Science and religion 8
Oh my god! I finally got sum access... thank you... Part... 8 is it? whatever. Got a little stuck, but finally finished it after some effort on my part. The process is beginning to flow again. "You still shouldn't have killed them." "I said I was sorry." A stick in hand, Jason poked the fire pit before him with a bored expression. "Yeah, to me. They're the ones who are dead- how do you think they feel?" "Um... pretty dead?" "You're not being helpful." "Well, neither is your bitching." "You asshole..." Amy hissed as she jumped to her feet from the other side of the fire pit. Unfazed, Jason stabbed his stick through a marshmallow and held it in the tongues of flame over the pit. "Do you think you-?" "Hey- Amy." Jason looked up as he interrupted. "I don't care- so shut up or I'll throw this knife at you." To illustrate, Jason drew a bone knife from his side and held it by the tip of the blade. "Go then." Amy snorted and crossed her arms with a confident scowl. "I bet you don-" "Heads-up!" From some observing position nearby, Dev shot past. He leapt quickly from a nearby tree to Amy's side, scooped her up quickly, and dived aside just as the knife spiralled through the air where Amy was a second before. "What the hell?" Amy was back on it as soon as Dev placed her back on her feet. "I warned you." Jason shrugged as he stood, then walked in the direction where the knife went, stopping beside Dev to murmur off-hand: "Thanks a lot for moving her- now I have to find my knife." Dev and Amy watched until Jason was out of what they thought was earshot but actually wasn't. "I hate that guy." "He isn't all that bad." "He threw a knife at me!" "He gave you a warning." "It's okay. I found it." Came from nearby somewhere. "I can't believe this!" Amy whispered harshly, face wrapped in disbelief at Dev. "You're taking his side?" "I'm taking his side because I understand him... a little." Dev replied with a great deal of confidence as he crossed his arms. "You have to understand that he's easily provoked." "Then he shouldn't be with us." "He isn't." Both shot looks of surprise to Ben as he glided towards them, neither having seen him approach. He was so silent in his movements. No step made a sound and his movements were so fluid and natural they never seemed out of place in nature like this. It was like this: There was a tree. The trees branches moved. The bushes rustled in the wind. This thing moved past. Leaves spiralled in a column- and then whoever was watching would double-take, and that thing was Ben. He was just another part of the forest, just another natural movement. "We're travelling with him.
I told you this already." "Okay..." Amy droned and hung her head a bit to wallow in her frustration alone. His voice was just... she couldn't argue with that voice. It was woven with unmatched confidence and authority and it rang with a certain mysterious power. "Jason." Ben continued on his roll as Sumieri and Cheri followed alongside. "Cut it out - the thing with the knives, please- we all get it. You can throw knives, but that doesn't mean you have to- so stop." "No." Jason replied as he sat beside the fire. Ben's streak- was ended. "Like I expected you to listen to me anyway..." Ben's smooth and easy demeanour faltered and he dropped to the ground beside the fire. Cheri, feeling the same way after training since the early hours of the morning after escaping Pewter city, also collapsed with her own squeak of fatigue. Sumieri still held, and lay on her belly just to the right of Ben, watching the campfire with an incline of her head. Ben watched her, once again bewitched by her beauty. The crest on her head sparkled a misty orange and purple in the light from the fire, shimmering as the colours danced solemnly over her lifeless muzzle. Her white muzzle was flushed faintly in orange, while her blue fur seemed to take a few steps towards the same violet as her mane. Her tails, as always, took the light from the fire eagerly and gave it back tenfold as a myriad of distorted and wonderful hues. She was beautiful in any element... any at all. "So- how was training?" Dev interrupted Ben's train of thought. "Good." Ben shrugged. He placed one hand on Sumieri, on her mane and stroking it, and his other on Cheri, doing similar to her head and neck. "What was so good about it?" Dev pressed. "I don't know." Ben shrugged sluggishly, eyes on the ground as his own fatigue set in. "So... it wasn't good? It was... average?" "Yuuuuh..." He yawned. "Aaw, you look so funny when you're tired..." Jason smirked, genuine mirth clear in his voice. "-And confusing, scary, multiple-personalities Lucario person thing is doing no favours for my migraine..." Ben groaned and fell flat on his back. "It's not my fault if you-" He shifted mid-sentence, cutting off. "I'll be back." He stood quickly and began towards the treeline around their little clearing. The group had opted to stay close to Pewter city since most of them, not Jason, were too tired to make it far. So they were still in the forest surrounding Pewter, just to the east. "What's that about?" "He's a weird guy." Ben mumbled. "Maybe he has to go kill someone or something like that... Idunno... weird guy..."* Jason slipped around the second tree he passed and pressed himself flat against it. He shoved one hand into a pocket in his coat, murmurs of
disbelief streaming steadily from his lips. He removed his communicator- it had somehow remained in his pocket through the fall. The device was spasming and vibrating violently in his grip, flashing. He flicked a button, and lifted it to his ear. "Yo." "...Jason?" "In the flesh." "What the hell happened? Where are you?" "Garchomp hit the helo; fell from the sky... killed a Feraligatr... I'm just to the east of Pewter." "Is Shari with you?" Jason remained silent for a moment as his heart, or what was left of it, sank. "I was about to ask you the same thing." "We'll find her, don't worry. In the meantime, we've identified a group of shadow Pokémon just east of you- just outside mount moon. We'll send a chopper in to-" "No worries. I'll walk." "We're not sending you straight in. You're to meet with Farlow on the chopper for debriefing." Jason let his arm drop to his side for a moment, thinking. He tapped his thigh with one finger idly as he pondered his whole situation. He lifted the device back to his ear. "Hey, Mister?" "What?" "Fuck you- and fuck your helicopter. I don't need you." "What? Are you out of your fucking mind? You belong to the front! You can't-" "Just- watch me." Jason interrupted with slight complacency. "The dog's off the chain asshole- you don't own shit. You come for me- I'll kill whoever you send. Hell, I'll take the damn chopper too- that would be handy... if that's not too much to ask." "You're making a huge mistake, Jason! Just th-" "Wait... Keiomi wants to say something..." Jason held the device right in front of his face, grinning ridiculously. "Yippy-kai-aye, motha-fucka!" Jason flicked off the device with a huge smirk and dropped it into his pocket. "Well said, Keiomi." "Thankies! ^_^"(Note: emotes can be sent through telepathy.) Jason strode back towards camp with his grin still shining. Nobody else was in the mood suddenly... "Ben, what happened to your voice?" "It's probably just the phone, mum." Ben sighed, lying on his back with his mobile at his ear. "I told you we should have got that other model." "Okay, okay... well how are you doing?" "Migraine. I slept one hour last night- I'm tired as fuck." "Ben! Language..." "Eh." "Well where are you?" "Just outside Pewter. Can't remember the route number." "Have any badges yet?" "One." Ben cringed as his mother's staticy, wailing voice assaulted his eardrums in congratulation and further aggravated his migraine.
Sumieri meanwhile rested her head on his stomach as she lay on her side parallel to Ben. Cheri was once again between them, looking content as she had the night prior and already asleep. Amy too seemed to have had enough and was wrapped in her sleeping bag a little distance from the fire. Jason placed himself opposite Dev at the campfire as Dev swung a stick slowly through the flame, watching it with bleary, unfocussed eyes. "Just that time of day..." Dev's head drooped a little. "You're just tired." Jason shrugged. "Get some rest."* Dev was awake. As far as he knew, he was first awake the next day, but he couldn't really be bothered checking around for others with his aura vision. He simply stared upwards at the sky, drumming his fingers on his chest and humming a tune to himself. He lacked the will to pull himself upright. There was no need to in this lazy hour... probably eight AM. He always woke a little early. "Dev?" "Cario?" He cocked his head a little as Amy's head appeared, blocking out the cloud he was staring at above. "You're still asleep?" She gasped. "Get up, lazy!" She kicked him lightly in the shoulder with a grin. Dev lifted himself with a short, confused glance about. Sleeping bags were empty, deserted and rolled up. Ben and his Pokémon were gone. Jason was nearby, and only now Dev recognised the quick thumping he had been hearing for the last few minutes. Jason fired away at a tree in front of him relentlessly, pounding the crap out of the shattering bark punch-after-punch with remarkable form and pace. His face was fixed in a look of intense focus as he timed his breaths, shirt off. Dev could see the bandages wrap up around his shoulders and stop there- the rest was just skin. Skin tight over a massive rippling body. With two amazingly heavy one-two punches and topped by a kick, the tree suddenly cracked- wood splitting and breaking as the tree toppled towards Jason. He remained on the spot as the tree fell onto him, still in his stance, but just as it landed on him he punched upwards with a shattering uppercut. The tree cracked again and broke off on impact, falling into three pieces separated by two cracks. Just to add further to the display, Jason caught the smaller middle section as the bottom and top parts fell around him. He turned and hoisted the chunk over his head, then threw it clear over his head. It crashed into another tree with a great smash, shaking most of the leaves free of their branches. Jason swaggered back towards Dev as his breathing slowed eventually, chest heaving. "Exercise." He said simply, and sat beside the smouldering ashes of last night's fire. "You should do some. Toughen you up." "You... are a machine..." "Thanks." Jason gave Dev a cheery grin, thumping one fist against his abs. He was able to back up his confidence, so such brashness was
acceptable. "Fifty!" "Car!" Dev leapt back as the air in front of him exploded into colour and shape. Grinning like a maniac, Ben swung one leg over Sumieri's back and stepped off, rapier in hand. He presented the blade to Jason, grinning still. "Fifty." The blade was sheathed in green, countless leaves skewered on it. "You lose. Pay up." Jason dug into his pocket and scooped out a five. He held the note at either end, and pressed it onto Ben's sword with a spiteful grin. "Not funny." Ben frowned and un-skewered the note then shoved it into his pocket. "Where did you come from?" Dev demanded as he stepped forwards. "All over." Ben smiled a little as he straddled Sumieri's back, larger by a little since she had been the day prior. "Sumi's fast, eh Sumi?" He leaned forwards on her neck, engulfing his torso in her mane as he wrapped his arms around her neck and stroked her. "Um... Sumi?" "It's more endearing." Ben shrugged, still hugging his Pokémon. She too was smiling, leaning back to give Ben access to her chin and neck. "Like a pet name." "Next I shall be calling you Ben-ben." Sumieri chuckled; mellow like a flowing spring river. "No..." Ben's face dropped very, very quickly. "Please no..." "I was joking." "Oh... good." "Ben-ben." Ben facepalmed. "Lux-lux!" Cheri chirped as she trotted to Ben's leg and nudged it with a sly grin. Ben facepalmed again. "Cheri berry." Cheri's eyes tightened and darkened a little. She turned slowly as if to walk away, but suddenly wrapped her tail around Ben's leg, and loosed a zap- shocking Ben, and by extension and on accident, Sumieri. "Ah!" "Mm!" Sumieri drove one leg into the little Pokémon as the shock hit her, kicking her a full three metres backwards. "Sumi..." Ben sighed. "She zapped me first." Sumieri defended as Cheri rolled woozily onto her feet. "Luuuuuuuurrrx?" She shook her head comically quickly, shaking herself out of it. "Lux-Luxio." She apologised as she slunk back to Sumieri's leg and licked it hopefully. "You are forgiven." Sumieri nodded. Cheri sighed in relief, then jumped onto her back and sat behind Ben. She licked her paw shortly, and then placed the paw on Ben's back, grinning. "So... I see the Lucario is awake." "I have a name..." "So we're all ready to head off?" Ben asked as Sumieri paced in a circle for whatever reason. "Oh, really fun for you. You get to ride her." Amy mumbled. Ben looked down at Sumieri, then back up with a hopeless grin. He shrugged. "You have no idea how fun this is." "You're cruel." "I am." Ben chuckled. "Sorry, but it's awesome. It's like I'm flying... it's the best..." "I don't
suppose I could have a go?" Dev asked nervously, but hid it with a hopeful grin. "No." Sumieri answered sharply, but with a pleasant grin in return. "Try and I will slaughter you like a dog." "Whoa..." Dev backed away quickly with his paws raised defensively. "Sorry..." "It is a privilege." Sumieri explained as Ben continued to idly stroke her. He was still on her back, no desire to move anytime soon. "My mother taught me this. For one to mount you, they must hold a strong place in your heart. I am no seat to be sat upon- to ride and be rode is to share a bond and to be one ensemble being, and so a privilege. Ben- I hold dear, and so he has that privilege, and by extension of his relationship with Cheri- her too. No other." Every time Sumieri mentioned him like that, how much he meant to her, Ben couldn't help but melt into her a little. His body loosened a little and he allowed more of his weight to rest on her neck as he slid his head around hers, and kissed her on the cheek tenderly. Amy watched on with an awkward blush as Ben's hands worked on his Pokémon's fur, rubbing her side and scratching the underside of her muzzle. Dev appeared a little more comfortable watching them. He was even a little moved by the whole thing, but he quickly reminded himself not to cry- as he was secretly guilty of in soft moments like this. He could feel their aura connect at every contact, flowing through each other and mingling through their beings. What a feeling... He wondered curiously. I wonder what that feels like. Is that the same bond our species feels through mating? "It is." He tensed as Jason's hand landed on his shoulder from behind. "You were thinking out loud. It is the same feeling. It's wonderful..." "It looks like it..." He sighed. Ben seemed to have forgotten everybody else's presence. He had now scooted up Sumieri's neck more and was leaning over her head, planting kiss after kiss all over her muzzle as she took each one with blissful moans, lost in her own nirvana. "That's what I had with Keiomi..." It was Jason's turn to sigh now, wallowing for a second in a sense of loss creeping up his spine. "Now it's... odd..." He held his hand on Dev's shoulder as they watched. He could feel Dev's heart sinking with his aura flame shrinking a little. "Hey, don't feel like that. One day you'll find some nice girl to make you happy... or a nice guy." "Huh." Dev's sunken head jerked upright, a heavy blush painting his face scarlet. He took only a little relief in Jason being behind him and unable to see it- but then remembered he could probably sense it. "There's nothing wrong with a male being in love with another male." Jason's fingers drummed on his shoulder in a pattern, index through to pinkie one time each, then stopping. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. The right
male has all the compassion of any female you will ever meet. You know this, I can tell. I see how you look at people and how you think. You aren't as materialistic as to base your gender preference on appearance or attractiveness, but on personality- and in the end that's what's most important." Dev's stiffness shrunk back. He couldn't help it- Jason's hand was scratching his neck comfortingly, and he couldn't help but melt into it a little and loosen. Before him Sumieri had finally brought her own head around, and Ben was holding her muzzle as they kissed mouth-to-mouth. What am I doing? He shouted at himself, but his body didn't respond. "Would you object less if I was a female?" "What? No- I just-" "Just think about it." Jason interrupted. "If I was a female, you'd accept this, wouldn't you? You'd think it just an affectionate gesture... why can't I be affectionate to you?" "I don't know..." "Well you haven't made any objections yet..." Jason's hand moved around the front of his neck and up a little, to his chin and scratching it. "Let's see how far I can get..." Dev's eyes prior were drifting shut against his will at Jason's suspiciously skilled touch, but they flew open suddenly as he felt Jason place a soft kiss on his neck. "Huh... no response..." Jason observed as he pulled away, face set with straight with no visible sign of playfulness, but he hid it underneath. "How about if I do this...?" "Car..." Dev breathed heavily as Jason's arms wrapped around his torso, and he kissed him just under the ear on the side of his face. "Does that bother you?" Jason asked quietly, still close to his ear. "... It... it doesn't..." "Good." Jason slapped him a few times on the shoulder as he let go and pulled away. "Enjoying yourself, Dev?" Dev's blush returned as he found Ben staring at him, face bright with a grin and lips sopping with saliva. Everybody was watching him. It took a few seconds of checking around for it to become clear to Dev- everybody was smiling at him. "Lux-Lux..." Cheri sighed with a dreamy incline of her head, touched a little, despite her nagging instinct of hate for every member of the opposite sex, save Ben. It was brushed aside just for that moment... "Do not cease on our account." Sumieri smiled a little as her tails fluttered behind her a little more rapidly. Amy just had to ruin it. "Aaaaaw... That's so cuuuuuuute!" The humour of the comment seemed to be lost on Dev for a moment as everybody else burst into a light-hearted chuckle, including Jason- but it eased him a little, and soon enough he found himself again and was laughing alongside. Dev found himself with the brief task of dismissing the scene from his companions' heads, urging them respectfully to just drop it. Amy took a little more
convincing than Ben or Sumieri who had both nodded and rode away to get back to whatever they did. Amy seemed to believe she was entitled to stay and press Dev on the matter- but quickly dismissed herself at a threat by Jason to rip her heart out and crush it like a Caterpie. "I'm curious of that, actually..." Dev admitted as he and Jason sat in the shade of an old, gnarled tree just to the side of the path. "Wait... this is...?" "Keiomi." Jason assured Dev by patting his shoulder a little and smiling. "Right. Keiomi... how..." He stumbled on his psychic words, attempting to quickly find the right words, but he just couldn't slant the question away from his true question. "How violent is he?" "It depends." Jason sighed and fell back against the tree. He rested his head on his clasped hands behind his head and stared blankly into the foliage above. He still wore his shades, forgetting they were there. "If you mean "Jason" as the physical being you see here, yes. We are violent when we need to be. In times where it is called for we resort to violence when it is needed." "So... you wouldn't really rip anyone's heart out and crush it... would you?" "Ah..." Jason cleared his throat, a somewhat awkward lurch rocking about in his stomach. "It's easier for me to explain it this way. As the physical being you see right here, I have a lot of range. Me and Jason... we both alternate in the amounts of control we have over this body. Sometimes I'll have ninety per cent of control and Jason nine per cent, this is how we operate half of the time... sometimes we range between 59-40 of me to Jason, to the point of 49-49 where we both have equal influence over our body. My behaviour depends on this, and this ratio fluctuates a lot- sometimes back and forth several times in one situation." "Okay... but that doesn't answer my question..." "He would. He has." Dev gulped, but otherwise remained silent. "I say "he". It takes at least twenty per cent of us as Jason to do something like that." "Wait- only twenty per cent?" "Jason's influence is much stronger than my own- as Keiomi. He is single-minded, and it only takes a little of him to affect me. But yes- twenty per cent if provoked. It would take at least forty per cent of him to do something with little provocation... but when he reaches anything over fifty per cent..." Jason fell silent in thought, pulling apart a couple of such memories. "When he reaches at least fifty per cent, he becomes easily provoked. Easily provoked. But provoked, it only takes twenty per cent of him to do that- like you saw at the Pokémon centre." "Pokémon centre?" "He was thirty per cent in control." Jason recalled. "Those poachers boke in. At thirty per cent we
will attack pre-emptively in our defence if I think Keiomi's in trouble. But yes- I am driven to acts of violence I cannot explain, and I did rip that poacher's heart out." "...Jason...?" "Fifteen per cent." Jason nodded. "But I can assume control at any stage. You don't really have anything to worry about until... say, forty? The knife thing I was at twenty-five. That's all it takes to provoke me on that level." "I am so confused..." Dev facepalmed. "So was Shari at first. It'll take a while, but hopefully you'll come to understand given time." "But- why "49-49" ratio? What happened to the extra two?" "That is not for you to know." Initial reaction for Dev was to get up and leave. After what he had just heard, especially- but he didn't. He leaned back against the tree beside Jason, determined not to leave this time. "Why the hostility?" "Because." Jason stated. "Don't ask me now- I'm not telling you." "Why the fuck not?" Jason turned slowly to face Dev. "You're pressing it." "That's the idea, Sherlock." Dev had anticipated a reaction, but he hadn't anticipated it so fast. Jason's hand caught him around the throat, and in a second Dev was two feet off the ground and pinned to the tree by his throat. "You're annoying me." Jason mentioned, so lacking in feeling it was disturbing. "I've warned you- stop it." "What, now?" Dev braved a pained grin. "Why? I'm on a ro- Car!" He cut off as a single punch to the stomach winded him. Jason's free hand lifted under his shoulder, and Jason hoisted him over his head with full strength and threw. Dev flailed in a daze as he seemed to hold in mid-air, but the ground broke his trance painfully as he landed on his head and fell into a messy tumble on the soil. "I said stop." Jason told him as he moved in on him. Dev propped himself up with one arm as he spluttered. Jason kicked out with unnecessary force and slammed him onto his back again, drawing a long wheeze from him as he hit the deck. Jason stepped over Dev and crouched, pinning the Pokémon with his knees as he drew his knife from his side. "You didn't listen." He placed his hand and the blade of the knife at Dev's throat, tilting his head back with both so his chin and neck was fully visible. "I don't want to hurt you..." The way he said it, he was quite obviously lying and made no attempt to hide it, "Keiomi does not want you hurt, and I will respect that..." Dev's breath held as he silently cursed at himself, feeling the blade's edge press into his skin just a little. Though, at the same time Jason's free hand stroked the underside of his muzzle with a totally conflicting affection. "...I will respect that to an extent. Btu if you persist in irritating me- I will kill you without a second thought."
"I... I understand..." "Good." Jason removed the knife and slipped it away into wherever he hid it. He lifted himself off Dev, allowing him a grateful deep breath of air. Dev tilted his head a little to face Jason, unsure of the whole situation now. "Take it. Come on." Dev stared at the outstretched hand for another second before he took it and let Jason pull him to his feet. "Are you okay?" "Um... yeah..." He nodded. "What was that?" Jason stepped back a little with his demand, showing obvious irritation with a scowl. "I just told you- just then, and what do you do?" "I was curious." "Curious? You were Curious? You could have gotten killed." "It was an experience." Dev shrugged, maintaining an inner feeling of satisfaction at the reaction he received. "You could say- I was getting to know you." "By having me beat the living crap out of you?" "Yeah!" Jason pitched into a jolly cackle of laughter at Dev's outrageous smile, slapping his knee as he doubled over. "Arceus, you are one stupid prick!" He righted himself with a goofy grin. "Well I hope you learned something from that. I wouldn't suggest trying it again- you might not be as lucky." "No kidding..." "You two done flirting?" "Dammit ben!" Dev flew around with an outraged burst as his face flushed red. "Don't sneak up on me!" "Ah, how interesting. How is it the mighty aura warrior cannot notice a simple human walking up on him? Surely such would be simple to even the youngest of pups?" "Stop it." Dev snapped, but he lacked that serious edge that was required to silence Ben's taunting. "Why, stop what? Pray, tell." Ben smirked and leaned against the side of the same tree. At his side, as usual, was Sumieri sitting on the grass, watching Dev. On her back, Cheri clung to her mane and peeked around the edge of her neck like a baby Pokémon clinging to her mother. Dev barely heard Ben's reply as he was too busy staring at him, awestruck once more. Embracing his new truth, he let himself know: Ben was beautiful. He was the single most beautiful thing he had ever seen, even more so than his partner in Dev's opinion. "Stop the "elf-talk" routine." He muttered. His words still drifted a little; dreamy from his waning entrancement. Ben laughed a sharp, short sound like a rock falling into a shallow spring stream. "I'm afraid I don't know what you speak of. Perhaps you refer to my structure and rhythm? My fashioning of our tongue into such marvellous forms? It suits me so well- don't you think so?" "It hurts my head, me thinks so." Dev lumbered to his feet more heavily than his usual form would, heavy with pain and confusion churning in his gut. "Whatever." Ben's
words dropped their light, feathery tone that left his speech floating on the ears in place for a duller one, bleak and uninspired. "Cheri's had a deec while of training; she could use a little TLC Pokémon-centre-style." "Lux-lux." Cheri yowled breathlessly, nodding at pace from behind Sumieri. "The little one has fought well." Sumieri commented with an especially motherly grin. Cheri took this well, licking her mane and looking extremely pleased. "She has." Ben commended. "There's a Pokémon centre just along this route, near mount moon. I'm hoping to reach it this afternoon and stay there overnight. The next day we can head into mount moon." "There's still a matter to attend to." Jason pulled himself off his tree as he joined the conversation. "Shadow Pokémon have been spotted just east of here. We have to deal with them first." "If we come across them, we'll take them out." Ben nodded with a grim frown. "No, Ben. We will take them out either way. If we don't meet them on the way, we will find them." "If they're not bothering me, I'm happy not bothering them." "And you're going to let another poor bastard come across them and get killed because we didn't deal with them?" Ben stared for a moment. "I forgot about that." "Then?" "Then we'll take them out. If we don't find them, we'll look for them." "You're getting the hang of things now." Jason nodded. In truth, he didn't give two shits for any poor bastard who came across the Pokémon. He had his own motives- he was becoming hungry. But if Ben wanted to play "hero" games and save the hapless civilians, Jason was all too happy to play along. "This isn't just a hobby, this is important, okay? There are more and more of these things showing up every day, and they're killing people. We can't just sit back while people die at the hands of these monsters, we have to create a fight, and take the fight to them, and take them out. This is a mission for all of us now. You wanted on board? Now you are, and you have to take this seriously." "I do." Ben nodded back. "I understand. People are in danger, we can't just sit by and let them die when we could be out there killing these things." "Yeah!" "Here she comes to ruin the-" Amy shot into the clearing from wherever she had been listening. "Let's get them!" "I thought you objected to killing?" "Pokémon are killing people!" Amy blurted, as if nobody else had been listening to Jason's little speech. "We have to stop them!" "And so we see a change of heart." Ben smiled a little at Amy's unexpected enthusiasm. He figured it must have been a Joy thing- looking out for others. The team set out in ten minutes after taking inventory. Jason walked in the lead as usual, claiming to know the path. Apparently it was familiar to him, but
nobody pressed him as to how. Behind him walked Dev and Sumieri, with Ben and Cheri on her back. Ben and Sumieri both hummed in curious unison, although ben could not recall where he had heard the tune before. He suspected it was something passed on to him through Sumieri. Behind all of them, somewhat lonely, was Amy. She did not look particularly pleased with being cut out of the situation, but the way the others walked left her little space to join them. Amy had opted to stop for lunch a couple of times- she wasn't hungry, but she figured she'd be doing the cooking again, which would get her at least a little acknowledgement. Jason screwed her plan up, insisting that the Pokémon centre was very close and that they could all stop there for food and rest. He was actually telling the truth- and ten minutes after Amy asked, the team found the great building rising over a little hill in the path. Pressed right in close at the edge of mount moon, it was really hard to miss being huge, red white and metallic- way out of place in nature like this. Ben found himself curious of how it would have been built away out of civilization like this and how it was powered. He drew a couple of possible conclusions, one of which being electric Pokémon, but his curiosity diminished as the glass doors slid apart to reveal the polished interior glowing warm and gold in the soft lighting. That was something Pokémon centres had right- no harsh, bright fluorescent lights. Softer lights were much more welcoming. It took a second, but Ben knew it was going to happen. A few trainers lined the walls chatting idly, but as Ben and Sumieri followed Jason in, the point of focus in the room shifted instantaneously. Ben returned a few of their looks with a smug grin as Sumieri paced to the counter after Jason. He swung his legs off and scooped up Cheri as he went. "Oh..." Nurse Joy's cheeks flushed faintly at Ben's approach. "You're the one with Suicune..." "I'm sorry?" Ben placed Cheri on the counter with a confused frown. "There were reports of Suicune in the area..." She smiled a little at Sumieri, just beside Ben. Her lip trembled a little with what seemed to be a mix of fear, anxiety and awe. "Dammit... does everybody know?" Joy nodded gravely, empathising in what Ben meant by that. "Things like this get around quickly." "I just like to keep it quiet... I guess it's unavoidable now." He sighed and placed a hand on the counter beside Cheri. She sniffed the counter curiously, trying to identify any scents she could. "Cheri's a little worn out. Could I get her fixed up?" Joy nodded and crouched to Cheri's level. She quickly spotted her and backed up a little with a hiss. "She has trust issues." He explained, stroking her back with one finger and easing her a little. "She's only a little worn. A little hurt, but not seriously. We should be able to just sit her ball in
this..." Joy stepped aside to reveal a gleaming white box-shaped machine behind her. On top, six hemispherical pits sat in some kind of synthetic material, under a glass lid. "All right Cheri," Ben took her ball from his waist as he turned her towards him. "I'll just pop you back in your ball for a minute. You'll be back out soon, is that okay?" Cheri craned her head back to look up at Ben's face. She smiled and licked a forepaw, then placed it on Ben's shirt with a nod. Ben smiled and returned the gesture, licking his finger. Cheri shied away a little with a playful yelp, but he stroked his damp finger down her cheek before she could escape. "Lux..." She pawed at her cheek as she tried to rub it off. Ben smiled a little more and finally returned her, then rolled the ball across the counter to Joy. "Hey Marianne." Amy smiled as she draped over the counter beside Ben, watching nurse Joy head towards the machine and flick the lid open. "Oh, hey Amy." Joy smiled over her shoulder as she worked the console panel at the front. "What brings you way out here?" "I'm travelling with Ben." She wrapped an arm around Ben's torso and squeezed him tight with a comical smirk. "Oh, that sounds exciting." Joy laughed. "You have no idea..." "All done." Joy took the ball from the machine and handed it back to Ben, who released Cheri onto the floor immediately. "So, any spare rooms?" Amy asked as Ben took a moment to play with Cheri. "This is mount moon- of course there are spare rooms. We barely reach seventy per cent occupancy at the most." Joy took a key from under the counter and dropped it into Amy's palm. "Room thirteen." "Thanks Marianne." "So how long do you plan on staying?" "Well-" "As long as it takes." Jason interrupted, stopping at a foot's distance behind Amy. His tone was such to discourage further questions. "Oh, okay." Nurse Joy turned and took a step towards the machine to make it look like she was doing something. She was actually trying to escape Jason. Jason turned and leaned backwards against the counter. "Amy, you and Dev take our stuff to the room. Bring Suicune and the Luxio." "Sumieri and Cheri." Ben murmured out of earshot. "Ben," Jason's attention switched to Ben, "You and I are out here. See if we can get anything out of these trainers." "Why both of us?" "Because a bad cop alone doesn't achieve much." "Oh... right..." Ben unslung his backpack and handed it to Amy, who took it reluctantly and with a mutter of complaint. Dev came to her side and took it from there, then took her own pack as well. Amy led on towards a side corridor, and the Pokémon followed behind. Cheri stuck close to Sumieri's side as they went. "Do we have to interrogate them?" Ben asked as he watched them go. "Can't we just go over and
ask them if they've seen any shadow Pokémon? You know- ask them like normal people?" "Huh. "Normal people". And this is coming from elf-chick." "Elf chick?" Ben snapped with a frown. "You heard me." "There's such thing as a male elf, too." Ben reminded Jason, but he felt he was entering an argument he was going to lose. "No there isn't." "Yes there is." "Elves aren't real, Einstein." Ben narrowed his eyes on Jason, but he didn't appear to be paying Ben any attention by this point. "You're an asshole." He punched Jason on the shoulder. Jason grabbed his arm and threw him into a wall. Ben spun in mid-air, twisting to face away from the wall as he neared. His feet hit and he bent his legs to absorb the impact, and then sprung off into a forwards flip before landing on one foot with a flourish. "Ta-da." He smirked as he caught just a slight twitch of irritation on Jason's lips. "Hey, that was fun. Let's do it again." "I'll chokeslam you next time." Communicating a silent message that this conversation was over, Ben and Jason together began towards the centre of the entrance room. Trainers everywhere glanced down or at one another as the two stopped and scoped them out. Ben nudged Jason's arm, pointing to a trainer who had been dozing in his seat for the whole time. The two advanced on him under the nervous and concerned stares of other trainers who had seen the "throw into wall" routine. Ben fell onto the couch on one side of the boy, and Jason on the other. He promptly awoke as he felt his seat lift a bit with the added pressure around him. "Sup." Ben waved one hand a little, watching the other trainers as if he had better things to do. Jason was more straightforward in his methods. "Have you seen any shadow Pokémon?" "Wha.... Shadow Pokémon?" The boy rubbed his eyes with a yawn, and then did his best to focus on Jason. "What's that?" "A big, scary black Pokémon?" Ben suggested. "Um... nuh." He shook his head as he looked between the two on either side of him, quickly becoming confused as he got proper visual on the two surrounding him. "So... you..." He added to Ben. "...um... are you like some elf chick or something?" Ben bit his lip as Jason burst into a wild fit of giggling; slapping his knee and doubling over as his sides strained. "I'm not a chick." Ben maintained with a frown, but that quickly upturned into a cruel smile as he realised something. "You're one to talk- you're half female on the inside." Jason stopped laughing, but still smiled. "Actually... it's about eighty per-cent female." He mentioned with a smile. "My point exactly." "It's so weird having a dick..." He added as he looked down between his legs. The boy grumbled and lifted himself to his feet. "Yeah... okay..." He
murmured as he made a hasty exit from the strange two. "You scared him away." "I find I have a habit of doing that." Jason took the boy's previous seat and leaned back lazily, crossing his arms behind his head. "These people haven't seen shadow Pokémon. You can tell just by looking at them." "How so?" Ben asked as he lowered into the seat beside Jason. "Something changes in you when you first see a shadow Pokémon." Jason released a deep breath, scanning across the other trainers' faces with a blank expression. "Be as fearless as you like- there's something that gets you. You can just feel it... you can just feel there's something wrong with them. They radiate this energy, and once you've felt that energy you just can't un-feel it. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?" "Yeah. Those Butterfree." Ben nodded as he thought back. It wasn't that the Butterfree were black that caught his attention- it was dark anyway and they could have been purple for all he knew- but it was that energy. He remembered an odd chill consuming him as they stared at him, feeding their evil into his soul. "You change a little when you see a shadow Pokémon." Jason continued. "I can sense it much more easily using my aura, but there's this facial thing I can identify also. Something that is permanent, like feeling that energy scars you somehow. You can see that scar." "I hope it doesn't ruin my complexion." "I doubt it could." Jason added, having stared at Ben momentarily. "Your face looks like a baby's ass." "I know you mean that in the best of ways." Ben grunted, unable to contain a smirk. He crossed his arms and joined Jason in idleness, glancing at the other trainers and about the room. "So what's your deal, Jason?" "What do you mean?" Jason asked. "You just randomly drop out of the sky, you're off to kill shadow Pokémon... then there's these." Ben nodded at Jason's bandages. "You're some... Lucario thing... are you ever going to explain that?" "Maybe." Ben identified a subtle shift as Jason shuffled a little on his seat. Everything sharpened a little- he shifted up. Or down, whichever. "For the time being- that's a secret. Secrets ensure our safety. Secrets keep us and others safe. You go about telling everybody all your secrets, people get hurt." "You don't think that I'll try and hurt you, do you?" Ben asked with a bemused grin at the thought. "You will." Ben's smile dropped at the sudden intensity in Jason's voice. Jason looked at Ben now, hard in the eyes. "We will fight one day. I guarantee it." "I don't plan on attacking you." Ben said, eyeing Jason suspiciously. "Why would I?" "It's the way it works." Jason sat back and stared straight forwards. "Trouble follows me. Something will happen, and there will be shit." "Bugger." Ben sighed and fell
back too. "Just don't hit me in the balls." Jason grinned a bit and nodded. "Noted." They sat in silence for a while, neither speaking. The other trainers managed to ignore them and returned to their idle banter. In one corner three trainers, one female, two male, sat in a "L" shaped couch. At their feet, a Floatzel, a Dratini and a Raichu spoke in their own language, sitting in a circle. Two more trainers and a Pokémon sat further along the wall: a boy and a girl, and a Blaziken. The boy sat in the middle, and on either side of him the girls had their arms draped across his shoulders and were resting their heads on him. "What's up with that?" Ben asked eventually, pointing briefly. "The Blaziken and the girl are sharing a relationship with the guy." Jason clarified, using his aura vision to give them a once-over. "The Blaziken is the sexually active member of the relationship, while the human provides him with spiritual and social stimulation. The human is slightly jealous of the Blaziken, but the Blaziken sees the whole situation as something fun and feels none." "Whoa. Double girlfriends... intense." "Takes a lot to keep two dames." Ben looked sideways and was surprised to find Jason grinning at him. "I'd know. Keiomi; Shari- it can take it out of you." "Two dames, huh?" Ben grunted, returning a similar smile. "Which was your sexually active partner." "Both." Jason sat back again with a content smile, drifting off a little into his memories. "Keiomi doesn't mind me saying this, but Shari- hell she had a rack." "I thought you said you two were drunk when you-" "We were." Jason explained. "But I'm not going to pretend I didn't enjoy it. I did." Ben's smile softened a bit as his discomfort settled. Jason was human after all- or at least part. "Nice to see there's a person in there." He said. "Oh, yeah. Course. Just don't expect to see me like this often." Jason smiled a bit more, and removed his shades. Ben stared at his eyes as they were revealed to hold a slightly more purple tint than before. "You know, I used to be a fun guy." He said, equally distant still. "I made jokes, I laughed, I was a fun guy. Never violent. This is about the closest I get to myself. Before I was changed." He added. "This... this is Keiomi's attempt at reconstructing what I used to be like. Not perfect, but she's done a great job of it. Only problem is she can't sustain it for long." "You're confusing me. I thought that you were crazy violent? Who's in control here?" "No idea." Jason laughed, splaying his arms across the top of the couch and relaxing further. "It's never as simple as a percentage of me to Keiomi. Sometimes everything's so mixed up even we can't tell, ourselves. You just have to roll with whatever you get given, be it psychopathic fits of violence, uncontrollable
compassion or just fluctuating everywhere in between." "I see." Ben nodded. "This is going to be one hell of a ride..." He trailed off as he spotted a trainer walking. The boy had changed his direction upon seeing Ben, and was moving for him. "Hey." The boy waved, stopping in front of the couch. "How's it going?" "Alright." Ben shrugged. "A little rough- you know how it is." "Yeah." The boy smiled and sat on a coffee table before Ben. "It's a bumpy road out there. So which way you going?" "Nowhere." Jason joined the conversation. "We were going here, now we're here, and we're not leaving until we get what we need." And Jason was back. The boy grunted, shying away from Jason a little. "What's your buddy's problem?" "I'll give you a clue. It's six-foot tall, has a whiny voice and can't mind his own damn business." "Don't mind him." Ben grinned. "He's having his period." Ben was up and out of his seat a split-second before Jason's arm swung at him. "There go the random violent mood swings." He taunted. "I'm not going to forget you did that." Jason warned, settling again. "Alright..." The boy gulped and nodded. "Um... I was just going to ask for a battle." "Battle?" Ben asked as if he had never heard of such. "A Pokémon battle...?" The boy hinted with a grin. "Right, right." Ben nodded, feeling stupid. "I'll go grab Cheri." He left the boy and Jason alone and headed to where the others had gone with the gear. The boy followed him with his eyes until he disappeared, then looked at Jason. "So... you two are travelling together...?" "Shut up." Ben returned two minutes later, dashing from the corridor at speed. He shot around the bend and dashed back towards the trainer, Cheri in tow. Cheri shot around the corner with a tad too much enthusiasm, which found her sliding six-feet along the smooth floor and clawing frantically at it for traction. She quickly zipped to Ben's side and stood behind his leg, peeking out at the other trainer. "This is Cheri." Ben said, motioning to Cheri with one hand. "Lux." Cheri grunted, staring unpleasantly at the boy, who shied away a bit more. "Cheri, it's just a trainer. You can trust him." Cheri made a coughing sound and directed Ben a sour look, reminding him what happened last time she trusted someone. "Right..." Ben turned and scooped Cheri up in his arms, although a little awkwardly. "You know I'm sorry, Cheri..." He whispered, stroking her. "I never meant for that to happen... I'm sorry." Cheri made an awkward growl and wriggled out of Ben's grip. She shook herself off as she landed. "Lux." She pawed at Ben's leg with an exasperated sigh, trying to hide a little discomfort. It was a kid who had done it to her. A kid who made his Pokémon do that. An
innocent-looking, unfortunate child. If somebody like that could be so cruel and despicable, anybody could. There was something about these bubbly, nosy trainers that she didn't like. She threw the trainer a quick glance to convey all these feelings- a short, quiet snarl. "There's a designated battle zone out the front." The boy said as Jason finally relinquished his precious couch and stood. "We can fight out there." "Let's go then." Ben took lead and headed for the Pokémon centre's front door. The other two followed, the other trainer quickly coming level with Ben so he wouldn't be stuck at Jason's side. Cheri growled at him as he approached, scaring him away again. "My name's Michael." The trainer said, remembering he had forgotten his usual introductions. "Ben." Ben held out a hand. The trainer stopped short and stared at Ben. "Oh, shit-" "I swear to Arceus-" He seethed, biting his lip. "if you say you thought I was a girl..." "Well, you have the ass of a cheerleader." Jason added helpfully. Helpfully that he stole away what anger Ben had towards Michael. "Don't-" Ben's fists clenched; Michael backed off. "stare at my ass..." He turned away and began at pace for the front door. The sooner he got outside, the better. Happy thoughts... Fate played a most cruel hand- ahead of him the centre's doors slid open, and a tall figure strode in. Ben stopped as he found himself face-to-face with the woman, clad head-to-toe in a blue police uniform. A tight one... The woman stopped in front of Ben as if to stop him, but ignored him, searching around the room keenly. Ben made a step to move around her, but her arm lifted to stop his path. "Hold on, kid." Behind Ben, Jason drew his knife from his side and held it at the ready. Michael quickly stepped further away, somewhat regretting making his challenge now with hostilities everywhere. Ben remained calm. "What seems to be the problem officer?" Two more officers entered from behind her- each carrying rifles and followed by a couple of Mightyena. This immediately drew attention- police officers in Kanto didn't carry firearms like these two were. These two men stood in the entrance while the woman made her way around Ben and into the centre of the room. The men at the door whispered to each other, watching Jason. Jason grinned unsettlingly at them, and held the knife by the point for them both to see. Normal protocol said "weapon! Do something"- Jason's eyes said "stalemate". "Everybody listen up!" She called, hands on hips. Everybody's attention was quickly grabbed as her commanding voice echoed heavily around the metal crucible. "Officer Erica Jenny, PCPD! Nurse Joy!" Nurse joy nodded, trembling a little. "Please call your residents here, there's something they need to hear." Three minutes of excited tension passed
quickly as nurse joy rounded up every man, woman and Pokémon staying in the Pokémon centre. Why were the police here? Who were the here for? It was all exciting stuff. The tension was broken the second Sumieri emerged- those who had not seen her enter shocked most of all. She repaid none of the stares thrown her way; instead she strode with her regal majesty to Ben's side, where she sat facing officer Jenny. "I was disturbed by the pink-haired woman." She said. Behind her Cheri made a run-up and jumped onto her back. She scrabbled up and clung to the top of her mane, poking her head around her crest for a better view. Sumieri laughed and glanced over her shoulder. "She is cute." "She sure is." Ben gave her an affectionate scratch under the chin. He made sure to do the same to Sumieri afterwards. "What's going on?" Amy emerged from the corridor finally, sidling her way around the crowd jammed into the reception room. "No idea." Ben had his hands stuffed into his pockets and was swaying from foot-to-foot. It was an odd feeling as he still hadn't fully acclimatised to his new weight. "Random police chick walks in and calls everybody out, now her heavies won't let me outside." "Heavies?" Amy stood on her toes to look over the crowd. "Wait- they have guns?" "They can have all the guns they like," Jason emerged from the crowd somewhere, joining in, "but if they're here for me they can still fuck themselves. I'll kill them all." "That doesn't make sense..." Ben stepped to the side to gain a line of sight to the police officer. "If they were here for you, they wouldn't crowd everybody in here. People would panic if they heard there's a killer amidst them." "Good point." Jason slipped away the knife he had been fingering in his pocket for the few minutes. "Shadow Pokémon?" "No." Jason frowned. "The police and government refuse to believe in the existence of shadow Pokémon. I don't know if they actually believe there are no such thing, or if they are simply denying their existence to avoid panic. Either way, we will receive no help from them yet." "Yet...?" Ben asked. "We will receive no help from them until it is too late." Jason's ensuing silence only furthered Ben's concern at his last statement. "What do you mean... what are the shadow Pokémon planning to do exactly?" "Nothing we know of, but their numbers are increasing exponentially-" "Is everybody here?" A loud call rung over the crowd, silencing it. Officer Erica Jenny stood tall on a metal box she had dragged from nearby, and her eyes searched the crowd, scrutinising every member. "All right then- I know you must be confused, so I will explain as clearly as I ca-" One policeman behind her gave her a little nudge. She turned around as he offered a megaphone, and she took it. "This area is being
secured by the Pewter City Police Department." Her words cracked slightly as they rang even louder through the device. "Team rocket operatives have been sighted in this area, and as a precaution this centre is on lockdown." The crowd exploded at this. It was only a dozen people at the most, but they sure created an uproar. "What the heck is going on?" Amy grabbed Ben's sleeve and tugged. "I'm not sure..." Ben narrowed his eyes on the woman. She kept glancing at him. Not "casually glancing", her gaze intentionally kept returning to him. "Quiet!" She shouted. "From this point on, and until the situation has stabilised, all residents will be confined to this centre!" "What?" "I have to be in Pewter tomorrow!" "You can't do this!" "Silence!" Erica called. "We are acting under orders handed down directly from-" "Something's off." Jason whispered into Ben's ear, still watching the woman as if she might randomly attack at any second. "See those guys in the back?" Ben leaned left to see the men guarding the entrance. They fingered the barrels of their guns and looked about, searching through the crowd. "You could say that." Ben stepped aside as Dev slid between him and Jason. He had been hanging back the whole while, observing through his aura sight. "They're awfully nervous for a couple of guys with SCAR-Hs and Mightyenas." "They're nervous..." Ben droned, fixing them a hard, blank stare. "If I was a police officer with a SCAR-H, what would make me nervous...?" "A shadow Pokémon." Amy offered as she stood behind Dev. "The police couldn't know." Jason shook his head slowly. "At least... the chances are slim." "But they could know, right?" Ben asked. "It's not impossible. If team rocket has an invested interest in shadow Pokémon... no. Shadow Pokémon are too violent- they wouldn't cooperate with team rocket." "But they still cooperate with each other." Ben realised. "They're intelligent enough to not kill each other, so maybe team rocket gave them a reason not to kill them either..." Jason's mouth opened, but nothing came out. He stood silent for a few seconds, Erica's words not even registering with him as he tried to comprehend the situation. "Team rocket working with Shadow Pokémon..." For the first time in months- Jason's mouth ran dry. "We have to stop this. If team rocket and the shadow Pokémon are working together, we need to stop this." "What exactly are we going to do?" Amy whispered harshly. "In case you weren't listening- we're all confined to our rooms until further notice." About them, the rest of the crowd was begrudgingly retreating back into the corridors to return to their rooms. They complained, but they obeyed. Some were happier than others; Ben spotted the boy he had seen earlier
with the Blaziken lean in and whisper into his Pokémon's ear. He slapped the Pokémon on the ass lightly and she giggled a bit, pushing him playfully. "Sexytime for Blaziken-lover. Nice." Ben smirked a little as he spoke. Amy smacked him in the back of the head. "Hey! You four!" The six (apparently Dev counts as a person) turned to Erica as she shouted. "I said- get into your rooms!" Jason was having none of it. He stepped forwards and shouted at incredible volume: "Inside voices, bitch! Stop fucking shouting!" Then he regrouped with the others, leaving Erica Jenny seething in fury behind him. "Are we actually going back to our rooms to let them lock us in?" Amy asked as they walked. "Hell no." Jason snorted. "You go into our room. Don't unpack our stuff. I'm hanging around to see what I can find out." Ben stepped to Jason's side. "Not-" "I move quieter alone." Jason interrupted, already having foreseen Ben's protest. "Just stay with the others and wait for my return. I'll be back shortly." He stepped around Ben and pulled open the door to room 12. Ben glared at him for a moment, but did as he instructed and slipped through with the others. Jason shut the door behind them. "Lock it." Dev locked the door as Ben entered, flicking the electronic switch to activate the locking mechanism. Each party took their own bed, sitting down and dropping their packs beside them. "What do you suppose is going on out there?" Amy asked as she stared at the door. "If I knew, I'd tell you." Ben sighed and collapsed backwards on his bed. Cheri gave up her spot on Sumieri's neck and jumped onto Ben's stomach instead, curling up on him. "Those guys were nervous." Dev remarked again, lying on his back with his paws behind his head. "If you were expecting shadow Pokémon and team rocket, you'd be a little nervous too. Scared, even." Ben pulled a pillow under his head as he spoke. "But they weren't scared..." Dev recalled. It was now he began to feel an icy chill on his back, creeping down his spine. "They weren't scared..."* Erica walked quietly. She kept her footsteps smooth. It was so quiet, even the slightest noise could draw unwanted attention. She counted rooms carefully as she passed in an attempt to occupy herself briefly. 19, 18, 17, 16, 15... she stopped outside room 14, breathing deeply for a moment and rehearsing the lines she had already practiced so many times. Unsecure area... transporting to... room... 24? Yes, 24... She raised a hand to her ear, taking one last breath. "Unlock the door." "Yes, ma'am. Deactivating lock." Came the reply over her headset. "Door 13 is unlocked. Proceed." Erica moved along the wall further to room 13. Room 13... had to be room
13? She reluctantly gripped the door handle. It felt cold. She pulled the metal door aside, and darkness spilled forth. Oh, this is brilliant. She thought as she stared into the black abyss before her. She reached in quickly and flicked the switch to the side of the door. The bulb flashed to life, cutting through the dark shroud and illuminating the area. Erica staggered in, gripped in shock. "There's nobody here?" She turned as she walked into the centre of the room. Her breathing increased rapidly, panic welling up within her. "No... no, no, no... you're supposed to be in here!" She fell towards a bed and slammed her fist down on the mattress. "I'm so fucked... I'm going to get screwed for this..." She jumped up again, driven by a brief urgency. She looked around one more time, this time checking in the toilet area. "No... I can't believe this..." She staggered back into the centre. She jerked upright all of a sudden. Her breath stopped... it eased, and it settled again as she sighed in relief. They changed rooms... that's all. She realised, grinning stupidly. They're probably in room 12. "There's nobody in here... they're in room twelve." She said aloud to reassure herself. "Wrong." The lights died- the bulb exploded into thousands of tiny fragments as the door to the room slammed shut. Erica screamed, making a dash for where the door once was. "Gary! Gary Gary Gary! I'm stuck! Gary!" "They can't hear you..." She spun around. A single pair of red eyes shone in the dark- but their light was obscured- as if being shone through tinted glass.Five minutes later Dev jerked upright with a cry. Alarmed, Ben also jerked upright- thus throwing Cheri off his stomach and over the foot of the bed. "What is i-" "SSssh!" Dev put a finger to his lips. He inclined his head slightly, otherwise he remained perfectly still. "It's Jason." "And?" "He wants you. Next door, room 13. Now" "Wait- aren't we in room 13?" Amy interrupted. "Jason put us in room 12..." Ben recalled as he walked towards the door. "Stay here." "No probs." Dev lay down and gave a thumbs-up. "Wait." Ben stopped with his hand on the doorknob. "I wish to come." "Are you sure?" He asked, turning to face Sumieri. "I am." She hopped off the bed and made her way towards Ben. "I wish to accompany you." "I'm only going next door." "I still wish to come." "Lux!" Cheri dashed after Sumieri and slid to a stop beside her. "Lux-lux!" She begged. "No, Cheri." Ben sighed and knelt down to her height. She persisted and placed her paws on his knee. "Lux..." She begged again, licking his hand pleadingly. "She will ride on my back." Sumieri
decided. "I do not wish for her to remain alone." "Alright then." Ben lifted Cheri and placed her on Sumieri's back. Cheri clung to Sumieri's mane with a content grin, nuzzling into it. It was warm, yet so cool and smooth. She almost wondered if Sumieri would allow her to sleep on her mane- although that would mean surrendering her place beside Ben if she was to sleep on the other side. They kept close to the wall for all of the six metres they had to travel between doors, keeping a low profile. The lights had been dimmed since they had entered their room, and now there was barely enough light to read "13" on the next door. Ben pressed on the handle. It was unlocked. "Come in." Ben pushed the door open and slid through into the darkness. Sumieri followed undaunted by the dark. Cheri clung to her mane a little tighter. "Ben closed the door behind him. "It doesn't work." Jason added as he reached for the light switch. In the background, Ben could hear muffled grunts. "This way. towards my voice." "Help me!" Ben leapt back, nearly tripping over Sumieri as he did. "Help me! Somebody help me, please!" "Nobody can hear her." Jason communicated through telepathy as the woman screamed over top. "I have sealed this room with my aura. Nobody can hear her." "You kidnapped officer Jenny!?" "No..." Jason murmured as Erica fell into quiet whimpering. "I just... tied her to a chair. She came in on her own." "Please let me go..." She whined. Her voice was chocked with fear. "Not yet, Officer Jenny." Jason taunted, circling her chair in the dark. "Ben. Have Cheri give us a light. A small one." Cheri was already ahead of it. She shook herself a little, discharging electricity into her mane and setting it aglow. Just ahead, Erica appeared in a chair. Her legs were tied to its, and her arms tied behind her back. She suddenly seemed smaller like this- tied up, sobbing, terrified. "Please let me go... I won't tell anybody... I'll leave and never tell anybody..." She sobbed. "Wow, I thought police officers were tougher than this." Ben remarked. "She is under the impression I am going to rape her." Jason clarified. "Right. But you're not going to do that." "No. Jason shook his head. "Keiomi would stop me." "Hm?" Ben looked up from the woman. Behind her was Jason, standing with his arms crossed. "Keiomi would stop you?" "Yes." He nodded. "But you wouldn't anyway..." Ben gulped. He knew he shouldn't be asking these things, but the further he could narrow down Jason's psychopathy the better. "Oh, I would." Erica only whined further, cringing now. "You... would...?" "I would rape her." Jason nodded, smiling his unsettling smile. "I would rape her over and over. Every hole. I'd probably
stab her a few times to make some more holes I could fuck her in; use her blood as lubricant; then I would slit her throat and let her die." Erica only began crying further at this- bawling her eyes out. "Then I would move on to the next room- where you , Dev, all the others would be. I'd probably kill Cheri and Amy..." He stopped, thinking it over. "I'd rape you three times over, Dev and Sumieri twice each, kill the three of you afterwards, then move on to the next room to repeat. Then I'd find another Pokémon centre. I'd keep going until either I'm dead, or everyone else in the world is." He shrugged. "Actually I might let you live so I can fuck you again. You're pretty..." He took another moment to make sure he had covered everything. "Well, y'know. Only if I didn't have Keiomi to stop me." "Fuck..." Ben said. "Ben, I do not like Jason." Sumieri backed away a little. "So-" Jason returned his attention to Erica now. "tell me why you're here and I can let you go without any of us being brutally raped and murdered." Erica's head hung low, shivering and shaking all over and unable to form any coherent sentence. "I'm..." She stopped, short of breath. "Shadow Pokémon?" Jason offered, leaning near her ear. Erica shook her head stiffly. "Team rocket?" Erica nodded. "You're only after team rocket?" Erica shook her head. "We are team rocket..." Jason stood upright quickly, looking around at nothing in particular. "You are team rocket?" Erica nodded again. "Then why are you here?" "Her." Jason followed where Erica's eyes landed. Ben exploded. "I AM NOT A-" "She wasn't talking about you!" Jason cut in loudly. "She was talking about her..." Ben turned to follow Jason's gaze. "Sumieri?" "Me?" "Why am I so surprised?" Jason smacked himself on the head. "Of course they're after Sumieri. Of course..." "Jason! They're here..." Jason looked up as Dev's psychic message reached him. "They're outside our room." "No worries." Jason sent back. "They're just team rocket disguised as policemen." "No! They already killed them! The shadow Pokémon are in the centre!" I can't often acess the internet, so I try to upload in blocks when I can. I'm ½ to 2/3rds of the way through the next chapter... so... yeah. Review and so forth. If I'm gonna get better I need constructiveness.