Another way

by Mortanius

 

 

“Speech”

‘Thoughts’

[ Telepathy ]

|Quotes|

<Machines speaking>

 

 

Chapter five

 

 

Six Peaks Town

Marcus's house: 7.00

 

*******

 

 

Darkness. Warm, pleasantly soft darkness. A light breeze on the neck, from both sides. Birds singing in the forest, outside the house. And the silent, yet quickly becoming louder sound of the fire alarm...

 

 

Marcus opened his eyes and whispered silently: “Turn off the alarm.” Barely audible beep from the black pokedex on the drawer confirmed the execution of a command.

 

 

'Great, HAL can behave silently if she... err, it wants to.' Marcus moved his head around. ‘I am beginning to like being a Tamer, what a nice view...'

 

 

Both his Pokegirls were lying next to him, Jessica on his left and Tavion on his right side. Both of them ignored the sound of the alarm and continued to look cute while snuggling with him.

 

 

‘Black and white, not exactly but close enough. Light and darkness, in perfect harmony at the moment. I have a feeling that this day will be a good day.’ After a moment of philosophical insight Marcus did the first mistake of the so called |good day|. He tried to move something in addition to his neck.

 

 

The scream made Jessica and Tavion jump and look for danger around them. There was no danger, the only thing out of the ordinary was Marcus trying desperately to stay still.

 

“The pain…” Our soon-to-be travelling merchant / Tamer was using his newfound ventriloquism skill to talk and not move his mouth . Although the whispering earlier caused no damage or pain to his lips and tongue, his scream right after that was extremely painful.

 

“Well, what have you expected after two hours of quick, continuous Taming? These spells just made you last longer, they don’t protect you from the damage. You didn’t suddenly get regeneration – except that Quicken Recovery earlier, and this spell restores only stamina, not damaged muscles, if I remember correctly…” Jessica was looking at Marcus as if he was some very interesting test subject. Tavion nodded, agreeing with her opinion.

 

“Now hold on for a few seconds. There is nothing here I couldn’t heal.” After that there was a little more than the glow of healing magic and occasional grunt of pain. After the NurseJoy finished her treatment Marcus was amazed. There wasn’t a tiniest trace of discomfort left.

 

“Wow, these T2’s from the hospital are surely useful.” Normally it would take almost half a day for the town’s Pokecenter / hospital staff to heal even a small injury like that.

 

“That and I don’t need to limit myself. I have only one patient now and I can use all my energy on him.” Pink-haired beauty was clearly proud of herself. “OK, now we need to talk. I have a few questions about all this and I want some straight answers. First, why did you suddenly decide to become a Tamer? Being a Pet Owner is enough to have two Pokegirls, so why this? Second question: do you still intend to leave the town today? Third question: shouldn’t you get a starter ‘girl from the Pokecenter? Answers, now.” She put her hands under her breasts and looked inquisitively at Marcus.

 

‘Who wouldn’t be happy to be questioned by a hot, naked female inquisitor?’ The view was distracting but Marcus had a little bit of practice with naked Jessica and answered fairly quick.

 

“I took the test because I need the money to rebuild my shop and I can’t do anything besides selling things. Taming, as far as I know, does not require high qualifications and can bring good profit in relatively short time. Besides, there is nothing for me to do in this town until the shop is rebuilt. I would be bored to death in a few weeks. As a Tamer I can kill the time and finally see the world, or at least some part of it.” Jessica was convinced and nodded. Marcus went for the next question:

 

“Yes, I want to leave today. There will be nothing that should require my presence here for at least a few months, until I have more money to restore the building. About the starter girl, there was certain individual in the hospital who was pissed off by something concerning selling NurseJoys to certain people. This person told me |there is no reason for me to receive a free girl, because I have two already, League’s rules be damned|. Do you know who I am talking about?” This time it was Marcus who shot a questioning look at Jessica.

 

“That old piece of Minotaurash…” Jessica held a grudge against doctor Smith for some reason.

 

“It’s nothing serious, you know. I really don’t need an additional ‘girl at the moment. You two are more than I ever expected to deal with, anyway. My body’s reaction to all the Taming yesterday is the best proof that I am not ready to tame both of you. I mean, not at the same time.”

 

“Don’t worry about that, you have your personal trainer, after all.” Jessica’s grin scared Marcus a little. “In a few months you may be able to endure two or three nights like that per week.” This sentence scared Marcus shitless.

 

“Alright, I want to leave the town today, before noon if possible. Let’s pack! But first, a shower.” Change of the subject was the only way Marcus knew would stop Jess from pursuing that line of thought longer. It worked. This was the first time in mister Farseer’s life when he took a shower with two other people. Most of the experience was both of his ‘girls rubbing themselves on him under the pretext of cleaning. It was almost as if they were competing. This was the first time Jess behaved like that. As for Tavion, he simply didn’t know her long enough.

 

  

*******

 

Six Peaks Town: 9.30

 

*******

 

Stuffing the backpacks (he purchased five of them while he was drunk, pure madness) for three people took only half an hour, mainly because most of the equipment was already inside – he never bothered to unpack it after the unfortunate purchase (which was still covered in alcoholic amnesia cloud in his mind). Marcus and Jessica spent the next hour telling the people in the town |adieu|. Finally, slightly exhausted, they followed the road outside of the town.

 

“We sure look strange.” Marcus’s words were an understatement. Tavion, in her blood red leather dress was carrying the largest backpack of them all while levitating. Jessica was wearing a military camo suit – a pink one. The blouse was unbuttoned, showing ordinary black T-shirt and definitely not ordinary locator collar. The leader of the group was presenting an interesting look himself: Marcus was beginning to feel comfortable in his new black and grey |lone ranger| clothes.

 

“You know, you need a hat to complete the image.” Jessica was as always practical.

 

“You think so? I will look for one in Wildsburg then. OK, everyone ready? Let’s get this journey started!” With a big grin Marcus started his march towards the adventure.

 

Tavion was thinking about something for a while. “Um, Master, wouldn’t it be faster if I just teleported us there?”

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot you can teleport…” Jessica executed a standard |facepalm and angry grunt| routine in reaction to Marcus’s words. But the next sentence was a surprise to her. “Actually, it may be better for us to travel on foot. We don’t exactly have an excess of money and we should catch a few Ferals on the way north. Besides, we will have the time to know each other better and train a little.”

 

“Yes Master.” For Tavion that explanation was good enough. Jessica didn’t protest either. The road should be fairly safe, with it being protected by sound and pheromone barriers and all that. The NurseJoy wanted to see a bit of the world instead of teleporting straight to the target. It was not strange, because when she was a child she didn’t leave the boundaries of the town’s sound barriers in fear of the Ferals (there were almost none in the town’s vicinity, but still). After she Thresholded it was not wise to move far outside the town, because of sheer number of Tamers who would not hesitate to capture an Uncommon type Pokegirl wandering without a Tamer. She travelled outside the town a few times, on Pokecenter’s business, but it was always by transporter. She carried a few documents or samples with her to some destination and she was right back. These weren’t, by any means, leisure travels. Now she could enjoy the sights.

 

It was an early spring, the woods were full of life. There were small flowers everywhere and the sun shone through the trees - those with leaves already and those without them yet – creating a mesmerizing show for anyone who paid attention. The three travelers using the forest road hiked away from the sun.

 

 

*******

 

On the road: Six Peaks – Wildsburg

 

Eight hours later: 18.00

 

*******

 

‘Ow, ow, ow, now I know why you shouldn’t hike in new shoes.’ Pink-clad and pink-haired Pokegirl suffered in silence. She was theoretically tougher than human, but she never trained very much. She worked in hospital, damn it, not as a courier! She watched her friend, lover and owner with an envy. Marcus enjoyed jogging near their town’s Feral repellent line. He was better prepared for long periods of walking. They were approaching a camp site for Tamers however, so the torment should end in a few minutes.

 

Those camp sites were always strategically located near some source of water. This time it was a small spring, a few steps from the road. After she helped Marcus to set up the tent, Jessica went to get some water while Tavion watched from above. Now the situation was a little hilarious: Marcus could let Jessica prepare the meal, or let Tavion do it and leave a NurseJoy without any offensive skills on watch. He went for the lesser evil . Now he and Jessica were watching the road ( there were sound barriers between them and the forest) while inhaling the beautiful smells of the dish in preparation.

 

“Someone’s coming.” Jessica heard it first. Since this was the only secure camping spot in this part of the woods, at least a few travelling Tamers should be expected. But no one could expect a meeting like this. On the road there were two people: a human male and a Pokegirl. The first thing Jessica noticed was the white cowboy’s hat on the man’s head and his shoulder length hair, also white. His youthful years were clearly behind him, but anyone looking at his musculature and vigorous steps could tell that he was far away from being senile. He wore black and white flannel, blue jeans and a dirty lab coat. The Pokegirl walking next to him was also a sight to behold: she looked like an elf type: tall, slick, graceful. She wore a short black dress and hiking boots. There was a silver necklace (a collar maybe?) on her neck. She had a beautiful face. Her beauty was, however, not the first thing that attracted attention to her. She had terrible looking stitches all over her body. A glint of metal could be spotted under her blonde hair. And the most disturbing fact: her hands and arms were definitely not hers. They looked like they used to belong to some furry ‘girl, maybe a small Grizzlar or something else with short, pointy claws. The overall effect was…disturbing.

 

“Greetings, fellow travelers! What a beautiful day for hiking! Could you tell me how far Six Peaks is from here?” The man’s voice was deep and low.

 

“You should cover the distance in one day. I doubt, however, that you can travel so far before nightfall.” Marcus informed the man.

 

“We shall camp here then. Let me introduce myself. My name is Glabrio Moreau and this lovely lady here is my Alpha, Ariadne. In case you want to know, she is a Francinestein. May we join you later for a talk?”

 

“Of course.” Marcus would not say more, if not for Jessica’s meaningful look. “Oh, I am Marcus Farseer, Jessica here is my Alpha and our cook’s name is Tavion.”

 

“Pleased to meet you. We will return shortly.” With that words spoken, the man and his Pokegirl began setting up a tent. It was one of those self-inflatable, huge, expensive-looking tents. Compared to it, Marcus’s green tent looked miserably small. After unpacking (their packs looked small and compact) mister Moreau and his Alpha returned to the campfire. They carried MRE’s with them. With Marcus’s permission they cooked their meals.

 

“You know, I always thought that MRE’s were low-grade food, and yet yours smell pretty nice.” Our hero was seriously amazed.

 

“That is because these are hand-made and only packed like MRE’s. They are supposed to be better. However the aroma of your meal is no worse, in fact it is no less than heavenly. Your Pokegirl must be an excellent cook.”

 

“Oh yes, she is. Tavion, is there enough soup for two more people?” A nod from the Dark Lady. “You should definitely try Tavion’s cooking. Help yourself.”

 

Both man and his Pokegirl were eager to comply. Everyone centered their attention on their plates.

Time passed by.

 

“What an amazing meal! Thank you very much mister Farseer. You are a lucky man to have such a talented Pokegirl.” Tavion perked up at the lab coat wearing man’s words.

 

“Yeah, you could say that.” Marcus decided to ask a few questions that were bugging him for a few minutes. “May I ask you about your destination? Do you want to leave the League?”

 

“No, nothing so tiring. We are travelling to Six Peaks.”

 

That was unusual. Six Peaks was a transit point, almost no people (except delivery services) went there specifically.

 

“Why are you travelling to Six Peaks? You know, it’s my hometown and I know that there is nothing significant there, at least not for a stranger.” Marcus was very curious about it.

 

“I have been a Watcher for many years and I want to settle down. I want to become a Researcher and study dangerous breeds of Pokegirls. To do that I need test subjects. I received a message from the League telling me that recently there was a Dark Lady capture in Six Peaks. Do you know something about it?”

 

Marcus was seriously surprised. “Yes, there was a Dark Lady captured a few days ago, in fact…” The self-declared Pokegirl Watcher didn’t let him finish the sentence.

 

“Great! I want to purchase her from the Tamer who caught her, or trade for her. I do not expect that the Tamer in question would want to keep one of those sadistic, violent bitches.”

 

Marcus and Jessica were staring at Tavion since Moreau started talking. Surprisingly there weren’t any signs of incoming doom, she was even smiling a little.

 

”I wonder: what was Sukebe thinking when he created Dark Ladies? They are much less useful than Dark Elves, such as yours.” Moreau pointed at Tavion. Marcus’s newly discovered danger sense was tingling.

 

“Uhm… What do you want to do with her?” That was the first question that came to Marcus. He was looking at Tavion the whole time.

 

“Oh, nothing special. A few pain tolerance tests, psychological evaluation, maybe a vivisection in the end… Why did you ask?” Moreau didn’t know that he was in serious danger. Tavion was grinning.

 

“Just curious, just curious.” Marcus voiced an answer, but his thoughts were centered on solving the problem without bloodshed, not on the conversation. “Say, why seek out Dark Lady so far from big cities? There must be a few of them north from here.”

 

“Very Rare Pokegirls are called so for a reason. There are 32 Dark Ladies south from the capital – I mean registered ones. Believe it or not, they are the most numerous dangerous breed of the Very Rare variety. They are simply easiest to find. The information about recent capture was a true blessing, though. I don’t want to try and trade for a bonded Dark Lady…”

 

Moreau’s Francinestein was looking at Tavion for some time. Suddenly she seemed to remember something. She looked like she was quite frightened. “ Glabrio…” Her voice was giving the impression that there were ragged pieces of metal embedded in her throat.

 

“Not now honey, this is extremely interesting topic.” The Watcher was still unaware of the danger nearby. Amazingly, Ariadne obeyed him. On the other hand, now she was observing the dark-skinned Pokegirl carefully, awaiting an attack.

 

“There are 30 Combat Tamers who own a Dark Lady and one accountant who owns two of them. And there is this newly registered specimen here, in Six Peaks. I will try her first. I think that half a million credits should convince her new owner to get rid of her.”

 

Marcus blinked, surprised. That was about twice as much as Tavion was worth at the moment, according to the Pokedex. It would take him at least six months to earn as much by capturing Ferals, not counting the necessary expenses. On the other hand if he would in fact sell Tavion it  still wouldn’t even come close to the amount he needed to rebuild his shop. He looked at suddenly very worried Pokegirl and smiled reassuringly.

 

“Besides, what use could she be now? Outside the combat skills, I mean. Better to get rid of the trouble and sell her to me, don’t you agree?”

 

Marcus decided it was time to clarify a few things. “Maybe, maybe. Say, mister Moreau, how was the meal again?”

“Marvelous. Definitely. But how is that connected to our topic?”

 

“I assure you it is. Would you please use your Pokedex – I assume you have one – and scan Tavion?” Everyone was surprised. Only Jessica was smiling slightly, knowing Marcus long enough to recognize his favorite way of convincing people of something – namely letting them use their own eyes. White-haired man procured an expensive looking, white ‘dex from the pocket of his lab coat and flipped it open. After a few seconds his eyes widened slightly. He glanced at Tavion, at the ‘dex, at Marcus, at the ‘dex and finally sighed and closed the device.

 

“That was a very educating experience. I presume that you not only bonded, but also subdued the Dark Lady here. Also, you are not insulted by the things I said”. Old man was not showing anything even remotely resembling fear. Which he should be showing, because he was sitting only a few steps from his intended test subject.

 

“That’s right, actually. How did you guess?” Marcus didn’t expect something like that, namely cold and logical analysis of the situation. Old man’s cojones sure were in place. And they were big.

 

“Well, for starters, I’m not dying yet.” That triggered a cascade of laughs from Marcus and Jessica. “Don’t laugh, this is actually a serious problem when dealing with easily angered Pokegirls. Human may want to beat you into a pulp when you piss him off, but with a Pokegirl in the same situation you will probably just lose your head. Literally. And I am not talking exclusively about Ferals.”

 

Old man sighed, clearly in the fatalistic mood. “Your Dark Lady is a cook. A good one. That alone is unusual. I think she has other useful abilities, because you don’t look like you are going to sell her. Am I right?”

 

“Well, yes, you are. I intend to keep Tavion.” Certain leather-clad Pokegirl was looking very happy at the moment, listening to her Master’s words.

 

“Alright, so I need to look elsewhere for test subjects. It’s not the first time, it’s not the last. At least I can honestly enjoy the travel. Is there any hotel in your town?”

 

“You can stay at the Pokecenter, I am sure there will be some free rooms. Yes, our town is too small to have Pokecenter, but we have one nonetheless. It’s because of our location.” Marcus informed Moreau.

He also had a strange feeling. ‘Something is not right. But what exactly?’

“OK girls, clean this mess. We need to rest. Mister Moreau, can I ask you something?” Marcus’s ‘girls hurried to clean the dishes and to prepare for sleep. Old man in a lab coat showed the signs of being interested in further conversation.

 

“Of course, what do you want to know?”

 

“Well, I think that you should know a lot about Pokegirls, because you are a Watcher …” Marcus was clearly trying to find the right words.

 

“Yes, you could say that. I know a few useful things about them.”

 

You know, technically this is my first week as a Tamer and I don’t know anything about Dark Ladies or being a Tamer in general… Do you have any advice?”

 

Self proclaimed Watcher was thinking for a few minutes. “Yes, I have a few tips for you. First one: use restraints during Taming. She may not look like it, but she’s really strong. Don’t let the ‘dex fool you. Even hers |x3| enhancement can be pretty dangerous. If you don’t want to use the restraints for some reason, beware of the missionary position! She may not strangle you while cuddling, but there is a high possibility of your pelvis being crushed during the intercourse. Even ordinary human’s legs are stronger than arms and she has the strength of 3 trained men.”

 

“Second advice: be extremely cautious when giving her orders. She will be fanatically obedient and will try to execute your commands as best as she can. But remember, for her breed violence is first and possibly the only answer for any problems she may encounter. You must phrase your instructions very carefully and be sure to control her temper.”

“One more thing. Keep her close to you in the cities. You will avoid a lot of problems, especially if you will not announce that she is not a Dark Elf. I would keep my head low if I were you. It should be easier travelling that way. Well, this is everything I can think of at the moment.”

 

“Thank you very much. I will do exactly that.” Marcus was a little surprised. Old man definitely could be a Watcher, judging by his knowledge. His advices were logical and reasonable. ‘But something is not right…’ Marcus could not rid himself of suspicion.

 

“I also noticed that your NurseJoy is quite an individualist. I would tell you something about her breed too, but I am quite tired. If you could excuse us?”

 

“Of course. Goodnight.” Everyone went into their respective tents. Marcus noticed that Jessica was asleep already. ‘She really exhausted herself today.’ Marcus positioned himself between his girls and slowly drifted off to sleep. Just before entering Morpheus’s domain he realized what was wrong with the old man. ‘He said he came here because he saw the info about Tavion’s capture. That’s too fast! He couldn’t possibly appear here mere two days after the event… Unless he has a teleport capable Pokegirl with a teleport point in the middle of a forest. That’s weird…’

Marcus’s brain decided that this was a non-essential matter at the time and promptly turned itself off.

 It's been a few months since I uploaded chapter four. Last months were filled with work, especially September. Now I am back at the university, with some time to spare (at last!). I should be able to update my story at least once a month now. I'm sorry for making all you people wait for so long (not that I promise I won’t do that again or something, hehe...).

I think that I should give people credit when I am using their work for my (and hopefully my readers') amusement. I am going to list every cameo and other copyright infridgements I used in my sory.

In fifth chapter we met an eccentric scientist called Glabrio Moreau. He is loosely based on H. G. Wells's Doctor Moreau from "The Island of Doctor Moreau". I don't know yet if he will appear in the story later on but he has some chances.

 

One more thing. Everyone should have noticed the mess I have done with monetary system so far. It will stay that way. Because I am lazy, ten SLC in this story is equal to one unit of today's currency (for example one dollar). If I ever feel the need to rewrite the story, I will correct it to proper 1 : 100 ratio.