Chapter: The Oldale Corral

XXXXX

I was convinced that tamer's never slept. I rubbed at my eyes again and yawned as the two other hapless guys with me did the same. Ruri and Savanna were in their balls so they could get some more sleep; they would need all they could get. Stratagem number 4: Substitute leisure for labor.

Apparently, an all-call was like a general alarm for a disaster that all tamers had to respond to unless they wanted a fine. It was different from a call-out, which was more like a quest board in digital form. I could've ignored a call-out and went back to sleep.

The two Nurse joys that ran the center, as well as a clone of an Officer Jenny, were running the townspeople into it. An elderly gentleman whacked a young woman in the leg and chastised her as a 'stupid slow bitch;' another huddled his daughter to his chest as she blinked sleepily, a woman threw a smaller one to the ground as she barreled inside. An entire crowd of people and none of them spared me a stray glance; out of the multitude of people that one fact defined them all. We were unappreciated and possibly damned and no one cared.

I chuckled, "Morituri te salutamus."

And was ignored.

Both of my impromptu compatriots were shorter than me. The one closest had black hair hanging in a ponytail and the build of a runner. He couldn't have weighed more than 130 pounds. The next was only slightly more promising with the arms of a gym aficionado. Not that it meant much as I couldn't see their pokégirls and those were the real powerhouses. Apparently, we were waiting for a 'Watcher' to appear.

A Watcher was like a tamer but with a smaller harem and an actual education. According to the books, they were the abused arms and eyes of the academia. Basically, they were grad students. Instead of fighting and capturing, they studied and watched – hence the name.

So I took some time to search my pokédex.

"Search: Killer queen. " I said.

A picture of woman in a leather corset and a skirt holding a pair of whips was brought up. The text was long enough to require a scroll bar. I shook my head, "Give me the shorter entry." Nothing. "Small entry. Scan entry."

It didn't change. I sighed; so far the search function had been independent from the scan function. If only the damn thing had a way to change the two. If I scanned I got the bare bones entry; if I searched I got the full thing. I read over it as quickly as possible.

KILLER QUEEN, the "CALL ME QUEEN!" Pokégirl

Type: Plant/Poison

Frequency: Extremely Rare

Diet: Human, heavy on meat

Role: S&M Queen, Military Leader

Libido: High

Strong Vs: Weak Willed, Psychic, Water, Rock

Weak Vs: Fighting, Magic

Attacks: All Whip Attacks, Ensnaring Kiss, Enslaving Kiss, Erotic Kiss, *Regal Aura, Vine Bondage, Probing Pods, Poison Mist, *Spine Grind, Call Me Queen

Enhancements: Enhanced Toughness (x5) Regeneration, Enhanced Kiss/Gaze attacks, Summon Personal Whip

Evolves: None

Evolves From: Dominatrix (normal)

In appearance they may change dramatically or not at all. Her body changes to fit her perfect image of beauty. For this reason, magic and poison that would change her body in some way are very ineffective.

While she is still obsessed with leather, like all Domina types are, she thinks herself above flaunting herself in a lewd manner. She still dresses in a very sexy manner, but it is mostly in a teasing manner, like others only deserve a peak at her.

She absolutely adores jewelry, especially crowns and tiaras.

While how she looks may or may not change very much, internally there are a lot of improvements. All Domina-breeds have enhanced toughness and healing. It allows them to take more punishment at increased rates so they can indulge in their twisted tastes more often. A Killer queen is the end result the line, and it shows. Her toughness increases even more, only the more powerful fighting attacks will leave noticeable marks on her pristine skin. She no longer has enhanced healing; it has turned to actual regeneration. Minor to moderate wounds will heal in minutes while severe ones will take a couple of hours unless put through a healing cycle. It is not known if a Killer queen can grow back limbs.

All tamers that gain a Killer queen are required by law in many leagues to go through a psychological evaluation. Only those with the strongest wills or blood gifts that protect them mentally will be allowed to keep the Pokégirl, others will be greatly compensated for her.

If a tamer had his/her Killer queen back when she was a Domina, they will not have a hard time bringing her inline. Past experiences with the 'girl will have given them a very strong sense of self and be able to control the 'Queen. Killer queens with these tamers are very loyal and very loving towards them. They are great at bringing the rest of the harem in line, even if it means they have to bend them a little to their wills. Of course her tamer deserves the best.

Tamers that are normal and acquired a Dominatrix first will have a lot harder time. Since Dominatrix tend to be mellower than her previous form, the tamer does not build up a resistance to her personality and attacks. That does not mean they can't learn to control their Killer queen, but they will always have to be looking over their shoulder, just in case.

A battle of wills with this Pokégirl is a one on one thing. If you want her to know you are the dominate one in the relationship you must do it alone. Worst case scenario is that you will have to trade her away along with the rest of your harem because she has turned them against you.

Killer queens are incredible combatants. Her enhancements make it difficult to damage her and have her stay damaged. She also proves a very nasty surprise to psychic Pokégirls. The mind of the Killer queen is one of the strongest minds on the planet, not intellectually or the ability to levitate things with it, but through sheer force of will. Trying to forcibly invade the mind of a Killer queen is a very risky and dangerous endeavor, which usually leaves the psychic Pokégirl clutching her head in agony.

Some fights with a Killer queen are over before they even begin. All Killer queens exude a Regal Aura which drives weak willed Pokégirls, and sometimes even humans, to bow and take a knee. In such submissive posture, they are at the complete mercy of the Queen Pokégirl. It is not uncommon to see a tamer strutting down the street, Killer queen in hand, watching with a large grin as human and Pokégirl alike bowed before them.

Killer queens are intimately familiar with everything that involves whips, being better with them the herowu's. If there is some attack out there that involves a whip of some kind, she knows it. Able to use various elemental whip attacks.

All Killer queens have a personal whip that represents her personality. If she is a kind, caring, Pokégirl that believes that others should obey her because she knows best, her whip will be a long, soft leather whip made mostly for binding. If the 'Queen is a sadistic bitch that only wants to cause pain, her whip will be a long, jagged trail of metal and leather that is meant to shred flesh. She has the ability to summon her whip from anywhere, at any time.

A Killer queen is at her deadliest not with her whips ironically. Her gaze and kiss attacks can literally make someone her slave.

If a tamer happens to encounter a Killer queen they need to be on guard for her subjects. A 'Queen never travels alone and will have between two to ten Pokégirls that are her devoted servants. Reports have come in that some even command larger numbers but they cannot as yet be substantiated. Even feral, she will lead the Pokégirls like a general, picking off the weaker opponents until they can overwhelm the stronger ones.

The feral state of a Killer queen is not something anyone wants to see. She loses some of her intelligence but becomes even more aggressive and bloodthirsty. They will try to dominate and enslave anyone and anything within reach. She will be mighty upset when she regains her senses as well, angry that she was allowed to even approach feraldom.

The military will use Killer queens to train and motivate their soldiers. Success and improvement is rewarded substantially, and failure is punished just as much. The leaders will have to make sure the soldiers are loyal to the league and not just the Queen herself.

Regal Aura (EFT.) An aura all Killer queens exude. She can turn it on and off at will but prefers it on. Her aura is the first test a tamer has when acquiring one. All Pokégirls and humans that come near her need to have a strong will or be compelled to take a knee before her. The stronger the Killer queen the stronger the aura. It is very helpful for capturing large amounts of weak ferals. Some Pokégirls that are already blindly loyal to someone, like delta bonded Pokégirls or feral buzzbreasts, are not affected by it.

Force of will.

"Please take a seat Mr. Iscariot, Miss Ruri please stay near the door. " We obeyed. I was left simply staring at the woman trying to concentrate on her face. I felt the air change, I couldn't describe it but it just felt off.

"You have an impressive mental resistance for a pureblood."

I closed the pokédex and tapped it against my palm before putting it back in my pants pocket. Force of will? I lacked the will to throw her out of my mind? That was worrying. It would require some research but if a Killer queen could do it then so could I. I'd have to work my way up, but if I got a 'domina' and then as she evolved into a killer queen then I could work up that kind of resistance as well. Capturing a killer queen would be faster but it would be foolish to just jump into the deep end.

The sounds of hoofs brought my attention to the center of the town. In the dim light, a pokégirl and her rider stampeded around the corner. The pokégirl was a centaur; the horse part of her was white blending into the white dress her human half was wearing. On her back was a female hiding under a canvas hat and bulky vest. The centaur pranced to a stop and the rider dismounted, "You the Tamers?"

Ponytail spoke first, "That's us Watcher, what's the threat?"

She seemed to be a normal human but appearances were deceiving. "A killer queen has recruited a horde of ferals and is bringing them south out of The Packer Hunting Reserve."

By the reactions of the other two, I guessed a domineering pokégirl who wouldn't bow down automatically was absolutely terrifying to them. But I was unable to react with enough fear. That gained me the ire of the Watcher, "You must have balls of steel not to be effected by that."

I shrugged it off, "Define 'horde.'"

"She's a level 40 k-queen with twenty to thirty much lower level girls. I didn't have time to scan all of them."

I nodded and ran my hand through my hair, "I have two level 9s."

"7, 5, and 2," Ponytail answered.

"10 but she's a fighting type," The big guy offered.

She nodded, "Well, I have a sorceress at level 24 and Maria here is 19." She patted the pokégirl beside her. The centaur smiled and, in a dull flash of light, became a regular human girl. The Watcher took a deep breath, "I put the word out to the Packer gamekeepers but they haven't responded."

"Fucking purebloods. " Ponytail interrupted under his breath.

The Watcher nodded sympathetically, "At least Norman will be here soon."

I didn't participate in the look of hope that flashed across the other two's face. He was on my shit list at that moment, not as high as Madam Lane but a close second. The Watcher bit her lip, "Get ready."

Immediately, we all broke into groups with our teams. She released a woman with flowing white hair and a diaphanous silver dress. The other two followed suit with their girls and I released Ruri and Savanna. They both looked alert and ready.

Ruri was the first to speak, "Where's the killer queen?"

"Not here yet but she's bringing a few guests. Oh, yeah, and she's apparently level 40."

Both of their eyes bulged, "forty?"

I shrugged; there was no use in complaining about facts. More important matters were at hand, "How can I help you two. I'm not going to let you fight without me."

"Sean, you can't fight high-level pokégirls. No human could survive." Savanna pleaded with me.

However, Ruri held up her finger, "That's not true. An elemental rifle will hurt a k-queen. Fire elemental bullets will work even better."

Savanna scowled, "Except the UFP made those illegal."

"They aren't illegal." Ruri rolled her eyes. "Just heavily regulated."

As fate would have it, an Officer Jenny clone exited the building and started directing the last trickle of people. I had been saved from another pissing match. I tapped the Jenny on the shoulder, "pardon me, do you have any elemental weapons."

She sounded exactly like the one on TV from my childhood, even the degrading sneer. "Those are not authorized for civilian use."

I crossed my arms; apparently this 'killer queen' deserved her name, so I decided to invoke, "even if none of our pokégirls can fight a level 40 killer queen?"

Before she could respond, a lanky guy with a completely grey horseshoe mustache walked out. He was the sheriff as indicated by the polished badge on his belt and reinforced by his cowboy hat. From the way she glanced back at him, he was also someone she loved and trusted. I wanted to say it was familial love given the obviously large age difference but my experiences in Hoenn told me it wasn't.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, munching on something.

I cut her off, "We'll need some bigger guns if we want to fight off a level 40. None of us, not even the Watcher, have anything higher than a level 20."

The sheriff chuckled and patted my shoulder with a grandfatherly tone, "I wouldn't worry kid. She won't get past the wall."

"And if she does? You really want a couple of level 10s to be your line of defense against a level 40? You think she'll be deterred by the feeble attempt we'll muster?"

He stared me down while he continued to munch like a cow eating cud. I stared right back with my arms crossed. Finally, he spit out whatever he had been chewing on and crossed his arms as well.

"Okay kid. But when you disintegrate some harpy don't cry." He patted the Jenny on the shoulder. "Get him a rifle and give the others some handguns."

The jenny looked appalled, "Grant! He's a civilian!"

Sheriff Grant looked between the jenny and me. With another annoyed twitch of his mustache, he looked me in the eye, "State your name."

"Sean."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of law enforcement, Deputy Sean." He looked back at the Jenny ensuring she knew who was in charge. "Get him a rifle."

She glared but relented, "come with me."

We left the crowd and started running up the street. It was basically a large 'T' with a massive gate at the far end that split in front of the blue pokémart. From there, it stretched north and south to two smaller gates, including the one I had entered in. Unlike earlier, the main gate was now shut tight. No one would be getting in.

Past the main intersection was a wide manor labeled, 'Town Hall.' She threw open the double doors and led the three of us past an abandoned lobby. Chairs had been thrown to the floor, like the people inside had tripped over them to escape. She cut to the right and led us down wooden stairs. Plaster turned into concrete and we rounded a pillar to come face to face with a vault door.

She hovered over a small keypad and started typing. I peeked over her shoulder and her fingers froze. She glared until I finally looked away. The vault made an impressive sound of unlocking multiple bolts before she pried it open. Behind a second barred door was an armory on one side and a treasury on the other. She went in but halted me with a stern look when I tried to follow.

She returned with a bulked up M1 Garand. Literally. It was like someone just made a Garand larger and inflated it like a balloon to double the size. She threw it to me. I caught it with some difficulty; it was heavy, at least thirty pounds, which was a lot of weight for an infantry rifle. If that was what it took to kill a killer queen, no wonder guns had become unpopular. I looked down the sights, they weren't like the ones on an original Garand. They were far more open, like a modern assault rifle.

The jenny shoved an en bloc clip in my hands. It didn't look special, except for the size. I'd only seen a .50 BMG on a base family day and those cartridges looked about the same size, only the bullet tips were flatter. The entire clip was at least the size of my hand. I nodded while examining it. That was the first time I was actually going to load an M1 Garand. I had used them for drill practice for JROTC but that was it. I had seen plenty of people mash their thumb playing with the drill rifles. The trick was to hold the bolt in place while you pressed down inside the receiver. The clip pressed in, smooth as silk.

"I'll need more ammo and something to carry them with; also can I get a backup weapon?" I asked.

The jenny's smile faded as the bolt slammed back without pinching my thumb. Clearly, I was supposed to injure myself. "Okay, so you know how to load a rifle."

I smiled and cradled the gun, "I have some experience."

Her eyes scanned me critically, "Hmmm. Maybe this won't be a bad idea after all. How many tamers are there?"

"2 more and a Watcher."

I turned to Savanna, "You want one?"

She shook her head with a wide eyed expression while Ruri narrowed her eyes. The jenny answered for her from inside the vault, "I can't. It's explicitly against the law to give one to pokégirl."

That was depressing: guns are love, guns are freedom. I glanced back at Ruri's continued sour expression, "like you need one."

"It's the thought that counts. "She said sarcastically.

I shook my head, "Ruri, baby, you're too good for guns. You can just roast them with your natural prowess."

She played along, smiling at the faint praise, "Good point."

I winked at Savanna when Ruri wasn't looking. She smiled at our private joke.

The jenny returned with four more clips but held up the last one to show it off, the casings in her hand were green and bullets tipped with red paint.

"These are fire rounds, I'm only going to give you 6 because any more will heat up the barrel. Save them for the killer queen." Then she handed me a strange looking handgun. I balanced the awkward weapon in my hand; it was heavy for a pistol so perhaps it was a shotgun. It was a top break and chambered for a single shot gun shell. I had never seen a muzzle break on a shotgun before.

The Jenny pointed to the gun, "That's a Heavy Pistol; it'll even put that Killer queen down."

I had actually never seen a shotgun with a muzzle break. My eyes bulged slightly at just how monstrous a gun I was holding. However, the gifts didn't stop, she handed me two things: a belt with 10 green and red rifle cartridges complete with leather thigh holster, and a cotton bandolier. I grimaced, the pistol was a primitive single shot desert eagle. The center of gravity was centered perfectly but the gun was just heavy. My father had always knocked the Desert Eagle because it was impractical; it only had a seven round clip and monstrous recoil. I wondered what he would think about a single shot version. I put my thumb up to the bullets and they were about the same width; more .50 caliber bullets.

The bandolier had pouches for the en-bloc clips, five in all. By the smell, it had wasted in the vault for a long time. With a bandolier over my shoulder, two belts around my waist and a M1 Garand, I felt ready to kill Krauts and Pancho Villa in equal measure.

"Let me guess, you don't have any ear protection back there." I asked patting my ears.

"Nope."

"Cowboy hat and poncho?" I asked derisively.

The jenny shook her head and retreated back into the vault, "What are you, a calamity-jane?"

The sarcasm legitimately went over her head. She had been generous but I felt a little peeved that this was my last gift. Ruri crossed her arms and gave me the once over. "So can you actually shoot that thing?"

I shrugged, "Never shot a .50 before. But I'm American, every birth certificate comes with a free handgun. The only children who learn to shoot younger report to Kony."

Savanna scrunched her nose, "What's an American?"

"Who the hell is Kony?" Ruri asked.

"Not important," I said.

I ushered them out with a sigh and we all started back for the pokécenter. It was an awkward run because of the gun. It was just so heavy that it was ruining my gait. The moon above was waning and the only light in the town was the pokécenter. In front of it was a crowd of pokégirls huddled around the three tamers. It was only by chance that I looked to my left and saw it.

The gate was now open. Not much, but enough for someone to fit through comfortably. I stopped and stared, so much for The Wall saving us. It felt nice to be vindicated but not so much being fucked over.

I put more force into my run and got to the crowd just in time to hear the Watcher explain her plan, "-Defend the center. We put tamers on the roof and-"

"No time!" I pushed past a couple of pokégirls. "That gate is open!"

The Watcher threw her stick into the diagram she was drawing, "What gate?"

"The big one. Someone just sold us out." I said.

The diagram showed a defensive line around the front door of the center. The plan was to form a wall of bodies. That may have worked with a roman legion but not with 12 people randomly brought together. The tamer's girls would have fought on two fronts while the tamer's fought in the middle and it looked like they would reinforce were they were needed. It wasn't horrendous, but it was a fair shot from good.

"Where'd you get a rifle?" the Watcher asked.

I turned around and stared at the center of the town and then pictured the gate. The gate was a natural funnel and the town couldn't have been more than 200 yards long. The pokémart was maybe a football field from the gate and it was a straight line too.

"I asked for one." I said.

Someone had opened that gate. I smelt a plan and if there was a method to it than they would move through the gate and immediately spread out into the smaller streets. That way, they could use the labyrinth to surround and crush any pockets of resistance.

"They aren't allowed to give out rifles to tamers," The Watcher said.

I could definitely hit a target from the pokémart. They fucked themselves by; I stopped that thought. There was more than one gate, "Watcher! South gate! Go!"

I sprinted off towards the north gate with Ruri and Savanna right behind me. A bewildered jenny watched us run past the manor, I didn't answer her and concentrated on finding the north gate. The three of us got to the far wall and found the gate slightly off center from the street. It looked like a sluice gate just like the one I had entered the town in. A chain connected to a hand-crank was used to opened and shut it.

It was wide open.

Someone was fucking with us. I hit the emergency release and the slab of metal crashed back into the dirt. I flipped the rifle over and slammed the butt into the hand crank. The handle didn't budge from the first blow nor the second. I put more force into it and finally the handle bent. Slightly. I stopped and glared at the piece of metal. "Ruri, heat that up."

She brushed past me suppressing a grin; instead of heating the handle she put the fireball up to the chain. She gloated silently as the metal began to fatigue.

Huh, that made more sense, "Oh, nice."

Ruri waited a few more moments and then pulled on the crank. Instead of lifting the gate, one of the links snapped in half. No one would be opening it now.

"See?" she asked.

I nodded my head, I might be fined for doing that but I also didn't want to get flanked and fucked.

"Teamwork in action." I said.

I turned around to find Savanna standing over by an alley. She held up a notepad, "Look what I found."

She handed it to me. Ruri gave her a withering look that Savanna ignored. She was annoyed that Savanna had simply handed me the notepad and not looked at it herself. That was understandable. I gave it a quick flip through. The hand writing was undecipherable but it was more of a sketch pad filled with obsessively detailed drawings of feet and shoes.

Ruri stared over my shoulder, "Looks like someone has a foot fetish."

"And not the usual stuff either." I said, flipping through some more drawings. "Most of these look like hiking boots or tennis shoes, there aren't a lot of flip flops or sandals. But check the dates, it starts out with bare feet then he draws one specific foot obsessively for days and then hiking boots: hiking boot, hiking boot, tennis shoe, hiking boot."

The game did appear to be afoot. However, we had more pressing concerns. I pocketed the notepad, "See what we can accomplish when we aren't screaming at each other?" I asked.

Ruri and Savanna turned to each other and frowned without saying a word. I pointed them down the street in a herding motion; we still had a killer queen to deal with.

XXX

We returned to the center; the doors were shut and opaque enough that only the warm light of the lobby was visible. The Watcher was waiting for us, she held up a broken crank handle.

"Right. You get the guns?" I asked.

Ponytail and Muscles, the gym guy, were aiming down the street with their new weapons while their girls watched. I dreaded the answer to my next question, "Do you know how to use those things?"

Muscles didn't say anything but experimented by holding the gun sideways with one hand. The Watcher was the only one who had the gun holstered but she nodded at me. Ponytail snorted and continued to pet the trigger while he took aim at the wall with one hand, "It's a gun dude. Point, bang!"

I was starting to agree with the jenny. I handed the rifle to Savanna ("Hold this please") and drew the heavy pistol, "Okay! Lesson 1: the gun is held upright with both hands!"

I demonstrated the correct method and Muscled followed suit immediately, he mimicked my isosceles stance as well. Ponytail ignored me but at least he was holding the gun correctly.

"2: do not put your finger on the trigger until you are going to shoot!"

Ponytail rolled his eyes and rested his finger on the trigger guard. Then he waved his gun at his girl's head, "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Assume the gun is always loaded and don't point it at anything you aren't going to shoot. So stop pointing at her head."

Ponytail tapped the barrel against his skull in a mock salute, "Yes, sir."

I decided that the jackass might not survive the night. I sighed, "Just don't get hurt."

I holstered the heavy pistol and took the rifle back, "Thank you. Last rule. When you aim, make sure that you aren't going to hit anything behind your target. Bullets don't just stop when they go in you. It's called over-penetration. Aim for the torso, preferably with more than one target lined up. We're running low on ammo."

Actually, I just wanted them not to over-penetrate but maybe putting an ammo restraint on them might reinforce that better. The Watcher nodded and Muscles at least looked like he took everything I said to heart.

I motioned to the diagram, "Now, that plan might work. But you're playing too close to the goal; we need to choose a better place to fight."

"What do you suggest?" Muscles asked.

"If I get on the roof of that pokémart and camp that gate, then best case: they end up stumbling over their own dead and dying before they take two steps into the town. Worst case: they break through and spread out surrounding and crushing us. So we're going to prevent that. Two groups will hide in the first couple of alley ways and block them with their bodies. Use barricades if you can. Just keep them in the kill zone for as long as possible. If we force them into a funnel then we negate their number advantage. If this rifle does its job we can kill the horde at the gate before anything bad happens."

The Watcher nodded, "great plan. But what if they go around the wall?"

I conceded that to her, "We've secured all objectives. Why do you think the sheriff is in the center? He has his own funnel and they've secured every other human in this town except for that fucking Rahab. With me on the roof of the pokémart, we've secured the largest stockpile of supplies. But that's where you come in. Watcher, you're our cavalry, split up and scout around the rest of the village. The beauty of the choke point is that it doesn't require skill it only requires bodies. If you find a secondary breech then take care of it. If you can't, then warn us before you do anything else. Poor communication kills."

The Watcher nodded and mounted her centaur. Her sorceress hovered next to her, "If we get into trouble, I'll use a flare."

I nodded, "Fucking perfect! You guys agree?"

Everyone nodded. I pointed at Muscles and the grey girl standing next to him, "You and your girl plus Ruri and Savanna, take the second set of alleys. Depending on how well the first line does you might get surrounded."

Ponytail interrupted me, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're stacking this all wrong. They're all level 10 and I have a 7, 5 and a level 2!"

The girls behind him hung their heads in shame.

"That's why you're in the first set of alley ways. They will only attack you from one side," I said in a slow measured voice.

Ponytail growled, "You're going to get me killed! And this plan gives you all the glory! What if you miss? Why do you even get the rifle?"

"The front line is the best place for you. If the front line fails do you want our second line to be weaker when it fights off people from both directions? Do you or your girl's have the strength to fight in two directions?" I asked.

Not that he didn't have a point. You put the weaker soldiers in front to soak as much damage as possible so that the attackers would be weaker when they meet your, better equipped and fresh, second line. Roman legions did the same thing.

Ponytail digested the image I fed him, "Then why don't you fight down here with us?"

I stalked towards him, "The high ground will give me the best line of sight on the gate. We're relying on this rifle to be our main weapon. Can you hit targets at 200 yards consistently? Have you ever even used a rifle before? Do you know how to lead a target? Control recoil? Can you reload this weapon? Can you measure your breathing? Fire in between heartbeats? If you answered 'no' to any of them, then the front line is the best place for you. I can do all of that instinctually."

That was a tiny bit of a lie on my part.

Ponytail narrowed his eyes, "What the fuck is a yard?"

That gave me pause for a few moments. Did they not use imperial measurements here? I hardened my gaze, "The distance between the gate and the pokémart roof."

Ponytail snorted, "What kind of yokel measurement is that? What else do you measure with? A human head?"

I glared at the middle of his eyebrows, unfocused my eyes, cut my lips into a thin line and brought my voice down low. It was my own patented death glare, "Can you hit a target at that distance or not?"

He opened his mouth then closed it. I moved towards him until I was looking down at him. He backed away and backed down. Good.

"Alright, everyone get to your positions," I said. Before Ruri and Savanna could run off, I stopped them. "Stay safe. Both of you."

Ruri smiled psychotically but still managed to look impressed by me, "this'll be fun."

Savanna didn't look impressed with her battle lust. She lunged forward and wrapped me in a hug. Shocked, I simply stood there and hesitantly wrapped my arm around her. It was awkward with the rifle caught between us but it felt nice.

"You too," she whispered.

I just nodded and let go of her. Savanna ran ahead, leaving Ruri and I to stand there silently. I glanced at her, "Do you want—"

She dragged me down to her level and mashed our lips together, "Don't miss."

I stood there silently as they both rounded the corner and left my line of sight. I blinked then caught Muscles' shoulder before he could run past me. The bigger guy stopped short and looked at me with an obedient stare.

"Do you know the difference between faith and trust?" I asked.

Muscles shook his head.

"Trust is based on evidence, and if it is broken it's my fault. Faith is hope with no evidence, and if it's broken it's your fault. I am putting a lot of faith in you. Please do not accidently shoot them."

Muscles blinked at me as I held his gaze. I slapped his shoulder and smiled. If he failed, I'd maim him in creative and macabre ways.

He smiled back sheepishly, "I won't."

I smiled a little wider and let go off his shoulder. Muscles and his little grey girl followed after them. I turned to the rest of the group. Ponytail hadn't moved yet, he and his girls were huddled around each other with their heads bowed. I hadn't pegged him as the type to pray.

I turned to the sorceress, "Before you go, can you levitate me onto the roof?"

If the Watcher's original plan was to have the tamers on the roof then I figured that was how she was going to do it. She didn't even answer before I was floating in the air like a toddler hefted around by his parent. As soon as my foot touched the blue roof, I was able to walk onto completely free of her magic. She ran off to do a perimeter check before I could turn back.

The wall was a straight shot in front of me. Ponytail and his girls were moving dumpsters into the alleys. I did a quick swivel, the reason the forest had been pushed back became clear: an attacker couldn't use trees for cover and sneak up on the walls. Unfortunately, my position meant that most of the town was a giant blond spot and I could barely cover the open fields that made up half the town.

I took off the bandolier and sat it down in front of me. I wasn't going to lay prone just yet; with my position on the roof and the clearance between the wall and the forest I could see the attackers long before they reached the gate. Or I could see them when my eyes finally adjusted, I hoped. Having just walked out of the brightly lit basement, my eyes were taking a while to adjust and I could make out the gate but not with any clarity. I stared down the main road and traced it into the dark.

XXX

In Petalburg city, Norman took another gulp of the red wine and washed down his steak. In the warm light of the dining room, the Lanes sat and enjoyed a meal together. He kept an expensive and richly decorated house and behind his wife stood a china cabinet full of white dishes. To his left, the grassy training fields of the Petalburg gym were visible through the large windows. Usually they would be full of his assistants training in mock battles to pass the time between gym challenges. Sitting at the head of the table, two suits of armor stood behind him; they were supposed to make him look more important. On his right a variety of pokégirl servants stood in maid outfits ready to swoop in if they made any demands. Not that they would, the family had resigned themselves to silence as they ate. It had been a somber week for the entire Lane family and it was rare that they would be together, especially given the age of their children.

All the more reason for them to be together. Sadly, it took a tragedy for most of the family to accomplish that and soiled the conversation.

Max was home on a break from The Academy; a special exemption had been given for the recent tragedy that had befallen the family. All it took was a few words uttered by Caroline to remind The Academy just who the Lanes were. However, Norman's eyes still drifted over to the empty seat across from Max. Caroline caught his eye over her own wine glass and held it out for a refill. A pokégirl with obsidian-black skin immediately stepped forward and poured her a fresh glass.

Caroline tipped the glass back and continued to drink. Norman cleared his throat, "C."

"Yes?" she asked once the glass was empty.

"Perhaps you should stop." Norman said. "While we still have a wine cellar."

Caroline regarded him for a moment before holding her glass back out for the maid, "Perhaps."

Norman glared at the pokégirl; the servant froze as she decided who to disobey. Caroline tilted her head to get a better look at the servant but didn't bother to change her expression at all. The servant's red eyes jittered back and forth behind her sunglasses. As a dark-elf, she was supposed to have a predisposition to obeying men and holding human women in contempt for being 'weak.' She should have obeyed him instantly. Her hand began shaking on the wine glass as Norman continued to glare. Then Caroline actually looked her in the eyes and the dark elf immediately lowered the bottle, "Yes, Matron. I apologize for the wait."

She threatened the dark-elf without breaking eye contact with him, "You're not sorry yet."

The dark elf stared at the carpet with quivering lips.

Norman took another bite of the steak on his plate. He chewed heavily while he and Caroline stared at each other. He really hated it when she did that. Caroline had a bit of a fascination with seeing how much she could subvert various pokégirl breeds. Breaking dark-elves until they deferred to her and not to males was just her latest hobby. Before that it had been debasing angels. Caroline simply swished the wine in her glass with the smile of a job well done on her face.

Max pushed a collared green with his fork but made no motion to eat it, "So, when do I go back to school?"

"I'll take you with me when I leave for the UFP Convention. " Norman answered.

Max nodded his head but the conversation died before he could think of something else to say.

Caroline continued to swish the wine in her glass. It was obvious to Norman that she was starting to feel all of the alcohol, not that the amount she had already ingested wasn't prodigious. Finally, she asked, "Did we do the right thing?"

Norman mulled the answer as he continued chewing his steak. "We haven't done anything yet, Brendan didn't pick up the package. That boy still has it."

Norman regretted having to refer to his daughter as an 'it.' But neither Max nor any of the pokégirls knew the truth and it would remain a secret between Norman, Caroline, and Brendan. And Brendan knew the dire consequences of crossing the Lane family. Iscariot would learn them soon as well.

She held out her glass again, "and you haven't solved that problem yet?"

The dark-elf didn't even look at him, she poured the glass eagerly. He shook his head, it wasn't going to help the dark elf. His wife would be in an even worse mood when he told her why he had to be cautious too. Out of pity, he let the matter of the dark elf betraying hi, and her biology drop. He sat his knife down, "Wanc and that hospital director are involved."

Caroline glared at the table through her glass. It just kept getting better and better. Killing a no name tamer was one thing but now two fellow, ranking, SEELE members were involved? She held out the chalice again.

"C."

Caroline grit her teeth, "What."

"Do you plan on doing anything tomorrow morning?" he asked. He was starting to feel worried about the headache she was going to have in the morning.

"Both of Littleroot's members now have ties to this 'nobody.' Four, if you count us. Not anymore."

He sighed.

The door chose that moment to swing open and a young man in a red tracksuit entered. "Master Norman, Madam Lane, Max."

Norman took a deep drink of his own wine without looking back at him, "Yes."

The tamer handed Norman a tablet from behind his back, "An all-call was recently put out from Oldale."

He swiped at the screen. A level 40 Killer queen had escaped from the Packer estate. Which was interesting because Packer had never registered a killer queen as the law required him too. Norman shook his head. It wasn't the métis that gave him problems; it was always his fellow SEELE members. He swiped the screen again and brought up the information for the people who had responded. Norman smiled. Second from the top was the blank expression of Mr. Izcariot. Norman flipped through a few more screens mostly detailing the status of the town: population, services, defenses, threat assessment.

Caroline finally put her glass down, "Is our least favorite tamer in Oldale?"

Norman glanced at the time; the information was already thirty minutes old. It would take almost no time at all once the car got through Petalburg. Judging by the Watcher Reports, the killer queen should just be attacking the town at 01:35. He glanced at the clock: that was right at that moment. Of course, Oldale had a brand new wall as well. But a killer queen was a killer queen, the public knew them as high level threats and they would expect Norman to take one seriously. The fallout could be bad for his party if the Chairman of the UFP didn't respond as a Gym Leader should.

Not as bad than if they discovered his daughter though. He looked over at Max and then his wife. The mansion they currently enjoyed and the privileges his position it brought could be taken from them. He would have failed them. What was it's, formerly known as Ruri Lane, quality of life now anyway?

Caroline smiled, "Would like another glass of wine, darling?"

XXX

I had been comfortably staring into the forest for about thirty minutes. It felt oddly comforting to be aiming down a rifle towards an unknown target. The visibility wasn't amazing but it was night time, no one would be able to see very well in a young moon anyway. Unless they had night vision, which some pokégirl probably did.

That thought gave me pause.

The sorceress stopped at the foot of the pokémart and took a deep breath. I leaned over edge, "So when is this horde supposed to get here?"

She stared up at me, "I was in my ball when my mistress spotted them. So I have no idea."

"You couldn't have told us this?" I asked.

The woman's white hair danced around as she shrugged.

My vision had adjusting to the dark completely but the tree line was almost completely invisible. Dark brown bark did not mix well with the almost minimum amount of moonlight we were getting. Clouds had even rolled in, leaving us in even spottier illumination. It may have even started raining but at least it was summer-weather warm. With the exception of the pokécenter, not a light was on; it insured that the enemy would know exactly where to attack if they broke through. However, it could also distract them from me.

The sorceress drifted off into the rest of the town.

I should have asked for some flood lights to put up. They would never found me if I fired from behind a bright light. In fact, the best place to hide at night time was behind the brightest light you could find. I had been blinded by a flashlight during night time airsoft games more times then I cared to remember. The stupid special forces guys liked to teach their kids tricks.

A speck of movement caught the corner of my eye: a small spot of white floating in the tree line. I focused on the spot but it disappeared. I followed it in the iron sight but it was gone. I scanned right to focus on the gate, that may have been a scout. The spot came back when I looked at the gate but disappeared before I could look back. I grit my teeth and looked back at the gate; it was probably a distraction. I focused straight ahead and relaxed my breathing. The white popped back up, I loosened my grip and petted the trigger guard. I could see the dot in my peripherals but I didn't move off the gate. The dot didn't move at all. Breath in, 1,2,3,4, breath out. I moved the sights back onto the white and sure enough it disappeared. Lucky bitch.

I aimed near the spot I thought she was and gave one last glance at the gate while I moved my finger into the trigger well. She popped up.

BOOM!

29. I had twenty-nine bullets left.

My hearing vanished, I didn't even get to confirm my kill. I grunted in pain when the rifle hit my shoulder but brought the rifle down to re-aim into the tree line. I rolled my shoulder. It definitely kicked harder than an AR15. But I couldn't stop smiling. I rested my cheek back on the butt of the gun and ignored the ringing in my ears as best I could. I focused on the gate; if the horde was close they would start their push now. With the gun still aimed down the street, I went prone to minimize my silhouette. It was my good fortune that the pokémart didn't have a lip and curved straight down into the pokéball logo. I petted the trigger well and watched the street with my left eye. Guns are life, guns are freedom.

Sure enough, after a tense wait the first shadow shimmied past the gate.

Pop.

28.

I opened my left eye and scanned the gate. A female body shape had slumped down at the base of the gate with a hole in her chest. The next woman poked her head through.

Pop.

27.

I scanned the gate again and noticed the nice bloody spot where the two girls had fallen. I couldn't see a head; I scored extra points. The gate was silent for a few more moments. Nothing was moving. That was the power of a sniper, with only a couple of bullets you could pin down an entire enemy force. No one would want to go through and sacrifice themselves. So they would wait and hide behind cover, not advancing, frozen for fear of being next.

I had experience it personally in a paintball match. They only made that soft sound and the bastards were usually in their daddy's ghilly suit so I couldn't see them. Another sac of experience points stuck her leg through the gate and stepped over her compatriots limp body.

Pop.

26.

Another body hit the ground sans head.

I opened my left eye and scanned the side of my kill-zone; one of ponytail's girls in the first alley way poked her head out and scanned the main road. I tapped the trigger well and focused back on the gate. A shadow jumped through and rolled, followed by another.

Pop. Pop. Ping.

24.

The clip ejected itself and arced over my head. I opened the next pouch on the bandolier and snapped the next clip into the Garand.

XXX

Pop.

19.

As the body crumpled over all the others, I sighed. That one had died screaming in fury, trying to muster willpower to magically get over the growing wall of bodies. Perhaps warrior spirit was going to magically make me miss? Tactics beat heroics every time. I tapped the trigger well and watched the gate. It would be almost impossible for a regular human to get through quickly, the last kill had been trying to claw her way over the corpses. How long before they just gave up and left?

A bright light lit up the sky above me. Slowly, I looked up and saw the flare trailing its way down to my left. It landed behind a group of buildings. It was the danger sign from the sorceress, which meant that not only had they pierced the walls but they had enough numbers to overwhelm our strongest fighters. With a growl of annoyance, I put the bandolier on.

It only took me a moment to look back and put the thing on. But it was just enough time for someone to get on the roof. Some cleared their throat. I froze.

Standing there was a woman in a leather bikini holding a bullwhip. I smiled at her and put a hesitant hand backwards to find the rifle. She smiled back and stalked forward with a flirtatious sway her hips. I kept tapping the ground and eventually got my hands on the rifle. She stopped and peeked behind me without ever changing her expression. We smiled at each other, keeping completely still except for my fingers itching for a better grip and her fingers petting the handle of her whip.

I yanked the rifle and her arm flashed. Pain erupted in my shoulder.

It actually didn't hurt that bad. I glanced down at my shoulder the only thing there was rapidly reddening skin and my torn sleeve. It stung but it didn't impair me. I brought the rifle around to aim at the woman. As I was lining up my shot, I put pressure on the trigger in preparation.

The rifle clattered onto the concrete and I withdrew my hand to my chest. I growled at her and flexed my hand. A nice reddening slash was developing with little specks of blood where the skin had broken over the bones.

I cursed.

Her smile never faded as she withdrew the whip and started dragging it back and forth along the roof like a tiger's tail. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. I gently let go of my hand and slowly started moving towards the rifle. The woman started wrapping the whip up in her hands, threatening to laugh. I made my move and got my hand around the butt of the rifle.

This time the pain came from under my ribs. I grunted but got the rifle aimed at her.

Pop.

Ping.

18.

The bullet clipped her in the side; I had drawn blood. She stumbled back, clutching at new wound as the blood slipped between her fingers. I laughed in triumph and switched the rifle into a more usable grip. A painful sting hit my shoulder and I sucked in a hiss of pain. The woman laughed and straightened herself, the wound in her side was already begging to heal. That whip hurt like a son of a bitch but it didn't break skin. I could beat this bitch.

The worst headache I had ever felt exploded out of my head. The rifle clattered to the ground again while I bent over and clutched at my head, trying to suppress the pain. It didn't work. The space right between my eyebrows felt like it had been touched by lightning. A hot liquid was already starting to seep between my fingers and into my eyes.

Another sting and my leg gave out and forced me to one knee. The woman laughed and suddenly my other leg stepped working as well. I was now kneeling in front of her as she kept dragging that whip behind her like a tail. She stopped above me and lifted my chin until I could feel her breath on my face. I could barely focus. My forehead still hurt but covering it with my hand was making it feel a little better. In a placebo sort of way.

The woman pulled my wrist and made me look her in the eyes. She gave me a little coo of approval from her luscious lips. She was remarkably pretty for someone who apparently lived in the wilds. Long dark hair falling in waves past her shoulders. High cheek bones and full lips that gave her model good looks. Her beautiful green eyes with ribbons of hazel in them were lit up with amusement. She was examining the wound almost like a nurse but with much more satisfaction.

I brushed the piece of leather that kept my heavy pistol in its holster. The woman drew closer until our lips were almost touching and then stared me in the eyes. I pressed the pistol into her stomach and smiled at her.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The Heavy Pistol wasn't loaded. I was a fucking retard.

She laughed lightly; it was a melodious sound. I mimicked her in a much more noticeable nervous tone.

The butt of whip hit me in the head and sent me tumbling to the side. She reached down and closed a single hand around my throat, dragging me up until I was standing. I tapped her hand with the pistol, refusing to let go of my weapon but running dangerously low on oxygen. She punched me in the stomach and then threw me away. Stumbling out of control, I tried to stop myself. My feet got in the way of each other and I kept tripping until the edge of the roof was too close.

As my foot hit the edge, I kicked into a leap of faith. The roofing shingles of the next roof cracked beneath me. My jaw hurt, I spit out a piece of ceramic and rolled over to look at the woman on the other roof. The wood cricked ominously behind me as I kept coughing.

With one final snap the wood gave out and started falling. A roofing beam broke my fall. My entire body was racked by pain and my breathing came short. I lulled for a short moment in extreme pain. Two short gasps for air escaped before I rolled to the left.

My second landing cracked my shoulder on the hard ground. I clutched my arm and rolled back to get off the offending injury. Dazed, I glared at the floor and gripped the pistol handle tighter. It was the only thing I could accomplish as I kept trying to force air back into my lungs.

The room was almost pitch black, someone had closed the front displays. I rolled over and stared at the ceiling. The woman was simply watching me from her new perch on the edge of the hole. She looked like a bird or maybe a fox with how maliciously curious she looked. I dug my feet in and pushed myself back, I needed to get some distance so she didn't jump and land on top of me.

I pinched the top break open. With the gun now hanging limply in my hand, I pawed at my belt to release one of the bullets. The damn thing was stuck in the belt! I saw the woman's feet land gracefully on the floor in front of me. I kept tugging on the bullet but it wouldn't come free.

Another blinding headache, worse than the first. She had hit the exact same spot. My vision was swimming in red and my eyes burnt. I rubbed the blood off my forehead and found the bullet in my hand. The gun was still waiting and so was the bitch stalking towards me. Didn't her mother ever tell her not to play with her food? I grinned at her at my own joke as the woman kept lulling that whip back and forth, painting the floor with my blood. I pressed the bullet into the gun and snapped the break closed. My head dipped on instinct and the whip tried to scalp me.

I clenched my jaw until my teeth hurt and brought the gun up towards her face. It was all in slow motion, like in the movies. The woman was bringing her arm back as the whip swayed behind the force. My hand was straightening out and moving to aim right between her eyes. I could even see the whip clearly as it was pulled forward. Everything was so slow and clear but my arm wouldn't move fast enough. The end of the whip reached the top of its arc and I was still aiming into the dark space behind the woman.

It was a horrible feeling watching something that was going to hurt but not being able to move or react to it. Her arm was already across her chest and all I had to do was get the gun to reach her head so I could pull the trigger. The end of the whip was getting closer now. It was made of leather and braided not unlike a ponytail; the very tip of the whip actually had strands of hair at the end. A small explosion of air broke at the end of the whip and formed a wide cone.

So whips did break the sound barrier.

The gun was now lined up perfectly with the woman's head, I could see down the sights perfectly. Heh, about to fire a large caliber pistol one handed. Call me dirty-harry.

XXXXX