Intertwine Dreams

by FireHybrid

Imagine being put in a world with creatures of your own creation, and that's basically what's happened to me. Read my other story, New Beginning, to get an idea of Hybrids before you read this. I'm so, so sorry for the delay, but 6 is ready! Enjoy!

5. Chapter 5

Well, back to work. Hope everyone enjoyed Chp.4(I sure did). Things are getting even crazier around here. Even though it's August now, there's so much stuff that's happened in the past and present I have a hard time keeping up. I'm always trying to be better about it, so bear with me, please. Anyway, here it goes!

Update(10/26/02): FF.net really screwed this up. If you see a '.' by itself in the middle of a sentence or somewhere else where it doesn't belong, it probably should be an ellipse; you know, 3 dots together, like when somebody gets cut off in text? FF.net seems to turn most of my ellipses into periods for some reason. Sorry. Chapter 5- Mating Week

It was a perfect Friday morning; there was no school today because of parent-teacher conferences, and Mom had gone to mine when they had them last night. Considering my overall average for all my classes was about a 93 and my lowest class average was an 86 in Chemistry, she didn't have anything bad to say. Serena and I were going out to the movies later to see something that hopefully wasn't some cheesy chick flick, and I had finished all my chores (or shoved them off on one of our many house guests), so I was free to enjoy the day off without worr.

"XAVIER CANIN!"

"GAH!" I was eating a bagel as I watched T.V in the living room, waiting for Serena to wake up. Thankfully, Mom yelled at me in-between bites, so I didn't haven't a mouthful of food at the moment. Once I got control of my nerves, I turned to Mom, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking very angry. "What?!"

"I just went into the laundry room."

"And?..."

"I found Chris and Andrea making out on the ironing board!"

"Uggh!" I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head. "Sorry. but how's that my fault?"

"Well, Andrea was in my way!"

"Yeesh, sorry." I still didn't see how that was my fault. Maybe she thought I told them to go there or something. Sighing, I turned back to the T.V. My channel flipping stopped on a commercial

".Safe Egg; keep your eggs safe! Now don't forget everyone; Hybrids and Pokémon just entered their autumn Mating Week, so don't forget your incubators!"

Mating Week? I remembered that from back in the summer; it was the week after I arrived in this world. Furret and Dragoniar were acting really weird; they kept cuddling up with me in bed or sleeping next to the other Pokémon, and Frealigater and Nidorino were being especially friendly with them. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was kinda disturbing. Once I realized what was going on, I gave them all anti-heat medicine. I didn't deal with Phoenix that week, and I was so busy at the Center I didn't see Mom much either. Mating Week affects Hybrids no matter what form they're in.so that meant.

"What did you just say?!" I asked, finally realizing what Mom meant.

"I said Andrea was in my way!"

"You.you mean in the way of your ironing, right?"

"Ironing? What? No; she was in my way of Chri." Suddenly it dawned on her she shouldn't be talking with me about this if she didn't want to reveal her identity. Her face turning beet-red, she mumbled, "yes.ironing.right.ironing." before going back upstairs.

I sat there for a few seconds, trying to absorb what just happened. Maybe I should go check on Serena.

"Serena? Serena!" Serena lived in her old house, but she spent the night a lot. After using up the basement and first floor, the only space left in the house for someone to sleep was the futon in the computer room and the attic. Serena was on the futon, still sleeping.

"Whew." Great; at least that was one less thing to worry about. Suddenly Chris walked through the door to my left. He was clothed, but he walking funny, like he was limping on his back legs. "What happened, Chris?"

"Well, we were on the ironing board.then your Mom walked in and made me."

"O.K.; too much information. Forget I asked." I sighed and tried to shake those images out of my head. I looked over at Serena, wondering if maybe I should get out before she had a chance to do anything.

"Mmm.Xavier.Xavier.that feels good." Serena was moaning in her sleep and squirming around quite a bit. Soon she was panting and gasping.

"O.K., I'm outta here!" I ran downstairs, grabbing my coat off the railing as I ran out the door as fast as humanly possible. I didn't even think to bring some of my Pokémon along, The bus arrived at the stop a few seconds after I did, so I climbed in and shoved my money in the box , taking a seat by myself on the semi-full bus.

O.K., Growlithe boy, I thought to myself, think. Every female Hybrid and Pokémon is currently sex crazy. You haven't evolved far enough yet to be interested in them like that, so you need a place to hide out, preferably the last place you ever expect to see any sex-crazed female and where they wouldn't come looking for you. wait! Perfect!

"Apple Grove Library! Last call for Apple Grove library!" the bus driver yelled.

"Wait!" I got up and stepped off the bus in front of the town library. My Shadow World mother was a librarian, and I got my interest in reading from her. Judging by the many libraries I've been to and the type of guys who hang out there (including myself, mind you), this would be the best place for me to hide out.

After going inside and picking out Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets and settling down in a chair, I started to read while I pondered what I could do later to get away if Serena wasn't more in control of herself. I still can't believe the number of people out there who think Harry Potter is a little kid only book. If they actually picked it up and read it, they would see that, yes, while it does have magic and wizards and stuff, the things that happen in the book is certainly not just little kid stuff.

After the first hour, I was deeply engrossed in the book. So much so, that when the yellow fur covered thing waved in front of my face, I just brushed it aside, thinking it was some kind of bug(after everything else that had been happening, a yellow furry thing in my face seemed almost normal). I repeated the same procedure the second time it happened. By the third time, though, I was really starting to get annoyed. Looking up, I saw who the yellow furry thing belonged to.

"About time, Xavier! I come back after moving away to Florida, and you're more interested in a book you've read probably a million times!"

Now, the fact that this creature speaking to me was female alone should've been enough to bring me to a whimper heap. The facts that she was beautiful, intelligent, and that I knew her as well as I knew myself (and vice-versa) just added to my stupor.oh, and then there was the tiny fact I CREATED HER!

"Ra.Rai.Raichel?!" I finally managed to get to my feet, knocking the book on the floor. "Wha-What are you doing here?!"

"I told you, Xavier; I came back from Florida. We moved down there for Dad's job, but we we're all miserable. No one liked it, so we moved back here. We even got our old house back."

Coming back from Florida wasn't the answer I was looking for; I was hoping for something along the lines of why she existed here, but I just nodded and tried not to pass out, reminding myself to keep my cover going.

"Oh." While I struggled to think of something else to say, I looked over the girl who started out as a wild thought in my head and ended up being someone I admired and more. If everything still held true, Raichel Voltor was barely a month younger than me. She was about 5'10" with a medium build; maybe 140 or 150 pounds(I'm bad at guessing weight; the best I can be sure of is that she's not fat, but not real skinny, either). She had curly blond hair that went down just past her shoulders, and beautiful hazel eyes that are hard to resist.

Although she has a human-like body and face, her being a Raichu Hybrid makes for some obvious differences between her and humans (it's also the reason for the nickname, Rai) . Her ears are that of a Raichu, poking well out of her hair. Fur covers her in the pattern of a Raichu as well. The long black tail with the lightning bolt tip waved around behind her, and I suddenly realized that's what was in my face before. Finally, there were the large Raichu feet; she wore no shoes because they're so big, but she doesn't seem to mind that any.

"I.I've missed you Rai." I finally managed to stammer.

"Xavier.I've missed you too. a lot." Rai looked down at her feet, then looked back up. "Xavier.remember back before I left, when we said how much we cared for each other.I want that back, Xavier.and maybe more."

"Rai.I-I do too." Rai smiled and sighed happily.

"Thank you, Xavier." Rai looked up at a nearby clock quickly, then back to me. "Sorry, I have to get home so I can help unpack after I get a book and say hi to a few more people. I'm busy tonight, but are you free tomorrow night?" I nodded. She smiled and picked up the book I'd dropped. "Do you mind if."

"No; go ahead. I don't mind at all."

"Thanks." Rai smiled and kissed me lightly on the cheek. It was just a little kiss, but she could've shocked me with 10,000 volts and it would've had the same effect. She checked out the book and left, but I didn't move for at least a good two minutes after we left. Feeling slowly returned to my legs, but all I could do was collapse back into the chair. She was real.my dream girl was real.

When I could move steadily, I got up and started walking toward the Center to pick up anti-heat meds for my Pokémon and the Hybrid females in the house, just in case. As I walked, I thought long and hard on my memories of Rai and how she came to be.

It all started last year (2000), about September. I'd explored the idea of Hybrids before, but it wasn't till then that I sat down and tried to write a story about them. It had what I thought was a perfect plot; a teenager and his mother we're a bounty hunting team(Oddly, that similarity between my story and what's happening didn't even hit me till at least a month after I came here) in the Pokémon world. They we're Hybrids, but unique even for Hybrids. They could shift between a human and Hybrid form, something that no other Hybrid could do(all Hybrids were normally form locked in that story). I'd started writing, but after a while I realized I lacked something; specifically a friend for my character. I didn't want to use any of my real friends; I needed something different. What I wasn't sure, but it had to be special. I struggled for days to come up with the right character, but nothing seemed right.

Finally it hit me one night in a dream. I was woken up by my characters mother, who told me Raichel was here. Confused but curious, I let the dream play out. I threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. That's when I first met Raichel, and I knew at that moment she was perfect for my story.

The next morning I typed non-stop for hours. In a matter of days, I'd cranked out the first chapter(if only I had that kind of ethic and time now.). Every night when I was sleeping, I dreamed about Rai and me doing stuff together. After a while, I started to think of her as my first girlfriend. The only dreams I ever remembered always involved her, and it just felt great when I was with her.well, it felt like I was.kinda falling in love with her.

Anyway, the more I stayed with Rai, the more I liked her. Serena and mine's relationship wasn't very serious yet (or at least I didn't think so). When I first showed her my story, she even drew a sketch of Rai for me. I never really thought about putting it online, figuring it would be too hard to get a site to put it on and no one would be interested in it except for weirdoes like me and Serena. After that, I stopped writing for a while, but then I started up again with New Beginning. I always thought I might add Rai as a later character, but I wanted to keep her to myself.

When I first came here, the whole shock of the situation kept me from thinking too much about Rai, but when things settled down a bit, I started to toy around with the idea of meeting up with Rai. The odds seemed so farfetched, though, I'd never actually expected to meet her. When Serena and mines relationship got serious, I kinda put Rai aside, but even with Serena I still thought fondly of Rai every now and then. Now, she was here.my literal dream girl, here.

WHAM!

"OW!" I was shaken from my thoughts when I walked into the Center doors. Normally they open automatically; when they didn't this time I smashed my face on them. Muttering some curses, I rubbed my sore nose before pulling them apart myself. "Joy! What's up with the doors?!"

"Xavier! Help!"

"Joy?! What's wrong?!" I raced into the Pokémon bedroom, where Pokémon with just minor injuries or who stayed overnight for checkups sleep. Joy was struggling hard to keep a pair of Persians away from each other. Claws and limbs were flailing everywhere, and there was a lot of yowls and hisses coming from the unhappy cats.

"I'm trying to keep these two apart from each other, but they're not happy about that. Do something!"

"Oh." Thinking as fast as I could, I ran off to the Poké Ball storage room. Thankfully, we label each ball by Pokémon, so it's easy to find the right one. There were only two Persian Poké Balls, so I grabbed them and rushed back to Joy. "Persians, return!" Both balls shot red beams of light, surrounding the Pokémon before they were sucked in. I hate the balls; they're just little prisons. Still, they do have their uses.

"Thank you." Joy blew on some small cuts on her arms. "Mating Week in action."

"Ah, that's nothing compared to what my cat was like. She did worse when she wanted to be fed an hour early."

"Your cat? Xavier, you never told me you had a Meowth or Persian."

"Meowth? Oh, no! I meant my other.um, never mind." Ah yes; my Shadow World cat, Dusty.I swear, if that cat wasn't Satan, she was at least a very loyal servant to him. When she wanted something, she wanted it now or she'd make you sorry you didn't move as fast as humanly possible to get it.

"Anyway, I wanted to stop by and get some Mating Week meds for everyone. My life's like a soap opera already; I don't want it added to by people getting pregnant and no one knowing who the father is because they were all in a sex-crazed frenzy."

"I could understand that, but all the Hybrids in your house besides Andrea already stopped by and picked some up. Remember that Amber picked up that special experimental heat medication?"

"Right." I nodded, remembering Amber saying something about that. She's been getting a little upset that she's been with us so long and hasn't paid anything, so she was going to volunteer to test some new anti- heat meds to make some money. "What about Mom? Did she stop by?"

"Yes, her too. In fact, she got the strongest version you can get without a prescription by a doctor."

"You sure about that? She sure wasn't acting like she took her medicine this morning."

"Really? Well, I know she bought it; whether she took it or not is a different matter."

"I trust you; just not sure I can trust."

BRING! BRING!

"Phoenix!" I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, looked around quickly, then tossed it to Joy. "Joy! Answer it!"

"Me?!"

"Yes! I can fake my human voice in Hybrid form, but I can't fake my Hybrid voice in human form!"

"O.K!" Joy turned on the phone and answered. "Hello Phoenix.it's Joy.why am I answering Fire Storm's phone?..." Joy looked over nervously at me, placing her hand over the mouth piece.

"Geez.say I.left it up here when I went down to the basement!"

"He's downstairs; he left it in his jacket up here." There was a long pause after that. "What? Are you sure about that?...no, no; I trust you.Xavier?" I quickly shook my head. "No, he's not here; he just left actually...O.K; I'll let him know. Bye." Joy handed me my phone, sighing.

"Well?"

"Xavier.Phoenix wants to go out hunting; now."

"Now?! Is she nuts?!"

"I don't know; she sounded normal enough over the phone, and I told you she already stopped by and picked up meds."

"Are you really sure? She sure wasn't acting like she took it this morning."

"Like I said before, I know she bought it; whether she actually took it is something else."

"I guess so." I shook my head and started off toward the basement. I started shifting forms on the way down the stairs, removing and tossing my shirt to the side as it started to grow tight on me. My jeans were fine; I always wear them a little big so I don't have to be in the full fur when I shift.

As I passed by a mirror in the locker room, I studied the canine face I'd become all too familiar with these past few months. After a few moments of mirror gazing, I sighed and got ready for a quick shower.

Once I'd gotten in and lathered up my fur with shampoo, I started to think about what my life had turned into in the last few months. Placing a hand against the wall of the shower and just feeling the water running through my fur, I started to take account of my new life.

The first thing that immediately crossed my mind was my ability to transform. The first few times it was really cool, going from human to Hybrid or Hybrid to Pokémon. The physical benefits of my Hybrid self alone were cool; the greatly increased strength, the added height, and the odd yet overall cool ability to spit fire make my Hybrid self a hell of a lot better than my human self(not to mention I always have a nice fur coat when it gets cold, if being a fire-type Hybrid wasn't enough.) The rush of power and adrenaline I feel when I finish changing is perhaps the greatest feeling I've ever experienced. It's not just the physical benefits; just being a Hybrid itself is cool. I mean, being able to do something that so few others can do, having all these abilities and powers; it's great.

Oh yeah, I thought as a slow smile curled up on my muzzle; can't forget the mental benefits. Not that I'm super-smart or anything, but.I concentrated for a few seconds on the main desk in the center. I imagined the top of it suddenly catching fire, covering the whole desk in a blazing fireball. Soon I could hear Joy yelp and run around like she had so many times before, looking for the fire extinguisher. As soon as I heard her grab it, I imagined the fire suddenly stopping altogether, having done no damage to the desk. When Joy hauled the fire extinguisher to the desk and realized what happened, I heard her calling out my name and yelling about how I scared the crap out of her.

In case you didn't get that, turns out besides creating fire in a sac in my body, I can also create it with my mind. Pyro-kinesis, it's called. Basically, I can create fire (or the illusion of it) and control it, either by making it bigger, smaller, burn hotter or burn so cold it's cool to the touch. Joy hates it because sometimes I do stuff like what I just did with the desk to freak her out. I have limits, though. If a fire is too big I can't control it; right now I have to struggle a bit to control a large bonfire. To form a fire, I have to either be looking at the place I want to catch fire or know it really well. I could handle the desk at the Center since I see it at least 3 or 4 days a week, but I can't cause some random persons clothes catch fire unless I was looking at them. Even still, I guess there's a limit on how far away I can be when I cause something to burn. I haven't tested it out yet, but that just makes sense that I can't go halfway around the world and still expect a fire to be going when I come back.

Compared to now, I have life better in a lot of ways than I did in the Shadow World. I've got tons of friends, enough money to pay for most any college thanks to my bounty hunting, a girlfriend, Pokémon friends, and a mother who treats me more as an equal than my old mother ever did. True; I don't have a father here, but my old man in the Shadow World was usually working his butt off for the family, so I'm used to not having a male authority figure around a lot. I don't hate him for working, and we did have some good times; I just wish there was more of them.

Now there's the middle of the road when it comes to this new world. Bounty hunting is exciting, but it can be dangerous at times. I usually come out with only a few cuts, scrapes and the occasional bullet wound that grazed across my shoulder, yeah, but sometimes when I'm cowering behind an obstacle while lightning and water and whatnot pound it, waiting for a break in the attack to shoot myself, it's kinda scary. Sure; sometimes it easy, like the guy who me and Phoenix were looking for just walked right toward us on the street. He wasn't expecting us, nor the clothesline I hit him across the face with to knock him down, but it's rarely that easy.

Ah; can't forget Phoenix. That first night I was here was a rare event, with all the licking and nuzzling.that never happens now, especially when she realized how much it repulsed me. Still, just knowing that deep down inside, she thinks she loves me makes it hard to be her partner. I guess that the fact she's loves only me should mean something slightly good; at least she isn't willing to spread her legs for any guy who makes a pass at her. In fact, I once read in her diary (I know I shouldn't do that, but I have to.) that she sometimes feels her body is a curse. She knows she's good looking, but she has to put up with all these jerks who just want to mate her because of how she looks, and the one guy she wouldn't mind hearing nice things about herself from (me) hardly says a word. Sometimes I'm tempted to say something just to make her feel good, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea either. A lot of times when I think about this, I end with, "Why me? Why?"

When we're out working or relaxing, though, she's actually quite a person to be with. She's a crack shot, fast thinker, and though it may not show, she's got a will of steel.not to mention a pair of steel fists to back her up. When she punches you, you go down and stay down. Once while we we're getting dinner at a pub, some human male who reeked of alcohol kept making passes at her. She mostly ignored him, until he made the mistake of grabbing one of her breasts. Next thing I knew, he was sprawled out on the floor with a mouthful of blood and three teeth lying next to him. Phoenix glared angrily at him for a few seconds while he laid there, then went back to eating as if nothing happened. When she isn't arresting criminals or punching drunks, she's a smart, very social woman. We talk about all sorts of things; sports, news, weather; lots of stuff. She also loves video games, in both human and Hybrid forms. I was shocked to find out that Mom actually enjoys Magic as much as I do, but she's also always willing to try a new game I buy, so I always have someone to play when there's nothing else to do. As Phoenix, we're always going to arcades after a long days work and playing for a few hours. We play everything, but she loves light- gun games, which she says are great for practice with our job. I have to agree; that's where I got all my skills as a bounty hunter. Overall, with Mom and Phoenix, I think the pros and cons balance each other out.

Now we get to the bad stuff. With all the stuff going on, it seems like I never have time to myself. Between Pokémon training and caring, working at the Center, working with Phoenix, talking with friends.it seems like I never have time to do anything for me. Today was a rare occurrence. It was something that probably wasn't going to happen again for a while. Before I had way too much free time; now it seems like the only time I have to myself is when I sleep and when I'm in the shower. Then there's the fact that I've come closer to serious injury or death in the past few months than I did during my whole life in the Shadow World. The worst I've ever been hurt required an overnight stay at a hospital when I took a bullet in the chest, but still, watching the blood leaking out of your body and feeling the strong pain that comes from having part of your body filled with hot lead was scary. If it wasn't for Joy covering for me and the fact that I heal extremely fast, even for Hybrids, I'd have had real trouble with Mom.

I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't spend all day in the shower; Phoenix was waiting for me.

BRING! BRING!

"Geez!" I'd barely stepped out of the shower when my phone started ringing again. Throwing a towel around my waist, I rushed out and grabbed the phone, turning it on. "Hello, Phoenix."

"Phoenix? No, Fire Storm; it's Raichel."

"Raichel?! Didn't we just talk?"

"What? No; I just talked with a few of my friends. I just came back from Florida, and I'm saying hi to all my friends."

"Oh.right." I didn't want to tell her she was going nuts; people tend to get mad when you do that. "It's.nice to hear from you again."

"Same here.Fire Storm, I.I thought about you a lot when I was away."

"You did?"

"Yes.listen; are you doing anything later in the week?"

"Later? Uh.I'm not sure."

"That's O.K; call me back later. I'm about to go visit my friend's; I need to drop something off there. Call my house in about an hour if you decide."

"Alright.who's the friend?"

"His name's Xavier.shoot; gotta go. Call me!"

"Xavier? Wait; that's."

CLICK!

".me." I looked at the phone, confused. How could Rai forget she just talked to me? She mentioned my human self's name, but acted like we hadn't spoken before...wait a minute.

"SHIT!" She was going over to the house! Phoenix was waiting for me there; if Rai saw her, it'd blow her cover and maybe mine as well! I tried to call Rai back, but no one picked up her phone. Hastily throwing on the gray, spandex like material which I now know is elemental body armor, then my regular clothes, I tossed a few random weapons into a backpack and bolted for the garage. My mind raced for answers as I opened the garage door, made an impressive leap into the driver seat and started the engine, but nothing I thought of made much sense. No time to worry about it now; I had to get to the house, fast!

Doing about 70 the whole way, I'd somehow managed not to cause an accident or get pulled over by a cop, and made it to the house in under 10 minutes. Everything looked normal as I bought the car to a screeching halt. I dashed inside, expecting the worst.

"Hello?..." No one was around. It was quiet.too quiet. There wasn't a noise in the house. No one was watching T.V or on the computer, no Pokémon or kids running around.it was dead silent. I kept my ears open as I slowly crept in, not sure what to expect now.

"Phoenix? Rai? Chris? Rick? Anybody?" No one answered. I checked all the rooms on the first floor; nothing.

"Fire Storm.help me."

"Phoenix? Where are you?!" Her voice sounded weak; I could barely hear her.

"Upstairs..."

I ran up the stairs, expecting to find her in her room. Instead, I found her in my room, sitting on the edge of my bed. Her back was to me, but it looked like she was holding something.

"Phoenix? What's wrong?" I went into my room, noticing none of my Pokémon friends were around.

"Fire Storm.I need help."

"Why? What's wrong?" I said, slowly sitting next to her. She appeared to be holding a photo of some sort, but it was hard to get a good look at it while she was holding it against her stomach.

"It's been almost 16 years since I've been truly intimate with anyone.every time Mating Week comes around, it just reminds me how I have no one to go to; no mate or lover. sure; I miss the sex, but that's beyond the point. I just want someone to love; someone to hold and hold me, but I have no one.no one to go to. All I have is my son, and I can't love him like I would love another adult."

Wanna bet?, I thought.

"Phoenix, you're a wonderful person. You'll find the right person for you; I'm sure of it."

"I've been telling myself that for years." she said with a sigh. "At first, I hoped my husband would come back to me, but it's been too long now. If he was coming back, he would have by now. I've tried to find someone to replace him, but no one can totally replace him. It hurts, but that's not what hurts worst."

"What does?"

"Xavier.he's had to grow up without his father. All these other boys always have their father to teach them how to play baseball or ride a bike; he's never had that. It's always just been me, and there's just some things I can't do for him as a mother; he needs his father too."

"Oh." Honestly, I never worried much about my Dad here. I tried asking Mom in the beginning, but she either acts like she doesn't hear me or changes the subject. Even as Fire Storm she won't tell me. I have a lot more important things to worry about now, so I haven't bothered thinking about it much. "Xavier's a good son; I'm sure he's managed to get along just fine with your help."

"Maybe." Curiously, I took a sniff of the air. I could tell easily Phoenix hadn't taken her medicine. Thankfully I still haven't fully evolved, so it had no affect on me.

"Phoenix?...Where is everyone?"

"They're in the basement."

"Why?"

"I put them down there; tied them up or returned them to their Poké Balls."

"What!? Why on God's green Earth would you do that?!"

"I had to keep them out of the way.prove to myself that I can control myself.couldn't let them help."

"Phoenix?..." She held her head in her hands, and she was sweating profusely. I slowly got up and started to back away, not sure what was going on.

"Fi-Fire Storm.it's getting too strong.can't fight it."

"Fight what?"

"T-The urges.they're so strong.... I don't want to mate, but I can't resist."

"Phoenix, you have to! You're stronger than that!"

"No. you don't understand; I-I can't."

Shit! I had to find her medicine; NOW! I ran as fast as my legs would let me across the hall to Mom's room, looking around quickly. No; they weren't here. I tossed open the door to her bathroom right off of the bedroom, the door slamming against the wall as I heaved it open and searched desperately. There; on the sink! I grabbed the blue bottle and dashed back to Phoenix, opening the bottle with my teeth and pouring out two pills.

"Here; take these; now!" I ordered, practically shoving the pills in her face. She slowly, very slowly took them and popped them into her muzzle. I sighed with relief; crisis adverted.

"Fi-Fire Storm; the medicine.it's not working."

"WHAT?!"

"The urges are as strong as ever; can't fight."

"Phoenix, you have to fight! You can control those urges!"

"I-I can't. I'm so so-sorry."

Suddenly Phoenix tackled me, pinning my shoulders to the ground with her hands. I struggled to get free, but she's strong as it is, and in her current lust filled state seemed to crank her strength up even more. It seemed like no matter how hard I struggled, she kept me on the ground.

"I'm sorry; I don't want this.my mind keeps saying, "No!" but my body keeps saying, "Yes!".I'm sorry; please don't think worse of me for this."

"Phoenix, you can't do this! Please!" I won't lie to you; I was scared shitless at this point. If I let Phoenix mate me now, I'd never be able to look at her or myself the same way ever again. My mind raced as I tried to think of something, anything to stop her. ( I just had to change this from the last one about the race car. I wrote it after that Golem punched me in the head, so that might explain my thought process or lack thereof then.)

"Phoenix; please." I kept pulling away from her licks and nuzzles, struggling against her as much as I could. It was clear she really didn't want to do this, but her instincts must've been incredibly powerful to shrug off that medication. "You can't."

"I don't want to; I really don't." Tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Her chest was pressed against mine, and her arms were slowly working their way around me, pinning my arms to the side of my body. I flailed and kicked wildly, but I couldn't get my legs around to kick her very well, and she had me pinned so tight I could barely move at all.

"Phoenix, no! Don't do this!." No one could help me, and the bear hug she had on me kept me from moving my arms. I'd taken a little karate when I was younger, and I knew how to get out of a bear hug, but I always practiced it standing up, not lying on my back. This position seemed familiar though; when did I get into this situation before?... Wait! Duh!

"I'm sorry, Phoenix, but I gotta do this!" I took a deep breath, then shot an Ember out of my muzzle right into Phoenix's face.

"Aggh!" It shouldn't have hurt her too much, being a fire type herself, but the blast was enough to knock her back and let go of me. I jumped to my feet, moving faster than I'd ever moved before. I ran to the doors, locking the one that led directly to the hallway with my fist and busting off the doorknob, then went through the other door that led into the bathroom, slamming it shut and locking it behind me.

I knew I had a little time, but not much. I dashed down the stairs and was halfway out the main door when I remembered Phoenix said she'd tied up everyone downstairs.

"Geez, I'd better hurry." I ran to the kitchen and was halfway to the basement door when.

WHAM!

"Holy!..." The door just flew off it's hinges and hit the wall across from it, splintering into pieces when it hit. Bits of wood flew by and got caught in my fur. "What the fuck!?..."

Rick poked his head out, looking around. When he saw me, he gave a little wave. "Hello."

"What the hell are you doing?! You almost killed me!" I yelled.

"I did? Sorry, but your Mom tied me up and locked me down there. I just wanted to get out."

"Locked you down there?!." I dug through the remains of the door and found what was left of the knob, showing it to him "That door doesn't lock, dummy!" I whacked him lightly in the head. "Pay attention next time!"

"Hey! I said I was sorry, O.K?"

"Right, right.did you get the others?"

"Others? I could barely make out the stairs; I didn't look for anyone else."

"Man." I flicked on the light switch by the top of the stairs and went downstairs. Kicking aside a piece of rope laying on the ground, I found a good 15 or 20 Pokéballs lying on the ground by the old piano. I told Rick to let them out while I looked for the others. There were two other rooms down here and a third door that led to the garage. Going to one of the rooms, I found Tyger, Amber, Chris, Andrea, Serena and Bob tied up on the ground. Serena and Amber were moving, but everyone else was lying still. I untied them, and they helped me get the others free. Everyone else was fine; they were out cold and probably have a headache when they came to, but they were all breathing and didn't look seriously hurt.

"Xavier? Why'd Phoenix do this to us?" Serena asked after she'd freed Bob.

"She's.not acting like herself. She hasn't taken her meds, and she isn't thinking straight. I locked her in my room, but I'm not sure how long that will last."

"But.she took her medicine. I watched her."

"You saw her take it?" She nodded. "Wow.she shrugged off two doses of the stuff? Damn." I looked over at Amber. She looked like somebody close to her just died; she wasn't crying, but she had a face that made you think she was really depressed. "Amber? You O.K?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I've just felt like crud since I took that medicine. I was about to call the number on the bottle when Phoenix jumped me."

"Wow; that must be some powerful stuff... Still, you're right. You should call."

"Here." She pulled a bottle out of her pocket. "Would you mind doing it for me?"

"Sure, as soon as I get everyo." I took a look at the bottle. It looked exactly like Phoenix's.wait a minute.

"That explains it!"

"What? What explains what?" Serena asked.

"These aren't Amber's pills; these are Phoenix's! You guys probably switched the bottles sometime and never knew it." I showed them the label. In very small type was written "Phoenix Canin".

"Oh.so that's why I feel so lousy." Amber mumbled.

"Yeah; this is a serious overdose for you. Might explain why your meds had no effect on Phoenix. Either you're pills are really weak, or you're in the control group and have sugar pills."

Amber nodded in agreement while I checked around the rest of the basement for anyone else. There was no one else in plain sight, so I checked the other room.

"Rai!...and somebody." Rai was out cold on the floor, but what was just as interesting was the Jolteon Hybrid next to her. He seemed close to my age, give or take a year or two, and looked a little under six feet tall. He wore a black jacket and black jeans, and when I rolled him over I saw he also wore a white shirt under the jacket. He had normal human hair, but it looked almost white and the bangs were spiky. Jolteon spokes poked out all over his body, some of them sticking out of his clothes while others were under them, making him look bigger than he was. A silver pendant that was shaped like a lightning bolt hung around his neck, partially lying on the floor. For some reason, there was also a metal staff lying close by him. I've never seen it before, so I guessed he bought it with him.who ever he was.

"Fire Storm? What's going on?" Amber rushed in and saw the two figures on the floor. "Um.Fire Storm? Do you know those people?"

"I know the girl, but the Jolteon's new to me." I didn't think he was one of my online buddies looking for a place to stay. Of all of them, none of them mentioned being a Jolteon Hybrid.

"Xavier? What is it?" Serena came in as well. She stopped when she saw Raichel. "Xavier.t-that's Raichel."

"I know, Serena, I know." She would know; although the sketch Serena did of Rai had no color, it looked exactly like Rai did in terms of body shape, hair style and the like.

Serena went over and examined the electric Hybrids while Amber and I tried to sort out what was going on with the Pokémon. I asked most of them to go upstairs and make sure Phoenix didn't get out, and to stop but not hurt her if she did. Most went, but a few stayed to make sure their trainers were O.K, and I kept Houndor with me; he was a nervous wreck after being in the ball. Dragoniar offered to stay and help me with him.

"F-Fire Storm.P-Phoenix put me in a ball.it was so lonely and scary." Houndor whimpered and curled into a ball. Dragoniar curled around him, whispering to him soothingly.

"It's O.K, Houndor. Phoenix wasn't feeling well; she didn't mean to do that. you're safe now, I promise." Dragoniar's great with Houndor. When I'm not around or Houndor just isn't responding to me, she does a great job calming him down.

"Yeah, Houndor; Phoenix is sick. Once she takes her medicine, she'll be normal again, and she'll apologize for putting you in the ball. In fact, she'll probably be so sad about what she did, she'll give you anything you want." I said, smiling as Houndor eyes lit up.

"A-Anything?" Houndor said with a sniff. "Even ice cream?"

"Yup; even your favorite ice cream." Houndor loves ice cream. Seems a little ironic to me; a fire type loving ice cream, but Houndor is full of irony.

"O-O.K.thanks F-Fire Storm." Houndor smiled and sniffed again. I left Dragoniar with him and went back to check on the others.

"Xavier? Raichel's starting to wake up." Serena informed me. Rai, indeed, was starting to sit up.

"Ow." Rai sat up and rubbed a part of her head. "Anybody get the number of that truck that hit me?..."

"You O.K., Raichel?" I asked, knelling down to her.

"Alright? Fire Storm! Geez!" Rai placed a hand over her heart. "You surprised me."

"Sorry.how are you feeling?"

"Hurt. I've got a lump on my head the size of my fist, and.ah!" Rai looked at her leg, which had a long, shallow cut on it. "Don't know when this happened, but it stings."

"Ow." I took a look at the wound. "Might have happened when Phoenix carried you down the stairs."

"Yes.that's another thing. What the hell is Phoenix doing in this house? This is my friends house.and come to think of it, why are you here, Fire Storm? What's going on?!"

"It's.a long story, Rai."

"Well, you've got plenty of time to tell it to me.ow!" Rai rubbed her head again. "Mind if I get some aspirin or a Potion or something? This really stings."

"Sure." I looked to Serena and Amber. "Guys? Mind watching after everyone while I take her upstairs?"

"O.K." Amber said. Serena nodded in agreement, but something was wrong. She looked really worried about something. ah, don't think about it too much, I told myself. She's probably just worried about Phoenix.

Rai went upstairs and I followed close behind her, making sure she was O.K. She went up the stairs slowly and seemed to be in a little pain, but she seemed able to walk fine enough to make it up the stairs on her own.

"Here Rai; sit on the couch. I'll get you some medicine." Rai nodded and went into the living room. As I got Rai some water, I heard a flushing toilet. When I went into the living room, Rick was just coming out of the bathroom. "Hey Rick; make yourself useful and get her some aspirin?"

"Oh." Rick looked over at Rai, who smiled at him. "Sure." He went back into the bathroom while I bought the glass of water to Rai.

"Here; you can use this to wash the aspirin down." I offered, placing it on the end table next to Rai.

"Thanks. Fire Storm. it might just be the blow to the head, but I'm a little confused. What's going on?"

"Well. I. that is to say." I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how much Rai knew and didn't know. I'd pieced together that she didn't realize Fire Storm and Xavier were one in the same, but she knew them both. It'd be hell to explain what was going on without knowing what was O.K to tell her.

"Fire Storm!" Nidorino came running down the stairs in a hurry. "Your Mom's getting kinda wild up there. She's banging on the door, and the doors are starting to break. Frealigater said he could freeze the doors so she won't get out, but I wasn."

"Wait.Nidorino? Did you just say, 'Mom?'"

"Raichel?!" Nidorino looked around me and let out an audible gulp. He seemed to think he screwed something up. "I.didn't see you."

"Nidorino, tell me the truth. Did you just say Mom?"

"Um.no." he said weakly. I looked at Rai, then at Nidorino and back at Rai again. Did he just?...

"Wait a minute." Rai seemed to have just figured out something. "Xavier? Is that you?"

"Um.yeah, it's me." I said with a weak laugh. "Hey."

"Xavier. and Fire Storm. after all this time, you were the same person?" Rai was in a state of shock. "Oh my God."

"Um.hello?" I totally forgot about Rick. He walked over to Rai with some aspirin in his hand. "Here you go."

"Huh? Oh; thank you." Rai managed to take the aspirin, but that was the last thing on her mind. She put them down on the end table next to the water.

"Uh.Fire Storm? What's going on?" Rick asked.

"Rick.this is kinda private. Do you mind?"

"No; it's O.K. I'll go help the others." Rick went back down to the basement, leaving me, Rai and Nidorino alone again.

"Uh, Fire Storm, about the doors." Nidorino started to say.

"Go ahead; freeze them. Just don't let her out until I'm gone, O.K?" He nodded and quickly ran back upstairs.

"Rai. I guess I have a lot to explain."

"Yeah. you do." Rai glanced over at the cable box, then did a double take. "What?! Man, I have to get going!"

"What?! Now?!" I glanced at the clock on the box. It read about 10 minutes past noon.

"I told my parents I'd be home by noon sharp, and you know how paranoid they are about me!"

"Yeah. um, I could drive you home. It'd be a lot faster."

"Drive? Sure, that'd be a big help. We'll talk on the way, O.K?"

"Sure; let's get you home." Rai hobbled outside to the car. I followed her out to the car where I jumped into the drivers seat. Rai slowly opened the door and sat in the passenger side, looking worried and confused.

"Xavi... I mean Fire Storm. why?"

"Why what?" I asked as I started the car.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about being a Hybrid. or being a bounty hunter. or having your Mom as a partner. hell; why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I. thought it'd be safer if you didn't know. Something could've happened to you knew who I was." That was the excuse I was saving for Phoenix when I eventually tell her that I'm really her kid, but it's kinda a universal excuse for me anyway. All I usually have to do is change a few words. Besides, it made sense from what little I could tell about the whole situation.

"Oh." Rai went silent for a moment before speaking up again. "You were afraid someone might find out about our friendship and use it to try and blackmail you?"

"Something like that."

"I see.but what about Phoenix? How could she not know after all this time what you've been doing? I mean, she is your mother."

"Well, I work late at the Center a lot, and Joy helps to cover for me. She knows, but doesn't say anything to Phoenix."

"O.K., but wh." Rai noticed my confusion when we're at the end of my road. I had no clue where her house was, so I had no idea which was to turn or what roads to take. "Fire Storm? Is something wrong?"

"Um. I'm sorry Rai, but it's been so long, I've totally forgot where you live."

"So long? I've been gone barely four months, Fire Storm!"

Four months? I did the math in my head. That meant she would've left.early July?! That meant she left about a week, maybe days before I came here!

"It's only been four months? It.seemed a lot longer than that without you here, Rai."

"Really? Oh." Rai had a embarrassed smile on her face, and I'm sure she was blushing under her fur. "Turn left here."

"That's right." I made the turn, not sure what to say. I mean, what the hell could I say to her? Most people only meet their perfect lover in their dreams, but mine was sitting in the seat right next to me! The feelings I felt for her, the things we did in the Shadow World, the opportunity I had now. even if I knew what to say, I don't think it'd come out in a coherent sentence.

"So.things were pretty bad in Florida, huh?" I asked, trying to get the conversation to go anywhere.

"Oh yeah. The stupid internet connection never worked, so I couldn't do anything online or chat with any of my friends, the other kids down there were either stuck up, 'cool' kids or creepy kids that just made you want to get as far away from them as possible. It was too hot down there too; I'm used to the cooler weather up here. Besides, I'm warm enough with my fur; I don't need the blazing hot sun warming me up."

"Oh yeah; I went down there with the Boy Scouts once for a week. When we finally got back, the tops of my ears were burnt black!"

Rai nodded. "You told me about that.anyway, we were all miserable, so Dad had his job transfer him back here. He's too valuable for them to lose, so they had to.turn right here."

I nodded and turned. About halfway up the road, Rai asked me to pull over. I did, but wasn't sure why.

"What's up, Rai?"

"I'd better walk the rest of the way. If my parents see you, they'll probably call the police."

"Police?! Why?!"

"Oh, you know that my Mom and Dad are paranoid of Hybrids; especially you. They think that you're a danger to me because of that incident a while ago when you saved me from that guy who took me hostage."

I was confused. "Wait.if I saved you, why do they think I'm a danger to you?"

"Because when you got me away from him and were trying to get me someplace safe, the guy you were trying to arrest shot at us. He nicked my tail, and that's all my parents needed to hear. They didn't care about how you almost got shot trying to help me; they just don't want you near me again."

"I.see." I was confused, but Rai said her parents were paranoid of Hybrids. Her parents were human themselves, and Rai had been born human, but later became a Hybrid. I'd tell you how, but.well, that can wait till later.

Rai opened the door and stepped out of the car. She drew a sharp breath and winced when her leg hit the ground.

"Ow! Almost forgot about my leg."

"Hold on a sec, Rai." I went to the trunk and pulled out the first aid kit, grabbing a Super Potion. I offered it to her as she sat on the hood of the car.

"Thank you." She took it and rolled up her slashed pant leg before spraying the Potion on the wound. She used her free hand to spread her hair apart a little before spraying the rest on the bump on her head.

"I'll take that." Rai handed back the empty bottle while I got out a roll of bandages. "Want to wrap up that leg wound so it doesn't get infected?"

"Good idea, but do you mind doing it for me? It'd be hard for me to do it properly by myself."

"Oh; O.K." Be cool, I reminded myself. She's just asking you to do it because you'd do a better job than her. Don't think about the fact that Serena asked you to do the same thing last month shortly before she declared her love for you.oops. Well, too late for that now.

I knelt down in front of Rai, slowly wrapping the white cloth around her leg. She held up her pant leg so it didn't get in the way. My heart was beating like a drum in my chest as I did my best to keep my cool. Rai seemed to be reacting normally as I taped the bandages into place.

"Thanks, Fire Storm." I slowly stood up and brushed some dirt off my fur, then put the bandages away.

"Think you'll be alright?" I asked.

"I'll get to the house fine; I'm just worried about having to explain this to Mom and Dad. I don't want to get you in trouble, but it'll be hard to explain why my leg is all wrapped up like this."

"Yeah." I tried to think of a good explanation for the cut. "Tell them it got hurt when you cut yourself on a rock. Hopefully they won't ask for the details."

"Sounds kinda lame.but it's the best I can think of. Thanks."

"No problem." Things got kinda quiet for a minute before I spoke up again. "You probably should go before your parents get worried."

"You're probably right." Rai still didn't move.

"Rai? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah.Fire Storm, back before I knew who you really were, I really liked Xavier. He was smart, kinda shy, and really nice to me. but almost as soon as I met him, I met you. You're handsome, strong, but still sensitive. I tried to hide it, but I liked you too. I didn't want to admit it, but I really liked who I thought were two different guys, and I knew it wasn't fair to either of you to have another person in the wings that I cared for just as much, but I didn't want to lose either of you. Now I know that you and Xavier were the same person, but you knew this whole time. You knew, and you never said anything, in either form.why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you tell me what I was doing, or leave me, or something? Anything?"

"Rai.I didn't do anything because I." Think fast! "I didn't want to get you upset. What good would it be for me if you decided you didn't want to be with me anymore? I really like you too, Rai. I don't want you to leave; ever."

"Fire Storm." Rai slowly got off the hood of the car. I walked over to her, my body on auto-pilot as my mind was barely able to comprehend what was happening. Oh; I knew what was going on. I just couldn't believe it was happening.

Soon Rai and I were standing with maybe an inch or two of space between us. We stared into each others eyes for a while. she has such beautiful hazel eyes.

I leaned down and gave Rai a kiss on the lips. It wasn't anything really intimate; I just touched the edge of my muzzle to Rai's lips. Both of us seemed shocked by what I did.

"Rai, I'm so sor." I started to apologize, but was silenced by the kiss I received in return.

"Shh.don't apologize.you didn't do anything wrong." Rai kissed me again, slowly wrapping her tail around my waist. I kissed back, slowly moving my hands to hold her sides. Rai put her arms around my neck, pressing herself to me as we kissed. That's how we remained for a while, occasionally opening our mouths to one another.

I didn't think much about it at the time (I had other things on my mind at the moment, if you can believe it), but it occurred to me later that I was really enjoying this. Unlike when me and Serena were a little intimate, I was starting to feel real desire for Rai. I mean, sure, I like kissing and holding Serena, but I don't get nearly as much joy out of it like I was now with Rai. It had been a few days since I had done anything like this with Serena, but it was like going from one extreme to the other. Was their something about Rai that made me feel like this, or something missing in Serena that didn't make me feel this way? Maybe it meant I was going to evolve soon; Chris mentioned something before about how physical desire increases as evolution gets closer. Heh; evolving.last thing I ever expected to say about myself.

Still holding Rai with one hand, I moved the other to gently stroke her hair. She responded by moving her hands to my jacket. I wasn't sure what she was doing, till I heard the zipper on it starting to lower on it. I looked at Rai, a little confused. She pulled away and looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

I kissed her again, letting her know it was alright. Rai quickly went back to work, undoing and removing my jacket for me, tossing it into the car. I was in heaven; Rai's body against mine, her lips against mine, her tail wrapped around my waist, my fingers running through her hair.

"Where is she?! She's late!"

"Damn." Rai pulled away, having heard the voices up the street. "Sorry; my parents. I better go before they flip their lid."

"Oh." I let out a little whimper, but her parents really don't like Hybrids; I'm sure they wouldn't want to see her kissing me. "O.K; go ahead."

"Alright. are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.

"Other than dodging Phoenix, not really."

"Yeah.listen, do you want to go see a movie or something?"

"Movie? Um, yeah, I think I'm free."

"O.K." Rai gave me one last kiss. "Thanks for everything, Fire Storm. See you around 6?"

"Sure; 6. Bye." Rai walked up the street, waving to me as she did. I watched her till I saw her go in her house so I could find it later, then hopped in the car. I thought about going back to the house, but my presence would probably make things even worse with Phoenix. Instead I decided to go back to the Center. Phoenix probably wouldn't be able to get out of the house and all the way there without somebody getting a hold on her. Besides, I had to return the stuff I'd bought with me to the basement, and I still had a shift to work later at the Center.

I drove back quickly, trying not to let what just happened with me and Rai distract me from my driving. It wasn't easy; the girl who I first fell in love with, the one I created when I needed someone, not just as a story-friend, but as a companion, was real and cared for me as much as I cared for her. I was still trying to get my head around the idea that she existed; her feelings for me just added to my confusion.

Reaching the Center without having run anybody down or anything, I parked the car in the garage before walking into the Center.well, the Center doors. I forgot they didn't open right.

"Joy! Can we please take of these doors?!" I yelled, rubbing my muzzle. "It's not fun walking into them; especially twice in one day!"

"I'll work on it, but you've got other problems." Joy informed me as I opened the doors and walked in.

"I do?"

"Yes; Serena called here 3 times looking for you. She looked upset on the VidPhone."

"Upset? Why would she be up.set. oh no." I swear, all the blood just drained out of my face. How could I have not thought of this before?! I'm already in love with Serena; I can't be in love with Rai too! What the fuck was I thinking when I was with Rai?! I couldn't do what I did!

I went over to the VidPhone, still trying to think of what I was going to say when I dialed home. Serena picked up almost immediately, not looking very happy.

"Hi, Serena." I said weakly, half expecting her to smell Rai's scent on my body through the phone.

"Hello, Xavier." Serena looked down before going on. "Xavier. I just want to know. do you have feelings for Raichel?"

Nothing like getting right to the point, I thought as I struggled for an appropriate answer.

"Serena. I do have feelings for Rai. D-Do you mind?..."

"Xavier; I-I don't want to sound greedy, but. I don't wanna share my puppy."

That's Serena's pet name for me. I call her my vixen, and she calls me her puppy. It's cute, but I wasn't concerned with cute at the moment.

"I understand, Serena, but.you know who Rai is. I've had feelings for her for a while. I-I can't just stop our relationship now. She says we agreed to have a deeper relationship than just friends just before she left. I can't just break up with her now."

"Xavier." She looked even more upset than she did before. "I don't want you to go away.

"I promise I won't leave you Serena; I'd never leave you." What am I gonna do? I screwed myself by being in love with two women at once when I could only choose one of them. Serena didn't want to share me with Rai, and I'm sure Rai would've felt the same way if she knew. I loved them both, though; how could I possible tell either one of them that we couldn't have a relationship anymore?

"Serena. I need some time to think about this. It's just so much to think about in such a short time."

"Xavier." Serena sniffed and looked close to tears. "Don't go; I need you."

"I won't. look, I know this probably isn't the best time, but."

"We can go to the movies another time. Enjoy your time with Raichel."

"I. I-I gotta get to work. Bye, Serena." I hung up before that look in her eyes made me cry. What was I gonna do?...

I thought about what I was going to do with Serena and Rai all through work. I loved them both, and I didn't want to hurt either of them, but I couldn't have them both, and if I tried to I'd only end up hurting them both.man; I thought things were complicated enough when I first came here; being in love with two different people at the same time was not helping me at all. Sighing, I tried not to think about it as I started to work. With it being Mating Week, things were a mess around the Center with trainers and Hybrids coming in for their meds while we had to give the Pokémon that were already here medicine on top of all the other stuff we had to do, I didn't have a moment to so much as sit down without falling behind with something.

When 6 finally came around, I still hadn't really made up my mind about what I was going to say. I hadn't told Joy about what was going on, though I sensed she knew something was going was getting in the way of me and Serena. She asked if everything was alright, and of course I told her everything was fine, but she didn't buy a word of it. None of that really mattered as I took the car out again, still having no idea what I was going to do with Rai. I struggled with it some more during the drive, but was still no closer to an answer when I saw Rai standing on the edge of her road.

"Hi, Fire Storm. Sorry about not meeting you at the house, but Mom and Dad."

"Yeah, I understand." Rai walked around and got in the passenger side seat. "So, where do you want to go?"

"I don't know; any ideas?"

"Well.we could always go to the movie theater. There's a bunch of new stuff playing."

"O.K." I started to drive toward the theater. It was a good long drive to the theater; one that would leave plenty of time for talk. To be honest, I was hoping Rai wouldn't want to say anything so I could have more time to think. In desperation, I turned on the radio, hoping Rai would want to listen to the music.

"Want to listen to anything?" I asked as I flipped through the stations.

"Anything that isn't country or rap would be fine."

"O.K; I can manag...whoa!" Suddenly the radio shot off a small shower of sparks before shutting down. Rai yelped when that happened, and I suddenly slammed on the brakes instinctually. "You O.K?!"

"Yeah, fine." Rai looked at the radio, giving it a cautious poke. "Didn't expect that to happen. Well, if you're O.K., let's not let it spoil the evening.

"Right." I said while mentally thinking, "FUCK!" I couldn't think of anything to distract Rai with now that the radio blew.

We managed to get about a quarter of the way to the theater without anything being said. True; I didn't really want to talk because of how unsure I was with Serena and Rai, but it was so damn uncomfortable driving around and not saying anything. All the stress that had been building up before grew with each passing second. Soon it was going to explode into something horrible if something didn't happen soon.

"Fire Storm. is something wrong? You seem kinda tense."

"Tense? No! Nothing's wrong! What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Well, you haven't said a word since the radio thing. I thought maybe you were just being shy at first, but I can feel a lot more than that. Something's wrong; I can feel it."

"Nothing's wrong Rai; really."

"There is, Fire Storm. With all the time we've known each other, I've learned to pick up on when's something's bothering you, and something's really bothering you right now. Please, tell me. Let me help you."

Rai looked at me with a pleading look, one that begged to be told the truth. She just wanted to help me, and I wanted her to help, but I couldn't just tell her what was happening. What could I tell her? She'd known me for years, but she'd never understand this.

I dunno what it was at the moment. It wasn't like some huge revelation or spiritual guidance or any of that sort of stuff; it was like my brain and my heart finally realizing the errors of my ways. No matter how much this hurt, I had to do this. It wasn't just for me, but for Rai and Serena too.

I pulled over to the side of the road on the highway. Rai looked confused as I shut down the engine and pulled out the key, putting it in my pocket.

"Fire Storm? What are you doing?"

"Rai.I." Oh damnit; just say it, man! "W-We can't have a relationship."

Rai still looked as confused as she did when I stopped the car. Slowly, though, my words started to sink in.

"We can't.b-but Fire Storm, why not?"

"Rai. me and Serena. while you were gone, she and I. we're in love, Rai. It's not fair to either of you for me to have to split my feelings between two people."

"S-Serena?" Rai's lip started to quiver, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. "B-But Fire Storm. you said you'd always wait for me; in both forms."

"Rai. I'm sorry; I know I've hurt you, but."

"But what?! Fire Storm; I love you! Love you! Now y-you've just taken that a-and thrown it back in my face! Do you have any idea how much this hurts?!"

"Rai." Now she was in full blown tears. I tried to hold her and calm her down, but she curled into a ball and shook me off. I whimpered. "Rai.please, forgive me."

"Forgive you?! FORGIVE YOU?! YOU TOOK WHAT MIGHT BE MY ONLY CHANCE AT FINDING LOVE, RIPPED IT INTO SHREDS, AND EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU?!!?! I.I- I."

"Rai?...Rai?" Rai suddenly went limp, her body slumping over to the side and leaning against the car door. "RAI!"

What happened?! Why'd she pass out?! She was breathing, but her eyes were shut tight and she wasn't moving a bit.

This is all I need!, I thought as I dug out the key from my pocket. Where was the closest hospital around here? There was one a couple miles north where Phoenix and I usually go when we get hurt, but that could be too far. I needed something clos.

"Why are you hurting Rachel?"

"Jesus and Mary!" I yelped, looking over at Rai. She was now sitting up and holding her head. Something was still wrong, though; her voice sounded different now, and did she say Rachel? She never called herself Rachel before. The last time she did that was when she was human.

"Why are you doing this to Rachel, Fire Storm? Why are you hurting my trainer?" Rai said. Yeah; her voice definitely changed.and trainer? What was. oh.

"R-Raichu? Is that you?" Rai nodded solemnly.

Well, now might be a good time to explain how Rai became a Hybrid. Back when Raichel was still human, she'd encountered a trainer while she was waiting to challenge the leader of a Psychic Gym. He was training at the gym, and challenged Rai to a battle. At first Rai declined, wanting to save up her Pokémon's for the fight, but the guy was relentless with the taunting and was basically being a jerk. In the end, she decided to duel him just to shut him up.

The battle started quickly, Raichel sending out her Raichu and the other trainer using a Kadabra. Rai was confident in her abilities and her Pokémon's powers, but her Raichu was heavily outmatched for this fight. The fight was pretty much over seconds after it began, but this guy wasn't content to simply defeat the Raichu. He ordered his Kadabra to do some serious stuff to it, long after it was unable to fight. Rai kept trying to recall her Raichu, but she couldn't get the retractor beam from the ball to connect. Her pleading for the other trainer to stop didn't work either. Finally, after being slammed into trees, the walls of the Gym and the ground, the Kadabra finally laid the Raichu down on the ground. Rai ran over to her bloody and battered Pokémon. Just before she reached her(The Raichu was a girl), though, the trainer ordered his Kadabra to perform a Psychic attack. Rai, in desperation, grabbed her Pokémon and tried to shield her from the blast with her body. That was her last moment of humanity.

One way which a Hybrid can be created which hasn't been discussed yet basically goes like this: A human has to have the blood of a Pokémon on their skin. They have to be touching that Pokémon Another Pokémon or Hybrid (or human, which is rare) has to use a psychic type move on them.

If all three of those elements are in place, there's almost a 100% chance that the human and Pokémon will be combined into a Hybrid. While you'd think this happen a lot, it rarely happens at all because of all the risks involved. At the time of the combination of human and Pokémon, the two enter a serious mental struggle. Whoever's mind is able to over power the other's will be in control of the new Hybrid body for most of the time. Occasionally, the other will gain some control in times of high stress or with a lot of fighting, but it doesn't last long. Even so, there's also a very high risk of permanent brain damage and insanity, not to mention death from the sheer pain of the forced combination.(That's why it's not too popular.) Rai would be considered extremely lucky to dodge all of those, except that her Raichu, instead of engaging in the mental struggle at the time of the change, simply let her take over because of her loyalty to her. Rai took control in her panic, but has regretted it many times since.

After Rachel and Raichu became Raichel, the Gym Leader finally came out in response to all the commotion. When he realized what happened, the trainer Rai was facing was soon arrested and was later sentenced to life in prison. Even with that and the large settlement Rai's family received from the other trainer's family, the damage was done. Rai couldn't stand to look at her Pokémon anymore because of the loss of her Raichu and gave up training, releasing her Pokémon back into the wild. It took her months to even look in the mirror without bursting into tears, and she has constant nightmares about what happened on that day. Her parents paranoia of Hybrids and over-protectiveness of her have only made the situation worse.

"Raichu. I'm sorry. I don't want to break up with Rai, but I have to." Though the other person involved in the Hybrid combo isn't aware of what's happening when the first is in control, they can recall those memories in an instant when they do get it.

"Why, Fire Storm? Why did you hurt Rachel? She loves you; she wants to be with you. What changed so suddenly that you don't want to be with her?"

"I.It's a really long story, Raichu. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me. I can be very open-minded."

I let out a sigh; I had to do this... "Alright. what I'm about to tell you may sound like total crap. Believe what you will of it; I know it doesn't sound possible, but I swear that it's the truth."

I told Raichu everything. I told her about how I came over here from the Shadow World, about how Rai was my dream girl, about Serena, about how I never knew Rai existed; the whole nine yards. When I finished, I watched Raichu, waiting for a reaction.

"Wow.that's quite a story."

I nodded. "Sometimes I wish it was just a story." Nobody said anything for a while. Finally Raichu spoke up again.

"Well, it sounds absolutely crazy. then again, it sounds too crazy to be made up."

"So. do you believe me or not?"

"I. guess I have to. It's weird, but it explains how you didn't know where her house was, or that you didn't know she didn't know that you and Xavier were the same guy.yeah, I guess I do."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks. but do you understand now why I started a relationship with Serena while I promised Rai I'd be with her if she ever came back?"

Raichu nodded again. "You didn't know Rachel existed, and she left before you came here. You and Serena had feelings for each other in your Shadow World, and it was when you came here you admitted it to each other. Not knowing Rachel was around, you didn't know anything was wrong."

"Right."

"Well, that explains that." Raichu sighed. "However, you have to convince Rachel; not me."

"Do you think she'll believe it?"

"I can't say for sure, but there's a good chance. She'll still take the breakup hard."

"I still want to be with Rai; even if we're just friends. She means too much to me to los." Raichu gave a little twitch, then collapsed against the door. I started to get worried, but realized it was just Rachel gaining control again. After a few tense seconds, Rai sat up again, shaking her head.

"Raichel? That you?"

"Fire Storm? Yes; it's me." She went quiet for a while, probably thinking over the information Raichu had heard.

"Rai, I'm sorry about this. If I'd known you were here, things might've been different."

"I understand. it still really hurts, but I understand. I-I believe you, too, Fire Storm."

"Raichel." I didn't know what to say. She was probably still mad at me, but at least she forgave me. I felt relief, happiness and sadness at the same time; relief because she understood, happiness because she forgave me, but also sadness because I really did want to have a relationship with her. It was all so weird.

"Well, it's like Raichu said; it sounds too crazy to be made up." Rai looked up into my eyes. "It'll take a while, but I'll get used to it. I promise."

"Thanks Rai; thank you so much." I sniffed and blinked back a few tears. "Rai. despite what's happened, I still love you. You mean too much to me for me to just stop loving you. Some days, when it seemed like everything was going wrong, all I had to do was think about you, and I'd feel a lot better. You were always there when it seemed like no one else was. I need you Rai; badly."

"Fire Storm." Rai looked embarrassed. "Everything you've said about me in your Shadow World; how much you love me, what we did, how you loved me. I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I don't want that to spoil anything that might still be left between us."

"O.K." No one said anything. Rai moved her hands and placed them gentle over mine. I gave a weak smile in response.

"I've still got a question, Fire Storm.can I call you that?"

"Yeah; I gotta get used to it."

"O.K. anyway, if you supposedly came here from another world, are you the same Fire Storm and Xavier? Did they go somewhere else when you came here? I. I'm just not sure if you're the same guys I've really liked for a while. You seem like it, but I just can't be sure."

"I can't be sure either." I hadn't even thought about that before. Was there another me that I replaced when I came here, and did he replace me in my world? If he didn't, then where was he? Was there even another me here before I arrived? We're all of the memories of me everyone has just made up? I moaned and shook my head; I just wanted a simple day off today.

"Oh God.oh no."

"Rai? What's wrong?"

"Fire Storm. if you supposedly made me up in your world, then. am I only here because of you? Did you creating me as a character make me real here? If it did. then you're. like my Dad."

"I'd never thought of it like that." Is there ANYTHING simple in this place?! "Let's not think about it tonight. We can worry about that later; right now I just want to enjoy a movie."

Rai nodded. "We're not gonna find out any of this stuff tonight. Let's just go."

I started the car again, and that was that. We didn't talk anymore about Rai's existence or our relationship or anything like that. I think we'd all had enough of that.

Instead, we saw a movie (with my mind being elsewhere at the time, I really don't remember what it was we saw.) and went to Burger King afterward for dinner. Even though we didn't talk about us, Rai helped me out by telling me about the more notable points of my past in case somebody ever bought them up; at least I have a clue what people are talking about it now if they start bringing up stuff about me. Despite everything that had happened, we actually had a relaxing evening.

When we finally made it back to Rai's street, no one said anything for a while. Rai slowly got out and walked around to my side of the car. I got out as well and stood with her.

"Rai; I really had a good time."

"Me too." Silence. I hate silence, but what was I gonna say?

"Rai. I'm sorry about tonight. You know that just because we can't have a relationship doesn't mean I'll stop loving you, right?"

Rai nodded. "I'll always love you too, Fire Storm. Xavier, too. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."

"Same here." I gave Rai a little kiss on her forehead. "You should go. I'll call you tomorrow."

"O.K." Rai smiled and kissed me under my muzzle. "Bye."

"Bye." Rai slowly turned and started to walk back up her road. I know I broke her heart, but hopefully I could help her mend it. Who knows; I got so many guys in the house, maybe I could hook Rai up with one of them. wait!

"Rai! Wait up a minute!"

"Fire Storm?" Rai turned around, looking confused. "What's wrong?"

"What's your phone number?"

"My number? You know it. oh, right." Rai smiled and told me it. (I'm not printing it here; the last thing she needs is somebody calling her up and bothering her with inane questions.) We said our good-byes again, and she went back up the road. I watched her go as far as I could, then got back in and drove to the Center. I thought about heading back home, but I was just so beat that I decided to spend the night at the Center. It was closed by now, but going to the front doors, there was a surprise waiting for me.

"Serena?!" Serena was sitting in front of the doors, probably waiting for me. She stood up and walked over with a face full of questions.

"Xavier? What happened? Is everything alright?"

I nodded slowly. "Rai and I are still gonna be friends, but we're not gonna have a relationship. We both agreed it was the best thing."

Serena smiled, but that was quickly replaced with a look of sadness. She knew how hard it must've been for me.

"I'm sorry, Xavier. I just wanted my puppy."

"Don't. It's not your fault; it never was."

Serena's eyes started to get misty, then she hugged me tightly. I gently hugged her back, hoping she'd let up on the pressure a little. Despite her small size, she's got a grip tighter than a vise. We just held each other for a while, enjoying each other's company. We let go after a while; Serena had promised her Pokémon she'd be home in a little bit, so she couldn't stay.

"Oh; I found out about that Jolteon Hybrid. His name's Dark Elf. He says you know him?..."

"Dark Elf?... oh geez; yeah, I remember him. Haven't talked to him in ages." Dark Elf is another of my online buddies, but I hadn't talked to him in months. The last time I saw him was just as I was logging on to AIM; he left before I could say anything to him. Must've read the stories and decided to take up my offer for people to come over.

"Alright. oh; I found this in your room." Serena reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Phoenix wanted me to hide it so you wouldn't find it, but I thought you might want to see it, so I made a copy."

"Thanks." I unfolded the paper and studied it. It was a photograph of a person who looked like a younger Mom in a park, holding a small human baby. The picture was kinda blocked, though; who ever had taken the picture had gotten their finger in the way of the lens.

"Wow. I'd never saw any pictures of this world yet." I folded the paper back up and put it in my pocket.

"O.K; I should go. Bye.my love." Serena stood up on her tippy-toes and kissed my muzzle. I smiled and kissed her back.

"Bye, lover." Serena started walking to her house. I watched her for a while, then unlocked the door to the Center and pulled them apart. (Hah! Bet you thought I was gonna walk into them again, didn't you?!)

Joy was probably asleep, so I tiptoed to the trainer bedroom so I didn't wake her. I flopped down on the bed, drained not physically, but emotionally. If I had to guess, I would say that this was probably the most stressful day here, if not a close second to Serena last month.

Working my way under the covers, all I wanted to do was sleep. Can you blame me? My mind started to wander like it usually does when I start to fall asleep. I hoped Mom was O.K. It was gonna be harder than ever to work with her with what happened today. I really had to tell her about me sometime soon before things got even worse. Still, how could she be blamed? I thought back to the picture of her holding the baby, who I guessed was me. How would she guess that the child she held in her arms there would end up being her partner in bounty hunting? I know I wouldn'. wait a minute.

I felt around for the lamp next to me. Finding the switch, I turned it on and sat up, pulling out the copy of the picture Serena had given me. I knew what it was, but something occurred to me. If Mom was holding me in the picture, then. who took the picture? It probably wasn't a professional job, and I couldn't see her just asking some random stranger to take it. Could it be?...

I studied the finger that had gotten in the way of the shot. It was hard to tell, but it looked like there were was white fur on the finger. Mom would've probably thrown it out unless she had a reason to keep it. maybe it was someone close to her? I thought about that for a bit. White fur. someone close to her. wait. the person who took it. was it?...

"Dad?"

Yes! It's finished! I'm shocked myself. I know I promised to do this a lot quicker, but as many of you have probably come to learn, when it comes to getting things done on time, I'm pretty bad. I am honestly working on it!

What? You say that I didn't add two new characters like I usually do? Hey, it's how things happened. There can't always be two new people coming to the house every time I decide to write about an important event. Maybe two will come next time, maybe one, maybe none; it all depends on when I write. I'll try to pick a better time, when people are coming over, to do the next chapter.

Update(10/26/02): If you wish to e-mail me, you'll have to do it at firehybrid@swirvemail.com now. The old e-mail address will no longer work. Also, Chris just informed me www.khat-fox.com/~pocketpeople, will be down till at least mid-November. He's moved, and the phone company is taking forever to install the lines so he can get the site back up. Sorry.

Send your character requests to the new e-mail address. I'll e-mail you back in a few days, and you can put them on the web page when it comes back up.

Cross my heart and hope to die, I'll have 6 done before year's end. There will be a change of POV for that chapter. I'm sure you'll be surprised by who takes over the keyboard for that one.