Fan Fiction / Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction / Urusei Yatsura Fan Fiction ❯ Poke Walk ❯ The Long March Begins ( Chapter 12 )

Poke Walk: Chapter 12 - The Long March Begins

Disclaimer:

Pokemon is a copyright of Nintendo. The characters of "Magical Twilight" are the property of Pink Pineapple {Japan} and SoftCel Pictures {USA} from the ideas of Akane Shinshakan and Kinya Watanabe. The characters of Tenchi Muyo are the property of AIC, Hiroki Hayashi, and Yousuke Kuroda. The characters of Urusei Yatsura are the property of Kitty Films - Fuji TV, AnimEigo, and Rumiko Takahashi. The characters of Bubblegum Crisis are the property of Studio AIC (Anime International Company), JVC and AnimEigo.

Some other characters and situations used with permission.

Special Disclaimer:

Pokègirls and Pokèwomen come from the Pokewomon Forum at http://disc.server.com/Indices/169881.html.

"Wild Horses and Pokègirls" is the creation of Metroanime.

C&C, MSTs are welcome E-mail: kelvins.choice@comcast.net or kelvins.choice@att.net

    The vehicles in the convoy advanced over the old road. Ritsuko enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort, but one thing kept bothering her. "Does he have to stay outside the cars?" she asked of her Master, who moved alongside the roadway.

    "Just be glad he isn't running faster than he is," Layla said from the driver's seat, "He's been running at 40 miles per hour for over an hour. Not quite Cheetit speed, but more than humans could manage, especially over a distance."

    Ritsuko glanced back at the rest of the caravan. "How are we supposed to sneak up on anything with this crowd?"

    "We drive as far as we can," Misato explained, "Then we leave the noncombatants behind with the vehicles, and go ahead on foot or in the air. You are going to have to keep in mind how are we going to make sure he doesn't simply slip away. If he took a 90-degree turn from the road, we would never catch up with him. Not with the vehicles at least."

    "If you rode him more regular, he wouldn't be so frisky," Jane commented as she watched the man run.

    "What's got you so interested in a male?" Misato asked.

    "Not like most, intriguin'. Only heard 'bout men not interested in Tamin' every second a their lives," Jane said, stretched, "Thought they's a myth."

    "He's definitely a Mythter," Layla said, her mental screens vague flared as Jane attempted some retribution.

    The bivouac was well protected, the vehicles formed the inner perimeter, Layla had Taylor security troops patrolling the outer, and at the edge, wards set by Liv, Jeff, Sakura and Li.

    "I never thought of interlinking the rings like that," Sakura said eagerly as they sat around a small campfire, "I thought once they were linked like that, if one went down, they all went down."

    "That's why you didn't fully link them. It's easier when you haven't cast all the wards yourself, or that you used the same spell to create them. They'll lend some of their strength to the others, but not all. So if one goes down, the others say up. That's the key, control. I taught a Jusenkyo victim -"

    "So you can undo Jusenkyo curses?" Li asked eagerly.

    "No, not the Jusenkyo here. What I was going to say was, I taught someone not to view their transformation as a curse, as long as they had control. Control is the key in magic."

    "I'm glad you agreed to teach us," Sakura exclaimed, "Right Liv?"

    The Witch's incipient jealousy was crushed under the force of Sakura's open enthusiasm. "Yes, lucky. Let's go practice!" Liv and Sakura sprang up and went out to round up victims.

    Soon, Sakura was providing targets for Gem to shoot down. Honey and Rika were practicing swords and weapons with Madison. Misato and Mara were in the air, patrolling. Li and Liv were testing their illusions against Ritsuko, Layla and Mei Lin.

    "Boss," Mara approached, with Misato no where in sight, "Holy pants is keeping an eye on them, but there's a bunch a couple miles away. They haven't spotted us, but they are trying real hard to not be seen themselves. I think we need to check it out."

    Jeff nodded. "Yes, we'd better get a group together and go look, quietly."

    "Oh yes, maybe just you and I should slip out and scout it all out."

    "Exactly."

    "Okay everybody!" Mara shouted, "Everyone who can be stealthy in the woods, form up." She turned to Jeff with a smile and ignored his anger. "How's that Master?"

    The company moved almost silently through the woods. Misato and Mara were in the air, patrolling ahead. Jeff watched them all from the rear, while Kiyone, Oyuki and the security force maintained the perimeter. I'll need to get some practice with Mara and Honey, and teaching Liv some new spells, he thought as they soundlessly marched on, Five days out, and we're on the second day, and the old witch hasn't tried to stop or hinder us. What the Hell is she going to drop on us . . . me? Have we been noticed? Or are we being ignored. We can't have slipped in under the radar. He considered, Are we ready for the challenge, am I? Will it be mystic, physical, spiritual, or some combination?

    Oyuki held up a hand. Everyone halted. The sound of a man angrily shouting came clear, and a girl's voice in angry reply. Then a crack and a scream.

    It CAN'T be! Jeff thought, feeling stunned.

    "Sakura, Misato, Ritsuko with me. Li, Lin assemble a second team, two squads," he quietly told them, "Move!"

    "Gem!"

    "No," he replied, "Get Li or Lin to pick you." He headed through the brush. Misato rapidly took point, Ritsuko to his left, Sakura to his right. "Invisibility," he suggested.

    Sakura managed to summon the key and release the spirit to prepare the spell, all without shouting.

    Thank Heavens for small favors, Jeff thought as they all faded from view.

    In the clearing, Jeff spotted a man aiming a short stick, a wand, at a figure laying on the ground. Kaji!? Jeff wondered, This is getting too weird, so this is what that old witch meant.

    The wand `Kaji` held, emitted a pale green light, bathing the red-armored figure on the ground, and setting her writhing.

    She'll refuse to scream, except in anger, Jeff thought as he crept up, Then, she's just scary.

    "You will tell me," the Kaji-analog told the girl.

    Jeff took in the stubble, the ponytail and the pack of subservient airheads ready to fawn on him. Yep, that's him, Jeff thought.

    "I don't know!" the girl shouted back, "That alone should tell you something, you idiot!"

    Jeff felt his guts freeze and reality come into sharp focus. No, don't rush in guns blazing. Play the game, and win by their rules, he reminded himself.

    Misato landed, practically on top of him. "We have to get out of here, and get the others. It's a miracle he hasn't spotted us yet."

    I feel like I'm on another planet from all of them, Jeff thought, I guess in a way I am.

    It wasn't the boy who looked out of his eyes, but the boy tempered the words, "It's all right, everything is all right." He smiled, barely remembering to move his face to avoid a death's head rictus. Instead, he gave the ugly things he felt inside a fair seeming. Misato stepped away, still sensing something. "Go back, bring all the others forward. Now," he said as gently as he could.

    Misato stared at him worriedly, worried about what her Tamer had become. She fled back to the others. Jeff looked at the fearful Sakura, while he guided `the beast` back to its niche, where it would wait and watch, and be amused by human antics.

    "Sakura, I want you to do me a favor. I can't claim a Pokègirl by salvage. You can. The red armored girl with the arrogance, I need her, and I dare say, she'll need us. A three match. Open with Madison, then Li, finish with Rika."

    "Hoeh, okay, but . . . why?"

    "Explanations later. It's very important."

    Sakura nodded as the rest of the group came crashing through the underbrush.

    The man came to full alert, a word pierced Sakura's invisibility spell and Kaji looked at Jeff and the others with grave suspicions. His Harem came to alert, and then began doing the arithmetic and force calculations. Li moved Sakura and Honey to the front. Most of the girls were caught between hero worship, and fear.

    They are as famous as I'd been told, Jeff thought as he watched the other girls carefully, They know who and what they are facing, and are fearful. Good. Okay, Li is a better officer than I'd thought. Young as he/she is, there's a good head on those shoulders. Sakura took the lead in advancing, her Harem in support, and Jeff's supporting her. Jane took one squad of the security troops, Layla the other, to surround the man's force.

    After a quick consultation with Sakura, Honey stepped ahead. "I'd like to challenge you for your Battle Angel, a triple one on one match," Honey said confidently, setting off nervous murmurs in Kaji's Harem.

    "Mother and daughter Tamers?" Kaji laughed at all of them, "Or is it mother and children Tamers?"

    "Mister Ryojo," Jeff began, enjoying the man's moment of utter shock, "Is that a yes, or a no?"

    "How do you know my name?" the man's hostility towards another male was palpable.

    He doesn't recognize Misato or Ritsuko, so they never knew him in this reality, fine, Jeff thought.

    "I have a witch," Jeff replied, "That still isn't a yes or a no."

    "Fine, after I beat you, you can clear out," Kaji laughed, "I wouldn't want to take the little girl's pets." Kero and Yue growled at that.

    The girls looked incredulously at him, as they realized he didn't know who he was up against.

    "Agreed," Sakura said, stung by the insult, "Madison, go."

    The girl handed her camera to Mei Lin and stepped into battle, with an anxious air.

    "A CameraGirl?! Ha," Kaji laughed, "Kayla, go."

    The girl walked out. An Amazon-chan, Jeff realized, and verified it with his 'dex, and saw Sakura had her own 'dex.

    "Madison! String Shot!" Sakura called.

    The Tarantella whipped out a length of her silk and looked at the charging Amazon-chan. The martial arts expert put up a hand contemptuously, and blocked the line beyond the bulbous sticky end.

    Jeff watched the line swing around rapidly. The Amazon realized her error too late and braced to get stuck by the webbing, only to be hit in the head by the five-pound piece of steel wound into the bulb. The Amazon-chan was too stunned to deal with Madison's approach. She looked like she was tearing her hair out, but she was getting lines to hogtie the Amazon.

    "Kayla, return!" Kaji ordered, as the red light dissolved the girl, while Madison walked proudly out of the ring, retrieving her camera. "Okay, Tarantella with a camera fetish," Kaji said as he aimed his Pokèdex at Sakura and her Harem. He frowned as he aimed it at the others surrounding his group. "Going to ambush us when you lose?"

    "No," Jeff replied, before Sakura could react to Kaji's taunt, "To keep you from running away after Sakura wins. I know more of you than your name."

    Kaji scowled at that.

    "Li," Sakura said.

    The sword-wearing once-boy advanced. Kaji's smirk returned.

    "Talia, go," Kaji ordered.

    Jeff's and Sakura's Pokèdexes had identified the girl as a Ronin.

    "Lightning!" Li shouted and fired bolt. It missed, but disrupted the girl's approach, then her blade struck his.

    Jeff noted, Slight handsigns Kaji makes, directing the Ronin. While Sakura leaves the tactics to Li, acting as a second pair of eyes if something happens out of his line of sight, Jeff looked around and realized, I smell a rat, as if Kaji is intending to lose. Maybe lose now, and come after us when he has the choice of time and position. Sneaky, but also predictable for anyone who knows him as I do. Most important thing to Kaji is Kaji's needs. Well, I can use that particular need with ease.

    Li's seemingly random elemental barrages and excellent swordswomanship soon had the Ronin on the ropes. Kaji recalled her rather than let her be defeated.

    Weakened, but he can bring them in fresh later, Jeff realized, I know tactics too. So do most of my girls. Better send this info to the guards. He put what he expected of Kaji forefront in his mind and `pushed` it towards Jane and Layla. Both girls narrowed their eyes, but nodded, indicating their increased wariness.

    Then Sakura sent in Rika. Kaji again laughed at that, and sent in a huge, jet-black, four-armed girl. Two arms at the shoulder, two at the hips, each carrying a heavy war sword and a long perhensile tongue that wielded a fencing foil.

    "My 'dex can't get a good reading," Sakura whispered to him.

    "A Symbiote Romanticide," Jeff realized.

    So, the cheating comes early, Jeff thought as Rika put up a desperate defense. The creature realized how outclassed her opponent was, and began a good-natured lecture as she beat the girl's defense aside again and again, alternating between the power of the war swords, and the speed of the foil.

    At Kaji's shout, the girl frowned and turned away from Rika to charge Jeff, Sakura and Li.

    "Shield!" Sakura shouted, and all Hell broke loose. Gem hitting the attacker with a hyperbeam was expected. Misato and Mara charging in side-by-side was not, nor was Gem switching attack modes and targets. Misato was bathed in Holy Fire, while Mara took lightning bolt after lightning bolt. Kaji drew a weapon, Jane's shot blew from his hand. Oyuki and Ritsuko dashed in and carried the red-armored prize from the field. The Romanticide couldn't deal with the trio, and Rika kept the rereleased Ronin away from Sakura and Li. Sakura released her Sword card, and Li took on the Amazon-chan and the Ronin simultaneously, leaving Rika as close escort for Jeff and Sakura. The roar of a Grizzlar sounded as Cutey advanced, but the webbing from Kiyone and Madison had pinned Kaji's arms to his sides, no more Pokègirls were forthcoming. Somehow, through it all, Madison had never lowered her camera. Yue and Kero prevented Kaji's escape.

    The defeated girls were balled as Jeff stood over Kaji, his gun pointed at the man's head. "Don't even think it. I taught that Megami things that made a Storm Demon whimper. Think of the things I can do to you."

    Kaji evidently can imagine it, Jeff thought with satisfaction, and looked over the two groups that had meshed well enough during their first battle.

    "What's the penalty for such an action?" Jeff asked Kiyone.

    "I say we kill him," Jane growled, and wasn't alone in her assessment.

    "What does the law say?" Jeff reiterated, and smiled at Jane.

    "Loss of the girl who attacked, and whatever was in contest," Oyuki said, and looked at Kiyone who nodded, "I say we cut him loose and leave you alone with him. He has at least 30 kilos on you and obviously considers himself a combatant."

    "Yes," Ritsuko said, "I would enjoy watching two humans fighting."

    Each statement tore at Kaji's arrogance. "Take her," Kaji spat, "If you think you can handle her." He chuckled mirthlessly. "How did you know?"

    "I know you'll get your illegal reinforcements, and try again while you think we're asleep," Jeff replied. "There's nothing you can do to surprise me." He looked at the girls. "Let him go. He's probably got some powerful girls hidden somewhere. It will be good to take those away from him too."

    The Pokègirls chuckled and laughed as Kaji collected his remaining girls and slunk away. Once he was out of sight, Sakura began congratulating Madison and Rika for their part in the victory. Both seemed embarrassed by the attention. Li stood nearby and fumed.

    So that's the dynamic, Jeff thought as he turned to his troops.

    "Well done," he said and looked at the Symbiotic Romanticide, "Oyuki, she's your responsibility."

    "I will need a little demonstration," Oyuki said, and turned to Liv, "Shield please."

    "CRAP!" the witch and the rest of the Harem shouted and covered or plugged their ears.

    "My Master, will discipline you if you do not behave. Rue Britannia, if you please," Oyuki said coldly.

    "That killed that Megami, and Parasytes are vulnerable to sound," Jeff politely countered, "Perhaps just let her ask the others?" He looked at the surrounding girls, all staring in horror at what might be happening any moment.

    "You'll have no trouble," the Symbiote Romantic promised fervently.

    Oyuki deeply considered this, then nodded. "Then welcome, I believe you will fit in well here. There is much for you to learn, and many for you to teach."

    The huge Pokègirl nodded nervously and stared at Jeff.

    Mara approached, grinning like a Jokette with a new toy. "So, boss," she began, "I took your new playtoy back to the camp. She's under guard, but I don't think she'll cause much trouble, until she starts to go feral, although that mouth of hers could use a scrubbing out." Mara chuckled. "And I thought the PsiDykes hated men, I think she's close."

    "Leave that to me. We've got a long walk," Jeff replied.

    "No," Liv said as she Sakura and Li raised their arms, "We don't." They reappeared just outside the outer perimeter.

    "That's nice," Jeff said, "But I wanted Kiyone and her team to go over his camp, find out why he was so desperate."

    "Isn't it obvious?" Mara asked, "That Battle Angel."

    Jeff sighed. "Liv, can you take Kiyone and a team back there to go over the place with a fine-toothed comb?"

    "As long as she doesn't take half the force," Liv said suspiciously, "How did you know him? And I assume you know her."

    "I believe I do," Jeff said, "Take whomever you need." He left Kiyone and Liv to their arrangements and headed toward what he now realized was the witch's trap.

    "You, Liv, and Ritsuko as investigators," Kiyone told the others, "Kero, Misato, Mara and Gem - "

    "Gem!" the girl protested and pointed at Jeff.

    "Better, fewer people," Kiyone said, "And Madison to record everything, in case this guy is Team Rocket, or worse."

    Just ignore all the knowing glances, Jeff thought as he walked towards his tent, The girl - young woman, is your primary concern. 'Ah yes, our Master finally found one who caught his eye, now he's going to claim her,' he translated the whispers and gestures.

    The girl inside his tent was armored from head to foot, as if expecting immediate battle. The plain red armor with the black trim and vibrantly red hair marked her breed and subtype. The styling reminded him of the plugsuits, save for the helmet that completely covered her face. The only visual clues to the girl underneath were the long tail of hair coming out the back of the helmet and the athletic curves of a full-grown woman. But I've seen her with a full face helm too, so this is no surprise. Her personality marked her to him more than her concealed face ever would. I know you, he thought tenderly, If I were blind, I would know who you are, old friend. Quite a trap you old witch, quite a trap, I applaud you. The aura of abject misery and resignation was different from what Mara had described. But that's her too, he thought, Press her too hard, and she cracks. Very hard, but brittle too. I can deal with that, but the first thing to do is finish breaking her down, but for a whole host of other reasons.

    "So what now? Throw me on the ground and Tame me? Just because your little friend beat Kaji two out of three, that doesn't mean I submit to you," she said as sarcastically as she could, as a mere show of defiance, "But I've never been into little girls, so I guess that is something."

    "My name is Jeffrey Kevin Davis. You probably wouldn't have heard of me. Cutey Honey, Sakura Avalon and Madison Taylor, you might have heard of."

    The mask covering her face hides all traces, she thinks, Jeff thought as he watched intently, But she can't hide her body language which is practically screaming 'contempt'. Let her, best get her overconfident.

    "The girls who look after me: Kiyone's a Wolf Spider, Misato's a Seraph, Ritsuko's a Matron, Oyuki's a Megami, Liv is a witch, Mara is a Storm Demon, and Gem . . . that's complicated."

    " 'The ones who look after you'," the girl's voice was correct for all his expectations, except she should have been speaking German or Japanese, "That's an odd thing to call your Harem. You want to get yourself killed, I really don't care."

    "I suffer from the delusion that they travel with me on a whim, not that I own any of them," Jeff said and smiled, "They did all come back to me after Sadie Poken's day, so I guess either they want to be with me, or a better offer didn't come along. I know some were made. So I can only surmise they chose to stay, that's the same choice you have now."

    I can just sense you weighing every word, Jeff thought, Waiting to bolt, except you don't know who or what to run to. Back to Kaji? I don't think so. Just away? That's not your style either. Like it or not, you have to be the center of attention.

    "What about the others?" she asked.

    The voice lacks the expected bite, as if something has ground away her insatiable curiosity, and sharp tongue. Or she suspects - expects, at trap. There is one, but not the one you'll ever see.

    "So how do I fit in?" the girl asked, her sarcasm replaced by wariness, and some lonliness.

    "How do you want to fit in?" Jeff asked, "We can turn you over to the authorities, we can keep you with us, or you and I can come up with something else. If you give me a compelling reason and sure logical reassurances you won't end up a prisoner again, I can let you go."

    There's that fear again, Jeff noted her clenched fists, The idea of being alone really does bother you, not just a Pokègirl's phobia, but your fear that without others you can't prove your superiority, without others, you can't even prove you exist.

    "I'll stay with you, until something better comes along. Kaji'd just steal me back from you or 'the authorities' anyway."

    "Oh, I might have something to say about that," Jeff told her.

    And our wards will prevent him from sneaking into camp. Layla and the others in security are linked with them too, and I think the PsiDykes would like to actually hate a man up close and personal, without somebody complaining about it, he thought.

    "How grand," he said, in German, watching her shock at using a dead language. As if the Germans would ever give up on being Germans, he thought, World War Two and the Cold War, versus what happened here. Quite a trade off.

    "I find it interesting you speak so disparagingly of Taming, yet you seat yourself in the middle of the open sleeping bag," Jeff said, "Fear of Ferality is nothing to be ashamed of."

    I can almost feel you frowning at me under that mask, he thought, Time to start the break down.

    "Asuka Soryu Langley. Graduated from the University of Bonn with a math/physics degree at age 13, joined the organization that was investigating Threshold and Evolution."

    "How did you know my name?" she asked suspiciously, "Did they send you?"

    "In 2020, for reasons unknown to the public, you took a position with a research team heading to Australia to investigate some of the odd Pokègirl species that had grown there. Presumed lost when the Orange Continent to Orange Island disaster took place."

    The plates covering her mouth and lower face withdrew. Folding, and disappearing into her skin. "None of that is in the records," she said quietly, "The info in the 'dex is all fabricated. They promised me . . . " The plates came out and snapped into position as she realized she'd said too much.

    This next is speculation I'm pulling out of thin air, Jeff thought, But it all fits. Your history and what happened here. She's right, I wouldn't have had a chance, but you are perfect.

    "You had your mother, an Eva with you. She'd been nearly catatonic since the accident that caused her to undergo Threshold."

    Langley suddenly turned away from him, turning her back on what he was saying. "They promised, they promised. You can't know this."

    But you're still listening, so I'll continue.

    "The few times she was active and regained some lucidity, she tried to commit suicide, including one hanging attempt. There were others. You had to keep your mother close to you, because you feared what would happen if she succeeded."

    The armor's retracting, Jeff noted it disappearing into her body, a plate/section at a time, Leaves an increasingly naked girl hugging herself and shivering from the memories I'm evoking.

    "Your father barely Tamed her, because a half-mad Eva wasn't worth his social standing. I'm not going to ask if you did it yourself, or if you had someone you trusted do it for you."

    Langley was naked to the waist now, her face still covered, her body shivering from a chill only she felt.

    I'm sorry, but this must be done, he thought to the woman who was the image of his friend, Right down to the deepest shadows on your soul.

    "The last hope you could think of for her was the Angel stone you'd brought with you. It was unpredictable, in the middle of the Australian desert, under the shadow of Ayres Rock."

    Langley was beside him in an instant, pushing him back onto his back. She gave him a comely, teasing smile, promising Taming or all the delights her body could give. "Do we have to talk about ancient history?" she asked while unbuttoning his shirt. Her sultry tone spoiled by the quaver in her voice that matched the tremors in her hands.

    He caught her hands, pulling them away from his clothes as he sat up to face her.

    "You're a Tamer, don't you want to - Tame?" she asked, pulling her hand free and slipping it under his shirt. "I can make you feel - " Her expression froze as her hand encountered the scars.

    "You couldn't know what would happen. There was no reason for you to expect it. No calculation you failed to do or answer you got wrong that would have warned you. You didn't cause an explosion. You opened a dimensional window. You saw the images of other worlds. Other Asuka Soryu Langleys who were living out their lives. Many piloted warmachines against various inhuman enemies."

    Langley was trembling, barely able to support her weight, she slowly drifted down towards him, staring down at him in horror.

    Please hold on, it will only hurt like this a little while longer, he thought.

    "You saw other worlds without you, where you died, where you were never born, where Earth was a dead world, where life and you were nearly unrecognizable."

    Langley bowed her head, touching it to his shoulder, spilling her soft hair over his face and chest, he could feel her tremors as her breasts brushed his chest. "You aren't a horrible person who intentionally hurt and killed all those people. You don't even know if your presence was necessary to trigger that. A lizard crawling across the desert on a solstice might have triggered it. You loved your mother, because she cared for her; you hated her because she abandoned you and kept trying to give up." He gathered the trembling girl into his arms. "Your father was weak for abandoning you and your mother. You weren't weak for pursuing a goal to restore her." He felt her trembling change to quiet sobs.

    "I'm from one of those other worlds you saw. Let me tell you about my friend, we met in a collective unconsciousness called the Dreamlands, she was a bold, armored knight, I was a master mage. We fought at each other's side for decades in that other world, leading squads, companies and finally armies, against monstrous foes."

    As he spoke, he felt her tears soaking through his shirt. She clung to him. Not as a lover, but as a lost soul, he realized.

    "She never betrayed me, she never deserted me, it isn't in her character. Later, I wandered the dimensions, met a few other Asuka Soryu Langleys, always the same determined soul, desperately wanting to do well, and unshakeably loyal to her friends and family. No one with a soul couldn't fail to see the beauty of her spirit, as abrasive as she got, she wanted to best of and for others. She graduated college two years before I did, then the Russians overran Germany, the part she was in. I sent friends in the British army, to rescue her. Two years later, I met up with her again. When the inhuman monsters our war machines were for arrived, she led the battles, pushed the other pilots relentlessly to get better, to be better. When we met the final monster, who'd instigated the war, she fought alongside the rest of us. She gave us hope, when all was lost. Even while I died from a wound meant for her, I never regretted my decision, save for the pain I was causing her."

    He kissed her forehead and held her tightly. "You aren't a terrible person. You didn't do what you think you did. Let it go, let it go, forgive yourself. If not you, someone else would have made the Evangelion. Someone who couldn't have controlled it. Someone who wouldn't have even tried. Sometimes the best you can do is lose as little as possible." He let her cry and rail against the universe, her mistakes and her fate. He stroked her hair and told her she did the best she could. Far more than most people would even attempt.

    Slowly, the cries wound down, the trembling ceased and she fell into a fitful sleep. Jeff lay down beside her, holding her. Occasionally, she cried out in her sleep at some private terror. He told her he was there, he would keep her, protect her, and the nightmare would go away.

    Madison moved through the darkness. Gem shadowed her as she closed on the man's second camp. She looked through the viewfinder and maximized the zoom so she could get the best view of the troopers that the man was releasing.

    Madison turned back, seeing Gem in the darkness. "We are going to be in a lot of trouble if they hit us unawares."

    "Gem," the girl said quietly her teeth flashed briefly in the darkness.

    Madison shivered at the display. "No, those girls may have no choice."

    Gem opened her mouth wide, displaying the tiny fangs that usually appeared as normal teeth. She closed her mouth and mimed something coming out of her mouth.

    "Much as I'd love you to hit him with a Hyperbeam," Madison whispered, "I don't think even you could hit him from here."

    Gem frowned, but nodded. "Gem." And Madison appeared to be standing alone.

    "That's not what I meant!" Madison hissed. Then she nearly jumped when someone covered her mouth and hugged her. "Okay, so you aren't as helpless as I thought. But even you have to sleep."

    Gem released Madison and shrugged.

    "I wish I could just let you go and do what you think you need to do."

    Gem picked Madison up over her head, and held her there with one hand. "Gem?" she asked as she set Madison down, her expression showing her challenge to the Tarantella.

    Madison sighed. "I can't stop you, but you still shouldn't do it."

    Gem shrugged again, and headed back to where the others were finishing with their investigation.

    Jeff exited the tent into the early morning sunlight. Ritsuko put a cup of tea in his hands, and practically dragged him to the fire, the looks of expectation on the other faces of his Harem and the support staff practically demanded answers.

    Ritsuko sat him down between Layla and herself.

    Still held by the pack mentality, Jeff noted, The glances among them watching who is going to `spring` first. Even the PsiDykes are intimidated by the aura of being first to act, or seeming to be first. To seem to attack the Alpha male.

    Jeff broke the tension, "I have spoken about 'What I remember' and 'what my memories are', because I clearly believed what I recalled was so at odds with any reasonable facts as to border on insanity. However, evidence has been mounting that my recollection, memories and assumptions are real, or at least borne out by my skills and abilities. I will henceforth treat them as facts."

    "Professor," Jane asked with her hand raised, "Who cares? Did you Tame her? Was she any good?" Mara slapped Jane, Jane ignored it. "Does she like other girls, does she like multiples?" Mara's slap was armor-piercing this time.

    " 'Hey, it what you all's been jawin' 'bout since sun up'," Jeff provided for Jane, "I haven't Tamed her yet. She's skittish and fragile enough right now without putting that on her."

    Jane sighed lowly. "That's the fraggin cure! How can someone so smart be so dumb?!"

    "Because I was thinking more about going to the Orange Islands, raising the Evangelion from the waters there, leading it against the Sanctuary Goths, who are in league with Nyarlathotep, who if left unchecked will destroy all life everywhere in all Creation, and I need her to control it." Jeff looked around at the stunned faces. "Now that you know the butler did it, can I get to the rest of the story?" When no one protested, he continued, "Good. I am a genius, in 1942 I entered Harvard University at age nine, taking a double major in Chemical Engineering and History. It took me five years to graduate only because I was seriously wounded in between my Junior and Senior year. I spent my fourth year at Harvard taking a few classes and learning to walk again. Those of you who have seen the scars, that was what caused most of them. Despite that, I was on the Honor Roll and the Dean's List every year. I speak 15 languages with varying degrees of fluency, and I can play three instruments well enough to perform professionally. I am not bragging, each of you is well aware of my flaws, which are probably a result of my focus on scholastic achievements. For Jane, I'm real book smart and can kill damn near anything, but people scare me, especially when they's bein' friendly-like. I also want you to understand that when I tell you that girl in there, Asuka Soryu Langley, makes me look like -"

    "Jane," Mara interjected.

    "Worse, like an addled infant. I want you to understand the magnitude of that statement. An Alaka-Wham might have a higher IQ, but I doubt most are as thoroughly or elaborately educated, or are capable of making the intuitive leaps that I and she have done as a matter of course. The boring part has now ended," Jeff said, "Now we go to bone chilling. Where I am from, the Evangelion refers to a 40-meter tall, 700 to 1000-metric ton, humanoid warmachine, originally designed and build by a race that arrived on Earth from space over a billion years ago. They were so alien, that a basically bipedal, bilaterally symmetric humanoid appearance struck absolute terror into any enemies the Evangelions were sent against."

    He glanced around. Are they stunned by the revelation, or are they trying to decide who's first to deal with a madman?

    "The enemies I, Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Nabiki Tendo, Ranma Saotome, and Asuka Soryu Langley fought, would have destroyed any Legendary from Moan to Zapdass to Typhonna by merely standing there and letting them take a good, long look. I watched people hidden from direct view of one of these creatures, simply die from the proximity. No poison, no radiation, no psiattack, just the wrongness of their very being. With each defeated and destroyed creature, we and our Eva absorbed the power, intellect and memories of our vicitims. The only thing that kept us from going down the same path as our enemies, was our relationships with each other. We kept ourselves human, we kept each other from spiraling out of control. Our relationships with our human commanders and support staff was not anything that would make someone willing to open themselves up to being hurt emotionally. Hence my great openness and candor when things get intimate. Our commander was a vicious, sex-obsessed, self-absorbed martinet, and her commander wasn't much better. He however never made any bones about our position in his mind. We were tools to be expended at need. She believes the same, the difference being she lied to us that she cared about us, as a matter of course. You never were certain when she'd go from happy to physically and mentally abusive, and her usual drunken state didn't help her stability in the least."

    Jeff ignored Misato's growl at having guess this person's identity. "All this conveniently reinforced my belief that intimacy is just a way to get close enough to slide the knife in. You've all been patient teaching me that isn't the truth, that girl's analog was the other person who was the one bit of doubt I had in that assertion. And before you ask Jane, our intimacy was more brother-sister. So Taming her feels a little like incest."

    "I knew I was right," Jane replied. Mara growled then cold-cocked the PsiDyke.

    The red armored figure came out of the tent and saw some of the groups, so could instantly see that weren't one unified command. One of the Pokègirls was waving her arms and shouting at Asuka, "Incoming!"

    Suddenly, Asuka was slammed into. "Gem!" her attacker announced cheerfully.

    "Oh, you dare attack me," Asuka snarled and tried to disentangle herself, "You have offended my honor and must pay the supreme penalty!" She managed to get an arm around the four-armed girl, but found the girl's legs could wrap around and hold nearly as well as tentacles. The others had wandered over to watch the fight.

    Asuka could get two limbs loose, only to have the other six establish a greater grip. "Ah ha!" the armored woman ran through the camp, and dove Gem-first into the lake they had been camped near.

    "GEM!" the girl squealed as she surfaced in the freezing water.

    "Got you!" Asuka grabbed the girl to tickle her mercilessly, only to have her disappear. Asuka looked around, listening for splashing. Gem appeared on the shore, and shook herself off. Asuka swam to shore with powerful strokes.

    "What breed is she?" Asuka asked as she came ashore, "I've never met a kit that strong, or who could both turn invisible, and phase."

    "Blessed Widow!" Gem declared as she scowled at Asuka.

    Asuka stared in disbelief. "That's - not - possible, is it?" Gem took advantage of Asuka's confusion, by throwing her back into the lake, before stalking off.

    "That's what she is, and I think she approves of you," the tall blonde woman told Asuka as she came ashore, "Ritsuko, I'm Alpha."

    "Asuka Soryu Langley," the woman retracted much of her armor and shook the offered hand, "Why do I feel like I went from The Divine Comedy to Alice in Wonderland?"

    "You have no idea," the stunned-looking, Gunbunny look-alike told her as she walked away. Gem returned with a towel and dried herself, never offering Asuka a towel of her own.

    Asuka glared at the insult, but continued. "I thought I was hallucinating when your, our, Master suggested he needed me to operate as the Hypothalamus and Amygdala of a SecondGen Legendary. Evidently that's what he, and my analogue, used to do. Until it killed him."

    "That sounds about right," Ritsuko said, "As long as it wasn't Typhonna, I think that's about par for the course around here." The others moved off without introducing themselves. The woman picked up Gem, and let the girl climb up to sit atop her shoulders, one set of arms wrapped around her forehead. "Gem is usually friendly, and she's got a good eye for what's right and wrong."

    "So I should take her ambush and 'I'm mad at you' act as I passed?"

    "Pretty much," Ritsuko told her, "Look, you really did get dropped in a Whorenets' nest. Our Master, and he hates to be called that, is different. The Spinnenangsts that have been plaguing the area -"

    "Yeah, I wanted to tangle with an 'Arachnophobia'," Asuka admitted.

    "He was killing them, with a single shot," Ritsuko told him, "So he pretty much figures we aren't needed to protect him. Mara, she's a Storm Demon, and Jane, that's the PsiDyke GunValkyrie-wannabe, have both said that he desperately needs us. Not as physical protection, but to look after his soul."

    "Funny," Asuka admitted, "He told me all that, last night. Don't frown, I look and act like one of his few true friends." Asuka turned away. "It's kind of overwhelming, suddenly being trusted, cared for. If my dad had been even half that welcoming . . . I can imagine how things might have turned out for the better."

    "I'm sorry, we are just a little shocked that, well he instantly accepted you."

    "Not so instantly," Asuka corrected, "I've never had a Tamer who didn't try to force a Taming on me the first night, or the first hour. I have a feeling Taming me is not going to happen."

    "So he didn't instantly jump you? I'm afraid we have a male Seraph on our hands in that regard," Ritsuko admitted with a laugh.

    "Gem," the little girl said sadly, nodding.

    "You are too young," Ritsuko told her reproachfully, then smiled at Asuka, "She does like to cuddle any warm body, and with your armor, I think you may end up with a constant companion."

    "She might get burned," Asuka warned.

    "As soft and smooth as her skin seems, it's as tough as a Widow's shell. Whoever built her really did try to build a `nice` Widow. All she doesn't have is the Hypervenom. But the rest is firepower enough."

    "So who all are these people. I recognize Sakura Avalon, and Cutey Honey, although I thought they both disappeared a few years ago."

    "Seraph, Storm Demon, Megami, Witch, Matron, Wolf Spider, and our crazy Field Researcher Master," Ritsuko said, "Until he told us his ultimate plan, I have to admit, I never doubted his sanity as completely as I did then."

    "So do you plan to stop him?" Asuka asked.

    "How? Kill him? He's told me bits and pieces that he hasn't shared with the others. Taking all those separate elements alone, I'd never have seen it all. Then, he made it so clear. I can't imagine why no one saw it."

    "It could be it's all an illusion, that he's connecting things that aren't really connected," Asuka offered.

    "Really?" Ritsuko asked, "Like how he turned you from hostile to crying in about two minutes?"

    Asuka frowned at that. "That's different."

    "One time is an accident, two is coincidence, three is directed action. Dozens is a pattern. Besides, I know something you don't. A little head to head about cells that I don't understand how people missed."

    "Ms. Taylor?" Ritsuko had asked as she entered the lab that her Master and Ms. Taylor had practically exploded out of only hours before, "Something happened in here, something bad. I think I need to know what it was, in general if not in detail."

    The scion of the Taylor family had tried to stare her down. Ritsuko had endured. "My Master is planning to do something suicidally stupid because of it," she had told the woman flatly, "I need to know."

    "Come with me." The woman had relented, and had led Ritsuko to an electron microscope. "It isn't much, but it is what set him off." She had activated the device and an image had appeared on the screen.

    "These are cells. Forgive my ignorance, but what is so special about them?" Ritsuko had asked.

    "They are mitochondria. Cells within our cells." She had adjusted the image to a split screen. "It wasn't until he saw this, that he reacted."

    "I don't see the difference," Ritsuko had admitted.

    "Well, this is what he was looking at. Right here." She indicated a knot on one sample, that wasn't on the other. "I've checked dozens of samples, from humans, to Pokègirls of flesh, Brasses, Succubi, etc. and in every sample, that structure is present in the substructures that provide cellular energy."

    "That's impossible!" Ritsuko had told her, and saw the gray-tinged look of fear staring back at her.

    "I know. We all foolishly thought that the differences between Pokèfolk and humans were in the genome, but all the studies show differences too small to account for the vast differences in body type, powers, life cycle of the 600+ species discovered so far. I've gone through the research, no one ever looked at the mitochondria for similarities. That in and of itself should indicate something amiss. Then he went on about how this was directed, some kind of broadcast. As if that mitochondria was a receiver, was part of a vast neural network computer."

    "That's insane."

    "But it does explain why Threshold occurs as it does. Perhaps the long bones have to be long enough to act as antennae, and that only happens after the onset of puberty's growth spurts. It also explains why so many species are of a similar height, about five to five-and-a-half feet."

    "They'd need to have the bones the right length to pick up the signals," Ritsuko had completed the thought, "But there would have to be broadcast stations. Enough and placed properly to cover the globe."

    "It may also explain why Ferality wasn't a major problem in Sukebe's armies at the beginning," Ms. Taylor had explained, "Mitochondria have other purposes than just performing the Krebs cycle. They can also generate other chemicals. What if one of those chemicals could turn off whatever creates Ferality? What if there are other things within us that we don't even know about. We've been thinking the plagues of Sukebe were a retrovirus that attacked the genome. If this is the real answer, that they attacked the mitochondrial DNA instead? We're in deeper trouble than we know."

    "Because if we kill the cause, we all die a sudden cell death. No wonder he stormed out. And he knows who did this?"

    "Oh yes," Ms. Taylor had assured her.

    Asuka shook her head at Ritsuko's story. "It all hangs together, but the broadcast system could be orbital as well as planet-based, that may also be why the Titan-Legendaries suddenly went out of control, something disrupted the station network. But you'd probably need a Titan-Legendary to do that."

    "And that's when the armies started needing Taming," Ritsuko added, "I think the Monster Flu and the Red Plague it mutated into were a backup plan, or a distraction. Think about it, total breakdown in planetary communications, commerce, cooperation. Someone with access to the technical base Sukebe obviously had, could easily have traveled the world, setting up bases and stockpiles, dumped who knows what into the major waterways, all to set up for the restoration of these stations. That begs the question, what are we going to do if they do?"

    "If what he told me is part of it, then we resurrect the Evangelion, go to Africa, and deal with the source of these outbreaks. The S-Goths would be the perfect agents for this dark plan. They're arrogant enough that they might not even know what they were really doing, and they wouldn't dare admit their complete ignorance and misgivings to each other, or themselves. I've met people wrapped up in themselves before, but never like the S-Goths. They surpass Buzzbreasts when it comes to group-think about the Hive."

    "Met them have you?" Ritsuko asked.

    "The group who you rescued me from, was lousy with them. You think Team Rocket and the other terrorist groups can survive on the money they make stealing, smuggling and the like? No chance," Asuka told her, "There are things I found out, that would curl your hair. Things that are deliberate fabrications in the 'dex, and all the Leagues are willing accomplices."

    "Name one," Ritsuko challenged.

    "Hild is actually a SecondGen Legendary," Asuka said, "There are others, but that's good enough to start with. There is one other possibility you need to consider."

    "What's that?" Ritsuko asked.

    "That your - our - Master, is merely a very clever loon, and all this is smoke and mirrors to cover his paranoid delusions. That he gleaned all the data to support his wrong conclusion, not the other way around."

    Ritsuko frowned at that.

    Gem walked along the corridor of the large, moving, metal-topped tent, lost in thought. She knew that her Master was in danger. She knew the new girl smelled almost like her Master did now, which was strange. Strange that his smell would change so much, yet still be him, and strange they'd run into someone who smelled so much like he smelled now. She knew that her Master had instantly trusted the new girl, as he had Gem, but figuring out where the new girl fit had Gem perplexed.

    She knew that the Alpha had the new girl under control, and the new girl didn't want to be Alpha. Yet she didn't act like a Pokègirl, she acted like the little spider-girl's mother, like Master, and the people like them. Which made no sense either, the new girl was a Pokègirl, and should know it. She was too experienced with her attacks to have become a Pokègirl recently, and she smelled older than she looked, a lot older.

    Gem shook her head while she thought and paced. She knew the new girl wasn't trying to be dangerous, but somehow, Gem knew, she was. Gem knew killing her wouldn't end the danger and would sadden Master, so it wasn't an answer, and the way the others made noises at each other, Gem knew none of them had the answers Gem needed.

    Sighing sadly, she went to the back, to her bunk, to look at the following metal topped tent, and wondered why her Master was making his life so complicated.

    Asuka watched as Cutey walked into her tent.

    "Am I intruding?" the Titto asked.

    "You're in season, aren't you?" Asuka asked.

    "Is it that obvious?" she asked shyly.

    "To everyone except our Master," Asuka replied, "What's up with him anyway? I saw him practicing swords with a Seraph tonight. Is he nuts?"

    "Kind of," Cutey said as she sat next to Asuka on her sleeping bag. "Our Master is rather odd in his ways, and thinking, and that makes a special problem for you and me. Both of us need a Taming, a thorough one, and soon, and with him."

    "I've heard he's tentative and gentle," Asuka replied, "Since my usual Taming is being chained down, beaten, then fucked up the ass, a little gentleness will go a long way. As for his reticence, nobody has bothered to ask, but I've seduced tougher nuts than him." Asuka's smile became a frown. "Usually, it was how I'd get away for a while. Get two idiots fighting over me. But I've used it for other purposes."

    "Then you'd better be prepared to be pretty gentle with him," Cutey warned, "Like I said, he's not the typical Tamer. I've seen guys attacked by Ferals who aren't as skittish as he is. Also, the reason he was able to tear through your defenses by telling you your life story, is that he had a friend who was who you would have been in a different world. They weren't ever lovers, so that's actually a strike against you."

    "Good to know, I always wanted a little brother. Weird thing is, he isn't put off by the armor. It's almost like he identifies it, as much as he identifies me."

    "More things to think about," Cutey said.

    "What about the Harem. With the mix, I'd expect the whole lot of you to be at each others' throats," Asuka said, "I've seen college lecture classes with more acrimony."

    "Misato and Mara have a truce of some kind. Oyuki could careless about most of us, and Liv is the only person he can train in magic, until we teamed up with Sakura and her group. But they're practically a separate Harem, with Sakura as the Tamer."

    "More and more curious," Asuka replied, "What about you? The two heroes of the North, and both in his Harem? He must be doing something you both want, or you would have left."

    "You are as smart as he said you were."

    "I am. So, you need my help getting a Taming. If I am 'big sister' I can help with that."

    "What about you?" Cutey asked.

    "I've been Tamed by Pokègirls, I've been Tamed by humans, I've been let go Feral as a punishment, and I've survived. You let me worry about me. If he thinks it's incest, that turns a lot of humans off real quick."

    "Sorry, I didn't want to make my problem yours, and have no help for your problems."

    Asuka laid a hand on the Titto's shoulder. "Hey, you offered help. Maybe with some problem that is pressing, I'll need yours. Just slip a good word in for me to the Alpha that I don't want her job, but I typically fix things, so she might help me prioritize, but I won't stop."

    "Okay," Cutey said, then remembered, "Oh, to show his power, although it also is to let him get to know us better, something he doesn't really have to do with you, he lets us do one thing. He hasn't granted my wish to double team his Harem, with me as him, but he'll probably offer you the same."

    Asuka considered. "There's a lot of things. Just knowing that he won't toss me out if I become troublesome is good enough." Then she got a gleam in her eye. "You said you do him, what's he like in the sack, once he gets going?"

    "Oh," Cutey exclaimed as she transformed, "A command performance. Just so you know I want to see you with the brakes off."

    The breakfast dishes were done. Jeff had taken the two readings he needed to triangulate on their target, and was getting ready to get moving, when he was ambushed.

    "Hi big boy, ready to show a lady a good time?" A naked Asuka had him pinned against one of the buses.

    Suspicious, none of the other girls are here, he thought, trying to ignore what parts of Asuka were rubbing against him.

    "Uh, hi Asuka."

    She stepped away and let her armor cover her like a maillot, she also bent over and started laughing uproariously. "You should have seen your face!" she managed between laughs, "I've seen guys facing a Mantis who weren't so scared!"

    Jeff watched her, completely stunned and speechless. Finally he blurted out, "What do you want?!"

    Still smiling and smirking, Asuka straightened up, "One of your girls is hurting. She needs you, a lot. I figure after me throwing this in your face, going to Tame her will come as a relief."

    Jeff sighed and frowned. "Cutey. She's got some . . . frightening tastes."

    "Then don't indulge them," Asuka told him sharply, "You're the Master. If all you want to give is Missionary Position on alternating Thursdays, then do that, just do it well. They'll understand, and they might find one of the other girls willing to play. Or run them through a Taming machine on level two, you can't imagine how good that feels, if you're loyal and loved."

    "Thanks. Weren't you, uh, near Feral a couple of days ago?" he said, "If you don't mind my asking."

    "I was, I got Tamed. Nice guy, a little old-fashioned, but still nice. Nice can go a long way, after the Hell I've been through." She kissed him on the forehead. "Go see to your girls, ototo-sama." She smirked at his frown. "Whom do you think has been taking care of Sakura's bunch, and the plans to head off to the Orange Islands, with this whole crowd?"

    "Smithers?" Jeff shook his head. "I'd completely forgotten about him, completely."

    "I don't think he's made it out of the comm trailer, for all the lusty girls and work," Asuka told him, and laughed as he headed out.

    Jeff ruthlessly squelched the instinct to shout 'Mister Smithers'. I am not like some of my battier and pushier relatives, who always seemed to think that was the best way to summon staff, he thought, Content yourself with just walking to where he is. He approached the comm trailer, and noting the door was open, went in.

    The older man he'd rescued along with Cutey, was hard at work, with the extremely content Mystic Angel draped over him like a cloak. She normally seems aloof, even hostile to practically everyone, even Sakura.

    "Good morning. I trust you've been well," Jeff said, "It seems I've been neglecting you. I apologize."

    The MysticAngel gave Gregory a kiss on the cheek and padded out of the trailer, closing the door behind her.

    "If you'd given me a little warning, I could have been more presentable," Gregory said as he rearranged his clothes.

    "You don't have to play the servant . . . unless Ritsuko and the others hired you."

    "They did," he admitted and smiled, "They thought another human male might be good at looking out for you."

    " 'Why does the banker want him watched? He needs to be looked after.' Old quote. You don't have a problem with this?"

    "The automatic payments are nice. A bit of adventure. All those nice girls. I do wish they didn't think I was more energetic than I am, but it does keep me in shape," he replied, "To answer your question, I hadn't noticed. I thought you trusted me to do my job undisturbed, a rarity in my station, and I've been rather enjoying myself, in a somewhat debauched manner for a man of my age and station."

    "You keep right on. I'm nervous enough about Taming, to suddenly have another half-dozen girls is a little overwhelming. And I thank you especially for Asuka. She - well, not this one, but the one I know has always been a friend, practically a sister. Taming her analog would have been . . . uncomfortable."

    "I'm glad I could be of service, sir. She is one of the least demanding of the girls. If I may be so bold. You might want to take her to bed yourself, not for Taming, but just a cuddling session, with Gem. Pokègirls talk about such things constantly sir."

    "I'll think about it. Gem seems taken with her as well."

    "There's another thing, while I'm being bold. You seemed to be a man who wants a deep and intimate bond - not with me sir - but with someone. I suspect that Recognition would be a dream come true, rather than a worst nightmare for you. I suspect feeling your partner's pain would leave you undaunted, her feeling yours would be the only drawback."

    "Probably true," Jeff admitted.

    "The Pokègirls desire the same, but they see a pair bond as between the Harem, and the Master. The whole group, as one, that's why they freely share such intimate secrets, because they want the entire Harem to be almost interchangeable in their function of serving. If you like something, they want all their Harem-sisters to know. While that seems strange to you, it is how they think."

    "Good to know," Jeff said, "Now what about transport to the Orange Islands?"

    "I think you might consider a side trip to Anchorage first, sir, seeing as how you are now a Harem Master and the force from the Stockton Legion will require a human leader, despite Lian Alice being in nominal command."

    "Harem Master, Stockton Legion?" Jeff kept himself from shouting, "When did this happen?"

    "Both of us took the tests at Ms. Taylor's. I've got yours here, not great but a respectable passing score." He called up the image on the screen.

    "You were ready a bit too fast with that," Jeff said, "Tips your hand that you're in on it."

    "As you say, sir. But the trouble up in Anchorage is reaching a fever pitch. The WAPL has assembled a force of approximately 10,000 to deal with it. If the largest army fielded since the Battle of Reykjavík is on the move, the Sunshine League wants to make its presence known. You have two of the three 'Great Northern Heroes', and are rapidly becoming a fourth, Yosho Masaki being the third. Add Lian Alice, a figure of worldwide fame, and a brigade of the Legion, and that's quite a show of force in a nice, neat, little package."

    "And I'm supposed to just bite on this, and head north, rather than south?" Jeff asked.

    "I wouldn't know, sir, but I do know, that there will be people eager to convince you, when you get back to Redwood. You might consider the `price` of your giving in gracefully, at least in public."

    "A lot to think about," Jeff said, "Thank you."

    "Yes, sir."

    Asuka was enjoying herself. Her Tamer was manacled to the ground by four fire bands, nearly solid constructions of flame. He can break out, but it would hurt and I know he's smarter than that. Asuka was having a wonderful time, she'd given him a marvelous blow job, but had stopped just before he released. Now she was prowling around him, a lick there, a kiss here, a gentle bite, letting her hair and nipples just brush his skin, while her hands toyed with him.

    The real torture is the only time I touched the part of him virtually screaming to be touched was a quick stroke on the very tip with `brush` of hair, she thought mischievously, 'Old man' my ass, You can thrust and twist, and strike only cold air. You should be in tears from frustration, but you have uttered nary a threat. Maybe I should tell the other Pokègirls about this, if they aren't just all idiots and if they can understand it. Some men don't like it as a present, you have to make them work for it. This one can cajole and negotiate, but he won't demand or beg. Not that I haven't offered, she thought with evil glee.

    She knew enough not to hurt him. Like your Master, you have an aura of casual malevolence, you were a soldier once, or you could 'give' me to the PsiDykes, who are beginning to look at the other girls like raw steak.

    "Maybe you don't really want it," she cooed to her Tamer.

    "Miss Langley, you keep this up, and I guarantee there's a spanking in your future."

    "Oh, and I was hoping for whips, and chains, and hot candle wax," Asuka pouted.

    "Ear wax," he threatened, "Melted out of your own ears."

    "Ooo, I'm so scared."

    "You should be. I'll have young Davis sing to you the entire time!"

    Asuka shivered at that. The Symbiote got out of line and all he sang was one stanza. The last time I heard a racket like that was three kittens and a pig in an industrial washing machine with worn out bearings. I don't think she'll ever try anything like that again. Especially with the `good` Megami shouting 'encore' the whole time.

    Suddenly a leg caught hers and down she went, losing her control over the fire bands. Before she could stand, he had her on her back.

    "Now me proud beauty, the torture begins." He touched her, seemingly at random, but each spot was ticklish. She shrieked and squirmed, trying to crawl away. But he found her tender spots everywhere. She summoned her armor, enclosing herself.

    "So, brave enough, but still afraid," Smithers told her, grinning at her in a superior way, "You still can't trust someone not to hurt you, when they have the upper hand. You two have something else you have in common." He laughed. "Ah, mine is an evil laugh at your discomfort."

    "You think I'm afraid of you?" she challenged as she crawled toward him on all fours.

    "I know you are," he replied as he laid down.

    I know it's a trap, that my ego is making me do something stupid, she thought, But at the same time, I want to be trusted, and I want to trust. She laid down beside him and withdrew most of her armor. She tried not to react as he put his arms around her, but gasped when he pulled her in close to him.

    He smiled at her, and ran a finger down her side, sending shivers through her. Neither spoke as she snuggled against him. She felt his single finger playing over her arms, then her stomach.

    "I don't mind a little teasing, but don't go overboard," he said quietly, "I always have at least one more trick up my sleeve."

    She raised her head up and put it on his shoulder, duplicating his wandering finger, but she traced out the scars on him. "You didn't always get away unscathed."

    "Neither did you, but we both got away," he replied.

    "I won't let them hurt you," she promised.

    "You don't know me," he said, "But I don't hurt people. I'm not the people who've hurt you, or dominated you. I'm not good at forcing my will on people."

    "I haven't had any objections yet," she told him quietly, "I think I can trust the boss too. I don't want to leave."

    "You won't have to," he said, "I've never been allowed to have a Pokègirl. My master's trivial needs came first, now I think I can look at the larger picture, and look at the details of my own life. I think we both can. I think you're going to have all the fighting and adventure you can shake a stick at. I've already seen some of the forces moving behind the scenes, greater than even the forces that my old boss used to represent."

    "Speaking of hidden powers," Asuka said as she sat up, her armor enclosing all but her lower face.

    "What do you hear?" he asked, "I hear it." He began pulling his clothes on as the camp came to life.

    Ritsuko stuck her head in the tent. "Liv picked up something about a dozen miles out. Douse your lights, we want them to think we're harmless and stupid, bring them in closer, so we can catch them between two forces.

    "I - " she stopped looked at Gregory, gulped, "I'll be on the inside, part of the anvil."

    Ritsuko looked at her curiously. "I think the boss is going to decide that, but I'll run it past him."

    "If you want to go," Gregory told her, "You should go."

    "I want to go, but I need to stay. If this is a hammer and anvil attack, the line has to be the stiffest it can be."

    "You certainly do stiffen things," he said.

    "Oh, by the way. After a fight, I'm insatiable," she teased and headed out.

    "Oh dear God," the old man lamented, "What have I gotten myself into?"

    Jeff was some fifty feet off the ground in a tree. I remember how worried they were when I told them my plan, as if I'd fall out of the tree, sheesh! Like I didn't have a superb sense of balance, he thought, then glanced at his two Pokègirl `seatbelt`.

    "If you two don't ease up a little, gangrene is a greater danger than falling," he told them soothingly as both whimpered in fear.

    Odd that the occasional gunshot seems to steady them, he thought, I doubt they'll be happy when they discover I'm the source of their terror. I know they laughed when I said it was immoral to send the girls in to fight such a battle while the generals stayed safe on the sidelines, inviolate. The Chateau Generals of the First World War always offended me, here the attitude is the same, 'Let's you and her fight'. Take the bloodying for my bad decisions, no way!

    He reinforced the terror. A mere illusion and a mood setter, for this. The creature looked like a cross between an oversized Widow, and a Jagdpanther. But the `cat` is only part of it, he thought, as the 'monster' vaporized one, then another Pokègirl. A few around the victim watched her writhing and screaming and flickering in and out of existence, before she vanished altogether. The victims are also an illusion. And her death scene included several of the imperfections that would usually reveal illusions, except these are so blatant and so obviously part of the pathology, they add rather than subtract from the verisimilitude. They also prove I'm a bastard, he thought as he gut-shot another Team Rocket Tamer, adding his own high-pitched screams to the cacophony splitting the air. Only Kaji had received a clean death. The Pokègirls haven't realized that it's flickering in and out, moving about the battlefield, like Widows are reputed to do, is a problem with the illusion, not a tactic to make their planning useless. He watched as another fusillade sliced through and around the creature, cutting down those unlucky enough to be on the far side of the monster. Of course, they think the screaming wounded are due to the creature's own attacks. The wounded Tamers are also real enough, as was whoever destroyed their blimps' lifting engines. But now it's almost all fratricide, or is it sororicide? As their attacks pass through or miss their target, and hit each other. I hope my forces are down behind cover. They're still fighting furiously, although without any science.

    "Withdraw to the camp!" Jeff called loudly.

    One voice of sanity amid chaos, he realized as the attackers began melting away.

    "Let's go girls," he told his two anchors, and found to his chagrin, the pair carried him down, neither willing to let go.

    Terrific, all that work and no one from the Oscar committee in sight, he thought as he shook his admirers loose long enough to get off a shot with his heavy rifle. Yes, that's the signal. Would you put me down? He wanted to shout as his two new admirers literally picked him up off the ground, and ran towards the dim glow of the campfire.

    The entire camp was turned out, Ritsuko, Asuka and Layla had the camp divided into two sections, with Asuka commanding a flying squad to reinforce any gaps or weak points. "We have to surrender, and they'll protect us. Cutey Honey and Sakura Avalon are in that camp," Jeff shouted to the ragged mob.

    All the agreement surrounding me, he thought, But will they stop before they hit the line? I think I over did the panic. Oh crap! He thought as he spotted the one miscalculation he had made.

    "The monster is dead, but he seems to have stirred up a Wasps' nest," he shouted as he arrived at the line, carried like a toy.

    "We surrender, we help fight Wasps," his `rescuers` told Madison as they carried him through the gap in the barricades.

    "Put him with the flying squad and report to the Matron, Ritsuko," Madison ordered, and looked at them, daring them to disagree. They did as ordered, leaving him with Asuka.

    "What are you going to do with almost a hundred extra Pokègirls?" Asuka asked, as a small contingent of the once-Rocket Pokègirls were added to her platoon.

    "Listen to your group leaders," Jeff shouted, "Concentrate on what's in front of you, depend on the girls on either side of you to keep your flanks clear, and you do your job to keep their flanks clear," he called over the din, adding a spell of confidence to his words, "Trust each other, and do your jobs, and we'll all make it out alive."

    He headed towards Misato and Mara, who were sheparding the last stragglers in. "Remember, they've already been on the receiving end of a severe drubbing," he told the pair quietly, "They're tired and jittery, it won't take much to break their morale. A gentle hand isn't amiss."

    "Sakura, you, Kero, and Yui form up one magic division. Liv, and our boss form a second," Mara said, "We can hold them, but your two divisions will have to swat them." She took the rifle off his shoulder, then the bandolier of ammunition. "There's others who can make better use of this, than you."

    "Ritsuko's busy with her force," Jeff replied.

    "She's not the only one on the battlefield who knows how to use a rifle," Mara reminded him, "Liv, you keep an eye on him, you know what I mean."

    Liv nodded with a predatory grin. Jeff frowned, but looked over his army. A single reinforced company, with two squads of special forces to back them up, he thought as he looked at the faces around him, Okay, Asuka and Sakura got the only ones still full of fight, I've got the sad sacks.

    "All right, I'm going to make this simple, all attacks will be volley fired, that is, everybody fires at once. You will fire only on the order of the section leader, unless you are ordered to fire at will. Most of you are tired and low on energy, so we have to fire carefully and make every shot count."

    He headed to talk to Ritsuko and Layla. He kept his voice low. "Move people around as necessary. If they're smart, they'll try to hit everywhere at once to keep us pinned down. If they aren't, they'll drive straight in. We can turn either method against them. Fill your holes, use the flying squad. Once the mages can target their officers, that should break them." He glanced around guiltily. "And while I hate myself for saying this, our new`friends` are a lot more expendable than the people we had with us this morning."

    This didn't faze Ritsuko. "I still want to know what a whole Team Rocket Task force is doing this far out in the boonies."

    "You can guess that easily," Jeff answered and glanced at Asuka, "We let the military and police deal with that. Let's just survive."

    The Wasps arrived, circling the outpost. Jeff let his senses slip beyond the mundane, and into the outre. "There," he said and ignored the frightened looks on the magic users around him, "Longer than most, and hanging back. That's our target." He returned to the commonplace, and glanced around. "Deep magic," he said, "Fireballs, prepare for volley fire."

    Now they relax, he thought of the eager faces, How many of you were seduced by promises of power, now you've felt power so far beyond your imaginings, it frightens you. We aren't done yet. The fusillade went out. Dozens of Wasps raced in to try to intercept the fireballs with their own bodies. But many hit their target. It retreated as the swarm covered its escape.

    Ritsuko and Layla ordered their forces to hold fire. Only one shot rang out after the order, and pieces of the Wasp Queen scattered from the impact.

    "This seems to live up to its reputation," Smithers said as he straightened up from beside The Gun. The swarm all retreated, heading straight back to their hive.

    "Dammit girls! They're getting away!" Liv shouted, followed by nervous laughter from many of the other girls.

    Not even the most hot-blooded want to leave the circle and pursue, Jeff noted as Ritsuko detailed a group to get some food ready, while Asuka led her flying platoon to sweep the outskirts for more stragglers. Pokèchow, well it isn't too bad with the gravy you can make. He headed over to Ritsuko.

    "Take over, I'll be seeing to the wounded," he told her.

    I also don't want the bullets I put in some of the Tamers to be found by the police, he didn't say aloud.

    The military and police were all examining the wounded Team Rocket members, Tamers and Pokègirls. "Even as a Harem Master, or two," the Officer Jenny said of the collection of worried Pokègirls, "You can't salvage that many from a battle."

    "But I, we, can send them to a legitimate Ranch," Jeff countered.

    "Yes," the Officer Jenny nodded.

    "The Masaki Ranch," Jeff said, "Also, do you know what the requirements of a maximum Harem are?"

    "The actual idea is still illegal, but a 'Maximum Harem' would be a human Tamer, his or her Alpha and 4 Pokègirl `Tamers` with six Pokègirls each." The officer glanced at the eighteen girls who'd been segregated from the rest. She saw Layla, Misato, and two of the security PsiDykes from Taylor's group.

    Asuka's entire flying platoon, and a few others of the less-servile magic types, Jeff thought as the Jenny came to a decision.

    "Well, I hope the Masaki Ranch appreciates the sudden gift of 87 Pokègirls," the Jenny told him, "Eighteen between two Harem Masters shouldn't be too bad."

    "Of course, thank you. We'll bury the ten who died."

    87 + 18 < 123 - 10, Jeff kept to himself, Where are Asuka, Madison, Sakura, Ritsuko, Mei Lin, Gem, Mara and Jane? Eight are missing, what an amazing coincidence!

    "What's going to happen to the Team Rocket types who survived?" Jeff asked.

    "I wish we could turn them all into Pokègirls and give them to their colleagues," the Officer Jenny said angrily.

    "Law or technology?" Jeff asked.

    "Tech - STOP!" the Officer Jenny shouted as Jeff raised his hand, and all the Team Rocket types cringed.

    "They'd be safe as long as they remained in custody," Jeff said petulantly, "If they were found innocent, the spell would automatically fade."

    "And if they were 'rescued' but still innocent, could you reverse the spell?" the Jenny asked.

    "Yeah," Jeff admitted and frowned, "That could be a problem."

    "There's always the question of the trial," the Jenny told him firmly.

    "Oh, I can come by after that, and . . . that's fair, isn't it?" He winked at the Jenny, where the Rocket group couldn't see. The Jenny seemed to consider it.

    "No, I don't ever think the judge would allow it," the Jenny said, "So I guess I have to insist that as long as they are in the custody of the law, you can't touch them."

    Jeff frowned, then grinned at them. "You mean if they escape and I catch them -?" The Team Rocket Tamers couldn't be remanded into custody fast enough.

    The eighty-seven girls and their former Tamers were led away, when it seemed no chance that the Jennies would reverse course and try to return, Jeff turned away and headed into the bivouac. And the entire entourage is either following behind, or racing ahead, he noted, he kept up a steady ground-eating pace, Advance at your own pace, seem in total control. After all, I already know overall what I'm going to find. He gave no orders, kept his face neutral, betraying neither anger, nor resignation. Just the intention to run this problem to ground at his own pace. I won't be deterred or rushed. The girls who were missing, and those who ran ahead are having a rather frenzied conversation. And with the boss around, all the talking is over, he thought, I'm the kid, half these people are older than I am, but because of my race, I'm the one in charge. The Nazis would have loved this place, although they probably would have hated having to mix their blood with such impure creatures.

    He stopped in the clearing, and unclipped his Pokèdex from his belt. He scanned the new girls that his own girls had collected. Layla rushed forward, relieving Ritsuko of her guard duty. Ritsuko dutifully walked to his side, as a good Alpha would. From the determination on her face, she'll privately argue her position with me, he thought, But she'll also support my possibly unpopular decision. Not that I've made a decision yet, but they don't need to know that. Before I do make a decision, I need certain logistical and chains-of-command concerns addressed.

    "I'm assuming that the girls you've adopted are standing beside you, this is a yes or no question, any other discussion will be punished." They nodded or said yes, then fell silent.

    Sakura's Galem, Madison's Chibi Grizzlar, Gem's Milktit, Layla's Demon-Goddess all glanced nervously at me, while on the other hand, Mei Lin's Moogirl and Mara's Coyotits stare straight at me, while the normally more defiant Mei Lin and Mara are the nervous ones. Jane picked an Applepie . . . I don't want to know. Asuka's Sidekick, that's a mystery for another time, but if she starts calling her 'Wondergirl', I'm going to be sick.

    "Yeah, I'm trouble," the Coyotits commented, "From what I hear, so are you." The silence from the others was deafening.

    What am I supposed to do? Start throwing thunderbolts? I still sense the fear from the others, Jeff thought.

    "Aren't you afraid your outburst will redact negatively on your potential friend?" Jeff asked, as if the answer either way had no importance.

    "She didn't do anything wrong," the Coyotits replied angrily, Mara hissed at her.

    "That's not for you to decide," Jeff replied and continued. Asuka's Sidekick, and Jane's Applepie both mirrored their mistresses in trying to look innocent and inoffensive. I've run into some frightening things in my life, but Jane trying to look cute is just . . . wrong, right down to the fundamental foundations of the universe. Besides, it's not as if I really had any say over the security and support forces that Ms. Taylor sent. They follow, because Madison needs the cure, and my orders, however outrageous, have works well. That and they seem to want a unified chain of command, he thought of the worried expressions on the PsiDyke's and PsiLady's faces, I liked it better when they cordially hated my guts, they weren't so cowed. Now they have something, and they assume I can take it away from them and actually could make it stick.

    He simply completed his scanning and stepped away, not glaring, not smiling. Indecision and uncertainty are the most effective means to discipline Pokègirls. Not knowing what their Tamer is thinking or planning is the prod that would tear at them worse than a physical pain.

    "Ritsuko, Misato, Sakura, Madison, Layla, I'll speak to you . . . privately," he said and walked some distance away.

    The others exchanged worried glares, but the five summoned girls followed. When they were far enough way that they couldn't be overheard, he began, "Am I correct that an Alpha's job is to keep her Tamer informed of things he's either overlooked or isn't in a position to know?" Jeff asked, his face giving away nothing.

    "Yes, sir," Ritsuko answered, the others were wavering between leaping in, and keeping silent. Ritsuko glared at them, to keep them quiet and let her do her job.

    "Was that done?" Jeff asked.

    "No, sir."

    "Then you were either certain I wouldn't approve or thought you could conceal it from me. The correct time to inform me of such a significant change was the moment it occurred," he said, "I don't like having to lie, whether I agreed with your decision or not, I now have to defend giving the police inaccurate information, because I know those Team Rocket types would never leave out a Grizzlar or a Demon-Goddess, even if they left out all the others."

    "Yes, sir."

    "Now, Madison," he said, intentionally leaving Ritsuko hanging, uncertain about her position, "The needs of a Grizzlar in terms of food are immense. We only have enough for a few days for us, and a small reserve. How do you intent to see to it that a Grizzlar is properly fed?"

    "We have a Milktit and a chibi would only eat as much as two adult Pokègirls," Madison replied carefully.

    "She'll also begin lactating herself, which would increase rather than decrease her protein intake, which is exactly what we are in shortest supply of. There's also the problem of allowing the Milktit time enough to graze, so your solution doesn't completely eliminate the problem. It's only a start, and it gives you something to work on."

    "Yes, sir," Madison

    Jeff stepped up to the PsiLady, who blanched at the attention. "You and your team are neither part of my Harem, nor even technically under my command, but I would have expected a better understanding of the legal ramification of this from Ms. Taylor's representatives. Besides, Ms. Taylor would be well-able to support you, whether I agreed or disagreed with your adoption. You know that."

    "Yes," Layla admitted, "Yes I do." She relaxed slightly as she remembered he had no real power over her.

    "The lack of trust is what concerns me," he said, "I am more than aware of my failings as a Tamer, but trustworthiness was not one I was aware of, until now."

    Asuka watched the other girls squirm and shift as their Master talked to them. I have other fences to mend, she thought as she approached her Master, He's as nervous as they are, odd, I'm not. I know this is discipline, not an outright rejection. If he actually lashed out, physically or verbally, they'd know it was over and they'd just accept what came next. Not that I was ever punished. HA!

    "I'm sorry Master. It wasn't fear that you wouldn't approve, but at the time, there wasn't enough time to explain things. The first cops must have been following us, once they arrived, we couldn't get you alone to set things straight."

    "I can understand. My worry is them," Gregory said and nodded to the group, "He hasn't told them that both of us were raised to Harem Master. The authorities would be nervous enough with the Harem he had, not adding you and the others . . . it is going to get very dicey. They aren't going to be happy he didn't tell them about the extras before they left. It would be a trivial thing to have claimed them, and gotten rid of them later, kept them in their Pokèballs until he could sell, trade or transfer them."

    "Not a good thing to keep from your Harem," Asuka commented, "By either of you."

    "His reasons are his own. Mine are simple, I haven't claimed any of you. So I didn't actually need anything more than the license I already have."

    "I'm no one's pet, no matter how nicely they treat me."

    "I was referring to a security certificate," he told her and grinned, "You aren't my pet, you're my bodyguard. Although sometimes I wonder if you are trying to kill me."

    "At least you'll die with a smile on your face," Asuka countered.

    "Or an expression of impotent rage," he joked back. "Looks like the prayer meeting broke up. I wouldn't hazard a credit on which of them looks worst."

    "Him," Asuka replied, "He's worried about real problems, they're worried about illusions. Not punishing them is the real punishment."

    "Asuka, Gregory, Gem, please accompany me," Jeff said as he headed to the comm trailer.

    "Like I said," Asuka said as she followed. She noted Gem looking back mournfully at the others, before she turned her attention to the man walking ahead.

    Okay, her first loyalty is her Master, but she wants the others to stay with her, Asuka realized, then smiled, I think that's the real point.

    Inside the trailer, Jeff laid out a large piece of paper. "The plan the Ms. Taylor has been pushing seems the most effective way to govern this burgeoning group. That is, two human Tamers, each having an Alpha and each having four Pokègirl `Tamers` with six Pokègirls each." He looked up at Gregory, "I'm assuming Asuka will be functioning as your Alpha, at least in combat, I think Ritsuko and Layla will be handing the administrative end."

    "Actually, I was intending to have Sakura function in that position, when she gets her life back," Gregory said.

    Jeff made a small circle and connected an 'R', then a square and a line to an 'S'. "There are the eighteen I officially kept, the eight that were kept unofficially and AnyaAnn; my initial group of eight, Sakura's group of seven, and Asuka. That's eight for each of us, and twenty-seven that will have to be divided up to have an official and legal relationship." He made four lines to the circle and the square. "Technically, that's twenty-eight open slots for each of us. Although having a Beta would probably be a good idea." He added a sixth line to the circle and the square.

    "Gem," the Blessed Widow tapped the line touching the circle, "Blessed Widow." She tapped the new line touching the square and looked at Asuka. Jeff added a 'G' and an 'A' to those lines. "As I see it, Mara, Misato and Mara's Coyotits would form one group." He put down those names and attached a line. "Oyuki and Liv a second, Kiyone and Cutey the third." He added the names and the lines.

    "I think Sakura is going to want to be a team leader, rather than Alpha," Asuka said, "Which sticks me with the role of Alpha, which I don't want. Wondergirl can be my Beta."

    "What's her type?" Jeff asked, silently fearing the worst.

    Asuka laughed as his expression. "Dragon, like me. What? You're expecting an Ice-type maybe? Some blue-haired, unemotional little dolly? I bet you would expect me to name her something cold-related, like Frrrreezer, or Chilblain? Or how about Zero?"

    "Yes, that was what I was expecting. Maybe it was too obvious," Jeff admitted, offering a silent prayer of thanks to whoever had arranged it.

    "Okay," Asuka said, fighting her giggles, "You should see your face!"

    "Okay, Sakura's groups should be her Galem, Li, Kero and Yui. Madison's -"

    "Why separate Madison and Rika from her group?" Gregory asked.

    "Because those two groups, will be inseparable, but better to separate the frontline fighters from the mages," Asuka said, "Li and the Galem can serve as the close-in guard. Madison, Rika, Mei Lin, and their three can form the infantry group. I'd set up Layla and Jane, and their two in another group. I have a feeling they are going to stick close to Madison, and Madison is going to stay close to Sakura, so that's a tight-knit bunch. That still leaves the other eighteen to distribute. Now each of you has an open slot for an entire team. Let's keep those open for the moment." Asuka looked over the list of the eighteen. "The question of similar types, or similar attacks will have to be addressed. Frankly, I'd put that blonde Fearleader in charge of Cutey's group, and trade Kiyone for Liv and put the Ladyien and the Swanmaid in Oyuki's group. That gives you a classy, diplomatic group, and a sarcastic group. That takes their eyes off the Gem/Mara/Misato combo where your massive hitting power really is."

    "You really get into this, don't you? Moving people around like chess pieces?" Jeff asked sourly.

    "If you wanted a nice boring life, you should have stayed in Redwood," Asuka said patiently as she studied the list of Pokègirls, "You have a certain force level, you organize them in the most effective manner. Since you aren't the kid who'll go after gym badges, I assumed this is a military-style formation. I'm assigning the soldiers and noncoms."

    "I apologize," Jeff said, "I've gotten reflexive in everyone treating Pokègirls as things, even other Pokègirls."

    "Oh, I treat everybody as inferior beings," Asuka said cheerfully.

    "That I can believe," Jeff said.

Jeff's Harem
Oyuki - Megami
Kiyone - Wolf Spider
Misato - Seraph
Ritsuko - Matron (Alpha)
Mara - Storm Demon
Gem - Blessed Widow
Liv - Witch
Cutey Honey - Titto

Sakura Avalon - Clow Mystic
Kero - Blessed Sphinx
Yue - Mystic Angel
Li Shaoran - Cardcaptor
Li Meiling - Pirouette
Jane Eyre - PsiDyke
Madison Taylor - Tarantella
Rika Sasaki - Amazon Wu
Layla MacKenzie - PsiLady

Gregory Smithers - Gentleman's gentleman

Asuka Soryu Langley - Battle Angel - Drag'n Knight
Wondergirl - Wyrma, Asuka's Sidekick

AnyaAnn - Symbiote Romanticide

Sakura's Galem
Madison's Chibi Grizzlar
Gem's Milktit
Layla's Demon-Goddess
Mei Lin's Moogirl
Mara's Coyotits
Jane's Applepie