FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 18

Waking up the next two days with the warm Charmander was nice in its own way, however, trying to talk to him was a different matter.

He still wasn't too friendly, he still had an attitude towards me and Zane, and the only one he seemed comfortable being around was Silver. Zane didn't think too much about it.

"He'll get used to us eventually. The fact that he's still sleeping with us at night means he trusts us to some degree, he's just not willing to let us know. He's a tough guy hehe." He had chuckled to me once when I told him my worries.

He certainly seemed to play the tough guy pretty well, but just from the few times I had interacted with him, I knew there was more to him than it appeared, and I wanted to get to know it.

So, the night before we were going to continue our journey after out little vacation in Gracel Town, I decided I would get my mental link to Charmander, so that I could learn more about him. I knew what I had to do for it to happen, and I also didn't know how he would react to it.

I slept with Charmander alone that night, as Silver slept with Zane. Both of them could tell what I was going to try and do, so they silently left me alone with him tonight. He didn't complain, which again, told me he enjoyed my company more than he wanted to admit.

When Zane and Silver fell asleep, I was still awake. The fire type was snoozing close to me, his body facing towards me.

I grinned slightly as I looked at his sleeping face, his eyes closed, muzzle slightly open while he breathed in and out slowly. The dimmed down flame of his tail slightly glowing under the sheets of the blankets. Thanks to the device of the pokeball, he was not hot enough to set things on fire. Unless he wanted to, which I found out after teasing him. He could summon jets of hot fire on will, temporally disabling the device that kept him cooled down to do it.

But he was asleep right now, so I wasn't worried as I brought my paw to his soft belly. His skin was smooth, it wasn't scaly at all, he was more like a big warm flesh balloon.

"I can't believe you're going to do this..." Raze groaned at me as I rubbed the fire types belly slowly with my paw, which made him sigh in his sleep softly.

"Do what?" I thought back to him as I continued rubbing.

"You're going to molest him in his sleep...just to learn more about him. Did it occur to you to ask him about himself first?"

"Yes, and it also occurred to me that he doesn't like me very much."

"And fondling him in his sleep is going to make him like you more?" Raze asked, a more than obvious hint of eye rolling in his voice.

"Well, then you tell me what you think I should do then!" I growled back at him and grimaced, removing my paw from the lizard pokemon's belly.

"Wake him up first of all, perhaps...ask him to take a bath with you or something, just get someplace where you won't wake up Zane and Silver."

"Humph, fine." I reached out with my paw and gently gripped hold of his side and began to shake him back and forth slowly while whispering.

"Hey, wake up."

He groaned slightly, his eyes squinting tightly as he was woken by me and then they opened up quickly as he snapped awake, seeing me there. His eyes quickly slid back closed as he groaned.

"What?" He yawned at me as I stopped shaking him and I smiled.

"I was thinking of taking a quick bath, wanna join me?"

His eyes opened slightly again, squinting at me as he stared at me, "Um...why?"

I shrugged, and told a slight lie. "Well...not to say something bad but you kind of stink. Did you ever bathe when you lived in the wild?" It wasn't that much of a lie, he really did have a heavy smell to him, I had always thought it was because of his warm body though. Now that the pokeball device kept him colder however, he still stunk, which meant it must have been just his stench.

He actually bothered to lift up his arm and sniffed at his armpit a moment before he said, "Yeah I suppose I do...all right fine...but I'll stay out of the water and just use something to wash off." He slowly lifted himself up from the bed and out from under the sheets, and I did as well.

"Why not get in the water completely?" I asked him while we entered the bathroom, and I shut the door behind us while turning on the light. Charmander grabbed one of the washcloths piled up on the shelf as he responded.

"I'm a fire type, that's why, water is bad in large amounts to me. Surrounding myself with it could kill me."

"Oh?" I asked him as I stepped into the tub, and he stood nearby.

He nodded, looking at the flame on his tail then, "The flame on my tail is like my life. If my flame goes out, I die. So it's important to keep it out of the water."

"Oh." I said again as I sat in the tub, spreading out my legs a moment, not turning on the water yet as I looked at him.

He stared at me pointedly, and I blushed, reaching out to turn on the water. It started to fill the tub slowly and he reached into the water with the cloth to dampen it with warm water.

He started to scrub parts of his body as I relaxed in the water, watching him while he washed his armpits, his arms and body. He looked at me a moment, before he turned his body away from me and he lowered his arms downward. I understood, focusing my own attention to my fur as I used the water to wash it and make it nice.

"See, he doesn't even trust you enough to wash his crotch while facing you." Raze said, "He would have been furious if you went and groped him as he was sleeping." He chuckled, clearly pleased he was correct.

"Shut up." I told him in my head.

"So, can I ask you some questions?" I spoke while the lizard had his back to me.

"Yeah." He responded simply, sounding like he wasn't really listening.

"How did you end up outside of town? What all happened between you and Rosy?"

He paused a moment, and he sighed, "It...it wasn't just Rosy, it was almost every single trainer out there. Oh sure, there are some like Zane..." He stopped and turned back towards me, his entire front body shining and I had to look away a moment. The space between his legs seemed...strange. I didn't look fully out of the respect for his privacy, but what I did see was like a slit.

He continued on like it was no big deal now, "I had lots of friends. Pokemon friends. We lived in that little cave, the one we had ran through when you chased me, remember?"

I nodded, and he kept going, "We were all kinds of types. Grass, water, flying, bug. I was the only fire type there though, which was strange, but it didn't matter much. We lived together, played together, kept each other safe."

He growled, his tail flaring up a moment, "But that was when Rosy brought all her trainers there...They attacked us. It was intense. They tried to catch as many of us as they could. The flying types flew away, the water types swam away. They caught mostly the grass types and bug types that were left behind. I was able to get away, I burned my way through their grass types."

He sighed, "They all left us...they could leave us behind, they did in a heartbeat..."

"That's a terrible feeling..." I said lightly and nodded, reaching to turn the water off as it had filled the tub completely now.

"No, Pokemon are terrible..." He whispered slightly, "The only one you can trust is yourself, or others of your own type...I learned that that day, trainers disturb a natural balance."

"So you decided to start attacking trainers?" I looked at him and tilted my head.

He nodded, "Yup." He fell silent at that point, returning to scrubbing down the rest of his body, bending over to get at his legs.

"He's not far off." Raze commented, "Except he doesn't understand if it wasn't for trainers, that "Balance" would be tearing the world apart like it did in my time."

"He'd understand it if I could create a mental link to him, and show him the memories you've shown me." I pointed out.

"True...perhaps if he's to really trust Zane, you'll have to end up molesting him after all so he understands the world."

Charmander interrupted my thoughts with Raze, "I thought that anyway, until I met you and Zane."

"Rosy tried to visit me often, after that initial attack. She would try to battle me, but I'd leave her pokemon smoldering. She tried to bribe me and become friends with me, but I snarled her away. She stopped coming after a bit, and that was when I started attacking trainers."

"Then you and Zane came, and after our chase down, I was taken by those Team Flare guys, and then you were brought there. And...even though I know my own body heat caused you extreme pain...you carried me out from that place. I figured helping you and finding Zane would make us even, but then Zane gave me all those sandwiches to thank me for finding him..." His voice became quiet, and he started to rub his eyes with an arm. Was he crying?

"Charmander..." I stared at him as he shook his head clear.

"I'm fine..." He growled and folded his arms, turning away from me again and I chuckled.

"You're a tough guy Charmander. I think you need a name like me and Silver."

"A nickname huh? What were you thinking?"

"Well, you've got a tough attitude, and a stern personality, and you're strong. Something strong and cool then." I thought a moment, tapping my chin with my paw, "Blaze?"

"Blaze?" He repeated and seemed to think a moment himself, "I like it. Thanks." He smiled at me a moment, then he turned his back to me, holding the cloth he was using behind himself. "Can ya get my back for me...?"

"Sure Blaze." I chuckled and I took the cloth from his hand while turning in the tub to start scrubbing his back with the cloth.

"So, how do you feel about what you're doing right now? Being a trainer's pokemon I mean?"

"Well...I...I don't really know..." He said, "It's just so strange, I don't have a reason why I let myself do this." He chuckled, "It just felt right when it came to Zane and you."

"You seem to like Silver more than you like me and him." I pointed out, scrubbing down his smooth body, washing out the dirt that was there and leaving his orange skin in a bright shine.

"Yeah...He's just...well, I don't feel odd around him like I do you and Zane."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know!" He growled at me and I grinned to myself, watching as his fists clenched up a moment and his tail lashed back and forth, the flame on the tip covering part of my arm, but it was only slightly warmer than my own body, and didn't hurt.

"Hehe, all right all right." I chuckled and continued to silently wash his body, his paws unclenching and his body relaxing again.

"Can I ask you a question now?" He asked me as I moved down his back, close to above his tail

"Yeah."

"What kind of bond is it that you share with Zane and Silver? You seem to read each other thoughts almost."

I smiled and answered, "My species can create mental links to other living beings through certain...acts."

"Acts?" he turned his head toward me and I looked into his eyes, nodding and grinning.

"Sexual acts." I pointed out.

"Oh..." He said simply, turning his head away, "So you've all...?"

"Hmmhmm..."

"How many times have you...?"

"Three, twice with Zane, once with Silver so far."

He stayed silent, and I slowly leaned forward till my mouth was next to his ear and I whispered, "Why, you interested?"

He shivered and he closed his eyes, "N-no, I was just curious about it. I'm not that kind of pokemon...sorry."

"hehe...sure." I moved back into the water again, and we finished washing up in silence the rest of the time, and returned back to bed soon after.

Blaze fell back to sleep quickly, but I stayed awake, staring at him.

"This is an odd family." Raze stated, "You keep staring at all your teammates and your trainer like that."

I giggled and wagged my tail, "Yeah but you're encouraging the behavior." I thought back to him.

"Yeah but that's because I notice how much it helps you and them to be that close. It's that kind of connection and teamwork I was never able to get with my own family when I was alive afterall."

I smiled and murred softly, closing my eyes as I tried to fall asleep myself now.

________________________

"Bye! I'll be looking out for you in the news!" Rosy shouted to us as we were walking away from Gracel town, waving back at her. Blaze was waving back, and I could tell there was a moment of awkwardness in his waving, as he was saying goodbye to the trainer who had taken his friends and haunted him for quite awhile, but he forgave easily it seemed, he knew she didn't mean anything bad.

He now wore the mega gem that he had kept from the facility on a collar like mine, hanging around his neck as it glowed slightly against his skin. Raze already believed it was Mega Charizard in the gem, and was happy to have found him specifically, as once Blaze evolved enough to merge with him, he knew him and I would be a great tag team against enemies as he and Mega Charizard had been when they had teamed up in their battle against Calamity.

Silver rode on Zane's shoulder as we walked, now that he was the only one of us small enough to do so. Fredrick led the way, occasionally checking his map for some reason.

After half the day had passed, and the sun was starting to slowly lower itself farther down the sky. The forest was getting darker and darker, and Zane was starting to think about setting up camp, but Fredrick seemed to have no desire to stop.

"Hey Fredrick, don't you think we should set up camp soon?"

"No." He responded, "We're almost there."

"Where are we even going?" Zane asked, "You never told us what the next town is."

"We're not going to the next town yet, I have something to do at a place near here."

"Something to do?"

"There's a really rare pokemon that is said to live near here."

My ears perked, and I remembered Meloetta in the woods, but we've been walking for so long, we must have passed her home by now. Then, who could Fredrick be talking about?

_____________________

Night had fallen by the time Fredrick finally stopped, looking around a bit before he turned towards the forest and he smiled, "Yes there it is..."

"Hmmm?" Zane came up beside him and looked into the forest, and I and the others did the same.

It wasn't obvious from going down the path, but facing the forest now I could see a pathway worn into the ground in the woods.

"It's down this way, follow me." He said, and we followed him slowly onto the pathway.

It winded its way through the forest, taking odd turns and twists that made me lose track of what direction we were going. The trees were getting really dense and thick, and then I began to see multiple stone statues in the woods. They were statues of pokemon, and I studied them as we all walked.

The pokemon on the statues were all strange looking, and most them seemed to be carved with a thin connection to the base, which told me they could float and fly. Some of them I half recognized back when Raze had shown me his memories.

"Ghost types..." Raze growled at me as I was thinking.

"Finally." Fredrick said and we stopped, and I looked down the pathway to a large looking mansion, the moonlight shining over it and giving it a spooky glow.

"A mansion in the middle of the woods?" Zane asked and looked at Fredrick again.

"A haunted mansion." Fredrick corrected and he looked at Zane, giving a smile. "I heard about this place back in Gracel Town, it's haunted by ghost types, and I want to catch one."

Zane nodded, "All right, should we make camp here then?"

"No, I'm going in there right now."

"Right now? In the middle of the night?"

"What better time to ghosts come out to play?" I commented and chuckled, and Zane grimaced.

"All right then." Zane said, "Do you want us to go with you."

"Naw, I should be fine alone." Fredrick said as he brought one of his pokeballs from his belt and tapped the button, a flash of white light jumping from it to form into a graceful looking green pokemon, a dress like clothing flowing down her body and legs.

"Good to go Gardevoir?" He asked the pokemon, and she nodded to him.

We watched as Fredrick and his pokemon walked up the path to the steps, the sound of the wind rustling the trees behind us only adding to the spooky moment. I watched as the two of them opened the door to the mansion, then stepped inside. Fredrick closed the door behind him.

"At least the door didn't close on its own or something..." Blaze said beside me, and I looked down at him and Silver. Silver was shaking, clearly more than nervous of the spooky building.

"Well." Zane said and he turned away from it, and at that moment, I could have sworn I saw something blue flash over his shoulder, and I leaned over to try and see it. Zane noticed my stare, and he looked back behind his shoulder.

"See something?"

"I thought I did...but I guess I imagined it..." I said and Zane looked back over at us.

"Let's set up camp then..." He said and pulled his backpack off his shoulders, putting it down as he was setting up the tent.

I continued to watch the mansion as Zane sat up the camp, watching the many windows and keeping my ears perked for any sound of Fredrick and his Gardevoir, but I saw nothing and only heard the sound of the wind until Zane tapped me on the shoulder once he had finished.

"Seeing anything?" He asked, knowing I had been staring at the whole time.

"No, nothing, haven't seen or heard a thing from in there, it's kind of worrying."

"I'm sure he's okay, we can look for him in the morning if he doesn't get back out by then. Fredrick's a strong trainer. I'm sure he'll be okay." Zane reassured me and I nodded after a bit, turning away from the house and I joined the others around a campfire.

When we went to bed, I had trouble sleeping, the others seemed to rest just fine, but my dreams were plagued with visions and nightmares, and I woke up in the middle of the night, hot and drenched with sweat.

"You okay?" Raze asked me worriedly as I panted and put a paw to my head.

"I..." I looked at the mansion in the background of the forest, and slowly got up to my feet. "I'm going in there."

"What? Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I have to make sure they're okay in there."

"Fredrick doesn't even share a link with you." Raze said, "You don't need to worry about him."

"He might not share a link with me, but he's still a part of our group." I started to walk up the pathway to the mansion, and I stopped at the doorway, reaching out with my paw to open the door, but before I could even touch the knob, the door opened up slowly inward, revealing the room beyond.

It was a foyer, stairs leading up into the upper floors and hallways leading off the sides. As I stepped in, I made sure to close the door myself, cause I was already slightly freaked out about it opening on its own.

Raze's gem glowed on my chest as the darkness surrounded me, letting me see as I stared around the big room entrance.

"Fredrick?" I called out into the air as loud as I could manage at first, it echoed into the house, but besides my own voice, I got no other answer.

I stood there again, and I suddenly decided that this was a bad idea, and turned to open the door. I gripped the knob and tried to turn, but it wouldn't budge.

"What?" I gasped and grabbed it with both paws, trying to turn it and I tried to shake the door a bit as I tried to open it. "Come...on!" I growled and I slammed the door with my paw hard, but it didn't budge even with my strength.

I dashed quickly over to the window, and tried to see outside, but the window was fogged up. I wiped it quickly with my paw, but it did nothing to make it easier to see out, and it was then that I realized. The window wasn't fogged up, the world outside was covered in a thick cloud.

I heard a loud creek in the house and turned back, staring back and forth from each hallway, but nothing was there. My heart rate was increasing and I started to breath hard as my mind was racing. I was trapped in a haunted house!