The Mistress carefully glared at the large map, small miniatures placed at certain key points, representing important things. Not long ago she had angrily swiped several of those miniatures off. Now she was simmering, enraged over the loss, enraged that she'd even temporarily lost control of herself, and enraged at the fact that a new map would need to be drawn up once the results of that man's recent escapade began to settle down.

That man. That man was at fault. That ridiculous, unbelievably fortunate man. That man had to go.

She continued to stew, rapidly plotting the demise of that man.

xxx

Reaper's Vacation

xxx

Sylvas sneezed, the most recent of a long line of sneezes in the past ten minutes and grabbed a tissue.

"You know, I'm not sure, but I think I may be allergic to something." He mused aloud.

"It better not be me." The as-yet unnamed Witch grumbled, holding the tissue box.

"That... would be awkward." He admitted. "Moving the conversation away from that uncomfortable topic..." He continued, ignoring the witches grumbles about it not being an uncomfortable topic at all, really. "Have you seen Cecilia recently?"

"Hm.... oh that's right. Miss Cecilia mentioned that she was going to bully one of the lab techies into making her a shield out of part of the scrapped hull of one of those wrecked military vehicles. Really... she's acting like a shieldmaiden."

"A wh-?" Sylvas shook off the desire to finish the question. "Nevermind. I'm not sure what exactly you're referencing, but I can entirely understand the desire to have a chunk of metal between onesself and danger."

"Point. On the other hand, if it didn't hold up against Pokegirl attacks the first time, why would it now?"

Sylvas recognized that if this continued much longer he was going to lose the argument. Rather than confront the fact, a change of subject is in order.

"I'm sure Cecilia knows what she's doing." He asserted. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose you have a name?"

"Wi-12-"

"Right, right... barcode." He interrupted. "So... how do you feel about 'Helga'?"

She stared at him for a long moment.

"Okaaay, no go. How about 'Henrietta'? Or-"

"You're serious." She seemed to realize. "And, you suck at names."

"Well, I'd like to see you do better on short notice." He snarked. She nibbled slightly at her lower lip in thought.

"Well... I've never really thought about this before." she said slowly, in a tone that said she had actually thought about it a great deal. "But if I had a name... Lucretia. That would be it." She nodded to herself.

"Ah. Lulu... and Cici." Sylvas grinned, finding some sort of twisted humor in his declaration.

"You do realize, master, that should miss Cecilia ever hear you call her by that name, she won't hesitate to carve you into bits and hide your body in the ocean."

"Ha. I'm not wor-" The blade of a sword came to rest delicately against his neck, and his tune shifted rapidly. "-Ried, because I have no intention of ever again calling either of you by such an annoying and juvenile nomiker."

"You see? He can be taught." Cecilia said from behind Sylvas, as she sheathed her sword. "By the way, the big man wants to see us, Boss. Apparently they've checked out a few of the places Lucretia here mentioned in her debriefing."

"You... you heard all of that, then."

"From Wi-12 on, boss."

xxx

"Thank you for assembling so quickly." Genryu rumbled. "As you know, we've recieved an influx of intelligence on our enemy. We now know that she is, indeed, planning on wiping us out. We've also gotten a surprising amount of information on her plans... most of which is unfortunately worthless, as the new recruit affirms, due to her standard operating procedures in case of spies and captured members of her army."

Genryu almost sounded like he admired his opponents paranoia.

"On the other hand, we've also gotten information that would have been useless to her, but may prove crucial to us. For example..."

Genryu clicked a button and a photographic display appeared on the wall behind him.

"This town, here, has an old ammo dump on the outskirts. Judging by the raised water levels of the nearby river from someone's most recent exploits, we should be able to reach within a mile of the storage facility by way of the river. Hojo has retrofitted one of the hovercraft into an amphibious transport for this purpose."

"We have hovercraft?" Sylvas mumbled to himself, a sentiment clearly shared by many of the people in the audience.

"Of note is the fact that Feral activity in the area is remarkably low, so this should be a safe mission."

"Um, excuse me?" Sylvas asked, jerking a hand into the air and waiting to be recognized. "Exactly.... why is it, that Feral activity in the area is low?"

"An intelligent question? Well, I'm sure it had to happen sometime. Unfortunately, we don't have that infomation. All that we know is that it is, nothing about the whys of it."

"I see. Permission to just shoot myself in the head and get it over with quickly, then?"

"Denied. You're on bait duty again, just in case, because it seems to be what you do best."

"Running away and screaming? Yeah, I suppose."

"Yes, well, while you're making a nuisance of yourself with whatever may or may not be lurking in the area, Sam and Jack will be doing the real work of loading the vessel. Keep in mind that they will be leaving the moment it's full, and if you miss them you'll have to find your own way back."

"Through the teeming hordes of starving shebeasts..." Sylvas mumbled to himself as he slumped back into his chair. "Great. Well it's a good reason to be punctual, I suppose."

"As this operation with leave the defenses of the base low, it must be done quickly. Leave quietly, do your jobs, and get back as fast as you can, before the enemy takes advantage of the hole in our defenses."

xxx

Hojo stretched and glanced around idly. Alone... good. The mostly incompetent techies had been left to their own devices, the military portion of the people here were mostly off doing something today, and the civilians with nothing to do weren't allowed into military buildings or his laboratories anyway.

So he had the day to himself.

He stood and left the office, leaving his paperwork for another time, as he slowly made his way to a small storage room, filled with half-empty shelves. He closed and locked the door behind him, then spoke aloud the password.

An otherwise completely unremarkable section of wall began to shimmer and ripple like a vertical pool of water, and he stepped through into his private labs. It was here that all the real work got done.

Not one of the soldiers or civilians had even thought to question exactly why the Ferals hadn't made a move to attack his facility, even before they'd arrived. It was because they knew that this was where he made his home, and while they didn't seem to have any real functional language while Feral, they were still able to impress a sense of 'that place is danger' to others they encountered.

He had no pokegirls. He simply didn't need them to defend himself, and he'd lost the urges that young men felt long ago as he slipped further and further into his research. The monstrosities around him were a combination of the fruits of that research, and failed experiments.

He was nowhere near the level of Sukebe. In reality, he felt that there had to be some truth to the rumors that Sukebe had blended technology and magic to form his greatest creations, as the best that Hojo could create were nothing near the resounding success of Sukebe's work. Indeed, there was no possibility that they could move unnoticed through groups of humans, like the pokegirls could, either.

On the other hand, there was no chance that Hojo's creations would turn on him, if only because they had no real sense of loyalty to begin with. They were mindless engines of destruction, pure and simple, with none of the complications Sukebe had built into his toys, like a sex drive, or the ability to think for themselves. They also had no real sense of pain, and so would continue to destroy everything within their reach until they expired, which was why he'd engineered them to be short lived, once removed from the goop they were currently floating in. The chance of an accident occuring was still there, but minimized greatly.

What he'd been working on for the past few days, however, was the samples of the filth that had encrusted on Sylvas' original labcoat. He had yet to identify it.

That was what made it so interesting.

xxx

"Keep away from the edge, Boss."

"Eh? Why?"

A tentacle roiled up out of the water, lashing for Sylvas' head before Cecilia lopped the tip off and it withdrew beneath the water's surface.

"Some breeds live in the water, either by choice or out of necessity." Lucretia deadpanned. Sylvas stepped slowly backward and decided to sit in a chair instead, several feet away from the rail.

An awkward silence set in, stretching on for nearly an hour as the vehicle made its way downriver.

"So..." Sylvas wondered aloud. "When is-"

"Shut up." Cecila interrupted.

"But-"

"Sh!"

"But, I-"

"Shut!"

"But-"

"Shut up. Right now."

There was a long moment of silence.

"But I just wanted to know when something was going to happen!" Sylvas whined.

Before anyone had the opportunity to smack him for jinxing things, there was a dull whoomph of cannonfire and a large splash just off the side of the transport as a small boat floated out from behind what was once the top of a good-sized tree.

"Ho there! Please remain calm and prepare all goods and valuables for inspection. This be a dangerous patch o' waters, an' I'm afraid ye'll have to be paying the toll if ye're wanting to pass through 'em."

There was a single shebeast on the vessel, Sylvas noted, with a boot set against a small cannon that she'd just finished reloading.

"Perhaps you've not noticed..." He put forward. "But it seems we outnumber you by a great deal."

"An' so ye are mate." She agreed, before smirking. "On the other side o' things though, seems ta me like I'm the only one what has a cannon. Bit o' poor plannin' on your part there mate."

Jack and Sam nodded at each other and pulled out a pair of automatic rifles, pointing them at the apparent pirate, who suddenly appeared both more and less pleased with herself at the same time, if that was even possible.

"Ah, so ye be the negotiatin' sort then. But if I might be pointin' out, me cannon here's a touchy lass. Far easier to fire off than's safe, really. I do believe that I could get a shot off an' sink yer metal raft, even as your mates are puttin' more holes in me than is supposed to be there, like. Seems ta me now that we be at a bit of a stalemate then, eh?"

Sylvas frowned then blinked and snapped his fingers.

"Oh! Oh, I just remembered, there's a word to use in this sort of situation! It's Puh...Pi, no... Par. Par...snip? Par... broil? No, par... parlu."

"Might 'Parlay' be the word ye're seekin', mate?"

"Parlay! That's the one."

"Well Parlay it be, then. Permission ta come aboard yer, ah...." She cast a jaundiced eye over the transport. "Yer vessel, then?"

Jack and Sam stepped aside for a quick, hushed conversation, even as Cecilia glowered at him.

"You know, you really try my patience sometimes, boss. There was no need to call parlay... she was bluffing. A normal cannonball would damage the transport, yes, but we could have been over land long before sinking became an issue and then fixed it."

"Well pardon me for wanting to settle things without resorting to violence. In case you hadn't noticed the ship may be fairly durable, but I'm not, and she wasn't actually aiming at the ship."

Cecilia frowned.

"You mean, she..."

"Well love, ye got to see it from me point of view." Came a voice from behind her, where the pirate shebeast had moved to at some point, having been assisted by someone onto the transport. "In me experience the one what steps forward ta talk for the rest be either the most important one there, or at least one o' the important ones. Either way, like, pointin' the weapons at them specific leaves ye with the upper hand in negotiations."

Cecilia's eyes narrowed.

"I should cleave you in half where you stand for that."

"Aye, perhaps ye should, but ye won't."

"And why not?"

With what seemed only a slight twitch, there was suddenly an antique single-shot pistol in the woman's hand, leveled directly at Sylvas' throat.

"That'd be because I've the upper hand now, y'see?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sylvas interjected, carefully nudging the pistol away. "Let's not be so hasty to resort to violence, alright? Now personally, I don't like the idea of this coming down to a fight. There's no real reason for it, and if we can work our problems out rationally-"

"Butt out!" They both barked at him, the pirate lady returning the pistol to his throat.

"I could carve off your arm, sea-hag!"

"Aye, ye could, but ye'd have ta be quick indeed to do it before I pull the trigger, love."

"Then perhaps I should simply cut it off at the neck, then."

Sylvas sighed softly before turning and walking away, ignored by the two as even the pirate-lady didn't bother to twitch the gun to follow him as the argument progressed.

"I don't suppose you could tell me just what has gotten into those two?"

"A dominance struggle, master." Lucretia replied, watching in interest. "They've both recognized each other as having become used to being the leader, and as the She-Captain seems to have been seperated from her ship and crew somehow, she's subconsciously trying to drag together a new one, and miss Cecilia is automatically resisting the attempt. Left to their own devices, they'll be at it for hours, I'm afraid."

"Oh... well we can't have that. Bucket."

A moment later, he interrupted the two's 'discussion' by hurling a large bucket full of river water at them, making sure to douse the pistol entirely as he dimly recalled something about it not functioning when wet. They gasped and spluttered, then turned twin glares upon him, forcing him to conceal his sudden realization of just how outmatched he would be if they decided to kill him.

"If you two are quite finished snarling at each other, we have some negotiations to get down to."

He dropped the bucket and stalked theatrically away.

"Hm... I like 'im. Nice lad, if a bit, ah... stupid. Eh, love?"

Cecilia just snarled wordlessly as she sheathed her sword.

xxx

The She-Captain opened the negotiations.

"So then mates... in 'change for not sinking yer lovely little vessel here an' pillagin' what, admittedly, very few valuables seems ta be available, but instead escortin' ye to yer destination an' back an' serving as protective detail along the ways.... I'd be gettin what, like?"

"What, exactly, might a lady like yourself desire?" Sylvas countered slowly.

"What do I want, lad? Well, I wants a lot of things, ta be frank. I wants me a new ship, since the scallywags what crewed for an' took me last one left me driftin' away on yon dinghy. I wants ta nail every one o' them scallywag's gizzards ta the mizzen-mast. I wants ta replace the crew wit' a bevy o' strappin' young lads, like, ta crew me ship an' serve as 'cabinboy'." She made a couple of obvious, and obscene, gestures to allude to what she was referring to with the last word. "I wants me a great pile of loot, ta cause envy in all th' pirates what hears of it, like. An' nows that we've cleared up what 'tis as I'm wanting, per'aps ye'll be kind enough to give me a hint, like, as ta what I can actually expect ta be gettin' out o' this venture."

Sylvas considered this carefully, tallying up what they had to offer, and what they could offer.

"If I may suggest... the base has some very nice bathing facilities." He ventured.

She looked gobsmacked.

"'Ere... there weren't no call for that..." She mumbled, attempting to subtly sniff herself, and he realized tha his suggestion had come off all wrong.

"I meant no offense... I'm sure you can deal with your hygiene more than adequately on your own. I simply meant that a hot bath must be something of a luxury for you, given your... lifestyle."

"Aye, that be true." She admitted. "Fire's a hazard upon a wooden vessel, an' while can be excused for cookin', like, just heatin' waters for me own baths would never stand with the crew. If I still had meself a crew, in any case."

"And it's not just hot water." He continued, pressing his advantage. "We've scented soaps and such, shampoos, and stand up showers which arent as relaxing, but much better for washing your hair."

She leaned back and considered him for a long moment.

"Well I be sorely tempted, I can tell ye that. Perhaps ye're not such a fool as ye first appeared, but do continue. What else have ye to offer?"

Sylvas sighed, forced to pull out the big guns.

"Well, I'm afraid we haven't much in the way of loot to offer. Not enough manpower to offer you your own harem, though you're welcome to try for volunteers from the base civilians, though most of them are terrified of all shebeasts in general and probably for good reason. Without knowing where your ex-crew went, there's not much we can do about that. Though... I suppose we could make a boat. Ship, rather."

He suddenly had the She-Captain's full attention.

"That be a nasty an' cruel jest ta play upon a lass." She said reproachfully.

"Oh it's no jest. I'm not technically supposed to be aware of this, I don't think, but the longer the captain remains entrenched at the base, the more he tries to shape the area to turn it into an impregnable fortress. Or as close to it as possible. Sooner or later, he's going to clearcut a lot of the forest in the surrounding area to be rid of the cover it could represent for a surprise assault, and when that happens there's going to be a lot of spare wood just left lying around to rot. I see no reason not to put that wood to good use."

"Ye... truly be serious in yer offer."

Sylvas was struck with a distinct sense of Deja Vu. Did he really seem like the person to make idle jokes, or promise things he couldn't come through on?

"If I was not serious, I would not have offered."

She stared for a moment, then spat in her hand and stuck it forward. Feeling mildly repulsed by the action, he did the same and clasped hers."

"Then we have an accord, lad." She laughed and tugged him forward, crushing his face into her hefty bosom. "An' hells, I'd have done it just for the fancy bath. Don't be thinkin' I won't stick around till ye've got that ship ye've promised me though, eh?"

Sylvas began to get the distinct feeling that he'd been completely gypped as she slowly wriggled his way out of the woman's embrace.

"Well.. if we're to be in such close association, then might I know your name?"

"'Tis Elizabeth. But to ye, lad, I'll answer ta Eliza, Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Lady Elizabeth, Mistress, or any other variation thereof ye can dream up."

"'Mistress'?" He wondered aloud, before realizing his error as the She-Captain leered at him and winked saucily.

"Aye, but ye might be wantin' ta save that one for private, like."

Sylvas groaned softly, wondering just how he'd gotten himself into another such mess.

xxx

A.N. Another short one, but I cranked it out much quicker than average, if that counts for anything. Helps that I've got an overabundance of free time at the moment.

Quick rundown of relative power levels of the moment.

Cecilia- Level 15 Warrior

Lucretia- Level 5 Witch

Elizabeth- Level 22 She-Captain

Zan- Level 40 Kunoichi

The Mistress- Level 65 Vampire

And on the She-Captain breed, this is the old version of her entry.

SHE CAPTAIN, the Commanding Pokégirl
Type: Very Near Human
Element: Water/Fighting
Frequency: Rare
Diet: human diet, mainly seafood
Role: commander of pirates
Libido: Average to High
Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Fire, Normal, Rock, Steel, Water
Weak Vs: Electric, Flying, Plant, Psychic
Attacks: Water Sword, Cheer, Perry, Slash, Cut, Carve, Sword Dance, Swordwave, Wet Jet , Go Down Caress, Cuddle, Slice n' Dice, Aura of Fear
Enhancement: Enhanced Speed (x6), Enhanced Agility (x3), Enhanced Stamina (x3), has a wide amount of knowledge in both sex and sword attacks. Can command other Pokégirls, Natural Pilot.
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Buttaneer (normal)
When a Buttaneer becomes very experienced in combat she looses most of her water abilities and gains sword techniques. They are excellent sword fighters but often will let those under her command attack the enemy. They usually stay behind the pack in the wild commanding her pack, giving them orders and overseeing the entire raid. She Captains have a natural affinity for piloting any sort of sea-vessel, be it a raft or a huge ship. Only the most dangerous of reefs or the deadliest of storms can cause a ship to go down when a She Captain is piloting it.

In a Harem they strive to be the Alpha even if they are in a Harem that already has an Alpha. They are very competitive and strive for number one in both pleasure and pain. Having two in the same Harem may be dangerous as they may duel to the death if their rivalry becomes very bad.

The average She Captain looks just like a Buttaneer but instead has clothes on that flit in the wind and are more majestic then the simple shirt and pants. She still may wear the shirt and pants but with a cloak or some other garment. Their bandana usually is discarded and a pirates hat would take its place.

In my opinion, however, this revised one is much better, and I hope it becomes the real one.

SHE-CAPTAIN, the Commander Pokégirl
Type: Very Near Human
Element: Water/Magic
Frequency: Rare
Diet: Human-style diet
Role: Sea Admiral, Troop Commander, Strategy & Tactics, Heavy Assault
Libido: Average to High
Strong Vs: Bug, Dark, Fire, Normal, Rock, Steel, Water
Weak Vs: Electric, Flying, Plant, Psychic
Attacks: *Manifest Weapon (singular), *Manifest Weapon (double), Water Gun, Gust, Squall, Wind, Mirror Image, Tempest, Hydro Pump, Water Tower, Vortex, Water Floor, Typhoon, Whirlpool, Geyser, Bubbler, Tidal Slide, Teleport, *Ship Warp, Super Cyclone, Insulate, Hurricane
Enhancement: Enhanced Strength (x2), Enhanced Speed (x2), Enhanced Agility (x2), Enhanced Dexterity (x2), Enhanced Endurance (x2), Increased Intelligence, Weapons Affinity, Water Affinity, Wind Affinity, Amphibious, Can instinctively pilot any and all aquatic vehicles
Evolves: None
Evolves From: Buttaneer (normal, high level), Piratit (normal, high level)

Buttaneers and Piratits are fine Pokégirls. They make an excellent navy for either actual pirates or League naval forces, or even for a singular Tamer near the sea. Some even use Buttaneers and Piratits to crew luxury liners, the sea warrior Pokégirls serving as excellent crew members and protection against actual pirates on the open sea. It's when they become She-Captains that their value goes through the roof.

She-Captains take the natural ferocity of the more animalistic Buttaneers and the grace and natural skill of the Piratits, combining them into a total package that makes for one of the most formidable Pokégirl breeds in the world. If they evolved from a Buttaneer, they lose almost all of their animalistic appearance and become completely human, although they still retain the human equivalent of whatever unique features they had. The only animalistic part of them that remains is some scales on their neck which has their gills on it, allowing them to retain their amphibious nature. Aside from gaining a foot in height and a cup size in bust, there is little to distinguish them from your average Very Near Human-type Pokégirl in terms of appearance, their hair usually hiding their scales if left long.

She-Captains, in terms of personality, become much more calm and collected than their two previous forms. They gain an increase in intelligence and the ability to better calculate strategies and tactics in battle. They make excellent Alphas for harems on either land or sea, although they are most effective when on the open ocean. Like their two previous forms, they can be used readily on land, although they will be somewhat melancholy and depressed unless they are on the open ocean.

She-Captains have a lot of powerful abilities. They retain/gain the ability of Piratits to manifest any one of three weapons their choose to master (but ONLY those three) in either singular or double form. However, like the Piratit, they have to write a mystic rune on the weapon they want to be able to summon and/or replicate. They also retain/gain the ability to control wind and water magic that Buttaneers have, only on a much more powerful scale. She-Captains also gain the ability to teleport from one seagoing vessel to another by melting into the hull of one ship and emerging through the hull of the other. What makes them especially valuable to both Naval and Pirate forces is their ability to pilot any sea-going vessel, be it an old pirate galleon, a luxury cruise liner, a high-tech submarine, or even a tiny dinghy. (As an amusing side note, 'a tiny dinghy' is also favorite insult most She-Captains like to use on most Tamers they do not like. They think it's funnier when the Tamer DOESN'T get the joke.) So skilled are She-Captains at piloting sea vessels that the only real way to sink one when a She-Captain is at the helm is to attack it.

She-Captains are best suited to the Alpha position. Their strong, domineering personality makes it extraordinarily difficult for them to accept leadership from anyone else other than their Tamer, whom they refer to/think of, as their 'Admiral.' She-Captains in the Navy tend to be better able to keep their crews in line than Pirate She-Captains, although both work well together, just in different ways. They are very protective of their Harem-sisters and/or crewmates, and are usually found in the thick of battle with them, barking orders around. She-Captains near or in a Feral state are usually twice as aggressive and rarely give orders that make sense. Their preferences in Taming do not change from their previous form, although they tend to start preferring clothing 'more suited to their rank.' An odd personality quirk common to most of the breed is that they all want a big hat of some kind and are somewhat edgy about letting people touch their hat.

As a side note, the warning about putting Pirate Pokégirls and Ninja Pokégirls in the same harem applies even more in this case. While Piratits and Buttaneers hate most ninja breeds (a feeling which is returned), She-Captains refuse to tolerate their presence at all unless their Tamer can give them six DAMN good reasons why. (They ask for six because it's less likely they'll get the reasons and get to attack.) This rivalry between the pirate breeds and ninja breeds is so intense that only Taverngirls are allowed into certain areas of the Ruby League and Edo League, due to high ninja breed concentrations. Taverngirls are the only evolution of pirate Pokégirls that can tolerate the presence of ninja Pokégirls, due to their generally mellow nature. (Covered further in the Taverngirl entry.) No cases of Threshold into a She-Captain have been reported.