Kurtailing a bad situation ch4

Then again, perhaps being part Pikachu might be a pain in the ass.

Kurt’s parents had dropped him off at Jay’s house. They’d agreed that Kurt could handle any medical needs Jay might have (much to Jay’s obvious annoyance) before leaving and telling Kurt that they wanted him to keep them posted on his situation.

Jay had shown David to a spare room and insisted Kurt share Jay’s room.

Kurt had decided to take a shower while his clothes were in the wash. David had insisted on taking care of the washing citing Kurt and Jay’s parents saying they needed to take it easy.

The shocks that Kurt received while showering while not painful, did remind him of the saying that water and electricity don’t mix. Kurt needed several minutes to learn to control them.

When he was done, Kurt made his way to Jay’s room where Jay promised he’d set up a spare bed. Kurt dried off as best as he could before he wrapped the towel around his waist after threading his tail through the opening.

David was using the spare room. Kurt walked to it when Yannai called for him. Kurt felt strange entering a room wearing only a towel when there was another person there.

“I got your clothes in the wash,” David said. “Are you still going to wear them?”

“I’m not going to walk around naked,” Kurt said.

“That’s cool. I don’t wana see a naked guy anyway.”

“Well, I need to get dressed in something,” Kurt said.

“Your brother said that you can wear a pair of his pants until yours are clean.”

Kurt had worn some of Jay’s shirts when they were growing. While Kurt was never fond of hand-me-downs, he was willing to tolerate it this time. He considered wearing a shirt rather then pants to free his tail but to Kurt, that was no different then walking around naked as a shirt wouldn’t cover his privates. Kurt also realized that he’d have to wear something that went with having yellow fur. Fashion knowledge was not part of Kurt’s skill set; he worried he’d end looking like an idiot.

David’s obvious envy concerned Kurt. A rash decision of David’s to change could affect the rest of his life. A decision made on impulse could lead to a lifetime of regret.

“All right; Well, I’m going to get dressed.”

Kurt left the room and walked into Jay’s, closing the door behind him. Jay had a full-length mirror on one side of the room. Kurt realized that he’d refrained from looking at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Removing the towel and taking a deep breath, Kurt walked over to the mirror.

Time to meet the new me.

The reflection that greeted Kurt felt like looking at a stranger. Kurt turned around to see that he had the same stripes a natural Pikachu had. It was disconcerting to see the Pikachu-Man in the mirror mimicking his actions. Kurt had to remind himself that the reflection was an accurate representation of his current form.

Who is he? Who am I?

Kurt took a long look at his reflection. He wasn’t sure what it meant to be half Pikachu. While he knew (or at least hoped) he hadn’t have become a different person on the inside, he knew that people were going to see a different person. Being a Pikachu-Person would affect Kurt’s way of thinking at least somewhat; Kurt couldn’t deny that.

Having fur had its issues. Showering take far longer and he had to pull fur out of the drain. Kurt didn’t feel clean even after a shower. It also felt like wearing clothes all of the time.

Relations were something Kurt needed to reconsider. The idea of being with a woman and accidentally harming her sent shivers down Kurt’s spine. He knew he could accept what happened with the Rocket in time but hurting an innocent person was not something Kurt wanted to risk.

Who are my people now?

Kurt was neither human or Pokemon but at the same time both. The same seemed true for who Kurt's people were.

Sitting on the bed, Kurt sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

Kurt turned to see Jay enter the room.

“I was just thinking.”

“Think about what,” Jay asked.

“If I’m stuck like this, I’ll be the only one of my kind,” Kurt said. “That’s not cool like some people think it would be; it sucks. I’ll be alone!”

“Just because you have fur and a tail doesn’t mean you’re not human anymore!”

Kurt looked back at Jay. “Doesn’t it?”

“I’d like to think there’s more to being human then just what we see in the mirror,” Jay said.

“Oh come on Jay, I’m not a philosopher I don’t…”

“You’re still my brother; I don’t care what you look like! When I say human, I don’t mean just having human DNA or a human body; it goes well beyond that!”

“I still feel the same way inside but when I look in the mirror, a Pikachu-Person looks back at me,” Kurt said. “
How can I say or think I’m human when I’m not – at least not fully human?”

“Even if you’re not on the outside, that doesn’t mean you can’t be on the inside,” Jay said. “Though can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Are you afraid that you can’t be human any more or are you afraid that you can’t be Kurt any more?”

“I – I’m not sure,” Kurt said. “Both I guess.”

“This doesn’t mean that you’re not allowed to be yourself any more! Forget anyone that says otherwise!”

“Or shock ‘em,” Kurt said with a grin.

Jay patted Kurt on the back. “That’s the spirit. Just because you’re half Pikachu doesn’t make you any less human. We’ll need to get used to it of course. Question is can you can get used to it?”

“I think so.”

“Now, why not get dressed and spend some time with your new friends? I’m sure you can teach each other a lot.”

***

Kurt stood outside with David, who had released his Charmeleon. It was warm and Kurt felt somewhat vulnerable where others could see him.

Though Kurt worse nothing besides the jeans, he felt dressed. The lack of clothing felt like losing a connection to his humanity; Kurt decided to focus on other things for the time being.

The Charmeleon Skippy reached Kurt’s belly. Skippy had a look of determination, which Kurt expected.

“You’re a strange looking Pikachu,” Kurt said.

“I’m not a Pikachu – at least not completely,” Kurt said.

Skippy approached Kurt.

“How are you possible?” Skippy asked.

Kurt sighed and told Skippy his story.

“An interesting tale; did David bring you out to challenge me?”

Kurt realized that he was able to understand more of what Skippy was saying then he was able to understand of the Dratini from the centre. The idea made Kurt nervous as he worried it meant his mind was changing.

“No, we wanted to see if I could understand what you’re saying!”

Skippy folded his arms.

“Looks like you can,” Skippy said. “Why do you wear those human clothes Pikachu?”

“Because I’m still part human,” Kurt said.

“So, do you guys want to try a battle?” David asked.

“Not really,” Kurt said.

“What are you, afraid?” Skippy said.

“No, I just haven’t learned to control my abilities yet and I don’t want to fight.”

Skippy smiled and unfolded his arms.

“I’ll go easy on you,” Skippy said. “I promise I’ll only singe you just a tiny bit.”

Yannai leapt from David’s shoulder and ran toward Kurt, climbing up his shoulder.

“He said he doesn’t want to fight!”

“Who’s this, your bodyguard?” Skippy asked.

The sparks that formed on Kurt’s cheeks made concealing his anger difficult. Hey David, would you mind saying something?

“That’s enough!” Kurt said.

Skippy leapt to avoid the small electrical blast that shot out from Kurt’s cheeks. More control of his abilities only fueled Kurt’s fears of losing his humanity. Skippy grinned and his tail fire brightened.

“Ah, so the mouse has spark,” Skippy said.

“What are you guys talking about?” David asked.

“He wants to battle me,” Kurt said. “I don’t want to. Besides, what if I do something wrong and hurt him?”

“I doubt that,” Skippy said.

“Okay, I don’t want to get fried either,” Kurt said.

“Skippy, what if I ask you to go easy on him?” David asked. “Come on Kurt, you should learn to use your abilities for if the Rockets come after you.”

“I suppose,” Kurt said. “But I don’t want to fight here; I’d rather we don’t set fire to the backyard. There’s a park not far from here. We can battle there.”

Of course then people will see me.

“What if more people see you,” David said.

“I can’t hide forever,” Kurt said. “I’m not going to let this control me.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait to teach you electric attacks!” David said.

“Let’s just take it easy at first, okay?”

***

Kurt stood in an oblong ring facing Skippy after a short walk to the park. The ring was yellow, painted on a clay surface and had half rectangle rings on either side for trainers to stand. Fading had lightened the lines somewhat. Kurt assumed elemental attacks had caused most of the fading.

“All right Pikachu, ready to rock?” Skippy said.

Skippy’s tail burned white hot. Beads of sweat trickled through Kurt’s fur, itching and annoying him. Kurt felt his cheeks spark when Skippy sniffed the air.

“Do I smell fear?” Skippy asked a grin on his face.

“Was he always this arrogant?” Kurt asked.

“He has won 25 of his last 26 matches,” Skippy said. “Damn Swampert. So, care to be 26?”

Worry went through Kurt at the inevitability of the match. The instinct to fight appeared out of what felt like nowhere. Kurt gasped when he realized the world was growing and he felt his pants fall to his knees.

When it stopped, Kurt was no taller then Skippy!

“What happened to me?” Kurt asked. His voice sounded like it did when he was a kid.

“I don’t know; you just got younger!” David said.

“Yeah but why – oh who cares, let’s battle!”

Kurt stepped out of his pants. They were now far too big for him. What had regressed him had seemed to suppress his doubts and inhibitions.

“But you’re naked,” David said.

“As you should be,” Skippy said. “Wearing clothing? I mean really!”

Kurt frowned and stood ready.

“Are you here to talk or fight?”

Skippy laughed, “Bring it on.”

“Okay Kurt, shock ‘em,” David said.

Kurt looked at David.

“Don’t think about it, let your instincts guide you, they’re there for a reason,” David said. “Just let the electricity flow out of you. Trust your instincts.”

Okay, that’s what I did before when I fired that warning shot at Skippy. Let’s try it.

Kurt faced Skippy, who started out with a Smokescreen attack. Black smoke seemed to appear out of nowhere. Kurt fired a bolt of electricity; he heard it hit the ground.

Skippy ran out of the smoke. With his tail fire, he looked like a demon from hell. Kurt swallowed panic as Skippy leapt at Kurt, executing a Slash maneuver. Skippy’s claws seemed to dig into Kurt.

Kurt felt dazed as Skippy leapt back through the dissipating smoke.

“Okay Kurt, I don’t know if you’re high level enough but try a thunderbolt,” David said.

Kurt concentrated on Skippy. Power seemed to rise from within Kurt. He felt strong. People would call him cute; Kurt knew that he was more then cute. Kurt felt the built up electricity eject from his cheeks in the form of a large glowing electrical blast. Skippy tried to dodge but he was too late. The blast slammed into him with the force of a freight train. He yelled out as his body glowed for a few seconds. Horror hit Kurt as the glow faded.

“Don’t feel bad Pikachu. You did well. Now it’s my turn…” Skippy seemed about to execute a move when nothing happened “, oh shit!”

Kurt’s move had the secondary effect of temporary paralysis!

“Okay Kurt, use Quick Attack!”

Adrenaline flowed through Kurt; he charged into Skippy, knocking him to the ground. Kurt leapt back and watched Skippy stand.

Unfortunately, for Kurt, the effects of the Paralysis wore off. Skippy countered Kurt’s Quick Attack with a fire spin that under Skippy’s control, rushed at Kurt, surrounding his body.

Holy shit!

Kurt sweated profoundly as the fire singed him for several seconds, clearing only after doing moderate damage.

“What the hell was that?” Kurt asked.

“Fire spin, duh and this is Dragon Rage!”

“Quick Kurt, use Agility!” Kurt looked at David with confusion. “Relax as best as you can. It’ll make you faster!”

Skippy smiled and folded his arms.

“Making you harder to hit; Good, I like a challenge!” Skippy said.

Kurt did his best to relax. Okay, peaceful forest, nice warm breeze, all that crap. His seemed lighter; he felt as though he could run the mile in ten seconds.

Skippy released the Dragon Rage attack. Kurt ran at it, dodging to the right before dodging two more blasts before Skippy did the last thing Kurt expected. Skippy made a face that scared Kurt, distracting him and ruining his relaxation, canceling his speed boost.

Skippy executed a Flame Thrower attack, knocking Kurt out and ending the battle.

The sensation of a revive doing it’s almost magical healing on his body brought Kurt back into consciousness. Kurt opened his eyes to see Yannai standing by his side.

“You okay?” Yannai asked.

“I think so. How long was I out?” Kurt asked.

“Only a few minutes; it’s weird, you went back to your normal age after the battle was over,” David said.

“Back to normal – my pants, I’m naked,” Kurt said.

“Relax, I put them over you,” David said.

Kurt sat up. “That was weird, when I got younger, my instincts got stronger. Being naked didn’t bother me. Battling felt natural and satisfying. The adrenaline surge was incredible. Even though I lost, it was still amazing. I was me but – well, it’s almost like waking up from a dream, I can’t describe it.”

“Can I battle some day?” Yannai asked.

Kurt petted Yannai.

“We’ll see.”

Kurt stood up and put his pants back on. Yannai climbed up to Kurt’s right shoulder.

“So, want to challenge my Vapoureon or Sandschrew?” David asked.

Kurt held out his arms. “No, that’s okay. Either way, it’s a mismatch.”

David nodded. “That’s okay. I’m gonna stay around here and see if I can get more challengers.”

“All right,” Kurt said. “I’m going to head back. I don’t want so stay out too long. People might see me.”

“What if they see you’re cool?” David asked.

“What if they sic an Onyx on me?”

David chuckled. “Good point. I’ll see you at your brother’s place then. ”

***

David felt satisfied after winning four out of six matches. He’d made his way to the Pokecentre. He was ecstatic, as Skippy seemed close to evolving. David knew that even if he couldn’t be a Charizard, having one as his friend would give David access to places that were currently out of reach.

Holding the Pokeball containing Skippy, David smiled.

“Soon, we can fly together.”

He was about to give his pokeballs to the nurse when he heard someone else walk into the centre. From the nurse’s expression, David had a bad feeling. He turned to see three men dressed in uniforms that gave away their membership in Team Rocket.

The first one stomped toward the desk, pushed David aside and slammed his right fist onto the desk. David was a lot shorter then the man.

“Where is he?”

“Where is who?” The nurse asked.

“The Pikachu, we want him now,” the Rocket said.

The Rocket looked back and forth. David saw the man look at a girl who happened to have a Pikachu with her. She held it with fear in her eyes.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” the nurse said.

The Rocket put both hands on the desk.

“Oh really, A half Pikachu, half human mongrel; I doubt you’d miss that.”

“Half human and half Pikachu; what are you talking about? Now get out of here before I call the police!”

The Rocket smiled and motioned toward the girl holding the Pikachu. “Of course, we could always claim that he changed all of the way.”

The girl held her Pikachu tighter. “No, I won’t let you take him!”

Her cries went unheeded as the other two Rockets approached the girl, one grabbing her, the other grabbing the Pikachu.

“Leave them alone,” David said.

“Or what?” the Rocket asked.

David frowned, he as hoping for that response.

David stood back and withdrew Skippy from the ball. As Skippy emerged, the Rocket stood back and pulled out two pokeballs, releasing a Marowak and Buizel.

“Teach him some respect,” the Rocket said.

Before David could react, the Buizel had released a SonicBoom and the Marowak was slamming his bone into the ground. A large fissure spread from the impact, shaking the building, smashing windows and sending people running while screaming in terror.

Skippy managed to dodge the attack but the SonicBoom slammed into him, knocking him onto his back. Horrifyingly, a gas leak had escaped from the fissure. Skippy’s tail fire ignited it!

The ensuing explosion threw everyone back, slamming David against a wall, leaving him dazed.

The Pikachu the Rocket was holding heard his trainer’s screams of terror. He fried the Rocket holding him. The shock was enough to give the Rocket a fatal heart attack. The girl spat in the face of the Rocket holding her and then stepped on his foot, forcing him to release her before she grabbed her Pikachu from the fallen rocket and ran out of the building as fast as she could.

Her would be abductor ran after her but tripped on a piece of debris, sending him tumbling into the inferno and setting him on fire. Only the Buizel’s water abilities saved him from burning to death and kept his burns from being untreatable.

David saw the remaining Rocket approach. The fire had singed his clothes and he was bleeding from a cut on his forehead.

“Always nice when they do our dirty work for us,” the Rocket said.

“Boys, keep the lizard busy, my friend and I have something to discuss,” the Rocket said.

David was unable to react further before he lost consciousness.


***

Kurt was getting worried. David had called an hour before to say he was at the Pokecentre. He’d mentioned winning six out of eight battles and seemed ecstatic after telling Kurt that Skippy seemed close to evolving.

“For the love the legendaries,” Jay exclaimed. “Kurt come quick, Team Rocket attacked the PokeCentre and the Police Station!” Jay said.

Oh no, please, no.

Kurt ran to the living room. He expected to see images of destroyed and burning buildings with the bodies of innocent people all around them. If they’ve killed David then with whatever Legendary is watching as my witness, I’ll kill them all. Kurt felt his cheeks sparking as he did his best to contain his rage.

The view that greeted Kurt was of a burning Pokecentre with water types doing their best to contain the fire.

“So far the only reported fatality was of one of the attackers. Police however have reported at least one boy that was in the area missing as well as an Espeon the police had as part of their team.

The reporter showed a picture of David and listed him as the missing boy.

Me, they were after me.

“It’s my fault,” Kurt said.

“How is it your fault?” Jay asked.

“They were after me. I killed one of their people!”

“Only because the asshole shot you,” Jay said.

“It doesn’t matter to them,” Kurt said. “They must have been looking for me!”

Kurt walked out of the room and toward the front door.

“Where are you going?” Jay asked.

“I have to save him,” Kurt said. “It’s my fault they have him.”

“How do you intend to do that?” Jay asked.

Kurt touched his cheeks. The spark he felt only served to invigorate him.

“You’re just one man, that’s an entire organization!”

“I have to do something! Look, I want you to watch Yannai. I can’t risk her getting hurt.”

“But, I want to go too!” Yannai said.

Kurt allowed Yannai to climb into his hands. He held her close.

“It’s too dangerous. Jay – if I don’t back from this…”

“Oh no, don’t start with that sort of thinking,” Jay said. “There’s no way you’re going alone on this.”

The sound of a door opening and footsteps turned Kurt’s attention. He saw Skippy enter the house, a determined anger on the Charmeleon’s face.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Skippy said.

“Skippy, do you know where they took David?” Kurt asked.

“Yes,” Skippy said. “But I can do more then just tell you were David is.”

Before Kurt’s eyes, Skippy’s body began to glow. The glow turned to pure energy as Skippy’s form and size changed. Kurt watched the wings form from the energy among other changes as Skippy grew to be eye level with Kurt. When the energy cooled into scales and blood, a Charizard stood before the trio.

“Impressive,” Kurt said.

Skippy folded his arms. “That's putting it mildly. So Pikachu, shall we depart?”

“Cool, can we go flying?” Yannai asked.

Skippy petted Yannai. “No young one. It’s too dangerous. Don’t worry; I’ll bring Kurt back safe and sound.”

“Can someone please fill me in,” Jay said.

Kurt did his best to reiterate the details of their conversation.

“Please be careful,” Yannai said.

Kurt handed Yannai to Jay. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring David back.”

After Skippy and Kurt walked out of the house, Skippy lowered himself down for Kurt to climb on his back.

“I will fly you,” Skippy said. “You aren’t afraid of flying are you?”

“Wait, how do you know where they took David?”

“I heard them discuss it. They were so afraid of me that they sent a ground and water type after me. Now, we should go, time is crucial.”

“Wait a second, how did you defeat a water and ground type?” Kurt asked.

“No time to explain.”

Kurt climbed onto Skippy’s back and held on. Skippy took off, having Kurt feeling dizzy for a few moments. The view soon became incredible even as the air grew cooler as their altitude increased.

“You’re not afraid of heights are you?” Skippy asked.

“No, um – not at all; so, what do we do?” Kurt asked.

“You fry them and I cook them,” Skippy said.

“Wait a second; we can’t just start killing them.”

“Why not, I have the power to do that, especially now,” Skippy said.

“Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should,” Kurt said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of Ariados-Man.”

Skippy looked back at and glared at Kurt. “No, Pikachu, I haven’t.”

“My name is Kurt and in case you haven’t been paying attention Charizard you’re part flying type now. And yeah, would you please keep your eyes on the road!”

“Fine, fine, but, you do have a point. Who is this Ariados-Man?”

“Rather then go into details, he managed to get powers from an Ariados,” Kurt said. “His uncle told him that with great power, there comes great responsibility.”

“Your point,” Skippy asked.

“He let a criminal go because the people the criminal was robbing wronged him,” Kurt said.

“Good for him,” Skippy said. “Why should he endanger help people that wronged him?”

“Not good,” Kurt said. “That same criminal later murdered the guy’s uncle; the same guy that taught him the lesson about responsibility. He had the power to stop the robber without endangering himself and should have put his feelings aside and done what was right. His uncle paid the price for that mistake.”

“I see your point,” Skippy said. “But, we have the power to do something.”

“But we can’t abuse that power. If we do, we become just like the Rockets,” Kurt said.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t use my abilities if they force me too.”

Kurt didn’t like where this was going. He felt bad enough about killing the one Rocket by accident. Facing killing perhaps dozens more made Kurt feel ill.

“I know but – look, they were after me. This is my fault. Maybe they’ll let David go if I surrender to them.”

“What sort of fool are you?” Skippy asked. “Do you really think they’ll let David go once they have you?”

“Well, what do you suggest we do? Blast our way in? There must be some other way then violence!”

“What do you suggest we do? Negotiate for David’s release while they torture him?”

“No, I don’t suggest that,” Kurt said.

“Then we have no choice. Violence it must be!”


***

David awoke with a terrible headache. He soon realized two things. One, he was upright but floating. Two, he was naked. Someone had attached tubes to David’s arms and he was floating in a tube only a little taller then him.

Through the tube, David saw something out of a horror movie except it was all too real and David could tell that he was going to experience the horror first hand. There was a table in between rows of six tubes; David was in the second from the left. He could see his clothes and pokeballs on the table. There were other people (both girls) in two of the others, and an Espeon in another.

Being naked was the least of David’s worries. Knowing that he had no apparent means of escape from what the Rockets were planning on doing to him had him feeling ill.

“Let me out of here!” David yelled.

David knew that saying that was all but futile but he wanted to get someone’s attention.

“I didn’t do anything to deserve this!”

David frowned and banged on the tube.

“What’s wrong; you afraid of me?”

David waited another five minutes as terrible theories danced around his head about what was going to happen to him. He wasn’t sure whether to feel relief or fear when a female scientist in a lab coat carrying a clipboard walked in front of his tube. She looked him over and seemed to write something down. She had shoulder length brown hair and glasses. While it was hard to tell her age, David guessed she was in her early thirties.

“Hello David, I’m glad that you’re awake,” she said. “I hope you’re comfortable.”

“Comfortable? I’m naked and you have wires connected to me!”

“Yes but some discomfort is necessary,” she said. “No pain, no gain as they say.”

“What are you going to do to me?” David asked.

The Rocket smiled. “You desire to be a Charizard?”

David felt the blood rushing to his cheeks.

“There’s no need to deny it. As some say, the walls have ears.”

“You’re going to let me become part Charizard?” David asked.

The Rocket smiled. “You see David; we’re not an evil organization. We only want to improve the quality of life for human and Pokemon alike.”

“Where have I heard that before?”

“Your cynicism aside, we do have some bad apples as does any organization or company. We would like to grant your request but it will take a commitment from you.”

“No way am I becoming a Rocket,” David said.

“You’re not in a position to make demands,” the Scientist said. “We have a treatment that can combine human DNA with Pokemon DNA. However, it’s untested. I’d hate for something to go wrong. Why not make a deal? Doing some small jobs for us is a small price to pay to achieve a dream is it not?”

“Go to hell.”

The scientist sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry you feel that way David.”

When she nodded at someone David couldn’t see, David heard a machine activate. Seconds later, David saw liquid flow from the tubes and into his veins. An electrical shock punished him when he tries to pry the tubes loose. Tears flowed from David’s eyes as he felt the liquid entering him on a course to do something he had no power to stop or control.

“Please, don’t do this,” David cried.

“I’m sorry David but you leave us with no choice,” the Scientist said. “Your friend’s incident has left us with no choice. Take heart in knowing that your sacrifice will save countless lives.”

Mercifully, David passed out when his skin began to tingle but before he saw any changes.