Reconnaissance
“Who are you?” asked Heero, still leveling his firearm at the pokéwoman. Heero reached back with one hand to steady Relena as she wobbled slightly and bumped into him. His eyes never left his target.
She tipped her head sideways, her eyes rolling in amusement. “I’ve already told you. I’m Granny.” She didn’t act like having five handguns and a sword pointed at her bothered her in the least.
“What do you want?” asked WuFei.
“Well, that all depends on you, Chang WuFei.”
WuFei’s eyes widened an instant then narrowed. His grip on his gun tightened. “How do you know my name, onna?”
“I know many things, about all of you. Not the least of which is that you are extremely new here and need all the help you can get.”
Quatre had pushed Scherazade behind him as he drew his sidearm. She tugged on the back of his shirt. “Master…”
He didn’t take his eyes off Granny as he answered her. “Yes, Schera?”
“Sir, while I appreciate your trying to protect me, honestly, I should be the one out front.”
Quatre’s lips thinned as he turned that idea over in his head.
Granny grinned. “She’s right, you know. While it should be plainly obvious I’m not feral, you shouldn’t necessarily trust every pokégirl that walks up and talks to you.”
“That doesn’t strengthen your case any,” said Hilde as she motioned at the stranger with her sword.
Granny nodded. “True, but I think one of you is perfectly capable of telling who you should or shouldn’t trust here.”
Relena put a hand over the top of Heero’s gun. He looked at her sharply.
“She’s right, Heero. I can’t explain how I know, but I do. She won’t hurt us.” Relena looked slightly distracted, her eyes unfocused, but her voice was certain.
“Relena? Are you all right?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’m fine.” She blinked a few times before focusing on Heero’s face. “We need to leave here soon. It’s not safe.”
“Ah, I take it this is the first time this has happened,” said Granny.
Heero looked back at the older woman. “Are you doing this to her?” he asked, starting to glare at her.
If his attitude offended her, Granny didn’t show it. “I’m not doing anything to her. She’s a megami.” She shrugged. “It happens.”
Somewhere in another room, the group heard a loud noise that sounded vaguely like an explosion. This was backed up by the walls shaking a bit, unsettling some of their dust to float freely in the air. Ten seconds later, two women raced in via a door on the far side of the room. They were both blonde and looked to be in their early thirties. One of them was wearing a skimpy dress and a few pieces of armor. The other was more heavily armored, was carrying a sword, and had wings. They both ran up to Granny.
“Granny, I hope you’re ready to leave. If we have to engage anything else here, I think the place is going to fall in on top of us!” said the one with wings.
“Ask them,” said Granny, motioning to the group still standing on the telepad.
The guys had adjusted their targets slightly, so that each of the unknown pokéwomen were targeted. The woman with wings scoffed at them.
“Exactly what do you think those little pop guns are supposed to do to us?” she asked.
“Now, Brandy,” said the other woman, “they’re new. They don’t have any clue about this place yet. It’s not their fault they don’t know that their weapons are basically useless against a pokégirl.”
Brandy ruffled her wings. “True that, Cammie. The only one that stands the slightest chance against us is the slicer,” she said, motioning toward Hilde. “I don’t think the megami has enough control yet.”
“Lower your weapons,” said Relena. She stepped away from Heero, toward the women. “My comrades and I are willing to get out of here. Whether they know it or not, they’ll be grateful to be gone from this place.” She turned to look at the guys. “Trust me, we need to leave.”
As if to punctuate her remark, the walls shook again and a loud droning sound was starting to make itself known.
Quatre was the first to lower his weapon. “I can’t find any reason not to trust you. It feels like you’re telling us the truth. Besides, if Relena trusts you, I’ll trust her.”
He turned to the guys. “I can also feel the dread here. Something evil this way comes.”
Heero looked at Relena again, who nodded at him, and put away his gun. He didn’t like having to rely on these newcomers, but he liked the sound of whatever it was outside the room less, and it sounded like it was getting closer.
“Hn.” He turned and picked up his duffle and handed a backpack to Relena. “Okay, people, grab the bags. We’re getting out of here.”
The others followed suite, though WuFei and Hilde looked to be the least happy about it.
When all the bags had been collected, Duo asked, “So, how are we getting out of here?”
Brandy walked up to him and Hilde, putting a hand on each of them, smiling. “Like this.” A second later, the three of them winked out of existence.
WuFei’s eyebrows arched as they disappeared. Trowa smirked. Cammie walked over to them, sliding an arm through one each of their’s. She looked at Trowa and winked.
“You liked that, did you? Then hold on. Here we go boys.” They too popped out of existence.
Granny smiled, looking at the few left. “I can handle four.” She walked into the center of the group and said, “Gather close.” When they did, they went *pop*.
When everyone reappeared, they found themselves standing in a large gazebo surrounded by trees. There were two exits, both of them showing a park beyond the trees. Being one of the last ones here, Heero noted Duo checking out one exit and Schera coming back into the gazebo from the other.
“Where are we?” asked Quatre.
“Golden Cunt,” said Granny. “Or more precisely, Golden Cunt Park. This city is one of the largest population centers in Sunshine.”
“It’s also one of the most pokégirl friendly cities in Sunshine,” said Cammie.
“There’s a pokécenter just down the road from here. It’s huge. They see a lot of tamers,” said Brandy.
“In short, it’s a place you won’t stand out overly much,” said Granny. “Once you get your baggage figured out, we’ll be taking you to the center to make sure you get your licenses.”
Heero’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“Why what?” asked Granny.
“Why us? Why help us? What do you want from us?”
Cammie chuckled as she perched on one of the gazebo’s rails beside Brandy, behind Granny. “I told you they would start asking questions.”
Granny’s lips twisted slightly. “Do we need a reason to help someone in need?”
Relena knew that tone and seized on it, stepping to the front of the group. “Truly altruistic people don’t need a reason.” She gave the three older pokégirls one of her best diplomat’s smiles, but her eyes portrayed ice in their sky blue depths. “Then again, we all know those kind of people don’t exist, now don’t we?”
Granny’s grin thinned tightly, and she shook her head. “Why is it that the really good ones are always so willful?”
Hilde scoffed. “You haven’t seen the half of it,” she muttered. Duo tried not to snicker.
“Please forgive me if I don’t sound appreciative for what you’ve done for us, because we are, but the lot of us have all had to traverse the political battlefield for more than our share of years, and I am personally through tiptoeing through landmines blindfolded. So, if there’s something you want from us, tell us now. Otherwise, we’re perfectly willing to say ‘thank you’ for all your help and go our own way.” Relena waited patiently.
Brandy and Cammie looked at each other with amused smirks. Cammie raised her eyebrows and held out a hand. Brandy rolled her eyes and handed Cammie a small bag.
“You know, that’s not very megami like, Cammie,” said Granny, not even looking at them.
Cammie shrugged, tucking the bag into the sleeve of her robe.
Granny sighed, “Please forgive them. They don’t always act like celestials.”
“There’s more to being a celestial than being a stick in the mud, Granny,” said Cammie. “Take me for instance,” she looked at Relena and wiggled her eyebrows, “I follow a sect we like to call the Elysium Order. I like to be a good girl and help out the good guys, but I also like having fun and getting a good taming, and I’m not ashamed of it.” She hopped down and walked up to stand directly in front of Relena, gently putting her hands on Relena’s shoulders.
“Whether you decide to help us or not, I have a few pieces of advice for you, from one megami to another. Number one, those visions and pieces of information you’ll get from time to time – they’ll show you the truth of situations, but like any truth, they have more than one side. Look at them from every angle before acting on them. Number two, you’re going to run into a lot of narrow-minded, prudish people out there, and not all of them are the humans. Don’t let anyone else dictate your life. Several people will try. Believe me, they’ll try! Don’t let them. It’s your life to live, not their’s. Live it how you think is best.” She reached up to gently caress the wing mark on one of Relena’s cheeks. “Lastly, you have a wonderful tamer and great friends. I know. I’ve been dreaming about you since before you arrived here. Don’t let anyone split you up. Rely on each other. It’s your strength.”
Relena looked into Cammie’s eyes a moment before asking, “What is it you want from us?”
Cammie smiled. “When people from other worlds end up here, we often try to recruit them into helping us champion the cause of good and light. Most of the time, they give into our prodding, though we don’t always win that fight. Just as many bad people come through here as good. We think you’re worth recruiting.”
“There are others that have come through here?” asked Trowa, from the back of the group where he was leaning against a far railing.
Cammie let go of Relena, turning slightly to face Trowa. “Yes. We get other-worldly travelers on occasion. Most of them have no clue as to what they’re getting themselves in for. You’re lucky you’ve had the video girl to enlighten you.”
Brandy nodded from the railing. “Most of the other travelers usually don’t take to the idea of being tamers very well, but Cammie says she’s seen you all getting your tamer’s license, so we figured we could help make sure you have a smooth time of it. You know, make sure you pass your tests without too much hassle; that sort of thing.”
“The question is, at what price?” asked WuFei. “You still haven’t told us what you want in return,” his severe features showing his obvious distrust of the whole situation.
Granny nodded. “True. Alright, I’ll put it plainly. We know you were aboard one of the stations in space. Unlike most of Sukebe’s bases on the planet, the station seems to be in fairly decent working order, a miracle in itself. We also know that most of you were trained soldiers on your world.”
“Something most of us have tried to put behind us,” replied Hilde rather icily.
“I understand that,” said Granny, “but that didn’t stop you from becoming peace keepers afterward, did it?”
Quatre shook his head. “No, it didn’t, but it was the only way we figured we’d know any type of peace. No one else had such a vested interest in maintaining order after the wars. We didn’t want to have a full scale global conflict again.” He shrugged. “It seemed like a small price to pay, putting out the brushfires before they became full blown conflicts.”
“You became trouble shooters,” said Granny. “We could use those talents here.”
“We don’t know anything about this place,” said Hilde. “How are we supposed to trouble shoot situations we’re not familiar with?”
Duo shrugged beside her. “Oh, I don’t know, Hilde. It’s no different from before. You camp a place, gather your intelligence, and strike when the opportunity arises. The question is: who’d be our handler?”
“Whoever you want,” said Granny. “I’m usually busy with one thing or another, but I’d probably be the most likely person coming up with trouble spots for you to investigate. Though, you’ll understand if I have someone else meeting with you most of the time?”
“What kind of missions?” asked Heero.
“Take your pick,” said Brandy. “Sunshine is exploding with trouble spots. We have about every known faction when it comes to pokégirl rights, and they all like to fight amongst themselves. Humanity is even divided among itself here, what with the separation between Breeders and Six-Packs. The SLIS is a decent organization, but still has its share of dirty operatives. And that’s not counting problems from outside the league.” She gave a harsh laugh. “We have plenty you could do.”
Duo held up his hands in a warding gesture. “Okay, back the truck up a sec. What are Breeders and Six-Packs, and who the hell is the SLIS?”
Granny’s lips twisted. “Did the video girl tell you about the Bloody Flu and the Red Plague?”
Quatre gave the leader of the pokéwomen an angelic smile. “The ‘video girl’ has a name. It’s Scherazade, but then, I suppose you already knew that.” His voice was honey coated steel.
Granny raised a hand placatingly. “Forgive me. A momentary lapse, I assure you.”
Quatre nodded. “Of course. Please, continue.”
“Since most of the human women on the planet were sterile, it forced humanity to breed with pokégirls. When the Red Plague massacred most of the planet’s population, it became imperative that humanity rebuild its numbers. Because of this, human women were separated into two different classifications: Breeders, who were pressed into staying home and rebuilding the population, and Six-Packs, the infertile women who were pressed into taking up the slack of the work force, even the dangerous jobs that had previously been relegated to the men. They were thought of as expendable since they couldn’t have children,” she said while shaking her head.
“And this SLIS?” asked WuFei.
“SLIS stands for Sunshine League Internal Security,” said Cammie. “They are one arm of the law in Sunshine. They are also known for being corrupt and heavy handed.”
“Then why are they still in power?” asked Relena.
“Because they get results,” said Granny. “They don’t stick to the same rules that most law enforcement agencies do, and they are known to take bribes and look the other way for some crimes, but they only let certain crimes slip under the radar and are just as zealous in tracking down the perpetrators of crimes against pokégirls as humans. They’ve also been instrumental in keeping damaging foreign elements out of our league. Unfortunately, a few of them sometimes step further outside the lines than we like. We occasionally have to remind them of that.”
“Let’s get back to the part where there have been other travelers.” Trowa had taken this time to watch the few people that occasionally walked past the gazebo while listening to the conversation. He turned back to look at Granny. “Did any of them make it back home?”
Granny nodded. “Some of them. Others chose to stay. Some have even died here.”
“Is there a way for us to go back?” asked Hilde.
“Going back is tricky,” said Brandy. “It depends on who sends you back and how they try to do it. People here don’t dimensionally travel very often. You have two options, the scientific way and the magic way. Trust me when I say that neither is very reliable.”
“So, what is it that you’re offering us for helping you out?” asked Duo. “I mean, it’s only fair that we can expect something out of this.”
Granny nodded. “Fair enough. I can offer you instant Tamer status, with your own ‘dexes. More importantly, I can make sure that no one of an official capacity bats an eye at Scherazade. She’s a very rare and highly sought after ‘girl. Most leagues get very iffy about letting a video girl run around with a non-league official, let alone a raw tamer.” She looked meaningfully toward Scherazade, who was clutching Quatre’s hand. “Beyond that, we can help you obtain some starting capitol and equipment, and even provide you with safe houses on occasion. All we ask for in return is that you look into a few situations for us every now and then.”
The guys looked at each other for a few moments, each one seeming to know what the others were thinking. Finally, all of them nodded in turn, WuFei being the last and least enthused, and Quatre turned toward the three celestials. “That sounds reasonable, Ms. Granny. Your assistance is most appreciated.”
“You’re very welcome, Mr. Winner.” Cammie stepped forward and whispered in Granny’s ear. She nodded and looked back toward the newcomers. “Cammie and Brandy will have to help you from this point. It seems I’m needed elsewhere.” With a blink, she was gone.
Brandy slid off the railing and walked up to stand beside Cammie. “Well, does anyone have any more questions?” When no one spoke up, Brandy continued, “Alright, in that case, Cammie and I are going to step out for a few minutes and make sure everything is set up at the pokécenter. We’ll be back shortly.”
After the celestials left, everyone turned to look at each other.
“It seems that fate is playing with us,” said WuFei. “It has decided to give us boons wrapped in honey. We just have to be careful of the bees.” He folded his arms indignantly. “I still think our primary concern should be finding a way home. The less time we spend here, the happier I’ll be.”
“You never know, ‘Fei. You might actually like it here if you try,” teased Duo.
WuFei scowled back at him. “Not likely, Maxwell. You might like the idea of having a harem full of willing sex slaves, but I for one do not.”
“We’ll just have to be careful,” said Relena, trying to diffuse the situation by changing the subject. “We’ll see how far we want to go with things here for a while, and then re-evaluate our situation as needed.”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
Two hours later…
“Are you serious?” asked Quatre quietly. “Two weeks?”
The Nurse Joy looked apologetically at the assembled tamers. “I’m sorry. I can only do so much. This is prime time for the annual tamer exodus. We often run short of starters at this time of year. It just doesn’t usually take two weeks to get more. Evidently, we’re running short all over the league.”
The guys looked at each other. They had split up their supplies fairly evenly by the time Cammie and Brandy had returned and led them to the local pokécenter. After a few words with the pink haired ‘girl behind the counter, the two celestials had bid them good luck and left. The guys went through a battery of tests. They passed somehow, even though some of the terms still weren’t familiar to them, and were given their first pokédex, pokéballs, and a copy of Taming for Dummies. Unfortunately, the normal starter ‘girl that’s supposed to come with the tamer license wasn’t available.
“We could go try to catch ferals,” suggested Duo.
The Nurse Joy rolled her eyes. “Oh please don’t. I don’t want you guys to end up as feral kibble. Granny would kill me…” She muttered the last under her breath.
“Is there no where else we could get a starter?” asked Trowa.
The Joy chewed on her lip a little, then nodded her head. “I could send you with coupons for a free starter at a local ranch.”
“Why the hesitancy?” asked Heero.
The Joy sighed and said, “I don’t personally like that ranch. They have a tendency of giving out really weak starters, or more often, they con the newbies into paying for a more powerful ‘girl that the newbies really aren’t prepared to handle.”
“Well, with our current options, I think the ranch is our best bet,” said Duo. “We can spot a con a mile away, Miss Joy. We’ll be careful.” He gave her his best bright smile.
She slowly smiled and handed the guys each one coupon for a free starter, then went to get Hilde and Relena, who had stayed hidden in the back, helping in the infirmary while the guys were busy.
“The Duo smile charms again,” said Duo with a smug little grin.
“I wouldn’t be too happy about that, Maxwell. If Hilde gets wind of you trying to charm another woman, she’ll cut you off in a very permanent fashion,” said WuFei, speaking up for the first time since leaving the gazebo.
“Nothing new,” said Duo. Everyone else just snickered.
~*~
“The new shipment’s in, Boss,” said a tall man wearing a white lab coat as he walked into a lavish office decked out in dark woods and leather. He had sandy blond hair and a surfer’s build. He looked completely out of place in the lab coat and clipboard he was carrying.
The man sitting behind the desk was older and slightly balding, the lines on his face showing his age more than the rest of his body. “Good, good, Ralston. Proceed as per normal. I know we still have half dozen titmice and a few bunnygirls out back. Did we get enough to use them up?”
Ralston nodded. “We got in six casks. We were fortunate to know what one of them is. Someone got sloppy while gathering the stuff and fell in. They came out a Ria.”
“Well, test it anyway. We know the stuff changes sometimes,” said the Boss.
“Yes, sir,” said Ralston. “Anything else, sir?”
“Just make sure you use up those bunnygirls first. Instead of feeding the chickenlittles, one of them tripped over her feet and let them all out yesterday. I had Brogan discipline her after making her catch them all.”
“I know. He nearly killed her. She ended up in the infirmary.”
The old man snorted. “Too bad he didn’t. She’s next to useless. I want her to be the first one tested.”
“Yes, sir,” said Ralston before turning away. He was careful to hide the annoyance he felt until he was back in the med wing. He checked on the bunnygirl in question. She was still sedated, but he’d already done what he was allowed to do in the way of setting her broken feet and arm. The bruising around her throat and face was still swollen badly and an ugly shade of purple against her creamy skin and strawberry blonde hair. Unfortunately, her left ear hadn’t made it through the fight very well. Brogan had nearly ripped it off as he flung her into the side of the milktit barn before pulling her back by it just so he could beat her some more. Brogan had the bloodgift of Strength and a nasty penchant for liking to cause pain. Between that and his blazicunt, he does a fairly good job of keeping the ‘girls in line. Sometimes he just goes too far.
Patrick Ralston’s jaw clenched. He wasn’t allowed to pokéball and treat the ‘girls who’re punished. The Boss thought they should learn their lessons the painful way. Because of this, the bunnygirl’s feet probably wouldn’t heal correctly. Ralston gently pushed some hair out of the ‘girl’s face. ‘Turning her into something else will probably be doing her a favor. At least when we Level 5 her afterward, she shouldn’t remember all this,’ he thought to himself. “Hopefully she doesn’t turn into something we have to put down.”
A petite ‘girl with shoulder length chocolate colored hair walked up to stand beside Ralston. She was wearing a similar looking lab coat, having been modified to accept her six arms. She was holding a clipboard in one hand, a pen in the second, a cup of coffee in a third and a fourth stuffed in a pocket. The last two were clenched behind her back. She turned hazel eyes up to look at Ralston. “Doctor? Are you alright?” she asked as she handed him the coffee.
He sighed heavily as he accepted the hot mug. “You don’t have to call me that anymore, Mira. I gave up any right to be called a doctor when I started this insanity. I’ve told you that.”
“I know. Force of habit.” She hugged him gently with one of her arms. “I’m still hoping we’ll find a way out of this mess. One that doesn’t involve jail time.”
Ralston shook his head sadly. “I don’t know, Mira. Nightwatch doesn’t take kindly to betrayal, and if we turn them in to the SLIS, it won’t matter if we cut a deal…they’ll kill us. Either way, we’re still screwed.”
The Spinnertit shook her head sadly. She really didn’t know what her master was going to do. She personally thought they should flee for another league, but Ralston refused to leave the ranch his family had built. She looked at the bunnygirl on the bed in front of them. ‘And this is why,’ she thought to herself. ‘He feels responsible for every one of the ‘girls here. He won’t just leave them to Maloney and his thugs. He doesn’t want any of them to end up like Brittney here did.’ She sighed again.
“The Megami-Sama that Brittney used to work with at the pokécenter called today to see how she was doing.”
Ralston looked at her. “What did you tell her?”
Mira shrugged. “A variation of the truth. I told her she accidently let the chickenlittles out of their pen and she got the worst end of the barnyard animals. I told her we sedated her for hysteria and that she might be able to talk to her tomorrow.”
“Well, maybe she’ll figure out something’s wrong and send in the OJs.” Ralston’s voice sounded like he was actually hoping for that chance.
“Who knows,” said Mira. “What did Maloney say about the new shipment?”
“He said to start on it immediately.” Ralston motioned toward Brittney with his chin. “He wants us to use her first.”