Ch. 14 - Back to Reality

"Excuse me?!" Kari exclaimed abruptly. I stared hard into his face, searching for signs that this 'Kyle' was joking. He pushed the button on the pokéball, however, and sealed it into reality. He was serious.

A girl materialized in the bright glow of the release beam. A slim girl, she had dark red hair, and an even tan over her entire body. Beyond the fact that she just came out of a pokéball, she would appear human. Oddly, she wore S cheerleader uniform in the colors of our school. I held up my Pokédex and scanned her. An Amazonkapoeraa.

"Sarah, I choose you. Don't beat her up too badly. We're gonna play with her after we get her," Kyle ordered.

Kari swallowed hard and started backing up, when I rested a hand reassuringly on her left shoulder.

Sarah grinned softly and nodded. "Yeah yeah. I'll knock her out quick. Am I fighting the blue haired bitch?" she asked.

"You can't do this! Kari's his alpha," Carl argued, glaring at Kyle.

Kyle shook his head, and Shaun grinned. "Somebody forgot to record it in the Pokédex. Too late now," the prior taunted. I made a mental note to do so after this.

"So you jerks are actually serious about this?" I asked wearily, irritated now.

Shaun laughed. "Of course.  I've wanted to fuck her for a while, and now I don't even have to buy her a drink. If you beg, we might even give her back when we're done," he replied, grinning wildly.

"Let's get this over with. We don't have all day. She's a Witch, Sarah," Kyle informed his pokégirl.

I snorted. There wasn't many other options, and I didn't want to risk Kari's first battle on this. Shaun raised an eyebrow to me as I pulled the second pokéball off my belt. "Kittra, I choose you," I muttered, feeling idiotic as I released her. I guess that made it official. Kittra burst into existence amidst the glow of the release beam, and stretched sleepily in front of me. She still had on a pair of blue jeans from yesterday, and the tight tank top. Her sleepy blinking made me chuckle and smile again as Kari exhaled in relief.

Carl's jaw dropped as he ogled her, and Shaun was equally wide eyed. Kyle scanned her instantly, and Tomas respectfully kept his eyes on her face. "Hey sleepy-head. Wake up as I need your help," I spoke gently, causing her to shift away from staring at all the new people, and smile at me.

"Hey, Keith. What's this about?" she purred, strutting towards me with a sway to her hips. The gleam in her eye was oddly submitting, however, and she passively slipped into my arms. I suddenly realized she was putting on a show.

I chuckled and squeezed her gently. "Assholes are challenging me to a salvage battle for Kari," I summed up, causing her to giggle gently.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we?" she remarked, smirking and rotating in my arms to face the opposition. After several moments, she let out a dismissive snort, followed by, "Can I eat them after beating them to bloody piles of pulp?"

"You can eat me any day!" Shaun exclaimed instantly, causing Kittra to roll her eyes.

Kyle shook his head rapidly. "Where the fuck did he get a Hellcat?! Careful, dude, she might take you up on that, in an extremely literal sense," he warned, glaring up from his Pokédex.

"You might get a stomach ache if you do, careful," I pointed out.

She grinned, eyes seeming to glow even more. "I'll just make sure they're extremely well done first," she replied, leaning off me gently as flames lapped gently amidst her fingertips.

Kyle shook his head rapidly. "You're bluffing. Any Hellcat you managed to catch with the weak looking witch isn't going to be worth crap. And no way you could afford to buy one," he declared.

Kittra's smile faded and her eyes narrowed at his incorrect assessment. Visions of widespread collateral damage danced in my head, along with the price tag attached. "Oh hell. Calm down, Kittra! Try to limit the damage to just the opponent, if you can," I requested.

Kittra sighed but nodded. "Am I allowed to kill her?" she asked, smirking again.

Kyle snorted. "Bullshit. She's way strong. Don't come crying to me if your Kitty ends up dying!" he warned.

Sarah smirked and cracked her knuckles eagerly. "She doesn't look that tough," she added. I suddenly recognized her. She used to be a cheerleader in middle school. I'd heard she thresholded, but didn't know what happened to her after. No big loss in not knowing, but I still felt somewhat sorry for her. Somewhat.

"Be careful, regardless, Kittra. Better safe than sorry," I added.

Kittra smiled back at me and nodded. "I always am, Keith, but thank you. Am I fighting with or without blade?" she inquired.

My mind hit a quandary. I'd not tried any elaborate magic since, well, recovering. Charging the crystal didn't take much, but left me feeling weird for almost an hour. On the other hand, I wanted Kittra to win.

"The metal one is too badly damaged still, but let me try improvisation," I returned, raising my arms up without waiting for her to reply.

Swallowing nervously, I pulled the energy to the surface. The scar over my left eye started aching a little, at the same time my right arm's scars started to glow. The energy flowed more easily put of that arm, and Jessica joking remarked earlier that it was because it was full of holes. My guess was that it was true, in a less literal sense, though.

The ball of light and energy formed in-between my hands, and rapidly started to expel the crude form of a sword, comprised entirely of bone. My body suddenly felt cold all over as I swallowed the feeling of nausea. A flickering image of blood and death threatened to disrupt my concentration, dancing at the edges of my peripheral vision. That all too familiar smell rose up again, and I exhaled sharply to dismiss it, paying no heed to suddenly being able to see my breath.

"More memory bleed. It's worse when you channel magic," Jessica suddenly muttered, clearer than usual.

I nodded curtly to her, trying to focus as the blade fully formed and I started on the hilt. Concentrate! The point of the blade hit the ground, driving through the faint image of a rotting corpse laying there, and I fought back the urge to throw up. A distinctly different sensation was becoming noticeable as well. As if brushing along something in the sand along the bottom of the lake, barely noting it as your mind screams for air. Energy! It was a cold, vile energy, pooling inside me like long shed blood. It boiled at the edges of consciousness, as if reaching out and begging to be touched. The sheer volume of it threatened to overwhelm! Where the hell was it coming from? If I just tapped that for but a second, I could reform the old sword perfectly.

"Use it. You know you want to," whispered into the back of my skull in a cold voice suddenly.

Jessica snarled, and I reeled back from the voice, killing the channeling just as I finished the hilt. I slammed my eyes shut, and helped Jess push the energy back as fast as I could.

Seconds went by. Finally the cold withdrew, and I breathed in deeply, opening my eyes again. Kittra and Kari watched me with concern, while everyone else stared in surprise at the blade, sticking point first into the ground in front of me.

I caught my breath, and shook my head rapidly to clear it. The stench of blood was still thick in the air, and I noticed the blade was black instead of the typical gray. I pulled it out of the ground with a tug of energy, and tossed it towards Kittra. She caught it deftly out of the air and examined it carefully.

"It smells like blood," she muttered after a few seconds.

Shaun ignored her. "What the hell was that?!" he demanded.

"You're a caster?" Tomas asked as well, sounding more surprised than shocked.

I nodded. "The Dark Queen taught me Necromancy and Illusion, I told him, ignoring Shaun.

Carl swallowed hard, but Tomas nodded. "Unpleasant, but useful," he remarked.

"Finally, an open mind," I muttered, as Kittra tested the weight of the blade.

After she made a couple slow arcs with the blade, she nodded gently. "Somewhat unbalanced, but I can use it," she reported.

I nodded to her, and took three or four broad steps back, and she grinned. Kari scampered after me, and Kyle shook his head. "Whatever. Just dodge the stupid sword and knock her lights out, Sarah," he ordered.

"No, I think I prefer to get cut in half," Sarah commented snidely, rolling her eyes.

"Fight as you judge, Kittra. I'll just watch," I added, putting a slight emphasis on the last word.

Kittra snickered and turned to face the Amazonkapoeraa. I tested a tug in Sarah's direction using an empathic poke. Kittra gave a slight nod, and her tail started swaying slowly. I picked up an anticipation akin to almost blood thirst coming from her.

"Fine. Fight!" Kyle shouted.

Nobody moved. I watched both girls tense, but neither took action. Kittra's arms remained lowered, but I knew she was on a hair trigger. I pushed energy up into my eyes and intently stared at Sarah. It took me a few moments, but I was able to see the flow of her energy through her limbs. I let my mind absently take in her legs mostly, and only react to a sudden burst.

There was silence for almost ten seconds. Suddenly, I saw energy shoot down her left leg. I tugged Kittra empathically to the left. Kittra turned before Sarah had even leapt, and tracked her easily through the air. Sarah landed into another leap, this time towards Kittra. Her left hand was pulled back, but her energy went to her leg again. I emphasized the leg with my mind, and smiled.

Kittra whipped her left hand up at the last second, ignoring Sarah's punch entirely. As anticipated, it was a feint, which Kittra didn't fall for. The Amazonkapoeraa's leg whipped around from the other angle, and she looked surprised when Kittra actually blocked it. In truth, I no longer thought I was needed. She wasn't that fast, and Kittra was a seasoned fighter.

Kittra had let her right hand go slack as Sarah had lunged. The blade swung around to point at the ground, and she gripped it like that instead. She barely flinched as the leg hit her left forearm, and her opponent flipped backwards off her. The blade moved inhumanly fast, and I briefly couldn't track it. It slowed and stopped on Kittra's back cut, and she completed the attack with a slow whipping motion to her right again, re-aligning the blade to the correct side of her body. Sarah completed her back flip and landed hard, crashing to her right knee as she punched the dirt to brace her impact.  Her eyes were slammed shut, and a tense expression adorned her face.

My eyes went to Kittra's blade, held deadly still at her side. A tracing of red danced along the ground in a line, matching her prior whipping motion, and a few drops still poised at the tip, eager to fall. "Do you yield?" Kittra asked gently after a few seconds.

"What?" Kyle asked, confused as he was watching Kittra instead of his own pokégirl.

Sarah managed to haul herself to her feet, wincing still, and ground out, "Lucky shot."

I didn't see any cuts on her, but from the way she was bent over, I'd guess it was across her back. Kittra snorted. "You are quite the jumpy one. That's about all that saved you from a severed spine," she muttered, extending the blade up and letting the flat rest against her right shoulder.

"Fuck, she has skill! Don't pull any punches!" Kyle shouted.

Sarah growled and finally opened her eyes. "I think I know that!" she shouted, and I watched a lot of her energy gather into her hand.

I mentally nudged towards it for Kittra, before letting energy flow into my right arm. If there was one thing I was good at, it was barriers.

My right arm whipped up at the same time as Sarah's. Kittra hopped out of the way of the huge chi blast, and as anticipated, it flew right at us. Tomas started to dive to the side, and Carl screamed, but my barrier was faster yet. I was fully braced, and shifted the blast to the side instead of blocking it head on. It was of moderate power. Nothing like getting sent through a wall from Karumi's attack even after shielding. The attack flew harmlessly away from my outstretched arm, and made a nifty rut in the dirt past the sidewalk, ten feet long.

Kittra grinned as she watched me parry it, before looking back towards Sarah. The Amazonkapoeraa looked frightened now, and was rapidly retreating while charging a second blast. "You attacked Keith!" Kittra suddenly growled.

Sarah's eyes widened, and she went to hurl the blast half-baked. Kittra was no longer playing around, however. She skipped once, clearing the distance in less than a second. Sarah tried to fire, but Kittra smacked her arm with the flat of the blade at the last second. Her right arm hit cross-body, and she fired the blast into her own side at a thirty degree angle. She screamed as it rippled through her hip, and Kittra's forward momentum continued. She drove her left knee into the girl's stomach, and used her to brace through the detonation of her own blast. She then lashed out and latched around Sarah's neck with her left hand, whipping the blade around and letting the point hover above her widened left eye. "Yield!" Kittra growled viciously.

"Stop! Please don't hurt her!" Kyle suddenly yelled, actually looking worried.

I snorted. "Then call the match. If she was even half serious, your pokégirl would be dead three times over by now anyway," I muttered, remembering her fight against Karumi.

"Fine, you win!" Kyle shouted, actually crying now, which surprised me. Shaun looked on in shock.

Sighing, I nodded to Kittra, who set the girl down on the ground before hopping away and landing next to me, blade in guard position.

"You won. They won't attack anymore," Tomas spoke towards Kittra. 

Her ears flattened and she shook her head. "I don't trust rules and regulations. I'd rather be safe than sorry," she reasoned.

"Wise," I complimented, walking past her and towards Sarah. The Amazonkapoeraa lay there on the cobbles, wincing in pain as a small trail of blood flowed from beneath her. Kyle scampered over and lifted her carefully into a sitting position, holding her.

I examined her back, as Kyle frowned at me. After a few seconds, I sighed. Sis smiled in my mind, and I silently shushed her before calling up the healing spell Mom had used.   Kyle blinked as I touched his pokegirl's back, and Sarah herself gasped in surprise at the feeling. I didn't put much into it, as Mom's weave was surprisingly sophisticated. Her back wound slowly sealed up, at the same time that her burn marks started to fade.

"You, you healed her?" Kyle asked, stuttering and sounding genuinely surprised.

I simply stood up and nodded, before walking away. "Don't do that again," I warned, followed by, "My patience for assholes trying to force people into what they want is rapidly evaporating."

Carl laughed. "Dude, you won the salvage battle! You get one of his girls now," he suddenly pointed out.

"Er, what?" I hesitantly asked.

"Oh god," Kyle muttered, verbalizing my thought process vaguely.

Shaun started laughing, though. "And now you just fell into the same rut we tried to get him into. Oh, the irony!" he exclaimed while laughing.

Shaking my head, I turned back around to see Kyle holding the now frowning Pokegirl protectively. "L-Look, I only have two girls.  I didn't see the need for an alpha before. Please don't take Sarah!" he begged. Sarah's eyes widened, and she glanced over at me as well, slowly shaking her head in a pleading way.

This was sucky. I sighed and shook my head as well. "Then I guess we both learn our lesson and get a second chance. You surprise me, but she seems to want to stay with you as well. I won't take her," I gave in.

He exhaled visibly, and she smiled again. "Thank you, Keith. I, well, apologize for all this. Uh, here," he muttered, grabbing the other pokéball on his belt and tossed it to me.

Catching it out of the air, I sighed weakly and stared at it in my hand. It felt heavy, as if my conscience was adding weight to it. Turning, I mentally groaned, walking back to Kittra and Kari. Tomas was dusting himself off from his prior dive, and Carl just stared at the ball in my hand.

"Are you going to keep her?" Kari asked carefully, watching my face.

I sighed and looked down at the ball. I'd known Kari for years and had a deep connection there already. Kittra helped me through hell and back, and I trusted her completely. She already showed she valued my life above her own, and I already didn't know how to deal with that. Admittedly, I was never expecting this specific situation. The only 'random' pokégirls I expected to handle were ferals I'd planned on just selling, thus cycling them into the ranch system.

Deciding I might as well not hesitate any longer, I scanned the ball with my Pokédex. The transfer showed first, and I waited the few seconds it took to register her as mine. Then it brought up her information.

I blinked in confusion. After re-reading it, I sighed and acknowledged the worst possible outcome as having happened. 'Kim' was a domestic 'borne' Puppy. Age sixteen. The dex had no way of displaying threshold status, however, but I guessed it was over ninety percent likely. "Where did you get this girl?" I asked cautiously, looking back over my shoulder at Kyle as he helped Sarah to her feet.

He hesitated and looked away, which narrowed my guesses considerably. She wasn't bought, or a gift. "I, well, scanned her, saw she was old enough and unregistered, so I balled her?" he offered up.

Staring at him for a few seconds, I shook my head irritably and looked back down at the ball. "She's domestic with a human sounding name. I'm guessing threshold. Where'd you 'ball' her at?" I asked, lowering my voice to attempt to control it.

He swallowed nervously before looking towards the ground. "Outside of the Pokécenter. She was playing with her little sister while waiting for her boyfriend to finish the pet owner exam inside?" he offered.

My hand tightened on the ball, as reality reared its ugly head at me once more. I was honestly starting to hate tamers, despite being one. "Leave. Now, before I un-heal her, then start on you," I growled.

His eyes bugged out, and he took off running faster than I thought he could, barely managing to ball Sarah as he went. Shaun stared in surprise at Kyle fleeing, before glancing back towards me. "Dude," he muttered weakly.

"You leave too. I'm done doing you favors," I spoke dismissive before veering back in the opposite direction we were heading prior. Kari smiled, and Kittra snickered before they followed behind me.

Shaun stared after me for a few moments. "Hey, come on. No harm done! I'll pay you double?" he offered, walking after me.

"Go to hell," I returned, not bothering to turn around. 

The footsteps behind me indicated four were following instead of the five prior. Tomas and Carl caught up and walked to my left. Kari was immediately to my right, and Kittra to hers, trailing a little behind. "Thanks for saving me, Kittra," Kari spoke after a few moments. She turned around to smile softly at the Hellcat, walking backwards now.

Kittra smiled back and shook her head. "You're part of Keith's team too. Of course I'm going to protect you," she replied.

Kari nodded gently. "Still, I wouldn't have been part of the team had you not. I want to get stronger, so you don't get burdened with protecting me all the time," she decided, frowning suddenly.

"You will, don't worry. Besides, Keith was helping me fight as well, regardless. Both back there, and against Karumi," she replied.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Kittra, you're a seasoned fighter and insanely powerful. You didn't need my help," I reminded.

Kittra smiled gently over at me, and nodded. "I, well, thank you for your confidence in my abilities. I'm not used to being shown respect, but I was also happy that you had my back, regardless. I know it might not seem like it sometimes, but I firmly believe in being safe, rather than sorry," she admitted, eyes softening as she looked away.

I smiled and nodded to her. "That's probably the smartest thing. But thank you," I replied, earning a surprising blush from the Hellcat.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but who's Karumi? And how'd he help you?" Carl asked. Oops. I forgot they weren't aware of what happened.

"Karumi was the Dark Queen," I told him, glancing over at him.

Kari nodded lightly as I turned my head. "And he watches the opponents, and nudges to warn against attacks and movement. It's how we countered Karumi's teleport ability," she added.

Tomas chuckled. "So an empathic nudge? And you must use a spell to see the things, right? Some sort of future vision thingy?" he guessed. Half right, anyway.

"Yeah, I started developing a connection to them both. I guess it's natural. And I look for auras that surround life force and magical manipulation," I corrected idly.

We neared the pokecenter by then, and I held the pokeball up that was still in my hand. "Oh, this is Kittra by the way. I think you knew that, though," Kari suddenly spoke up. Kittra smiled and nodded to both boys as I glanced up at her.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Kittra, this is Tomas, and Carl," I announced, followed with, "They're friends from school."

Both boys waved as I introduced them, and she nodded politely. "Um, well, I'm Keith's Pokegirl, but you already knew that. I helped him defeat Karumi and, um, he's helped me a lot as well," she spoke, bowing politely.

Tomas smiled, but Carl whistled low. "Damn, he's lucky. Any guy would love to 'help' you!" he admitted, ogling her.

Kittra blushed, but looked away. "Well obviously he does that too, but not what I meant," she muttered, then her blush faded as she added, "He's given me a reason to keep waking up every day."

Tomas nodded gently to her. "Carl was simply complimenting you. I'm glad you're happy with Keith," he assured. He always was quick on the recovery. Thankfully, for Carl's sake. Carl was a nice enough person, yeah. Thick as pile of rocks, and lacking tact, but he means well enough.

Swallowing as we stopped outside of the pokecenter, I finally pushed the release button on the ball. Everyone's attention shifted in my direction, as the beam of light caused a young girl to materialize in front of me. Unfortunately, she was pointed in the wrong direction. She wore a modest blouse, and had a skirt on down to her knees. I saw her look both ways rapidly, wince, then scamper around to face me. "Sorry I was the wrong way!" she squeaked as she turned to face me and froze, wide eyed.

She had very pretty blue eyes, and well taken care of blonde hair, done up in two pigtails. She lacked fur except for her ears, which flopped to either side of her face. Her tail was shorter than mine, and was held upwards at an angle, a hole in her skirt with a fancy button to accommodate it. Her chest was maybe a low B cup, but I didn't linger there long enough to note. My eyes were drawn to the darkened blemish on her right cheek, and I frowned. A cut adorned the center of the swelling, and I saw dried blood caking along the edge of it. Someone hit her, and hard.

"Um, what happened? Who are you?" she asked timidly, before glancing down and noticing the pokeball in my hand.

I nodded politely to her. "I'm Keith. Kittra, the Hellcat behind me, beat the snot out of Kyle's pokegirl, and he gave you to me for winning," I summed up before she could ask.

She stared at the pokeball intensely before her hand clenched, and she looked back up at me. I'd already stepped forward, and she hesitated as I raised my hand to her face. She flinched as the energy touched her, but her eyes widened as the cut sealed and the bruise slowly started diminishing. After I made sure it was gone, I stepped back again, starting to feel a little tired. I'd used a lot of energy repairing Sarah prior. "I assume the jerk hit you?" I asked, wishing I hadn't let him go so easily now.

She swallowed and nodded again, but remained quiet. After several seconds, I frowned. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Um, nothing, Master," she muttered, bowing politely.

Oh. "No, Kim. Keith, and you can talk whenever you like. I'm sure you have questions," I deduced.

She flustered, and looked back up at me, uncertain. "I was told you had a boyfriend prior to that jerk capturing you, no?" I asked.

She blushed but nodded. "That's why he hit me. He wanted to tame me, but I, well," she muttered, blushing more.

"You only wanted your boyfriend," Kari finished for her, smiling softly.

Kim flushed somehow more. I began to get concerned, and prepared to catch her if she passed out. "That and I'm, well, a virgin. I wanted to give it to Alex, and was going to three days ago until I got balled," she explained.

I sighed and shook my head. "Then you are Kim Runald. Alex lives four houses down from my house. I'll take you there after I check in with the pokecenter real quick," I informed.

Her eyes got wide, and I could almost see her trying not to get her hopes up as she barely restrained her nodding. Chuckling at her, I nodded and headed inside.

* * * * *

The feral Titacool lay sizzling on the bank of the river. The steam from the rapidly evaporating water rapidly drifted off her still, limp form. Patrick whistled low from his position against a nearby tree trunk, while Danni clapped happily towards Kiya, who was just lowering her left hand. "It was only a Titacool, but damn. Ever since becoming a Ria, you've tripled your power output," he remarked, smirking.

Kiya smiled softly and nodded. Her dark blonde hair was done up in two longer pigtails, almost four inches apiece, while her bangs were neatly framing her face. She wore a tight pair of blue jeans, and a simple black t-shirt that streamlined her small frame. Her ears flexed downwards slightly, and tail swayed side to side, as ambient electricity drifted through the clearing. "I feel a lot stronger ever since evolving. It disappointed me when I couldn't even help during the fight with Karumi," she muttered gently, glancing back at Patrick and her harem sister.

Patrick shook his head. "Kiya, you know the battle didn't exactly go as planned. You'll get your chance, and nobody thinks any less of you," he assured.

Kiya sighed and wandered back over towards Patrick as he tossed a pokéball past her. There wasn't even noticeable struggle as the ball sucked up the Titacool, and the capture sound chimed almost immediately. "I suppose. I just really want to be useful to you," she explained.

"You're more than just a weapon to me, Kiya. You know that. Besides, I bet you're powerful enough now to give Kittra a run for her money in a fight, no?" he reasoned, winking at her.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're only trying to make me feel better. I wouldn't be able to beat Kittra yet," she returned, but smiled now, regardless.

"You're too hard on yourself, Kiya," Patrick added, shaking his head weakly.

"No, I'm just attempting to be realistic. She's too fast for me to deal with effectively. The only solid way to win against Kittra would be to best her in melee combat, which I can't do. The only way I could actually hit her solidly would be from so close that I'd end up frying myself as well," she assessed, frowning towards the end.

Patrick sighed weakly. "I suppose that's why Karumi treated her so well. They were a brilliant team until they fell apart. Or I should say, until Keith pried them apart," he agreed, sliding down the tree into a sitting position as Danni ran over and collected the pokéball.

Kiya sat down next to him gently, and leaned back against the tree. They both watched Danni roll the ball around in the dirt for a few minutes, in silence.

"Do you think she'll like me still after she evolves?" Kiya suddenly asked, causing Patrick to glance over at her.

He considered her for a few seconds before smiling gently. "Her memories will still exist after the evolution.  She seems to consider you her big sister, and I doubt that will change," he reasoned, earning a smile from the Ria.

"I hope so. Admittedly, I'm worried about what will become of me after she's back to her old self," she revealed, blushing slightly and looking down into her lap.

Patrick shook his head and pulled her against him, and into his lap gently. "I'm not going to abandon you, Kiya. You're my friend, as well as pokégirl. You're not going anywhere," he assured.

Kiya blushed as she looked up into his eyes, then muttered, "Master, I." She trailed off as he kissed her forehead gently, and cradled her. Danni must have sensed the conversation, and trotted back over, dropping the pokéball next to Patrick before flopping herself into Kiya's lap, smiling up at the Ria, who grinned down at her.

Patrick smiled and squeezed both of them. "See? We're family now, and that's not going to change," he repeated, causing both girls to relax against him.

"Where do the others fit into that, then?" Kiya asked suddenly, smiling back up at her master.

"Keith, Kari, and Kittra?" Patrick asked, raising an eyebrow to her.

She nodded gently, and continued, "You must have been serious when you said that we'd be sticking around them. I know we owe him a lot, but it also kind of anchors us in this town for a few months." Her tone wasn't accusing, simply curious.

Patrick leaned his head back against the tree and nodded gently. "I admit, I'm more than a little afraid of adventuring off by ourselves. I'm no mage, and even if he gave me a way to recharge that stupid crystal, I doubt I'd trust myself to do so reliably. And what if something went wrong? I can't get past the idea that it would be better to stick around an actual magic user who's familiar with the crystal, at least somewhat," he explained, looking contemplative.

Kiya nodded into his chest lightly. "I thought that was the case, and I'm glad. I don't want anything happening to you. But are there other reasons?" she asked timidly.

"Well I've started to think of Keith as a friend, yes. I don't think even he realizes how uncommon a mindset he possesses. He's open minded, almost to the point where I expect his brain to fall out at some point. But I respect that, and really do think of him as a friend."

Kiya snickered lightly and grinned. "I suppose you're right, and being around to prevent his brain from falling out might be a good thing, too. For Kari's and Kittra's sakes, too. Although I've noticed his perspective changing a little bit," she added, frowning towards the end.

Patrick sighed lightly. "It was bound to happen eventually, although with everything that's happened so far to us, I'm surprised he's not much, much worse. He's bound to be a little bitter and frustrated over it, no?" he asked.

Kiya remained resting her cheek against his chest quietly, but her hand clenched lightly against the fabric of Patrick's jeans. "We're here for him, Kiya. As much as he's here for us, right?" he added, finally getting her to nod.

"Yeah. I just worry sometimes. I deeply respect friendship and loyalty, though, you're right. I just wish," she trailed off.

Patrick frowned and glanced down at her questioningly. "You wish what?" he nudged.

Kiya gave a sigh before continuing, "I just wish that I could say that I've been perfectly loyal too. That's never stopped bugging me."

After several seconds, Danni's breathing deepened, and she seemed to fall asleep against Kiya, who held her tightly. "Kiya, this is about what happened with Keith, isn't it?" Patrick asked softly, causing the Ria to flinch, but nod.

"I admit, I wish I had been there to tame you instead, yes. But that's not anybody's fault except for Karumi's, no?" he asked a few seconds later.

Kiya looked back up at him, uncertain. "And considering the alternatives, I'm actually happy that Keith did what he did. He could have been cruel and refused you, and then you would have went feral. A feral Peekabu, especially a highly trained one like yourself, would probably kill me again to attempt to tame you out of your feral state," he continued reasoning, causing Kiya to shudder weakly.

"So you actually think it would have been cruel not to?" she asked, sounding confused.

Patrick laughed and nodded. "Most definitely. I've never seen taming as purely sex, that's for sure. If it was, Pokégirls could tame each other out of feral. I think it's a bond, an anchor to humanity that is shared with the girl in question. To be without it, while not directly lethal, is very much akin to not feeding you or giving you water.  It's a psychological need, regardless," he tacked on.

Kiya frowned, but nodded. "It's not the feelings, really. Don't get me wrong, it feels amazing, but there's something else there. It's hard to explain. Like slowly falling asleep, and it wakes you up again. I guess I'm glad that Keith did it as well. And at least it was him, and not Karumi or Kittra," she finally admitted.

Patrick nodded and hugged her gently again. "Exactly. Would you feel better if I thanked Keith specifically for it?" he asked softly.

Kiya made a surprised squeak, and shook her head rapidly. "No, no, I couldn't ask you to go out of your way like that! I've already thanked him myself for it, so," she rapidly gushed, blushing again.

Patrick laughed and shook his head. "He's probably feeling just as awkward about it, you know? Has he tried again at any point?" he asked cautiously.

The Ria blinked, as if having issue processing that, before shaking her head. "No, not at all. I used to think he didn't actually like me and only did it because I desperately needed it, but now I think he's just respectful of you, instead," she reasoned, causing Patrick to chuckle.

"Yeah, you're probably right. From what I've seen so far, he's touchy about relationships as well, and very obviously sees us as in one. But we shouldn't talk about him when he's not here," he pointed out, ruffling Kiya's hair as she blushed again.

"Yeah, you're right. We should get the camp set up before it gets too much darker anyway," she reminded, looking up at the rapidly dimming sky.

Patrick sighed and stood up, bringing both girls to their feet. Danni partially stood, but leaned against Kiya sleepily. Kiya smiled and pulled her up, carrying her back towards the campsite. "See? You're a good big sister," Patrick reasoned as he followed after.

* * * * *

Wandering up the front walk, I stared at the front door, unsure of how to proceed exactly. Carl and Tomas had departed in search of food after I got out of the pokecenter. My pack was also one evolution stone heavier. I doubt I could get it to him tonight, but maybe tomorrow after school. It depended on how long this took.

Kari walked up at my left, and Kittra at my right. I felt a hand slip into my left. "Just tell him everything that happened. We can back it up," Kari assured. I nodded gently and headed up the steps, gently pushing the doorbell in once. I suppose there was no proper way to go about this.

Silence. Half the time, it was wonderful and relaxing. The other half I decided, it was hellish torture. Ten seconds passed. Fifteen. I swallowed. Finally the door opened and almost have me a heart attack.

She was a dragon or lizard type. Older, obviously a pokewoman. Dark red hair, and a petit frame. "Oh, hello. Are you looking for Alex?" she asked softly.

I nodded solemnly. "Yes, it's very important. Is he home?" I asked.

She smiled softly, then. "You're Keith, from down the road. My condolences for your loss. Alex is in his room in a bit of a funk, but if it's important, you may come in," she agreed, seemingly more comfortable upon recognizing me.

"Thank you, and this will probably cheer him up," I added, smiling politely.

"Oh, well we always welcome good news here," she assured, motioning for me to follow her.

We wandered through a small entry hall, and turned right, going down a somewhat cramped hallway. It was very clean, despite invoking minor claustrophobic feelings.

"Alex, some friends are here to see you!" the Pokewoman called out upon reaching a shut door.

There was rustling on the other side, followed by a small crash. Kari winced, but the pokewoman just smiled, turned, and headed back the way we came from. Five seconds later, the door opened up, and I was greeted by the sight of a shorter boy, sandy blonde hair messy and displaced as if he'd been laying on his bed a while. His brown eyes were bloodshot.

"Hey Alex. My name is Keith. We go to the same school. This is Kari and Kittra," I introduced, gesturing to each girl respectively.

He seemed briefly taken aback, and I wondered what he had expected. "Oh, hey. I wasn't expecting visitors. Can I help you?" he asked softly, backing from the door and letting us in.

"I can't stay for too long. Figured this was important however," I replied, holding up the Pokeball to him.

He stared blankly at it, and I sighed. I had no idea what to say. In frustration, I simply pushed the release button. Kim materialized to his right, and he glanced over at her. There was a brief moment where they just stared at each other. Then he made a choking noise as his eyes bugged out. "Alex!" Kim squealed, suddenly pouncing him off his feet. I winced mentally as I boosted them with a small burst of telekinesis so they hit the bed instead of the floor. I heard a muffled "Kiph?!" as I realized she was kissing him.

Kari blushed and looked away, and Kittra snickered. I glanced about, and located a pokedex on his dresser. I scanned it with mine, and registered it was his. Well that was convenient. I started the transfer of her to his pokédex, and coughed lightly, in attempts to get their attention.

Kim sat up and glanced back at me briefly, before turning a bright pink color and scrambling off a still very dazed Alex. "I'm sorry, Master! I, well, I don't know what came over me!" she exclaimed rapidly, causing me to sigh.

"You know what came over you, and that's not what I meant," I corrected, glancing over at Alex as he sat up and looked at me.

"You have ownership over her now?" he asked, frowning.

Sighing again, I motioned towards his pokédex with a nod. He glanced over at it, then reached over carefully and picked it up. A few seconds of staring at the screen got him to widen his eyes. "You're just giving her to me?!" he asked, sounding surprised now, and glanced up at me. Kim made a squeaking noise, and looked rapidly at the screen of the pokédex.

"Why wouldn't I? She wants to be with you, and you want to be with her. Seems natural enough to me," I simplified, shrugging. I was no good at dealing with situations like this anyway. Not that I was good at dealing with any social situation, now that I thought about it. Jessica gave a mental giggle.

Alex looked down and sighed. "Kyle was demanding over double the price for a Puppy to give her back, so I thought that, maybe you'd do the same," he muttered.

Kim gagged and looked back at Alex in disbelief, and I felt that familiar clenching feeling inside me again. The same urging that whispered silently to find him and put a spear of bone through his face. "He blackmailed you?!" Kim asked in shock.

Alex swallowed and nodded, before looking back up at me. "Look, I managed to save up almost half of the base price for a Puppy so far. At least take that while I work on getting the rest," he asked.

I stared blankly at him for a few seconds before suddenly chuckling. It was funny, really. What did he do to deserve this crap, yet it happened anyway? And he accepted it so easily. What did I do to deserve the same? It was so hard to find justification in it, yet the speed in which we accepted it was, well, humorous.

He tilted his head towards me, but I finally shook mine. "Bad luck took her away. Good luck brought her back. You don't owe me anything for simply accidentally stumbling upon your plight and having the good fortune to be able to easily correct it with no loss of my own," I replied, sticking my hands in my pockets.

Alex raised an eyebrow to me, but Kim just smiled. "Kyle challenged him to a salvage battle for Kari, and from what I've been told and deducted myself, Kittra used Sarah as a punching bag. He lost, and gave Keith me, instead of Sarah," she explained, resting against Alex's side.

After a few seconds, he started laughing. He couldn't seem to stop, and soon Kim was giggling too. "Wow, he's an idiot. I guess the only thing I regret now is that you had to spend three days with him," Alex muttered, squeezing Kim gently.

"He only brought me out of the ball twice, and only tried to tame me once. He hit me with a chair, then re-balled me when I refused," she added.

I sighed again, and Alex growled. "Where'd he hit you? I suppose he didn't treat it," he muttered.

"On the cheek, but Keith healed me using a weird shiny thing after he took me out of the ball to ask questions," Kim replied, settling into Alex's arms contently.

Alex smiled and gave her another gentle squeeze. After a few seconds consideration, he smiled again softly before pushing the accept button on his pokédex. I nodded and confirmed the transfer before putting my pokédex away again. "Well I should give you two some privacy. I'm sure you have lots to talk about. Maybe we'll see each other at school?" I pointed out, turning towards the door of his room again.

"Thank you, Keith. And yes, we should hang out sometime. You're totally different from the assholes I'm used to dealing with," Alex returned, and I saw him smirk out of the corner of my eye.

Kim nodded next to him as I bowed politely. "That would be cool. Can I come too?" she asked. 

Alex chuckled and nodded. "Of course. A friend with morals and 'weird shiny things' sounds like a worthy investment any day," he added, chuckling as she pouted playfully.

I laughed and nodded. "Okay. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow at school, then," I returned, before exiting his room. I heard her giggling again, and then a light thud of what sounded like the back of his bed against the wall as I shut the door, indicating she probably pounced him again from point blank range. Well, I'm sure he could handle her himself. Maybe. I decided it didn't matter and continued down the hall.

Kari latched onto my left arm again and smiled up at me as soon as I turned. Kittra chuckled and nodded as well as she followed after, on my other side. "You do good work. I'm definitely not used to this kind of thing, but it feels a lot better than the work I did for Karumi," Kittra spoke a few seconds later as we exited the hall.

"I can only imagine," Kari agreed, shaking her head limply.

The same pokéwoman greeted us, and smiled gently. "Are you staying for supper?" she asked quietly, her smile seeming more solid than the first time.

"No, I have one more thing to do in town before going home, so maybe another day. You will have one more eating, though," I warned her, smiling.

She chuckled and nodded. "I have very good ears, and thought I heard Kim's voice. And you returned her without payment," she added.

I shook my head. "It was purely chance that I got her in the first place, and it didn't cost me anything, so why should I charge him, the innocent in the whole matter?" I reiterated.

The pokéwoman smiled but shook her head. "Nothing happens by chance. But I thank you regardless, and hope you two can become friends," she replied, before turning and walking gently back into the living room. She must be his mother. I saw an older man sitting in a recliner, at a forty five degree angle away from me, and she sat down on the armrest of it, talking lightly to him.

I smiled and headed out the door, deciding not to interrupt further. No such thing as coincidence, huh? Maybe she was right. But if that was the case, what did we do to deserve what happened to us? I frowned lightly as I looked up at the sky upon getting to the sidewalk again. Maybe the universe kept a running tally for others' mistakes as well. Could what my parents have done been so terrible that Jessica and I had to pay for it too?

Silently, I wondered about it as I headed back towards the town's main gate. Kari trailed along, still holding my left arm, and Kittra was soaking in the sights of the town as she followed to my right. It was strange. I felt like I was a hundred years old, and I only cast two spells today. Mindset accounted for a lot of it. I was just so tired of crap.

Everything abruptly stopped. It was as if a cannon went off, then exploded next to me! The ground shook violently and I almost lost my balance until Kittra grabbed and steadied me. My ears rang badly, but I started picking up the sounds of screams coming from further away. Turning rapidly, my eyes widened as I looked towards the police station, and saw a vast column of smoke rising into the air!

Chapter 14 - End