After That Night: Chapter Four - Stuck In The Same Boat

Story by DraconicXeno on SoFurry

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#13 of Story Commissions

The fourth chapter of a rather large story commission project for the awesome: High-Rise Who wants to build the back story behind this very nice artwork! The part driving the ship was so fun for this one! Unlike the others, this chapter was done as more of an art trade, so thank you very much!


"Damn, you really should have called ahead before jumping ship like that," Nyx chastised, as with a pained swoosh, the door to her ship's bridge slid open. "Can't be too careful out here, after I bounced the company, stars only know who they'll send after my tail."

"Call ahead, we hailed you, and did exactly what you said!" Sero exclaimed as he heaved both the weight of his wriggling belly and Reed, whose arm was slumped over his shoulder. "Maybe you should have just picked up the intercom!"

"What, I was busy? I have too many problems to deal with right now," Nyx shot back as she set her weapon down on a well-worn dashboard dotted with blinking lights, switches, and flickering holo-screens. "I thought you'd know, looks like we're in the same boat."

"Still, you didn't have to shoot him!" Sero shot back, rubbing his belly as he looked at the weary cat.

"I... I like to see... The stars in my eyes," Reed muttered, only adding to the dragon's argument as he stared drunkenly at the hyena. "Y-you're a very pretty... Lady, don't let that baby weight hold... you down!"

"Well, thanks, I guess," Nyx stammered as she glanced at the lynx, only to frown as she turned her attention to Sero. "Either way, just relax, sour scales. It was a stun bolt, he'll be fine in an hour or so."

"Yeah, but think what could have happened if you'd hit me!" Sero countered, rubbing his belly as he let Reed slip onto a mangy sofa next to him. "You could have shocked the baby right out of me!"

"Part of me thinks you'd be up for getting rid of it, no?" Nyx offered the dragon a knowing look, and Sero huffed as he glanced around.

Calling the bridge of the hyena's ship an actual bridge wasn't really correct, the place had been converted into more of a living space than it was for piloting the ship. Tattered old sofas, carpets, and tables were haphazardly mixed in with navigation desks and control consoles. The seats before the ship's primary drive systems were just as rugged and a crudely-fitted fridge had been wedged to the left of the wheel.

Yet for all the modification, it still took the gravid Hyena a great amount of effort to shrug off the top half of her shipping rig, undoing the strained zip with an awkward curl of her paw and folding it at her side, leaving her with naught but her bra and taut undersuit over her bottom half.

Does she fly half-naked or something? Sero thought, lifting his foot as he felt plastic wrappers and something squishy. Urg, and I thought my place was a dump.

"You'll have to excuse the mess, no one in here but me..." Nyx began as if she'd no care in the world, only for her words to be interrupted by an abrupt burp. "Well, me and this little gasbag."

She patted a paw on her belly, snarling as she huffed and did her best to squeeze into the captain's seat, cup holders at its flanks bent outward by her bulk as the whole chair groaned under the pressure.

"Damn, this kid is fucking huge already..." she added, as Sero peered over the navigation desk stationed behind her at the starry void beyond the window.

"You fly this all by yourself, how?" the dragon inquired, nodding back to his stunned friend. "Don't you need a navigator at least for a ship this big?"

"Hey... It looks like you have two butts Sero," Reed announced, head swaying to one side. "Haha, big belly, fat ass."

"Will you shut it!" Sero snapped at the delirious cat as Nyx snorted a laugh.

"Ha, maybe if I was as dim as you two I'd need one, but I got my crew right here, ain't that right, Gizmo?" the hyena declared, tapping a screen to the left of the wheel, upon which appeared a pixelated, smiling face.

"That's right captain," a tinny voice buzzed, adding as Nyx requested a status update. "All systems are still functioning at seventy-five percent capacity. But collection vents are also full, should I plot a course to the station?"

"No, not yet, I want to make sure the engines are at least fully charged, give them a bit to reach one hundred, okay?" Nyx instructed, and the entity on screen mimicked a nod as it acknowledged.

"Roger that, captain."

"Your crew's a computer?" Sero asked, glancing at Reed again.

Sometimes I wish I could just have a program that does everything I say. He thought as the cat tried to lick out of an empty glass bottle, only to get his snout stuck. Urg, the things I put up with.

"Gizmo's more like an AI. I built him out of one of those stupid company app things, was a rejected prototype," Nyx elaborated, leaning back in her chair, rubbing her kicking belly and looking over her shoulder at Sero as he went back to save his friend. "Why, problems with your crew?"

"More work colleague than crew," the dragon muttered as he pulled the glass off Reed's muzzle with a pop. "Only guy I've ever really flown with though."

"Oh, thank you, kind dragon!" Reed cheered, before his eyes narrowed and he peered at Sero. "Hey, wanna hear a joke?"

"That stun bolt really hit him hard, maybe I should have turned it down a bit," Nyx finally admitted, before looking back at her console. "Gizmo, run bio-diagnostics on the cat, please tell me I've not got to take him to the med bay."

"Oh, so now you think you've overdone it?" Sero asked, as Reed flopped against his side and muttered.

"Hey, hey, what did my sister say when she saw the water was full of seaman?" Sero looked down at the feline, face flat as Reed added.

"Help them out, they're drowning!" The lynx burst out into a fit of intoxicated laughter as Sero shoved him back into the seat and marched back to Nyx.

"I don't get paid enough for this!" he declared, wings ruffling in indignation.

"You're still getting paid? Damn, what company was willing to give you three years' maternity? In fact, who even has that as an option for males?" Nyx asked, before adding in a sly tone. "Don't tell me it's the delivery brand from that ship you showed up in?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Sero asked, almost cautiously, and Nyx snickered.

"How have they not tossed you out? My boss found out I was pregnant and they sacked me on the spot... Didn't stop me from stealing half the stuff they owed me, but still..."

"Well, my boss doesn't know I'm pregnant yet," Sero announced, but Nyx's smug look didn't falter.

Urg, why do I keep denying it, she's right? My workdays are numbered. The dragon thought, before wondering. _Why did I even come here, all she's doing is telling me what I already know... Wait, how does she know it's three years? _

Sero said as much and Nyx only snarled as she rubbed her kicking belly and confessed.

"Not figured it out, I was in the same clinic as you? This gas bag's a dragon chick," she stopped rubbing and patted the bump. "And it's a real pain in the ass, big with claws... Urg, I should have never fucked one of you guys."

Wow, small galaxy. Sero thought, realizing they'd far more in common then he'd guessed. But if she's like this for so long, surely she has a plan?

"You didn't know that last time we met, did you?" he asked as he squeezed into the seat next to her, belly shoving out a front trey as Reed cackled like a crazy cat behind them, before falling asleep.

"No, thought I may have a parasite, or some kind of lactation infection thing," Nyx sighed, rubbing one of her swollen breasts. "Stupid kid needs a lot of milk apparently."

Leaking like that for three years? Damn, maybe I'm not as worse off as I thought. The dragon noted, running a claw over his own thankfully flat chest. Still, can't say they look too bad on her.

"Still, what about you... I was pretty sure you're a dude, not just transitioning or..."

"No, I'm a dude, trust me... Fine with that, just..." Sero exclaimed suddenly, before rubbing his bump with a sigh. "Just found the males of my kind can get knocked up if the circumstances are right."

"You got that right, first time I have sex with a dragon I wound up like this and I've been sleeping around for years," Nyx snapped. "I bet you could knock up whoever you stick that cock in."

"Hardly, I'm bi, and as far as I know, I'm only father to this one," Sero countered, jabbing a claw at his belly. "I just happen to be the only pregnant guy in the whole damn sector!"

"Eh, don't be so dramatic about it. It was about time a guy suffered the same thing..." Nyx began, only to pause. "But three damn years of it, and don't get me started on the regulations about endangered species."

"Trust me, I know," Sero huffed, only to ask. "But your plan was to what? Sit out here and just wait it out?"

"Hardly, I got a plan to get this damn thing out of me," Nyx admitted, and at that, Sero's attention piqued.

Wait, there's really somewhere I can get that done? He opened his muzzle to say as much, but Nyx shot him a coy look and it was clear his expression was saying it all.

"I can tell you're interested, dragon," she cooed, as the console before her pinged and lit up.

"Engines at one hundred percent charge capacity, captain, all stations are good to go," Gizmo chimed, and the hyena muttered a thanks as she flicked some switches over her head.

"I had a deal with a few contacts. I bring them enough scrap from this junk field, and they take this thing out of me. Guess they wanted to sell the spare parts," Nyx elaborated.

"You mean like an abortion?" Sero added, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety at the idea as he rubbed his belly. "What do they do with the kids?"

"Fuck if I know, don't really care. This is a mess, and I want out," Nyx retorted, a paw on her belly. "If I wanted to be a mother, I'd volunteer for one of those colony things, where they pay you to breed."

She's really serious, I could get rid of it but... Despite all of his thoughts directing him towards the idea, the dragon felt an odd tug at his consciousness. Do I really want to? It's been nothing but trouble, but...

"Isn't it illegal?" he asked, and Nyx grinned.

"In sector it is." She shot him a knowing glare. "But let's just say my contacts are more than a few jumps away."

I could really do it, get rid of this thing before Lunar even knows, and just never go see the doctor about it again. Sero noted, relief still mixing with trepidation. What can they do if I take it out when in another system, nothing!?

"So, you in? May cost a little more, but I'm sure I can work it out," Nyx asked with a coy smirk. "Would love to have some fun with you guys when it's over, providing you wear protection, scaly."

Sero glanced back at Reed, who looked somewhere between sleep and just about waking up with the biggest hangover of his life. Then he looked down at his belly, the infuriating little bump that had made his life a groggy, horny, and kicking hell for the past few weeks.

I could just get it over with, have things the way they were... His thoughts trailed off like mist in the wind. But it's still a dragon in...

"O-okay, I'm..." Sero began, snatching his paw away from his belly as if it meant nothing to him as he added. "I'm in."

********

"Oh... You have wonderful eyes," was the first thing Reed muttered as he groggily stared up at Nyx's face. "Like... really... they're pretty."

"Yep, your buddy seems fine," The hyena declared as she withdrew her scanning device from the cat's forehead, before offering him a sultry look. "But thanks for the compliment, sugar."

Urg, maybe the two of them should just get a room before we arrive. Sero thought over the sound of Nyx's rock music, just about hearing Gizmo announce the ship's departure from light-speed. Scratch that, let's get free of pregnancy first.

"Great, here right on time," Nyx observed, as she wobbled her way back to the captain's chair, earning a long glance from Reed as the cat's eyes fixed on her ass.

"Hey, Sero... Who's your friend, she's fucking hot," the lynx muttered, yet the dragon only offered a flat look, to which Reed exclaimed. "What?"

"She's the one who shot you, bright eyes," he informed the weary navigator and Reed blinked, then rubbed the back of his neck as he stammered.

"O-oh well... I... I guess that's kind of kinky..."

"Seriously? Sero added, with a roll of his eyes, before standing up. "Good to see that part of your brain still works."

Nonetheless, the dragon let his companion flop back on the sofa and mutter about how his legs still felt numb as he made his way up to Nyx at the ship's controls.

"Got some good news, we get there okay?" he asked, and the hyena snorted.

"More than okay. Trust me, this thing may look like junk, but I can tell you, it'll give federation ships a run for their credits," Nyx boasted, before flicking a few switches. "Opening exterior shutters now."

Just like that, there was a grinding beyond the ship's windows and in a flash of fiery light, the large object that was flashing on one of the ship's sensor screens was revealed to be the vast surface of a star.

Damn, thank the stars for the solar filters. Sero thought as the ship sailed by the endless wall of cosmic flame. Who the hell is all the way out here?

That question was answered when, from the endless sea of blinding light, the gleaming form of a large planet loomed into view. It was like looking at the vast gas giant Tella orbited, only instead of a distant orb of swirling clouds in the night sky, this planet was half torn away as strands of its turbulent atmosphere were sucked into the star's searing void. The closer the ship drifted, the more the scale of destruction grew, until it was as if they were floating between two walls of devastation, one fire, one a swirling maelstrom of lightning and wind.

"No wonder they call this place Desolation," Nyx observed as a small ping identifying a structure in the planet's upper atmosphere lit up on one of the screens. "There's our destination."

"Wait, they call this place what?" Sero exclaimed, shocked words mimicked by Reed, only for the cat to flop back and declare the star's light too bright as Sero added. "You want to take our babies down to a place called Desolation!"

"Will you relax, it's just a figure of speech. It's an old sapphire harvester station, it literally rains gems on these gas giants so close to their stars," Nyx elaborated as she rubbed her belly. "Look at it one way, if they do keep our kids here somehow, at least, they'll be well off."

Do I really want to think about how my kid will end up once it's out of me? Sero wondered, as the outside darkened with their descent into Desolation's thick clouds. I get it out and it's not my issue. The thing's just an accident anyway.

With the star's light turned a sickly green by the turbulent clouds and flashes of lightning, Reed staggered up to peer out of the window from behind the two pregnant beings as the ship rocked and shuddered.

"Damn, it's rough out there," Nyx declared as shimmering blue shards clattered on the window like heavy raindrops. "Can see why they like it so much."

"You really sure this ship can take it? Sero asked, clutching his bump as lightning lanced by like a molten web and they ground through clouds that were filled with rock.

"Will you just relax and let me fly," Nyx hissed, shooting the dragon a serious look as, from the shadows ahead, a vast shape loomed into view.

Like a hulking tower wrapped in a mess of metal girders and struts, the suspended station lingered like a dagger in the clouds, its sheer flanks cutting the dense smog like butter as two large arms rotated at its peak and bottom. The gyrating limbs seemed to be fitted with huge troths and sails, each one directing waves of the sapphire rain into industrial processors that ran the length of the arms.

Meanwhile, the main tower of the station looked to be large as a whole city as it blinked with millions of lights and shielded openings. A particular ring of docking stations marked the thing's rugged equator, where ships and mining drones flitted about like bees around a hive. Even so, the entirety of the main body was protected by a shimmering field of blissful blue light, that sparked and flashed as it was struck by the harsh weather.

"Station, D: Fourteen-S this is asset Zero-Twelve, requesting a drop in the shields. Please be advised; there is a smaller craft docked at our port side, but the payload is ready for delivery," Nyx suddenly stated into her console's intercom as the ship swooped in close to the massive station. "I repeat this is asset Zero-Twelve..."

"Wow, could have had the decency to hail us like that," Sero muttered under his breath, receiving a sour look from the hyena in return as he added. "What, it's not hard to speak into the intercom, and you can't use the pregnancy excuse with me!"

"You have to deal with the belly, not the tits, now sit down. We should be passing through the shield in a moment," Nyx ordered.

"She's a good captain," Reed muttered as Sero took a seat beside him. "You think I could ask her out sometime... After she's had the kid an' all?"

"Are you serious? You didn't even want to come out here?" Sero retorted in a hushed tone, but Reed shrugged. "Besides, she won't have the kid for long, we're here to get rid of them."

"Wait, what?" The cat stated sharply. "Can you do that... Sero, I know it's freaky but that's your kid in there, do..."

"I know full well what's going on, Reed," The dragon was swift to cut the lynx off. "But until you're in my position, don't tell me how to live my life."

Sero's voice was low and firm as Reed opened his mouth and lifted a paw to respond, only to trail off with a sigh.

He's not knocked up, he doesn't know how... Sero found it hard to really think about what he was doing as he rested a paw on his kicking bump. But is he right? I came all the way out here, but...

"Asset Zero-Twelve, this is station command, please proceed to docking bay sixteen, level four. The shields will be lowered momentarily," buzzed a voice from the intercom, and Nyx sat back, muttering her thanks.

"Gizmo, set a course and get us down there nice and slow. Don't need to make this anymore tedious then it's going to be already," she ordered the ship's computer, and the thing lit up with acknowledgment.

"So, these friends of yours, who are they?" Sero asked, as with a shudder and a buzz, the ship slipped through a hole in the station's shield. "Must really be the out of the way kind of guys; this far out of system."

"Well, it's not like what they're doing would be legal anywhere else, genius," Nyx reminded as the first of the station's outer spires loomed around them and the ring of shielded docking hangers drew closer. "But I got it on good authority that scraps for surgery was the deal."

"Sounds like a shady deal to me," Sero muttered under his breath, glancing at Reed, only for the feline to shrug.

Either way, he was soon to find out just what they'd gotten themselves into as the ship slipped into the clinically-lit hanger and several docking arms reached out to secure the vessel in place, before the whole hanger pressurized with a hiss.

"Docking sequence complete, captain," Gizmo buzzed as an umbilical ramp extended from one of the docking arms to allow them to enter the station, and the computer added. "Starboard side passage secure and pressurized."

"Good, keep the ship on standby, we won't be long," Nyx added, before she glanced at Sero.

"Well, you ready to go be free of mother.... fatherhood?" she asked, correcting herself as she huffed. "You'll not get another chance like this."

Do I really... Sero rubbed his bump as he peered out of the window at the engineers passing over gantries around the ship, all in tight, pressurized rigs. They're so slim, so normal, and I...

"Sure, let's just get this thing over with," was all the dragon stated as the three of them moved to exit the ship.

******

"Welcome to the sapphire section, I am D-Anna, I have been sent to collect you by my master," chimed the prim voice of an unnaturally pink-coated doe, even if her obviously synthetic appearance made it clear she was an android.

Been a long time since I saw one of those that wasn't a sex-bot. Sero thought, eyes passing over the seams where the doe's metal plates met, her hips wide, breast bulbous and jelly-like, while her ruby eyes were tinted with the slightest hints of machinery. Scratch that, she kinda looks like another sex-bot in her spare time.

Regardless, the dragon didn't say a word as Nyx waddled her way up to the robot, showing off a holo-pad of details, to which the doe nodded.

"Ah, scrap for a teleportation transplant, I see how it is," Anna mused with a giddy tone, jabbing a hoof at Nyx's tummy. "Might I say, the motherly look is good on you."

"Hardly, why do you think I want to get rid of it, sparks?" the hyena droned sarcastically, before nodding back at Sero. "Not just me, this guy too."

"Oh, my, a pregnant male, how interesting," Anna observed as she peered around Nyx at the awkward dragon. "I'm sure something can be arranged. Whatever the case, please follow me."

At that, the artificial doe's hooves shifted into small balls, that whirred as they rolled her away like some kind of hoverboard.

"Urg, I hate the prissy kind of robot. To think someone wants to fuck that bucket of bolts," Nyx muttered as the three of them made their way through what appeared to be the shopping precinct of the station's sector, with neon-lit stores, exotic restaurants, and bars that seemed to obey no regulations.

She's right about getting out of here quick, half the folks here look like they'll steal one of my kidneys. Sero thought, spying rough anthros in trench coats, and even feral creatures with tattered fur or mangy feathers. Is it just me, or did that griffin just swallow his credits?

"Yeah, I really hate robots too," Reed chipped in, sliding up next to Nyx like a school-cub with a crush. "Stations like this too, they always feel like they're moving."

"That's because they are, fur brain," Nyx chuckled, and Reed forced an awkward laugh as the canine added. "Gotta say I prefer them, I hardly ever go planet-side. Last time was when I had to go to that stupid clinic... Urg, Tella is so old fashioned, they still have concrete roads for stars' sake!"

"O-oh yeah, sure thing... Tella sucks, was looking to move off-world as soon as I got the time," Reed's seemingly improvised response was about as well thought out as Sero's attempts to cover up his condition. "I always wanted to be the spacer type."

"You don't say?" Nyx responded with a hint of uncertainty, as Reed did his best to comb his mane back into a sleek style.

He wants to move off-world, not last I heard? Sero thought, ignoring the odd glances his waddle was getting as the three of them shifted into a long alleyway. Oh, please don't tell me he has a thing for her? He's known her five minutes and she fucking shot him!

Regardless, Nyx shushed her giddy admirer's rambling a second later as Anna paused by a door ahead. It was a tall, neon-lit entryway to a dank looking club, evident by the thumping music emanating from within, the bold title: 'Underworld' projected in stark blue above.

Same chain I met that unicorn in. Sero noted as he considered his baby's father. But all the way out here, they really have establishments everywhere.

"The elevator by the door, if you don't mind," Anna announced as she tapped a holo-pad upon a glass tube by the entrance and gestured to a levitating plate as it descended within. "My master is waiting on the upper floor of the club."

"Thanks," Nyx offered as she slumped into the tube, followed by Reed, and finally Sero as the whole elevator gave a groan.

"Oh my, I'll have to put the levitation talismans on full power to compensate for the extra weight," Anna declared as she slipped in with them, tapping the holo-pad and forcing the elevator into a painful ascent.

All the while Sero exchanged glances with Nyx and it was clear she also wanted to kill the robot for the mention of their added pounds.

Urg, why do dragon babies have to be so damn heavy!? The dragon inwardly huffed, as the plate lifted them up into the station's roof and the shaft grew dim, before, with a ping, a door slid open behind them. Not to mention they should design these with mothers considered!

"Right this way," Anna encouraged, slipping free with Reed as Sero struggled to turn and blunder his way around Nyx.

"Whatever happened to ladies first?" the hyena growled as her kicking belly was smooshed against Sero's and the two were stuck in the tube for a moment.

"You're about as lady-like as my ass, now just go first," Sero shot back, and with a huff, a wince, and a pop, the canine forced herself free, almost falling onto the marble beyond the door.

"Oh, my," Anna muttered, as Reed shot like lightning to help Nyx up.

"No, I'm good," she said as she shrugged him off, and staggered to her paws.

"Hardly, you look like a beetle stuck on it's back," Sero muttered, and she snarled at him as he stepped out.

Opposite, were more elevator shafts, and to the left, a long hallway lined with gold and marble. Despite ceiling windows showing the dense clouds outside, the whole place was slightly dimmed. Shadows lingered like flies as flickering, sapphire flames illuminated what they could in a cerulean hue.

Wow, talk about the tribal look. Sero noted as the three of them followed Anna to the right, into a larger chamber.

On the walls, the skulls of various alien animals were posed on grand displays, some the size of sofas, along with exquisite statues and examples of long lost architecture.

This like some billionaire's collection or something? Sero thought as he saw robed equines wearing masks, stationed like guards between the displays, each one bearing a sapphire horn-guard and an electro glaive. Damn, what the heck are we wandering into?

The dragon's questions were answered a moment later as Anna led them out to stand upon a marble plate before a towering, black throne. Flanked by golden unicorn statues and more of the masked guards, the thing was like a monolith of black obsidian, and upon it lounged an aged anubian unicorn with a golden horn and neatly-trim beard. He was adored by robes that looked as if they were worth more than Nyx's ship, an aura of respect only amplified by his sapphire rings and regal horn-guard. Yet most striking of all were his stark, orange eyes that shimmered brighter than the star beyond the planet's thick clouds.

"My master, King Kiger, lord of the great Kigers, I present to you, asset Zero-Twelve," Anna introduced, dropping into a sweeping bow.

"Good work, construct. Now return to my chambers," the king ordered, waiving the android off with a gaunt hand, before he peered down at Nyx. "The scrapper, if I'm not mistaken?"

"That's right, what gave it away?" Nyx responded, paws on her hips as she added. "I have a whole cargo hold full of what you asked for, all from Tella Prime, like specified."

"It's the belly that makes you stand out. Though, I must commend you on a job well done," the king congratulated, resting back in his throne. "I will have my soldiers go and collect it as soon as we're done here."

Nyx didn't seem to notice any of the masked guards take a step closer at that, and while Sero glanced about, he caught at least one of them staring right at him. The specific guard stood out, however; their armor and robes were golden, not black, and the eyes the dragon could glimpse through the mask's narrow slots looked almost familiar.

"Well, if that's the case, you fulfill your side of the bargain then? I want this baby out of me and..." Nyx began, then nodded back at Sero. "So does this guy, one more operation can't hurt, right?"

"Two dragon babies?" The king blinked and leaned forward with newfound interest. "And... Wait, he's a dude?"

"Yeah, apparently it works on male dragons," Reed interjected, as he stepped up beside Nyx, despite a frustrated hiss from Sero. "Now, are you going to give her what you promised?"

"What I promised?" the king added and this time it was not so hard to spot the guards getting closer. "I promised to take out one baby, but..."

Nyx reached for something on her belt, a task made all the harder by her belly, as the king flexed a hand, then tapped a console on his throne. Just like that, the guards were almost encircling them, the ends of their staffs sparking to life with electricity, as Sero felt tight force coil around all four of his paws. The circular plate upon which they stood lit up fast as lightning, and when he looked down at his limbs, he saw chains of blue energy pinning him in place, as well as Reed and Nyx.

We walked right into a damn trap!

"Wait, what!" Nyx spat, struggling against her restraints. "Let me go, you bitch! I gave you what you wanted!"

"What I wanted and more. Not only the alloy from all those ships, but two dragon babies," The king purred as he gestured to his guards. "You see, there never was a plan to let you go afterward. Dragon babies are worth too much, you'll stay here, you'll have the child, and then we'll sell you all off to the federation."

"You have got to be kidding me, you son of a bitch!" Nyx spat as the smaller plates under each of them began to levitate.

"Nyx, you led us right into a trap, you idiot!" Sero snapped. "I thought you knew these guys!"

"I did, and I thought I knew rats when I smelled them!" The hyena retorted, glaring at the king.

"Clearly all those hormones have dampened your judgment, scrapper. You won't be missed, nor will the federation see fit to retrieve you all the way out here," the old equine countered.

"So does this mean there's no after baby sexy time?" Reed asked with a frown as the three of them where levitated away.

"Take them to a holding cell. We'll make room in medical later," the king ordered as guards moved to escort them, only for one to call out.

"No, father, wait!" Everyone paused and looked to the golden-masked unicorn that had been staring at Sero as he took it off. "I want the dragon."

No, it can't... The king nodded as the dragon's mind went blank, and his glance met those familiar eyes. That's him... My baby's father!