FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Waning Heart

_ DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All writing and original characters are copyright 2010 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment. _

WARNING: This story contains sexual acts and descriptions of sex between two Pokemon. It also contains first-person descriptions of internal emotional turmoil that follows rape, as well as the struggles in getting past it. If any of these things bother you - at least when reading them in a fictional story (real rape is awful!) - or if you are under 18 years old (or whatever it is in your area), then stop reading now and, um, do something else. Of course.

-~ Chapter 8: It Never Was ~-

We seemed a bit distant over the next few days. I tried apologizing to him many times, but every time he just told me, 'forget about it,' and that was it.

I still felt particularly bad about how he treated me that day, but I also continued beating myself up over that stupid flower. I had the right intentions... I really did... it was just meant to be something nice... but look how it turned out. Look at what my actions did to him. I wished so badly that I could undo what I did, that I could take it back and that I could be happier with him... but it was a wound that would take awhile to recover from.

By the end of the week we were mostly better. We got back to the point where we would laugh with each other again and he wasn't as upset with me over what I did or how I treated him. After all, every time he gripped my arm and demanded to mate that week, I complied, knowing that I still had a lot to do to make him feel better again.

Maybe it was finally getting through to him that I was genuinely sorry... and that I cared more about him than anything else in the world. My dear Gin... my mate...

It wasn't much longer before we ran out of berries again and I needed to restock them. He kissed me as he directed me out the waterfall, seeming very anxious to get the berries to fill his belly with.

Once again, he'd eaten all of the berries the night beforehand. When he wanted those midnight snacks, he sure wanted them, that was for sure...

I jumped through the waterfall into the pool of water and headed up into the mountains. It was a pretty gray day out, just a bit breezy, but fairly warm all things considered. It felt like something was missing, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.

My mind was a bit preoccupied thinking of Gin. It felt like we were finally right again, like he had forgiven me for whatever it was that I did the past week that made him so upset. I couldn't even remember exactly what it was anymore, but just that I did something that upset him.

It had something to do with a flower... and ironically, as I scaled the mountain, I saw more of those cursed red flowers that he wanted nothing to do with. Despite how pretty they looked and how nice they smelled, he wasn't interested in them at all.

All he wanted was berries... and the occasional herb thrown in here and there. In a way, I started to feel a lot like nature... I hated thinking that way, but it felt like he only wanted my berries now and didn't really want to take time to appreciate everything else that nature had to offer, like those pretty flowers I'd just passed.

It wasn't until I was about halfway up the mountain until I realized what it was that I clumsily forgot: I forgot the basket to carry the berries in! I was in such a hurry to get the berries for Gin that I completely forgot to bring it along!

I nearly panicked as I realized that, holding my hands up against my mouth as I stared down the mountain in the direction I came from. I could barely blink as I looked down, so nervous over what he would say to me when he found out that I forgot the basket and would be late bringing him the berries... again.

What to do? Should I gone up the mountain anyway and bring him back whatever I could carry? Should I run back to him, quickly pick up the basket, and run up the mountain to try make up for lost time? Those questions kept going through my mind. I didn't want to spend too much time thinking about it, though, but I knew it was a very difficult decision to make and I had to choose wisely.

Either way he was going to be upset with me... so I decided I'd be better off bringing him something. After all, I'd been gone only twenty minutes or so, so if he waited too much longer, he'd get cranky. And he could mate with me before I went back to get more... and he'd still have some berries.

Yeah, that was it, that was what I had to do. I looked back up towards my destination and climbed up the hill until I eventually got to the start of the berry patch.

I picked only a few Haban berries, picking only what I could carry in my arms. They filled up rather quickly, but that was good, because I didn't want to leave him waiting too long.

After grabbing a fair amount of them - enough to last for at least a snack or possibly dinner if I went without - I began walking down the mountain, trying to go slow and carefully to make sure I wouldn't drop them and waste more time picking them up.

When I got back down to the waterfall and the pool of water at its base, I decided I'd set the berries outside so they wouldn't get crushed when bringing them inside. I'd just go in and get the basket quickly, put them in that, then bring the berries in so he could have a few to eat before I left for the remainder.

Hopefully he'd forgive me for forgetting the basket in the first place and for wasting so much time...

I went through the pool of water and over to the waterfall, right at the entrance to our home, then proceeded to walk through it. It got me quite a bit wet, but I was definitely used to it by now.

As I shook my head to dry off, I heard sounds... moaning. What was that? I took a few steps forward, walking very quietly past the basket and so I could see the corner of the room where our bed was, right where the sound was coming from.

I peered behind the walls of the cave to see something that forced my eyes wide open and my heart to stop right on the spot. I couldn't believe what I was seeing... it felt almost too painful to continue looking, but I found myself staring nonetheless...

"Oh, I love you, cupcake," said Gin as he thrust into the armored blue Nidoqueen he was on top of, bucking his hips against her own in a position I knew way too well... "You're so good..."

It was sickening... absolutely sickening. Tears quickly flooded my eyes and ran down my face. Gin... Gin... why? Why? "W- Why?"

After accidentally saying it aloud, even though it was in a very quiet voice, Gin stopped his thrusting. It looked like he was listening for something. One uncontrollable sob later and he turned his head... right at me, standing there, still in shock that I was seeing my mate with another Pokemon...

"Brandy! Where are my damn berries?!" he yelled at me, pulling out and getting up from the Nidoqueen. He was still erect and looked to be quite angry as he took a few steps closer to me.

"She a friend?" asked the Nidoqueen, getting up herself. Her appearance reminded me far too much of Whiskey... they were extremely similar, after all.

"Why, Gin...?" I asked quietly, staring right at him as he walked towards me. I didn't flinch or anything as he walked right up to my face... I just continued to stare right into his eyes...

Without warning, the angry Gabite raised his claw and struck me right across the face with it, knocking me down on the ground. He even cut a bit of my face, as blood quickly mixed in with the tears hitting the cave floor. Those claws were sharp when they needed to be...

"Shut up! All I asked you to do was get berries! And you don't have them!" He wasn't answering the question or defending himself at all, but was rather blaming me...

"I j- just... forgot the b-b-basket..." I said, shivering on the ground, eyes instinctively shut. I was filling up with fear at an alarming rate as my mate changed from someone that meant the world to me to someone who not only just cheated on me with another Pokemon but also just hit me... just hurt me...

"Oh, great, see, now if you just actually REMEMBERED it... then this wouldn't have happened!" I heard the Gabite stomp his feet a bit, though I didn't open my eyes to see what else he was doing.

"I can come back later, Gin, sweetie," said the Nidoqueen.

"No, we're gonna finish what we started, darling." The Gabite suddenly grabbed me and lifted me up, causing me to open my eyes and see him staring right at me. "Go get my berries and get the FUCK out of here!" He threw me down to the floor again, glaring down at me still with an angry expression. "Unless you're not good enough to be my mate or anyone else's!"

Without saying anything, I quickly got up and walked over to the basket, then fled the cave as fast as I could. I didn't even look back to see his reaction... I just wanted to run... I just wanted to run and cry...

As I ran through the fields, I found myself breaking down, letting out loud wails and finding the tears blinding me as I ran off towards the location of the berries.

After about two minutes of straight running, I had enough. I stopped and fell down onto the ground, dropping my basket and banging my arms violently against the ground as my pouring tears soaked the grass like a rainstorm... my sobbing became muffled by the ground, but it picked up in frequency, sobbing almost uncontrollably.

It felt like I couldn't breathe anymore, like the crying and sobs were suffocating me. Not only was I suffocating physically, but emotionally as well, feeling so completely confused and betrayed by the Pokemon I was so happy to call my mate...

He didn't care at all... he didn't apologize... he didn't lie... he didn't care that I just watched him mate with another Pokemon... he didn't care that he just slashed me across the face... he didn't care...

Why, Gin? Why? Why? "W- W- Why...?"

I cried for what seemed like hours. It might have been for all I knew. When my tears and sobbing subsided, I found myself still buried into the grass, not wanting to get up or face anything at all. I couldn't believe what just happened between us...

I finally got up and looked over at my basket. Should I pick it up? Should I even bother picking his berries? He should do it himself, shouldn't he? But... but... I'd lose him if I didn't get him his berries. No matter how he just treated me, if I lost Gin, I'd lose everything that brought me any sort of happiness...

Feeling like I wanted to cry again, I held back my tears and gripped the handle of the basket firmly, then walked up the hill and made my way to the berry patch. It was a slow, empty walk... I felt no emotion or feeling the whole time as that scene replayed in my head.

Seeing Gin mate with another Pokemon... it was so traumatizing to me. I wasn't sure which was more traumatizing, though, the fact that he was doing that with another Pokemon or the fact that he struck me. Both hurt an unbelievable amount...

I finally got up to the berry patch and started picking a few Haban berries. I wanted to fill that thing so he wouldn't yell at me about it... Maybe he was right... maybe I wasn't doing a good enough job at making him happy. Maybe that was why he was mating with another Pokemon... he did warn me about that, after all.

I never really felt worthy to him. As much as I loved and adored him, I didn't ever feel that deep appreciation that I had for him returned. All of the things I'd do for him all seemed for nothing and like they only hailed criticism from him. I just wanted him to know that I cared for him... I tried so hard to make him happy and to treat him right...

Once again, it was all my fault, wasn't it? I brought him to that place... I brought him to the point where he was no longer happy with me. Maybe he was doing me a favor by hitting me... maybe I deserved it... maybe I should have done things better. It was my fault, after all, that I forgot the basket. I never forgot the basket... why did I have to forget it? Why?

I shook my head as I picked up the last Haban berry that would fit in the basket. I should have finished picking berries by now... I should have finished an hour ago and I would have if I didn't forget the basket, then break down to cry...

As awful as I felt that Gin cheated on me, I felt even more awful towards myself. It seemed so firm in my mind that it was my fault... that it had to be my fault... that I would be so lucky if he could forgive me, if I could do better, if I could be better, if I could just make him happier...

Maybe then he wouldn't need to cheat on me...

***

It was dark out when I got home from picking berries. I waded through the pool and the waterfall to see Gin sitting inside of the fire-lit cave. He stared right at me as I returned, but he didn't say so much as a single word to me, just crossing his arms and tapping his feet impatiently.

I set the basket of berries right in front of him and found myself unable to resist shedding a few tears just from looking at his face. "I- I... I'm sorry, Gin..." I said apologetically, feeling like I was at an all-time low. "I'll... I'll be better."

He had no verbal response. Instead, he just shrugged and turned away from me, still crossing his arms.

I sighed and then walked over to the bed, lying down beside it. I could smell his scent and the Nidoqueen's scent over by it... it was really disgusting. I didn't want to actually sleep in the bed tonight, but I knew I had to sleep somewhere, so might as well sleep next to it.

Of course, I found myself unable to fall asleep right away. I kept listening for Gin to move or do anything. I wasn't facing him, but I did hear him open the lid of the basket and eat a few berries.

After awhile, it sounded like he just went right back to where he was and, not more than a few minutes later, started snoring. He didn't even want to sleep next to me...

I cried myself to sleep that night... cold and alone...

***

The next morning came painfully slow. I don't know if I actually fell asleep or not, because it felt like I was up for hours crying. But sure enough, the morning did come, and it meant that I had to face Gin again.

As I got up, I saw Gin leaning against the wall of the cave, crossing his arms and snoring rather loudly. He was still sleeping there... he didn't even want to get up and sleep next to me, in his own bed. Did he really want nothing to do with me? Did he really hate me that much?

Why, Gin? Why were you so cruel to me over something that you did? Was it really my fault? Did I really deserve to be treated that way?

I walked over to him and looked at him with a look of resentment as he slept. No matter how much I blamed myself, it still didn't change the fact that he mated with another Pokemon and that he hit me. That made me feel anger towards him, but also equally frightened that he'd do the same thing to me again.

Why, though? Why did he do that? Every time I thought about my anger, I found myself faced with just as much fear and just as much questioning as to what was right and wrong, what was acceptable and unacceptable.

Did I really love Gin? Could I really love Gin after what he did to me?

I sighed as I thought those thoughts to myself, looking at him and remembering the sweet, brave Gabite he used to be. He was still that Gabite. Sleeping like that, I saw that same cute face I'd grown to love, snoring soundly.

"Gin..." I said in a whisper, not loud enough to wake him up by any means. "I love you..."

A lone tear formed at my eye and dripped down my face seconds afterward. I was afraid of him, angry at him, confused by him, but still madly in love with him...

It certainly didn't seem very logical to still feel such feelings for a Pokemon that mistreated me like he did the other night, but I found myself unable to feel anything else but love for him... he was my mate. He was the one Pokemon that showed me what love was. He also might have saved my life... that Machoke could have done so much worse to me had he not have stepped in.

All I did was just sit and stare at the sleeping Gabite until he eventually woke up. As he did, he blinked a few times at me and then rolled his eyes down, staring at the ground instead.

"Gin... you're awake," I said to him softly, cautiously reaching my hand towards his face and then gently rubbing it.

"Yeah..." mumbled Gin, sounding rather off and bothered. "I'm surprised you're still here."

How did he mean that? Did he mean that positively or negatively? Was he glad or disappointed? "What do... what do you mean?" I asked nervously.

He blushed and looked me right in the eyes, though blinked and turned his eyes away after a few seconds. "I thought you would have left after what I did to you, cupcake..."

"I love you, Gin... I don't want you lose you." I knelt down and placed my other hand on the Gabite's face, looking at him sincerely. No matter what he did to me, he was still the Gabite I fell in love with and the Pokemon that meant the world to me...

"Brandy..." he said with a sigh, taking a gulp and then looking me right in the face. "I- I love you, too. I hope you know you're the only Pokemon I ever want to be with, because you are."

"Then...-" I stopped myself, though, not wanting to ruin the moment and ask 'why.' "Oh... oh, Gin..." Thinking of a way to make him happier towards me, I decided to go for it and suggest something that I wasn't sure how I'd feel about him doing but I knew he would certainly appreciate. "Mate with me..."

He grinned as I said that, standing up and placing his claws on my shoulder. "Gladly, dear." Gin started pushing me down onto my back until he was on top of me - a position we'd grown more than used to being in.

I felt a bit nervous and awkward that he was so eager to mate with me, because it made me feel like that might have been all he wanted me for, that and delivering him berries for him. No... I couldn't think that. I had to refrain from doubting him. I was the one that offered, after all, and I offered to make him feel better and prove to him that I'm a good mate...

I just wanted to be a good mate to him... I just wanted to be loved. And if it meant going the extra length to make him happy... I knew it would be worth it. It had to be.

With that, he started bucking his hips against mine in a very familiar fashion. We stuck to only that one pose - him on top, me on the bottom - so I was more than used to his advances and knew what was coming.

Before long, his member emerged from its sheath and started poking around at my slit until he finally reached it, then slid it inside quickly and forcefully, causing me to quiver and let out a bit of a cry.

After that, he pushed himself in and out of me, all while pressing me down on the ground and looking down at me with a rather content look on his face. He kept his rhythm up and seemed to be getting into it.

As he pushed his length inside of me, I found my mind wandering while looking at his face, wondering just what that Nidoqueen must have felt towards him... Who was she? Did she know him? Did he know her? How did they know each other? Why were they mating?

He said that he loved her... he said that he loved that Nidoqueen I'd never seen before. Why would he do that? Did he really mean it?

My mate... my male, my Gabite, my Gin... he had mated with another female just the other afternoon. He did that magical thing that was special to just us to another female... It didn't seem to matter to him that he did, either.

Not only that, but he hit me... he struck my face with his claw. He spilled my blood. My blood. My own mate...

I feigned a smile as he continued thrusting his member inside of me, but deep down I was having serious doubts about him. I questioned his judgment and his love for me... which was probably wrong to do, but I couldn't help it.

If I felt any pain or pleasure from whatever he was doing to me right then, it certainly wasn't noticeable. My mind was far too preoccupied with thoughts of Gin, thoughts of that Nidoqueen, and thoughts of him hitting me...

He began reminding me of Tom... and that made me worry... I didn't want to live through that again. I couldn't. Especially living through it with the one Pokemon I thought would always be there for me...

Before I knew it, Gin reached his climax. He let out a loud cry, gave one final thrust into me, and then I felt that warm, sticky liquid of his pulse deep into my vagina and down into my depths. He panted afterwards, then pulled himself out shortly after he came.

He tilted his head and smirked. "Not too bad, babe. Now let's have some breakfast." He got up and walked over to the berries, leaving me still on my back, unfinished and unappreciated for what I just did for him.

I got up, brushed down by my girlhood and tried getting that sticky goo off of me, then joined Gin for some breakfast - the berries I'd gotten just the other night.

Between that and the cum that was still on my hand, I really didn't feel all that hungry... I just passed on eating with him, which seemed to upset him to the point where he demanded I ate something, which I ended up doing, so worried that he'd do something to enforce it.

I was really getting scared of Gin... that was what was happening to me... I was scared I would do something wrong to cause him to hit me again. What would happen the next time I messed up? He was capable of killing Pokemon, so would he do something far worse to me if he got angry again?

I didn't really want to find out... instead, I decided I'd just try and be there for him, do whatever I could to make him happy, do my best to follow his orders and not mess up, and mate with him as often as I could...

***

The next week passed without any major incident. We weren't as passionate as we were when we first met, but he also hadn't hit or cheated on me since - at least to my knowledge.

We'd mate twice a day, him on top, finishing up in just a few minutes without giving me any time for reaching my own pleasure. It was really more of a chore than something I enjoyed doing with him like I once did... but at least it made him happy.

We were running low on food, though. In fact, just as with before, he had a suspicious midnight snack to consume the last of the berries, only to order me to get more berries for him the next morning.

"And this time remember the damn basket!" he shouted to me, tapping his feet impatiently at the back of the cave.

I made sure to grab the basket on my way out after kissing my Gabite mate goodbye. I wanted to remind him just how much I cared for him... and he was sweet enough to return the kiss. That made me feel happy at least.

As I exited the waterfall, I saw that it was raining out. It'd make it a little more unpleasant for picking berries, but at least it didn't appear to be storming or anything that dangerous. It didn't really storm on the mountain, anyway, which was a good thing, because I wasn't very used to storms at all being a cave-dwelling Pokemon by nature.

I climbed up the hill for about ten minutes or so, still thinking to myself how hard I was trying to make him happy that I wasn't paying much attention to my own happiness. He was everything to me, so I did everything in my power to make him happy while completely ignoring myself.

Was that the right thing to be doing? Was I making a mistake? I wanted Gin to be a part of my life so badly that perhaps I was growing blind to the fact that he was unhealthy for me, forcing me to sacrifice everything that made me unique just to make him happy.

What did I do for myself? The only things I did were things for Gin, things to make him happy... I didn't know any other Pokemon... I didn't even have much free will or free thought, because he seemed to do a pretty good job at suppressing it whenever I spoke up about it, convincing me that it was all-around better to just keep quiet as I'd been so good at doing for so long.

All of these questions and doubts made me worry that perhaps I wasn't doing enough. Maybe I still needed to do more to make him happier, so he would treat me better. I wasn't sure what more I could do, really, but it felt like there had to be something, anything, that would make him happier...

Otherwise he'd just leave me for another female... and if I wasn't good enough to be his mate, how could I ever be good enough to be anyone else's?

That was when a thought struck through my mind. He was alone at the cave again while I was off getting berries. It was just like the last time I brought berries back for him... and look what happened then. He was there mating with another Pokemon, telling her that he loved her, and doing it all right in our bed...

What if he was doing that again? No... Gin wouldn't do that again, would he? I had to have been much better since then. I mean, since I improved the way I did, he wouldn't need any other mates, would he? He wouldn't repeat that same mistake, right?

I wasn't sure what to think... I worried so much that he was back there, mating with that Nidoqueen again, that I'd let him down. Despite how hard I tried, I didn't feel like it made a difference in his mind, and maybe it really didn't.

I stopped and looked back down the way I came from. Should I go back? What would happen if I saw him mating with that Nidoqueen or another Pokemon? He wouldn't do that, would he? He'd just get angry if I was late getting berries for him, wouldn't he?

But if he was mating with another Pokemon again... he'd do it while I was gone, just like he did last time... and since he knows it takes me awhile to gather berries, he'd probably expect to have a certain amount of time.

After a bit of thought, I decided that I had to go and look... Yes, it meant I'd be late bringing him his berries, but after what he did in the past... I knew I had to make sure he wasn't doing it again.

With a sigh, I turned around and headed back down the hill towards the little valley that had the waterfall pouring down into the pond guarding our home, knowing that I'd know for sure whether he was being loyal or if I wasn't being good enough of a mate to keep his interest...

The walk back was a very nervous walk. The whole time it felt like there were Butterfrees fluttering around in my stomach, but like they were all using Poisonpowder against me, because it wasn't that light and fluffy feeling I felt when I used to think of Gin...

Oh, that feeling... Looking into his face and feeling my heart race, my face blush, and my mind fill up with thoughts of him bravely protecting me from any danger. My Gin... I loved him so much... I had to believe that he loved me the same... I just had to...

I heard the crashing sound of the waterfall as our cave was once again in sight. That was it... just another minute or two and I'd know the truth...

I walked up to the foot of the pool of water, set the empty basket along the shore, and then quietly crawled into the pool. Wading over to the waterfall was absolutely torture. I was so nervous over what I'd see when I peeked into the inside of the cave.

Mustering whatever bravery I had - which wasn't a lot, mind you - I crossed through the waterfall and very quietly took a few steps forward.

In front of me, I saw Gin standing up, erection standing with him. He was looking over towards the bed, so I was nervous that he'd see me peeking from behind the cave's walls.

He then walked towards the bed and out of my line of sight. It seemed particularly weird that he was going over there, looking rather jovial and eager...

I didn't even have to look behind the cave's walls to feel my heart sink. It hit me... it hit me suddenly and painfully. It was like I knew exactly what was waiting in that bed for him... and it certainly wasn't me...

Please... please, tell me I'm wrong... please, Gin... please, don't... please...

"Gimme some of that pussy, sweetstuff!"

Right then... right after hearing that, I fell down on my knees and immediately burst into tears. Sobs quickly followed and everything seemed to feel incredibly dizzy and painful, like I was being emotionally strangled by my own mate without him even knowing.

My crying both blinded and deafened me to everything else around. It was like I completely blacked out for a few seconds, but I was still fully conscious - just so deep in tears that I wasn't aware that Gin noticed me and went over to me until he was right there, yelling words at me that I couldn't even comprehend.

I couldn't hear him through my tears... I couldn't even see anything more than a bluish blob flailing around in front of me. One part of the blob suddenly lunged forward and I felt once again an inexplicable pain strike my face, slashing me right between the eyes and knocking me back onto the ground.

"Pay attention, dammit!" he yelled, now sounding clear as a sunny day. It seemed to echo a million times over, all inside of my mind. "Stop your crying and just listen!"

"W-w-why... G-G-Gin...?" I muttered, still in shock over him striking me, not to mention the emotional blow he dealt me. "W-why...?" I sat up and looked at him, tears still pouring down my face.

"Is that broad back again?" asked a familiar voice, a deeper one, clearly female... Walking out from where the bed was was the Nidoqueen from last week, standing at his side. "I thought you were going to tell her?"

"I'm trying to, fuck!" snapped Gin, looking back at the Nidoqueen with an angry expression before looking back at me, still just as angry. "Listen, Brandy, we're done."

"W-we're... d-d-done...?" No... It just couldn't be... "W-why...? W-w-why, G-Gin...?"

"For a million reasons, doll! A million!" He tapped his feet, crossed his arms, and bore an even more agitated look on his face. "For starters, rather than getting berries, you're always coming back here! You're not doing your fucking job!"

"B-but... y-you... y-y-you were mating with h-her..." I could barely speak, but I had to finally stand up for myself and place some blame on him. Or at least try... He would have been mating with her regardless of if I showed up early or not, so it was a bad defense in his part.

"Yeah," he said back in an irritated tone, "it's because you're so bad at mating! Fuck, doll, it's like you're just some puppet beneath me that doesn't do anything!" He looked over to the Nidoqueen standing beside him. "Rum here is at least always up for a good mating and she actually knows what the hell she's doing!"

That hurt so bad hearing him say that to me... after everything I'd been through, I thought he actually cared about me. I did enjoy mating with him, but I always liked it when he was in control... he was my big, strong male. He was the one who made me feel like a puppet when we mated recently... but I would do it for him anyway...

"You're also ugly as a Probopass, quiet and boring as a Slowpoke, and about as needy as a baby Togepi!" He raised his claw towards me again, shaking it up in the air. "I thought you'd be a lot more grateful to me after I saved your LIFE from that Machoke, but no, instead you just continue to NEED, NEED, NEED!"

Rather than hitting me again, he instead pushed me down on the ground with his claw rather forcefully. He then walked over to my side and glared down at me with an even more angry look on his face.

I couldn't help but cry even more... he was breaking my heart right before my very eyes... he made me feel like absolute trash, which was perhaps exactly what I was... "I- I-... I love you, t-though... Gin... I-... I thought y-you... y-... y-you..."

"What?" he asked, crossing his arms and smirking slightly. "You thought I loved you, cupcake? I just told you that because I knew you were a sure fuck."

"W-what...?" No... he couldn't have been lying to me the whole time, could he have? "Y-you... you never l-lov... m-me...?" It was almost too much for me to finish my question, as the sobbing rapidly picked up and I found myself weeping out of control over the thought that it was all a lie.

He knelt down and continued looking down at me, though now a bit closer. "I thought I was doing the right thing saving you from that Machoke. I knew you'd be grateful and would repay me however I wanted you to." Gin smirked a bit and stroked his chin with his claw. "But really, muffin, you turned out being way too whiny and worthless that I had to find something better. Oh, and believe me, it's not like it was very hard..."

"Sorry, Brandy," said the Nidoqueen, walking over to my other side and glancing down, looking a bit more sincere than Gin was, surprisingly enough. "I've been heartbroken a few times, too, and it's just about how you deal with it. I know it must hurt a lot, but just like we females want strong males to be there for us, males want capable and stable females there for them."

"And face it, cupcake, you're what I like to call a 'short-term screw,' and you can take a guess at what that means..."

"Y-you... y-you l-lied... to me?" I asked. Yes, I flat-out accused him of lying to me, but I had to know whether it was true or not. I had to know whether or not he ever loved me.

"Yes," he answered without flinching. "I lied to you this whole time. A part of me felt sorry for you for being so weak and I guess I wanted to keep you around for that, and for fucking, but you're just way too boring to make a real mate to anyone, particularly an amazing Gabite like myself."

"Y-you... y-you n-never... l-loved... m-me...?"

"Doll, you barely knew what love was, so don't blame me for not being able to recognize it." Gin smirked a bit and ran his claw down along my chest. "I knew it was a good way to get you in the sack so I could see if you'd maybe someday make a good mate, but then you got so clingy that I figured I'd lose my easy pussy if I didn't tell you what you wanted to hear and make you feel special."

The Nidoqueen rubbed her big armored paws across my face, seeming to sympathize a lot more for me. "Dear, you're just naive. Males will do and say anything to mate with you. As a female, you have to go along with it and prove yourself to them after mating if you want them to stay a mate to you." She withdrew her paw, but still continued looking at my face. "There are weak males and weak females; there are strong males and strong females; the weak look up to the strong and the strong take advantage of the weak."

"You don't have to give her that much advice, Rum; she already knows she's weak." Gin reached under my back and propped me up so I was sitting up. He patted me on the back twice. "Now either go out there and find some weak male that you're more deserving of, or become something worthwhile, doll."

Rum, the Nidoqueen, stood up and offered her paw to me to help me up. "Come on, honey, you can do it. Strong females are the ones that have had their hearts broken numerous times and are still able to stand proudly, as independent, fully-capable Pokemon. Just like me."

"Yeah, and don't think I won't drop you in a week if you don't stop babying baby Brandy and convince her to get out of here." Gin looked over to Rum, appearing rather irritated at her. "You still owe me a good screw, babe, and I'm getting antsier by the second!"

"Shut up, Gin," she said forcefully back to him, causing him to quiet up pretty quickly. "Brandy, I'm sorry for this. Maybe it would be best for you if you found a weaker male to fall in love with so you can see the difference and work harder towards being a strong, independent female."

"Whatever," said Gin, getting behind me and starting to push me out of the cave. "Just get out of here so I can do something with a real mate, cupcake!"

He led me right to the entrance of the cave. I was completely in shock and felt totally empty inside after listening to the two Pokemon. It felt completely overwhelming and like there was nothing left to even hold onto... Just like that, everything I had left in life was completely gone.

I turned back to look at Gin, perhaps one last time... staring deeply at his face. It looked so angry... so bothered... but it was the face of the Gabite that I fell in love with... it was the face of my mate... Gin...

But my staring just seemed to irritate him more. The aggressive Gabite then pushed me backwards out of the cave, causing me to fall into the pool of water just outside of it. "Good riddance!" was the last thing he said to me.

As I lay face first in the pool of water, a part of me didn't even want to get up to breathe for air. What was the point? Was it really worth getting up? I didn't even want to breathe anymore... I didn't even want to exist.

I was trash, worthless, a weak, helpless female, just like I'd always been. Who was I to think that for a moment a Pokemon might have loved me? Who was I to think that my life would actually turn around?

Despite how unbearable the pain was when I was abused by Tom and Whiskey, the pain I felt over Gin crushing my heart was far, far greater... it was like something completely tore apart my whole existence, my whole purpose and meaning, then just shoved it all in my face...

My body reacted. I ran out of air and it couldn't help but force me to surface, gasping for air loudly, but quickly turning those desperate breaths into mournful sobs.

Gin never loved me...

I waded through the pond until I reached the shore. Hanging my arms down about as low as they could go and walking in a totally droopy manner, I walked forward in whatever direction I was facing, passing by the empty basket along the way.

Maybe he'd have to fill the basket up himself now...

-~ The End...? ~-

(stay tuned for the second story in the series, Waxing Moon,

for the more positive continuation of Brandy's story!)