This is a work of fiction. Any relation to persons living, dead, undead, or imaginary is purely coincidental, and possibly imagined.
This work is the property of Paul Jacobson (paul.jacobson77>Spam<@yahoo.com) Remove >Spam< to contact me.
Do not read this if you are below the age of consent in your respective area of residence, or if you are easily offended. May or may not contain a few or many subjects not fit for polite company, explicit or implicit in the story. These include, but are not limited to: death, dismemberment, violence, torture, sex, rape, BDSM, cannibalism, blasphemy, curses, undead, racists, hippies, chauvinists, feminists, mimes, clowns, midgets, giants, insects, heights and any other thing you may be afraid of or find offensive.
Pokegirl universe first documented by Metroanime. Pokegirl 1 AU documented by Kerrik Wolf. To both I owe a debt of thanks, as does anyone else who enjoys my stories.
I encourage feedback. I enjoy it, I feel it helps me grow as an author, or at least gives me something to laugh at after a long day. Positive feedback gives me a warm little glow inside and helps me be inspired to keep writing. Negative feedback shows me things I need to fix and will be given careful consideration. Flames will be laughed at and possibly publicly mocked. Once again, feedback can be delivered to (paul.jacobson77>Spam<@yahoo.com) Remove >Spam< to contact me.
Pokegirl 1 AU created by Kerrik Wolf and used with permission. This disclaimer was shamelessly stolen from same and modified to fit my needs.
Pokegirl one occupies the same universe as Kerrik Wolf's Bhavacakra, Bishop, and New Beginnings stories. Go read them all if you haven't yet.
Chapter 1
(12/15/06 AS 2230)
The road had seen better days. Smashed cars littered the ditches on either side, and large gouges in the earth showed that a pokegirl battle had taken place there some time in the past. Glass and other detritus had gathered in various places, while grass and other plant life slowly tore the asphalt to pieces as they grew. None of this seemed to bother the traveler walking down it, the full moon above providing plenty of light for his booted feet. Spurs chinked softly with every step, providing a quiet counterpoint to his steady baritone song.
“You can run on for a long time, run on for a long time, run on for a long time, but sooner or later, God'll cut you down...” The man singing would not have drawn much notice in the years before the war. He stood an inch shy of six feet, and had a slightly sharp but fairly unremarkable face. The only feature that would have caused someone to pause was his eyes. They seemed unusually old in his unlined face. His black hair was bound back in a braid that hung down to the middle of his back. He wore blue jeans and a black leather coat over a white shirt. A duffel bag hung on his right side while he carried a guitar case in his right.
Before the war, the most the traveler would have had to worry about was a drunk driver, or running across a coyote bringing illegals up from Mexico. But that was before the war. Unknown to him, one of the shadows had been attracted by his singing. In the fog that was her mind, two facts occupied her. One, the stranger awoke a need within her groin that demanded to be satisfied. But more importantly, the man smelled like food. Baring her fangs, she quickly began to stalk him.
Over the years, the traveler had been many places, and seen many things. One of the results of this was an enhanced sense of danger. It seemed to manifest almost as an itch right between his shoulder blades. And that spot had been itching for the past five minutes. Glancing about, he saw a small box canyon off the road about half a mile. Without pausing his singing, he began to head in that direction.
As he moved off the road he surreptitiously angled towards an overturned bus about a hundred yards away. When he passed into its shadow, he dropped his bag and guitar case quietly, and began to move faster. Behind him he could hear insects go still, and some quiet crunches, a rattle of a kicked pebble, and other noises told him his pursuer was closing in rapidly. Throwing caution to the wind, he broke into a run. A few seconds observation told him that running was useless, and so he began to time the closing sounds. When it was close enough, he spun, his hand thrusting out behind him as he squinted in an effort to protect his night vision.
“Light!” he cried a light bursting into existence between him and his now-airborne pursuer. For a split second he saw the pokegirl in the air before she landed on him. Red eyes and pale features provided him with a clue to the 'girl's identity. All doubt was wiped away when she hissed her name while pinning him to the ground.
“Vvvvampirrre.” she moaned. Her hands pinned his arms down, as her head lowered to his shoulder. He jerked as she stabbed her fangs into his shoulder and began to feed.
He began to feel light-headed, but the 'girl drew back after a few seconds. Something more like sanity came into her eyes briefly, but then was wiped away as she felt his body's reaction to her proximity and unclad state. Her eyes clouded over as another need made itself known. Hissing her name again, she quickly shredded his jeans and began to satisfy herself. Sukebe, if you weren't dead, I'd kill you for this. The traveler thought angrily before giving himself over to the task at hand.
(12/16/06 AS 0900)
The man pulled another pair of jeans out of his duffel bag and drew them on. After a glance down at his shredded shirt, he sighed, ripped the remains off and put them beside his destroyed jeans. Reaching into the bag again, he pulled out another shirt, this one black. After finishing dressing, he glanced down at the slumbering pokegirl. They had had several hours of intense sex the night before, after which she had fallen into an exhausted slumber. She had fed from him again several times beforehand, however, and he rubbed his shoulder irritably. It would be sore for the rest of the day, he mused.
I need to teach her how to feed properly before another night like that.
As if thinking about her had disturbed her slumber, the girl slowly stirred. Remembering his secondary reason for getting his gear, the traveler dug into the bag again, and pulled out a black cloak. He turned and settled it over her as she rose to a sitting position. Her eyes widened as he fastened it at her throat and pulled the hood up to shield her from the sun. He put his finger to her lips before she had a chance to speak.
“Alright, before you say anything, let me go over what I know. You were feral; I'm not sure how long. Last night, you attacked me to feed and we ended up having sex – taming, I believe they call it now. It's now 6 years after the death of Sukebe, or 2008 as they called it in the old calendar. We are in the former state of Nevada, which is now being claimed as part of the Sunshine League, an institution formed around humans who maintain a harem of pokegirls. Any questions so far?”
The 'girl's voice was low and throaty, but strong. “Why aren't you dead, master? Everyone I have ever fed on before now has been dead when I awakened. Did you keep me from feeding too much on you?”
The man snorted. “You're much too strong for me to keep you from doing anything you wanted to me. And don't call me master. Sukebe may have made you so that you must partner with a human to stay sane, but I don't presume to any kind of mastery over you. As for why I'm not dead, well, let's say I have some blood to spare and leave it at that. We do need to be on the lookout for some kind of animals for me to eat if you're going to feed that much every day, however. What's your name? I can't just call you 'girl' or 'hey, you'.”
A shy smile crept across her face. “I have several names, but if you don't like them, I'll be happy to answer to whatever name you wish to call me. No one has ever called me a partner before. Or asked me my name.” The last was said with a wonder that made the traveler's hands clench with anger.
“So what names do you have? After you tell me I'll decide whether or not to give you a new one.”
“When I was decanted, I was given the number one hundred thirty-nine. Later I was called the Wilder and the Black Widow.”
“Why were you called those?” the traveler asked softly, caressing her cheek as he did so.
She leaned into his hand, and answered slowly, pain in her voice. “I was called the Wilder because while they could keep me from going feral, they couldn't bond me to anyone, and so I was beyond their control. The reason they couldn't was the same reason I was called the Black Widow: I killed everyone who slept with me. I didn't want to, but the hunger gets so intense it takes over. I can hardly believe you survived last night.”
The man nodded absently as he slid his hand around to run through her beautiful silver hair, caressing the back of her head as he did so. “I imagine that made a lot of people even in Sukebe's army afraid of you.”
She shuddered softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she replied. “Towards the end, no one would willingly come near me. They would bring me a prisoner when I was getting close to feral and lock him in a room with me. When Sukebe disappeared, one of the teleporting pokegirls dropped me near here and disappeared. I've been drifting in and out of my feral state ever since. I don't want to kill, but when I'm feral I can't help it. All I could do was try to stay as far away from where people are as I could.” She looked up at him, her vulnerability apparent in her eyes. “You probably want to leave me now, don't you? After all, I'd probably kill you too, if you stayed.”
In reply the traveler wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her slowly and passionately before putting his forehead against hers and staring deep into her eyes. He took her right hand in his and twined their fingers together. “I swear to you, Reina, I will never leave you, and you will never kill me. We have been brought together this day, and I will not let anyone make us part.”
The vampire stared at him in shock for a few seconds, and then burst into tears.
Once his vampire had calmed down, he had gone back for his guitar case while she picked out clothes near her size from his duffel bag. When he returned, she was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a flannel shirt she had tied at her midriff. She gave him a puzzled look. “Is it just me, or is there a lot more in that bag than there should be?”
He smiled. “I'm glad you noticed. I know a bit of magic, so I borrowed an idea from a game from before the war. They called it a Bag of Holding, a bit of extra-dimensional space inside a container. It stays the same weight, no matter how much I cram in there, and another spell ensures whatever I need is always at the very top of the bag.”
She smiled. “That seems very handy. Could you teach me any magic?”
“I could, I suppose. I need a bit more energy than I have right now, though, I hadn't really eaten much recently, so your feeding has me at a bit of a low point. If we can't find something living, I'm going to have to go into my emergency stores, and I'd rather not do that unless I have to.”
She nodded, then looked at him inquiringly as she remembered something. “When you made your promise to me, you called me something, was that my new name?”
The traveler grinned. “It was part of it. I don't like the other names, they don't really fit a beautiful girl like you. So I decided on a name that I think fits you better. Your new name is Bella Reina. It's Spanish for Beautiful Queen. ”
The girl repeated the name, slowly, as if tasting it. “Bella Reina. Be-ya Re-i-na. I like it.” Her shy smile re-emerged. “Thank you for my new name, master, I'll do my best to live up to it.”
A frown flickered across the traveler's face as he picked up his duffel bag and settled it on his right shoulder. “I told you, we're partners, I am not your master. Don't call me that again.” With that, he began walking towards the road again.
Taken aback by the suppressed anger in his voice, it took her a few seconds to follow. When she caught up she asked, “Well, what should I call you? You haven't even told me your name yet.”
He looked at her and then smiled sheepishly. “I suppose I haven't. My name is Cain. You can call me that.”
“So where are we going?” Reina asked. They had been walking west for half the day, and while the bright sunlight couldn't hurt her, she definitely preferred to not be walking directly into it for the remaining hours of the day.
Cain pointed towards where the road wound up a mountain, disappearing over the top. “About fifteen miles past that mountain's where our current destination lies. After that, well, we'll see what happens.”
“What's our destination?”
Cain looked at her sharply, then his face relaxed as she shrank back. “I'm sorry, Reina,” he said softly. “I don't usually travel with anyone, so it's taking me a little while to get used to conversation. In answer to your question, I want to explore Area 51 and see if there is anything interesting or worth salvaging there. The pre-war rumors always intrigued me, and I'd like to see if there was any truth to them. Also, I want to see if there's any technology there that is either valuable or dangerous.”
Reina looked slightly conflicted. “What will you do with the technology you find?”
“Well, if it's valuable, I'll try to take it with us and sell it to someone who needs it or could put it to good use. If it's dangerous...” His face hardened. “I'll destroy it or make sure no one can ever use it again.”
“Why? You can't really defend yourself against pokegirls right now, so wouldn't it make more sense to use it yourself?” Reina's curiosity was genuine, but Cain had a feeling she was testing him.
He shook his head slowly. “There are some things that are too dangerous to be allowed to exist. A plasma rifle in the wrong hands can kill a large number of people, but that doesn't put it at the same level of danger as a fusion warhead. If I find the former, I'll use it, or at least take it with us. If I find the latter, I'll take it apart and destroy as many of the components as possible.”
Reina cocked her head. “You know how to take apart a fusion bomb? Just what did you do before the war?”
Cain smiled wryly. “I wandered from place to place, just like I'm doing now. It's surprising what you can learn if you change professions every few years. You also meet all kinds of interesting people. I even worked with a young physicist who embodied the saying: 'Genius is just a short step away from madness.'” A shadow seemed to pass over his face. “Poor Jim. If I'd known what they were going to do to him, I might have tried to help him. Of course, if I'd known what he would do to humanity, I might have killed him myself.”
Reina stopped abruptly as his words sunk in. “You knew the Creator?” she said in awe.
Cain looked back and rolled his eyes. “Jim never 'created' anything. Heavily modified, yes, but trust me, there is a definite difference between the two. He was a genius physicist and a wonder at both dimension travel and combining technologies, but he never created anyone. Do you know the statistical difference between the average pokegirl's DNA and the average human's?”
Reina shook her head and trotted until she caught up with him. “No, I don't. I'd guess somewhere around thirty percent?”
Cain shook his head. “Less than one percent. Humans share more in common with pokegirl's than with any other species that has ever existed. The next closest, the chimpanzee, differed by about two percent, with some scientists arguing for more and some for less. Regardless, pokegirl's are close enough to humans to breed with them, which is something no other species on the planet can do. To say that humans and pokegirls are different is like saying that a Rough Collie and a Border Collie are different. To be sure, they are, but when compared to a cat, for example, they are very near the same animal.”
“Um. This may be a stupid question, but what's a Collie?”
Cain burst out laughing, then started to explain.
Cain stared at the strange animal that Reina had brought down. It looked somewhat like a mountain goat, and somewhat like a sheep. “What the hell is this?” he asked aloud.
Reina shrugged. “I'm not sure, but it seems to be edible. I remember drinking the blood of similar creatures when I was trying not to attack humans. They aren't as filling as humans, but they can hold off the cravings for a little while. I broke its neck, so I can drink the blood from it and I won't have to feed from you tonight.”
Cain was nodding, an absent frown on his face. He shook himself out of his reverie at her final statement and drew a bowie knife from one of the duffel bag's pockets. Carefully, he sheared the wool from around the animal's neck. “Come here, I want to show you a more efficient way of doing that.”
When she came close, he pointed out the major vein and artery on the neck, and then had her practice driving her fangs just far enough into them to feed, without going too deep. While she fed, he pulled a strange series of collapsible metal rods from the bag that he formed into two parallel poles with a third hanging between them. A series of large metal bowls was next to emerge from the bag, which he placed in a rough semi-circle around him as he knelt in front of the square arch.
“Alright, bring the mountain sheep over here.” Reina pulled her mouth away from its throat, licking her lips and trying not to drip any blood on the ground as she carried it over to him. Pulling a thick rope from another side pocket, he lashed the animal's hind legs to the crossbar and slid the largest bowl underneath it. The bowie knife soon saw more use as he efficiently butchered the beast, internal organs going in one bowl, wool in another, meat in the third, bones in the fourth, and as much blood as he could in the fifth. The last he presented to Reina, who grimaced – the blood was definitely not to her taste – but drank every last drop.
Cain set about cleaning up as soon as the butchering was over, collapsing the poles and putting them and the rope back into the duffel bag. A flask that seemed to hold an endless supply of water emerged next, and - once they were clean - the bones and two empty bowls were stuffed back into the bag. He cleaned the internal organs next, adding them to the bowl of meat. Pulling a strangely glowing stone from his pocket, he instructed Reina to build a circle of rocks and place it in the center. As she did so he washed the wool and laid it out to dry on some nearby boulders.
Reina sat back and watched him as she finished her task, barely registering the heat that began to flow from the glowing stone the moment it was placed on the ground. “You've done this before. A lot.” She stated.
Cain nodded. “I've had to live off the land many times in my travels. You learn not to let anything go to waste that may be edible or you might need later.” He laid the duffel bag and guitar case down next to her before bringing the metal bowl over to the circle of rocks. Pointing a finger at the glowing stone, he spoke three sharp words in a strange language, and fire burst from it. Reina jumped, but Cain merely set the bowl down on top of the stone to cook the meat. From time to time, he reached over with the knife to stir it, making sure nothing stayed on the bottom long enough to burn.
“Ma-Cain,” Reina said after a while. “What if there are pokegirls in the base at Area 51? I mean, it would make a good place to hole up, especially if there's some advanced technology in the base or in the area. A lot of Sukebe's forces were directed towards military installations. If there are a lot of ferals there, I don't know if I can fight them all off. I'm strong, but...”
“But a large number of ferals could still swarm you.”
She nodded. “I don't want to get killed, or to see you killed because I couldn't protect you.” She stroked his arm slowly, wonder coming back into her eyes. “You're the only person who has never looked at me with fear or disgust. I don't want to lose you.”
Cain moved the bowl away from the fire, plunging the knife into the cooked meat and leaving it there. He turned and pulled Reina into his arms. “You're not going to lose me. First, we're going to be very careful about scouting the place before we move in.” He kissed her on the neck. “Second, I'm very, very hard to kill. So you don't need to worry. Besides,” he said, laying her down slowly. “We have something else to take care of right now.”
Cain carefully slid out of Reina's embrace and moved over to the “fire”. After eating the meat, he sat and thought for a while. As the stars reached their midnight configuration, he sighed and nodded. “It's necessary. I'm not alone anymore.”
Moving decisively, he picked up the duffel bag and moved a couple hundred yards away, close enough to still be able to watch Reina's sleeping form, but far enough away that he wouldn't awaken her. Reaching into the bag, he drew out a brace of revolvers, and two .50 caliber Desert Eagles in shoulder holsters. After he strapped those on, he drew a short sword from the bag and belted it on his right side. Drawing the blade, he inspected it for rust, muttering under his breath as he ran his fingers over the symbols carved into it. Satisfied, he sheathed it and drew a katana from from the bag.
Sitting down, lotus style, he gazed at the sheathed blade for a long time. “Master Jubei,” he whispered. “I once again entrust myself and mine to your teachings.” Standing, he put the katana into his belt on his left side and began to run through a series of katas. An hour later, he polished the blade and returned it to its sheath.
Cain sat down again, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. He knew he couldn't stand toe to toe with a Pokegirl, but strength was not the only way to win a battle. An old saying came to mind: "Old age and trickery will always win out over youth and strength." With that in mind, he began to review all the Pokegirl attacks and battles he had seen in the past. He was looking for patterns, common traits, and any weaknesses - personality, physical, or elemental - that he could see. At the same time, he began to awaken parts of his mind that had lain dormant for years. Battle magic, he knew, was going to be necessary if he and Reina were to survive.
After he finished, the sun was still an hour from rising, and so he decided to scout ahead. A quick mental twist brought him out of his body, and he began to fly across the miles towards Area 51. Suddenly he snapped back to his body. The first thing that registered was a pain on his cheek that was swiftly diminishing. The second was a semi-angry, semi-amused thought. Someone just slapped me?
Opening his eyes, he found himself looking into a pair of bright golden eyes. They were set in a round, freckled face, framed by curly silver and red hair. A beret sat atop the woman's head, and she had a painter's brush and palette in her left hand. Her right hand was drawn back to slap him again. When she saw his eyes were open, she dropped her hand and nodded.
"Good. You're back. Don't go away again. I'll be done in a little bit. Just don't move."
With that, she turned and walked towards an easel that sat a short distance away. Sitting down on a folding stool, she picked up the brush again and began to paint earnestly, her tongue held between her lips as she concentrated. Cain frowned, then shrugged and began meditating again, testing his wards to see how she had gotten so close without his sensing her. He found the answer quickly. There was no sense of aggression - towards anything - from her.
His eyes opened and he stared at her, confirming with his third eye what his magic had already told him. Unlike himself, Reina, and all other living things within range of his sight and senses, she radiated no aggression, not even with regards to her own survival. He wondered if this was a permanent mindset, or if it only manifested when she was working. Either way, she was intriguing.
Unable to solve the puzzle without examining her closer, he began to test and rebuild his shields. He had been neglecting to do it for several weeks, and the deterioration showed. After some thought, he built the framework for further shields, both personal and ones to guard others. As he was finishing, he heard the woman clear her throat. Looking up, he saw her standing next to her easel, an expectant expression on her face.
"It's done." She said calmly. "Would you like to see it? You are..." her forehead creased in concentration. "Interesting." She nodded at that word, as if it seemed right.
Cain slowly rose to his feet, testing the pull and give of his muscles and tendons to ensure nothing had stiffened from remaining in the same position for such a length of time. After stretching out the few stiff spots he found, he walked over to the easel. He looked down, and was taken completely by surprise.
He had expected the sunrise, and his figure sitting atop the rise, meditating. What he had not expected was the images on either side. On the right side was an image of him, white haired, with bloody tears running down his cheeks. His left arm held a woman tight to his side, her face hidden in his shoulder, her arms wrapped tight around him. His right hand held a katana in guard position before the two of them. The whole image was done in shades suffused with white, gold, and a light blue. Three faces looked down on him, smiles of mixed sadness and approval on their faces.
The first was that of an ancient king of indeterminable race, his hair and beard white, with a crown resting atop his head. The crown was simple gold, carved with ancient script. Cain bowed his head reflexively, without even realizing he had done so. He whispered a few words in a dead language, and then his eyes moved on.
The second was of a wizened Chinese monk, his eyes clear despite his obvious age, laugh lines covering his face. A smile crossed Cain's face, and he placed his palms together and bowed.
The third was of a hard faced Japanese samurai. Strength and honor were evident in face. Pain flickered across Cain's face, and he placed a hand over his heart as he bowed.
The image on the left then caught his eye. Where the other had tones of white, gold, and blue; this one was done in tones of black, red, and a hideous green. In it, he stood atop a hill of bodies, a bloody short sword in his right hand. His mouth held fangs dripping blood, and an all too familiar symbol marked is forehead. When he saw it, Cain sucked in his breath, but forced himself to keep looking. Three faces could be seen in the mound of corpses.
The first was a woman's, her eyes filled with horror and pain. She had forest green hair and light green skin, marred only by a diagonal cut that split her face in two. Cain dropped to his knees, and it was a few seconds before he could move his gaze.
The second was of a young man, his face frozen in a crazed laugh, crimson eyes filled with bloodlust. His mouth also showed bloody fangs, but blood dripped from the place where his neck should be. Cain's hands clenched into fists, and he bit through his lip.
The third was of a young man whose features were remarkably similar to Cain's. His eyes were raised past the demonic Cain to the sky above, and a single ray of light seemed to illuminate his face. The back of his skull was caved in as if from a terrific blow. At this one, the blood drained from his face, and he turned away. His gaze fell upon the painter, her head cocked to the side as she watched his reaction.
Cain licked his lips before addressing her, but his hoarse voice still barely rose above a whisper. "How did you paint this? What do you know of me?"
The painter shrugged. "I don't know you. I see souls. I paint what I see."
Cain's eyes narrowed. "What else did you see?"
"Nothing else. Yet." She replied. "More time, more experience, more seen. Can I paint her?" She pointed behind him as Cain heard light footsteps behind him.
Reina's hand came down lightly on his shoulder. "Cain, what is an Ar-tits doing here?"
Cain raised an eyebrow as he looked up at her. "Is that what she's called? I'm not exactly sure. I was doing some meditation exercises, and when I opened my eyes, she was here. She painted a picture of me, it's rather interesting" He motioned towards the canvas.
Reina stepped around him, keeping an eye on the painter the entire time. She glanced down at the painting, and froze. Slowly, she turned back to Cain. "Cain? Is this you?" Her voice shook slightly.
Cain closed his eyes briefly before answering. "Yes, and no. She painted what she saw. What she saw was history. My sins, and my saviors. I'll answer any immediate questions you have, but the stories will have to wait until some other time. We still have to travel a bit today."
Reina nodded. "What is that blur on your forehead on the left side? I can't really make it out."
Cain looked up at the painting again. His brow furrowed in puzzlement. "You can't see it? It's perfectly clear."
The Ar-tits spoke up. "I can't see it either. I painted it, but I still can't see it, and I don't know what it is."
Cain smiled bemusedly. "Well, well, I guess it's not as bad as I thought." He shifted to a cross-legged position and patted the ground next to him. When Reina and the pokegirl sat down, he started to speak. "Alright, I said that the painting showed my sins and my saviors. I'll tell you the stories later, but the first of those sins resulted in my being cursed. That mark was the sign of my curse. It, and the curse, were removed by man who helped me find redemption." He pointed at the image of the king. "I owe him my sanity, and possibly my life. The curse turned everyone against me, sooner or later. I lost all family, had no friends, and was forced to wander from place to place."
He rubbed his forehead self consciously. "The mark is still there, but I can obscure it. Unless it is seen, the curse doesn't come into effect. From...experience, I can say that if someone sees the mark, it will have the same effect it did originally."
"I have used that to my benefit, at times, generally when I needed an excuse to kill someone. At it's weakest, the curse causes an immediate distaste in the people who see it. At it's strongest, the person who sees it will do everything in their power to kill me as quickly as possible."
Reina cocked her head. "I can see how that could be useful. Are there any other things you think we should know? I'm assuming that she's coming with us since you're telling us both this."
The Ar-tits looked at Cain expectantly. He looked at Reina. "Only if you want her to. I think it would be useful if we have to go into civilization, she provides interesting possibilities both in intelligence gathering and in ways to gain money. In combat, I'm not sure how she will perform, but we can train her if need be. However, we are bound to each other now, and if you do not wish for her to be with us, I will send her on her way."
Reina bit her lip. "I don't...want to share you. I also think it would be dangerous to try to have someone else feed me. On the other hand, if we are going to be traveling, we do need to have more battle options than I can provide alone. I don't know much about her kind, but almost every pokegirl has some kind of battle capabilities." She looked Cain straight in the eye. "For both our sakes, I think she should come with us."
Cain nodded slowly, acknowledging how much it took her to admit she could not protect him alone. "Very well, then there is more I need to tell you. First, we will probably travel a lot, because I don't age. Sooner or later, that causes people to be suspicious. Unless we find somewhere where my longevity is not an issue, we will not be staying anywhere longer than a few decades. And, now that we are bound together, I want somewhere safe for our children to grow up.
"As for other things you should know..." Cain shifted. "The curse didn't just cause people to turn against me. It caused some profound changes in me, as well."
"In addition to not aging, I became a mage. After eight thousand-some odd years, I've learned quite a lot. I'm not positive, but from what I've seen, I believe that pokegirls are capable of learning magic. So, once we have gone through Area 51, I will be assessing your capabilities and teaching you as much as I can. Are you willing to do that?"
Reina and the Ar-tits were staring at him. Finally, Reina spoke up, barely above a whisper. "Our...children? You want to have children with us?"
A frown flickered across Cain's face. "You are a part of my life, now. You are my wife, and if she joins us, she will be as well. I know we haven't known each other long, but I already told you I'm not going to leave you. I have had children with every woman I have married. Since you know of the curse now, I hope that I will be able to help raise them this time."
Cain was bowled over by his vampire as she embraced him hard, weeping. Cain winced as she came close to cracking bone with her enhanced strength. After a time she calmed. “Thank you.” she said simply. Cain nodded, still not sure what was behind the overflow of emotion, but willing to wait for explanations.
Reina wiped the tears from her face, and put on a serious expression. “If it's alright with you, Cain, I'd like to talk to her alone. I need to see if we will be able to work together.”
Cain nodded. “I'll go pack up the camp, then.”
Reina began to protest, then closed her mouth and nodded. “As you wish. You might want to leave the bedroll out though.” She smiled at Cain's inquiring look. “If she's going to join us, you'll need it.”
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