Chapter two

You're only young once

y-Y-Ÿ-¥

Ignorance is bliss; the real world is a hellish nightmare on the horizon.

This has to be my single most poetic chapter I have ever written. Don't expect too much of it, but I'm going to refer back to it time-to-time.

Openwindow… crap… Ishouldhavecloseditearlier… damn… huh,sowhatamIgoingtodonow?ShouldIcloseit?It'scold… fuckingtiredthough… no,c'monAlex.Getyourlazyassoutofbed. The thing finally stirred, charcoal blankets rising as a sooty ghost from its slumber, his arms stretching out as muscles twinged. The floor thumped rather audibly. Alex wasn't always heavy on his feet, slamming the balls into the plush velvety carpet he simply knew as "his floor". He was when he was lazy. Tonight, he was in such a state. His toes scraped against the ground, lacking the will to wrench themselves from that dreaded "six inch" area from the ground. His arm hooked beneath the curtain falling before him and swept it aside, the dark blue material billowing back and holding over his head for a few mere seconds in the wind; its fuel suddenly cut off with a low resounding noise as window, frame and sill, touched, and it fell back down over Alex's head and neck. He lurched tiredly backwards, dragging the midnight veil from his body.

Walking slowly back, his prying hand met his bed finally. Yet he still stood, he could swear his ear twitched with the faintest touch of a foreign sound. And there it was again… a soft yet paced and rapid whimper from nearby, such an intriguingly curious sound masking a hideous beast of an event. Alex fell. His body collapsed lazily on his bed as fatigue clung to his head like that curtain, but heavy with the deceptive and painfully bleak aura which exuded through his wall from next door, a haze of lies, daring him to continue living with himself as he had for the last four years, ever since he found out what he was, his relationship to his family, and his relationship to the outside world. He had been tossed into a dark sect society tore its ignorant eyes from, and he couldn't get out, and he couldn't get away… He could barely live with himself, the monster he was being groomed into…

Am… Iawake..?isitmorning?

'Alex. Come join me.' Alex's eyes burst open, a light of sorts pertaining from somewhere… But he saw fire. The unmistakeable tongues of flames which licked at his dreams, so hot they burned… or perhaps they weren't hot… perhaps it was a lie, like the rest of his life… perhaps they weren't flames at all… no… they were like flames in his other dreams… they were so real… they had to be fire… they were fire… but now it had a voice… 'Alex.' It says. Alex's shoulder sunk back as he turned, barely peeping over his shoulder behind him. There was a man there. His shadowy blurry body seemed to be cloaked in darkness, yet the light of flames lit up his outline and his hair caught the colour of the fire…

'Who are you?' Alex's already crackly voice managed, keeping calm despite the multitude of confused queries flooding his head. The man turned. His outstretched hand held a flame. A small, blood red flame contained in the palm of his hand, a flame which yielded no light to give the figure a face. 'You?' Alex would not say father. He would not say "Dad". This thing was not his dad. In his eyes, his dad was long dead.

'What is this?' His voice carried a subtle venom, its potency great, yet haste, none.

'It's a fire.' The man's opposite hand revealed itself, unmerging from his side; his hand hovered over the flame, swirling over it slowly as the flames angled and tilted to his skin hungrily. His cold thin fingers reached into the touch of the flame and stroked it. Stroked it like a pet. Grooming the spires of red trailing from the central body.

'No.' the voice almost was unnoticed by Alex, he wasn't even sure if his "dad" said anything, but in that instant he blinked in uncertainty, the fire was gone, replaced by an egg. Perfectly white, large, about eight inches high, yet the pure white shone with a fiery tinge. The fire didn't just touch it, it tainted it. The reflected fire rose, leaving a red of its visual duplicate, but as the reflection fell, the red remained, like a stain. The next time Alex blinked, it changed again. The front face was silvery. 'Look for yourself…' The haunting sound carried itself low like a vile melody rising from hell. Alex complied unsurely, bending over, he brought his face to the surface.

'It's just me.' His voice was uncertain. 'it's me…' Fire whipped through the air, slicing between Alex and the egg in a wave, washing away the image as the flames spiralled around in a column. Alex stumbled backwards, the fire of the wall spinning around him and enclosing him in an infernal twister column around his body. A thin beam of light cut down, jutting out of the darkness above down the centre of the twister and onto Alex's face as he gazed about himself, his white skin illuminated by the twisting red and white lights about him. The dancing blaze was reflected in his eyes, held set strongly in a gaze of dark fascination. The fire…. The heat he was feeling… the raw power of the flames, how they moved, live they lived… The fire closed in on him, the column dragging its orange and crimson body of energy across his skin in an intense feeling of inner warmth as it became one with him…

I am alpha, I am omega…

Alex stirred. Clutching his blanket and hugging it tightly to his body, his eyes opened to a new day. His curtains were lit with a little light filtering through the fabric. It was morning. Monday morning. Time to get up. Yawning he sat upright, scratching his head in thought. Monday. It was Monday he usually had the fire dream. The hell thing, fire everywhere, and his "dad" holding an egg. And every time would be the same. Alex would look at the egg and see his reflection, then the fire would close in on him. He had an unhealthy obsession with fire, he wouldn't admit it though.

'Alex! Get out here!' A voice thundered roughly from next door. After a brief minute of moaning to himself, Alex dragged himself from bed. He pulled on his school uniform in a drowsy daze, rubbing at his eyes occasionally. His school uniform consisted of a black T-shirt, a grey pair of shorts, black shoes, grey black and red socks and a black polar-fleece. Pretty colourless. Stumbling out into the kitchen, Alex spotted his dad sitting at the kitchen table. A cup of coffee and a newspaper in his hands. His medium length brown hair was a little tangled, no doubt from what he was doing last night.

'You slept in kid.' He said without looking at Alex, taking a sip from his coffee afterwards.

'I was tired.' Alex said with an uncaring shrug, taking a piece of bread from the breadbasket and heading for the toaster, dropping the two slices in and pressing down the lever.

'I need you to do something for me.' Alex's head snapped towards his dad with a sharp swivelling motion, staring dubiously at the paper as if he could see his dad through it.

'I know that tone Jarod.' Alex didn't call his dad "dad", he called him by his first name. 'I know that tone and I don't want any part of it.'

'You know Tracey Parker don't you?' Jarod put his paper down on the table. 'He's about to give you a very large sum of money at school today.'

'Jarod, I said-'

'You're going to take that money, and bring it back here.'

'Fuck you.' Alex turned away from his dad, leaning on the counter and facing the toaster, watching it impatiently. For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Alex's head suddenly stung slightly on the right, then he felt the world soar past, crying out in pain as he felt the pain of the impact hit him with full force on the temple. His jaw jarred as it hit the edge of the counter as he fell, causing him to bite down on his tongue. He hit the ground landing on his head. His sight was a blur, colours twisting and swaying above him as he lay on his back. Something came at him, grabbing him around the neck and hauling him back to his feet.

'I'm not giving you a choice…' Jarod's voice reeked with stench and cruelty. His eyes stabbed at Alex, piercing cruel eyes. 'Listen to me carefully. You're going to take that money from Tracey Parker, and bring it back to me, alright?' Alex nodded slightly, afraid to move his head too much as it spun. Pain still throbbed with those subtle movements. 'Good boy.' Jarod grinned a toothy mean grin, and leant in a bit closer. 'This is a big payday for me Alex, so do this right for me and I might be grateful enough to give you a reward, alright?' Alex nodded again to the same effect. He didn't want a reward, he just didn't want to get the crap beaten out of him, and whatever reward his dad had planned for him, it couldn't be good… 'Good.' Alex fell back to the ground as his dad released him, slumping back against the counter and leaning against it feeling sick. He could see out of the corner of his eye the chair his dad had hit him with, the entire top half cracked and broken off. He just felt lucky he had a thick skull, evidently…

'Alex? Are you going to do something?'

'Huh? Whuh?' Alex jerked upright all of a sudden, spinning around to find himself face to face with his science teacher, Mrs Maryland.

'Are you going to stare at that Bunsen all day or heat that magnesium?'

'Oh, yeah, right, sorry.' He muttered, slipping a pair of lab glasses on and placing a strip of magnesium in a pair of tongs.

'You seem to find that Bunsen quite fascinating.'

'Meh.' Alex shrugged, watching as he placed the silvery strip of metal over the dancing blue flame, and watching it engulf the metal. The metal burst into a flame, a burning white mass expelling light and smoking vigorously. It was like a little star… but he had seen it before a million times. He wanted to try with a bigger piece of magnesium, but Mrs Maryland wouldn't let him.

'So what do we have now?' The science teacher pressed him.

'Some powdery shit.' Alex observed with a shrug.

'Is that your expert opinion Shadey?' Alex turned over his shoulder to see a grinning blonde girl approach.

'Fine. It's some White powdery shit.' He corrected himself.

'Alex, please be sensible.' The teacher waved a disapproving finger as Alex grunted without care.

'What does it matter? It's burnt. It's dead.' He shrugged as he looked at the crumbling powdery thing held in his tongs.

'It has formed a new substance. It's not dead at all, you know what they say about Ho-oh?'

'Nup.' Alex shook his head, leaning back on his counter. He could see a student performing a test on the other side of the room with an Ampharos standing behind, looking over her shoulder.

'They say when Ho-oh dies, he comes back new from his ashes. That's like a reaction. From the ashes comes something new.' The teacher explained. Alex stared back with a little confusion.

'You could have found a much better analogy.' Alex suggested.

'How do you know Ho-oh's a male anyway?' The girl asked suddenly, as the teacher left.

'They say all legendaries are guys.' Alex replied as he turned back to his experiment.

'Who says?' Alex shrugged again.

'People.'

'You're so unhelpful.'

'Yeah probably.' The girl finally gave up on talking to him, and went back to her own experiment. Alex took no notice, instead just watching his own result crumble slowly. His attention was once again grabbed by the Bunsen burner though. He found himself entranced by the flickering blue flame, jumping and wiggling a little… his pyromania getting the better of him. He wasn't exactly good at hiding that he was a pyro. He wasn't the type of pyro who burned shit down everywhere, he just liked fire a little too much…

It was lunchtime before Alex was approached. A mopey looking kid which was Tracey Parker approached Alex as he sat alone on a bench, his schoolbag occupying the other side of the bench and leaving no room for anybody else to sit there.

'Alex.' Despite his small frail appearance, the young boy's voice carried a lot of feeling and maturity, and it was not a friendly tone.

'Tracey.' Alex muttered, standing tall as the boy approached. The young boy came closer, stopping right in front of Alex and staring up at him. Alex was almost a foot taller than him.

'You're disgusting.' The kid spat from nowhere, his face contorting into an angry scowl as he stared back at the year 11 (form 5). Alex didn't look away, instead stared back harder, challenging the kid's firm stance. The kid did not back away; he stood at his full yet inadequate height with his fists clenched at his sides.

'I am disgusting.' Alex sighed, defeated by the boy's resilience. His hand trailed up his body, the boy flinched at his sudden movement. Alex brushed away a little hair at the side of his head and turned it to show the boy. 'But I'd sooner be disgusting than a bloody cripple.' The boy made a face seeing the patch of dried blood around the bruised point of impact. 'So give me the cash and maybe I can get away without having my face smashed in.' The boy still stared, making up his mind. It was obviously a difficult choice. Giving into something disgusting and wrong, or causing a guy to get the crap beaten out of him.

'You should do something…' The boy sheepishly removed a plastic bag full of money from his bag and handed it to Alex. 'You should call the police.'

'I wish I could kid.' Alex shook his head with a deeper sigh and placed the bag in his backpack. 'Stay safe kid.' Alex slung his bag over one shoulder as he began to walk away, throwing back a quick wave to the boy over his shoulder. He continued towards the field of the school. Maybe the guys would let him play a bit of sport. Public opinion frowned upon his life, but some people gave him a chance. Like Haley, the girl in science.

The field was a popular place amongst the older members of the school. Sports games replaced playing on playgrounds gradually as kids grew up. There were a few games running. Alex noticed a Pokémon game on one field. No humans, just Pokémon playing soccer. On another field next to them was a group of black and grey figures that were students playing soccer. But it was the next field which took Alex's fancy. Ball under one arm, a large framed guy Alex's age charged along the side-line. His hand flew out and struck an incoming opposition in the face open palmed, pushing him away, but another came in after and crashed into him, tackling him and knocking him across the side-line. Alex grinned a bit, placing his bag in a place next to a wire fence where he could see it at all times and called out: 'Hey! Mahid!' The tackler climbed to his feet and turned to Alex, wiping his mouth with his wrist. He grinned as Alex approached.

'Shadey mate! You gonna play?'

'Hell am i.' Alex confirmed, flicking his polar fleece aside onto his bag.

'Well he's on your team.' The tackled boy shouted as he rolled the ball to Mahid.

'Fine then. Shadey's better than the lot of you!' Mahid threw Alex a wild smile, motioning for him to hurry over. 'You can do line-outs can't you? You've played hooker, right?' Alex grinned and nodded, his hands raising to catch the rugby ball passed to him.

'Only for the last ten years.'

'C'mon Jesse!' Alex jerked his neck right, making a cracking noise as he approached the burly year 12, rugby ball in one hand and his arms at his sides, inviting the boy to tackle as he approached at a walking pace. 'What are you waiting for?' He taunted, watching the opposition line approach very slowly, fanned out in case he passed wide. 'Run at me!' The boy charged, bending forwards so he could put his weight into the hit. Alex jogged out to meet him, stepping lightly on his feet as he cradled the ball under one arm and grinning teasingly. Just as the boy reached him, Alex sprinted. Right into the boy, but suddenly swung up an arm as he ducked under the boy's outstretched arm. Alex's hand slapped onto the boy's back as he passed him, kicking out with his foot and pushing down on his back and tripping the boy as he passed. He picked up his pace now, running up and across the field left as the fullback tracked him, matching his angle. Just as they came to meet, Alex sidestepped right with incredible speed. His hand shot out and caught the fullback by the shirt just under his neck. As he dodged right his arm swung around and down to the left, the combined movement pulling the fullback off the ground and flipping him through the air sideways, landing him on his neck as Alex shot past and for the try-line, diving and slamming the ball down, tumbling and landing on his back facing his distant pursuers.

'Just a fend next time Shadey.' The fullback called, rubbing his back with a painful grin.

'Nah. That'd be boring.' Alex replied with his own return grin. He rolled the ball away behind him as he began jogging back to halfway, but stopped as he saw something along the fence. Shit! He thought immediately, altering his course and sprinting. 'Hey!' He called loudly, racing towards his bag. 'HEY! What're you doing!' A couple of boys turned looked over their shoulders, pausing in their searching of Alex's bag. 'What the fuck!'

'What's all the cash for Shadey?' One boy sneered, standing and holding the bag in front of him, full of money.

'Give it.' Alex held out one hand to them with a warning leer, slowly walking towards them.

'Pretty suspicious having all this cash at school.' The second teased, joining his friend at his side, yet standing just behind his shoulder.

'We might tell the police about this eh Troy?' The first consulted the second.

'Unless you can do something to keep us quiet…' Troy suggested.

'How about if I break your jaws?' Alex suggested becoming suddenly defensive and aggressive. The two exchanged amused glances, unfazed by Alex's threat and shaking their heads pityingly.

'Acting tough won't get you anywhere Alex.' The first boy told him with a cruel grin as he approached. Alex stood tall with a calm look, staring at the boy as he stopped in front of him. 'You want your money? Fight me for it.' Alex was tough. He was unnaturally tough, nobody could understand it. Even being sure he could beat the crap out of both of these bozos, he made a stupid move. His hand slid down his leg quickly and into his sock. When it returned to view, it held a small switchblade. Alex performed a few fancy twists and flicky things with the blade before holding it with the blade out facing the boy.

'You sure you want to go there?' The boy dropped the bag immediately, leaping backwards away from Alex. The two simultaneously moved away from Alex's bags, looking scared. Alex grinned mockingly and slid the blade back in. He slipped the knife back into his sock as he replaced the cash bag in his backpack and slung it on. 'I didn't think so.' He turned away and began to head off to wherever his next class was. The guys behind him obviously took him for an idiot, anybody with half decent hearing could hear the heavy approaching footsteps from behind.

Alex spun, driving a massive right hook into the boy's jaw as he took him by surprise. He lashed out again with a left hook and caught the opposite side of his jaw as he was dazed by the first, before following up with another right hook. His next left hook landed solidly on the boy's nose and broke it instantly, then a final high kick to the face sent him toppling over backwards. Deciding this guy was out, Alex turned his attention to the second, rushing at him from a distance. This was the second guy, the wussy guy. Easily put off. Alex's hand dipped into his other sock, and pulled out a box of matches. He flipped it open and pulled out a match. He closed it up and positioned the match with the match head resting against the flint, ready to be flicked at the boy. The boy stopped short, staring at the match. Alex grinned at the fear he managed to create. Secretly he enjoyed this power over others, but there was one tiny part of him which imagined this was his dad… standing scared in front of him.

'Back off you cunt.' Alex warned, staring down the guy. The boy looked at his unconscious friend, then back to Alex, then back and forth again. His hand ran down his shirt quickly and grabbed something from his belt. Alex was almost too slow to react. He spun suddenly on his heel, running for his life as he heard a cry of "Staravior!" from behind. There was one problem, his dad didn't let Alex have Pokémon of his own.

'Wing attack Staravior!' Came a command from behind as Alex ran. He just turned over his shoulder as the bird Pokémon came shooting towards at him with wings outspread. He dived forwards just as a wicked gust of wind whipped past with the Pokémon as it shot overhead, where he had just been standing. Alex landed in a roll and jumped to his feet again, running for the gym as he eyed the bird Pokémon circling around for another attack run. He spotted a familiar figure heading slowly along the fence towards him. A young Pacific Islander teacher with dreads.

'Mr Seili!' Alex roared at him, pointing up and stopping sharply as the Staravior came back around and dived. The teacher took an upwards glance short of a second before a pokéball was free from his belt, and a Flareon standing before him.

'Fire blast!' He called as the Staravior dived closer and closer.

'Shit!' Alex ran at full speed for the teacher as if he were a safe zone of sorts. This time the Pokémon came in lower, using aerial ace and darting back and forth on approach. Alex did his best to follow the movements of the Pokémon, heading straight for him head on. He sidestepped, but the Pokémon followed. In a last second reaction, he dived again, this time he soared over top of the Pokémon as it shot under him. He watched in almost slow motion as a scorching (and probably badly fired) fire star ripped across the ground underneath him, underneath his flying body and following up behind the Staravior. He watched in awe as the fire blast collided explosively with the Staravior. His world spun all of a sudden as the explosion behind him propelled him forwards and he landed roughly on his back, face up.

'Staravior! Return!' Alex heard the trademark sound of a pokéball recalling a Pokémon. He clambered quickly to his feet as Mr Seili ran to his side.

'Troy!' He shouted angrily at the boy. 'Come here!' The boy came, his head hanging low. The teacher now turned to face Alex with a little guilt of how close his attack had been to him. 'Oh shit that was too close… Are you alright?'

Alex nodded. 'Yeah. I'm good.' He answered gratefully. 'Thanks.'

'Troy what the hell are you thinking?' Mr Seili shouted as the boy approached. 'This is a serious offense, the police could get involved with this.' Alex cringed as he caught that last sentence.

'I really wouldn't like to waste the police's time Mr Seili.' He said quickly. One thing his dad did not like was police. He really didn't like getting involved with the police. 'I'm willing to forgive Troy, I provoked him by fighting his friend.' Mr Seili turned away to face back at Troy. Alex quickly nodded to Troy, encouraging him to play along. Troy was not a very independent guy. He was a follower, so he followed Alex's lead.

'I just got angry. I'm sorry Alex.' He apologised. Mr Seili bit his lip a bit, looking between the two.

'Well,' he sighed, 'if you're willing to accept his apology I suppose we could settle things here. It would make things a hell of a lot easier.'

'I accept his apology.' Alex confirmed with a sharp nod. ThelessIhavetodowiththepolicethebetter…

The rest of the day was less eventful. Just some maths work. No problem, and a five minute bus ride home. Trudging in through the front door, Alex found his dad sitting at his usual table, opposite another two men he was talking with.

'Dad.' All three of the men looked up to see who the newcomer was.

'Alex.' Jarod nodded slowly, watching to see what Alex would do.

'I got some homework I might need help with.' Alex held up his bag as he spoke in code.

'Cut the shit kid, we're green.' Alex grunted as he walked over to the table, dropping the code.

'I got your fucking cash Jarod.' Alex threw his backpack to his dad, who caught it out of the air and promptly unzipped it. A wide grin crossed his face as he observed the cash bag inside. The other two leant in too view the contents also.

'Good work kid.' He said with a satisfied grin as he stared greedily at the money.

'Whatever. Just leave me alone until dinner's here.'

'Hold up Alex.' Alex stopped. He resisted the urge to direct his "dad" a hateful glare, and remained facing away. 'I told you I'd give you a reward didn't i?' Jarod turned to the man on his right and nodded.

'Aww c'mon Jarod!' The man protested with a sudden frown, his eyes shut with a strange expression. 'I'm almost done!'

'Give the kid his reward.' Jarod said sternly. Alex watched with admitted curiosity, trying to make sense of what this was. The man reluctantly reached one hand down and under the table where Alex couldn't see. When it re-emerged, there was something red in it.

'Catch!' The man tossed the thing at Alex. His first reaction was to dodge whatever it was, but something about it made him step forwards quickly and catch the badly thrown thing. His eyes fell to the thing, observing it curiously. And it moved.

'Vul…' it murmured as it rolled over weakly in Alex's arms. He was absolutely horrified. It was a Vulpix.

'Bitch hasn't been making enough to cover the upkeep.' Jarod explained. 'Consider it as your birthday present.' In a sudden fit of panic, Alex spun around quickly, rushing into the hallway immediately and away from the men.

'Pix?' The Pokémon mewed weakly as it looked up with its almost shut eyes. Its entire body was a mess of patchy sticky white, brown and red. White surrounded its hindquarters and face, but what really worried Alex was the damage done.

'How could he do this to you..?' He murmured as he skidded into his room and locked the door behind him. He placed the little Pokémon on his bed carefully, as not to hurt it. He immediately fell to his knees beside his bed, trying to get to eye level with it. The thing had been fucked up. Fucked everywhere. Its anal and vaginal passages were cavernous and raw looking, full of white and bloody. It was disgusting. HowcansomebodydothistoaPokémon! Alex thought as he frantically scrabbled through a drawer and took out a cloth and a small medicinal bottle. The things his dad did meant Alex often had to attend to the pokémons' "damages", but they usually weren't as small as a Vulpix. The types of damages done meant he often had to touch Pokémon in ways he didn't enjoy… this one was going to be especially tough.

The Vulpix saw him return, and tried to scurry away again. Alex went for it quickly, before she could escape. He quickly grabbed it lightly but quickly around the torso.

'VULPIIIIX!' It screeched, writhing about in his hands. Alex hated himself for doing so, but he held it there, preventing it from escaping. He held it down for about half a minute, until it ran out of energy and went limp. Alex removed one hand and wiped his brow with a sigh of relief.

'Are you finished?' He asked softly, still holding it lightly in one hand.

'Pix…' The Vulpix turned a little and swatted at his hand weakly in an attempt to defend itself. Alex shook his head sadly, and lowered himself to the Pokémon's eye level.

'Hey, can you stay still for me? I'll help you?' The Pokémon stared at him with suspicion over its shoulder. Alex picked it up carefully and turned it to face him. The whole while, the Pokémon stared him down. 'Keep still for a second…' He raised the cloth and brought it towards the Vulpix.

'Vulpix!' The Pokémon tried desperately to backpedal, but was still held in Alex's grip. He wiped quickly at the captive Pokémon's mouth, but to little avail. The cum wouldn't come off. As he removed the cloth, he saw the Vulpix staring at him. It was fear in her eyes. Pure, utter fear. He lightly raised his thumb on the hand holding the Vulpix and brought it back down on its back, causing it to flinch all of a sudden.

'Ssssshh… it's okay…' He cooed as he stroked it a little with one digit. 'I just want to help you… I'm not like them…'

'Vulpix…' The Pokémon cowered, trying to bury its head in the blankets. Alex finally let go, his hand hovered over the Vulpix briefly, then moved away.

'I just want to help you…' He assured the Pokémon once again, holding his hands up innocently. The Vulpix did not look at him. Its head was in the blankets in an attempt to hide. Alex swore to himself and began searching around quickly. After a few seconds, he noticed a colourful bag under his bed. He pulled the bag out and ripped the top open, pulling out a handful of lollies. 'Do you like these?' He asked, offering one of the lollies to the Vulpix in his hand. The Vulpix's head lifted up a bit, her eyes opening. She stuck her nose out a bit and sniffed the lolly. After a few careful seconds, she took it, tilting her head on an angle and taking it. She immediately turned her head back down as she ate, hiding her face from view. Alex frowned a little, and took another from the bag, offering it to the Pokémon. Quickly this time, she raised her head, took the lolly, and hid again in the folds of the blankets. Alex grinned a little. It would be a cute sight if this Pokémon hadn't just been gang fucked and injured. Alex took a third, but this time held it a little further out, daring the little Pokémon to take it. Vulpix looked up at him, her big blue eyes questioning his motivations. Whatishedoing? She thought. Ishe… couldhereallybedifferentfromthem? Alex wiggled the lolly a bit with a slight smile at seeing her face. 'It's okay. You can trust me…' The Vulpix suddenly shook her head, backing away whining. I'mnotfallingforthatagain! She thought sternly. Seeing her retreat, Alex frowned a bit, feeling disappointment arise once again. He tried reaching out once again towards her slowly.

'Vulpix!' She barked quietly, backing into where Alex's bed met the wall. She was unable to move any further back. As Alex's hand reached her she tried to shy away, but he placed one hand gently on her back and stroked her a little with his thumb.

'it's okay…' He told her once more, using the most convincing tone he could, fixating his eyes on hers. 'The bad men are gone. You're safe here. I won't hurt you.' He assured her. Vulpix just stared back, the boy's thumb stroking her back was interfering with her thought process. 'I would never hurt you.' Alex noticed something when he said that. He swore he could see a small glint in the Pokémon's eyes when he spoke. Vulpix raised her head a bit, somehow stirred by his words… they had moved so fluently and they felt almost warm… his promise carried tremendous sway somehow… it was just something in his voice. Something which said to her "I will not lie to you". Whoisthis? She asked herself once more, her eyes trying to pierce the boy's mind to discover his intentions. 'Will you let me help you?' Vulpix gazed into his eyes one last time as she fought with herself. She hurt. This boy said he wanted to help her… somehow… she believed him.

'Vulpix.' She answered softly with a nod, standing up and wobbling a little. Alex grinned somewhat at her trusting him, and sat on the bed beside her.

'I'm just going to pick you up now, okay?' Vulpix nodded a little as she looked up at him sadly. 'Alright. Here I go.' His right hand went over Vulpix's back and curled under her body, picking her up quickly and placing her in his lap. He observed her again, this time from a closer angle, and frowned. 'Arceus, how could they do this to you?' his head shook in disbelief, his hands parting matted sticky brown fur as he searched for any cuts she may have had.

'Vulpix Vulpix…' Vulpix agreed, wallowing in her own despair now. Moreimportantlywhy..? She cringed only slightly as she felt a pair of fingers stroke the back of her head. They were warm and moved gently and lovingly, trying to comfort her. She didn't understand this boy… he wasn't like the men she serviced.

Alex swore under his breath now, his body bent sideways to see the damage done around her hindquarters. 'Your body still hurts, doesn't it?' He queried carefully. Vulpix nodded a little, not looking at Alex but rather towards the curtain covering his window. 'Does it hurt back here?' Vulpix cringed all of a sudden. Alex only stroked her head a bit more and leant into her ear. 'I'm not going to touch you there without your permission.' He assured her. 'But if you would let me, I think I could make the pain go away a bit.' Vulpix turned towards Alex now, searching his eyes for his motives. He just smiled back warmly. 'I want to help you…' There it was again. Vulpix heard that same tone, that same energy was carried in his voice. DoIreallywanthimtotouchmethere?Evenifitmakesmebetter? She thought. She actually did trust him. As much of an untrusting independent Pokémon as she was, his voice swayed her.

'Pix.' She conceded with a nod. She flattened her head against Alex's lap and raised her rear, lifting her six tails as she did so, as she was forced to do for the men. Alex grinned inwardly at her trust of him, but outwardly frowned as he turned to get a better angle to see her. Her passages were spread significantly further than a Vulpix should be and looked definitely sore.

'All right, you tell me what hurts when I touch it…' He reached out slowly, dreading the pain vulpix would feel on contact. He gently placed one finger on the entrance of her vagina, causing her to suddenly yelp in pain, and him to recoil quickly. 'I'm sorry that hurt…' He apologised, taking the cloth and bottle beside him and removing the top of the bottle. He tipped the bottle onto the cloth, filling a patch in the middle with a cream coloured thick fluid. 'All right, this might be a bit cold…'

'Vulp!' She yelped again, not in pain but surprise at the sudden coldness on her privates. Alex continued undeterred, knowing this would help her. He gently rubbed the cool cream onto her, around and even just dipping into, her vagina. The whole while Vulpix was tensed up, unused to the feeling. He then removed the cloth from her body.

'Can I go up a bit now and do that?' He asked as he ran a finger along one of her six upraised tails. Vulpix nodded a little, raising her tails a bit more as Alex proceeded, doing the same process with her anal passage, also spread painfully wide. After he finished, he threw the cloth aside and went back to petting her gently. 'The pain should disappear over the next hour or so, so just rest for the time being.' Vulpix looked up at Alex with those big, sad eyes, not sure of how she was feeling. One of the boy's hands rubbed at her back, and the other moved under her chin, and began scratching her neck lightly. Performing the natural reaction of Vulpix's everywhere; she moved her head down, leaning into his scratching hand involuntarily with a small murr. Alex grinned, seeing he was making a breakthrough. 'Do you like that girl?' Vulpix nodded a little, her eyes slowly closing as she was absorbed into the feeling of Alex's hand. 'So… do you have a name?' Vulpix looked up questioningly.

'Vulpix.' She said. Alex grinned and shook his head.

'You need a real name.' He told her. 'Not just Vulpix, something special.' Somethingspecial? She thought with interest. Alex thought to himself. Ineedagoodname… Iwanttotrainherandevolveher… soIneedanamewhichfitsaVulpixandaNinetails.SomethinggenericIguess. It hit him. At school most people wouldn't come near him, his dad being a Pokémon-sex-slave-dealer and all. This Vulpix was giving him a chance… 'Haley.' He said, scratching Vulpix's ear as he remembered the blond girl talking to him in science.

'Vulpix!' She shot back with what would pass for a pained smile. Ifhewantstogivemeaname,finethen.It'llbeanicechangefrom "bitch" or "cumslut"…

'All right Haley, jump in.' The Vulpix threw Alex a dubious glare from the floor. She placed her forepaws on the edge of the bathtub and looked over the edge to see water in there. The water was at a low level so she didn't have to swim.

'Vulpix..?' She asked warily, eyeing the water with suspicion.

'Wait, you've never had a bath?' Alex bent down to pick her up with a smile. 'It's great fun. You'll enjoy it.'

'Vulpix!' She said defiantly, crossing her forelegs in a very humanesque way and looking to the side.

'Don't be like that.' Alex sighed a bit at her stubbornness. 'I told you I would never hurt you, don't worry.' Vulpix stared back at him, unsure whether he was going to put her in or not. But he didn't. 'If you want me to, I'll put you in.' He told her with a grin. 'I have baths all the time. It'll make you feel good, and it'll clean up your fur.' Vulpix looked back and forth between Alex and the bath as she tried to make up her mind. Well… he'sbeengoodtomesofar… She thought as she turned back to the foreign device beside her.

'Vulpix.' She nodded unsurely. The water slowly approached Haley as she braced herself for the sudden cold. It never arrived. Warmth flooded around her legs and belly as Alex placed her in the tub.

'See? It ain't all that bad is it?' Alex splashed a little water onto her back as he reached for a brush.

'Vulpix.' Haley admitted as she waded around in the water, sort of liking the feeling of the warm water. She lay down in the water, submerging her body except her head with an inwards grin. Taking the brush from the edge of the bath, Alex brought it down on her back.

'Just keep still for a second…'

'Vulpix..?' Haley queried as she felt something scratch across her back. She looked over her shoulder to see Alex's hand scrubbing away at her fur with a brush. It was kind of tickly and it was bristly.

'Just tell me if I'm scrubbing too hard.' Alex said, moving onto her side with the brush. Haley shook her head, not minding the feeling as Alex tended to her fur, scrubbing out the matted parts and occasionally straightening out a tuft of fur. 'You really are a mess you know…' He really didn't think that comment through. Haley quickly fixed him a disapproving look as he went a bit red. You'dbeamesstooifyouwerefuckedoversixtimesaweek. She thought with a frown. 'Sorry… I forgot…' Alex apologized. 'But you aren't going back to that, alright?' Alex replaced the brush on the side of the bath and picked up Haley, turning her to face him and holding her in front of his face. 'Coz' your my partner now and I'm going to treat you right.' He told her with a sharp nod and a grin. Haley cocked her head, something new coming over her. She couldn't understand this boy. She hated humans. She hated them all, except this one… Yourpartner? She thought, intrigued by his wording. 'I'll get you a towel…' Alex placed Haley on the ground and headed for a cabinet. He removed a towel from the cabinet and turned around, only to be faced with a brown and red ball of fluff standing there. 'What the…' He grinned as he knelt down in front of Haley. He could see droplets of water everywhere around him, shaken off her coat. She looked up at him with a blank look, her big red eyes still visible through the fluffed up fur. 'I see…' Alex reached out one hand and smoothed down some fur on her back. 'No need for a towel then?'

'Vulpix.' Haley answered with a shake of her head, standing still and allowing Alex to smooth down her fur. She allowed him. She actually trusted him. Who could have known the son of the demon master was so different?

'So…' Alex began as he smoothed out a few more tufts of fur. 'You ever been to school before?'