Chapter 07: The House Always Wins

 

Joseph Trades was sitting on a cold, metallic chair in the basement of the police station. The room had only one light that hung in the center of the room over a small table. The room was gray and made completely of concrete, which brought the temperature down to about fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Joe’s hands were handcuffed behind his back and attached to the chair itself. If he tried to get up, he would need to lift the chair up as well. Joe had been down in the room for the past three hours, but if you would have asked him, he would have said twelve. On his right side, there was a large mirror, which he assumed was an observation room. Captain Morrison and an OfficerJenny were standing in front of him on the other end of the table, with the Jenny over to Joe’s left side. In front of Captain Morrison, lying on the table was a vanilla colored folder. Either pokégirl had opened it or even mentioned it this entire time Joe had been in the room. To them, it was as if the folder did not even exist. 

 

The two police officers seemed to be more concerned with questioning Joe again. He could not remember how many times they had asked these questions, but he lost count after the seventh time. They were not even specific questions; they did not even tell Joe what he had allegedly done. The questions were his locations were on certain days and times, which he answered truthfully. The dates of these questions stretched back all the way to when he had arrived in Bristol. Joe guessed that the two pokégirls in front of him did not believe him, since they seemed to keep asking him about the people he encountered and talked to again and again. 

 

“Okay, Mr. Holten,” Captain Morrison started. “Let’s go over this one more time; from the top.” 

 

“Go over what,” Joe Trades asked the Denmother. “For the past few hours, I have been poked, sampled, chained, questioned and freezing in this room, and no one will tell me why.” 

 

“You know why,” the OfficerJenny said, in a matter-of-fact way. “Do you really need us to tell you why?” 

 

“Shouldn’t you have done so already,” he asked. Of course, Joe Trades did not know the actual procedures when it came to this League, or for any League for that matter. 

 

The OfficerJenny took a breath, as if she was about to sigh. She then opened up what appeared to be a large flip-up cell phone and started to push a few buttons on it. “You, Den-Mar Holten, are being charged with: 4 counts of Homicide in the first degree, one of them was a police officer, rape of another officer, 2 counts of robbery and pokégirl theft. Those are the ones that we have figured out so far.” 

 

Joe was dumbfounded when he heard the charges. What…this…this is a mistake…I… “I didn’t do anything,” he pleaded. “When did these things take place?” 

 

The OfficerJenny gave him a look that she was annoyed. “The first two homicides took place somewhere in the early morning of July 8. At this time, one of the robberies and the pokégirl theft occurred. The third homicide occurred at around noon of that day, which was followed by the second robbery.  The remaining charges occurred on early morning of the ninth.” 

 

“Who were the victims?” 

 

The Jenny glared at him. Taking in another long and loud sigh, she walked over to Captain Morrison and grabbed the vanilla colored folder on the opposite end of the table from Joe. She walked over to him and set it down in front of him. Opening up the folder, she pulled out an 8 ½ by 11 inch photo. The photo depicted a man whose back of the head appeared to have been completely ripped open. The Jenny then took out another photograph of the same size and laid it in front of Joe, right next to the first. This one showed a man, much bigger than the first, with his face completely flattened and indented inwards. 

 

“The first two victims were Frank Staffer, the owner of a bar named, The Mosquito, and a regular patron, Julius Smith. The late Mister Smith’s Mini-Top, Babs, was the pokégirl who was stolen.” The pokégirl pointed to the first man in the photograph. “Mister Staffer was shot at point blank in the head. He was killed instantly.” The OfficerJenny pointed to the second photograph. “This is Julius Smith. His face was smashed into the bar’s edge repeatedly. He also had some glass fragments in the side of his face. We assume that the suspect got into an altercation with Mister Smith and attacked him severely. Mister Staffer must have tried to intervene…and was shot for his trouble.” 

 

The OfficerJenny leaned very close to Joe and bumped up against him, softly brushing her right shoulder against his left. For a second or two, Joe was able to smell the natural, feminine aroma that she was releasing into the air. The smell of a young woman was starting to comfort Joe passive aggressively, although Joe was not about to complain about it. He looked up from the pictures and looked at her nametag. It read, “Holder.” Officer Holder looked at Joe, slightly opening her mouth as if she was about to say something, but was lost for words. After about two seconds, she closed her mouth and looked down at the pictures again. She then grabbed the next picture that was in the folder and put it to the right of the second picture. Joe could not be quite sure, but he had just got the feeling that this officer wanted to confess something to him, but was either too shy to follow through with it, or decided that this was not the appropriate time. 

 

The new picture showed a man, who looked much older than both the other victims, but his injury looked almost identical to the first man’s. “The third victim’s name was Henry Gusmen. He was a shopkeeper who catered to pokégirl owners. He had a surveillance camera above his register that gave us a clear picture of his killers. His killers, a bunny-type pokégirl and her master, walked into the shop. The ‘girl, who we later identified as Babs, went to go try on some clothes while her new master talked to Mister Gusmen. After the couple collected what they wanted and Mister Gusmen began to ring up their items, the suspect pulled out his pistol and executed Mister Gusmen at point blank.” 

 

Pulling out a fourth picture, Officer Holder’s hand shook for a second, as if she recalled something horrible. She then put the picture down next to the third one. This new picture showed a man in a police officer’s uniform, but the man did not look right. Before Joseph Trades could figure out what was wrong, the officer next to him began telling him the crime. “This is Officer Jerry Mercury. He and his partner, Jennifer Mercury, were on the trail of the two suspects. From Officer Jennifer’s testimony, they both split up and tried to get the drop on the couple. As it turned out, the suspects got the drop on them. Jerry’s head was twisted almost 360 degrees. His death was almost instantaneous. However,” Officer Holder stopped for a few seconds. It seemed to Joe that she was having trouble talking about this part and what was about to come. She reached for another photograph and laid it next to the dead officer’s picture. 

 

This one showed an OfficerJenny, which looked almost exactly like Officer Holder, except for the haircut. Officer Holder had very short hair that came down only to her jaw line. The pokégirl in the photo had hair that almost touched her shoulders. The pokégirl had two holes in her midsection, but they did not look like normal bullet holes. They had what looked like burns surrounding the holes. The pokégirl also had bruising around her face as well; as if she had gotten into a bad fight. “This is Officer Mercury. She was shot with an elemental pistol twice and beaten all around her face. She was also raped twice. Officer Mercury states that Babs held her arms while the suspect violated her. Do you want to see a couple pictures of him?” 

 

This was of course a rhetorical question; Officer Holder was already reaching for the remaining photographs. She pulled them out and laid them down in front of Joe Trades. He felt has if he was about to throw up all over Officer Holder’s colored 8 ½ by 11 inch photographs and the vanilla folder. The first one was clearly taken by a surveillance camera. It showed a clear picture of what appeared to look like him in a black trench coat. He was holding a gun directly in front of the old man who owned the shop. The second photograph was an artist’s sketch of his face. This…this can’t be…Joe Trades thought. This… “This is some kind of mistake…” he stammered. 

 

“This young man…our suspect…looks exactly like you,” Officer Holder said softly. Leaning over and whispering into Joe’s ear, she asked, “Why is that?” 

 

“This…this can’t be me…” Joe stammered. He turned his head and looked directly into Officer Holder’s green eyes that looked identical to his own eyes. Each set were only about two inches away, if not closer. “It CAN’T!” 

 

“And why is that,” Captain Morrison asked inquisitively. Joe turned his head and faced her. “Is that because you got careless? Did you forget to put on a mask? HUH? ANSWER ME!” 

 

Officer Holder reached her right arm around Joseph’s back and rested it on his right shoulder. “Look, I know that you aren’t an evil person, Mister Holten. May I call you Den-Mar?” Joe didn’t respond. In fact, he did not even hear her question. “Den-Mar,” Officer Holder softly spoke into his left ear. “You felt guilty about what you did, didn’t you? That’s why you came into the station, right? You wanted to give yourself up…your conscience told you to do it. I want to help you, but I can’t do everything for you. You need to make the first steps. After you do that, I’ll do everything I can to help you.” 

 

“You’re wasting your breath,” Captain Morrison snorted. “We got the goods on him. The DNA sample we took from him as soon as was put into this room will be an exact match with the sample that he dumped in Jennifer. The results will be in any minute and the need for this questioning will be over. After that, we’ll get a telepath in here; just to get the icing on the cake. This sick, messed up, sorry excuse of a man is cooked.” 

 

“Listen,” Officer Holder said. Her hand started to grip Joe’s shoulder a little tighter. “Captain Morrison is right. Your DNA is going to match up with the semen that was left inside of Officer Mercury. If you confess to me right now…I can…I WILL…help you. Please… Den-Mar… please...let me help you.” 

 

Joe Trades just continued to stare down at the pictures. He was not even focused on any of the pictures, actually. With tears starting to form in his eyes, he just kept repeating the same thing over and over in his mind; this is a mistake…all one big mistake. I didn’t do any of this. This is all a dream…all just a dream. This is a mistake… 

 

Captain Morrison looked at Joe and saw what he was doing. This guy’s about to snap. Now is the time for some more pressure. “What’s the matter, you sick pig? Starting to feel guilty about what you did? Did turning one of my officers into your little fuck-toy make you feel good? I’ll bet it did. I’m gonna ask that telepath when she gets here to describe what you were feeling when you came in her. Then, I’m gonna ask her to describe what you were feeling when you tossed her aside like a used condom. You see, we aren’t gonna accept a plea bargain from you once we confirm that you did all these crimes. We’re just gonna move that you get a jury trial and have you get the death penalty. When the jury hears that you killed an officer and all the sick feelings that you were having when you violated another …well…they won’t need to deliberate at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to kill you right in your seat.” 

 

Officer Holder glided her right hand down Joe’s shoulder to his bicep. “Den-Mar,” she breathed out into Joe’s ear. “Captain Morrison is right. This is an open-and-shut case. Please…” Officer Holder touched Joe’s chin on the right side of his face with her left hand. Slowly and gently, she turned his head so that both their eyes aligned with each other. “Den-Mar, please confess to me. Take this burden off your conscience. If not for you, do it for me. Please Den-Mar. Please…say something.” Officer Holder started to rub Joe’s chin with her hand. “Talk to me…tell me everything that you did. I won’t judge you. It’s all right…you don’t need to fight anymore. Den-Mar? Den-Mar…can you hear me? Den-Mar?” 

This is a mistake. Joe opened his mouth and started to speak, “I…I…” didn’t do any of this. This is just a dream…just a…OH, FOR FUCK’S SAKE! WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? What? JESUS H. CHRIST! WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? Don’t tell me you actually fell for this? What are you talking about? This whole, damn performance they just put on for you. Wow…I can’t believe this shit actually works. This Officer Holder has you hook, line and sinker. “Burden off your conscience,” what burden? You didn’t DO ANYTHING! Look…just take five minutes in the backseat. I’ll handle this. Okay…I’ll just…take five minutes. Good, you do that. 

 

“Den-Mar,” Officer Holder asked. “Den-Mar, are you okay?” Joe had his mouth open as if he was about to say something, but no sound was coming out. After about five seconds, he started talking again, but he seemed very calm and relaxed. 

 

“Yeah,” Joe Trades said. He continued to look at Officer Holder, but now had a strong sense of confidence in his eyes. He smiled right into her face. “Say…Officer Holder. Could you do me a favor? Before I say anything, can I ask you a question?” 

 

Officer Holder looked into his eyes, “Of course, Den-Mar. You can ask me anything. I won’t lie to you.” What is this? Where is this coming from? Ten seconds ago, he was ready to burst into tears and was willing to say anything to me. 

 

“Well,” Joe Trades started off. “You’ve been very nice to me, ever since you started showing me those pictures. You’re very beautiful and I couldn’t help but notice that you smell really good. Smell is considered the most important thing when it comes to remembering someone, or so I’m told. My question is: Could we not wait to get to my cell to fuck?  Could we just do it right here? I mean, if you were to unbuckle me and slide my pants off, you could ride and straddle me until you ran outta energy. These handcuffs kinda make it fun. If you were to do that, hell, I’d confess ta killin’ ol’ Jim Sukebe.” Joe Trades smiled a big, bright toothy smile at her. “So whatda ya say? You wanna ride this train?” 

 

Officer Holder jaw would have dropped to the floor if it was not attached to her. Not only what he was saying to her highly inappropriate and something she would never even consider doing with a suspect, but this person had transformed before her very eyes. When she was pleading like an innocent child to this guy, her performance was better than Zoe La Luan, the famous Diva who performs at the Dahl Theatre in Ashburgh. Christ, she had almost convinced herself that she was attracted to this sick pig. There’s no way in hell that I’ve forgotten what this fucker did to Jennifer. It only took Officer Holder about five seconds to transform from the kind, sensitive and caring police officer, to a cold and hard cop. 

 

Before she could say anything, she heard a loud slam. At the opposite end of the table, the Denmother shouted, “That’ll never happen, you SICK FUCK! You’ll never TOUCH another pokégirl ever again! You’ll be locked up in a cell for the rest of life…if you’re lucky.” At first, Officer Holder did not know why Captain Morrison was shouting and not allowing her to answer the question meant for her, but then realized why. Morrison wanted her to continue the charade of being the “good” cop. 

 

The man before the two pokégirls just smiled at Officer Holder, as if this was all one big joke to him. He turned and looked at Captain Morrison, “Aww, don’t be like that, darlin’. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to exclude you from the sex. If you want, you can suck me off.  You can…” 

 

“SHUT UP!” 

 

“Den-Mar, please,” Holder pleaded. “You’re not making any sense. Would you like some time alone to regroup?” As she finished this sentence, the door opened and two Growlies came in to take Joe Trades back to his cell. 

 

“No,” the prisoner said, continuing to smile. “Time will not change the fact that I find you irresistible. You did give one hell of a performance, Officer Holder. You almost had me.” He waited for one of the Growlies to unlock the handcuffs from the chair before he stood up. After he did, he was immediately re-cuffed and was being led outside the door. Before he moved away from Officer Holder, he stopped and whispered, “Your tamer is a lucky man, you know. That softness of yours is really starting to get to me.” 

 

Officer Holder glared at him, but he just turned away smiling. Joe Trades followed the Growlies back to his cell, not paying attention to the turns and stairs he was going through. It is done. What is? The interrogation. Am I gonna be alright? No…you’re still in the woods, but at least you made it to a clearing, thanks to me. Was I that close to losing it? Yeah…you were…and you’re welcome. Joe Trades walked into the cell and waited for the Growlies to un-cuff him. After they freed his hands, he waited for the door to slam shut. He then turned and lay on his bed. How long will it be until they let me and the ‘girls go? Who knows… 

 

 

**********

 

 

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE?!” Officer Jennifer Mercury screamed. “THAT FUCKER DOWN THERE DID IT!” 

 

“I don’t know, Jennifer,” Captain Morrison tried to calm her subordinate down. They were in Captain Morrison’s office again, discussing the case. “A defense attorney could and will use the holes in this case to clear him…and there are a lot of them.” 

 

“Name them,” Mercury asked. 

 

“First, there is his ‘Dex. As you know, the ‘Dexes can be tracked by the League’s GPS, along with its traveling history. It shows him moving at a walking pace from Bristol to here. He left Bristol on the eighth and you were attacked on the ninth. It seems as though Den-Mar Holten has never had a teleporting pokégirl and running across another tamer with one to teleport him the night he left seems unlikely. Actually, he was near the Bristol area the entire time of the other crimes too. 

 

“Second, the NurseJoys at Bristol that we called remembered him being there too. That means without a teleporting ‘girl, he only has witnesses that placed him away from Waveland during this crime timeline. 

 

“Last, is the physical evidence itself. We did residue check on his hands for gunpowder, but they came up clean. It doesn’t mean that he never fired a gun, but it is hard to get gunpowder completely off one’s hands. He had no firearms on him and Babs is not with him. Where are Babs and the weapons? All we have to go on is the DNA sample we took from him and the telepath’s mind probe, whenever the League goes through all their red tape and finally loan us one.” 

 

Jennifer squeezed her fist silently and said, “I’ll get him to confess. That Son-of-a-Byte-Bitch will talk…” Officer Mercury walked out of the office and headed down toward Den-Mar Holten’s cell. He’ll confess…I’ll make him confess. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Well, Rebecca Kitz thought. This is a surprising, new development. The police of Waveland had just informed the FOXX Network that a suspect had been arrested for the string of killings that took place. “Director, when are we gonna be on?” 

 

“Ten seconds.” 

 

“Alright.” The FOXX Network’s theme began playing and Rebecca waited for it to end. Smiling into the camera that Katie held, the Kitsune began reading the teleprompter when she got go ahead. “Hello, I’m Rebecca Kitz of FOXX News, and I apologies for interrupting your current program, ‘Tamer’s Tales.’ At approximately eleven o’clock this morning, the Waveland Police Department arrested a suspect for the string of crimes that have been occurring. It appears that the suspect was not arrested in a stand-off situation, but walked into the police station voluntarily. The police have not released a name yet, but they stated that will do so very soon. The Waveland PD did state, however, that they are confident that this is their suspect. We will keep you informed on this case with any recent developments. And now, back to your original programming.” 

 

 

**********

 

 

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!” The Dark Haired Man screamed at the television. “How the hell did they catch some sap?!” 

 

“Sweetheart,” Babs asked in a loving manner. “Isn’t this a good thing?” He and Babs had just gotten done taming the Bombshell and had decided to watch some television before moving on to a more one-on-one setting. The Dark Haired Man was sitting on the edge of the bed as Babs lay behind him with a pillow under her head. She was trying to decide what position she should get into to stimulate her master effectively, but jumped when he began screaming. After the newscaster was done giving the update, Babs was a little confused to why her master was so upset. “You’ll be cleared of the ‘fun’ we had together. Why are you acting as though this is a bad thing?” 

 

“Because that fucker is stealing my shine. He didn’t go and do all that shit, I did. And the cops are too stupid to figure anything out! Well…I guess we’ll need to show them then…” Grabbing his pants, he looked at Babs, “Sorry, that taming is gonna have ta wait.” 

 

“Aww,” Babs pouted. “No fair…” 

 

After zipping up his fly, The Dark Haired Man looked at Babs and ordered, “Get dressed. You, me and Blondie are gonna have some fun.” Both Babs and her master showed each other their sinister smiles. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Joe Trades was lying on the bed in his cell. He was not sure where his pokégirls were, but he was not about to ask any of the cops about them. They were not obligated to tell him anything, let alone the truth. He still was having problems grasping how he was able to have been in that photograph. How the hell did they get a picture of me on there? And what was that sketch of me about too? Do you think their technology is that good, and that it was all photo shopped? 

 

Joe Trades heard the cell door that kept the cell block separate from the rest of the station slam open. He was in a separate cell block from his girls, so he assumed that they were in an area more secure than he was in. 

Dummy up for now… 

 

As Joe heard the footsteps getting closer, he did not know who had come to see him. As the person stopped in front of his cell and stood there, he smiled at an OfficerJenny. 

 

“So, what do I owe this pleasure…Miss Holder,” Joe asked. He looked at the pokégirl more closely and realized that it was not Officer Holder. This pokégirl had hair that came down almost touching her shoulders. She looked at him as if he was a sick, rabid dog locked up behind a cage. “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re not Holder. What is your name?” 

 

The OfficerJenny tightened her right hand into a fist behind her back. “What,” she snapped at him. “You don’t recognize me? Was I that easy to forget about?” 

 

Joe did not know why this pokégirl had a problem with him, but he thought that he had seen her hairstyle before. He could not say he remembered her face, since the OfficerJennies look all alike to him. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t recall seeing you.” 

 

The OfficerJenny’s lower lip started to quiver a little bit. She tried to make her face angrier by squinting and showing her teeth to him in a snarl. She moved her hands to her sides and Joe saw that they were both in fists. “My name is Officer Jennifer Mercury. I watched you when you were in the interrogation room. Do you know who I am now?” 

 

Joe thought he recognized the name, but could not quite place where he heard it from. God, where is that name from? “Sorry, I don’t remember…could you give me a hint?” 

 

“YOU RAPED ME YOU FUCKER!” She screamed at him. “You killed my husband and you raped me! I hope you DIE, YOU SON OF A BYTE BITCH!” She slammed her fists against the bars of the cell. “Why don’t you just admit what you did to me? Huh? Don’t you think that you’re any kind of a man? If you’re a man, you’d admit that you did it, instead of acting like a ball-less wimp!” Officer Mercury looked as though she was about to cry, but was holding it in as much as she could. 

 

Joe Trades looked at her with sympathetic eyes, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t do anything. You have the wrong…” 

 

“LIAR! YOU’RE A FUCKING LIAR! WHY CAN’T YOU JUST ADMIT WHAT YOU DID TO ME! YOU RAPED ME! YOU…raped…me…” Jennifer was now sobbing against the bars of Joe’s cell. Brushing up against the bars, she slowly began falling to the floor. Crying more and more uncontrollably, she kept saying those three words over and over. Joe dropped down to his knees and reached out to the crying pokégirl. Reaching through the bars of the cell, he softly began rubbing her shoulders. He wanted to try to comfort her, but as soon as Joe touched her, Jennifer jumped backwards. “DON’T TOUCH ME! YOU’LL NEVER TOUCH ME EVER AGAIN! YOU’LL BE STUCK IN THAT CELL FOREVER…AND THAT’S IF YOU’RE LUCKY!” 

 

“No,” a voice came from the entrance of the cell block. “He won’t be.” 

 

Officer Jennifer Mercury turned to see who it was who had even suggested that his bastard not be locked up. Jennifer almost gasped when she saw who it was. Captain Morrison was walking toward both Officer Mercury and Joseph Trades. When she reached the cell door, she looked down at the Jenny and then looked at Joe. Without saying anything, she took out a set of keys and began unlocking the door. 

 

“Captain,” Officer Mercury said, now moving to her feet. “What are you doing? Why are you opening his cell? Is it time for another interrogation? Captain, why aren’t you saying anything?” 

 

Captain Morrison opened the cell door and moved the questioning pokégirl out of the doorway. “Come on out, Mister Holten. Your pokégirls are waiting for you in the lobby. The Growlie at the other end of the end of the cell block will lead you to them. You are free to go.” 

 

“WHAT!” Officer Mercury screamed. “WHY?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” 

 

“About a half an hour ago, the restaurant, The Kitten’s Corner, was attacked. Three people threw a bomb into the window and killed four people. One was a pokégirl, some people thought she might have had blonde hair, but we are not sure. The second one was a bunny-type pokégirl. She had light brown fur and black floppy ears. That matches a perfect description of Babs. The third person was a human male, and his description matched our suspect to the letter.” The Denmother looked directly at Joe Trades. “Den-Mar Holten is not our man.” 

 

“But…but…” Jennifer started stammering. “He…he…” 

 

“Den-Mar,” the giant pokégirl said. “Come this way.” 

 

Joe Trades moved out of the cell and turned toward the cell block’s exit. He then looked back at the OfficerJenny and softly said, “I hope you catch him.” Joe turned his head back and walked out of the cell block. He saw the Growlie waiting for him and he followed her. Two minutes later, he was hugging his harem in the lobby. With tears in their eyes, the four left the police station. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“How the hell are we gonna be able to spot them out,” whined a Mini-Top. She was wearing a cap that covered her ears and a coat that looked completely unflattering. She did have to hand it to her master, though, no one would be able recognize her in this disguise he picked out for her. “This thing makes me look stupid.” She started eating some fried potatoes out of a basket. 

 

“Quiet,” a man wearing a gray fedora and matching trench coat ordered her. They were both sitting out on the patio of a fast-food restaurant, watching everyone walking in and out of the police station across the street. “That imposter will be out soon, and I wanna see who it is.” 

 

“How will you know who it is?” 

 

The Dark Haired Man looked at her as if she had said fish walked on land. “I’m going to look for the guy…who looks…like me. Get it?” He grabbed a burger that was in front of him and took a bite out of it. “And when I see him, I’m gonna pull out my gun and put a bullet in his skull. That’s what he gets for looking like me and stealing the wind from my sails!” 

 

Babs took a drink from her soda through the straw and started eating more of her potatoes. “Does that mean we’ll need to run off again?” Babs asked. “Are you up for another marathon so quickly, or will I need to carry you?” She winked at him. 

 

Her master looked at her and winked, “Oh, I’ll still have enough energy for fuck session, sweetheart. Don’t you worry about that.” He turned back toward the police station’s entrance, but not before he missed seeing Babs’s grinning from one floppy-covered ear to floppy-covered ear. 

 

“But what if this guy shows up before I finish my potatoes,” Babs asked. “These taste good, and you actually paid for them.”  

 

“If this guy comes out, I’m killing him,” the master repeated. “If you don’t finish your fries, or whatever they are before then…too bad.” He continued to eat his burger, with was almost gone now. 

 

“Aww,” Babs moaned. “But I still got over half left!” 

 

The Dark Haired Man turned and looked right at her, glaring. “Will you stop whining and worry about the fuck-ing task at hand!” He was starting to lose his temper from this idle conversation and whining. 

 

Babs glanced at a small group of pokégirls walking out of the police station. Wait, no there is a tamer with them. He’s no child, that one. Babs cleared her throat and asked, “Will you be doing the same, dear?” She pointed at the group and The Dark Haired Man’s turned quicker than she thought a human’s head could turn. Babs was not looking at the tamer himself, but at all the pokégirls he had out. Let’s see, two Cat-types and a NurseJoy. Hmm, looks like this’ll be a cakewalk, with a little planning. She was getting ready to leave her potatoes behind and preparing for action, but she was not prepared for what her master blurted out. 

 

“Fuck…” he squeaked out through his lips. “It…it can’t be…What…what the fuck is he doing here?” 

 

“What baby,” Babs asked. “What’s so great about that…” Babs got a better look of the tamer as he began walking closer to them. Her eyes widen as her brain tried to register what she was seeing. 

 

The Dark Haired Man turned to Babs, facing away from the tamer and his harem. Chewing on his thumb lightly, he started to shake a little bit. “How the hell can he be here? How? How? Unless he…yes…that’s it. Shit, I guess I never planned for that,” he looked at Babs, who was still staring at the tamer. “Babs!” She looked away and directly at her master, still wide-eyed and with a look of shock on her face. “Finish your meal, there’s gonna be a change of plan. We aren’t gonna kill him, yet. I need to confirm something first.” 

 

“Mmmaster,” Babs stammered. “Wwwhy dddoes he have yyyour face?” 

 

 

**********

 

 

It took Joe Trades and his harem ten minutes to walk over to the Pokécenter. The whole time walking they did not say a word to each other. When they got to their room, the group put their poképacks down in the corner and laid on the king size bed. Joe wanted to get some sleep, but the girls would not let him. They grabbed him wherever they could hold on to him and started sobbing. “Wha-why did they do that,” Mabella asked tearfully into Joe’s right side. “We didn’t do anything. They just pointed their guns at us. I thought they were gonna kill us. I thought we were gonna die. I was so scared Master!” Mabella’s sobs and weeps turned into a full bawl. 

 

Jade, whom was on Joe’s left side, stated, “One of the guards of my cell was asking me questions. She told me that you were being charged with a bunch of crimes, horrible crimes. They said they had you dead to rights, and that you were gonna be locked away forever. I tried to tell them that it was all a mistake and that you had nothing to do with anything, but they just kept calling me a liar and that I was a sick, little ‘girl for following you.” Jade’s eyes started tearing up. “They even said they’d put me through a Level 5, and that I’d remember nothing at all. They said that that’d…that that’d…” Jade buried her face into Joe’s shoulder and began sniveling. After about ten seconds, she finished her sentenced, “They said that that’d be the best thing for me; not remembering anything about my life…about any of you…” 

 

“I’d never forget you, Den-Mar,” Alia stated while lying on top of Joe. “I’d kill myself before they’d put me through one of those damn things.” Alia looked up and into Joe eyes. Her violet eyes were stern and fierce. “I lost you once, I’m never gonna lose you again…ever.” After five seconds, she put her head down on Joe’s chest and remained silent. 

 

“Let’s just try to get some sleep everyone,” Joe suggested, trying to change the subject. “Someone did some terrible shit in this town and the cops just wanna stop him before he does some more. They thought that it was me, but they know now that it wasn’t. I, personally, just want to sleep and think of this as one, big, horrible nightmare. And after I wake up, I don’t ever wanna talk about it again. Does that sound like a good plan?” 

 

No one said anything, so Joe took that as an agreement. “Alright then; now, how about ya’ll let me get my clothes off and crawl under the covers. I don’t like sleeping with my clothes on.” The pokégirls were a little reluctant to let him get away from their grasps, but they complied with his request. They also decided to shed their clothes as well. After all of them were naked, they pulled off the blankets, got under them and cuddled with each other until they were all asleep. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Amanda was not having a “good morning.” In fact, if anyone had told her “good morning,” she’d have given them a set of fat lips. How the FUCK did this happen, the Amachoke thought to herself. Amanda was the supervisor of the Sewell Warehouse Company’s warehouse #2. That made her in charge of all the supplies that were brought into the building; from the time they were moved in, till the second they were moved out. Right now, she was missing an entire crate of Kerosene. 

 

When she got her inventory list before she went home, there was 20 crates of the lantern fuel, but now there was only 19. Shit shit SHIT, Amanda thought. How the hell did this happen? The damn door was locked and there was no sign of tampering. Christ, if we don’t find out what happened… 

 

“Miss Amanda! Miss Amanda!” The Amachoke turned around and saw an Amachop running toward her. It was Hilary, one of her subordinates on her shift. 

 

“Yes Hilary,” Amanda asked sternly and with a hint of anger. “What do you want?” 

 

“I think I found out how the crate got out of the warehouse,” Hilary stated. She led her supervisor over to the center of the warehouse. She then looked up at the ceiling. Amanda did as well and noticed that the roof window was directly over them. “Isn’t it a bright, clear day today, supervisor?” 

 

The Amachoke almost used her Crushing Punch on the pokégirl. “WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM! I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU FIGURED IT OUT!” 

 

Hilary jumped for a second, and then continued to look up at the window. “Did those windows get cleaned this morning, or last night just before everyone went home? Amanda, look at them. They are really clean, aren’t they?” 

 

Amanda felt as though steam was pouring out of her head. She was starting to lose her temper and she really thought she was about to send his stupid Amachop to the Pokécenter for some physical injuries that were “work related.” She looked up at the window and said, “Yeah, those windows are clean; now show me how…you…” Amanda trailed off and never completed her sentence. She saw what Hilary was getting at. Those windows were not cleaned. There’s no glass for those windows up there. The glass has been broken. That means, someone broke the glass, dropped down, stole the crate and got back up. 

 

“Do you see it now, Boss,” the Amachop asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Amanda said. “Christ that must have been difficult. At least we now know what happened to the kerosene. Who the hell would want to steal a crate of that lantern shit fuel?” 

 

“Someone who is afraid of the dark,” the Amachop answered jokingly. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“What supplies will we need for when we hit the road again,” Joe Trades asked Alia. They had stayed in their room the entire day after the incident at the police station. None of them felt like testing their luck a second time in Waveland, and they just wanted to get out of the city as fast as they could. Joe Trades wanted to go out, buy their supplies, check out of the Pokécenter and leave the city forever. I could care less about their bounty problems, Joe thought. 

 

“Pokéchow, some rations and potions,” Alia said. “I don’t think we need anymore, could I see the Dex and check our inventory?” 

 

Joe handed the handled piece over to her and she started typing into the keyboard. Joe looked at Mabella, who was sitting on the bed watching the television. Jade was in the bathroom taking a shower. She said that she wanted to take one alone before they checked out of the room, and no one objected. He walked over and sat down beside Mabella. “Watching anything good?” 

 

“All My Kits,” Mabella said. “From what I can get, Larry is having an affair with Peach, but is married to Zelda. Zelda and Larry’s kits, Roxanne and Flint, both know about it, but don’t want to tell their mother. They are afraid that if they tell her…hey…why are you looking at me like that?” 

 

Joe was smiling at Mabella as she was describing the show’s plot. “It’s nothing really. I used to watch a show just like this one. We called them “soap operas” back in my universe.” 

 

Mabella made a face and cocked her head, “Why did they call them that?” 

 

“Well,” Joe said, “Way back before I was born, the soap companies would be the ones sponsoring the shows. They would show their companies’ commercials during scheduled dramatic moments in the show. The name kinda stuck, I guess. Back in my universe, the plots could be recycled over and over again, and usually were.” 

 

“And you kept watching it,” Mabella asked. “Even though you could predict what was going to happen?” 

 

Joe turned away, a little embarrassed. “Yeah, I did.” 

 

Mabella started to giggle, “Hee-he! You’re silly master!” She grabbed him and squeezed him into a hug. Joe was not prepared for it, and he fell onto the bed. While he lay on his back, Mabella jumped up on him and began to straddle his groan with hers. Purring, she grabbed his hands and pinned him to the bed. She moved her face closer to his; their noses touched for a second or two. Mabella then smiled as though she had just caught a beautiful, young Titmouse and was going to have her way with her. 

Well, she got one of those things right, Joe thought. Mabella started to lick Joe’s cheek with her cat-like tongue. It did not exactly feel like a cat’s tongue, but it did not feel like a human’s either. It was a little rough, but was not very moist. 

 

After a few licks, Mabella started to purr louder. “Well,” Mabella cooed. “I can feel how excited you are. That ‘thing’ must be uncomfortable for you, master. Do you want me to take care of it for you?” She lowered her mouth next to his ear and whispered. “Say, ‘Yes, please. I love you, Mabella.’ All you need to do is whisper it in my ear. I’ll do anything you ask then.” 

 

Joe was just about to answer, but a cough stopped him from doing so. He and Mabella looked over to the other side of the room and saw Alia staring at them. She held the handheld piece of the Pokédex out in front of her with one hand. “Master, I have finished making the list of everything we need. Do you want to look at it right now, or do you want to see it after you’re…finished?” She ended the sentence with a smile on her face. 

 

Mabella glared at Alia and growled a little, but Joe blurted out, “Umm, I don’t know. Do I really have a choice that won’t result with something negative?” 

 

Mabella looked back at Joe and both she and Alia responded, “No.” 

 

Joe sighed and before he could answer, the door to the bathroom opened and Jade walked out. She looked first at Joe and Mabella, then at Alia and back at her tamer and harem sister. “Umm, I’m done using the bathroom. Did you guys want to go shopping now, or…?” 

 

Joe did not let her finish her sentence, “Yes,” he blurted out. “We will all go shopping; right now. Come on gang, let’s go get those supplies! No need to sit and dilly-daddle, Mabella. Come on…let’s go!” Joe sat up, moving Mabella up with him and hopped off the bed. He got his coat on and the four walked out of the room. If any of them knew what was in store for them, they would have stayed in that room forever. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Officer Jennifer Mercury tugged at her civilian clothes as she waited on a bench outside the Pokécenter. She had not liked non-uniform clothes ever since she thresheld, but there was nothing else she could do. If I wear my police uniform, I’ll be spotted like a Draco in the home of a Titmouse. Jenny sighed. At least he won’t be able to see my hair with this cap on. Officer Mercury had her hair in a ponytail that went through an old style cap the history books called a “baseball” hat. Jennifer had never seen the old videos of the game, but the cap did its job.  It covered her hair as well as hid her face. It even kept the sun from getting in her eyes. My blue hair is a sure sign of my species, too. Oh well, I’ll catch this guy and that will be the end of that. Jennifer Mercury was glancing around at the park, which was attached to the Pokécenter’s land, trying not to look like she was waiting for anyone in particular, but then he came out of the main doors. 

 

His name was Den-Mar Holten, a visiting Tamer from Capital League. He was making his living as bounty hunter, mostly working with communities smaller than Waveland, but not limited to. Den-Mar had also been involved with a few crimes that had been committed throughout this League too, but the reports all stated that he helped bring the suspects in. In one case, he actually adopted one of the pokégirls that was to be Level Fived. He had made the case that the arsonist that was responsible for the crimes was apprehended by him and the arsonist’s pokégirl should be taken in by him. He had also willing to pay the filing charge to accept ownership. Why would someone that seemed to care so much about pokégirls commit such crimes? Officer Mercury asked herself. Then an answer came to her. The crimes that were committed by him were not against pokégirls, but against humans. The only pokégirl he targeted was you, probably ‘cause you happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Just rotten luck. 

 

Den-Mar Holten and his harem walked right passed Jennifer Mercury, who was sitting on a bench about thirty feet away from them. They all were discussing about what clothes and other shopping items they wanted to see were in style and wanted to buy; they did not even notice her. I guess this will be easier than I thought, Jennifer smiled to herself. She stood up when they were about fifteen feet away from her and proceeded to follow them. 

 

As she followed the harem, she began to eavesdrop onto their conversation. From what she was making out of it, they were discussing what each person wanted to buy. “Master,” the red and black tiger striped pokégirl asked Jennifer’s suspect. “Can I get a cool new funny shirt if they have any I like?” This pokégirl, a Firecat named “Mabella,” if Officer Mercury remembered correctly, which thanks to her breed; she remembered everything she read or saw, was the pokégirl that was involved with that Arsonist that was arrested in Ghostly Valley about a year ago. Jennifer Mercury only knew the case because she had read Holten’s file. 

 

“Sure,” Den-Mar responded. 

 

“Can I get two,” the long blonde haired cat-type asked. 

 

“We’ll see.” 

 

“Can I get three?”

 

“No.” 

 

“Please?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“But I said, ‘Please.’” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Will this convince you?”  

 

Suddenly, the Firecat jumped in front of Mercury’s suspect and pounced on him. Den-Mar landed on his back and Mabella moved her head quickly to his groin. It looked, to Mercury and the other people walking on the sidewalks, as though the Firecat was going to give her tamer a blowjob right there in public. By the Gods, Mercury cursed. Are they gonna be lewd and vile right here on the street? It took all her willpower not to walk up to them and start shouting the law at them. She was on a stakeout, so she hid behind a building’s wall at the entrance of an alley. 

 

“Mabella,” Den-Mar pleaded. “Knock it off, please.” 

 

“Oh,” Mabella questioned. “So you’re into that kind of stuff. You like it rough?” 

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Den-Mar looked up at the rest of his harem. “Don’t just stand there, HELP ME!” Mercury remembered from the police report that their names were Alia, a Catgirl, and Jade, a NurseJoy. 

 

“I don’t know,” Jade said. “What do I get out of helping you? Can I buy us some healthy food that is good for traveling?” 

 

“I want the pokéchow to be fish flavored,” Alia said. “And not that cheap crap you like buying. I want the expensive stuff. That always tastes the best.” 

 

“‘GIRLS!”  Den-Mar’s face was turning red from embarrassment. It looked, from Jennifer’s point-of-view, that Mabella had known exactly what to do in order to get her tamer’s “member” excited. “PLEASE, stop it. Not in public…STOP!” 

 

Mabella looked up from what she was doing and said, “Not until you promise.” She then grabbed Den-Mar’s fly and began unzipping it. “What is this? I’ll just take it out and see what…” 

 

“OKAY,” Den-Mar screamed. “Okay…okay. Whatever you want; just, no more.” 

 

Mabella zipped up his fly and stood up. She then lowered her hands and helped Den-Mar to his feet. “There you go, baby. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” 

 

Den-Mar leered at her for a second or two, but the Firecat just smiled at him. They started their way down the sidewalk again and Jennifer moved out from the alleyway’s entrance. How could someone so evil be so kind to others, Officer Mercury asked herself. She continued to follow them until they reached a pokéshop. Officer Jennifer looked around for a bench or something that she could be doing in order to keep herself from standing out. The shop was too small for her to follow them inside, so she needed to remain out. She continued to walk down the sidewalk, past the shop and sat on a bench that was about fifty feet away from the shop’s entrance. It was a lot farther than she wanted to be, but it was the only bench she saw. 

Just hope he doesn’t decide to shoot this clerk too, Jennifer thought. I wish I could be in there to watch him. The pokégirl sat on the bench, stewing over thoughts of her suspect robbing, beating and shooting the shop owner. What a SICK bastard. Wanting to hurt people just ‘cause he is a lowlife that doesn’t want to be like everyone else. I should be in there just to make sure that he doesn’t do anything… 

 

Jennifer’s thoughts continued on like this for the next ten minutes.  They came to a stop when she saw a bunny-type pokégirl looking around nervously. She watched this pokégirl look around, holding her hands up to her chest. The pokégirl was wearing a tight-fitting pink t-shirt and jean shorts. She was also wearing a poképack. Jennifer knew it could not be Babs, because this one had white fur and matching ears. She looked a little cute, but the OfficerJenny suspected that something was wrong. Officer Mercury stood up, looked over at the shop, and walked over to the distressed pokégirl. “Excuse me, young lady,” Jennifer addressed the bunny-type. “Is there a problem?” 

 

The bunny-type gasped when she saw the undercover OfficerJenny after she turned around. She just stared at Jennifer for about five seconds, not whimpering or saying anything. Jennifer was now sure this was a Bunnygirl; because of the way she was acting, and was about to scold her for creating a ruckus in public when the pokégirl spoke up, “Um…um…are you an OfficerJenny?” 

 

“Yes,” Jennifer answered truthfully. “What is your problem, young lady?” 

 

“If…if you’re an OfficerJenny,” the Bunnygirl started. “Then why aren’t you in your uniform?” 

 

Jennifer sighed. “If you do not need any help…” Jennifer began walking away. 

 

“NO!” The Bunnygirl cried out and grabbed Jennifer. “I’m-sorry-I’m-sorry-I’m-sorry! I need help!” 

 

“Then what is the problem? I’m busy.” 

 

The Bunnygirl started to form tears in her eyes. After about five seconds, she confessed, “I’m lost.” 

 

The OfficerJenny looked at the Bunnygirl, and then asked, “I’m sorry for being rude to you. What is your name?” 

 

“Ta-Ta-Tabby” 

 

“Alright Tabby,” Jennifer tried to calm the Bunnygirl. “Where is your tamer?” 

 

“I-I-I don’t have one, Miss Officer,” Tabby explained. “I still live with my parents. I was going out to the store to get some groceries, but I…I…” Tabby looked down at the ground and started to trail off her sentence. 

 

“You became distracted and then got lost,” Jennifer guessed. Tabby looked up at Jennifer’s face with a shocked face and started nodding. Officer Mercury sighed. Great, Jennifer thought. Now I got a lost Bunnygirl to worry about that has a short term attention span. What next, a Whoretortle that’s afraid of putting out a fire and she needs me to give her a pep talk? “Alright Tabby, where is the store that you are supposed to go to?” 

 

“Um, it’s the Pokémart…on Steven’s Street.” 

 

“Alright,” Jennifer explained. That shop is only five blocks away. I can take her there and be back on their tail in no time. “I’ll take you to there. You’ll probably get lost if I don’t, huh?” 

 

Tabby shyly smiled at Jennifer, “Thank you. I’m sorry.” 

 

“It’s alright,” Jennifer lied. “Let’s just hurry, okay?” Jennifer took one look back at the shop her suspect was still in. She then turned and led the Bunnygirl down the street on the way to the Pokémart. She never noticed the blonde pokégirl watching them on the roof of the building they were outside of. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“That Bunny is leading the cop away,” Sophie informed her partner, who was standing far out of sight from any wandering eyes from the street. “‘Phase Two’ can begin whenever we are ready. I suggest we start immediately.” 

 

“Good,” a brown Mini-Top responded. “We’ll begin as soon as they exit the shop. You remember not to make a hard ‘boom,’ right? If you fuck this up…” 

 

“I know what to do,” Sophie said. “Just make sure you move fast…just in case.” 

 

“Don’t you worry about me, Blondie,” Babs growled. “Just stick to the plan, and I’ll go easy on you during your next taming.”  An evil smirk spread across her face. “Got it?” 

 

Sophie leered at Babs, “I’d destroy you in a fight.” 

 

“And ‘Master’ would torture the ‘kitty-cat’ until it was begging for death. What’s your point?” Babs continued to smile when she saw the look of concern wash over the Bombshell’s face. “Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s begin.” 

 

 

**********

 

 

“I hope this extra spending didn’t break the bank,” Joe Trades complained as scanned the handheld device of his Pokédex through the credit register.  He and his harem had spent a lot more on supplies than the list had originally been. This, of course, was from the “promises” that he was forced to make in the street thanks to Mabella’s little stunt. 

 

“If you are worried about not having enough credits, Sweetheart,” Alia said as she answered her master’s complaining. “We have plenty. You have earned quite a bit over the years.” She looked directly at his face when she said this. 

 

Joe stared into her eyes and turned away from her after a couple of seconds. She means He earned this money. “You’re right. You ‘girls deserve this money…I sure as hell don’t.” 

 

Alia looked at him curiously, then smiled, “Aww, don’t be like that, baby,” she cooed into his ear and kissed it. “We’ll just get more work later. We should be in another town in a few more days, so there’s no worry. Just think of this as an unplanned vacation.” Alia winked at him. She looked over at Jade, who was fawning over Mabella’s new shirt she had just bought and was wearing out of the store. Her new shirt was navy blue that read in the front, “How did the blonde die from drinking milk?” On the back, it read, “The Milktit fell on top of her!” Mabella read it and wanted to buy it right away. This was the first time Joe realized that when it came to “blonde jokes,” she was a fanatic. 

 

“What are you two waiting for,” Mabella asked making her way to the store’s door. “I wanna get going back to the Pokécenter and check out! C’mon guys!” 

Yeah, Joe smiled and thought.  And show off your shirt to as many people as possible. At least you love the things you picked out. “Alright, alright. We’re going. Where’s the fire?” He finished with a wink. Jade and Alia started to giggle, but Mabella just rolled her eyes. A few seconds later, they were all out the door, with Mabella leading the way. 

 

They turned and began walking down the street back to the Pokécenter. Mabella was smiling and prancing ahead of the group as they slowly watched her. Joe was in the center of Alia and Jade, wondering where they will go next after they left this city behind them. I guess I’ll need to ask Alia if she has any ideas about where to go, Joe thought. 

 

The group walked by an alley and heard someone cry out. Alia, Jade and Joe looked down the alley and saw a blonde pokégirl crouching next to a wall of one of the buildings. She seemed to either be scared or hurt. The three turned down into the alley to figure out what was wrong with this pokégirl. They let Mabella continue on ahead without them, figuring she would eventually find out she was alone and turn back for them. 

 

“Excuse me,” Jade started with the blonde pokégirl. “Want seems to be the matter?” The blonde pokégirl had her head down into her knees and did not look up at them. Her arms were wrapped around her head and none of the group could see her face. Her arms were covered in metal, but the skin that was not metal was some sort of camouflage. She was wearing an olive green tank top and some very small set of shorts. She seemed to be twitching, as if she was crying. 

 

At first, Joe stopped a few feet away and looked at her. For some reason, he thought he had seen her before. How the hell am I getting a sense of déjà vu from this chick? Is she supposed to be someone’s double? 

 

“Miss,” Jade asked again. “Are you all right? Are you hurt or lost?” Jade walked in front of the blonde pokégirl and knelt down. The pokégirl continued to twitch and sniffle, but she was not doing much else. Alia walked over to the pokégirl’s left side and knelt down as well. “Sweetheart, we can’t help you unless you tell us what’s wrong.” 

 

The blonde pokégirl looked up slightly, looking at Jade first, then directly at Joe. Joe took in a breath of air when he saw her eyes. She seemed to have red glowing lights instead of eyes. It reminded him of James Cameron’s “The Terminator.” Her face seemed to have a cuteness that that pokégirl had…WAIT, Joseph Trades screamed inside his head. That’s where you saw her! She’s that ‘girl that was in that dream of yours! But what does that all mean? 

 

“It hurts,” the blonde pokégirl said. She kept looking at Jade, Alia and Joe, but mostly at Joe. For some reason, she seemed to be looking at him as if she was afraid of him. 

 

“Where Sweetheart,” Jade asked. “I can make you better if you tell me where it is.” 

 

“It’s…right,” the blonde began to speak to Jade. She raised her right hand up, which was made of some sort of camouflaged skin, but the rest of her arm was made of metal. She grabbed her right bicep with her other arm that looked identical to her right. Before anyone could react, she pulled her entire right arm off from her shoulder and held it in her left hand. “Here.” She then threw her arm down on the ground in front of Joe, Jade and Alia and it exploded. 

 

 

**********

 

 

The three lay on the ground, lazily drifting in and out of consciousness. The Bombshell stood up and looked at each of them. So that is that then, she thought. Suddenly, a bunny-type pokégirl jumped down from one of the roofs. 

 

Landing on her feet flawlessly, she looked right at Sophie and smiled. “Nice work, Blondie,” Babs said to her harem sister. “Now, let’s get ‘Phase Three’ under way before the sleeping beauties wake up. You got a preference?” 

 

 

**********

 

 

What the Hell was that, Jennifer Mercury thought. She was heading back to the pokéshop where she had left Den-Mar Holten and his harem when she heard a loud explosion. Could it be another attack by that bastard? Did I let another set of deaths occur again? Mercury ran as fast as she could to the shop, but it took her three minutes to get there. Fortunately, she saw that no buildings had been damaged or destroyed. Well that’s a relief. She then proceeded to jog down the street, trying to find the origin of the blast that she heard. She looked down an alley and saw Den-Mar’s Firecat, Mabella, kneeling over someone. So he was involved with this whole thing! Damn that Bunny! 

 

“FREEZE,” Officer Mercury ordered. “Step away from the…” 

 

“Please,” Mabella interrupted. “Help my master!” 

Huh, Jennifer thought. What does she mean? When Officer Mercury walked up to Mabella, she saw Den-Mar lying on his back unconscious. She stared down at both of them for few seconds before she was able to start asking questions. “What happened?” 

 

“I’m…I’m not sure,” Mabella started to stammer. “I was wandering on ahead of everyone. When I turned around, I didn’t see anybody. I thought…I thought…” She started to cry shiffle and tears started falling down her furry cheeks. “I thought they were paying a tr…tr…trick on me…but then I…heard an explosion and…and…only my master is here.” 

 

“It’s all right,” Jennifer started to calm the Firecat down. “Let me take a look at him.” Mabella moved out of the way enough for the OfficerJenny to look for any injuries Den-Mar may have suffered. After a quick look, she found none. “It looks like he’s just been knocked out, but I think we should get him back to the Pokécenter. Mabella, will you…” 

 

“Uh,” Den-Mar started to stir and move his head from side to side. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at both pokégirls. “Waa…what happened?” 

 

“You were attacked Mister Holten,” Officer Mercury explained. “We do not know where your other two pokégirls are and your cooperation will be needed. Can you give me a description of the assailants?” 

 

Joe Trades sat up, with the help of Mabella, and tried to recall what exactly happened. “Listen…Officer…” He looked at the OfficerJenny that was out of uniform, but felt stupid for looking for a nametag that did not exist. 

 

The Jenny took in a breath and said, “Mercury.” Den-Mar looked at her for a few seconds with a blank stare. 

 

“Mercury,” Joe started. “As in Officer ‘Your-a-sick-fuck-rapist-who’s-guilty-no-matter-what-the-evidence-says’ Mercury? THAT Officer Mercury!?” 

 

“Yes, Mister Holten,” Jennifer started. “I know that you are not considered an ‘official’ suspect in this case anymore…but…” 

 

“Oh, I’m not an official suspect anymore! That’s just FUCKING great! What gave it away, Mercury? Was it the fact that the actual guy committed crimes while I was locked up? Or was it the fact I was just attacked? And what about me being attacked…you were trailing me, weren’t you?! Did you just think ‘Hmm, that guy’s getting attacked, but he’s my suspect, so I’ll just wait until he commits a crime…then I’ll bust him for self-defense. Is that how it went Mercury!? Huh? TELL ME!” 

 

“No,” Jennifer Mercury muttered. “That isn’t how it happened. I needed to help out a young ‘girl and…” 

 

“Oh…so you just happened to show up right when the blonde got away with my ‘girls, is that it!? Christ, this fucking city is full of incompetent police!” 

 

“THAT’S NOT TRUE! WE DO WHATEVER WE CAN FOR…” 

 

“I’ve heard enough,” Joe said as he struggled to stand up. “All I’ve gotten from you is nothing but one problem after another. Why can’t you just leave me and my ‘girls alone?” 

 

Officer Mercury was going to respond, but Mabella was the first one to speak up. “Master, what’s that sticking out of your pants?” Joe felt a slight feeling of embarrassment when the Firecat asked him that question, since his mind jumped directly into the gutter when she did so. However, Mabella grabbed a piece of paper that was sticking out of his pants. 

 

She handed it to Joe Trades, since she could not read very well. She had learned how to before she had gone through her threshold, but she had not gotten very far. Mabella could not really remember what it was like being a human, but that did not matter. She was happier now being with someone who cared for her, not like her other tamer. The one that forced her to evolve into a Firecat, and made her do all those bad things. Her master Den-Mar was different. But this isn’t Den-Mar, she reminded herself. I got to try to keep that straight. 

 

As Joe opened the paper up, Jennifer asked, “What is it, Mister Holten? Is it a ransom note?” As Joe read the note, his eyes grew as large as silver dollars. The note read,

 

“…ter Holten…MISTER HOLTEN,” Officer Mercury was trying to get Joe Trades’s attention. “What does it say?” 

 

“None of your business,” Joe Trades growled. “I don’t need you messing things up.” 

 

“Mister Holten,” Jennifer Mercury began. “If this is a kidnapping, I am obligated, being an officer of the law, to stop the perpetrator. It would be in your and the ‘girls best interests in tell me everything that you know.” 

 

“Because you have done such a great job already,” Joe snorted. “Just stay out of this. If your police department gets involved…he’ll…he’ll…” 

 

“He’ll kill them,” Jennifer asked. Joe nodded. “May I please read the letter? I promise I won’t share it with anyone.” 

 

After a few seconds thinking it over, Joe ripped off the top part of the letter and handed it to Jennifer. Officer Jennifer was curious to what the note read before “If you want…,” but she was not going to push her luck. She handed it back to Joe and said, “Alright, I won’t tell the other officers, but I will tell them to mobilize five blocks away from these particular block. No one will see them and they will be ready to move in when your ‘girls are safe. I will be the only one in the area, but I won’t move toward the block till about five minutes after 10. I’ll call everyone in when you all are safe.” 

 

Joe sighed, “Fine, but if anything happens to them…” He looked down at the ground; he did not want anyone to see that his eyes were tearing up. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Tabby ran back to the place where her sister and “The Bad Man” were waiting for her. It was nearby the place that “he” grabbed her little sister, Samantha. Samantha was only twelve, but she was still a human. Tabby was seventeen and thresheld four years ago. She sometimes felt like a burden to her family, especially when her sister needed to go to the store with her to get food. One time, she forgot half of the groceries, even though she had a list. 

 

The two were going to the Pokémart on Steven’s Street when another Bunnygirl called them into an alley. She kept telling them that her master was in trouble and that he needed their help. When they came to her master, he was just lying on the ground. The Bunnygirl’s master was kind of cute and had really black hair. 

 

When he got to his feet, after asking Samantha for some help, he grabbed her and told them not to scream or he would kill both of them. Tabby then remembered that he ordered her to go with his two pokégirls, the Bunnygirl, who was acting very, very mean to her and a blonde pokégirl who had lots of metal on her. The Bad Man then told her to do everything the pokégirls said, “…or I’ll make your sweet, little sister cry,” is what he said. 

 

Tabby followed the two pokégirls and tried to stop crying along the way, but it was hard because the mean bunny kept growling and hurting her feelings. When they got to an intersection, the pokégirls told her what to do. The bunny said, “See that woman over there? Go up to her and get her to take you to the place that you and your sister where going. You remember, don’t you…Ditzy? That shop you and your sister were going to? After you get that woman to take you there, your job will be done.” 

 

 

 

 

Samantha was starting to worry that her big sister had forgotten to come and get her from this guy. They had been sitting in the alleyway for more than fifteen minutes and he had been staring at her the whole time. It was one of the long and deep alleys that she and her sister always thought monsters and evil pokégirls lived in and came out at night when they were little. Could this guy actually be a monster, Samantha thought. 

 

“My my my,” The Dark Haired Man said as he continued to stare at her. “They certainly have been gone quite a while. I wonder when they will get back.” Samantha wrapped her arms around her legs and tightened them against her chest as she sat on the ground. She was beginning to think that Tabby was never going to come back for her. Samantha started to sniffle and her eyes began to tear up. “Aw, what’s wrong, my pretty, little flower?” 

 

“I…wa…wanna…ga…go…ho…mmm…,” Samantha stammered. 

 

“Why is that,” The Dark Haired Man asked. “You don’t like me?” 

 

Samantha hid her face under her arms and knees, “No…I don’t.” 

 

The Dark Haired Man smiled, “Ooooooh? And why is that?” 

 

“You’re MEAN!” 

 

“I’m not mean to you,” The Dark Haired Man responded. “See…I’ll show you…” He walked over to her and sat down behind her. He spread his legs so they would encompass Samantha. Samantha held her breath when she felt something hard touch her lower back. 

Wha…, Samantha thought. What is that? What was I always told? Run away! That’s what mom and all the adults told me to do…but how am I supposed to run away now? He’s got me…and he’s gonna…gonna…Samantha bursts into sobs and tears. She cried out a little loud at first, but The Dark Haired Man grabbed her mouth and covered it. 

 

“You keep as quiet as you can, little flower,” he hissed into her ear. “I won’t mind if you moan out a little bit though…he he hee!” He then kissed her ear tenderly. 

 

Sniffling softly to herself, Samantha felt his left hand slide down her chest and wrap around her waist. She then felt The Dark Haired Man’s right hand down across her chest, just under her neckline, and stop over her left breast. Samantha closed her eyes and started to tremble. His hand started to message her pillow; giving her a feeling she never felt before. The feeling increased as he sought out her nipple and began to pinch it. She tried not to allow herself to do it, but she let out a small yelp every time The Dark Haired Man did this to her. 

 

He softly ordered into her ear, “Lift up your arms. I wanna take your shirt off.” Her face flushed with embarrassment, she slowly complied with his demand. After fifteen seconds, her gray cotton shirt was starting to rise up and expose her stomach; which still had some “baby” fat covering it. 

 

“There,” The Dark Haired Man said. “That’s better. I bet you were starting to get a little hot from all that activity, uh. Well, don’t say I never did nothing for you, little flower.” 

 

Crossing both his hands over her breasts, he slowly continued to do what he was doing before, except he was watching her body intently. It was not just her stomach or breasts either, but her face as well. He smiled every time she made an expression. She tried her best not to humor him and fought what her body was slowly giving into, but every time she did, he just pinched down on her nipples even harder. After ten of the longest minutes Samantha ever faced, The Dark Haired Man asked, “Are you excited yet, little flower?” 

 

Samantha tried to gather up all her courage to say something tough and mean to his creep, but her teeth just shattered. She was not terrified solely from this guy anymore, but of what he was talking about. No, she thought. I’m not excited right now. 

 

“Hmm,” The Dark Haired Man muttered. “If you won’t answer, I guess I’ll just need to check then, won’t I?” 

 

Before Samantha could respond, his right hand slid in between her pants and against her flesh. She yelped at how fast he was able to do this act, but was more shocked at what he was touching. That’s…That’s my private area! He…HE CAN’T TOUCH ME THERE! Samantha felt a huge lump in her throat and her stomach felt really queasy. She had stopped crying after he took off her shirt, but she felt tears coming back. 

 

“Well well well,” The Dark Haired Man cheered. “It feels as though you’ve enjoyed my company quite a bit.” 

 

“That’s…” Samantha managed to choke out. “That’s not true…I…” 

 

“What do you mean, ‘That’s not true,’” He asked her. “Just look at my hand.” He slid his hand back out of her pants and held it up to her eyes. His fingers were wet and shiny. “This just ain’t sweat, honeybee.” 

 

Samantha closed her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks. Her face burned bright red from both embarrassment and shame. Is he right, she thought. Do I really like this? Am I one of those girls?  

 

“Alright,” The Dark Haired Man explained and cooed delicately into her. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna take these things off and then we’re gonna have some REAL fun! You know you want to.” He moved his hands over her belt buckle and undid it. 

 

As he unsnapped her jeans, I voice cried out, “SAMANTHA! SAMANTHA!” At first, Samantha thought she was only imagining the voice, but she knew it was real when The Dark Haired Man stopped what he was doing. The voice was coming from in front of them.  Both Samantha and The Dark Haired Man looked up and saw a Bunnygirl gawking at them. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” 

 

“Well hey there, Long Ears,” The Dark Haired Man greeted Tabby. “Long time, no see. Did you do what my ‘girls asked?” 

 

Tabby held her hands up to her chest. Looking a little startled at his question and taking a step back, she replied, “Yeah…and you said we’d both be free to go if I did…and I did…so we need to go…” 

 

“‘Need to go,’” The Dark Haired Man quoted Tabby. “But your sister and I were having sooo much fun! Right little one?” 

 

Samantha lowered her head and pretended that she could not feel their eyes on her. Her face was burning with humiliation and shame from what had just happened. Did Tabby see everything? Does she know what just happened? After about ten seconds, she whispered, “No…no this isn’t fun. I…I…I WANNA GO HOME!” 

 

The Dark Haired Man smiled, “Oh? And here I thought you were all grown up. I thought you were ready for the big world. What a letdown.” He released Samantha from his grasp and stood up. He looked straight into Tabby’s eyes and said, “See ya ‘round, Cutie.” The Dark Haired Man turned and walked down the alley. Before he stepped out into the street, he pulled out a hat from inside his coat and put it on his head. 

 

Samantha looked up at her big sister and tears started to form in her eyes again. “T-t-t-tabby? T-t-tabby?” Samantha started to cry loud and hard. Tabby rushed down to her little sister and hugged her as tight as she could. With Samantha crying into her shoulder, the Bunnygirl tried her very best to forget everything that had just happened that day. She knew that it would be much harder for Samantha, but it could have been a lot worse. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“That must be the place,” Joe said to Mabella as they walked down Frost Lane toward the meeting place. It was 9:45 at night, fifteen minutes until they were supposed to enter the place that was stated in the letter, and Joe was nervous to say the least. How the hell does this guy know who I am? I never even met this guy before and I’ve never used my real name here. Hell, I’ve never used my real name anywhere relating to this place! What the HELL is going on?! As Joe looked at the buildings down this street, it appeared that the kidnapper did not pick a rich and luxurious neighborhood to set up in. Sorry, Pokénapper, he thought. 

 

Joe and Mabella did not know exactly where the actual building was. They did not go down the street or anywhere near it out of fear that the Pokénapper would see them gathering information about the area, and kill the pokégirls for it. Joe was not going to take any chances with this psychopath. He saw from those pictures what this guy was capable of; he just hoped this guy would not take it out on Alia and Jade. 

 

“So…what are we gonna do when we get there, Joe,” Mabella asked. “Based on what you said about the girl who attacked you, she sounds like a Bombshell. The ‘Dex said that I have the advantage if I get into a fight with her, but I don’t know if I could be able to take on another pokégirl too…even if she’s a Bunny-type.” 

 

“I’m hoping that Mercury will be able to come in before any fighting begins,” Joe said. “If she doesn’t, and shit hits the fan, I don’t think that I’ll be able to fight the Bunny. I’m not that fast and my hits probably don’t hurt that much.” Joe frowned. “I guess we’re really gonna need to rely on Jennifer to show up. Let’s just hope the fuck doesn’t have any more ‘girls attached to his belt.” 

 

They continued to walk down Frost Lane, looking at the addresses until they found 2356. 2356 Frost Lane appeared to Joe to be part of a recently boarded up terraced house. The windows had all been boarded and all the entrances of the building were as well, except for the one that Joe and Mabella were suppose to enter. Joe looked down at his “new” watch, which read 9:58. Close enough, he thought. Looking at Mabella, he asked, “You ready?” 

 

Glaring at him, she responded, “Do you need to ask?” Taking in a breath, they opened the door and stepped into the house. 

 

When they entered, Joe was expecting to see a broken down, rat-infested home. Instead, he was looking at a large, vacant room that reminded him of a large warehouse of a store. Almost all the walls of the building were torn down, which left the houses to look like they were all part of one, big house. The second floor of the terraced house was somewhat scattered. Parts of the room were still held up by the walls that were still standing, but there was no way to get up to them. The only way would be to jump up to them, but Joe knew he could not jump fifteen feet. The only other odd thing about the terraced house was the odor. For some reason, Joe thought he had smelled it before. It’s not mildew or mold, Joe thought. It smells like something…Christ, I don’t know. What the hell does it matter anyway? 

 

“Right on time,” a female voice called down to Joe and Mabella from one of the second floor “rooms” in front of them. A figure stood up slowly and jumped down ten feet in front of them. The lighting was bad, but Joe recognized who it was. The blonde-haired pokégirl’s red eyes glowed mechanically and pierced through the dimness. “He will see you now. Please go this way.” She moved her right hand toward her right, which pointed to another section of the terraced house. Since this lady was not moving to lead the way, Joe figured that was his queue to do so. 

 

Joe and Mabella walked through the ruins of the building until they came to another room. A drum barrel was containing a fire next to a wooden desk. The poor-man’s fireplace, Joe thought. The fire was helping light the room, but it was far from lighting Joe was used to. “Well…Well…Well,” a voice called out from the desk. A figure moved slowly from behind the desk that was mostly in the shadows, barely lit from the fire. Neither Joe nor Mabella saw him sitting with his feet up waiting for them to enter. “I didn’t think that I’d actually be talking to you…here of all places.” 

 

Joe and Mabella stopped walking and held their breaths. Mabella recognized the voice, but did not understand how it was possible. Joe did not recognize the voice right away, since he was not accustomed to hearing his own voice. In a shaky voice, Joe asked, “How do you know who I am? Were you the one responsible for bringing me here?” 

 

“Ah…, no,” the shadowed man responded. He moved away from the desk and came into the light. Joe thought he was looking into a mirror, except there was something that was different. This guy’s hair was completely black, whereas his was light brown. “I sure as hell didn’t bring you here. But what are you doing here? What…wasn’t your world good enough for ya?” 

 

“I’m not sure how I got here,” Joe suddenly said. “It just happened a few days ago. I was lying in bed and next thing I knew, I was here.” 

 

The Dark Haired Man just looked at Joe Trades. “Hmm,” he finally said after about ten seconds. “Is that right?” 

 

“Why,” Joseph Trades asked. “How long have you been here?” 

 

The Dark Haired Man glared at him. “Since your mom was here…what the fuck does it matter? The only thing that matters is that I’m here now.” 

Christ, Joe thought, smirking a little. This guy’s got to be from my world. I’ve never heard of a “Yo mamma” joke surviving in the PG world. “And who exactly…are you,” Joe asked inquisitively. “And what, exactly, are you?” 

 

“Well,” The Dark Haired Man started. “I don’t have a name. You see, I’m you…in a sense. You know that little voice or feeling you hear when you need to make a moral choice? The feeling that you almost always ignore that tells you to go wild and do what you want to do? The one that promises that you’ll feel better and everything will be much easier if you just think of yourself and get rid of problems? Well…I’m that feeling. I’m the stronger, smarter and better version…of you. I should take on the name that we both share, but that would be an insult to me then, wouldn’t it?” The Dark Haired Man smiled at Joe as he taunted him. 

 

“Is that right,” Joseph Trades said, trying to understand what exactly was happening. “Are you saying that I was the one who let the Jack out of the box?” 

 

“You?” The Dark Haired Man asked with a puzzled look on his face. “You didn’t do shit. I was the one who got out.” 

 

“Whatever,” Joe said, not wanting to get into a debate with…well…himself. “Where are Alia and Jade?” 

 

“The two ‘girls Blondie and Babs got,” The Dark Haired Man smiled. “Oh…, they’re…hanging around.” He looked up toward the ceiling. Joe and Mabella followed suit, hoping they were still okay. He saw two figures attached to each other, facing down towards them. Their eyes were shut, but it looked as though nothing was wrong with them. “They are unharmed…I assure you.” The Dark Haired Man lowered his glance at Joe Trades. “I wanted them to see their master dead before I killed them!” He smiled a sinister smile at Joe. 

 

“FREEZE,” a female voice shouted. Joe, Mabella, The Dark Haired Man and Sophie all looked toward the direction of the voice, which had come from the back part of the terraced house. Officer Mercury had her gun drawn and was pointing it directly at The Dark Haired Man and was slowly moving toward him. “I’ve heard just enough out of you, you sick fuck. Put your hands in the air, unless you think you can survive a fire round to the head!” 

 

“Hey,” The Dark Haired Man said, raising his hands toward the ceiling. “You’re that cute cop I fucked not too long ago. Am I right?” 

 

“SHUT UP!” 

 

“What? I was sooo good, you came back for seconds?” 

 

“I SAID, ‘SHUT UP!’” Mercury ordered again. She could not believe what she was seeing. It looked as though her assailant and Den-Mar Holten could easily be twins, besides the fact that they had different hair colors.  

 

“Or would it be thirds? Hmm, that is interesting.” The Dark Haired Man continued to taunt the Officer. “Do you call it ‘seconds’ if you had two helpings the first time?” 

 

“WHERE IS BABS?!” 

 

“HERE I AM,” someone screamed from above Officer Mercury. Before Jennifer could raise her gun toward the voice, a foot came down and kicked the elemental pistol right out of her hand. Babs had got the drop on Jennifer Mercury, literally. Jennifer Mercury did not let this affect her, though. As her gun went flying away, Jennifer turned her body so that her back was toward Babs and attacked her with a spinning elbow. It succeeded, and Babs’s chest was struck hard. 

 

Mabella saw this distraction as the perfect opportunity to try to turn the tables on the pokénappers. Using her “Burning Hands” technique, she turned around and began “Slashing” the Bombshell. It took four slashes to Sophie’s face to realize that she was in a battle. The Bombshell jumped backward towards the wall of the building and assumed her fighting stance. Being indoors, she was at a disadvantage of not being able to use her explosion attacks to their fullest, not to mention that Fire-types were her weakness. Shit, Sophie thought. I’m gonna be fucked bad if Master’s “Plan B” doesn’t work. Hopefully this bitch’ll follow through with his plan… Sophie could not think to herself anymore, since she nearly dodged another burning slash attack from Mabella. 

 

Joe Trades turned and looked The Dark Haired Man straight in the face and stared at him with a blank expression. The Dark Haired Man stared right back at him with the same expression as Joe. “Is this our cue,” The Dark Haired Man asked. 

 

“It’s as good as any,” Joe retorted. Joe put up his hands to his face and made them into fists. 

 

When The Dark Haired Man saw this, he smirked and said, “You know how stupid you look right now, don’t you? You actually think we’re gonna be doing a formal boxing match?” 

He’s trying to piss me off, Joe thought. If I lose my cool with this guy, I know I’m fucked. Joe continued his stance and kept his face without emotion. Joe slowly moved closer to The Dark Haired Man, but he just stared at him. Suddenly, The Dark Haired Man rushed at Joe with a punch aimed at his face. Joe blocked it successfully and tried a right hook to The Dark Haired Man’s head. The Dark Haired Man dodged the hit by moving his head to his own right just in the nick of time. The Dark Haired Man used Joe’s miss to his own advantage and used his own right fist to strike Joe in the side of the head. Slightly dazed, Joe maneuvered back a few steps and prepared for what he knew was going to be the first fight for his life. 

 

 

**********

 

 

Babs was strictly on the defensive with Jennifer Mercury as she tried to use her attacks to the best of her ability, but it was not proving to be the most effective strategy. Every time she tried an attack on the OfficerJenny, Jennifer would either dodge the attack and use Stone Palm or use her Counter move. Maybe, Babs thought. I should try…this… Babs jumped directly towards her opponent and used her Mega Punch. Officer Jennifer attempted her Mirror technique, but it failed. Mercury was hit back into a damaged wall and went through it, leaving a fairly large hole. The OfficerJenny got up as quick as she could, looking very dazed as she did so. Babs jumped through the wall and got ready to deliver a kick, but this is what Mercury planned. Mercury dodged the kick and used her Gatling Punch. A few seconds later, Babs was lying on the ground and not moving. At this time, Mercury realized that the building was burning down. 

 

Mabella did not know what she had done. She was using her flame attacks against the Bombshell. When Mabella missed her and hit the wall, the entire wall went up in flames. Mabella knew the building was probably old, but her flame would not be able to do that much damage. The fire kept spreading quicker than she thought it would, but it did not help that she kept missing the Bombshell. This place is gonna burn up in just a few minutes, Mabella thought. We gotta get outta here quick. 

 

Mabella decided that she needed to end this fight as quick as possible. She dodged the Bombshell’s small explosion attack and grabbed her with her hands that were still burning. She then threw the Bombshell on the ground so that her back was exposed and started ripping at the back of her spine. The Bombshell screamed and tried to get away, but Mabella would not let up. Using all the fire that she could muster, the Firecat concentrated all of her Flamethrower attack on Sophie’s back. When Sophie stopped screaming, Mabella grabbed the Bombshell and threw her directly into a wall that was set aflame. Sophie was lying unconscious on the street moments later. 

So, The Dark Haired Man thought as he blocked Joe Trades’s jabs. The kitty actually started to burn the place. I wonder how the others are doing… As The Dark Haired Man thought this, Joe Trades gave him an uppercut. As The Dark Haired Man fell, he forgot about his plan, and stuck his right hand into his coat. That FUCKING Shit-head! He drew out his M1911 and began pointing it at Joe Trades, but Joe had already moved over him and kicked the gun out of his hand. Joe Trades went to kick him a second time, but The Dark Haired Man grabbed his foot and threw him off balance. 

 

Joe and The Dark Haired Man lay on the ground, panting from the fight they had just fought. It was at this time that Joe realized that the building was on fire. He was feeling himself getting much warmer, but he just thought that he was sweating from fighting so much. Joe Trades sure was not the most athletic person in the PG world. In fact, he was probably the least fit person in the building. They both got up slowly and continued to look at each other. 

 

The Dark Haired Man took in a breath and said, “You’re a pretty good fighter, Joe. I’m having quite a time beating you. How about we raise the ante, so to speak? 

 

“You can take your ‘girls, which are still hanging from the ceiling, and have all the pokégirls leave. It’ll be just you…and me. If you win,” The Dark Haired Man held up a pokébelt that had three pokéballs attached to it. “You can have all these ‘girls. If I win…well...you know what I want.” The Dark Haired Man smiled. “So what do ya say?” 

 

Joe Trades looked at him for a few seconds and shouted, “Mabella! Mercury! Get Jade and Alia out this place, now!” 

 

“Mister Holten,” Officer Mercury started walking over to Joe. Out of breath from the fight with Babs, she tried to explain, “This place this coming down in flames. We need to get out of here immediately!” 

 

“Mabella,” Joe ordered. “If Officer Mercury does not help innocent pokégirls out of this place, I want you to report her to her supervisor.” He turned and looked at Mercury. “You don’t have a choice. You need to help my ‘girls to safety. I’ll worry about this guy; he’s gonna be my problem now.” 

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” the OfficerJenny said defiantly. “This guy needs to be brought to justice!” 

 

“He will,” Joe explained. “I promise.” 

 

Jennifer Mercury stared into Joe’s eyes for a few seconds. “Alright, I’ll do this only to save your ‘girls. After I get them to safety, I’m coming back in.” 

 

The OfficerJenny looked at the Firecat for a second and moved toward the captive pokégirls. No one had noticed, but Mabella had seen the gun that had been kicked out of The Dark Haired Man’s hand and holstered it in the back of her pants. She did not know if she should give it to her master right then and there, but she thought that the OfficerJenny would have taken it. Getting Alia and Jade to safety is more important right now, the Firecat thought. I’ll worry about right and wrong later. 

 

With a quick jump and slash, Mabella had cut the rope that held her two unconscious harem sisters and Officer Jennifer caught them, with some difficulty. Officer Mercury took Jade as Mabella took Alia and they all left out the front door. The entire time, Joe and The Dark Haired Man stared at each other. Joe had a serious and angry expression on his face, but The Dark Haired Man just smiled. “Well well well,” The Dark Haired Man said. “Now that we are alone, let’s finish this!” 

 

Joe moved to The Dark Haired Man and punched with his right hand, but his opponent dodged the punch by moving forward and slightly to Joe’s right. The Dark Haired Man then uppercut Joe, with what felt like all his strength, and he fell to the ground. Joe was dazed, but tried to get up. Off in a part of the house, which was now almost completely set ablaze, Joe heard a loud explosion. He got up slowly, but The Dark Haired Man was trying to keep himself from laughing. “You wanna try that again?” 

 

Joe moved in again, but more slowly. He then tried to jab his opponent in the face with his left fist, but The Dark Haired Man deflected the attack by punching the jab straight up into the air with his right hand. Before Joe could figure out what direction his left hand was going in, The Dark Haired Man punched Joe with his left hand. He quickly used a combination of lefts and rights at both Joe’s head and stomach for five seconds and Joe fell to the ground. They then heard another explosion from the opposite side of the building. When this happened, The Dark Haired Man broke out laughing. “OH, you fucking idiot, Joe! Did you really think you stood a chance against me?! Christ, what did I tell you? I came from you! I know everything about you! That includes all your fighting techniques and styles, what little there is. I know what moves you’re gonna make and every strategy you had set up! And the best part is: you don’t know mine! 

 

“Why do you think this place lit up like a dry paper bag? Because before you came in here, me, Blondie and Babs splashed kerosene all over the place. All that needed to be done was your kitty using a flame attack, Blondie blowing a limb or even me kicking that fire barrel over to reenact the fucking Chicago Fire again. 

 

“I then make it look like you got some fighting talent and get you to gamble your life. These ‘girls?!” The Dark Haired Man lifted the pokébelt that held the pokéballs. “They’re fucking useless to me anyway!” He threw the belt through a window that was almost completely covered in flames. The belt landed on the street outside. “The explosions you’re hearing are from Babs. Yeah, she faked a knockout in order to seal the exits to this place with some more kerosene, except these are more like a ‘Molotov Cocktail’ style. That “piggy” ain’t gettin’ back here to save you. So…” 

 

The Dark Haired Man walked over to Joe. Joe tried to get up by rolling on his stomach and pushing up, but The Dark Haired Man kicked him hard in the ribs. The Dark Haired Man then grabbed Joe’s right arm, pulled his hand upwards toward his neck so that Joe would feel pain. He then pushed Joe’s elbow completely upward and Joe screamed out. They both heard a very loud “pop” noise that came from Joe’s right shoulder. The Dark Haired Man smiled brightly. “Well, there goes your arm. I’m no doctor, but I don’t think you’ll be using that anytime soon. Now for your legs…” 

 

Joe could not hear The Dark haired Man talking he was screaming so loud. The Dark Haired Man grabbed Joe’s right foot and lifted it into the air. Joe tried to kick, but it did not do any good. The Dark Haired Man held Joe’s foot in place and kicked Joe’s knee sideways as hard as he could. Joe felt a snapping in his knee and a very sharp pain, which made him scream even more. Fifteen seconds later, his left knee followed suit. 

 

Joe laid screaming and crying from the pain he was dealt from The Dark Haired Man, but his torturer just laughed. A bunny-type pokégirl jumped right next to The Dark Haired Man and cried, “Master, we need to get out of here NOW! There are a shitload of cops and other fucks who’d love to get their hands on us…not to mention that this place is ON FIRE!” 

 

The Dark Haired Man sighed, “Fine…can anyone get inside this place?” 

 

“Not unless they are immune to fire…which that Fire-pussy isn’t,” she answered, smiling down at Joe Trades. “The fire’ll burn him to a crisp.” 

 

“Alright, let’s get back to the hideout,” he said to his bunny. He looked at Joe and said, “See ya in the next life, Trades!” He jumped on his Mini-Top’s back and they were gone. 

 

 

**********

 

 

“I NEED TO GET IN THERE,” Officer Mercury screamed at another OfficerJenny. “THERE’S A CIVILIAN IN THERE! I CAN’T LEAVE HIM IN THERE!” 

 

“I’m sorry, Mercury,” the Officer who was part of the backup unit that Jennifer had set up explained. “The entrances are completely blocked by fire. There’s no way in or out. Until the fire brigade gets here, there is nothing we can do.” 

 

“WHEN WILL THAT BE?” Mercury screamed. 

 

“Five minutes.” 

 

“HE’LL BE DEAD IN TWO!” 

 

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing that can be done.” Two Growltits now grabbed Mercury and held her back from hitting their fellow officer and from bolting into the building. Running into the building will only kill the both of you, the Jenny thought. Why are you getting this upset and irrational? It is a sad thing, but we can’t do any…HEY! WHAT THE ---! 

 

 

**********

 

 

Joe lay on the floor of the burning building in more pain than he ever thought possible. He tried turning over on his side, but his right arm hurt every time his shoulder touched the floor. The fire was moving closer and closer to his body and he felt as though he was being cooked alive. So this is it then, he thought as he continued to sink into despair. I’m really gonna die…I’m going to be cooked alive because I was outsmarted by that piece-of-shit. Come on Joe, think. How can I get out? Well, I can’t move my legs or my strong arm and…“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

 

Some flames had just caught on Joe’s right arm and started burning through the coat he was wearing. Joe started to hit the flames with his left arm, but the fire started at his legs too. Joe fought and rolled around despite all the pain he was feeling, but it was not helping. He screamed and sobbed from both the pain he was feeling and the fear of what was happening. As the fire began to burn the clothes and flesh from Joe’s body; the pain became too much for his brain. Joe let out a blood curdling scream, and his bright, hot world turned to a big, black nothingness. 

 

 

 

 

Type: Humanoid

Element: Fighting

Frequency: Uncommon

Diet: human style with mineral supplements

Role: physical Labor, particularly in construction

Libido: Low

Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Ice, Rock, Normal, Steel

Weak Vs: Flying, Psychic

Special Weaknesses: Can't swim, prone to narcissistic behavior

Attacks: Body Slam, Toss, Crushing Punch, Takedown, Tackle, Pose, Headbutt, Focus

Enhancements: Enhanced density (x2), Enhanced Strength (x16), armored skin

Disadvantages: Low speed

Evolves: Amachamp(normal)

Evolves From: Amachop (normal)

 

When the Amachop evolves into an Amachoke, she gains roughly three to four feet in height, more muscle mass and has an increase of one to two breast sizes. Their increased muscle mass keeps them from being able to swim, meaning they should avoid deep water at all costs. Because of her massive increase in height and muscle, she is actually slower as an Amachoke than when she was an Amachop, though overtime, as she adjusts to the massive difference in height, she will slowly regain some of her speed, but she will remain slower because of her new size.

 

An Amachoke is often very arrogant. Most feel that her great strength and hard body make her superior to all other Pokégirls. Some may even feel that those weaker than themselves are unworthy of taming them. Because of this incredible arrogance, it's during this evolution that many tamers will abandon or try to trade away the Amachoke. Others will push their Amachokes along in an attempt to get her to evolve into her final form. Some tamers have tried to bring the Amachoke's arrogance down by denying them the ability to work out, but this is considered a very hazardous technique to try and is likely one of the major reasons why those tamers wind up in intensive care.

 

In fact, some researchers have postulated that the reason an Amachoke requires so little taming is because working out may be a form of masturbation for them. Of course, a tamer who knows massage techniques and has strong enough fingers may find their Amachokes more willing than others.

 

Amachokes are less dangerous than most other feral Pokégirls, as they have a very mild feral state, which only lowers their intelligence a bit. Otherwise, their personality is almost completely unaffected.

 

Of course, there is a loophole to this arrogance: if her tamer gained her trust when she was an Amachop, an Amachoke is far more likely to respect them and allow them to continue taming her. And if the tamer was training alongside her, she's also going to be just as loyal as she was before.

 

Amachokes have big appetites. Not as monstrous as a Snorlass, but large nonetheless. This is because an Amachoke's body burns through calories at an accelerated rate. In fact, it's quite possible that an Amachoke cannot actually become fat, regardless of how little she trains, even though she loves training so much that such an occurrence is an impossibility.

 

Unless a tamer knows that they have a comparable strength, restraints are a MUST when taming an Amachoke.

 

 

 

Type: Humanoid

Element: Fighting

Frequency: Uncommon to Rare

Diet: human style

Role: physical labor, particularly in construction

Libido: Low, often more interested in testing her strength

Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Ice, Rock, Normal, Steel

Weak Vs: Flying, Psychic

Special Weaknesses: Can't swim

Attacks: Body Slam, Toss, Crushing Punch, Low Kick, Focus

Enhancements: Enhanced Density (x2), Enhanced Strength (x8), armored skin, reinforced musculoskeletal structure

Evolves: Amachoke (normal), Amachamp(evolved Amachoke; normal)

Evolves From: None

 

Amachops are very short, standing roughly four feet in height. They have grey skin which is quite tough and their breast size varies, but is usually A to B-cup. Despite their short stature, they tend to eat as much as a larger Pokégirl and because of their muscles, weigh over two hundred pounds. Their skin's density is such that small arms fire was ineffective against them.

 

Amachops are not favored for their appearance, but rather their great strength. An Amachop is easily one of the most popular strong Pokégirls, though whether this is because their short stature doesn't threaten ego-driven tamers or because they make a nasty surprise for hot-headed opponents is uncertain.

 

Amachops love to get stronger. Some will simply body build, but most wind up studying the martial arts. Amachops stuck with tamers who either won't let them pursue their goal of getting stronger will generally become unruly and will likely abandon the tamer before long.

 

To prevent this, tamers who get Amachops are advised to take up the same habits as their Amachops.

 

 

 

Type: Near Human Anthropomorphic (Rabbit)

Element: Normal

Frequency: Common

Diet: Vegetarian

Role: typically used in industries where high intelligence or strength is not required such as cleaning

Libido: High (Extreme)

Strong Vs: Ghost

Weak Vs: Fighting, dog Pokégirls, bird Pokégirls

Attacks: Tackle, Kick, Leap, Splash, Dumb Luck, Trample, Double Edge, Helping Hand, Love N’ Affection, Double Kick

Enhancements: Enhanced Speed (x4), Enhanced Hearing (x3), Retarded Aging, Luck Factor

Evolves: Beach Bunny (Water Stone), Play Bunny (evolves during orgasm - rare), Moon Bunny (Moon Stone), March Hare (rare, mechanism unknown), Snow Bunny (Ice Crystal), Mini-Top (abuse or witnessing extreme violence), Ingenue (evolves during stress), Cabbit (Cat E-Medal), Gun Bunny (Shiny Stone), Blade Bunny (Wabbit Virus), Easter Bunny (uncertain if actual evolution), Mist Bunny (Mana Stone), Snuggle Bunny (mechanism unknown), Bra-er Rabbit (Sun Stone and Leaf Stone)

Evolves From: None

 

Bunnygirls were another Pokégirl that was thought to be a mistake on Sukebe’s part, although in terms of intelligence, they’re just a few steps away from being furry Bimbos. They’re cute, they’re adorable, they’re VERY friendly and helpful, they’re fun-loving and affectionate, they have short attention spans, and are just flat out ditzy. Useless in a fight, they are more popular with college students, high school boys, and anyone fond of domestics or who just wants a lot of taming from a friendly Pokégirl. On finding a Master who responds well to their affectionate advances, their libido tends to get a bit higher with a corresponding rise in attention span.

 

Bunnygirls, like Kittens, are mostly human in appearance, save for a light down of fur on their skin, which is thicker around their rabbit-like hands and feet, small whiskers on their faces, as well as long rabbit ears instead of normal ears. Their legs are longer than most Pokégirls, and are more muscular and well defined, signifying their tremendous leg strength. More animalistic Bunnygirls also have slight rabbit-like muzzles.

 

Bunnygirls are among the more commonplace Pokégirls in the general market. Due to their lack of fighting potential, they are not usually found among a journeyman Tamer’s harem, unless they’re trying for an evolution. Typically, Bunnygirls are found usually as the Pokégirls of an owner who needs someone who can be trained to basic proficiency in a single set of skills, usually cooking or other basic domestic work, or in a sex battle harem. Although due to the tendency Bunnygirls have to be distracted, clumsy, and flaky, seeing a Bunnygirl cook is a very rare thing, and is usually only done with a T2 machine. (Some Ranches that carry Bunnygirls also sell uses of a Cooking T2 machine with them, as teaching Bunnygirls normally is usually very difficult.) They can be taught basic stuff in terms of cooking, and with training can be good with instant foods (so long as someone else takes it out of the microwave, as the Bunnygirl is likely to trip and drop it on themselves), but it’s considered extremely unwise to give them any pointy objects. More often they are used for keeping things neat, as like Titmice they are generally clean Pokégirls. Their most common use is that of a friendly, loving sexpet that will eventually evolve into something better.

 

Bunnygirls are very loving, trusting, innocent Pokégirls. They aren’t violent in the least, save for friendly sparring and cuddling. They do not respond well to violence, so much so that witnessing extreme amounts of it will actually cause them to evolve into the vicious Mini-Top. Once that happens… Er… Well… It was nice knowing you. Very rarely does a Bunnygirl become a Penance, as they usually morph into a Mini-Top first.

 

Due to their sheer, unadulterated cuteness, Bunnygirls have fan groups and enthusiasts similar to those that exist for other ‘cute’ Pokégirls, such as Kittens, Titmice, and Mermaids. Like Cabbits, Bunnygirls simply ADORE carrots, having been known to eat them by the basketful and occasionally using them as dildos during Taming. Using a carrot as bait is almost guaranteed to catch you a Bunnygirl.

 

Bunnygirls are among the most common results of Threshold.