Into the Fire
Twenty Seven
They followed the trail up the slope of the mountain and the sun was just peeking over the horizon when the brush suddenly became a clearing. The small trees and bushes had been trampled and smashed, with some showing evidence of recent charring. A faint reek of blood and smoke filled the air.
Scheherazade said something low to Montsho and they split up, each moving around one edge of the clearing as they slowly circled it in opposite directions.
Dominique took two steps into the clearing, her head swiveling as she scanned the area for threats. She prodded the ground with the tip of her staff and glanced at Iain. Looks like JJ flushed some ferals here. I just realized we don’t know what his harem was composed of, but I think the fire was from one of his. It feels like it was all incoming from the direction he was coming from.
Iain smacked himself in the forehead. “Son of a bitch.”
April eyed him briefly. “Problem?”
“I’m an idiot.”
She smiled slightly. “Ok. Is there a new problem?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t think to ask what JJ’s pokegirls are.”
“Oh, that. Scheherazade did. Jess is a Hottie and Maggie is a Gloomy. She’s also got a picture of him.”
“I’m glad someone around here is thinking.” He focused on Dominique. He’s got a Hottie and a Gloomy. Scheherazade was smart enough to ask the family.
You can’t think of everything, Iain. That’s why we’re a team. I see three different sizes of tracks that are either canine or vulpine pokegirl. They must be the ferals JJ fought. I don’t think any of them got away either, so if he took down three with his two, even if they are ferals, he might not be a complete idiot. She looked in his direction and smiled. Of course, if he were as sane as we are he’d have a PPHU or would have headed for town to get his girls healed after the fight.
He might have potions. That was from April.
He might. He should.
Montsho stopped and sniffed the ground before straightening. “Iain! I have human male blood here. Just drops. It looks like he was lightly injured. I also smell an antiseptic.” Without waiting for a response she went back to scenting the area.
“I’m jealous of you.” Irena sighed. “I had my own pokegirl for a while and it felt kind of nice. Now she answers to you.” She smiled when Iain hugged her with one arm. “Thanks. I don’t know why I’m jealous, but I am.”
“All pokegirls are competitive,” Iain said gently. “Montsho is still yours in a lot of ways and you’re still her maharani. She just understands that you’re my Sanctuary Goth and that Eve is your boss, so she’s Montsho’s boss too.”
“Is that it? I’m an alpha and I don’t want to give it up?”
“Most pokegirls wouldn’t. Go to her and be her eyes while she’s hunting for us. That’ll reassure her that you still care and it’ll let me communicate with her through you.”
Irena grinned and trotted towards the Tyrannodame.
I have found the trail where they left the area. JJ only had the Gloomy out before this, but he has both pokegirls out now. If he doesn’t have access to a PPHU, it’s very likely that he would make camp soon in order to let his girls recover from the battle. Scheherazade pointed up the mountain. They went this way. It makes sense to me since there will be a better likelihood of a cave or cleft where they could take shelter and build a small fire if they desire to.
Iain reached out to Irena. Scheherazade found the trail. You and Montsho join her and move out. He watched as the Sanctuary Goth spoke quietly to her partner and the two of them jogged over to the Dread Wolf. Then they moved northward as Eve and Dominique swapped places and the Archmage took to the skies.
The trail led them in a rambling course and the sun was well in the air when it finished up at a shallow cave where the still warm ashes of a fire waited silent sentry. Montsho’s nose led her to a spot where some used bandages and food wrappers had been buried in a shallow hole.
Iain turned to the Dread Wolf as Eve examined the trash. “How much time did we make on him?”
“At least a day. It looks like they spent the night here.” Scheherazade’s ears flicked as she looked around. “I’ve found where they headed out. They’re headed north and he still has both pokegirls out.”
“I guess he didn’t tame one of his captures then and add her to his harem.”
Her tail batted against his knee. “The only scents here are his pokegirls and him. Maybe he’s happy with the pokegirls he has or doesn’t think this is a good time to introduce a feral to the family.” Iain began running his fingers through the fur of her back and she rumbled happily before glancing at him over her shoulder. “I’m trying to work.”
“Then don’t let me distract you. We’ll take this up later.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” Scheherazade moved away, waving to Eve as she did. They had a quick word before the Dread Wolf and Montsho took to the trail again. Eve and Dominique changed places again as Irena trailed closely behind the Tyrannodame and everyone else followed behind.
An hour later they entered a slight draw that was filled with mounded snow from one end to the other. The drifts filled the draw up and down the mountain as far as Iain could see. A trail snaked into the snow and headed directly across the draw. It extended about halfway and ended. From there, huge intermittent rips in the snow headed down the mountain.
Iain frowned and glanced at April. “Looks like someone either fell or ran down the mountain from here.”
April grabbed his arm and pulled backwards. “It’s too warm for snow, Iain. Something’s not right.”
With a roar, a gray tauric form burst from a drift and the icebeam she fired took Montsho in the face, smashing the Tyrannodame off her feet even as Dominique’s fireball detonated around the attacker, sending her screaming back towards her drift as more forms burst from the snow.
“Coldonta!” Iain yelled as he stepped behind April. “Use steel and water!” He clutched the shotgun against his chest and swore sulfurously at the situation.
The weapon was useless against anything with the durability that Coldonta had.
Scheherazade summoned her armor as the nearest Coldonta nailed her in the chest with an ice punch. She grabbed the fist and spun, hurling the rhinoceros pokegirl straight out from the mountain where she fell to her death several hundred feet below.
Two of the Coldonta shot ice beams at Eve circling above. She twisted sharply to avoid the attacks and dove as she summoned her armor and weapons.
Montsho scrambled to her feet as Irena lashed out with her aura of command, freezing the Coldonta that Dominique had hit. The Tyrannodame whirled, her glowing tail arching high and taking the Coldonta in the chest, flipping her end over end to disappear into a mound of snow. Montsho floundered after her, cursing loudly in Swahili.
Another ice beam smashed to a stop a meter from April as she blocked it with a shield card. She was already riffling through her cards and summoned a Cure Mermaid as the ice beam died out, the construct’s healing powers going to work on Scheherazade and Montsho even as it vomited a stream of high pressure water at the Coldonta who’d tried to attack her, the bolt taking the ice pokegirl in the center of her rhino chest and spraying over her body, driving the breath from her lungs and leaving her gasping as she tried to recover.
Dominique summoned her staff and it flared with a silver nimbus. With a hiss, all the snow for a dozen meters steamed away into clouds of water vapor that dissipated on the slight breeze. One of the Coldonta who had been attacking Eve spun and fired an ice beam that speared the Archmage in the stomach, but her magical armor dispersed the attack without harm. Dominique leveled the staff and fire bathed her opponent.
Scheherazade used hydro pump on the Coldonta still recovering from April’s construct and the heavy bolt of water pounded her target flat. Iain hurled a pokeball as the Dread Wolf and Duelist both began searching out new targets.
The other Coldonta that had attacked Eve shot another ice beam at the Megami-sama. Eve caught it on her shield even as she leveled her sword while diving. The weapon flared a brilliant white as she deliberately crashed into the Coldonta, her blade driving through the spine of the pokegirl and into the rock beneath her victim. Eve planted her feet and lifted the Coldonta from the ground with the blade, twisted and slung the crippled pokegirl at the one Dominique was attacking. Blood misted the air as the throw ripped the wound wide open.
The snow gone, Montsho found her footing and threw herself at her target, her punch taking the Coldonta squarely even as she was smashed backwards by an ice punch. The Coldonta’s vaunted durability was no match for the Tyrannodame’s enhanced strength and the ice pokegirl snorted blood as ribs shattered by the punch slashed through her lungs. She ignored her injuries to fire another ice beam at Montsho which went wide when Scheherazade slammed into her from behind, releasing a hydropump just before impact.
April’s Cure Mermaid hammered another bolt of water into the two Coldonta in front of Dominique. The Archmage hissed and aborted her fire spell, instead launching rune chains that bound the two pokegirls together into a single shrieking mass and contracted until they fought to merely breathe.
Iain darted forward, hurling pokeballs at the three Coldonta even as April tried to block him from getting around her. As the pokeballs rocked she glared at him. “Next time you give your guard the empty balls.”
“At that point they go rushing forward and I’m left alone.”
“Then you’ll give everyone a couple of empties.”
He shrugged. “Ok.”
The Duelist blinked as capture tones sounded. “You’re agreeing with me?”
“That Dildoqueen business really impressed me with just how fragile I am.” He turned to Irena. “Heal them all. April will go last, even after you. As soon as Shay and Dominique are out again, they’ll follow the trail down the mountain as far as the visible signs run. At that point we’ll regroup and continue on.” He smiled gently at the Tyrannodame as she suddenly looked unhappy. “You can’t fly and I don’t want you falling off the mountain. Dominique doesn’t have your nose and you’ll be back up front soon enough.” She blinked and her posture relaxed before turning and loping towards Irena. “Eve, gather the feral’s pokeballs and Irena, you cycle them through after April.”
April started chuckling suddenly. “At least we now know why JJ suddenly veered south. He must have seen the Coldonta before they moved into position to attack.”
“I wish we’d seen them. This is wasting valuable time.”
“What is it?”
He frowned. “I’m not sure. I just don’t think JJ’s dead.”
April poked him in the chest and then ran her hand over his nipples. “No breast buds, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything considering the breed.” She ran her fingers over his crotch. “Well, that’s good. It doesn’t look you’re going all Megami on us, after all.” She laughed when he gave her stony look in reply.
***
The downward trail proceeded past the end of the snow and continued down the mountain until it ended on a small plateau. Montsho and Scheherazade cast around and the Tyrannodame stopped at a mound of rocks. “Death.” Before anyone could say anything, she tore into the mound, revealing it to be a cairn. Inside was a dead Gloomy. She looked up. “This smells of JJ. I’m almost certain it’s Maggie, the Gloomy he had.”
Dominique examined the corpse quickly. “It’s hard to tell, but I think she died of ice attacks. Apparently they didn’t get away from the Coldonta as unscathed as we thought.”
Eve had landed when the body had been discovered. Now she exchanged a look with Iain. “If they didn’t pokeball her to save her life, it’s most likely she died up in the snow. They must have carried her body with them and buried her here. It speaks well for JJ.” She looked the grave over critically. “It won’t keep anything out, but at least they tried to protect her.”
“Cover the corpse again,” Iain looked around, “and then Montsho and Scheherazade will take a few minutes and get some nice big flat rocks to keep ferals away from the corpse. Don’t take too long, ladies. I want to be moving more than I care about that body.”
As the two pokegirls worked, Iain wandered around with April. She watched as he knelt and looked closely at the ground. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t stop what he was doing. “I used to be a decent tracker and the old skills have been coming back. I think JJ continued north.” He grunted sourly. “But I don’t know why. He lost a girl and hasn’t tamed anything he caught. Anybody with a lick of sense would head back for town.”
“What do you think he’s after?”
Iain’s head came up and he stared at her in surprise. “That’s it! He’s not wandering and looking for ferals at all. He’s got a destination and whatever it is must be important enough that he’s willing to continue on even after losing Maggie. That makes sense.”
“Do you think we were lied to?”
He shrugged and rose, dusting off his knees. “I don’t know if Eve was checking for lies when they were here, but it could also be his mothers don’t know why he’s really out here. Wouldn’t be the first time a kid lied to parents. And, in the end, it doesn’t really matter since we agreed to go find his dumb ass. I don’t think they faked that message so he’s still in trouble, even if he was out here looking for something specific instead of random ferals.”
Dominique joined them. “Eve wants me overhead now. Did I do something wrong with the Coldonta?”
“You were outstanding as usual. Now please get up in the air before Eve decides you’re over here trying to get me to override her and you get in trouble.”
The Archmage blinked. “Crap. I’m whining.” She shot into the air and banked away from them to begin her orbits over the group.
“You do that well.”
He frowned. “Which?”
“It’s hard for a lot of people to balance praise with command. You make it look easy.”
Iain watched Montsho and Eve effortlessly carrying a stone that he couldn’t have moved outside of his dreams and shrugged. “For some reason there are people who just aren’t capable of saying thank you, you’re welcome, please and good job. They’re just words, but they’re powerful ones when used properly. Generally, people are much more helpful if they think you respect what they’re doing and if they think you’re asking for their help instead of demanding it.” The stone grated as it settled over the shallow grave. “And that’s good enough.” He raised his voice. “Eve?” She looked up. “That looks good and I think we’re done here. Please get people moving again.”
The sun was headed back for the horizon when the trail led them over a saddle where they could look down into a shallow depression about seventy-five meters across nestled on the northeastern slope of Brandon Peak. Huge boulders deposited by the same glaciers that had sculpted the mountain chain ringed the depression on all sides. A thread of smoke curled up from the chimney of a building roughly hewn from the rock on the other side of the depression. Two dark lines in the dirt led from the door of the building to a large pile of loose rock and a large metal washtub filled with scraps of metal sat next to the building’s door.
The Dread Wolf waved everyone out of sight of the building and began searching the area.
“Shay?”
Scheherazade didn’t look back at him as she sniffed the ground. “JJ and Jess went that way.” She pointed along the ridge of the saddle. “They kept out of sight and it looks to me like they didn’t want to be seen by whoever is in that shack.”
Dominique was peering carefully over the ridge of the saddle. “That’s not a shack. Those lines are wheel ruts. They’ve been excavating inside there and there’s no telling how big the interior really is. It could extend into the mountain for quite a ways.”
An ululating cry suddenly came from the other side of the depression and was quickly taken up from two other directions. Iain peeked over the ridge and watched as a large stone sailed through the air to crash into the washtub, knocking it over with a loud clanging noise as the scraps flew out.
The door to the building jerked open and an angry looking Skarmoress stomped out and glared around as she shouted. “You are interrupting my nap! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The voice came from where the original cry had sounded. “We’ve got more intruders and I thought you’d want in on the fun, Ophelia! There are six pokegirls and a human to the west!”
The steel pokegirl grinned. “Show me!”
“On three, girls! One! Two! Three!” From around the depression four glowing balls arched into the air and descended, aimed at the general area where Iain’s harem was. They hit and exploded in a spray of magma. Montsho yelped when a chunk of it hit her in the side. The yelp became a hiss of anger as she bared her teeth at their unseen attackers. Scheherazade turned and pressed her hand against the wound, which glowed and began to shrink.
With a supersonic crack, the Skarmoress shot into the air. She headed east before beginning to come around for an attack run as four more glowing rocks lofted into the air.
“Two are at the north edge where it starts to narrow, while the other two are on either side of the building,” Iain said quietly to Eve.
The Megami-sama nodded. “Shay, Montsho you take the two to the north. Dominique will take the two on the eastern side while I run interference with the Skarmoress.”
“I want the bird,” April said confidently. “I’ve got a plan.”
“Very well, April, she’s yours for now. I’ll help Dominique, but yell if you need assistance.”
The Archmage stuck out her tongue at the Duelist. “Spoilsport.”
Iain watched the glowing rocks head for them. “Irena and I will take cover. Eve, I haven’t seen anyone yet to ID them, but magma throw is a specialty of the Hotgoblina. They’re fire and rock and especially weak to water.”
“You heard him. Move!”
April scrambled a few meters to the right as Iain and Irena dropped back and took shelter behind some large rocks, dragging the pokepacks the other girls had shrugged out of just as the second wave of magma bombs hit and spattered molten rock in all directions. Scheherazade grabbed Montsho and zipped off as Eve and Dominique flew south, keeping below the level of the ridge to avoid the Skarmoress’ return as they began to circle around.
April concentrated and, just inside the depression on the other side of the ridge, her Dark Magician Girl appeared. As Ophelia finished her turn the construct waved gaily and then deliberately raised its right hand, the middle finger extended straight up. The Skarmoress screeched in fury and arrowed in to the attack, preceding her arrival with a spray of steel feathers that blasted pockmarks in the rock around the Dark Magician Girl as the construct nimbly dodged them.
The Tyrannodame untied the rope around her waist and gripped it and the pouch it held firmly in one hand. She yipped as Scheherazade rotated in midair and flung her at the first Hotgoblina as the Dread Wolf flew over it. The fire and rock type grinned at the falling pokegirl and readied a flaming fist with which to greet her attacker. The grin became a look of sudden horror as Montsho shifted to her thirteen meter long battle form and used harden just before she hit. Six and a half tonnes of mass moving at sixty kilometers per hour crushed the Hotgoblina into the rock with an impact that made the ground shake and dislodged gravel for a dozen meters on either side to trickle down the ridge. Montsho changed to her normal form and pulled a pokeball from the pouch. She pressed it firmly against the Hotgoblina and hissed in anger when the dying pokegirl didn’t disappear into it. With a snarl of frustration she crushed the pokeball and grabbed the Hotgoblina’s head before twisting it 180 degrees to face the back, snapping the neck and instantly killing the pokegirl. Then Montsho clambered up the rocks in the direction that Scheherazade had flown, ignoring the blood that covered her chest and stomach.
Ophelia lined up on the Dark Magician Girl and began to glow as she accelerated through the mach barrier. April dismissed the construct just before impact and simultaneously created her Black Skull Dragon a meter to the right of where the Dark Magician Girl had been standing. The massive new construct brought two tremendous fists down on the Skarmoress as she shot by, smashing her downwards so she plowed into the mountainside at full speed. Rock shattered with a groaning noise and a pall of dust made Iain and Irena sneeze violently. The Black Skull Dragon ran towards the impact site as the rock shifted and the Skarmoress began to work her way free. April dodged suddenly as three magma bombs impacted to her far right. She cursed loudly and pulled off her shirt as it began to smolder, revealing fresh blisters on her stomach. On the battlefield the Black Skull Dragon became motionless as her attention refocused.
Eve and Dominique split up, each of them orienting on a site from which one of the magma bombs had been hurled. Dominique climbed until she could see her Hotgoblina. Except for magma throw, the Hotgoblina breed didn’t normally have any ranged attacks and the Archmage pulled to a hover as she cast a spell that created a bolt of water similar to a water gun attack and fired it at her target. The Hotgoblina screeched a litany of curses at her attacker as she sidestepped the bolt, only to shriek louder when it twisted in midair to hit her in the face and knock her staggering backwards. Sputtering water, she picked up a large rock and heated it to magma before hurling it at Dominique, who did a lazy figure eight to avoid it. At the top of the curve, the magma bomb from the one Eve was after took her in the legs, cartwheeling the Archmage even as she hit the first Hotgoblina in the chest with a multicolored bolt of magic, the megido blasting her flat and shredding her clothing.
Scheherazade saw the Hotgoblina just as she lobbed another magma bomb at the location where Iain, Irena and April were. She nudged it off course with her telekinesis and teleported, her armored form appearing behind the fire pokegirl. The Hotgoblina reacted instantly and threw herself sideways as the Dread Wolf slashed, managing to escape with a single row of cuts along one arm that didn’t hinder her in any way.
The Hotgoblina spun in a kick, her foot bursting into flame as she attacked. Her eyes went wide in shock when Scheherazade raised a set of claws and let the attacker’s motion drive the blades through the Hotgoblina’s calf. The Dread Wolf then ripped down, tearing the calf muscle to shreds even as the momentum let the kick connect. The flames burned a tiny bit of the ablative armor away as Scheherazade stepped backwards to absorb the energy in the kick, but the dark cocoon she had already activated began regenerating the damage even before the Hotgoblina’s nerves had transmitted the pain to her brain.
The Hotgoblina hopped away from Scheherazade, her right leg unable to bear any weight as blood spurted from the severed arteries in her calf. The armored Dread Wolf pointed a hand at her and a beam of magenta energy took the Hotgoblina in small of the back, the point-blank pulse of coherent light vaporizing a fist sized chunk of flesh and smashing her off her good leg. She hit the ground and rolled over as she burst into flames, using a technique Scheherazade had never seen before to partially heal both wounds before pushing to her feet and facing the Dread Wolf as she spat a fire blast at her.
Scheherazade took the blast squarely as she ran forward, trusting in her armor to keep her from being incapacitated, and buried her claws in the Hotgoblina’s gut. The magma inside the fire pokegirl’s torso vaporized the armor’s blades even as the Hotgoblina screamed and twisted away from the attack. Scheherazade grabbed the Hotgoblina by the shoulder and hit her in the face using all of her enhanced strength and speed. The Hotgoblina’s head exploded in a spray of bone and flesh. Scheherazade dropped the body and looked at her dripping fist before shaking it violently to clean the worst of the gore off. Shit, never expected that. I’ll need a bath before I get rid of my armor again. She took off and headed for where she’d tossed Montsho.
Eve landed in front of her Hotgoblina. “I know you’re not feral. Surrender. You can’t win this and you can’t use your most powerful attacks because you would destroy what’s in the building.”
“Fuck you bitch.” The Hotgoblina took a deep breath and spewed fire over Eve.
The flames died away to show the Megami-sama standing unharmed. “This is your last chance.”
“Will you fucking shut up and die!” The Hotgoblina exploded with heat and shot a fire blast at Eve.
The Megami-sama vanished, appearing behind the Hotgoblina as the fire blast exploded where she’d been standing, and smashed her in the skull with the pommel of her sword. The Hotgoblina went down, twitching spasmodically as blood began spilling into the interstices of her brain. “Damn, I broke her.” Eve knelt and healed the Hotgoblina to keep her from dying. “There, now we’ve got at least one person to interrogate.”
Ophelia burst from the rubble and smashed into the Black Skull Dragon hard enough to overload the construct, which vanished like a soap bubble. On the other side of the ridge, April grunted like she’d been punched in the gut.
The Duelist created a Thunder Dragon in the center of the depression. The green winged dragon uncoiled as the Skarmoress’ flight wobbled in surprise for an instant before she lined up on her new opponent and accelerated hard. The Thunder Dragon breathed lighting on her and she screamed like her soul was on fire as the energy washed through her body and arced to the rocks below in a display that lit up the depression.
The Skarmoress glowed as she used her iron tail technique, the field encompassing her whole body. She hit the Thunder Dragon and shouted triumphantly when the construct vanished.
April created the Dark Magician Girl behind Ophelia and activated two other cards right after that. A silver horn appeared in the center of the construct’s forehead with the first and with the second her eyes began blazing with eldritch energy. The construct brought her hands together and speared the Skarmoress in the middle of the back with a needle beam of silver energy that punched through, exiting out her chest and continuing on for at least a kilometer before flickering out. The Skarmoress slumped in midair but before she could begin to drop, the Dark Magician Girl attacked again, this time the beam taking the steel type in the left hip and emerging from her skull. Ophelia folded up and dropped like a stone, dead before she hit the ground.
April dismissed the Dark Magician Girl and recreated her without the enhancements beside her. Then the Duelist began making her way over to where Iain and Irena waited, with her construct ready to defend them all.
Frustrated that the Archmage refused to leave the sky and come close enough for her to come to grips with her enemy, the Hotgoblina threw another ball of magma at Dominique, who responded with her water spell. The bolt of water knocked the blob of molten rock off course and continued on to knock the Hotgoblina off her feet. Dominique continued to pound her opponent with bolts of water until long after her opponent stopped moving. Finally she stopped and hovered for a few seconds, watching for signs of life. When she didn’t see any she smiled grimly. “Next life you don’t attack my man, bitch.” Then she flew off to see if anyone needed her aid.
***
When Eve returned to the group, she had the unconscious Hotgoblina in tow with her. She landed and looked at Scheherazade. “Secure her until we can question her.” She looked at Iain. “Anyone seriously hurt?”
He shook his head. “We’ve been cycling people through the PPHU and no. Once you’re healed everyone will be back at full power.” His eyes tracked Scheherazade as she and Dominique used rune chain to bind up the Hotgoblina. “They’re not feral and won’t go into pokeballs. There must be humans around somewhere and the building is the obvious choice of where they’re cowering.”
“I know. How did April do in her first real battle?”
“The Skarmoress is dead and she took some minor damage from her constructs being blasted but is otherwise ok. That’s a passing grade to me.” He peeked over the ridge at the building. “If JJ isn’t in there, this has been a colossal waste of time.”
“We didn’t start it, Iain, and JJ’s chances were minimal at best no matter how fast we move.” Dominique joined them. “I’ve got him, Eve. Irena is waiting for you and your pokeball.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back, Iain.” Eve headed for the Sanctuary Goth.
The Archmage waited until she was out of earshot. “I don’t like splitting our forces. The Hotgoblina will need someone to guard her and that’s going to take people I want with us when we investigate that building.” She glanced at him. “Montsho and I think she should die.”
He chuckled. “You’re a hell of a blessed pokegirl, Dominique. Irena is going to watch her. With her auras the Hotgoblina won’t want to escape. But if you think she’s going to be that much of a problem, feel free to break her arms and legs. That can be healed and she can still be questioned in the meantime.”
Dominique blinked. “I thought you’d volunteer to guard her.”
“I’m not fireproof and the heat she can generate can turn my lead slugs to liquid. I’m not going to take the chance I can kill her before that happens or before she sets me on fire.” His voice was slightly bitter.
“I can hear it in your voice that you’re backsliding.”
“No, I just want to be able to help protect my family. It’s very likely that my children will be born tougher than I am. It’s a lot to accept, but I’m trying to.” He gave a halfhearted shrug. “In the meantime, the safest place for me is right behind the girls wearing the armor.”
Eve rejoined them. “Iain, how do you want to do this?”
“Irena stays with the Hotgoblina. If she gets free, Irena can tell me via the delta bond even as she runs away. The rest of us are going to head over and see if JJ is in there.”
The Megami-sama nodded. “I’ll be overhead again. Montsho and Shay will be up front with Dominique as their backup. April will be with Iain.”
Dominique cocked her head. “What do we do with the Hotgoblina if this is a bust?”
Iain’s eyes hardened. “The law is pretty clear. I can’t pokeball her for sale and I can’t release her to go feral. If the trail continues on we’ll have to kill her.”
Eve sighed. “I know.” She took off as Montsho and Scheherazade headed for the building.
They were a dozen yards away from the door when it cracked open and a gunshot sounded. Iain was knocked off his feet when the bullet took him in the forehead. Instantly, Scheherazade and Montsho charged the door, smashed it open and threw themselves inside.
April knelt and checked his head while Dominique put herself between him and the doorway “I’m fine. I had my armor ring on.”
She sighed in relief. “You frightened me.”
“You’re not alone in that.” He pushed to his knees and slowly stood as a long drawn out scream came from inside the building. “Trust me; I’ve really got to pee right now.”
Scheherazade appeared in the doorway. “It’s secure. I don’t know what the hell is going on in here, but the front is clear.”
“What about JJ’s scent?”
She nodded. “It’s strong. I smell him and his blood.”
“And the shooter?”
She shrugged. “There were two humans in here. One is roughed up but unharmed. The one who shot at you will live.” Her ears flicked. “Probably.”
“April, stay out here and keep watch with Eve.”
“I’m on it, Iain.”
“Thanks. Dee, we need both of them alive. I have questions.”
The Archmage nodded. “Stay behind me.” She led the way inside.
The front portion of the building was set up as living quarters, with a pair of twin beds separated by curtains. A computer sat on a desk, and beside the desk was a refrigerator and a portable electric camping stove set on a table. Two doors led from the room, one to the left and the other headed back into the mountain.
Montsho was guarding a woman who was staring fixedly at the floor, away from the sight of her companion. He was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room in a pool of blood. The barrel of a high powered rifle had been driven through his torso just under his ribcage until the receiver and foregrip was buried inside him. Then the barrel had been bent in a U shape around his body so it couldn’t be removed.
Dominique looked at the wound and up at Iain. “I’m going to have to cut the barrel so I can remove it before I can heal him. It looks like the barrel was bent under the rifle, so the foregrip may have shattered inside his body. If so, I’m not sure what we can do about that short of full surgery to go looking for the bits.”
“Scheherazade.” The Dread Wolf cocked her head curiously at his tone. “Phase the rifle through his body.”
She blinked and her ears went flat. “No. I want him to hurt for what he did. He could have killed you.”
“She can do that?”
“Dee, you weren’t around when I watched her phase a plug of cement through a floor. This should be easy.”
“Oh. When was that?”
“In Edinburgh while you were off deciding if you wanted to stay with us. It’s how we got that gold out of the ground.” He rubbed his eyes. “Scheherazade, I’d really appreciate it if he lived so I can question him as to why they jumped us. It’ll be hard for him to answer questions if he’s too far gone to talk and I don’t want you in whatever nastiness passes for his mind. How about this, I’ll let you hurt him if he proves reluctant to answer?”
“Promise?”
“Oh, yes, I promise.” Dominique blinked at the softness in his voice. “I take people shooting me rather personally. But if he dies you don’t get to hurt him.”
Scheherazade made a noise halfway between a growl and a laugh as she took the rifle in her hands and pulled it through the man’s body. Dominique looked closely at the weapon and relaxed in relief. “It didn’t break inside him. I can heal this.” Her magic closed the wound and the man slumped forward, unconscious. “He’ll need a little while to recover from everything.”
The woman was watching Iain like a rabbit watching a hawk. He smiled back warmly and she visibly flinched. “Think you’re safe from me because you’re a human woman,” he asked quietly. She shook her head violently and went back to staring at the floor. “You’re stupid to be here, but I will admit that you’re smart to agree with me on that.” He glanced at Dominique. Let’s see if we can find JJ while she agonizes over the threat.
You’re not going to torture her?
I don’t really want to torture anyone. I’d like to torture both of them, but I know that’s a path I don’t want to go down unless there’s no other choice, especially since I really, really would like to torture them and that’s not supposed to be right. Hopefully one of them will give me some answers. Besides, Eve wouldn’t really appreciate a good bout of torture. She prefers a nice evening of cuddling. “Montsho, watch them. We’re going to look around for anything interesting.”
“Yes, Iain.”
Scheherazade led the way to the door leading deeper into the rock and opened it, stepping through before Iain could beat her to it. Beyond, the rock had been excavated out to form a single huge chamber that was dimly lit by electric lanterns scattered around. The room was filled with tables that were covered with laboratory equipment obviously in use and the room stank of chemicals. A low haze floated near the ceiling. On one wall a humming ventilation fan worked hard to cleanse the atmosphere by sucking it into a tunnel which led to the outside. It was this that Iain had thought was a chimney. Liquids of various colors were bubbling in different stages of some process, but the predominant color was an eerie green. On the table closest to the door was some kind of loading station where what looked like 1cc ampoules of the green liquid were racked. An open box with cardboard dividers was almost full of vials.
Dominique looked around and her eyes went wide. “We need to get out of here. This is a Spark mill.”
“JJ’s scent says he’s probably in here somewhere,” Scheherazade protested.
Dominique grabbed the Dread Wolf by the muzzle and pulled her head around to look at her. “Do you know what Spark is? If you get into it, you’ll probably kill Iain.”
Scheherazade blinked. “I do not know what Spark is, but I would never hurt Iain.”
“Spark is a drug, you furry moron, and it’s so dangerous that the Blue League has banned it completely.”
Iain put his hand on her arm. “Let’s go back to the other room and there you’ll have the opportunity to explain what you’re talking about.”
She took a calming breath once they were back in the living area. “You know what lust dust does, right?” She continued without waiting for a response from him. “It boosts the libido to extreme in pokegirls and does the same, albeit to a lesser degree, to humans.” She waved a hand to indicate the vials of green liquid. “Spark starts with lust dust in a liquid form as the base and adds norepinephrine to increase the libido effect even more. Then methamphetamines are blended in to add euphoria and to jack the libido even higher. As the final part of the processing, epinephrine is added to the mix. Its vasoconstrictor effect can extend the effects of the other drugs for nearly an hour on a single dose. Spark is normally injected for an instant high, but enough of the vapors can cause the same kind of effect and some people sniff it to avoid having track marks from needles or injector bumps from spray injectors like P-med canisters.” She met Scheherazade’s eyes. “A pokegirl who is Sparking is so horny that she can’t stand it and if they have enhanced strength any human they try to fuck is in real danger of having limbs torn off and organs crushed. Almost all pokegirls are restrained before being given Spark. It’s used as a party drug and it’s really popular at human only parties, something the ultra-rich or super elite like to do.”
The Dread Wolf scowled. “My armor should protect me from the vapors but I can’t scent track with it up. So how do we look for JJ back there?”
“I’ll go.” Both women turned to glare at Iain. “I can take April with me and in addition I have the Dragonesses if I get attacked. I’m sure she has a card that we can use for tracking. And if either of us gets high from this shit, she won’t kill me in the time it takes you two to teleport in and rescue us.”
“I don’t like it.”
Iain shrugged. “Neither do I, but it’s the best solution for the situation. We have to investigate to see if JJ or anyone else is here before we destroy it.”
“We’ll need to take lots of photographic evidence before we do,” Dominique said firmly, “and more evidence of the destruction after we destroy it so we can prove that’s what we’ve done. The league will need to know about this place. Considering the size of the operation it probably supplies a decent percentage of the Spark trade in the Blue League. There probably will be some kind of reward for zapping it. We’ll search up here, but when you and April are back there, look for pokeballs. Somewhere around here they probably have a bunch of bug or plant types in balls for the lust dust.”
Iain frowned. “Wait a minute.” He turned to the woman standing against the wall. “Where is he?”
She jumped and her head came up. “What?”
“Scheherazade, the next time she answers my question with another question you are free to eat one of her fingers.”
The Dread Wolf pulled her gums back from her teeth and growled hungrily. “Yes sir.”
The woman stared at Scheherazade’s fangs and went white.
Iain waved a hand to get her attention back to him. “Where is the human male you captured?”
She licked her lips nervously and the words tumbled out in a rush. “He, he’s in the back.”
“Is he still alive?”
“I, I don’t know. He was when I saw him last, but he was pretty badly off and that was last night. Once we found out he was a cop we decided to keep him around as a bargaining chip in case someone came looking for him.”
Iain blinked. “He’s a cop?”
The woman nodded. “He’s got a badge that says he’s a special investigator for the BLSF.”
“What about Jess, his Hottie?” The woman looked away. “Shay, start with the right pinky.”
The woman’s head whipped around, her eyes wild with fear. “No! She’s dead! The Hotgoblinas killed her after the capture. They were adamant that there be no water types around in case she got free. They tore her to pieces and threw her body off the mountain.”
“You didn’t think to stop them?”
“They’re not my pokegirls.” She pointed at her partner. “They’re all his! I just had Ophelia and you killed her! I felt her die, you bastard!” She rushed at Iain only to be blocked by Montsho, who stiff armed her back against the wall hard enough to drive the human to her knees. She glared hate at the Tyrannodame, who just looked blandly back at her.
We could have a problem.
Iain’s eyebrows rose, but he replied the same way. What is it, Dominique?
The woman has seen Montsho. She could tell the league about her.
Fuck. Iain thought fast. You and Scheherazade try to screw up her memories, but don’t let her know that anyone here is special. If that doesn’t work, she’ll have to die. Be sure and blindfold the man before he comes around. “What’s your name?”
“Go to hell,” she said tiredly.
Scheherazade grabbed the woman by the hair and lifted her off the ground by it. The woman screeched and grabbed the Dread Wolf’s wrist. Scheherazade casually tossed her against the wall. Her tail was rigid with anger as she leaned forward until she and the woman were nose to nose. “You treat my tamer with respect, bitch, or I’m going to start pulling pieces off of you until I get to something interesting.” Behind her, Montsho sidled outside as the woman clutched her head and moaned. “Her name is Selma McCord.”
“You and Dominique keep Ms. McCord company while April and I look for JJ.”
“Yes sir.” Her ears flicked. Dominique has briefed me. It may take Eve’s help, but we will erase her memories. I know you don’t want to kill her if you don’t have to.
Thank you. He poked his head outside. “Come alone, April.”
The Duelist was leaning against the wall of the building. “What’s going on?”
“I need someone without enhanced strength and I’m hoping you have a card that can scent track.”
She blinked. “That’s an odd combination of wants. What’s the situation?”
“JJ is somewhere in the back of this place and it turns out it’s a Spark mill. I need someone without enhanced strength in case there are vapors inside.”
Her mouth made an O. “This is a Spark factory?” She took a deep breath. “You’re asking a lot of me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My former tamer had exotic tastes and I’ve had Spark. I don’t remember a lot of what happened, but from what I remember I know I’d be perfectly happy never coming near it ever again.” She shuddered. “I’m still not sure how many men I was with and it took weeks before I felt clean again.”
Iain rested his hand on her shoulder. “Then you stay out here.”
She shook her head. “Irena is guarding a prisoner. I’m the only other pokegirl you’ve got without enhanced strength. That means if I stay out here you’ll go in there alone, doesn’t it? That’s not going to happen, Iain. I’d face death for you. I can certainly face Spark.” She tried to smile and failed. “And if I get Sparked, I’ll be with you.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Let’s just make sure you’re safe.” They headed inside and Iain put his shotgun against the wall. Firing it in a meth lab would set off an explosion and since Spark had meth in it, he wasn’t going to take any chances. “I have a question for Selma.”
Dominique nodded. “We haven’t started yet, so she’s still coherent.”
He knelt and looked into her eyes. “You have any masks for working in the lab?”
She shook her head. “No.”
Scheherazade got up and went to a cabinet near the door leading to the lab. She opened it and pulled out some filter masks. “Even through her lies, her mind gave her away.” Her ears flicked. “They’re only for humans.”
April took one. “Then it’s good thing I’m a very near.” She looked at Iain. “Thank you.”
He was adjusting his mask. “We’ll check the fit before we go inside.” His teeth flashed in a quick grin. “I’ve never taken meth and I don’t want to start with Spark.”
April shuffled through her cards and created something that looked like a Doggirl wearing a shinobi shōzoku and carrying a katana. “This is the Nin-ken dog and it can track its quarry without fail. It’ll need to smell the pillowcase, though.”
A little while later April and Iain followed the construct towards the back of the lab. It led them to a corner and paused, pointing ahead towards a prone figure. Iain stared at the unconscious man for several seconds before recognizing that it was indeed JJ Adams lying next to a set of shelving filled with pokeballs. He was hard to identify because his face looked like he’d aged a dozen years and the grime and dried blood covering him didn’t help. His right leg had been crudely amputated above the knee and the stump tied off with a tourniquet. Even through the filter mask Iain’s nose could smell the corruption from the leg. “It’s only been two days. How could it be that infected?”
April knelt and lifted her mask so she could sniff the wound. “It’s poison from a pokegirl technique. Maybe his Hottie got him by accident.” She looked up at him. “I’m not sure I can heal this. The poison has spread past the tourniquet and there’s infection too.”
Iain braced himself and picked Adams up, ignoring the liquid oozing from the stump into his clothes. “Lead the way. Once we’re out of here, somebody go get a Nursejoy.”
“I can’t pull Cheryl away from the center.”
“I’m sure Dominique or Eve knows some too. Now move, woman. All we need is for this fucker to throw a clot because I’m carrying him around and have him die now.”
April grabbed him and the two of them teleported to the living area. “Eve, Dominique, someone needs to go get a Nursejoy right away!”
Eve nodded. “I’ll be right back.” She vanished.
Iain carefully lowered JJ to the floor. “How’s it going with Selma?”
Dominique smiled. “We used dreamtime to break her resistance down and right now Shay doesn’t need any help. Selma’s going to lose all her memories of the last twenty four hours, however.”
“I can live with that and so can she.”
The Dread Wolf stirred. “I’m done. She’s lost the last day and won’t remember Montsho. If anyone asks, she caught the edge of one of my psychic attacks.”
Eve reappeared with a slender Nursejoy. “Aethel, this is the patient. April can fill you in.”
The Nursejoy knelt and looked JJ over as April spoke. “His leg has been amputated within the last two days. He was poisoned, possibly by some technique from a Hottie, but we weren’t around at that point. The poison has moved past the tourniquet and it looks like he has sepsis above it, too, so I wanted an expert to work on him.”
Aethel nodded without looking up. “Help me strip him.” April helped and once JJ was naked the Nursejoy ran her hands over his torso. Her hands glowed softly as she scanned her patient’s injuries. “Eve, chop off three inches of the stump. The tissue below that point is necrotic and I can’t do anything with it. He’s got several other broken bones and your April was right about sepsis. It’s in his bloodstream and there’s a fungal infection trying to take hold in his brain. Considering his physical and energy state, healing everything at once will take more than he’s got right now and it could kill him, so I’m going to have to take things in stages over the next several days.” She looked up. “That’s assuming he’s going to stay my patient.”
Eve looked at Iain, who shrugged. “Presume he will. Eve trusts you and we can inform his family without bringing him home.”
“We need to find someplace else to do this.” April’s eyes were hard. “This is still a Spark factory.” Aethel looked startled and the Duelist nodded. “He was the prisoner of the people working here. We just rescued him from the lab in the next room.”
The Nursejoy sniffed the air. “We’re good here.”
Iain had been searching the unconscious man. “Ah, here we go.” He held up four pokeballs. “Dominique, take these and go catch our Hotgoblina, would you? Tell Irena to keep watch with Montsho outside.”
She took the balls while giving him a suspicious look. “Our Hotgoblina? Are you planning to keep her?”
“No, I’m not. I have a nice harem right now that I’m very happy with.”
“Then don’t call her ours. The bitch did try to kill you.”
He held up his hand. “I made a mistake and I’m sorry. I’ll try not to do it again.”
What Eve summoned was not her regular sword but an unusually wide bladed axe that Iain recognized as an executioner’s axe. “April, press his injured leg flat. Aethel, I’ll cut on three.” She laid the edge of the axe on JJ’s leg above the tourniquet. “Ready?”
The Nursejoy pressed her hands against JJ’s stomach. “I’m ready.”
April forced the leg flat by pressing on it just above the hip. “Ready.”
“One. Two. Three.” At the final count the axe rose and fell in a blur, chopping through the leg an inch above the tourniquet with a sound like an axe felling a tree.
Arterial blood sprayed and Aethel’s face went blank with concentration. The wound clotted in seconds and then the clot darkened to flake off, revealing freshly healed pink flesh sealing the stump. Aethel took an unsteady breath and pushed herself upright. “That’ll stop any fresh infection.” Her Welsh accent was thick with exhaustion. “You said there was a PPHU where I could freshen up before I see what else I can heal without killing him.”
Eve nodded as the axe vanished from her hand. “Give me your pokeball and I’ll take care of it.” Once Aethel was inside her ball, Eve turned to Iain. “I was lucky she was available. Aethel is one of the best. Most Nursejoys couldn’t do what she just did.”
April examined the leg as Eve headed outside where the PPHU waited with Irena. “That was remarkable.”
Scheherazade shrugged. “It was just healing.”
“No, it wasn’t. You can’t just heal a stump like that or you’ll have bone sticking out. Bacteria love to use that sort of thing as a path back into the body. Bone has to stay inside the body. That’s why during a surgical amputation you have to cut the bone short and mold the meat around it. What Aethel did was force limited growth of the tissue so the flesh moved outward enough to surround the bone before she fused it shut. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It must combine healing and some limited form of regeneration into something completely new.” A speculative look appeared. “I wonder if she could teach it to me.”
“I don’t think we need it,” Scheherazade said dismissively.
“It’s a great way to stabilize someone until a more powerful healer can get to them.” April looked JJ over carefully. “That took a lot out of him. I’m not sure how much more she can heal him until he’s eaten something.” She got up. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get my pack.” She darted outside and was back in less than a minute with her pokepack. She released a large soft cloth bag and opened it up. “Iain, give me a hand.”
By the time Eve, Dominique and Aethel had returned, with Iain’s help April had inserted a peripheral cannula into JJ’s arm and set up an IV drip. The Nursejoy stopped for a second before dropping to her knees to examine the work. “Nice job. What’s in it?”
“It’s D5RL going in through a twelve gauge trauma line. That’ll give him some electrolytes, fluid for volumizing and some glucose for fuel.” The Duelist smiled briefly. “I worked at a center in a small town with some free pokegirls who had anti-capture chips, so I learned a lot of emergency first aid for just in case.”
“None of your pokegirls here have chips.”
April nodded. “You’re right, but Iain can’t go into a pokeball and I was once just an Ingénue with no magic.”
Iain was holding the IV bag and he spoke without thinking. “You’ve never been just anything, April. That’s why you’re here.”
Aethel chuckled. “He says the sweetest things.”
“He does. That’s why I’m going to keep him.”
The Nursejoy blinked and shot a glance at Iain. “You must have an interesting relationship to be able to tease like that.”
“We do. I love her.” Iain shifted to look at Scheherazade. “Shay, you and Dee restrain our prisoners. I don’t want them waking up and causing trouble while we’re working on JJ.” He held the IV bag out. “Eve, take this. I’m going back into the lab. There were a bunch of pokeballs on a shelf. It’s probably the bug and plant pokegirls they were using to supply the lust dust and I want to collect them now in case we have to leave in a hurry.”
Eve started to say something and visibly stopped herself as she took the IV bag. “Be careful.”
“I’m going to wear my filter mask, I’m not going to touch a thing other than the pokeballs and I found some disposable gloves I’ll use for that.”
When Iain returned they’d moved JJ to the bed and the two human prisoners had been bound, blindfolded, gagged and put in a corner. Eve helped him remove his mask. “How many pokegirls were there?”
“I brought back twenty two balls. I’ll scan them later and see what we’ve got.” He nodded towards the bed. “What’s the word on JJ?”
“Aethel got rid of the fungal infection in his brain and the sepsis, but he’s too weak for further healing. He’ll be that way until he eats something.”
“Then why doesn’t someone make him eat?”
“It’s not that easy, Iain,” she began.
He interrupted her. “Why not? I’m willing to bet that you and or Dominique have a spell that will make a person do things against their will. If nothing else I know April has the Change of Heart card which will do that. So use your magic to make him eat without waking him up.”
Eve’s eyes went wide. “That’s not what the spells are really for, but that should work. Why can’t I think that far outside the box?”
“I’m the writer, remember? It’s my one special trick.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Now JJ leaked on me, so I’m going to go outside, bathe and change clothes. Feed him and when he’s stronger go back to healing him. Save the leg for last since it’ll take a lot more energy and I’m pretty sure you have to amputate again first. When he does wake up, I want to talk to him immediately.”
The Megami-sama chuckled. “Yes, my husband.”
***
JJ Adams’ breathing changed and a few minutes later he opened his eyes blearily. Dominique looked up from her book and gave him a smile. “I’m Dominique and your mothers asked my tradesman and us out to find you.” She reached for a pitcher sitting on a bed of crushed ice and poured him a glass of milk. “This is Milktit milk that’s set up for healing. Drink all you can.”
His voice was harsh with disuse as he looked around. He was in a room that had been defined by blankets hung from the ceiling on three sides with a roughly hewn rock wall for the forth. “Where am I?”
“We’re still at the Spark mill, although it’s no longer in production. My alpha is busy dismantling everything and getting rid of it.” Dominique laced her fingers together. “You lost your leg when you were captured, but we have a Nursejoy who will regenerate it when you get a bit stronger.”
One of the blankets moved and Iain came in. “Hello, JJ. I’m Iain Grey and as soon as you’re healed we’ll be taking you home to your mothers.”
“I need to get in touch with an Officerjenny named Teresa. She needs to know about the mill as soon as possible. This is more important than contacting my mothers.”
Iain frowned. “You know her?”
“She’s my commanding officer and sent me out to investigate rumors that there was some kind of drug smuggling going on out here.”
Iain’s eyes narrowed and he turned to Dominique. “That fucking bitch knew and didn’t tell us.”
The Archmage shook her head. “At best she suspected or JJ wouldn’t have been out here alone.”
“That’s not the fucking point. She didn’t bother to tell us what might be out here. We could have been seriously hurt.” Iain’s eyes blazed with fury. “I’ll fix her for that.”
JJ stiffened. “Mr. Grey, Teresa is a fully accredited officer of the Blue League. You are a civilian and cannot assault her for deciding you didn’t have a need to know.”
“That’s right, Iain.” Dominique’s eyes locked with his as she let him feel her worry through the delta bond. Kerrik might be able to get away with something like that but you’re not him.
“Mother fuck!” Iain audibly ground his teeth before taking a deep breath. “I suppose I’ll have to turn the humans I captured over to her, too. She’s going to take credit for this. Fuck!” He took a deep breath. “Fine. We’re taking a lot of video of what we’ve found before we destroy the lab.”
“Mr. Grey, I order you to leave the lab as it is. The league will need to investigate this facility and you are not to touch it.”
“Oh, I’m not, am I? Well I have a Megami-sama in my harem and she’s not happy at the idea that we just leave this place for anyone to stumble across. Innocents could get hurt and all, or the bad guys might come back and get all of that Spark out so they can sell it to people it will injure. And if it comes down to keeping my celestial pokegirl happy and keeping you happy what she wants is always going to win as far as I’m concerned. So that’s not going to happen. If you don’t like it, you just hop up and run home to Teresa so she can get a team out here before we blow the lab. Oh, that’s right, you can’t.” Dominique touched his hand and he took a deep breath as JJ looked at his missing leg and turned white. “I apologize for that last crack, Mr. Adams. I understand you should have that leg back in less than a week.”
JJ resolutely looked away from his leg. “You said you had a Megami-sama, Mr. Grey?”
“I don’t think one owns Megami or Megami-sama, Mr. Adams. They just grace us with their presence. The one who has chosen to share her life with me is called Eve.”
A blanket moved and Eve slipped past it. “Did someone say my name?” She smiled at everyone. “Mr. Adams, I’m glad to see you’re awake. Aethel will be along to check on you in a little while and if she says you’re ready to travel, we’ll be headed back to Dingle.”
Iain rubbed his face. “He says that Teresa is his control and he needs to see her first.”
Eve gave him a serene smile. “I know. He will.”
“You knew.” Iain threw up his hands. “Did you ever think to tell me?”
“I just did.” She turned to JJ. “Mr. Adams, I am unwilling to leave this place unguarded and so Iain will destroy it before we leave. The Alliance’s stance is to destroy Spark root and limb and I intend to fulfill that here. If your superiors have a problem with that, they can take it up with their Celestial Alliance liaison. I am, however, having extensive digital records prepared and rest assured that all the documents we find will be given to you at the proper time. We also took two humans prisoner and they will be turned over to you as well.” She waited patiently as he turned several shades of red. “Is there anything else, Mr. Adams?”
JJ scowled at her for a moment and then a resigned look crossed his face. “No.”
“Then I’ll take my leave of you. Good day.” She swept a blanket aside and disappeared. Her mind touched Iain’s. Do you think that will satisfy him?
Iain was watching Adams. “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Adams, but you know the Alliance.”
Adams sighed. “I haven’t had to deal with them much up to this point, but I know it’s not your fault, Mr. Grey. They’re doing what they do for us and that kind of certainty can’t be shaken.”
“I’m glad you understand.” Iain steeled himself. “Unfortunately I have more bad news, Mr. Adams. I found out that the remaining member of your harem, Jess, was murdered by the Hotgoblina after you were captured.”
JJ stared at him in shock and then swallowed hard. “What happened to them?”
“All but one of them was killed along with their Skarmoress when they attacked us. We captured the last Hotgoblina.”
“They weren’t feral and they attacked humans. You won’t be allowed to keep her.”
“I don’t plan to. I was going to L5 her and put her up for sale.”
“They won’t accept that. She’ll have to be tried and executed as an example to others. Don’t worry; you’ll get a reasonable compensation for your loss.”
Iain shrugged. “Then as far as I’m concerned she’s being sold, it’s only to the league.”
“That’s a healthy attitude to take.” He broke off when Aethel pulled a blanket wall back and joined them. “Who are you?”
Dominique rose. “This is Aethel and she’s a friend of Eve’s. Iain, Aethel will want to completely examine Mr. Adams. You’ll have to leave, sir.”
He nodded. “Find Shay and tell her that we’re almost done here. I’ll want everyone ready to destroy the base after Aethel certifies Mr. Adams for travel.” He followed her out of the makeshift hospital and handed her two pokeballs. These are for Irena and Montsho. Put them in my pokepack.
The Archmage nodded. I’ll explain to them that this is necessary for the moment. If it helps we’re almost ready to move to our new home and we’re not telling anyone about it.
Good. Remind everyone that we are not to do any teleporting where Adams can see it. I know walking home will take longer dragging him with us, but we all agreed it was for the best.
They know, Iain, but I’ll remind them once more.
A little while later Iain stood with April while Eve and Scheherazade finished pulling the door off the building. Dominique was behind him with Adams comfortably hovering beside her. Finally the Megami-sama joined them. “We’re ready.”
The chemicals had been dumped and the air inside the cavern was so thick with vapor that it couldn’t be breathed. Any finished Spark they’d found had been thrown in there as well.
Iain looked at April. “You’re up.”
She raised a card and activated it. A slender young woman wearing a form fitting red dress appeared and moved towards the open doorway. She stopped just outside it and raised her hands as the air around her burst into flames.
Apparently fumes had already leaked outside as there was a flash of fire around her that wicked inside the building. An instant later the chemicals exploded, bulging out the walls of the building and engulfing the Fire Princess construct, instantly destroying it. April gasped from the loss of her life energy as cracks spread across the front of the building and bits of stone dropped away to patter on the floor of the depression.
Scheherazade trotted forward and stopped in front of the building, driving both fists into the ground as she used tectonic slam. Dust exploded up from the ground in a line that raced into and past the wall of the building. The face of the building shattered, crumbling outwards in a wave that became a holocaust as a wave of air swept into the cavern and found more combustible vapors and a dying fire.
The explosion blasted Scheherazade flat and knocked everyone else off their feet as a wave of choking dust swept over them. The echoes were still dying away when Iain forced himself to his feet just in time to watch Scheherazade burst from the rubble where she’d been buried. He pulled Eve up with him and reached for April. “Well, that was unexpected. Next time we’ll stand further back. Check Adams and make sure he’s ok.” Scheherazade, how are you?
She shook herself and glanced in his direction. I’d be doing better if I was wearing my armor, but for the most part it’s my pride that’s taken the most hits.
April began slapping the dust from his back. “Join my harem, you said, come see the world with me, you said, it’ll be fun, you said.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around him before kissing him on the back of the neck. “You were right.” She let him go and tugged on one of the straps to her pokepack. “Heal everyone?”
Iain thought about it for a second. “Yeah, this trip has been exciting enough that let’s go ahead and heal everyone before we head out. Everyone at full power makes me feel a lot better about wandering into another group of ferals or, even better, more outlaws. And, at full power we can move faster. I’d like to make this trip as quickly as we can; at least given the limitations we’re operating under.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I thought you were nuts when you imposed those limitations, but after thinking about it you’re right not to show an active agent of the Blue League everything we can do. I do wonder how Aethel is going to get home, though.” April slipped the pokepack off her back and released the PPHU.
“If he’s still hanging around at that point, Eve will arrange for someone else to come get her.”
She nodded and reached for his pokeballs. “I’ll start with Shay and then put her on watch while everyone else cycles through.”
“Sounds good. I’d like to get this adventure over with.”
***
D5RL is 5% dextrose in a lactated Ringers solution. For further information, feel free to look it up.
***
Iain Grey - Tradesman
Eve - Megami-sama (maharani)
Dominique - Blessed Archmage
Scheherazade - Dread Wolf
Irena- Chibi Sanctuary Goth
April - Duelist
Montsho - Tyrannodame
Hathor - Milktit
Dragonesses
Eirian - Silver
Skye - Blue
Emerald - Green
Sable - Black
Aurum - Gold
Beryl - Red