This work is fiction. The work has no relationship with any person existing at any time anywhere whether real or imaginary or copywritten. Everything in this work is mea culpa.
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You should not read this work if you are under the age of legal consent wherever you reside. This work may or may not contain any and/or all of the following: death, dismemberment, violent acts, implied sex, explicit sex, violent sex, rape, cannibalism, blasphemy (depending on your religion), BDSM, torture, mimes, and just about anything unwholesome that you could consider.
The pokegirl universe was first documented by Metroanime and to him all of us who reside or visit there owe a debt of thanks.
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Chapter 12
Paige leaned towards Jamie as everyone watched Kerrik opening the gate to Haven. “Master, why does Madison dress like a human while Ginevra is nude?” Her ears flicked. “I want to know how I’m supposed to dress.”
Jamie frowned. “I think I should ask how things work where you came from.” The foxymaiden understood that she had been rescued from a different world than this one and that customs were different, so her question would probably make sense when he understood more about her past.
She looked thoughtfully at him for a moment. “Yes, master. Where I come from, a tamer’s rank determines how much clothing his pokegirls can wear. The leagues established that policy to make it easier for tamers to evaluate possible opponents by sight and so they’d have an idea of who not to challenge, since a higher ranking tamer should have more powerful pokegirls.” She plucked at a string of her bikini top and gave a tiny smile when his eyes flicked to her full breasts. “Master Alvin was ranked in the twentieth percentile, which meant that his pokegirls could cover part of their bodies, but it had to be less than ten percent.”
“How did that work for the pokegirls who wear armor or celestials and such who refuse to be unclothed?”
She shrugged. “Master, if a pokegirl needed covering for battle, she could wear it. However, she had to also wear something noting what her tamer’s level was. As for the others, most of them are too powerful to be found in a low level tamer’s harem and if they ended up in one, they’d get conditioned until they learned to accept the rules.” Her tail twitched. “Of course, they usually were claimed in combat by more powerful tamers pretty quickly.”
Jamie nodded. “That’s an interesting policy, but it’s different here. A tamer tends to let his pokegirls dress however they want, as long as it’s within his means. Madison thresholded from a human and is used to wearing clothes. The fact that she comes from an evolutionary line that traditionally wears clothes just reinforces that.” He glanced at his alpha. “Ginevra doesn’t like to wear clothes.”
The demoness tugged at the belt gracing her slender hips. “If I am allowed to dress as I want, then why do I have to wear this?”
“It’s for your pistol and equipment and you already know that. If you wore some clothes it would feel less uncomfortable.”
Ginevra snorted. “More of me would be uncomfortable so that one part of me would feel less. Your logic is faulty.”
“That was an observation, not logic, and you don’t have to wear the gun,” he pointed out quietly.
“The pistol is a sign of my rank and I want it. When I am master, you will carry my gun for me as my favored servant.” Jamie muttered something too low for Paige to hear and Ginevra cocked her head. “If you did use the gun on me then you had better kill me or else I will withdraw my favor at that point.”
The foxymaiden blinked when Jamie started chuckling. “Oh, I would.” Her expression changed to utter confusion when Ginevra and Madison joined in.
Jamie sobered and nudged Paige with his shoulder. “You’ll need to think about how you want to dress.”
“Yes, master, I will.”
“You should stop calling him master. He will not be master forever and you should practice calling me master.”
The foxymaiden’s ears flicked back and then back up as she whispered to Jamie. “Master, why do you put up with her impertinence?”
Ginevra whipped around to face them. “Do not say it.” Her eyes narrowed angrily and even though he couldn’t tell where those solid jade orbs were staring, he knew she was glaring into his eyes.
Jamie gave the demoness an even look as he replied to Paige’s question. “I think she’s cute.”
The demoness hissed and slashed the air with her tail. “I said not to say that.”
“You’re being cute right now.”
She growled and turned away as Madison snickered.
***
Kerrik finished opening the portal and turned to look over the assemblage. “I would like to take this moment to point out that I really hope you’ve gotten everything you want, since we won’t be coming back to Caomh Sith again for a while and the league will have looted everything they can pry loose before then.”
Shikarou chuckled. “We’re ready to go. Anything we forget we can replace.”
“Is everything in place for Stephen to get in touch with us if he needs to?” Candace gave her tamer a slightly worried look. Since she’d become kami, the years had dropped away from her and she now looked to be around seventeen years old. Even the silver had vanished from her bright pink hair. Only her eyes were filled with the wisdom of her years.
Shikarou nodded. “Of course he can contact us. Kerrik wouldn’t want to miss his chance at revenge.”
He shot his father an annoyed look, one which Kerrik blandly returned. “You are absolutely correct, except that I don’t want to take revenge, but if I have to I will.” He smiled at the nursejoy. “Stephen has several magical scrolls that he can use to send us mail across the dimensions and I’ll be monitoring him from the satellite net. Any problems will be reported promptly, even if he doesn’t or can’t contact us.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” It was Poppet.
Faelan grinned. “Can we leave already?”
Jamie shook his head. “Gin, you have point. Madison, Paige, with me.” The demoness trotted through the portal as he checked his rifle and moved after her.
Kerrik smiled slightly. “Jamie has it right. The time for talking is over.” His smile vanished. “Move.”
The sun was low in the eastern sky on Haven and birds could be heard warming up for the day. Jamie looked around and pointed at a low hill in the distance. “We’re headed there.”
Madison pulled out her luster dragon card and activated it. “You don’t want to watch your family come through?”
“Not a chance. They’re Kerrik’s problem and I want nothing to do with getting them settled in. That’s going to be a nightmare and for the next couple of days the best place for us is far away from here.” The dragon crouched down and he helped the duelist climb onto its shoulders. “You’re next, Paige. On you go.”
The foxymaiden gave him a nervous look. “Master, I don’t suppose I could go in my pokeball?”
“Get on the dragon.” Ginevra pushed her in the direction of the construct. “I will not have a coward in my harem.”
“Gin, I do believe it’s still my harem.” Jamie took Paige’s hand. “It’s actually kind of fun and I’ll be there, too.”
She nodded and let him help her aboard the creature. Ginevra vanished as she teleported away while Jamie clambered onto the dragon. It spread its wings and vaulted into the air as Branwyn stepped through the gate.
***
(04/10/06 0830 Haven) All dates are in AS and not CE
They were making their way through a throng of trees when Paige pointed. “Master, I see smoke.”
Jamie looked to see a plume of pale white smoke climbing into the sky. It looked to be a kilometer or so away. As he watched, a second plume joined the first. “Madison, recon. Gin, Paige, with me.”
The fairy dragon appeared and zipped away as Madison fell into a trot with the rest of them. Ginevra looked at the foxymaiden. “Paige, you are Jamie’s guard. I’ll take point.” She accelerated hard and disappeared over a small rise.
After about five hundred meters, Paige was blowing hard and Jamie put her into her pokeball. Madison gave him a concerned look. “Don’t worry, sir, Ginevra and I will see to her conditioning; it’s just that she’s been in the harem for just a few days. Apparently her tamer in Glasgow was lazy.”
He nodded. “I’ll help too or else I’ll need extra training to get back into shape.”
Ginevra was waiting on the edge of the forest, watching a cluster of buildings a hundred meters away. “It looks like a hotel of some kind. I’ve seen some movement but there’s no cover I can use to move closer.” One hand twitched in his direction. “I’d like your binoculars so I can see the area in enough detail to teleport safely.”
Jamie lifted his glasses and surveyed the buildings. Smoke curled from two of the outlying ones while sunlight danced on the surface of a swimming pool. “That’s odd. The pool is full of water.” He frowned. “Water types might have filled the pool, but that doesn’t explain the fire. Of course, it could just be that we’ve recently had enough rain to fill the pool, but I doubt it’s that easy.”
“Could be tamers.” Madison handed her alpha the binoculars she normally wore. “That could mean more than one type of pokegirl. Tamers can be rather destructive and they might have fired the buildings just for fun.”
Jamie released Paige, who bent over to suck air into her lungs. “You could be right. Ginevra, proceed with the idea that we’re facing tamers until we can prove otherwise. Madison, recall your spy.”
Paige sighed and he glanced at her with an understanding smile. “You’ll be more useful in the future. We’re still settling in. In the meantime, protecting my fragile self is a serious job. Don’t let me get badly hurt.”
The foxymaiden’s ears perked up. “Yes, master. You can count on me.” She adjusted her skirt. “Will I have a pistol?”
Madison chuckled. “You will, whether or not you want it.” The duelist gave Paige a quick smile. “You’re a Wolf, now, and you’ll be treated like one with all the perks and all of the responsibilities.” Her smile grew. “It’s more responsibility than perk, but he’s a good tamer and he treats us well.”
“You talk too much.” Ginevra handed Madison her glasses back before touching a pouch on her belt. “I am recording and ready to go.”
Madison pulled out a handful of cards and selected three. “I have been recording since we left camp and I am ready to go.”
“You are a git.” Ginevra turned to Paige. “Are you recording?”
The foxymaiden hastily checked the sensor head that hung from the chain around her neck. “Yes, my alpha. Madison told me to turn it on after breakfast.”
“Sometimes she’s a useful git. Jamie, we are ready to deploy.” I will be glad when her twee comes on line.
Jamie smiled without lowering his binoculars. “Ginevra, recon the site and determine the identity of our opponents. We’ll need to contact or deal with them before addressing the fires.”
“I go.” Ginevra vanished and Jamie watched her appear against the wall of the largest building and become completely motionless.
Ginevra reports that she sees three hottie pokegirls in the building and one in the pool. She also indicates that she can detect no humans.
Jamie nodded and put the binoculars away. “Paige, we’ve got some hottie pokegirls in the hotel.”
The foxymaiden frowned. “Those are fire and water types, correct, sir?” She continued when he nodded. “They’re strong against fire but I’ll do my best, even if I’m weak against water.”
He reached out and gathered her in for a one armed hug. “They’re poison types, too; but if you give your best I can’t ask for more than that.” Is Gin in position to hit them?
Madison shook her head. “Sir, I request authorization for release.”
“Not just yet.”
His twee finally replied. Three hottie are inside the hotel proper and are not in immediate attack range while a fourth is resting on the bottom of the swimming pool.
“There are three hottie inside the hotel and one in the pool. Madison, take the one in the pool.” Ginevra, stand by until Madison attacks and then open up the building to get their attention.
Madison pulled a card from her pocket and activated it. A green wyrm-like dragon appeared, its ten meter body coiled into loose loops. It spread its wings and lifted off, its body twisting sinuously as it flew towards the pool. It landed a few meters from the pool and spat a bolt of lighting into the water.
The thunder dragon blasted the pool again and a green and red form exploded from the water, screaming in rage and pain as it whirled to face its tormenter.
Ginevra took two steps away from the wall of the hotel and whirled as she raised both hands above her head; they glowed a brilliant white as she brought them down and smashed them into the ground. The earth heaved in a line into the side of the hotel as she released the dyna wave technique.
The wall shattered and dust sprayed from the entire structure as the technique cracked the foundation of the building. A second later, there were loud groans and several loud cracks as the top floor of the hotel crumbled in a slide of debris that forced Ginevra to race away as the rubble slammed to the ground.
The hottie attacked the thunder dragon with a solid stream of water that it hosed up and down the construct. The dragon responded by breathing lighting into the water gun attack. The hottie went into convulsions and dropped in a boneless heap.
Ginevra threw herself flat and froze just before three hottie smashed through windows on the second floor and charged the thunder dragon, which twisted around to roar a challenge at its new opponents. Two water guns and a water spear hammered the construct and it flared before popping like a balloon.
Madison grunted from the feedback and activated another card. A winged woman appeared and shot into the air as the duelist pulled a third card out and tapped the second with it. A golden horn appeared in the center of the woman’s forehead as the second card took effect.
Ginevra shot to her feet and a bolt of lightning connected her with the nearest hottie for a brief instant, playing up and down the pokegirl’s spine. The hottie spasmed as muscles contracted and blood spurted from her mouth as she bit through her tongue.
The guardian angel Joan put her hands together and slammed a bolt of mystical energy into one of the other two. It punched her victim into and through the wall of the hotel in a cloud of dust and stone.
The air seemed to shimmer around Madison as the life force taken from the hottie in the attack was captured by the guardian angel and fed into her creator, healing her.
The third hottie hit Ginevra with flamethrower and the demoness laughed at her as she shrugged off the attack and hit her original target with another thunderbolt spell, knocking her senseless.
The third hottie’s mouth worked and she sprayed venom on Ginevra, who gasped as the poison seeped into her body. The demoness hissed angrily and charged.
Rubble shifted as the second hottie shouldered her way free, snarling in rage. The angel’s next bolt smashed her back into the interior of the hotel and, once more, energy swirled around Madison.
Jamie yelped as he was shoved sideways by Paige. The fifth hottie, who had come up behind the group, therefore smashed into the foxymaiden instead of her tamer. Translucent flames erupted from Paige’s body as her heat aura sprang up automatically and she cried out as the hottie sank teeth into her shoulder, chewing to pump poison into the wound.
Jamie rolled to his feet and backpedaled to stay out of the fight.
Ginevra’s hand shimmered a brown color as she activated stone fist and slammed it into the hottie’s chest, knocking her momentarily airborne where the guardian angel hit her with another magical bolt. The hottie was smacked sideways and crunched through the wall of a cabana which promptly collapsed on top of her.
Paige summoned her energy blade in her right hand and drove it into her hottie’s side until it exited under her opposite shoulder. The hottie screeched and twisted away from the foxymaiden as she tried to escape. Madison screamed a spell and bolts of magical energy slammed into the hottie as she pushed free of Paige and lurched to her feet.
Ginevra pulled pokeballs from her belt and threw them at all of the downed hottie. Flames burped from the wreckage of the cabana and the hottie shoved her way free as her sisters were captured.
The guardian angel hammered the hottie with another mystical bolt as the pokegirl breathed flames over the construct. The hottie was knocked flying while the guardian angel was destroyed.
Frantically, Madison activated the card in her hand and a golden horn appeared on Paige’s forehead. Suddenly, the foxymaiden’s energy blade crackled as its power increased dramatically and Paige stabbed upwards, driving the blade into the hottie’s groin and deep into the abdomen. The hottie crumpled and disappeared as Paige slammed a pokeball against her ankle.
Ginevra staggered over and captured her final opponent before dropping heavily to the ground. Ginevra reports she’s too weak to teleport and needs healed.
Jamie tossed the demoness’ ball to Madison. “Gin’s been injured. Retrieve her while I heal Paige.” He turned to the foxymaiden, who was beginning to gasp for breath as the neurotoxin spread through her system. “You did a good job. Thanks for the save.” She smiled gratefully before dissolving into the retrieval beam.
He was releasing the PPHU when Madison teleported back to him. “Sir, I’ve activated my water girl and fairy of the fountain cards and set them to putting out the fire.” She pulled four pokeballs from the tamer’s belt that she wore and one from her pocket. “Here’s Ginevra’s. What are you going to do with the hotties?”
Jamie hooked the battery up to the PPHU before loading Ginevra’s pokeball into it and starting the healing cycle. “I just added Paige to the harem, so I think these will go to into the collection of adoptable pokegirls. They’re pretty rare and have the potential to be rather useful.” He grinned. “Mother will give me a credit for their sale price.”
“I think that Ginevra and I should start teaching Paige more techniques. I think she only knows a few magical ones and being almost straight fire based will limit her flexibility.”
He nodded. “I agree, but she’s done well today and I want to make sure she knows it. I could have been killed if that hottie had managed to score on me.”
“Ginevra is likely to go back to demanding that you become kami.”
“At least I’ll know what to expect her to complain about.” They shared a chuckle as he swapped the demoness out for Paige and reactivated the PPHU. He looked at the pokeball for a few seconds and then released Ginevra.
She gave him an amused look. “Madison is correct and if you were kami, it would be much harder to kill you.”
“I know, but it’s a big change for me. I’m glad Candace took the step, although it’s kind of freaky that she looks my age now.”
Madison was loading the hotties into her pokepack. “Trust me, a lot of the old women have noticed and are not happy. They’re worried that she’ll take up more of master Shikarou’s time now.”
“You will not have a harem with that many pokegirls in it. It is too big.”
“Gin, if I ever seem to be headed that way, I want you to feel free to remind me that I agree with you on that.”
“I will.”
***
(04/10/06 1030 Haven) All dates are in AS and not CE
The shuttle settled silently onto the concrete pad and the hatch on the rear cycled open. Kerrik disappeared inside as Poppet came out of the tent where she and her family were living while their homes were under construction.
A few minutes later, a lighter drifted out of the hatch with Kerrik at the controls. As soon as the vehicle was clear, the hatch slid shut and the shuttle lifted off and headed for orbit.
The unicorn teleported next to her father-in-law as he flew the lighter to where he could safely land it. “That was a shuttle, right?”
Kerrik glanced at her and nodded. “That’s right. It’s from Bastion.”
“Bastion?”
He touched the controls and the lighter halted before drifting sideways. “I forgot to tell you about Bastion. Sorry. It’s an orbital base in the asteroid belt that I constructed at the same time as I put the satellite web up.”
“When can we visit it?”
He shrugged. “After things settle down would probably be best.”
Poppet nodded absently as she looked the cargo over. Instead of four normal cargo containers, there were two double length ones. “What’s the deal with those?”
“The one on the right is a modular taming hostel and has everything needed for safe taming along with a small clinic. It’ll be dropped off with a contact team when they’re doing initial training of tamers. Jaime will be using it when he goes back to Marco Island in a couple of days. We’ll be sending it and some other supplies. The other one is for a project of mine.” He moved to the controls and began offloading the container on the left side.
“What kind of project?”
He looked at her over the controls for a long moment. “I’ve got some prep work to do first, so why don’t you come back in about three hours and you can see for yourself. It’ll be easier than the argument I’d probably get if I tried to explain now.”
“You expect an argument from me?”
He hesitated. “I’m not sure. Come back in three hours and we’ll find out.” He anticipated her next question and spoke as she was deciding how to frame it. “What I’m doing isn’t a secret, at least not from family, so you can tell whomever you’d like.”
“Thank you.”
***
(04/10/06 1430 Haven) All dates are in AS and not CE
The container had unfolded to reveal a control platform and several rows of two meter tall cylinders in transport cradles. One cradle was empty.
Poppet stopped to examine one of the cylinders closely as everyone else spread out. It was composed of a half meter segment on the bottom, a meter segment in the middle and another half meter segment on top. All three segments were completely featureless and interlocked smoothly with the others, with no external markings or lights.
Pythia cocked her head and her ears rotated. “He’s over there.”
Kerrik was on the control platform watching a holographic display. Nanu, Poppet, Svetlana and Pythia joined him there. He glanced at them. “Ladies.” The display showed a view above the slowly rolling ocean. A few large blocks of ice were visible bobbing in the swell.
Poppet gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry we’re late.”
“That’s ok. I went ahead and started without you.”
“Ah.”
The kami nodded towards the display. “We’re looking at a view off of the coast of Chile. I’ve been monitoring it since we arrived and it looks like a perfect situation.” He touched a control and a second holographic display lit. “Showtime.”
The first display suddenly rushed towards the water while the second showed a bird’s eye view of the cylinder arrowing into the sea. It hit with a splash and was gone.
The first display switched modes as covers slid open on the sinking cylinder and lights lit up the area around it. Fish flitted by on the display as the cylinder dropped and the surrounding waters slowly turned darker blue before going black.
The second display showed the uncaring ocean and ice.
Finally, Kerrik nodded. “Ok, we’re at two hundred meters and the probe has stopped descending. Now for phase two.” He touched a control and a heavy thrum sounded from a speaker. Every two seconds the noise repeated. “Now we wait.”
“What are we waiting for?” Nanu was eyeing the controls. “What is this thing?”
“Chile has warm waters running down the coast right now, so the presence of ice in the water indicates that probably there are pokegirls there. The only question is, what kind of pokegirl and how many. That’s what I want to determine.”
A third display lit up. This showed a digital schematic of the area around the probe. A red dot was rising quickly towards it from the deeps of the ocean. “Ah, we have a response.”
The first display showed something dark and massive on the very edges of the light and Poppet tensed. “What is that?”
The probe pulsed again and the form twisted and rushed towards it, revealing a huge female form, far bigger than even a sharptits. Its lower body was covered with long sharp spines and its mouth was full of bone daggers that gleamed in the probe’s light as it rushed forward. Its lower body was thick tail that drove it forcefully through the water. The creature’s long serpentine neck stretched out as its maw gaped to engulf the probe.
Poppet went white. “That’s a leviathaness,” she whispered. Nanu cursed loudly.
Kerrik nodded and pressed a control. The leviathaness vanished as the first and third displays went blank. The second display, hovering far above the water, showed the ocean. The waves seemed to freeze and then tiny wavelets shivered over the visible area. Suddenly the ocean surged white and water boiled into a cloud that rushed up towards them. The display went white as the hovering recorder was swallowed by the cloud. “I’ll leave the sensor there for a few hours and see if anything comes up.”
Poppet frowned. “What did you do?”
“I’m pretty sure I just killed a leviathaness and, if I did, I’ll go hunting every one that I can find.”
Nanu’s eyes narrowed. “That looked like a nuclear detonation.”
“It was. That was a five hundred kiloton fusion device.” Kerrik’s voice was filled with satisfaction. “That was probably pretty severe overkill, but it did work.”
Pythia whipped around to look behind them at the cylinders. “Are those also fusion bombs?”
“Don’t worry; they’re safe until they’re armed.”
Poppet’s voice was higher than normal as she looked at him with wide eyes. “Can we move those weapons somewhere else? Somewhere far away from here?”
Kerrik nodded slowly. “I’ll take care of it.”
***
(04/11/06 1520 Haven)
Jamie jumped when his com chirped. Madison giggled softly as he pulled it from his belt. “Jamie here.”
His display lit to reveal a grandelf who inclined her head respectfully. “Sir, I am Olive and it is my understanding that you are in the southeastern portion of the kingdom. If that is true, you are the closest family member and a situation has arisen. Humans appear to be establishing a settlement on our land.”
Jamie had been doing a survey of the old base at Guantanamo to see what weapons could be recovered for use when he went to Marco Island. So far, the expedition had been fruitless since the weapons in the armories had been stored against theft and not four years in Haven’s humidity. Most of them would require a lot of maintenance to return them to usefulness, if at all. However, he had recovered a lot of ammunition that looked like it was still good and a couple of cases of weapons that hadn’t been unpacked from their shipping containers.
He’d also uncovered a decent amount of C4 along with some claymore mines that he’d slated for transport.
“Just a second.” Jamie punched up the satellite display on his pokedex. The grandelf was near the ruins of Santiago de Cuba and was less than seventy five kilometers away. “Ok, I’ve got your location and you’re right. I’ll leave immediately for a rendezvous. Keep the humans under observation and gather data on them and any possible pokegirls. Do not make contact with them and don’t be seen. If it comes down to gathering data or being seen, do not let them see you.”
Olive looked relieved. “Yes, sir, we will be waiting. My team will conduct long range surveillance and avoid contact.”
Jamie cut the connection and turned to Madison. “Round up the others and have everyone grab a quick lunch before we leave. Gin’s got me today.”
“Sir.” Madison summoned her fairy dragon as she headed off to find Paige. After the dragon headed out in a spiral, she contacted Ginevra through her twee. Jamie sat down and pulled some fruit from his pack while he waited for his demoness to find him.
Ginevra appeared a few minutes later, holding a pair of freshly gutted rabbits. “I have fed,” she announced as she shoved the rabbits into her pack, “and you have meat for dinner. Do you know anything beside what Olive reported?”
Jamie had been using his pokedex. “Olive is right; it looks like a small encampment has been set up in the ruins of Santiago de Cuba. They’re using existing structures, which makes an estimate of their numbers hard to make.
“Boats?”
He nodded. “There are five large vessels beached on the outskirts of the town. I’ve also seen at least two boobfin and maybe a ponytaur in human form.”
“Do we destroy them?”
“We’ll try talking first. I’ve sent a preliminary report to Aggie and Selene, so they know we’re going to make contact.” He looked up at her. “I’ve never killed a human before and I’d prefer not to start now if I don’t have to.”
“I will kill them if it becomes necessary.”
Jamie sighed. “We will together, if it comes to that.” He flashed a quick smile. “Besides, it would be a piss poor kingdom if Gwyneth and dad didn’t have subjects to order around.”
“Perhaps now they will order us less.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
***
Jamie grinned when elves melted out of the woods around them. “Hi, ladies, where is Olive?” Madison’s dragon had put them down a couple of kilometers out of sight and they’d hiked the rest of the way.
One of the elves smiled back. “I sent a runner for her. Most of us have been pulled back to keep from being seen, but she’s still watching and taking notes. She likes to watch.” An evil chuckle swept the elves.
Jamie shook his head. “Oh, really? I didn’t know that.”
“Oh, she’ll try to remedy that.” There was another round of quiet laughter.
Ginevra hissed. “No, she will not or I will hurt her.”
The elves laughed a third time. “If you do, we want to watch.” They suddenly grew quiet when a birdcall sounded. “She comes.”
The grandelf appeared and gave Jamie an amused smile. “Hi Jamie.” She kissed him on the cheek. “What have they been telling you?”
Ginevra hissed quietly.
“I’ve been warned that you’ve become a voyeur. Is that true?”
Olive chuckled. “I’ve always been one, we just weren’t together long enough for you to find out about it.”
He nodded and changed the subject. “Have you anything new to report?”
“I counted a dozen humans and four pokegirls. They’re flying a flag and a reference search listed it as belonging to the Tropic League.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “This feels like a permanent encampment.”
“What’re his and her majesty’s instructions?”
Olive cocked her head. “We’re supposed to call for help and to defer to the royal family, your highness.”
Jamie stared at her in shock. “Why did you call me that?”
“You’re Shikarou’s son and that makes you a prince, as per Queen Gwyneth’s decree. That means you can deal with the interlopers as you see fit.”
“Sure it does.” Jamie unclipped his pokedex and activated the com functions. Aggie appeared. “Yes, Jamie?”
“I need to talk to dad or Gwyneth.”
“Just a moment.” Aggie hummed for a handful of seconds. “Your father will be on in just a moment.”
“Thank you.”
The image changed. “What is it, Jamie?”
“What’s this highness bit and we’ve got a tiny problem.”
Shikarou’s fangs gleamed in a grin. “We needed to define who was trustworthy to deal with outsiders and who wasn’t, so we’ve created the title of prince and princess. You’re a prince.”
“I see. Mightn’t it have been useful to let me know about this?”
His father shrugged. “Now you do. What’s the tiny problem?”
“It looks like the Tropic League is trying to establish a colony on Haven. We’ve got a tamer or two, at least four pokegirls and around a dozen humans.”
Shikarou’s ears went back. “I’d like to drive them into the sea, but I suppose you should give them a chance to join the kingdom. However, please understand that the Kingdom of Haven is not part of the Tropic League and that is not going to change.”
Jamie nodded. “Very well, sire.”
The kami burst out laughing. “Ok, I deserved that one. Son, just do our will and try not to get killed. Your mothers would make my life a misery if that happened.”
“Since I have reservations about getting killed myself, I’ll do my best.” He cut the connection and put the pokedex away as he turned to the grandelf. “How big is your troop?”
“I command seventeen elves, two drow zee and a wet elf.”
“That many pokegirls could spook them into attacking. Keep your forces under cover unless I call for them. I’ll try talking to them with my harem first.”
Olive nodded. “Yes, my prince.”
Jamie rolled his eyes as Paige snickered quietly. “Get your forces into position.” He turned to Ginevra. “It’s likely they won’t know much about pokegirl types, so let’s play this low key until we need to smack someone. That’s my call, by the way.”
Ginevra nodded. “I agree. The blame should be yours.”
Jamie ignored her. “Madison, since you don’t look like a pokegirl and they don’t have pokedexes, you’re with me. Ginevra, Paige, you two stay close, but out of sight.”
Paige saluted. “Yes, your highness.” Madison giggled and even Ginevra cracked a smile.
***
(04/11/06 1800 Haven)
Jamie slowly swept the binoculars over the area. The people had set up near the marina and were busy moving into the nearby buildings. It made getting a decent estimate of their numbers hard to do, but between him and his twee they’d already identified twenty four individuals.
He’d moved to where he could be seen by the interlopers if someone was paying attention and was waiting to be noticed. Madison was leaning against the wall, watching for trouble. Paige and Ginevra were in hiding behind a rusted out truck.
Jamie smiled as his view showed a pair of humans pointing at him and talking. “I’ve been spotted,” he announced quietly.
“They’ll send a tamer to investigate,” Madison predicted. A few minutes later she was proven wrong when a boobfin began trotting in Jamie’s direction. She stopped a handful of meters away. “Revenez pour travailler, vous débile!”
Madison blinked in surprise. “What’s that nonsense?”
“It’s French and she just told me I’m stupid and to get back to work.” Jamie shook his head negatively. “Je ne suis pas une partie de votre colonie et vous ne pouvez pas me donner des ordres.”
The boobfin’s eyes narrowed and her mouth set as she continued in French. < “Not part of our town, are you? That’s easily fixed. You and the girl come with me.” >
< “No.” >
The pokegirl smiled suddenly. < “Excellent. Now I get to make an example of you.” >
“Ginevra.”
The demoness hopped onto the roof of the truck. “If you harm my tamer, I will kill you.”
The boobfin shifted uncertainly and glared at Ginevra before glancing at Jamie. < “What did she say?” >
< “She said that if you try to harm me, she’ll hurt you. I am a tamer and she is my pokegirl. I think you need to get your tamer before you get him or her into trouble by attacking me.” >
< “I was sent to fetch you.” >
“Gin, run her off.” The demoness dropped onto the bed of the truck and tore the spare tire free from its mount in a shriek of failing steel, turned, and hurled it at the boobfin.
The boobfin dodged the tire as Ginevra teleported, coming out behind the boobfin and hammering her in the kidney with stone punch. The boobfin screeched in surprise and pain before stumbling in the direction of the growing group of humans watching the incident. They scattered.
Ginevra moved to stand in front of her tamer. “Now we wait?”
“Now we wait.”
Fifteen minutes passed before two people and five pokegirls came marching up the street towards them. His twee accessed the pokedex hanging from his belt. There are two boobfin, a rapitaur, a rack and a cheetit.
Jamie cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly. “Paige, join Ginevra. Madison, you’re with me. If we have to fight, Paige, you get the cheetit. Take her down hard and fast.”
The foxymaiden came around the truck and joined her alpha. “Yes, sir. I am recording and ready for combat.” Her calf length skirt swirled slightly and her tail curled up as she went alert, her ears pointed at the oncoming group.
Ginevra shot her a look and touched her recorder. “Recording and ready.”
Madison stifled a snicker. “Ready.”
Jamie spoke quietly. “Madison, you’ve got the boobfins and the rack. Gin, you’ve got the rapitaur and cleanup. Do not engage until I order it. The command will be ‘we’ll see’.”
Both men were in their twenties and one of them dropped back with the rack and a boobfin while the other continued on. He spoke heavily accented English. “I am Amauri and I’m the governor of this colony. Who are you?”
“I am Jamie and this land belongs to the Kingdom of Haven. It is not now nor has it ever been part of the Tropic or any other league.” He smiled. “However, you are welcome to become citizens of Haven.”
Amauri grinned, his teeth white in his swarthy face. “And are you the king of this supposed kingdom?”
“Shikarou is king and Gwyneth is the queen. I have been empowered to deal with you on their behalf.”
“I have five pokegirls to your two and you may not know this, but two of mine are water types. Your red one looks like a fire type and she won’t last a second against them.” Amauri’s grin widened. “You’ll become one of my workers and I’ll give your pokegirls to someone who’ll obey me.” He nodded towards Madison. “She’ll become my woman. So, will you fight me and Pascal, or will you accept what will be?”
Ginevra snarled as she crouched. “Command me, my master, and we will show them what will be and who it will happen to.” Next to her, Paige hissed and flattened her ears as her hands started to glow.
Madison flipped a handful of cards from her pouch. “I am ready.”
“She’s a girl, too!” Pascal’s voice was high and shrill with surprise.
Jamie smiled. “Shall we dance? It’ll be a grand melee.” He continued when Amauri frowned. “It means that tamers are fair targets.”
The leaguist smiled grimly. “When are they not?”
“Good question.”
“I still have you five to three. You can’t win.”
Jamie raised an eyebrow. “First of all, quality beats quantity every time and second, what makes you think these are all of my forces?”
“I have the might of the Tropic league behind me and you cannot defeat us. Surrender and I will be lenient.”
“You will? We’ll see about that.” Jamie drew his pistol and shot Amauri in the right knee. The 10mm SAP round severed the leg in a spray of blood and the human cried out in shock as he fell. There was no pain yet, but that would soon change.
Lightning blasted the closest boobfin as Madison activated a card. Ginevra screamed a spell and a column of water smashed the rapitaur into the wall behind her. Cracks spread from the point of impact and she slid limply to the ground.
Her heat aura sprang into existence as Paige cupped her hands together and unleashed a fire blast at the cheetit. Her target tried to dodge the attack and failed. The cat pokegirl went down without a sound, her skin blasted and cracked from the intense flames.
Pascal’s boobfin fired a water spear at Paige and the foxymaiden almost managed to avoid the attack, but was knocked sprawling when it clipped her. She rolled over and pushed to her feet almost immediately, growling in anger as she reignited her flame aura. There was a loud hiss as water boiled from her skin and clothing.
The rack managed to launch into the air before she was transfixed by half a dozen elfin arrows as Olive gave the order to fire. The flying pokegirl bellowed in pain, which was cut off when several wooden spears from the grandelf’s lance attack impaled her. She fell to the earth and a trail of blood began to move away from her still form.
The boobfin staggered as arrows struck her. Most of the volley missed and went skittering off into the distance.
Two figures appeared behind Pascal as the drow zee used backstab, but instead of killing him with their psychic daggers the pokegirls grabbed him and slammed him to the ground face first.
“Pokeballs,” Jamie yelled as he began throwing empties at his fallen opponents while Madison hammered the wounded boobfin with another bolt of lighting.
Once all of the pokegirls were captured, Jamie looked at Ginevra. “Heal Amauri enough that he won’t die.”
“Sir, my cards should be able to regenerate his leg.”
Jamie nodded. “I thought they might, Madison, which is why I want you to let Ginevra heal him. A chance at a new leg might help him to switch his allegiance to Haven.”
The duelist slowly smiled. “Very good, sir.”
***
Name: Wolf, Jamie Harris
Age: 17
Residence: Kingdom of Haven
Status: Active
Rank: NA
Security Clearance: Theta
Licenses
Tamer Y
Master Tamer Y
Researcher N
Watcher N
Breeder Y
Active Harem
Species Name
Demoness Ginevra
Duelist Madison
Foxymaiden Paige
Alpha: Ginevra
Beta: None