As Ruth the Elephuk lay bleeding on the concrete floor of the facility, the tangy taste of blood lingered in her mouth. This was even though the Cherry kneeling over her had finished closing the wounds. Her jaw still ached from where her ivory tusks had been ripped out. Her hands, bereft of their ivory fingernails, felt far worse, with the Cherry still working on healing them to a somewhat manageable state.
She was sure the human running this ivory farm must think she was in a state of terrified resignation. If he was even thinking about her at all, of course- to him, she was just another victim. But if he had been thinking about her state of mind, any thoughts he might have had on it would have been wrong. She wasn’t nearly as submissive as he had assumed.
Because she had a plan for escape.
The Cherry healing her wasn’t here of her own free will. She was in the ivory farmer’s harem only because he forced her to be. The Cherry breed was known for its kind and gentle nature, and the Celestial Pokegirl made no secret of how she abhorred the work she did. The Cherry’s current owner wasn’t having her heal the Elephuks out of kindness. Instead, he had realized that if they were healed after ivory was harvested, the ivory would grow back more quickly.
With her superior sense of hearing, the Elephuk was sure that nobody who could both hear and understand a conversation between the two of them was around. None of the willing members of the criminal’s harem were nearby, and though they were capable of hearing her, all of the other Elephuks had gone feral from a lack of taming. They were managed in their wild state primarily through means of strong sedatives placed within their food, that left them too weak to fight back.
If she hadn’t been a kit when she was kidnapped, Ruth was sure that her mind would have likewise undergone the torment of ferality. Given that she had probably passed her sixteenth birthday while in this hell, it wasn’t too long until her mind would face exactly that deterioration. She had already witnessed the loss of sanity affecting her similarly kidnapped mother.
In other words, she needed to pull this plan off now, or she could possibly be trapped here in a feral state until her death. Both yesterday and today, she had avoided eating the food that had been given to her. She knew that avoiding the sedatives was more important than being fully fed, when it came to being ready for battle. And as much as she wished the plan went as it was supposed to without a battle, a brief skirmish would be a definite possibility. Especially considering she wasn’t fully trained for combat- she had never come close to mastering trickier moves such as Quagmire Twister.
Interrupting the Cherry’s muttered apologies as she continued the healing, Ruth spoke up. “If you’re really sorry, then you’ll help me with my plan for us both to escape and get help.”
That certainly caught the Cherry’s attention. “…Beg pardon?” The floral Pokegirl asked.
“I’m sure you’re aware that your owner moved a stash of stolen evolutionary stones here for temporary safekeeping. I’ve always been an Elephuk, and my memory is what you’d expect from that. In my free time, I’ve done such things as read the Pokedex in its entirety, along with other useful textbooks. If a Cherry uses an Angel Stone, then they become a Megami. While you might have a minor teleporting ability now, a Megami with a Cherry background will be capable of far greater feats of teleportation.”
“That won’t work.” The Cherry’s response was soft, and disappointed. “I already know what an Angel Stone can do for my kind, and I know how it would enhance my currently limited teleportation abilities. My master knows too- and he explicitly told me that the Angel Stones in the stash were nowhere I could access them.”
Ruth nodded at this. “I heard him say it. These large ears aren’t just for show. He also warned that he’d let his Sideviper punish you again if he even suspected you were searching for the Angel Stones. However, with these ears, I also heard him discussing with his Alpha where the Angel Stones actually are.”
By this point, the Cherry’s attention was solely on her patient. “…Where?”
That response was good. It showed that the Cherry was starting to show interest in possibly following Ruth’s plan. “They’re not hidden inside the facility- but instead kept outside of it. Your master and his Alpha hid the Angel Stones in a password-protected safe, which they then hid in some of the bushes growing on the east side of the facility. Luckily enough, that’s right outside of where I am- with these ears, it was impossible not to hear the whole thing. Even if you teleported outside to where it was, neither of us knows the password, and you lack the strength to break it open.”
The Cherry was definitely starting to look hopeful. “But I’m guessing you have a plan to get around that?”
“Yes. The other elemental stones aren’t kept as guarded from you. You know where they are, even without me telling. Elephuks may not be capable of much in the way of subtlety, but Cherries are. I can’t get to any of those stones to take, but you definitely can. If you manage to nick at least two of those stones, and then give them to me once I’m in my cell, we can get to that Angel Stone and evolve you. I’d prefer Thunder Stones, as those will get me the most raw force. That’s much more of a certainty than melting through the steel with a Fire Stone, for example, would be. I need one stone for blasting through the wall, and one stone for blasting through the safe right outside the wall. After that, all that’s left will be for you to teleport both of us away after you evolve.”
And that was the entirety of the first part of Ruth’s plan. Simple and straightforward, without much in the way of complicating factors. The only issue would be if any of the human criminal’s harem might be around to try to stop them once they inevitably noticed the wall being destroyed. Their best strategy would be to act quickly and immediately, as getting into a battle of any kind would already be a sign of the plan going south.
After the first part ended, however, things would get more tricky. She had heard the human complaining to his harem about the annoyance of getting to a hideout on a Wild Island. Even if she hadn’t heard, it was obvious from the lack of urban noises, as well as the mere existence of ferals in what sounded like a surrounding jungle, that they were nowhere near civilization. As easy as the first part of the plan might seem, getting off the island was going to be far trickier. Not to mention, Ruth would have to figure out how she and the Cherry were going to survive attacks from ferals during that time. At least the Wild Islands were under League control- which meant it shouldn’t be too hard to find military help.
Still, if the Cherry in front of her did realize these things, she didn’t seem to be focusing on any of it. For the first time since Ruth had been in the ivory farm, she saw the Cherry in front of her smile. “I think that your plan might actually work.”
“So you’ll do it?” Ruth asked the question eagerly- knowing that any chance of avoiding both ferality and another ivory harvesting would depend on the answer. Regardless of the difficulties they might face after the plan was completed- if the first part of the plan ever was completed- the Elephuk was doomed if she didn’t even try.
The Cherry nodded. “Yes.”
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It had been hours since Ruth’s conversation with the Cherry. She had since been returned back to her cell, careful to play the part of the sedated victim the whole time. Now, the only thing she could do was rest and wait, hoping the Cherry would succeed in her end of things. Considering everything that was at stake, the waiting was quite possibly proving to be the most difficult part of the plan, on Ruth’s end. At least, if everything went as it was supposed to, it would be.
Finally, after a nerve-wracking wait, the Cherry teleported into her cell. Immediately standing up, Ruth saw two Thunderstones grasped by the Cherry’s outstretched hands. Extending her truck, she snatched one of the stones with her right hand, and held the other within her coiled trunk. Swiveling around, the pachyderm Pokegirl extended her trunk as she felt a familiar absorption of energy. Ruth was lucky enough that, despite her young age and lack of battling experience, she actually had some practice performing the Elemental Cannon. While Ruth and her mother’s owner worked in the construction business, he had a brother in the mining business, who specialized in helping with the Silver Island League’s underwater mining. As part of his contract, said brother could sometimes manage to get access to some of the gems he mined if he obtained a certain number above quota. As such, despite his status as a lowly tradesman, her owner had been able to use the expensive technique in her mother’s battles- and more importantly here, in occasional training with her.
Feeling familiar shocks of electricity emanating from the stone in her trunk, Ruth released the energy in the form of one of the most powerful attacks a Pokegirl could use. A thunderclap boomed, adding to the clamor of the section of wall Ruth had targeted being demolished. The beam of elemental electrical energy created a strong forceful effect, powerful enough to break through the otherwise sturdy walls of the facility.
Running outside, the Cherry following close behind her, Ruth made a beeline for the bushes where she knew the safe was being kept. Upon seeing it, she clenched her fist with the Thunder Stone, ready to prepare another Elemental Cannon attack-
Only for a long tongue to reach forward, wrapping around and dragging the safe closer to the maw of its owner. Without thinking, Ruth extended her own trunk, grabbing the safe in her own, more powerful facial appendage. The Elephuk quickly realized she made a mistake. The Hottie from the ivory farmer’s harem had no difficulty launching a Water Spear attack from her hands, while her tongue kept its tenuous grip on the safe.
As the painful burst of water hit the ground-type, she found herself shoved back, her trunk unlocking from the safe. For one second, she glared at the amphibious girl, who had shown no empathy when watching the suffering of the Elephuks on her master’s ivory farm. Tongue still wrapped around the safe she was dragging through the mud towards herself, the Hottie couldn’t speak at the moment. However, it was obvious that if she could speak, the verbal tongue lashing would have equaled the force of the physical one she could give.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. If this fight wasn’t wrapped up fast, then the other members of the criminal’s harem would be there to back up the Hottie at any moment. The Vixxen Alpha would lead the Sideviper and Hottie, and that would be it for her intrepid attempt at escape. Then Ruth realized- the frog girl was leaving herself wide open for attack. Electric-type attacks were strong against water-type Pokegirls, and if she aimed such a powerful electric attack at her right now, she could easily have it hit the safe as well.
Wasting no further time on thought, the Elephuk released the energy in her right fist, aiming it straight at the Hottie and the safe. Before the green-skinned water-type had a chance to react, she was hit full force by a supremely destructive blast of Electric-based elemental energy. Ruth had been careful not to aim the blast so that it would hit the center of the safe, not wanting to risk all of the Angel Stones being destroyed.
Exhausted from the effort of unleashing two such powerful attacks in quick succession, the Cherry actually got to the safe before the Elephuk did. Kneeling down, the Cherry reached into the remaining lower half of the partially-destroyed safe. Though some of the Angel Stones in the part Ruth hit had probably been destroyed, as Cherry pulled her hand out, it was holding one of the multiple Angel Stones still remaining. Soon after, the Cherry began to glow. The bright white light of evolution enveloped her, and Ruth, shielding her eyes, stepped right beside her.
As the newly evolved Megami teleported them far away, the last scene from the facility Ruth saw was the horrified Vixxen Alpha running fruitlessly towards them.
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While Ruth had known that evolving into a Megami would significantly strengthen a Cherry’s teleportation capabilities, she had thought they would end up somewhere on the island. After all, the newly evolved Megami was fully inexperienced with her new powers, and surely had much to learn.
The Elephuk especially hadn’t expected to have been teleported right above the ocean, instead of somewhere on land. Not having prepared for such a thing, the Pokegirl found herself accidentally breathing in some of the saltwater as she fell in. Pushing herself back to the surface, Ruth coughed up some of the water she had swallowed as she treaded water. Once her lungs were no longer dealing with water going where air was supposed to be, and she was breathing normally, the Elephuk looked around. Behind her, she could see an island far in the distance.
“I teleported us this far away from there?” The Megami’s question confirmed Ruth’s suspicions as to the far-off island being their point of origin. It was barely a speck on the horizon by now.
Ruth, however, was thinking of a more imminent threat. “No way do I want to end up prey for a water-type feral. Take us back to the island, and we can begin plotting a return to civilization from there.”
For the first time since the Elephuk had started planning for them, the Megami hesitated. “I guess if I make multiple teleports I might be able to make it. But I think I put most of what I had into that initial teleport. I’m feeling kind of odd with all of these new powers right now. I’m kind of scared that I might mess something up… It feels like I barely have any control of them.”
The Elephuk grimaced. She knew that Megamis, once newly evolved, often struggled to control their newfound powers. Most of them had to wear limiters to prevent them from hurting anyone with their newfound powers. Ruth was already lucky enough that her ally in escape had as much control as she did. However, while it was dangerous to trust in her teleportation, it would be downright suicidal for the both of them to remain treading water in the ocean. After all, the ocean was well-known for having a plethora of feral water-types.
“Go ahead and try. If we stay here, we’ll be eaten by water-types for sure.”
As soon as she said that, Ruth found herself and the Megami in another location. They were still in ocean water, but they were much closer to a view of the island. And, given that the Wild Islands were carefully monitored by the league and under league control, what else they saw was not too unsurprising, but still rather lucky. In the water near the island they saw a military ship, currently stationary.
“A military ship. We need law enforcement. Teleport us on to the deck of one of those,” Ruth instructed.
By this point, the Megami was looking rather scared. “…I think I overestimated my control earlier- and as I’m getting more tired, it’s getting harder to maintain it. If I lose control after this teleport, and end up hurting someone on a military ship, what if they think we’re attacking them and they kill us?”
Ruth paused. That would certainly be a depressing end to their intrepid escape. “The moment we get on the ship, both of us shout to ask them for a limiter for you. Any other explanations can come later. If we don’t teleport, we’ll be eaten by water-type Pokegirls.”
Still looking scared, the inexperienced Megami nodded. Instantly afterwards, the Elephuk found herself out of the water and aboard the deck of a ship. Beside her, the Megami, was crouching down, her expression a cross between strained concentration and absolute panic. All around them, uniformed military personnel, some of them in the middle of calling out Pokegirls powerful in combat, stared surprised at the two new guests.
“She needs a limiter!” Ruth called out. If the Megami beside her was too busy concentrating on not losing control to even shout that out, that was a definite red flag. “Please, she just evolved into a Megami, she needs a limiter, please!”
Though he may not have meant for her to hear it, one of the Marines who had released his Pokegirls spoke to one of them, telling her to teleport to quickly retrieve a limiter. Though her excellent memory, combined with her research, left the Elephuk with knowledge of all known Pokegirl species, teleporter’s armor prevented her from determining hers. The heavily armored Pokegirl of unknown species quickly returned with a collar-like limiter, which she quickly snapped onto the Megami’s neck. Immediately, the inexperienced Celestial relaxed, breathing a definite sigh of relief. Looking up, she seemed to notice for the first time the many Marines and their Pokegirls surrounding them. Many of them had their weapons drawn.
After the limiter was attached to Megami, one Marine in particular- wearing what Ruth, with her impeccable memory, could recognize as a Captain’s uniform- approached them. His words, spoken with concision, sounded extremely irritated. “You need to explain what’s going on.”
Careful not to move from where she was, for fear of a trigger-happy Marine or Pokegirl attacking, the Elephuk responded. “We just escaped from an ivory farm on that Wild Island. I was far from the other Elephuk there, although I was the only one not yet feral. The human who ran the ivory farm was also storing a large number of recently stolen evolution stones. We used on of the stolen Angel stones to turn her into a Megami for our escape. If some Ground-Pounders to act quickly, you can retrieve both the Elephuks- whose sedated state should make them easy to catch, despite their ferality- and the evolution stones.”
Out of the corner of her eye, the Elephuk noticed with relief the various Marines and Pokegirls relaxing their weapons. It seemed that her explanation was enough to make them see her as a bit less of a potential threat. Upon her finishing the brief summary, the ship’s captain nodded brusquely.
“Right. Now tell us what girls this criminal has in his harem, and tell us where the ivory farm is located on the island.”
“Well, now that his Cherry he was forcing to work for him has escaped as a Megami,” Ruth gestured to the Megami now standing beside her, “he has three Pokegirls in his harem. His Alpha is a Vixxen, and he also has a Sideviper and a Hottie- all of which I’m sure your own harems will be able to take down.” Ruth then paused, before trying her best to answer the captain’s next question. “While I’m not sure as to the ivory farm’s exact location, it’s in a building somewhere in the jungle. I don’t know where in the jungle, but maybe the Megami beside me might know where we teleported from?”
As she said this, both Ruth and the captain turned to the Megami. “I… I’m very new to these powers, and… I teleported from somewhere on the island?”
The ship captain frowned. “A good portion of that island is covered in jungle. Still, stolen evolution stones, a herd of Elephuks, and catching a criminal are definitely good enough incentives,” he muttered under his breath. It was quiet enough that Ruth wasn’t sure if any of the humans could discern what their captain was saying. Speaking more loudly, the captain directly addressed his crew. “Alright-we’re going to be disembarking on the Wild Island. Truman!” He barked, gesturing to one of the soldiers standing nearby.
The Marine he gestured to, presumably with the surname Truman, approached, standing at attention. “You’re in charge of dealing with our witnesses- first managing their interrogations for further information, and then both informing us and handling them accordingly.” Truman saluted his captain, saying a quick “yes sir”, before turning to the Elephuk and Megami.
As the captain of the ship walked swiftly away, the Marine in charge of them gestured for the two recently escaped Pokegirls to follow him. “Come with me- whatever more details you give, I want to wait to record you testimony.” As she and the Megami followed the Marine, Ruth the Elephuk grinned happily. It would seem that the troubles caused by the ivory farm were finally going to be shut down.