Serenity Base Pilot part 2

Story by White66 on SoFurry

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#2 of Serenity Base pilot

Well, here it is. Took a while, but here it is.


The corridor was silent, dimly lit. And empty. But not unwatched. Cobalt watched through a camera mounted high up on the wall, waiting for the moment they emerged into the corridor. The Pika had not just been tracking Geri, but the other three as well. Even so, it was the Serval that attracted most of her attention. She could see the conflicting emotions on her face, the way she was thinking about her gunging. And what was to come. Cobalt was. Oh yes. She had a lot in store for them. But had to make some preparations first.

Unaware of any of this Lena lead Cara, Amy and Jenny out of the narrow walkway, the door hissing shut behind them, just as another door hisses open and Geri joined them. The Serval still dripping gunge and leaving a trail of slimy footsteps in her wakes. Cara makes sure to catch her gaze and give her a warm smile, getting one in return before she turned her attention back to Lena.

'A very strong start girls. Very strong indeed. Even if Cobalt did manage to..get her way a few times. But you got a good score and that is all that matters. And I'm sure you can continue that here. This way, follow me.'

Lena's enthusiasm was infectious and the four girls found themselves running along behind her. Where they were going, only Lena seemed know where they were going. And Cobalt of course. Which could lead to more traps along the way. At least, that was what she hoped. But after a few twists and turns, it turned out that wasn't going to be the case, Lena opening the door she had been looking for. With just a nod, Jenny stepped through, hearing Lena's voice floating to her from out of a speaker above her.

'Nothing too complex here. Around you are five valves that need to be turned off.

'All you have to do here is simply find five power cells hidden around you. Once you do, bring them to the central chamber. From there, well, you are on your own.'

Jenny nodded, sizing up her challenge. She could see several places where they could be hidden, some obvious and some not. Obvious seemed a good place to start. Like the boxes fixed to the ceiling. Of course, Jenny has an idea what could be in those. They could have the power cells in them. Or..something else. But she can't let that stop her.

A short scramble up and equally short ladder and she had reached the first, the box nicely set level with her head. A quick tug on the handle and she had her first prize. Keeping the small glass tube in her paw, she started her search for the second.

Encouraged, Jenny made a move to the next box she could see, her feet ringing over the catwalk until it was before her. This one required no more real effort either, swinging open to her paw. A glance around her showed her progress, and where she had to go next. The third would be more difficult. It wasn't that she couldn't see it, it was just that it lay on the other side of a gap in the catwalk, the empty air only bridged by a series of narrow platforms that slid in and out of the wall as she watched. The fall wasn't far but would cost her time if she did. Well, she had better not fall then. Making it look easy, Jenny cleared the gap in two short leaps, landing sure footed on the other side.

Just like she made it look easy to open the next box, not just to open it but to reach it too with just an easy jump. It certainly looked that way to Geri, her eyes having been glued to the screen since the game started. Jenny only needed two more now, and it looked like she was going to get those easily enough too. At least until she lost sight of her, the rabbit slipping under a set of rusted and corroded pipes. Not seeing anything until a flash of colour filled the screen, the pipes bursting and spraying gunge from the weakened seals. What they couldn't see was her finding and opening another box, this one fixed to the ceiling. It wasn't as easy to open as the others, she had to turn a valve. Which she did and as soon as it turned the pipes had burst, the valve opening vents around her. But they couldn't see that happen, they saw nothing of her until the rabbit burst through the gungy curtain, dripping blue slime down her ears and shoulders.

The surprise gunging didn't seem to have dampened Jenny's enthusiasm. Far from it, she seemed to be encouraged by it, spurred on even. Slipping in the gunge, she moved on and up. Taking the next ladder that lead her right to the top. Only to find one box, not two. She made it to the closest and was disappointed. It had nothing inside. So, she had to check the last one. With plenty of time. At least, from the quick glance at the timer, she saw she did. Not worrying about this, Jenny raced to the last box, hoping she was right. That she had what she needed, that she could find what she needed. And she did. The last power cell sat inside, Jenny grabbed it quickly and made her way down to the central chamber with a hasty scramble.

It was a few long seconds and she was inside, the panel sitting ahead of her with the five slots in it. Just as Jenny had expected. Thinking fast, Jenny pulled out the power cells, trying to work out exactly where they went. She really had no idea which was meant to go where, so she just tried them. She lucked out with the first, the console responding with a beep as the power cell locked into place. Shame she didn't have the same luck with the second, it took Jenny three tries to find the right one. But she pressed on.

The central chamber where her last challenge waited. Jenny carried her collection of power cells to the central chamber, turning her mind to the puzzle she will have to solve there. She is really starting to get her head around how this game works. And she is sure that she will have to complete one more game. But what.

That is the question that bounced around her head as she stepped into the chamber, hearing the door close behind her. That didn't phase her any more, she knew she couldn't get out. And that whatever happened was going to happen. It's not like she could be even more excited right now, the bunny buoyed up on a wave of..adrenaline..or..or..something.

Jenny tried to calm down, to focus. She needed to do this. And that meant figuring out the game. At least the chamber did offer some clues. The panel in front of her had slots that where obviously intended for the power cells. But the order. That was the issue.

Luckily, she had found a clue to that too. In a cryptic form anyway. One sentence written on the screen overhead. 'Alpha to Omega. Omega to Alpha. Beginning to End. End to Beginning.' Jenny had to read the bright red words several times to get her head around them. And she might not have got it had she not looked down the power cells in her arms.

It was the symbol on top that caught her eyes, and she started. Omega. The Greek symbol. And one more looked like Alpha. So..reverse order. It must be. The idea was the only thing that made sense to Jenny, the rabbit racing to the Omega box and slotting the Alpha cell inside. That done, she moved on along the line until she reached the last one and reversed what she had done for the first box. Omega into Alpha. That must be it. She has no choice, she really only has ten seconds left. That really added speed and haste to her, slapping on the button that filled the centre of the console.

Now it was just a wait, watching the timer count down. She really had no idea what was going to happen. But she knows what she wanted to happen. She had no idea if this was going to be her time, the time she got what she wanted. With a grin, she looked up as the timer flicked to zero. Excitement bubbled up, waiting to hear the sound she most wanted. Now did she really take time to look at the assembled collection of power cells, seeing that each was topped with a different symbol. Greek symbols. She recognised omega. But the rest was, well, Greek to her. But that did make it easier. Her gaze drawn to the boxes around the edge of the room, she yanked open the one marked omega. It slid in easily and Jenny moved to the next. But she was all too aware of the time ticking away. She had ten seconds left by the time she reached the console. And had no time to try again. She had to hope she had read the clue correctly, that she was right about having to work them backwards.

It wasn't like she had a choice. Taking an excitedly shaky breath, Jenny hit the button with her paw firmly. Jenny's heart pounds, her eyes continuously drawn up to the pipes over her head, her ears straining for the sound of rushing gunge that she hopes will proceed the klaxon. The pipes are large enough that she would have no chance to avoid the downpour of gunge that would quickly fill the chamber. And leave little of her spared, drenching her in seconds. And it wouldn't last seconds.

Jenny can't take the wait, but she has no choice to just stand there, her paws clasping and unclasping excitedly. Any second now, the timer will count down and..just at that second, a sharp buzzer sounds. Jenny starts, this is it, she now just has to wait for...nothing. Nothing else reaches her ears, no whooping klaxon, no sound of rushing gunge, no harsh clunk or catchak of machinery activating. Nothing except her disappointed sigh, drawn from her as the door opens.

Jenny's ears strained in her excitement for the klaxon, the sound of rushing gunge, anything. Anything to let her know if she has won or lost. She can't help looking up, knowing that if the gunge does come here, she has no choice or way to avoid it. The large pipes that attract her attention would pump in enough gunge to...well..drench her in seconds. And it wouldn't last seconds. Jenny couldn't take it, she just had to stand there, preying and hoping as the timer clicked down, the harsh mechanical click echoing in her ears. She had no choice but to wait and see, her paws clasping and unclasping excitedly, with excited anxiety. Then a sharp buzzer cuts across the silence and Jenny squeezes her eyes shut, waiting for...nothing. Because nothing happens, no whooping klaxon, no lights flashing around her and no gunge rushing over her. Again.

'Well, well, you really are proving most skilled, my little bunny. I'm going to have to make things much harder after this.' Cobalt snickers, her voice making it clear that the game is over. 'And messier too, you have been getting away clean for too long.'

Clean. Jenny smirks as she flicks her gunge streaked hair over her shoulder. She hadn't exactly got very messy, but she wasn't clean either. Even if she wasn't as messy as any of the others had gotten. Yet, anyway. If Colbalt was telling the truth, that might not last that long. That does help her mood rise, that thought that is being set up for some huge gunging along the way. Or at least she really hopes so.

'Congratulations Jenny.' Lena greeted her as she returned to the others. 'Another strong performance. One that earned you and your team a solid two hundred and fifty points, the maximum for this game. But we can't rest on our laurels so to speak. We really should get on. Geri, who will play the next game?'

'I will.' Geri said, surprising the others. The only one that didn't look shocked was Lena, but she didn't comment on it.

'Good for you. Let's go, this way. By the way..what is a laurel?'

Geri had no answer for the question, or the issues in her head either, the questions. She must have been mad. She had seen the last game, had heard Cobalt's threat and she was going to play the next one. But she felt she had too.

Geri has to play the next game and will be seated in the tank while the others have to connect the various pipes to the tank, the way to win to build a pipe to drain the gunge out of the tank over her head, having to find and bring the pieces back to make the correct pipe that is needed. Both length and seal are needed to win, if the pipe isn't correctly assembled, it won't drain. It's like a huge plumbing job and they have to go and find the other pieces from pipes around them. Each piece is hidden in the middle of a crawl way maze and hidden in piles of junk. So they have to go crawling around and finding them. Some crawl ways have hidden pits of gunge or releases in them, or in some cases, they have to pull the piping free of other pipes that are still flowing with gunge. Which gives them more chances to get gunged.

'Right, Geri, you can take it easy for this one and let your team do the work. You just go and have a seat in there.' Lena points towards the familiar circular chamber.

At least she will be comfortable, Geri sighs. The seat in the centre of it, low backed and very padded with enclosed sides, is comfy. Or feels it, her hand running over the arm rest. It just..won't give her much room to move. Or escape the gunge. Sitting here, she won't be able to escape it or move out of the way. She has just seen the pipes overhead that might seal her fate, if her teammates loose. Not that she knows what they have to do to win, yet.

'Right, with Geri nice and settled, we can get started. As you can see, we have had a few problems with the plumbing around here. Very unfortunately for Geri, as the pipe that would drain gunge away from the tank over her head has been broken. Luckily we have plenty of spare parts around, if you can find them. A nice easy 100 points is available of you can fix it, plus ten for each piece you find. Some of them are hidden around you do you will have to search for them.'

Cara seems to take those words to heart, moving towards the pile of piping lying underneath the two ends off the once complete pipe that they have to build, sorting through the pieces they do have, pieces that look very similar to Jenny. Okay, they are of different lengths, but how to tell them apart. That is the question.

Before Jenny has even thought about an answer to that, Cara seems to have come up with one herself, sorting through the pieces to see which will fit at the start. Leaving her to do that, Jenny picks up the pieces she had discarded and starts to see if she can fit them together. It seems to her the fastest way to build the pipe.

Cara had known it was going to be a process of elimination, and it certainly seemed to be. She had already eliminated five pieces and was worried that maybe she would have to go and search for more. She had just started to be convinced of that when the piece in her paws clicked into place. With a triumphant grin, Cara spun to face her teammates.

Amy and Jenny had been doing just as well, already having assembled two pieces that Amy helped her slip into place with another satisfying click. As satisfied as they are, Geri is equally relieved. She had been worried this game might be more complex than that, but she is starting to think she might get away clean. Trying not to think about the gunge around her, she settles back into the seat slowly.

It helps to watch her team's progress, trying to focus on them winning and not..well, what will happen if they don't. It's still the elephant in the room and Geri cannot help mind seesawing back and forth from nervousness to hopeful and then back again. At least the others don't see, to have been distracted as she feels.

Jenny is a surprised as the other's as to how quickly they had managed to get this done. She had thought it would take longer as well, but the pipe is nearly done. Between the three of them, they have over half of it assembled with just three pieces left to go. Desire their successes, they only have a minute left though. Jenny just has to hope that is enough.

Pushing that from her mind, she sets about trying to connect the piece of piping in her hand to the end. It takes a few seconds of twisting but it slots in too, leaving just a short gap between the two halves, a gap that Cara and Amy seem to be about to fix. They had managed to assemble the remaining two halves of the pipe and are about to fix it in place.

Jenny spares a quick glance at Geri as she races towards the switch, wanting to be ready to throw it as soon as the others give her the go ahead. Geri seems to be trying to keep her worries under control, but she can see the way she is biting her lip nervously. Jenny can only imagine how she must feel right now, that feeling of being totally depend on how they do, relying on them to keep her clean. Very much the opposite of what she would be feeling. It seems that Geri's worries haven't been banished after all.

Jenny nearly missed Amy calling out to her, but she heard it just in time and she threw the switch. Back inside the chamber, Geri waited with baited breath, the serval-girl twisting her paws together nervously.

Sinking down in the chair, her heart pounding, her pending gunging seeming all but inevitable. Even as Jenny throws the lever again. Her breath catches in her throat, her blood roaring in her ears. She just isn't sure..have they won? Could she have got away with it?

The silence stretched on and on, Geri dares to sit up a little straighter. Perhaps she.. This thoughts are instantly smashed, just like the silence. She gets no warning, the klaxon not even giving her a second to even prepare to protect herself. It has only just dawned on her how close she is, how enclosed.

Even as the gunge hits, Geri sinks back down with a shriek, keeping her head hunched and arms thrown up. It is the best she can do to protect herself. And might have been enough, but the gunge is so thick, she sees it before it hits her, the pipes spraying from all sides, the gunge starting as a trickle but she knows where it will be going. She was right, she cannot avoid it, hunching up even more, keeping the thick black gunge from her feet. Which works for a few seconds, but not any longer. Then she is consumed by it, the steady streams lapping higher and higher, slathering over her arms and up her torso. She does manage to protect most of her head, but can't stop some of it tricking down her neck. She shivers, it's so sticky, more of shudder. She hadn't imagined it would be this much. It has poured over her, dripping over her bangs, her paw sweeping her hair clear, her ears slicked down.

It trickles of and she shudders again, the last trickles dribbling down her neck and shoulders, reaching areas it hadn't touched yet. She had been surprised, it hadn't been as bad as she expected, it was oddly wicked but it was unlike anything she had experienced yet. The thickness of it meant that she had been pretty well covered and not a lot wasted, most of it sticking to her waist and legs, only a bit dripping down her legs. It seems to cling to her and doesn't slip off as she stands, and climbs out. She had to be happy about the points they scored.

Geri had no time to dwell on that, Lena quickly leading them towards the next game. Or so she assumed. The door opened and they all followed behind her. This game was going to be different from the rest, the fact that they are all in here together tells her that. But what the game will be about, she doesn't know. Not yet.

Jenny lead the team inside, Lena directed her towards the cart next to her, then lead her team towards a raised control room that sat off to their left, the door sliding open as they approached. So while the other three stepped into the control room, Jenny scrambled into the cart, scanning the room for any clues about this game. She couldn't see much around her, just the line of track running under the narrow archway, hiding whatever was on the other side. Whatever it was, it is bound to be something to get her gunged. It had to be, this is the last game. If she was going to be gunged, it was now. Unless Cobalt had picked her to mess with her again, rather than mess her.

Jenny wasn't surprised when the cart lurched forward, the movement barely making her wobble. She had already been expecting it, clutching to the sides. Which she kept doing as she was carried under the archway, the darkness wrapping around her until she is brought out into the light again.

The reason that she had started moving was that her team had started the game. The idea of it had been pretty easy, the controls ahead of them obviously designed to control the carts, the wide windows letting them see the maze of tracks that Jenny was being carried towards. Jenny was getting a better view of it, the cart rumbling to a halt before three different tracks, all of the hung over with thick pipes that pointed down right over them.

So..which would gunge her? That was the question. And Jenny couldn't give her team an answer about which one she should take. They all looked the same to her, all of them seeming to have the same chance of gunging her.

Geri had seemed to come to the same conclusion, running her eyes over to the control panel that has already sprung into life. 'So..what do you guys think?' she asks, her paw hovering over the three buttons that will allow them to control the direction of Jenny's travel.

'I dunno.' Amy said thoughtfully. 'I guess we just have to guess. Forward feels lucky to me.'

Amy had been eyeing the pipes too, all of them covering the various directions they could send Jenny down. All with an equal chance of getting her gunged. So, choosing is all they can do.

Geri can't help but agrees with that. They really have nothing else to go on. So with only a moment's hesitation, she pressed the up arrow, swallowing as the button clicked into place. All of them waited with baited breath to see what would happen, the reaction to the button being pushed came slowly.

Jenny had been surprised by the lack of movement, expecting the cart that carried her along to shift to one of the other tracks on either side of her. She didn't know why, she just had feeling that might be what would happen. But no matter what she thought, the cart rumbled on steadily. Carrying her right towards the first set of sprayers that Jenny had seen earlier, the wide pipes aimed right down at the piece of track she was moving along.

'Please, let it happen.' Jenny shivered, unable to take her eyes off them as she rattled closer, knowing that she would be carried right under them. And it seemed her team had chosen well, for her that is. When she was barely a foot away, the pipes erupted in a heavy stream of pink gunge that slathered over her before she even had a chance to prepare herself, the cool slimy gunk blocking her vision as she was dragged right under the heavy torrent. More slime pooled around her feet, splashing off her head and leaving most of her untouched, only a little trickle of gunge running down her neck..

As much as she had enjoyed that, It didn't last anywhere near as long as Jenny would have liked, still, the bunny girl didn't think she would get off so lightly next time. But that was up to her team.

Geri had been considering their next move, her paw avoiding the centre button since that hadn't done so well for them last time. Yes, they had already got good points for collecting the three keys but now they good get more. Geri was still warring with the idea about purposely gunging her teammate but she had to keep reasoning that Jenny liked it. Still, it was really just blind guess work which way they sent her next. Cara's guess work it seemed, her paw slapping the left button as Geri dithered.

This time Jenny was taken less by surprise as the cart lurched to the left, the pooled slime slapping higher up her legs. So that she was forced to grab to the side of the cart to remain standing, holding on and waiting for the gunge to come pouring down on her again. 'Any second now.' she kept thinking as she inched closer to the pipes, not daring to lower her gaze, waiting and wanting to see the very moment when the slime splashed down over her. It never came. Without even a trickle or drop, Jenny moved out from under the pipes, still as clean as she had been when she went inside. Okay, not completely clean. But nowhere near gungy enough for her liking.

How long that was going to last, she was going to find out very soon. She had just passed the middle of the track strewn room and something told her things would get a lot messier after this. Maybe just her hopes, but it was a thought she clung too. It seemed the pipes she had been run under before really were just the start. The different rails she faced now were lined with more pipes, so many that she shuddered about the thought of being carried under them. She really would have nowhere to hide, she wouldn't just be gunged. She would be completely gunged, totally slimed. And the odds can't be stacked in her favour. Or stacked in favour of Cobalt anyway. It was all just a matter of seeing which way her team picked, which way they sent her.

Unaware of Jenny's thoughts, the others had still been scrutinising the console, weighing up their options. It was Amy that spoke first. 'How about left?' Amy asked, tapping the corresponding button lightly. 'It's got to be a good as any, right?'

'Uhuh.' Cara nodded. 'I think we have to go with it. We are running out of time here.'

'Yeah, but look.' Geri says. 'The right hand path is much shorter. If we take that, we can get Jenny out of here that much quicker.' That is just a guess though, it isn't about time. It's about picking the right path. If they pick the safe path, they get more points. 'So, we should take that one.' Getting nods from the others, Geri pressed the button confidently.

Jenny couldn't fight the surge of sudden excitement and shock she felt, she was moving to the right. Straight down the path she had wanted. This just had to work, it just had too. But what would happen? How would it happpen? Would it happen?

It started more slowly, not just with gunge pouring from the pipe. Not all of them. Foam too, heavy, thick and white. Already the track is layered with it, more and more of it piling higher. The rabbit will be drenched before she is halfway through. As she gets closer, she can hear the hissing with each inch she travelled.

Her eyes screwed shut as she went under, the foam slopping around her ears and head, splattering onto her shoulders and over her, the rest of her not being spared. And this is just the start. The sound of the hissing foam is replaced by the heavy splatter of the gunge. As is what she felt. Jenny giggled just a little before she was swallowed by the deluge that swept the foam away from her body. Her guess had been right, this next gunging was longer than the last, but not by much. Just like the last time she was hit by a wash of slime from one pipe, but as that faded, another hit from the other side, splattering her so that her body was a mix of two colours that ran together in the middle, forming a deep and vibrant green. That gunge had started to run down her legs as the cart trundled clear, the rabbit girl now up to her knees in the gunge. It was only a shame it wouldn't go much higher, the lip of the cart stopping just below her hips.

Jenny could see the next run would be the last, the rail reaching the end of the room. But the last run would be the longest. And the messiest. It was a question of what would happen. Or was starting to get a feeling what would happen, she could see the quickest route out. But that might be the one that got her gunged more.

It just comes down to which route they chose for her. Without knowing how her team is doing she can't know what they will do.

How they are doing is the very thought that is running through the heads of the other three. It's come to one last choice. Geri is seeing that clearly. Part of her is just thinking they should get it over with and just pick.

'I dunno. Which way do you think?' Geri mused, flicking her eyes over the console. She really has no idea what to pick, to be able to decide which way. Either one could have the same results..or very different results. Okay, it's not like they get more points by avoiding getting Jenny gunged. But still...

'Let's just pick one.' Amy had mirrored her thoughts, moving her paw to hover over the centre switch. Geri agrees with that, they are all the same. It's not like she knows what each one will do, what will happen if she chooses. On the other hand, it's not like she can get messier.

Jenny still waited or see what would happen, to see if she sold get one last gunging. This had to have been building up to something, something big. But which. The three paths ahead of her the three doorways left her no clues. Her ultimate fate lay behind one of them. One wouldn't get her gunged, the other two..well, she doesn't know. But they could certainly get her gunged.

Her eyes are resting on the centre door, something about it just feeling good. 'Please, please let them pick that one.' Jenny whispered, her eyes not leaving the area they are locked on.

Still, it comes as a surprise when the cart lurched forward, inching closer and closer to the door, which is starting to rise equally slowly. Frustratingly slowly, she so wants to see what is on the other side. As it rises up past yet eye line, she cannot help thinking they had picked the wrong one, the door revealing a long empty corridor. At least until the door fully rises, letting her see the pipes that line it. Not just from the roof, but along the walls and pointing up from the floors too. Jenny swallows, her head spinning. All her excitement bubbling up and filling her mind. This is not going to be anything like she has experienced before. And she can't wait for it too starts. Seems she doesn't have long to wait.

And she didn't. The cart started moving, admittedly moving much more slowly. That was obvious. Something else that was equally easy for her to see, almost impossible for her to miss really. She was not even within three feet of the sprayers and already they had activated, gallons of gunge splashing down onto the track and leaving her in no doubt what was going to happen to her. Not to mention just heightening the anticipation of it. Her anticipation bubbles higher, ripples of it dancing over her body. The next thirty seconds where the longest of her life, each inch she moved forward feeling like a mile. But she was getting closer, the streams where inches away now and Jenny could feel droplets sloshing onto her head and arms. But that was nothing compared to what she felt as she was dragged under the thick green torrent, her head instantly matted down by the sheer weight of it, more tricking down her shoulders and sweeping over her chest. She was only able to stand and try to keep her balanced as the wickedly relentless surge of gunge swamped her whole body, more and more gushing over her as she inched further through the sprayers. She could feel the gunge lapping around her thigh, and stills creeping higher, her shorts that had been spared before now clinging tightly to her hips. How long she had been under the stream she didn't know, but she had to rely more on feel that sight to know when she emerged from under them.

It was a terse wait to see what would happen, Jenny now creeping closer and closer to her ultimate fate. This wasn't going to be a quick gunging..unlike the single sprayers she would be run through a long line of them. They started up one by one as she approached, and the rabbit clutched to the edge of the cart. She could see the line of sprayers running ahead of her to the wide tank that would contain her ultimate fate.

Her paws still clenched tight around the cart rim as Jenny was carried under the first sprayer and almost washed away by the pressure, struggling to keep standing as the warm deluge splattered over her shoulders and slopped into the pool around her feet.

Pink joined with red as she moved further along, the gunge now washing over her head and drenching her ears in the growing and unyielding stream. That stream grew as she drew closer to the end, swamping all of her before she was carried clear and right into the chamber, her arrival heralded by a shower of sparks and the all familiar wailing klaxon. Knowing what was coming, Jenny risked raising her head to get a quick glimpse of the four pipes arrayed over her and around her, no further sound announcing the start of her gunging.

It started slow, four thin streams dropping from the edge of the chamber, arching right down to splash over the rabbit girl, rebounding off her body in all directions, the thick pink slime drawing an excited grin from her. It was all she had expected and wanted, the streams turning to full torrents, each stream wrapping around Jenny no matter the way she moved. If she was moving, and she wasn't. She didn't want to, to do anything to spoil this.

Thanks to the amount of the gunge drenching her, this is largely a private moment; none of the others being able to see her reaction. Or what is really happening to the bunny girl. They can see nothing behind the curtain of gunge except the vague outline of a female bunny body under the goo. The cart around Jenny has already filled with gunge and is now pooling over the sides, subtle waves slipping more of it away from her, caused by the slowly emptying tanks around her. The streams are slowing too, just allowing the others one quick glimpse of Jenny before the lights go out.

Cobalt has to say how they did, the way they scored, each good choice giving them one hundred points, so three hundred out of five hundred points. A good ending. But they aren't done yet. And neither am I. You carry on. And we will meet again.'