Here's chapter 3! We get to see Carter and Nero growing closer and spooky stuff happens.
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LIT A LIGHT, STAY THE NIGHT
The duo has been traveling together for almost a week when the rainstorm hit.
Roy didn’t consider himself a friendly person, always preferring the company of his Pokemon over people, but he felt like there was something stronger than the obvious physical attraction to Carter as the days went on.
For starters, their admittedly intense first encounter didn’t lead to awkwardness as Carter offered to travel together, to Roy’s surprise. “You look like you could use someone to keep an eye on you. You’re all skin and bones, you should eat more healthily.” The last part may be true, but Roy had some muscles, dammit! It was Carter who was built like a Conkeldurr.
Either way, Roy had accepted. The older trainer was naive enough that their extremely sexy punishment game didn’t register him as an invitation to be something more - but Roy couldn’t deny the eye candy and free homecooked meal every meal. Carter was an amazing cook.
An amazing trainer, however, he was not. They had a few training matches (without any sexy times in the end, as pent-up as Roy was) and it turned out that Carter was hardly familiar with affinity charts or Pokemon natures, just allowing his Pokemon to practice the skills they prefer.
It was… charming, in a way but it could be a little bewildering to see an adult man who wasn’t aware that you couldn’t hit flying Pokemon with ground-type attacks. But Carter never got angry at his Pokemon for his own mistakes, coddled them (maybe a bit too much), and even had cute nicknames for all of them.
As they cleared through the forest they met and began on their hike in a rocky mountain, Roy was starting to think that maybe there was a thing or two he could learn from Carter.
For example, when they got caught in heavy rain that came out of nowhere, Carter simply stopped Roy who was trying to take out his bag, and put up a tent.
“We can’t stay here when there could be landslides!” Carter shouted over the deafening sound of the raindrops. True enough, Pokemon around them were clearing the mountain road, either by flying or digging. “Let’s go down a little, I think I saw a house when we passed that crossroad!”
Roy tried to shout back that he could barely see and they should use their Pokemon to shield them from the downpour before a pair of strong arms scooped him up and hauled him through a ten-minute dash down the mountain.
He couldn’t decide whether it was emasculating or hot that Carter could pick him up and throw him over his shoulder like a baby Pokemon. Probably both.
When the ringing in his ears stopped and Carter put him down, Roy looked around to see that they were on the porch of a lone mountain manor, all vintage architecture and grayed wood panels. It may have been the summer house of a wealthy family but it looked long abandoned.
Carter whistled and hold out a hand out of the roof. “I know this kind of rain. We used to get them occasionally back at the farm. I don’t reckon the sky’s gonna clear until tomorrow.” Roy nodded but in reality, he was too busy looking at the way the other trainer’s nipples and abs were clinging to his wet tank top and - oh, great, now he was wiping his face with his shirt.
Roy turned his back to wring out his beanie. “Yeah, cool. Let’s crash here, then. Nobody would mind us spending the night.”
Carter smiled brightly. “You read my mind. I think it’s a bit rude to just barge in, though. Let’s try not to get inside all muddy.” He carefully wiped his boots on the doormat before opening the door.
Rolling his eyes but couldn’t help a grin, Roy opened the door with a flourish. “Pokemon Rangers first, Mr. Good Boy.”
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“I wonder how long this place’s been empty,” Roy mumbled as he munched a snack bar from his sleeping bag. “It’s creepy how well-preserved everything is.” He was dressed in his sleeping clothes: green boxer briefs and a black short-sleeved shirt that hung loose on his lithe, athletic frame. After some consideration, they both decided to crash into the living room of the mansion, feeling that bedrooms should better be left alone.
Carter frowned from where he stood. He was wearing a Cottonee-patterned pajama set that fit into him, observing the framed photos on the walls. “I feel bad saying this but I hope this manor is really abandoned and we’re not breaking and entering. It feels odd that all rooms we saw so far were fully furnished.”
Roy shrugged and lay down. “Who cares? Maybe rich people just leave a house when they buy a new one. This place is in the middle of nowhere anyway. There weren’t even any signs when we passed the crossroad during the day.”
Something felt off, Carter thought. “I remember seeing a sign, actually. I just couldn’t read it in the rain. I’ll go around and check the other rooms before going to sleep. We wouldn’t want to get waken up by an angry swarm of Rattatas… again.”
As he strolled through the corridor leading to the large double return stairs in front of the entrance, Carter thought he saw a glint of a torch or lamp. What the…? Wasn’t this place supposed to be empty? He didn’t even hear anyone else getting inside - though, that wouldn’t be impossible given the muffled pitter-patter noises in the background.
“Hello? Is there anyone there?” Carter took out his flashlight and walked towards the source of the light - the upstairs. “I’m sorry if we’re trespassing, we were just trying to take shelter from the rain.” He climbed the stairs, the uneasiness inside his chest growing. Should he have brought Roy with him? No, maybe it was nothing and he would’ve bothered the other trainer for nothing. He looked embarrassed after getting carried on Carter’s shoulder for so long and probably needed sleep.
At the top of the stairs, he found that there was a faint but weirdly flickering light pouring behind a big, oak door with fancy carvings on it. Fire, Carter thought in panic. Maybe a lightning stroke lit something on fire!
He hurriedly opened the door, only remembering that he had no means of putting out a fire if there was one. Shoot, he should’ve brought his Pokeballs! But before he had time to regret, Carter saw that nothing was burning. Well, not really.
The master bedroom was filled to the brim with candles. They were virtually on every available space in the large room: on top of the nightstands, chairs, coffee tables, and even the bed. An ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling completed the look, it too, was shimmering with a strange, purple flame like all the other light sources in the room.
As if enchanted, Carter slowly walked to one of the candles. Weird, they looked so familiar. Why would there be so many candles burning without anyone lighting them…
Carter didn’t even notice that his hand moved at all when he felt the cold stickiness of wax on his index finger and realized that he was holding one of the stout candles. Carter froze on the spot. Now, he recalled something his moms warned him against as a kid.
The candle opened one, yellow eye, and beamed at Carter. Looking around, the trainer found that all the other candles in the room were doing the same - which were in fact, living and breathing Pokemon.
Well, not really exactly.
Carter immediately pulled back and began to walk back to the door. “Well, I’m really sorry but I think I interrupted your sleep. I’m not a treat to you so I’ll just leave - my buddies are waiting downstairs and you wouldn’t want to mess with them.”
Something dripped on his shoulder. Looking up in distress, Carter saw that the chandelier was staring at him with soulless eyes, dripping wax from its fiery arms. A few more drops of wax fell on Carter, not feeling hot at all but burning his pajama shirt and evoking an unnatural wariness in him.
“I- ROY, HELP ME!”
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Roy was dozing off as a faint scream rousted him out of his drowsiness. He blinked, trying to get a sense of his surroundings.
How long was he sleeping?! Why Carter was still gone? What took him so long… “Damn it, he got himself into another trouble, I just know it!”
Launching himself off from his sleeping bag, Roy picked up his belt of Pokeballs and made a mad dash toward the hall. “Carter? Where the hell are you?”
“HEELLP-pphhhmmm!” The deep voice unmistakably belonged to his friend but the cry for help cut off as soon it started. Roy had no idea where to start searching for him and there may not be any time to lose!”
Roy gritted his teeth and pulled out a pair of Pokeballs. He hoped Carter was safe but there was no way to be sure. He should’ve been more careful, an old building like this was practically a nest for Ghost-type Pokemon!
“Luxio! Noibat! Go!” Roy threw his Pokeballs, calling out his trusty Pokemons. “Noibat, use Supersonic to echolocate Carter’s location!” The bat Pokemon gave out an affirmative cry and began to fly around the ceiling level. “Luxio! Stay close to me and give a warning if you smell danger.” The leonine Pokemon growled, which would worry Roy if he wasn’t familiar with her but he knew that she was just being cautious.
It didn’t take Noibat to find a lead and guide Roy to a large set of double doors on the second floor. Testing it, he found that the handles were stuck. “Oh, come on! Are you kidding me?”
“Unnnnggghh!”
It was very faint and muffled but there was a voice coming behind the door - it had to be Carter! “Luxio, bust that door open with Spark!”
Luxio’s whole body sparked as she leaped to the door and crashed into it with an electric-powered headbutt, the discharge dispelling the force holding the close and unhinging the door from its frame.
Roy shielded himself from the flying splinters with his arms and ran inside the room. “Carter! Are you okay?”
Looking inside, he found that yes, Carter was there and looked mostly fine but it took him a few minutes to digest the scene in front of him:
There were around a dozen Litwicks - Ghost-type Pokemon that resembled spectral candles - around the room, all gathered in a circle.
At the center of them, Carter was laying on a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, his stiff limbs held in a spreadeagle position. What looked like melted and solidified wax in copious amounts were piled on his ankles and wrists, holding them tight despite the trainer’s muscles straining against them with their full force.
Speaking of muscles, they were fully visible as most of Carter’s clothes were singed to crisps, even though his skin showed no signs of burns. He was only wearing a black jock with an orange waistband, which Roy wouldn’t be surprised if it was fire-proof. The smooth, muscular body that Roy became intimately familiar with was covered in white blotches and spots.
Carter raised his head and looked at him with leading eyes but his voice barely came out in muted moans. The reason was more white wax, this time covering Carter’s jaw in a makeshift muzzle. “Hmmmpphh! Rrrmmmnn! Nnnnggh!”
The struggles of the trainer turned more frantic as a few more drops of wax dripped onto his broad and defenseless chest - one of them hitting him right in the nipple. “MMMPPPGGGHH!” A large Chandelure - a fully evolved form of Litwicks, likely their leader or parent - was slowly swinging above Carter, dripping some weird, phantasmal hot wax onto the young man.
Judging by Carter’s looks, he wasn’t actually burned but Roy knew that these Pokemon absorbed humans’ life force to keep their flames burning. Carter had to be not only restrained but had most of his energy sucked out already.
Roy tried to stay calm and look intimidating with his 5’8’’ glory. “Hey, you!” He pointed his finger to the Chandelure. “You and your friends may be hungry but nobody messes with my buddy! Now take your minions and scram before I make you regret messing with him!”
Litwicks appeared to be scared and some of them actually backed off but Chandelure just cried spookily and flew toward Roy. Roy rolled out of the way just in time to dodge a fireball.
“That’s it! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Noibat, Air Cutter! Luxio, use Crunch on the big one!”
His Pokemon worked in perfect harmony - Noibat sending wind projectiles from his wings to force Chandelure to glide down to get away from them, while Luxio leaped and got her teeth into one of the arms of the droplight Pokemon.
The Dark-type attack was super effective on Chandelure. It tried pulling away with an ear-curling scream but Roy wasn’t bluffing about kicking its ass. He commanded Luxio to shock the phantom Pokemon before he threw a Pokeball.
The Pokeball connected with Chandelure and with a flash captured it inside it. Roy held his breath as the Pokeball vibrated on the floor for a few seconds - before giving a blip that confirmed the Pokemon was caught.
Roy turned to the Litwicks. “You guys better leave. Even with your numbers, you’re no match for your leader. Just go on your own ways and stop ganging up on people.” Now, this was a bluff - there was no way even he could command a strong Pokemon he just captured but it did the trick. One by one, dejected-looking Litwicks vanished, leaving nothing but a scent of smog behind.
Letting out a huge sigh, Roy turned to Carter. “What was it this time? Your Nickit didn’t steal an old family artifact or anything, did he?”
“Gggnnmm uunnnhh!” Carter’s eyes were watery but he still could glare at Roy and pull at his gooey prison.
“Yeah, yeah.” After giving them a pet and putting his Pokemon in their place, Roy walked to him and began to test the wax covering his mouth. This stuff was sturdier than it looked, he thought, no wonder it held a beefcake like Carter.
After fifteen minutes - which Carter whined and wriggled the whole way through, even after Roy straddled him to work on the gag better - the wax was scraped away, letting the bound trainer spit out the last remains of it from his mouth.
Carter made a face as Roy pulled out a thick glob of wax from the corner of his mouth. “Blegh! Thanks, Roy, I really don’t know what I’d do without you. They really got me good.”
Roy shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet.” Though he felt quite proud of the compliment, he didn’t feel that good about being so late. “I shouldn’t have let you wander off alone.”
Carter turned his gaze away. “I didn’t want to disturb you. You looked tired.”
“Tired?! You’re the one who carried me for half a mile!” Roy scratched his head in frustration. “Seriously, don’t be so selfless. We’re partners… well, travel mates now. Learn to rely on me more.”
“Yeah,” Carter didn’t comment on the blush on Roy’s face but smirked. “I guess I can do that.”
After a moment of silence, he added, “now, are you going to let me out?”
Roy hummed. “I don’t know, this shit is pretty strong. Maybe I’ll better wait until the morning and see if Chandelure can melt it.”
“Oh, come on!” Carter tried to push Roy off himself without any success, only flexing his wax-covered muscles. “I’m not hurt but I still want to sleep somewhere nice after all that happened!”
Roy let his hand wander on the wax-adorned abs of Carter, making the older trainer’s breath hitch. “This bed looks plenty comfortable to me. Also, that’s just me but you seemed to enjoy getting hot wax on yourself at least a little.” He moved his hips, pressing on the hardness inside Carter’s jock.
“Th-that’s just a natural reaction when Pokemon absorbed my energy! I don’t actually li-mmmm!” Carter’s speech was cut off short by a palm slapped on his mouth. He frowned at Roy’s smirk, which he now recognized as the cue from another trainer planning something naughty.
Carter wasn’t sure whether he was annoyed or excited about these plans.
“I think they still left some energy in you. Here’s my plan: let’s spend the night here.” Roy pulled his hand before removing his shirt, giving Carter a nice view of his swimmer’s body. “Open up,” he said, wringing his shirt and knotting it tightly in the middle.
“I hate you,” Carter mumbled before cracking his mouth open and letting Roy pull the thin fabric between his teeth, his lips held open by the fat knot. It absorbed some of the moisture in his mouth but he still couldn’t help but drool a little as Roy tipped his head forward to tie the makeshift gag behind his head. “There. Much easier to remove in case of emergencies, don’t you think?”
“Ffffgggnnn hhnnnmmm.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring our stuff up and we can cuddle under some nice sheet all night. How’s that sound?”
“...hhhhhmmmnnn.”
Beaming at Carter’s semi-reluctant submission, Roy leaned down, pressing his bare chest into Carter’s wax-adorned muscles - and their bulges together, eliciting arousing moans from the bound man’s gagged mouth.
“I’ll be right back,” Roy kissed Carter on his temple. “Be careful not to get snatched by some other Pokemon while I’m gone.”
Carter snorted as Roy gave him a playful slap on the chest - then groaned as he pulled his jock down, pinning the pouch under his balls and letting his large hard-on slap himself on the stomach.
In a way, Carter thought, it was amazing how Roy barely changed a thing but suddenly the bonds holding him felt comforting and grounding rather than scary. It wasn’t just the lack of deadly Pokemon, he really had a knack for making others comfortable and following his words.
In a way, it was almost like Carter was one of the Pokemon he was taming - a concept he didn’t find as bothersome as he would some time ago.
But there would be time to ponder about this stuff. Now all he wanted was to get under the sheets with Roy and not think about anything until tomorrow morning.
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“Impressive, isn’t he?”
The man observing the manor with binoculars turned to his partner. “Surviving a dozen Pokemon leeching off of him like that? Impressive is an understatement. But what we’re going to do with him?”
“That’s not our problem for now. But either way, he’d make for a nice present for our boss.”
“So, let’s strike while he’s helpless.”
“Don’t bother. Something tells me that we’ll have plenty of opportunities to capture him.”
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POKEDEX
Luxio: Spark Pokemon. A Pokemon which resembles a lynx and uses its extended claws to send thousands of volts of electricity against its opponents. It is kind and known to share its food with others.
Litwick: Candle Pokemon. It looks like a candle. The purple fire on top of its head is powered by the life energy it absorbs from the Pokemon and humans it leads astray in the dark with its light.
Chandelure: Luring Pokemon. Appearing similar to a chandelier, its flames hypnotize people before burning away their souls instead of their bodies. In the mansions it inhabits, funerals are common.
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