Chapter One

She had finally reached the end of the large city of Goldenrod as the golden- yellow sun sank in the west behind a screen of dark evergreens and jade green confers. The tall buildings of a monotone gray had slowly faded out making way for colorful little houses with neat picket fenced yards and small shops with quaint antiques for sale. That had been the first sign that the end of the city was near.

There were others as she went along, but she paid them little mind. Her thoughts turned inward towards how to solve her problems. The air seemed to be cleaner, fresher although she knew that it really was not. The air in her present location was just as nasty and lung clogging as the rest of it. She paused tensely, warily to drink from a puddle of water from a recent rain. She remembered that day. She had been forced to shelter for she was soaked to the bone and shivering so hard that her whole body quivered violently. That was the day when the hunter had closed that gap. Her pale pink tongue flicked up the water messily into her dry mouth flickering down then up and she stared at her reflection pensively through expressive ruby red eyes.

‘Was this really freedom?’

She did not know. She could guess, she could say, yes, this was freedom. This is what you longed for, this is why you risk your life. You risked the last things so dear to you. The last things you could lose. Everything else is gone or taken from you. It was not pleasant to roam the streets of filth with no food and the hunter on her trail tracking her every step, every pause created out of indecision. Even so, it was better than where she had run from. Oh so much better. Now she had choices to make, grim choices, but they were at least her own. It made her think, problem solve. She had not done much of that before which made her wonder even more about her bold move. Life had not been a gamble before. It was only eat whatever was placed in front of her no matter how bland or disgusting, sleep the amount of hours allotted, and do as you are told or else you get punishment for defiance or misbehavior. Now it was, where's some food, is this really a safe place to sleep, are those people friendly or will they try to catch me? Along her escape some people cubs with round objects of red and white had given chase. That was the first she found out that she was different, that she was rare. People attacked her for it and pokemon avoided her for it. Being rare, freaky was an uncomfortable position to be in. The thinking made her head hurt painfully in a dull ache, but the pain was that of a good kind. It meant improvement. It meant she was learning to deal with her present situation. Before he mind had been used little for problem solving.

A loud noise boomed behind her hollowly and she jumped around in an undignified fashion with all four legs spread-eagle and her curled tail straight in the air. Her heavy mat black coat was too thick to stand up erect, but in a few places, the nap of her neck being on of them as well as the flat of her rump. Her tail was bristled and her pupils wild. Hissing warningly she stood stock still with her tail raised and her supple back arched. The stranger was not the hunter. She almost dropped her guard, but caught herself in an instant.

She was a stranger, and weird. She was different and there was little acceptance for those who were different, which she had found over and over where ever she traveled. The other cat may be angry with her for trespassing or just for being different. They all seemed that way. Her thick almost wavy coat of short crossed hairs protected her body from angry claws and punishing teeth, but her face was covered with criss-crosses of scars faded or fresh and her dainty ears were nicked in numerous places. She was lucky to have both her ruby eyes intact some of the encounters were so violent and brutal.

"I'll leave." She blurted out suddenly and winced as the stranger studied her almost indifferently with slits of amber eyes. Her voice came out almost squeaky and unsteady, rushed at her desire to be left alone. The words jumbled together slightly thick on her tongue, but her shaky sentence was understandable if barely. The stranger continued to stare with a curious expression and she shifted stiff-legged back a few paces under the unnerving scrutiny. She hurried on to fill the gap of silence expressed. "I mean, I was just stopping for a drink so I'll be moving along now. Don't you worry about it. I don't want a fight so I'll just go. No problems."

Realizing she was babbling, her mouth clamped shut abruptly with an almost audible snap and she waited antsy for the verdict. If the stranger was to attack, she was ready to flee at the first spring, the first sign of aggression. If the other was to let her leave peacefully she was all for walking out of there. With an empty belly and tired limbs she was in no shape to run especially not sprint. Energy must be conserved tightly for when it was really needed. When the Hunter came for her. She held no doubt in her mind that her stalker, her hunter, would catch up with her eventually. All the odds for success were stacked on the hunter's side.

"If'n you want, you can stay a bit. I dunno way you thought I'd be hurtin' you. This is a free street. One cannot own a street can they?" The dirty cream colored cat replied in a deep voice and a patient smile full of gentle mocking.

The Persian stared at her for a moment more with pale amber eyes before adding shyly, "Pardon if I'm being rude, but I've never seen anything like you before. Your beautiful."

"I am a freak of nature." She replied roughly in a broken voice full of conviction and thrust her blunt head away with shame. Crystalline tears pooled in her moist crimson eyes and she hastily wiped them away with the back of her big front paw. She sat down dejected with hips and shoulders jutting outward from her starved frame with her head hanging. She wondered viciously what was wrong with her. Someone had finally offered her something other than hate, than rejection or revolution, and she turned her back to them. Sniffling she slowly forced herself to turn around. The male Persian was still there watching her.

"You're different." The old street Persian corrected her with mild sharpness and a slight smile at the young one's confusion. The round red jewel on his forehead glinted warmly in the late afternoon light making idle swirls in the smooth surface and his pale eyes were gentle with understanding and sympathy for the young creature before him. "We have no choice if'n we are born to a body of beauty and respect or if'n it is a body of revulsion and cruel japes. That is up to the creator."

She hung her head at the simplicity of it all. Her whole life she had searched for the reason she was so different, so unnatural. The kindly cat before her cleared it all up in one sentence. There was no choice for her, for anybody. She had not chosen the body she had, not at all. It was given to her, forced upon her. It all came back to the lack of choices. The reason she ran, the reason she had sought freedom at the risk of everything dear to her.

"Don't be taking it so hard now. You look like you could use a good bit of grub for your belly all stick like and skinny. I bet you haven't eaten in the longest time." The Persian said cheerily changing the subject. Her mind was so simple that she was completely off track from her woes and miseries. Thoughts of food, delicious food, filled her mind completely.

"My name is Singe, but you can call me Sin for the time being. That's what all my gang calls me. Fact, they'll be wondering where I've gotten to taking all this time to chat. See, I'm suppose to bring back some food for the gang 'bout now."

"Mine name… my name… I cannot explain it. When I was with the humans I was called Subject 39 of sector G. My sister… she and I gave each other names since we had no mother to do it for us. It did not seem right for us to name ourselves. I'm called Mirei." Mirei faltered and stuttered thinking how to explain her situation.

Did she want to even explain it?

Her past history might make her new friend shy away from her and the dangers that surrounded her. She decided against it with a heavy heart. The promise of a free meal lured her away from honesty and she felt that things left unsaid would be the best route for her to follow and the safest. Sin was not prying overly. He had not even asked her name just offered his and an open invitation. That was a new experience for her. She had never volunteered information freely before, but she felt deep with instinct that she could trust this new friend. That was also a new feeling for her, trust. It made her feel more secure, almost safe.

"An appropriate name to fit your beauty. Your sister picked well." Sin nodded and rose to his feet. This movement shifted him into a patch of sunlight and Mirei could see that his muzzle was grizzled with age. His gait was stiff, but his amber eyes glimmered with everlasting youth. She felt safe, truly safe for the first time in her life. Sin wouldn't abuse her, he would not use her. He just required her company in exchange for a good meal. Then she could go her way and he his when it was all over and done.

"I need your help." Sin said quietly flicking a cupped ear lazily and gazing distractedly after a red car that had jetted by down the street far too fast. The rumble of the motor was still loud as it echoed off the confined street crowded with jumbles of run down buildings.

Mirei tensed at Sin's words. She was wrong, it was coming now, and he was going to use her like all the rest. Use and abuse her. That was her life. She had not escaped it like her mind had tricked her into pretending, like she wanted to believe. She was just with a different user, a different abuser.

Sin did not seem to notice her stiffness and cold eyes. He turned with a grin and said sheepishly, "I need to be getting the food now. Could you possibly help me? I'll show you how to do it so don't worry. It's really easy and it will help you in the future."

Mirei sagged with relief and let out a ragged sigh escaped her lips, which gained her a concerned glance from the old Persian. She licked her lips nervously at his glance and forced out of her dry throat hoarsely, "Sure thing. I can do that."

The grayish colored cat ran a negligent paw across his thin whiskers and shot her a look that seemed to say, if you say so. He flipped his tail up in the air and strolled over to the nearest garbage can. Casually he sent the lid flying with the swipe of one oversized paw. The metal disk floated like a Frisbee until it crashed into the nearby brick wall with a clash. It lay on the ground dented and so bent out of shape that there was no possible way of attaining it's former fit on the metal can. Daintily the old Persian then hooked his paw over the rim and tipped the heavy can over on its side. That was accomplished with almost complete silence and well practiced ease.

"Always make them look for the lid." Sin instructed when he saw her questioning look. A goofy grin spread across his wide mouth and he snickered, "If'n you can, hide in the shadas and watch the stupid humans look for it. They are so amusing. Especially the ones that yell and spit out those impolite terms. They usually turn an attractive shade of red. Like'n a tomato or something. Some even turn a lovely shade of purple if'n they get worked up enough."

Mirei nodded figuring you had to see it to understand what was so interesting. She wanted to avoid humans anyway so it did not really matter. She would remember to toss the lid away though. Anything that would make the humans suffer a bit of discomfort was worth the bit of extra effort. After all, humans were the ones that had made her the way she was. They did not deserve courtesy from the likes of her. None of that highly rated curtsy had ever been shown to her.

~~~~~

The large dog- like pokemon trotted down the sidewalk with her jet black nose held close to the dirty ground. Her long lavender fur swished softly and her tail tossed the fluffy hair back and forth gently with the sway of her gait. Her expressive face pulled into sullen resentment and she risked a glance at the three behind her with annoyance flashing in her slate gray eyes.

The young man, Keith, was totally zoned out in his own world yet again. She wondered how he managed to live in the constant state of no mind and peril. He was so far gone into his thick head that he wouldn't even notice if a semi truck almost ran him over, or even if it did, she amended with a sort of sadistic amusement at the thought. The shorter woman, Brook, had a dreamy look on her plain features, which spoke volumes about the kind of fantasies she was concocting in her shallow mind. That made the lead creature flinch in disgust. Humans were so nasty about that sort of stuff. Their only pokemon companion, a sleek, deadly Houndoom, was to only one of the three who were truly paying any attention to her and the world around them. His sharp black eyes wandered warily over her and then to the side alley they passed. The tip of his tail was stiff and his steps cautious with the ease of habit.

"Any luck just yet?" He asked her in a rough voice full of malice and a twisted grin peeled back from his lips.

He had been living on the streets for a long while before he was captured by Keith so his tone was dark constantly. In all his time in captivity he had never completely lost his wild, feral look either. He was a creature of little change, set in a mold. A broken canine tooth jutted up from under his lips on the left side of his angular face and a long, pale scar traced down his wiry shoulder and across his visible ribs disappearing at the muscular haunches. The tip of his pointed devil's tail was completely gone from some previous battle.

Biting her lip hard enough to draw a drop of blood she snapped back with narrowed eyes, "Not yet. If you're in such a bloody hurry, do it yourself. You have a nose too."

This business was getting to her. Why was she so touchy, so uptight? There was no real reason for her to be the way she was acting at the moment. He had just been asking a question about her progress. True, his manner had been less than polite, but she should be use to the coarseness of her stupid companions by now. They had been tracking for over three weeks now with little success. Maybe that was what was bothering her. They were taking to long and she just wanted to go home. Deep in her heart she knew that wasn't right. This mission, this tracking, was just like every other one she had ever completed before. Except for the emotional baggage that attached like a leech. She would dump it if she could. In a heartbeat or less if it was possible. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simply. Why were they making her do this? Why had her sister put her in this position in the first place? The world just didn't make sense at the moment and that was making her sour with uncertainty.

"That's ridicules. Next you'll be suggesting that those stupid ingrates put their triangular noses to the ground and inhale. No luv, you're the only one who can track her.” He replied evenly in an almost amble tone although his pointed tail was twitching slightly betraying his true emotions.

She knew better than to trust the tone of his voice though and watched his body language avidly. Blackie had a nasty, volatile temper which he relieved by lashing out at others. Under that was a sort of cool caring, a cold logic. She hated it and she hated him to a degree too. His words were mere tokens of his wanting to keep the peace with her. Fighting on a mission, any mission, was grounds for sever punishment, especially an important mission like this one was. "Listen girl, get over your pointless little pout and stick your black nose to the grindstone, do you hear? Jaime, your sister made the decision to escape, to leave you all alone. You owe her nothing. We are your family now."

Family?

She sneered in her mind. What sort of family were they? There was no blood ties between them. Ha, they were not even of the same species. The humans cared less for her than the Houndoom did. They rather be slacking off or partying. Yes, she knew their kind. Brook was a blond bimbo who thought nothing past money and fun. Keith was all right except that he had an unhealthy addiction to Coke. She could not even imagine where he was getting the money to pay for the little drug monster that egged him on or how long he thought he could keep it from his superiors. People similar to those two were of little use and Jamis' in opinion, they should be expelled immediately for incompetence. Maybe that is why they were on such a dangerous mission with her.

Blackie evidently did not like her tangible silence very much because he gave her a rough shove with his thin, bony shoulder. With her head pointed downwards towards the ground she had not seen it coming and was caught off balance. Stumbling sideways she managed to scrape her tender nose on the coarse cement, but that was the extent of the damage. Lurching back upright on all for paws and her head raised menacingly she snarled with rage, an unchecked rage of fury, causing her to trembling all over with hate. Her thin two pronged tails lashed violently creating a ruffle among the long fur and slate gray eyes blazed unveiled hatred. A trickle of crimson blood ran down her raw nose and splashed on the grimy gray pavement below. It had taken that much for the humans to pay attention.

"What's all this now?" Keith mumbled looking around everywhere and anywhere, but the two canines. He took interest in a stray Meowth fleeing for safety from the noise foursome. His long, dirty blond hair flopped uselessly over his unfocused hazel eyes and his hands were shoved deeply in his jean pockets with his shoulders hunched.

Brook was not so clueless as her partner. Her accusing sharp violet stare shifted accusingly between the two before settling decidedly on Jamis. The violet eyes glowed slightly and Jaime heard a demanding voice echo through out her mind violently, <What the hell happened? Do you always have to fight with everyone, you stupid bitch. At least you got what you asked for. A good whooping would set you right.>

<Better whoop Blackie then.> Jamis replied snidely daring to glare up at the human then she shot a death glare at the smug dark type.

That is, he was smug until Brook turned her acute fury on him. Jamis could not hear the conversation, but the black canine pokemon was cringing at the harsh words and his cruel eyes were squeezed partially shut. He was a dog after all. Just like her. Pleasing a human seemed to be like first nature to them and scolding was a type of torment inflicted when they were bad, or not. She gave a tiny satisfied smirk. It was not as if he did not deserve the tongue-lashing he was receiving or anything. To her the more violent and livid Brook got the better. The blond usually lost her senses for an hour after an intense berating and it took that long for her to get over her anger. That hour was usually spent in sulky silence.

Keith in a moment of insight and intelligence said bossily, "This is taking far too long. Blackie will be punished later so just leave off of him for the moment. The quarry is still fleeing and we are throwing away a chance to gain ground. God, we can't screw this one up, not this one. It's our last reprieve Brook."

Jamis' grin spread across her canine muzzle at that pleasant thought and briefly, she toyed with misbehaving on purpose. They she remembered that the punishment would fall equally over all and that it were best to play it safe. The scientists could not expel her, but there were more subtle, painful ways of making their displeasure clear. A shudder ran through Jamis and she hesitantly lowered her head letting her black nose hover a few centimeters about the pavement.

Chapter Two

Mirei slunk behind Sin with her ruby eyes flashing nervously around the narrow alley. In her mouth was the food she had found. It was a far cry from Sin's bundle which was almost three times the size, but she was proud none the less. She had done this, not some stupid humans. She could now feed herself thanks to Sin’s teachings. The dirty gray colored Persian halted in front of her gradually and she nudged up close so that she could look around his tawny shoulders.

In front of them lay a heap of trash piled waist high on a human. Trash bags of all colors were thrown around looking very much like dead fish cast on shore to die. Junk littered the ground randomly and gravel covered the rest of the area. She almost dismissed it, but looked closer again. Something about the lay out bugged her, nagged on her mind. When staring had no effect on the pile she squinted her eyes then they flew open again. There had been a pattern. A cleverly constructed pattern that conceal multiple entry ways that dove down under the heaps of garbage. Sin chuckled at her surprise and lightly leapt over a torn tire that had once belonged to a huge truck.

"So you figured it out that fast. One smart cookie, that's what you are." Sin said admiringly through his mouthful of scavenged food. His ears swiveled suddenly and a grim look stole over his face in place of a tolerate, amused smile that seemed to always remain. His tail curled under and Mirei crouched down flattening herself against a nearby trash bag as dark as she was. "Shh, there are some humans poking about down the way. They shouldn't see us if'n we're quiet."

They stayed hunched in the uncomfortable, alert positions for almost five minutes. Sin's cupped ears strained to pick of the sounds of their departure from the run down alley. His body relaxed back into it's normal curves and his face returned to the usual expression of amusement. He licked a paw then ran it across his whiskers whispering something under his breath. Mirei watched as he straightened and turned to her with a flick of his long tail.

"Well, you passed the first test I guess. It wasn't suppose to be this early, but human pop up just about everywhere now a days and always at the worst times." Sin shrugged eyeing her to see if she was stressed about the near miss encounter. She started to form a question on her lips and before she had even got the first word out he shrugged again, "I was a praying 'cuz I was thankful. I always pray when I get lucky and really even when I don't."

"Praying?" Mirei asked sounding out the unfamiliar word carefully feeling it stick to her tongue with a lack of familiarity. She was puzzled with the term and its meaning. There were so many things she did not know about the outside world and that made her feel extremely naïve at times.

"Don't tell me you don't know. It's contacting your god." Sin said sounding surprised and slightly agitated at her ignorance. Noting her confusion at his explanation he yelped, "Don't tell me you don't know what a god is either! Well, a god is a higher being. All knowing most times although it depends. My god's name is Kaig, protector of the street pokemon abandoned by humans or just plain unwanted. Kaig always does good. Not all gods are so loving."

"I see." Mirei whispered hesitantly as her mind wrestled with the idea. Finally it was absorbed more thoroughly and she nodded her blunt head in acceptance. "Could you teach me? A prayer I mean to your god Kaig. I assume there are other gods also, but I wish to learn about yours."

Sin rubbed his whiskers thoughtfully and his eyes shifted slightly as a pensive look seeped into his feline face. Mumbling to himself he suddenly looked up and nodded respectfully, "I can do that I think."

He walked up to her and whispered in a sing- song voice a little haiku. His whiskers tickled her ear unmercifully, but she held herself still so as to hear every word of it. Once he had finished Sin backed up and eyed her for how she was to react. She smiled looking delighted at the small poem and her newly acquired knowledge.

“Thank you so much. I’ll use it when I think it’s needed.” Mirei said with a delighted grin covering her face brushing her jet black whiskers aside to reveal sharp teeth. Abruptly the grin faded and she rose to her feet with all her muscles tensed ready to flee at the first danger reveal. Sin took a cue from her body language causing him to cock an ear expectantly and then he placed a restraining paw firmly on her shoulder. She sagged slightly at the touch and sunk back down onto her haunches. Her ruby eyes were never still, however, as she combed the shadows for attackers whatever form they appeared in.

A figure melted out from behind a worn truck tire followed by several more. The slender shapes slid into the dappled patches of sunlight looking curious and hungry. Two or three shoved past Mirei to snatch the food out of Sin's broad mouth. He let them have it and Mirei could tell by their clumsy, gawky forms that they were mere children. Uncharacteristically silent children. That made the hair on the back of her neck raise a little in a fit of creeps. The five older felines stopped a respectful distance away to assess the new stranger brought into their land. The largest, a female with a topaz yellow gem on her scarred forehead, strode forward measurably.

"Sin?" She asked turning to the old male eyeing him with mock severity. He gave an appeasing grin and bobbed his head in acknowledgment of her leadership. She growled pretending to be angry at his cheekiness then cocked her head questioningly.

"I found her on the street. Scared ta death she was." Sin replied to the unasked question. Mirei shrunk back under the scrutinizing looks given by the leader. A vicious scar decorated her face while slashing down her left eye. The socket was a puckered hole and the area around it was caved in. A mirthful smile curled around her lips revealing a broken fang.

"So, little one, he found you? In the manner he found all of us I suppose. Lost, alone, and starving with no one who cared and the whole world against you. Name."

Mirei did not quite grasp this switch of topics and it took her a moment to collect herself enough to stammer out a weak, "Mirei, ma'am."

"Respectfully. My name is Topaz. I lead this little caravan of crazy cats. I'd say I rule except they don't listen to me a whit unless they agree to what I'm trying to hammer out." Topaz purred turning a baleful eye on the adults behind her. A few paws were shifted, but no one looked down and more than a couple of the normally blank faces held amusement or happiness. "You may stay for as long as you have need. There are a few rules we follow, precious few, but they're easy to learn and easier to follow."

With a finally flick of her long, curled tail she strolled off to settle a dispute among the half- grown cubs. The two youngsters turned on her and soon all three of them were wrestling in the dust kicking up clouds of the powdery substance. The remaining cats showed varied degrees of interest. A young female about the same age as Mirei crept forward looking back over her shoulder for support. She stopped a foot away and straightened up to peer curiously at Mirei. She spoke just as shyly as Sin had, "You're very pretty Mirei."

The black hybrid started in surprise and she bit back her usual retort. The girl was just trying to be friendly and honest. Sin smirked at her demeanor and jumped onto a car hood to survey the proceeding while still managing to stay out of them at the same time. The oldest female joined him just as gracefully. Her fur was almost completely silver with age and her eyes murky. The two nestled as a whisper was exchanged in private and Mirei realized that they must be mates.

"Thank you." She choked out a little late earning her a few speculative looks. Her ears flattened at her discomfort. There had not been many social situations where she had run from or very many pure pokemon either. None of the other laboratory occupants were in the least concerned enough about her, aside from her sister, to ask or compliment.

"My name's Naki." The silver Persian said beside Sin. Her voice was high and reedy with a light, whispery quality to it. She peered down at the group below and grumbled to the rest slightly cranky, "Well? Introduce yourselves why don't you? The child is Dark not Psychic. She will not pluck your names from your scatter- brained minds."

"I'm Betha." The young female who had complimented Mirei said casting her blue eyes towards the ground in shyness. The others gave their names one by one and Topaz introduced the two half grown cubs as Sakai and Nuka. They stared at her with kitten acceptance before diving at Topaz's tail starting another play fight. Betha slid up beside Mirei looking curious. "Naki said you are Dark. How?"

"My DNA was fused with a Meowth when I was a young Eevee. When I evolved it was simultaneously. Both the Eevee and the Meowth turned into their larger states. The humans did it." Mirei explained shifting her weight to her left legs to lean against a conveniently placed tire that had once belong to a large vehicle of some sort, possibly a tractor. Seeing the blank expression on her new friend's face she simplified it, "I'm part Umbreon, part Persian."

"Oh." Betha said shortly looking awed and all the more curious. She bit her lip gently thinking something over before offering, "Topaz and Tom are my parents and Sin and Naki are my grandparents. Nuka and Sakai are my little brothers."

"You all, live together? Are all of you family then?" Mirei asked incredulous. From her limited experience she had come to believe that families did not stay together long since so many things happened. Like when people came to switch the cubs into a new cage far away from the mother. She recalled the last moving quite vividly. The frantic cries of the frightened Eevee cubs and the keening wail of the knowing Vaporeon mother. Knowing she would never see them again, but still fighting for their violated right to remain together in peace. The last mother had been wild with rage and the humans had to shoot her with a dart. She did not wake up from her induced sleep and one of the scientists had remark sadly to her colleague that there had been an overdose of the drug stopping the mother's grieving heart dead in its wildly beating tracks. Death was not uncommon there so no more remarks had been uttered.

"Well, not all of us are related, but we are a family!" Betha cheered happily. She turned playfully and swatted with an overly large paw at Mirei's face. First the young feline creature cringed in surprise at the violent gesture until she realized that it was all a game. Soon the two were rolling over and over just as exuberantly as the two cubs.

~~~~~

Jamis sneered unhappily at Blackie as he shifted impatiently from where they sat outside a public phone booth. Inside the glass box was their two human companions reporting back to base for the second time that day. The first report had been routine, but this time, this time was special. There prey had met someone, more importantly she had met and made friends with the male cat. They wanted to receive orders on how to deal with this new development before jumping ahead bring scorn down on their thick heads. Surprisingly it was Keith who had put forth the intelligent idea. That also was for the second time that day. Coincidences like that made her itchy. That fact made Jamis wary of how smart Keith really was. Human beings were a tricky lot and some of them only pretended to be dull so that they were considered unimportant and non-threatening. The Arcanine hybrid knew that trick and would have used it if her records had not stated how well her brain functioned. Anything that would get her off this assignment.

"All right guys. We break today and go in tonight or possible tomorrow. Let our little friend get comfortable where she's at. Then we will have the element of surprise on our side." Brook announced smiling broadly showing dazzling white teeth. Her broad smile was more likely directed towards the order to stop pursuit rather than the brilliant plan intended to end this pitiful mission once and for all. Jamis snorted and Blackie snickered meanly, "Thought of that all by herself, did she? Oh well, a break is a welcome, huh luv?"

They trooped into a restaurant with a gleeful air of expectancy with the exception of Jamis. The lofty canine wanted nothing more than to track then capture her prey ending this whole mess once and for all. She idly put her snout to the ground and a waiter spotted her. He rushed over all flushed and furious no doubt believing she was looking for a spot to go on.

"No pokemon allowed out of their pokeballs! Can you not read signs?" He shouted draw the attention of the other customers who stared with varied emotions. Slowly the tables lost interest returning to their conversations that had been interrupted. A few seated customers still looked on hoping for something amusing to happen. Jamis bit back a low growl emerging from her deep chest. Even as a young adult with some more growing to do she was almost the size of a full grown Arcanine. She could not count the times lectures had been administered for losing her temper and resultantly frightening some stupid bystander. The lab did not want that kind of attention. They did not need that sort of attention.

"Well, you see sir," Brook cut in smoothly showing no apprehension or even annoyance. This was what she had been trained for and she excelled at it. Lying smoothly was part of the job, "My brother here, he's blind as a Zubat. This purple Arcanine is his guide dog. See the harness strapped across her back and the sunglasses he wears? You do allow service animals, don't you? So there was really no reason for you to jump on us like that offending my brother and scaring his dog as well as interrupting your other customer's meals."

The poor waiter was confused now wringing his hands and shaking his head. Keith skillfully returned Blackie from under the table avoiding further questioning. He fingered the cobalt blue and saffron yellow hybrid ball at his belt considering and Jamis could feel his eyes weightily on her. Silently she lifted a thick black lip revealing a single canine tooth. Immediately Keith's hand dropped away from the sphere, but the watching eyes remained.

"I'm so sorry ma'am. I… I did not see the harness. Yes, yes we allow service animals, certainly! There was no offense meant to your brother. My sincere apologies sir for creating such a scene." The waiter blathered shamefully realizing what Brook's scornfully tone had implicated. He hastily pulled out chairs for them and bid them to be seated putting down the menus and silverware at a record speed. He even went so far as to try and pat Jamis on the head with a shaky hand. She avoided his hand by twisting her head out of the way making due with eye contact to dissuade him from that dangerous course of action. He took the hint and bustled off to get them some water.

Keith plopped down in the pro offered chair and grinned happily at Brook, "Nice thinking. He's going to wait on us to the best of his ability I think. You sure scared him by threatening to leave."

Brook gave an airy reply, but the purple canine was watching Keith paying no attention to the airhead girl. His skin was paler than usual hue and his mouth tight around the corners. She noted also that he was leaning precariously over in his wooden chair and his voice was weak, with the enthusiasm fake. Suddenly he toppled over head first falling towards where Jamis had settled down on the floor like a good doggy should. She barely had time to roll out of his descent path before his shoulder hit the hard floor and a loud, audible crack filled the room as bone splinter. Only a thin layer of carpet had cushioned his fall from the solid block of concrete resting underneath. The way his neck was angled so unnaturally told the observant dog that the thin layer of soft protection had not been enough.

"What the hell?" Brook shouted in a mixture of surprise and outrage knocking the chair over as she leapt to her feet. She started towards him hesitantly and managed to trip over Jamis sitting off to the side with her eyes closed lightly. Instinctively Jamis snapped at the girl missing the arm by millimeters. The human jerked back with her slow reflexes gaining a thin slash where the tip of the left canine tooth had dug into frail skin. A thin trickle of bright red blood traveled down her arm and into her outspread palm. She clutched the injured arm shooting a pissed glance at the inflictor, "Shit dog, you almost took my arm off."

<Don't even bother with him.> Jamis snapped with disgust ignoring the pain she had just dished out to the girl with her teeth and the irritated looks she received. She could already see the red tape and mission delays while this unfortunate mess was being wiped up from the media and the restaurant by the lab. Not good publicity for them. Especially since Keith was more than likely drugged up causing him to pass out.

The accident was a coincidence no one could foresee, but the young man had hardly avoided it. In her opinion it was bound to happen sooner or later. She narrowed her eyes wishing it had been later. He was causing trouble even as he had died. She sighed reflecting that he was a born loser and one of those cursed people that trouble followed around like a lost Growlithe puppy.

“What… he…?” The waiter blubbered in a high pitched voice as he beheld the scene emerging with a tray of ice water in frosty glasses and a wedge of lemon floating merrily on the think bed of ice. The platter dropped from his nervous hands, they were shaking so violently, and crashed downwards. Now everyone in the restaurant was staring and a few made to leave before an Officer Jenny stepped in detaining them. Someone had called the police, just perfect. Well, it was bound to happen anyway. A wailing siren could be heard drawing nearer them the paramedics rushed in as the customers and staff was herded into an unused corner brushing aside chairs and shoving wooden tables. Brook was taken aside by the head investigator and Jamis followed them discreetly as they hid away in the kitchen for a private interview.

“So he simply toppled over?” The investigator said brushing her medium blue hair back with long fingers. A fit Growlithe sat beside her heels looking around interested with his jet-black nose twitching at the smells of food and people. He surveyed her briefly before warily getting up and moving to the other side of the officer, away from her. From his scant hiding place he stared around the officer's slim calves nervously with wide black eyes.

<That’s right you little shit, don’t mess with me now or I'll tear you up.> Jamis snarled mentally sending her message only to him. His head lowered in submission and his body compacted to make him look smaller. He was small to her anyway so his measures of submission in the code of canine were lost on her disinterested mind. She was more interested in the conversation being held above between the two human females. Her Espeon ears cupped upwards and her gray eyes narrowed as she concentrated on reading Brook’s mind.

Memories and stray thoughts bombarded her as she wandered through the disorganized corridors and chambers of Brook’s mind. There was a memory about her childhood that was particularly strong and a reoccurring thought that just kept emerging, but Jamis steadily ignored them until she reached her destination. Thoughts about Keith and the mess he had landed them in. Most prevalent in her coherent thoughts were the ideas she had for lying. They were suppressed and due to the human adrenaline racing through her veins, along with the used blood they were frenzied with unusable energy. That meant Brook intended to tell the truth to the cops, which was fine since it was safe, but Jamis wanted to know specifically what she planned to do about informing her superiors. There the thoughts were fuzzy and indistinct. Obviously the limited mind of the girl could only deal with one thing at a time. Very well, Jamis would just have to do the thinking for her.

Suddenly she was in her own body again. She stomped her big lavender paws lightly on the tasteful tile floor to expel the tingling sensation that accompanied mind reading. A nudge of a headache pushed along the horizon and Jamis had expected that too. Using her psychic powers were taxing and not without their price. She just hoped that the price did not get to steep for use in the future.

Glancing up she watched as a silent young man in a white coat appeared through the swinging doors with a grave, serious look. His face was pale and he silently handed the slightly crumbled papers sitting atop a vanilla folder to Officer Jenny. The police officer took it was a polite smile and raffled through it's contents slowly. Her face turned equally grave and her little orange and black Growlithe whimpered low in his throat at her feet sensing her change in mood.

“This is very serious. Did you know that he was on high doses of cocaine? His blood work is extraordinary. According to the coroner’s report he passed out and broke his neck when he fell, however, this man should have been in the hospital. I honestly don't see how he could have even been conscious in the first place.” Jenny said her sharp navy eyes probing Brook’s carefully schooled blank face. She sighed in disgust and shifted the manila folder to her other hand revealing her impatience.

Jamis consider going into the woman’s mind for a moment before deciding against it. She had been able to sneak into Brook’s because her colleague was distracted and confused. Had she been fully aware, being a fellow psychic, she would have sensed the intrusion in an instant and taken care of it with a cruel backlash of power that would recoil into Jamis’ mind. Jamis knew that the officer was not a psychic, however, she would more than likely feel the tug of another presence’s in her mind if the canine tried to enter. The Growlithe would also be able to tell the moment contact was made in the woman's mind and Jamis was vulnerable in her trance state that she melted into for concentration. It would not do to be taken out by a mere Growlithe no matter what the present circumstances. Not at all.

Brook was cleared of the questioning after a few moments more and she walked outside slowly to keep the wandering eyes off of her. Leaning against the faded brick wall she sighed heavily in relief and dug through her voluminous coat pocket that was the color of saffron. Her hand appeared victoriously clutching a small, black cell phone that had the look of money about it. Carefully she entered the password for use then dialed the seven-digit number that belonged to their superior. The call was picked up on the first ring as if it had been expected, perhaps it had since the head seemed to always know what was going on. A tense conversation was held as Brook rolled Blackie’s ball around her palm. Officer Jenny had retrieved the ball from Keith and returned it as they had left.

“Your mess will be cleaned up. Leave now to complete your mission. I do not want you around when the news crews show up. Leave that to the professionals. Go now.” The husky voice of a man breathed sharply over the phone. His tone was authoritative and annoyed. Even Jamis could hear that from her vantage down on the cement at Brook’s classy shoes.

Chapter Three

Mirei smothered a threatening giggle as the Persian cub wandered past her for the fourth time. Nuka was obviously struggling to find anyone in his distracted state. Noise would give her hiding place away in an instant though and after being ‘it’ the first few times she decided to decline playing the seeker yet again. Betha, across the way, belly down under a burnt out shell of some old car flashed a delighted grin and put a paw over her mouth when Nuka wandered by her giving a peek around, but not really looking. In the end it was Nuka’s brother who was tagged when he sneezed. He had been in the best hiding place of all three unfortunately the noise, even so faint as that, gave him away in a moment.

“That’s it. I’m tired.” Betha declared as they all crawled out from their hiding places to meet in the center of the dusty lot. The cubs groaned still eager to play another round of hide-and-seek, but their older sister held firm. The foursome turned back to rejoin the others in the group at the main clearing where Mirei had been taken first by Sin.

Mirei’s eyes scanned over the clearing noting that Topaz and Tom were missing. That was not unusual since they were the leaders of the group charged with the well being of those under them. The surprising thing was Sin was also missing. His silver mate lay in her spot atop the old Buick car basking in the weak evening sun. She flicked an ear at their approach and said without opening an eye, “Inside please. Mirei, you stay. We must talk. Sin and Topaz will return with food soon enough.”

Reluctantly the two cubs trotted down one of the many tunnels followed by Betha. The young Persian gave a worried glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the earth. Mirei bleakly stared up at the majestic silver Persian who now peered down at her with slightly cloudy eyes. She caressed her aged lips gently with a raspy tongue then spoke in a strange, haunting voice, “You have to leave within the day. Pursuit has not been shaken from you, just delayed for the moment. The hunter will be on your tail soon enough.”

“How… how do you know about that?” Mirei yelped quietly in shock. She tucked her curled tail tightly under her belly and flattened her cupped ears down instinctively. Her crimson eyes flashed with fear and the motions of trying to understand.

“I know much, child. I know that you must go, to save yourself and our pride.” She replied gently as she jumped down lightly from her perch. Mirei was small due to her Umbreon DNA, but the silver Persian was even smaller. She squinted slightly as she tilted her grizzled head back to see Mirei better. Her fore head barely breasted the hybrid’s lithe shoulders and her body was thin with age trembling a little with the strain of standing. “I see things, places, and times often. More often that I use to at that. The past, the present, and the future I see them all. Yours was read the moment you met Sin. I use him to meet others that may impact the future of our pride. I see through him with a link, if you will. Your future is cloudy, and murky with indecision at the moment. It could go many ways and I hope to guide you to the right one. You will change the flow of time no matter which you choose as well as the future of all pokemon and humans after us."

"What? I'm not understanding you." Mirei cried out getting panicky as a horrified expression crept in her face. Her eyes were wild with fear, but she managed to sit still rather than run as her mind begged her to do. Instinct was of little use to her, she knew, but the old one could help, would help her. The elder's advice would be listened to then she would make plans for an escape.

"You would not even understand if I could explain it better. No one ever fully understands what I tell them. Not even I do. Just take me at my word that this is what I see." Naki replied heeding her panic and placing a frail paw over the big, black one. She suddenly seemed focused with clear blue eyes and an alert expression sharpen with unexplainable youth. "You must seek the Midnight One. He is somewhere waiting to fulfill his part of destiny's plan."

Mirei pondered for an instant until a gentle shove on the shoulder broke her thoughts. Nodding mostly to herself she roused and looked down to ask one last question, "Can I say good-bye? Is there time to do that at least?"

"You may, although the adults may not arrive back from their foray in time to see you leave."

Hearing the gracious answer she gave a heart felt farewell to the old cat before racing off down the tunnels to find the other youngsters. She found the two brothers wrestling in an abandoned chamber that was the original den belonging to Sin and Naki. Their fight broke off as she approached and they respectfully listened to her good-bye. She could tell that they did not fully comprehend that she was leaving forever and not just a day or a week. Ruffling their heads roughly she forced herself to go onward until she ran into Betha.

"I have to go." She blurted out panting from the exertion. Her pink tongue bobbed back and forth to run air along her mouth taking away the heat. Her whiskers were plastered with saliva from her attempts to wet her dry mouth. She sank gratefully to the ground and went on before the young Persian could speak the puzzlement clear on her cream colored face. "There are people after me. They'll catch me, and you too, if I stay here any longer. Naki said so."

Understanding spread across the other cat's features and she nodded sadly, "If Naki said it, then it is true. She has seen many things and they have always been true. You aren't the first to happen to wander by, but you were the first to become my friend. Good-bye then. Maybe we'll meet again someday in the future. Come back if you can."

Mirei gave a sharp nod before bounding to her feet and sprinting the other way. Tears of regret and sadness for the new family she had been accepted into stung her face and fell down in her path as she returned topside. The rest of the pride was talking in the clearing of old human junk and she hastily said her good-byes sobbing the whole time. Topaz looked unsurprised and her feral eyes tinged with regret for their newest member. Sin looked disheartened and he shot a glance at his mate that was almost pleading. The silver Persian shook her head and padded to her perch on the old car.

"You know, don't you?" Mirei panted searching the faces. Guilt registered on all with the exception of Naki. Her expression remained unreadable and her cloudy eyes were dimmer than ever. Shame flooded through the black pokemon at the ungrateful thoughts she was having. They had taken her in even though they knew what might happen.

She gave a brisk, brave nod and turned away. Her nod was far braver than she felt and her insides quivered in protest of her leaving. Quenching those feelings down inside she ran down the alley and into the open street just begin to show the hustle and bustle that accompanied the end of the day. The sun hovered lazily in the five o clock position and the clouds dark with oncoming rain meandered across the hazy sky.

~~~~~~

Jamis inhaled the scent. It was stronger now, more recent. She hoped for good luck on the weather. Rain threatened along the horizon and that was all she needed to put her off track. Luck seemed to rest heavily on the side of her prey. A stray leaf flew past in the gentle fall breeze that teased and whirled Jamis' long cream hair and shorter violet strands. She stood enjoying the cool sensation until Blackie shoved her rump painfully with his bony shoulder and smashed her tails under his hard paws. She turned giving her most hateful death- glare, but held her temper. Fighting made noise and noise attracted unwanted attention. She wanted her quarry to have no indication of her coming. No warning.

"Go to hell." She snapped in a hoarse whisper at the Dark hound and flipped her tails from out from under his paws slapping him across the face as hard as she could. He bit forward, but she skillfully flicked her nearest prong out of his range. His jaw snapped together painfully and his baleful eyes shifted to Brook who was oblivious to their spat. She was looking preoccupied in the small compact mirror. Feeling the two pairs of canine eyes upon her she stopped.

"Are we close?"

"Yes," Jamis hissed moving away from Blackie putting Brook between them. She was not afraid of him, however, injury due to needless fighting was not what she had in mind. A lame paw would make it all the harder to end this mission, "But this moron keeps distracting me from my tracking. Return him to his pokeball. Now."

"No. We'll need him if there is a fight." Brook replied giving the look, who's the boss here? Me or you? She tossed a hank of blond hair over her shoulder and looked down reproachfully at the Houndoom, "Leave her alone."

Jamis stopped suddenly noting the flash of movement that had been caught in the corner of her eye. She turned her head inquiringly and cocked her heavy Espeon ears in the direction it had gone. The paw steps were light and cat-ish. Enough so that it could be their seek prey. This was the general area she had been located in and even the smell of her hung around heavily as if she had trotted here often.

Breaking into bounding strides Jamis took off after the slip of motion leaving an astonished pair of idiots gaping behind her. She galloped along dodging piles of human junk and rough gaps where the pavement had worn through with only her steady breath to listen to. She never gave tongue in a hunt even when she closed in on her quarry. To howl and bay would alert them to her presence producing some astounding measures of escape, some of them successful. This way her arrival would be a complete surprise. And surprise would give her the advantage in any battle or flight that ensued.

She rounded the corner faintly hearing Blackie's distinctly chilling howl floating from behind her. That was helpful even if he didn't mean it to be. The prey may believe that both canines were still way back there. She smirked thinking of how long it took for him to give chase. By the time he and Brook caught up it would be all over with. She would have her prey, they would return to base completing their assignment and this bad luck mission from hell would be all over with.

Braking just in time she fell back on her tails. Jutting out from the cement was a well placed spike which would have easily gutted her if she had continued. It was cleverly set up so that when her heavy paw had landed on the release it had shot up and forward aiming low on her chest. To any other pokemon it would have been a miracle that they had survived let alone untouched and fuming, however, Jamis' reflexes were wired so that she could turn on a penny at full speed. Still, it hurt her to do that and already a small throb was beating in her ribs from some stretched muscles. Spitting out a colorful string of cuss words in a savage whisper she continued on warily.

Only her alertness saved her from what was next.

Four full grown Persians launched themselves from various hiding places lining her path. Two looked to be in their prime while the other two were a bit too old or a bit too young. She smashed the younger one with a leaded tail sending the cat sprawling. Whirling around to the source of pain lacing her hide she tore savagely into the larger tom cat's thick leg. He held on grimly to her side with his front feet gritting his teeth against the pain that was searing in his back leg. Jamis yanked her sharp muzzle to the side with brute force from her thick neck tearing the tom cat off howling a blue streak of slang words and leaving oozing puncture holes from his cat canine teeth. She made to finish him with a precise chop of her front paws when the older male landed on her back digging in the claws decorating all four feet.

Facing this new enemy she humped her back and made for the nearest wall her previous victim left alone, but not forgotten. She took the wiry Persian on her back and slammed his head against the hard wall repeatedly until there was a distinctive crack of bone and he fell down limp across her broad back. Even unconscious, perhaps dead, his needle sharp claws were still firmly lodged in her back. Snarling at the encumbrance she lashed out with her powerful hind legs meaning to kick the limp body off only to be hit from behind by the lead female. By then she had enough of 'fair play' and physical battling against uneven odds.

A crisp, fiery orange aura glowed brightly around her as her slate gray eyes shone with inner light the color of the sky on a sunny day. With her powerful psychic mind she lashed out at the one still clinging to her back, feeling that he was so weak that his breathing had nearly stopped altogether. His limp body flew like that of a child rejecting a rag doll with the red aura flickering around it from the mind control. At the last second the rage cleared from Jamis' eyes and she made his body jerk away from the wall that would have made him nothing more than a messy pulp of thrashed body parts.

Her mind recoiled in revolution at what she had almost done and the power retracted back inwards dissipating the crisp glow of orange to nothing more than lilac fur that bristle with the left over energy. She had almost killed an old Persian for the mere reason that he attacked. She had no idea why this pride of feral Persians were throwing themselves at her, no glimmer of an idea as to way they had reason to attack her. Even so, she knew, she KNEW, that she was more than a match for all four of them even fighting together, but the rage inside of her had still taken over. And that was what she feared the most: her uncontrollable rage. Afraid it would slip the tight leash she used on it and run rampant like a crazed animal sick out of its mind.

Guiltily she probed the nearest cat's mind as light as she possible could for the answer she sought. It happened to be the young one that she had smacked aside. Crimson blood ran down her pretty face covering one of the cornflower blue eyes and most of her cream colored cheek on that side. Jamis' prey had fled west always bloody west. It was almost as if she had an actual plan or that something was guiding her path. There was nothing more for her to gain here. Spinning hard on her heels she backtracked the way she came leaving the wounded behind her and gaining another awful memory, filled with the smell of coppery blood, painful cries, and the air of hurt, to add to her large collection.

Chapter Four

Mirei weave her way through the crowded sidewalk being careful not to brush against or bump any humans and their pet pokemon. She wanted to avoid attention of any sort and she felt uncomfortable being out in the open like this, but Sin had assure her that this would be faster than sticking to evening runs. Now she could make better time ahead of her pursuers who already had the advantage she was now using. The playing field was once again flat and she wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. She had given up hope of ever having the advantage against the hunter so a level field was all she could ask for. With that there was a chance that she could continue to elude her hunter. Not indefinitely, she was aware of that, but for the time being. There would be a confrontation eventually and she just hoped that it all turned out for the best.

Nervous from all the exposure she slid into the weak shadows given off from the buildings to rest for a moment. Her slit eyes widen slightly as she looked out over the bright area where herds of people bustled between shops or stopped at cafes for something to fill their empty bellies with. That reminded her of her stomach and a low rumble issued in protest to the pit of no food. The cat knew she could not do anything about it now without calling attention to herself so she occupied her mind with observing the pairs of legs wandering by. There were some humans that were more interesting than others. Those were mostly the adolescents with strange clothing choices or younger humans who were still cubs. They were loud unlike their sedated elders and for the most part friendly sounding.

A pair of faded blue jeans and worn out sneakers stopped suddenly making tiny squeaking noises and Mirei gazed up at the human tensely expecting the worse. A peach oval shaped face studied her passively with light pink lips pursed slightly and the blue- gray eyes scanned holding in them a vague amusement as well as good will. The teenage girl spoke a tense command to the strange black Growlithe at her feet then shuffled forward towards Mirei in tiny, slow steps with her hand lowered to nose level. The young feline panicked slightly at this advancement and cowered against the cool brick wall which dug painfully into her slim back expecting the Growlithe to jump for her if she tried to make an escape. When the girl was a few feet away she stopped her slow advancement and squatted down with her butt hanging over the hot pavement while the strong legs folded to let her hold the uncomfortable position. Her left arm stretched out and the dexterous fingers pressed their tips gently on the ground to steady her.

"Hey little kitty cat." The girl cooed neither retreating nor advancing just sitting still expectantly. She gazed over Mirei again before continuing in a soft voice filled with gentle understanding. Mirei tensed suddenly wary of what could be a new trap for her. She hissed as the Growlithe stood up and wandered to its mistress' side. The girl looked over her shoulder and her face went stern.

"Shadow, you get back there. Then you sit and stay girlie. You're scaring her." The human commanded firmly. The Growlithe did not whine or beg like the others Mirei had seen. The 'Shadow' Growlithe simply did as she was told unlike the boot-lickers. It was a pleasant scene to see the human more asking than commanding. An uncommon one too in the cat's experience. At the lab it was do as you were told or face the consequences. The teenage girl turned her full attention back to the crouching cat and mummer soothingly in a non hostile voice filled with soft honey, "Aren't you a pretty kitty? You look like a hungry pretty kitty too. Would you like some food little pretty kitty?"

Mirei was not sure if she should be annoyed or calmed by the constant reference to pretty kitty. Certainly the sounds went together well enough making her speech sing- songy, but what she implied, that Mirei was pretty, was untrue. She was ugly and a freak. Why did no one else see that besides her? She listened to the babble awhile before edging off keeping a wary eye on the black Growlithe. The puppy- like creature gave no sign that she would lunge or attack at the movement. The brown eyes following her motions was unnerving enough to make her jumpy still.

"No?" The girl asked in genuine dismay at the cat's steady retreat inching along the wall. Her mouth twitched slightly then she gave a closed smile covering her teeth. That put Mirei at ease for some reason. Pokemon in the wild bared their teeth when they planned to attack and the human habit of baring their teeth for pleasure or in friendliness put the cat who was guided by her instincts for the most part ill at ease. "If you change your mind I'm sure you can find me. Most of you strays do."

With that she strode off with the Growlithe heeling her without a backward glance at the befuddled cat. Mirei watched with wary eyes as they pushed through the crowd towards whatever destination the girl had in mind. Her mind fought over following until she pushed herself to her feet. Her swollen pads protested with a sharp shot of pain, but she walked in the direction she had last seen the girl with the Growlithe.

A noise drew her attention away from the girl about a block down. One of those funny human cubs was emitting a keening noise in the back of an alley. The alley was clean for the most part, but it was dark and seclude. A mixture of snot and tears wetted her face chubby making the pink skin glisten in the afternoon sun. Mirei assumed the creature was female. She had long brown hair tied up in twin pigtails (only human girls seemed to have long hair, boys did not) and Mirei assumed that her eyes were either brown or the color referred to as hazel. Her face was a magenta from the breath she had used to make all the squalling noises with.

When she looked up they stopped. The child tottered towards her asking questioningly, "Kitty? Kitty cat!"

She stumbled the last few steps until she practically fell on Mirei. The startled cat fell back with a surprised hiss watching the child closely for any other attacks with her ears flattened. The girl sat down contentedly sucking her thumb on the hard pavement and watched Mirei admiringly without a word. A faint voice floated from around the corner and the little girl seemed to perk up. She jounced to her feet tripping a little on an untied shoelace and whispered unsurely to the cat while looking for the source of the voice, "Momma?"

Mirei realized that the pup's mother must be looking for her lost young one and that at the rate it was going now, that the kid was going to be waiting a long time. Carefully padding around the pup Mirei slid around the corner of the brick wall silently. Her red eyes scanned the crowd until she spotted a young woman with short brown hair and a habit of wringing her slender hands. The woman was screaming a name over and over again in a frantic voice so the hybrid assumed that she was the pup's mother.

She trotted over to her and meowed loudly to gain the woman's attention. For her troubles she was rewarded with a loud 'shoo' and a swat giving by the woman's small black purse. Knowing that it was only right for her to continue she persisted by rubbing against the bottom part of the woman's legs her fur brushing against the jeans. Her circling was hard for the woman to ignore since she was knee high and for all the weight she had lost still fairly heavy.

"What do you want?" The woman half way screamed looking down after almost taking a nasty fall. Her eyes were red from crying and her young face held wrinkles that were not general part of youth. Especially since she had most likely gained them within the last hour from worry. "I don't have any food, okay! Go beg from someone else. I have to find Alexandra! She's lost."

<Woman, I know where you're kid is.> Mirei snapped finally losing her temper with the dense human. Obviously the Lassie approach did not work very well with adults. A faint black and dark royal purple glow surrounded her and she desperately hoped that the hunter was far enough away that she could not sense this power beacon. If the hunter was close, if her sister was close, then she would not needed to go after the scent. She could just follow the beacon with her mind. If Mirei wasn't carefully her mind could be read despite the fact that she was part Dark. Being sisters made sure of that little phenomena.

The human female gaped down at her taking a good look for the first time. Her dark brown eyes flickered nervously over the jet-black coat and the half rings decorating the cat's dull pelt. Lastly she looked at Mirei's ruby eyes with held intelligence as well as impatience. Biting her lip, wondering if she'd look the fool for speaking to a mangy street pokemon, she swallowed her pride and asked meekly, "Where? Where is my daughter Alex?"

Mirei nodded thinking that her quick about face in attitude was more like it before bounding around the corner to where she had last left the girl. The alley was bare save a few old boxes scattered around. Puzzled the cat lightly lowered her head to the ground hoping to catch the scent.

She had observed her sister many times in this procedure, however, she had never stooped low enough to do it herself. Her nose was not as keen as the dog's, but the little girl's trail was clear enough for her to follow. Busily she meandered through the shopping center with the anxious mother stumbling behind. Mirei guessed that she was clinging to her feline savior as a last hope. Why else would she still be trailing after her?

"Kitty!" A familiar voice screamed with delight and Mirei found herself in a constricting hug. Going with the joy of the moment she rumbled out a purr deep in her throat and rubbed her broad head gently along the smooth little face. The girl looked up with hazel eyes spotting her mother hovering a few feet off unsure how to break up the little reunion. The girl let go of one arm to shove her thumb in her mouth and mumbled around it, "Momma! Can we keep Kitty?"

"How can I say no?" The mother said her voice sopping with relief and her tone playful. More serious she turned to the cat looking very embarrassed, "I'm sorry for not listening to you. It's not every day that a cat leads me to my lost child. You can come home with us if you like. Alex calls you Kitty, but it is obvious that you are intelligent enough to have your own name already. I'd like to know what to call my feline hero."

A tingly feeling engulf Mirei's body and mind. She was to have a home with a cute little girl would loved and adored her as well as a mother who respected her. Her emotions flitted between pride at doing the right thing, confusion because she was being rewarded as well as being apologized to, and happiness. She gave a cat smile figuring that a human smile would blow it all and replied quietly, <My name is Mirei, but Kitty is just fine with me.>

~~~~~

"What the f-ing hell do you think you were doing? You should have slaughtered them all without a second thought and been done with it. Jeep, didn't you listen to anything they taught you? Things like that leaves traces and messes. Big messes that might be noticed by some busy body or do gooder and be reported. All it takes is one dumb cop to link your mistake to the freakin' lab! Then my job is liquidated not to say what would happen to you Miss To-good-to-kill. You think you did those mangy alley cats a favor by leaving them dying in some forsaken place? Those are the types of pokemon that are better not to have been born at all. Those street rats only clog up the city space uselessly." Brook raged red in the face. Her purple eyes were blazing with the passion that appeared when she really went off on something. This time that something was Jamis and Brook had hit a vein of yelling.

"Watch it." Blackie snapped at Brook. He had been a street pokemon before and did not appreciate her calling them down. His eyes were flat, but his forked tail twitched non-stop with irritation. In his mind this had gone on for far too long already. He wished Brook would spit out her grievances and get the whole disgusting mess over with. A low rumble issued from his gaunt stomach and his wishing intensified with the thought of some good food. Hoping to resolve the spat, that was what all of Brook's tantrums were to him, he broke in pleasantly, "Just how far ahead do you think she has gotten in the time this is taking? Oh, what if someone saw her?" His last sentence was in a mocking girlie voice.

Both females turned to him with teeth bared. He stared up nonplused at their whining tones or death glares. Brook broke the hostile silence that ensued by snatching up his pokeball, thrusting it out, and sucking him in with the red beam of energy. Sighing she growled to Jamis is English, "He's right, damn him. Track."

"Two faced vixen." Jamis swore under her breath feeling creative. Normally calling her a bitch would work, but since that was also an indirect insult back at Jamis the canine felt the need to elaborate. Her partners were seriously fraying her nerves. She was not sure how long she could hold back the rage inside her that clawed to get out at every push Blackie gave or every nasty put down Brook shouted. Eventually it would come out and it would seek and more than likely it would destroy.

Previously only her sister had held her in check, but now that task was up to flimsy medications and suppressers. The scientists had no idea of the frothing beast lurking inside her, or the damage it could cause let loose for even the smallest amount of time. They had hidden it behind lessons of self control, explorations of mental power, and strict discipline, but she knew that those only covered it up. The rage was still there, waiting, lurking.

While she had been contemplating her nose was working independently of her mind. She inhaled a deep breath and that click happened. She supposed that everyone felt the click. The click was when the object of the effort fell into place. For her she had just locked on the scent. Everything suddenly felt right again and she shoved the dark thoughts back into their locked cabinet for another time's worry. Almost as soon as the click happened a bright purple flashed through her mind. She allowed a grin to pass her lips although she held her face away so that the shrewd woman behind her was blocked. The prey had just given herself away in the most obvious fashion.

Jamis was about to lunge forward in the excitement of pursuit then stopped to think about it. Was this another trap? The flash of psychic power through the link was an extremely obvious way of making sure the dog's attention was riveted. Her prey was well known to her and she found it difficult to believe that her naïve hunted sister would have the cunning to think like that or the nerve to pull it off. Still, there could be another doing the planning and supplying the reassurance to prod her sister forth. The Persian pride had been a complete surprise attack, but a well planned one. It might have worked if she was anyone other than that that she was.

The purple psychic probed the link connecting them to gauge the distance and see if she could pick up any stray thoughts that had been carelessly unguarded. It took a few seconds to hit the link's location and hold it, but she judged that her prey was about ten miles away, maybe more since she seemed to be moving. They had definitely closed the gap on her despite the trap and Kyle's rather unorthodox departure. A wisp of a thought drifted through and Jamis analyzed the fragment wondering who in the world was Kitty? A new acquaintance perhaps. It didn’t matter. If this Kitty got in the way it would be taken care of in the appropriate fashion. Brook would see to that.

<What?> Brook snapped with curiosity breaking Jamis' lock on the link. It really did not matter any more since she was through with all she could retrieve, but she snapped back anyway in her most upset tone, <Thank you! I lost it. Well I guess I'll just have to wait again until she decides to use her powers, which might be never! My sister is many things, but stupid is not one of them.>

The woman's eyes widened as she realized what she had done then narrowed with displeasure, <Don't you lie to me, bitch. Don't forget I can read your stunted little mind with ridicules ease. You know where she is, so head out will you? Oh, and just to make sure you comply I'll let Blackie back out. He seems to be able to command and control you better than I since Keith is gone. Why you listened to that druggy at all is beyond me.>

Why had she listened to Keith? It certainly wasn't because she respected him or because she felt that he was the boss. In fact she had found him to be the lowest one of the three. Why then? Perhaps because he had been semi kind to her. He stuck up for her numerous times diverting Brook's wraith or maybe it was because he slipped her extra food. She wasn't above the law of you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. She found herself wishing that the lab had included more emotion control aside from anger. Dealing with such petty things as compassion and kindness spun her through a hoop half the time. A blazing hoop of red-hot fire to be exact. Scorn and hatred were a much easier path with less scruples.

<She's about ten miles west of here, but that might have changed by now since she was moving.> Jamis said reluctantly then added slyly with a slightly bitter edge, <She's found another companion. Do you think that this time we should wait and let her settle in? Maybe Blackie will go next. Or you.>

"Shut your mouth, luv." Blackie commanded emerging from his confinement. He looked miffed at being shoved in and now that he was out Jamis had the feeling that Brook was not going to get him back in so easily. "We have some tracking to do."

<You mean I have some tracking to do.> Jamis snipped under her breath.

She bounded ahead making the other two follow at a run. Her strides were much larger and she was in much better physical condition. They were outdistanced and if they did not want to be left behind they would have to keep moving. Joyously Jamis lengthened her stride until she was running full out. Shouts were heard and ignored. This is what she had been made for. To run when she felt like it, play when she felt like it, and do whatever the hell she felt like. Not to be at the beck and call of idiotic puppy sitters who were not cut out for their work. Slowing she reached a suburb neighbor hood. The hot day had already melted into a cool autumn evening with the shadows lengthening drastically. Soon it would be too dark to work at all.

Sitting down heavily and panting off the exertion she waited for the slow pokes to catch up. In the mean time she watched a beat up tan ford drive by. A black Growlithe's head peered out the open window clearly enjoying the ride. The driver was an older teen with light brown hair and glasses. She said something to the Growlithe and it obediently put it's paws back down on the seat while still staring out the window. For a brief moment the dog stared at Jamis with a gentle look and a wide happy grin with pink tongue lolling. Then they were gone, down the street and out of sight.

As Brook and Blackie finally caught up (Blackie in the lead of course) she received a nice long scolding with lots of ear burning words, but what filled her mind was the thought, why couldn't I be so lucky? To have a nice human to love and respect and cherish her, that was like a fantasy or a dream. It would never happen.

Chapter Five

"Kitty, fetch!" Alex screamed tossing out a plush toy that had seen better days. One of the eyes was coming off and it was already missing the nose and half a ragged ear. Mirei scrambled across the rocky lawn before coming to a halt and victoriously snatching up the prize with her front teeth. Her success brought on more screams of delight bring Alex's mother out.

She leaned against the door frame looking out at her daughter and their newly acquired 'pet'. The cat was so gentle, so un-dog like. At first the mother had believed her to be just a mutated street Persian who was a different color. She had thought that until the cat had spoken to her mind to, well, maybe not mind on her part. It was then that she had looked closer and observed the golden rings, which were the mark of an Umbreon. She knew Umbreons to be dark and indifferent to their owners, however, Mirei was just the opposite. She was sweet natured and very lost in the world. The mother wasn't sure where she had inherited her personality from (Umbreon wasn't likely, but neither was Persian), but she found the young creature to be well behaved and lovable.

Which led her back to her original thoughts. Why was this young cat wandering around half starved and all alone? Surely she was part of some important splicing experiment or something equally interesting. Not that the woman minded her staying or wished to find the owner. She was just afraid the owner would find them. Perhaps the cat had run away or was purposely set lose by those animal rights activists. She knew that wasn't right either. Had it been those crazy tree huggers that cat would just be in a different pen in a different place. Their 'liberation' consisted of taken the animals then locking them up while trying to find 'good' homes for them. Who on earth would want some poor abused animal that is so messed up that it will either attack or cower? Marie had never really paid any attention to things like that although she wished now that she had. In case there was a bulletin or missing flick on the news.

"Mirei, Alex." She shouted shrugging off her doubts. She would do a little web surfing later that evening. In the meantime she had some feeding to do. "I just finished baking some cookies!"

"Cookies!" Alex yelled excitedly pulling on the toy in Mirei's mouth. Obediently she let go sending the girl flying by the released tension. Alex landed unharmed on her well padded backside and cackled gleefully at the new game. The Dark pokemon looked shocked at what she had done until she noted the child's smiling face and eager pleas. Alex then hung on her strong neck, "Go Kitty. Get up!"

Marie opened the door for the two as they came in. On the table she had set a plate full of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. On the floor was a bowl filled with the same cookies minus the chocolate. She had read somewhere that chocolate was poisonous to animals. The two dug in with enthusiasm and soon they were back out to play again. Marie looked out checking the yard.

Tucked away in one corner was a old swing set complete with a slide and a pile of rocks lined the other corner. A sturdy chain link fence surrounded the yard. Marie had been adamant about that because there was a busy street near by. Wild flowers and long grass filled up the yard because she did not have the time or energy to cut it. Paying a neighborhood boy was too much and she rather liked the over grown look it gave. It also made an excellent place for Alex to play hide and seek. Seeing that the gate was locked and everything secure she buried herself in cleaning the kitchen.

Mirei tucked her tail under her rump and giggled softly from under the faded yellow slide. The girl was wandering in much the same way as the street Persian cub had a week before. Suddenly she sensed something was wrong. There was something wrong. Unconsciously she stood revealing herself to the girl who squealed found you over and over again. Mirei paid her little mind while she searched for Marie. The woman normally stood near the window or the sliding glass door so that she could look out on the play. Now she wasn't there and that only served to make the feline even more uneasy. It wasn't until Alex screamed in fright that she located the source.

Whirling around with her teeth bared she spotted the two intruders immediately. Her sister was standing aloof towards the back of the yard. She looked uneasy or maybe nervous at the setting. Her sensitive ears folded back from the keen sound of Alex. The Houndoom was more to the front and closing in on the little girl. His broken fang glittered dangerously in the sunlight and his rust eyes had gone hard as stone.

"Stop!" Mirei shouted in a panic. Even if she tried she wouldn't be able to get between the vicious hound and his intent. Her mind raced like mad and she appealed to her sister, "Stop him! Don't let him hurt her, please! I'll come, quietly, peacefully too. Just let her go!" Her sister said something to the creature and he brushed her command off like it was a speck of particularly nasty mud.

His advance continued and he shouted nastily his voice thick with sick pleasure to Mirei, "I don't believe you! I think you need to be taught a lesson first. Then you can come."

Mirei's eyes widened bulging almost out of their sockets with despair and tangible fear at what was going to happen next. Her feet started moving on their own accord and she blasted forward tearing out clumps of wildflowers and weed. Even pounding away as fast as she could she knew she was too far. Desperately in her mind she appealed to anyone, anyone, for help. She would be grateful if her sister intervened. So grateful she would go back without a fight. Commit her life to the lab, anything to spare the girl.

Flames flickered teasing in and out of the hound's mouth licking the air around his muzzle greedily and a drip of saliva slid down his tight black lips. The Houndoom's eyes stared unblinking at his target with malicious glares. His muscles contracted and he crouched into a disciplined pounce.

The girl was now silent with fright and Marie was staring out the window with a sort of frozen horror. Mirei's sister had started forward unsure, then she stopped to turn and look at the blond woman behind her. The woman was shouting commands that the Houndoom completely ignored.

A weird glow of so dark a purple that it was almost black surrounded him stopping him in his deadly tracks. His eyes widened with recognizable fear and he tried desperately to break free of the lock his muscles had be frozen in. The flames stopped and his mouth slammed shut abruptly. His head whipped from side to side in a frenzy of pain and confusion.

One on his thin, sharp horns torn back into his bony shoulder, but he paid no mind to the self-inflicted cut. Smoke began to leak out his nostrils and through the cracks in his firmly shut mouth. Wiggling down on his belly his sharp claws torn at his mouth in an effort to unhinge it drawing thin gashes, which quickly filled with blood.

Mirei's mind screamed in opposition to the effort she was sustaining and at the act she was about to commit. Grimly she assured herself that it was the only choice she had. The only way out. He had forced this on her, forced it! She knew in her heart that none of that was fully true. There was always an alternative route if one took the time and energy to look. Unfortunately time was scarce and this was the first solution that come to mind. If only the stubborn dog had listened to her! Then this would not have led up to what she was going to do. Gritting her teeth together as hard as she could she released the rest of her control binding the dog motionless and helpless.

They all looked on as the rust colored eyes rolled back in the dome shaped skull, the horns fell to one side digging deeply into his shoulder, and his paws madly tearing up the ground as if he could run on his side. Suddenly there was a large burst of orange and yellow flames tinged with purple that engulfed his whole body instantly turning to ash. A sooty pile of ash was what was left of the one time pursuer.

"He combusted."

The blond woman whispered in awe darting nervous glances over at Mirei. She did not seem to be affected by the death of her pokemon companion other than that he went out with a fiery blaze of horror. She continued look transfixed at the untidy pile of light gray ashes, "He internally combusted. He couldn't expel the fire or swallow it back up so it burned him from the inside out."

"Oh my God!" Marie screamed racing across the lawn having found her legs as well as her voice.

A hard look of horror covered her face as she scooped up the traumatized child not even minding the wet pants that had happened somewhere along the way of fearful events. The child was uncharacteristically silent being a normally loud child and her eyes quivered fearfully around at the remaining players. Marie wasn't so mute. She turned to Brook and said in a low, harsh voice full of icy hate, "Get out. Take your purple mutant and get the hell out. I'm calling the police and whatever organization you work for will hear of this."

Reluctantly the Arcanine hybrid and woman exchanged looks of dismay and indecision before hopping the chain link fence neatly. Marie glared at them while rubbing Alex's back soothingly. Brook made as if to protest, but changed her mind and started at a quick dog-trot down the street. Jamis glanced back at Mirei and then followed overtaking the human.

<I… I don’t know what to say. Nothing I say will make this right.> Mirei growled in frustration looking up at the kind woman. She search to twin almond eyes for emotions and found them to be full of glistening tears.

"It's not really your fault. You didn't ask to be chased and I shouldn't have invited you home. Where ever you escaped from sounds like an awful place and I wouldn't even have taken the time to help anyone else out or make them happy. You're a special pokemon. One in a million as they would say. Come inside while I call the cops. It's really not your fault." Marie assured her, but her quivering voice betrayed her caring words. She was frightened. She was frightened that they would come back to kill her and her child. Mirei nodded regretfully in acknowledgment of these fears.

<They won’t.> Mirei whispered in assurance. She gave a course laugh and explained in a sort of sulk, <It’s bad publicity.>

“We fucked that up good.” Brook sneered in a snit shifting through her purse with greedy, but frightened hands. Her face changed from livid to brooding when she found the sleek cell phone, “Keith really was the lucky one, huh. He went out in a land of dreams never having to worry about the future or losing his job. Not like Blackie. Looks like your little premonition came to life, eh little dog? Now I get to take the fall. As they say, life’s a bitch. And she’s got PMS constantly.”

Jamis didn’t really remember the second part of the saying, but she was so dazed she was not in the mood to care. Her sister had done that. Her gentle, sweet sister. It could just have easily been Jamis herself rather than poor, cocky Blackie. Her psychic powers would have been useless against that sort of assault and the fire would have done little more. For the first time she realized how powerful the little Persian hybrid could be given the right incentive.

“Shit.” Brook whispered breathless catching the dog’s attention by her tone. Jamis looked up questioning at the woman who was suddenly much paler, and very scared. The smell of fear rolled off her in waves and her violet eyes were wide enough to show the whites all the way around the iris. “They want us to go after that devil cat. Even after what it did to Blackie.”

<So?>

Jamis asked not quite understanding why the woman was so fearful now and had not been before. She shook her plumed head in irritation at the human’s complex mind.

<That’s been our mission all along. Why would they change it now?>

“You saw what she did!” Brook screamed taking an abrupt mood swing. There was more fear in her voice than angry though. She flicked the phone in her bag with an angry swipe as if it were the reason all of this was happening then slung the bag over her shoulder with a single impatient jerk. She stared down at the dog with an unreadable expression and spat, “This mission has been bad from the start. We’ll all die in the end at the paws of that hellion. One way or another.”

Having said her say she stalked off leaving a very confused hybrid to trot in her wake. The last phrase echoed dully in her head over and over. One way or another, one way or another. Was that really the truth and she just couldn’t see it?

Maybe her mind was mixing the old sister with the new prey. They were two different creatures now. Would old ties hold true if there came a test? Sisterhood had already been cast aside for the almost as old hunter- prey relationship. She had not wanted it that way, but it had not been her choice for the most part. She had not run away, she had obeyed orders.

Why then was she being punished? Her sister ran free outside of all rules and control while she remained enslaved. Briefly she toyed with the idea of escape. It would be much easier out her with only one stupid human female to guard her.

Shoving that notion aside she sighed. Her sister would hardly welcome her with open arms after all that had happened. She was also well aware that without some outside help she would not last very long living the life of a feral. Cats seemed to convert so easily to independence, however, it was much tougher for dogs.

In dogs there was the need to please and the call of the pack whether it be human or pokemon. That was where she fell. There might as well have not been any Espeon in her for all her behavior was concerned with. Her instincts were solely that of an Arcanine.

Vaguely she remembered first being spliced with a Growlithe. She had been a very young Eevee at the time full of fantasy notions and trust in the goodness of humans. She recalled having been carefully lifted from her cage while another human took her sister to a different room. Mirei had been an Eevee also. Once inside the room the humans had hooked her up to a machine and ran excruciating tests on her body before deciding she would be best for the Growlithe DNA. Then they had poked needles all over her drawing blood, injecting serum, and placing in IV tubes. They had done all of this without any sort of painkiller.

Jamis was a brave pup and bore all of the painful procedures with relatively no fuss at all. In the next room she could hear the cries of an Eevee. She was not sure if it was her sister and the scientists were useless. You could talk right in their ears and they would not understand a bit of it. Soon they were finished with her. A young scientist carried her out into the hall. She had anxiously searched for a sign of her sister when she spotted the other Eevee.

The other Eevee was also a female and she looked strikingly similar to Mirei that Jamis almost called out. Instead she cocked her head in puzzlement feeling the new plume on her head tilt to the side. Jamis studied for another moment while the scientist holding her chatted with the other scientist holding the other Eevee. She submersed, no, she knew that the other Eevee was her sister also. She seemed to have been crossed with some sort of bird because a budding pair of icy wings peeped out from her hunched form. Long, soft feathers coated the dusky blue Eevee from head to toe and the eyes were black and beady like those of a bird.

“Hello there.” The other Eevee called out cheerfully flicking her crest of powder blue feathers around merrily. Her bead black eyes glittered in amusement and her tone was friendly, “Who are you? I thought I’d met everyone, but not you.”

“I’m Jamis, and you? I did not know there were other Eevees here besides me and my sister.” The young canine replied less enthusiastic, but curious none the less. She leaned out in the arms to hear the other Eevee better.

“My name’s Paige and there are three other eaves I know of beside you and me.” Paige relied with a chirp and a rustle of small feathers soft as fur.

She preened a moment before eyeing Jamis again, “ You were spliced with a Growlithe. That’s good, but it will take over. You will be a dog just as I am a bird.”

Jamis slowly came out of her flash back with a grim smile of sadness. How right little Paige had been about that. Jamis had never seen her again, however, she had seen a few of the others Paige had spoken of from time to time. Mirei never knew and Jamis never told her. It was one of the few unspoken secrets that had been held between them and it drove an individual wedge in the small crack.

Their changing natures and later their evolutions had widened that crack. Then Mirei had escaped. That had nearly broken the bank of trust and sisterhood left. Which made Jamis wonder in sorrow just how much was left?

Chapter Six

Mirei snarled over her bad luck. The ghost of Blackie and the last images she had before he was a pile of ash haunted her mercilessly. She regretted being so hasty and was having difficulty convincing herself that precise killing action had been needed. She had let the Umbreon part of her take over and there were the consequence to her lose of control.

She was now trotting slowly down a deserted alley lined with plastic trash cans and neat piles of cardboard boxes. Houses were dim and dark with their occupants sleeping in the early dawn. A lone Growlithe set up a lonely howl with was greeted with an angry human’s request to shut up. The howl cut off abruptly at the voice.

Listlessly she shifted through a nearby trash can with no catch on the lid. She made sure to toss the lid, but it didn’t go very far and remained in plain sight. She was too heart sick to even bother to correct it. Dragging out a half eaten chicken she shook her head at the human wastefulness. They were so sated and spoil that most everything was thrown away half used. Someday their waste would come back at them.

Using her side molars she crunched the bones making dry popping sounds. Something brushed against her tail with a feathery light touch. Alarmed she whirled around with her teeth and claws bared. The tiny reddish fox cowered away from the glinting weapons shielding his face with an equally tiny paw the color of mud. Green eyes were half way shut with expectancy and his black nose shone in the yellowish light given off by a near by street light. Four dainty tails were tucked tightly under his skinny form making him appear smaller and more fragile.

“Are you okay?” Mirei asked in a concerned whisper, “What were you doing sneaking up behind me? That’s a dangerous thing to do out here.”

The Vulpix looked up and cocked his head from side to side. He opened his mouth and a strangled sound came out. Grimly he placed a well made paw to his throat and shook his head. The tails had crept up out of hiding and flashed around with a gentle swaying motion.

“You can’t speak?” Mirei hissed in surprise and shock. It must have registered on her face because the kit crouched belly down on the cold concrete. She pasted on a look that she hoped was convincing gentle and asked, “Can you understand what I am saying?”

A nod was given.

“Are you hungry? Is that why you snuck up on me? You smelled the food. I bet a little guy like you cannot even reach the trash lid.”

She received an eager look for her guessing. He jumped forward with startling speed and snatched the greasy meat. The problem came when he attempted to move it. He could not have weighted over ten pounds and the carcass was just about as heavy as he was. Frantically he tugged unwilling to release his prize.

Mirei studiously ignored his efforts and asked in puzzlement, “Do you have a family? A name? How do you communicate with others since you cannot speak.”

He stopped his jerking to look at her as if she should know. When he received a blank look he dropped the meat and flicked his tails around. When she continued to look confused he sighed and a small growl of frustration rumbled from his tiny chest.

“How about I guess then? Fred.” Mirei teased making him even more frustrated.

Finally he scrapped some dirt into patterns. Mirei had been taught human language extensively at the lab. She knew three languages fluently; English, Spanish, and Japanese. This writing seemed to be a crude version of English. She squinted to make out the sloppy words ‘name’ and ‘Taz’. Then he continued writing ‘sign’. She was not sure what ‘sign’ meant, but watching his curly tails move in a precise pattern gave her a fairly good idea of it.

“So you’re Taz. Where’s your family?”

A head shake no answered that question.

“Well, eat up.” Mirei said skidding the chicken across the flat cement to him. She flicked her Persian tail and dug through the trash hoping for future treats to fill her empty belly. She was in luck. Within minutes she was wolfing down some spoiled chops. Feeling eyes on her she raised her head. The young Vulpix pup was staring at her with lupine eyes. His expression was unreadable and obscure in the dark morning, but she had the feeling that he was studying her. That he was sizing her up. Then he dropped his gaze seeming to be any other Vulpix.

“I have to go now Taz. It was nice meeting you.” Mirei said cleaning her whiskers of the excess oils from the chops. With one last swipe of her tongue she cleared the remaining debris and rose to her full height. The fox cub rose to his feet as if to follow her. His silence was heavy and it made her feel awkward. She backed up a pace and lashed her tail slightly in suspense.

There was something about him that made her nervous. Maybe it was his uncanny silence, but the sinking feeling she had directed her thoughts another way. She decided to take a risk being nosy and possibly snapping the steel trap on her nose. If that was what he was.

“Where do you come from? Was it a big laboratory with cages and torture rooms?” Mirei asked on edge. Her fur had instinctively bristled and her pupils narrowed to slits. Flatting her ears at the lack of response she asked again, “Well? How did you lose your voice? Did the humans take it away for some reason?”

The Vulpix stared blankly at her with vacant green eyes. He cocked his head as if listening to something else in the distance, as if he was receiving a transmission from far off. Suddenly he blinked and he was back. His eerie face closed up again and his eyes misted over with a veil of secrecy. He nodded once before glaring at her. She took that as the answer to every question she had spit out. Now was the trickiest part of all.

“Did they send you after me?” She questioned coldly ready to race away at a moment’s notice. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her instincts were crying overriding advice at every turn. She growled at her inability to control the voices directing her and willed herself still. She wanted the answer.

<No.>

That knocked her backwards. That one word was so powerful in her mind that it hurt. She clutched her head blinded by the overwhelming pain and hissed hoping to keep him at bay in her moment of weakness.

<Do you see why I prefer sign?> The Vulpix’s psychic voice was softer now and it seem patiently amused. Much in the same way the Sin had been when he first picked her up. It was amusement that came with age and wisdom. It did not fit on a little cub barely away from his mother’s protection. That disturbed her but she remained.

She waited for him to speak further, however, he seemed to have other ideas. Daintily he tore into part of the chicken picking off bites with sharp puppy teeth. The whole time his luminescent jade eyes remained on her. Watching and waiting for her to make her move.

“Fine. Do what you like. Just don’t get in my way.” Mirei almost snapped then whirled. She ran hearing the tiny patter of feet following and sighed grimly wondering how to get rid of her new shadow.

<You are to return to the lab.> Brook instructed as she adjusted her gear. Her violet eyes shifted until she was staring at the large canine. Her mouth quirked and she blurted out in a rare moment of sincerity, <You weren’t that bad to work with you know. And none of any of this was your fault. I’m almost sorry it has to end like this.>

Brook’s confession was met with a bland silence, however, Jamis’ mind was tearing at that new piece of information. There was a reason the woman was blabbing this out now and it was not good. The dog wanted to shake the blond until the cryptic meaning was dragged out of her. Instead she glared at her big paws and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

<Well?> Brook snapped returning to her usual impatience. <Go! They expect you there by this evening. That’s a full day of running for you.>

<Good luck.> Jamis whispered cuttingly as she bounded off. With venom she added, <Be careful you’re not next.>

She ran for hours without even feeling it. Her mind was off in the past while her body continued on autopilot taking her across fields and through small towns. Her empty eyes only served to warn her of obstacles in her path and her ears to hear oncoming cars.

“These two are doing very well.> The scientist aid offered to his superior holding out a clipboard of carefully constructed data and a day to day report about the two hybrids. His thick-rimmed glasses were askew and his was shifting nervous at being in the spotlight. This could either earn him a promotion or a dismissal. He wasn’t too keen on the second option. Illegal things like this tended to ward away employment in the fields of the legal science laboratories. That and the police always seemed to catch up with the individuals that were dismissed before. It had happened to a good friend of his in fact.

“Well enough to evolve? That gentlemen is what we require, that is the whole purpose of this.” The darker man in the suit asked coldly not even glancing at the clipboard. He wanted results. He wasn’t interested in how they were achieved so long as they were reached. He had superiors to answer to as well and was smart enough to know that his position was not all that difficult to replace.

A woman to his left cringed. She gulped and tried to explain for a finale time as if it mattered. Anxiously she rubbed the large bandage covering her fingers. They all knew she was already being dismissed and the only reason she was there was so she could relate her mistake to their present situation.

“Evolution changes them. The Eevee was fine before. She was smart and perky, but the water stone changed her. She’s fearful and shy now. Prone to cringing and even snapping if she feels threatened enough.”

“In short the Vaporeon/ Articuno hybrid failed.” The boss snapped in irritation. That mess up had really put him in the hot seat and this was going to put him back in the good. He glared at the half circle of employees daring them to object.

“They seem to have adjusted to the process of splicing well, sir.” The original aid said answering his previous question. There was a slight quiver in his voice and drops of sweat rolled down his smooth face.

“If you believe so. Do the Growlithe cross first. She seems to be more resilient. It’s hard to believe that all of these clones ended up with such different personalities.”

A young man, the newest intern in fact, timidly raised his pen. Receiving the go ahead he spoke out his theory, “Sir, perhaps it is because there behavior is being influenced by the pokemon they are spliced with. All five clones were exactly the same as the original until they were spliced.”

“A good theory, Edson. I was thinking along those lines also. We will need adult and fully evolved pokemon before we can fully explore the possibility, however. We have come so far since cloning one little female Eevee. Let’s make it farther, shall we? Do it.”

The procedure was actually less painful than the splicing Jamis recalled. There was more tingling and magic in growing stronger, bigger. She had not changed to her knowledge and evidently their success had emboldened the scientist because they attempted Mirei’s evolution next.

They had fail.

There was no stone to evolve either Umbreon or Persian so they had to wait. They trained her hard hoping levels would do it. They fed her more and gave her long grooming sessions in hopes that she would be happy enough. Nothing worked. She had gone for six months before it happened.

Jamis had been telling her a story at the time. They were snuggled together on one of the plushy blankets, which were in a ditch effort to make her happy. The moon shone brightly through the small window and the quiet sounds of the night drifted in. Mirei had looked at Jamis and said, ‘Now.’

She glowed and grew larger, sleeker. When the light faded only her ring shone in the dark corner of the cell. It was then that the separation of their closeness began.

The scientists had come the next morning as always, but there had been something different in the air that day. Instead of the usual the two sisters had been separated to train. Before they had been pitted against each other in mock fights and competitions. Now they were introduced to strangers, fellow captives, to fight against. Gone was the innocent play. The battles were often violent and painful. The winner received a prize for that served as an incentive. An irresistible incentive, which invoked the darkest side of even the most gentle lab occupant.

A moment’s time of freedom outside in a confined yard. For that they lost all that united them. For controlled freedom the trapped creatures inside remained torn and loathing.

Snapping out of her lapse of reminiscing she stared up at the forbidding building looming before her. It was tall, emotionless. No windows were to be seen and none were needed. Prisons did not require a scenic view for there was no one to enjoy it. Coldness and brutality seemed to radiate from the dark gray prison in waves causing a shiver. Casting one last doubtful look at the lab she brushed forward muttering to herself, “Home sweet home.”