Vince woke up, opening his eyes only to close them again. There was a nearly indescribable feeling in his very core. A sense of emptiness, a vast hole in his heart that was growing and eroding away at the edges of him. Each second that passed meant more of him was lost to the void.
Reshmi was gone. He knew that with certainty. The black hole in his chest was the collapsed remains of their delta bond. Vince stared unblinking up at the white florescent light above his head, and tuned out the electronic beeping of the medical machinery he was attached to. It took nearly a minute for him to realize he wasn't alone in the room, and the other occupant jumped when he finally turned his head to look at whoever it was.
The Nurse Joy didn't say much, only a stammered statement that she would be going to inform his family that he was awake. Vince went back to staring about the room. There were flowers and get well cards amassed in a corner on the table. It was a few minutes before Azar, Aiden, and Pritha arrived. The Herochan pokewoman was the least composed, throwing her arms around his neck and bawling incoherently about how scared she was of losing her boyazon. Vince was released when Azar put a hand on the pokewoman's shoulder and gently tugged her away. “The doctors said you'd probably be good to go soon after you woke up, but I still think giving you room to breathe would be in your best interest.” Vince only nodded quietly.
Then, with his voice a little hoarse from apparently not using it for some time, he asked the question he didn't have a broken bond to answer for him. “My pokegirls? Besides... besides...”
Aiden was the one to answer. “In storage. You should probably get them out soon. You were in pretty bad shape last they knew.”
“How long was I out?”
“Not quite two weeks.” Vince listened to the three of them recount how he had wound up there. While he and Reshmi had been trapped inside, Constance managed to rally his harem in fighting the mercenary pirates Vsevelod had hired for muscle. Vince vaguely remembered them breaking through the doors just before passing out from his injuries.
Vsevelod had wanted to test him, to observe Vince's fighting abilities when boost was active. So he had his Alaka-Wham beat on Reshmi and telepathically attack their delta bond until Vince snapped and charged her. Then the madman captured Vince's Arachnae in an illegally modified ball and set Vince up in a death match against a Mercury. There was no way he'd win, but that was a part of the plan.
When his harem came to the rescue, Ava was the one that dealt with the Mercury. The Blazicunt had gone berserk at seeing what the steel type had down to her master. The fight ended with one of the two rupturing something holding a volatile compound, which then exploded as soon as it came in contact with Ava's flames. Ava survived the blast with a number of serious burns. The Mercury had been reduced to slag.
Azar, Pritha, and Aiden stayed for nearly an hour, and promised to return later that evening. Doctors came in to run some final tests, and Vince was released from their care by the time Aiden returned to take him home.
-
Back at Aiden's home, Vince was sitting alone in the guest room he'd been occupying. He had taken him a week, he had needed a week to think, but he had his tamer's gear again, with all of his pokeballs lining his belt save for Reshmi's empty holster. His hand strayed over the gap for a painfully long time before he moved one spot over to access Constance's ball.
His alpha stood quietly after she was released; only reaching out to grab her master's hand to assure herself he was truly there. Vince did nothing to maintain the contact, but Constance held onto him anyway. “I can't do this anymore Constance.”
“You can't? What do you mean?”
“I mean I don't even know if I can keep going...”
“You can't... Vince. We've all trained so hard, fought so hard...”
“I'm sick of fighting! I'm not going to anymore! I'm done being a tamer! I'm done having pokegirls fight for me!”
“We fought to protect you! To save you! Vince, we did it because we care about you. I- Damnit Vince I love you!” For a brief second Vince felt something besides the sinking feeling within him, like the spark from a lighter with no fuel. “I... I know Reshmi's gone, and I know how you two were... But damnit Vince. She wasn't the only one... Don't abandon us. Don't leave me.” And with that she was done trying to give voice to how she felt. She only stood there with her feelings laid out bare and a pleading look in her eyes. Vince finally curled his fingers around hers.
“I can't risk losing any of you too...”
“Then, then don't be a tamer. Become a tradesman or something.”
“A tradesman? I dropped of school Constance. Being a tamer was my only shot.”
“So go back to school. You have some bounty points, and a little less money, but I'm sure Azar and Aiden would help you. We'll help you; we'll do whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it takes,” Vince echoed his alpha. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, and Constance gently sat on his lap as he thought and she did her best to reassure him with nothing but her presence. Finally, Vince let out the rest of his harem. The mood of the room stayed sombre. Immense relief washed over all of his pokegirls as they first saw him. Ava had changed, picking up the Charred template from the burns she suffered in the explosion. Her voice also took on just a hint of a smokey, raspy timbre. Yin Zhi only had her nodachi left intact and her hair had been hacked short from a grazing blow on one side. Ione and Verse were unchanged for the most part. No one was paying attention to how much time was passing, and they were all exhausted in spite of being healed. It wasn't long before they had all fallen asleep snuggled up close together.
-
Constance woke Vince up some time later. “Shannon brought down food.” His alpha motioned to a covered tray and a stack of bowls. Vince and his harem ate quietly, and then the human told all of his pokegirls his intent of quitting the profession of being a tamer. No one objected. Once they were all finished eating, Vince recalled all but Constance and Ava. With his Tick Tock and Charred Blazicunt, he started the long walk to the nearest pokecenter. The sky was an out of season grey for the Jade Islands league. By the time they reached the center, there were rumbles in the distance and a couple of tamers exiting the lobby were discussing the approaching storm.
A few tamers waiting in line indicated a short wait, but Vince had no where else to go. One tamer finished getting his harem healed. The next requested a taming cycle. The third quickly checked out a taming room for the night. With only two people in between him and the counter, Vince's pokedex started to wail. As did the pokedexes of the two tamers in front of him, and those that belonged to every tamer in the lobby. More young men and women came from the hallways, all with the same electronic siren blaring from their dex. A sense of dread washed over the entire room as they all checked their messages. Vince wasn't even done reading before JILF personnel arrived.
This is an emergency tamer all call event for the Celaeno region. All Jade Island League tamers are to report to the nearest pokecenter or gym facility ASAP. Failure to report in will result in an investigation by the league.
Much of what the message held was being echoed by the JILF officer in charge, with the addition of the repeated instructions to remain calm and for tamers to recall all of their harems and prepare for travel via teleportation.
-
The assembly area for the tamers was under the full assault of the out-of-season storm. The skies were black and rain pelted down on the tarp covered shelters that were tied down as more and more were hastily being set up. Lightning flashes washed the clouds and ocean white save for one solitary black mass somewhere off in the waves. Tamers were allowed to have only their alphas out as the situation was explained to them.
Vince was only half paying attention to the woman in charge of briefing his group. His tamer's belt had been damaged, and had chosen this exact moment to completely fail on him. Constance wound up holding it for him when his struggles with the mechanisms drew him a number of looks.
The black shape out in the distance was a ship that had ran aground on a sand bar a short distance off shore. It had been discovered earlier that day. There was evidence of a large scale concealment enchantment that had been broken. The magical energies were what had first drawn the attention of the tamer and harem that discovered the ship. A psychic scan of the area was what convinced the youth to contact the league.
The A-bra had detected no mental presences onboard the ship, but that's not to say she didn't detect anything. Lingering emotional imprints of fear, pain, rage, malice, terror, and agony practically saturated the hull. Even from her place on the shore the derelict ship was bombarding the psychic type's danger sense with signals to run.
Once the league arrived, they performed their own scans from a safe distance. Everything pointed towards one conclusion. A single extremely powerful pokegirl, or a small group of slightly less powerful pokegirls, had slaughtered or driven off the, most likely pirate, crew of the ship and then remained on board. The ineffectiveness of psychic attempts hinted at the pokegirl in question's typing; bug, ghost, or dark.
Everything pointed towards there being a menace on that ship. The only questions were what variety of nightmare, and why wasn't it moving?
“No one is to release any pokegirls other than their alphas until instructed by a JILF, JICP, JIAD, or Royal Guard personnel, or in the event of clear and present danger to your or your fellow tamers' person.” Vince was still only half paying attention. Suddenly the emptiness inside him wasn't feeling so empty. There was a rising feeling coming from deep within the void.
“No one is to challenge any tamers to a pokegirl battle of any kind, or attempt to trade or purchase pokegirls from the harems of any fellow tamers until ordered to stand down and you are transported out of the staging area.” It was a primal feeling. A savage instinct. A dark thrill. Vince was compelled to turn and stare out at the ghost ship trapped on the sand bar. He took one step towards the silhouette cut out from the brightness of the lightning flashes.
“No one is to wander off on their own, and under no circumstances are you to approach the beach. No one is going to be playing hero today.” The feeling kept driving him closer. He was searching for something, hunting for something. It was intangible, but he knew he was getting closer.
“Hey! You with the pink hair!” Vince didn't register that the shout was directed at him. He was close. He needed to be closer. He needed to find whatever it was that was driving him out towards the water, towards the ship. Thunder shook the bones in his body as his heart quickened its pace and his muscles tensed nervously.
“What, is he deaf? Who is that kid's alpha?! Well then you go out there and get his ass back here!” The feeling kept growing, becoming more and more intense, the impulse more and more undeniable. He was just about to break into a run towards the shore when something in his mind clicked. This wasn't his feeling...
“Vince!” He turned back towards Constance's voice. Her hands were cupped so her shout could reach him through the sound of the wind and rain. His tamer's belt was hanging from one hand; all his pokeballs accounted for save for the one empty where Reshmi used to dwell.
Everyone under the shelter suddenly froze as the lightning illuminated the sky again. Fear etched all of their faces. A long shadow was cast over Vince from behind him. The feeling, the desire to hunt, it wasn't Vince that was feeling those things. “MASTER!” Constance wailed in terror.
Something had been searching for Vince...
He turned only too see a black form, reddened eyes, and two clawed hands reach out to seize him. All of the noise from the storm was cut off in an instant as he and his captor phased, and Vince was dragged off into the darkness.
-
Of all the times someone had told Vince to, “Go tame a Widow,” he never thought he'd actually be able to say he followed their instructions. Of course, it wasn't looking like he'd really be able to tell them he had. He was fighting to stay conscious and to breathe. He couldn't feel pain anymore; he couldn't feel much throughout the entire ordeal actually. If he would have cared to guess, he would have pinned it on the same toxin as the one keeping him paralyzed.
There was one thing bothering Vince though, one thing he was hanging on so he could know the answer to. The Widow had dragged him through the hull of the ship when she phased, and deposited him on top of a web that was part of an entire network of silk strands covering the hold and all its cargo. Maybe it was partly the near-death state he was in playing tricks on his eyes. Maybe it was just the similarities between the two breeds' basic appearances. But Vince could swear the monstrosity looming over him had more than a passing resemblance. A similar structure in the face, similar proportions. It was haunting.
The Widow lifted herself off of him, apparently finished. That's when a tiny glint caught Vince's attention, and despite his condition he felt a sudden wave of energy. Pierced through the Widow's navel was a simple piece of bar-bell jewelry. One just like Reshmi had. Vince's mind powered through the haze at full steam. He had no idea how it would be possible, but he had to know now. After all, what could he really lose? He tried to prop himself up a little to look at her. He choked on his first attempt to speak, was interrupted by a bloody coughing fit the second, but finally managed to croak out the one name racing through his heart. “Reshmi?”
The Widow reacted to the sound by hissing at him with bestial fury, pinning him back down with the more human arms, the bladed appendages stabbing down on both sides. She pulled her head back and raised her fangs to strike. Vince closed his eyes and waited for the end. Of course it wasn't her.
Seconds ticked by and the end didn't come. Finally, one cold, serrated claw gently ran along the base of Vince's neck, tenderly lifting the stone bead decorating the silk necklace Vince wore. Vince opened his eyes to see the menace transfixed on the simple piece of jewelry. More than a word, a thought and a feeling entered Vince's mind, surfacing from the familiar link chained to his heart. “Vince...?”
There was a sense of confusion across the delta bond, and then horror as Reshmi took in Vince's state. “Oh gods, Vince!” In the blink of an eye she was no longer standing over him and Vince heard the splintering of wood as Reshmi frantically tore open crates in search of something to help repair the damage she'd done. She came back with an arm load of P-Meds, and quickly injected him with a couple doses from a Max and a couple more from an All after dumping the rest on the floor. She hovered nearby, looking like she wanted to help further but afraid to; given that Widows weren't exactly the best suited towards tender loving care. Vince weakly sat up.
He didn't feel like he was dying anymore, but by no means were all his problems solved. The league was still amassing tamers outside to deal with a menace threat, and Reshmi was the menace. Even if she had come to her senses, would they still attack her? Would she fight back if they did, and would Vince want her to? He suddenly realized that the choice of sacrificing the lives of hundreds of people for the life of one person he loved could fall on him. Vince shivered and tried to stand. Maybe he could head out of the ship alone and explain the situation.
Beyond the weakness from being healed up from such grievous injuries, something else caused Vince to fall back into a sitting position. His legs just weren't functioning right. He ran his fingers along the bones and muscles and found them to simply be off in a number of spots. Something hadn't been in the right spot when Reshmi rushed to administer the P-Med and now he was crippled.
Vince reached out and carefully stroked Reshmi's cheek, his fingers running over a relatively smooth patch of the chitinous armor. The little spider leg like appendage mounted on that side of her face lightly touched his forearm in response. “Don't worry,” he told the both of them. “Things are going to be alright. Somehow, they'll be alright.” Vince chuckled weakly. “I mean, there could be a bunch of celestials on their way to make this all better. That's what they do, right? Fix things. Or maybe the league's researchers could find out a way to change you back. No one's ever been able to study-”
Reshmi let out a ragged coughing sound. Vince stopped and held his breath. Reshmi looked up to see his concern and the fangs on her face moved towards the corners of her mouth in what appeared to be an attempt at giving him a reassuring smile. One that failed as she was overcome by another coughing fit, this time bringing her arms up to cover her face. Viscous fluid splattered against her armored skin, a puff of vapor leaping off where ever it touched with a hiss.
Vince tried to stand again, to go to her, but she backed away from him as the coughing became worse. Unable to stand, Vince watched helplessly as soon she was bent double, hacking out blood and hypervenom as her entire body was wracked by lurching spasms. She drove the two bladed arms into the floor to steady herself, lethal poisons uncontrollably gushing down their length. She kept retching, kept vomiting out gods know what, as her carapace began to shrivel and crack. It lightened and flaked, peeling off some spots completely.
Everyone that was a tamer knew at least a little about the Widow breed. Nearly all of them knew about their limited life-cycle. Was this the end of it? It didn't seem long enough, it hadn't even been three weeks since he had lost her. He'd read that it took months to get to the end. But how did Reshmi even become a Widow? Was her lifespan shorter because of whatever transformation occurred?
Reshmi collapsed, falling just to the side of the pool of toxins eating through the hull of the ship. Vince finally jerkily rose to his feet, and took one step towards his pokegirl when he froze. Reshmi's legs slowly curled under her ruined body, then she laid still save for the very slow, uncoordinated movements of her eyeballs. Vince felt a fading, tired feeling over the delta bond. Fading, like he was going to lose her again. He tried to take another step, to be with her as she died, but his legs gave out under him and he fell towards the pooled hypervenom.
The entirety of the ship's hold was bathed in light as Vince felt strong, soft arms catch him and carry him away.