FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sun was high, shining down harshly on a small archeological camp in a clearing surrounded by a great forest. A small team lingered about trying to keep cool during the heat of the day. Nothing had been found yet, though preliminary scans of the area had revealed something rather peculiar in the area. Underground caverns of an unusual configuration, a configuration that was not naturally occurring but appeared to be crafted by the living. As of yet, the entrance still eluded the team. They could still remember the initial request for their group to come and examine the area. A person, claiming to be the representative of the landowner, explained he was authorized to offer their department a large sum in donations. It was a generous offer, and they jumped at the chance without hesitation. Perhaps they had agreed a little too hastily. Unseen benefactors like this usually expected results.

"Dammit, Mr. Aquatos isn't gonna pay us if we can't find anything. We've been out here for two weeks and we haven't found any way into those tunnels. For all we know, the entrance could have collapsed and the rest of the system is ready to fall any second." A young wolf who detested the heat immensely slapped his laptop shut in frustration.

"Well we won't know until we get in there and look around. We'll dig down into it if we have to!" A youthful feline stared at him with her arms crossed, annoyed with the wolf's continuous complaints.

He shot her a frustrated look creasing his lips into a frown, "You know damn well he said he didn't want us digging. He said if we couldn't find the entrance then the expedition would be canceled."

"But he's sitting on the archaeological find of the century! A structure this size can only mean a temple! And you just don't find temples in this part of the world! No major established tribes settled here! This could provide evidence of mass-nomadic movement! He can't just cancel it!"

"Yeah and it would rewrite history as we know it. I know. But it's his land, and if he says no digging, then we'll probably get our asses handed to us legally speaking if we take so much as a gardening trowel to the ground out here. We've got until the end of the day tomorrow to find anything. As it is, he's given us two extensions already. If we were finding anything other than just scans, it'd be different." The lupine fellow slumped into a folding chair, fanning himself as he tried to calm down. Getting angry only made the heat worse.

The lady opened her mouth as if to say something else, but decided there wasn't anything worth bickering further about. As their argument died, a fox of somewhat small stature and a peculiar shade of blue came running back to the camp. She was a cute, little girl, small for her age, and the youngest of the group, but she had enough heart to make up for what she lacked in experience.

"Guys! I think I found it! C'mon! There's a cave in the side of a stone mound about a quarter of a mile south of here!" She bounced on her feet, her tail fluffed with her exuberance.

The wolf rolled his eyes and glared at the young vulpine, "We saw that cave five days ago. There's nothing special about it."

"Then you musta been blind when you checked it out! There's an offshoot leading down into an air shaft! It's big enough for someone ta fit in! Let's go!" The little fox quickly gathered the rock climbing gear they borrowed from the nearby resort and continued bouncing on her feet waiting for the others to let the information sink in. The other five looked at one another and climbed to their feet. Some jumped up with renewed hope. Others, like the wolf, lazily pulled themselves out of their seats. They gathered their own equipment, and followed after the zealous fox.

"Exactly why didn't we find this earlier Emily?" It was the wolf again, not ready to get his hopes up again. Especially while being required to venture back into direct sunlight.

"I was just sitting in there trying to cool off a bit from the heat and I could hear something coming from somewhere nearby, like pebbles rolling down a sidewalk. I looked around outside and figured out it was coming from deeper in the cave. After I pushed a few loose rocks out of the way, I found a rectangular air shaft leading down at a fairly shallow angle. It's hand carved!"

That caught everyone's attention as they ran back to the cave they had found before, slipping into the small hole in the ground and navigating the short passage under the soil. It was just large enough for all five to huddle together in without causing discomfort. Upon seeing the new discovery, the wolf shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

"I can't believe we missed this. Jack, get on the horn and tell Mr. Aquatos we've found a way in. Try to see if we can't get another extension on our timetable. I'm sure he'll understand now that we've got an entry point."

The ferret answering to the name nodded and darted back outside, running like mad back to the camp. Emily meanwhile was busy setting up her gear, anticipating the coming argument.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" The wolf frowned seeing her strap on a harness and radio headset.

"I'm gettin' ready ta go down that airshaft."

The grey fellow crossed his arms disapprovingly, "I never said you could go."

"If you wanna give our sponsor something more than just a tiny entrance as reason to let us stay, or if you're so convinced he's gonna kick us off the dig, then you'll let me go down there and start documenting things." She adjusted the straps on her shoulders and checked the position of the camera on the side of her head.

"You don't have the experience." He hated using that argument, but he had his reasons.

She pouted and countered with her arsenal of points, counting them off on her fingers as she spoke, "Oh please, I'm the only one small enough to crawl through there. I can translate three times as many different languages as you. I've studied ancient cultures since I was five. I'm the only one small enough to crawl through there. I can read any hieroglyphs on the planet. And I'm the only one small enough to crawl through there. Did I mention I'm the only small enough to crawl through there!?" It was clear no one could change her mind, and she wanted to drill the size issue into Silas' head.

"She does have a point. Saying we've found an air shaft too small for anyone but a kid or small adult to fit in isn't going to impress Mr. Mysterious. We need something concrete and, well, she really is the only one who can fit." The feline hated choosing an allegiance in moments like this.

"Don't take her side, Margaret. You know damn well if she goes down there alone and she gets hurt, there'd be no way to get her out."

The vixen gave her lupine friend an ineffectual punch in the arm, "I won't get hurt! Stop babying me! I'm only three years younger than you!"

Silas huffed a little and stared at Emily, showing his contempt for how easily she was going to win this fight.

"Fine, take a camera with you, not just the headset. Document everything for analysis. And watch that fuzzy blue ass of yours! We can't afford another incident like last time!"

"That was a fluke and you know it! Now hook me up!" She held out the steel loop connected to her harness. He grumbled, attached the safety line to the vixen, and jerked the strap a little to test the strength. Emily snatched up a small digital camera, switched on her radio, and grinned at the rest of the team, lined up and holding the rope to anchor her, "I'm on channel six. Is the headset broadcasting?"

"Lemme boot up and check." A husky by the name of Eric moved out of the line and opened up the laptop they brought with them, switching it on and bringing up the digital map of the area, taken from sonic surveys of the area. A little effort with the tracking saw the video transmission established and the helm camera was attached to the vixen's headset. Just as Emily walked back to the shaft, Silas stopped her, showing more concern than annoyance this time.

"You watch yourself down there. I don't want anything happening to you."

She could see his worry in his eyes. He had pretty much been her big brother ever since she joined their department, what with her living half a world away from her family.

"Don't worry. I'll be careful. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?" And with that, she turned and practically dove into the tunnel, wriggling and crawling down the tight stone passage towards the cave system below. It was quite the trip going down. It took fifteen minutes of pushing to get through the tunnel until it opened up into a small chamber. The room itself was rather dark, but light could be seen shining through somewhere, faint light that struggled to reach the chamber below.

"Where are you Emily?"

"I think I'm in some kind of an antechamber. There's dust everywhere. How far down am I?"

Silas checked the map on the laptop, the vixen's GPS signal coming through easily enough.

"Damn, you crawled another quarter of a mile northeast. I'm comparing your position to the digital map right now, we'll see if we can't figure out exactly which room you're in." With a few keystrokes, the overlay of her position reached the proper alignment. She was in the main passageway leading from the primary entrance to the rest of the complex. About halfway in there was a small, round room that they had all guessed was a sort of 'reception area' which was where Emily happened to emerge. She dusted herself off and looked up through where the light was trying to shine through.

"I think there's a skylight here, all filled up with roots and junk. I'm gonna see if the main entrance is viable." The fox stumbled away a little, walking towards the darker passageway with her flashlight on. It took little time to realize that the front entrance was in perfect condition save for a massive cover stone blocking the stairs out. Silas squinted at the laptop screen trying to make out the writing.

"What is that? Hieratic?"

Emily shook her head, "Nah, looks more like Cuneiform. But, it's more evolved than that. It's more ordered. Gimme a sec here, I think I can translate it," She ran her fingertips over the carved figures and thought long and hard over their possible meanings, filing through dozens of possible representations until something coherent came through, "Sealed and buried for all time, the traitor... of hell?"

The others boggled at the translation just as Emily did.

"The traitor of hell? I think you might have the translation wrong."

"Well I've never seen a language quite like this before. I'm kinda working on the fly here. With a little more time, and probably a hell of a lot of studying, I'd be able to figure it out. Anyway, I'm gonna go deeper. See if you can pinpoint the cover stone and convince Mr. Aquatos to let us uncover and remove it. It'd make exploring this place a lot easier."

"We'll talk about it once you're up here. You've got ten more minutes to look around, then you're back topside. You hear me?"

With a grumble, she nodded and turned around, heading deeper into the temple. Shredded cloth hung from above; old, mildewed, and some of it rotten. It blocked her sight into the rest of the structure. Not halfway between the reception chamber and the main plaza, the vixen ran out of slack and she yelped, getting jerked back a bit.

"Pay out some slack! I can't get into the next room!"

"That's all there is. Come on back and we'll get Mr. Aquatos to let us open it up. Then we'll all explore it."

Emily huffed in annoyance and grumbled, removing the harness, "Screw that! I'm going off the safety line!"

"That's not a good idea! Put it back on right now!"

"Oh please, it's not like I'm walking down a mountainside, I'm just walking from room to room. Chill out."

"You get that harness back on, and you get your ass back up this shaft right now! That's enough for one trip!"

"Ten minutes! You gave me ten minutes to look around! It'll be worth it! What if this guy decides he doesn't want us looking around in his temple? All he said was ta find the entrance. We did that. He could just as easily kick us out before we get a chance to even scratch the surface of this place!"

The wolf grumbled and reluctantly agreed.

"Fine... ten minutes, but then you get your ass back to the shaft and get out."

Emily giggled in delight and slipped out of the harness, padding down the hall slowly, looking about carefully, getting as much on video as she could. The main plaza was huge, the ceiling rising high, high above. She was left breathless seeing the vast room, halls splitting off to the left and right and a massive wall with carvings all across it directly ahead. She stood in awe as she peered around the grand chamber, "Are you guys seeing this!?"

"Holy crap... the temple's not under the mountain... it IS the mountain! Look! There are balconies! There's more than one floor!"

The blue vixen took command of her faculties once again and began to study the room, "Looks like there are five distinct levels, and look at this, there's a conical mirror in the middle of what looks like a fountain. Man, if this thing wasn't dusty I bet it'd reflect light all over the place!" As she examined the filth-coated reflective surface, she looked down, spotting something curious, a small, circular, button-like plate of stone embedded in the short, rock wall surrounding the mirror. Without much thought, she depressed the button. It sank in with a noisy clunk and a quiet rumbling filled the chamber.

"What did you do Emily!?"

"I dunno. I think I-" The ground trembled softly before a shower of water burst forth from the top of the mirrored cone, spraying until whatever blockage was there cleared away. The water rushed down the sides, removing the dirt and dust and allowing the light coming down to shine off the reflectors, filling the room. Instantly, patterns of reflected light bounced throughout the chamber, showing more than just five stories, far more, "-just turned on the lights..."

The others watching from far above crowded around the laptop screen in awe, "It's beautiful... this kind of lighting system's never been found in ruins this old! There's gotta be a whole set of collector mirrors up in the skylight reflecting the sunlight down into the chamber! It might even reflect moonlight!"

Emily nodded with a soft giggle, "This place is amazing! It must have taken years to build!" She stood and walked towards the wall covered in carvings, running her hands over it, drinking in the story it had to tell.

"This looks different from the cover stone, more like pictograms." Silas' assessment was quickly agreed upon by the others staring into the screen. Emily meanwhile was busy trying to interpret it, moving her hands along the surface to clear away dust and cobwebs.

"Yeah, it's like a storybook. Like here, it says something about a creature escaping from some infernal pit, fleeing to the realm of mortals. It came to a small village and began teaching the people how to make their lives easier. The creature brought with it prosperity, hope, happiness, and... I can't make out this last word here. Something like... I dunno... desire. The creature designed the great temple and brought the people into it once it was built, protecting them from the elements. Life was good. Until a great cataclysm occurred. The earth erupted in a hail of fire and brimstone. Evil seethed forth like a dark cloud. The creature gathered all the people together and bound them into one body for protection and fought the evil. The fire overpowered the creature and imprisoned it within the very temple built to protect those living inside, banishing it to an eternity of life without form," She was given pause, frowning softly, "How sad... whatever this creature was... it must have been a great person."

Silas smirked a little, "I think we found out who the traitor of hell was."

"I'm curious." Margaret mused.

"Yeah, I'd like to know more about whoever this was, some kind of god figure, or goddess... maybe a lesser being. It's kind of vague." Emily replied.

"No, I mean how all of this was carved out if this place was supposed to be sealed up." The feline had a point.

"Maybe they used the same air shaft I did. This place has been down here for ages, who knows what happened after it was sealed?" The vixen thought out loud. She continued to run her hands along the surface of the wall, until her fingers found a button similar to on the fountain. With the same boldness as before, she pressed it and the wall suddenly split in half, sliding apart until it revealed a long, dark tunnel, "Woah... cool..."

Silas snapped angrily at her, "Emily, will you stop doing that!? What if that was a booby trap that was supposed ta cut yer head off!?"

"Then I'd probably be glad I'm so short." She always had a way of looking at things. Against the wishes of her friends, she walked into the hall, going slowly. The walls were smooth and featureless, showing no sign of writings or carvings, and the air was cold. At the far end of the tunnel Emily saw a dim light, pale blue and just bright enough to uncover any foreign objects the vixen might trip over. With the same intrepidity as always, she continued on, curious of this new chamber. As she made her way slowly down the hallway, the signal connecting her to her teammates began to fade. Static began overtaking the image and their radios were becoming distorted.

"Emily, we're losing you. It's been ten minutes, time to come back."

All she could make out was the first portion of the statement.

"Silas? Can ya hear me? Guys?" With no answer, she came to realize she had been cut off, "Crap... the walls must be blocking the radio. I should head back, but... a quick look in here won't hurt anything."

As soon as she reached the other end of the passage, the video feed had been lost complete, showing nothing but static. The radios had become unresponsive as well. She was completely isolated but her attention was focused elsewhere. Before here stood a pedestal with an urn atop it and it appeared the source of the light was the top. The vixen's eyes were drawn to a large flat gem embedded in the lid itself, giving off the soft glow. As she drew closer, the light began to flicker, pulsing, growing dim and returning to its previous level, speeding up as Emily approached. Ever so slowly, the vixen reached forward, making contact with the crystalline structure atop the urn. It was cold to the touch, like ice. She moved her fingers from the lid to the sides, feeling along the object, feeling the intricate carvings of runes in what felt like clay or terra cotta. Similar symbols were engraved all over the pedestal it sat upon. They were all unlike anything she had seen before. It was quite the mystery.

Emily could not figure out what this thing was for. She adjusted her glasses and peered closely at the carvings, taking a chance and picking the object up, holding it aloft in her hands to shine her headlamp on it. Round and round she turned it, trying to make sense of the bizarre language until she lost her grip and the urn tumbled to the ground, striking the stone floor with a heart-stopping crunch. In a flash, she was on her knees, collecting the container. Thankfully, it did not shatter, but the damage had been done. There was a small crack just below the lid and a soft hissing could be heard. Whatever it was, the contents had been locked in a vacuum.

The vixen sat there, eyeing the damage curiously, trying to wrap her mind around how something so old could have such a powerful pressure seal, let alone contain a vacuum. She ran her fingertips over the crack and sighed, thinking about how angry Silas was going to be when he learned about this... if he learned about this. She grinned a little and stood up, placing the urn back on the pedestal thinking she would just say it was like that when she found it. After turning it so the proper side was facing correctly, she stepped away to admire it, just about ready to leave, until the crystal atop the jar flickered and died out. The fox yelped in shock and collected the jar again, looking it over carefully, trying to figure out how to 'turn it on' again. They had all seen the light on the video, surely they would notice this.

"Shit! Don't do this! Not now! Silas is gonna kill me!" She continued turning it around to find out what happened until she noticed something. The lid was loose. The drop had released the hold the vacuum inside had maintained for millennia and that allowed the lid to come off easily. Cautiously, timidly, Emily tilted the cover up and peeked inside. She furrowed her brow and removed the lid completely, examining the inside with her light. There was a black substance inside, appearing to be solid. As she stared into the container, she set the lid down on the pedestal and inserted a finger, making contact with the substance.

It was indeed solid, but shortly after she touched it, it softened and warmed, becoming like a sort of putty or goo. It even attempted to latch onto her finger. She jumped in surprise, accidentally dropping the urn. Without the gem atop it to protect the canister, it shattered upon hitting the ground. She shrieked in disdain and knelt, trying to collect the pieces, but her efforts were halted as her attention was taken once more by the black ooze, now seeming to have a purple sheen to it. It shifted and bubbled softly for a moment as Emily watched. Then it moved. Towards her.

"Oh god!!" In a flash, she shot backwards, crawling on her hands away from the strange 'pudding' of blackness. Despite her retreat, the substance continued forward, picking up speed until the blue fox, rather frightened now, backed into the wall. When its prey was cornered, the goop shot forward by some unknown means of locomotion and spattered all over Emily's front. She screamed in terror and tried to brush the stuff off, but it was horribly sticky and it was getting into her fur. There was no way she could get it off now, it was like tar. She kicked and screamed, rolling around on the floor trying to free herself from the stuff until finally, much to her horror, it vanished into her skin, absorbed by her body.

She lay there panting fiercely, terrified from what just happened. What was that stuff and what was it going to do to her? Suddenly, she felt a sense of calm wash over her; calm and fatigue. She felt like she had spent an entire day carrying artifacts between the lab and the archives, and a lot of those things were really heavy. Some part of her was still horribly scared, but she was too exhausted to think about it now. She would keep this a secret until she knew what was going on, and so she stood up, rubbing her head, feeling dizzy, and stumbled back down the hallway. In short order, the signal returned to the laptop and the rest of the team above sighed in relief seeing her on her feet and moving.

Silas meanwhile was absolutely frantic.

"Emily!! What the hell happened!? We lost our feed!"

She moaned a little and continued walking, "I think the walls are too dense for radio signals. I'm comin' back. I've had enough excitement for one day."

That had the wolf worried. She always, without exception, was up for anything exciting.

"Emily... is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired. This place is really overwhelming."

The wolf narrowed his eyes but relented in his attempt to learn what really happened while they were out of contact. Her safety was more important to him, "Just get back to the shaft and we'll pull you out."

She had no argument with that and continued slowly on her way back to the entry point. Surely the person funding their expedition would let them come back and explore the area. It would be a horrible waste otherwise. After a few moments of stumbling, the blue vixen managed to make her way back to the harness and slipped it on, attempting to at least start back into the air shaft. Once they were sure they had her, the team began pulling, and with gusto. It took half as long for her to come back up as it did going down, and as soon as her fuzzy head popped back into the small cave, Silas dragged her the rest of the way out, examining her thoroughly.

The vixen winced lightly as her head was turned this way and that, "I'm alright, take it easy. I'm just a little woozy that's all."

"Somethin' had to happen to make you woozy, now out with it!" He was stern but obviously worried to death about her.

"Okay, okay... I... I slipped and hit my head. It's got me a little dazed."

"You slipped? On what?"

She furrowed her brow, annoyed by all the questioning. She just wanted to go back to the camp and relax, "I mean I tripped. There was a crack in the floor and I tripped. I tried to right myself but ended up falling backwards. Hit my head pretty good. Can we just go back now?"

Silas frowned. Something about her story wasn't adding up but he was too worried about her to press it any further at the moment, "Alright, let's get her back to the campsite."

The small group hoisted the exhausted vixen out of the cave and made their way back to their tent where Jack was still chatting away on the phone trying to get permission right then and there to excavate the site.

"No one knows what's down there! We have a possible entry point, you can't just tell us to stop! Not now!" He looked up spotting the group returning with Emily looking a bit shaken up, "Hold on, the rest of the group's back."

The wolf lifted his chin in a gesture to get Jack to step aside, "She says she hit her head. We need to see if she's got a concussion."

Jack nodded and returned his attention to the phone, "Look, screw all of that right now, we've got an injured member down here. Send a medical team. We think she may have a concussion. She's a vixen, about five foot two, a hundred and fifteen pounds. You have our location, just... hurry please!" With that, he hung up and moved to Emily's side.

Silas eased the fox down onto her back, "Are they coming?"

Jack nodded, "They're on the way. What happened!?"

"She says she tripped and hit her head."

Emily's eyes fluttered a little as she sat upright, swaying back and forth slowly, "Can I go to sleep now?"

Jack interjected as Silas was about to allow it, "No!! Don't let her go to sleep! If she's got a concussion, she could slip into a coma! Emily, you gotta stay awake!"

Silas was shocked, having completely forgotten the rule about concussion sufferers. He shook her lightly and her eyes opened wider in response.

"C'mon Emily, don't pass out on us. Stay awake. There's a med team on the way, they'll take care of you."

"I'm fine, seriously! I don't have a concussion! I'm just tired!" But no one was convinced. About a minute later, a strange craft came screaming out of the sky until it was hovering just inches off the ground. It had an open top with a flat keel, if one was to think of it as a boat, and space enough to hold the whole team. The pilot was a tall, muscular equine lady and the only other passenger was a silvery white dragoness, shorter than the pilot, possessing large, feathered wings. The ivory-hued lady launched herself from the vehicle as soon as it neared the ground with medical kit in tow and rushed over to the group, slipping in between them.

"How long has it been since the injury?"

Silas and the others were stunned by the dragoness' appearance, never having seen, first of all, a dragon, and second of all, anyone quite as striking as her. The wolf stuttered a little as the healer went about examining her patient, "Um... I... about... twenty minutes I think?"

"Symptoms?"

"Grogginess, confusion... lack of energy."

"Well it sure sounds like a concussion. Honey, I need you to follow my finger for a second here. Just follow it with your eyes." With that, the dragoness lifted a single finger and moved it slowly back and forth in front of Emily's face. She watched it closely as her examiner took note of her performance.

"Honestly... I'm fine. My head doesn't even hurt."

The dragoness frowned a little, "I was afraid of that. My name is Shayna and I would like to take you back to the Inn with me so I can get a better look at you in the infirmary. I need you to stand up for me, okay?"

Emily nodded and stumbled to her feet, held up by Shayna and Silas as they walked to the flatbed vehicle. Once she reached it, she was laid down on a soft stretcher-like object. The winged woman asked her to try and stay awake while she spoke with the others and turned towards the group.

"How is she, miss?" Silas fidgeted, nervously staring at the blue girl he had tried to take care of.

The dragon sighed a little, perplexed somewhat by the vixen's condition, "Well, she has a lot of the symptoms of a concussion, but I'm not sure she has one. It's strange. I'd like to keep her overnight just for observation."

Before she could say anything else, Silas interrupted her, sounding quite stern, "Look, you're not taking her anywhere without me. If she's gonna stay in the Inn then I demand to be allowed to stay with her."

Shayna blinked a little and continued speaking as if she had not been interrupted, "You're all welcome to come. Mr. Aquatos is pleased with how far you've come and would like to treat you to your own rooms."

The feline of the group blinked as everyone else did but was the only one to comment, "What? Like, free of charge?"

Shayna looked blankly at the cat and answered rather matter-of-factly, "Of course free of charge. Now please, everyone aboard. I need to get your friend back quickly."

They all nodded and piled on after the dragon. Once everyone was loaded, the vehicle powered up and lifted off, rocketing back towards the Inn at incredible speed. No wonder they got there so fast.

"What about all our stuff?"

Shayna turned to look at the others, "If any of it ends up stolen or damaged which is unlikely, Mr. Aquatos will compensate you, either monetarily or by purchasing replacements."

They all gawked at one another and just rode the rest of the way in silence. It was a quick trip, ending just outside a small structure amidst the greater building nestled in the branches of the trees. They opted to deliver the group directly to the infirmary rather than the hanger where most of the Inn's crafts waited to be used. After all, it wouldn't do to have a patient hurried through the main stretch of the Inn itself, for all to see. The craft landed and Emily was unloaded, stretcher and all. She was carted off quickly through the infirmary to a place set aside specifically for her where Shayna examined her again. Even with all the appropriate equipment on hand, the healer was still unable to find anything wrong with her. After half an hour of waiting on the edge of the room, Shayna walked over to the group.

"So? Anything?" They all looked with a mixture of hope and fear.

"She doesn't have a concussion so I've given her something to help her sleep. We'll move her to a private room in a moment but I'd ask that you let her sleep. I'll check in on her every couple of hours. Meanwhile, Mr. Aquatos would like to speak to you all in his office," The angelic lady turned to one of the nurses assisting her, "Would you be kind enough to show them the way?"

"Sure, I just finished up," A lovely young hare turned to face the group as she slipped her medical gloves off, "Come with me."

The other archeologists all nodded and filed out of the room behind the lapine lady. They headed through the circular corridor, amazed with the fact it was all held aloft by a single tree, or at least this particular wing by itself was. The windows on the inner wall of the walkway gave them a beautiful view of the private, interior section surrounding the very tree holding them up. They could only imagine what sort of view the rooms on the exterior side of the ring had. It must have been truly breathtaking. After a moment's walk through the complex, they found the doors and were ushered in. Just as they had along the way, they let their eyes roam about the room, marveling at the size of the doorway, then the scale and luxuriousness of the office. They half expected it to be owned by some powerful CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation out to take what they discovered and market it somehow. Instead, they found a blue and grey dragon dressed simply in a crimson vest, no doubt quite comfortable, seated at the desk and scribbling away at a few things. He looked up and over his glasses at the group, smiling.

"Ahh, wonderful. My little team of explorers," He removed his glasses to clean the lenses and stood up to greet them, "I trust your companion was not too badly injured?"

Silas broke his stare and cleared his throat to answer, "Oh... Miss Shayna said she didn't find anything wrong with Emily and is gonna move her to her own room."

The blue dragon nodded and walked around the desk, standing only a small bit taller than all of the archaeologists, "I'm glad to hear she's okay. I hear she did a little more exploring than was sanctioned." He grinned a tad.

"Yes, she did. I tried to stop her. I'm sorry if we've broken our contract but she was the only one who could fit. In our defense she did find the main entrance."

"I'm not upset at all," he paused and frowned a bit, "Well, I suppose I am slightly concerned, if only because someone was hurt, but other than that no. And no, you have not voided the contract. I'm a very easy going person. If you could show me where the entrance is on the surface, I will have someone out to properly unearth the opening and you can all explore it at your leisure."

The group just looked at one another in shock and wide eyed, "That's all fine and good sir, but... we don't have enough funding to spend much more time on this dig. We'll have to wait until we can put together another expedition specifically for exploring the interior."

The dragon paused and turned to look back at them, having walked to the glass wall to the south to enjoy the view, "Why would you need to do that? I can provide you with more funding if you really need it. How much do you need? Twenty thousand?" The dragon gazed at the crew, the utterance sounding quite casual. Again, the group was utterly stunned, staring at their benefactor in disbelief, "Not enough? Okay, how about forty thousand?" That triggered a stutter in Silas while the others looked at one another, "Alright, alright, sixty thousand plus free room and board and I'll even let you bring in a bigger team after a preliminary examination of the ruins. That's my final offer."

The wolf walked forward and shot his hand out quickly to shake on it, "Mr. Aquatos, you've got a deal!"

The dragon smiled and shook Silas' hand and nodded, "Excellent! I'll have the funds transferred immediately, but, I would like to modify your contract slightly."

That caught everyone's attention. Of course, it had to be too good to be true and here was the reason behind his generosity, or so they thought, "What's the catch?" Silas sounded suspicious already.

"The catch is I want you all to be more careful. If your companion got hurt just walking around in there, then you should take extra care not to let that happen to you as well. Mending wounds is possible, and with Shayna's expertise, quite easy, but it still isn't fun and it will end up taking valuable time away from your exploration. I would like a field medic to accompany your expedition."

It was a concession they were call comfortable with.

Silas nodded and smiled, "I think we can live with that. Thank you again for this opportunity Mr. Aquatos. I can't tell you how exciting it is to be the first ones to discover something like this... and I'm tellin' you, it's one hell of a discovery."

"You think so?"

The wolf nodded, "Oh yes, the history rewriting kind of discovery."

The dragon grinned broadly, "Well then, I just might have to join you when you go in! But for now, go find your rooms and look after your friend. I'll make all the arrangements you'll need to document everything you find."

"Can do Mr. Aquatos."

The dragon gripped the wolf's paw a little more firmly to stop him from walking away just yet.

"One more thing... Call me Smokey! I've never been fond of formalities."

The group chuckled and nodded, heading off to find their quarters. It had been quite a day so far.

---

The sun slowly faded behind the distant mountains overshadowing the smaller cluster the group of explorers had been surveying earlier in the day. That evening, the group, save for Emily, dined very well indeed, enjoying their various meals. Never before had they been treated so richly. Discussion was made about the curiosities they each reserved about their generous host.

"You think maybe he might be looking to hire people like us full time? Survey the whole area more thoroughly for him?"

"I dunno, I think this one temple might be all there is to this area."

"We don't know that! There could be tons more dig sites around here, hell we may have only scratched the surface of this thing! You saw the video Emily relayed back to us. That place is huge! It'd take days to finish searching the whole complex!" The feline, ferret, and husky all continued their conversation while Silas remained rather quiet, poking at what was left of his meal with a fork. After several minutes, the other three turned to him and leaned forward a little, "Hey? You alright?"

He looked up as if coming out of a trance, "Huh? Oh... yeah, I'm fine, Margaret. I'm just... I think Emily should head back to the institute."

They all turned and looked at him in disbelief, "But you pushed the hardest of all of us to get her out here. Why send her back now?"

"Because... I just have a really bad feeling something awful might happen to her in that temple. She fell and hurt herself when there wasn't anything visible to trip or slip on."

"Are you saying she lied?"

"I'm saying she might not have known what happened. I just have this feeling she wasn't entirely honest with us for the sake of saving face."

"Why would she do that? She's one of the most honest people I've ever met. You can't tell me you've never had a bad spill on a dig." Margaret did have a point. His first time out, he did have a bit of a rough time and almost broke several priceless artifacts.

"I don't know... she just... there was something different about her when she came back out."

The feline raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, she smelled of a five thousand year old tomb. Dust from a five millennia dead ruin will do that to you."

Silas sighed and shook his head, "Fine, I won't send her back... at least right now. But if anything else happens to her, she is gonna be shipped back so fast it'll make our flight out look like it was in neutral. I'm not letting anything happen to her."

"That's all fine and good, but she's a big girl. You can't protect her all the time."

The wolf looked at Jake, staring the ferret in the eyes as he processed his friend's logic. He didn't want to submit to reason. He wanted Emily to never be in danger, safe and sound in his idealized version of the world. He stood and bowed before the others, bidding them all goodnight and turned to leave. It made the rest of the crew frown.

Silas roamed the halls for a while, trying to weigh the options in his mind, decide what would be best for Emily and the group as a whole. He did not like to admit it, but they really did need her. She was the only one who could fit back in that hole should they need to locate the cover stone again. As he thought, he found himself in front of her room and decided to at least check in on her. Hopefully, someone had brought her something to eat and then let her rest again.

Quietly, he twisted the knob, ever so gently pushing the door open. As soon as there was a breach in the seal around the door, he could hear soft moans coming every now and again from within. Concerned, he slipped in silently, closing the door behind him and walking to the bed. The room was dreadfully dark save for what moonlight shined in through the window. For a wolf though, that was more than enough to navigate by. He found his way to her bedside quickly and noticed her tossing and turning lightly under the sheets, her eyes closed. She was dreaming he thought. Something was different though. There was a different odor in the air, faint at the moment.

Emily moaned again and rolled onto her side, a hint of moonlight shining on her. Silas' eyes widened to drink in every available ounce of the light, gasping quietly as he noticed a definite change. She was no longer blue, but black. Her fur had turned colors over the course of the day! He pulled the sheets back to see if it was just her shoulder and much to his dismay, it was not. The whole of her body was now black and white instead of the soft blue she had been before. Then it hit him, like a ton of bricks. Her scent was thick, as if she were in heat. Only far stronger, stronger than a dozen vixens like her in heat. Silas shook his head, dizzy from the intoxicating fumes that had been trapped under the sheets. He backed up a step or two trying to get away from the enticing smell and clear his mind, but in that instant, Emily sat straight up in bed, her eyes open and a long, low moan escaping her. She turned to her guest and looked at him with pleading eyes, eyes that no longer looked like hers. They were glowing yellow, through and through, not just the iris, but the whole of the eye. It was terrifying yet beautiful at the same time.

"Silas! You gotta help me!"

That certainly caught his attention, "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

She nodded pitifully, arching her back and inhaling sharply, "I'm aching! I need you!"

"I'll get Shayna, she'll be able to give you something." Just as he turned towards the door, her arm shot out, grabbing his wrist. How could she reach him from so far away? When he turned back, she was standing in front of him, uncomfortably close as her other hand began to work its way under his shirt. She was panting heavily as she ran her hand through his belly and chest fur. Slias gulped in surprise as she mashed her body against his.

"Don't go... I need you... I don't know why but I just need you!" With a firm jerk of her hand away from him, his shirt split right down the middle and she spread the fabric away, mashing her naked body against his. Yes, she was naked! That made him blush all the more. Her arms found their way around his waist and began to tug on his pants, obviously wanting them removed.

"Emily! Please! What are you doing!? Control yourself!"

"I can't! I need to feel you! I need you inside me!" She clawed harmlessly, pitifully at his form. He gulped loudly hearing her beg, unable to fight back. He had found her attractive the first time they met, but he was supposed to watch out for her, not be her boyfriend, let alone lover. Unhindered for the most part, the vixen managed to rid the wolf of all his clothing, pushing him to the bed and laying atop him, keeping him pinned as she slid down his front. Once near enough, she began lapping away at his groin, already swollen and firm, but not firm enough. Her tongue found its way all about the swelling length, slurping over every inch ever so softly, just enough to tease him. It became Silas' turn to moan as he half-heartedly protested.

"Emily! Stop! This... this isn't right! We can't do this!" His arguments were ignored as the vixen continued her stimulation of the wolf's crotch, and she was quite skilled at it. One might think she had practiced this before. Silas' voice was quickly silenced as she continued, finally pulling away once he was sufficiently aroused. Quickly, she crawled up his body and mashed their respective groins together. The instant the wolf's sleek member delved into the warmth of his vulpine acquaintance, he practically melted under her, his eyes rolling back in his head as he moaned blissfully. Once fully hilted, Emily pulled her hips away and pushed back down against him with a great deal of force, repeating the action again until a steady, headboard-shaking rhythm had been established. Two howls of passion rose up from behind the walls of their room as the heat between them grew. Moisture coated the two pairs of thighs until both cried out, their two explosions of climactic bliss rocking the lovers.

With the moment complete, Emily lay atop the wolf, murmuring quietly as she smiled. Silas meanwhile was panting furiously. His mind could not wrap itself around the reality of what just happened. They had made love, and it was the most glorious experience of his life. Never before had any girl taken him so far. His entire perception of what was considered acceptable between the two of them was now in question. Little did he realize just what was in store for him. As soon as he caught his breath, he looked down at Emily who was grinning up at him, her eyes still that same eerie yet beautiful yellow glow.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she licked his nose and sat back up, keeping his shaft buried in her. The look on her face changed from that of a grin to a look of concentration as her eyes closed. The tunnel holding Silas in place tensed and gripped him ever so tightly as she concentrated further, seeming to struggle a little with whatever it was she was hoping to do. A grunt of exertion came from her as her efforts came to fruition. An eruption burst forth from her crotch, just above the gash stretched about her lover's length. It grew and grew until it rivaled the wolf's in size and even surpassed it, taking on the familiar shape of just what had been shoved into her. He blinked and stared at Emily's nether region as it happened, tentatively reaching down to touch it. It couldn't be real. This had to be some kind of bizarre dream. The instant his paw made contact, the vixen gripped his hand and forced it around hir new shaft, wanting him to take a firm grasp of it.

"Mmmm... thanks for the help honey. I needed that. But, I still need more. You're not goin' anywhere." In one, swift, fluid motion, the black fox flipped backwards, pulling off of his length, appearing far more agile and flexible than he had ever seen. Once right-side-up again, shi grinned mischievously and forced the wolf over on his stomach, laying down on his back to whisper in his ear.

"I need you so badly." Hir voice was husky, sultry, like that of a woman trying to seduce a man. He did not think hir capable of such acts, but here shi was, having just given him the best moments of passion he had ever been a part of. What came next shocked him into submission. With one firm buck from behind, he felt that newly sprouted shaft crammed under his tail, lodged so deep in his backside it felt like he would rip right in two, but he never did. The vixen pulled back only far enough to leave just the tip trapped inside, and rammed him once more. Silas howled loudly, half in pain, half in sickly pleasure. He couldn't believe he was actually enjoying this to any degree! He was most decidedly straight, so the thought of anything like this had never truly entered his mind, until now. Perhaps it was because it was Emily doing it, perhaps it was a latent attraction to homosexuality.

The truth of the matter was Emily had been changed and the change brought with it certain modifications, one of which was having a definite effect on him at this very moment. Whatever it was, it wasn't the eight inches of vulpine flesh shoved in his bowels pumping away like a piston in a V8, though it was related. Hir scent was awakening dormant desires in his mind, and the longer he was exposed to it the greater the effect would be. He panted and gripped the sheets of the bed tightly in his hands, grimacing every time that thick rod slammed home in his dark cavern.

Somehow, the pain was fading, and fading fast, leaving him panting, tongue lolling from his jaws, eyes half closed and glazed over. Emily on the other hand was savoring every second of the joining, seeming to grow stronger in hir dominance over him with every single thrust; almost as though shi fed off the sensations. Several minutes passed until the fox stuffed hirself in right up to the base of hir new masculine protrusion, a firm and sizable knot wedging itself neatly past the ring of muscle. Shi howled happily as a geyser of seed burst forth from inside, filling the wolf's rump with hot, thick essence. Silas loosed his own howl as the bed under him became soaked in his own musky release, collapsing under Emily as he submitted to the awesome force of orgasm. The fox thrummed and laid back down atop him, nuzzling the back of his neck.

"You're doin' so good. At this rate, I'll be back to normal in no time." Back to normal? Was shi always like this and he was just now finding out? No, it was something else. He couldn't put his finger on it but shi was definitely different. This was no pre-existing condition.

As soon as shi pulled hirself from his depths, he rolled over and sat up, "Who are you!? What did you do to Emily!?"

The fox just giggled and cuddled against him affectionately.

"She's fine. She's in here with me. She let me out of my prison, and thank god. I was bored as hell in there! You'd be surprised how slow five thousand years can pass when you're nothin' but a puddle of black goo with nothing to do but talk to the people you carried with you. And that's all you can do... talk... you can't play with them, you can't feel them, you can't touch them, you can't pleasure them... you can only talk. That my friend is a special kind of hell."

He blinked as shi admitted to not being the vixen he was so concerned about, "Let her go! You've not right to take control of her!"

"Oh hush, she's lovin' this. I just gotta loosen her up a bit more. In fact, what we just did was her idea." The dark fox, now plainly identified as the 'traitor of hell' from the temple, grinned and offered the wolf a coy wink.

"Let her say that for herself!" Silas growled.

The vixen rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, party pooper, but I'm not finished here." With that, shi closed hir eyes and breathed slow and softly for a moment before hir eyes flew open again. The glow had faded.

"Silas! Oh god, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I lied!" Shi mashed hir face into his chest, sobbing quietly as it all came flowing out. He paused, stunned by Emily's sudden re-emergence. All he could do was wrap his arms about hir and try to comfort the poor fox.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you. This... this thing isn't hurting you is it?"

Shi shook hir head, "No. shi's actually very nice but... shi's doing some really weird things to me. I dunno if I like it. I mean... I like it, but I don't know if I should. You know what I mean? I'm kinda scared to be honest."

"Well tell hir ta stop and to let go of you."

"Shi can't." Emily shrank a bit.

"Why not!?" The wolf was quite exasperated by this.

"I don't know why. I mean, I do. Shi does," Emily sighed and shook hir head to try to straighten hir thoughts, "It's hard to explain but... I just know we're stuck like this now."

"How did this happen? Was it when you fell?"

The young lady lowered her head again, hanging it in shame, "I didn't fall. I broke the jar shi was trapped in. Shi escaped and attached hirself to me. The fall was just a cover. I didn't want you to get mad and have me off the dig."

Silas frowned and just hugged hir softly, kissing hir cheek. Anger would not help the situation when shi was coming clean, "You should have told me. Maybe Shayna could have split you two up before it became permanent."

"Maybe. I just... I didn't want you to worry. I'm so sorry."

The wolf was speechless but did what he could to comfort her. Despite the fact shi had been dishonest to him, he still couldn't be mad at hir. Not right now.

"Don't worry about it." He didn't sound entirely convincing. The vixen trembled a little, still feeling somewhat upset and Silas couldn't have that, "Hey, look on the bright side. This is a nice look for you."

Shi looked up at him curiously, hir eyes starting to glow again, "Really?"

"Yeah. You look good in black, and-" He paused, his eyes fluttering a bit, "Did your chest get bigger!?"

Shi looked down and blinked rapidly. Hir bust had indeed grown larger, but not since shi had been put to bed, it had grown in the last few minutes, "I'm gonna hafta buy some new bras! These things are huge!" Shi cupped hir hands under the great swells, now large enough to require more than a single hand each to properly contain. They had grown heavier too, as if shi were preparing to nurse a newborn. While they sat there admiring Emily's new breast size, the other entity now bonded to the vixen grew tired of the lack of activity and took over again, or at least everything from the neck down. Without warning, the dark fox grabbed Silas' head and shoved it down to hir crotch, much to the surprise of both of the new lovers.

"Emily! What are you doing!?"

"It's not me! It's hir!" Shi whimpered as hir legs were forced apart, pushing his muzzle to hir slit. For a brief moment, Emily was pushed out of control of hir voice so that the other could speak.

"C'mon! Lick!" The 'traitor' grinned broadly, half commanding, half begging, sounding like an over-excited child. Silas looked up with wide eyes, trying to pull away. Somehow, shi'd made the vixen a great deal stronger and had difficulty escaping. With one firm tug, he managed to yank himself free and backed away, panting, a hand clutching his chest.

"What the hell is shi trying to make me do!?"

"I don't know! Shi's insatiable! If I understand hir right, having sex... is like eating for hir."

Silas' face contorted into extreme confusion, "What!? What the hell does that mean!? Shi wants ta eat me!?"

"No! Sex gives hir energy or something!" For the moment, shi had regained control of hir body, pushing hir legs closed and covering hir chest, or as much of it as shi could. The demon inside hir was up to something.

"I'll got get Shayna. There's gotta be a way to split you two up." He turned towards the door, not caring that he was completely nude. Hell, he and the others had seen several patrons walking about in nothing but their fur, feathers, or scales and they didn't seem to care. Maybe that was encouraged around here. Unfortunately, before he could reach the door, Emily yelped, hir legs forced apart as the demon within struck back. From the depths of hir folds, half a dozen protrusions burst forth, stretching all the way across the room and wrapping about the wolf, gripping his wrists, ankles and waist.

The moisture coated tentacles held fast to the lupine as he fought back with all his might, trying his best to prevent himself from being dragged back towards the vixen, who could only watch in horror... and moan as the slithering limbs stimulated hir like nothing before. Silas whimpered and struggled, clawing helplessly at the floor to gain some kind of leverage as he was pulled inexorably towards Emily's valley. Shi screamed in passion as tears streamed down hir cheeks, not in sorrow, but because the sensations ripping through hir body were just too much to handle, too powerful. What puzzled hir was shi could almost swear shi hirself was reveling in it.

"Let him go! Please! I ca-I can't take it! It's too much!" But the demon would not yield, dragging Silas closer until his feet were pressed against the vixen's crotch, "Alright! You've got him! Now let him go! Plea-!" Shi was silenced, gasping loudly as his feet slipped into hir, the passage devouring him stretching to accommodate.

Silas stared, his mouth open as his feet vanished into the vixen's passage. He could not believe what was happening. Inch after inch glided into the black and white vulpine's groin, the tentacles on his ankles moving further down his form to help anchor him, prevent him from wriggling free. Emily moaned loudly, leaning back, supporting hirself with one arm while the other was brought to slip back and forth along hir engorged, almost painfully erect shaft, bouncing lightly above the wolf disappearing into hir. Shi panted fiercely, hir newly enlarged chest wobbling with each heavy breath. Before too long, the wolf's hips were swallowed up, bulging Emily's middle visibly, far more than should be physically possible.

Silas was powerless to do anything but watch, "Let me go! I'm hurting her!"

The demon took over again, looking down at him grinning broadly, not maliciously, wantonly, a look of adoration in hir eyes, "Oh trust me, it doesn't hurt. It feels oh so good, and she is loving this!" The demon relinquished the vixen's voice again, pushing a tentacle into the wolf's mouth as one found its way under his tail, filling him out again. His eyes flew open and tried to cry out, half in protest and half in unparalleled pleasure, but the noise came out muffled, the undulating appendage keeping him from making use of his voice properly. With a few more good pulls, his chest was gobbled up by the vulpine's vicious vulva. He whimpered around the tentacle in his mouth as it pushed deep into his throat, oozing a strange, pink goo that for some reason tasted absolutely glorious, slowly leaving him wanting more and more of it. With a noisy slurp, Silas vanished from sight, yanked completely into Emily's tightly packed womb. Shi panted for breath and looked down at hir bloated middle with grave concern.

"Silas! Silas! Can you hear me!? Are you alright!?" As soon as the wolf settled completely inside hir, hir cervix closing up once more behind him. He thrashed about wildly from the stimulation brought on by the numerous unyielding limbs. The powerful motion inside caused Emily to moan. Obviously, he was fine. The girl leaned forward onto hir hands and knees, letting hir wolf-filled tummy sag below hir, resting heavily on the bed. Shi shuddered and moaned, looking down at the wriggling bulge before tilting hir head back, eyes closing as shi cried out. More changes occurred in that instant. Hir ears grew longer. Hir tail thinned like that of a feline's and split into two, each with a triangular, fleshy barb-like spade at the end. A pair of smallish, bat-like wings erupted from hir shoulders. And shi grew taller, no longer looking like the little girl shi often passed for but breaching six feet, for now at least. The voice of the demon entered hir mind, chuckling softly.

"Hehe, at this rate, we'll be back to full power by the end of the week. Thanks for your boyfriend sweetheart, he's fantastic!"

Emily's curiosity got the better of hir and shi dared to ask the question, "What are you gonna do when you get back to... full power?"

The demon giggled in a fashion one might consider similar to a giddy schoolgirl, "It's not what I'm gonna do but what we're gonna do, and boy we are gonna be so naughty! You are gonna love bein' me!"

"But... but I like being me."

"Trust me, you'll like being me much better. You'll still be you, but then again you'll be me. I'll be you but still me. It's kinda hard to explain. Give it a little time and you'll get the hang of it."

The demon's logic confused Emily, still trying to comprehend what was in store. The two conversed for a brief while before the door opened again and in came the other three from the group, thinking they might check in on the fox. Shi yelped in surprise, looking up at them as hir eyes glowed steadily. They all piled in quietly and froze seeing the bloated, winged, two tailed, black vixen on the bed.

"E-E-Emily!? Is that you!?" Margaret stuttered before the boys could regain the ability to speak.

Before the fox could answer, the demon took command, a naughty idea forming in hir sex-crazed mind. It had been far too long since shi had gotten this kind of action and shi was not about to pass it up.

"Heh, yeah, and so much more. C'mon in and get comfy."

By now, the vixen's new scent had filled the room, and grown far more effective. For a moment, the three stood there, stunned by the sheer level of pheromones attacking their systems and the vixen's new look. When shi got tired of waiting for them to come, hir tails shot forth, stretching to unbelievable lengths and wrapping around all three of hir guests, dragging them to the bed. A collective surprised shout rose from the group before they reached the mattress, still rather shocked. Without missing a single beat, the demon arranged them all in such a manner so that shi was the center of attention. Jack was leaned against the headboard behind hir with hir laying back comfortably against his chest. Margaret was pressed against the vast dome of hir belly. And Eric, the husky, was mashed against the feline's back.

Shi wasted no time in starting the fun once more, forcing the two males to take the nearest hole their respective lengths were closest too, and impaling the female on hir impressive shaft. All three moaned in pleasure as the demon took them all for the ride of their lives. The bed squeaked quietly under their combined movements, thrusting this way and that, moisture and musk dribbling forth as orgasm drew oh so close. In a somewhat disappointing display of a lack of sexual stamina, all three of the demon's guests reached their peaks far too soon in hir opinion, but that mattered very little. The combined auras given off by not only the three outside but the wolf trapped in hir belly gave hir the strength to complete the change. While they all lay on the bed, gasping for air, trying to regain their composure, the vixen stood, unhindered by the weight in hir middle, and moved to a clear space on the large, luxurious mattress.

"Wh-where ya goin'? Zat it?" panted Jack. He was quite taken with the vixen's abilities.

"Oh I'm not goin' anywhere cutie-pie. I'm just gonna slip into something a bit more comfortable. Something I think you'll all love." And with that, shi began to shift. Shi leaned forward as hir legs began to change visibly and hir tails growing longer, thickening at the base, looking like a pair of long, skinny balloons being inflated. The two limbs suddenly merged as they gained girth, taking on a more definite shape until two broad, powerful legs and hindquarters formed at the back end. The black fox tilted hir torso back up and grinned, standing before the group now as a tauric version of hirself, completing the change with the equipment shi would sport in the rear, two male and two female features tucked between those muscular hind legs. The group all stared in amazement at the transformation, no longer noticing the squirming belly hung right below hir ample bust, "Now, who wants ta play with a full fledged sex-demon!?"

The group threw themselves at hir, but before they could do much, the demon moved them all into positions shi believed would be the most fun. Margaret and Jack were pushed under hir lower half, Jack atop the feline facing him and held there by the demon's twin tails, seeming more like the same tentacles that had slurped the poor wolf into hir belly. They each were given one firm, almost comically large member to stick in them somewhere and each ended up in the two's respective bowels, saving Margaret's womanhood for the ferret's rock hard arousal. They started bucking wildly under the demon while shi wrapped hir arms about the husky standing in front of hir.

"Just a wild guess here hun but... you're gay aren't you?"

Eric blushed and nodded, "Yeah, I am... but I'd be willing to switch to bisexual just for you."

"Aww now aren't you sweet? No one ever said you had to give up the cock on my account. Turn around and spread'em against the wall sexy."

He grinned and did just that, putting his hands against the wall above the headboard, separating his legs nicely. With hir target in place, the vixen-taur walked forward, dragging the two under hir along for the ride as shi 'mounted' the canine. The length Silas had been molested with was shoved deep under his tail. He grinned widely, his tongue hanging out as the blissful sensation of fullness spread upward from below. It most certainly wasn't his first time, but it wasn't often at all he found a partner so well endowed. A firm rocking saw that length pulled back and crammed in over and over again, all three archaeologists enjoying themselves a great deal as the demon fed on their lustful energies. The time passed far too quickly for all of them, though the trio being handled by the demon did last a bit longer this go 'round. When all was said and done, ferret, feline, and husky all lay on the bed, enjoying their cream fillings. As if curling up to sleep with the group, the fox laid hir taur half down and cuddled close to them all, brushing the soft ends of hir tails over them.

"I think I might hafta do to you guys what I did ta Silas."

That caught their attention, but not out of horror or anger, "So he is in there! How the hell did you fit him in!? Did you eat him!?"

Shi laughed, "No, no, no, I pulled him in through here." Shi tilted to one side, just enough to expose the slit shi still possessed up in between hir front legs, hidden behind the length shi used to pound Eric with, "I'm really stretchy, and he's feeding me while he's in there."

"So you did eat him? Just... with that!?" Margaret sounded rather confused.

"No ya silly kitty. He's safe and sound, getting the sexual experience of a lifetime. I just siphon off the energy his aura is producing during the whole process leading up to climax and after. That's what I live off of, emotional energy, specifically energy from emotions of love, passion, and lust."

The three nodded, giving a collective 'oh' while the original vixen listened behind the demon's consciousness.

"So, how did this happen, Emily? Have you been able to do this all along?"

Shi shook hir head, "Nope, and to be honest, I'm her, but then again, I'm not. Ya see, I was trapped in this nasty lil urn in the temple you guys had her slip into. She let me out and I bonded with her 'cause she was the nearest living thing. I drained her of any sexual energy she had and ended up tiring her out rather quickly."

Eric tilted his head softly, "So you and she are sharing this body?"

"Yep, but not for long. When we've got our energy level back to normal, we'll end up fused, one personality. We'll seem a lot like the Emily you guys know, but with me blended in."

"Is she alright?" In spite of the amazing session they had just been put through, they were still concerned about their friend. That touched the demoness.

"She's fine, and I think she's rather enjoying the new shape. Wanna talk to her?"

"Sure!"

The demon shut her eyes for a moment and turned control over to the vixen whom shi had invaded, letting hir drive once more. This time, those glowing eyes remained just as brilliant as ever.

"Hey guys, it's me. Sorry if shi came on too strong. It's just how shi is."

The three looked up at the vixen's face as shi caressed the still shifting belly, having grown used to the sensation and loving it more and more as time passed.

"So, you're alright? The other one's not making you do stuff you don't wanna do?"

"Well, shi sorta is, but I guess you could say I end up wanting to do it by the time it's done."

Jack gave the tauric lady a soft stroke along hir lower back, "So you're both gonna be stuck together?"

"Yeah, looks like it. At first I was kinda scared, but now I think I'm gonna really like it. Silas is having a ball in there right now." As if to prove hir point, his moans of unadulterated delight could be heard, muffled by layers of protective flesh. They all reached up and stroked the moving swell softly, the same idea coming to them at once.

"Think we could climb in there with him?" Margaret seemed the most interested in the idea. Had she pondered such notions before?

"Well, not in there, but I've got room for you all in the back," shi giggled and grinned, "Heh, in the back, makes it sound like I'm a car or something now."

All three spoke in unison, clearly eager for more, "Can we climb in?"

"Sure! Go right ahead!" shi paused and spoke silently to hir 'kindred spirit,' ready to hand control over, "Help them in?"

"Nah, you go for it. I wanna see how you do on your own. Make doubly sure you're enjoying this as much as me. Though I think Eric might wanna try a slightly different entrance."

Emily giggled the same giddy schoolgirl giggle as the demon before standing up, "Shi's gonna let me do it... so... let's do it!" And before the group could react, the two tails had wrapped around Margaret and Jake, lifting them off the bed and moving them behind hir. Like before, the two slits at back of the taur erupted with their own tentacles, grabbing at the feline and ferret readily, beginning to drag them inward while Eric stood and watched, feeling left out.

"Guess I gotta wait my turn huh?" His ears drooped about until Emily grinned and pulled him close, whispering into his ear the idea shi received from hir demonic counterpart, letting that grin spread to his face as well, "Yeah! Do it!"

"Not a problem honey!" Once the two behind were sufficiently in place, one of the taur's tails moved around to the husky's face. As soon as it arrived, the triangular 'barb' split open and out extended what appeared to be yet another member, oozing with the same pink stuff that was being coated over Margaret and Jack. Eric grinned and stood there, waiting for it until the flexible shaft stretched open and engulfed his head swiftly, moving down his neck and over his shoulders like a snake eating its prey and smelling heavily of demon-musk. He was being swallowed alive by the very feature he rather enjoyed suckling on. All three moaned happily as they were lifted off the ground, Eric especially when the second tail pulled away from the two slipping into Emily's passages and extended its own rod, shoving it under the canine's tail to piston away. Slurping noises filled the room as the vixen continued hir devouring of all three of hir friends until two pairs of feet disappeared between hir two sets of folds and a large bulge could be seen gliding down one of hir tails, joining the already quite large swell hanging from hir taur half. Shi cooed happily and laid down again, stroking the lovely lumps in hir body as all four of hir colleagues shifted and moaned within, each one invaded by a mass of fleshy appendages.

"I like yer friends Emily! They all taste great!"

"I'm glad you think so... and how come I can actually taste them even though they didn't even come close to my tongue!?" A shiver ran up hir spine as shi felt Eric twitch about inside his own tender little prison.

"Heh, you'll figure it out. By the way, how's my temple look? It's not a mess is it?"

"Well it's really dusty and the entrance was covered and buried. Why are you called the traitor of hell?"

"Because I was created to punish the assholes who committed evil through sexual acts, like rape or castration, stuff like that. I got sick and tired of that after a while and so they added a new job to my list. I was allowed to come to the mortal realm every now and again to literally screw viable targets to death. I got really sick of that too and just didn't go back. I wanna make people feel good, not kill or punish them. This sorta thing should be fun, and of course only done with consent. Silas... well, he just needed a little encouragement." Shi giggled in the back of the vixen's sex-fueled mind.

"I see... and when you didn't come back, they came after you."

"Yeah. I ate the first demon that was sent ta kill me. Needless to say he ended up back in hell after a few years."

Emily gasped in astonishment, "After a few years!?"

"Yeah, I got a few good years of nourishment from him before I just digested him."

"Oh, okay. And the temple was built to honor you?"

The demonic lady paused softly, recalling those days fondly, "Sorta. I drew up the plans and started building it, others just joined in 'cause they liked me so much. It was supposed to be much smaller, but before too long, it just grew bigger and bigger and bigger."

"Yeah, it's gorgeous! I read this inscription thing on the wall in there..."

"I read your memories, I know." What equated to a sort of yawn followed. Was shi actually getting tired? Maybe being stuck as a viscous goo for five centuries had dampened hir stamina.

"Oh cool, so, what'd they mean by you binding people's souls to you?"

"I stuffed them in me and absorbed their flesh into mine, housing their spirits in me so the guys I used to work for couldn't get at them. They're still in there, and probably ready to come out. A lot of them went dormant after years of being trapped. I put them all to sleep when I joined with you so it'd be easier."

"Ah, that explains a lot." A lot indeed, and the young lady's voice betrayed the sense of just how much this all was to take in.

"Speaking of joining, once we're fused, what name are we gonna stick with? Yours or mine?"

Emily whimpered quietly, feeling as though shi had just had a one-night stand without bothering to get to know the demon, "I don't even know yours."

"It's Celene, Celene Helmane. Nice ta meet ya Emily."

"Heh, nice to meet you too Celene. That's pretty. I like it. I say we go with yours."

"Works for me. Now, despite the fact that we have a near endless supply of energy squirming around in there, our body does have limitations, and one of them is that we do require sleep, so, shall we have ourselves a nap?"

Emily nodded with a yawn, already beginning to feel the fatigue start to close in, spilling over from hir 'partner', "Yeah, we can play more tomorrow."

"That we can, and with all four of these guys in us, I'd be willing to bet we'll be of one mind when we wake up."

Again, the vixen paused, still somewhat timid about suddenly becoming someone else, "So I won't be me?"

"Nope, and I won't be me. Instead, we'll be us, a perfect blend. I can't wait. I couldn't'a picked a cooler girl ta merge with. Thanks for letting me out." Hir voice was already beginning to trail off, likely into a sleep-like state. Emily smiled as shi caressed over Silas' still writhing form, cooing lovingly to him.

"You're welcome, Celene. I guess this is sorta goodbye."

"Kinda, but not really."

"Well at any rate, see you in the morning when I look in the mirror."

Celene chuckled and acknowledged the fox, the two of them laying down, all three sets of limbs hugging the two bulges in their body as they began to drift off. Shortly after, the four explorers followed as well.

---

When morning came, Celene woke up, finding that there was no longer two consciousnesses but just the one, combined of the two from the night before. A gentle sense of euphoria washed over hir, best described as that 'warm fuzzy feeling'. At first, seeing the sun already so far up upset hir, thinking Silas would scold hir for sleeping in. Then shi remembered. It made hir giggle feeling so strong a tie to the part of hir that was the archeologist, helping ease hir into the new mindset. The crew within hir two bellies was still asleep and still keeping hir bulging to the point of almost bursting. Shi giggled a little and climbed off the bed, walking towards the bathroom to get a look at hirself in the mirror. Hir long hair trailed down hir back in between those small wings that remained on hir upper half. The twin tails at back of hir looked like they might provide hir with hours of self entertainment. But all the kinky fun would have to wait. Shi had a temple to rebuild. The taur trotted out of the bathroom and into the hall, hir swollen parts bouncing lightly with hir steps. It was a short walk to Smokey's chambers again, and after a firm knock, shi was admitted. Inside stood the blue dragon who had met with hir friends yesterday, talking with tigress in a cute and tight-fitting security uniform, showing off hir curves up top and down below.

"Well her little tent-cabin-thing is still down in the garden. Has anyone gone inside to see if she's there?" There was concern in the Innkeeper's voice.

The feline sighed a bit, responding with an unpleasant notion, "Sir, the last time someone went in to check on her, they were in the infirmary for a week."

The dragon nodded and sighed a little, "Well just keep looking for her Jessie. It's been almost two months since Ivory's vanished and I'm more than a little concerned. Shayna hasn't seen her in quite a while either."

The tigress nodded and turned to leave, letting the dragon turn his attention to the rather stuffed vixen-taur.

"Well, well, well. I can't say I've seen you here before. Can I help you miss?" He smiled good-naturedly, trying his best to maintain an air of the hospitality professional.

"You sure can! The name's Celene, Celene Helmane, and you had brought in a team to unearth a temple discovered on your property."

"Yes, that's right. They spent the night here after one of their members took a bit of a spill and was brought here for treatment."

Celene grinned, "Shi's doin' just fine, as you can see, shi's got all hir mobility back." To demonstrate, shi turned around in a circle rather swiftly, winking at hir host.

Smokey chuckled and extended a hand, "I thought your name was Emily."

The taur took his hand and shook it firmly, "It was, but I've been through some changes. I merged with the demoness that used to own that temple. Now we're one and the same. I was wondering if you'd let me restore my home."

The dragon blinked a little hearing the story but nodded, "Oh certainly. I had planned on restoring it anyway. Is the rest of your team ready to go?"

Celene gave hir upper belly a light slap and stroked it lovingly.

"They're all still asleep but that shouldn't stop the two of us, and whoever else you wanna take, from opening it up and getting to work."

"Alright, sounds fair."

In a matter of hours, a team was assembled for the task and the group headed out to the buried entrance, opening it easily enough with the taur's help. Shi strolled right on in as if no time at all had passed, detailing some of the more interesting features. There was a rather large degree of nostalgia to overcome, but after having experienced a good portion of the Inn, shi began to see the potential for this place. A proposal was offered and the dragon seemed to delight at the notion. They would turn the temple into an annex of the Inn, using it for additional guest rooms, among other things. Celene would manage that portion, after a bit of training in the field of business and hotel operations. Smokey was more than happy to coach hir through it. Initial preparations for the work went easily enough, lighting the area to make it easier on the workers while Celene strolled about, smiling over fond memories of hir life here and grinning over what the future had in store, for hir, hir four friends, the gentlemanly and generous blue dragon, and his Inn. At least this time, no soldiers of hell would come looking for hir.

"So how long will it be before the staff quarters are finished?" The mostly-vixen sat on hir haunches behind the blue dragon as he read the blueprints. Shi was still nicely bloated, not having wanted to let everyone out in favor of staying nicely fed. And of course, the team didn't seem to mind, especially Silas.

Smokey adjusted his glasses, peering over the image before him, "I'd say another week or two. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Shi grinned broadly, "I hafta let these folks out at some point, and I'd like for them to have someplace to stay, and then there's the population of the village that used to be around the temple to consider. I was thinking we could use them as staff for the temple. Of course... they need ta have a place ta rest their heads... other than my innards."

"That's not a bad idea. We'll try to make sure they're usable before the end of the month."

Celene purred softly as shi ran a hand across hir stomach, feeling Silas twitching and even hearing him moan softly in a gleeful little squeak.

"No rush."