The man woke, and froze; he had been tortured and beaten, so why was he suddenly comfortable? His eyes opened slowly, and suddenly his body recoiled, startling the female awake. His voice, still cracking and rasping , but slightly firmer sounded out, “I am sorry, I don’t know how I got there, but I swear, I didn’t do anything.” He could feel his energy coming back, but his limbs were weak, and he feared he wouldn’t be able to move very fast, but to his surprise, her face flushed, and she ducked her head as she spoke.
“It’s alright, you didn’t look at all comfortable, and so I thought that maybe I could help. Would you have a name? I would like to know what to call you.” The girl managed to gather herself until finally she could raise her head and look at the man.
“Before I answer that, I would like to ask you just a couple of questions…” the man’s voice was getting stronger, but she could hear the scratch in it that would mean he wasn’t going to be able to speak much longer. “… To put things into perspective for me.” The man finished his statement, and looked at the girl, awaiting her choice. At her nod, he continued, “what exactly are you? And please, I mean no disrespect.”
The girl’s eyes widened slightly before she spoke. “I am a pokegirl, more specifically, my breed is that of a psidyke. Although, from your first comment, I would think you already know that.”
The man shakily raised a hand, and rubbed at his face, as a groan escaped his lips. “Yes, I did, I just wasn’t sure that I wanted to believe it. Next, easy enough, yes or no please; our…hostess… she is a sanctuary goth?” the man smirked a bit as the girl’s jaw dropped. Her disbelieving nod gave him incentive to continue. “I would take that answer as a yes.” His voice was scraping his throat raw, so he spoke once more, hoping the girl would get the message. “due to circumstances, I would think I need a new name, so it shall be Kirai Tsunade. We may talk again later, please.” The last word came out with a croak, and the newly named Kirai rubbed his throat gently as he relaxed a bit more, laying his head on the floor.
His voice soon returned in full, deep and rough, and he began speaking with his caretaker. But through all this time, Kirai noticed himself losing a lot of weight. Originally being 6 foot, and weighing in at 310 pounds, he was always told he carried his weight well, and anyone guessing would usually put him around 220, he now looked almost starved, his broad shoulders stuck out almost unnaturally, and even though he was still a large man, his bones in his hands and legs were beginning to show, as were his ribs, if he were to wager with himself, he would guess his weight to be about 180. His caretaker had also mentioned that his hair was lightening, slowly, but after an unknown number of days, it had noticeably gone from a rich, dark brown to an almost gray. All the man could figure is that the torture and beatings he had received, along with the meager meal he shared with his caretaker were the reasons behind all his health problems.
As his caretaker worked, he lay unmoving, and slowly, she began to help him as he tried moving his limbs. First, she would help him with his arms, until he could feed himself, then his legs, so he could hold his own weight, eventually he could walk, unsteadily, but without her support. Though they talked much, it was never about themselves, or their predicament, it was always just meaningless words, just to fill the silence that threatened to engulf both of them.
Finally, when Kirai could carry himself, and the girl mentioned that it would only be a matter of time before the mistress came back, she sat down in front of him, and spoke. “My patience is dying, and my curiosity has the better of me, I would know how you know what you do. Please do not think it impertinent of me, my fear has held my tongue, but I must know, and if you must punish me for it, I would gladly take a beating, just please, let my mind be.”
Kirai turned his undivided attention to her, his brown eyes fixing on hers, as he spoke. “why would I strike you, when you have cared for me, and made sure I would recover? And what makes you think I would be able to do anything to your mind?”
The girl’s heart stuttered as she looked into his eyes, the golden flecks shimmering with every beat of his heart, pulling her deeper into his gaze. Softly, and with regret, she broke away from them, and lowered her head before she spoke, this time in a soft whisper. “after the mistress brought you here, she made me stand with her, as three psychics attempted to access your mind, and even though you seemed unconscious, I watched as three of the strongest psychics I had ever met drop dead, fluid pouring out of every orifice.” The girl began trembling as she relived the heartrending screams of agony as each psychic tore out their own eyes, and their hitched breathing that ceased as their brains turned to jelly, and began oozing out their empty eye sockets, and dripping out of each ear while blood drooled from open mouths, where they had bitten clean through their tongues. “If you could do that to them, I’m afraid of that you would do to me…”
A gentle smile came to Kirai’s face as he reached out, and lightly touched her chin. Her whole body shivering was the only indication of her fear, as she sat as still as a stone. With a gentleness that she had never felt before, his hand guided her face up, until she could see his smile and the kindness in his eyes. “to answer your original question is quite simple, the Goths of sanctuary have been ‘abducting’ authors from our own world, seeking to use powers that they may or may not possess. They torture them, trying to break them to their cause. I know this because where I come from, this world in naught but an idea created and expounded upon, but entirely fictional. There are several people who write for this fiction, what we call authors of the pokegirl universe, who have written what we call ‘author inserts’ where the author, themselves or another, are hauled across dimensions, to this one, usually by sanctuary Goths. But they either screwed up big tome, or our hostess here is going solo.” Kirai paused to let all of this information be absorbed by the girl, who seemed to have a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.
“What do you mean? They summoned an author, and you are here…” the girl had calmed a bit, but her nervousness was still apparent, as she probably thought she was treading thin ice asking any questions.
Kirai gave a mischievous grin, “logical presumption is that I must be an author, yes?” at her shaky nod, he continued. “I did write, in a world I created, yes. That must in its very definition make me an author, but…” and he held up a finger. “all I ever wrote of this, the pokegirl world, were a pair of introductions, where the main character has just appeared. I got no further than that, and even those never got past the rough draft. So, back to the subject of how I got here…” Kirai chuckled, at what must be a private joke. “best guess? The idiots did a broad spectrum search for ‘author’, instead of narrowing it to ‘author of the pokegirl universe’. And now, I must apologize to you, for forcing your presence.” So saying, Kirai stood and in a single, smooth motion, had bowed at the waist. His bow was deep enough that had he not held his hands at his sides, they would have scraped the floor. “I, Kirai Tsunade, am deeply sorry for what I have caused you.” So saying, he began to straighten, when the earth rumbled and a small quake shivered through the room, taking the off balance man, and the rising psidyke back to the floor in two ungraceful heaps.
The girl had began to stand when Kirai had bowed, intent on making sure he didn’t bow again, hut now, she was straightening herself out, and sitting back up. “Why? What makes you think it is your fault that I am here?” her confusion was evident. The Goth she was forced to call mistress had beaten her, and tossed her in with him, swearing repercussions if he died. All he had done since he had woken was to be polite to her, and, if she could believe the eyes that mesmerized her, honest.
Kirai chuckled again, “allow me to clarify. The… last… time… our hostess visited me, just before I was beaten again, she had asked me to reconsider my answer to whether I would help her or not. I told her I would rather turn a dyke straight.” The psidyke giggled, and then slapped a hand to her mouth in surprise. “I didn’t know where I was, but where I come from, a dyke is a female who has sworn off men… she said she could arrange that, just before she left.”
The girl sobered immediately, and her hand dropped back to her lap. “So, I have you to thank for this…” her voice was a bit sarcastic as she waved her hand at the rest of the dimly lit room, devoid of anything except the two of them. “Thank you…” her voice had dropped all hints of sarcasm, or humor, the naked sincerity in both her voice and eyes showed the truth of her words. “you saved me from daily beatings, and now, I am not entirely sure what to do…” she visibly steeled herself, “I could have taken better care of you, and yet, despite knowing what I am, you have been nothing but kind, and then I find you are also the reason I am free from the beatings, and all I could think of was doing just enough to get you better, before I lost it. It has been over two weeks since I…” the girl fell silent, her eyes now pointing at the ground as her fingers began twitching, and she started to fidget.
Notes:
SANCTUARY GOTH, the Ebon Soul Pokégirl
Type: Very Near Human
Element: Magic/Psychic
Frequency: Extremely Rare, Rare (Dark Continent)
Diet: Human-style foods
Role: Would-be saviors, busybodies.
Libido: N/A
Strong Vs: Fighting, Poison
Weak Vs: Ghost, Bug, Dark
Attacks: Aura of Danger*, Aura of Menace*, Aura of Love*, Aura of Command*, Aura of Fear, Aura of Doom, Call Me Queen, Aura Barrier, Aura Sensation, Teleport, S.E.P.
Enhancements: Suppressed Pack Mentality, Gift of Sight**
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Almost Any (Ebony Stone)
Classified: Information beyond this point is on a need-to-know basis and must never reach the public. Unlawful disclosure of said information is punishable as a capital offense in all leagues.
For years, rumors have circulated the leagues about a breed of Pokégirls who do not require taming, and who live independent of humans. Although such rumors have continuously found their way into tabloids and bar room gossip, they have never been substantiated, and most dismiss them as idle fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong. The Sanctuary Goths, as they have dubbed themselves, are the culmination of the leagues' worst nightmares. Living in secret on the Dark Continent, these Pokégirls, if one can still call them such considering that they need neither taming nor master, are the greatest danger to world peace since the Revenge War.
Although the details are unknown, it is generally agreed that the creation of the first Sanctuary Goths (or S-Goths, as they shall henceforth be referred to) occurred in 196 AS. Purportedly, twelve Pokégirls of various breeds discovered a laboratory of Sukebe's. Therein, they were exposed to some manner of "enhancement" device that suppressed the subconscious need for a master to stave off the feral state, and thus the need for taming to stay sane. Their bodies were also physically transformed into Very Near Human types, similar in appearance to the "Goth" breed, but generally retaining hair and eye color from their previous forms.
Since that time, a pseudo-evolutionary stone, the "Ebony Stone," has been identified as being able to, unfortunately, catalyst the creation of more S-Goths from almost any other breed. Upon this "evolution," a Pokégirl loses any animalistic or otherwise inhuman traits, becoming almost identical to a human female in form. Her hair and eyes, however, remain their original colors, and change of breast size is proportionate: although rarely do S-Goths have larger than a D-cup, those who were more well-endowed before evolution will end up around D, whereas those with the D range or so may end up with a generous C and so on. This trend seems to reverse at the lower extremes, however, with A's rounding upward towards a moderate B. The skin of S-Goths also generally becomes pale, although some specimens have been observed to prefer a tan, and a series of tattoos that reflect the S-Goth's personality and background appear on her arms. Although generally black or another dark color, the color of these markings can vary greatly as well.
In addition to these innate traits, however, the vast majority of S-Goths share many other traits. Although these are considered cultural and would normally not be included herein, the circumstances of S-Goth existence dictate that such information be treated as pertinent. In addition to the natural tattoos that appear upon evolution into an S-Goth, many individuals have been known to add additional markings to their skin, often on the legs, but full-body tattooing isn't unknown. A penchant for dark, moody attire also appears to be a common characteristic, one which is often accompanied by similar hairstyles; this is (combined with their shadowy tactics) what has earned them the nickname of "Dark Angels." Many of these tastes are, however, somewhat affected by holdovers from the previous evolutionary form when applicable and so this is by no means the last word on the subject.
In mentality, on the other hand, there is actually very little innate change after evolution to an S-Goth. The only notable aspect in this regard is that which has already been mentioned; their bodies no longer require a tamer to remain tame, and so the ability to form alpha bonds is suppressed under most circumstances. However, the evolution itself does nothing to destroy the existing loyalty of a pokégirl to her master, and it is for this reason that few harem Pokégirls are evolved by Sanctuary. Rather, the evolutionary jump is generally induced in those who have been saved by Sanctuary and indoctrinated in the views and ideals that are ostensibly the base for Sanctuary society. As such, the mindset that will be detailed as "average" herein would likely not be found in an S-Goth evolved outside of that influence.
Regardless of why, however, the general S-Goth mindset is insanely liberal. Officially, the majority believes in "parity," or a theoretical state of equality between humans and Pokégirls. In actuality, however, this belief is somewhat euphemistic; Sanctuary's policies advocate a hideous role-reversal, in which S-Goths may chose a "good" tamer and make him her "pet." Under this system, the S-Goth is considered the dominant member of the relationship, and would be permitted by Sanctuary law to treat him almost in the manner which a human may treat a Pokégirl. The ostensible purpose of this policy is to allow a parthenogenic breed to reproduce, but this has long since been antiquated.
It should be noted, however, that most continue to express an almost fanatical belief in parity and equally due to their indoctrination, despite their blatant lack of its practice. As such, terms such as "tamer" and it's variants, or even "master" too a lesser degree are social taboos and most S-Goths find them almost impossible to say. The exceptions are, unfortunately, those who venture into the world at large, however. Due to the ambitions of Sanctuary, many of its daughters have done their best to quietly infiltrate league governments around the world, although they've been more successful in some places than others. They have also been known to pose as female tamers on occasion, but thankfully they do not possess the ability to tame Pokégirls out of feral or to form the same type of alpha bonds with them as a human would, although delta and recognition are still within the realm of possibility and the Aura of Command (see below) is often substituted for a bond. It is also important to note that denizens of Sanctuary will never refer to it as such outside of its confines; rather, it "should" be referred to as "You-know-where." This practice is also popular among its supporters, and even with some of its adversaries.
Perhaps the biggest reason for an S-Goth to pose as a tamer is that, interestingly, they are very unsuited to combat. None of the breed's default techniques are offensive, and their bodies aren't at all enhanced in the way that most breeds are. This means that they're surprisingly fragile, and usually can't take more punishment than a human. As such, they are generally not the best combatants on their own, although they do have a fairly decent potential to cast magic, being partially of that typing.
This has lead to, as stated, the adaptation of tamer roles in the outside world, as well as the creation of several "Guardian" breeds for Sanctuary itself, both of which are very unfortunate. However, when an S-Goth does involve herself in a battle, the signature "aura" attacks in her possession are excellent for a supporting role. One known technique is to combine "Aura of Menace" and "Call Me Queen" with the effects of "Aura of Command" to totally dominate an opponent and take control of her for the duration of the battle. Aura of Danger, Aura of Fear, and Aura of Menace are also useful in preventing direct attacks against the S-Goth herself from non-dark types. It has also been noted by some that, when an S-Goth utilizes her "aura" techniques (aside from Aura of Love), she seems to gain dark "wings" of psychic energy.
Finally, when it comes to taming (or whatever euphemistic term you might prefer), the only real distinction the S-Goth possess is a Sex Attack known as "Aura of Love." This technique allows them to reinforce feelings of lust and attraction that those around her feel towards her, as well as making her own actions appear more enticing than they actually are. Other than this, their preferences generally carry over from their previous forms, and thus are very hard to get an average for, although most of those indoctrinated in Sanctuary's ways prefer to be the dominant partner.
Addendum - Further Classified: Information beyond this point is on a need-to-know basis and must never reach any government known to sympathize with Sanctuary.
A breakthrough! Data has recently been obtained to illustrate that Sanctuary Goths are not quite as impervious to the group mentality that allows for alpha bonds to be formed as was originally believed. It appears that, under the proper conditions, it is in fact possible to properly bond an S-Goth as with any other Pokégirl. However, the proper conditions are very difficult to synthesize, and extreme caution should be exercised. The primary requirement for the formation of an alpha bond, however, is submissiveness on the part of the Sanctuary Goth to be bonded. This does not simply mean that she must accept a submissive role in taming, but that she must accept a human's dominance in a more general sense, such as another Pokégirl might.
Although it is possible to generate this state via mundane means, that is only barely so. Not only does one face the challenge of preventing her from escaping, something that is very possible with teleport, but one must avoid repercussions from Sanctuary, as it does not appreciate attempts to abduct it's daughters, never mind to corrupt them. Thus, although this method was used in the original discovery of S-Goth bonding, a more expedient method was sought to make it of practical use.
Naturally, a Level 5 conditioning cycle is capable of inducing such a state, but doing so removes most of the value from the acquisition. As such, further research has yielded that is possible for a high-level psychic type to invade the mind of an S-Goth and temporarily remove the suppression on her pack mentality. However, as S-Goths themselves are quite apt at escaping and often have substantial mental defenses (being psychic types), it is rare that a psychic alone will be enough. As such, a powerful magic type is generally also required to prevent teleportation and to facilitate the connection between the psychic-type and the S-Goth. Once the suppression is released, a window of opportunity within which she may be alpha bonded by a thorough taming will open.
As a further addendum, it should be noted that there is increasing evidence to suggest that the true breed name is something other than "Sanctuary Goth." Unfortunately, however, aside from the suggestion of the name "Grimgoth," which is likely a slur from those "in the know" who dislike the S-Goths, no hints as to what it might be have arisen. However, it is possible that the sorcerers of Vale, the individual in Capital known as "the Undertaker," or the select few who have alpha-bonded an S-Goth may know.... If so, however, they are being exceptionally tight-lipped.
Aura of Danger (EFT) - Projects a aura that generates a sensation comparable to a "gut feeling" of danger to those within a certain radius of the user.
Aura of Menace: (EFT) - Projects an aura around the user that makes them appear more menacing or fearsome.
Aura of Love (S.ATK +EFT) - Projects an aura that strongly reinforces feelings of lust and affection towards the user in those around her, as well as making her actions appear more provocative and enticing than they are.
Aura of Command (EFT) - Projects an aura that reinforces the desire to obey the user in those around her.
The Gift of Sight: A spell-like ability that allows a Sanctuary Goth, whilst in a state of deep meditation, to observe things that pertain to her, but are out of her physical sight. However, these visions are often cryptic and sparing, giving only glimpses or symbolic representations.