Chapter 08: The Dead Man’s Hand

Joe Trades swam through a void of darkness that seemed to never end. Actually, he was not moving within the void, but rather felt as though he was floating. He was not sure if his eyes were closed, which would explain the darkness; or if his eyes were indeed open. He was not sure how long he had been there or how much time had passed since he “regained” consciousness, since he could not see anything. He stayed in this state of limbo until he heard a soft, beautiful voice call out from nowhere. “Den-Mar,” she beckoned. “Den-Mar…Den-Mar…”

Bah, Joe thought. Wrong name…wrong number…Wait…Den-Mar…is that…? Joe could not explain it, but he was suddenly out of the darkness and in a white room that seemed to stretch on forever. He was lying down on the “floor” of the flawlessly white room when he was still trying to collect his bearings. Slowly rising, he noticed that he was completely naked. However, he did not feel cold or uncomfortable in anyway. In fact, he did not feel any pain either. Joe quickly looked down at his knees and saw that there were no marks where they had been injured. His shoulder was completely fixed and there were no burns on his body. Where the fuck am I, Joe thought. Christ, I know. I’m fucking dead. That son-of-a-bitch burned me in that fucking trap and now I’m about to meet old Pete. What a bunch of…

Excuse me, the same soft and perfect voice interrupted Joe’s thoughts. Who is Pete? Joe turned around and saw a naked, orange woman with yellow antenna sticking out of her face just above her eyes. She was almost exactly Joe’s height, if you did not include her face “accessories.” The woman’s chest was very large, maybe the largest size Joe had ever seen in the flesh. She had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, complete with a white, shiny smile. She looked like a bug that had crossbred with a human. I DON’T LOOK LIKE A BUG! Her voice stated without the use of her mouth.

I didn’t say that, Joe thought.

You didn’t need to, the Orange Bug Lady replied. You thought about it. That was enough.

Joe looked at the woman and thought, You can read my mind?

Yes, She smiled. I can.

Suddenly, something within Joe’s mind communicated with the Pokegirl, Could we not do this mind thing? I don’t feel comfortable with a stranger looking into my head.

She tilted her head slightly, But this way will be more efficient and effective. Talking like this is really the best way.

I don’t care, the same voice said. I don’t want a stranger poking around in my head. We’ll just communicate the old fashioned way.

The Orange Lady sighed, If that is what you wish. “Is this better for you?”

Joe stood there, half expecting that voice to talk again, but when he saw The Orange Lady was wondering why he was not talking, he said, “Much.”

“My name is Dr. Tiffany, and I am the Ka-D-Bra that works here in the Pokecenter.”

“This is a room at the Pokecenter?”

“No, this is your mind,” Tiffany said. “I guess this is a good time to start our little session.”

Joe started to laugh, “People always said that I had an empty head. I guess they were right.”

Tiffany smiled, “What is the last thing that you remember?”

Joe took a few seconds to think, “Burning in a building. I was in fight with that guy who’s been doing all that shit around the city.”

“Is that all?”

“That’s all I can remember…why? Should I…?” Then it hit him. “How the hell did I live from all that shit?”

“Your Catgirl, Alia, was the one that saved you from the fire. She regained consciousness shortly after she was brought out from that building. When she was told that you were still inside, she jumped in one of the windows and brought you out. She was burned up a bit, but she recovered much quicker than you did.”

“What do you mean,” Joe asked.

“I mean,” Tiffany explained. “Pokegirls are much easier to recover and heal than humans are. Pokegirls have potions and other means of healing. Since you’re a human, potions are not very effective at healing you. That’s not even mentioning your little birth defect.”

“My ‘birth defect,’” Joe asked.

Tiffany smiled, “There’s no need to be ashamed of it. Jade, your NurseJoy, explained everything. The birth defect that limits your body accepting potions to heal you…is it all coming back together now?”

Joe started thinking a little bit, Birth defect? So Jade was able to keep my secret a secret? I guess she deserves something special if I can get out of…wherever this is. I guess all of them do. “So what happened? Have I been out for a day or something?”

Tiffany’s took in a breath and looked down, “Two weeks.”

“TWO WEEKS!” Joe screamed. “How the Hell was I out for two weeks!”

“You had suffered extraordinary burns. If the ambulance didn’t get to the area as quick as they did, there’s no way you would have made it. It was close to a miracle that you even survived at all. I mean, even though you were treated, you didn’t exactly make a full recovery.”

Joe looked right at her and started walking toward her, glaring the whole time. The Ka-D-Bra looked worried as he was walking toward her and she started walking backward. Joe stopped five feet away from Tiffany, which was the exact same spot as she had been. Taking in breath, Joe asked, “What do you mean, ‘didn’t make a full recovery?’”

“Well…um…” Tiffany started to stammer. “Your right arm was pretty badly burned. There was almost no tissue or skin left on it. It had been completely charred down to the bone. It took quite a bit of skill, but we were able to regenerate most almost everything back to normal, but your epidermis suffered the most. It’s not like its horribly disfigured or anything; it’s just a little…scarred.”

“Scarred,” Joe took in a breath. “Okay…how bad is the scarring? And what the hell is an epidermis?”

“Your epidermis is the outside layer of your skin, dear. And what do you mean? Like, how much scarring?”

“Can you be able to show me in here, or does my “self-imaging” prevent me from seeing my injuries?”

Tiffany gave him a questioning look, “’Self imaging?’ What do you mean?”

“Oh,” Joe said. “Sorry. Guess I thought it was similar to something I heard from someplace. I was wrong.” **1**

Tiffany continued to give him the same expression, but replied, “It’s alright. You’ve been through a lot. It’s okay to have some things feel a little off. You know, if we link our minds together, I will be able explain things a lot easier…” She ended the last sentence with a smile.

Sighing, Joe said, “Thank you for the offer, but once again, no. I don’t feel comfortable having someone going through my mind, especially when that someone is a total stranger.”

“You know,” the Ka-D-Bra said. “I don’t know how they do it in Capital, but here, when a tamer gets his or her license, they need to have their mind scanned by a psychic pokegirl owned and commissioned by the Crescent League.”

“I know what you are getting at,” Joe said. “But my license was cleared by the League Customs. That means I don’t need to get scanned twice. And I don’t remember getting my mental stability questioned either.”

“We just wanna make sure you will not endanger your ‘girls.”

“I didn’t, Miss Tiffany. As I recall, I ordered every pokegirl out of the building and attempted to apprehend that…fugitive…myself. Sure, I could have kept one of them in to make the catch, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to jeopardize the people that I cared for and I decided to stay and make the catch myself. I failed. I failed, and now that maniac is running loose and could be anywhere in this League. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of this…whatever the hell you call it…and get back into the real world!”

The Ka-D-Bra looked at him for a few seconds and sighed, “Alright, Mister Holten. You will awake from this place in about an hour or so. You will be in bed and all your ‘girls should be with you. I hope that you will be able to answer the questions that the OfficerJenny has in store for you. I don’t know exactly when she will be in to…talk…with you, but it should not be for a day or two. This mental therapy session, is now concluded.” As Tiffany finished this sentenced, she disappeared into a ball of white, shining light and was gone.

Christ, the voice inside Joe’s head suddenly said. I didn’t think she’d ever leave.

Okay, Joe thought. Who the hell are you?

There’s no time for that now. We need to figure out what to do about keeping your secret.

Keep my secret? TELL ME WHO YOU FUCKING ARE!

The voice sighed, Listen, we can’t talk about that right now. We need to ensure that you will not be discovered and that the League will continue to think that you are Den-Mar Holten. If we don’t act as soon as you regain consciousness, the police could figure out that you aren’t who you say you are; that would cause some major problems for everyone.

How do I know that I can even trust you?

To put it simply, you don’t. Does that make you feel better?

No.

Too bad. If you don’t take care of this right away, it will only cause problems for you. So, you gonna listen to my plan or what?

Fine, what have you got then?

Okay, here’s what you need to do…


**1** Joe Trades is referring to the movie “The Matrix,” in which Morpheus explains to Neo that all outer world appearances are removed when entering the matrix or any cyber-world.


********


Tiffany opened her eyes and she was back in Den-Mar Holten’s room. The interview session had not been what she would call a “great success,” but she was able to determine what she needed. Den-Mar was mentally fit to continue being a tamer. She sensed that he was keeping something from her, but without a warrant from the police, she would be unable to scan his mind without getting into serious trouble. She would be given a Level Two Cycle at the minimum if she had scanned him and someone was to have found out.

The Ka-D-Bra was sitting next to Den-Mar, holding his hand when she had opened her eyes and looked over at Alia, who was lying on Joe’s other side. “He will be fine, Miss. I found nothing wrong with his emotional state of mind and there does not seem to be any damage as far as I can tell. I was not able to scan his mind to the extent that would make a clinical diagnosis, since he refused for me to mentally link with him fully. If you feel as though he is not himself or there is something wrong when he wakes up, or even a couple months afterward, I want you to try to take him to a Pokecenter for further testing. Jade, will you be able to watch over him as well?” When Tiffany asked Jade this question, she looked at Jade who was standing behind Alia.

“Sure,” Jade responded. “Den-Mar is an exceptional master and will listen to us whenever we have something important to tell him. He may be a little stubborn when it comes to his health, but we try hard enough, he’ll listen.”

“Alright,” Tiffany said. “As long as he has not been scarred from this event, he should be able to continue holding his license in this League.” Tiffany looked over at the alarm clock on the bed stand next to her. “By the Gods,” she exclaimed. “I’m going to be late for my next appointment.” Tiffany stood up, “Ladies.” The Ka-D-Bra walked out of the room and shut the door.

Mabella, who was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, asked Jade, “How long will it be until master wakes up?”

“Well, we have given him the drug that will take him out of his coma. He should be waking up in an hour or two; it all depends on how his body reacts to the drug.”

“Why did he need to be put into this coma anyway,” Mabella asked.

“His body was too damaged to repair right away,” Jade explained. “If we had healed him completely in that short amount of time…” Jade looked back at Joe. “I just really hope there’ll be no more problems because of this. I don’t want him going to a shrink.”

Alia continued to lie next to Joe without saying a word. Besides for taming sessions only to keep her from going feral, eating and using the restroom, she had not left her master’s side. All of their pokeballs were destroyed in the fire, since Joe’s boots and all his clothes were burned up. Jade had got the Pokecenter to replace their pokeballs, but Alia refused to go into storage. Actually, none of them wanted to. They just did not feel that it was right to do so. “He won’t need a shrink,” Alia said softly. “He’ll be fine.”

Jade and Mabella looked at Alia lying next to Joe without saying a word. I hope she’s right, Jade thought. If coming to this new dimension and time wasn’t hard enough on him, now he might need to suffer from PTSD. We’ll need to do everything we can to make him feel better. Jade walked over to Joe and sat down on the opposite side of Alia. The harem waited for their master to wake up.


********


“Captain,” an OfficerJenny knocked on the Denmother’s office door.

“Yes Jenny,” Captain Morrison replied.

“Den-Mar Holten,” the Jenny said. “The burn victim of that fire that occurred two weeks ago will be conscious in the next hour or two. We were just informed by the staff at the Pokecenter.”

“Thank you officer,” Morrison said. When the Jenny shut the door, Captain Morrison radioed Jennifer Mercury to come into her office. In two minutes, she knocked and opened the door. “I was just informed that Den-Mar Holten will be regaining consciousness shortly. I want you to go over there and ask him some questions. I don’t care if you got to press into him, find out all you can about his connection with this suspect. And before you go, Jennifer, I want you to get his permission to interrogate his ‘girls we have in lock up.”

“Alright,” Jennifer said. She walked out of the office and shut the door.
Captain Morrison sighed. She did not like that this tamer was connected to the case, but he was an essential component to gathering information. His three main pokegirls were out of their pokeballs and could not be put into them without just cause. They were taming themselves, so there was no risk of them turning feral and they had been supplying themselves with their own food, so the Pokecenter could not use the excuse that they were draining resources. Jade, Den-Mar’s personal NurseJoy, had all of his medical history and was also the perfect candidate to treat him, even though there were other NurseJoys on staff. The four girls that had been part of the harem that had kidnapped Jade and his Catgirl, Alia, they were a different story.

The Bombshell was detained as soon as the police arrived on the scene, in which two of the Growltits used some “questionable” tactics to make sure that she did not get away from their custody. When she was transferred into a new pokeball, she was put into storage. A Growlie found the pokebelt that The Dark Haired Man had thrown out of the building. When Officer Mercury explained what had transpired between Den-Mar and The Dark Haired Man, the authorities had no choice but to rule that the pokegirls would be the property of Den-Mar Holten and would be put into storage until he decided what should be done with them. However, before any action could be taken, the pokegirls would need to be interrogated. Although Captain Morrison wanted to interrogate all of the pokegirls personally, Crescent League law prohibited any officer to interrogate or question any pokegirl without their tamer’s permission, knowledge or presence. She really could not care less about Den-Mar’s recovery; she just wanted any information on the man who killed her officer.

Officer Jennifer and the other cops searched the charred-out remains of the terraced house for anything that could help them find Babs or The Dark Haired Man, but they found nothing. The fire had destroyed any evidence that could have been left, and there were no bodies found. In the past two weeks, The Dark Haired Man had not made any new crimes since the night of the fire. Captain Morrison suspected that he was either lying low for the time being or he had skipped town. If he did the latter, they would need to report all information to the surrounding towns or worse yet, report him as a fugitive to the League government. That would make their police department look bad and get those League Police crawling over everything her and her squad touched in a week before this guy showed up. The last thing the Denmother wanted was to have League “Creeps” breathing down her neck until the case is solved.

The only break that they had had on the case was the media had reported that the fire had been an accident. The result of a pokebattle that got out of hand and that a tamer needed to be hospitalized and was in critical condition with no word of his condition, since his medical records were personal. Hopefully, the media would find something else to report on and forget all about Den-Mar Holten’s “accident.”

Captain Morrison closed her eyes, moved her pawish hands over her face and put her elbows on her desk. My next move all depends on what Holten wants to do. If it looks bad, I’ll inform the neighboring communities of the case to warn them. Hopefully, Mister Holten will have something useful for us to catch this guy. The last thing I want to do is make a League thing out of this.


********


When Joe Trades opened his eyes, he felt as though he was being pulverized by a tank. He tried to move his arms up, but the surge of pain caused him to groan out. He then felt someone squeezing him hard on his right side. He was about to try to turn his head to see who it was, but he heard and felt purring coming from the person. He then knew exactly who it was when he heard Alia meow, “Mmmmmmaster…”

“Try not to move so much, Joe,” Joe turned toward the voice by looking left and upwards. Jade was sitting next to him with a small smile on her face. “You are aware that you were in a bad situation, right?”

“Yeah Jade,” Joe groaned out. “I certainly didn’t think it was a good situation. Tiffany told me all about it. She just didn’t say anything about it hurting so much afterward.”

“The pain must be a side-effect from the regeneration that I and the other ‘Joys did on you. Your muscles are completely healed, but since you haven’t used them in two weeks, they might be a little sore for a couple days or so. I’ll make sure you get some pain killers when you have your dinner.”

“Thanks Jade,” Joe said smiling. “For everything.” Joe turned his head to Alia, who was still purring in his ear. “Alia, I need you to do something for me.”
Alia continued to purr into his ear, “Mmmaster, you are too weak for that right nowww. I want to do that too, but we just need to wait for a bit.”

“I’m not talking about that,” Joe said gravely. “I need you to get Den-Mar’s mother here as quick as possible.”

“Why,” Alia asked. The harem was now curious as to why Joe was asking for her to show up.

“If we don’t move on this as soon as possible,” Joe explained. “My identity will be recovered very soon. I need Den-Mar’s parents…my parents…to cover for me. I got a plan that will save my ass no matter what that jackass says. I just gotta hope no one does a blood test on him.”

“When do you want her here,” Alia asked.

“Now would be great,” Joe said. “I really really need to move on this thing quickly.”

“When I ask her to come, what should I say?”

“Tell her she needs to be balled and transferred to the Waveland Pokecenter in Crescent League. You will release her as soon as she is delivered. If she or…my father…asks, just say it concerns their son. Understand? That is all they need to know right now.”

“Okay,” Alia purred, squeezing Joe tightly for a few seconds before she got up to leave the room. When she left, everyone heard her shout, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE?!”

“I need…talk…wi…m,” the quiet voice responded. However, it was so quiet, no one in the room could make out who was talking or what they were saying.

“You’re not going anywhere near him!” Alia said in a quieter, but not calmer voice. “He just woke up from his coma, and you’re gonna interrogate him before he barely opened his eyes! Get the hell outta here!”

“Jade,” Joe said. “Take care of whoever that is. Make up a medical excuse or something, but get them away from me now. And remind Alia to get on the horn and call my mom first.” Jade nodded and got up from the bed. Before she left the room, Joe called out, “Oh and Jade.” Jade turned and looked back at him. “Thanks again, you did great work. This couldn’t have been done without you.”

Jade paused for a few seconds, looking as though she was about to cry. She started to smile, but turned and walked out the door to take care of the situation that was about to turn into a fight. The only two people left in the room were Joe and Mabella. She was standing in the bathroom doorway staring down at the floor. Joe looked at her and called to her, “Well there’s my little candle in the dark.”

Mabella ears dropped down. Did I say something wrong, Joe thought. “Why don’t you come over here?” Mabella slowly moved over to the bed, but stopped at the foot of it. What the hell is her problem? “I’m not gonna bite. Why are you acting like I’m going to?” Mabella did not move and continued to say nothing. She did not even look up at her master. “Mabella, I’m too beat up to be playing games right now. If you’re sad about something, you need to tell…”

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry.”

Joe looked at her for a few seconds, not sure what to say. Sorry? Sorry for what? “What happened kitty?”

Mabella looked up at Joe. She was crying and sniffling, taking in breathes erratically. “It’s-my-fault…It’s…all…ma-ma-ma-my faaaaaauuuuult! You…got-got…hurt…be-because…of-me!”

Joe felt like getting up and hugging her, but when he tried to move, he felt as though a million needles were poking his muscles. He fell backward and grunted, “Mabella, come here, Sweetheart.”

She stood there for a few seconds, continuing to cry and not knowing whether or not to listen, but she soon jumped into the bed next to the master. Fighting the pain off, Joe moved his arm around her and began to consol her. “Baby, it wasn’t you fault what happened. When I was fighting that guy, he told me that he used kerosene all over the building. Do you know what that means? He set us up. He knew that you were a fire-type and if you didn’t use any fire attacks, I’ll bet he planned on that Bombshell using an explosion attack to start the show. If it wasn’t gonna be you, it would have been something else. It’s not your fault what happened. So don’t go on thinking that, okay?” He ended his speech with a smile.

Mabella nodded and had stopped crying, but she was still sniffling. Christ, Joe thought. She must have been blaming herself this entire time that I was comatose. She probably thought that if I’d never have woken up that she’d be blamed and the rest of the girls would have killed her or worse. Poor thing. That fuck is gonna pay for this… Joe heard a noise come from the doorway and saw Jade staring at the two of them. The noise that they heard was the NurseJoy shutting the door.

“That was Officer Mercury outside Den…I mean, Joe,” Jade said. “She wanted to talk to you about what had happened after she left the building and that night. Mercury also wanted to get your permission to interrogate your new ‘girls that you obtained, but I told her that you would not be able to talk for another day or two. She insisted, but I reminded her that you needed to conserve all your strength and could not be questioned. We’ll see if she comes back tomorrow.” Jade winked at the Firecat and their tamer. “Wanna take a bet to see if she comes back?”

Joe chuckled a little bit, but it still hurt him, “Do you mean, ‘when’ she comes back? You know sure as shit that she’s gonna come back tomorrow.”

The three of them laughed, but Joe did not laugh as hard. The pain was starting to get to him. Jade then scolded herself for not getting some medicine for him and rushed out the door. As the Firecat and her tamer lay on the bed, Mabella looked over at him and asked, “Master Joe, may I ask you a question?”

“You may ‘ask,’” Joe said jokingly, but when he saw that his joke was lost on her, he simply said, “Sure.”

“Why do you want to call Mrs. Holten here? Are you gonna tell her everything?”

Joe sighed, “I really don’t have a choice. She deserves to know, along with her…husband?...but I’m not sure what their reaction is gonna be. They could help us, or they could be so grief stricken that they will expose me. I’m hoping for the former, but you never know. If they do decide to help us, based on what Alia and Jade told me, I think that I’ll be able to have an alibi for why that piece-of-shit and I look almost identical. The plan is so simple; a child could have devised it.” Joe joked with a smile.

“But what is the plan,” Mabella asked, still a little confused.

“I guess you’ll need to be in the room to hear it,” he said with a wink. “No sneak previews for this movie.” Mabella growled a little, but Joe ignored her. I just hope this works.

Of course it will, the voice spoke suddenly. I’m never wrong, it said in a joking tone. Joe could also feel that this new “entity” was smiling.


********


Tina rematerialized to find herself in a room of a Pokecenter. She had been in these quite a lot in her days when she used to roam the wilderness with her “husband.” The silver furred Beach Bunny looked around for the one who had released her and smiled when she saw Alia. After hugging her, Tina asked, “So, what was the urgency about me showing up to Waveland? Did something happen to Den-Mar?”

“Mamma Holten,” Alia whispered. “I think you had better sit down.”

Tina looked at Alia with a stern look. “Alia, what has happened to my son!?”

“I…I don’t know exactly how to explain this, Tina.” There was a pause. “Den-Mar…Den-Mar died…about three weeks ago…he…he died…but then something happened. It…it was a miracle. He…he came back to me…to us. I know I sound crazy…but that’s what happened. He had been dead, and then he came back. But…he’s different now. I…I know that the person in our room isn’t my Den-Mar…but oh Tina…he looks, smells and feels exactly like him. When I kiss him, it feels as though I’m kissing my Den-Mar when he first saved me! I can’t explain it…but it’s as if I…we…were given a second chance. Am I making any sense?”

“No,” Tina said, trying to maintain her thought. This conversation was not making any sense to her. It was not as if she was a Bunnygirl again and this was an intellectual conversation that could have been in either English or Ancient Edo for all she knew. Her brain had gotten smarter since those days, but this made no sense whatsoever. How…how could my son have died and have come back!? I… “I NEED to see my son now, Alia!”

“Alright,” Alia said. “But I need to warn you, he was in a horrible fire and was severely burned. He is going to be fine now, but he needs his rest. We can’t upset him or anything, but he asked to see you. He can’t move without being in a lot of pain, but that’s temporary.”

Alia lead the way to their room. The Catgirl and the Beach Bunny said nothing to each other on the way there. The entire time Tina just kept wondering how all this could be possible. When they got to the room, Alia opened the door but motioned for Tina to wait outside. “I’ll tell everyone to wait outside so you two can talk privately.”

Alia walked into the room and Tina heard her say, “Den…Joe…your mother, Tina, is waiting outside. Mabella…Jade…could we give them some time alone together?”

Tina heard them both agree but before they walked out of the room, she heard her son’s voice ask, “Jade, when will these pills kick in and how long do they last?”

“They will ‘kick in’ in about five more minutes or so. They should last all night and you shouldn’t need any more until breakfast. So don’t go and take anymore, okay?”

“If you say so,” Tina’s son muttered. No one else would have been able to hear it, except for the people inside the room, but Tina heard it as if she was right next to him. Sometimes enhanced hearing was a good thing. When everyone walked out, they looked at the Beach Bunny for a second before smiling.

“It’s okay,” Alia said. “You can go in when you are ready.”

Tina wanted to step inside the room and tell her son that this was a very sick joke he was playing on her and that all of his pokegirls should be ashamed of themselves for even agreeing to trick a pokewoman like this. However, the pit in her stomach was causing her to remain frozen. She knew, even though she did not want it to be true, that everyone was telling the truth. Taking a deep breath, Tina walked toward the doorway and went in. Alia closed the door a second afterward.

Tina was staring at her son lying in bed. No, that was wrong. He had a few pillows moved toward his back and was propped up so that he was not exactly lying in bed. He did not have a shirt on, but his lower body was covered up with the bed’s blankets. This was exactly her son, but he still was different then when she last spoke to him a month ago. For one thing, he no longer had his silver hair that he had gotten from her. He always looked so handsome with his hairstyle and he could always pick him out of a crowd because of it. His hair was now muddy water brown that seemed to not fit her son.

The second thing was that his muscles were gone. Den-Mar had not really liked it, but he had always worked out every other day since he was twelve. He did not work out when he left to be a tamer, but he did keep in good shape for his pokegirls. She also remembered him saying that “having a good body could fight off ferals for a few seconds more than a non-fit one, which could mean a matter of life and death.” She knew that that was true and agreed with him, but why was he looking the way he was now? There was no way that his body could have lost all that muscle and fitness in just a month. It was not as if her son was now fat, but he certainly did not have a “six-pack” anymore.

She had noticed all this within a matter of seconds, but after she had noticed the second difference in her son, Den-Mar started chuckling. Tina was about to ask him what he thought was so funny, but he said, “Well, what do ya know? My mom is a Bunnygirl…or would that be Bunnywoman? I always thought you’d be something like that.”

Tina made her face scowl a little bit, “For your information, I’m Beach Bunny. I’m just as smart as any human and smarter than a good amount.”

The young man looked at her with a questioning face, “How exactly do bunnies evolve into a Beach Bunny? Is it by a Water Stone?”

“Good guess,” Tina said. “Den-Mar, what have you done with your hair? And what happened to your body? You had such a good body too. When you left for Taming School, all the ‘girls at the ranch were in tears because they weren’t ever gonna see you again.”

The man took in a breath, “Did Alia explain anything to you?”

“She said that you died, but said that you came back to life.”

Joe took in a breath, “Well, she is still holding onto the notion that I’m Den-Mar, but I cannot say that I am. It’s been proven, thanks to that damn fire.”
Tina’s head tilted, “What fire?”

“Oh, um…I was in a fire and got pretty badly burned. If it wasn’t for Jade’s quick thinking, I’d probably be dead or in a League issued glass jar. I’m what you would call a ‘Pureblood.’ The only thing that makes me different from your Purebloods is that I’m from another dimension.”

“Wait,” Tina said. “‘Another dimension?’ How is that even possible? I mean, I used to read science fiction and thriller stuff to you when you were I child…but…this can’t be possible.”

“I can assure you,” Joe said. “It is very possible.”

Tina walked over to Joe and sat down next to Joe on the bed. She leaned over to him so that their faces were almost touching. Joe did not know exactly what she was doing until her small, little bunny nose started moving quickly. She did this for a few seconds and stopped. With tears forming in her eyes, she said, “Alia was right, you do smell a lot like my son. If it wasn’t for your hair or your personality…I’d say that you were…my…” Tina looked down, not wanting this stranger to see her crying.

Joe reached out to her with his right, scarred arm. To his surprise, his muscles were not screaming for him to stop. Cradling her cheek in his hand, he lifted her face so that their eyes met each other once again. “I’m sorry that you don’t have a son anymore. I don’t have a mom anymore. I know that you might not want me to be a replacement for Den-Mar, but it’s better than nothing, right? I know you and I both have made mistakes in our last relationships, but I think that we can use this opportunity to start fresh. Maybe through both our losses, we can make a good relationship. I know that you can’t make any promises for your husband or tamer or whatever you call…you know…dad…but will you promise me that you will at least try?”

A tear ran down the Beach Bunny’s cheek as she sobbed softly. “Yes…yes, I will try. You are right, something is better than nothing. I just…*sniffle*…I just can’t believe that he’s gone.” Tina moved closer to Joe and gave him a hug. They sat on the bed, embracing one another. After a few minutes, they separated and began to relax a little bit.

“Okay,” Joe said. “I’ll tell you everything that I know.”


********


Joe spent the next half hour or so explaining to his “new” mom about his theory of what happened. He explained (or at least tried to) what occurred between him and The Dark Haired Man on the night of the fire. Tina had a few questions as to what his world was like and he told her everything that he could remember. She also asked him questions about his mom and his former life, which he answered as truthfully as possible. By the end of the conversation, Tina asked, “What is it that you’d like me to do?”

“Well,” Joe explained. “Alia told me that you and your husband were good friends with some of the top brass of the Capital League’s Pokecenter group, or at least the one in your town.”

“Yes,” Tina said. “Are you looking for stronger ‘girls?”

“No,” Joe said. “I need you to make a false record for a committed patient.”

“I don’t understand.”

“From what I can gather, this psycho and I have almost the same DNA structure. This could be explained if he and I were both twins. However, since I’m going to be taking Den-Mar’s identity, and Den-Mar didn’t have a brother, this may cause a problem. I need you to ask a ‘Joy or one of the doctors to forge a small record for someone who was committed to the psychiatric wing of the Pokecenter or an asylum. It doesn’t need to be a complete and total story, but just enough to make it look like this guy just didn’t drop out of the sky…which coincidentally is the actual truth of what happened.”

Tina nodded, “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise you anything.”

“Thanks…mom.” When Joe said this, Tina stared at him. “Is it too soon for that?”

“No,” Tina said. “Not at all.” After they hugged, Tina stood up and walked toward the door and opened it. Before she walked out, she said, “Be careful, Sweetheart. I know you want to go after this guy, but he sounds very dangerous. I don’t want to lose another son.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Joe said. He looked down at his scarred arm and stared at it. A few seconds later, Joe said, “He almost killed me once because I let him get to me. It won’t happen again.”

Tina stood there, looking at her “son” for a few seconds, and walked out of the room.


********


“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S RESTING?!” The Denmother screamed at Jennifer Mercury. “HE JUST CAME OUT OF A TWO-WEEK COMA, HE SHOULD BE RESTED ENOUGH!”

“Captain Morrison,” Officer Mercury attempted to calm the now angry pokewoman in front of her. “Mister Holten and his harem have been through quite a lot. Maybe it’s a good idea to give them a day to rest.”

Captain Morrison sat in her chair and growled loudly. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her hands started smoking a little bit. “You do realize what I’m obligated to do now, don’t you?”

“Ma’am?”

“We don’t have any leads right now. Those ‘girls in storage might be able to help, but realistically, our suspect has moved on. And our only source of info is a wandering tamer that we can’t keep in this city.” The Denmother sighed. “I need to hand this case over to the League Authorities.”

“Is there no other way to go about this, Captain?”

“No, they have the jurisdiction and the…talents…to handle this case. I’ll call them up in their office tonight and send them the case details. But don’t give up right away, Mercury. Until I get the official word that we are off the case, I want you working on it. Understood?”

“Yes Ma’am.” The OfficerJenny walked out of the room. When she did, the pokewoman picked up her desk phone and pressed the buttons to get an outside number. She then dialed the ‘phone operator. A happy, cheery voice answered on the other side of the line. “Good Evening! This is Waveland Landline Help! What number are you trying to get a hold of?”

She’s already getting on my nerves, the Denmother thought. “Crescent League Authorities. The Investigations Branch.”

“Wwwone moment,” the voice said happily. Morrison was put on hold and she heard a song playing by Minako and the Pussycats. It was not one of their “pop, fast beat” songs, but one of their slow, soft songs. The Captain knew the song, but she could not think of what the name of the song was. She had heard it several times, but the main memory that came up was at the formal dance party that was thrown twice every year. It was thrown twice for the officers that could not attend the one because someone needed to continue to work at the office and the streets. Captain Justine Morrison and her tamer, Tom, had slow-danced to this song. A few others had too, but the other couple that really stuck out in her mind was the Mercurys. Jerry and Jennifer, in her opinion, definitely took the award for best couple. And now that will never happen again, Justine thought to herself. Christ, what the hell is the name of that song? Was it ‘Wanna Hold You All Night’ or was it ‘My Tamer’s Love’? She was thinking about the name of the song so hard, she almost did not hear the song stop and the phone ringing.

After about four rings, a more serious female voice answered, “Crescent League Investigations Bureau. This is Maggie.”
“Hello Maggie, this is Captain Morrison of the Waveland PD. There is a case that must be brought to your bureau’s attention…”

 

**********

Joe Trades was not sure how his harem felt, but he sure did not want to be in the police station again. Last time he was in here, he was arrested and interrogated for hours. Joe thought he would help the police catch his…whatever he was…in whichever way he could without giving up his secret. He and his pokegirls walked through the main doors and up to the reception desk, trying to fight off the nostalgia he was feeling. He looked at the Growlie’s nametag and saw that it read Nicole. “Good evening, Officer Nicole,” Joe greeted her. Nicole looked up from her computer terminal and gasped. “Before you give out another call to every officer in the station, we’d like to talk to Officer Mercury or Captain Morrison, whoever is available right now.”

Officer Nicole nodded and called them on her S.C.D. Within five minutes, Officer Mercury came to greet them.

“I was not expecting you to arrive, Mister Holten,” Jennifer greeted them. “I thought that I’d need to come to the ‘center and collect you.”

“Well,” Joe said. “I didn’t want you to ruin your shoes, and seeing how mine are temporary until the shop finishes them, it doesn’t matter what really happens to them.”

Since Joe heard no one laughing at his dry humor, Mercury used that as her cue to lead the group to one of the interrogation rooms. It felt different being on the other side of the table when in one of these places. The room looked exactly the same as the one that he was in. Joe looked at Jennifer and asked, “Before I have any cops talk to them, I want to talk to them first, alone.”

“Mister Holten,” the officer said. “This is highly irregular. I cannot tell you how bad of an idea this is. If one of those ‘girls attack you…”

“Then my ‘girls will come to my rescue,” Joe finished her sentence. “And no police will be listening in on the conversation. You will have your chance after me.” Officer Mercury was about to say something, but Joe cut her off. “If you want to interrogate them, these are the conditions.”

Officer Jennifer looked at Joe for a few seconds, thinking about what was at stake. “Alright, I agree to your terms. Who do you wish to see first?”

“The Bombshell,” Joe said.

“She will be in here momentarily. It will take a minute or two to retrieve her. I’ll bring her in myself, and then leave.” Officer Mercury picked up her S.C.D. and called an officer to take the four pokegirls out of their storage facility. She walked out of the room and returned five minutes later. She handed Joe a pokeball and walked out the door.

Joe looked at Mabella and said, “When I open her up, I want you to go behind her. If she does any sort of attack, hit her straight to her back. Jade,” he looked over at Jade. “I want you to stand against the wall. I don’t want you to get hurt if anything happens. Alia,” Joe looked at his Catgirl. “You stand next to me. Sorry, but you need to be my bodyguard.”

Alia smiled, “Oh, I’ll guard your body…every…single…part.”

Joe blushed a little, “Okay, let’s get started.” He pushed the button that released the Bombshell and a form started to materialize in front of him from a red beam of light. In a few seconds, a metal, blonde girl was lying on the ground. She started to move slowly, almost as if she was afraid to make a move. She started to look around about twenty seconds after she was released and first saw Mabella. When she saw the Firecat, she whimpered and curled up in a fetal position. “Please, please don’t hurt me for what happened. It’s not my fault. I didn’t want to hurt your master, but I didn’t have a choice.”

“It’s okay,” Joe said. The Bombshell looked over in his direction and gasped. Joe chose to ignore it. “We aren’t going to hurt you, but we do need information from you.”

“Alright,” she said. “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”

“We all have a choice,” Joe said. “It’s just some choices are easier to make than others.”

The Bombshell looked at the Firecat who stood directly behind her with a worried expression on her face. She then turned toward Joe and Alia, “What is she doing behind me for?”

“Mabella is just there for insurance,” Joe explained. “You did have a ‘not-so-great’ tamer, after all.”

“But it wasn’t my fault,” The Bombshell screamed. “He made me do it! I only listened so that Charis would be healed and not hurt! He was gonna keep her in pain! I’m sorry, I’m SORRY!” The Bombshell put her arms around her head and put her face toward the floor. A second later, she started crying and sobbing.

Joe did not know exactly what to do. This could be a trap to lure me in and take me out. I really doubt it is, but I don’t want to risk it. The voice in Joe’s head decided that this was a perfect opportunity to put in its two-cents, “Do you think this evil version of you is really that smart?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh please. He was obviously thinking from our dimension and time. Think about it; if you were in our time, would you have survived your injuries?”

“No.”

“Exactly. The guy planned on you dying in that building. He never expected you to actually live. He got rid of those pokegirls ‘cause they were useless to him. Think about it once again; how many pokegirls did the guy use?”

Joe thought for a few seconds, while staring at the crying Bombshell. “Two. He used this Bombshell and a Bunny-type.”

“Probably a Mini-Top, but yeah, those were the ones. Now his Bombshell says that she was only cooperating because she was being forced to help her harem sister. It was only a matter of time before this ‘girl was gonna turn on the guy. He needed to use her till she started either losing hope or get a chance to kill him.”

“So she should be safe?”

“Should be.”

Joe walked over to the Bombshell and knelt down. “It’s okay,” he said gently as he put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed up for a few seconds, but then accepted his touch. “He can’t and won’t hurt you anymore. I promise.” The Bombshell continued to cry on the floor, but moved back into a fetal position. After a minute, Joe decided that he should get the “interrogation” going again, “Hey, what’s your name? I can’t really call you Bombshell, that wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

The Bombshell looked up at him from the floor, sniffling all the while. “Sophie,” she said as she wiped the tears from her face. “My tamer, Stan, named me Sophie.”

“Sophie,” Joe said. “That’s a pretty name. What happened to your tamer?” He felt compelled that he needed to ask, but he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“I’m not 100 percent sure,” she said with a little sadness. “But I think he’s dead. I was released after everything had happened, but Charis would know. She was Stan’s favorite and was always out of her ‘ball. She was injured when I came out, so she should know. But…”

Joe continued to look at her, “‘But…’ What, Sophie?”

“I think she went feral by now. I mean, I don’t know for certain, but I’m pretty sure she has.”

Joe looked up at Mabella, Shit, he thought. Now I got to tame a feral too! Fucking Christ, what will be next, go find the item left in the spot where that Shithead killed her tamer? He looked back down at Sophie, “What type of ‘girl is she?”

“A Tigress,” Sophie said. “However, I think that I should be in the room when she regains her sanity. She was shot by your…your…” She looked at Joe questionably. “What exactly is he to you, master?”

“A mistake that should never have been,” Joe said. “But you’re right. It would be easier if you are in the room. I’ll see if the cops have a separate taming room for arrested ‘girls who need to be tamed but haven’t been in storage.”
Joe walked toward the door and opened it. He poked his head out and turned his head to see where Officer Mercury had gone. He saw here sitting on a bench and motioned her to come over to him. When she did, he asked, “I need to see the Tigress, but there is a catch.”

“What is it,” she asked.

“Sophie, the Bombshell, thinks that she has gone feral for not being tamed by ‘Shithead.’ Is there a room that we could tame her in so she can be talked to?”

Jennifer looked at him with a blank expression. After a few seconds, she said, “Yes, we do. But it is restricted for police only. Last time I checked, you were not an officer. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Joe said as he made a face of disappointment that was covered in sarcasm. “I guess that means I’m going to have to take everyone and go back to the Pokecenter. Damn, and I really wanted to help the police too. Oh well, I guess if they aren’t willing to give a little ‘tit-for-tat,’ I guess that I shouldn’t either.”

Jennifer looked at him questionably, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that when I walk out those doors, that’s it. I’m not coming back. You guys can sort everything out on your own.”

“Let me see if I can get it cleared for you,” Jennifer said. She walked down the hall and Joe shut the door.

“Well,” Joe said. “Officer Mercury is gonna try to find us a room. In the meantime, let’s introduce ourselves. Alia, you want to begin?” They spent the next five minutes talking about their names and how they met Den-Mar. Joe felt a little like he was lying to this poor girl, but it was not his fault if she thought he was Den-Mar. Joe never told her he was, so it was not as if he was lying.

There was a knock on the door and it opened. In walked Officer Mercury with the same emotionless expression on her face. “The room is ready and set for you. I’ll walk you all there.” As they all started toward the door, Officer Mercury put up her hand and stood in the doorway. She looked directly at Joe and asked, “Aren’t you going to ball her up?” Jennifer nodded behind Joe at Sophie.

Joe turned around and asked, “If I don’t ball you up, do you promise me that you will behave and not try to hurt anyone or run away?”

Sophie looked at him for a few seconds, as if she did not know what to say. Finally, she answered, “You mean…you trust me not to run away?”

“Well, so far under my ownership, you haven’t given me any reason not to trust you. Currently, you are gonna have a Fire-type watching your back and you are in a police station. I don’t think that you will do anything, but you could try something. Personally, I’m going with the latter.”

The Bombshell looked down at the ground, but not before Joe saw her blushing and smiling. He did not know if it was from the truth he had told her or that she thought she was being silly for thinking she could get away, but he smiled anyway. “So? Are you gonna be a good Bombshell Sophiiie?”

Without lifting her eyes from the floor, the pokegirl nodded. Joe turned to the OfficerJenny in front of him and shook his head, “No, Jennifer. Balling her will not be necessary.” Officer Mercury looked at him with a glare, but moved out of the way and led them down the hallway.

On their way to the room, Jennifer whispered, “You are being too reckless.”

Joe walked a step or two quicker to catch up with her and asked, “How’s that?”

“You are letting a criminal walk around freely and act as though she has done nothing wrong. She’s injured people and deserves to be punished. You just ignore that fact that she’s broken the law and think that it is alright.”

“No, I don’t. Yes, she has broken the law, but she did it for the right reason.”

“How’s that, exactly? There is no reason for breaking the law.”

“Hmph, your law is broken.”

Jennifer stopped walking and turned around. Joe has half expecting to get at least slapped in the face by the officer’s look, but she just stared at him. She was almost snarling at him with a look of anger that Alia started to growl behind Joe. A few seconds later, Officer Mercury turned and continued walking down the hall. In a few seconds, she stopped outside a door. “This is the room you will be using. The bed has restraints for the Tigress, which you will probably need if she is feral. Will you want me in the room to help you get her into them?”

“That might be a good idea,” Joe said. “I don’t want to take any chances.” Everyone walked into the room and got into position.

“I’ll try to talk to her if she’s not feral,” Sophie said. “But if she is, I don’t think that she will reason with me. I’ve never dealt with her ever going feral before.”

Joe nodded. He took out the pokeball and released the Tigress. A Catlike figure started to form from the red light and in few seconds, it took color. Charis looked around the room and her eyes fell upon the group. Sophie walked out in front of the group with her hands stretched out toward Charis. “Charis…Charis it’s me, Sophie. Do you remember me?” As Sophie said this, she started walking toward the Tigress. Suddenly, the Tigress Slashed the Bombshell across the chest. She fell backwards and landed hard. Officer Mercury used Takedown on the Tigress. While Charis was on the ground, Mercury got out a set of handcuffs and locked them on the pokegirl’s wrists. Mercury was struggling to keep the feral pokegirl down, but Jade ran over to them and used Yell. As Charis was in shock from the NurseJoy, everyone lifted the feral onto the bed and strapped her into the restraints.

“Damn,” Joe said. “And to think I still need to tame her. I really got my work cut out for me!”

Jennifer Mercury scowled at him, “Don’t take long.”

As she turned and walked out the door, Joe looked at her and shouted, “Hey Mercury, thanks.” The pokegirl acted as though she did not hear him and shut the door. Joe turned back toward his harem and said, “Well, let’s get tamin’.”


********


“How long should that taming shock last,” Joe asked as he buckled his pants back. His harem assisted him in taming the feral back to her senses, but she was resting for the time being. Since they had gotten her tamed quicker than they had thought, Joe asked if Sophie should be tamed. The NurseJoy and the cats were not too happy when he suggested it, but Sophie had said that it had been awhile. Joe had told them that it would be best if he got Sophie out of the way and reminded the pink-haired pokegirl and the cats that they all were tamed that very morning. He, however, left the part out about him doing so after the painkillers Jade gave him started working. “I want to start asking her questions as soon as possible.”

“She should be ready now,” Jade said. “However, wouldn’t you like to take this time to rest a little while?”

“Though the offer does sound tempting, I think that this interrogation should get underway again. I don’t think that Officer Mercury would appreciate me sleeping while in her taming room. She’d probably have a hissy fit if she came back to me sleeping on the job.” He ended the sentence with a wink in Jade’s direction.

“I think you’re right, Master. However, do you think that…Charis?...should have any more sleep? She won’t be able to communicate very well. She will be talking about herself in the third person as well.”

“That I remember reading,” Joe said.

Sophie looked up at Joe, “Master…what do master mean? Don’t master know about Bombsh…po…ke…girls?”

“Of course I do,” Joe said directly to the dazed pokegirl. He then turned away from her and whispered, “Just not as much as I’m suppose to or should.”

“Hmm?”

“I said we should wake Charis up. Sophie, do you feel as though you can talk to Charis if she gets upset?”

“Bombshell…can try.”

“Alright, let’s do this.” Joe walked over to the restrained, sleeping Tigress and started to lightly shake her shoulders. “Charis…Charis…wake up.”

The Tigress’s eyes started to flutter and Joe found himself staring into gold, slit eyes. At first, the pokegirl just looked at him for a few moments, but tried to reach for him with her hands. When she found that she could not, she started to growl at him. “BASTARD,” she screamed. “I’LL KILL YOU!”

“Charis,” Sophie said as she walked over to the restrained pokegirl. “Charis…it’s…okay. This is…Mass…Den…Mar. He not…other guy. He…saved…Bombshell.”

“‘Saved…us,’” Charis asked. “Sophie…have you…been…Level Fived? This is…man who…killed…master!”

“You mean that fuck-tard who tried to kill me,” Joe said and showed the Tigress his right arm. When her eyes fell upon the scarring, Joe explained, “The Shithead tried to set me on fire. I got you both and the two other ‘girls out though, so I guess it’s an acceptable trade.”

Charis looked at Joe intently. He even started sniffing the air to get his scent. “You…look…just like…him. You even…smell…like him. Why…is that?”

Joe took a breath, “He’s my twin brother. He was locked up in the asylum wing of the Pokecenter where I come from when he was young. There was some genetic flaw in his head. Long story short, he broke out and wants to have fun. You ever see the movie, Halloween?”

Charis shook her head.

“Well, if you did, it’d explain a lot. By the way, would the other ‘girls know anything about this guy?”

Charis shook her head, “The…other two refused…to help him. He…had shot Tig…me…and tried using Ti…MY…injury…to get…loyalty from them. It only…worked…on Sophie. As far as Ti…I…know…he would not…use the others…anymore…unless they were…Leveled Fived.”

“Mkay,” Joe said. “By the way, what can you tell me about your former tamer.”

Charis ears dropped down and Sophie was looking away from everyone. “He…was not… bad man,” Charis said. “I didn’t like…what he did…for a living. I didn’t…hurt anyone…that didn’t…need…to be hurt. Ti…I tried…to talk him…out of the life…every time a job…came up…he just saw more money…he just couldn’t stop getting more.”

“Charis,” Joe said. “What did he do?”

“…He was part of Team Trinity. The ‘Silver’ Section.”

“Sorry, I left my Teams For Dummies book at the Pokecenter.”

“Team Trinity is made up of…three smaller Teams. They decided to work together and form…one larger Team. There are three sections that do different things for…the Team. Silver Section was responsible for obtaining resources for…the Team as a whole.”

“Will anyone be able to find the bodies,” Joe asked. “I assume that my…brother…killed everyone.”

“You are correct,” Charis thought for a few moments. “No…my master had picked out a spot that was away from the…trail. You couldn’t see the fire unless you ventured…out from the trail. Come to think of it…I still don’t know how he found us.”

“Oh well,” Joe said. “Look, if the bodies will never be found and he took the equipment, there’s a good chance that the Team will think you all took off. You won’t need to worry about repercussions. However, I’m going to try to get you two to a safe place. I think you two have been on the road long enough, especially if it’s been with a Team.”

“Are you going to sell us,” Charis asked.

“I’m going to work out the details soon, but in a sense, yes,” Joe explained. “How does working on a ranch together sound? My parents are buddies with a ranch owner in Capital. I’m sure a Tigress and a Bombshell duo would be accepted right away.”

“You mean,” Sophie asked. “We would go together?”

“Mmm hmm,” Joe said. “And I’d even make a condition that you two could not ever be sold. That means both of you would probably be breeders, but it’s better than a life of running and constant violence. What do you say…if I can work it out, would you want that?”

Sophie looked down at Charis and smiled, “Bombshell do.”

“Under one condition,” Charis said.

“Depends,” Joe said.

“Will you remove these bindings from…me,” Charis asked with a smile. “Ti…I got an itch on MY nose that’s killing…me…right now.”

Joe laughed, “The condition…is acceptable.”

He removed the bindings, but before he could get away, the Tigress grabbed him. Joe did not know what was about to happen, but he found himself being bear-hugged by the pokegirl. “Thank you, Den-Mar,” Charis purred into his ear. “Thank you for giving…me…and Sophie a second chance at life.”

“No problem,” Joe tried to say, but it did not come out to clearly. The Tigress let him go and Joe got back to his feet. “So, did you two want to wait in your ‘balls before I transferred you out to Capital…or did you want to walk around?”

“If it wasn’t too much trouble,” Charis asked. “Ti…I was wondering if Sophie and…me…could buy some clothes before we leave for the ranch, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all,” Joe said. “Should I keep you both ‘balled until we go clothes shopping?” The Bombshell and Tigress nodded. “Alright then, until the shopping starts…” Joe got out their pokeballs and returned the two to them. Joe put them on his pokebelt, which he was only keeping empty pokeballs out and only had his harem’s pokeballs on because his boots were not ready yet.

Joe opened the door and looked for Jennifer. She was sitting outside the room on a bench, holding a cup of brown liquid. Jennifer had not seen him yet, but it seemed as though she was deep in thought about something…


********


Jennifer Mercury did not want to leave the room surveillance that Den-Mar Holten was occupying, so she had asked that another OfficerJenny to get something for her to drink. She waited for a few minutes until the officer came back with something. Jennifer thanked her and took a sip. She was a little shocked at what the pokegirl had gotten her. Hot chocolate? She opened up the lid of the cup and saw little white dots in the drink. And marshmallows? Jennifer started to tear up when she looked down at the drink. Jerry used to give me hot chocolate and marshmallows all the time in the morning, Jennifer thought. He knew I hated the taste of coffee, so he’d always tease me when he made his coffee. “I’m gonna put coffee in your cup one of these days to make you like coffee too!” he’d always say to me. I’d then tease him back that “if I got up before him, I’d put Recovery in his drink instead.” Oh…oh Jerry…

The OfficerJenny continued to sit on the bench, staring down into her drink. She was not sobbing, but she felt as though she was going to start if she did not stop thinking about her late tamer/partner. What should I think about, Jennifer thought. I should be thinking about this case, but I can’t think about anything new until Holten gets outta there. Well…let’s see. There haven’t been any more crimes that have been reported with the suspect’s description in Waveland or its surrounding area. Jerry…if only you were…

“Officer Mercury,” a voice called out to her. “Mercury, this is planet Earth. Come in.”

Jennifer looked up from her drink and looked into the face of Den-Mar Holten. “Mister Holten,” Jennifer said, putting the lid on her cup and standing up. “Is there anything else you need right now? Maybe a recovery drink? Or perhaps you would like your other twos ‘girls to join you as well?”

Joe smiled, “Well, what do you know…she has a sense of humor. Actually, I’m done talking to them.”

“And…?”

“Bad news and more bad news. He killed at least one more guy, probably two, in order to get those ‘girls. Since it happened out in the wilderness, I’m suspecting that their bodies are gone. The second set of bad news is they know nothing about this guy. I’m guessing he kept them ‘balled up until he needed them. The other two ‘girls probably weren’t even taken out of their ‘balls. Sophie, the Bombshell, was only used because she didn’t want the Tigress to suffer. I’m sorry, but these ‘girls will not able to help with the investigation.”

Officer Mercury let out sigh, “Alright, I suppose I won’t be able to interrogate them then, will I?”

“It wouldn’t do any good,” Den-Mar said. “I don’t think that putting them through an interrogation would be an effective use of the cops' time. Oh, and could the ones still in storage be transferred to the Pokecenter’s storage unit?”

“Sure,” Mercury said. “I guess this is 'goodbye' then.”

“I guess it is,” Den-Mar said. “Hopefully, you’ll never have to see me again. I know how much you like this face.”

Jennifer looked away from him, “Will that be all then?”

“Yeah,” Den-Mar said. He looked into the room and called out, “Let’s go, gang.” With Mister Holten leading the way, the pokegirls walked out of the room and headed down the hallway.

He’s right, ya know, Jennifer thought. I really don’t want to see him ever again. It’s not that he’s himself is a bad person, it’s just that…he reminds me of...him. Him…and what he did…Jennifer Mercury looked down at her hands, holding the drink in her shaking hands, and started to cry.


********


“Christ,” Joe said. “One more day, and we can kiss this damn town goodbye. Can we all skip the taming, go to bed and just wake up tomorrow?” They had gotten back to the room after they had taken Charis and Sophie clothes shopping at the Pokemart that was working on his boots. The owner said he would have them ready by tomorrow, first thing when he opened up. He also said he would program Joe’s thumbprint into the system as well, which would not take more than a minute. After they got done shopping, everyone walked back to the Pokecenter. Joe asked that the two pokegirls he had in storage be Level Fived and put up for sale on Pok-E-Bay.

After the harem got back to their room, Alia and Joe talked about the contract proposal with the ranch that the Holten family worked with. The deal protected Charis and Sophie, while also giving Joe continued ownership of them. At the same time, it benefited the ranch by having them owning all the kits birthed from Parthenogenisis. Charis’s kits would not make a too great of a price, but Sophie’s would. It would be a great investment for any ranch. They sent the proposal out to the ranch and would not expect a response for the next few days. The ranch would need some time to consider the proposal, but Joe figured it would not take them too long.

“But I was hoping for another group exercise tonight,” Mabella whined. “We don’t get these that often, and I look forward to them.”

“Me too!” Alia said.

Joe looked at Jade, “Jade, c’mon. Use a medical excuse or something.”

“Well, Sweetheart,” Jade explained. “As long as you take those pills, you should be fine.”

“Ah,” Joe said smiling. “So I just don’t take the pills, and you can’t have sex with me…I’m a genius!”

“Well, true,” Jade said. “However, you would go right back to that pain that you couldn’t stand. Then you wouldn’t be able to sleep. So that’s what it comes to: risk not sleeping…or having an orgy with three beautiful girls who love you.”

“Hmm,” Joe said. “I guess I won’t be taking my pills then…”

Joe heard the gasps from his entire harem and had pillows thrown at him. After being tossed on the bed, the group got started on their early bedtime.


********


“What is that beeping,” Joe said as he stepped out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. They had slept throughout the entire evening after the orgy and almost the entire night. Joe had woken up Jade early in the morning at about two o’clock and told her he wanted to say ‘thank you’ for recovering him. She did not understand what he meant at first until he carried her into the bathroom and put her into a hot bath. They tamed each other twice until they almost passed out in the water from exhaustion. Laughing, they got out and went back into the bed. “I go into the shower for five minutes…and the ‘Dex decides that it needs to wake up the entire ‘Center.”

“It’s not gonna wake up the entire ‘Center,” Alia said in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s just saying we got an important message from the Waveland Police Department.”

“Please tell me they caught the son-of-a-bitch,” Joe said.

Alia looked up at him, “That’s Bitch-Byte, master.”

“Whatever, less chatty…more readie.”

Alia looked over the E-Mail, “You have two new messages. The most recent one is from the Police…which is why it started beeping. We just received it a few minutes ago after we missed a few calls from…Captain Morrison. She marked this as an URGENT message. It says to report to her office in…twenty minutes.”

“Bitch.”

Alia looked at Joe again, “You’re not far from that remark, you know.” Smiling, she read the next one. It was from his parents’ home terminal. “Your mother writes, ‘Your Birthday has come early, baby. We got you your gift already and you can use it whenever you want.’ What the hell does she mean by that?”

Joe smiled, “It means that we’re covered. I now have a false identity for my shadow.” Joe looked around the room, “Is everyone ready to go down to the station?”

Alia was at the desk on the opposite side of the room with the ‘Dex and Jade and Mabella were on the bed watching television. “Yeah,” Mabella said. “Are you going out like that, or…?”

Joe looked down and looked back at her, “What? Not enough six-pack?” He went to grab his clothes, but Mabella grabbed the towel and ripped it off of him.

“I was thinking it was too much clothing, personally,” the Firecat said giggled. “C’mon…I wanna see that Bramage that you’re hiding!” **2**

“MABELLA!”

“You’re so bashful!”

“Can I just get dressed in peace?”

“Nope…I wanna plaaay with you!”

“Someone help me! If you don’t…we’ll never make the meeting!”

**2** Mabella is referring that her master’s penis is a Dragon-type Pokegirl


********


“You almost didn’t make it,” Captain Morrison said across her desk at Joe when he walked into her office alone. His harem was waiting outside for him and Joe thought that they should not be in the room.

“Can we make this quick, Captain,” Joe asked. “I wanna get out of this place as soon as possible.”

“We’re still waiting on one more,” the Denmother explained. “When she gets here, we’ll begin.”

They waited in silence for about a minute until the door opened. Joe turned to see who this “she” was but was surprised to see Officer Mercury walk into the room. She was obviously shocked to see him as well, since she stopped and looked at him for few seconds before sitting down next to him.

“Well, Captain,” Mercury said. “Why have you called us in here?”

“I received this from the Crescent League Investigations Bureau,” she handed each of them a printed piece of paper.

The paper read,

“Dear Captain Morrison.

“An agent of the Crescent League Investigations Bureau will be taking the case you have filed with us. S/He will be arriving sometime within the next day or two of this message. Please have all material information ready to be handed over to the investigating agent.

“In regards to the tamer, a Mister Den-Mar Holten, who is the most connected person to the fugitive, is NOT to leave Crescent League territory under ANY circumstance. To ensure this and his own safety (since you have informed us through the investigating OfficerJenny testimony that he looks exactly like the fugitive) he will need an OfficerJenny to accompany him everywhere he goes. In addition, since Miss Jennifer Mercury is now part of Crescent League property and is investigating this particular case, she will be assigned to Mister Den-Mar Holten until this case is closed by the investigating agent.

“Please give these orders to both Mister Holten and Miss Mercury within twenty-four hours of this sent time. Thank you for your cooperation and have a pleasant day."

Signed,

Director Deputy Jim Kingsberg of the Crescent League Investigations Bureau