FSE

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It's been two days since my last journal. Ceti and I have been getting along really well, and shi's helped me become more comfortable with being a herm. According to Altair's scans, I was actually supposed to hatch as one, but there was some hasty genetic modification done to me. Shi has no idea who or how, and that worries me. Both shi and Vega keep telling me to just keep going, so I guess I will for now.

Three more masks were secured over the last few days. Mewtwo's mask was given to me by the god himself, Vega got Giratina's somehow, and I found Raikou's on the beach. I tried out Mewtwo's form, and I have to admit that those psychic powers of his are damn near uncontrollable in the wrong hands... namely mine. Buster had to force me back into my new herm Growlithe form just to keep me from losing myself. I think I'll keep those cards in lockdown for a while and just use the normal form cards. As for Mewtwo himself, I'm honestly surprised at how calm he is for someone with an incredible hatred for humans. Apparently, he's a close friend of Altair as well.

Altair brought in another new member. She's a female... gryphon, I think she said, named Azureh. She's unusual, but really nice. She's also a scientist, and took a real fascination in me from the start, especially with my body. Apparently, there are modulars where she's from, but the "underlying flesh, bones and organs are always in the open". I shudder to imagine that at the moment, but then again, it might not be as bad as it sounds. She said there are also beings that live without a head, and now I'm kinda wondering what the hell world she's from. All I know is that it's called Senkai, where the Senkairu masks are from.

Oh, and I guess I should mention... Azureh is blind. She has no eyes at all, so she uses her mask to make that part of her face featureless and smooth. She sees with psychic powers. Very... very powerful psychic powers. More so than Mewtwo, in some ways. They're off in the cafeteria talking right now. I don't know how I can hear them, but I can. Oh, and both she and Altair have something called a... snakeshaft? It's a long snake-like body part that acts like a penis. Altair can allow others to inhabit hirs, but Azureh copied her brother's mind into it before his body died. I thought that was kinda weird, but now it seems rather sweet. At least he didn't die, and he's closer to her than ever before.

I myself have been getting a more comfortable with being Ceti's roommate. Azureh and Auva are joining us, so Altair had a pair of rooms joined in Sky Blue Tunnel on the upper floor. We're right next to the Operations Office, so Altair also gave us another room to use as a team office. Elly and two others, Ascella and Rigella, are roomates due to their size, so she's dropping back to do something else. I've been asked to meet up with all three of them later, though. Looks like things might finally start moving back to some sort of normal for once.

Speaking of which, Marcus is sticking with Team Reapers while Ceti and I start our own group, the newly revived Team Dawnfall. We're going to be sent out on lighter missions so Team Reapers can be the heavy hitters. We have a mission coming up late tonight, actually. Ceti, Auva and I have to go to a small refugee camp near Lilycove City in Hoenn. Auva says she's not allowed to tell me what's going on until we get there, though.

Well, looks like I have a bit of time before Elly and her roommates get back to base. I think I'll go talk with Auva, and see what she's up to. End log entry. __________

I quickly pulled together my new uniform --a custom white cargo vest and matching pants, a black and yellow custom undershirt with built-in bra, and latex-elastic band goggles-- before heading out the door of mine and Ceti's old quarters. Several of Vega's pets had been working on getting our belongings moved into the new room, though I pulled Nemi out of the group for a while to have some companionship. Ceti woke up extremely early to go somewhere with Altair, and Auva's been helping get everything together, so it did get a bit lonely.

As I walked through the hallway to the lobby, I passed by a morph I didn't recognize. He was a male Mightyena with what looked to be a bad case of static electricity zapping between strands of fur, as well as a rather wicked pair of saber fangs jutting out from his upper jaw. In his sleeve-less rock band shirt and torn jeans, I would have easily mistaken him for a civilian, if it weren't for the collar and Rescue badge on his neck. He stopped me before I got too far past him. "Hey, Nocti right?" His voice was gruff, but not like that of an adult. He seemed to be in his late teens, probably just turning twenty if the newly auditory implants were working right. "Name's Thuban. I'm part of the Starlight Reserve with Ascella and Rigela. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you. Ceti mentioned you were just getting back today." Shi had actually told me more than that, but not much more. I didn't seem to have access to his file, either. "I take it you were brought up to speed about the little team shuffling we have going on?"

"A little." He laughed, almost in a cocky tone. Reminded me a little of Vega. "I didn't get in 'till late last night. Something about a new light-rank team to handle things while Vega's crew take care-a the hard stuff."

"Yeah. Me, Ceti and Auva are the new Team Dawnfall." His eyes went wide at the name. Team Dawnfall was supposed to be Toren and Centauri's team to combat the W'Nactr a few years ago, but it was dismantled while ACT took over. "Yeah, I know. Altair approved it, though."

He smiled a bit and gave a soft chuckle. "Well, Alti usually knows best on that sorta thing. I'm the one who stays in the background and tends to the tech here at base. Lotsa computers in the Spectre-class supernetwork, and not a lota me. I'm kinda the requisitions officer too, so if you need anything at all, let me know. Equipment, meds, furniture, clothing, tech... Even rare Omnivice cards. Can't do anything Copycat, though."

"I've got that part handled, thanks." I shuddered hard, thinking about the incident with Mewtwo's form. "I'll keep that in mind."

His smile turned into a smirk. "Wait wait wait... You're the new high-level Copycat? The one Auva said turned into Vega? Dear Arceus, you don't know how long I've waited for another HLC. Double that for someone to turn into Vee. Hey, real quick, let's get each other's redcards."

He held up his paw-like hand to my head, a red Copycat card appearing in it after a few moments. My Omnivice auto-registered his card a few moments later. "Done." Suddenly, a question popped into my mind. "Say, if you're a high-level Copycat, maybe you'll know. How do you keep control of ultra-powerful forms? Something god-like?"

"I have no clue." He looked down each side of Purple Tunnel, dropped his voice to a whisper. "I've got three god-teir redcards in my library, but I've never been able to use 'em right. I lose it, black out for an hour, then wake up a few thousand kilometers away with one helluva headache and the feeling I've taken down a few targets. Tell you what, where's your quarters? I'd like to get together sometime and give a few ideas a try."

"Sky Blue Tunnel. It's second floor, right next to Operations. I'm bunked with Ceti, Auva and a gryphon named Azureh, so it might be best to link up elsewhere." I could only imagine the others watching us trying something nuts. However, his reaction surprised me.

"Azureh, the new scientist Altair brought in? That's perfect! She's a Senkairu. Really damn powerful, those people. Anyone could keep us in line, it's her." He summoned a clear-bordered Omnivice card and handed it to me face-down. "Here. This little baby will help ya keep track of everyone. Gives you a full map of the island with every room I know of. Even lets you track everyone by their Omnivice. Just in case you need me, ya know?"

"Thanks." I scanned it on the pad behind my ear, then watched as my personal map updated with a live feed of where every Omnivice user was, including several who's names I had never heard or seen. "Gah! Looks like Auva just left. Guess I'll have to wait till tonight to talk with her."

"Yeah, she had some emergency to get to. Something about Toy Town, down in the forest. Gives me another day off, at least." He started walking towards the lobby again. "Come on, let's grab a bite in the cafeteria and talk about things. If the scanners aren't screwy, you've still got a stomach in those tech mods that could use some attention." __________

We talked for a few hours about different things. I found out his birth name was Teddy, and he was one of the rare morphs who hatched in an evolved state. Ceti was another, as was Auva. He also showed me is only major body mod: a set of energy whip emitters embedded in his arms. He used them for dragging and carrying cargo most of the time. After I realized I had to go meet with Elly and her roommates, he asked me to meet him in his quarters later in Grass Green Tunnel, just on the other side of Operations from Sky Blue.

Before I could leave, I got a message from Auva that not only were Elly's crew going to be late, but that our mission had to be delayed for a while, both because of a storm cell heading towards the Dragon Frontiers. The Hideaway would be safe thanks to energy shields, but no go on travel. «Damn. Just my luck... Ah well, guess I've got some free time to work on things. Hmm...»

With everyone gone, I decided to head up to the new quarters. The stairs in the lobby took me directly to the second floor hub, a ring around the lobby that also served as the Operations center. From there, it was just a short walk through the rows and rows of computers and screens to get to Sky Blue, and the new room. Once inside, though, my jaw dropped.

The "room" was more like a massive cave, with several energy screen emitters separating the quadrants of the room. In each corner was a queen-sized bed, as well as personal closets and work areas that separated the spaces for each of us. In the back left corner from the door was Azureh's space, complete with several computer systems, making it look more like a mobile lab than a sleeping space. I could hazard a guess that Auva's was in the back right corner, as it had a bunch of soft furniture, deflated non-living pooltoys, and a lot of collectible beachtowels

In the front corners were Ceti's area on the left, and mine on the right. Ceti's beanbag was reduced to being a chair, but the rest of her space looked more like a teen girl's bedroom than that of an adult. Her filled closet was another dead giveaway. My own space was still rather spartan, as the only thing there was my bag... and my rebreather mask! I rushed over to grab it, pulling it over my snout. The scent and taste of the scrubbed air that passed through it's filters was like taking a breath of home again. It was actually made from a dual-canister respirator-style mask, upgraded with rebreather technology for underwater use. Since no one else was around, I jumped back onto my bed and propped my feet up on the bag, getting nice and relaxed.

"So, do you just not use those new optic overlays, or is there some other reason you don't check an empty room?" I popped up and looked around again, seeing no one at first. Then I noticed a blip on my map... Azureh. "Nice mask, but it wouldn't help you against an assassin."

"Calm down, Azu." I shook my head an leaned back into my pillows again. "The Hideaway is a lot safer than Senkai. For one thing, no one's out to kill each other here. For another, most people would rather have sex than death."

I could see her suddenly appear on her bed in a wave of soft light. Her upper body was that of a white avian, something she called a Raven, with a sharp-but-flexible beak and face behind her sealed Senkairu gas mask, and black-scutted talons with razor sharp claws. Down on the lower half, she was pure Delcatty, complete with a flower-like tail tip. "YOU shouldn't be so cocky. Might wind up a limb-less sex pillow like Oksere..."

"Stand down." I sighed, shaking my head. "You're in a friendly base. No one here will go that far. Even Vega has hir limits on taking pets."

"Like the one shi made soulless down in the med bay?" I looked at her with a bit of confusion. "I believe it was what you call a... Zangoose? Vega said he was 'A-T-K', got too wild and had to be put down, but she wanted to keep the body for something. Mentioned you as well."

"Wait, me?" I looked though any files I could find on the network, but nothing about a body in the medical wing. "I have no clue what's going on there. Reaper stuff stays with hir. I'm on Dawnfall now. Besides, you just want to examine him. You said it yourself, science runs in your blood."

She gave me a rather insulted huff and frown, her mask conforming seamlessly with her face as if it were her skin. "Yeah, yeah. Point taken. Still, never can be too careful. Speaking of, you're no Senkairu. What's with the lovey-dovey action on that rebreather?"

"I love the taste of scrubbed air. Even the cleanest natural air leaves a metal taste in my mouth. Has since last year." Her expression turned from indignation to absolute horror. "What? Never experienced pollution or something?"

"Me... Metallic? SHIT! I can't believe they kept that back..." She hopped up out of bed and ran out the door like a bolt of lightning, right into Operations. I got up and joined her, looking at one of the ten main screens along the inner wall. It showed a refugee camp in what looked like Hoenn, full of morphs. "Shit shit shit... What the hell were they thinking? Nocti, your world just went through what MINE went through!"

"What, where humans went extinct because they turned into morphs?" I don't know what made me so calm. Maybe it was an after-effect of being a god, or maybe I just didn't realize the consequences that day. Regardless, I got an earful that I still can't remember. When I came to, I was in the medical bay with a bandage around my head, covering my eyes completely.

"Hey! Don't move. You got clocked by Azureh." The voice was Altair's. "Not sure what happened with you two, but she looked pissed when she left."

I raised myself up anyway, feeling perfectly fine aside from the splitting headache. I was kinda glad she left my rebreather on. It helped me catch my breath. "I'm fine. Buster says there's no real damage. Azureh's just pissed over the whole 'humans going extinct' thing."

"So... You found out..." I could hear the disappointment in hir voice. "I was kinda hoping to ease you into it. Now you sound like Mewtwo. 'When you've seen life through the eyes of the universe...'"

"You see what no one else sees. Yeah, I know. I heard that when I used Mewtwo's form a while ago." I quickly removed the bandages from my head, noticing that shi was washing hir hands at a sink just outside of my room. "Something about humans being a dead end path and needing a push in the right direction. You think he's behind it? I can tell you right now it wasn't him."

"No, I knew it couldn't be him." Shi gave me a concerned look from around the corner as shi dried off. "Still, Mewtwo has a point. In this world, humans are a dead-end species. Something that wasn't quite true on Senkai. Glad to know I have someone besides MT who understands that, at least a little. Doesn't make things any easier."

With a quick drop to my feet, I reached up and removed my head from my neck, looking over the rest of my body for any marks. Nothing was visible, so I put it back and walked out the door. "So, was that the mission you were going to send us on?"

I could hear hir give a short laugh from hir office. "Hardly. You three were supposed to head into Hoenn to secure all of the masks there. Vega's group are already working on getting things calmed down. That said, you're going nowhere till this storm settles down. Auva and Ceti barely got back before the thing hit, and I'd rather not be short-handed if something happens."

"Point taken." I looked at my map, which had apparently been upgraded with a weather layer while I was out. "So, what now?"

"Now... We wait."

____________

I wandered away from the medical bay with a sigh, climbing the nearby back stairwell to the second level. The storm outside was a bit more apparent as the sound of howling winds shot though the tunnels. It was... calming, actually. Even more so when I got into the higher areas, where the winds seemed to take on a woodwind tone to them.

I finally got to the top and dragged myself back to the Dawnfall quarters. When I got inside, I saw that Auva was sitting back in a nice-looking black lounge chair, reading from a holoscreen. No sign of Ceti, though. According to my map, shi was down in the cafeteria, eating with Sirius. "Hey Auva." She looked up at me and gave a wave. "Remind me to never get on Azu's bad side again."

"I heard." She started chuckling, putting the screen away. "Got the hell knocked out of you. Just be thankful she was going easy."

"I'll have to remember that." I flopped down on my bed back-first and relaxed, recalling my clothing into my Omnivice.

Auva rose to her feet and wandered to my bed, sitting down on the other side. "What's with the mask? She plaster your lungs, too?"

"Nah, just love the taste of scrubbed air. Atmosphere's been giving me a metallic taste for the last year or so." I grinned behind it, stretching out. "Too bad it couldn't keep my big mouth shut, huh?"

The look in her eyes told me I was in for one hell of a verbal putdown, but not what she was actually going to say. "I dunno. You did a damn good job stretching me out with that thing as Vega. Might be more useful open than closed."

«Damn, she's got me there.» "Yeah, yeah. You know I had no control during all that."

She suddenly rolled over on top of me, straddling my midsection like a cycle seat. "Exactly. You lost control and gave me one hell of a popping. Made me squirm and beg for it. Maybe I should return the favor sometime."

My eyes went wide, and my face red with blush. "What? Make me beg to be popped as a pooltoy?"

"Maybe..." She had a teasing tone as she leaned down and kissed the nose of my mask, our breasts pressing against each other in a way that made me give a soft moan. "Maybe I could turn you into a pooltoy like myself, or maybe I could get you to turn into me for a while... Or maybe something else. I got an hour or so before I have to go out and check on Toy Town. Might be a nice chance for some quick fun."

I didn't even see her hand as she moved it to grasp my side, but I could definitely feel the effects. Within moments, my toes merged into one boot-like appendage while my hands became mitten-like. She kept my eyes glued to hers, but I didn't need to see my body slowly turning into vinyl, puffing up with air as it trailed over my limbs and up my body. My tail squeaked as I moved it, but it was nothing compared to the one that came as she sat up on top of me bouncing softly against my inflatable body. By the time my head changed and completed the transformation, I could also feel plastic handles as they formed on my shoulders and hips.

She grinned and slid off of me, then removed my mask and gave me a soft shove. I was so much lighter that I simply slid along the floor when I hit it, coming to rest in front of a strange mirror next to her bed. When I looked in it to see myself, I was completely stunned. My body was definitely much like her's, with an extreme level of detailed paint in leiu of fur. My eyes were also painted on, but changed whenever I moved them. I had squeaky nubs in place of my fangs and claws, and the handles on my hips and shoulders looked more like a proper safety system for a pooltoy. My groin? It had a tight sextoy hole for the vaginal opening, but it seemed she also made me female, as I had no male parts. Looking down, my only air valve was on my right rump. closed and pushed into it's port.

She got up and came to me, but she didn't walk. Rather, she was skating across the surface of the floor, much in the way I was sliding on my back. "Heh. You look really nice like that."

"What, as a pooltoy?" I started to pick myself up off the floor, but she wasted no time in pouncing onto me, holding me down.

"No. On your back, legs wide open." I looked down to see that she was apparently aroused to the extreme, her warm juices dripping down my midsection. "Told you I'd return the favor somehow." She suddenly leaned down with a smile, giving me a soft and rather squeaky kiss on the lips. Unlike a normal kiss, there were no juices or friction. Rather, our maws slid against each other, but there was definitely no loss of feeling or satisfaction from it. "We're gonna be stuck here another day, and Ceti just messaged me that she's gotta help Thuban in the server room all night. Wanna come with me to Toy Town? It'd give you time to get used to that form."

She was definitely more "cheery" than dominating, just teasing me a bit to repay what happened. "Alright. I'll play along. Not much else to do, right? Just promise you won't try to pop me until time for bed."

"Deal." Her paw ran down my smooth body like water, and I let out an unintentional moan as soon as it reached my hips. It felt... nice. Not forceful like Marcus or Vega. More of a lover's touch. "Seems I finally got that form right. Took me a year just to get all the mods made. All that's left is the male stuff." She wrapped her arms around me, then picked me up with essentially no effort. "Mmm... Let's head out to Toy Town. I think you've gotten enough teasing for now."

"Sounds good to me." I couldn't help but smile as I recalled my uniform onto my body. "Just... You've never came off as that kind of sexual type, at least according to Vega's memories."

She crossed her arms, chuckling as she shook her head. "I am, and I'm not. It's more of a mood thing." With a grin, she put her muzzle tip-to-tip with mine just as I got my rebreather back on. "Just tread lightly when I'm in season. You never know if I'll latch onto you." She then gave me a wink and turned to leave the room.

I stayed behind for a moment to check my bag. In my happiness of having my rebreather back, I had forgotten to see if something was still in it. Sure enough, lodged inside of my waterproof pocket was a letter I had gotten from Marcus just before Ally called us all on deck. We always used written letters back in the academy if there was something we needed to say in private.

__________

A little later, I joined up with Auva, having disposed of the letter. I didn't even want to think about it what it said. The winds howled overhead as we walked through the emerald forest to the south. I looked up to gaze at the clouds, with only the static of the energy shields disrupting the view every so often. It looked very ominous up there, so I quickly switched back to my normal Growlithe form in case I had to snatch up Auva from sudden gust. "Is this normal for the Dragon Frontiers?"

"Not at all." That was a shocking thing to hear from her. "It's usually perfect year round. Probably just a freak storm that decided to swing by for a visit." She turned to the right and ducked into the trees. "Come on. We can take the underground tunnel right to it." As I turned to follow, I didn't notice that the so-called 'tunnel' was actually more of a slide. As soon as I took a step towards it, I tumbled back-down onto the dirt with a thud and started skidding downhill on my rump. Thinking quickly, I reached back and took my tail from it's connection point, not wanting to hurt any more than I already was.

The hill had to be a good three meters high, and the gentle slope kept me going for a long time. When I finally did reach the bottom, my rump was rather sore. Thankfully, I wasn't hurt. With a quick flick of my wrist, I had my tail back on me and was running to catch up with her as my pool toy form returned. I had to stay in a toy form while in the town itself, as they preferred that visitors "understand their joy". Not that I minded, of course. When I did catch up, I could see a small hill jutting up out of the ground that I hadn't noticed on the way down. Just in front of me, at the base of the hill, was an opening lit by some familiar crystals, as well as two people.

One was Auva, but the other... He was strange. He looked like some sort of aquatic creature, similar to a Vaporeon but not quite. Buster kept calling him an "Orca". His body was featureless outside of a general shape, and looked as if it were made out of a shiny black lycra with a white belly, and a pair of white spots on it's head. I couldn't see a mouth, or eyes, or anything similar, just a general form.

"Nocti, come on! Storm's getting worse. We need to get inside." Auva grabbed a hold of the other being, but couldn't get him to move. I quickly grabbed on as well to help, but he wouldn't budge. It wasn't weight... It was sheer willpower. "Dammit, Zero. You're gonna get blown away! Grrr..." She looked at his 'face' with teeth bared. "Nocti, there's a zipper on his back. Switch to your normal self and put him on."

I was already changing as she said it, attempting to move him that way. He was just too strong, so I nodded and grabbed what looked to be a tab on the back of his head, then yanked it down. The inside of his seemingly hollow body was dark, but putting him on like a costume was easy. I slipped my legs in first, then my tail, my arms, and finally my head. Auva reached around and pulled the zipper up in a hurry, then grabbed my hand and pulled me behind her. My body went numb for a moment until I realized I had essentially become this Zero guy. I couldn't see like normal, but I was constantly giving off a sound that made a sort of outline in my mind. I also wasn't breathing. Hell, I didn't even have a mouth or nostrils. All I had was my sense of touch and sense of hearing to work with, which made me glad Auva was there to help.

After a while, I could see the outline of buildings in the distance, and we slowed down. Auva let go of me, and started reaching out for something. I couldn't see what it was, but I could feel it when she turned around and put it on me. It was a collar. "Sorry Noc. I had to do that before he woke up. Zero's a little too dedicated to his role as Toy Town's guardian. If he wakes up, he'll try an get back out there."

I knew I wasn't able to speak, so I set up a text chat with her on my Omnivice, figuring it was the quickest way. "<Nocti> Okay, but what's the collar for?"

"It's to keep him from waking up. He only loses control for a few minutes when you put him on. Between that control collar and you wearing him, he'll be out of it as long as we need him to be out of it." She giggled, one of her tails brushing against my leg. It felt warm for some reason. "Glad you got there when you did. Altair had to get everyone left in base to pull people into the underground and underwater areas. Whatever this storm is, it knocked the hell out of the shields. Shi said it might be a while before it passes, too. Looks like you might be stuck like this for a bit longer."

"<Nocti> I don't mind. It's kinda... interesting." Damn me and my curiosity. I really wanted more time with the pool toy form, but this one's too good to pass up. "<Nocti> So, what's the story with this guy? I saw his file, but it's red-taped to hell and back."

She sighed, then stopped and grabbed my hand to keep me near her. Her voice... It stopped being so cheerful. "Well, Zero use to be an Earth orca. He wore a 'zentai' costume all the time."

"<Nocti> I thought this form looked familiar. I use to have a zentai sleeper when I was little. My sister made it for me."

"At least I don't have to explain that to you." She sat down on the ground, tugging on me to join her. "Neil was his real name. He was part of a group of demon fighters on Earth, until a good friend of his died. It hit him hard. Hard enough that Altair chased him down to the old Omnivice Labs under the base, where he... Well, he tried to kill himself with his own Omnivice. That backfired, though. Instead of death, he lost his memories, his personality... His real body."

I was too stunned to reply to that. I could only imagine how he must have felt to go that far. Losing his closest friend... That'd have been like me losing Marcus before I wound up on Breakwater Hideaway. I turned towards her, and seeing that she was near tears, I took her into my arms and held her. She gave me a soft smile and wrapped her arms around me, then looked up and gave me a kiss where my lips would normally be.

"Thanks, Noc. It's just... That story gets me every time." She continued to settle against me, almost as if she were tired. "Let's just stay here for a little while. I don't wanna make a scene in Toy Town, and if I go in there like this, they'll just gather up on me and try to cheer me up." I heard her give a soft chuckle. "They mean well, of course, but it's... It's better when it's just one-on-one. I don't like big crowds like that, anyway."

I simply nodded and held her close. Something... Something deep inside of me wanted me to return the kiss somehow. As we sat there, I let my head rest on her shoulder, feeling more and more emotions welling up inside of me. My Omnivice caught my attention to break the silence, and another chat window showed up. The name alone made me want to gasp. I let myself ignore the outside world for a bit, telling Buster to take over while I was chatting.

_____________

<Zero> "Please, stay with me. At least a while..." <Nocti>"Zero... The one I'm wearing?" ... <Zero> "Yes. That is what everyone calls me anyway. You are the first I have spoken to since awakening so logn ago." <Nocti> "Can you not speak to anyone else with an Omnivice?" <Zero> "No. You have been the only one to open yourself to me. Perhaps you are the one who can help me." <Nocti> "Help you?" ... <Zero> "I have no voice, and my body moves of it's own accord. This suit... It was cursed by actions that I cannot remember. I must find a new body like it, though. A 'zentai' body, as you called it." <Nocti> "I could probably get Altair's help with that." <Zero> "I would be forever in your debt if you could. However, there is a slight problem..." <Nocti> "What kind of problem?" ... ... <Zero> "I must be taken into a host, meaning I would have to join your soul within your body for a time. Also, someone must claim the current cursed body as their own. However, I believe you will have no problem taking control." ... <Nocti> "Okay, but it'll have to wait till after the storm. Still, how are you even awake? Auva said the control collar puts you to sleep." <Zero> "She is mistaken. The collar simply disables the curse's control over the body of whomever is trapped within the suit." <Nocti> "I see... I'll have Auva keep it on me... us... I'm really not used to this." ... <Zero> "Perhaps that is a good thing." ____________

My focus returned to the matter at hand, and what a handful it was. During my chat, Auva had become so relaxed that she fell asleep in my arms. I could feel her simply laying there, probably tired from our massive rush to get out of the wind. It felt good to have her there, though.

"AUVA! NOCTI!" A voice called out, piercing the silence. I looked down the tunnel to see Vega running in my direction. "Oh, you're wearing Zero! No wonder I couldn't find him." Shi stopped in front of me, then pulled Auva and I up and dragged us outside behind hir. "No time to talk. We need help back in the base."

I quickly opened a text chat with hir on my Omnivice. "<Nocti> I can't take Zero off. Here, read this." With a simple thought, I sent hir a copy of the chat from before.

I could tell shi was reading it as we traveled in the strong winds, hir silence telling more than anything shi could say. "I see... We'll take care of our friend later, but it looks like you'll be helping Ceti in the dark. Auva's too far out of it... Damn, if you weren't stuck in Zero, I'd have you wear her. We need her floatation to get some of the off-island morphs through the underground lake tunnels."

"<Nocti> Is that what Ceti's doing, and do we have any extra time?"

"Yeah, and only if it's REALLY quick." Shi replied, hir voice becoming a bit louder to compensate for the roar of the air. "Why? You got an idea or something?"

"<Nocti> Can you take Zero's spirit into your body till Altair can make a new one for him?"

Shi stayed silent for a bit, but finally replied when shi got to the opening of Yellow Tunnel. "Yeah. I'll take him in. Can't claim the suit, though. That'd be a bit much for me."

I nodded to hir as my feet finally touched the ground, letting hir rest. "<Nocti> Get Zero off of me, put him on, and take his spirit. I'll take the suit."

"Okay, okay. Let's just hurry." Vega said, removing the control collar first, then yanking the zipper on my back so hard that I was physically ejected from Zero's body and thrown against a wall. The situation must have been rather dire if shi was in such a hurry. After putting on the zentai body, it began to glow for a moment, then dropped to the ground in front of hir. "Card it. I'll get Auva ready for you."

I grabbed the mound of black lycra, which Buster quickly turned into energy using Create and Recall. I didn't even have enough time to prepare myself before I felt a strong Cubone hand stuffing my legs into what looked to be an opening in Auva's back. It was just like with Zero, except... When my head went in and the zipper was pulled closed, I could feel my body become extremely light. My vision changed, as if looking through her eyes. Then I realized... I was.

Looking down, Auva's body was as transparent and full of air as normal. I had literally become Auva, or at least was possessing her body "So that's what happened... Alright. Where's the lake I gotta go to?"

"Two doors down and on the left. Bottom of the stairs." Vega told me, darting off. "Ceti's there now, so GO!"

I looked back down the hallway, seeing several shaken morphs coming out of the door in question. Remembering that Auva showed me how she can skate on the ground one night, I let my feet glide along the rocky surface as I made my way through the crowd and down a very short flight of steps. At the base was Ceti, currently in hir rescue uniform. "Ceti, it's Nocti. Auva's out cold, so Vega's got me wearing her. Shi said you needed her help."

"This makes things a little more complicated..." Shi said, looking a little shaken hirself. "I need you to get behind the boats down the tunnel and push them this way. I really needed you both, but I'll take the front."

"No need." A voice yelled out. I almost didn't move out of the way in time before someone behind me jumped high and dove into the water. As the small waves cleared out, I could see white scales just below the surface... Altair! "Noc, stay up here and pull the boats to the shore. Make sure to get anyone who falls in the water."

"Alti, you're too exhausted for this!" Ceti yelled into hir communicator as I hit the water's surface and floated to the first boat I saw. "Let us handle it."

"Bullshit." Shi replied, though the strain in hir voice was very clear now. "Neither of you can take those winds like I can. Besides, I took some Zeakrain, so I've got plenty of energy for a few hours." Altair's comm link closed with a beep.

"Damn you, Altair. You know that's dangerous." Ceti muttered under hir breath, though I could hear it clear as day. "Noc, swim farther down the tunnel and help out. Someone's gotta keep an eye on hir, and you're better off for that."

"What the heck is Zeakrain?" I asked hir, opening up a voice chat as I swam down the tunnel. It was almost the size of five non-morph Steelix bundled together, and I could see hundreds of morphs and mon across nearly as many boats, but some of them seemed oddly empty.

"It's a type of medicine from the planet Maiken. Gives you a ton of energy, but wipes you out after a couple of hours." I could hear hir pull a couple from the boats, then run towards the door. "Thuban! Bring some egg carts here! We're gonna need several!"

The thought that a few of these boats held helpless eggs and children made me cringe. I pushed any that I saw along the route, but it was several minutes before saw the glistening scales of a white Dragonite underwater. I quickly opened up a seperate voice chat. "You okay down there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Altair replied, hir voice distorted by the water. "Unlike you, I don't need a rebreather." I could see hir look up at me and smile, then swim up towards me. Unfortunately, when shi surfaced, I was knocked backwards by the waves. Shi quickly grabbed on to one of my shoulder handles. "Sorry about that. Anyway, let me push these people forward, and you keep a watch for anyone who falls out."

It took us nearly two hours to unload all of the boats, and another hour for me to drag a certain exhausted Dragonite to shore. Half way down the tunnel, Auva had awakened and somehow thrown me out of hir body, making sure I once again found myself splattered on a wall. I wasn't complaining, though. I needed the help.

"Thuban's got a stretcher for deadweight there." Ceti said as we approached the shore in silence.

"Hey, I'm not THAT heavy, lady." Altair replied, smiling weakly. "Besides, you coulda just let me sleep underwater. It's not that bad down there."

Shi grabbed me by the arm and pulled me down to whisper in my ear. "The secret of being a successful resucer... Whether you're fighting, injured, or just saving lives, do it with a smile." I could hear hir give a chuckle, then a lot of pressure on my shoulder as shi tried to get up with my help. I put hir arm around my neck and picked hir up, surprising myself in the process. Shi was right. Shi wasn't all that heavy. "Help me to my quarters. Knowing Thuban, the gurney's probably electrified by now." Auva took the hint and left, leaving me to the job.

___________

I helped Altair to hir quarters, where shi sat up on hir bed and talked with me for a while. We just... talked, like it was just another sunny day off for us. I've never encountered someone who acted so carefree and sure of themselves. Vega and Sirius came in to check on hir a few times, the latter having just gotten in from Johto to give a report. I had to guess that hir Lugia form allowed hir to travel underwater like the sea god himself.

I didn't even think of leaving until well into the evening, after Ceti came in to check on me. We walked out to let Altair rest for a while, but instead of going back to our quarters, shi had me follow hir to the cafeteria. I was confused at first, until I saw the insane crowd that was inside. There had to be at least a thousand morphs, most of them families, huddled together and talking with other citizens of Breakwater Hideaway. Ceti said they were from all over the Dragon Frontiers, some of them former humans that were caught up in whatever Azureh had run off to research. Shi also said that there were several storage rooms in the underground levels just as full as this one. They weren't prepared for this, as the entire area had been protected from storms by a natural phenomenon called a Wind Bubble. It was still there, and yet this storm wasn't phased by this protection.

As I looked around, I could see how afraid people were. It was completely new to them. I, on the other hand, had been through the weather from hell on Poketara. Tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and even hurricanes, all of them scary until I understood why they happened. These people didn't have that experience.

Ceti tried to get me to leave for our quarters, but something stopped me. That deep curiosity... it wouldn't stop bugging me. I told hir to go get some rest. As for me, I was going to spend the night talking with everyone I could. There were things I wanted to know, and maybe... Maybe my talking with people could help them calm down.