Into the Fire
Five
Scheherazade gave him a neutral look. “You could be nicer to Dominique.”
“I let her sleep in the cave with us and we share our food with her. I’m not being cruel to the woman.” The subject of their discussion was down at the river. Kerrik presumed she was bathing, but hadn’t bothered to find out for sure.
“You aren’t being anything to her. You have not spoken to her or acknowledged her existence since we left Dundalk and that was two days ago.”
“And that is a problem how? Did Eve put you up to this?”
The Dire Wolf’s ears flicked. “We discussed the situation, but I am not her puppet. I just happen to agree with her.”
“Well, I don’t. I know you remember that I didn’t ask her to come out here. She informed us she was tagging along.”
“She was ordered to by those she obeys, be they in the Blue League or with the Order of Pendragon. She had no choice in this, either. I know you have noticed that she didn’t have any luggage and only has that one suit to wear. She is not like me and needs to wear clothing. She’s also not like Eve and can’t just create new outfits.”
“Dominique is not my responsibility.”
“No, she’s not. However, you are allowing her to live with us and therefore you are her host. For the record, you’re doing a poor job of it.”
She was surprised when he suddenly looked guilty. “I know. It goes against everything I was raised to do. I’m a Texan and we’re pretty hospitable.” He rubbed his forehead. “Damn it, I don’t want her here.”
“And she doesn’t want to be here, so none of us are getting what we want.” Scheherazade cocked her head. “So are you going to punish her for obeying her masters? At least you are still free. Their other option would have been to disappear you. Where would that have left Eve and me?”
He stared into the flames for a while. “Fuck. I’ll talk to her.”
A little while later they watched as the Dark Elf trudged up from the direction of the river. For the first time, Kerrik noticed that she looked like hell. Her suit was wrinkled and one leg was stained to the knee where she’d slipped on the rocks and slid into some bracken. Her shoes were obviously ruined and her once elegant hair was a rat’s nest of scarlet tangles. He watched her squat on the other side of the fire and poke at the flames with a stick. Deciding to waste no time, he spoke quietly. “Dominique, I owe you my thanks and an apology. I’m grateful you didn’t just stick me in a hole someplace where I’d never see daylight. I’m sorry I’ve been so cruel to you for the last couple of days. You being here isn’t your fault and I’ve been a dick for taking my frustration out on you. I know you don’t live in Dundalk. Where do you call home?”
She looked at him for several seconds. “I have a flat in Dublin.”
“We’ve been to Dublin. Can I take you home so you can get some clothes more suitable for camping out here with us? I thought we’d stay long enough for you to find someone to tame you.”
“You’re not going to do that yourself?”
“You are not my pokegirl. No matter how attractive you are, I’d prefer not to. If you can talk Scheherazade or Eve into it, that’s fine with me. So, can I take you to Dublin?”
Sudden anger filled her eyes and slowly changed to become resigned acceptance. “Thank you.” When he chuckled, the anger returned. “What,” she snapped at him.
“It’s nice to see you’re just as unhappy about having to accept my help as I am to have to offer it.”
Dominique was surprised to find herself chuckling with him. “And I’m glad you don’t want to help me. When can we go?”
“Is right now too soon?”
***
Dominique stopped in front of a fairly plain looking block of flats. “I’m afraid that Kerrik can’t come in.”
Scheherazade’s ears went flat. “He is not going to attack you.”
“I know that. If he were going to assault me, he’d have done so sometime during the last couple of days.” Crimson eyes met Kerrik’s. “It’s only pokegirls living inside the building and we’ve had problems with tamers thinking it’s a prime hunting ground. Since hurting them is still a crime for us, we can’t really fight back. Sometimes it can get pretty ugly and the residents are understandably unhappy when humans come inside.”
Kerrik’s face set. “It should be a problem only if the tamers told someone where they were going,” he said grimly. “Otherwise they just vanish from the earth forever.”
Dominique looked shocked. “Don’t even joke about something like that.”
“Ok. I can’t come inside, but these ladies can. Will you need help with your stuff?”
The Dark Elf looked thoughtful. “If someone helped, I could bring my camping gear. That cave leaves a lot to be desired.”
Kerrik looked at Scheherazade. “Who?”
“Me,” she said without hesitation. “I trust Eve to keep you safe and I can carry more than she can.”
Eve shook her head. “I doubt she’s bringing her appliances, so the fact that you’re stronger than me is immaterial. However, I will obey and I’ll run with him if anything happens.”
“Dominique?” When the Dark Elf looked at him, he smiled. “Something you might want to bring up at the next meeting of the tenants is the suggestion that you hire a retired tradesman to act as security for the building. He won’t be interested in adding to his harem since he’ll probably be planning on children and they’ll make him that much more active in defending the place.” Kerrik smiled evilly. “And he can legally beat the crap out of anyone who tries to shortcut catching pokegirls by coming here.”
She blinked. “That’s an excellent idea. I’ll do that.” She headed inside, closely followed by the Dire Wolf.
Eve tucked her arm through his. “Are we going to wait here?”
Kerrik patted her arm and headed down the street. “The first stop is the closest pokegirl center. I want to check on my auctions. Once somebody has sold, I’ll buy a subscription so I can monitor the auctions from my pokedex, but until then I have to Rikki-tikki-tavi instead.”
“What is Rikki-tikki-tavi?”
“It’s the story of a mongoose that protects a human family. The motto of the mongoose family is ‘run and find out’, so to Rikki-tikki-tavi is to go and find something out.” He paused. “It’s funny, but there’s a lot of the pokegirl paradigm in that tale. It says that all mongooses want to be house mongooses if they can, and that kind of belief supposedly defines pokegirls as well.”
“What’s a mongoose?”
Kerrik sighed. “Access the Awareness. That’ll be faster than me trying to explain about mongoose.”
“You know I can do that?”
“You did it when you wanted to know who Axis Sally was.”
“I didn’t think you saw that.”
“Your eyes glow when you access it. I’m not sure that Scheherazade saw it, but even if she didn’t she’ll eventually find my memories of the event in my mind. She’s always poking around in it, I think so she can know me better.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Are you a member of the Sisterhood of the Thorn?”
Eve stopped dead and used the fulcrum of her arm to drag him around to face her. Her eyes were wide. “How do you know about them? Not even the Celestial Alliance is aware of their existence.”
“I know things, remember? The current theory is that I either can see here from my world or else I can create things here by writing about them. I had decided to rehabilitate the bad image I’d given most celestial pokegirls and so I’d come up with the idea for a secret group of mostly Megami, but open to all pokegirls and humans who share their ideals. This group is dedicated to saving people who wanted to be saved and living their lives as examples to others in an attempt to show that those who choose to work together have a better chance of succeeding than those who just sit around bellyaching about making the world a better place. They’re helpful, but don’t feel that they have a divine right to rearrange people’s lives in spite of them and they understand the practical aspects of achieving parity. I named them the Sisterhood of the Thorn because they’d be a thorn in the side of the Celestial Alliance. You being a member of the Sisterhood would help to explain your animosity towards Sanctuary.” He gave her an arch look. “Of course, forcing your way into an established harem is supposed to be rather rude by the standards of the Thorns.”
Eve blushed. “I was in a hurry because Scheherazade can teleport and you can’t be tracked or else I’d have found a better way to introduce myself to you. Can you accept my apology?”
He reached up and traced her lips with a finger. A smile spread across his face when she almost involuntarily kissed the tip. “Your lips are even softer than I’d suspected, that first day when we met. Giving yourself to me was a very great gift, and one I cherish. I should thank you instead of you worrying that I need to forgive you.”
“But I broke your hand.”
“And you healed it and that after I smashed your face. You need not have any guilt for that. But if it makes you feel better,” he drew her face to his and kissed her gently. When he broke the kiss, his voice was a whisper. “I forgive you your trespasses against me, Eve, be they real or imagined.”
Her eyes fluttered open to show that the green had darkened. “Thank you,” she whispered back. “Weren’t we going somewhere?”
“The pokegirl center so I could check the auctions.”
“That’s right.” She stepped away from him. “It would be unseemly if I held your hand, wouldn’t it?”
Kerrik reached out and grabbed her hand. “Probably, but if I lived my life according to popular opinion I’d be someone else. I want to hold your hand, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
She smiled as they continued down the street. “You seem so law abiding and yet your words are so rebellious.”
“I obey laws because I choose to, not because others want me to. That’s what separates us from the animals, the ability to make a decision and to understand and accept the consequences for that decision. I know I could get derision from holding your hand and I don’t care because the opinions of people I pass in the street do not matter to me.”
They got a few odd looks but nobody said anything as they walked to the pokegirl center. Once inside, Kerrik headed over to the workstations. He looked back at Eve. “Do you think you need a healing or cleaning cycle?”
“No.” She dropped into the chair next to his station and slid it over next to his. “I don’t like being in a pokeball about as much as you don’t like having us there. I know it’s necessary to go in and out until we learn how to enter and leave on our own, but I took a bath this morning and I haven’t been injured so much that I couldn’t heal it on my own.”
“Suit yourself.” He pulled up his account. “All of the pokegirls sold. The prices were decent, but nothing I’d cheer about. Still, it means we have some money for gear.” He pulled out his pokedex. “Now for a shopping list.”
“You have to make a list for shopping?”
“It has been my experience in shopping with young women that a list helps to ensure that we get the things we have to have before we start seeing how fast we can spend what’s left. It also helps me to remember what I thought I’d need before the clerk starts plus selling to me.”
“What’s plus selling?”
“It’s when they ask if you want fries with your burger or a desert with your meal. They’re trying to catch you in a buying mood and give in to an impulse for more stuff. It’s a standard marketing ploy.” He began jotting notes into his pokedex. “When the ladies are done packing whatever Dominique will need, we’ll meet them near a store and do some shopping in the used equipment section.”
Eve smiled. “That way we can see what Dominique has so you don’t duplicate her gear.”
Kerrik looked up. “Dominique is not in my harem. Her stuff is hers and we are not going to be using it. What is with the attempts between you and Scheherazade to try to get me to presume that Dominique is my pokegirl? She didn’t put you two up to this.”
“Scheherazade feels that Dominique will be useful to you. She’s hoping that you’ll accept Dominique before she has to say something to you.”
“A wise move on her part. And what do you think?”
The Megami frowned. “I don’t think she’s useful to you now but I feel that she will be in the near future.”
“I really appreciate it when you aren’t vague. Can you try again?”
She shrugged. “I’m not trying to lead you. The future isn’t set, but there are broad guidelines as to where it wants to go and narrower ones where it doesn’t want to go, but could be coerced.”
“You’re talking about the probability of the temporal wave function collapsing in a certain way. Is the catgirl alive or did the poison get her?”
She nodded. “Schrödinger was right, but the probabilities change if you keep a finite sample of radioactive material and then vary the amount of fissionable material inside the sample.”
“That’s true enough. However, I have always felt that one of the determiners in any situation is what the people involved want. Dominique may not ever want to be useful to me, and you and Scheherazade are not to influence that decision in any way.” His voice was firm. “Ever.”
“From what I can gather, we will not have to try. I get the impression that her being sent with you was not altogether random and some outside force is trying to influence the makeup of your harem.” Her eyes hardened. “As soon as I find out who this force is, we can go convince them to stop.”
“Convincing might take some effort.”
“I’ve already told you I’m not a pussy Megami. I’ve found that a specifically applied pattern of broken bones can usually convince someone that they not only want to hear what I’m saying, they want to do what I’m oh so reasonably requesting.” She grimaced. “That’s one of the reasons the Celestial Alliance is so happy to think I work for them. They don’t have many enforcers. The Seraphs tend to get a bit squeamish when it comes to hurting people. Killing someone they can do, but being brutal they have a problem with. Right now they think I’m still trying to insinuate myself into your harem. I’ve had to report twice, but I’m exaggerating your paranoia and letting them think you still don’t trust me.” She held up a hand when he started to say something. “I know you don’t, not fully, and that only Scheherazade’s speaking for me has gotten me this much trust. I accept that.”
Kerrik smiled slightly. “There’s also the fact that Kasumi asked you to move to One. She is much smarter than most people think and you’d have been fully vetted before she’d have ever made that offer. You were probably deep scanned by Stardust.”
“The Alaka-Wham? She was around, but I’d have known if she’d tried to enter my mind.”
“Were you aware that she’s a daughter of two members of the Pleiades Group?”
Eve blinked. “That’s impossible. They’re all female.”
“Several decades ago they blended the DNA between select members and used the fusion to fertilize some eggs. The offspring were rather remarkable. Stardust is one of them, and was one of the most talented psychics on the planet. And Shikarou, while not powerful, was given personal training by Willow and Kerrik, who are both formally trained in psychic combat and infiltration. The school where Willow learned has been operational for over ten thousand years and has taken psychic powers to levels that this world can only dream of. Stardust got all of that training from her tamer.” He smiled gently. “Oh, and Eve, it’s very interesting that you know about the Pleiades. The Alliance has no idea they exist and the Alaka-Whams work hard to keep them from finding out.”
The color slowly drained from Eve’s face. “Please don’t tell anyone that I know about them.”
“Fortunately for you, I am the one person they can’t idly scan and I don’t intend to tell anyone about this conversation.”
“Thank you, Kerrik.” She leaned over and looked at his list. “Can I make some suggestions?”
“I’d appreciate the input, if you don’t mind. You have been doing this longer than I have.”
***
The fire crackled merrily, its light keeping the darkness at bay. A pot steamed on a folding rack and filled the air with the scent of tea. Kerrik sipped at his cup and looked at the faces looking back at him. “So the princess and the knights escaped the planet Naboo and fled in her starship. Now you would think that a princess would make sure that the maintenance on her ship was kept up to date, but sadly it wasn’t true and the stardrive, one of the only two critical pieces of equipment, which oddly enough wasn’t that big and yet didn’t have an installed backup, failed right outside the star system holding a mostly desert world called Tatooine.”
Dominique chuckled. “What was the other critical piece of equipment?”
“The O2 generator. Without it, you have nothing to breathe.”
Scheherazade’s ears flattened for a heartbeat. “Don’t interrupt him.”
“Sorry. Please continue.”
“It’s ok, Scheherazade. They landed and went in search of a new stardrive. Apparently it was a standard design used by everyone in the galaxy. They found one and made inquiries as to purchasing it.”
He sipped at his tea again. “Oddly enough, it turns out that Jedi Knights, although they were experienced interstellar travelers, never carry cash and the princess didn’t have any stashed on her ship. And also sadly for them, Tatooine was so remote that nobody on the planet accepted the Universal Express card that all Jedi Knights were given for expenses. So that left three options. First of all, the Jedi Knights could get jobs. This wasn’t something they really wanted to do, because it would set a bad precedent for future Jedi Knights and, since the founding of the Order over ten thousand years ago, no Jedi Knight had ever lowered himself to do real work and none ever would. Shedding oneself of the urge to do real work was part of the whole padawan experience and no padawan could become a Jedi Knight until that urge was completely gone.”
“The second choice was that the princess could hook for the money. There aren’t that many princesses on any given world and rich men and women would pay a high price to be with one. However, the princess demurred, saying that it was against her religion to have sex with people on a world that was mostly sand and rock and that she was saving herself for her prophesied beloved, a man who would change the universe forever. Nobody realized that all worlds are mostly sand and rock, even under the oceans on water worlds.”
Eve frowned. “That takes care of everyone. What’s left, selling parts of the ship for scrap?”
Kerrik shook his head. “It turned out that in the shop where the new stardrive was waiting, a nine year old boy worked as slave labor. He was an adrenaline junkie and wanted to compete in a race that used cobbled up equipment and no safety measures. It was so bad that cheating was almost part of the rules and the fatality rate was well over fifty percent. He needed adult sponsors to compete and used the fact that this race had a cash purse that would cover the cost of stardrive in addition to his hentai manga addiction to try and convince the Jedi to sponsor him in this death race.”
All three pokegirls looked aghast. Dominique suddenly looked angry. “Please tell me that they didn’t let him?”
Kerrik nodded sagely. “Sorry, I can’t do that. They sponsored him and he won the race.”
Eve glared at him. “They should have tied the princess up and sold her to the highest bidder. It was her inability to police her whole world effectively and crappy maintenance by her people that got everyone stuck on Tatooine in the first place.”
Kerrik grinned. “While true, it would have seriously screwed up the story. It turned out that the kid had a lot of potential and, although too old by their rules to become a padawan, Ben Kenobi, the current padawan, didn’t feel that the rules applied to him. After Qui-gon I-want-another-Gin, his master, died when they returned to Naboo, he took young Anakin Skywalker as his padawan and introduced him to the Jedi Council, which included Yoda and their single black Jedi, a man named Mace Windu. His call sign was Token, and it was thought he would be a shoe-in to be one of the two surviving Jedi, but instead the powers that be chose the little crippled green alien, Yoda. He was much more marketable. However, I’m getting ahead of the tale.”
A voice came out of the darkness. “I don’t think you’re telling that story correctly.”
Kerrik reached for his shotgun and froze when the owner of the voice came into view. “Ladies, we have a celebrity in our midst. This is Evangelion, one of the legendaries.” He smiled slightly. “I’d jump up to be hospitable, but I don’t want to do anything that might be considered precipitous right now.”
“I come in peace, Kerrik Wolf.”
He nodded and carefully climbed to his feet. “Would you like a cup of tea while I wait for the adrenaline dump I just had to pass out of my bloodstream? The blue furred woman is Scheherazade, the blue haired woman is Eve and the redhead is Dominique. Dominique works for the Blue League and isn’t part of my harem.”
Evangelion frowned. “Why isn’t she? I arranged things so she would be yours. She needs a new tamer and she’s almost perfect for your needs.”
The Dark Elf shot to her feet. “WHAT?” She broke off when the legendary’s eyes hardened. “I mean,” she began again much more politely, “I don’t want to be part of his harem. I have a perfectly good job with the league and I am free.”
Evangelion gave her an amused smile. “I have brought you three to Kerrik so that you will have a chance gain your heart’s desire. Scheherazade has a new master worthy of the name and a mission that will require all of you to do your utmost. Eve will have the chance to pass her training and magical skills on to a worthy student in him and she will have the mate she has been looking for and can approve of when she becomes a pokewoman in the near future. And you, Dominique, will be with someone whose magical skills can be upgraded to rival your own, as you have wished for since your Pendragon knight died. In addition, and more important to you, in him you now have the chance to be reunited with your queen.” She nodded at Kerrik as the Dark Elf’s head whipped around to stare at him. “He knows where she is and I think he knows how to contact her.”
“What about Kerrik?” It was Eve. “What about his heart’s desire?”
Evangelion shook her head in a wave of copper hair. “His mind and heart are closed to all who have not his trust and to try and force them open has proven fatal to those who try. I cannot discern what Kerrik’s true desire is and therefore I was able to make no plans to have it filled. If his desire is to return to the world that birthed him, I cannot make that possible.” She looked at him. “No one can. I was not responsible for you being brought here, but I don’t think that you will ever return to the place you once called home.”
Kerrik closed his eyes for several seconds and his shoulders sagged. When he spoke, his voice quavered. “It hurts more than I thought it would.” Then he squared his shoulders and wiped his eyes. “Well, that’s that. I’ll cry later. What is this mission that Scheherazade needs?”
“Wait a minute!” Dominique’s voice was harsh. “What do you mean, I’m almost perfect? I am perfect.”
“Catch.” The legendary tossed something at the Dark Elf. Pink glittered in the firelight as it spun. Dominique’s hand lifted as she instinctively reached out for the object.
Kerrik lunged through the fire at her, scattering flaming bits of wood and embers in all directions as he tried to bat the thing away from Dominique while his pokegirls scrambled to their feet to avoid being scorched by the fiery deluge. “NO!” His fingers closed around hers as she caught it. He met her gaze as light pulsed through their fingers. “I’m sorry that what is about to happen is because of me.”
Light exploded up her arm and spread over her body as Dominique opened her mouth to scream. “Oh, shit,” he said calmly. “My fingers hurt.” Kerrik closed his eyes and his face went slack as the light shot up his arm and covered him. The light expanded until a single globe covered both of them. Streamers of energy shot from the globe and engulfed both Scheherazade and Eve and then the globe expanded to include them.
Evangelion’s eyes went wide as the point closest to her on the sphere flared incandescent and futilely tried to dodge as another beam fired from it. The energy twisted in midair to impale her in the chest and quickly spread. In another second, the globe had grown to cover her as well.
The glow persisted for almost a minute before fading away. Evangelion gave a wild look around the area. “What just happened?”
“You threw an evolution stone at Dominique, you fucking bitch.” Kerrik almost snarled the words.
Dominique looked at her hands. “I don’t look any different.”
Kerrik squeezed her fingers and let go. “Evangelion threw you a mana stone. She wanted to make you an Enchantress.” He quickly reached inside his pants and sighed in relief. “Still a boy. Whoohoo!”
Dominique blinked owlishly at him. “Am I an Enchantress now?”
“I asked what happened.” Evangelion’s voice had a thread of anger in it.
Kerrik didn’t look at her as he pulled his hand back out his pants. “You caused this and I am dealing with the women who are more important to me than you are first. You can leave or you can wait your turn.” He shook his head slowly as the legendary’s eyes began to glitter angrily. “Dominique, I’m not sure how it happened, but you’re an Archmage now.”
“That’s impossible.” Eve had an incredulous look. “She has to be delta bonded for that and there’s a ceremony to invoke the change.”
Kerrik glanced at her and his eyes widened. “You evolved too. You’re a Megami-sama. You’ve got the facial marks.” Her yokosuji were the same blue as her hair and were speckled with white spots.
“That’s impossible too. I have to be delta-bonded just like Dominique would.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, except what I see.”
“Apparently, the Sanctuary Goths were right to be concerned that you might have the potential to reshape reality, even if you don’t understand how to control it.” Evangelion’s voice was gentle. “Look at Scheherazade.”
His maharani was standing stock still and staring at her arms in shock. Her fur had turned gray and was patterned like a Timber or Gray Wolf, with a dark gray mask around her eyes and over the top of her muzzle that turned lighter on the underside and continued down her neck. Short horns sprouted from her forehead and curved up to follow the shape of her skull. Their rounded points ended even with her ears and just inside the area framed between them. Her eyes were still blue and they looked at Kerrik with confusion and more than a little fear. “What have I become?”
Kerrik reached up and touched her nose. He smiled when she instinctively licked his fingertip and spoke in a voice filled with wonder. “You’re a Dread Wolf. When I wrote the Dire Wolf as a pokegirl, I created an evolution for her but it was way too powerful and so I never showed it to anyone. Where the Dire Wolf was the queen of the battlefield and served as an advisor to her tamer and kept him safe, the Dread Wolf was supposed to be the queen of war, with the firepower to completely dominate the battlefield should she deign to step onto it. She was more than a little unbalanced and I decided that the Dire Wolf was powerful enough and shelved the idea, especially after some people pointed out how much I was overpowering Shikarou’s harem with Pythia.” He suddenly hugged her. “I, however, am glad to have you with me. Scheherazade, no matter what form you wear you are always welcome in my life.”
Scheherazade wrapped him up in her arms. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
He flashed a grin. “I’m also glad I gave the Dread Wolf the complete control necessary to not need restraints.” She chuckled and squeezed slightly tighter.
He raised his head to see Eve watching them with need shining in her eyes and reached for her with one hand. She sighed with relief and burrowed into his side, wrapping the arm around her. Surprise flicked across his face when someone took his other arm and repeated the process on his other side. He looked and Dominique’s bright red eyes met his. “I need a hug too and this feels right,” she said simply.
He tightened the arm around her. “Then it’s perfectly fine.” He raised his voice slightly. “What about you, Evangelion?”
“I am not in need of physical contact right now,” she said curtly. “Apparently your power didn’t affect me.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“Now, I need to talk to you about a problem we both have.”
“Give us a minute. Everyone, including you, has been through something traumatic and I don’t need people seizing up in the middle of a discussion.”
“Nothing traumatic happened to me.”
Kerrik felt the touch in his mind. I heard the fear in her voice when she first asked what had happened to us. She is lying.
There was a feeling of surprise in his head and Scheherazade twisted around to look at Eve. That was not me. Eve has a delta bond with you now.
Dominique looked at him. “What is going on? Why do I hear people inside my head that speak with your voices?”
Evangelion folded her arms. “Tell me you’re not having some new emergency.”
Kerrik rested his forehead against Scheherazade’s horns and tried not to scream in fury at the legendary. “You know, I didn’t invite you here tonight, so why don’t you be a good guest and shut up while I deal with what you brought down on us. You are already the problem, how about you don’t add to it, hmm?”
“I do not like your tone.”
“Then how about you be quiet for five minutes and you won’t have to hear it? Let me deal with what’s happening and when we’re done, I’ll give you the floor and my undivided attention. I’ll even use a nice tone.”
“I will hold you to that.”
“You do that.” He thought quickly. “If we discount the fact that Dominique skipped an evolution, then you ladies have something in common. All three of your evolutions, including that of the Dread Wolf, require a delta bond. Apparently that condition still had to be satisfied so you could evolve. As if the voices already in my head needed the company.” He pictured Dominique. Can you hear me?
I don’t want to be delta bonded to you.
Welcome to the club. I’m the president, so you can be the treasurer. We’ll schedule our first meeting for next Tuesday at nine PM.
Scheherazade’s ears flattened against her skull. There is only one way to break a delta bond and if you try to kill him I will tear you into tiny pieces.
“Well, there’s an artifact that will work but I have no idea where it’s kept and artifacts always seem to have some unadvertised down side to them.” Kerrik yelped and jerked. “Eve, you’re hurting me.”
The Megami-sama blinked and looked at her glowing hand. “Sorry.” The glow faded, to reveal Kerrik’s wrist. It was red and angry looking. She touched it and the burn faded as she healed it. “Now that I’m a Megami-sama, we’ll need to get me power limiters. I’m too powerful to wander around without them, as we’ve just seen.”
“What, you can’t control yourself? A pokegirl born over three hundred years ago is losing control just because she evolved?”
“I can control anything. Fine, I don’t need the damned limiters,” she snapped back. Then her eyes went wide. “How did you know how old I am?”
“Deduction, my cute and dear Watson. The things you’ve said to me all fit together to give me some indication of how old you are. There’s no other way to account for some of the things you know and your reluctance to tell me about your past.” He stroked her cheek and her eyes closed as she savored the feeling. “Have you been alone all of these years?”
“Not all the time, but most of it. I tried having tamers, but I couldn’t stand the way they treated me so I’d leave at the first opportunity. You’re different and I don’t think I’ll have to do that now.”
“I’m not like you, you know. I will age and die long before you will.”
She nodded. “I know. I’ll take all the time I can get with you, and while you live there’s still hope that a solution can be found.”
“That’s true. Dominique, I know neither of us wanted this, but there is only one solution and neither one of us wants to die. Can you tolerate my presence? You don’t have to share my bed. Scheherazade and Eve may be willing to help you stay sane.”
“We will,” Eve said quietly. “We’ll also hope you decide to completely join our family, but we’ll help however you want.” Scheherazade nodded her agreement.
Kerrik pictured all their faces. The thing to remember with Evangelion is the same thing to remember with all powerful and fairly immortal creatures. Often they do not consider mortals to be worth considering when they make their decisions. I think it’s wrong, and a mistake on their part, but it is part of their makeup and we must take care not to unnecessarily antagonize them.
Eve smirked. You say that after telling her to shut up?
My family has always come before strangers. Besides, she needs me right now and I have said nothing that she will treasure in her heart until she can get vengeance. Of all the legendaries, she’s the least prone to that kind of behavior since she doesn’t share the others’ megalomania.
Dominique finally joined the discussion. I can tolerate you, but I am still not interested in sharing my body with you. Can you let me see the queen again? My oaths were to her and I would like her to formally release me from them or perhaps to approve of you.
I know where Ygerna went. As to whether or not we can go there, I will try to let you meet with her at least once more.
Scheherazade licked his face. “Then let us see what Evangelion wants with us. I worked with her for a brief time when I met you. It was her aid that allowed me to get into position to be able to rescue my new general, although I did not know it would be you.”
A minute later they were all seated again, with Scheherazade and Eve pressed up against Kerrik while Dominique was next to the Dread Wolf. The Archmage idly played with the maharani’s tail as Kerrik eyed Evangelion briefly before speaking in a polite tone. “Lady Evangelion, I understand that you wish me to accomplish something for you. Please, tell me what it is you wish me to do and then I will decide if we are going to do it.”
Evangelion pulled a roll of leather out of her pocket and it expanded until it was three feet wide. She unrolled it to reveal a map, carefully picked out by using hot needles to scorch the leather. Or perhaps magic had been used to create the effect. “The Dark Continent.” She pointed to a dot on the map. “Here is the city of Sanctuary. It was built around the complex that Sukebe left in Africa where the founders first became Goths. The actual laboratory is now a shrine to the precepts of the Sanctuary Goths, even though he would have been appalled at their beliefs about humanity. No non-Goths are allowed into it upon pain of death, not even their pet dinosaurs.” She swept her hand over most of the land shown. “This is the land under the control of Sanctuary. I need you to tell me if the Sanctuary Goths are a threat to the rest of the world, or if they merely have grandiose dreams of conquest.”
“I thought you wanted something difficult.”
“Your humor is unnecessary.”
“That wasn’t humor.” Kerrik’s eyes were flat. “They have an industrial and magical economy that’s been on a war footing from day one. They have an uneasy alliance with a couple of WAP leagues and Goths are involved with the leadership of these same leagues. Hell, some of the McMahon’s are Sanctuary Goths and other Goths are friends with Stroak, who didn’t die. He merely faked his death so he could continue researching in private. Now they can pull people and things across dimensional lines. They brought my car across with me, and it weighs a lot less than a modern fusion warhead. And that’s only if they don’t figure out how to access some of the worlds Sukebe visited. Some of them use antimatter weapons or worse. Sanctuary’s agents, including the Limbec Pirates and other organizations dedicated to murder and terrorism, murder anyone even remotely involved with anti-feral or anti-threshold research. They obviously do not want to make the world better; they just want to make it their own. Here’s your answer: They are a threat.”
“I need more than that. I need to know if they are a threat to the world, not just to humanity.” Evangelion rolled up the map and handed it to Dominique. “The only problem is that I’m not sure of a good way to get you to the Dark Continent. Sanctuary is looking for the legendaries since you and the others disappeared and so I cannot transport you there.”
Kerrik leaned over and teased the map from the Archmage. He tucked it under his arm. “I’ll do what you want, but you can rest assured that my answer is unlikely to change. Gird your loins for war, for war is what I shall bring you.” He smiled slightly. “You don’t want that answer tomorrow, right? We have some preparations that need completed before we will even consider going anywhere near Sanctuary. If you can’t wait, you’ll have to find someone else to be your agent in this matter.”
“As long as it’s within a year or so, I don’t mind waiting.” Evangelion rose and dusted off her legs. “Scheherazade knows how to get in touch with me when you’re ready. At that time we’ll figure out how to get you to the Dark Continent.” She vanished.
“Untouched indeed,” Eve said with satisfaction. “I wonder if she has a delta bond with you, too.”
“That’s not even slightly funny,” Kerrik said. “Besides, what did you see that I missed? She didn’t evolve.”
“Did you look at her eyes?”
“Not specifically. Why?”
“Her eyes are no longer brown. They’re blue with an inner ring of green. The same color as your eyes.”
“Fuck.”
***
It was early morning and Kerrik picked his way carefully down towards the river, looking for ferals as he went. He had his shotgun and two shiny new telepathic links he could use to call for help if anything happened. Or he could use the not quite so shiny third link and call Scheherazade. He was kind of looking forward to seeing the Dread Wolf in full combat mode, but it would be best if it were at a safe distance.
He pulled to a halt when he saw the woman sitting on a rock next to the water. She looked up at him. “Come, sit with me. I mean you no harm.” Her hair was a metallic gold that pooled behind her and a horn the same color as her hair graced her forehead. Her eyes glittered with all of the colors of the rainbow and several that didn’t occur in nature. A dusty rose colored Victorian gown did nothing to hide her lush curves. “I’ve captured the feral pokegirls that lived in the river and your harem is fast asleep. Now it’s time for your test. Do you know who I am?”
“I do.” He sat down next to her. “And because of that, I know you keep your word, Magdalene, and that I am safe with you, at least for now. Why is it you coming to visit and not Kerrik?”
“He does not come here. This is not Pokegirl Prime. Instead, it is one of the neighboring pokegirl analogs. To be precise, it’s eight minor dimensional variances from Prime, to the left.”
His brow furrowed and then his eyes widened. “Minor D-var means that a substantial change has not taken place between this world and Prime. This is pokegirl twelve in my notes. In all likelihood it’s the same number for you.”
“That is correct.” She cocked her head. “It is also not the primary place where Sanctuary is gathering the empowered. That world is minor D-var four, and we’ve decided to avoid it completely. Some of the inhabitants are calling it Pokegirl Omega.”
“Is it the last pokegirl world?”
She shook her head. “Not even close. I’m not sure why they called it that, and I honestly don’t care.”
“Why are you here?”
“I seek to understand my husband’s fascination with pokegirls. There are more than enough eligible Tirsuli women back home, do we really need more needy females?”
“They present a power range seldom seen in many Tirsuli without years of training.”
“I know that.” She shrugged. “I want to know more about them, and Tanika used my interest as an excuse to drag me here on an expedition. She quickly got bored though and is currently masquerading as Macavity to piss the legendary off.”
“That’s gonna suck for Macavity.”
Magdalene smiled. “Only if Macavity manages to stumble across my sister-wife, but Tanika has assured me that in that event she won’t kill Macavity or permanently cripple her.”
“I suppose that’s good to hear. Why not just explore Prime or One?”
“Because Kerrik asked us not to go to Prime since we’d be attacked by the Order of Pendragon or the leagues. The analogs on that world are well aware of what we are and would hope to use us in various ways. As for One, I don’t really want to have pokegirls trying to upstage me for my husband’s affections. He’s fond of them and I’d hate to accidentally kill one, like Raven.”
“Your control is better than that.”
She dimpled. “Yes, it is, but she would think my control was a sign of weakness and not realize until it was too late that escalating her goading would end badly for her. She is still very young.”
“All right, why are you here?”
“I found your name and decided to investigate since I know the analog to my husband on this world has already gone to his version of One, which is our One point Two.” She patted him on the hand. “It’s refreshing to not have to constantly explain what I’m talking about. I think I can help you, if you’re willing.”
“Cost?”
She chuckled. “You are direct and very refreshing. In a few years, I think I’d like to introduce you to Jehane.”
Kerrik blinked. “I know that name. Good gravy, that’s one of Falati’s daughters. You want to introduce me to one of your sisters?”
“She would like you and she is lonely.”
“If I’m alive in a few years, I’d like to meet her.” He looked over the water for a minute. “A gift, freely given. It’s something that nobody else could give you, except perhaps Faith. And we both know that Faith would never tell you the names of your sire and dam.”
Magdalene’s eyes went wide. “You know them?”
He told her two names. “I know you’ll probably kill him, but he more than has it coming considering what happened to your dam.”
“I cannot accept such a great gift without repaying your kindness. I will owe you a favor.” She smiled. “Use it wisely.”
“I will cherish such a valuable and rare gift. I do have a question. The odds of Kerrik managing to find my universe are so low as to approach zero, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Even if he searched for a century, it would be very unlikely.”
“I had to envision an infinity of infinities.”
“Or you saw what already existed.” She shrugged. “The semantics of that discussion will keep scholars at the clan’s magical school arguing for many decades. Perhaps the mage who brought you over could identify where you came from, but from what I understand of the situation she is unlikely to prove cooperative even if you could find her.” The Kirin kami rose and patted her skirts into place. “Think about what you will require as my part of the bargain of meeting Jehane. You know how to contact me, correct?”
“I say your name with the intent of you hearing it.”
“You are refreshing. I’m leaving you the pokeballs of the ferals that were in the river as the start of my aid.” She vanished.
***
Scheherazade carefully placed the kattle femur between her carnassials and bit down. Bone cracked audibly and she shifted it around for another bite so she could get to the marrow. Eve tore her gaze away from the display and turned to Kerrik. “The first problem is once we’re ready to go, how do we get to Sanctuary?”
He chuckled. “That particular problem has already been solved. The real problems involve us getting ready to fight, because there’s no way we’re going to be able to pull this off without some combat. Other than the Tyrannodame’s hyper beam, the Pteranodame’s gust and the Nessidame’s water gun, hydro pump and water jet blade, the dinosaur pokegirls are all designed for melee combat. The Dameosaur, the primary guardian of the Goths, sucks at any sort of range other than point blank. This means we must be either able to take the battle to them at close quarters and win or we find ways to keep them from closing the range on us. And, yes, that ‘us’ does include me. While I’m not much of a combatant, I will be a legitimate and probably their priority target, since without a tamer most harems immediately fall apart. You three are all too independent for that to happen, but the severing of the delta bond in the event of my death will prove traumatic enough to make you hesitate at the very least. The Goths, who by the way, don’t call themselves Sanctuary Goths, are expecting that and will be quick to capitalize on any momentary weakness in your attack.” He looked around the group. “For close combat, the weakest person, of course, is me. However, Dominique isn’t suited for it either, especially not against opponents with enhanced strength, something which every one of the dinosaur breeds possesses.”
“What do they call themselves?”
“Sanctuary Goths, contrary to how they’d like to portray themselves, are true pokegirls. The primary result of that for them is that they cannot cure the feral state. Since originally they used Cheetit and Cheetaura for their guardians, they had to absorb some of the humans in the area as their first pets for the initial tamings of captured ferals. Once tamed, they’re taken from the humans and given to Goths in a program that continues to this day. Not having a social identity of their own, they also swiped a lot of the local human customs. That included language, which in this case was mostly Swahili. Therefore, their personal name for their breed is in Swahili and is Mbegu Huru, which in Swahili means the Free Race or People. English is a second language for them and they expect newcomers to not know anything else. Using Swahili instead of English amongst themselves also gives them another opportunity to show how different they are from the rest of the world, which is mainly an English speaking one.” He smiled slightly. “Interestingly enough, their private name for non-Goths, including their pets and humans is Watu Mtumwa, which means Slave People. It tells you a lot about how they think.”
Eve made a face. “It means I was right to choose to oppose them.”
“What can we do to make me more durable in melee?” Dominique looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged. “My best bet would be to not let them get close.”
“The Pterodame is capable of speeds approaching three hundred miles an hour. You’ll have to be very fast to keep out of the reach of one of them.”
“What’s that in kilometers an hour?”
He made a face. “Bloody hell, I keep forgetting this place uses the metric system.” He made a show of counting on his fingers while he thought. “That’s right around five hundred kph, which would translate into a hundred and thirty meters a second. Dameosaurs are capable of a hundred and twelve mps, Nessidame can do about fifty five mps and Tyrannodames don’t have any speed enhancements, but that hyper beam gives them a pretty good ability to reach out and touch their opponents, even with the recharge rate. They can also bite a car in half if they can get it into their mouths. They can lift around two and a half metric tons, and that’s without using the Munchkin enhanced strength variant. If they did, that would change to a bit over eleven metric tons. The Dameosaur can lift around eight hundred kilograms, Nessidame around seven hundred kilos and the Pterodame a measly three hundred or so.” He snorted. “Measly.”
Dominique was staring at him in shock. “I do not want that to hit me.”
“Most use jaws or really big claws, but I get your point. I don’t want to get torn into confetti either.” He picked up his pokedex. “However, I’ve made a list of ideas for things that should make both of us harder to incapacitate.” He hit a couple of keys and handed the pokedex to the Archmage. “Most of this will rely on your ability to make magical objects, so focus on protecting yourself first, and then we’ll worry about me.” He raised a finger when Scheherazade pulled the bone from her mouth. “This is not something open for debate. If I get injured or, darkness forbid, killed, it’s still not as important as Dominique being able to fight.” He grinned. “However, trust me when I say that I don’t want to die and we are not going to Sanctuary until and unless I think that all of us have a chance to come back and celebrate our glorious victory.”
Dominique looked up. “Can I make changes to your list, or are you going to go all ‘I know best’ on me?”
“You’re the magical expert and I defer to your skills.”
Scheherazade’s ears flicked. “I will look over your final list so I’m sure you’re not trying to get my general killed.”
Dominique scowled at the Dread Wolf. “Let’s get something perfectly clear, bitch. If he dies, I get to experience the loss of a delta bond firsthand. Again. I have no interest in going through it a second time and keeping him alive is almost as important as keeping me alive. It’s a damn sight more important than your flea bitten carcass.”
“I do not have fleas, but I understand your meaning. I will still vet your list.”
“You vet to your heart’s content, just remember that I don’t answer to you.”
“Yet. Even now the desire to give yourself completely to Kerrik burns within you. Once you are his, I will be your maharani.”
The force bolt smashed Scheherazade into the tree behind her. “YOU STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!” Dominique’s hands glowed as she summoned another bolt, but it dissipated as her concentration shattered and her face twisted. The Archmage sank to her knees, weeping uncontrollably. When she began to calm down, she became aware of a warmth next to her. She looked over at Kerrik, who was seated beside her, and sniffled. “What do you want?”
“I’d like to help somehow, but I don’t know if you’ll let me.”
“What do you care? You don’t want me. You’ve said so several times.”
“I said I didn’t want you around and I’ve said I didn’t want this, but I have never said I didn’t want you, and if one of you remembers differently I was probably rather pissed at that moment. What I don’t want is you being forced on me or you having to feel that you’ve been thrown to me as some kind of prize to guarantee that I’ll be available for the Blue League to get its hands on. I didn’t want the delta bond with you for the same reason I don’t really want the delta bond with Eve or Scheherazade. I don’t know shit about any of you or you about me. We didn’t get the time to know each other that is supposed to elapse before a delta bond forms. Delta bonds are supposed to be about budding love and I know none of you feel anything close to love for me. And yet, Eve and Scheherazade have a blind faith in me and its mind bogglingly terrifying. I haven’t done anything to deserve that level of trust and I’m really scared that I’m not big enough for the responsibility.” He reached out and took her hand gently. His grip tightened when she didn’t pull away. “But here we are, stuck with each other. We’ve got to make the best of things or we might as well set up some kind of suicide pact. At least it would be cleaner than what the Goths will do to us. We’ll all be killed, and that’s the best possible result. At worst, you three will become Dolls and spend forever locked in your heads. Me, I could be forced to help them with their cockamamie scheme and become a traitor to everything that I helped to create. This place is not perfect, but neither is my world. This world is a place with the potential to be wonderful someday. Will it reach that potential? Probably not. There are too many different personalities pulling in too many different directions towards too many different definitions of what a wonderful place would be. But that’s not important to me anymore. You three are.” His eyes hardened. “And then there’s Evangelion and her being helpful. That help isn’t free, oh no, it isn’t. I’m supposed to take you three and go to Sanctuary to find out the answer to a question I already know the answer to, but that she won’t believe until I jump through her hoops. I have to place all four of us in danger so she’ll get the truth through her thick skull. She’s probably one of the best legendaries around, since she’s really trying to be helpful and she’s the easily the most trustworthy of them, but the fact that she’s a Celestial does not mean her agenda is any less hazardous to the pieces she puts on the board. But it’s important that she understands just how dangerous Sanctuary is, so we’re going to stick our heads in the jaws of a starving Tyrannosaur and pray we don’t get eaten. Even if we don’t, we’re going to pick up scars that will last the rest of our lives.” He looked down and toyed with her fingers for a moment before meeting her gaze again. “Scheherazade will not make the final determination on what you agree to make for me. You will. It wouldn’t matter what she decided on anyway, since she doesn’t understand how you work and therefore she cannot spot any weaknesses you might build into something. I have to decide if I trust you, and my decision is that I do.”
Eve let out a breath that she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding as Dominique rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The Archmage’s voice was almost inaudible. “Is what I want important?”
He replied without hesitation. “It is.”
“It’s not more important than what they want, is it?”
“No, that wouldn’t be right. But it is just as important.”
She shifted her head a bit on his shoulder. “I can live with that.”
***
Dominique sat down next to him. “I’ve got my suggestions for the stuff I should build.” She handed him his pokedex. “It’s really weird to think of a magical item and suddenly know how to make it.” The last few days had shown significant changes in the Archmage. By merely being accepted on her terms, the aggression she’d been showing had almost completely disappeared. She still argued with Eve and Scheherazade, but it was without the rage that had been present before. She had also continued to avoid Kerrik at bedtime, but if she was waiting for him to have a problem with that decision, she was in for a surprise.
“Several pokegirl breeds have the ability to touch specific portions of the Cosmic Awareness. The Archmage has access to everything that the Enchantress does, and more.” He looked over the display and one eyebrow rose. “All I see is the list I put together for my stuff. Where is your list?”
“The stuff you want is almost identical to what you suggested for me and I really like the idea of making it all undetectable by magical or technological scans. I want the same for me. I thought I’d make a couple of simple items for them to find on both of us and they’ll think they got it all.” Her crimson eyes dimmed. “The actual enchantment won’t take as long as you’d think, but the problem is going to be the construction portion of the work. We need a lot of raw materials and some of them are going to be pretty expensive.”
“Maybe not.” When she gave him a curious look, he smiled. “I don’t like the fact that Evangelion knows where we live, and I’ve been thinking about a source for raw materials for your stuff. I could guess at a lot of it, and I think I’ve found a place to get everything we’ll need within relatively close proximity. Edinburgh.”
She promptly disagreed. “That won’t work. I’ve been to the ruins of Edinburgh. We could stumble around in there for years and not find what we’re looking for in the rubble. Reclaiming is a very hit and miss business.”
“You do agree that what we’re looking for should be in the ruins.”
“Sure. There are a lot of very expensive and rare needles in that haystack, but just about everything should be there. But it’s still a haystack and all the easy to find stuff is long gone.”
“Do you also agree that mage and reclaimer are two very different professions?”
“Of course they are.”
“Why? Because mages don’t explore ruins? Well, we are going to. I’ve been working with Eve and we’ve designed a spell for finding things. Well, I had the idea and she did all the work. It can be modified to find very specific things, like the materials you’ll need to craft our stuff. She can also help with the enchantments to speed the process along. Since reclaimers are not trained in how to think about using magic, and in fact there is a tradition to avoid anything except healing magic amongst reclaimers, they don’t do this sort of thing. We’ll find what we need for the gear and find other things to sell for money, along with any ferals we capture.”
Dominique’s eyes went wide. “That’s right; Eve is a formally trained mage. I’ll have to ask her to help me improve on that front.”
“Are you aware of where she was trained?”
“No, why? Is it important?”
“It would be to the Order. She’s a graduate of the Wolf Institute and, as she revealed to me yesterday, also of Vale, even if it was in 100 AS.”
The Archmage glanced in the direction of where the Megami-sama and Scheherazade were working on Eve’s control. “The league would not have been able to dump me with you unless Marcus signed off on the idea. My loyalty is to Queen Ygerna and I don’t owe him anything.” She turned back to him. “But I wouldn’t say anything about Eve’s magical training out loud again where a member of the Order might hear you. The knights would move heaven and earth to get their hands on her.”
“I’m not telling them. I’m telling you so you can make the best use of her skills. She may be formally trained and a Megami-sama, but you are an Archmage and eventually your skills will outstrip everyone else’s here. That makes you my go-to girl for magical things and Scheherazade and Eve your helpers.”
“Scheherazade is the maharani and may not be willing to follow my instructions.”
“Dread Wolf lose none of their tactical acumen from their previous evolution and she should appreciate how much her help will increase your efficiency. If she doesn’t, you tell me and I’ll straighten her out. That is part of my job, to be the overall referee. Free will is all well and good, but if she’s screwing around with something that could keep me alive, then I’ll make sure it comes to a screeching fucking halt.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but I should be thanking you. Without your help, my idea won’t work at all.”
“Scheherazade and Eve don’t like it.” She glanced down. “I don’t like it either.”
“That makes it unanimous since neither do I, but it’s quick, it’s dirty and Sanctuary should never see it coming.” He shivered. “Who in their right mind would invade Sanctuary and willingly put themselves where they can be captured again? And yet, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”