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Crimson Forest…
1 mile outside of Doomstad, the Dark Continent capital…
Around the same time Aaron arrived…
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This is SO not my day, thought Michael "Glasses" O’Donnel as he ran through the forest, the young black man’s trademark spectacles cracked from an earlier fall, his dark black uniform jacket torn and dirty. The contents of the pack behind him sloshed with each step as he tried to escape the beautiful, tan-skinned woman in a black, battle-armored uniform that was trying to arrest him.
"STOP! Stop in the name of Doom!" she snarled, firing shots after the fleeing figure, her elemental pistol exploding with lightning as the electrical projectiles flew from her gun. Everywhere the shots struck, dirt and bark exploded in the face of her target. The policewoman’s long, dark-black hair flowed behind her like water as she ran, her black eyes glittering with determination. She tapped a button on her uniform collar, and spoke into it.
"M74 to M71. I’ve found the last of them. You were right, Motoko, it’s Team Rocket. I’ve got Dracon’s second-in-command in my sights. And he’s hauling Jusenkyo water," she said.
"Ah dammit. Do you need backup?" said a female’s voice from the other end of the comm-link.
"No, I got it. I’ve got him on a path to a nearby series of caverns my brother and I used to play in as kids. I’ll corner him and bring him down."
"Just be careful, Elisa. We’ve rounded up the others. Leave your communicator on and we’ll trace your signal."
"Roger. M74 out," Elisa said, firing a few more shots at Glasses, who barely managed to dodge. Elisa smirked as she changed clips. She was herding him right where she wanted him to be.
Glasses cursed loudly, and quickly turned a corner. He saw a series of caverns set into the nearby mountainside and thought he could lose her in there. The sound of Elisa’s footsteps and her occasional shots made him forget about the potential of Feral Pokégirls who might live in that cave, he just HAD to get away from this damn cop. He quickly made a turn and ran right in. He tried maneuvering through the caves, only to find himself at a dead end. He turned back and went another route, only to find himself right back where he started.
"Damn! Bitch must’ve been leading me here… All right then, time to fight. Boss Dracon may have the hots for this bitch, but even he knows that missions for Xanatos HAVE to take priority over his own feelings," Glasses snarled. He unhooked his backpack and quickly hid it, grabbing a Pokéball from his belt and unhooking a collapsible staff from a hip pack. Once he unfolded the staff, he reached into the hip pack again, pulling a large, hooked blade out of another pocket and attaching it to one end. He stood in the center of the cavern, quickly taking note of the ledges around him.
"All right, bitch. Let’s do this…" he said as Elisa walked into the cavern, her gun aimed right at him.
Spotting the Pokéball in his hand, she glanced around quickly, checking for any ambushes, keeping her gun trained on him the whole time. "I don’t suppose you’d be willing to surrender, would you?"
Glasses smirked, and twirled his lance. "Not on your life, bitch. Boss Dracon needs this Jusenkyo water. And he’s gonna get it. Even if I have to go through you!"
Elisa just smirked. She holstered her gun and reached onto her back, pulling out a long, slender blade with a hilt that looked like the stock and chamber of a revolver. She pulled a clip of elemental shells and loaded the gun part of the sword, taking a fighting stance. "Best invitation I’ve heard all day, big guy. But why don’t you put away that Pokéball, make this a fair fight?"
Glasses rolled his eyes. "Maza, you’ve been chasing me even since before you joined the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven.’ You really think I’m gonna start playing fair NOW? Jolene, come out!"
Before Elisa could react, Glasses triggered the Pokéball. A bright red light emerged, taking shape and forming into a buxom young woman with reddish fur all over her body, save for a blonde streak going from her lower jaw to her crotch, and black, tiger-like stripes coating her form. Her tail was long and prehensile, reflexively curling into a spring-like form, and her face was feline in appearance. Her bust was average, no more than a C cup, but was wrapped in a form-fitting one piece leotard bearing the Team Rocket logo on it, a blood red ‘R.’
Elisa sneered. "You sent out the Titter first? Come on, Glasses. Give me a little credit. You think I can’t whup this springtail without even working up a sweat?"
Jolene fumed, but Glasses just chuckled. "I know full well how tough you Soldiers are. But don’t underestimate me, Maza. I’ve already figured out how to take you down."
Elisa just frowned at him. "Oh really?"
Glasses grinned wickedly. "Jolene, FOLLOW ME!" he shouted, crouching down and leaping high into the air, his powerful legs carrying him up to one of the highest ledges in the cavern. The Pokégirl, getting the idea, grinned and coiled her tail underneath her, power-bouncing up to join her master.
Elisa scowled. "Damn… Forgot how high Dragoons can jump…" she muttered, "You can’t hide up there forever, Glasses! I’ve already got the rest of the team converging on my position!"
Glasses laughed. "I’ve got all the time I need, Maza!" he said, pulling another collapsible lance out of his hip pack and giving it to Jolene to assemble.
The Pokégirl did not share her master’s confidence, however. "She’s got a point, boss. We can bounce around her all we want, but unless we get past her, I don’t know how we can get out."
Glasses nodded. "So we don’t get past her. We hold her off long enough to find a way out."
Jolene gave her Master a confused look. Glasses grinned and pulled out a second Pokéball. He triggered it, and a buxom young redhead in a stylized blue robe appeared, a glowing clock symbol on her back.
Steph grinned and saluted. "Ready and willing to ruckus, boss! What’s the mission?"
Jolene frowned, flinching as Elisa pulled out her pistol again and fired a few shots at the ledge they were on, trying to get them down. "Steph?" Jolene said, "I know she’s got some time tricks, but how…"
Glasses smirked. "She can speed up time around herself, find a way out of here in a third of the time it’d take us. Meanwhile, we keep Maza there busy and hope to whatever God that protect criminals and renegades that she doesn’t get a chance to cast Judgement on us."
Jolene shivered. Even Steph, normally perky and cheerful, looked nervous.
"You can count on me, boss. Stephanie Baine, Tick-Tock Extraordinaire, ready to do some hypertime searching!"
"Find us a way out of here. Use quickening magic to search this cavern for an exit. And make it fast, we’ve got the entire Magnificent Seven on our trail," Glasses said, nodding.
Steph went wide-eyed. "All seven? Geez boss…" she said, sighing. She clasped her hands and whispered a spell, energy flowing around her to form a clock. Her features went blurry as she zipped off, going deeper into the caverns at high speeds.
Just as Steph left, Elisa got tired of waiting. "Resisting arrest will only get you so far, Glasses! Time to come down!" she snapped as she pointed her hand up to the ledge Glasses and Jolene were standing on. She concentrated, an orb of green energy forming in her hand. "GEORA!"
The orb flew up towards the ledge, sinking into a crack in the rock. Almost instantly, thick, flowering vines began growing out of the cracks, cracking the ledge and forcing Glasses and Jolene to leap off.
Elisa braced herself as the spring-tailed Pokégirl and the Dragoon leaped down, lances at the ready. The amazingly sharp blades stabbed deep into the ground, scattering rocks as Elisa leaped out of the way, rolling into a crouch and firing several rounds of elemental ammo. Glasses took to the air again with a powerful leap, while the Titter bounced around on her tail, deftly avoiding the shots and giggling all the while. Glasses came down again, but this time Elisa parried the thrust with her shudderblade, triggering it and creating and sending an explosion of flame down the length of the sword, the explosion as well as the vibrations of the blade briefly throwing Glasses off balance. She used the brief moment to try slashing him again, but Glasses ducked down, bringing his leg around in a sweep kick. Elisa was taken off guard and knocked down, a sharp pain shooting through her shoulder on impact. She rolled with the impact, coming up in a firing stance and fired a few bursts of electrical bullets. Glasses parried the shots, and Jolene used the time to bounce over her Tamer’s head, aiming her lance at Elisa’s head as she came down. Elisa barely managed to dodge, the lance slicing her face as she flipped backwards, going into a roll and coming back up to her feet quickly.
She touched the slash mark on her cheek and winced. "That one was free," she said, "The next is gonna cost you both."
Before either of them could react, Elisa slammed her hand down on the ground. "EARTHRA!"
Her hand flashed, and the ground shook with sudden violence, making both Glasses and Jolene stagger. As Elisa cast the spell, she tapped a button on her belt, making her armored uniform start glowing. Moving faster than any human had a right to, Elisa charged forward, shudderblade flashing. She triggered one of the flame rounds in the chamber of the blade as she attacked Jolene, sending the Titter flying back in a spray of burning blood. It was by sheer luck that the wound wasn’t too deep. Glasses immediately turned and called out to his injured Pokégirl. But before he could do anything more, Elisa drove her knee into his stomach, sending him flying with the force of the blow, the wind knocked out of him.
As Glasses landed, clutching his stomach and moaning, Elisa smirked, tapping the button on her belt again. "Disengage Accel Mode."
The glow faded from her uniform as she sheathed her shudderblade. She pulled out her badge and held it forward, making quick gestures with her other hand, which began glowing with magical energy.
"Michael O’Donnel, also known as Glasses, you are under arrest. You are charged with theft of Jusenkyo water with intent to use in illegal transformations. You are charged with seventeen counts of murder, nineteen if you include my Pokéboys, and NINETY counts of Grand Theft Pokégirl. You are charged with several dozen more counts of defiance against the laws of the Victor Von Doom, the WorldGuardian. And worst of all, you are accused of inciting chaos."
Glasses coughed, slowly trying to get to his feet. "Better to live in chaos that be enslaved in order," he snarled, looking towards Jolene, who was bleeding steadily.
Elisa just shook her head, as if she regarded Glasses to be a pure fool. She continued, saying, "For these crimes and probably a few I’ve forgotten, a summary sentence has been authorized. For these crimes, you will face JUDGEMENT."
Glasses turned back to Elisa with a start, a frightened look on his face as she brought her glowing hand up to the badge, which glowed with green and red energy and fired an intense, focused beam of light that lifted Glasses into the air. Jolene shrieked in fear for her master, and tried to attack Elisa. But her lance simply bounced off of the aura surrounding both caster and victim.
A sigil of a badge appeared underneath Glasses, the symbol on the badge that of a frightening mask. The badge rapidly flashed green and red, slowing down steadily. Glasses whimpered, terrified of the result.
The badge sigil settled on red.
"No…" Glasses said softly, sweating profusely.
"MASTER!" Jolene shrieked.
Elisa grinned viciously, and started to make a few more handsigns, the red glow of the badge intensifying.
"CAST IN THE NAME OF DOOM…" she started to say.
Then she simply stopped moving.
The glow faded from Elisa, from the badge, and from around Glasses, who dropped to the ground roughly. He gasped, thanking every God and Goddess he could think of for the reprieve.
A very frightened Steph appeared, her fast-time spell fading. "Boss, we need to leave. NOW."
Glasses chuckled softly. "Stephanie, my lovely. I am going to tame you until time itself stops tonight."
Steph managed a brief, almost manic grin before saying, "I appreciate the sentiment, but we have to leave. Now. NOW NOW NOW!" She pulled him to his feet, Jolene bouncing over to them, sitting on her spring-like tail and clutching her chest.
"Steph, what’s wrong?" Jolene asked, "Is there no back way out of here?"
Glasses noticed Jolene’s chest wound and immediately pulled a medicated field bandage out of his hip pack, beginning to dress the wound as Steph looked nervously back into the cave.
"Worse that that. This is a WENDIGO cave!"
Glasses turned back to Steph, his eyes going wide. Jolene paled visibly. "A Wendigo? Here?!"
Steph nodded. "So leaving sometime in the vicinity of NOW would be good. Like, maybe, NOW NOW NOW!"
At that exact moment, a thunderous roar echoed through the cavern. Jolene gulped nervously. "Um… Master… Normally I would just ignore Steph’s panic attacks, but I really think it’d be better for us to leave now."
Glasses finished dressing Jolene’s wound and put her in her Pokéball. Steph nodded. "Yes. Good. My turn. Let’s leave now."
Glasses fingered Steph’s Pokéball, and then looked at Elisa, still frozen in time by Steph’s Stop spell. A manic grin split his face as he picked up the pack of Jusenkyo water, turning towards Elisa. The Wendigo roared again.
"Boss?" Steph asked.
"When I start the motto, drop the Stop spell on Maza," Glasses said, removing a hose from the water pack and aiming it at Elisa.
The Wendigo roared again, sounding closer. Steph whimpered. "BOSS!?!?!?"
"Just DO IT!" Glasses said, not turning his attention from Elisa.
Steph gulped nervously, and nodded. She held out her closed fist towards Elisa. "Ready."
Glasses smirked. "PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"
Steph opened her hand. The energy that held Elisa frozen in time dissipated in a flash, flowing back into the Tick-Tock’s hands.
"…YE GUILTY!" Elisa finished. She then blinked, seeing that Glasses had suddenly vanished from view.
Glasses grinned viciously. "AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!" he shouted, twisting the dispenser hose of the water pack on. A powerful jet of the cursed water shot out, striking Elisa with enough force to knock her over. In her surprise, she opened her mouth, actually swallowing some of the enchanted fluid.
Elisa collapsed, her body glowing as the water started to take effect on her. She screamed in agony, writhing about on the ground as her body started to shift both internally and externally.
Glasses laughed, and took a pose, one fist outstretched, the other arm holding the dispenser hose of the water pack, now half-full. He grinned, and finished the motto. "To denounce Doom’s so-called truth and love! To spread freedom and chaos to the stars above! Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
The Wendigo roared once more, its footsteps now audible.
Glasses blinked, as if noticing the Wendigo for the first time.
"Aaaand… I’m done," he said, grabbing Steph and running out of the cave with her at top speed.
Steph laughed. "Took you long enough, boss. But won’t Master Dracon be mad at you for spending so much of the Jusenkyo water?"
Glasses grinned viciously. "You kiddin’? This is more than we need. The only reason I went for the full tank in the first place is that I was going for brownie points with Dracon’s Sinisister. And as for the waste, who said I did that? I left Elisa Maza, his hated rival, in the middle of a transformation with a W-Class threat on the way. Even if she lives, she’ll be a Pokégirl. Her life as a member of Doom’s elite guard is over. Her life as a HUMAN is over. She’s no longer a threat."
Back at the cavern, Elisa was in agony. Her body was going through a forced Threshold, reshaping itself into a new form. Her forehead became slightly thicker, her eyebrows vanishing and being replaced with a pair of small, slim horns. Her muscles swelled, tearing through her uniform. Her feet became claws, shredding her boots. She tried to get to her feet, but three stabbing pains in her back forced her back down. She rolled to her chest and clutched at her uniform jacket and shirt, her hands now claws. She forcefully ripped them off, allowing her growing tail and wings to appear. Her skin darkened, becoming an almost lavender color.
Worse yet were the mental changes coming over her, the growing panic she felt as her mind started to slip away from her, becoming more animalistic in nature. She tried to focus on something human, her graduation from the Enforcer Academy, getting her first Pokéboy, Matt, her joy as her sister won her first Pokébattle for her Tamer, her pride at being accepted into Doom’s elite guard…
"WEN-DI-GOOOOOO!!!" bellowed a voice.
Elisa jerked, panic coming over her at the sound of the bestial voice coming close to her. She instinctively grabbed the thing nearest to her, her shudderblade, and slowly got to her feet. She staggered, her changes still unfinished, but still managed to take a feral fighting stance.
From deeper within the cavern, a hulking, white-furred form emerged. The razor-fanged female beast roared angrily, her long, shaggy hair cascading down over her shoulders as she looked for the source of her disturbed sleep. The Wendigo’s blood-red eyes searched furiously around the room before settling on Elisa.
Elisa hissed fearfully at the Wendigo, her eyes glowing a fierce red. She slashed the shudderblade wildly, trying to drive the Wendigo back. The Wendigo just growled in annoyance, slamming her fists into the cavern wall, shaking the walls with the force of the blow. A massive boulder dislodged from the ceiling, Elisa leaping back and landing on all fours, snarling ferally at the Wendigo. But even in her increasingly animalistic state, she knew how much danger she was in. She had to get away.
She threw her shudderblade at the Wendigo’s face, but the creature merely caught it just as the blade knicked her nose. The Wendigo smirked, crushing the shudderblade in a massive paw, the remaining shells exploding harmlessly. Elisa snarled, her heart racing in her fright and turned to run, scampering out of the cave as fast as she could on all fours. But just as she exited the cave, the blade of her shattered weapon, picked up and thrown by the Wendigo, flew out and slammed into her leg with enough force to sever it from the knee down.
Elisa shrieked, collapsing and clutching the stump where her leg used to be. Tears flowed down her face as she stared fearfully at the Wendigo, which chuckled viciously as she stomped out after her. The Wendigo licked its lips and picked up Elisa’s severed leg.
Elisa could only watch, horrified, as the Wendigo began to eat her severed limb, savoring each bite, crunching through bone with each powerful bite. Elisa desperately tried to crawl away, her severed limb trailing blood. Her head was swimming, both from her recent Threshold and from the loss of blood. The Wendigo grinned, and got ready to finish her off, when a voice attracted both the Wendigo’s attention and Elisa’s.
"Three moons align, shine forth your might! Feel my fists with warrior’s might!" shouted an echoing voice.
From out of the shadows jumped a man-shaped figure with a glowing black aura around him, leg extended in a kick. His foot struck the Wendigo in the face with enough force to break the creature’s jaw with a thunderous snap.
The figure landed, revealing a blonde-haired young man in a dark blue shirt and black jeans, a cruel gleam in his emerald eyes. The black gem on the necklace he wore glowed the same color as the murderous aura surrounding him.
Elisa shivered, backing away from the imposing figure as best she could. The Wendigo clutched her wounded jaw, staring curiously at the human-scented creature that hurt her.
The young man cracked his neck, and chuckled, flexing his muscles. "Feels good to be corporal again, even if it is in this whelp’s weak body," he said, glancing over the area. He scowled when he saw the quivering Elisa.
"Hmph. Whelp will probably want to help her. Better finish this quick. Pity," he said, turning to the Wendigo, which was still staring at him. The man smirked, and took a Shorin Ryu stance, beckoning the Wendigo to come forward. "Come then. I haven’t got all day," he said.
The Wendigo sniffed the air around the boy, scowling. Something was off about the boy, and she wasn’t in the mood to test it further. Besides, she was still tired. Making a dismissive gesture, the Wendigo lumbered back into her cave.
The young man grinned cruelly. "Smart creature. You recognize your better," he said, sighing as he dropped his stance. "Oh well… Perhaps next time I’ll actually get a fight…" He closed his eyes, and the aura retracted into the crystal. The man staggered, his eyes opening again, this time with a warmer tone to them.
"Damn… Didn’t think he’d possess me… At least he didn’t press the fight…" he said, looking around. He spotted Elisa and frowned. "Oh geez, you’re hurt badly," he said, rushing to her side. She whimpered and tried to pull away, but he held onto her gently, trying to calm her.
"It’s okay… It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you," he said, smiling warmly. Elisa was confused. His eyes were so different before, as cold as ice. But now they radiated warmth and good cheer… How could he change so quickly?
"You’re hurt badly," the young man said, "I need to cast a healing spell. Please let me." He smiled, his face friendly and inviting. Elisa still looked nervous. But she recognized the word ‘healing.’ Reluctantly, she nodded. She was starting to get dizzy from the blood loss.
The young man kneeled down next to her. He pressed his hand onto her injured leg , and clutched the white gem on his necklace.
"By warmth of heart, your pain I feel!" he said, his voice echoing slightly as his eyes began to glow, "Grant me the power, your wounds to heal!"
His body glowed with a white aura. Elisa gasped, a surge of energy going through her body as the dizziness started to fade. Underneath the young man’s touch, her leg started to grow back, flesh and bone restoring itself to it’s original state.
Elisa blinked, flexing her talons. Her leg was a little stiff, but otherwise felt fine. She smiled at him. The young man grinned… and then winced, clutching his leg in pain. "Sorry…" he said, grimacing, "For my healing spell to work, I had to take your pain into me…"
Elisa blinked, and gave him a concerned look. The young man waved her off. "It’ll pass in a few seconds… I’m Aaron by the way. Aaron Towers," he said, smiling warmly at her.
Elisa grinned. She wished she could tell him her own name, but right now she just barely remembered the fact that she used to be human.
But there was something else coming over her as her body started to realize that it was in the presence of a handsome young man. It magnified her gratitude into… something a little more interesting…
Elisa grinned warmly at him and pressed her lips to his. Aaron froze, a shiver running up and down his body as the unfamiliar sensation of warm female flesh against his slowly began to process in his shocked mind.
"Oh wow…" he said when Elisa finally broke the kiss. She let out a sound almost like a purr, and began to stalk towards him on all fours, an almost predatory smile on her face. Aaron gulped, noticing for the first time that the lavender-skinned beauty was very naked, and suddenly very interested him. He grinned nervously, and started to crab-walk backwards. "Um… You aren’t gonna try and eat me yourself, are you?"
Elisa’s smirk seemed to tell him ‘Not unless you want me to.’ She let out a low growl, pinning him to the ground and kissing him again, pressing herself to his body.
Aaron’s mind was a blur, his body and mind having trouble processing the unfamiliar but very pleasurable sensations he was experiencing. He looked down, getting a good view of Elisa’s sizable breasts pressed up against his shirt, the look of sheer desire on her face. She grinned when she felt the crotch of his pants start to bulge, and reached down to rip the front of his pants off.
"Ma’am, we barely know each other!" he finally managed to blurt out.
Elisa actually managed to giggle at that. He really was quite cute.
She held his face in her hands, and kissed him once more…
…and Aaron just let himself go, enjoying the moment…
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Later…
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"Wow…" Aaron said, grinning widely. His clothes were in tatters, but right now he didn’t care. His arm was wrapped around Elisa, who lay up against him, growling softly, a smile on her face. Aaron smiled, and kissed her head, gently mussing her long, black hair with his other hand.
He had absolutely no idea where he was. He now had a ghost under his command that could take over his body whenever it was invoked. And from what Vorgan had told him, he would be killed if anyone found out he was from another reality.
But right now, none of that mattered. The past hour had been spent making love to the beautiful winged woman now resting up against him. His first sexual encounter, and it had been a wonderful one. He sighed contentedly, and closed his eyes, debating the merits of just going to sleep right there.
The boot that struck him in the back of the head made up his mind for him.
Aaron winced, looking around for the source of the kick. He noticed Elisa looking at a figure behind him and snarling, her eyes glowing red. Aaron turned… only to find himself staring down five gun barrels, each one held by a very angry-looking man in a vaguely police-like uniform. Leading them was the most intimidating woman Aaron had ever seen in his life.
He grinned weakly. "Um…. Hiya."
The woman scowled. "I am Major Motoko Kusanagi, Leader of Doom’s Elite Guard, code name the Magnificent Seven. And you, Rocket-scum, are in a shitload of trouble."
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To Be Continued…
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