FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I've been feeling sick all this week, so I didn't get much writing done. However, I did manage to get enough for a chapter. Enjoy it, and in the days to come you shall witness an amount of porn unseen by mortal eyes.

UNSEEN I TELL YOU!!

==========================

* Shortly before *

"Hey, squishy," called Katherine, her blade-like tail swaying slowly behind her as she approaches May, who was kneeling on the ground in front of a tree.

"Hmm," May turned to see the absol, then averted her gaze, "Oh, it's you. Look, I didn't mean anything by what I did before... I just wanted to-"

"I know, I know," interrupted Kat. "I've been ordered to apologize. I guess I've been a little rough on you for being such a wuss."

May laughed, instantly perking up. "I guess that's the best I can get from you, huh? That's fine; I wasn't expecting a big apology, or any at all for that matter! Besides, I'm feeling better already; look at this."

The human pointed to her nose and tilted her head back, showing that she no longer had the cotton balls wedged in her nostrils. "I found some moss growing off this oran tree. It's like a natural coagulant!"

"A what," asked the absol, tilting her head to one side.

"That means it stops bleeding," clarified May, pulling a strange, green film off of the trunk of the tree. "This moss must get some of the oran's natural healing properties as it grows. I figure that if I get enough, I can cover a bandage in it and make an old-fashioned band-aid for Zack's arm that should stop the bleeding much faster."

Katherine smiled, "Awesome! I guess you're good for something after all... but don't you humans have places to go when you're hurt?"

"If you're talking about a hospital, then yes, but Zack hates them," said May, smiling. "I don't know why, but he won't go near one unless he's lost a major organ."

The absol giggled, stepping towards May. "Here, let me help you; I can't let you get all the credit for this."

Kat was thankful that May didn't make it difficult for her to apologize. That sort of thing wasn't one of her strong suits. The oran tree was covered moss, so she knew she could help May carry some back for Zack. Not that her master's blood wasn't delicious, but she would rather not have him passing out when she needed him.

Like tonight, for instance...

But then she suddenly stopped, looking to the woods around her with a stern gaze.

"What's up, Kat," asked May, moderately concerned about the absol's change in demeanor. "Smell something?"

"No..." Katherine replied, glancing about her surroundings once more before continuing her short walk to the oran tree. "I felt something. An ill wind, you could say."

"Oh, I see," said May. "Then I guess it's in our best interest to get this moss back to Zack ASAP. You two have a penchant for seeing trouble coming, and yet still find a way to get into it."

"Yeah," said Katherine, chuckling a bit. "We do like to have fun. But I don't thi-"

The absol froze, looking to the trees on her left. She felt someone's presence, she was sure of it! She turned on her heels to face the intruder, "Who's there!?"

With a gasp, Katherine's crimson eyes went wide. She felt a dramatic temperature shift in the air. A big one. She and May were not only being watched, they were being attacked!

"Get down," Kat shouted to her human companion.

"What," asked May, alarmed. A second later, she saw a swiftly growing red orb in the brush, burning a path towards her. She let out a small scream and jumped clear out of the way, the tunnel of flame impacting against the tree behind her. The moss burned quickly, causing the tree to light up like an oiled rag. Turning towards the source, she saw a path of slowly smoldering leaves and grass. "What was-?"

"Hemlock, Poison Fang," shouted a deep, yet feminine voice. A grey-and-black blur leaped from the tall bushes, landing on top of Katherine with a thud. An instant later, Kat felt a sharp pain in the base of her neck, a pain that quickly began to burn, causing her to involuntarily yelp. She heard the creature on top of her speak in a growling poketongue. He sounded smug, almost bragging in his demeanor. The being's words struck home on Kat's ears, her painfully closed eyes forcing them open out of shock. She strained her neck to turn to the beast on her back and confirmed her fears.

She saw a large mightyena, his long, deadly fangs now covered in her blood. The wolf's dark fur bore the markings of the seviper, and his eyes had a reptilian slit which seemed to peer into her mind and unlock fears she didn't realize she had.

Katherine recognized him instantly.

* * *

The gentle ringing of Celia's wing beats did little to soothe my discomfort as we flew towards the location of my distressed Pokemon. Kiki held on to Celia's neck, the kitten's tail waving behind her like a piece of string in the breeze.

With a cry that sounded like a large, echoing click, my flygon alerted me to something ahead of us. Gazing through the goggles I wore, I saw what seemed like a black mushroom cloud blooming from the woods.

*Is that smoke,* I thought to myself as I watched a grey plume rise from the canopy. *May doesn't have any fire-types, and the wild Pokemon around here don't sling flames around in their own forest.*

Now I was sure that foul play was involved. My eyes burned with a combination of rage and the sting of the wind as I urged Celia to go faster. The flygon let out a battle-cry that sounded like a demonic cricket chirp and increased her speed, the singing of her wings turning into a high-pitched roar as wind and sand tears around me.

*I'm coming, you two.*

* * *

"Get off of her," May shouted, reaching for her own pokeball amidst the tree's cinders. She knew she had to put out the fire and help Katherine, so her swampert would be perfect. She grasped the pokeball she needed, but her arm is jerked back by something. It felt like a cold rope made of muscle. Glancing towards her wrist, she noticed it caught by a thick green vine. She struggled against it, but two more had wrapped around both of her arms and pulled them down as if the earth was trying to devour her, the strain bringing her to her knees. The living ropes pulled back, making May's hands plant uncomfortably behind her feet.

"I was hoping that you two would lead me back to the Stone kid before you noticed me, but that absol is a sharp one," said the feminine voice again, originating from a leafy tree on the edge of the clearing. "Still, he should be here soon enough, what with his girlfriend and his precious Pokemon in such a predicament."

The voice's source revealed itself as a figure dressed in a black, full-body suit. The figure seemed to gracefully melt from the tree and hit the ground on one knee, rising slowly. May was surprised to see a woman around her age, maybe even a bit younger. She had dark, shoulder-length hair with traces of purple reflecting in the flames of the burning oran tree. The woman had a white symbol emblazoned over her left breast, but May was unable to determine what it was at this distance.

May looked over to Katherine and saw her growling in poketongue, the mightyena responding in kind. May couldn't turn her head to see what was binding her, but she knew she couldn't reach her pokeballs. She felt helpless, kneeling on the ground with her arms pulled behind her. She wouldn't be able to do anything if she tried. *Katherine was right,* she thought, a single tear rolling down her face. *I am worthless.*

"Alright, Ceros, take the girl's gear," said the woman in the black suit, a houndoom creeping from the path of destruction it created earlier. "I don't want her pulling any surprises while we wait for our knight in expensive armor to show up."

The skull-headed hound stepped towards the professor's daughter, placing his canine head in between her upturned breasts and deeply growling to her face, taking pleasure in her squirming. The dark-type placed a claw on her belt and tore it form her skirt, almost destroying it in the process and eliciting a loud yell from the helpless human. The houndoom lifted the belt in his claw and said some things in poketongue back to his mightyena companion, who replied in kind. Whatever Hemlock said caused Katherine to stir angrily.

"SHUT UP," the absol cried, twisting her injured form beneath the Pokemon who pinned her. She managed to land a powerful Slash across the beast's midsection, sending the mightyena soaring nearly ten feet from her. Using the momentum of her own attack, she spun in mid-air and landed on her claws, forming and rapidly delivering a small Shadow Ball against a very surprised houndoom. The attack hit him so hard that he let go of May's Pokemon and went soaring into the burning tree. Katherine was panting with a look of satisfaction.

"Hemlock, Take Down," shouted the woman. The fanged wolf charged the absol, bringing with it enough force to knock her down and keep her down. Katherine twisted her body just as the charge hit, managing to avoid being pinned beneath him again. Instead, she slid across the ground, wincing as the blow had sent her as far as where May was pinned.

The entangled girl gasped as the dirt-and-blood-stained absol stood from her prone position, growling in defiance of her attacker. To her other side, May heard a low, growling roar. She managed to slightly turn her head to her other side, just in time to see the houndoom casually stepping from the burning tree, embers flickering off of it's fireproof fur as the heat traced intricate shadows across the skull on it's head. It was the most frightening thing the young girl had ever seen; like a demon that had stepped from the gates of Hell to torment them.

Katherine also turned to face her blazing opponent, but her heedless charge was halted before it had even begun by another set of constricting vines. Normally, she would have torn through those vines like rice paper, but Hemlock's poison had begun to speed up its effects due to her exertion. Panting, the absol continued to struggle against the vines, which were wrapping around her legs and waist, ripping her from her defiant position and dragging her down to the ground. When a vine wrapped around her horn and pulled, she finally submitted, growling as she was forced to lie down. Through panting breaths, May heard Katherine shout several things in the Pokemon language, probably curses or threats, by the tone of it.

"Good job, Hell team," called out the menace with the purple hair, satisfied with her Pokemon's work. Both of her wolves ran back to her, accepting a pat on the head for their efforts. "Now all we need to do is wait for the Stone kid to show up and scare the punk into calling his daddy. A ransom mark like this is sure to be worth a fortune!"

May couldn't believe her ears after what the woman said, "You're crazy! Zack has gone up against more frightening things than you. What makes you think he'll be afraid of a little degenerate with a penchant for greed?"

The thief shot May a cold glare, gracefully taking several steps towards her bound victims. "I've been doing this for a while, little girl. Finding trainers with a wealthy backing and using their ransom to make money for my organization. Now, a young boy who has a legacy like Stone behind him? The kid has probably been so sheltered that just seeing any real danger would make him wet his pants!"

May laughed. "You don't have any idea who you're dealing with, do you? I think you need more research, because Zack can mop the floor with you and your little entourage."

The woman huffed, turning away and walking back to her tree, "You bore me. Thorne, gag the pest."

The two more vines seemed to erupt from the ground beneath May, thrashing about like giant green worm emerging from the soil. May started to scream in surprise, but the vines encircled her mouth and neck, pulling tightly.

"Not too tight, dear," said the trainer, turning to see her Pokemon working it's magic. "Though keep a good grip, just in case our target tries anything."

More tears formed in May's eyes as the vines cut part of her oxygen supply. They did not cover her nose, but the moss she had put up there had restricted her breathing all the same. Her vision got a little blurry, and her head felt as though it was swimming in an ocean of cotton.

*There's nothing I can do... Kat is hurt bad... and Zack is walking into a trap...*

*And I'm.... just..... a burden,* was her final thought, her heavy eyelids blanketing her eyes with a curtain of darkness.

...Silence...

...

"REEEEAAAH!!"

*What was that...? It didn't sound... like a human...*

*It's... getting easier to breathe...*

*I... can move again.*

May's eyes opened slightly. She saw what appeared to be a wall of green with two large, yellow eyes that were staring with great concern into her own. The creature was carefully removing the vines around her neck and head with one of its muscled claws.

Then she heard the woman's voice again. "What is that, a sceptile? What did you do to my carnivine?"

*Carnivine?* A mass of vines and what looked like a Venus fly trap catches May's attention. The edges of its vines are frayed, and it hangs limp within the sceptile's other claw. A moment later, the carnivine was flung at the feet of the woman, who recalls it to its pokeball.

"So, did me setting fire to your precious forest draw you out, ya great big gecko," the woman asked, crossing her arms. "It doesn't matter; a wild sceptile will fetch a nice price on its own." Then, she smiled. "A REALLY nice price; I don't think I even need the Stone kid any more," she said, reaching into a small black bag at her waist.

"That's a shame," said another voice from above, this one masculine. "Here I was thinking that I was special."

A violent rush of wind tore through the woods, followed by grains of brown sand as a desert tornado encircled the burning foliage. May was far enough away to not feel the stinging sand, but the Houndoom leapt back to its trainer. In a matter of moments, the storm died down, leaving a small pile of sand surrounding the tree, which was charred black, but no longer on fire.

A flygon lowered itself to the ground on singing wings, its passenger leaping from it and landing on a small bank of brown sand. On his head was a forest green hat, a reflective plate above the bill showing the image of the surprised trio. Strapped to his forehead was a pair of Go Goggles, which he was in the process of removing, and the orange hair poking beneath the hat was tangled in a mass of uncombed chaos. His red t-shirt was slightly torn, and there was a large, poorly-wrapped bandage around the upper part of his left arm. On his back was a bright yellow backpack and in his right hand was a bloodstained forest green coat. Also disembarking from the mystic Pokemon was a skitty, which landed on the ground at the trainer's feet.

"You kids can be so dramatic," said the girl, her hounds taking a defensive stance before their master. "What are you supposed to be, a super hero?"

"No," replied the young man, letting his pack, coat, and goggles drop to the sand beside him. "I'm not a hero, I'm just pissed off!"

* * *

I meant every word. Judging from that crazy get-up she wore, she must be part of one of those insane poacher teams, like Magma or Aqua. I can't stand people like her, and attacking my friends just to get to me didn't help her situation. I could have exterminated her from the sky with Celia's help, but she had just made things personal.

Trent was ripping the vines from around May, cradling her in his arms as he removes her from the foliage. He sits her down against the charred tree, her eyes in a sleepy daze as the sceptile lightly touched her face. He's always been a famous caretaker when it comes to her, especially since she cared for him before I adopted him as my first Pokemon.

Katherine was panting hard, ripping the vines off of her and looking at me with an open-mouthed smile of relief. She took a few steps towards me, and then stumbled; hitting the ground with a light thud that kicked up dried leaves and twigs. I felt something like a rumbling growl escape my own throat as I picked up my backpack and made my way towards her in a hustle.

"Not so fast, kid," shouted the freak with the purple hair. I ignored her, she doesn't matter right now. Katherine is hurt, and I had the means to heal her. Apparently, this didn't please her.

"I'm talking to y-"

"Shut up," I interrupted, kneeling where Katherine had fell. She had two puncture wounds on her shoulder, and what seemed like a web of black veins surrounding the holes. I winced; the blood didn't look healthy at all. I dropped my pack and opened it, reaching to the very bottom and pulling out a golden, cylindrical spray bottle, the glint of sunlight coming from above shining through it like a beacon from the heavens.

Full restore: a medical solution made to heal any feasible wound. It works using nanomachines that actively search for what's wrong and fix it. They're expensive, but my father gave me this bottle in case of an emergency. It's the only freebie that I've ever accepted from him, and now I'm glad I did.

"Hold still, Katherine," I said calmly, stroking her head fur as I sprayed the solution into her wounds. She hissed as the microscopic machines entered her blood stream, purifying whatever was in her blood and stitching wounds closed. The process doesn't take long, but it will be a while before she's back to normal.

I turned my attention to the ones who attacked my friends. The woman's eyes were wide, as if something had shocked her. The houndoom was staring up at its master curiously, probably wondering what his orders were. The mightyena, whose long fangs were still coated in what was no doubt my absol's blood, sniffed the air in my direction, locking eyes with me and growling like a beast. I returned his snarl in kind.

I don't think he liked that.

I stood, the pink puffball of a kitten at my feet expanding her tail with a cute hiss, making it seem like there were two angry skitties back-to-back. I'm not sure how that helps in the wild, but it definitely told me she was ready to fight. Katherine was still on the ground, the full restore working its mechanical magic on her wounded body. The fanged mightyena stepped forward and barked what seemed like challenge in the Pokemon's language. Whatever it said caused Katherine's eyes to widen and his houndoom companion to look at him questioningly.

I glared at the trainer and her Pokemon. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you lot just assaulted my friends to get to me?' I shook my head, condescending her decision. "It's a shame," I continued, "That taking me on directly is something you can't do."

The woman smiled, of all things. "On the contrary, kid: we were going to ambush you all at once, but your absol has better senses than I thought. She found us out, so I just used her to lure in what I consider to be a very big catch."

I looked down at Katherine. The bleeding had stopped, but she was still struggling against herself, writhing in pain as the healing robots invaded her body. I gritted my teeth in a scowl and returned my attention to my enemy.

"Kiki, sing me a sword with Secret Power."

The pink fur ball immediately complied, letting out a cat's cry that resonated throughout the woods. She began to shimmer with a faint aura, the glow rippling outwards along the ground. I felt pressure build up beneath my feet and, in a blast of dirt and forest debris, a twisted mass of roots vaguely shaped like a kendo shinai burst from the earth. Gripping it by the hilt, I pulled it from the ground like a wooden Excalibur.

The thief seemed amused. "What, are you going to fight all three of us by yourself with that?"

"Only if I have to," I replied, directing the tip of the twisted mass in her direction.

"I'll have you know," she said, her hands on her hips, "I'm the best fighter in my group!"

"Good, then I won't feel bad about knocking a little girl senseless. I challenge you: one on one, you against me, no Pokemon."

"Why should I agree to such ridiculous terms, you little punk," the woman asked defiantly.

"First of all, you don't have the right to call me a punk, ya squirt, You look like you're barely my age," I couldn't help but smile at her annoyed reaction.

"And secondly," I continued, my face becoming stern and grim, "You can't win against me in a Pokemon battle. My skitty alone can tear your two hounds to pieces before you could bat an eye."

As if to emphasize my point, the pink kitten at my feet let out a disarmingly cute growl that belies the power she has already shown.

"This way, you get the opportunity to come out ahead in a losing situation."

My visage contorted, becoming a menacing snarl. "And I get the pleasure of making you pay personally for what you've done!"

The girl in the unnaturally tight-fitting body suit crossed her arms, smirking as she took a few steps in my direction. A breeze of indeterminate origin wafted through the trees, causing uproar amongst its leaves. In a way, they were like an audience of the battle to come.

"A strong young man willing to avenge his woman, I admire that." Her stance became that of a martial artist's: her right hand resting in a fist by her waist while her left formed an open-palmed blade extending from her arm. "Of course, fighting with a weapon against a "squirt" like myself?"

"I'd go hand-to-hand if I had the slightest inclination that you'd play fair."

"And smart, too! I might just keep you to myself after I knock you unconscious."

Her hellhounds sat on their haunches, the mightyena still glaring at me as though I had wronged him personally. I turned to my flygon and skitty and gave them their orders. "I want to teach this one a lesson, Celia. Only break into the fight if her dogs try anything. Kiki, I want you to help Katherine recover with your Heal Bell. Are we clear?"

The two nodded and backed away, Kiki padding over to Katherine and using her Heal Bell to help ease her pain and Celia stepping to her other side, keeping her eyes on the mutts. I grip the hilt of my wooden blade take several steps forward, entering my own stance.

*Alright... just like she taught you... anticipate, react, and attack...*

"Are you ready, Mr. Stone?"

Oh that tears it.

I let out a roar of my own and charged her, my twisted root sword by my side. Stopping just short of my target, I shifted the momentum of my charge to my front left leg and swung hard. The woman bent backwards, avoiding my organic blade as though it were a limbo stick and giving me a great, if not intentional view of the shape of her breasts beneath the fabric of her uniform. She landed backwards on her hands and brought her legs up, swinging them like a top and striking me in the left arm, right on the wound.

I winced and stepped to the side with a small grunt. *That attack could have gone better,* I thought as she gracefully returned to her standing stance. *This girl is an athlete, to be sure.*

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to hit me, Sir Stone," she said, mocking my style.

I snarled and returned to my stance. *I need to stay focused!*

We stood still for a while, sizing each other up. *At least I have an idea of what I'm up against.*

The girl grinned, "Not coming back for round two?"

I returned the grin; all I needed was to get her to attack me. "Why don't you come and get some?"

"Gladly," she giggled and charged me.

*Damn, she's fast,* was all I could think before she was within striking distance. Her right first extended and went for my face, but I spun on my heels and turned, avoiding it and coming around with my own attack: a hilt-butt under her ribcage.

I missed again. Leaning into her whiffed punch, she brought on leg up and sliced downward towards my neck in a kick that resembled a black scythe. I rolled forward to avoid the blow and heard it impact among the debris on the forest floor. That would have been bad, but it had given me an opening.

I stood and swung my blade around in a single motion, the wood making a dull thud as it impacted against her back, the blow sending ripples down the wooden sword and into my hand. She stumbled forward a few steps, allowing me to raise my pseudo sword for another strike. However, she turned around with...something in her hand. Was it something metal? It looked a little like a knife. No... it's too small.

Whatever it is, she threw it at me. I brought my sword down to intercept it, forsaking my opportunity to attack in favor of protecting myself from this new weapon. The object imbedded in the vines of my shinai and I felt its small force travel through my wrist. I looked at it while my opponent regained her balance.

I was... curious. "Is this a... throwing star?"

"I prefer the term 'shuriken,'" she said, flinging a kick in my direction. I backed up to avoid the blow and raised an eyebrow, "So... what, you're a ninja?"

She stopped her attack, "What about it?"

"Are you serious?"

I must have offended her, because she rushed me and went to deliver a harsh chop to my shoulder. I sidestep the blow and deliver a swipe of my own, which she dodges deftly. "What's that supposed to mean," she asked, slightly peeved.

"I don't know," I replied. "It's just that... maybe you should lay off of the comic books."

She gasps, taken aback that I just smack talked her chosen profession. "Wha... j... SHOWS HOW MUCH YOU KNOW," she shouted, flinging a much sloppier kick towards my ribs.

"Whatever," I replied, casually avoiding the assault and landing my own on her exposed shoulder. "So, where did you get the outfit," I asked as she stepped back from the hit. "Did you have to send in thirteen proof of purchase off the back of "Sugar-Frosted Ninja Prostitutes" cereal boxes?"

She screamed in anger and rushed me, pulling out what looked like a slender dagger from the small black bag that hung at her waist. My goal was to make her angry enough to make a reckless charge, but I think I might have overdone it.

*Oops.*

I cleared my head with a quick, cleansing breath and assessed the situation. *She started charging towards me on her right foot with a knife in her right hand. The blade is drawn back against her waist, so she's going to use force behind the thrust. She's blinded by rage, so my stance doesn't frighten her enough to cause her to keep her distance.*

*This is perfect.*

She got within three steps and I made my move. Left foot: she brings the knife out to the side to strike, so I swung my wooden blade upwards, knocking the hilt of the knife upwards and away with the force of her own momentum. Right foot: she was shocked from the sudden disarm, causing her to lose focus. I twisted the shinai in the air, bringing its pointed tip down in a stabbing motion across her cheek and into the ground in front of her left foot. Left foot: she tripped on the vine-covered blade, allowing me to send a devastating knee into her chest, flinging myself off of the hilt of my sword and into her body. I felt the force of her charge enter through my knee and pass into my stable footing. She was flung back a good few feet from the collision, dropping to the ground just as her knife does, several feet to my side.

I approached her and place the tip of my wooden blade at her throat. The sides of the sword are dull, but the point is tapered with a twisted vine, the strike against her cheek bleeding to prove it.

"Ugh," she said, the tip of the sword poking gently at her throat. "You're better than I thought, Stone. Who taught you to fight like that?"

I smiled, "My mother."

She seemed curious, pressing another question: "Really? I didn't think Stone had a wife. I heard you were adopted."

"She was the closest thing I had," I said, quickly snapping back into present before my mind had a chance to wander. I couldn't afford for her to trick me while I was off my guard. "I've beaten you, but I'm still happy to go a few more rounds if you want to push me. Besides, aren't ninja supposed to accept defeat gracefully and go kill themselves?" I pressed the sword closer to her throat to emphasize my own point as well as the sword's.

She smiled, "You're thinking samurai, Stone." Her smile morphed into a wicked grin, "Ninja have a... different approach to losing."

I saw her right hand go through a beckoning motion. Off to the side, I hear the telltale roar of one of her hellhounds. I turn just in time to see a houndoom leaping towards me, his teeth ablaze with a roaring flame.

"We don't."

Damn, I let her get the edge again. I don't have enough time to raise my sword! This thing is going to take burn right through me if that bite hits!

Regardless, I bring my sword as close as I can to protecting myself, shielding my eyes from the bright, furnace-like jaws of the demon dog.

A cry filled the forest.

But it wasn't my own.

I brought the sword down and saw the houndoom suspended in midair, his throat clutched by the three-talon claw of my flygon. She was almost roaring with rage as the dark Pokemon's mouth was forced shut, its fire dissipating within its maw. She opened her mouth, a bright white sphere of light forming just in front of her mouth; the beginnings of a Hyper Beam.

*Good girl!*

A blur of black cut her short, however. The mightyena delivered a powerful Take Down, slamming Celia to the side and causing her to release the other hound. Without skipping a beat, the fanged wolf lunged at me, hell-bent on ripping me to pieces. It seemed obvious that the attack on my flygon was more about getting her out of the way than it was about rescuing his ally.

I've had time enough to bring my sword to bear and I took a swing at the approaching hound, only to have my root shinai crushed to bits with a single Crunch like a dry twig getting run over by a truck. I raised my now-weaponless arm to protect my face and feel a surge of force as the demon wolf falls upon me. I was knocked over, a great snarling beast dripping strange, yellow drool from its fangs which hover inches over my head as my arm fights to keep them from their target. A droplet of its spittle hit a patch of grass by my neck and I saw it wither and die in an instant, becoming a black mass of crumpled, dry sprigs.

Then I saw them: his two canines are covered a crimson layer of Katherine's blood. My thoughts flashed back to her wounds: the two puncture holes on her shoulder, the black web of poisoned veins, and the pain she was in.

I lost it.

Disregarding my own safety, I released out a roar of my own. My forehead throbbed with my accelerated heartbeat as I threw all of my weight and strength into one last attack, sending a hand-full of rage into the mightyena's slightly-bruised midsection. The attack hit, my hand shook with the impact and the mightyena let out a loud cry. The force of my blow sent him rolling to his houndoom comrade. The other dog was still coughing from the Dragon Claw to his throat he received earlier, courtesy of that protective dragon of mine. I rose to one knee, prepared to strike back if he came any closer to me or Katherine.

The ninja girl winces in surprise, but regains her composure. "Hemlock, Ceros, regroup!"

"You're not going anywhere in one piece," I said, a guttural growl escaping my lips.

My legion appeared to back me up: Celia stepped to my left and let out a challenging cry, a complete attitude change for her. Kiki hissed at my opponents from her position near my feet. Trent appeared on my other side, May standing beside him. The human girl still looked fatigued, and she was leaning on my sceptile for support, but she grasped one of her pokeballs, ready to send out at a moments notice. A telltale growl from behind me made me smile, and I moved aside to allow Katherine to step up, her wounds almost completely healed and her eyes filled with rage. She seemed to look at Hemlock with a poisonous glare of her own.

I saw the fear in the eyes of the girl before me. "We're done here; the mission has been compromised. Ceros, cover our escape!"

I shouted, "You're not going anywhere in one piece!"

Katherine agreed and charged a Shadow Ball. The enemy houndoom belched a black mist from his open mouth, the acrid-smelling fog almost choking me before being blasted aside by the force of my absol's attack. There the telltale sound of a power transformer exploding as the ball connects with something at the other side of the Smog attack.

I shout, "Celia, blow this stuff away!"

She complies with a roar, her singing wings generating a gust of wind powerful enough to send the smog straight into the sky. However, when the smoke clears, they are already gone, a broken mass of bark and wood illustrating where Katherine's attack had landed.

"Damn..." was all I could say. They had escaped. My hands were shaking, my stomach was churning, and the bandage on my arm had loosened in the fight and was barely even on my arm. I was breathing like I had just ran a thousand mile track, but... I felt good!

I felt damn good!

"Zack, that was amazing," said May, beaming from the excitement. I tried to laugh, but I could only smile.

*Why am I so tired?*

My left hand felt abnormally cool and wet, so I checked it. It was covered in blood, but I knew it wasn't mine. My mind replayed the point I attacked Hemlock. Everything was blurry, but I could recall one thing clearly.

I didn't hit Hemlock with a balled fist.

"Master!"

I was toppled by a wall of white fur, effectively knocking me out of my flashback. Apparently Kat is responding well to the full restore. I didn't have the strength to push her off of me, but I didn't want to. I was just glad that she was alright. She licked my face and neck, the rest of my party looking on in amusement.

After bathing my face in her saliva, she looked up at me. I gazed into her beautiful, blood-red eyes. I could spend all day staring into them...

But I felt so tired...

"M... master? Are you okay?" Her voice was getting quieter.

"I'm fine," I responded with a breath. "I just need to... rest my eyes."

I hear her giggle, the rest of my Pokemon standing over in me in a circle. With a tired voice, I gave out my orders.

"Celia, make sure the fire hasn't spread and put it out if it has. Trent, scout the area and see if those three are still around. Kiki, set up a shelter with Secret Power, May-"

May chuckled, "I'm not your Pokemon!"

"Close enough; could you re-bandage my arm? I think the one that I used was broken."

Laughing, May reaches into her backpack and pulls out her own first-aid kit.

"What about me," asks Katherine, her blade-like tail swaying with excitement.

"Someone is going to have to clean up this blood."

My absol gave me a toothy grin and leaned down, removing the bandage with her fangs and beginning her cleaning regimen again. I felt sore all over, but Kat's tongue seemed to have this mystical affect on me. Relaxed, I glanced around, seeing the tasks I ordered being carried out: May was smearing some green stuff from her pocket onto the new bandage, Kiki was walking around the clearing, singing her song and causing roots and limbs to weave into an intricate pattern, Celia had taken flight, and Trent had vanished in a burst of speed.

I closed my eyes and smiled, laying back against the forest ground. Katherine's breath washes against the wound, soothing it as her tongue cleans the blood. Her tongue migrates, moving from my upper arm to my shoulder, then to my neck. *I don't think she's cleaning any more.*

She stops licking when she reaches my ear, whispering in soft, pleasing voice. "Thank you. You don't know what you did, but thank you."

I wanted to ask her what she meant, but it could wait. The ground beneath me started to rumble and I soon found myself in a comfortable, reclined throne of roots and leaves. Kiki gave me a supportive "Nya~" and went about completing her work while May began to re-wrap my gash. The bandage touched my wound and stung, seeming to stick like glue. I hissed with the sudden pain, but Kat climbed into my lap, curling into a furry mass and staring up at me with those eyes. I couldn't feel anything but pleasure when I saw those two glittering orbs, a silvery glint sparkling around her iris, telling me that I should enjoy this rest while I can.

Because when I recover, I have other matters I need to attend to.

==========================

Sound good?

Yes.

It is.

Remember: Questions and comments go to the review, while corrections and suggestions go into a message or by talking' to me over the internet.

Thank you for playing,

Matt, the Z-Byte