Friends From Beginning to End (1/3)

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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Set before and during the Starpoint Research Facility invasion in The Taker Gets Taken we take a look at three friends who find themselves deeply entangled in the lives of one another before and after they became Bal'Kar.

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*some years ago*

The small park was busy on a Saturday; people from all over the city would come to the beautiful lakeside area in order to entertain their children or go and enjoy the company of one another. The reason that this park was so special was because it was one of the few areas in the normally rocky terrain that held such verdant life, a slice of green in an otherwise grey and white existence. For Erin, Newlyn, and Chaos it was a place where they would walk after completing a rough day in the training facility in the city or come after their classes. The wooded paths made for a great time reflecting as the three friends moved through the quiet woods away from the trail that most people ran down for exercise.

The other two looked around while the feral kitsune led the way, not being sure what they were in for since their leader refused to tell them what was going on. All they knew was that she showed up to the park with several bags that they had no idea how she managed to pack herself and a vague, cryptic clue that they were about to go on an adventure. The other two just shrugged and decided to go along with it, taking their respective bags that they were assigned before trudging them through the park and through the woods. Though it wasn't particularly hot out they had been walking for nearly a half an hour with no end in sight and both males were starting to feel their arms burn from the exertion.

"So give it to me straight Erin," Newlyn said as he adjusted the bag over his other shoulder, being careful with it since he was told it was fragile. "Are you bringing us out into the middle of the woods to kill us? Because I believe by law you have to tell us that you're going to kill us if we ask."

'Oh hush you," Erin replied as she cocked her head back and stuck her tongue out at him. "You say that like you would know it was coming."

"Nah, I think I might be with Newlyn on this one," Chaos said as he let out a slightly tired sigh. "You get us to carry around all this stuff, getting tired in the process, and then when we least expect it you strike. Then you would go on the news while they look for our bodies and give them that sweet and innocent act on how it's so strange that your two friends wandered off into the middle of the woods and how you have no idea where they could be."

"Yep, you totally got me," Erin said back. "I spent years gaining your trust and making you believe that we were best friends so that today I could lure you out here and take your wallet money before burying you here."

"Knew it," Newlyn said with a smirk.

For about ten more minutes they continued their hike until finally they heard a gasp from the kitune before she ran forward. "Here it is!" Erin said happily as the three finally made their way out of the trees and found themselves on a small cliff that overlooked the entire lake. "Beautiful, am I right? I saw this spot while we were driving by last time and I thought it would be perfect for one of our last picnics together!"

"Awww, don't say that Erin," the white and grey furred husky said as he walked over towards the edge and looked down. "They might all send us all to the same place, it's not like we're in competing fields or anything like that. Plus they put that spot in the application line that asks if there is anyone that you would be preferred to be placed with and I definitely put you two guys."

"I thought I heard someone say that they do that so they can intentionally separate people that might be sleeping together and such," the snow leopard replied, causing the husky's mouth to drop. "So when they see that Chaos wants to be with Newlyn and Erin they might just think that it would be too much trouble and ship us all off to different parts of the state. You've doomed us all Chaos!"

"Oh don't be silly Newlyn," Erin replied as she stuck her tongue out, the quadruped using her mouth to help straighten out the blanket as the two giggled at the panicked look on the husky's face. "They don't just ask you who you want to be with and then separate you. It's more likely they want you to stay with your friends so that you stay with the company longer, otherwise there might be less incentive to go where you're told and as soon as the contract is up you're out of there."

"I guess that makes sense," the grinning snow leopard replied. "You would know best, you are the one going into human resources after all."

The three continued to talk about life after the program as they set up their little picnic spot, speculation turning to reminiscing as they looked out over the lake at the mountains beyond. All three of them had been friends since they could remember, going through all of school together and then trying to find jobs together before eventually enrolling in a program that would automatically place them in a job at one of the many research facilities scattered about the states. While they assumed that they would all be sent to the closest one, which was in the next state, they were eventually shocked to find out that the training centers had you move to wherever you were needed. By that point it was too late to get out of their contract, all they could do was hope for the best.

As the hours rolled by and the sun began to set over the mountains Chaos sat on the blanket looking at his phone while Erin and Newlyn sat on the edge of the cliff, the feral kitsune sitting there while Newlyn had his legs dangling over the edge. None of them were talking at the moment, merely enjoying the company of one another as they digested both the meal and their conversation. Their last picnic together... with the end of the term coming up those words felt more real than ever. Soon even that was going to come to an end as the blues in the sky had started to turn to yellows and fading into orange.

"Do you really think they'd separate us?" Erin asked, her tails wagging about nervously as she asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "I know they don't have any reason to keep us together, but... I was kind of hoping that they wouldn't."

"I don't know in all honesty," Newlyn replied with a sigh. "While we all said we wanted to be with one another if there is a facility that needs a researcher and another that needs a human resources person then they're going to put us where the slots need filling. Can't tell them to hire on an extra person to a full team just because we wanted to stick together."

The two looked down at the still waters of the lake below, trying to find some other means to reassure one another when they suddenly heard the husky behind them call out for them to come over. The two looked back to see that he was staring excitedly at the screen on his phone and when they came over towards him he immediately flipped it over so they could see the headline. "They've just announced the opening of a new research facility!" the husky said as the two leaned in to see the article. "Not only is it local but they said that they want it completely staffed as soon as possible, which is probably why they made such a big push in the town about people going through the program."

"The Starpoint Research Facility," Newlyn read as his eyes flicked from left to right. "Sources say that the facility will be state of the art and is currently near completion as well as the military base that will surround it, expecting to bring in hundreds of jobs." The snow leopard found himself grinning as he leaned back. "So not only a research facility job but a government funded one, talk about security."

"It goes on a bit about economy revitalization and stuff like that but basically they're going to raid the town and anyone who wants a job up there will get one regardless of whether or not they went through the program," the husky stated. "We'll get priority naturally, and that means we're all going to stay together!"

"Yay!" Erin exclaimed as she put her forepaws up in the air. "Hugs for everyone!"

The three came in and hugged one another at the kitsune's request, all of them elated at the information that they had just received. A job at a military-funded research facility, it was one of the best possible outcomes that they could have gotten from enrolling in the program together and they were all going to it at the same time. They all began to chat happily to one another as what had been set as their last picnic was suddenly a celebratory dinner, though as they continued to try and read through the article on Chaos' phone they realized that part of the problem was that it was getting dark. The three decided they would look more into it later and began to pick up their stuff, putting it away so they could get back through the woods before they were picking their way through the dark.

"Wait!" Erin said as she took the pack that had been slung around her back and shifted so that it fell gently to the ground. "We have to take a photo before we go, I want to capture this moment in time forever!"

"You sure you want to do this now?" Chaos asked as he glanced over at the sun disappearing behind the mountains. "Not sure how good the light is going to be."

"I didn't drag this camera stuff all the way up here just for the exercise!" Erin stated as she unzipped the bag with her teeth. "Originally I was going to take it so that in case we did get separated I would have something to remember you guys by, but even if we're still going to be around one another I want the photo. Newlyn, could you do me the honors?"

The snow leopard nodded and grabbed the camera out of the bag as well as the tripod, setting it up so that they were standing on the cliff looking out into the lake. After a few moments however Newlyn frowned and said that wasn't going to work because there wasn't a lot of space to move around and they were going to catch some of the sun no matter what. That didn't deter the kitsune though and instead they shifted things over so that they were facing the woods instead. Luckily it was still light enough that they didn't need a flash and once Chaos and Erin were in their proper positions Newlyn set the self-timer and got in on the other side of the kitsune.

"Alright everyone," Erin said as they saw the red light on the camera blinking faster and faster. "Say, awesome trio!"

************************************

*present day*

Deep in the recesses of the caves underneath the Starpoint facility the entire cavern glowed with an unearthly green light that came from the pools of bio-extract that had formed in the stone. In its light black, fleshy tendrils could be seen growing over the stone, burrowing in deeper in order to continue to build up the hive that had taken root there. Though most of the liquid was still one near the middle began to bubble and churn, the creature underneath disturbing the surface as the monstrous head of a Bal'Kar pushed up and broke the surface tension. Its glowing green eyes scanned the area for a few seconds before it continued to move out, the goo dripping off his four large head tentacles and the spikes that adorned his brow and back of his head. Soon the entire creature breached out of the pool, its body tentacles easily moving along the stone in order to head further up through the cave.

He wasn't the only one there; after the fall of the Starpoint Facility there were now dozens, maybe even hundreds of Bal'Kar that nested there. They all shared in the spreading of the hive, their massive bodies quickly outgrowing both the original facility and the caves that they foolishly thought could contain them. As he passed by several others he could feel them send a small bit of lust in his direction, a customary greeting as he returned the favor as he passed by. More than once he saw two or more of the tentacle creatures in the grasp of one another, breeding and passing eggs while becoming nothing more then a slimy mass of pure euphora... but as much as he would have liked to join in he had been summoned by another with some urgency.

Eventually the Bal'Kar made it to the original chamber, the one that had started it all and spotted a single one of his brethren resting in an extract pool similar to the one that he had just escaped. Neither of them needed to talk outwardly, as he came in he could feel through their web what was being said as though receiving a text message that he could read instantly. "Come in Newlyn," the other Bal'kar said. "Make yourself at home, we have something that we need to discuss."

Newlyn quickly nodded his head and slithered forward before sliding into the pool, bio-extract splashing around as their faces met and slurpers entwined around one another. He had to adjust his jaw slightly to take into account the saber teeth that slid past the outside of his lips as their maws locked together in a typical Bal'Kar embrace. Though there was no such thing as a leader amongst their kind this one was the first, coming into the Starpoint facility and eventually taking it over in a mess of goo and spores. Every creature in that mountain owed their current forms to him, the two eventually breaking away and having their glowing green tongues slide back into their own maws.

"What did you need me for Serathin?" Newlyn asked as he wrapped his tentacles around the other creature, both their lusts increasing. "From the urgency it didn't sound like merely a social call. Is the hive in danger?"

"Nothing like that," Serathin sent back. "In fact it's just the opposite, have you had your clutch recently?"

"Just laid a few hours ago," Newlyn reported. "Why?"

"I recently learned through my poking around in the military database that one of the satellites that monitors this place to make sure we don't spread is going down for maintenance," Serathin explained, the lust vibrating strongly in the other Bal'Kar as he felt the breeder of the other creature begin to slide into his grappler abdomen. Though both creatures were getting heavily aroused by the feel of their bodies coming together they still maintained enough of their thoughts to continue with the conversation. "It's a short window but I think it's enough for you to slip out and enjoy a little day trip back to your old hometown."

Newlyn paused as he thought back to his home town... it had been so long since he had visited it even before he had been gifted the form of the Bal'Kar, up until Serathin had mentioned it hadn't even crossed his mind. "How long do I have to prepare?" he asked. "Is this just a quick stop to say high or will I be there for a while?"

"The maintenance window comes in two stages," Serathin explained. "The first one happens tonight and only lasts a couple of minutes, so you're going to have to get ready to leave as soon as I give you the signal. Then there's a secondary shutdown three days later that happens for about two minutes, but by that point it's more about getting you back to the hive instead of worrying about sneaking you out and getting a tail. I also think it would be prudent of you to take Erin and Chaos along, since they also came from there and you three are as thick as thieves."

Newlyn felt his excitement build when he heard that his two fellow Bal'Kar and bed friends were coming along with him, almost instantly translating that information through their psychic webs and then getting back a reply of similar excitement when it resonated back. Just then he was interrupted as he began to feel something sliding into his abdomen, the breeder cock that had been pumping systematically into him bulging before something slid out of it and into him. It was the first of nearly a dozen eggs that were pumped into his sack from the other Bal'Kar, which made him feel pleasantly full again after having just laid his last batch. Though both creatures would have preferred to stay this way they needed to revert back into their guise forms so they could make their way through the infested facility.

After the last of the eggs he was going to get from the other Bal'Kar were deposited Newlyn got up from the pool and began to shift, his body immediately beginning to shrink as the seethers that made up his form became more compact. The tentacles that made up most of his body shrank back or melded into his form as his abdomen retracted, taking the eggs he had gotten and distributed them around his body so they wouldn't bulge out his form unnecessarily. As fur began to appear on his shrinking muzzle the disintegrators on his head seemed to slurp their way up into it while his spikes did the same. When he finally got small enough and his legs reappeared he always took a second to get used to standing on two feet again, especially after nothing having been in guise for so long as his disproportionally large glowing green cock also shrank until it matched his body.

Finally as his controller tentacles closed their eyes and disappeared into his shoulders he looked over to see that Serathin had shifted back as well, shiny black rubber skin replaced with black and purple fur. One of the last things left to change was his slurper tongue, letting it dangle in the air for a while before retracting into his maw. Though the two were ready to head back up into the Starpoint Facility proper they decided to wait for the other two that were coming along, eventually spotting two more pairs of glowing green eyes coming up from deep in the caves. One of them had already started to shrink back down into their guise form as well, tan fur sprouting on various parts of her body as several of the flailing tentacles shifted and turned into multiple tails.

As Erin reformed back into her kitsune self the one next to her wasn't far behind, the ring of spikes around his thick neck that represented a collar retracting back into his body as bright blue lines began to appear on his form. As the husky continued his transition Erin shouted Serathin's name and ran up for a hug, then doing the same to the snow leopard as they grinned at one another. Eventually Chaos finished as well, bowing to the one he called master as well as to Serathin before stating that he had already gotten a big slimy hug from the kitsune. Once the four had finished changing completely they climbed their way up the elevator shaft, the car long since destroyed with more than two Bal'kar got inside of it changing someone during their takeover, and hopped inside the observation room.

"Hard to believe that a mere few months ago I was being watched and studied from here," Serathin reminisced as they heard the sound of the metal under their feet groaning in distress. "But we're not here to walk down memory lane, we need to get you three ready for an incursion into your old stomping grounds. Hopefully you all kept a bit of clothing, otherwise your trip down is going to be very interesting."

"No worries here," Erin responded with a chuckle as they made their way through the tentacle infested hallways back towards the dormitories. Since most Bal'Kar didn't prefer to be in their guise form the sleeping area of the facility had been largely abandoned, a mere reminder of what their lives had been before they had all become the creatures they were now. While some people did take mementos into the caves it had to be stuff that would survive constantly being covered in bio-extract... which meant most people just left them in their old rooms to keep them safe. The only one that didn't have an assigned room was Serathin himself, having been shipped in via train in order to be studied by this very facility.

"Hard to believe we used to consider comfortable," Erin said as she jumped on one of the beds that belonged to Chaos and Newlyn in their room, the springs and base beneath them cracking with her immense weight as soon as she sat on it. "One of the disadvantages of being a Bal'Kar, can't go jumping on the bed anymore."

The others just smiled and nodded as they packed up their things, trying to think of what they would need in order to sell themselves as normal creatures in a town that was very likely to be on the alert. While the mountains kept the Bal'Kar of the Starpoint Facility from spreading, aided by the military ready to bombard them into the stone age should they try, they no doubt knew of and were weary about their neighbors. Thankfully their guises were almost exactly like their former selves, save for their eyes that still glowed with an unnatural green light, something that they would have to figure out how to hide while on the way. As Newlyn opened up one of his dresser drawers he saw something that caused him to pause, the small grin on his face turning into a smile as he pulled out the frame and ushered the others to come over and look.

"Now that is an awesome trio," Chaos remarked, the other two chuckling as they looked at themselves in the picture. "Man, that reminds me of when we first got this room..."

*******************************

*some years ago*

Newlyn set down the picture of the three of them back down on the desk, trying to find the perfect spot for it as he heard the husky attempting to put his sheets on the bed they had been issues. "I should have known not to buy the king-sized sheets," Chaos said with a huff as he looked down at the mess of covers that he had created. "I mean I sort of figured that they wouldn't be giving us that large of a bed, but I figured that if we were sharing a room they would have at least sprung for something larger then a twin."

"Considering they carved this entire place out of a mountain I think they were thinking more of how to cram several dozen people down here instead of size preference," Newlyn replied with a chuckle. "Plus you never know, maybe once you get higher up in the facility you'll get your own private room with the king mattress that you can finally put your sheets on."

"Well it's not the company that I mind," the husky stated as he started to attempt to tuck the excess sheet under the bed. "It's the accommodations, packing their entry-level researchers in here like sardines. Erin probably has her own room with one of those big beds and two nightstands."

"Plus a fountain in the middle of the room too, don't forget that," Erin stated as the two turned to see the smiling kitsune standing there at their doorframe. "During the weekend they fill it with chocolate and you can bathe in it before going to your own private jacuzzi. It's nice, you should come by sometime."

"You better believe I would be there for chocolate fountain fondue baths," Chaos said as he stuck his tongue out. "Already settled in?"

"Yeah," Erin stated as she hopped up on Newlyn's bed just as he was about to put his own covers on it. "Nice thing about being a feral is that material requirements are not as high, and since there are so few in the facility I actually do have my own room... though I think they may have just converted a storage closet and put me inside."

"So you're saying we know who to contact in order to get our cleaning supplies," Newlyn joked. The kitsune looked like she was about ready to respond but just then they heard a knock at the door that caused them all to stop and look. Standing there was a white Siberian tiger in a lab coat and a husky in a military uniform with a rather impressive amount of metals on him. "Oh, hello there, we were just settling in sir."

"At ease," the husky stated. "We're just doing the rounds here and making sure everyone is finding what they need. I am Major Amaro, head of security and military forces, and the one you'll be reporting to is Dr. August Winters on my left here."

"It's great to see you all here with a positive attitude," the tiger said, his eyes flitting over to the larger canine next to him before glancing back to the one on the bed. "You must be Erin, I heard that human resources was getting a feral on their team and I just wanted to say if there's anything else we can do to make your job more accommodating let me know. And then you two are... Newlyn... and Chaos, am I right?"

The two nodded and shook both their hands, Erin coming up and giving them both a hug instead that surprised them both. "Right then," Major Amaro stated once as he brushed off his uniform and cleared his throat. "We're going to be having a security briefing tonight at twenty-one hundred hours and another one at nine hundred hours tomorrow. This is mandatory for all personnel and a lot of information is going to be given to you, so we've prepared a little welcome packet that you will be expected to read over and bring with you to these meetings so you can remember what is said there."

Though both Newlyn and Chaos both had more questions the military husky said they were dismissed and practically dragged the tiger over to the next room, the two of them seeing a panther in similar soldier attire coming in and giving them each a portfolio before exiting wordlessly. The three looked at one another for a few seconds and then back to the door, half-expecting someone else to come though before they gathered that they were once more alone. They looked down at the binders they had been given and when they opened it up they were surprised to find page after page of safety guidelines. It never seemed to end and there was even space in the back with a few blank pages where they could write more if they suddenly come up.

"I think I've seen handbooks for nuclear power plants that are less complicated then this," Chaos said as he read through them. "Anyone caught in section C of the facility without proper authorization will be arrested? What the hell is in section C?"

"Nothing apparently," Newlyn replied as he turned over the binder to show them the map page he had found and tapped in the area that was completely blacked out. "The only indicator they have for that section is that its some sort of observation area. Everything else appears to be above our paygrade."

The three looked at one another anxiously as the weight of where they were seemed to hit them for the first time. While they had known that being recruited for any facility that had military ties to it was bound to have some level of secrecy to it they hadn't quite figured on how much until this moment. As they continued to flip though it a lot of the rules were related to containment procedures and a number of alarm codes concerning labs and the agents that were contained. There was even a list of what to do and where to be when those codes were called, everything incredibly and meticulously laid out for them.

"Well all this is fun and all," Erin said as she closed the binder and took the loop around it to go over her neck so she could carry it with her. "But I heard that there was going to be cake and ice cream down in the mess hall for everyone once they've moved in, and I'm not going to miss it because we're trying to figure out military procedure for the first time." She hopped off the bed and headed towards the door, her tails waving in the air as she looked back at them. "Well, you guys coming or what?"

The two didn't have to be told twice as they tossed their security books aside to go down to the mess hall, Newlyn's landing right next to the picture of them that he had taken out...