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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 20
(4/19/06 0600 Marco Island)
Raven appeared and let Kerrik go. “Perhaps you should consider putting us into pokeballs so I do not have to make multiple trips again.”
“Are you sure you want to have one as a home?”
She nodded. “You will not use it as a punishment and from what I understand it would facilitate healing us should we become injured. I trust you with me, whether I am in a pokeball or standing beside you.” She gave him an amused smile. “Besides, I have been in one before. During the war, they were used to deploy large numbers of pokegirls in a very short time and, while I was never part of the organized military forces, I still had a pokeball. I destroyed it when I decided to strike out on my own to make it harder to capture me. I miss it on occasion as it was very quiet and peaceful. It also helped with my meditation.”
“If you think it’s a good idea, then we can take care of it later. Please go get Whisper. I’ll be looking for Jamie. When you two get here, come looking for me.” She nodded and vanished as he turned and ran for Jamie’s house.
He found them at the area that had been designated the practice field. Ginevra stood nearby while Jamie was talking with Captain Hernandez. A ladyba wearing a pair of red bicycle shorts stood next to the captain with an attentive expression on her face as she listened to the conversation.
“The old one is here.”
Jamie looked up at Ginevra’s words and flashed Kerrik a quick smile. “Colonel, would you be so kind as to help the others with their training while I work with the captain?”
“I’ll be glad to just as soon as Raven shows up. How did things go with Six?” When Ginevra hissed, he chuckled. “That well?”
She growled in a low tone. “It was my night to be with him. Next time, send a new pokegirl on Madison’s night only.”
Kerrik gave her a droll look. “I’ll give that request the attention it deserves.”
Jamie grinned. “Her name is Caitlin, now; she and Madison are chasing down a feral who tried to get onto the island around 0400. How about you?”
“I’ve got a cabbit by the name of Whisper. That’s why Raven isn’t here; she’s gone back to bring her along.”
Jamie started to say something when his eyes went wide as he stared past his grandfather. “What the hell is that?”
Kerrik turned to see Raven and Whisper flying towards them. The two pokegirls landed next to him as he turned back to his grandson. “Jamie, this is Whisper.”
“That is no cabbit,” Ginevra stated firmly.
Jamie pulled out his pokedex and froze when the point of Whisper’s summoned energy blade almost touched his nose. I am not sure you are an enemy, but if you attack me, I will defend myself.
Raven touched her harem sister on the arm. “This is Jamie Wolf and he is Kerrik’s grandson. He’s still learning that it’s bad manners to act in a way that we don’t recognize.” Whisper’s blade vanished as the archmage continued. “The device he has is called a pokedex and has a scanning element that can be used to identify pokegirl species. Kerrik has one as well, even if he doesn’t carry it much, yet.” She gave Jamie a hard look as Ginevra drifted closer. “Please remember our earlier discussion about actions that we might perceive as threatening.”
“Don’t worry; I’ve just had my memory jogged.”
I would like to see this pokedex.
“I’ll let you look at mine.” Kerrik summoned his pack and pulled his pokedex from a side pocket. “Jamie, Whisper can’t speak, so she communicates with telepathy.” He handed the pokedex to the cabbit. “There you go, Whisper.”
Jamie nodded. “You certainly seem to be setting up a colorful harem.” He hefted the pokedex. “May I scan her?”
Now that I understand your intent, I give you permission.
Moving slowly, Jamie scanned her and checked the display.
Data analysis complete. Specific pokegirl species unknown. Uplinking data to master pokedex at Alexandria for analysis. Uplink complete. Specific pokegirl species is unknown. Variant possibilities are as follows. Cabbit: 82% Alaka-Wham: 16% Titto: 2%
Selene would like you to continue analysis of the subject and report further information promptly. Jamie ignored his twee’s comment and his eyes flickered up to meet Kerrik’s before he scanned Whisper again. The display said the same thing it had reported the first time he’d used it.
His lips pursed and he frowned before shrugging. “The pokedex says she’s a cabbit, more or less. She’s not like any cabbit either it or I’ve seen before.”
“Me either,” Kerrik admitted. “But she’s mine now and I’ll help her with any problems that she has.”
He broke off as Madison appeared with Caitlin. The demon-goddess stepped away from the duelist and gave Raven a flat look as her head jerked in Whisper’s direction. “What is she doing here?”
“Whisper is the one I wanted for Kerrik’s harem. She agreed to join us.”
“Now I’m very glad I chose Jamie over Kerrik. I would not like being with the likes of her.”
Your sister was killing anyone who came close to her; I did what I had to when she tried to make me her next victim. She would have killed you as well, if she had been given the opportunity.
Hernandez shifted slightly to the right and his ladyba gave him a curious look that he didn’t notice.
Madison ignored the exchange and offered Jamie a pokeball. “We caught her, sir. It was a chichi that managed to elude us for some time. She’s pretty crafty.”
Jamie took it and grinned. “Good job, you two.” His smile faded. “Caitlin!” The demon-goddess jumped. “Whisper is part of Kerrik’s harem and not ours. If you can’t get along with her, then ignore her except when I tell you to work with her. Is that clear?”
Caitlin gritted her teeth. “Yes, sir.”
“That goes for you too, Whisper. Caitlin is on our side and you will treat her with respect.” Raven stepped in front of the cabbit and glared up at her. “Do you understand me?”
Whisper looked surprised and slowly nodded. I mean her no ill will and will do as you request.
Kerrik shook his head. “Sorry about that, gentlemen. I’ll take my girls and work with Lieutenant Carver and Sergeant Wilkes.” He glanced around. “Where is Weinstein?”
“He’s on duty.” Ginevra turned to face him. “The mayor decided that all of the militia must take their turn on sentry duty. He tried to have us assigned as well. Jamie had to tell him no.”
“Wonderful.” Kerrik turned to Hernandez. “You might want to consider taking the tamers off of the sentry rotations. They’ll be of much more use to you as a reaction force than as static guards and, more importantly, at least for right now, it eats into the time they should be training.”
Hernandez nodded. “Colonel, I am well aware of that. In fact, one of the reasons I’m here is to evaluate how best to use the pokegirls as part of the militia.”
“That’s good to hear. I hope you and this ladyba managed to work things out.”
Hernandez nodded slowly while the ladyba beamed at him behind his back. “Her name is Raquel and yes.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Raquel.” The kami bowed slightly to her and then turned to Jamie. “I’ll get to work.” He motioned to his pokegirls and the three of them headed off to where Carver and Wilkes stood waiting with their harems.
Jamie turned back to Hernandez. “I’ve given you a list of the techniques that Raquel knows. Now, as her tamer, what you need to do is learn to work with her to maximize her efficiency. Because tamers are so fragile, at least compared to pokegirls, they tend to stay back where they have a better view of the forest while their harem members are busy chopping down individual trees.”
“That is a very bad analogy.”
“Yes, Gin, it is, but I get tired of saying the same thing over and over.” Jamie smiled at the expression that appeared on Hernandez’s face. “Yes, she’s impertinent, but apparently I need that in my life. If not, I wouldn’t put up with her behavior.”
“How could you change it?”
“I have two other harem members and I could use them to adjust her personality if I decided it necessary. That’s not really a good way to go about doing it, though, and more likely I’d just find someone else to take her. However, I’m rather fond of my alpha and I like a girl with spirit. My track record with human girlfriends, sparse though it is, points to the same thing.”
Ginevra’s head swiveled to lock on his back. “Human girlfriends?”
He didn’t turn to look at her. “It was before you and I don’t have any right now, so you don’t worry about it. What we’re going to focus on today is working with you and Raquel in combat. Ladyba aren’t powerful fighters, as I believe I’ve said before, but almost any pokegirl can battle and all of them are greatly improved by having their tamer coordinating their actions with the rest of their harem, or in this case, unit.”
Raquel blinked. “May I speak, sir?”
Hernandez looked surprised. “Of course you can.”
“Major Wolf is correct, but one of the things I’ve observed is that you’ll need to get over the standard human squeamishness of having females do their fighting. I’ll try to get you to use me in such a way as to maximize my efficiency, but the final determination as to what I do is yours. You are Hispanic and an American; I’ve seen over the years, amongst both groups, a tendency to try to protect pokegirls in a form of transference from human females instead of letting their pokegirls protect them, as is proper. I am far tougher than you are, master, and I should fight while you coordinate my actions.”
“When did you get the opportunity to observe the way men react to women? You told me that you’d never had a tamer before.”
“That is correct, sir; but I was on the opposing side before I went feral and I served as a scout, allowing me to collect lots of data on humans as a group and men in particular. As a group, you tend to idolize women.”
“What makes you think that I’ll have that problem?”
“Master, with all due respect, when it looked like there might be a confrontation between Caitlin and Whisper, you moved to put yourself between the budding conflict and myself.”
Hernandez stared at her in surprise. “You’re right. I didn’t realize it at the time, but you’re right.”
“Sir, I am a pokegirl and you need to not let the fact that we’re having sex cloud the reality of that fact. I can take far more damage than you can and remain functional. With my pokeball, I can be rescued far more easily than you can if something goes wrong. With the proper equipment or pokegirl, I can also be healed in seconds as opposed to weeks or months in your case.”
“See what I mean about Raquel being a good adjutant for you?”
“Yes, major, I am starting to.” The ladyba’s eyes glittered with pleasure.
“Please, call me Jamie. I’m not in your chain of command, which is why I could tell the mayor to get stuffed and make it stick.”
“Then you’ll have to call me Ricardo.”
“I’d be pleased to. Now take the list and you two spend some time looking it over. In ten minutes from now,” he checked his watch, “you and Raquel will be sparring against one of my pokegirls. I don’t expect you to defeat whomever you face, but I do expect you to give a good showing.”
“We’ll do our best.”
“Ricardo, I expect no less.” Jamie turned to his pokegirls. “While they’re trying to figure out how to fight, let’s see what Caitlin can do. I want you to understand that this is nonlethal combat and Caitlin; you need to keep that in mind. Do you think you can battle that way or will you need some time to get used to the idea?”
The demon-goddess twisted her hair around a finger while she thought. “I think I’ll need to work with non-lethal techniques first. For the last several years, the only fighting I’ve done was to protect myself and I’m not used to fighting at any level below full power.”
“Can you throw your energy blade?” Ginevra turned to face them. “And, if you can, will you teach me how to do it?”
“I do know how to do that, but it’s fairly difficult and it cannot be learned without guidance. The teacher has to be very powerful and I’m not sure that I’m that strong.” Chocolate eyes glittered suddenly as her mouth set. “Raven and Whisper are that powerful and I know that Whisper has taught it before.”
The demoness shook her head. “I would rather you try to teach me first. If you can’t, only then I will consider approaching the old one’s harem, even if you hate Whisper.”
Caitlin stared at her hands and spoke in a soft voice. “She was right. My sister was out of control and she needed to be killed before she could kill any more of us. I do not hate her, but I don’t want to be around her if I don’t have to.”
“Then you don’t have to,” Jamie said calmly. “I’ll try not to pair you with her in any team training. Can you fight her without trying to kill her?”
She turned to look over where Whisper was working with Carver’s two pokegirls. “Jamie, I don’t know. I’d really like to hurt her for what she did.”
He nodded. “If that’s the case, then for the time being, you’ll train with other pokegirls until I’m confident that you won’t murder her when she’s got her back turned to you. After that, I think I’ll talk with Kerrik about giving you the opportunity to try your strength against hers.”
Caitlin turned back with a quizzical expression. “Why would you do that?”
“It’s important to you and I can appreciate that. Kerrik will too, so I’m pretty sure you’ll get your wish.” He smiled slightly. “You won’t be allowed to kill her, but if you can hurt her, that’s something else entirely.”
She stared at him for a long moment before a smile appeared on her face. “I would like that.” Her smile became predatory and her eyes gleamed hungrily. “I would like that a lot.”
***
(4/25/06 1330 Marco Island)
“Here’s the scenario. You’re wandering around in the wilderness when you, you lucky dog, spot a perfect pokegirl for capture.” Jamie grinned as Caitlin flushed at his words. “Now what you have to do is beat her down enough to pokeball her. I’ll be pretty upset if you actually try that last step, but I know you’re not that dumb.”
Joshua shook his head violently as Madison snickered and Ginevra grinned at him. “I certainly hope you don’t think that little of me.” He gave Caitlin an apprehensive look. “Tamer’s aren’t fair game this time, are they?”
“I’m supposed to be feral and a feral wouldn’t realize just how fragile you are.” She grinned lazily and lifted off to hover. “I’ll try not to hurt your bedmates too much.”
Yonit rumbled her anger at that comment while Jolene, Joshua’s ladyba, snorted in amusement as she cracked two sets of knuckles. “Right back at you, blue.”
Jamie hid a smile of approval at the confidence Weinstein had managed to instill in his harem in the short time he’d had them. “That’s enough posturing. Caitlin, get started.”
She nodded and flew off, heading behind the houses at the end of the battleground. Jamie had chosen the area where they’d captured the militia’s first ferals as suitable for urban renewal and they’d had an uneventful run to arrive just before lunch.
Jolene touched the 10 mm pistol on her hip. “Sir, part of the strategy we’d planned involved me luring ferals and shooting to wound them. Will that be allowed in this case?”
Jamie hadn’t heard this plan before and thought quickly as Joshua turned to him. “Well, major, can we shoot Caitlin?”
He nodded slowly. They didn’t have SAP ammunition and the chances of killing Caitlin were remote. “She’s pretty tough, so go ahead.” He grinned. “Just remember that she is pretty tough.”
Joshua smirked. “We haven’t forgotten. Yonit, get your pack ready.”
Jamie had wondered about the heavy looking pack that the tigress had hauled along with them on what was supposed to be a day trip, but it was Corporal Weinstein’s duty to decide what they brought and Joshua hadn’t said anything about it to her. Now, he watched as she dropped the pack with a loud thunk. She opened the flap and peered inside. “All ready, sir.”
They waited a couple of minutes until Jolene pointed suddenly. “Sir, pokegirl sighted!” A floating figure moved tantalizingly on the edge of visual range.
Weinstein pulled out a pair of binoculars. “Let’s verify that it’s Caitlin. I would never suggest that Jamie would pull a bait and switch on us, but a real feral might have wandered in.”
Madison covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her laughter as Joshua’s pokegirls grinned. Kerrik did things like that as a matter of course to shake people up and Jamie had almost immediately followed suit. The trainees had quickly learned to pay attention and to verify that things were as they appeared.
Caitlin was drifting from house to house, peering into the windows. When she came to one where the windows had been broken, she disappeared inside.
“That’s our target. Jolene, you’re up. Yonit, try to work your way to the house before she gets out.” The tigress grabbed the pack and trotted off as Jolene’s wing cases opened and she headed for the house, her body glowing as she used some technique. Behind them, Joshua ran to a better vantage point, radio in hand.
“They’re starting to jell as a harem, sir.”
Jamie nodded. “I think you’re right, Maddy.”
Caitlin was still in the house when Jolene took up station overhead. Just as Yonit approached the house, the demon-goddess burst out through a side wall and rolled in midair to unleash a power bolt that smacked the ladyba.
Madison grinned as a small object flew from Jolene and disappeared in some shrubs. “There goes the pistol. We’ll have to make her look for it afterwards.”
While Caitlin was watching Jolene recovering from the hit, Yonit dropped her pack and pulled out a wire mesh on a cable. She spun it expertly and hurled the net at the hovering demon-goddess, giving it a final twist that caused it to spin open just as it folded around Caitlin. The tigress grabbed the cable and jerked with all of her strength.
Ginevra grinned as the sound of cursing drifted back to them. “Caitlin got overconfident.” Satisfaction filled her voice.
“Joshua got creative, too.” Madison was watching the fight through her glasses. “He’s the best tamer of the group, if a little too reckless.”
“Carver is coming alone nicely, too,” Jamie observed, “but it’ll be interesting to see who wins this one. A competent, aware pokegirl would hand him his head, but against a feral, especially a flying one, this is pretty imaginative. A winged pokegirl would be crashing right about now.”
Caitlin spun in the net and released another power bolt, this one hitting Yonit. Meanwhile, Jolene flashed forward in a blur and whipped right over the head of the struggling demon-goddess in a cloud of green powder. Madison snickered. “Buttsprout.”
Yonit ran backwards, playing Caitlin like a fish on a line. Caitlin rotated and surged forward in a diving takedown that hammered the tigress flat even as she tried to dodge.
Jamie grinned as the demon-goddess began working her way out of the net. Her hips were a good half meter wider than they had been before and Caitlin was obviously having a problem with her balance.
Yonit rolled onto her stomach and began crawling towards the cable, but Caitlin was free before she could grab it. Light flared in pulses as the demon-goddess used multiple power bolts to peck at Jolene, who responded by diving for cover. She disappeared behind a shed and hovered while getting her bearings. From here, Jamie could see she looked like the ladyba’d been hit pretty hard.
Caitlin drifted lower as she concentrated on pounding the shed to pieces so she could finish off the bug type. Yonit contracted like a spring and vaulted straight up, grabbing Caitlin by the calves and swarming up her body while she yelled out to Jolene. Her arms blurred as she slashed at the demon-goddess. Clothing and blood flew in all directions.
Panicking, Caitlin began racing for altitude.
“She may lose this one,” Jamie muttered.
“Not a chance,” Ginevra snorted. “She still is playing with them.”
Jolene broke cover to come to her harem sister’s aid and Caitlin turned to mist as she used dissolve, sending the astonished tigress flying in an arc to smash into the roof of an empty house. Yonit disappeared inside in a spray of roofing tiles and timber as the roof gave beneath the impact.
Jolene blurred towards Caitlin as she reformed and smashed into her with takedown, sending them both plummeting towards the ground. The demon-goddess rolled and accelerated straight down, using Jolene to cushion her impact. When she lifted off, the ladyba lay motionless.
Madison chuckled. “You’d think they’d have learned the first time not to get between Caitlin and the ground.”
Jamie activated his radio. “Caitlin, end exercise and start recovering the fallen. You did very well, by the bye.” The demon-goddess flipped in midair and gave him a salute before dropping to pick up Jolene. He turned to his other two pokegirls. “Well?”
“She likes to play with her opponents and that’s something we could use to our advantage. We would use Madison’s constructs to keep her off balance while I used tactical level teleporting to strike from unexpected angles until she fell.” Ginevra was still watching Caitlin closely. “It’s likely that she would be forced to respond as a tamed pokegirl; then the situation would become unpredictable since she can teleport, too, while I cannot fly.”
“I’d probably have to use foresight to try to predict her movements so my constructs could pin her down. At that point, I’d use fire magic and fire using constructs since she’s a steel type and weak against them.” Madison shrugged. “If she discovers where I’m hiding, she’ll come for me; I’d set up a false spot and put the clone there while surrounding the trap with fire constructs.” She looked at her tamer. “I’d coordinate with you and my alpha to ensure a complete takedown.”
Jamie gave them an approving smile. “That sounds like it would work. We’ll keep it in mind if we have to face a strong steel type. Now, let’s go help with the cleanup and debrief.”
***
(4/29/06 0800 Marco Island)
“Colonel, we had a new arrival last night: a married couple that was burned out of their home by the Indigos and told to come here.” Raquel snapped a parade ground salute as she landed. “The captain thought you might wish to question them as to the Indigo’s methodology and possible schedule.”
Kerrik exchanged a look with Jamie. “That sounds like an excellent idea. Please ask the captain to extend an invitation for them, him, Carver and Wilkes to eat lunch with us. I think keeping this informal may help them to stay relaxed.”
“Yessir.” The ladyba lifted off and buzzed away.
Jamie rubbed his forehead. “The leaguers are due any day now. This may be the break we need.”
“You could be right. I’ll check the satellite scans of the area and try to see how far away they are.” Kerrik’s lips drew back in a soundless snarl. “If they kibitz too much longer, I may decide to go hunt them. I’d prefer to meet them here, so the locals can see how well we can defend them.”
“I thought you were patient enough to sit in the same spot for three years waiting for a specific person to come along so you could kill them?”
“I did. I never said I found it fun.”
Caitlin stared at the kami. “You sat in the same spot for three years?”
Kerrik nodded. “I even had plants growing on me.”
“Why did you do that?”
“I was fairly unhappy at that particular individual and I knew she would be along to that point eventually. She was.”
The demon-goddess cocked her head. “After three years, it’s likely that you were no longer that upset with her. Did you let her live?”
“I killed her as soon as she appeared.” Kerrik gave her a bland look when her eyes went wide. “Now, I really don’t see where this conversation is going anywhere, so I think I’ll go arrange a nice lunch for our guests.”
“Kerrik, Caitlin has a grievance against Whisper and would like to settle it in nonlethal combat.” Beside him, Caitlin nodded firmly.
Amber eyes swept from pokegirl to tamer. “I see. I take it this can’t be settled with a round of poker or maybe a nice game of Parcheesi? Can it wait until after we deal with the Indigos?”
“I don’t think so. She’s assured me that whatever the result, she’ll work to rise above her feelings for Whisper and will be willing to work with her. That could be of use against the leaguers.”
“Does tomorrow at straight up sound reasonable?”
Caitlin looked puzzled until Jamie explained. “Grandfather grew up without clocks. He means noon. I think that will be more than satisfactory.”
“Will an audience be acceptable? The locals have never seen pokegirls fighting at full strength and the show should teach them some healthy respect. Well, maybe it will.”
Jamie nodded. “I don’t see where there will be a problem unless the fight spills over them. We can make that one of the restrictions, however.” He grinned suddenly. “What we need is the arena in dad’s tent.” He gave Kerrik a hopeful look.
“That would facilitate things a great deal. It’s a pity he’s not here.” Raven started snickering as Jamie’s face fell. Kerrik continued. “We’ll figure something out. Do you need any more help with the training?”
“No, the militia is doing team tactics against each other and my pokegirls will be more than sufficient to be judges.”
“Then, I’ll dig into the stores we brought and see about something nice for lunch.”
***
(4/29/06 1130 Marco Island)
Gustaf Bergdahl had been a gangly youth and was now a gangly young man. He’d been in the United States going to school when things fell apart, and had been trying to return to his native Sweden when the airlines had been grounded due to pokegirl attacks. He’d been trapped in Florida and had been making the best of a bad situation when the Indigo leaguers had shown up to evict him and his wife from their home. In the process, their house had been torched and burned to the ground, leaving the Bergdahl family with nothing.
His wife, Erika, was a trim blonde who’d told them that she’d been born in the U.S. and had been on vacation in Florida when she’d been stranded. She’d met Gustaf at an end-of-the-world party and they’d gotten married a few months later.
Kerrik handed the platter of grilled steak to Erika, who bobbed her head in thanks and passed them on to Gustaf. When he raised an eyebrow, she smiled prettily. “I’m a lacto-ovo vegetarian. Could I have the potatoes?”
Jamie offered her the bowl of boiled potatoes. “So why did the Indigos send you here?”
Gustaf swallowed a huge bite of steak. “This is excellent.” He had a heavy accent, but his English was very fluent. “They said they were concentrating the humans in the region so we could be more easily protected,” he said bitterly. “We haven’t had any problems with feral pokegirls but they insisted. That’s why they burned our house. They thought we’d sneak back.”
Erika smiled at her husband. “We would have, too.” She’d loaded her plate with potatoes, squash casserole and some cooked spinach.
“I find it hard to believe you haven’t had any real trouble with ferals,” Jamie observed quietly.
Erika paused to give him a slightly concerned look. “We haven’t seen many of them, and none of the ones we did proved really dangerous.”
“That’s good to know.” Carver touched her neck unconsciously. “We haven’t been quite so lucky. We were hit hard a couple of times before Jamie and Kerrik showed up and taught us to defend ourselves.”
“I see you have pokegirls of your own, like the leaguers. Do you treat them like they do?” Gustaf smiled disarmingly. “They seem like people to me.”
Jamie looked around the table. “Who’d like to answer that?”
Yonit nudged her tamer with her shoulder, almost causing him to spill his beer. “Master Joshua treats me better than anyone else ever has.” While not specifically invited to lunch, Kerrik had pressed Weinstein and his harem into service helping to prepare the meal and this was their reward.
Annette nodded while Chosovi grinned. “I couldn’t ask for a better human to be mine.” Wilkes colored slightly.
Raquel was more reserved. “Captain Hernandez has made me welcome here and I’m pleased that his daughter is my friend. I’ve never had friends before, only battlefield companions.”
“What about your pokegirls, Kerrik?” Erika’s eyes watched him carefully.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask them later. Raven and Whisper ate earlier and are now patrolling the area while we have lunch. However, I think they’ll be fairly positive.”
Jamie was busy buttering a roll. “Did the Indigos give any indication of when they’d be seeing you again?”
Gustaf shrugged. “Not that I remember.”
“Honey, didn’t they say something about being here before Mother’s Day?” Erika smiled when he blinked and nodded. “I thought so.”
Jamie exchanged a look with Hernandez, who nodded grimly as a sudden tension filled the air. “It’s on May 11th and twelve days from now.”
“I’ll increase the surveillance and see about getting some active reconnaissance down here.” Kerrik went back to his steak.
“What did you have in mind?” Carver shrugged when he looked up. “You’re our ally in this and so it’s a legitimate question.”
Kerrik nodded slowly. While they were allies today, should they join the Indigo league, the islanders would prove a bounty of information on the Havens. Because of this, he was always considering what to not tell them. “I’m thinking about sending out Raven or Whisper to look the area over. You already know we have some access to orbital recon satellites, so if I find anything during analysis of the photos, then someone will have to investigate more closely.” He turned to Erika and changed the subject. “Did you find a house that the two of you like?”
After lunch was over, Jamie glanced at his grandfather, who was washing plates while Whisper dried them. “What do you think about Erika?”
“You’ve got the twee. I know she’s a pokegirl, but I don’t know what kind.”
Whisper’s antennae twitched. Erika Bergdahl is a titto.
“Yeah, my twee identified her, too. What tipped you off, grandfather?”
“Considering the situation, I’ll be slightly suspicious of any woman who’s a vegetarian. Too many pokegirls don’t eat meat. Besides, her choice of foods was slightly suspect.”
“I didn’t catch that. What was she eating?”
“She picked only soft and easily digestible foods. She even managed to have a full plate when the salad came by.”
“Think Gustaf knows?”
Kerrik nodded. “I don’t need Whisper to tell me that he does. That’s why he asked about how we treated our girls. He was trying to determine how she might be treated if they’re found out. It’s also why they haven’t had a lot of trouble with ferals. Erika can probably take almost any random pokegirl in a fight.”
“What should we do?”
“Is there anything we should do? If they don’t choose to let people know that she’s different, why should we care? We are trying to build a world where pokegirls can make those kinds of choices.” He frowned slightly. “We might want to have a word with them after they trust us a bit more, and let them know about Haven and what it stands for. They might be better off there. The first tamer with a powerful telepathic pokegirl could out them with little trouble and, no matter what happens here, Marco Island is part of the Indigo League. However, the final decision is theirs to make.”
Ginevra snorted. “You mean it’s their mistake to make.”
“That depends on how you look at it. Haven is not their only option and not necessarily their best one, either. They could easily disappear back into the wilderness and never be seen again.”
“What would be wrong with Haven?”
“Pokegirls who expect to be tamed by Gustaf or even some who will want to join his harem. It could be that they have a monogamous relationship and that could cause trouble.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Of course you hadn’t. Where you grew up, monogamy is an accident, not the norm. Here, however, especially in the United States, monogamy is the normal way of the human; the coming of pokegirls won’t necessarily change that in the next few generations. The leagues can speed that process along by taking over the schools and brainwashing or, as they’ll call it, educating the children.” He finished the last plate. “I think we’ll give Captain Hernandez a day of free time so he can work with his troops without us around. You’ll want to take your harem and try to prepare Caitlin for tomorrow.”
Whisper looked amused. She will be an interesting opponent. I look forward to the match.
“She’s going to try to kick your arse.”
I certainly hope so.
***
(4/30/06 1200 Marco Island)
“I don’t think we should try to act as tamers in this fight.” Jamie glanced at Caitlin. “She wants to do this on her own.”
“I don’t want to bring any sort of dishonor on Jamie if I lose badly.” The demon-goddess met Kerrik’s eyes squarely. “And this is a grudge match. I don’t want him involved.”
Kerrik shrugged. “If that’s what you want, I’ll let Whisper do her best, alone. Fair enough?” This last was aimed at the cabbit standing next to him.
Gold eyes glanced in his direction. I accept her conditions, although I have already learned that having you coordinate us increases our efficiency by a measurable amount. She turned to Caitlin. If I can convince you that I did not want to do what I did, will you let this go? I am willing to attempt to make amends for your loss.
“No. It eats at me and only combat will cleanse the stain I feel.”
So be it. Combat it will be. Sukebe grant you favor in this fight, for I will show you no mercy.
“Sukebe grant you favor as well, for I will return none to you.”
Kerrik blinked. “That sounds very formal.”
It is. It is the traditional formula that is used before pokegirls fight. Even under the rule of Sukebe, there were differences that could only be settled by what we do best, combat.
“Who do you want to referee?”
Whisper looked surprised and then thoughtful. I see. A referee would help to ensure that there are no fatalities. Caitlin, is Raven acceptable as a neutral party? She will remain neutral if she declares that she is. She is also powerful enough to enforce any decrees she makes.
Caitlin nodded. “I trust Raven’s word.”
Jamie turned to the archmage. “Raven, would you referee this bout?”
Purple hair swirled around her face as she bowed slightly. “I am honored to be asked and I promise to monitor the battle closely and fairly.”
“I think we need to evacuate the area.” Jamie handed Caitlin’s pokeball to Raven before he turned and sprinted for the safe zone where a large portion of the community waited to see the battle.
Kerrik watched him go with an amused smile as he offered Whisper’s pokeball to his archmage. “Raven, I need to give the humans a general idea of what’s going to happen. Could you not start the duel until I’m done?”
She pulled her staff from her pocket and grew it to full size. “They will not begin until you are ready for them to do so.”
“Thank you.” He nodded to the two combatants and walked towards the safe zone. Leaning on his staff, he spoke quietly, a simple spell ensuring that everyone heard him at the same volume with which he spoke. “I’ve met many of you, but for those whom I have not, I’m Colonel Kerrik Wolf of the Haven Royal Army. I and Major Jamie Wolf are here to help train the Marco Island militia to use pokegirls like the league agents do, so they can better protect you.” His hair flashed in the sun as he looked over the assemblage. “Pokegirls vary in many ways, but there is one thing that is common to all of them and another thing that is common to most. The universal to all pokegirls is that they have to have sex regularly or they go feral. The leagues call it taming, but Juliet Capulet had it correct and sex it remains.” The crowd stirred slightly.
“The second thing which is universal to almost all pokegirls is that they were made for war. Even the so called non-combat pokegirls function in a support role for the combat breeds, and they can be dangerous if provoked. When one has pokegirls, the best thing that can be done is to battle them regularly, not only to increase their strength and combat experience, but to blunt that edge of aggression that seems to exist in all of them to some degree.”
“What you are going to see today is a battle between two unusually powerful pokegirls. This is a result of the feeling that someone’s honor has been sullied and that only trial by combat may cleanse that stain. This is not scripted and the result is unknown. You are in a designated safe zone and both pokegirls have agreed not to deliberately target this area. I trust them to hold to this promise. Others will be actively working to protect you in case of an accident, but the truth is that when two pokegirls of this power level fight, no place is truly safe. If you feel that you cannot place yourself in that kind of danger, I urge you to leave now.” He waited for a moment as a couple of people separated themselves from the crowd and headed away.
Kerrik’s expression remained serious. “For the ones who chose to remain, I will stress that this is not designed as a spectacle for your entertainment. This is a battle between two powerful and honorable opponents who have exhausted all other avenues of reconciliation. As such, I expect you to treat it with the respect that it deserves. Any recordings of this that appear on the net or are used for entertainment will be tracked down and the posters dealt with harshly.” He knew that a spell would be used to blur any such recordings with the exception of the recorders that both pokegirls carried and the sensors that had been placed around the battlefield; however, he considered it polite to warn the crowd.
“This concludes my advisory to you all.” He turned and waved his staff at Raven. “You may begin when ready.”
Raven lifted her staff. “Whisper, Caitlin, have you no other recourse but combat?” Both pokegirls nodded without taking their attention from each other. A glowing amethyst circle appeared at each end of the battlefield. “Then proceed to your starting points and prepare for battle. You may not fortify or protect yourself until I start this bout.”
Both pokegirls flew to hover inside their circles as Raven lifted off and drifted backwards. “This combat will continue until one or both sides either yield or can no longer fight. You will not leave the arena until I call a break or declare the bout complete. I do not anticipate calling any breaks.” Her staff lit in a violet nimbus and dropped. “Begin.”
Both pokegirls summoned energy blades and then disappeared, each coming out just behind where their opponent had just been. Caitlin hurled her energy blade at the cabbit, who responded by throwing hers. The blades impacted with a flash of light and vanished in a sharp crack.
Caitlin accelerated to close the range as she fired an ice beam at the hovering Whisper, who whipped in a figure eight to dodge the attack before returning to her hover.
Magenta light flared as a glowing ball formed in front of Whisper and erupted in a thin beam. Only a quick dodge saved the demon-goddess from the psywave attack, who responded with a series of power bolts that smacked the cabbit backwards. Whisper recovered and glowed for a second as she went back into a hover.
The cabbit’s antennae twitched and the rusted-out hulk of a car shot straight up in front of Caitlin, who smashed through it in a spray of metal and glass as another ice beam flared from her hand. Whisper slid sideways to avoid the attack while Caitlin summoned another energy blade and barreled into her.
As the demon-goddess slashed her way through it, the illusion wavered and vanished. Whisper appeared, sitting cross-legged on the still floating car. She lifted off and tore the car to pieces with her telekinesis before hurling the tires at the demon-goddess.
Caitlin curved back around to aim at the hovering cabbit, shifting her path slightly to avoid the tires. They curved and hammered her from all sides simultaneously, forcing her to twist and slash each to pieces in turn. She fired another series of power bolts at Whisper, shredding the pieces of car that the cabbit interposed between her and each attack.
The frustrated demon-goddess dismissed the energy blade and went into a hover as she put both her hands together. A brightly glowing ball of yellow energy formed and erupted in a hyper beam aimed squarely at Whisper. A green nimbus appeared around Whisper and absorbed the beam without incident as the gem in her forehead flared. For an instant, a brilliant beam of sapphire light connected it and Caitlin, who was blasted backward, as her clothing and outer layers of skin vaporized.
Caitlin glowed as she healed herself only to scream as the car’s engine smashed into her legs in a blur of motion. She whipped sideways as another sapphire beam hit her, this one burning a line down her body and then striking the ground a hundred meters away. Earth vaporized in a stunning blast, leaving behind a glass lined crater that glowed redly in the bright light before dimming slowly as it cooled.
The demon-goddess vanished as she teleported, coming out to the side of Whisper. Chains shot from her hands and wrapped around the cabbit. She lunged backwards and down, whipping Whisper in an arc that ended when Whisper smashed into the ground. She lunged upwards and spun, whipping the cabbit around to smash her into the ground underneath them a second time in a cloud of dust.
Caitlin screamed when the chains glowed crimson as Whisper channeled a lightning attack through them and into the demon-goddess. The cabbit lifted from the ground as the chains dropped away, while she launched a burst of power bolts at her opponent.
Caitlin spun away and recovered to vanish as she teleported. She appeared above Whisper and hit her in the top of the head with iron punch. The cabbit squealed in pain and spun to detonate a fireball that engulfed them both. Caitlin raced out of the blast to the other side of the arena, glowing as she healed her injuries.
Unnoticed by everyone, a dark figure appeared on the ground underneath the hovering Raven. It turned, surveying the scene. “WHISPER, YOU WHORE!” A beam of brilliant red energy speared the cabbit and blasted her out of the arena bounds. “WHERE IS HE?”
Raven stared in shock. “Misery?”
“STAY OUT OF THIS, RAVEN! WHERE IS THAT BITCH?”
The dark form loped forward as Whisper appeared in midair. What have I done to you, Misery?
“WHERE IS HE?” The form hurled multiple energy blades at Whisper, who dodged frantically. “GIVE HIM TO ME!”
Kerrik looked at Jamie. “Is that what I think it is?”
“That’s a mini-top.”
“That’s what I thought. She looks pretty powerful.” Kerrik watched as the solid black mini-top lurched to a stop and turned to stare at the assembled civilians. “Shit. Jamie, evacuate them ASAP. Raven, stop her before she hurts someone.” Black eyes locked with his and he watched as they suddenly went wide. “Oh, crap.”
Raven lunged downwards towards the mini-top. “MISERY, NO!”
The mini-top vanished in a teleport and Kerrik reacted instinctively, launching himself a dozen meters up and forward to get away from the crowd that was finally, too slowly, realizing that something was wrong and starting to press away from the battleground. If he was her target, then perhaps he could lead her away from what would be easy meat for her attacks.
The mini-top appeared where he’d been standing and disappeared again. She came out next to him in mid leap and caught him in her powerful arms.
They vanished.
***
Name: Wolf, Jamie Harris
Age: 17
Residence: Kingdom of Haven
Status: Active
Rank: 45
HRA Rank: Major
Security Clearance: Theta
Licenses
Tamer Y
Master Tamer Y
Researcher N
Watcher N
Breeder Y
Active Harem
Species Name
Demoness Ginevra
Duelist Madison
Demon-Goddess Caitlin
Alpha: Ginevra
Beta: None