Myrida: Episode 2

Story by FoxyRedfield on SoFurry

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Just as Fox is adapting to his new life as a member of Tiamat Squad his world is up-ended by his first active field mission. He, Brock, Binx and the rest of the Squad rush to apprehend a band of Human terrorists holed up on the outskirts of Yros--the same Human terrorists who put Fox in this predicament in the first place. But upon arriving at the scene, a Mage ambushes the Squad, forcing them inside the compound and into a trap. Not all is as it seems and unbelievable revelations shock the team to their core as they fall victim to the insidious designs of the Gestaltian Empire's menacing magic-users. Can Fox and his team survive their sick game? Check out Episode 2 of the Myrida series, an erotic inflation adventure!


Myrida

Episode 2

Fox Redfield

The following is a little writing project I'm working on. It's furry erotica and contains explicit sexual imagery including m/m, m/f, f/f sexual intercourse. It also includes inflation fantasy in part because it's hot, and also in part because it works as a mechanic in the story. Don't like it? Go find something you do like. That being said, in addition to this work being fap-material, a.k.a erotica, I want to convey to my reader that it is absolutely the intent of this author to world-craft and create a lengthy, episodic tale that will hopefully sweep you up in its characters and settings and entertain you. I hope you will find an imaginative and engaging world to fantasize within. I welcome constructive feedback from my readership so, by all means, contact me with suggestions. Equally, if you find yourself inspired to illustrate any of this, please feel free to send me a pic or a link. I'd love to see your art. Without further ado...

No sex in this one. Inflation throughout, but the main show starts on page 25. Fox took the assault rifle that Tyler handed him. It was long and heavy, black, cold steel. Even through the orange fur at his shoulder he could feel the icy butt of the gun pressed there. He took aim at the target down at the end of the range, some nondescript, humanoid outline, swaying. He closed one eye, lining up his sights at chest level then took a deep breath.

POP!

He squeezed the trigger, letting loose a round. The recoil of the gun jarred him and he let it fall to his side. "Shit," he spat.

"Still, Fox?" Tyler laughed. "Man, these guns are designed to not hit that hard. How weak are you?" He continued to laugh.

Fox glared at him. It was true; he wasn't very strong. For gods' sakes, he was bookish up until a couple of weeks ago. If he'd known he was going to wind up working for a government Magic Elimination Squad, then he probably would have hit the gym a time or two. Even after two weeks of all kinds of training, from physical fitness to gun practice, he still wasn't getting any better than when he started. He looked to the target down the range and, as if to confirm his own thoughts, saw that he had missed. He looked to his feet, a habit Binx was trying to get him to break.

"Don't sweat it," Tyler continued. "You'll get the hang of it. Everyone has to start somewhere." Fox looked to Tyler, seeing the broad smile crossing the young brown fox's face below his glasses. "Come on, Foxy. To the lab," Tyler said taking Fox's gun and stowing it away. Fox followed behind. Despite the fact that Tyler was also a fox Anthro, for whatever reason some of the Tiamat staff had taken to calling Fox, "Foxy." He kind of hated it.

They left the range, Fox following behind Tyler, looking him over. Tyler was a Fennec variety, which put him at about a foot-and-a-half shorter than Fox. His fur was brown, for the most part, broken only by black "gloves" and "socks" that ended at his wrists and ankles, unlike Fox's who went up to his forearms and mid-calves. Fox imagined there was probably some white on Tyler's slim torso somewhere, but he seemed to always stay pretty fully dressed anytime Fox saw him. In typical Tiamat fashion, Tyler wore a black uniform consisting of a short-sleeved, black, button-up shirt and black pants that clung to his somewhat muscular legs, a clasp in the back to accommodate his large, bushy brown tail that ended in a black tip. His uniform wasn't all that common as far as Fox had seen. In fact, compared to the armored outfits of some of the other members of the MES, Tyler's was pretty casual. Probably because he's a researcher, Fox thought. Tyler's defining feature, however, was his big, almost rabbit-like ears that rose off of the top of his dark, wavy headfur. Even Fox had to admit that it was pretty adorable. Fennec's were always cute, no matter how they came.

They made their way down the stainless-steel corridors of the Tiamat facility, Fox occasionally spying the yellow, twin-headed dragon insignia of their squad on a few doors. It was a simple logo, the solid yellow dragon encased in a downward-pointing triangle, negative space outlining its form and its eyes. Still, in its simplicity, there was something fiery about it. They finally reached the lab and Tyler took out his keycard.

"Let me get that," Fox said, swiping his own keycard, the door swishing open. Tyler eyed him. Since his captivity began, Brock had expanded the his access to the compound. Now, in addition to his room, he could get into the labs and the library, where he did most of his work for the squad. He still didn't have access to the elevators--the only exit--but he couldn't blame them there. They knew he'd run off. _He_knew he would. His situation being what it was, he tried his best to make the most of it, reading, writing, training, taking in what he could about anti-magic theory. It was almost like he never left the university which, he remembered as he thought, he didn't; they were under the Engineering Building. He and Tyler entered and both immediately caught sight of Erica, their direct superior next to Sheila and Brock.

"Hello, Erica," Fox said, giving a weak smile. The slim rabbit was seated on a stainless-steel table, reading a tome covered in runes. She glared at Fox with her icy blue eyes from beneath her glasses and then went back to reading. Erica was short, about the same height as Tyler if you factored in their ears. She was white all over, the pads of her paws a bright pink, the same as the inner portion of her ears and nose. Like most of the squad, she was small-framed, slender. Her chest was small, but her hips flared out to either side, hinting at her ample posterior. For whatever reason that Fox had yet to figure out, she always wore a lab-coat over her black uniform, which was similar to Tyler's.

"Doctor Ypsis," Tyler said, approaching Erica. "I emailed you the proposals for the upgrades to the MEGs this afternoon. Did you get a chance to look at them yet?"

"No," the Erica said flatly. "Any progress on the collars?"

"Sorry, ma'am. They're still a long way off, I'm afraid," Tyler replied. Erica nodded and turned a page.

"Why are you in my lab?" She asked. Tyler stiffened.

"Brock has us on alert for deployment this afternoon. I was going to show Fox some of the MEGs. So he, uh, doesn't get any of us blown up."

Erica nodded again, not looking up from her book. "Very good. You may proceed."

Tyler shuffled a little nervously, then motioned for Fox to follow after him, leading Fox to a nearby table. "These," Tyler said grabbing two large, round black balls that filled either paw, "are MEGs: Magic Elimination Grenades. They're our most effective protective weapon against magic, well, so far . . . me and Doctor Ypsis have been working on--"

"Ahem," Erica coughed at Tyler, still fixed on her tome.

"Oh right, well. Anyway! These are our best protection against magic. But don't be fooled; they're just as dangerous. These two are disarmed, but a live one can have the same effect on you as magic can." Fox stared at the grenades. He reached a delicate paw out and took one from Tyler, looking it over.

"I don't understand," Fox said. "If they eliminate magic, then how are they just as deadly?"

"Ah, well," Tyler replied. "That's the thing. They are magic." Fox flinched and then dropped the grenade. Tyler laughed.

"The odds are kind of stacked against us, Foxy, so we've got to fight fire with fire." Tyler knelt down and retrieved the grenade. "So it takes magic to nullify magic. These babies, here, get assembled by robots. Until their magical components are safely encased in the outer shell, then we can't touch them or . . . well you know."

"So once they're manufactured, they're fine to handle, then?"

"Well, yeah, if you're just holding one. It's how they're used that's dangerous. You see . . ." Tyler paused a moment to think of an analogy. "Let's say Binx got hit with some magic and now he's busting out of his pants." Fox didn't even want to imagine it, but he found himself picturing the scenario anyway, his balls stirring a little. "So you arm one of these and give it a throw. Poof!_Its magical contents are expelled and they absorb whatever magic is puffing up your teammate. A simple enough concept. Except there's a downside. You see, you have to be pretty far away. You can't just drop it next to someone and wait for it to go off. The magical components inside will save your friend, civilian or what have you, but . . ." Tyler paused to make sure Fox was paying close attention. "If _you get hit by it, and you aren't already under the effects of magic, well, then the opposite will happen to you. You'll blow up again, compromising everyone who was trying to save other guy. Because now we have to try to save you. Making sense?"

"Y-yeah," Fox said, perturbed. "Yeah, that makes sense. Is . . . is this really the best defense we have against magic? Seems a little flawed to say the least."

SLAM!

Erica closed the book hard with one paw, standing and glowering at Fox. "In the wrong hands, Mister Faldryn, it is," she said, ice in her voice. "That is why you are being instructed by my protégé in its proper use." Fox shrunk from her approaching presence, even though it only served to put him at eye-level with the rabbit. She closed the distance, glaring at him further. "I'll have you know that I am the one who perfected the Magic Elimination Grenade, which is now used all over Myrida. I am very much aware of its flaws, Mister Faldryn. My only concern is that it finds its way into the hands of novices like yourself. Now, if you have no further critiques," she paused, eyeing Fox sternly, "remain silent, and allow Tyler to instruct you further." With that, she turned on her heel, presumably to return to the tabletop.

"The thing is," Fox said. What are you doing, Fox? Shut up. But it was too late; she spun back around, her eyes flaring with contempt. "Binx saved me with magic. He used a spell from . . . from," Fox finally noticed the tome in Erica's paw; it was the same as the one Binx was holding when he saved him. "From that book, there." Fox pointed, staring at her, waiting for her rebuttal. Finally she raised the book.

"This book, here, Mister Faldryn?" She placed a paw on her hip, shifting her weight to the side.

"Y-yeah. He said there was a difference between magic and spells. He saved me with something out of that book." Erica narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"Innu'noctai," she said flatly. Fox's ears perked. He looked at her, perplexed before he suddenly felt a familiar swelling in his gut. He looked down to see his belly starting to bulge outward.

"W-what?" He said in disbelief, watching his stomach continue to expand in front of him, pressing against his already tight pants, the realization that he was inflating again suddenly hitting him. "P-please, Doctor Ypsis, don't. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean t--" He stopped as he felt his ass starting to expand behind him, his face involuntarily flushing.

"Exolarai," she said, and Fox's inflation stopped. He slowly started to return to his normal size. He gripped his midsection, looking in wide-eyed disbelief at himself and then Erica. She smiled smugly at him. "In the right hands, Mister Faldryn." She turned and left the lab.

For a long while, Fox said nothing. Neither did Tyler. They both stood in utter disbelief at what Erica had done to Fox. Finally, Tyler spoke.

"Um . . ." he began. "I've never seen her do that before, just so you know." Tyler gulped audibly. "It . . . it's probably best if you don't . . . uh . . . It's probably best if I just take you back to your room for now. Is that okay?"

Normally Fox would want to finish his morning in the library before lunch but, given the circumstances, he was inclined to agree with Tyler.

"Y-yeah," he said. "That's probably a good idea."

Tyler led him out of the lab and back down the long, monotonous hallway. They continued on for a while before Fox finally broke the silence.

"What's her deal, anyway? It's bad enough that I have to put up with Sheila teasing me, Auron staring at me, Brock ignoring me, and you treating me like I'm some kind of kit. Why does she have to pile on too? Oh, and by the way, I hate being called 'Foxy.'"

"Well you can blame Sheila for that, Foxy," Tyler smirked. "As for Doctor Ypsis, well . . . I think Brock made it pretty clear to you that we're all dangerous people. In fact," Tyler looked back smiling, "since you're one of those survivors, ya know, the ones who like it? Well, he laid out the contingency pretty succinctly to the rest of us about what to do with you if you didn't comply. So, I guess, in that regard, you can't get too mad at Doctor Ypsis for the way she treated you. But, once again, Fox: I've never seen her do that. Seems like you really push her buttons."

"Gods," Fox sighed. "I thought Brock was just kidding about that. Is that really what you guys would do to me?"

"Well," Tyler started, "Binx would probably have a thing or two to say about it." Fox's heart fluttered. "But . . ." Tyler continued, "better than a bullet to the head, don't you think? I mean . . . at least you could go out enjoying it. That's better than most get."

Fuck, this kid is blunt, Fox thought. But, just like Binx, he knew how to get to Fox. Sure, he was right about that; Fox knew it, too. Still, there were things to live for. There were reasons not to go down that road. Yeah, Fox knew he was irreversibly inflatable, but he wasn't exactly going out of his way to make that happen. In fact, it was to the contrary; he threw himself into his physical training, toning his slender body, hoping that it would provide him some resistance to his newfound fetish. Obviously, that wasn't a viable hope. Erica's magic threw that all out the window. The thought of Erica's strange utterances finally stirred a question within him.

"Tyler," he asked, the Fennec stopping and turning to Fox, cocking his head inquisitively. "If Erica can do that . . . if she can just turn it on and off like that, then why have MEGs? Why bother with any of this? If we can use magic too, then doesn't that level the playing field?"

Tyler laughed. "You don't understand, Foxy. We can't do anything. She's the only one who knows how to do that and she only discovered it recently." Tyler paused and looked around. "Look, I've probably already said too much but, brilliant though she is, Doctor Ypsis does things her way. Even Brock is hesitant to check her on her experiments. But once she and I reached an impasse in our newest project--"

"The collars? What're those about?"

"I didn't say that, and I wouldn't tell you anyway. Now," Tyler resumed, "Once we reached an impasse, she began looking into Furs using magic themselves. She had us out looking for all kinds of artifacts and stuff until we managed to get our hands on that book. And it's the only one we have. It took a while, but she managed to figure it out, despite some problems at first," Tyler finished, looking nervously off down the hall.

"Problems?" Fox asked. "What kinds of problems?" Tyler said nothing. "She shouldn't be able to do this, Tyler. What kinds of problems?"

"Uh," Tyler scratched behind an ear. "Ah, man. I really shouldn't be telling you this."

"What kinds of problems, Tyler?" Tyler finally sighed.

"Okay, okay. Look, I'm sure Binx has told you that there have been other 'guests' here before you, right?" Fox nodded. "And you can probably expect that we had the same demands for them in terms of complying, right?"

"Yeah?"

"And . . ." Tyler gestured as if Fox were supposed to put it together himself. What did he mean by that? Fox knew that he had to obey their rules and stay within bounds, sure. He knew that some of the others before him, after psychological analysis were let go . . . except what about the ones who weren't let go? Where were they? Then it hit him. No fucking way, he thought.

"You didn't."

Tyler shrugged. "Experiments need test subjects, Foxy." Fox grabbed Tyler's black shirt and slammed him against the wall.

"What the fuck?!" Tyler squirmed, grabbing Fox's forearm with either paw. Before Fox knew it, the Fennec had swept his legs out from under him and was now sitting on his back, twisting Fox's arm behind him. Fox growled, turning his head back to try to look at Tyler. "How fucked up are you guys?! Those were people!"

"Yeah," Tyler said, his eyes narrowed. "Uncompliant people. Dead_people, Foxy, unless they earned their way out of here by behaving. Do you know what kind of people can come out of an experience like yours? I'm sure Binx has told you what some Furs go on to do with the shit they learn here. Kill themselves or, worse, exploit the condition of other survivors. So what would you rather us do, Foxy? Let killers loose on the streets? Knowing what you know, what you _are now, would you feel safe?" He let Fox go and stood up, looming over him. Tyler was breathing heavily. "So we put them to use, Foxy. We didn't go into it intending that they die. But," He extended a paw to Fox, helping him to his feet. "Their deaths might save the lives of others. Do you get it now?"

Yeah, Fox got it. He got that these people were ruthless. He couldn't believe that they would do that to someone. Still, he wasn't dense. He could understand Tyler's rationale. It didn't make it right, but Fox didn't have a counterargument to the alternative Tyler presented. It figured, Fox thought, as soon he was starting to get used to this place, to these people, of the idea of being a member of Tiamat, Tyler had to spring this shit on him. He narrowed his eyes at Tyler.

"I'm going to my room." As Fox finished the lights along the walls turned red and a mournful sound resonated all around them. It was a claxon of some sort, but Fox had never heard it before, so he didn't know what it meant.

"Sorry, Foxy," Tyler said. "You're coming with me. Looks like deployment is ahead of schedule."

Tyler led Fox through a series of areas that were restricted to Fox before they finally reached a large room, much bigger than the first room Fox had saw when he awoke in the Tiamat facility. All around him were various vehicles: jeeps, armored transports and even a couple of motorcycles. All of which were painted with the red and white colors of the Yros University police department except, in various places, the Tiamat sigil could be found. The room was very loud and it didn't take long for Fox to figure out the cause. In the middle of the room, a large, armored helicopter was running, its blades swirling lazily. The sound was almost ear-piercing. Beneath the massive machine Brock and the rest of the Tiamat squad stood. Fox immediately saw Binx, his heart jumping in his chest. Brock walked over.

"Alright, new meat," he said to Fox. "This is it! Time to see if your ass is sticking around or if Binx'll be sweeping you up into a motherfuckin' dust pan." Fox didn't know what to say, he just gulped nervously. "It's time for your first motherfuckin' mission. H'oh boy! I can't fuckin' wait either! I've got money you'll get yourself killed in the first ten minutes. You want in?" Still, Fox said nothing. What the fuck is going on? A-are they really taking me with them? So soon? I can't even shoot a gun, really. They can't be serious. "Nope? Ah, that's too bad. The odds were pretty motherfuckin' good too. You coulda came outta this a rich man." Brock turned on his heel back to the rest of the group, motioning for Tyler and Fox to follow.

"Anyway!" Brock continued, Binx and the others turned to him, awaiting the briefing. "What we have here, boys and girls, is your standard recon and assault. We got some intel this morning that the same Humans from a few weeks back are holed up in, you guessed it, an abandoned fuckin' warehouse on the east side of town. Now, as far as clichés go, you can't ask for better than that, right?!" He laughed. "Once Myridan government ops confirmed the shit-stains were there, they gave us the signal to go ahead and wipe that ass. And that's just what we're gonna do." He paused and gestured to Fox. "To top it all off, the boys upstairs want our little puppy here coming with us. I guess they figure it's time he start earning his keep. Fine. By. Me. That being said, I don't want the rest of you worrying your pretty little heads about him, especially_you_, Binx. He's Erica and Tyler's problem when we get on-site." Erica went to object. "No, fuckin' backtalk either! You'll be training him on recon and support. The wiry motherfucker might not be able to shoot a gun, but he can work a computer, we know that much at least. I will take tactical command and Auron will join with Sheila and Binx in eliminating the targets. Yros Municipal is already on the ground and on their way. We'll join up with them after the chopper lands. The number of hostiles is unknown so," He turned his head to Fox. "I don't want any motherfuckin' surprises. Everyone stay where they're supposed to be and follow my got-damned orders and maybe, just maybe this green-horn here will get to live to suck Binx's cock another day. We all clear?"

Everyone gave a nod and a salute; Fox the last to do so, forgetting his protocol training for a moment.

"Tits!" Brock exclaimed, smiling. "Everyone on board."

Tiamat Squad entered the helicopter one-by-one until at last Fox was the only one left. The blades of the copter spun faster above him. He ducked down a little, feeling like they could take his ears off, even though he knew better. He looked into the cabin seeing everyone looking back at him expectantly save Sheila, who was apparently the pilot. His heart was pounding in his chest; he couldn't do this.

"Today, boy!" Brock barked. Fox noticed the only seat left was next to Auron, the huge gold dragon staring at him. Slowly, Auron extended a clawed hand to his side and patted the seat. Fox, gulped and pulled himself into the chopper. What choice did he have anyway? Finally having entered, Binx handed him a headset, complete with a little microphone that jutted out along the side of his muzzle. "Take her out, Sheila," Brock said. With that, the helicopter lurched upward suddenly and then forward.

The far wall of the room opened to either side, revealing a tunnel that extended out to the surface. The chopper rose higher and then suddenly picked up speed, turning headlong towards the tunnel.

"Close your eyes,' Auron said, his deep voice grumbling as he looked to Fox. "You haven't seen the sun in weeks. It will be very bright."

Fox barely heard him through the headset. He'd never flown before, let alone flown into combat. It was all he could do to keep from panicking. It turned out he should have paid closer attention to Auron, however. As the helicopter left the tunnel and exited to the surface, the open sides of the chopper filled with blinding white light. Fox squinted, raising a paw to shield his eyes. For what seemed like forever, he was practically blind. Finally, his eyes adjusted; the blanching light slowly subsiding, details of the city below gradually emerging from the misty whiteness.

Fox had never seen Yros from so far up before. Even having lived in the city for a while now, he had mostly confined himself to ground-level or the basement in which his former job was located. He leaned forward, despite his fear of heights, looking out onto the sprawling cityscape before him. The tallest of Yros's buildings whizzed past them as they flew ever eastward, shimmering pillars of glass and steel varying in shades depending on the colors of their windows, each one unique from the one before. There were skyscrapers that spiraled upwards, their intricate architecture unable to be appreciated from the ground. Elaborate, stone facades flew by him, their details lost with the gathering speed of the helicopter. He did manage to notice some gargoyles, Human, but far from grotesque, their naked forms splayed out along the tops and corners of arched facades. Like this, they looked far from the monsters Fox had believed them to be.

As the chopper sped on, it cleared downtown. Fox looked out at the almost drab sprawl before him, mostly grey and brown, dotted here and there by the green of lawns and trees. It seemed to stretch on forever. It took his mind back to the time when he first planned to move to Yros. He was so used to the vast, open greenery of the countryside, having grown up in a small town. He couldn't believe how far a city like this spread out. Like there was no countryside ever to be found. Like it just continued on and on without end.

"You can take the Fox out of the country . . ." Brock said.

Fox snapped out of his reverie and sat back, the anxious thoughts of his very dangerous predicament suddenly gripping his mind again. He looked across the cabin to Binx, the black cat smiling at him reassuringly. Fox met his gaze with worried, almost tearful eyes. Binx leaned forward, extending a paw. Fox took it, intertwining their fingers, gripping tightly as he held Binx's stare.

"I'm here, Fox," he heard Binx through the headset. "You're okay. You're going to be okay."

"Awwwr," Brock chimed in sarcastically. "Well isn't that fuckin' touching?" Brock brought his fist down between Fox and Binx's hands, a hefty gun in his hand adding to the impact, breaking their embrace. Fox and Binx both took their paws back, their fingers stinging. "Sorry to cut in, but we ain't got time for that! Auron, give the boy his piece."

Auron shifted to his side, reaching for something along his waist. When he shifted back, he had a pistol in his claws. It looked comical, like a toy in Auron's massive hands. He handed it to Fox. "Take this," he said, his low voice reverberating through the seats, sending eerie vibrations along Fox's back causing Fox to shudder. Auron looked away, and then looked back to Fox. Fox could swear he saw the dragon blush again. Finally, Auron took a deep breath, shaking the cabin as he exhaled, and continued. "We know you cannot handle a rifle. But Tyler says you have some accuracy with a sidearm. Do you know how to work it? The safety is on."

"I . . ." Fox held the heavy pistol in his paws. "Really? Uh . . . do . . . is this . . . ?" Fox looked to Binx, then to Brock. Brock leaned forward, placing a hand under his chin, looking at Fox intensely with his one good eye.

"And there I was saying you coulda made it outta this a rich man." He looked to everyone else in the cabin. "Y'all might as well pay up now!"

Fox scowled. Fuck, he might suck at holding on to a rifle, but with two weeks with Binx and Tyler at the range, he was sure he knew how to handle a sidearm. Fox steeled himself, looked to Brock, switched the safety off and pulled the slide back, his gun cocked. Brock laughed.

"Well!" He said. "What have we here? Looks like this dog's picked up some tricks after all. And you and Sheila just wanted to take him down to the 'survivor' hangar." Brock looked to Erica. She said nothing, eyeing Fox, gripping her tome and raising an open paw to Fox. Brock quickly placed a hand on her arm. "Now, now. I'm sure ol' Foxy knows what'll happen if he tries pointing that at us. After all," Brock smirked, "once you start it, you're the only one who can stop it. A MEG ain't gonna work in here. Not unless he wants his boyfriend to go with him."

Fox looked to Binx. The cat's big, yellow eyes pleading with him. But Fox wasn't stupid. He knew Brock was right. As confidently as he cocked the gun, he dropped it to his side. Hell, he'd have holstered it if he had a holster. Still, he held on to it as if it were a life preserver. Fuck, maybe it was. Only time would tell.

"Good, Foxy," Brock said. "Now you do me favor and don't hesitate to use that on the real bad guys, ya hear? 'Cause once this bird lands, it's going to be on. Anything could happen. Nothing like coming in hot with cops and a MES to tip the fuckers off. But that's how this shit is going down. Now, listen to me," Brock looked at Fox for the first time with actual sincerity. From his body-language alone, Fox could almost have been convinced he cared about his wellbeing. "We're gonna have these fuckers surrounded. But that goes both ways. They can't get out, but we can't let them out either, understand? It might come down to you pulling that trigger, son. I told you once before that you're going to be a killer. Well . . . today we find out. I hope . . . that you at least find out that you're on the _right_side of that equation."

Fox nodded nervously, his eyes closed. Suddenly he felt a big scaly hand on his leg. He opened his eyes to see Auron looking at him.

"You will be fine . . . Fox-y." Auron seemed to stammer Fox's nickname out, but offered a horrific version of a smile nonetheless. He gave Fox's leg a reassuring squeeze, his massive hands reaching around the entirety of Fox's thigh. Fox tensed up, looking across the cabin at a very amused Binx.

"Ten seconds!" Fox heard Sheila's voice through the headset. The city continued to fly by beneath them but, as they approached their landing zone, Fox noticed the flashing blue and red lights of the Yros Police all around the massive "warehouse" that the Humans were supposedly hiding in. To call it a warehouse was a little misleading. It was more of a compound. Fox had anticipated just one building, but it turned out that there were several interconnected structures fanning out along several acres. Unless they knew exactly where the Humans were, this was going to be a very dangerous game of hide-and-seek. Think on the bright side, Fox, he thought to himself. Maybe they already got away. Fox suddenly lurched in his seat. The helicopter landed roughly in a parking lot on the west side of the compound. Almost immediately police vehicles swarmed in to various positions between the chopper and the building, providing cover. Still, as it was, they weren't that far away from the compound to begin with. In addition, the building in front of them was a few stories tall, giving the Humans an advantage.

"Everybody out!" Brock commanded. In a flash the rest of the squad had their harnesses undone and were out of the chopper. Fox, meanwhile, struggled to undo his. Gods! Can I not even unbuckle a fucking seatbelt? He noticed he was still holding his gun. Well that isn't helping. Finally, he sat the gun down, undid his restraint and exited the helicopter, grabbing his sidearm as he went.

The rest of Tiamat didn't wait for him, it seemed. They had all ran ahead to cover behind a large SUV, Brock cursing loudly at a police officer, a kangaroo, by what Fox could tell from this distance.

"Better hurry Foxy." Fox heard Sheila next to him. He swirled around to see the tigress standing there, smirking as usual as she removed her pilot's helmet, her long, blonde headfur falling across her back and shoulders. She looked him up and down before placing a hand on a MEG at her belt. "You get in on the betting pool? I could take care of it right now if you want." She tapped the grenade. Fox's eyes went wide, but then quickly narrowed as he flashed an angry look at her before scoffing and running off to join the others. Sheila followed behind.

Fox looked for Binx and found him crouching behind the SUV near Brock. Fox tried to slide over next to him, but only managed to stumble and catch himself on the side of the car. Binx quickly pulled him down next to him.

"Stay down, kid. We don't know where they are." Fox could hear Brock still shouting at the policeman. Closer, Fox could tell he was indeed a kangaroo, impressively built and even a bit taller than Brock. His muscled arms crossed and his head cocked as he listened patiently to Brock, his long tail swaying lazily behind him. Fox kept a tight grip on his gun as he waited for instructions from Brock. Finally Brock raised a hand, dismissing the officer rudely before he turned back to crouch beside Fox and Binx.

"Alright," he began. "Just like we planned. Binx, I want your ass to go up next to that other SUV there along with Sheila and Auron. When I give the signal, you'll head inside. Fox," he paused to make sure Fox was listening, then pointed to an armored police van off to the left of where he was sending Binx. "You meet up with Erica and Tyler at the command station. I'll join you in a moment. Got it?" Fox nodded. "Good. Go!"

Fox took off for the van, this time managing the slide he tried a moment before. Erica and Tyler were crouched down next to the van, laptops at the ready. Almost as soon as Fox reached them, Erica handed him another headset. As Fox was putting it on, he saw Auron lumber by, heading for Sheila and Binx. The dragon stopped, then slowly looked to Fox, his face flushing for sure this time.

"Take this . . . Fox-y," he said, tossing a MEG at Fox. Fox caught it, looking to the grenade before looking back up at Auron. "Just in case." And the dragon took off towards the SUV. Fox clipped the grenade to the waist of his pants, realizing he was still in the getup Binx gave him, a black shrug with matching pants. He suddenly felt very exposed. Shouldn't he at least get a bullet-proof vest or something?

"Faldryn," Fox heard from behind him, Erica looking to Fox with her usual disapproving gaze. She handed him a laptop. "This is yours. You'll be handling communications. I hope you understand the responsibility we're laying before you. Should you fail, Binx and all of the others will be left in the dark. Now," She said, inching herself closer along the side of the van. "I trust you understand the importance of your task."

Fox nodded and then proceeded to examine the UI before him. It seemed simple enough. File photos of each team member were laid out one after the other, their vital signs and comm status all in the green. He could see a latency monitor in the upper right-hand corner, also in the green. As far as it looked to Fox, it seemed like perfect conditions. He smiled at Erica and gave a thumbs up. The rabbit nodded and then turned to converse with Tyler.

All things considered, this wasn't too bad. All Fox really had to do was check his monitor. If anything dipped into the red, he could just tell Erica. Easy. Erica turned back to Fox.

"Faldryn," She said. "You need to know a couple of things. Firstly, Brock is going to commence with a comms check. This will be your first duty: make sure everyone checks in, including yourself. Especially yourself. As the comms officer, they need to know you're active and present. Secondly, despite your relationship with Mister Wilder, do not mistake his accelerated heart rate for him being in danger. If the team needs backup, they'll call for it and then we'll respond appropriately. It is imperative that you stay at your station. Otherwise . . ."she leaned closer to his ear, "you may be deemed_uncompliant_. Is that clear?"

Fox looked over his shoulder at Erica and gave a weak nod. She smirked and then headed back over to Tyler.

"Alright you sorry-ass motherfuckers," Brock said through Fox's headset. "Sound off! Sheila!" Brock barked.

"Ready," Sheila responded.

"Auron!"

"Ready," the dragon resounded. Fox didn't even need the headset to hear the low grumble of his voice.

"Binx!"

"Ready," Binx replied, Fox checking off each member as they responded.

"Tyler!" Check. "Erica!" Check. "Fox!" Fox checked himself off.

"Ready," he said, his voice more confident than he'd heard it be for a long time. He smiled to himself.

"Alright. Go!" Brock called out. Auron, followed by Binx and then, Sheila stepped out of their cover and made their way to the building's entrance. They were soon followed by a number of the Yros police. For a long while, everyone was quiet. Fox kept his eyes glued to his monitor. Everyone's heart rate was accelerated, including his own but, as Erica had said, it was nothing to worry over. "What do you got for me, guys?" Fox heard Brock again, this time to his left, as well as in his ear. Brock must have made his way over to the van while Fox was in his monitor.

"Nothing so far, Brock," Binx replied quietly in the mic. "Just a long corridor. YPD has our six."

"Good. Stick to the plan. Let us know when you find the motherfuckers."

Again the comm went quiet for a long time. Fox checked everyone's vitals again. They had seemed to calm down a little. Fox supposed that even stuff like this could only be terrifying for so long before it became boring. Maybe the Humans did get away after all.

"Whatcha got, Foxy?' Brock said, stooping down next to Fox and looking at his monitor.

"Nothing, really, Brock," Fox said. "Seems pretty quiet."

"Yeah," Brock scoffed. "Well at the risk of sounding like some dumbass out of a TV show . . . it's too fuckin' quiet."

"You think the Humans got away?"

"Maybe . . . still, keep your guard up. Where's your sidearm?" Fox raised his gun slowly from his side, showing Brock he still had it. "Good."

"How about a little radio silence, guys?" Binx chimed in, his voice a clipped whisper.

"What you got for me, Binx?" Brock replied.

"Hang on."

There was a tense moment of silence. Everyone from Fox, to Brock, to even Erica seemed to be listening for gunfire or whatever commotion might be going on inside the compound. They heard nothing aside from the noise of the city. Fox caught a faint whiff of something. It was very faint in fact. It almost smelled familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. Something . . . smoky and metallic, almost sulfuric. He looked to Brock and caught Tyler also sniffing the air. His ears twitched as he looked behind him to see other canines and vulpines among the police force doing the same. So he wasn't the only one who smelled it. But what the fuck was it?

TATATATTATTATATATATA!

Fox ducked, bullets pinging off of the van in front of him. That's when the smell grew stronger and he remembered: gunpowder. Fuck.

TATATATATATATATATATA!

More gunfire rang out all around Fox and the others. Shortly after, the police started to return fire. Fox looked up to see Humans in various windows of the third floor of the compound. There were a lot of them, too, all firing on the Furs below with assault rifles. Fox grabbed his sidearm and went to return fire before he felt Brock's huge hand on his shoulder, pulling him back down.

"You made it past the first ten minutes, Foxy, don't go blowin' it now!" Fox gritted his teeth, he wanted to fight back. "Keep our comms up and running. Let us handle this. Binx!" Brock said, firing a couple of rounds at the Humans. "They're on the third floor over by us. You guys got eyes on 'em yet?"

"Negative," Binx said. "But we're on our way."

"Well hurry the fuck up!" Brock barked, and then they all went quiet again. Fox kept his attention fixed on the monitor in front of him, knowing this was his one job to do and that Binx was counting on him. He felt like if he switched his focus even for instant then he would fail and Binx would die. He was so worried and scared, adrenaline pumping through his body.

If Fox had been paying attention to his surroundings he would have noticed police dropping next to their cars, lifeless or clutching bleeding wounds. He would have noticed that more than a few bullets made it dangerously close to his head. He would have noticed Brock looking more than a little nervous as he desperately tried to return fire from his position next to Fox. He would have noticed that Tiamat and the police were actually having some success against the Humans despite being pinned down. He would have noticed the cloaked figure from before, the one who killed Matthew, staring down at him from the roof of the building. He would have noticed its outstretched hand, the runes of its hood glowing bright blue, and the wind that was whipping up all around them on the ground. Fortunately for Fox, Tyler noticed.

"Get out of the way!" Tyler exclaimed. Fox snapped from his monitor to see Tyler scrambling to shove Erica and Brock away from the van. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Tyler swept Brock to the side and then came for Fox, grabbing him by his shrug and pulling him up from the ground, Fox's headset falling from his ears, his laptop falling away from him. Fox was just starting to move away when the robed Human loosed a ball of bright blue energy from his hand. It howled toward them, then past them, colliding in the middle of the police barricade. The explosion was intense; cars were turned over as the police seeking cover behind them were tossed in the air. Fox felt the heat of it on his fur as he and Tyler were thrown back hard against the van.

It took Fox a moment to regain his senses as he slouched against the van next to Tyler. He looked over and saw the young Fennec grab his stomach. Huh? Fox thought, then quickly realized that they were just hit with magic. His eyes darted downward to his midsection, fixated on his flat abs for any sign of swelling. A moment passed. Nothing. Then another . . . nothing. He looked back to Tyler to see that he too seemed to be okay. Maybe we were far enough away.

However, such was not the case for the Yros police who had been the middle of the explosion. Those who were still alive were sprawled all over the parking lot, grasping at their bloating forms. Various parts of their bodies inflated steadily depending on their size, sex, and species. Fox spotted a slender Anthro mouse whose breasts had already exploded out of her uniform, her bra stretching futilely to contain them as it squeezed across the growing globes of her chest barely concealing her bright pink nipples. The rest of her had begun to catch up with her chest as well before a huge tan globe caught Fox's eye. Rising above the squirming Furs was the kangaroo from before. It didn't seem like enough time had passed for him to get that far, but already he was a huge brown ball with little paws pressing into divots against his ballooning body, his uniform long since shredded by his rapidly swelling form, scraps lying on the ground around him. Fox was transfixed. He could remember the feeling like it were happening to him as well. Being so big, so round that he was completely immobile . . . completely helpless as the pressure built inside of him until he felt like he couldn't take anymore, but still growing nonetheless stretching ever closer to that final limit. He felt a sudden steady growing in his pants.

"Faldryn!" He heard Erica exclaim over the gunfire the Humans were still raining down on their position. He snapped from his fixation on the Roo and looked quickly to Erica. "Get out of there!" Fox shook his head quickly, regaining his focus. He ran to Erica just as he saw the rabbit hurl a MEG at the police. Fox ducked behind the cover of a bullet-riddled SUV, just barely dodging more oncoming gunfire from the Humans above. He looked back at the police force, inflating quickly amongst the corpses of their fallen colleagues. Many of them were running out of time. Gods, the Roo alone had to be well beyond ten feet around, his cheeks puffing up as his head and muzzle sank into the growing sphere of his body.

Suddenly there was a flash as the MEG exploded, sending dark purple mist swirling in the air. Fox saw the looks of relief cross many of the police's faces. He saw the mouse, pinned beneath her gigantic breasts and her swollen backside, let out a sigh. But the kangaroo kept growing. Oh no, Fox thought.

"Move your fuckin' ass Foxy!" he heard Brock exclaim in his ear before he felt the horse's hand grasp his forearm and pull him headlong towards the doors of the compound. Fox ran behind him, letting Brock drag him as he looked back to the Roo getting ever closer to popping. Why isn't he stopping? That's when Fox noticed that there were others in the same predicament and realized that they and the Roo were farther off than the others. The MEG didn't hit them! His eyes shot open wide. He stopped in his tracks, yanking his arm free of Brock's grip and ran back toward the cops. "What're you fuckin' doing, man?!" Brock yelled after him, quickly firing his gun to the Humans above to provide some cover.

Fox knew he had a MEG. He knew he could save the Roo and the other cops. He picked up his pace, seeing that the Roo's body was quivering, it was so full. He grabbed the MEG from his waist. Just as he was about to arm it, something slammed into him and began thrusting him back in the other direction. He coughed, the wind knocked out of him before he looked down to see Erica beneath him, essentially carrying him back to the compound. No! he thought. _ I can save them!_

"W-what are you doing?!" He exclaimed.

"Saving your life, Mister Faldryn," she replied coolly.

"But . . . but what about the cops?! Some of them are still in trouble."

"We saved the ones that we saved, Mister Faldryn."

"But--"

"But, nothing, Mister Faldryn! If we stay out there those monsters above us will gun us down! We have to get to cover! Now," she paused as she threw him forward. "Run!"

Fox almost ran back to the cops again, but his path was cut short by another line of bullets crossing in front of him. He slid to a stop, looking to the full, pulsating body of the kangaroo and then back to Erica, Brock, and Tyler at the compound's doors. He looked back to the Roo and thought for a moment that he caught his pleading eyes before--

He could hear the explosion from where he was standing, could see the scraps that floated through the air, could feel the force from even such a distance. He felt tears welling up. _Fuck,_he thought defeated, and ran for the doors, rubbing his forearm across his eyes. More bullets rained down around him as he closed the distance, his slender legs pumping with everything he had as he panted. Finally he reached the entrance, Brock holding the door open for him and motioning him inward. He threw himself forward, diving into the opening before tumbling to a stop in the hallway. Brock slammed the door shut.

Fox pulled himself up, still breathing hard as he leaned back against the wall. He raised his right paw, then his left, his gun and the MEG still firmly in his grip. Thank gods, he thought, and sighed. He clipped the MEG back on the waist of his pants just as he saw Brock lumbering toward him.

"What the fuck was that shit?!" He loomed over Fox, leaning forward to yell down at him. Fox felt wet tears still clinging to the sides of his cheeks. Despite them, he scowled up at Brock. "Oh, no, you motherfucker! Don't you think for a _got-damned_second you're about to step to _me!_Not after that shit!" He grabbed Fox by his shrug and lifted him to his feet. Fox was ready for Brock's tongue-lashing, but not for the meaty fist that slammed into his gut. Fox grunted, doubled over, and threw up on the chipped tile floor. Brock stepped back, letting Fox cough and catch his breath.

"Brock," Erica said. "We don't have time for this." Brock looked to the rabbit and sighed, then returned his glaring eyes down to Fox. He smirked.

"She's right, you know? We don't have time for this." He knelt down next to Fox's ear. "But you better believe I'll have time for your ass back in the 'survivor' hangar later." With that, he walked away, back to Erica. Fox snarled, thinking for a moment about raising his gun and shooting Brock in the back or, even better, throwing the MEG and taking all of them out right then and there. But then he thought of Binx. How Binx was somewhere in this compound, rushing to Fox or fighting his away across the floors above, he didn't know. Fuck, he didn't know if Binx was even still alive. It wasn't exactly like they had comms anymore, anyway. He had to know, though. He had to know that Binx was safe.

"Wh . . ." Fox coughed. "What's the plan now, Brock?"

Brock turned around, a smug, disbelieving look on his face. He raised an eyebrow. "An astute question, Foxy," he said sarcastically. "Well, I guess that depends on if you're done trying to play hero and want to retake your place on this motherfuckin' team! No need for a comms officer anymore, Humans done took care of that. So . . ." he eyed Fox intensely. "You know your boyfriend is--"

"He's not m--"

"You know the man who's been up inside you these last two weeks is in here somewhere! Gods-damn, boy. Don't interrupt me with that fuckin' shit!" He walked over to Fox and grabbed him under his shoulder, lifting him up to meet his gaze. "So . . . are you ready to be a killer? 'Cause that's what getting out of here alive is going to take!"

Fox looked away. Fuck, was he? Was he ready? Could he really do this? Could he take another life . . . to save a life? To save many? He didn't know. He simply didn't. He looked back to Brock, saying nothing, his big, green eyes moistening again.

"Well I don't know either, Foxy," Brock said. "But we're gonna find out. 'Cause I ain't leavin' you behind." With that he looked back to Tyler and Erica. "This is how it's gonna go. I'll take point. Tyler and Fox will run support." He squeezed Fox's arm hard, looking back at him. "And you will provide support, you understand?" Fox winced, but finally nodded. "Good. Erica, you take up the rear and keep that spellbook handy." He gave a wink at Fox. "It's good for more than just makin' balloons outta fuck-ups like you." Brock raised his rifle. "Alright. Let's go."

They had cleared the first two floors uneventfully. The compound was a rusty waste, a dangerous relic that, half of the time, had barely navigable stairs. More than once they had to jump across gaps in the stairwells waiting with baited breath to see of Brock would fall through before the rest of them attempted the span. Fox couldn't believe that Humans had holed up here. They didn't possess the kind of strength that Anthros did. How on Urd did they get around the place?

As tense as their treacherous climb seemed, it in no way compared to the silence they heard all around them. The Humans had apparently dispatched the police force outside or had given up on them, because there hadn't been any gunfire since Fox and the remains of Tiamat reached the second floor. Even worse, Fox knew that Binx, Sheila, and Auron were making for the third floor. He shuddered to think what that could mean as he knelt beside Brock, waiting for the horse to slowly push open the door to the third floor and peer inside.

"It's clear," Brock said in a low voice.

In tandem, Brock, Tyler, and Fox rose and swiftly passed through the door. Tyler pressed himself firmly against the left wall and Fox the right, their guns raised, ready to fire upon any Human that might cross the way. Erica stood confidently in the center of the hall, behind the others, her spellbook raised, its runes glowing.

They continued down the hall until they entered a large room that had once clearly served as office space. There were worn-down remains of cubicles and metal dividers strewn about the floor. Ahead of them lay two sets of double-doors, one to the center, and the other along the right wall. Brock knelt down and examined the dusty, rusted debris, looking for signs of Humans or Anthros passing through. Finally he stood, shrugging to the group.

"Nothing here," he said. "We're on the wrong trail. Probably better that we double back."

Suddenly Fox's ears perked. He heard some small clatter through the double-doors in front of them. He raised his gun. "They're in there," he said.

Brock looked at him for a moment before kneeling next to the door. As before, he slowly pressed a hand against it and opened it just enough to look inside. In a flash of blue light, the doors swung open, blasting Brock backwards. He flew across the room, his body limp as he finally crashed near Erica. As he fell, his stomach began inflating, swiftly. Erica was on it, though. She placed a paw on his chest.

"Exolarai," she said, Brock's expansion ceasing, quickly returning him to his normal self.

Fox, seeing Brock incapacitated, immediately ran through the doors.

"Fox!" Tyler exclaimed. "Don't!"

It was too late though. Fox saw the cloaked figure from before smiling at him at the end of the corridor. Fox continued forward, raising his gun and firing a shot at the center of the creature's chest. He smirked to himself, thinking that he surely dropped the Human. To his sudden disbelief, however, he saw the hooded monster still standing there, its hand raised, the runes of its cloak pulsing yet again. With a rush of wind, the Human let out a blast of magic down the hall once more. Fox saw it coming though and, at the last second ducked under it, the force of the energy exploding behind him, the ceiling behind crashing to the floor, sealing off the double-doors and all hope of backup for Fox. Fox looked to the rubble and then back to the Human. His eyes narrowed as he let off another round from his gun. The Human lurched to its side, a bullet catching it in the shoulder. Fox grinned.

Yeah, he thought. I can do this. I can kill this_son-of-a-bitch at least._ Fox steadied his sidearm again, aiming for the Human's head. He slowly squeezed the trigger, firing the bullet that would finally end this monster's reign of terror. As soon as he felt the recoil of his weapon, however, he saw the shadowed eyes of the creature flash a bright purple before hearing the bullet ricochet off the ceiling, spiraling off to nowhere. There was another sudden flash of light. Fox shielded his eyes, looking back a moment later to find that the robed-figure had disappeared. As he blinked, he could still see the bright eyes of the creature burning against his retinas. They looked almond-shaped, almost like . . . a cat's? He shook it from his mind. There was no way.

Fox saw the corridor ahead was now empty, no Humans or mysterious magicians to be seen. He looked behind to see that his only avenue of retreat was blocked by the debris the Human rained down. If Tyler and the others were calling out to him from beyond the wreckage, he couldn't hear them. They probably thought he was blimping up in the hallway, for all Fox knew. Forward was the only option. He sighed and kept his gun at the ready. The place was surely still crawling with Humans and he knew he only had the MEG and 9 rounds left to protect himself with. Though, he wasn't sure what a MEG would do to Humans, if anything at all. He slowly made his way ahead, clinging to the wall.

It seemed like forever before he finally reached the end of the corridor. He swept his gun left, then right, scanning for Humans or, hopefully the rest of Tiamat. The room before him was even larger than the last. Directly in front of him was a rusty, metal catwalk that spanned the length of room and also along its perimeter. Brownish girders stood like pillars periodically along the chamber, running from the ceiling to the floor below, a good twelve feet beneath him. Fox knelt and then crept forward, looking down at the floor below him. It was full of large derelict machines, the remnants of a conveyor belt connecting many of them together. Ahead of him lay only the catwalk that gave him three options: forward, left, or right; right being the only option with a staircase leading to the floor below.

Well . . . fuck, Fox thought. There wasn't any training for this. He rolled his eyes and then sighed. At least up here you have height advantage. Except, he knew he didn't have any experience shooting a target that wasn't right in front of him and stationary. Still, you gotta make a decision, Foxy, er . . . Fox. Those fuckers! He was starting to get frustrated. He didn't know what to do.

TATATATATATATATA!

Gunfire rang out from the floor below. Fox immediately took cover back along the corner of the corridor behind him, looking out at the floor beneath him, searching for the source of the assault; he saw gun-flares off to his right. Suddenly the room lit up brightly as fire erupted from the source of the gunfire and spread across the center of the room. The Humans below screamed as they burnt alive, the putrid stench of their burning flesh and hair being quickly replaced by the sweet smell of roasting meat. Auron! Fox thought. Sheila! Binx!

He scrambled to the right, keeping his head down as he crawled along the catwalk, steadily making his way to the stairs. Below, both the Humans and the rest of Tiamat continued to exchange fire. Binx and the others had the Humans pretty well pinned down but, even with Auron's fire breath, they needed help. Fox crept down the metal stairs keeping his gun at the ready. As he neared the bottom, he caught sight of a Human male creeping closer to him, oblivious of Fox on the staircase. He was trying to flank Binx and Sheila. Fox raised his gun, took aim, and fired off a round, catching the man in the back of his head, dropping him.Oh shit, he thought. I did it! Instantly the Humans were aware of his presence and began directing their fire at his location. Fox rolled off the stairs and behind a nearby piece of machinery for cover. The hail of gunfire pinged off of the metal housing, but was still managing to land very close to him.

Fuck! Fox thought. He couldn't even attempt to try to return fire. All he could do was sit behind his cover, clinging to the machine, and hope that the rest of Tiamat could get the Humans off him. The Humans presumably had to reload, as their firing ceased. Fox could hear more gunshots coming from near his position and poked his head around the corner to see Binx and Sheila crouched behind their own mechanical cover, Auron further off in the distance, loosing another blast of fire out over the room. Fox took a chance, standing up and bolting for Tiamat's position. He managed to slide in next to Sheila just as the Humans started to return fire.

"Well look who it is!" Sheila said sarcastically. "Don't suppose you brought some actual help with you?" She fired off a couple more rounds, dropping a nearby Human assailant.

"I don't know where Brock and the others are," he replied.

"Hmph. What the hell are you even doing here, Foxy?" She quickly returned fire again then crouched down next to Fox.

"The Humans have a magic-user. The same one from a couple weeks ago, I think. It . . . the police. It-it didn't work out outside, so we had to come in here. We encountered the Mage on the third floor. That's when I got separated from the others."

"Well why don't you do us a favor and run out there. You'll make a good distraction. Maybe even last a little while before they kill you." Fox narrowed his eyes.

"Fuck you, Sheila," he said. He waited for the Humans to stop firing again before dashing over to Binx. He managed to make it, though. Even Fox was surprised by how good he seemed to be at avoiding the gunfire.

"Kid!" Binx exclaimed as he realized Fox was now crouching next to him. "What the fuck are _you_doing here?"

"We were forced inside. I got separated from the others. What's the plan, Binx? This doesn't look good."

"I dunno, kid," Binx replied between shots. "Fight to the last Fur, I suppose. This really sucks." He lifted himself up again and began firing on the Humans again. Fox looked over to see Auron standing behind a large metal crate, his massive rifle leveled at the other side of the room. He fired off two rounds before taking cover. Fox assumed he must have hit his targets; it sounded like the answering fire had lessened a little. Well, Fox thought, might as well go down fighting. Beats waiting here doing nothing.

Fox peeked his head around the cover, looking for gun-flares to help pinpoint where the Humans were. It didn't take him long to find out. Almost immediately, he was fired upon. He ducked back around the machine again. He had managed to see a Human female just across from him. She had cover from everyone else, but Fox thought he might have an angle on her. He leaned out again, his gun raised. He saw the woman and, sure enough, she was exposed. He fired and caught her in her torso. She dropped to the ground, grunting against the pain. Fox fired another shot and finished her off.

As he was about to lean back into his cover, some movement behind the Humans caught his eye. He looked to see the robed figure from before glaring at him, its eyes shining bright purple once more. Fox took aim, but stopped short of firing as he saw _another_robed figure standing next to the first one. His eyes went wide and then he ducked down, slapping Binx's shoulder to get his attention.

"Binx!" He said, then slapped him again. "Binx!" The cat squatted down quickly.

"What?!" He exclaimed.

"The magic-user," Fox said. "It's here. They're here. There's two of them." Binx looked at him with disbelief.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself. "That sucks, kid. We're in some deep shit now." Binx whistled and then gave a series of hand-motions to Sheila and Auron, presumably relaying the information that Fox had just imparted on him. "Stay close to me, kid. I dunno if we're gonna make it out of here alive but we're gonna give it a--"Binx stopped suddenly, his head cocking. "What happened to all the shooting?"

As soon as Binx asked, Fox noticed it too. The room was very quiet. They looked at each other and then to Sheila and Auron. Slowly, the four rose from their positions, their guns at the ready. Fox's eyes went wide as he saw what stood before them. The rest of the Humans were gone, only the corpses of the fallen remaining littered about the room. The two Mages stood in the wide, open center of the room, shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the Tiamat members, their eyes glowing with the runes of their robes. They both had an open palm raised at Fox and the others. Fox leveled his gun at one, the rest of the team following suit.

"Stop," one of the hooded magic-users called. "We surrender."

"Bullshit!" Sheila spat.

"It's true," said the other, "You've killed most of our men and we're still surrounded. We give up."

Binx looked to Sheila, then to Fox. Fox shrugged. "Alright," Binx said. "Keep your guns on trained on them though. If they move a muscle, kill 'em."

They all moved from their cover, sweeping out into the center of the large room, scanning the warehouse floor for any signs of hiding Humans. They found none, only the two Mages standing before them.

"I don't like this, Binx," Sheila said. "How'd the rest of them get out of here so fast?"

They finally closed the gap on the robed figures, surrounding them, their guns trained on their midsections. "Drop your hoods!" Binx said. Fox caught a smirk on the face of the one on his right, the one with the purple eyes. Slowly, it lifted its hands and lowered its hood to reveal a cheetah, a female by the looks of her. She had long, dark, wavy headfur that fell down to her neck. Her eyes still gleamed a bright violet. Her companion followed suit and revealed himself to be a wolf, short, spikey blue headfur adorning the grey and white of the rest of his face. None of them could believe it.

"No fuckin' way!' Sheila exclaimed.

Fox was shocked. "H-how?"

Binx pressed his gun to the head of the cheetah. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'll let my associate here explain," she smirked. No one noticed, but the cheetah had slowly used her magic to arm Fox's MEG and then lift it from the waist of his pants. As the grenade clamored to the floor, the two Mage's disappeared in a swirl of black smoke, reappearing on the catwalk above Fox and the others. They all raised their guns to fire, but the MEG went off in between them, causing them to cough and shield their faces as the magic, purple dust swirled around them and filled their lungs. The two Mages above laughed.

As Fox and the rest recovered, they looked to see the cheetah smiling down at them. "You killed many of my men today. I won't let that go unanswered." She looked to the wolf. "Tristain, stay and make sure they get the justice they deserve." The wolf nodded and smiled.

"Yes mistress," he said.

"You fucking murdering bitch!" Fox yelled and then fired off another two rounds at the cheetah, but she disappeared in a flash of blue light. Only the wolf remained, still smiling sinisterly down at the Tiamat squad. Fox heard purring next to him and then looked to Sheila. Her already full figure was suddenly growing, her striped breasts rising steadily out of the top of her shirt, stretching the material as they inflated outward. She still had her gun trained on the wolf, but Fox could see that her face was flushed as she tried to maintain her composure. Fox looked to Binx and saw that he was in a similar predicament, his eyes glued to his midsection as his belly slowly expanded before him. Auron, too, had begun to inflate as well, his stomach billowing out into a huge gut that strained his body-armor against his expanding scaled flesh. That's when it hit Fox. He felt a familiar pressure in his midsection. His ears perked and his heart jumped in his chest. He dropped his gun, his paws immediately gripping his stomach, its flatness melting away between his fingers as he too started to grow.

The wolf named Tristain laughed and then teleported in front of them in a flash of smoke. He walked towards them. "Filthy vermin," he said. "There is no more fitting end for your tainted kind. The very magic that created you so easily undoes you." He laughed some more, then narrowed his eyes as he suddenly shifted to a fighting stance. "Come. Two of you might like this, but the others can at least die with some honor. Come!"

Sheila blushed momentarily and then roared at the wolf. She sprang forward with lightning speed, charging headlong at him. She tossed her gun away, brandishing her claws as her breasts swayed, continuing to grow larger with every passing second. She swiped at the Mage, tearing his cloak as he barely managed to dodge her attack.

"Nice," he said, then sidestepped to grasp Sheila's ample ass in one of his paws. His eyes flashed a bright blue and the tigress's rear began to expand at an alarming rate. She had already moved to swipe at him again, but was thrown off balance as her butt began to swell out of her pants, tears already forming along the seams. Her tits busted out of her top, revealing an overly stretched sports-bra that was steadily losing the battle to contain her growing bosom. As her stomach joined in with the rest of her ballooning body, she fell to the ground, panting, watching herself grow with ecstasy in her eyes.

Fox was so busy watching Sheila's ample curves blow out to exaggerated proportions that he forgot about his own situation. He looked down to see that his belly looked about the size of a beach ball. His shrug did nothing to stop its growth, so it inflated upwards towards his chest and pressed against the waist of his pants, pressure steadily building.

POP!

Fox looked over to see that Binx was inflating at about the same rate that Fox was, only his pants had finally busted their button, the V of his fly breaking open, allowing his belly to expand unimpeded. Binx looked to Fox for a moment, then raised his gun at the wolf, firing off a barrage of rounds. Fox clumsily stooped, reaching around his inflating gut to pick up his own gun and join in, firing off his four remaining bullets at Tristain's back as the wolf glowered over Sheila's ballooning body. But the bullets seemed to disappear before hitting the Mage, like he was shielded somehow. Frustrated, Fox threw his gun which also flew off to be lost somewhere amid the warehouse floor. Tristain looked back at them over his shoulders, his eyes glowed again.

"Aaaaaaaah!" Sheila let out an orgasmic cry. Her breasts, ass, and belly surged forward, ballooning her up swiftly. Her pants exploded off of her suddenly as her legs joined in with the rest of her. Her top had been completely obliterated, whatever armor it provided falling off to the side as her arms and back started growing outward. Fox saw her laying there on the ground, slowly becoming more spherical, her breasts becoming unbelievably huge domes rising off of her impossibly massive belly. He could see her huge, swollen, pink areolas emerging all around her overtaxed bra, which now only served to cover her erect nipples. An instant later, the sports bra snapped, her boobs wobbling violently before landing on her massive gut, inflating faster now that they were unencumbered. Sheila writhed on the ground as she grew bigger and bigger, larger than any of the rest of them by far. It suddenly dawned on Fox that the wolf was using magic to inflate her faster!

Fox felt his pants snap open, his belly surging forward in much the same way as Binx's a moment before. Behind him, his ass was trying to catch up. His pants, already tight in the rear started to creak as the rising twin domes of his butt-cheeks struggled to burst free of their confines. Unconsciously, he grabbed his ass with both paws, feeling it expand like a balloon under his palms. He still_couldn't believe it, even now that it was happening to him again. He felt like his whole body was empty and filling with air, blowing up like a balloon, like he _was a balloon. He felt his cock growing against the underside of his inflating belly, moaning softly to himself. Suddenly, he saw a golden blur rush past him. Auron was running headlong toward Tristain.

With a bone-crunching SLAM, Auron brought his clawed fist down on the back of the Mage's head, hurling him forward. The wolf stumbled and then turned back on Auron, retaking his fighting stance. Fox looked to Sheila and noticed that her inflation had slowed now that Tristain was away from her. Auron roared as he continued to pummel the wolf before him, slashing at his face and trying to grasp him in his meaty claws. Tristain, however, was clearly a skilled melee fighter. He dodged the dragon's attacks deftly, Auron proving to be too slow to connect with him again. Finally Tristain stood before Auron, taunting him with a smile.

"That's more like it,' he said.

Auron grunted and then inhaled deeply. Fox saw the dragon's belly expand further, his massive pecs swelling up as well. An instant later, his armor exploded off of his rounding form. What's he doing? Fox thought. Is he trying to blow up faster? Suddenly, Auron let loose a spray of fire at Tristain, engulfing the Mage in a swirling inferno. The flames spread outward in a cone in front of Auron, the Mage completely obscured by the churning fire. Finally Auron stopped, his breath spent. However, Fox noticed that the dragon had done little to ease his inflation. After taking in so much air, he wasn't any smaller than before. In fact, he was even bigger now, his muscle ass stretching out his pants as it too expanded, his shoulders, legs and arms puffing up around him. Auron turned as he looked for the Mage and Fox saw that his gut had become a huge dome that continued to rise out in front of him. Tristain, however was nowhere to be found.

"D-did you get him?" Binx asked, stepping out of his pants that he had somehow managed to slide down his bloating waist. Fox looked at Binx, immediately filling with lust. The trim cat from before was now an exaggeratedly pumped up version of his former self. His belly was the biggest thing on his slowly expanding body. His tight, black armored shirt had split completely open, hanging from his shoulders. His boxer-briefs had crept up to hug at his crotch, meanwhile, the rising twin globes of his ass forced the rest of the material into the growing crevasse of his ass. Even his chest had puffed up, two black breasts rested on top of his ever-growing belly. As Fox stared, he caught Binx's extremities as they began to inflate, first his shoulders, followed by his arms and then his legs. At first, it looked like his muscles were growing, but then they slowly rounded out like they were little balloons of their own, slowly melding with the rest of his growing body. Even his back was starting to show the first signs of blowing up. Fox looked from Binx back to himself. He was pretty much keeping pace with Binx's inflation, except that, at some point Fox's ass had finally ballooned free from his pants, exploding them off of his inflating body.

"Mmmmmmph!" Fox heard from Sheila's position. The tigress was enormous now, her limbs becoming shortened cones that were slowly being absorbed into the rest of her body. Her body rose ever higher as she lay in the floor, growing relentlessly, unable to help herself.

"That one's getting awful close," Fox heard Tristain's voice. "The rest of you need to catch up." Fox looked around, finally spotting the Mage on the catwalk above. His eyes flashed a startling blue as he raised a palm at Auron and then at Binx. The two of them went wide-eyed as a beam of magic energy hit them, their bodies inflating rapidly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fox could see the steadily growing golden orb that was Auron, but his attention was fixed on Binx. His lover blew up hugely in front of him, his belly surging forward massively, starting to absorb his extremities which were now just bloated cones. With a snap, Binx's underwear blew off of his body. Binx waddled a bit, trying to escape the magic that was filling him up, but he quickly lost his balance as his crotch neared the ground. He slipped and toppled forward onto his huge belly, his tail flicking uselessly in the air as he grew bigger and bigger.

"That's enough for that one," Fox heard Tristain from above. He looked and saw that the wolf cut off his magic beam from Binx, instead focusing his attention on Auron. The dragon wasn't in any better shape than Binx was. He was also completely naked, now, the steady swell of his body blowing him up hugely into a sphere, his limbs disappearing into his inflated form, starting to pull his clawed hands in to divots along the growing curve of his body. Fox blinked as the magic beam was also cut off from Auron. An instant later, Tristain appeared in front of Fox, in a puff of smoke. The wolf threw out a paw and hit Fox with a flash of light. Fox expected to feel himself start to blow up faster, but it seemed like everything was staying at its former steady pace. Desperately, he went to swing a fattened arm at Tristain, only to find that he couldn't move. The wolf winked at him.

"I've got plans for you. Stay put."

With that, the wolf went to Binx, pressing against the cat's rotund form, his paws sinking into the black furry flesh. He then began to roll Binx towards Auron until he was pressed against the growing dragon. A few moments later and the Mage had accomplished the same with Sheila. From Fox's perspective, he could see his teammates blowing up next to the huge golden orb that was Auron, all of them writhing against their ever growing forms. Finally Tristain returned to Fox.

The wolf looked him up and down, admiring his handiwork. Fox was smaller than the rest of his comrades, but he was catching up quickly. He was spread eagled as his balloon body pressed his legs apart and his arms up to his sides. His shrug had slipped off his body, forced away by the expanding domes of his back and chest. Just like his teammates, Fox was completely naked, his pre-cumming erection hidden beneath his massive gut that continued to billow out in front of him.

"Come with me," Tristain said. Fox didn't have a choice. His body floated across the space over to Auron. A moment later and he was nestled up against the dragon balloon, between Sheila and Binx. Tristain had made sure that the three Furs were facing outwards towards the wolf, resting on their still growing bellies, all except for Fox, who was just barely managing to keep his toes on the ground as his crotch grew ever downward. Tristain looked at the pile of balloons and smiled.

"Here's what's going to happen," The wolf said pointing at Binx, Fox, and Sheila. "You three are going to blow at around ten feet. But you already know this. That one," he pointed to Auron," is much bigger. He'll get to around thirty feet before he goes. So . . ." his eyes narrowed. "We're going to play a little game. Let's see if you three can last long enough to pop on your own or . . ." he smirked, "if this one will get so big that he pops the three of you under his own weight." All of their eyes went wide.

"No!" Binx cried out. Auron gave off a muffled grunt. Tristain just laughed and then looked to Fox. The wolf cocked his head.

"Although . . . for the game to be fair. This one is far too small I think." He walked over to Fox, smiling sinisterly as he looked him in the eye.

"W-what are y--?" Fox went silent as the wolf placed a hand on Fox's giant belly. His eyes flashed again. "Oh . . . OOoooooooohhhhh!" Fox moaned. The Mage was forcing magic into Fox's already ballooned body. Fox could feel himself growing all over, pushing out in every direction. It was like Tristain had turned on an air pump somewhere within him. He could feel the magic swirling inside, stretching his skin further and further. Fox's arms and legs slowly disappeared into his body, his paws being pulled into divots along his growing circumference. He looked down to see his chest rising up to meet the bottom of his muzzle. He was just a huge furry orange and white ball again. Suddenly, he felt his cheeks puff up as he started to run out of room. His eyes darted back and forth. This isn't what the wolf had said. He was even bigger than Sheila and Binx. Oh gods. He's . . . he's gonna . . .

As if Tristain were reading Fox's mind he smiled at Fox, drawing his tongue across his teeth. "Then again," he said. "Maybe I'll just pop this one here right now. I can tell he wants it." Tristain's eyes flashed blue again and the magic intensified. Fox's eyes went wide as he felt himself filling up even faster.

"Mmmmmph! N-no!!' Fox exclaimed. Fox could feel himself growing out in every direction, his balloon body swelling even bigger to contain the magic that was desperately searching for anywhere to go within his overtaxed form. To make matters worse, he could feel Auron swelling up behind him, pressing down on what used to be Fox's back and ass. He felt his sides pressing up against Binx and Sheila's as well, the three other balloons surrounding him, pressing against him unrelentingly, squeezing him tightly. In response, Tristain pressed harder against Fox's belly, his paw barely making an impression in Fox's taut flesh as he poured more magic into the overstuffed fox-balloon.

Fox felt the magic within him displace suddenly, like an air-bubble moving somewhere within his body. He'd felt this before and knew that it wasn't something within him; it was his overinflated body stretching beyond its limits to try to contain the ever building pressure that welled up relentlessly inside. His body started to make audible, rubbery squeaks. His cock spasmed beneath him as he grew ever closer to cumming, ever closer to popping. He flapped his paws uselessly at his sides.

"P-pwease," he moaned between his fat cheeks. "Stowp . . . I'm . . . I'm gwonna . . . gwonna pawp." Fox felt like he was right on the edge of bursting at the seams. The wolf was relentlessly pumping more and more magic into him, making him swell bigger and bigger. The weight of Auron behind him and the pressure of his comrades to either side caused his hide to groan and creak as it suddenly bloated outwards towards his tormenter, his orb of a body increasingly distending from the pressure as the magic blew him up bigger and bigger, his body inching outwards in any direction it could find as he quickly ran out of room.

"That's the idea, Foxy," The wolf said. "But, I must say, you're holding out much better than I expected. You're almost twelve feet around. I wonder . . . " he paused, "how much more you can take!" The wolf's eyes flashed blue, his magic intensifying again, filling Fox up even more. But Fox was out of room; he knew it; he could feel it. His body blew out even more, a huge globe that squeaked angrily like a balloon on the very edge of popping. Finally he stopped growing and just quivered and pulsated, ready to burst at any moment. And, still, the wolf pumped him with more and more magic.

"S-stop!' Binx said futilely, his own body nearing its limits. Tristain only laughed.

"I'll stop," he said. "When this pretty-boy here bursts all over the room. Come on, Foxy," he said, his eyes gleaming. "Just let go. Let it happen. You know you want to. You want to pop all over your friends."

Tristain was right. Fox was ready to blow. Somehow he had managed to hold on, but he could feel that it was almost over. It was a matter of seconds now. Tristain would pump that one final ounce of magic into his overstrained body and pop him like the balloon he was. And Tristain was right about another thing: he was right that Fox wanted it. He was so close. It could just happen. He could just let it happen. He could pop all over the room. Pop like a balloon. Fox's eyes rolled back in his head and he let out an audible moan.

"That's right, foxy," Tristain said. "Pop for me! Pop for your frien--"

POP!!

Fox's ears went flat against his head, thinking for an instant that maybe he did actually burst. He looked around as best he could and then back down to Tristain. The wolf was wide-eyed, looking up at Fox. Tristain shuddered and coughed raising a paw to his muzzle, pulling it away to see the blood that trickled from his mouth. He stumbled backward.

"W-what?" The wolf whispered in disbelief. Fox could see the bright red stain of blood pooling beneath his robes. Tristain clutched at his chest and then slumped to the ground lifeless.

Fox was perplexed. He looked about the room and finally spied Brock standing on the catwalk above, his gun smoking. Fox let out a sigh of relief. They were saved. Suddenly Fox's body gave a frightening shudder as it gave off another series of angry squeaks. The magic had slowed, but it hadn't stopped. And Fox was right on the edge of blowing apart.

"H-hewp!" He managed to shout somehow. Brock looked to Erica.

"Ypsis! Hurry!"

The rabbit raised her tome and then her paw and began reading an incantation. Fox didn't understand. Why couldn't she just say the word that she used before to stop it? Why was she risking their lives like this? As if Fox needed reminding that he was right on the edge, his body let out a low groan and surged outward all around him. His skin felt like a rubber band that had been stretched too far and was just about to break. Oh gods, he thought. I'm not gonna make it! His body quivered as he looked all around at himself, his panicked eyes darting back and forth over his bloated cheeks. All he could see was the sphere of his body all around him, the hairs of his fur standing on end as there was absolutely no more room within him. He looked to Erica, flapping his paws uselessly, pleading with her to hurry. The fox-balloon moaned as his body let out a series of gradual, intermittent squeaks. His ears flattened as he heard a sudden sharp, thunderous sound all around him, from within him . . .

. . . as the world went dark.


** **"I said leave him alone!"

W-what?

"Come on! I wasn't going to hurt him."

Was that Sheila?

"Enough! Y'all motherfuckers stand the fuck back!" _That's definitely Brock. "_NOW!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Fox felt two gentle paws on his face. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking.

"B-Binx?" He asked, looking into the big, teary, yellow eyes of the cat. As Fox looked around he saw that Binx was back to his normal self, standing before Fox naked. Fox blushed as he looked down to Binx's crotch. He couldn't help it. Sheila and Auron appeared to be in the same state as well. He looked beyond the survivors and saw Brock, Erica, and Tyler standing close to the rusty stairs. Were they still in the warehouse?

"Yeah, kid. I'm here. I've got you."

Suddenly it all rushed back to Fox: the Mages, Tristain, the little game the wolf played, deviating from his plan and . . . oh gods! Fox went to grab for Binx, but found that he couldn't move. He looked around and saw that he was still a huge ball, his paws immobile in his swollen flesh.

"W-what's going on, Binx?" Fox asked panicky. "W-why am I still like this?"

"Shh, shh, calm down," Binx said. He kissed Fox on his nose. Apparently they must have rolled him forward enough for Binx to be face-to-face with Fox. His tiny head on his giant balloon of a body must look ridiculous, Fox thought. "You're okay. You're just not back to normal yet. But it's working. You've come down some."

"But . . ." Fox said as he looked around at Binx, Auron, and Sheila. "Y-you guys are back to normal? Wh-why? Why, uh . . ." he started to panic again. "Am . . . am I stuck like this?"

"No, baby. No," Binx replied, rubbing his paws through Fox's headfur. He gave a scratch behind one of his ears.

"Mister Faldryn." Fox's ears perked and he looked from Binx to Erica as she slowly approached him. "Listen to Mister Wilder. You need to remain calm." Fox nodded and inhaled deeply, his heart skipping a beat as it felt like he was inflating again for a moment. He exhaled and began to relax. "Good," Erica continued. "I'll explain my theory regarding your situation as long as you listen. Do you think you can do that?" Fox nodded, his muzzle squishing into his bloated body. "Very well. Firstly, Mister Faldryn, I want to assure you that you are returning to normal. Even now, the rest of us can see you shrinking in size. At your current rate, I don't think it will take more than an hour."

"An hour?!" Fox exclaimed.

"Mister Faldryn!" Erica narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest like she was some sort of school teacher about to send him to the office.

"S-sorry."

"Secondly," she continued. "As to why you're still inflated: I believe that the direct contact with magic from the magic-user has had some residual effects. In other words, it's lingering in your body despite the nullification charm I cast on you. As you can see, it worked perfectly for your teammates, though I still maintain that Sheila may have some left in her."

"Hey!" The tigress snapped. "They've always been this size." She gave her boobs a mocking squeeze, winking at Erica.

"But," Fox replied, looking back to Erica. "He pumped us all full of magic. I don't understand."

"He was on you for a lot longer than the rest of us, kid," Binx said.

"Yes, Mister Faldryn," Erica added. "I fear that that kind of exposure may have effects that linger after you've deflated."

"What kinds of effects?" Fox asked, fear in his eyes. "L-like . . . are you saying I'm not going back to normal? That I'll be bigger than I was before?" Erica put a paw on her chin, thinking.

"No," she said finally. "I don't think that will be the case. You'll probably still keep your figure if that's what you're worried about."

"Then . . . then what do you mean?"

"Fox," Binx said, bringing Fox's muzzle back to the cat's eyes with his paws. "She saying you might . . . uh, well . . . it's hard to explain."

"You might spontaneously inflate again in the future until either the residual magic works its way out of your system, if it ever does, or . . ." Erica pushed her glasses up her nose. "Until I find a way to eliminate it from your body entirely. A process I'm certain I can manage, though it won't be without its risks. In the meantime, we'll need to keep a close eye on you. I'm afraid that if you started to inflate again without a MES member nearby that you could inflate beyond your capacity." Fox stared at her, wide-eyed. "In theory, Mister Faldryn," she added quickly.

Fox looked back to Binx. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked to his companion for some sort of comfort. Binx cradled his head in his strong arms, a feat that was becoming ever easier as Fox slowly returned to his normal size. Gradually, he started to get his arms and legs back again. Somehow he came to be resting on his spherical belly, so he still couldn't grab for Binx around his ballooned chest and stomach. He sighed, his pudgy, conical arms flopping to his sides. All he could do was wait. Binx just smiled at him, continuing to pet his head. Finally Binx lifted his muzzle and kissed him. Fox blushed as he closed his eyes.

None of the others said or did anything. They just waited in silence. As the hour slowly ground down, Fox was starting to look like an exaggerated version of his former body. He had managed to stand again, but his belly still stuck out hugely in front of him, like he swallowed a yoga ball. Behind him, his ample ass rose against the small of his flattening back, the base of his tail squeezed between the top his globular ass-cheeks. It swayed about, lazily. Fox was entranced with himself, watching his body shrink. He'd never seen this happen before; usually it went the other way. Suddenly Binx was circling Fox, smiling as he admired his boy's swollen body. He stopped behind Fox and, before Fox could look to see what he was up to, grabbed the two ballooned orbs of his ass. Fox let out a squeak and jumped. His face flushed with embarrassment and excitement at the same time as he looked to Binx, a sly smile on the cat's face. Binx looked up to Brock.

"Hey, Brock," he said. Brock raised the eyebrow of his one good eye, looking to Binx. "The place is pretty well clear now right?" Brock nodded. Binx smiled and then looked back into Fox's eyes. "Why don't you let me take care of Fox? I'll get him back to base." Binx leaned in close to Fox's muzzle and licked his lips. "Eventually," he whispered. Fox smiled back, suddenly feeling hot all over.

Brock sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, everybody, back to the chopper. It's a private party now. Come on." With that the rest of the team followed Brock out up the stairs. Tyler didn't seem to care either way as he stuck close to Erica. Sheila smiled as she walked past, giving Binx a wink. Auron . . . Auron looked like he was flustered for a moment as he gave a lingering look to Fox before he also followed the rest of the Squad out. "Just,' Brock stopped and turned back to Fox and Binx, "make it quick. Takeoff is in thirty minutes." With that, Fox watched as Brock turned a hallway and led the rest of the team out.

"Ouch!" Fox exclaimed, feeling Binx slap his ass, his butt jiggling with the impact. Binx just leaned forward and smiled, bringing his mouth closer to Fox's.

"Round one, baby."