Dust and Echoes - Part VIII

Story by OttersGonnaOtt on SoFurry

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#46 of Entropy Series

The gang treads some familiar water while a surprise visitor watches. Later Ilaria and Robyn discover just how deep their bond goes.

This iteration of Entropy took a while! I'm sorry guys, but the holidays in addition to sending my laptop in for an RMA sort of made my posting schedule fly out the window. Everything's more or less back to normal now though, and I'll be working a steady job starting next week so I should be able to plan a proper writing schedule as well. And for those wondering, I managed to get my preferred job, which pays well ad has regular hours! That's just good for everyone involved. :3

This chapter is a tad longer (about ten-thousand words) but contains a ~lot~ of critical story content for Dust and Echoes. It's also rated Extreme due to certain violent moments involved. I round my ratings up just to be cautious, but hopefully that choice won't block too many furs from spotting this new chapter.

As always, this story contains adult content and explicit sexual imagery. Additionally, this chapter contains harsh violence or rough sexual encounters of a more graphic nature. If you aren't allowed or don't wish to view such material, please stop reading immediately. To all the rest, enjoy! Comments and critiques are welcome and encouraged.


"Mmmrrr..." In the dark of her bedroom, Ilaria groaned into Robyn's fluffy tail as she laid atop her from behind. "Damn, Pillow. You've got some enthusiasm all of a sudden."

Robyn cooed back, "Well my radiant wife ~did~ just work her bum off so I wouldn't need to skip town. Excuse me if I'm giddy about it."

Ari held her wife tightly by the hips and fell to her side, waiting until they were both more comfortable to start sliding her manhood from her squirrel's slick warmth. "I'd do anything for you, Pillow. I love you."

Robyn spun around, scooted up higher in the bed, and gave her mate a long, tender kiss. "Well you're perfect for that, love. Plus, you earned me a fancy new toy to muck with. Least I can do is offer my little fanny in return."

"Well I hope you're ready for it to get a lot bigger, hon. At the rate you're going, you'll be popping those buns out your oven pretty soon here." Ari gave her wife another quick kiss and rubbed her literally glowing belly before reaching over for a wireless phone. "In fact, might be a good idea to go bug Ellie about it. We should really sit down and figure out an estimated delivery date alrea--"

"Rise and shine, ladies!" Without any notice Carbon opened the sliding door to the girls' bedroom and tapped the light switch. "We've got a special... day..."

Ilaria blinked back at Carbon a few times before reaching for the covers and shrouding her and her wife's nude forms. " Carbon! Damnit! You could at least knock or something!"

"Oh!... S-Sorry! I'll just--"

Robyn sat up without concern for her exposed chest, only covering herself once Ari shot her a concerned look. "It's fine, mate. The buzzer's broken on the door, so it's not your fault."

"Shit, you could have told me that before we started... you know..."

Robby giggled to herself a moment and then gave Carbon her full attention. "No point fussin' over it now. So whats floatin' along now, Carbon?"

"Oh..." The hybrid took a second to remember why she was even there. "Your pet project gets to see some use today. We're going to make some oxydium, and with a little luck we'll have an audience to watch us do it."

Ilaria sat up now, hunching forward so she didn't raise the sheets over her smaller partner's head. "What kind of audience? And who would care out here anyway?"

"Well that's... complicated. I spread some rumors online about our little project that only the right people would understand." Carbon tapped the lights again and the room slowly darkened. "I'll give you two some more time to get ready. Besides, gotta keep an eye out for potential guests. Sadly I think Cid's guys might miss them."

"Sure. We'll be out after a quick shower." Ari reached over the side of the bed and grabbed her leg. "Wait, where are we even trying this? I thought I told you we needed a huge chemical laser."

"I paid to have the one in Wildebrooke brought out here for a week. Part of my little invitation." Carbon nodded to the girls as she found the controls for the bulkhead door. "Cargo Platform C-4. And take your time, ladies. We're still hooking things up."

"Right. We'll be up soon, mate."

Carbon shut the door to the captain's quarters and found his way back to one of the main exterior hallways. "Of ~course~ they'd pick the best room on the ship."

"Hey, you're not exactly living in poverty either." Evelyn faded into place next to her host, walking along side her. "At least they seem happy where they are."

"Frisky's more like it." Carbon came to the airlock and hopped inside, her glowing paw triggering the still-broken air cycler so the exterior hatch would open. "I can't blame them with those kids on the way. One would need enough extra loving already, but twins must be driving Robyn nuts."

"Well they're not exactly standard, are they?" Eve slipped out the airlock once it quickly cycled and walked backwards to the elevator, using Carbons eyesight to step over and around various obstacles. "Did I ever mention twins are not a part of Yangurran physiology? I mean, they're not Yangurran but... somehow certain traits got transferred via those fii in Ilaria's blood."

"Yeah... I didn't expect the family genes to be contractible." Carbon hopped in the elevator and swiped her paw over the controls, aiming for the other living quarters. "Let's just hope it's limited to transferred fii."

"And what if there's more to it? You've seen how much they've bonded with their new hosts."

"All I can figure is that they were unprogrammed yet somehow had power. A bit of fresh genes for code and well..." The elevator slowed to a stop and the duo quickly exited, heading for the larger rooms on the level. "I'm glad they found a solution to the bonding, though. Let's just hope the kids don't require such... crude solutions as well."

"Agreed there." Eve stopped by one of the rooms, reminding Carbon where the remainder of the subject matter resided. "You're not thinking straight today, Carbon. The boys are in here. Remember?"

"Ah..." Carbon stopped and held out a package in her paw, regretting the thoughts that came with it. "Sorry. I think... you know why I'm a bit lost today?"

Eve rolled her eyes and tapped the package. "It's been half a century, Carbon. You're allowed to look around by now, you know."

"I know... I just don't like to think about it." Knowing full well how_these_ doors operated, Carbon tapped a doorbell button on a nearby panel. "You think he'll want to do this for me?"

"Well he ~does~ study it in college. Sure. Why not?"

The door opened, but rather than Adrian or Iolvin a very naked Zoë faced the Major. "Oh. Morning, Fibre." She wedged herself in the gap of the door and tried to block the hybrid's view. "Can I take a message or something? His lordship is... busy."

"Busy?" Carbon barely heard a moan through the crack in the door and shook her head. "Oh, ~that~ kind of busy. Are you... handling that alright? Two men being together?"

"I'm... I like what mi'lord likes."

Carbon chuckled and offered the human the package. "I know it's different, but you're a tough girl. Here, give this to Yoyo when he's finished and--"

The door pulled open, revealing most of Iolvin except for his boxer-brief clad crotch. "Sorry, Fibre. If I'd known it was you I'd have--"

Carbon waved her free paw and stopped the otter. "Nah, you were having a good time in your odd hours. Don't let me stop you."

"Yeah, but Lulu sort of... warned me. Platform C-4 was it?"

"Oh. I forgot you could do that." Carbon remembered the package in his paw and offered it to the proper recipient. "But I still wanted to give you this. If we're going to do this thing today, I want documented evidence it happened."

Yoyo cocked his head to the side as he took the small bag, finding it surprisingly heavy. "You got me something?" He pulled out a compact box and scrutinized the text label on the side. "A Maxim M8i? You got me a camera?"

"I figured you'd appreciate it, being away from your normal one." Carbon stepped back when she noticed Dee peeking out from the dark of the room. "You've got some decent skills for combat, but something tells me adding a camera to your gear could serve us as well. Besides, this thing takes video and I don't know how any of the settings."

"Ah, so ~that's~ it." Yoyo chuckled as he placed the box down on a table near the door. "Well I'd be happy to do this for you, Fibre. To be honest, I've been dying to pick up a camera ag--Uh... Fibre? You okay?"

Carbon felt a tear pool into the rim of her mask and immediately started wiping her eyes. "I'm fine. I just... I need some air."

"You sure you don't want to talk about it? Fibre?" Before Yoyo could convince the hybrid she'd already started jogging back for the elevator. "The hell was that about? She looked... sad."

Zoë shook her head and threw up her arms. "I've never seen her cry before."

Yoyo sighed deeply as he took the camera to the bed to open it, making sure to give Zoë a rub on the top of her head along the way. "We'll cheer her up later, kiddo. We could all use a shower though. Could you go start the water so it's warm for us?"

"Already on it, honey." Dee slipped his nude self out from the bathroom and eyed the box in his mate's paws. "Oh, you get a gift?"

Yoyo tossed the box on the bed and hurried into the bathroom, kissing Dee's neck on the way. "I've got the ~best~ gift right here."

"Ooh!"

Zoë looked to the camera and then slowly walked towards the bathroom so she wouldn't lose sight of her patron. "Damnit, not again."

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"Bring that mirror half a degree clockwise." Robyn checked a portable control unit for the laser while one of its technicians tweaked the alignment of the reflectors and lenses. "That's brilliant, mate. Spot on."

Ilaria checked the calibration screen in passing. "That's looking just about done. Think we'll have enough time to do a test run first?"

"Ah... potentially. We'd be getting by on the fur of our pelts though." The squirrel moved on to the next part and squinted at the small screen. "Looks like... three and a half degrees counter-clockwise on that next one, Joe."

"Well keep up the good work, hon." Ari nodded and gave her wife a pat on her head before walking over to the others. "Hey, how's this looking?"

"We could use another set of paws, but this stuff's too heavy for you." Iolvin lugged over a crate of chemicals and set it next to a nearly-complete diamond press. "We'll have it ready soon though, sis. Might want to let Fibre know that."

"You still haven't explained that nickname yet..." Ari gave an acknowledging nod and spun around to head for where the Major was watching over everything. "Thank you for doing the heavy lifting though, lil' bro. I hate to admit it, but I'm still getting used to this new leg of mine."

"You'll get there eventually. I'll help you out if you can think of some training we could do."

"Sure, I'd like that." The otter climbed a short set of stairs up to a gantry system and rested against the railing at the top, Carbon heading over so she could stay at rest. "Things are about ready, Carbon. We might even have time for a test batch before we do the full run."

"Hmm... No, we should just try for it all at once. The point isn't actually to make the oxydium itself, but to show that we ~know~ how to do it." Cid started waving to Carbon from the center of the gantry walkway and she walked back to her old spot. "I'd rather the breakthrough attempt be the largest; it looks better on camera. Besides, I can get more supplies for another run by tomorrow."

"All, uh... Alright. A single, potentially failing run it is then."

Carbon turned to Cid when she finally reached her and promptly took a fist to her shoulder. "Ouch. What's that for?"

"For thinking we couldn't catch a dweeb like this:" Cid pulled out her video monitor and switched it to one of her men's cameras, revealing a distinctly smooth, green skinned person hiding beneath a hoodie. "I don't hire your average goons, you know. Besides, it's not too hard to keep an eye out for ~plant people~."

"Well shit... I didn't think they'd infiltrate the station ~that~ way. I was thinking via engineering or industrial routes, not civilian ones." Carbon lightly bonked her temple with a closed fist, giving Evelyn the hint that she needed her visual range bracketed for the screen. "So has he said anything yet? What about weapons?"

"He had some sort of pistol and knife as far as we could tell. Might let you identify them properly before we make that call." Cid loosened up as she handed over the monitor. "He's a statue though. Not a peep since we detained him."

"Well if he's armed he was probably sent to steal our designs and then torch the place." Carbon gave the Yangurran a better inspection now that her eyes were re-tuned, her eyebrows furling in curiosity. "The girls wanted some more time for a small test, and maybe that might work if our guest is already detained. I want to see him."

"Sure thing. I brought an extra team just for this, so perimeter security should remain tight." Cid pointed down to the a nearby freight elevator. "If you like the ~hell~evators, we could use that to go right to him. He's in those prison cells you built last year."

Carbon took a look at the industrial, undamped lift and shrugged her shoulders, walking over to it like it was nothing. "What, that old thing? It's like an amusement park ride. It'll be ~fun~."

"Those big ones just always feel like they're going to shake apart or crash and burn." Cid huffed a sigh as she followed the hybrid past the elevator's gate. "You could easily upgrade these things, you know."

Carbon grinned sheepishly as she closed the gate and tapped the destination. "Oh, I know." The elevator's locking clamps popped open and the whole carriage fell entirely under the force of gravity. Then the gauss propulsion system actually accelerated the fall further into a crazed plummet, only to reverse the propulsion and slow the ride to a hard stop. "Ha! Still my favorite thing to on this tower!"

Cid hurried the gate open and clambered out the death machine as quickly as she could manage. "Well some of us don't like relying on magnets alone to keep us alive."

"It's not the safest system. I'll give you that." The hybrid shut the gate again as she exited the car then headed to the containment cells down the hall. "Did I ever mention that particular elevator ate Ilaria's leg? Poor girl was lucky to be alive after that stunt."

"You mean that's how she lost her leg? Fuck... I'm taking the passenger elevator next time."

"Oh, no. She was riding ~outside~ the car when it happened, and it was only a prosthetic she lost. Took a few days to fix the alignment ring that took the brunt of the damage, too." Carbon opened a hatch door to the cell block and stepped inside with a big grin. "So what do we have here? A visitor with an expired visa? Little boy that lost his mommy?"

"Chie'pa..." spat the prisoner.

Carbon didn't need to hear the translation from Eve to understand that word. "Kiss your mother with that mouth?" She walked towards the cell in the back of the room and grabbed the bars. "Speaking of, let me see that mask. If it's like I remember you've got to be running a bit low by now."

"I don't need your help, hybrid."

The Yangurran shifted in place, and then suddenly his tendrils shot out to strike said hybrid. "Nope!" Carbon's own vines flew out and tied around the prisoner's to lock them in place. "Had a feeling you'd try that. I'm a little more versed in your kind than you'd think."

"Release me, hybrid!" The plant-kin managed to break free, retracting his drooling stingers before hiding his queoo in his hoodie again. "If you know me so well, you'd know to let me go free."

"That's not how this works, buddy. Let me see the mask, then tell me your name." Carbon reached out, nodding when the mask was removed and placed in her paw. "Thanks."

"Centra. I am Centra of Mor."

Carbon looked at the small atmosphere generator on the back of the mask and then pulled out a small cartridge, reaching in her own pocket for a replacement she'd prepared earlier. "That's a strong name, Centra. Sorry I don't recognize your family name though." She swapped the cartridge and then gave back the breathing unit so the alien could respond further. "So before you shout about potential poison and bad treatment, let me clarify things. You're only locked up because you were sneaking around. If you're willing to play nice for a while, I'd like you to join us while we do our experiment."

"You... planned this, didn't you?"

"Yep. I know where you guys check for information." Carbon took a few steps backward before turning to head for the exit. "I wanted to give your group another choice besides terrorism. If this works, peace could be on the table and all that it would take is a messenger." She spun around to look at Centra's face while he answered. "That sound like something you can do?"

"Peace? You think I'd believe we could be at peace?" Centra sat back against the furthest wall and grumbled something to his own invisible friend. "What do you suddenly possess that could enable such a bold claim?"

"If all goes as planned," cooed Carbon as she continued out the door, "we'll be able to make all the æti we'd ever require. I assume that's the real reason you're here fighting, underneath all that religious crap?"

"...No. We fight for the goddess, infidel." Before Carbon left the room, Centra added what the hybrid desired. "But a replenishable source of æti would make a formidable offering to right your wronged hearts. I wish to observe this... ritual."

"Good to hear, Centra. Hold strong for another hour or so while we prepare and then we'll guide you up to the test area. You'll be free to go after that, though I'd personally request you leave the station quickly since your presence could stir up emotions." Carbon tugged on Cid's shirt and she waved to the guards, telling them to seal the room. "See? Everything's going to plan."

"Sounds like a bitter son of a bitch, though." Cid looked down to the giggling response from her friend and shook her head. "Though I suppose a little salt doesn't hurt anyone. You put up with me when I'm cranky, after all."

"Put up with it? I happen to like the way it flavors your personality, actually." One of Carbon's tendrils slithered up the back of Cid's suit jacket playfully. "So wha'dya think? I'm thinking... maybe let these girls breathe for once."

"Our guest doesn't exactly help hide them, does he?" That tendril was joined by another that went south, playing with the base of Cid's tail. "And... there's a few benefits I guess."

"Especially since we've got about an hour to waste. I could use a good time after fussing with those scientists." The third tendril snaked even further, hooking up between the meerkat's thighs. "Just one quick elevator ride to my suite..."

Sydney tried to ignore the more direct stimulation, but her face still started to flush beneath her fur. "Sure, but I'm taking the lead this time... if we even survive the ride, that is."

Carbon chuckled and tugged on Cid's arm so they'd take another route. "Lucky for you, the _ hell evator_ you love so much doesn't connect to my hub."

Cid only snickered, "Then by all means..." as she followed the hybrid's lead with a smile.

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Ilaria checked off the last main item from her build list as she verified the last part was aligned and connected properly. "You guys ready?"

"Our guest is on his way." Carbon hopped down into the machinery with Ari and took a look at the list herself. "We're good otherwise, I'd say. So should we take any other precautions?"

"Well we couldn't do a test after all, but..." Ari stared at the tendrils floating around behind the hybrid until she forced out an answer. "We, uh... We just need some special goggles. There's a lot of UV shot out of this reaction."

"Is it limited to just UV? I'd like to watch it, but the wider wavelengths sometimes don't play too well with my eyes."

"Uh..."

Ashe perked her ears over and forced her way into the conversation. "Nothing larger than about a hundred and sixty terahertz. It's mostly as wide as the IR from a remote control. It should start at about five and a half petahertz... which is about fifty-three nanometers..." It took the genius a few seconds to remember the references for the numbers, but she soon snapped upright with an answer to her own unasked question. "That's barely ionizing radiation, if that's what you're worried about. I'm ~blind~ and I'd still wear protection from that, though."

"Thanks, Ashe. Eve?"

The plant girl pursed her lips as she translated the numbers herself since she was used to working more in analog than exact measurements for such aspects of Carbon's senses. "Well... no that's just a widened Terran visible bracket, really. The ionization isn't an issue, and you need to reach microwaves on the infrared end of their vision before we can't see correctly."

"Ah, good. Eve says it'll be just fine." Carbon shot two tendrils up to the gantry overhead and used them to pull herself back to the observation platform. "Get your stuff ready, guys. We're losing light, so I'd like to get started as soon as... Oh, he's here."

Cid led the Yangurran up to the platform, keeping his hands in cuffs just to be safe. "Your guest of honor, Carbon. Any special precautions we should take?"

Carbon pointed to a pair of tinted goggles near Robyn and she tossed them up. "These are for you. And please, ditch the cuffs. Centra's an ambassador of sorts now, after all."

Cid grunted in disapproval, but did as requested. "He tries to use those tentacles though and I'm going for the taser."

"Thank the gods!" Adrian threw his paws up in relief at the mention of tentacles. "I was ~wondering~ if anyone would bring that up. They're... different, to say the least."

"Yes, I have 'tentacles'." Carbon wiggled one out in front of her for emphasis. "The rest of my kind have them too, three to be exact. And they're called 'queoo' to be precise. Try not to focus on them and make our guest uncomfortable."

Iolvin threw a set of goggles over Dee's eyes and then rested his arm around his shoulder. "I don't think Fibre's too worried about her dainty bits showing, so don't give her any reason to change that attitude."

Almost at the same time at least four other furs gasped, "_ Her _?"

"I wasn't being ~that~ open yet, Yoyo..." Carbon drooped her head for a moment and then addressed the elephant in the room. "Yes, I'm a woman right now. I can... sort of shift between that and a man. And no, that one's unique to me--as far as I know, anyway. Now can we focus?"

Ari returned to her notes for a few seconds, then flipped a master power switch and cleared the bay. "Well I don't think it should matter. All of us here are unique in some manner, so we don't have the right to act any differently."

"Well said." Robyn met her wife as she exited the laser's maintenance area. "Should I stay or hide for a paddle? Radiation sounds bad for the pups."

"It's not much worse than a day in the sun, and you're wearing clothes on top of that." Ari fixed her own goggles in place before helping Robyn with hers. "Just keep your eyes safe and everything should be fine. We've already done this, remember?"

"Show me this ritual already, hybrid," demanded the former prisoner as his wrists were freed.

Carbon huffed out a sigh at the Yangurran's lack of respect, but took the high road. "You can call me Carbon, Centra. And yes, we'll start momentarily."

Ari checked the relatively large payload of materials crammed into the massive diamond press they'd erected and then joined the others. "Everything looks secure and the power's up to spec. I think we're ready. Hear that, Ashe?"

"Got it, sis." The Arctic wolf tapped a few keystrokes on her laptop and the laser started to build a charge. "Everyone got their goggles on? I'd rather not be responsible for teaching ~someone else~ how to live without sight."

Yoyo helped Zoë figure out her own pair, then gave the signal. "Now we're good. All yours, pup."

"In that case... Electrochemical charge building..." Ashe's paws went into a frenzied blur over her keyboard as she micromanaged about two dozen hardware systems by herself. "Ready. Firing in three... two... one... mark."

The laser made a slight hum as it fired at maximum capacity. Pretty soon the invisible beam heated the diamond press a glaring white, the occasional flake of imperfect metal sizzling off the frame. Within a few seconds it became clear that the large batch of oxydium had formed, a thick beam of violet tracing back through the superheated column of the laser.

"And that should do it." Ashe tapped three keys and then quirked her head as she still heard the slight fizzle of the metal casing over the beeps in her headphones. "Uh... guys? There another way to shut this down? It's not responding."

"I'm guessing that's not good." Ari hopped down to yank one of the power circuits, but Prisma jumped in first to stop her. "What?"

"The circuit is fused inside, Auntie. You will shock yourself if--"

All of a sudden, the aperture exploded into a large spherical void of black haloed in brilliant ultraviolet. Ari fell backward as her leg suddenly lost all power, but pulled herself up to check on the others. "Ashe?! Prisma?! Say something!"

Prisma popped her head up from a gap in the machinery and then slowly stood, the lack of glow in her nanites proving she was struggling for power as well. "Ashe is inside it! Stay back, Auntie. I will save her."

The android trudged into the void, fading into a haze before disappearing completely. A minute flew by as everyone's hearts pounded pure adrenaline, but the whole room sighed in relief when the hazy outline of a fur carrying another came into view. Prisma pulled free of the void and placed Ashe down on the floor, but inexplicably turned back for another attempt. Another long minute later, she reemerged with yet another body, placing it down next to the first.

"I did not know which to grab," explained the android as she tended to both Ashe... and another seemingly-perfect replica as well.

"How can...?" Ilaria shut her mouth and stared as the laser finally had its power sapped from it, shutting down the entire experiment as well as the vortex it had created. "How can that happen again? We've got _another_Ashe now?"

Carbon swung down on her vines and grabbed the bowling-ballSized D20 of oxydium to heave it into a nearby container before it melted. "That's one hell of a side effect you've discovered, guys. Can you even explain it?"

"In time." Prisma allowed Ari to take over watching the two unconscious Ashes and quickly checked the nearby calibration sensors. "We may have recorded enough data to make a full analysis. Sister Sprite and I will start checking it immediately. This is a priority in case radiation levels were too strong for Ashe."

"Good. You two work on that as fast as you can. I've never seen this stuff explode that way before, and it certainly never made a rift between worlds." Carbon stepped back and got some space from the diamond press in case there was still a lingering danger. "For now, I need everyone else to stay clear of this thing. If it's still inactive in a few hours, we'll come to clean up."

Yoyo pulled Dee and Zoë back from the blast zone and shuffled them to the elevator. "You heard him, guys. Best get off this floor for now just to be safe."

"Yeah, and stay off the one under this too just to be sure." Carbon pulled herself up to the catwalk and faced Centra. "That didn't exactly go to plan, but we did create some æti. Believe me now?"

An unknown, feminine voice chuckled from above. "Well it ~was~ quite the impressive show."

"Who said that?" The hybrid looked all around her, eventually finding the slight heat signature of a humanoid hiding up in the rafters. "You're not good at hiding. Come down here."

"Who said I was hiding?" The figure revealed itself to be a Yangurran girl of approximately the same age as Carbon as she slowly lowered herself down with her tendrils. "Don't worry; I come mostly in peace."

"Mostly?"

"Well, with a warning or two as well." The girl reached a hand forward and grabbed one of Carbon's paws, sending her into a trance. «Ah, so much easier this way...»

Carbon blinked a few times as she adjusted to the mental linking of their two selves. «You're... Rose?...»

«Glad to see you're able to handle the Link, even if barely. Yes, that's my name.» Rose looked around until she noticed an oddly stiff and emotionless Evelyn standing behind Carbon. «Borne a female, huh? I'm interested in learning more about your ability to change, Carbon. But that's not for now.»

«What... do you want...?»

«I'll make this short and sweet.» The plant lady snapped her attention back to Carbon and sent her a packet of raw genetic memories to process later. «Go over that when you can. It's explaining what this assassin was originally doing here. Surprised me your men caught him, actually; he's pretty good at his trade.»

Carbon struggled to even stand at this point, the unusual paired control over both their bodies overwhelming her too quickly. «What was... his target?»

«Your scientists first, then you if possible.» Rose looked over to Centra and physically sighed when she realized she didn't have time to explain fully. «Not my favorite quarry. Warning number one though is to lock him back up, immediately. We can talk later about the rest, the traditional way if you'd like. Just make sure he's not going anywhere first and I'll visit you later. Deal?»

Carbon nodded and slipped out, «Yes. I'll do it.» She forced her paw away and the Link ended, giving a sense of time back to reality and revealing that oddly only a few seconds had passed. "How will I--?"

"I'll call you," Rose sheepishly giggled as she yanked back on her vines and out of sight.

Carbon watched as the girl darted away with practiced skill, perhaps even equivalent to Ilaria's own parkour abilities. "Well that was interesting... and informative. Cid?"

The meerkat eased up, having drawn her pistol in the commotion. "Yeah?"

"Take him back to the cell, as a precaution." Carbon turned to face Centra and made up an excuse he might not like. "It's for your own protection. I got the feeling that girl wanted to kill you, so I'd rather you stay safe until we find her again."

Centra grunted in dissatisfaction, but relented. "Fine. In the interest of my people, I will comply."

Cid tugged on the Yangurran and got him moving, leaving Carbon to look down at Elliot and the girls below. "What the hell did we just walk into, Eve?"

The plant girl loosened up from her statuesque stance and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm not sure what, but that girl knows more than she's letting on. We need to see what she's got to offer us, Carbon. I know you're not used to it, but Link with her again if you can."

Carbon groaned at the thought of getting a Link-induced headache in addition to the mess they'd already caused. "Hell of a day, Eve. Hell of a day."

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"Damn. Of ~course~ my games don't work." Punk groaned as she shook away the holographic interface of her wristbands. "Well since that isn't an option... How long do you think we'll have to keep waiting?"

Elliot walked over and checked a bag of saline dripping into one of the unconscious Ashes. "Well I can't account for interdimensional, time-traveling crap but I'd say not much longer. Neither of them was injured."

"Well it wasn't pleasant when ~I~ went through. There was an explosion involved in my case, though."

"True, true." Ellie moved over to the other Ashe and checked her fluids as well, but paused when he came close to the wolf's face. "But there was a lot of crap coming out of that... portal, or whatever. Maybe we should clean these two up. My white beauty's all covered in black now."

Punk stood and nudged up next to Ellie so she could give the other Ashe a better inspection. "They do look pretty pathetic. I'm not sure how much we can do sans showers though." She paused after pulling some hair from her clone's face, her own sleeping visage drawing a burning question to the surface. "Elliot... Do you think I'm pretty too? I mean, I know I'm just like your Ashe, but..."

The otter turned around and stared at Punk a moment in silence until she faced back as well. "I don't... Uh... Of course I find you attractive; how can I not? But... I already have my Ashe..."

"I know that. I just... I can't help being attracted to you too. I'm in love with your counterpart as well, and you act almost exactly the same as him." Punk went back to her patient and brushed her cheek fur clean of some soot. "I can't be selfish and ask you to choose me over your Ashe, but... I just wanted... to, uh..." Punk's paw slid down to the sleeping wolf's chest to verify something before she looked back to Ellie. "Okay, forget that for now. This isn't right."

"Punk... Ashe... I wouldn't mind being close to you as well. We'd have to see how my Ashe reacts to that first, but--"

"No, not that!" Punk rolled her eyes as a blush rushed to her cheeks, then stepped aside with her paw pointing to a bulge in her Ashe's pants. "This one's... Uh, she's a ~he~."

"What? That can't be... Oh." Ellie performed the same check as Punk and felt for breasts, finding nothing beneath the wolf's baggy shirt. "Oh... At least we know which one's ours now, yes yes."

"How's that even possible?"

"Well, you can see while my Ashe is blind. Your world's quite different too." Ellie pulled the male's shirt down tight and let him be for the moment. "I guess he's from one that's even more different than ours. He's wearing the same clothes as our Ashe though. Go figure."

"Err...?" The Arctic wolf under inspection stirred, his empty eyes fluttering open uselessly as his paws started reaching about. "Hello? I'm... I'm not carrying anything valuable..."

"Say what?" Elliot checked a nearby EKG readout as the patient's pulse spiked, but diverted his attention back once it settled down. "We're not here to rob your or anything. I'm a doctor, and you're doing just fine."

"But I can't afford a doctor. You're not going to charge me anyway, are you?"

Ellie huffed out a sigh and pushed lightly on the wolf's chest so he'd lay back. "Slow down there, pretty boy. It's all free of charge, especially since we're sort of the ones that caused that accident in the first place." He clamped the saline drip now that the wolf was awake, then leaned over to remove the IV needle carefully. "Hold still for a second, Ashe. I'm removing a needle from your arm."

"Ashe? You hear about me somewhere?" The boy sat upright, but made sure to keep his arm still as instructed. "How'd you know my name is Ashen?"

Punk quirked her head to the side a tad as she finally broke her observational silence. "Ashe_ n _, huh? I guess that's more fitting for a guy."

"Well don't get used to it, missy. Call me Doctor Holmwilt." Once the needle was free and clear Ashen clamped his free paw over his pricked wrist. "So who are you two? Or are there others in the room as well?"

"Nope, just us." Elliot smiled as he wedged a cotton ball under the wolf's paw to help with the minor bleeding. "I'm Doctor Lontra and this here is... Well, we call her Punk for lack of a better name."

"Yeah, that's a tough one to explain. The two of us are--" Punk halted her words as the otter made a few negative gestures, getting the hint that it wasn't time for an information overload on the poor guy. "Well, we'll have a nice talk about that later. So, you're a bit young for a doctor. What's your field of study?"

"Applied energistics. I earned my doctorate two years ago and have been running a power tether ever since."

"Energistics... You don't say..." Ellie shook his head and looked over to his own Ashe, still peacefully asleep in her patient's bed. "I guess that explains what might have happened. You weren't running some sort of experiment before you blacked out, were you?"

"As a matter of fact, we were trying a fuel synthesis process for a new element. There seemed to be some sort of gravimetric spike though and... well..."

The other two looked right at each other in agreement, with Elliot backing away to make the call. "I'll get the Major; she'll want to hear this. You two just... be yourselves a while."

Ashen sat back in his bed and looked generally towards his duplicate's direction. "What's ~that~ supposed to mean?"

"Oh, he just thinks we... might have a lot in common."

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"Ready for this, love?"

Ilaria squirmed on her bed as she adjusted to having her paws tied behind over her head. "You know I'm all for a 'celebration', Pillow but, uh... shouldn't we have some kind of safeword first?"

"Pfft..." Robyn took another piece of silk cloth and readied it as a blindfold. "As if I'd hurt you, Ottah. I'm not planning on anything rough, in any case. Just helping ya' ~tread new water~."

"Is that a ~cheesy pun~ I hear?" Ari giggled as the blindfold went over her eyes. "Seriously, you're not doing anything too harsh? I'm not entirely sure about this sort of thing."

"I just want you focusing on the pleasure, Ottah. If you're too uncomfortable just say so and we'll stop. I'll pull away at the slightest peep." A pair of headphones loosely worked over Ari's head, but sat just off her ears. "We deserve some fun after all the hard work we've been pulling. You steady, love?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Just remember to start slow, alright?"

The headphones went into place, but Robyn held off on activating their noise canceling function for a moment. "Enjoy yourself, my love."

Ilaria smiled as stray paws found a home on her scantily-clad breasts, thumbs hooking over the tops of her bra to roll circles around her nipples. Soon the bra proved a hindrance, the clasp in the back quickly losing purchase and allowing the whole garment to be raised around Ari's arms. Robyn's muzzle quickly filled the gap her paw once held, her lips puckering around the freed nipple and encompassing it in massaging warmth.

Ari loosened up a bit as she basked in the attention to her chest, her body slumping into a relatively comfortable position on its own considering her arms were tied to the bedposts. As soon as she settled down, Robyn removed herself from her wife's chest and slowly moved down lower, leaving a trail of wet licks and kisses down her tummy. Eventually she reached her primary goal, giving a quick kiss just north of Ari's metallic stud of a love button and being careful not to push it quite yet.

Ilaria groaned when all the attention suddenly ceased, not sure if her wife was teasing her or getting ready for something more fun. Soon she felt her artificial leg receiving a bit of tinkering until it detached, likely to make a bit more room for the squirrel to work her magic. Moments later Ari's panties were pulled down her remaining leg to rest on her calf. A teasing lap of Robyn's tongue ran up Ari's drooling slit, rasped over her 'clit', and ended its journey by flicking off the tip of her cock. The cool air sent a delightful chill up Ilaria's spine and down her tail, only to be replaced by warmth as Robyn repeated her lick in reverse. She was ~definitely~ in a teasing mood tonight and the sensory deprivation only made it all the better.

Robyn glided her tongue back up once more, this time lingering in slow circles around Ilaria's tip. The squirrel gave it a few soft kisses, then slowly enveloped a generous amount of Ari's length with her hot muzzle. Ari pulled against her restraints, naturally wanting to rest her paws on the back of her wife's head, but settled with curling her webbed toes in time with each wet suck of that muzzle. A paw joined in on the exposed portion of her manhood, with the other paw playing and prodding into Ari's wet folds below. Then, without any reasoning at all, Robyn pulled back and ceased all contact.

"Mmm... Damn, you're a tease tonight." Ilaria tried her best not to laugh, knowing her voice must have sounded awkward with the headphones halting her sense of self-toning. However nothing was happening, giving the otter reason to press the point. "Everything okay, Pillow? I'm still raring to go, so don't hold back on my behalf." There was still no response, only a quiet hiss from the headphones and a slight shift in weight on the bed. "Robby? Now you're just fucking with me, aren't you? Whatever you're planning, just do it already. I'm so fucking ~horny~, hon."

Another shift on the bed signaled Ari was about to get her nagging wish. What she felt next surprised her however, a fleshy and semi-warm dildo pressing barely into her folds. Perhaps Robyn was simply away to warm up a gel strap-on for a bit of extra dominance? A good dicking sounded just right, no matter the recipient. Ilaria eased up and let the phallus worm inside her slowly with a groan. Then the dildo jerked forward, sliding forward with a hint of pain due to it's girth and... odd ridged texture. A sudden push right against Ari's shallow cervix only aggravated her discomfort.

"Ah!... Robyn, that's too rough."

Nothing. The dildo simply answered by trying even harder to breach the otter's innermost sanctum.

"Gah! Fuck, Robby!" That thick length yanked out nearly all the way and then slammed back hard, unmistakably working to cause Ari pain and potential harm if she hadn't clamped down for dear life to prevent a breach of her womb. "Robyn!? Please, stop!"

Suddenly the headphones were ripped off Ilaria's head so she could receive some very unexpected orders. "Just shut your fucking muzzle already, ya' freak bitch. Wouldn't want me to hurt your little rodent friend any more, would ya'?"

Ari jerked against her restraints and kicked her one good leg at the familiar, sleazy hiss of the intruding fluff drake. "What did you do!? Don't you_dare_ touch a hair on her pelt, asshole!"

A large paw slammed against Ari's jaw and shook the words right out her mouth. "Don't tell me what to do, bitch. No need to worry though; I don't like my fucks too smacked up." Vorak slammed home again, using the distracting slap as a gap in Ari's defenses and ripping through to his goal. "Ah, fuck yeah! You're a tight one, ain't ya'? Can't work that knot, but ~damn~ if your baby maker ain't tight enough to do the job."

Ilaria's eyes shot open as Vorak rammed into the back of her tiny womb, grimacing in burning pain as he futilely attempted to wedge his knot inside her as well. "Oh _ gods _! Out! Get the fuck out!"

"What's that? It's not enough? Yeah, I agree." Vorak reached down to his second cock, pulled himself nearly free of his other, and tried to wedge both girthy rods into Ari's already-stuffed, petite pussy. "Aw, don't seem to fit. Always loved how hard and tight you water rats are, but ~damn~. This is gonna hurt like hell, babe."

Ari managed to regain what control she still had over herself for a moment, but tossed it in the trash when both of the drake's cocks stretched her beyond her limits and slid inside with a searing tear of her slit. " Fuck! Just...! Fuck, take it easy! I'll... I'll let you fuck me, just not like this! You'll fucking kill me."

"Nah, don't think so. The Major thinks he'll replace me with you two, so the least you can do to equal up is take a cock or two. Gotta show you who's the real pack leader." Vorak took a while to get there, but soon he was wedged tightly against his victim's battered cervix and unable to easily move in either direction. "Ah, fuck. Well I guess you get your wish, cunt. Not gonna work, so we're switching to something easier."

Ari grunted as that plug of cock harshly yanked free, some pre drooling behind just seconds too late to do its job and ease the friction. "Oh, fuck... Just... do it and get the fuck out. Leave Robyn out of this."

Vorak grinned as he turned his hips and lined up one of his lengths with the otter's ass, the other staying put. "Hmm... Nah, I'll just save her for last now. If it helps your nerves any I'm a bit easier after I battered a few chicks already." Without even the courtesy of a warning, the drake slammed both his cocks in to the knots. "Ooh, that's the ticket. Gonna enjoy this."

Ilaria clamped down both her holes tight in response to the raw pain shooting through her virgin ass, but all that did was make the discomfort worse when Vorak started thrusting rapidly. "Shit! I didn't mean that. Fucking hell! Ouch!" Once again, Vorak started pressing hard and deep enough to penetrate Ari's womb. "F-Fuck... Just g-get it over-r with and l-leave... Pl-lease..."

"Ah, shut your damn yap." Vorak took a moment to remove the blindfold from Ari's eyes and roll it into a gag, not once losing pace on his bumping and grinding. "So much fuckin' better. You bitches in heat are all better quiet and wet..." He looked down at their juncture to the small amount of blood involved and just shrugged his shoulders while Ari's eyes shot wide. "Eh, one kind o' wet's same as another."

Ilaria grunted into her gag as the drake pummeled into her injured depths. By now the sting was numbing away and... she was starting to feel a hint of pleasure. Was she really going into heat again for the month? If so, her body was only working against her, some added lubrication making at least one of her passages an easier ride. Vorak's nostrils flared and he started throwing his entire weight into the poor otter, her lack of a leg giving him all the room he needed to really grind his knots down. Then one of them broke through, squelching into Ari's orchid and holding fast while the drake started to blast inside her womb. Not wanting to miss out on anything, the other cock followed suit and desperately ground half of its bulb into Ari's ass to lock in all of his vile load.

Vorak grunted as he blew his loads deep into his helpless victim. "Fu~uck that's the shit! Take it, bitch!" The pressure inside Ari as both knots ground against each other only pressed against her prostate in all the right ways, and soon she was joining the drake in climax with tears seeping from her eyes. "Ah, fuck! Guess I should've expected that mess... So it was good for you anyway? Who's your stud? I'm your stud, bitch."

Ari finally managed to work the gag out her muzzle and barely had the breath to protest. "P-Please... just leave it a-at that..."

"Hmm... Maybe if you plug that muzzle with something proper." Vorak yanked his knots free without even the courtesy of a warning and brought his parallel cocks up to Ari's lips. "Clean 'em up, bitch, and I might forget about fucking your heated snatch again."

Ilaria gave one of those lengths a tentative lick, but reeled back at the mixed tastes of foreign cum and her glowing blood. "I... I can't..."

"The fuck you can't." Vorak put a large paw on the back of Ari's head and slammed one of his cocks down her throat. He game her a few good thrusts and then swapped cocks, repeating the treatment until his hemipenes were more or less clean. "See, bitch? Every girl in heat can treat a cock right like she should."

Ari hacked and coughed as she recovered from the sudden intrusion, her heritage thankfully allowing her to at least have held her breath to ease her worries. "Great... You happy now? You... f-fucked a bitch in heat. Now c-can you just leave?"

Vorak stretched his arms a bit and looked over to Robyn's unconscious body on the side of the bed. "You know, I've heard preggers bitches are ~way~ looser than even you heated chicks."

"You wouldn't dare!"

That blindfold quickly found its way back into Ari's muzzle before Vorak moved over to play with Robyn's large tits. "Damn, was she this stacked before the kids? Maybe I should fuck ~you~ some more until I give your tiny tits a bump, too." He reached down to the rodent's panties and ripped them clean off with his claws, lining up his hips with hers soon thereafter. "Wanna bet I can get both these bastards in that baby maker of hers? Wonder if the kids'll mind sharing?"

A rage burned in Ilaria's glowing eyes as she practically chewed through her gag. She protested by kicking and flinging herself against her bonds, but simply couldn't reach her wife to help. Then she snapped out of her trance and focused on her nanites in desperation, making a large tendril out of her back to pull the fluff drake off of the hopeful mother before he injured those pups.

"About time." Vorak pulled a combat knife from a boot sheathe and pressed it to the defenseless squirrel's neck. "Figured you'd try something like that sooner or later. Trust me though, I'm going to fuck this cunt and I'm not too particular if it's attached to someone alive or dead at this point."

Ilaria chewed the gag down in size and spat it out. "No! You'll hurt the kids!" She spread her thighs and presented both her holes to the reptile, even going to far as to curl the tendril and slowly fuck herself with it to entice him further. "I'll... I'll let you fuck me all you like... whenever you like... and I won't tell the others. You can even... kill me if you get off on that shit. Just leave those poor whelps alone."

"Ha, I was gonna kill you anyway! I just wanted you to see this first!" Vorak started pressing both his half-flaccid cocks into the squirrel, her more apt folds taking half of his pliable girths without any lasting damage if anything. "Oh, yeah. ~Much~ easier. Fuck the kids, I think I'll nut this bitch a ~couple~ times."

"N-... N- No!..."

"Do I gotta plug that muzzle again, bitch? Don't make me--"

Out of the other side of the room, a sudden flood of light prefaced something_incredibly_ heavy hurling into Vorak's side and sending him onto the floor. "Get away from her, you bitch!"

Trembling as her heart nearly exploded, Ilaria looked over to find Ademeus stomping from the doorway and over the crumpled drake. "W-Wait! He's got--!"

"Well fuck you too, asshole!" Vorak slashed at the liger's leg and sliced something vital to his posture, the entire leg collapsing immediately.

"You fucking--!" With a bellowing roar so furious it shook Ari's chest, Adem slammed a paw into Vorak's face and followed through into the floor decking so hard the metal beneath dented. "That'll teach you to fucking try that again, fucker!"

Ari curled up into a ball as the liger turned his attention to her, his cock being pulled free of his pants as he licked his chops. "S-Stay back! Please!"

Suddenly the liger's rape face dissolved as he held completely still, morphing into a concerned and even terrified expression. "I... Oh shit..." He looked down and hurriedly fixed his exposure, then reached forward to claw at the silk wraps that tied Ilaria to the bed. "I'm... glad I managed to stop him this time... Or myself, I mean..."

Once Ilaria was free she wasted no time in jumping atop her wife to protect her. "Just... stay back! Leave us alone!"

"I don't..." A groan on the floor caught Adem's attention for a moment, but when the drake didn't stir he took a relieved breath and offered a paw to Ari while his eyes averted to elsewhere in the room out of respect for her nude, soiled form. "You're... hurt. We need to get you to the doctor."

"I... I still don't trust you, asshole!" Ari tried to pick Robyn up and head to the medical bay herself, but she didn't make it one step without her second leg. "You wanna help? Get someone else."

Almost by instinct, Carbon rounded the door to the captain's quarters of the ship and she immediately had her pistol drawn on Vorak's body. "What the fuck happened here!?"

"He was... I saw Vorak raping these girls, sir... Uh, Carbon." With a lot less fury and much more meekness, the liger pulled himself onto his good leg and limped to the door. "He's out for now, but when he wakes up--"

"--He'll go Hulk on us. Yeah, we need to cage him up. Call someone to help... but not his sister." Carbon slid over to the bed and sat on the edge. "You're bleeding. C'mon, I'm taking you to medical." She took a more advanced, if blurred, look into Robyn's belly thanks to her extended vision and sighed in relief. "And thank the goddess the kids look alright. She needs a check up to be sure though."

"I... Gods, Carbon..." Ari threw her arms around the little hybrid and sobbed into his shoulder. "Thank you, Carbon."

Carbon reached down and spread Ilaria's folds carefully, immediately letting go when the otter gasped in pain. "Don't thank me yet. Just be glad you've got better healing abilities than most." She looked up to Ademeus and nodded to the liger's own injury. "Yourself excluded of course. Get Vorak locked up and then hit medical yourself. Maybe wrap that wounds first too, just to be safe."

"Right, Carbon. I'll try my best." Adem took his radio from his belt and clicked the broadcast key. "Uh... Iolvin? Car? Can I get have a paw in the ship? Captain's bedroom."

"Say what? What's up with my sis? I've got a bad feeling..."

The liger groaned as he tried to lure the twin without alerting Lilith's prying ears to the event. "She needs some things moved, and I figured you'd want to help. I hurt myself so I need more lifting power."

Carbon nodded in approval of the liger's discretion as he left the room to finish the conversation. "See? He'll have things covered here. Let's get you some help now, before that decides to... heal that way."

"I... uh..." Ari loosened her protective grasp on her wife and looked down at the remains of some kind of stone object all around Vorak's body. "How'd you even... know to come...?"

"Ah, shit. Well I guess it's better that gift's broken than your wife and kids." The hybrid found Ilaria's leg and started reconnecting it, one artificial muscle at a time. "I took some of that oxydium and tested it on my forge. Thought a few nice cribs would be a good way of giving my thanks. Pure ~marble~ ones too."

"That's... I don't..."

"Well maybe it wasn't such a good idea having these two carry them down here. I didn't wish this on you or your wife." Carbon finished her work and slowly eased Ilaria to her hindpaws. "I didn't think Vorak had those kinds of feelings about you. He's a massive jerk, but I never thought him capable of... this."

"But you... and Adem... uh, you saved us."

"Barely. What's important now is that we get you fixed up and your wife checked out." Carbon looked down to Vorak and gave the idiot a hard kick to his ribs. "And he's getting locked up for good. I'm sure you want to press charges on him, and at this point he's well out of the protective jurisdiction of my team. I'll contact the local police for you in the morning."

"Carbon..." Ilaria huffed as she stood straight, but fought through the stinging pain in her loins. "Thank you... for everything."

"I made a promise to your father and his father as well. I'll always look after your family. I'm sort of like an uncle or... well an aunt... anyway, right?" Carbon smiled as she tried to lift the grim mood, but settled for a sobbing hug instead. "I love you, Baby Lulu."

Ilaria started lifting Robyn up, but Carbon surprisingly took that task without breaking a sweat. Instead Ari held onto the hybrid's shoulder for support and started walking with her out the door. "We love you too, Carbon."

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Deep in the dark of the Tower, Vorak finally stirred from his forcibly-induced slumber. He grabbed the back of his head and brought that paw forward, grimacing at the blood still barely seeping out of his untreated wound. He couldn't feel the pain of it anyway thanks to his engineered genetics, so he simply sat upright and let his eyes adjust to the dark. Almost immediately he could tell he was locked in a cell, the metal bars reinforced with another set that was hastily welded in a cross hatch. At least his captors knew to take precautions against his brutish strength.

"So he awakens." The drake looked to the adjacent cell and found Centra staring back at him. "Weren't you one of the hybrid's team?"

"I_was_. That freak isn't my commander anymore. Now I just need to snatch my sister and find a new one before I lose my shit."

Centra looked towards the guards outside the brig's hatch and then back to the fluff drake. "She has betrayed me as well. I can sense it." The Yangurran stood tall and presented a hand through the bars. "I can use your dedication... How would you like a new commander?"

Vorak groggily stood as well and met that fleshy hand with his scaled paw. "I think you've got yourself a deal, pal."