FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

warning: This chapter contains images which could be potentially disturbing to some readers...I say SOME because...well...lets face it, for a lot of us, what happens in this hapter isn't any different from other stories we've seen on this site...but if there are children here, I feel like it's my responsibility to say something...

...if you need time to mentally prepare...the word you should stop reading at is "bingo"...not kidding.

As always...adalante!

...

...This...is the very definition of a stupid idea. I thought to myself as I tried to unlock the sliding glass door of the daycare with my kitchen knife. Seriously, what was I thinking? This could only serve to get myself in deeper shit than I already am.

I had hopped the fence and went around to the back entrance of the building, as I really didn't want to have to explain this if someone caught me trying to get the front door open. The lack of security of this place, quite frankly, astounded me. I mean, it's not like I was expecting this to be like breaking into a top secret government lab or something. I knew there wouldn't be security cameras or security systems or any shit like that because quite frankly, this town is boring as all hell.

Well, not lately I suppose, but up until a week ago, all was going well.

Still...at the very least, make the fence high enough so I can't just hoist myself over the damn thing. Any Pokémon that isn't a hatchling can easily just jump over it with a running leap, making its existence completely useless.

I took a look around behind me, feeling like someone was watching me, but I knew I was just being paranoid and quickly returned to the lock. After the murder, all of the trainers had hastily come in to collect their Pokémon. This entire yard was completely empty, leaving me free to fiddle with this door for as long as I needed to.

Actually...I don't know what's more pathetic. The fact that this door is only locked with a latch-a lock so simple that anyone with a credit card could pick it-or the fact that I can't fucking get it open!

Jerked the knife upward and began to pull, trying to release it, but all I did was put a chink in one of my good cooking knives.

I cursed under my breath, but then slid the blade back in between the door and the wall and tried again. I knew from experience that getting irritated would get me nowhere.

Breaking and entering...trespassing...theft if i find something I can use as evidence...all of this was nothing new to me. I had done this plenty of times before back in my teen years...of course, back then I was just breaking into a storage room or something to swipe a few candy bars, but the skills were still applicable. I'd say it made me feel young again, but I'm only in my early twenties, so it wasn't exactly that long ago. It definitely felt like old times, though.

...actually, that's not true...back then I did this kind of shit for the adrenaline...that rush you get when you were doing something you knew would get you in trouble. This time, there was a reason for my behavior...however selfish that reason may be.

...but maybe I'm over analyzing it. It was simple really. Get in, take a look around to see if I can come up with anything, if I find any evidence, I'll take it and get out...again, simple.

...that is if I can ever get this stupid latch open...damn, I'm rusty at this...not that that's a bad thing, but I should already be inside right now and I would _really_hate to break a window or something equally as loud and destructive.

...come on, mother fucker, OPEN!!!

I angled the knife upward so that the tip was under the lock and then drove my knee into the handle of the blade.

Finally, the latch gave way allowing me to slide the door open and step inside. I slid the blade into my pocket as I looked around, finding that the back entrance opened up into some sort of employee lounge that looked like a living room. The walls were painted a bland shade of white. Actually... I don't think they were painted at all. It's just standard, uncolored, drywall. The room was equally as boring, containing nothing except for a couple of couches, a coffee table, and a...oh you've got to be kidding me.

...I always thought daycares were a waste of money...this pretty much proves it. They can't even be bothered to paint the walls, yet they find room in the budget to buy a plasma screen TV? Something tells me they aren't watching the Pokémon 24/7 like they should be...ugh...lucky bastards get to sit on their asses all day doing nothing and get paid for it.

Wait...focus Jace. You're here for a reason.

I shook my somewhat jealous thoughts out of my head, leaving out the only other door available in the room. It led out to a very short, very narrow hallway, which was equally boring, as its walls once again were unpainted. There were only three other doors, and since one was marked "storage" and another was marked "bathroom", it was easy to figure out which one I should take.

Stepping through the door, I found myself behind the front desk of the lobby, which was exactly where I wanted to be. I must admit, they did a good job of cleaning this place up...last time I saw it, it was covered in blood and there was the smell of burning flesh in the air. Of course, that only made my job harder, as a lot of potential clues could have been wiped away. In fact, I wasn't really expecting to find any hard evidence against this guy. Incompetent as they might be, the police would have been extremely thorough with their search, if they didn't find anything that wasn't circumstantial, I probably wouldn't either...at least, not after they cleaned it up. Not that it was completely impossible, but I wasn't expecting it.

No, what I was looking for was a motive for this seemingly pointless killing, and that's something I can find that most of the local cops can't. They needed the ability to think, make connections, draw logical conclusions. That's what I was here for. If I could at least come up with a reason for this seemingly senseless crime, something that Jen could use in an interrogation, or a lawyer could use in court, that would go miles in helping arrest this guy.

I hopped over the counter and made my way to the center of the lobby. The wooden floor was heavily charred from the murder, as black splotches were scattered across the ground, but near the center of the floor was a dark patch that was larger and more burnt than any other section, being roughly six feet in diameter.

...this is where Allen died...he was pinned to the ground and burned alive in this very spot. The best thing I could think of to do was to try and recreate the scene backwards...so this is where I had to start.

I stood dead center in the middle of the black spot and began scanning the area. There were three entrances to the lobby, two doors behind the counter and the front entrance, aside from the front desk, there was no furniture or decorations...it was a very bare bones type of establishment I guess. You know, just the essentials...front desk, couches, mini fridge...plasma screen tv...yeah...just the basics.

...moving along...

The first thing I noticed that was of any interest was an oddly shaped black splotch towards the front entrance. It was the mark I had spotted earlier this week when I had arrived during the crime scene investigation...the one that had the outline of Allen's foot.

I cringed just looking at it, my toes curling up as if they were trying to hide. Setting my own personal discomfort aside, it seemed like the mark was a precision shot... or rather, more precise than all the others which were strewn about. It was facing towards the door and was much too far from the front desk. There was no reason for Allan to be there... unless he was running away... so it wasn't a sneak attack or anything... either they had an argument, or Allen saw something he shouldn't have... my money is on the latter.

So... he was running away from the houndoom... It shot his foot using flamethrower, causing him to fall to the ground... from there, it probably dragged him away from the door, making sure he wouldn't get away... then it pinned him down, and... did this.

Picturing the scene made me cringe just thinking about it... but the actual placement of the mark was the most unsettling...it was right near the door, a mere two steps away from the entrance. He was so close... so close to getting away. He lost his life because of two measly steps...

...I felt nauseous all of the sudden. I couldn't even imagine what must have been going through his head as this all happened... to be so close to freedom... to be burnt alive while his friends were merrily goofing off with the Pokémon outside... ugh.

My stomach began to churn, as if begging my brain to stop thinking about it. Come on Jace, pull yourself together... you looked at his mangled fucking carcass without so much as flinching, you can get through this.

Ok... back on track... whatever happened probably didn't originate in this room. It's too out in the open, too big of a chance of people walking in, but the way I came in would be too close to the other workers. For the sake of things right now, I'm just going to say that all the workers were out back, as well as Rori. The employees would have rushed in here if they were close enough to hear it, and Rori... well I'm sure Rori would have given that houndoom a run for its money had she been with Allen at the time.

...So that just leaves the second door behind the counter. The one I hadn't entered through... let's see where that takes me. I hop over the front desk once again, opening the door right next to the one I had entered through and finding yet another narrow hallway. This one was a lot longer though, and with a lot more doors... seven to be exact, three on each side and one at the end... none of them labeled this time.

I gave a heavy sigh as it dawned on me that I'd probably just have to check them at random until I found something... great... just great.

Oh well... better get sta-... wait... what the hell is that.

I didn't see it at first, but there was a pretty decent sized hole in the right-side wall about halfway down the hallway.

... how the hell did I miss that? ... eh... I'll just blame it on the lighting. I should have thought to bring a flashlight or a lighter or something.

Anyway... I got about halfway to the hole in the wall before I was able to piece together what happened. I gave a smirk as I turned toward the door directly opposite the puncture mark.

Judging by the size, shape, and the long scrape that followed it, it was almost definitely made by the houndoom. It must have come charging out of that room pretty fast. The curvature of the horns on a houndoom make them mostly just for show, but with enough speed and the right angle (for instance, if it was running really fast and trying to turn a tight corner like this one was doing) it could cause a bit of damage. I mean, look at this thing. It pierced one of the metal studs in the wall - something I didn't think possible. For a hauros, maybe, but a houndoom?

Eh, whatever, don't question it Jace, just get in, find your motive, and get out. I thought as I rested my hand on the handle.

...and behind door number three we have...

I yanked open the door, barely even concerned with keeping quiet anymore as it thudded against the wall. However, the room was much too dark to really make anything out, so I instinctively reached around for a light switch. My hand fumbled blindly against the wall until I finally found some sort of knob... probably a dimmer. Turning it in the hopes that it would illuminate the room, it did just that to show...

... nothing... absolutely nothing... what the fuck?

The room was empty... although admittedly, it didn't feel like it, as it was the only room to have any sort of substance to it. The walls were painted a deep, dark shade of blue and the hardwood floor definitely stood out form the linoleum tiles that filled the rest of this place.

But... that didn't make any sense. If there's nothing in this room, then it really has no purpose. Why upgrade a room if you're not doing anything with it.

I stepped inside and leaned against the wall as my brain began going a mile a minute.

Ok... so... a small empty room... if there's nothing in this room, then what the hell started this fight... Allen was outside... the uncle and the Houndoom must have been in here. Yet... there's nothing in here... and again, why is this the only room that looks even remotely habitable?

...what the hell could a man and his houndoom be doing in an empty room that's so horrible that he... that... he...

... holy shit... I think I've got it.

... scratch that... I've got it... I know I've got it.

In an empty room with a man and a Pokémon, I can only think of one thing that would cause all of this. Even as I smirked, having figured it out, part of me felt like I wanted to puke.

All of this... a murder, a huge police investigation, putting Rori and her family into a state of depression... all because of fucking Poképhilia.

Yeah... that's right... all of this because the guy was fucking his dog...

...ok... here's what happened. All of the workers were out back except for Mr. Kirk and his houndoom, who I'm willing to bet anything is a female, they decide to have a little alone time and head off to this room. This room, which, I'm pretty sure, was furnished for the explicit reason of having a place to fuck in the middle of the day. Only reason I can come up with for this windowless room being the ONLY one that looks halfway decent...I wouldn't want to do it in a room that was as sloppily put together as the rest of this place either... kind of makes it feel like a cheap motel.

...Anyway...Allen comes in for some reason, interrupts them and then... this happens... makes perfect sense to me. I mean, with how harsh the punishment is for these sorts of interspecies relationships... the uncle would have gone to jail for life and depending on the condition of the Pokémon it would be put to death...I'm not saying I condone it, but I can perfectly understand the uncle making that split second decision to off his nephew.

... Hell, even if I'm not right, that doesn't even matter, does it? I have enough reason to support my claim so all I have to do is blow my metaphorical rape whistle and every cop in the department will be all over it.

So... in other words... the guy's a pervert, case closed... now maybe I can finally get some fucking sleep.

I exhaled deeply, finally relaxing. That was... really easy... why didn't I do this before? Could have gotten Rori out of my hair a lot sooner and I wouldn't have had to deal with this stupid guilt trip. Still, I shrugged as I left the room, letting out a yawn as I did so. So, I'll just tell Jen in the morning and that will be the end of that.

I stretched myself out, reaching my arms out in the air and relieving any tension I had built up during this little excursion as I spun around and began to walk out the door. Right now, there was nothing I would like more than to have a hot shower and crawl into bed for a few-

... wait a second.

I stopped at the hole in the wall, quirking an eyebrow as a thought came to mind and then turned to look back in the room.

No... stop it Jace! You have your God damn motive, just leave it already. Go home... call Jen in the morning... get some sleep...................... FUCKING DAMN IT!

I cursed myself as my brain kept working against my will. The room was way too small for the houndoom to build up enough speed to pierce through the wall...maybe the drywall by itself, but the metal stud. Not a snowrunt's chance in hell. It would have had to been barreling forward in a straight line to build up enough speed, and it also would have had to have started from behind the wall, which was impossible unless...

I urged myself to stop this stupid thought...it was impossible, there was no way that it would go anywhere. I... I had to be miscalculating this or something, there is no fucking way...

Of course, I immediately countered myself. If it indeed was impossible, then checking it out wouldn't change anything.

Clenching my fists and hoping I wasn't right, I walked back into the room, quickly pressing my ear against one of the walls and tapping on it with my knuckles just so I have something to compare too. There was a dull *thud* , as was expected, and with the sound in mind, I approached the wall opposite the door, pressing my ear against it and repeating the same action.

... *thunk*

...I just stood there and let the sound sink in for a few seconds as I dropped my head in disappointment.

...shit...fucking shit...FUCKING SHIT PISS, COCK SUCKING WHORE, MOTHER FUCKER!!!

I mean... God Damn! Hundreds of daycares in the world and I have to stumble into the only one owned by fucking Golbatman.

... there was something behind that wall... a secret room probably, or some shite like that... well... at least that explains where a good chunk of the funding went for this place instead of furnishing other rooms... still doesn't make me feel any better though.

Of course, hard evidence was always better than just a motive... and if there _was_any, it would be on the other side of that wall.

I pounded my fist against the wall in anger, every fiber of my being telling me to just leave that bit of info with Jen and go back to fucking bed, but I knew that was an impossibility. The minute I lie down I would just start thinking about what's on the other side of this door, so leaving now wouldn't make any sense. The whole reason I came here was to cure my insomnia, and I intended to do just that.

Still angry at myself for not being able to turn off my brain, I began feeling around the wall for a button or a lever or something. Wherever it was, it would be in this room...probably right next to the door itself. I slid my hands down the wooden surface being sure to take note of any indents or bumps that could be a way of opening it.

Finding nothing, I tried kneeling down and feeling along the molding between the floor and the wall.

... Bingo...

There was a small little button, barely noticeable if you weren't actually looking for it, but it was there. So I pushed it in, watching half of my index finger disappear until I finally heard a small popping noise...as if I just unlocked something.

Not sure of what to do, I gave the door a hard shove and found that it gave way, swinging open like any normal door.

...I...I'll be honest...I had a very clear image in my head of what I thought I was going to see when I found a way to open this door. I thought I would see a small extension of the room, barely furnished at all, a mattress on the floor with more than a few questionable stains.

But... for once I was wrong... horribly... horribly wrong. I knew it even before I saw what was on the other side...I knew it from the sound that came pouring out the as the door slowly started to peel away from the wall. The soundproofing that must have been done was negated, and the sounds that came from inside were... morbid... and that was putting it lightly.

A correlation of crying and moaning and screaming for help... a static chorus of pain and misery echoing down a dark corridor. It sent a chill down my spine and covered my body in goosebumps. But the worst part... the absolute worst part was that once the door was finally open... all I could see was darkness. The door opened into a stairwell and I could only make out the first set of steps before it was engulfed in a world of black.

Everything was left up to my imagination... which meant that the worst was coming to mind. Murder... kidnapping victims being held against their will... torture... what the heck was going on down there?

... I didn't have much time to think about it though. Out of the darkness lunged a black figure that would have scared the shit out of me had I not already been in a state of terror. A set of paws hit me square in the chest, causing me to sprawl spread eagle across the ground and slam my head against the hardwood floor.

I instinctively began to reach my hand up to my head to try and negate some of the initial pain, but a pair of jaws clamping down on my neck erased any thought of moving from my mind.

... well... I found the houndoom.

"Make one move," it began snarling in a feminine, yet still completely terrifying voice, "and there'll be a big gaping hole where your throat should be."

I gulped involuntarily at the thought of having my neck torn apart as my mouth went as dry as a ball of cotton. "Wouldn't dream of it."

It's growling paused at my response as she retracted her teeth for a moment, gazing at me with angry, yet confused eyes. "...you understood me?"

For once, not being able to think straight, I stammered a bit. "I... uh... y-yeah."

She pondered my answer for a bit, obviously not expecting it, and for a moment I hoped that it would work in my favor somehow. However, no such luck.

The minute I thought that it might help my situation a bit, the canine lowered her head back down, get in close and personal with mine as she glowered at me, baring her teeth. "Good... then you can tell me what the hell you're doing here."

My mind raced frantically, Allen's mangled corpse coming to mind as I thought of possible ways out of this. "I... I was sent to come get you." I blurted out... it was the first thing that came to mind, even though it probably wasn't the smartest thing to say... although, indirectly, it was kind of true.

"By who? Are you a cop?" She inquired further as she repositioned her paws uncomfortably on my collar bone, assumingly getting ready to make good on her threat to rip my throat out.

"No no no, not at all... I... Mr. Kirk sent me." I tried. Meanwhile, my hand was slowly inching its way closer to my pocket.

She paused again, narrowing her eyes as she gazed into mine. "...Matthew sent you."

"Yes." I answered with as much fake confidence as I could muster, my fingers wrapping around the handle of my knife, hoping that she would believe me and it wouldn't resort to a fight... after all, I would probably lose.

She stared at me intently, her eyes full of scrutiny as she searched for any evidence of my deceit.

...apparently, she found something.

"You're lying." She snarled at me once again. I didn't even wait to see what she was going to do next (Although I had a pretty good idea). Forgetting about trying to be sneaky about it, I pulled the knife out of my pocket and drove it into her side. I wasn't able to get much power into the stab though and it didn't cause that much damage, but she yelped in pain anyways and it surprised her enough so that I could throw her off of me.

I desperately scrambled to my feet and towards the door, an in attempt to get away. However, that worked even worse for me than it did for Allen. The hell hound was quick, and the knife barely even left a scratch on her, so in a split second, she leapt in between me and my exit, crouched in a fighting stance and ready to pounce.

My feet skidded to a stop and I immediately jumped back, instinctively trying to get into my own fighting stance even though the only time I was ever in any sort of fight was a couple of short little scuffles in high school. All of them were fist fights, no weapons, and I just jumped straight to cheap shots because I didn't want to get hurt. This was nowhere near the same thing, and a swift kick to the balls isn't going to help me when I'm fighting a girl.

I didn't have time to contemplate the best position to protect against a Pokémon though, as it was lunging towards me before I could even think about a plan of action.

The hound wasn't wasting any time, either. With a powerful leap forward, her jaws parted and ready to clamp down on the inside of my shoulder, I only had time to block the oncoming attack with my free arm. It was too little too late by the time I had realized what a mistake that was, as blocking a punch with your arm is deflecting an attack...blocking a bite with your arm is just giving it a new target. I shouted in pain as the dog's large incisors dug into my wrist, barely even having time to focus on _that_pain before she started yanking it in a ripping motion that suggested she was trying to tear my arm from its socket.

The strength of her tugging forced me to drop to my knees as I started to panic. If she got me all the way on the ground...I wouldn't be getting back up. Blindly slashing out with the blade, I managed to slice a deep gash in the top of her head, getting her to release my arm and jump backwards in shock.

I once again scrambled to my feet, to see the canine hunched over, rubbing furiously at her eyes with her paws. Despite my situation, I smirked, knowing I had just gained an advantage. Head wounds bleed like crazy even if they aren't very deep, and with a rather large one right above both of her eyes...she'd have to continuously wipe it away just to be able to see me.

... be that as it may, she was still in between me and my exit, and regaining her composure, she shot me a scowl that erased any thought I had of getting passed her.

Fighting her head on was still out of the question. Even with my one advantage, I was still no match for her. The only option I had was to run... and unfortunately I had only one direction I could go.

Not waiting for her to be able to strike again, a barreled down the stairwell and into the secret basement behind the wall.

I could tell before I even reached the bottom of the stairs that this was a horrible idea. There was no guarantee that there would be another way out, I could barely see two inches in front of my face, and the closer I got to those awful noises the more I expected to see some sort of torture chamber, but it was still my best option. If nothing else, maybe I could confuse her and circle back around.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stuck my hands out in an attempt to make up for my lack of vision, scraping my knife against the wall as I held my injured hand out in front of me to make sure I didn't faceplant into a wall.

Having banged my knees pretty badly when the devil dog tried to yank me to the floor, I found running to be a hard task in itself. Take that and add in the factor that I couldn't see a damn thing, and I knew I was in trouble. Even so, I continued to stumble through the darkness as I heard the footfalls of my attacker behind me.

Fear began to overpower logic at this point and I gave up on trying to use my hands to navigate the dungeon. Instead, I just focused on moving as fast as possible. I was just beginning to wonder just how long this hallway would go when a dim glow illuminated my surroundings. For a moment, I thought that of motion sensor and turned on a light, but the flickering of my shadow against the wall and the sudden increase in temperature I felt behind me told me exactly what was happening.

I just barely had time to press my back against the cold, stone wall of the cave-like basement before a stream of flames shot through the cavern. The heat from the fire scorched licked the front of my body, making me sweat in my gray hoodie. Still, despite the danger it brought, I managed to get a grip on myself and take the advantage to look at my surroundings. The flamethrower ended as it crashed into the dead end I had nearly just barreled into moments ago. If I had kept running for just a second longer, this would already be over.

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind though as I spotted a doorway on the wall directly across from me. From the brief illumination, I could just barely make out the outlines of a few figures in the room, obvious from the noise that was still echoing through the cavern that they were the source. As soon as the attack disappeared (and the light as well), I dove across the floor and into the room across from me, my hand somehow finding the metal door on the other side of the archway and slamming it shut behind me.

The houndoom slammed into the door from the other side and reacting purely on instinct. I pressed both of my hands against it, using all of my weight to keep it sealed shut. A few muffled screams reverberated through the room... and God, it was torturing me not being able to see what the hell was going on in here. However, amidst all the muffled sounds, one was actually quite clear.

"Who... who are you? What are you doing here?" A feminine voice reverberated off the stone walls of this prison cell. It sounded weak... exhausted really. Like she had just woken up from a deep sleep, although I doubt that was the case. However, there was an underlying sense of hope in her voice, probably hoping that I could help her escape this place.

I opened my mouth to answer her, but was caught off guard as the canine on the other side of the wall tried once again to burst through the door. It opened a crack, breaking the metal latch that kept it shut, but i quickly shoved it closed again before she could slip inside. Gritting my teeth, I decided to completely ignore her questions. "Introductions later! I can get you out of here, but not if I'm dead!"

"Unchain me." The women answered, finally realizing the urgency of the situation. "I can help you."

"I can't even see, where the hell are you!?"

"There's a light switch to the left of the door."

I nodded instinctively even though she probably couldn't see me either and shifted my position so that I was propping the door shut with my shoulder, reaching my free hand out and searching for the switch, which I just couldn't seem to find.

...wait...why is the door getting hotter?

"Fuck!" I screamed in pain as the door became somewhat of a giant frying pan; the side of my head which had just brushed against it now stinging from a small burn. The houndoom was trying to burn me out from the other side, and it had worked. It was barely anything, but in my shock I had taken off a bit of my weight from the door, and the she-wolf took her chance to burst through.

This time, the force of her tackling the door sent me sprawling to the ground, my knife skidding across the floor and out of reach. I desperately tried to get to my feet, but before I could, a shriek rang out in the room.

"Roll!" the unseen woman commanded, and I'd be damned if I was going to question her. Instead of trying to stand up like I had planned, I rolled to my side onto my hands and knees, hearing the hound snarl as the canine landed inches away from me in her failed attempt to pin me.

"Now punch!" She ordered. This time, I thought she was insane. Why would I even try to attack against an animal like this. Still, I already knew I wasn't the best fighter, so I took her word for it. Bringing my arms up above my head, I swung them both down where I thought her head would be.

I was a little bit off, but I managed to drive both of my fists into her back, effectively knocking her to the ground if nothing else. Taking my chance, I finally stood up, but apparently, I didn't do as much damage as I had thought.

"She's getting up, backpedal!"

I leapt backwards, almost tripping over my own feet as something, either the houndoom's teeth or her horn, snagged the front of my shirt.

"Now kick."

I lashed my foot out in response and through some sort of luck, the top of my foot slammed against the underside of her muzzle. "How can you even see any of this?" I wondered aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Doesn't matter, just DUCK!" she screamed in reply. The force of the scream itself seemed to knock me on my ass as I heard the demon dog soar over my head...and the loud thud afterwards told me that she just dove headfirst into a wall. Even she would have to take a few minutes to recover from that, especially if that head wound was still bleeding. If there was ever a chance to do something, this was it.

"Where are you?" I asked, already beginning to make my way to where I thought I heard her voice earlier.

"Over here, at the other side of the room."

"Keep talking." I told her. Still, I was at least heading in the right direction.

"Keep going...you're almost there...stop!" She said when I was directly in front of her, she was apparently lying on the ground and I probably would have stepped on her if she hadn't said anything else. I dropped to my hands and knees, feeling around for her and found...fur?

I blinked in confusion, but it only took me a few seconds to piece it together, as I already knew of this guy's habits with his pet and her fur was matted down by something...maybe blood, but...most likely something else. The guy who runs this place is a twisted one for sure.

However, finding out this was some sort of Pokémon rape dungeon was soon a footnote in my mind as my survival instincts took over again. Immediately, I felt around for her paws and found that the fore legs were bound together with a shackle, as well as the hind legs, but lucky for me, it was held together by a bolt instead of lock. I unscrewed the clamps as fast as I possibly could and just like that, whatever Pokémon had been helping me through this was free.

She sprung to her feet and rushed past me, making good on her promise to help me out as I could hear the beginnings of a brawl. Growls, hisses, and hateful comments were exchanged between the two as I felt completely useless. Stuck in the dark like this...not even able to see what was happening.

The sound of ripping flesh made me cringe as one of them yelped in pain, and I could only hope it wasn't my friend who was injured.

God damn it! ...where's the light switch? I thought as I stood up. Before I could even start looking though, the devil dog shot out a fire bolt that hit me square in the chest, igniting my shirt as the flames began to dance around my torso.

I panicked, trying to beat the flames out with my hands before the searing pain in both my fingers and my chest told me it was a horrible idea. My second idea was much more logical, unzipping my hoodie and ripping it off my body as I flung it away. Painful as the experience was, I now had a light; the glow from the burning clothing illuminating the small room.

...If I wasn't too busy fearing for my life, I'm sure I would be deeply disturbed by what I saw... Pokémon, all female, all in some kind of bondage or restraint... some in compromising positions. In the back corner of the room, there were three held in cages, a blaziken, a mightyena, and a chikorita who had nothing more than simple ropes binding them... something that all of them, especially the fire type could easily break out of in a heartbeat. Why they weren't escaping was beyond me. The only ones that were at least trying to fight were a Mienshao, who was strapped to a metal chair with heavy chains, a gag, and had her legs spread apart by shackles that were attached to the wall behind her, and a vaporeon who was being force to present herself, a wooden beam separating her hind legs as wide as they could possibly go as her front paws were strapped to the center of said beam, forcing her head to press against the floor. All the while, a collar on her neck was connected to a metal pole that pulled her tail up so long as she stayed down... which she was kind of forced to do. Even so though, they were struggling with all their might to break free. Those five including the one I had set free, a Persian who was now fighting her heart out against the hell hound.

...and unfortunately losing, by the looks of it. The houndoom had her pinned. Shit! This was not good. I needed... I needed...

My eyes shot over to the vaporeon who was apparently trying to see if she could learn Mean Look as she glared at the horned canine.

...I needed a type advantage.

Now seeing forming a plan of escape in my head -one that might actually work this time- I bolted over to the water type, quickly detatching the metal pole and removing the rope which had served as a gag. I then aimed her head at the houndoom and screamed.

"HYDRO PUMP! NOW!"

Before I even finished my command, a jet of water burst forth from her mouth like I had just turned on a fire hose, hitting the houndoom dead center and sending her crashing into the wall just as she was about to bite down on my ally's neck. The Persian took her chance to get up, the tables turning as it was her turn to pin the hound. I didn't waste times with introductions or explanations, turning to the eeveelution and only needing to know one thing.

"Can you fight?"

"Let me at that bitch!"

...good enough for me. With a bit of effort, I was able to undo the clamps and bolts that had her restrained and she joined the fight. I was more than a little surprised that there was bolts and clamps on all of these things instead of locks, but I guess the owner didn't think anyone would be down here except for him.

Confident that those two could easily win the fight, I moved onto the Mienshao, removing the gag first.

"Are you insane!"

Her voice startled me, causing me to flinch, but I continued to undo the chains around her torso.

"You want to stay strapped to this chair!?" I yelled back.

"Of course not," She explained harshly, gritting her teeth in frustration, "But you need to get out of here before she fucking kills you!"

I mulled over her input as the chains around her best dropped, releasing her arms and back from the chair as I moved on to her leg. "Those two can handle the mutt. It's two against one and one of them has a type advantage. That houndoom is as good as..."

I froze before I finished the sentence.

...dead...she was as good as dead...I needed her alive. I stood up and turned around, about to tell the two of them to ease up, as if they'd listen to me, but before I could even get a word out of my mouth, a pair of paws hit me square in the chest. My head and back crashed into the wall painfully, gashing the back of my head and-I'm pretty sure- giving me a concussion.

My senses were extremely fuzzy from the blow, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that I was tackled by the fiery bitch again, and the blow to my back left me temporary paralyzed, so there wasn't anything stopping her from ripping my jugular from my throat.

...I should have listened to the mienshao.

But, just as soon as I had pounced, I felt the weight leave me along with a hard "Thock" sound, letting me to slump to the floor, my back leaning against the wall as I tried to recover. My guess was the fighting type that I had partially freed just force palmed the bitch in the head...a guess that was confirmed as I felt her paw wrap around my shirt collar and pull me to my feet, pain erupting from my entire upper body as it jerked about.

"We'll handle this! Go and get help!" She commanded me, shoving me toward the door. My legs however wouldn't cooperate, no doubt having something t do with that blow to my spine. I tripped halfway across the room, expecting to land on the floor, but to my surprise, the Persian caught me, stepping in the way of my fall so that I only fell to my knees instead of on my face.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked me, more concerned than angry like the fighting type.

"I... I can't... walk." I managed to sputter out... with all the other aches and pangs in my body I didn't even notice that the wind had been knocked out of me. She made a noise, somewhere between a groan and a whine before leaning into my side.

"Stand up, we'll do this one step at a time."

"But... houndoom..."

"They can handle her, just move." She urged me forward, sounding eerily like a mother urging her child to do something... soft, calm, only a slight urgency... however, that wasn't the reason I was worried.

"No... no you don't-" I didn't have time to argue though, as she started to move forward. Apparently I had been leaning on her a lot more than I had thought, as I wobbled about the minute she started moving, forcing me to take a step and stay with her just so I could stay on my feet. My legs felt like Jello...it was completely pathetic, but I had to rely on her.

"That's it, just step by step... don't look back just keep moving forward" She coaxed me forward calmly, like a mother talking to her child, although there was quite a bit of fear and concern lacing that calm nature. She sensed the urgency of the situation, that was for sure.

With much more effort than it should have taken, I made it out the door, back into the pitch black darkness of the hallway. However, this time I actually had a focal point to head towards, what little light there was from upstairs filtering in from upstairs.

...my God... I was actually going to live through this... how the hell did that happen? Or... that light in the distance means I'm dead and I'm about to go to the hall of origins... I sincerely hope it's the former.

But no... before I knew it we had reached the stairs, nearly tripping over the bottom step as my caught against it. My hand shot out for a railing, which, surprisingly was there. I hadn't checked for one on my way down, too concerned about not dying and all, but using my own upper body strength, I was able to pull myself up step by step instead of having to lean on my feline protector. All the same, I felt her against my side, there in case I was to slip and fall.

I'm surprised she was even bothering to help me. She was free after all, she could easily just run...but I suppose she did owe me for setting her free...nice to see Pokémon have a code of honor, or something of the sorts...or maybe she's just nicer than most.

Step by step, inch by inch, nudge by nudge from the Persian beside me, somehow I reached the top of the stairs, my eyes having to adjust as I stepped forward. I dropped to my knees and rubbed my eyes, feeling like I was safe for the first time even though I should probably get the fuck out of here. I expected the Persian to either keep encouraging me forward or to go back to help her sisters in bonds, but instead, she let me catch my breath, standing guard at the doorway as I did so.

"W-we..." I began to stutter before coughing, a bit of blood coming up with it. To be honest, it didn't scare me. I would be amazed if I didn't after that last blow. My voice finally returning to me, I spoke again, looking over my shoulder at the Persian as she continued her watch. "We can't kill her." I finally said.

Her head snapped back immediately, looking at me like I was out of my mind. "What are you talking about?" She asked, legitimately giving me a chance to explain myself by the looks of it, regardless of how stupid it sounded. I opened my mouth to tell her my situation, or at least a cliffnotes version of it, but was interrupted completely.

"Shit! Overheat!"

"Get the fuck out! GET THE FUCK OUT!!!"

Before I had time to move or react in any way, the mienshao and vaporeon came bolting out of the doorway, knocking the Persian down in their haste to get away, from what...I could tell from the flickering light that was getting closer and closer to the entrance but had absolutely no time to react.

A torrent of flames erupted from the doorway, completely engulfing the Persian on the floor as well as igniting the remainder of my clothes on fire.

...and from there... it was nothing but pain. I rolled around on the floor, screaming in agony as the fire scorched my skin. Last time, the extra layer of my hoodie protected me, but now, the fire was right up against my skin, charring it and leaving numerous first and second degree burns all over my body.

The pain was just too much... I began to black out and from there, I could only make out a few things as my body went into shock.. Getting blasted by a cold jet of water from the vaporeon, the feeling of being lifted and carried, the sound of police sirens and the flashing red and blue lights...being laid down on the soft, cold grass.

...the last thing I remembered was a green haired figure kneeling over my broken body...and then...nothing.

...

...am I a horrible person? ...probably...

Anyhow, that ends the first story arc of Laws and Regulations (about fucking time). Next, we have two interlude chapters, which I have been waiting to write for quite some time, as it will go a bit deeper into Jace's character.

This is the first scene I've written that involves action...so...critique please? ^_^