Chapter Seven.

Return to Violet.

George knocked on the door, holding his Murkrow-girl tightly, lest she make a break for freedom and run. Lawrence was holding Julie's leg-rope in one hand, the leg-rope of the subdued-looking Ash in the other. A new piece of copper wire gleamed on his leg. Cyril was holding Rachel's, and John was restraining a struggling Fiona. She was attempting to swear at them, but John's big hand muffled her voice effectively. Mrs Farraday stood quietly by, with three bulging carrier bags.

One of the grunts, whom George had already had reservations about, opened the door. "Ah, you're back!" he said. His gaze swpt the assembled group. "With newcomers as well!" he said.

"Stop nattering, and let us in before we're seen!" snapped George. "You do, I take it, want us to succeed? We mustn't be seen!" He swept past the grunt, and the others filed in behind him.

"Who are the others?" asked the grunt. Some of the other grunts turned up, aware that something slightly unusual had happened.

"This gentleman needs little introduction." he said, indicating Lawrence, who gave a little mock bow. "This is the collector Lawrence the Third. He came across John and I when we were training Julie and Rachel. John darted him, of course, and I did think to transform him into a Zapdos, but when he came around, we ended up talking, and came to an agreement. He's loaded, and has agreed to help finance the Plan! He wants a piece of the action, so here he is! I'm not sure what else we could do to return the favour, but maybe we can think of something."

"Hey, boss, wasn't he the guy who was trying to catch the birds?" asked the grunt who had opened the door.

"He is indeed." said George.

"Then why don't we give him the bird-people once the Plan's over?" asked the grunt.

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Lawrence said, turning to look at first Julie, then Rachel, who both looked rather worried. "You can make me a set, surely! This girl"-and he indicated the struggling Fiona-"has already been earmarked as an excellent candidate for Moltres, and I'm sure you can find someone else to change into Zapdos. Then I'll have my set of birds. However, I want this brat as well." he said. He twitched Ash's leg-rope sharply. "He was the reason I had to buy a new machine, and I want him made an example of!" Ash looked up, rather concerned.

"Okay, that's agreed then!" said George. "If any of them get killed in the execution of the Plan, I'll find some others and change them to replace them for you." he said.

He turned then, to indicate Cyril. "This is one of Lawrence's shadier friends. He's helping out because he owes Lawrence a favour." He put his hand on Mrs Farraday's shoulder. "This is the mother of Rachel, and of that mouthy little madam John's holding. She's agreed to come here and cook for us, to be near her daughters. Her cooking is delicious!" This caused a stir among the increasingly large group of grunts. George guessed they'd been making do with microwave meals. "In any matter except for her daughters, you obey her!" Then he indicated Donna.

"This is Donna, an island girl I came across. She is also a good cook, and because she was so kind, I decided to include her in the plan. I thought it a suitable reward." One of the other grunts laughed nastily. He continued. "Lawrence was sold Ash by a man who caught him on the island. After finding out he belonged to John and I, he kindly returned him. The foul-mouthed maiden"-here he indicated the struggling Fiona-"is called Fiona, and will soon be our new Moltres!"

Fiona, upon hearing this, struggled all the more. She managed to wrench her mouth free of John's restraining hand. The grunts got a three-second sample of the foul language Fiona had learned from overheard fisherman's comments, and it was so raw that some of the younger grunts in the ever-growing crowd began to blush. George turned to face her.

"You'll learn some respect once you've been changed! John, take her to the operating room!" George said. John picked her up, and took her down.

"Now, where's these two grunts with bleeding hearts?" he asked.

"Martin and Paul? I'll go get them!" said another grunt. He disappeared, only to return with Paul and Martin, roughly holding them by the upper arms. they were two of the younger grunts, George noticed. Neither of them were over nineteen. He pushed them forwards. George looked down at them.

"We were just talking to the people, and trying to cheer them up!" said Martin.

"We weren't being disloyal!" said Paul.

Lawrence moved forwards, at that point, and lightly ran his hand over Martin's short blonde locks.

"Well, George, his colouring would be just right to finish the set. Don't you think so?" George looked at Lawrence, back down at Martin, and back up to Lawrence.

"Absolutely! I didn't expect to find a Zapdos candidate so close to home! Maybe I should check everyone else, see what use some of them might serve as, other than just grunts. Lawrence, you can bring Julie with you if you wish, and Ash if you must, but Cyril, I suggest you put Rachel in the kitchen with her mother. Take Donna down to cook with her as well." He pushed Donna towards him. "Oh yes, remind her we still have Fiona. Then you can come back, and help me deal with Martin and Paul." He looked up, to where a murmur had started up among the grunts. "Well? Any complaints? I'm sure we can find some Pokémon parts to put on you!" There were none. "Then I'm sure you must have work to do or other things you've left! So get to it!" Most of the grunts lost no time in doing so, but several hung around. Cyril disappeared with Rachel and Donna to the kitchen. Lawrence handed Ash's leg rope to a grunt. "Put him wherever he usually is. I don't want him damaged, I have my own plans for him." Lawrence said this with a sinister smile. The grunt didn't give anything away by his expression: he just took Ash's leg-rope and led him off.

Cyril returned, minus the girls. "Help me bring Paul and Martin through, would you?" George said. Martin had gone white, his eyes were wide with terror, and as George took hold of his shoulders to lead him through, he could feel him shaking. Casting his eyes around the corridor, he could see some grunts were still hanging around. "Come on, we don't have room for weaklings in this Plan!" He pulled Martin along. Cyril took hold of Paul, and pulled him similarly along. He took them into his operating room, and closed the door. As soon as he done this, George pulled the shaking boy to him, throwing his arms around him and holding him close. A warm moistness on his shoulder told him Martin had finally been unable to keep the tears back.

"It's okay, Martin, I'm sorry about that, but we have to act hard to fool the hard grunts. Any sign of weakness could make them turn on us. We're going to need people who care. The Plan's off, it's too dangerous and might not-in fact probably wouldn't-work." Martin looked up.

"You won't turn me into Zapdos? You approve of us caring for the Pokemon people. They're people too! They have feelings like the rest of us!"

"I know." said George. "It seems to me that if we're going to stop child abuse, we shouldn't do it by abusing other people. I won't change you if you don't want to be. But, with your permission, I'd like to change you temporarily, and give you Zapdos-style wings made of Jolteon fur. You should be able to thundershock, and I can give instructions that you're not to be punished for such incidents, as you can't yet control it. Only those present in this room will know that it isn't true." Martin smiled: it was clear that the idea of getting his own back on some grunts with no risk of being punished did appeal to him.

"And it won't be permanent? It can be removed? You won't make me keep it?" he asked. George nodded.

"Okay, I guess I'll go for it" he said. "if it'll help."

"It will." he said. "It'll give the grunts the impression that I'm tough, and you can thundershock and distract them. It'll also help plant in the idea that any one of them could be next. Perhaps they'll realise that being ruthless could mean that they could all be expendable."

He turned to where Fiona was dressed in most of her Moltres costume, but the beak had been removed carefully from the headpiece and carefully Latexed to her face. "I'll take you out in about an hour. I'll get Lawrence to take care of you." He turned to Lawrence. "Could you go to the kitchen with Paul, and get him a drink in the kitchen? Then send Donna in with enough cups of tea and Shamouti sausages for us all." Lawrence nodded, smiling at Paul, who gave him a tentative smile back. Then he said "You'd better lose the smile. You're scared stiff, remember?" As Paul stopped smiling, Lawrence put a frown on his face. He opened the door, pushed Paul forward and said "Come on you!" They went out. Julie meekly followed.

He dropped Martin off in the kitchen, asked Donna to take tea and sausages in to the operating room and then went out. He then went to check on the other Pokémon people. There was Christy, the girl George had told them about-had to be with the fully-flowering plant on her back. He saw one girl with a Vaporeon tail, ruff, and ears. The electric cage was where Ash had been put, He recognised the redhead he was sitting by-Misty, wasn't it? She appeared to have the claws that belonged to the sad-looking Golduck that occupied the cage next door. There were also two Raichu people, one boy and one girl, and an Electabuzz boy.

"Who are you?" Lawrence asked the boy.

"I'm Keith." he said back. "Where's George?"

"Working towards changing people back. To do that, he's got to pretend he's changing more people. The Plan's off though. It's too dangerous."

"I saw him over the radio last night." said Keith. "He said he could be my Dad, and take me to Shamouti Island with him." He gave a sudden, brilliant smile.

"Okay, just lie low and wait." Lawrence told him.

He checked on the woman covered in Jolteon fur in the cage next door to the Golduck's next. "I'm Jenny." she told him. "George doesn't like me because I don't obey him."

"Well, the Plan's off and we might need your help. Will you obey him to help the other Pokémon people?" She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Depends what you mean by that." she told him. Lawrence took out his Swiss army knife, the one with the most attachments and tools you could get. He selected the pliers option, put his arm in the cage. She shrank back, probably fearing brutality. He could see that she was already bruised.

He managed to get the pliers around the thick copper wire tightly wound around her ankle. Putting pressure on the wire finally caused it to snap. He withdrew the pliers, and she took off the wire and rubbed her legs.

"I mean, thundershock anyone who appears to pose a danger to you or anyone else." Lawrence told her, with a quick smile. "I'd put that loosely back on. You can remove it if you need to, now, but they'll get suspicious if they see you without it." She nodded, put the wire back on. "The Plan's off." he told her. "Plan B is to change all the Pokémon people back, take those who want to go home back home, and let others go elsewhere if they wish. Those who have no-where else are welcome to go to Shamouti Island with George. He's going to be a doctor there."

"He's got my support then." she pledged.

A grunt came around the corner. Lawrence immediately grabbed Julie's ankle, lifting her foot from the floor and turning it sole up.

"Okay, where's the pain?" He raised the pliers up, then used them to pick an imaginary stone from her foot. "Better?" he asked. Julie, cottoning on, said "Yes, Sir." Lawrence got to his feet, and put a finger under her chin, pushing it up till her eyes met his.

"Julie, you and the other people are all precious, all special. It'll be you who'll take over the world-and you and the other birds-Martin, Fiona, Rachel-are doubly precious-after the Plan has been carried out, you will all be mine!" He dropped his hand, and she nodded, swallowing, noticing the grunt hanging around out of the corner of her eye.

"And then, will you treat me kindly then?" she asked. Lawrence ran the back of his hand lightly down one cheek, down her neck, to her shoulder.

"My Articuno." he said. "Of course I will." he said. "I'll have my dream, my destiny. All four legendary birds, and the world not at peril. You're unique, precious, special! I could put you all on display in force-fields in my machine!" Julie pulled back, but Lawrence caught her by her upper wing, barring her retreat "On the other hand, you could all be on display but not in a force-field. You could all live with me, people could come in and see you as you are. Or I could have you all displayed in force-fields just for when people come around, so I can show you off. Then I could remove you from the force-fields for the rest of the time." He noticed the grunt watching him. "Of course, being released again straight after would depend on several things. Like whether I like your company, whether I want to be alone, whether you and Rachel and Fiona and Martin are good boys and girls. Bad behaviour could see you being left in the force-field for as long as I feel necessary." Julie nodded, then leaned against him, her forehead against his chest. He brought his hand up, caressed the back of her head lightly. "Good girl, but we don't have time now. Come! We'll see how the girls are doing in the kitchen." It was too dangerous, he decided, to check on any more Pokémon people at present.

He went to leave, then appeared to notice the grunt for the first time. "Yes?" he asked.

"Uh-nothing, sir, sorry." he said. "Uh, do you, uh, like her, sir?" he said.

"I like all my bird people! They're unique and precious and I'll achieve my lifetime's ambition to possess all four. They also make more intelligent conversation than Pokémon!" he said, glad that Mrs Lugia wasn't around to hear him say that. The grunt nodded, and then quickly scurried off.

Lawrence got to just outside the door of the kitchen, as a grunt came out with Mrs Farraday.

"We were just coming to look for you, Sir!" said the grunt. "Mrs Farraday wants to talk to you, and George has asked for you to be sent." he said. Lawrence turned towards Sue Farraday.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"Sir." she said, dropping to her knees in front of Lawrence. "I've been told you are to look after my daughters after the Plan? Fiona and Rachel?"

"Yes." he said. "I'll be given them in return for helping George do the Plan-if any of us survive, that is." he said, glancing up at the grunt.

"Can I join you, when you take them on?" she asked.

"What about if I put them in force-fields?" he said. "Will you want to see them like that. More to the point, as their mother, could I trust you not to try and release them?"

"I am, as you pointed out, their mother. Just being near them would be a comfort to me. I wouldn't try and release them except by gently trying to persuade you. You know my cooking is good! I could cook for you!"

"What about your husband, back on Shamouti island?" he said. "You'd be willing to just leave him there?"

"My children come first." She took his free hand, the one not holding Julie's leg-rope. "Please, please. Let me be near my daughters."

"Okay." he said. "You are a good cook, and I do have some compassion for you. Now I have to go and talk to George." He leaned over, gave Sue Farraday a peck on the cheek. "Later." he said.

"Uh-Sir." said the grunt. Lawrence gave an exasperated sigh. "Yes, what is it? George is waiting for me, and he'll have your hide if I'm late because of you!" he said.

"What did you mean by "If any of us survive" Sir?"

"It's a war." said Lawrence. "We're going to be starting a war. There are casualties in every war. Even the victorious armies have soldiers die. We are a smaller group, and even with the Pokémon people on our side, that does not mean we will win. That's the ugly truth about war. There are always casualties. On both sides!" He walked off, leaving the grunt with something to think about.

He went to the operation room. A grunt was waiting outside, holding Fiona by her shoulders. "George said you'd be taking care of her." the grunt said. He pushed her towards him. "Go on, meet your new master." Fiona turned around and said a few words to the grunt, most of them rude. The grunt snarled, and before Lawrence could stop him, he struck her hard around the face. Lawrence grabbed her and held her protectively.

"How dare you!" he said. "This is an important part of the Plan! She's also going to be mine! I don't want any of the Pokémon people hurt, and the bird-people are doubly precious to me! Touch any of my bird-people again, and you'll regret it!" He picked up Fiona, and took her out. He took her into the kitchen, and inwardly sighed as he saw Mrs Farraday had recruited a couple of grunts to wash up for her.

"Fiona, I won't let him do that again!" he told her.

"Do what?" asked Mrs Farraday.

"Smack her around the face!" said Lawrence. "No, don't get angry, get even! How's about using some of that Moltres' Fury you brought to make some seriously strong Shamouti coffees?"

Rachel's mother smiled nastily. "Absolutely!" We didn't bring any of Adele's hangover cure! What a shame! she said psychically (and totally insincerely.)

"Hey boys!" she called over in a louder voice to the two grunts she had washing up. "Want some Shamouti coffee? It's got a drop of the hard stuff in it!"

"Yes please!" they called out. Mrs Farraday set to making many cups of Shamouti coffee, with amounts ranging from an eyedropper to a shot glass of Moltres' Fury in it, ranging from small amount to large amount from left to right. Donna volunteered to take them around, knowing to give the large amounts to the grunts they knew were nasty or couldn't be sure of, and smaller amounts to nice or indifferent grunts.

Lawrence, meanwhile, took Fiona to the grunt's sleeping area. "Lie down." he told her, and for the benefit of some grunts hanging about, he said "My beautiful, beautiful Moltres! How good you'll look with the other three! George has done a wonderful job, and I'm looking forwards to seeing my Zapdos when he's ready!" Lawrence then involved some of the other grunts in a game of poker, and when Donna reached them with the doctored coffees, he had a good enough idea of what the grunts were like to psychically direct her to serve the strongest of the Shamouti coffees to the nastiest of the grunts.

Half of them had retired for sleep or had to go off to work when a grunt told him George had Martin ready. He picked Martin up gently, and took him too into the grunt's sleeping area. George loudly asked for the boy like a Persian (whom Lawrence had seen, with the ears and tail of a Persian) to be brought to him. He saw John go by, and return with the sobbing child. After that, George asked for the girl with the Squirtle shell, the Vaporeon girl, and Keith the Electabuzz boy to be brought to him in that order. They were, but some of the grunts wondered why he took so many at once.

Some of the nastier grunts, those that weren't drunk, were having accidents. One mysteriously slipped, breaking his ankle. Another bumped his head so nastily George sent him to bed to rest. George had another one sent out with Mondo, the Raichu boy-the nastiest of the grunts. Mondo returned with the information that, with Mondo's help, the grunt had been subdued. It turned out he was wanted in connection with some local crimes involving small children, and so Officer Jenny had him well under control. Lawrence, under the pretext of "wanting to train the bird Pokemon people so they'd get to know me." had Rachel brought to him in the grunt's sleeping area, where Martin and Fiona were napping, and Julie sat by him, the pair of them kissing when the grunts weren't looking.

Later that evening, when the nastier grunts were incapacitated by alcohol or out of action due to accidents, George told everyone the Plan was off. He did so in the grunt's sleeping area, calling everyone in. There was a small attempt at revolt, but Keith and the Raichu girl (whom George had with him) thundershocked, as did Martin, and Julie blizzarded them. Donna called out her Houndoom and Umbreon, who growled. So they didn't revolt for long. they were reinforced minutes later after Mondo let everyone else out. His girlfriend, Carley, was unchanged, but the Houndoom George had planned to change her with, using it's parts, made sure nobody tried to go for her. Christy, the Venusaur girl, was ready to lash out with her vines, and her threat to Solarbeam quieted down those grunts who were still grumbling. Jenny turned up, with Colin. Colin had been sent out, they found out, on a spurious errand any grunt could have done, to get him out of the way. Then they were joined by what appeared to be a slip of a girl, but Lawrence could feel the raw psychic energy the girl had at her command.

Yes, I had altered Mew brain tissue put in my brain. it gave me these remarkable powers. But George was scared of it, so he put subduing armour on, that I could use my abilities through, but with difficulty. Having originally been made for a psychic Pokémon, the armour rubbed me, but George has taken it off me, so I feel much better now! she psychically told him. If you're wondering why all those grunts had accidents, it was me. Her psychic 'voice' turned bitter. They're the ones who forgot to feed me and give me water. It was Karl, the Head Grunt, who checked on me and got me food and water!

George approached Colin. He told him about his daughter, Amanda, and received a sock in the eye. He then went out, with Jenny the Jolteon girl, and returned with a little girl of about six or seven, with cheek pouches, Pikachu ears and a Pikachu tail. Half her body and the entirity of one arm were coated in Pikachu fur. She clung to her father.