Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work has no relationship with any person existing at any time anywhere whether real or imaginary or copywritten. Everything in this work is mea culpa.
This work is the property of Kerrik Wolf (saethwyr@ (SPAM) hotmail.com). Please remove (SPAM) to contact me.
You should not read this work if you are under the age of legal consent wherever you reside. This work may or may not contain any and/or all of the following: death, dismemberment, violent acts, implied sex, explicit sex, violent sex, rape, cannibalism, blasphemy (depending on your religion), BDSM, torture, mimes, and just about anything unwholesome that you could consider.
The pokegirl universe was first documented by Metroanime and to him all of us who reside or visit there owe a debt of thanks.
Feedback is encouraged. I enjoy hearing from people. Positive feedback will be appreciated, cherished and flaunted in front of people. Negative feedback will be appreciated, cherished and listened to, that I might continue to grow. Flames will give me a good laugh. Feedback may be delivered to: saethwyr@(SPAM) hotmail.com. Please remove (SPAM) to contact me.
Bhavacakra
Seven
(02/16/-09 0800 Cheyenne, Wyoming)
Kerrik eyed the hospital warily before stepping inside. The machine gun post set up outside the main entrance was new. It wouldn’t really stop a determined pokegirl, or for that matter, a curious one; since it reassured patients and staff it could be a considered a justifiable diversion of manpower and resources. He nodded to the men alertly watching the passersby as he passed through the doors. They didn’t acknowledge his gesture, which wasn’t surprising.
Visiting hours weren’t for another hour, so he was headed for the chairs outside the emergency room to look like he belonged. Waiting here was as inconspicuous as waiting in a hospital could get since everyone figured you had someone here that the doctors were seeing. If you were here, it was presumed you were anxiously counting the minutes until one of them deigned to speak to you about your loved one’s condition.
“Wolf-san!” Kerrik’s head whipped around to see one of Naruhito’s guards motioning to him. He had no idea what the man’s name was and honestly didn’t care. “I was told to wait for you and escort you up. This way, please.” Since he was indicating the elevator, Kerrik considered telling him no before he decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Besides, using the stairs would be unusual and, right after the attack, unusual stood out like a waving flag.
On Naruhito’s floor, white blotches showed where they’d crudely patched up the smaller holes in the walls and swept up the glass. The air was heavy with the smell of disinfectant, which to his nose didn’t mask the stench of rotting blood from the umbrea that Misery had killed.
Several of the lights were still out, especially near Naruhito’s room where the dark bomb had gone off when it had impacted Misery’s dark shield. Here, the ceiling tiles were gone and sheets of plastic had been tacked up to cover the destruction where the walls had once stood. There was also a guard post with two soldiers and a dog, which growled as it sniffed eagerly at every passerby. The dog sniffed the bodyguard and turned to Kerrik, who felt a flash of irritation and gave it a hard look. The German Shepherd Dog dropped its head submissively and whined as it looked away from his gaze. The handler looked surprised. “What the hell?”
Kerrik smiled and shrugged. “I do that sometimes.” He moved after his guide, very much aware of the sentry’s curious stare at his back.
You need to be more careful about drawing attention to yourself. You make us worry unnecessarily.
He kept his voice low. “Can I help it if the dog recognized a superior being while the guard didn’t?” There was a feeling of wordless amusement from Whisper.
Naruhito had been moved to another room. As the bodyguard led him inside, Kerrik surveyed it quickly. They’d disconnected the tubes and equipment from him and he was now dressed in a suit that didn’t quite fit him across the shoulders. The prince looked up from the magazine he was perusing. “Mr. Wolf, it is good to see you again. I should be released in half an hour, according to my doctors.”
“I hope you’re right. If I’m discovered by the military, my pokegirls have threatened to make the first assault look like a warm-up.”
Naruhito looked surprised. “You would let them do that?”
Kerrik tapped the brim of his cowboy hat. “Pokegirls are loyal to the one they are bonded to. Since the military would take one look at my ears and try to apprehend me, I’m willing to let them massacre the soldiers if it becomes necessary. I do have better things to do than suffer through endless rounds of testing while I try to explain what I am to gaijin.” He smiled without showing his teeth. “To be honest, I’m not sure it would be better if they did believe me.”
“Why is that?”
“I am here to get you back to Japan and to give you information as well as some tools to prepare your people for what is coming. I am not here to aid the Americans in their fight with pokegirls. Once back in Japan, if you decide to share the knowledge I’m going to give you with the Americans, you are free to do so.”
“Why would I not?”
Kerrik shrugged. “The Americans will share it with the Chinese. While I don’t despise the Chinese, they will use this knowledge when the United Nations becomes the leagues and Beijing is given control of the Edo league, which will include Japan.”
“Over my dead body!” Naruhito actually growled.
“That’s exactly why we protected you a few days ago.” Kerrik glanced at the door. “We really need to have this discussion someplace where we can’t be overheard. I’ll be telling you about the future and Americans begin to twitch when that kind of discussion begins.”
Naruhito nodded. “I’ll be released in less than an hour. Why don’t you wait here until then?”
Kerrik shrugged. “If you’d like.” He settled down on the floor cross-legged and assumed a patient expression.
Naruhito lasted almost fifteen minutes before his curiosity got the better of him. “Were all of those pokegirls yours?”
“No. The winged one says she’s going to belong to you.”
Naruhito blinked. “Why does she say this?”
“She believes that her future and yours are intertwined. She’ll become your pokegirl and concubine.”
“My wife may have something to say about that.” He sat on the floor in front of Kerrik and faced him squarely. “What do you say, kami?”
Kerrik gave him a sour look. “Why does what happens have to be my fault? Can’t you make up your own damned mind without going to the spirit folk to put his blessing on your decision? It won’t make that decision any wiser or stupider.”
One of Naruhito’s guards stirred and the prince waved him down. “You saved my life. Without your presence here, I would have died whether or not the pokegirls attacked. I was dying from injuries that the doctors couldn’t heal. My life is now yours.”
“Be careful what you offer me, human. I might accept it. In any case, your life isn’t yours to offer me. Your father will die soon and you will become emperor of Japan.”
“My father would understand why I must do this. So do you.”
Kerrik looked at him for a long moment. “Fuck.” When Naruhito remained silent, he sighed. “You have heard about the strange illness popping up in parts of the world?”
Naruhito grimaced. “While I was dying I had nothing to do except watch American television. They call it the Bloody Flu.”
“Do you know who Jim Sukkoto is?”
“No.”
One of his guards coughed. “Highness, he was the one with the animal girls.”
Naruhito looked over at him. “That one? I remember him now. He’s dead.”
Kerrik shook his head. “No, he’s not. He is a wizard and he left after his women were killed. That’s what he considered them to be, his wives. And the humans killed them in their ignorance. He left and when he returned, he had changed his name to Sukebe and brought the pokegirls with him. They are part of his arsenal to punish the humans.”
“You said part? Pokegirls are very formidable. What else does he need?”
“The Bloody Flu is his. Where it travels, infertility will strike women and it will eventually travel everywhere. As a result of the Bloody Flu, most of the world’s women will become infertile.” Kerrik smiled humorlessly. “Pokegirls are not affected by the Bloody Flu and human males can interbreed with them. It is his plan to replace women with pokegirls. You would have no choice if you wanted to have children.”
The prince’s eyes widened. “He is a cunning foe indeed. Is humanity doomed?”
“Most of it is, but not as a direct result of his actions. The Chinese will try to alter the Bloody Flu to kill pokegirls.”
“Does the Bloody Flu kill?”
“No.”
“Then the Chinese are stupid.” Naruhito chuckled softly. “Not something new for them. What will they do?”
“They will use the Bloody Flu to create the Monster Flu, which will almost wipe out a single species of pokegirl. The sphinx will almost be exterminated before the virus mutates into the Red Plague.”
“What does the Red Plague do?”
“It will kill nine out of every ten living creatures on the planet, except for pokegirls, who will be untouched by it.” Kerrik smiled at the horror that appeared in the prince’s eyes. “Over five billion people will die between 2003 and 2007, leaving less than four hundred and fifty million humans all over the globe. That few humans haven’t been seen since before 1000 AD. Then the survivors who cannot cope will also die, further lowering the human population.
“Is there anything we can do?”
“No. The disease is a complete pandemic, leaving no one untouched. There is evidence that the Bloody Flu is at least partially magical in nature. This explains how it can travel long distances and infiltrate facilities designed to keep biowarfare agents out of them. The Red Plague will be the same way.”
Naruhito gave Kerrik a bitter look. “Then why save my life if I am to watch everything around me die?”
“I have given you something that will keep you safe from all the diseases. Moirai has enough doses for the rest of your immediate family. You have to live so that you can prepare Japan for what will come. You can’t protect them, but you can speed the recovery and you can keep Japan from becoming a Chinese satrapy.”
“You mentioned this earlier.”
“In three years, a man will discover how to control pokegirls. This information will slowly spread and in 2001 or as we call it -1 AS, a study group within the UN called the World Council will usurp power. It will be an advisory board composed of tamers with pokegirls and they will strike without warning. They will abolish the countries and establish the leagues. In eastern Asia there will be the Edo league. Its capital will be Beijing, and Japan will be a lesser province for many years unless you stop them. If you build a force of tamers before the others do, you’ll have a much better chance of making the conquest of Japan too high a price for China to willingly pay.”
“We cannot make peace with the Chinese?” Kerrik just gave him a flat look and he shrugged. “If most of humanity is dead, one can hope that they’ll see reason.”
“Japan is incredibly rich compared to China and will remain that way even after ninety percent of the population is dead. Peace will not be an option between your two nations. Then there is that traditional ancient animosity between China and Japan.”
“Where can I turn for help?”
“You’ll have to make some fundamental shifts to Japanese culture if it is to survive. For one thing, you might open your lands to the Koreans, who will suffer just as much under Chinese rule. Many will become refugees. Chinese refugees might also be welcomed. In fact, I’d recommend accepting all the refugees you can get your hands on as long as they’re willing to obey Japanese law.”
“You would have us become impure?”
“Naruhito, I am kami and to me you all smell alike. Without people from outside your lands, you might survive China’s attentions. With their help, you have a much better chance of doing so. In 2008 you can contact Cuba, which will be in the process of changing its name to Haven. There you will find that the king of Haven is my son, Shikarou. He will be willing to trade technological items to you.”
“What of you?”
“I’m not speaking to one of his wives at that point and I’ll be in Texas. I’ll trade with you as well, if you’d like.”
“Come to Japan. Live there. We need you.”
“Naruhito, I will not live as the servant of anyone, not even your family. My period of servitude ended thousands of years ago and I will never willingly wear another yoke. Your life and the pokegirls and knowledge I will give you are the aid you will receive from me. What you do with that aid afterwards is up to you.”
“But in fifteen years you will be willing to trade with us. Why not now?”
“I came to this world fifteen years from now and returned to the past to change it and let you live. When you have been returned to Japan, I will return to that future so my presence doesn’t threaten the existence of my harem or of my family on Haven.”
“What of the Cubans? Won’t they fight your son?”
Kerrik snorted. “The Cubans will all be dead.”
“If the Bloody Flu kills ninety percent, won’t some of them survive?”
“They will survive the first wave of the Red Plague, but apparently it flared up again there and finished off the population.”
“Why can’t you help us against China?”
“Japan needs something to strive for and against to keep her strong. Understand this, Naruhito. Even if China were to vanish overnight, the pokegirls would remain and their numbers will grow quickly. They are the knife at the throat of humanity and if you do not carry the fight to them, you will all die. It would be nice if you could find a way to make peace with the Chinese without becoming their slaves. The problem is that historically, that hasn’t been possible.”
“Why do you help us, instead of someplace else?”
Kerrik started to speak and stopped, looking thoughtful. “There are three reasons I chose to help Japan. First of all, I spent many happy years in Japan before the Celestial Bureaucracy declared me gaijin and chased me from it. I, a kami of death, grew tired of killing agents of the Bureaucracy. However, before that happened, I killed every one that was sent against me. I feel that helping you will help to make amends for a moral obligation that I feel I owe, even if in every case I did not initiate the violence and was defending myself.” His head came up. “Second, I despise Communism. I do not believe that any government has the right to coerce its people into doing its will, and Communism is one of the worst. Third, your presence will help to keep Japan something that I and my family recognize. My granddaughter, Kozakura, is Shikarou’s by his wife Kasumi and she is very fond of traditional Japanese rule. Granted, she’d be happier if Japan were more like the political structure of the shogunate, but she will be content with a strong Imperial presence. She will eventually go to Japan in search of a mate and a Chinese controlled Japan would probably be the death of her. I’ll do what I can to keep that from happening, because if they did kill her, I’d have to take steps.” His head turned and he cocked it, trying to listen from beneath his hat. “Someone is coming.”
Naruhito rose as a doctor breezed into the room. “You’ll be happy to know that your tests say you’re completely healed. Now if only we knew what happened to cause this miracle to take place.”
“I have already told you that I was healed by a kami.”
The doctor gave a long suffering sigh. “Yes, I heard you the first time you said that. I meant if we knew what actually happened. Personally I think you had a hallucination about this creature from your mythology appearing here. Now please get on the table so I can give you one final checkup.”
Naruhito and both of his guards looked at Kerrik, who was smiling as he watched the doctor poke and prod the prince. He looked over at them and shook his head slowly before giving them a conspiratorial wink.
Finally the doctor apparently decided that he couldn’t find anything wrong with the prince. “Ok, I’ll have the duty nurse process your release and you’ll be free to go.” He draped his stethoscope around his neck and breezed out of the room.
One guard summed it up. “He’s an idiot.”
“No, he’s not.” Kerrik slid to his feet. “If anything, he suffers from the delusions common to many humans in that nothing outside of their personal experience can exist. A lot of doctors have that problem. I think it comes from playing god all the time. Nurses try to keep that arrogance in check, but there are some doctors who treat nurses the way some tamers treat pokegirls, with disdain.” He rubbed his cheek. “The duty nurse should be at her station. I’ll go ask her to start your paperwork while you finish packing.”
(02/16/-09 0930 Cheyenne, Wyoming)
Kerrik, Naruhito and the guards stepped out of the hospital and paused while Kerrik slowly pivoted to survey the area. His mouth set. “This way and move quickly.” He led them down the street and turned into a parking garage. They moved rapidly around the parked cars and towards the staircase. Kerrik opened the door and ushered the others in front of him. “I’ll take the back. Go up to the fifth floor landing and wait for me.” He gave one of the guards a hard look. “If trouble starts you’ll need to leave the prince’s suitcase. We can replace his clothing a lot easier than he can replace you.”
“Are we being pursued?”
The kami was still looking around the garage as the humans started up the stairs. “Maybe. Probably. I’m not sure yet. I did see a pokegirl on the street and they did try to kill you before, but I’m not sure she was looking for you.” He stepped into the stairwell and pulled the door shut, watching out the window as he did. “Go.” His eyes widened at something he saw in the garage. “Yes we’re being pursued! Run!” Metal shrieked outside the stairs as Naruhito and his guards turned and flew up the steps.
Kerrik paused at the first landing and pulled a small black disc from his pocket. He peeled foil from the back and slapped the disc against the riser for the first step above the landing. He leapt from the first landing to the second floor landing and stopped to pull out a pair of glasses and put them on. “Thirty percent mask.” The glasses superimposed the view from the disc over his vision as he raced up after Naruhito. “Whisper, we’ve got company. Do not intercept unless I order. Protect Naruhito.”
We are waiting on the fourth floor of the parking garage as instructed. Hurry.
In the view from the glasses, he watched a garter and what he’d already identified as a neo iczel look in the window of the door. The neo finished her check and tore the stairwell door from its hinges. She tossed it negligently behind her to land on the car she’d shoved out of the way. It hit with a thunderous crash of metal. The garter headed up the stairs as the neo lifted off to hover inside the stairwell while she looked up to see where their quarry was. As he jumped past the third floor landing, Kerrik checked to make sure that Naruhito and his guards were out of the stairs on the fourth floor. They were and he spared a second to wish he was there too. “Detonate.”
The precursor charge on the disc blew, spewing the highly pressurized gas it held into the stairwell around the garter and the neo iczel. The tiny computer gave the gas a millisecond to mix with the air and then it fired the detonator charge. Every window in the stairwell exploded outwards as the fuel air effect weapon blew out the concrete on the first and second floors. The garter was torn apart in the blast while thermal effects first burned the neo iczel and then the overpressure battered her bodily. Finally, the third floor landing collapsed with a roar and tremendous chunks of masonry hammered the neo into the floor. Concrete dust billowed everywhere, blocking out the view.
Kerrik was blown out of the exit to the fourth floor in a burp of flame that was sucked back into the stairwell as vacuum created by the blast collapsed. He flew through the air and smashed into a parked SUV, flipping up over the hood, through the windshield and finally stopping in the back seat. He coughed several times before beginning to claw himself upright. Using her energy blade, Raven chopped the car open and pulled him out, only to drop him when he convulsed and began throwing up bits of masonry that had been driven into his body. Once he was done retching, she pulled him to his feet. Her hands glowed as she used her heal technique on him. “Will you be ok?”
He croaked a laugh. “I’ll be fine. I really like safety glass. I’ve been thrown through the windshield of a car that didn’t have safety glass and it was like being tossed into a group of hungry cannibals armed with razors.”
The archmage peered into his eyes and picked him up. “Is this some kind of fetish with you and car windshields?”
“No, it’s not. If you live long enough, anything can and does happen to you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Whisper and Misery have moved the Japanese to the farm. Do you want me to get the neo you blasted? She’s probably still alive.”
He spat blood. “I’m glad and a bit jealous you were watching through your twee. Get her, but be alert in case she’s got friends.”
Raven paused. “You don’t mean for her to join us, do you?”
“Fuck no. I’ve got a great harem right now. Why would I want to dilute that greatness with an idiot who thinks following armed people into a confined area is wise?”
Still carrying him, Raven flew down the outside of the stairwell and hovered. Rubble covered the floor of the stairwell as she drifted forward. “I see an arm.” She plucked a pokeball from her pocket and tossed it at the limb, which dissolved as the neo was sucked into the containment system. She darted forward and grabbed the ball as soon as the capture tone sounded. Kerrik’s head came around as something slammed into one of the cars that the blast had scattered across the first floor parking lot. The vehicle rolled in their direction, shedding metal and glass as it did so. “It looks like we’ve got company, even if their aim is lousy.”
“No, we don’t. She’s too slow.” They vanished.
They appeared in midair over the battlefield where the harem had fought for three days straight. Raven flew up and took cover behind some snow drifts. “I want to make sure that someone can’t track me. If they can, I’ll deal with any pursuers here.” She carefully put Kerrik down on a nearby rocky slope.
“That sounds like a reasonable plan.” He wriggled his ears and then frowned as he felt his head. “Damn, I left my hat in that SUV. Or maybe it got blown off in the explosion. In either case, it’s gone. ”
“We’re supposed to be leaving today. If that changes, we’ll get you another one tonight.” She pulled her staff from between her breasts. “Now please be quiet.”
Kerrik drew his pistol and settled down on the slope. He placed the weapon in his lap and became almost completely motionless, slowing his breathing down to four slow breaths a minute.
A half hour later Raven put her staff away and flew over to him. “If they were coming, they’d have already been here.” She scooped him up as his breathing went back to normal. “How do you do that? Without the delta bond spell, I’d have never known you were there.”
“I have excellent survival instincts.” He put the pistol away as they teleported to the farm, finishing the movement after they appeared in the barn. “So, is Deputy Keyes here yet?”
“If he is, then I get to kill him.” Raven dropped her tamer to the ground.
He twisted and landed on his feet. “Fine by me. A visit from him right now would prove more than problematic. Hopefully nobody will know where Naruhito is until he resurfaces in Japan.”
They headed inside to find Naruhito and his guards sitting at the table and drinking tea. Misery was sitting in an office chair near the front door while Whisper was stationed near the back door. It was obvious that they were keeping Naruhito inside the house should he get an urge to wander.
Kerrik peeled out his coat and hung it up before joining them. He was filling his cup when Moirai came out of the kitchen and placed a plate of snacks in front of the prince. “Here you go.”
He caught Misery glaring at her when the mini-top realized that her personal cookies were on the tray. “Misery.” She looked up and he shook his head slightly. There was a pulse of annoyance over their delta bond. “We’re getting rid of her today.”
Misery smiled broadly. “That’s right.”
“May I inquire as to what you two are talking about?” Naruhito’s brow was furrowed in puzzlement.
“Moirai is pushing boundaries and it was upsetting Misery. I was mentioning that she’s going with you.”
The archangel gave them a suspicious look. “What have I done this time?”
“You gave him my cookies!”
Moirai nodded. “I did. My master might like them. You don’t need them.”
Misery came out of her chair with a lunge. “Look, bitch, those are my cookies and they’re not yours to give away!”
Kerrik grabbed her ears as she charged by him and dug in his heels. She pulled the chair he was sitting in around and skidded to a halt. Her head came around to look evenly at him. “Let me go,” she said in a venomous voice. “Nobody gives away my stuff but me.”
“Come sit next to me.” Kerrik patted the chair beside him. “Just for a bit.” He relaxed his shields and let her feel, both through their delta bond and through the skin contact his fingers had on her ears, his joy that the archangel was leaving. It was mingled with his concern that the behavior of his harem might make Naruhito refuse Moirai. If that happened, she might have to continue living with them while she convinced Naruhito to accept her. That meant they’d have to stay here longer.
Misery gently tugged her ears from his hands and came back to settle comfortably in the chair he’d indicated. She took his hand and almost purred at Moirai. “I forgive you for being an uncultured clod.”
The archangel suddenly looked worried. She gave Kerrik a nervous look and sidled around behind Naruhito. He didn’t notice as he watched Kerrik and his mini-top. “She seems as dangerous to you as much as to anyone else. Are all pokegirls so explosive?”
Kerrik shook his head. “No, all of my ladies are a bit beyond the norm and Misery is the one who needs the most personal supervision.” Raven gave him a curious look but remained silent. Whisper just smiled.
“Why is that?”
“Misery is a mini-top and they tend to be a bit confrontational at the best of times, but even for them, Misery is unusual.” He nodded towards the rabbit type. “Misery is the most broken pokegirl I’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t understand.” Naruhito wasn’t the only one watching Kerrik, all three of his harem was looking at him with varying degrees of curiosity.
“Misery started out life as a snugglebunny. They are a specialized breed of pokegirl that, among other things, is a touch telepath. If one touches you, she knows your thoughts and your feelings. Like many rabbit pokegirls, if a snugglebunny experiences enough trauma she can evolve into a mini-top. I believe it’s an accidental evolution and one that Sukebe didn’t anticipate.”
“Because of this ability to touch someone and know what they do, a plan was conceived to use snugglebunnies to infiltrate command posts and assassinate higher echelon officers and their staffs. They could touch sentries and learn access codes and countersigns for ease of access. Misery was their test platform for this experiment, so she spent the first years of her life,” he broke off. “Mind my words carefully. She didn’t spend her adult years doing this, instead she spent the first years of her existence touching people and killing them with her own hands, experiencing everything they felt and thought as she took their lives.”
“Unlike almost any other creature you can imagine, Misery’s life was forged almost completely in death, and in regards to others around her, it destroyed her ability to interact socially. When it was determined that the mini-top was useless as a breed for the plans they had for Misery, and when it was determined that Misery personally was too temperamental to be commanded by someone she wasn’t bonded to, she was cast aside on a professional level. That destroyed what little of her self that remained from being ostracized on a social level.”
“Pokegirls are social creatures. Even the solitary ones socialize with their tamer. Misery, however, was completely and utterly alone.” The mini-top shuddered and squeezed his hand hard. Kerrik looked at Raven. “That, I suspect, is the real reason she delta bonded to me outside Whisper’s home while I was alpha bonding Whisper. As I suspect is the case with all psychic pokegirls, I think Misery has the ability to forge a delta bond faster than any other type, even if she may not be able to consciously control that ability. Suddenly included in what was happening between Whisper and me, I think she latched on with everything she had in an incredibly desperate attempt to not be alone anymore. That desperation is what caused her to bond so deeply to me, the non-pokegirl in the link. She bonded deeply enough that a delta bond formed and we can never be separated as long as we both live. And thus, Misery will never be alone again.”
Raven looked at Misery as her eyes filled with understanding.
Whisper’s antenna lifted. When a tamer initially has sex with a pokegirl, the bond that forms is an alpha bond. Its existence means that the pokegirl will accept him as her leader and will obey his orders. As time passes, she will learn to anticipate those orders, greatly improving the gestalt that is their team. If they come to care for each other, a delta bond can form. This forms an actual low level psychic link between the two that allows them to share emotions and sometimes thoughts. Misery was unusual in that her delta bond with Kerrik formed unusually quickly. The bond forming between Raven and Kerrik is more normal in that regard.
Raven’s mouth dropped. “What bond?”
I thought you knew you were forming a delta bond with him. Having never witnessed delta bond formation before, I am unsure as to how far along you are in the process, but a psychic bond is forming between the two of you. I recognize it from information that Kerrik shared with me. She smiled. My bond with him is still in the initial stages. Your bond will probably be complete months before mine.
“When you and the people you chose to be tamers bond their pokegirls, they’ll initially be much more polite to their new tamers. They will use sir and ma’am and call their tamers ‘master’. Over time, those forms of address will change based on the individual tamer’s preferences.” Kerrik shrugged. “Like I said, mine are unusual. Also, I don’t really want to be called master, and over time they’ve adapted to what I want.”
“Why are they called tamers?”
“When the leagues are formed, it will be decided to try to sugarcoat the whole experience of owning and controlling pokegirls. It will also be an attempt to mollify the religious elements that have proscriptions against fornication outside of marriage. Having sex with a pokegirl will be called taming to keep it nice and clean for the prudes in the world. Continuing this trend, pokegirl owners will be called tamers. Pokegirls living in the wilderness without tamers will be called feral while tamed pokegirls will be called domesticated. In part, this will be done to emphasize their inhumanity. In time, they’ll also be classified by where they’re born. Feralborne pokegirls will tend to be more animalistic and tougher while domestic born pokegirls will tend towards being smarter and more human looking. My studies indicate that the differences in ability are slight and can easily be overcome by a determined pokegirl.” Kerrik picked up his mug. “Since all the pokegirls around right now were created by Sukebe, none of them were born in the usual sense of the world. Physically they run the spectrum of animalistic to human appearance, but they’re all fairly tough and smart when not feral. Possibly they’re tougher and smarter than those that they will bear, but I’m still collecting data on that before I make a decision as to the truth of that theory.” His ears flicked as he frowned. “What was the question again and did I answer it?”
His harem laughed and even Naruhito chuckled. “You answered it.”
(02/17/-09 0300 Mt. Fuji, Gotemba Shizuoka Japan - 02/16/-09 1100 Cheyenne, Wyoming USA)
The full moon shone brightly down on the frost glittering on the branches of the pine trees on the edges of the empty clearing. A second later, Whisper appeared in midair, covered in the soft sapphire glow of her force field. Her antenna slowly moved as she sampled the surroundings for potential threats. Several minutes passed before the glow faded and she settled to the ground. Ever cautious, the cabbit remained still for another handful of minutes before she removed three pokeballs from a pocket in her jacket. She activated two of them. Raven and Misery appeared. We are on Mt Fuji, above Komakado-chūtonchi.
She held up the third pokeball and Raven sighed. “Is that who I think it is?”
My sister is also capable of teleporting and Kerrik says we need to show her the respect she is due. I agree, not only because she is my sister, but because she will be able to begin proving to Naruhito that she can be useful to him and increase the chances she won’t return home with us.
Misery blinked. “I thought you liked her?”
I do. However, she is beginning to reassess her willingness to sleep with Kerrik. I am still fond of my sister and I don’t want to decide to help kill her. The fact that she is not right for our family is not going to change, even if Kerrik beds her.
Raven plucked the pokeball from the cabbit’s hand. “You’re right. I don’t want to kill her either, especially after saving her life.” She activated it and Moirai appeared.
The archangel summoned her black wings and spread them to drink in the moonlight. “Thank you for letting me ferry my new master. I know that my presence with you has been a strain on all of us and I know you are probably as just glad as I am that this is over.”
Misery snorted. “More. Ok, who has which of the humans?”
“I get Kerrik, Moirai carries Naruhito and you and Whisper each get a bodyguard to transport. When we come back with them, one or both of the guards will go to Komakado while we guard Kerrik and the prince.”
I think both should go. There are a several pokegirls on the mountain and only one of them seems to be feral. The rest are probably observing the base. Two guards will probably at least be able to get and fire their weapons before they are killed so we know we need to send someone else to the military base if they encounter any of them.
Misery’s ears went flatter than normal. “If we send both guards and they get killed, who are we going to send next? None of us look human enough to get close enough to the base to summon help before they open fire and the prince can’t go. That means he’ll want to do it and he’ll make us stay and guard Naruhito.”
Raven scowled. “Damn, you’re right. I wish we’d taken a day so they could each bond a pokegirl and train a bit with them.” She turned to look down the mountain. “We’ll send both guards and Whisper will shepherd them down the mountain, staying out of sight so they don’t know they’re being shadowed.”
Whisper’s green rabbit ears flicked back and then came back up. I don’t like it, but it’s the best way to keep Kerrik out of trouble.
“If only it were that easy,” Raven grumbled.
If it were easy to protect him, he wouldn’t be ours.
Raven’s scowl deepened. “You’re right, but it still sucks. I thought my heart was going to stop when he got blown into that SUV.” She raised her hands defensively. “I know, I know, he can’t lie and he’s assured us that nothing here can really kill him. It doesn’t make me feel any better when he gets hurt.”
“That’s why we try to arrange things so he can’t, even if we have to sneak around him to do it.” Misery shrugged. “And it’s why we’ll continue to do it, even after he figures out what we’re doing.”
That’s only if he hasn’t already figured out what we’re up to. He wouldn’t necessarily say anything about it if he did.
“Hey, the fact that he’s so smart just makes us get better. That is how this tamer -harem thing is supposed to work, right, my maharani?”
Raven chuckled. “Yes. It’s just we’re Sukebe’s killers and we’re supposed to be the best. No pokegirl is supposed to be able to challenge us on any level, much less a human.” She flashed fangs in a grin. “I suppose it’s better for my ego that he’s not human.” She sobered. “Let’s get this over with.” The archmage vanished, only to be quickly followed by the other three pokegirls.
Five minutes later, Misery appeared and let her rider go as Whisper teleported in. They surveyed the area for a handful of seconds before Whisper nodded to her harem sister. Misery threw her a sloppy salute and left to tell the others that it was still safe. Only then did Raven and Moirai appear with their charges. Misery flashed in beside her maharani. Raven let Kerrik go and turned to him. “I think that if we send both of the bodyguards they’ll have a much better chance to make it to Komakado without any problems.”
Kerrik nodded. “That sounds good. Is that acceptable to you, Naruhito? You’ll still have Moirai to protect you.”
Naruhito shook his head. “You told me that a pokegirl is loyal once she’s bonded, but I haven’t bonded Moirai to me yet. Shimazu Diasuke.”
One of the bodyguards stepped forward. “Hai.”
“I want you to go to the base and bring back some troops.” He looked at the archangel. “Moirai, you will escort him and keep him safe. If you succeed in this, I will take you as my pokegirl.”
Kerrik carefully suppressed a smile at the surprise that flickered across his harem’s faces at the prince’s words. At the same time, the archangel stiffened to attention. “I will not fail you, my master.” She turned to Shimazu. “You will tell me when we get close to the base so they do not see anything unusual.” He gave her a confused look that turned to one of shock as she picked him up and cradled him to her body. She turned and ran off, quickly accelerating to an easy lope of thirty miles per hour as she followed the twisting trail that led downward.
Raven looked at Whisper and jerked her head in the direction Moirai had gone. The cabbit nodded and lifted off to hover. Her antennae moved and she flew off in pursuit of her sister.
Kerrik watched her go without comment before turning to his maharani. “Explain where Whisper is going so the prince and I will understand what’s going on.” He glanced at Misery. “Patrol. Observe, shadow and report. Engage only if unavoidable.”
The mini-top nodded and pulled her submachine gun from her backpack. “Gotcha.” She faded into the woods and was gone.
Raven pulled her staff from her pocket and grounded it with a thump. “Whisper says we’re not alone on the mountain. She’s going along to make sure that Naruhito’s guard doesn’t get killed before he can summon help.” She gave her tamer a sweet smile. “It would be such a shame if Moirai were to fail in her first mission for her tamer, wouldn’t it?”
Kerrik fought a grin and lost. “Yes, it would.”
“I see where your sympathies lie.” Naruhito’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Now I have become a tamer. Now, if only because of my wife, I have no choice but to make sure that the rest of Japan follows my lead.”
“If she protests too much, you could always give her a pokegirl of her own.” Naruhito’s guard turned purple and the prince’s head whipped around to look at the archmage. Raven looked guilelessly back at him. “While we didn’t bring any, an elf could be of great benefit to her. They have access to the earth mother technique.”
“I do not understand.”
Raven hesitated. “Please understand that I have been researching you since I came to understand that my tamer wished to save your life. There are certain rumors on the internet that pertain to her ability to bear you an heir.”
Naruhito’s face hardened. “I have heard of them. Continue.”
“The earth mother technique is one that my master created and it is exclusive to pokegirls that are both plant and magic types. When used, it dramatically increases the fertility of both men and women within the area that it affects. No matter where any problem may lie, if used on the two of you it will help you to produce an heir for your father to bless. I recommend an elf because they can easily be taught to be quiet and unassuming. They also have a low pleasure threshold and require minimal taming to remain awake.”
Naruhito turned to Kerrik. “Is this true? If these rumors have any basis in fact, would this technique help?”
Kerrik nodded. “It would. It was designed to counteract the infertility caused by the Bloody Flu, but it will work on a wide range of causes. Even certain genetic abnormalities can be adjusted with the technique long enough for a child to be produced.”
“And elves know this technique?”
“No, but I can give you a device that will impart that ability to any plant and magic pokegirl you use it on.” Kerrik glanced at Raven as he summoned his pack. “Am I correct in thinking that Moirai would know where to find some elves?”
Raven nodded. “She would. If it became necessary she could quietly requisition a few of them.”
“I would want several of these elves. If this technique works to reverse the infertility caused by the Bloody Flu, it would give Japan an advantage not enjoyed by any country that doesn’t have it.”
Kerrik began digging through his backpack for his collection of earth mother T2s. “Once they find out you have a way to reverse the effects of the Bloody Flu, or even just a lot more fertile human women than anyone else, it will make Japan a target for the leagues.”
“Didn’t you say we already would be?”
“I did.”
“Then it won’t change anything in that regard, will it?” Naruhito suddenly looked like the emperor that he would someday be. “This will benefit Japan and I insist that you give it to me.”
Kerrik pulled out a green stone and showed it to Naruhito. “This is it. You press it against the forehead of the pokegirl you want to know the technique and it will write the information into her memory. It will not work on a pokegirl who is not both a magic and plant type.” He quickly wrapped the stone in a piece of cloth and offered it to Naruhito, who carefully took it.
Naruhito opened the commercial backpack that Kerrik had given him and carefully put the T2 inside. It also held all the pokeballs they’d assembled for the prince as well as a pokedex for his use. “Thank you, kami. You have helped Japan immeasurably with your gifts and neither I nor Japan will forget this.”
Kerrik nodded and moved over to lean against a tree while they waited. Raven gave him an odd look and sidled next to him. “You don’t feel happy.”
He kept his voice low. “I was planning to give him that T2 after we returned. I’m not sure how much Japan having it will change the future that is our past. If he uses it immediately, it will give him a generation that will be fifteen when we come out, just the right age to become tamers.”
The archmage blanched. “I am sorry. We could take it from him.”
“It’s done. We’ll deal with it when we arrive in our present. If the damage was going to be too severe, I’d have sent myself a message warning me to tell you to keep your mouth shut.”
“That is a very convoluted sentence.”
His ears canted sideways. “Sometimes I’m a convoluted man.”
“That you are.” Raven’s head came up. “Misery is saying that she can hear helicopters. According to Whisper, Moirai and the human contacted the base about ten minutes ago. Apparently they were believed when they reported the prince’s presence.” She paused. “Whisper also says that the base is sending out some tanks and several platoons of infantry. They’re making their best possible time towards here.” She smiled slightly. “Moirai is with them.”
Whisper’s mental voice intruded on Raven’s words. What are my instructions?
Kerrik thought briefly. “Keep an eye on them, but let them deal with any pokegirls they flush unless it’s something they obviously can’t handle. As soon as they get the prince, we’re leaving.”
Understood. I’ll inform Misery.
Name: Wolf, Kerrik
Age: Unlisted
Residence: Kingdom of Haven - Currently Texas League
Status: Active
Rank: NA (5)
HRA rank: Colonel
Security Clearance: Omicron
Licenses
Tamer Y
Master Tamer Y
Researcher N
Watcher N
Breeder Y
Active Harem
Raven Archmage
Whisper Cabbit
Misery Mini-top