tamers was outside examining the blast damage. "Tamed if I know. This was the only Girl they had, no Balls, Dex, nothing else. I'm guessing some pretty illegal explosives."
The nurse gasped. "According to the police on the line, every Tamer who assisted in the capture of the Bondage Elf will split a bounty of seven percent of the Girl's real market value as prize money." The Tamers all turned to look at her. This prize money system for capturing criminal Girls had begun years ago and had proven very effective in motivating Tamers. "Let's see. As a rare girl, she'd go for 250,000 on average. Seven percent of that is 17,500. Split five ways.... each of you will be wired 3500 credits, care of the League." It wasn't exactly a menace bounty, but it was certainly a boon, given how easily they'd taken the Girl down. Toman felt a little jealousy because he hadn't been able to partake in this easy 'kill'.
"Lucky sons of byte bitches," Flurry said, and then saw a pair of police cars turn the corner and charge for the Center, lights and sirens blazing furiously. They skidded to a stop in front of the building, and out of the black and white vehicles poured three armed Officer Jennies, two Growlies, and three uniformed officers, who quickly saw the situation was well under control.
They secured the four criminal masterminds in a car, and one of the men nodded to the Tamers. "Nice work," He said. "Taking down a Rare Girl is no mean feat, especially since it looks like most of you are noobs. We'll book Team Trauma here and make sure they answer for all this."
"Thank you so much, everyone," The NurseJoy said with an audible sigh. "If you hadn't been here they might have actually managed to steal some of our Girls in storage or healing."
"Somehow I doubt anyone's in actual danger from them," Toman observed dryly, and watched the car laden with prisoners leave. The other vehicle remained as the human officers took down everyone's statements and did some light investigating, photographing the hole, gathering samples from the rubble pile. They didn't exactly need to bring in Super-bra investigators to get the full picture, though, and the Tamers were free to take their leave within an hour of the incident. "Well that was eventful."
Flurry pouted. "Kind of killed the mood, too, especially now that the Dust has worn off."
"I could make more," Marya volunteered with great enthusiasm.
"Actually let's just get back to Boot Camp," Toman said. "We don't want to miss all the exciting violence, after all." Both of his Pokegirls caught on that something was wrong, and tugged on his arms. He turned to look at them and sighed. "Just a bit freaked out. This is my second time dealing with police in a month."
"At least this time you didn't manage to get shot," Marya put in.
"Oh, your words have healed my soul and given me new hope for the world," Toman said in his absolute best emotionless voice and the Boobisaur couldn't contain her giggles. "But I'm fine, so thanks for the touching concern. Let's go." There was another problem worrying him, that had come to his mind as he stood about in the chilly ventilated lobby and now came slamming into his face along with the cold air as he stepped outside. "We forgot our coats."
"Yeah," Flurry admitted. "Man it's a lot colder when we aren't... erm. Warmed up. Maybe Marya should splash us again?"
Both Grass-types were returned to their Balls and Irena was comfortable walking with the two humans, who just had to tough it out. They didn't reach the training Gym, though, because about halfway down the road they heard Irena gasp and turned to look at the Mynx, who had suddenly stopped moving.
"Master! Flurry! Look!" She pointed down one of the many dark alleys that led off the main paths, and the humans peered into the gloom. Both of them were able to make out a pair of prone human forms, laying on the snow-covered concrete near a dumpster. "Oh my..." Flurry ran towards the bodies, heart racing and stomach in knots as she feared the worst, with Toman and his Girl close behind. "Are they..." Irena couldn't bring up the courage to ask.
"They're alive," Flurry said after looking for, and finding, two pulses. "Steady heartbeats." It took them this long to recognize both of the victims, and Flurry let out a curse in alarm.
It was Dom and Filat. Both teenagers laid at unnatural angles on the hard ground, their jackets torn and flecked with dark red. The snow around them had been disturbed a lot, and it too held a bit of blood. It was obvious they had both been attacked, and a closer inspection revealed heavy burns on Filat's face and arms. Toman's throat tightened and he looked around, but couldn't see anything else in the shadows. Whatever happened here went down a while back. He put a hand to Dom's cheek and found it barely warmer than the cloth around his friend. He did the same with Filat, and said, "Flurry, run back to the Center and get Joy and the police. We need to get these guys to the Center but we can't move them safely."
She nodded and turned around, taking off faster than Toman had figured she could. It wouldn't take her long to come back with medical attention. He glanced over at Irena, finding her kneeling next to Dom and touching his face. His chest ached as he remembered how the two of them had met, and saw the earnest concern in her eyes.
He shifted around and stood beside her, putting a hand on her head. "Irena," He said softly, "They're gonna be fine." She clung to his leg and he shifted, kneeling so he could put an arm around her. This put a lot of stress on his knees and legs, and he was still no bodybuilder, but he bore with it until she noticed his discomfort and stood up.
"Master..." The Feralborn couldn't think of how to express her feelings in words, and settled for rubbing against him and feeling the thin boy's warmth.
The sound of a group of people approaching and loud voices got his attention, and he turned to see Flurry leading three Nurse Joys and a police officer into the alley. The four adults carried a pair of empty stretchers and they set them down besides his friends. "What happened here?" The officer directed his question at Toman. "This young lady gave us the basics, but..."
"As you can see," Toman said, nodding to Filat's burns, "They got jumped. Given the fact that Ferals don't tend to exist in the city I'm going to go with robbery."
"Two robberies in the same day in almost the same place," One of the nurses said as she ran her own quick examination of the patients. "Alright. I believe their spines are undamaged. Let's move them onto the stretchers..." The Pokegirls lifted both of the humans onto the stretchers while the officer called in for backup and more people to help investigate the new crime scene. Flurry stepped up and helped heft one of the stretchers as the unconscious boys were lifted up and carried away.
"Dom needs to lose some weight," The human complained, admiring how the Nurses took the burden in stride and didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat, unlike her. Despite that, she forced herself to stay steady as they brought the victims into the Center and up a ramp into the human wards. By the time they got Dom onto a bed next to Filat's, her arms were fit to fall off, but she had stopped complaining, hovering around the room and asking the Nurses every minute or two about her friends.
On the other hand, Toman definitely wanted to avoid going into the room, asking only to be told when one of them woke up. After bringing out Marya briefly to fill her in and assure her everyone was fine, Toman and Irena made their way back to the Training Gym, passing another pair of students going the opposite direction. "Watch yourselves, and spread the word," Toman called to them, shyness and cold both irrelevant to him at the moment. "Someone's targeting Boot Camp students." At the speed information traveled between teenagers, he was confident that everyone would be on alert by tomorrow just from that. Still, he planned to go straight to Dahmune about this.
Toman let the Boobisaur out of her ball when they got inside, and she thanked him for freeing her with a long kiss. "All this shit happened," the Girl pouted, "And we didn't get to follow through on our plans to Tame you again."
"Excuse me, the Tamer Tames the Girl," Toman corrected her dryly as they went through the lobby and headed towards the main arena, where the sounds of cheering and an explosion could be heard. The three of them entered the closest side door, passing within a few meters of the Mantis and giving them all the chills, and making their way towards Dahmune. He was still serving as referee, and had just announced someone's victory when Toman tapped his shoulder. "Sir?"
The instructor turned to regard Toman curiously. "What's up, Mr. Kross?" Although they were as strangers to each other, it wasn't hard to learn Toman's name and he thought little of it.
"We may have a big problem."
/\/\
"Both of their girls were swiped as well? Hm, thanks for checking. I appreciate it, officer. We'll talk more about this when you come by my office... ok. Thanks." Dahmune clicked his phone off and pocketed the device, turning back towards the assembled Boot Camp staff. "One of the victims woke up and the police were taking his statement when I called. Even though it was dark and they had face masks, they had a battle that lasted for a bit of time and he got a good look at the attackers. There were three of the bastards, and they had two Charmelons with em. Apparently the description he gave matches the masterminds who got owned at the Center."
"So the two attacks were linked," Chaim said thoughtfully. "At least it looks like that from what we have. That explains the timing of the attacks and why they would send goons after a Center."
Dahmune nodded. "Yeah. They had to do it early so they didn't get a two-way stream, with healthy Tamers who could come by and help the ambushed students. And just to be safe they diverted the whole PokeCenter's attention while it went down, to make sure no cavalry charged in to stop their second team. This was organized."
Alexine cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair. "Yeah, but it still wasn't really a smart plan. I mean, think about it. They got lucky and snagged a Torch Chick and a Charamanda. That will get them on the order of 150,000 or so credits. However, the Bondage Elf they lost had to cost at least 250,000. So even with Fire-type multipliers in their favor and good rarities for starter girls, they still took a massive loss. And they couldn't have even banked on Fire-types, without which they'd have done even worse. Whoever's running that outfit isn't watching his money too good."
"Good point," The Menace expert said. "Hm. I have a hunch about these guys. They might have gotten really lucky and ambushed us without knowing our schedule, but I suspect that someone gave them some info." This got all of the teachers' attention, and they looked about at each other in surprise. "I'm probably full of it, but who knows. A lot of students and even some of the former instructors are bound to be real angry about me and my Girls."
Ignorant of their discussion, and unwilling to just go back to the arena and watch more mindless battling, Toman found himself pacing around the lobby of the Gym, waiting until the police were done with Dom so he could come over and see him. He had to once again reassure both his Girls that he was alright, shaking his head. "Just still a bit shocked and nervous. I think I've got that right after today."
"Well, yeah," Marya sighed. "Ever since we teamed up life has been more dangerous. Or maybe it was always like this and we never noticed? I kind of miss that bubble, Master."
Irena looked over. "If you hadn't come into the forest on the day you did, I wouldn't have... met Dom. Or you two." She flushed a bit. "I'm glad you did, at least. Even if it's causing so much trouble for everyone..."
Toman didn't consider himself an inspirational person, generally speaking, and he was at a loss for what to say. "Well. I don't exactly love what's happened to me so far but I guess things certainly haven't been boring. Every life needs some excitement." He patted her head and hoped his words had helped a bit, but they linger on the topic long. He got a call from the police informing him that they were done questioning Dom for now. The officer thanked him for his cooperation, sounding genuine enough to make Toman wonder if they'd been having a rough time lately. Maybe that's just how things are in the city. Especially after today... "Let's get over there and see how he's holding up."
"This time I'm walking with you," Marya said with determination in her eyes. "I'm your combat Girl and if someone wants to jump you I want to be out and ready to rock."
The teenager sighed. "I appreciate this, Marya, but you're going to suffer a lot. And I'd be plain neglectful if I let you trudge through these conditions. You're going in the ball until we get there. The walk won't take any time at all."
She had just opened her mouth to argue when the red beam caught her and converted her to energy, sucking itself inside the red and white sphere. Toman shook his head. "This time I'm sure I'm right." I'd rather have to reign her in occasionally, though, then have her be like Girls are 'supposed' to be. What Irena's going to have to grow out of being. The Mynx had said nothing else, and when he motioned for her to follow she fell in step, staying very close to her Master.
Toman was so glad he had gotten his coat back. With its protection, only his face and hands were frozen solid when he reached the damaged PokeCenter. I need some gloves. He basked in the warmth, bringing Marya out again. She glared accusingly at him but he was having a hard time feeling guilty about this.
"Believe it or not I'm still your Tamer, and that means not only do I have to find some way to get you to follow my orders, but I'm responsible for your well-being." This could have quickly gone down a sick, to say the last, path, if he had been addressing a human in bondage, but he wasn't. Pokegirls were radically different, creatures made for slavery, and if he wasn't ecstatic about that fact he accepted it like other facts of life. They weren't adults in any sense of the word, except the physical capability for sex, like all slaves, and he had to act as their parent to protect and nurture them where possible. Oh, great. I don't want to pursue this line of thought, either, lest I reflect on my dual status as lover and parent to these Girls.
Marya looked prepared to hold this against him, but after a few moments she sighed. "Right. Damnit, I wish I could wear something. Even a coat just for a short walk..." The Boobisaur shuddered. That could possibly be worse than going out into the freezing cold. Covering up her skin was like shoving a rag into her mouth and pinching her nose, and produced roughly the same effect.
When they got to their friends' room, Dom looked up at them. "Hey," He said, voice devoid of some of its usual energy. "Talk about the irony."
Toman grinned. "Yeah. Well, I already did my time." He sighed. "I really hope the police can get your and Filat's Girls back. Every Center in the city is on alert to report in all sightings of Charamandas or Torch Chicks, and they'll have to take them there for healing." And also the Level 5s customary to stop them from trying to escape back to their owners. He decided that thought was better left unsaid, although he had a sinking feeling Dom was on the same track.
"Isn't there anything we can do to help?" Marya demanded, and if the thieves had burst in at that moment Toman had no doubt she'd be on them like an attack dog.
Toman shook his head but Dom got the first word out and Toman let him speak. "We're all just shy of being kids. If the police force of a major city can't find them... we don't have any hope. Hell, given how they trounced the two best fighters among us we couldn't be able to take them on, even if we did get to the crooks." Toman chuckled and felt glad Dom could manage any of his usual game comments.
"You still gonna come to Boot Camp without your Girl?" Toman asked.
"Yeah." Dom sighed. "Even if I can't participate in fights, I can still learn a lot of stuff from the instructers. Then again, it's stupid, but I'll feel a lot more vulnerable now. Especially in the class, with... ugh." He leaned back, staring up at the stark white ceiling. "Damn. Everything's just been fucking up since we got to Shelaya, Toman."
"I don't know about everything," Toman shook his head. "Met a few decent people and learned how my tolerance for real cold is. Other than that.... yeah. Menaces, muggings... the rate this keeps up they won't have anyone to teach at all. I know I'm bringing Dad's gift to school with me every day now." Although Marya would be the preferred option as far as weapons went, the gun had already proven it's deadly usefulness in defending his life and property, and even if the very thought of using it turned his stomach he figured it was better to make it an option.
Dom didn't say anything, and Toman winced as he figured that his old friend was probably dredging up the terrible memories of that day. After an awkward pause, he did speak up, and it surprised his friend. "I wish I'd had that gun."
"Could you have put some bullets into an actual person?"
That was a cold question. Dom honestly didn't know, but that feeling of powerlessness, of watching his Girl go down to the enemy and be taken from him, of getting the crap beat out of him... it drove him near crazy. "Not sure. I already have enough bad karma on my record from that Feral."
"No, I meant your aiming skills," Toman smirked. "I hear you missed like half of your shots anyway, from a meter away."
Dom favored him with a glare. "I was kind of under stress and shaky. At least I cracked her head open in the end."
"This conversation's creeping me out," Toman said calmly. "Let's talk about something else. Oh, I never asked. Who won?"
"What, you mean the match?" Toman nodded and Dom sighed again. "Hardly matters anymore, but I did. Both of our Girls were in rough shape, though. That probably didn't help." Both teenagers looked over at Filat, who was still sound asleep. "Shit. He'd probably be chomping at the bit to go out and save his Girl if he was awake."
Toman had a seat on one of the visitor chairs, motioning for his Girls to do the same. "Flurry said she'd be by later, and we can probably expect Joker and Zack. I'm almost sad I missed that match."
"I saw some of it," Dom put in. "The Igglyrunt put Zack's Girl to sleep early and was just kind of drawing on her face with a marker when we left." Irena and Marya giggled at the image and Toman grinned, somehow not surprised at Joker's mischievous streak had passed to his Girl. "We've only known these four for days, at most, and Zack just appeared today. But it's looking like we're already some passable variety of friends. And Toman, you're coming out of your shell a lot more."
"I know, I'm so proud of my Master," Marya cooed and leaned on Toman, clinging to him and pressing her bountiful assets against his arm playfully.
The teenage Watcher/Tamer tried to push her off, to no avail, and Dom had a good laugh at the scene. He soon returned to being somber, however, humor doing little to offset his loss. Toman still wasn't exactly great at personal relations, though, and struggled to find something to say to uplift his friend. "Hey. When you get Grace back, let's put her against Marya in a real battle and see how they stack up. If we want to do this 'hometown rivals' thing let's do it right."
"Wow, your first challenge to someone else," Marya gasped. "Maybe Master's starting to enjoy this sort of thing?"
Dom quirked an eyebrow. "She has a point, man. Where's the usual 'oh, poor me, my father has saddled me with this responsibility' and all that? You keep this up and you'll be no better than the average Tamer."
"I assure you," Toman corrected him dryly, "Were I to find myself becoming a full on Tamer for any reason, I would be anything but 'average'."
"Right, right. Alright, I accept. You're gonna regret that, though, when we kick your ass."
"Why would I regret it?" The teen cocked his head. "Marya's the one who's going to be burned alive- ow ow ow." His look of pain and betrayal to the elbowing Boobisaur was so authentic that Marya burst out in spontaneous, raucous laughter that filled the stark white room.
Between a world that had seemed to have gone crazy, or maybe it was always crazy but they only saw it now, a boot camp full of demons and monsters, and a city where criminals lurked and at least one group was definitely out to get them, things weren't exactly looking up. Oh, well. A life without adversity wasn't much of a life, as Professor Kross had always told his son.