Disclaimer:
This work is fiction. The work has no (intentional) relationship with any person existing at any time anywhere whether real or imaginary or copy written.
Feedback will be read, processed, and if it’s a flame it will be given the finger, then I will burst into hysterical laughter. Constructive feedback, be it criticism or praise, will be read, processed, given a smile, and filed away. To contact me, please send an email to socom.seal@(SPAM)yahoo.com. Remove (SPAM) for a valid email.
You should not read this if you are not of legal age where you reside. This work can contain rape, BDSM, cannibalism, and probably anything else my sick, twisted mind can come up with.
Note: All times are in a mix of military and standard times. For example, 1AM = 0100 hours = 1:00, while 1PM = 1300 hours = 13:00. I hope this will make it easier on readers to understand the timeline while leaving me in a format that I understand better. If it causes too much of a problem I will switch to standard.
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Chapter 34
<15:00, Carlsbad Cavern Tourist Entrance>
The group of visitors slowly funneled down the gaping hole, gazing around in awe at the restored formations. “Everyone file in file in, you’re doing fine.” A cheerful voice called, amplified by the megaphone their tour guide was holding. “Is everyone here? Good! Now, where you are standing used to be the visitor center for the caverns, and an elevator would take visitors down. After the center was overrun and the structure collapsed into the caverns themselves, we cleared out the rubble and have made it the main entrance. Yes, the young lady in the back?”
The pokegirl dropped her hand. “Uhm, if this wasn’t the main entrance, where was that?”
The woman holding the megaphone grinned. “An excellent question. The other entrance to the caverns, the natural entrance, was being used by ferals when we arrived. It was our main point of access in originally clearing the area, but now it’s been sealed off due to extensive damage. That section of the caverns used to be behind me, but as you can see, rockfalls have completely blocked the passage. Any other questions?”
A teenager raised his hand. “If the other entrance was sealed off, why were there people moving through it on our way in?”
The tour guide’s eyes glinted and she focused in on the questioner. “You were probably mistaken. Nobody has been over there in a long time. What you may have seen were workers maintaining the structural supports.”
The teen shrugged, but stayed silent.
He knew what he had seen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matías lagged behind the group as they followed their guide further down into the cavern. He had seen people, and they weren’t maintenance workers. Maintenance workers didn’t carry rifles. Glancing around, he slipped behind a wall and waited for the group to leave.
Regulating his breathing, he let the echoing sounds of the tour group fade before turning back the way they had come. Climbing over a small slide, he gazed at the rockslide that supposedly sealed off the natural entrance from the rest of the caverns. Squinting, he could just make out a patch that didn’t seem natural. Carefully climbing up to it, he smirked at finding a small tunnel carved in the wall. The material inside it was definitely not rock, the walls and ceiling much too smooth. With one last check to make sure nobody was watching him, he slipped inside.
“We’ve got an intruder on the visitor’s approach.” The figure on the screen highlighted a few camera feeds. “Lyn also reports a tourist missing from her group. Orders?”
The man standing in front of the terminal frowned. “I’d rather not kill a civilian. See any weapons on him?”
The feeds pulsed a few times. “Negative. He seems to be clean, no weaponry, no pokeballs.”
The man sighed. “A curious kid. Great.” He stepped away. “I’ll head down there. Tell Cristina and Aella to stow their lethals. I really don’t want him telling stories about this place.”
Matías slowed when a light turned on in front of him. Peeking out, he managed to make out a doorway before the light shut off again, leaving a seamless wall and two guards. They were wearing the same suits as the ones he had seen outside, and he felt his heart beat a little faster as he glanced up. Neither were wearing helmets, and wow were they hot.
The one on the left was talking to her partner, who nodded, brushing a strand of pink hair from her face. Matías watched for a few seconds, making sure that neither were going to turn towards him, before he moved.
Quickly he made his way into the room, hiding behind one of the pillars dotted throughout. Inching his way forward he could just make out what the woman was saying.
“Why do we even run tours of this place? Groups are so small and, like, once a week. I’m pretty sure people are just coming here now to spelunk.”
The other one shrugged. “I dunno. The Commander is pretty insistent on it, though. Maybe he likes giving back? He doesn’t charge, so I’ve seen quite a few people come through more than once. Maybe he just likes the attention.”
“On the contrary, I was hoping for a little less.” A voice came from behind Matías, causing him to whirl around. A man stood there, a grin on his face. “Here’s our little eavesdropper. Aella, Cristina, you can drop the act now.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.” Matías twitched as the two guards walked towards them. “Pretending not to see him was pretty embarrassing.”
“You… You knew I was here?” Matías asked quietly.
The man nodded. “We knew as soon as you had left the tour group. So, kid.” He crossed his arms. “Why are you sniffing around the collapsed area? It’s dangerous around here. That’s why Aella and Cristina were over here, to make sure nobody gets hurt.”
Matías grit his teeth. He wasn’t leaving without an answer. “Why do you pretend that it’s collapsed?”
The man cocked an eyebrow. “Eh?”
“It’s not collapsed. You’re using it. I saw a group enter through the sealed off entrance, so it’s obviously not collapsed. And there was a door before you got here. There’s something going on in there.”
The man regarded him for a few seconds. “Look, kid. I don’t know what you think you saw, but this area is sealed off because it’s dangerous. You could get hurt if you stay here.”
Matías bit his lip nervously. “I don’t have anything to lose. I want to know what’s going on.”
The man sighed. “Look, you know that’s not true. You have something going for you. Go home. This isn’t worth your time.”
Matías grit his teeth and pushed away one of the guards as she moved to take his arm. “I have nothing. I have no home, no family. I don’t care about any of that. But I know that SOMETHING is going on here, and I want to know what.”
The man waved the guard off. “You don’t have anywhere to go home to?”
Matías looked down. “I’m a street orphan. I’ve barely even got a job.”
The man seemed to glance at something before returning his gaze to Matías. “How’s your job pay?”
Matías blinked, surprised by the change in tone. “Uh, decently? It pays for my food.”
The man nodded slowly. “Would you like a better one?”
The woman without the streak in her hair stepped forward. “Sir, please. Send him on his way. He’s just a kid.”
The man nodded. “Sure. But so was I, once, and I was trusted with some heavy shit.” He turned away. “You haven’t answered my question yet, kid. Would you like a better paying job?”
Matías glanced at the woman. “Will I be working with them?”
The man followed his gaze and chuckled. “In a way. Want to step inside, and we’ll discuss it?”
Matías glanced around and nodded. “Sure.” He sighed. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Alright, seal it up.” The man called, and Matías gazed around in awe as the hidden door fused back into the wall, leaving him standing with the man in a long corridor. “Come on.” The man said, beginning to walk. “We’ll discuss this in the conference room.”
Matías tagged along, staring around him. “What is all this? What are you doing here?”
The man stopped in front of a door and motioned Matías inside. “Come in and I’ll tell you.”
Matías walked in, noticing the female already standing at the long table. Hesitantly he took a seat, the man walking in behind him. “Here’s the deal, kid. I need someone to travel for me. Take a look around. Tell me what the world’s like.”
Matías blinked. “You… what? Why can’t you just do that yourself?”
The man chuckled and sat down. “I could. But I seem to make a bit of a stir whenever I go somewhere. They didn’t really like it when I showed up in Ciudad Juarez last month. Well, the government liked it. The townsfolk? Not so much.”
Realization dawned in Matías’ eyes. “You were the ones who rounded up those rebels.”
The man smiled. “You keep up to date with events. Good.” He rested his head on his hands. “Now. You know of the upstarts down south?”
Matías frowned. “Are you talking about Texans?”
The man nodded. “Where are you from, kid?”
Matías warily slid his chair back. “I’m from El Paso. I hitched a ride on one of the free teleports you were advertising. And I think I might be in over my head.”
The man laughed, waving his hand. “No, no. I was just gauging your reaction.” He grinned. “You a Texan, boy?”
Matías grinned at the sudden accent. “I might be.” He shook his head in relief. “Oh, I thought I was screwed for a second there.”
The woman at the man’s shoulder laughed quietly. “He likes to do that. Keep people off balance.” She smiled warmly at him. “I’m Cortney. This is Andrew, our Commander. And you are?”
Matías smiled back. “Matías.” He leaned forward, pulling his chair back to the table. “I knew that you weren’t just a bunch of maintenance people.”
Andrew glared at Cortney. “Well we were SUPPOSED to be, but our last team was a little late getting home. So you saw them, hm?”
Matías bobbed his head. “I saw three people enter the sealed entrance. I wouldn’t have cared much, but they were all carrying rifles.”
Andrew groaned. “Oh, damn it. You saw exactly too much to write it off. No rifles, coulda been repair teams, rifles somewhere else, it was a feral patrol…” He shook his head helplessly. “Not to sound cruel, but if you hadn’t accepted my offer, I wasn’t going to let you leave the caves.”
Matías felt a slight shiver up his back at Andrew’s words, glancing warily at Cortney. “I know that they’re pokegirls. I was dead.”
Andrew nodded solemnly. “Yes, you were. But tell me. If you’re an honest to God Texan, what are you doing on the wrong side of the border?”
Matías shrugged. “I wanted to see the caves. Then I saw the rifles. Then I wanted to find out what was going on.”
Andrew nodded. “And what would you have done if I was a Sunshine officer setting up for an invasion of Texas?”
Matías shuddered. “I… I would have not been alive for this conversation?”
Andrew sighed. “You don’t think very far ahead, do you, boy?”
Matías silently shook his head.
Cortney lay a piece of equipment on the table. “Matías, how do you feel about the current state of the Sunshine and Johto leagues?”
Matías frowned. “They’re bullies who think that because they have a military everyone else should fall in with them.”
Cortney nodded. “Ok, but what about how they’re doing? About how their attacks on Texas are going.”
Matías blinked. “But they aren’t attacking Texas?”
Cortney slid the device to him. “They are. The fact that you don’t know that means people like us are successfully doing our jobs.” She crossed her arms. “That there is a report on our operation in Juarez. The rebels that we took care of were successfully extracted back to Texas. And yet we sit on Sunshine claimed land, outside of Texas’ borders, without getting marched on. Can you guess why?”
Matías picked up the small computer, glancing at the screen. “This… This report says the rebels were killed. Eliminated and disposed of.” He blinked. “You’re double agents.”
Andrew nodded. “Right in one. Me and my ladies are here because of the generosity of a Texan. He rescued us and gave us a second chance here. So to repay him, we make money doing odd jobs. Texas doesn’t need us, so we hire ourselves out to the leagues.” He chuckled. “And if we help Texas out along the way, well, all the better.”
Matías put the computer down. “Ok, but why me? What could I possibly do?”
Cortney leaned on the table and looked at him. “You’re what, 16? 17?”
Matías nodded. “I’m 17, 18 later this year.”
“You don’t have anyone in your life?”
Matías blushed slightly. “If you’re asking if I’ve ever had sex, yes, I have. They were just passing things, though.”
Andrew chuckled at the young man’s discomfort. “Don’t worry, we’re not asking for a report.” He smiled. “How would you feel being partnered with a pokegirl?”
Matías blinked. “I… I guess that would be nice.”
Cortney let out a peal of laughter. “He would love it is what he’s trying to say, but the poor kid’s too shy to say so. Oh, honey.” She grinned at him. “We’re just asking because the job we want you to do may require you to be with pokegirls. If you’re off somewhere for long enough, she may need you to tame her.” Her eyes danced. “We’re just making sure you’d be able to do that.”
Matías nodded vigorously. “Yes. Yes, I could do that.” He took a deep breath. “This job. You said it was going to be traveling places you can’t. Am I going to be a spy?”
Andrew grinned. “In a word, yes. I’m not asking you to do anything big. Go into the areas we may need to operate in, see if there’s anything that I need to know about, and report back. No fighting.”
Matías nodded. “I can do that.” He looked at Cortney. “You said I’d be working with pokegirls. People like you?”
Cortney shook her head. “No, we’re all known pretty well by now. There’s a few liberated pokegirls that want to get back in on the fight. And while they can’t stand up to the levels we’re at, they’d do just fine on intelligence work.”
“Oh.” Matías looked at Andrew. “You’re recruiting a couple of untrained, unknown people. To act as spies.” He shook his head. “That sounds…”
“Dangerous? Suicidal? Insane?” Andrew supplied. “I’ve heard it all already from my advisors. Are you turning down the job?”
Matías laughed. “Oh, no. Not at all. It was going to say it sounds like fun.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<05:00, Carlsbad>
Matías yawned sleepily as he trudged past dark windows. He was supposed to get somewhere specific before the sun rose, but so far everything had just looked the same.
“Here’s who you’re looking for.” Andrew had said as he showed Matías a photo. “She’s a Sunshine pokegirl, but she’s not my target. I’m trying to get to her Tamer. I need you to find her and discreetly figure out where her Tamer is.”
Matías rubbed his eyes, the sun peeking over the horizon. Pretty soon the town would start waking up, and he needed to be in position before it did.
As the first hints of life stirred in the homes around him he finally found his spot. Settling on the street corner he pulled the brim of his baseball cap over his eyes and waited.
The buildings around him were not regular homes. He was perched on the intersection of the only two Motels in Carlsbad. He had figured that if the Sunshine Tamer was in town, this is where he would be.
Hours passed, a handful of people passing Matías. Most ignored him, although a few did glance his way. He only saw one pokegirl, and she was nowhere near what he was looking for.
Then, just before noon, a figure exited the building across from him. From his pretend sleeping position Matías could just barely make out her face, but it was definitely the pokegirl Andrew had shown him. He let her pass him on the street before standing and mingling with a group of pedestrians, following her through the now crowded streets. She moved with a purpose, passing the various buildings that dotted the street before ducking into an alleyway.
Matías slowed slightly, glancing down the alley as he wandered by. The pokegirl was nowhere to be seen, though a few doors dotted the walls. He bit his lip while he debated what to do. Was this enough information for Andrew? Should he try to figure out which door she had gone in? Should he wait to see if she came out?
“No fighting.” He muttered. He wasn’t supposed to get in trouble. He glanced at the two suspect buildings and walked to the one on his left. He leaned against the wall and half-shut his eyes, straining his ears to hear anything he could.
He opened them after a few seconds. Someone was definitely talking inside. He couldn’t make out any words, but if he had to guess… Was it a woman?
He strained his ears as one of the voices grew more agitated. “…way… follow…”
Matías jerked forwards at the sound of hurried footsteps and the window above him was pushed open, a hand grasping at his head as he ducked away. It managed to snag his cap and pull it off his head, Matías glancing back to see the face of a man staring at him. “GET THAT LITTLE SHIT!” He screamed, his face paling when Matías ducked around a corner. “ARIA!”
Matías cursed as he ran, ducking into another alleyway as he sprinted towards the emergency meeting point. He must have been seen following the pokegirl. He slowed his pace and listened for pursuit, frowning when he heard none. He was at home in the alleys of cities; he’d learned early how to navigate them and keep pursuers off his back. Right now he felt like he was being followed, but he couldn’t sense them…
“There you areee~”
Matías dove forward as a chunk of brick was ripped out of the wall next to him and skittered along the ground. He landed clumsily, pushing to his feet and struggling away from whatever had done it.
“Don’t run, little boy.” The voice crooned and Matías cried out in pain as a gash appeared on his leg. “Master wishes to speak with you.”
Matías clutched a windowsill as he tried to catch his breath, frantically scanning for whoever was attacking him. “Who are you??” He called desperately, heaving himself another step away. “Where are you?”
“I’m right here.” The voice whispered, Matías feeling hot breath blow across his ear. “Now, Master needs to take a look at your leg.”
Matías screamed and swung his arm up, only to watch in horror as something caught it inches from his face. “Now, that’s not very nice.” The voice mused. “Do you know what happens to little boys who don’t play nice?” Matías grit his teeth as a hand tightened on his arm and slowly began to bend it backwards. “They get… punished.”
“That’s enough, Aria.” The man from the window strode into view rubbing his elbow. “I banged my arm, you little brat. Who are you?”
Matías closed his eyes and turned away. “Let me go.”
“Hm, what’s that?” The man asked, striding up and peering at him. “Did you just say, ‘hit me please’?”
Matías doubled over as the man punched him in the stomach, coughing as another hand pulled his head back up. “I’ll ask again.” The man said calmly, shaking his hand. “Who are you?”
“I’m just… A street urchin.” Matías wheezed. “Please, let me go.”
“Oh, so you do have some manners.” The man peered at Matías’ clothes. “You’re dressed pretty well, for a street urchin.” He clenched his hand back into a fist. “I don’t like that answer. Who are you?”
Matías struggled to move his head. “Please! I’m really just that! Please don’t hurt me!”
The man sighed. “Aria, you’re sure this kid followed you?” The man shook his head. “Aria is sure. Sorry, kid.” He said, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing an object. “You picked the wrong guy to case.”
Matías blinked at a gurgling sound from behind him, feeling something drip on his shoulder. “What…”
“ARIA!” The man screamed and dove at Matías, the switchblade he held flicking open. As he got near Matías felt something drop from above them and a shadow slammed into the man. As they struggled he felt the hands on him loosen and he stumbled away from the wall, gazing at it in horror.
The upper body of the pokegirl he had been tailing protruded from the wall, going limp as he watched. The corpse shuddered as the woman standing on it yanked her blade free from its torso. “Still sure you can go alone, Matías?”
Matías fell back as she shouldered past him to stare at the fight in front of her. “Hey. Let’s go, Clara.”
The man coughed as a knife protruded from the back of his throat, rolling over to stare lifelessly at the sky. The pokegirl that had been scuffling lay there pouting. “But I was having fuuunnn.” She whined.
“Don’t care. You’re setting a bad example.” The first woman replied. She glanced at Matías. “You know who I am?”
Matías shook his head. “N… no, I’ve never seen… either of you, before.”
“Hm.” The woman held out her hand. “My name is Daria. I help Andrew out when his other coverts are away.” She smirked. “Sometimes that involves saving someone’s skin.”
“So you were…”
“Following you. Yup.” She reached down and grabbed Clara’s hand, pulling the other pokegirl to her feet. “Clara, you know that hurts your wings.”
The other girl winced and Matías bit back a response as a pair of jet black wings flapped weakly behind her. “I know, now I’ll have to stay off them for a while.” She rubbed her shoulder. “Fuck, there goes the adrenaline. It’s hurting now.”
Daria sighed. “You really need to take better care of yourself.”
The raven girl shrugged. “Yea. I know.” She grinned at Matías. “Ohho! You must be my partner!”
Daria rubbed her face. “Matías, I’d like you to meet Clara. She’s self named, by the way. That should give you a hint as to what she’s like.”
Matías blinked. “Isn’t… Doesn’t that mean, like, pure? Or something?”
“She’s a contrary little thing.” Daria conceded. “Andrew thought the two of you would make a great pair.”
“Hey, wait a minute.” Matías stammered. “I told you I don’t need anyone. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Yea, and how’d that work out for ya?” Matías blinked in surprise as Clara swept forward, pinning him against the wall, her grinning face inches from his own. “Got yourself caught, boyo.”
“Get off me.” Matías growled and struggled against her hold. “I said let go, puta.”
Behind Clara, Daria just shook her head and turned away.
“You’re pretty ballsy calling me that.” Clara said amicably, and Matías gasped as her clawlike fingernails dug into his arms. “And here I was offering myself to you.” She spat on his chest. “Qué te jodan. Asshole.”
“You two lovebirds about done?” Daria called in a bored voice. “I’m sure Matías didn’t mean it, that or he’s as dense as a bag of bricks for not realizing he’s not the only one around here that can speak Spanish.”
Matias winced. “…sorry.”
“Eh? What was that?” Clara leaned back in. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“Sorry, ok?” Matias wrenched his arm free and scrubbed at the spit on his shirt. “I’m not really in the mood to be held down right now, considering the last bitch that did that was ready to KILL ME.”
“Huh.” Clara dropped his other arm. “That’s fair.”
Matías just took a deep breath and glanced at Daria. “Yea. We’ll be just great together.”
“Good.” Daria inspected the two corpses before slicing a hole in the wall and yanking the Chupaca-bra out. “I’ll take care of these. Clara, take him back home, would you?”
Clara shrugged and took hold of Matías’s arm, teleporting before he could protest. “I do like you, though.”
Matías pulled his arm free. “Am I ‘contrary’ enough for you?”
Clara grinned at him. “Nah. But you’re fun.”
“Perfect.” Matías glanced around the room. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I run solo. That’s what I told Andrew, and I’m sticking with it.”
“Would you like to go back and die?” Andrew asked as he walked in. “I can arrange that. I have many women around here that would not mind taking care of something like that for me.”
Matías bowed his head. “No. Sorry, sir.”
Andrew sighed and sat, staring at Matías. “Matías. You ran off without the partner that I was assigning you and without a great deal of information. If it wasn’t for Daria’s good sense, you would be dead right now.” He shook his head. “I’m pulling the plug on this. I’m sending you back to El Paso before you get yourself killed.”
“No!” Matías sprang up. “Please! I can do better. I don’t know how that pokegirl followed me but I’ll figure it out, I’ll be more careful, I-“
Andrew frowned. “Do you even know what she was.”
Matías blinked. “Uh… No, I don’t.”
“She was what is called a Chupaca-bra.” Andrew replied, tapping at his computer. “She had, among other things, the ability to turn invisible and move through stone.” He glanced up. “Now, if you had waited for me to brief you, you would have learned that. And you would have known to run through the open, instead of the enclosed alleyways where she could follow you by moving through the walls.” He tossed the device on the table. “You were dead the moment you decided where to go.”
Matías shuddered at the image that lay in front of him and pushed it away. “I understand.”
“I don’t think you do.” Andrew scooped up the computer and nodded at Clara. “Try to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”
“Wait!” Matías called in frustration. “I work ALONE!”
Andrew gave him a stern glare. “You told me this wouldn’t be a problem. I’m ORDERING you to work with her. Get it?”
“Yea, I get it.” Matías muttered, watching Andrew leave. “Shit.”
“You don’t want me?”
Matías glanced back at Clara. “I don’t care.”
She snorted. “You must be popular with the ladies.”
“Funnily enough, they don’t care.”
Clara snickered and uncrossed her arms, shaking her chest slightly. “So, this your first time?”
Matías pointedly turned away from her. “Put a shirt on.”
“Alright, I can’t read you for shit.” Matías sneezed as she pulled his chair back and sat on his lap, her wing brushing against his nose. “What drives you. You’re obviously not gonna just jump on me because I tell you to. You had the balls to fuck with me.” Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, I know. I’m in the wrong position, right?” She slid off his lap and pulled her shorts down an inch, kneeling with her head in his lap. “How can I serve you, Master?”
“Stop that.” Matías hissed, shoving her away and standing with his back to her. “Just… Stop, ok?”
Clara sat up and listened as some shouting began to get closer. “Hey, you hear that?”
Matías jumped when Andrew burst back into the room, slamming a file on the table. “Clara. You’re working with Jessie again. I’m sorry to drop this on you like this, especially with him on your plate, but we just got a call that’s going to take everyone to fill. You may not hear from us for a while.” He looked at Matías. “You wanted this job.” He said ominously before ducking back out and shouting at someone down the hall.
“What? Who’s Jessie?” Matías whirled to Clara as she stood and thumbed through the papers. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“The Commander likes people who follow orders.” She glanced at him. “We don’t need you for this. Stay here. Rest.”
“Hell no!” Matías stormed over and snatched the papers out of her hand. “He said that we’re partners. So let’s work.”
A smile twitched at the corner of Clara’s mouth. “I found what drives you.”
Matías left off looking through the papers. “Huh?”
She sat down and leaned back, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “You don’t like getting left behind.”
“So?”
“So, if Jessie and I had sex, you’d have no choice but to join in, right?” Her grin widened at his uncomfortable look. “I knew it! You’ve never had a real relationship, have you?”
Matías kicked his foot awkwardly. “No.” He glanced at her. “I’ve started getting used to the way things are now. How some of you just walk around naked, or solicit sex from anyone they’d like.” His gaze dropped. “But…” He trailed off.
“Nothing wrong with that.” Matías glanced back to see Clara withdraw a strip of cloth from her pocket and start wrapping her breasts. “I can respect that kind of situation.” She finished and stood, taking the papers back from him. “I’ll wait.”
Matías followed her out the door, glancing around. “It got awfully silent.”
“What, you didn’t hear him?” Clara called back. “All the others are off doing something. We’ve got the base to ourselves for now.” She stopped at a door and opened it, motioning him inside. “We’re heading over to our quarters. Cmon.”
“I’ve never-“
“Andrew probably put you up in the barracks, yea?” Clara asked, continuing at his nod. “Well, the girls have a section too.” She grinned. “It’s also where Andrew stays. I think you’re fine since we’re partners.”
“Yea, but-“
Clara sighed and pulled open another door, tossing the file on a desk next to a bed before closing the door and turning back to Matías. “No. We haven’t bonded yet. I know.” She shooed him backwards and through another door into a commons area. “I’d like to think we eventually will. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be anytime soon. Jess can take care of our taming until you feel ready.” She banged on another door. “JESS! WE’VE GOT AN ASSIGNMENT!”
Matías blinked. “Wait, Jessie is a-“
The door slammed open to display a hunched over, irritated girl scratching her side. “Who woke me up?” She glanced down. “Oh.” The door slammed shut again.
“JESSIE!” Clara screamed, pounding on the door and trying vainly to turn the handle. “We’ve got an assignment! Get out here!”
Matías snickered at the muffled ‘Fuck off’ that came from the room while Clara continued wrenching at the handle. “I think you interrupted her beauty sleep.”
“Yea, well, she needs a LOT more sleep for that to work.” Clara grumbled, jimmying her knife behind the door latch. “Aaaand, open!” She cried, throwing it open.
Matías ducked as a mug flew over his head and smashed against the wall, shards of pottery tinkling as they hit the ground. “Holy shit!”
“Did you fucking break my lock again?” Jessie yelled in exasperation, fiddling with the door while holding Clara down. “You did, didn’t you.”
“I think she just slipped the bolt…” Matías supplied, gulping as an arm swung up to point at him.
“You can stay out of this.” Jessie grumbled, reaching over and grabbing a pin from her bedside table. “I don’t need more shit on my plate.”
Matías blinked as he finally noticed how she was doing so much simultaneously. Six arms moved independently, two inspecting the door lock while the third jabbed at it, one continued to track him, and two held the struggling Clara down. “What… What are you?”
Jessie left off what she was doing to look at him. “What are you, dense?” She frowned when she saw he wasn’t joking. “I’m a, what was it, Clara?”
“Sword Dancer.” Clara muttered, twisting under Jessie’s grip. “Cmon, let me up. We’ve got to do shit.”
Jessie made a happy sound as the deadbolt slid back out with a satisfying thunk. “THERE we go! You didn’t break it, just slipped it off the bearing!”
Matías snorted. “Yea. Pretty sure I said that already.”
“Alright, who’s the mouth?” Jessie asked in exasperation. “Clara. This your fault?”
“The Commander’s saddled me with him.” Clara explained, finally being able to get free of Jessie’s grasp. “Like, I’m not that mad about it, but he’s annoying.” She winked at Matías. “He doesn’t even want to fuck!”
“What!” Jessie gaped at him. “Why don’t you want to fuck?”
“Jessie!” Matías could feel his face growing red as Clara grew a shit-eating grin. “You can’t just ask someone why they won’t fuck!”
“Oh for the love of...” Jessie grumbled, grabbing Clara and yanking her to her feet. “Fine. You’ve woken me up, embarrassed the shit out of that kid, and generally made an ass of yourself. Happy?”
Clara brushed down her shorts and nodded. “Very.” She laughed at the look on Matías’ face. “Oh, cmon. We were just having fun.”
Matías grimaced. “I’m not a kid.”
“Sure, sure.” Jessie waved her hand dismissively. “You’re what. 15? 16? You’re just a little baby to me.”
“I’m 17.” Matías grumbled.
“Yea, same thing.” One of Jessie’s arms scratched her nose while the others adjusted her armor. “Now what’s so important.”
“We’ve got a mission, that’s what.” Clara brushed past and poked into her own room, withdrawing the folder. “I’ve just skimmed it, but looks like he wants us to go north.”
“Yea? Like, how far north?”
Clara thumbed through the file and pulled out one of the papers. “Like, really north.”
Jessie scrutinized the map. “This doesn’t tell me anything.” She flipped it over. “Oh, there we go. ‘You are here.’” She chuckled. “Well, damn. That’s not too far, overall, but it’s a good distance.”
Matías tried to see what she was looking at but the Sword Dancer was way too tall. “Where is it? Where’s he sending us?”
Jessie glanced down at him. “Clara and I. Not you. We don’t need a kid tagging along.”
Matías grit his teeth. “I told you, I’m not a kid!” He reached up and snatched the map from Jessies hands, glancing at it. “Where the hell is this?”
“Uhh, I believe that’s Colorado.” Jessie pointed at the contour lines on the west side of the map. “See? Those are mountains, right?”
“Ok, that’s where it is.” Matías turned to Clara. “What else is in there?”
Clara rummaged through the pages. “Route info, weather reports, threat assessments… Ah, here we go.” She pulled out a note with a small bag attached. “What are these?”
Jessie took the bag and shook it over her palm, squinting at the three small objects that rolled out. “Yea, what are these?”
Clara unfolded the note. “’Clara. Enclosed are three radios for you to use. As long as they get a few hours of sunlight each day they’ll last. If you’re ever in mortal danger, take it out and press the front and back at the same time. It will send a distress signal that Cortney will pick up and redirect assistance. Otherwise, just pop it into your ear and talk; after the initial charge, they will all communicate with each other just fine over a few kilometers.’”
Jessie stared at them like they were turds. “Three.”
Clara shrugged. “Guess he’s really coming with us.”
Jessie just shook her head and turned away from Matías’ smug look. “Whatever.”
“So we know where we’re going,” Matías mused, “we know how to communicate, and we have information on getting there, right?” He glanced at Clara, who nodded. “So. What are we doing once we get there?”
Clara pulled out the last page in the file and scanned it, her face growing pale as she read. “He wants us to scout a few locations. If we find what he’s fearing we will, we need to set up safe teleport locations for the main group. If possible, we also need to slow down their operations.”
“What operations? What does he think we’ll find?”
Clara shook her head in disbelief. “Uranium mines. Nukes.” She glanced up. “I’ve only heard stories about those things. Nobody I knew actually talked about them, but what I did hear… They were banned ages ago. The Commander thinks Sunshine might be preparing to make…” She shuddered. “…or find, some.”
Matías blinked. “Nuke? Wasn’t that the thing that, like, stopped a World War?”
“Sukebe was always worried about those. Sending squads to every site he could think of.” Jessie gazed at the map in front of them. “If Sunshine is manufacturing nuclear materials, my liege has a right to be worried.”
Matías turned back to her. “I’m sorry, who are you, again?”
She smiled slightly. “I was around for the end of everything. I knew Sukebe, though I did not work with him. I had a different liege.” She chuckled. “Well, Mistress, really.” She looked back at Matías. “I believe I already told you. You are but a baby to me.”
“Jessie’s an old lady.” Clara teased. “She’s around to keep us out of trouble.”
“Basically.” The Sword Dancer turned away. “We know where, how, and why we’re going. I’m going to pack.”
“Get one of those instant tents!” Clara called. “Oh, and extra rope!”
Jessie laughed. “Gotta have the fun rope.”
Matías blinked. “The ‘fun’ rope?”
Clara scooped the papers back into a pile and stashed them in the file. “Don’t worry about it. You’ve already said you won’t be taming either of us, so it doesn’t concern you.” She stretched, her wings flapping idly. “You may want to go pack. Uh, third? I think? Door on the left was Alex’s room. He liked to keep packing lists, so you’ll probably get some ideas there.” She sighed. “God I hope he’s alright.”
“Alex?”
“Another guy like you that Andrew brought on board. He fell for Nat pretty hard, so the two of them have been working together.” She shook her head sadly. “Had. Had been working together. Natalie’s body was found mauled. Nobody has found a trace of Alex yet.”
Matías gulped. “So, he’s probably…”
“Mmhmm.” Clara turned away. “Anyways. I don’t know how you feel about things like that, but the rest of us have avoided that room. It just… Feels wrong.”
“A vengeful spirit may inhabit that room and you wanted to send me in there?” Matías shuddered. “No, thanks.” He hesitated as Clara walked away. “Uh, Clara?”
“Hmm?” The Tengal turned back to him, a tear glistening in her eye.
Matías chuckled uneasily. “Well, you said partners slept together in here, right? And, my, uh, room is pretty far away…” He trailed off. “So, like, Alex and, uh, Natalie shared that room?” He continued at her nod. “Are there any… empty… rooms…?”
She shook her head slightly. “Well, yes… But I’m pretty sure the only single rooms in here are reserved for pokegirls.”
Matías nodded with a slight laugh. “Of… Of course.” He rubbed the nape of his neck. “I just… I’ve barely met you, right?” He helplessly continued. He could feel himself rambling, but he couldn’t stop. “Like, you’re crazy, and that’s cool. I kinda like that, it’s fun, right, and…”
“Oh, stop skirting around what you want to say.” Clara cried, dropping the papers and swooping forward to embrace him.
Matías clutched her tightly while he formed his next few sentences. “I ran, because I didn’t want someone strange to be who I worked with.” He stroked her wings, smiling as she squirmed. “Is that ticklish?”
“Yessssssss.”
He left off playing with her and continued. “I nearly got myself killed because I tried to go on my own. And then suddenly I’m meeting you for the first time, and I think, ‘Hey, she doesn’t seem so bad.’ But I’ve already said what I planned to do, so I couldn’t back down, right?” He paused. “But then you saw through me so quickly, and I still couldn’t… read you, and I closed up again.” He sighed. “But, then you backed off, and I started to see who you really are. And I’m saying I like that person.”
Clara sighed. “I’m an asshole.”
Matías chuckled. “Yea, but you also care, right? You worry about… About Alex, you worry for him. Some people would forget he exists.”
Clara stayed silent for a few moments. “You still called me a slut.”
Matías snickered. “You said I was a mother fucker.”
Clara nodded thoughtfully. “Huh. So I did.” She pulled back and grinned at him. “I still think it was justified.”
Matías rolled his eyes. “It was.” He disengaged and scooped up the papers she had dropped. “So… ‘Fun’ rope?”
Clara’s grin widened. “You want to see the fun rope?” Her smile turned mischievous. “You know you’ll have to take responsibility for what happens.”
Matías cracked a smile. “I think I can handle that.”
“Perfect.” Clara took the file, dropping it on the table and glancing around. “Let’s see, pen, pen…” She scooped up a pen and notepad. “Just gotta let Jessie know we’ll be a bit late…” She muttered, scribbling a short note and placing it on top of the file. “Right! C’mon.” She urged, pulling Matías to her bedroom and closing the door. “Fun rope’s in the bottom drawer.”
Matías pulled open the drawer and withdrew the object inside. “This… This is more like a harness, isn’t it?” He turned to her. “Hey, is this-“
Clara nodded, slipping her underwear off and tossing them in the small pile of her clothing. “Yea, that’s the one. Oh, here.” She continued, summoning a camera and thrusting it into his hands. “Just, take a few.”
Matías blinked. “Uh, right now?”
Clara snorted in exasperation. “Obviously not.” She snatched the ropes from his hands and turned them over, finding the correct orientation and slipping her arms in. “Help me get the back?”
Matías hesitantly grabbed the ropes she showed him, slipping them through and manipulating the knots until Clara wore what seemed to be a rope vest. “Right, that’s the easy part done.”
Matías pointed at a few strands that dangled. “What are those for?”
“That’s the fun part.” Clara whispered, climbing onto the bed and kneeling with her back to him, her arms behind her back. “Just tie the dangly bits together. And make sure it’s tight!”
Matías tied the ropes around her arms, waiting while she pulled at them to test the knots. “Like that?”
Clara nodded enthusiastically. “Yea, perfect.” She flipped over, thrusting her groin in the air while the last rope dangled between her legs. “Cmon, last one.” She shivered in anticipation. “This is the best one.”
Matías grabbed it, trying to ignore her moist pussy while he fitted it behind her back. “Hey, there’s a knot on this one, where does it…?”
“Just, just tie it.” Clara said breathlessly. “It goes with the arm knots.”
“No, not the end, this thing here.” Matías remarked, pulling some slack and inspecting the monkeys fist.
“Put that back!”
Matías blinked, his eyes tracing back to where the knot had been laying on Clara’s body. “Oh… oh.” He flexed his fingers, noticing the slight sheen that had oozed onto them. “Gotcha.”
Clara grumbled while he secured the rope. “Did you really not notice that?”
Matías blushed furiously. “No, I didn’t.”
Clara moaned as he adjusted it, straining to grind against the bump. “Not so… Not so tight. Leave some room.”
Matías complied, stepping back after he had finished. “So… What now?”
Clara worked her way upright and tensed, digging the ropes into her chest. “Take those pictures.”
Hesitantly, he did, taking a few every time Clara changed her pose. After a few minutes he could feel the pressure in his pants increase to a nearly unbearable level and he turned away. “Sorry, give me a minute.”
“No.”
Matías glanced back to see Clara watching him. “What?”
“I told you to leave it loose for a reason.” She panted slightly, sweat glistening on her body. “You need to take responsi-bil-i-ty.”
Matías set down the camera nervously. “You mean…”
“JUST FUCK ME.” Clara cried in exasperation, swinging her legs around and presenting to him. “Hurry the fuck up already!”
Matías complied, sliding his pants off and stumbling forward, pulling away the soaked rope that had ground between Clara’s legs. Remembering Daria’s comment about her wings, he lay back, lifting her up on top of himself. They wasted no time; the immense stimulation they had received from each other was desperately seeking an outlet.
Clara cried out as he penetrated her, bouncing up and down and throwing her head back in ecstasy. Matías fared no better; he had held back for so long he could already feel himself begin to go. With an effort he managed to hold back until he realized the liquid that had soaked the rope, and which now dripped on his groin was not sweat. The thought of Clara’s orgasm tipped him over, Clara shrieking in pleasure when she felt him twitch inside of her.
The two shared a few moments recovering before Matías helped Clara get untied.
Behind them on the table, the camera’s shutter clicked for it’s last time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So, tomorrow morning?”
Jessie shrugged, casting her gaze over as much of him she could see. “That’s fine. Get rested up.” She leaned back. “Where’s your shirt?”
Matías quickly pulled back out of the doorway. “I took it off.”
“Uh huh.” Jessie smiled. “Make sure you both actually get rest tonight.”
She tried to lay back as he left, wincing at the pressure on her sheathes. “Damn things.” She muttered, flipping over and staring at the wall. She could still remember before they had been forced on her. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memories. Running. Fear. That… thing catching her. Darkness. She grit her teeth and shook her head to clear it. No. She couldn’t dwell on the past.
One of her hands reached back and drew a sword, twisting it in the light. She would need this curse soon. She closed her eyes, throwing the sword away and leaving it embedded in the wall. Very well. She had not asked for this power, but she would make sure it was put to good use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matías Miller – Human
Clara – Tengal
Jessie – Sword Dancer
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Tech Ops: Cortney – (Upgrade) Videogirl |
Commander: Andrew Ranger |
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Smoke Devils Strike Force |
Lucina – Shadowcat Nami – Sharptits Fu – Warvern Cristina – (Blessed, Fiendish) Ophanim Constance – Tank Vixxen Gale – Night Nurse Shamira – Goldina Aella – (Hunter) Shinryu Nevaeh – (Blessed, Fiendish) G-Splice Melody – Wet Queen Ann – Ice Empress Enya – Blazicunt Furia – (Fiendish) Wolf Queen
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Support Force |
Ishara – Romanticide Kuu – Elfqueen Lyn – Archmage Rein – Myobu Yang – Nereidame |
Allies:
Daria – Vampire
KIA:
Juel – Matratya
Ashba – Rosebreasts
Nial – Assasara
Tracii – (Red) Longfly
Azhara – Kyubi
Brigid – Unicorn
Adria – Groaning
Noira – (Flying) Mecha Musume
Kary – Gunvalkyrie
April – Seabra
Erren – Ballisticunt
Grace – Mini-Top
Yin – Nereidame
Phial – Gravelgal
Leira – Queenler