FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"You know, when I woke up this morning, I did not expect to become a snack!" Aron puffed, his bare feet pounding the ground as he ran.

"Just keep running you overgrown kitten!" Rex retorted, pulling the straps on his backpack.

"Oh, original, Rex, like I haven't heard that before!" Aron yelled back. He looked over his shoulder. He couldn't see it yet, but he could sense his incoming pursuer's presence. The earth shaking tremors made that quite clear.

"That doesn't surprise me," Rex muttered. Sweat beaded down his forehead and soaked his tan shirt, but the brown-furred German Shepherd kept his pace up. He didn't miss a beat vaulting over fallen trees and avoiding the rocks that scattered the path.

Aron had a harder time keeping up. He didn't have Rex's athletic build or agility. He also lacked his endurance. "Phew, wait a second, will ya? I really need a break." The lion slowed to a stop, almost gasping to replenish his oxygen levels. The flames on his body flickered, indicating their weakened state. A curse at birth fused his soul with a fire spirit, resulting in a fiery mane and tail. The flames were normally harmless unless he experienced distress, so he wore minimal clothing to prevent clothing fires.

Rex stopped as well to wait for his companion. "Don't take too long, it might-"

A terrifying roar covered the air, cutting off Rex's sentence. Aron and Rex both looked back.

A beast emerged out of forest, thrashing its body against the trees and knocking them over without effort. Its head rose higher than houses and its body just as wide. Black fur, pitch black as a moonless night, covered the monster. Thick, sharp claws protruded from each of its four paws, ready to tear down mountains.

The beast roared again, showing off its set of deadly teeth, before looking for its prey through its wide, purple eyes.

"Oh man, that thing's huge!" Aron involuntarily stepped back. "Why does it even need horns?" He gaped at two long horns on the monster's head. He felt a tug on his shoulder.

"Keep staring and you'll be able tell it yourself. Now, come on!" Rex and Aron retreated into the city ruins. Ancient, decaying buildings lined the road. Their walls were cracked and many were destroyed.

"Damn it, Rex," Aron complained as he ran, "why didn't you tell me this expedition would involve a giant, violent monster looking to eat the both of us?"

"You think I would have come here if I knew? These are supposed to be deserted ruins! There shouldn't be a fur-eating giant waiting at the river entrance." Rex patted his side. "Damn, why'd I have to drop my gun?"

Their hunter burst into view again, smashing through the city and sending debris everywhere.

Aron yelped. "I think it sees us!"

"Quick over there!" Rex lead the lion to an alley, partially obstructed by a fallen tree. Once they clambered over it, they ran towards the end.

"Through here!" The German Shepherd pointed at a worn out door. He pushed on the handle. "Urgh, why isn't it opening?"

"It's stuck? What do we do? We're going to be trapped!" Aron started panicking, the flames from his mane flaring out.

"Whoa careful!" Rex swatted at the licking flames. "Okay, let me think..." He pointed towards the entrance of the alleyway. "That tree, burn it!"

"Burn? Why-"

"Just do it!"

"Okay, okay, alright!" He ran back to the alley's entrance. As he did the flames donning the lion's body brightened. In good distance, he made a throwing motion. A ball of fire materialized in his hand and streaked through the air. It impacted the tree, which burst into flames.

Meanwhile Rex had his backpack on the floor was digging through it. He found his grappling hook and uncoiled it.

Rex leaned a hand against the wall. "There I did- whoa!" He pressed his back against the wall when an enormous shadow appeared in front of him. The beast had arrived.

The lion was awe struck from being in close proximity with the hulking quadruped. He could see the muscles on each individual leg, as thick as trees. Up close, the beast's body looked like a tank. Each breath it took sounded like a leaf blower.

The monster stepped forward but flinched back. It feared the roaring flames that lied in front of it. It tried pushing the tree but the fire proved to hot for even it to touch.

While the beast was distracted, Aron fled back to his partner, who had made a climbing rope to the roof.

"That ought to distract it a bit." The German Shepherd had the backpack over his shoulders again and started making his way towards the top of the building. Once he reached halfway up he called down, "Hurry up, Aron. Fire's not going to stop it for long!"

Aron gulped, looking between the beast and the high roof top. "I don't know if I can climb this."

"What are you talking about, you're a feline!"

"I-I'm afraid of heights, okay!" The lion looked away, ashamed.

A loud, cracking sound interrupted their banter. The monster swatted the flaming tree, scattering the burning lumber away. Now without any obstacles, the titanic beast made his way through the alley, partially destroying houses because of its enormous bulk.

Aron swore, realizing the beast would make it past the barrier soon. He tugged the rope, and after a huge breath, started climbing after Rex, who just reached the roof.

"Come on, Aron, you have to move faster!"

The lion struggled, battling the burn in his arms. He kept his eyes from looking below, not daring to see how close the beast was getting. The roar that shook his insides gave him a good idea.

"Oh damn it, damn it, damn it." Panic set in, the lion's vision starting to blur. Adrenaline pumped into his arms, numbing the sting in hands. He could see his partner at the top, urging him to climb faster. The lion could almost reach him. He extended his hand towards the German Shepherd. Then the rope suddenly swung violently and detached from the hook.

Aron was sure he was going to die. The sensation of falling hit his gut like a rock. Aron shut his eyes, waiting for that feeling to be replaced by the one of being eaten alive. He waited, but he felt nothing happening. He opened his eyes.

The lion was still hovering dozens of feet above the monster. He looked up to see that his outstretched hand in Rex's hand.

"Close one." Rex yanked him over the edge. The German Shepherd and the lion tumbled across the roof. Both of them breathed heavily, getting over the near-tragedy that they skirted around.

"At least this building's too tall for that thing." The lion chuckled but then stopping when the roof shook. Aron sat up. "What's that?"

Rex fell on one knee, almost losing his balance. Once the roof settled, he peered over the edge. "It's ramming itself into the building!"

"What? What's it trying to do?"

"It must be- whoa!"

The floor collapsed and Rex's vision went black. He could feel himself falling and tumbling, hard objects slamming into his body. He wasn't sure when he finally stopped moving. Once he felt certain he wasn't falling anymore he opened his eyes. Slightly dazed, he could see the building he was on moments ago was reduced to a large pile of rubble.

He cautiously moved his limbs around. His whole body felt sore, but nothing seemed broken. Rex looked around. Just a dozen feet from him, his partner was getting up. "Are you alright?"

Aron groaned loudly. "I think so. Good thing Big and Scary broke the fall. You?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He got to his knees. "Oh crap." The contents of his bag had spilled over the floor. He started picking up each item and stuffing it into his bag.

The flaming lion stumbled his way towards Aron. "Did the artifacts fall out?" He slowly got on one knee, sucking in air while holding his right side. "Make sure we don't lose any."

"I know, I know. The map's over there. These pieces are useless if we don't know where to go." He checked each artifact. They were made of thin, hardened wood so fortunately they had enough resistance to stay intact during the fall. All the pieces were identical to one another except in shape. All of them had curved edges, some more than others. Rex only knew they carried some importance to finding the treasure hidden in this ancient city.

Aron reached over some debris to grab a slightly torn paper. "Got the map. Hurry, let's go." He handed the map over to Rex. "I think it stunned himself, but it sounds like he's waking up."

"Can you run?" The German Shepherd indicated Aron's sore side.

"Oh this? Don't worry about it. It's feeling better already."

"Fine, then." Rex swung the backpack over his shoulders. "This way!"

The two adventurers jogged away from the destruction site as quickly as possible. The monster was shrugging off pieces of the building and would soon be ready to resume the chase.

***

Rex traced his finger down the map. "I think we have to make a left at this fork."

"I hope so. If we have to keep backtracking, we'll be monster meals, for sure."

"Like you could do better, kitty cat."

Aron crossed his arms. "Considering your track record?" The lion shook his head. "Bah, never mind about that, just take us somewhere."

"Fine, just keep following me."

As they resumed their jog they could feel slight tremors coming from the ground.

Aron nervously looked behind him. "Oh, I hope it didn't pick up a scent trail or something."

"Doesn't matter, look up there!" Rex pointed towards the sky.

"What? What is it?" Aron followed Rex's finger towards the top of a towering structure.

"See that star-shaped symbol?" He held up the map for the lion to see. "That's the same one as over here. And the destination we're looking for..."

"...is right there!" Aron tapped a red circle that was just a few inches away from the symbol on the map.

Rex closed the map and stuffed it in his pocket. "So now we just have to go south. And we better hurry!" The rocks on the ground audibly shook on rhythm. The beast was closing in.

The canine and feline took off, doing their best to ignore the roars and growls that filled in the ambience. They pushed their bodies as hard as they could, trying to keep their balance as the ground grew more unstable. A large, tall building appeared in view.

"Please tell me this is where we need to go," Aron panted, on the verge of collapsing.

Rex nodded. "It should be." Another roar followed them. "But I don't think we can take the time to figure out if we're wrong or not!" He pulled the weakened lion with him and ran through the doorway, just as their pursuer appeared.

Their pattering footsteps echoed off the bare, stone walls but the noise they were most concerned about was about to come through the door. Aron let out a small yelp when what sounded like a small explosion erupted from the entrance. He knew what had happened but the lion couldn't help looking back and seeing the beast breaking through the front walls.

As Aron and Rex made their way inside the unfamiliar structure, they noticed the hallways leading out of the first open room were narrow. Turning around, they sighed in relief upon seeing that the beast couldn't fit through anymore and that they found a safe spot. Or so they thought.

The monster growled in anger and swung at the sides of narrow passageway. Bricks flew all around, widening the area bit by bit. It kept knocking at the sides in order to make room for its body.

Their small celebration over, Rex and Aron wordlessly backed away from their tireless hunter and moved deeper into the building. Not too far away they came across a doorway which lead to a wide room. They quickly ran to the opposite wall, where a large stone door stood. But upon reaching it, they immediately noticed something was wrong.

"There's no handle!" Aron pushed against the stone door but it didn't budge. "Gah who designed this piece of crap!"

Rex looked around the bare room. Remnants of tables, chairs, and pottery lined the floor. But there was nothing to help them escape.

"What are we going to do, Rex?" The room shook violently, centuries-old dust raining from the ceiling.

"I don't know. There's got to be something here. Another clue."

"A clue? Even if we got a clue, what then? The door is still locked and the monster is still out there, closing in fast." The lion whimpered. He backed up to the far side of the wall. His flames dimmed, like someone reduced the heat on a stove top.

Rex stayed in front of the door. He crossed his arms, examining it. The only thing on it was an engraving of a sun. He could tell because the center was a circle and around it were curved points that physically represented the rays.

"It's getting closer!" Aron peeked out the door to see the beast's progress in creating a path to the room.

Rex gritted his teeth. This had to be the clue. He focused on the shape of the sun and the peculiar design of the rays. Something felt familiar about it. His attention turned to negative space between each ray. His eyes lit up. "Wait, is that...?"

He dug into his backpack and pulled out the artifact pieces. He almost let out an uncharacteristic yelp for joy.

Aron stared at the German Shepherd. "Was that you?"

Rex shooed him with a hand. "This is what the artifacts are for." He held up a piece. "Notice the way these pieces are shaped? They fit right....here." He slid an artifact perfectly in the top left space between two of the sun's rays.

Aron ran back to the door. "Yes, finally something going our way!" He stood by eagerly as Rex matched each artifact piece to its slot. The sounds of destruction and growling didn't even faze him.

Rex slotted the final piece. "Okay, got it."

"So now what?"

"Huh?"

"How do we get in?"

Rex scratched his head. "Honestly, I thought it would just open." He gazed at the sun symbol. "I suppose-"

Rex was cut off when debris suddenly flew into the air, some of it knocking the German Shepherd and the lion off their feet. Surprised, but not injured, Rex recovered to see a massive paw retreating back through the hole in the wall.

"It's here!" Aron backed up against the wall. He ran a paw over his panic-stricken face. "This trip is turning out to be a horrible mistake."

A roar shook the room and the claw burst through the wall again, widening the hole.

"Wait..." Rex stood up again and stared at the sun on the door. "If the artifacts are the key to the door, to get through you have to turn the key, right?" He grabbed the sun with two hands and tried to turn it clockwise. He almost flinched when the symbol actually moved. He grunted, the old age making it difficult to turn. But with a strong push he pulled hard and the sun turned until something stopped it.

The door rumbled and opened just a crack. Aron immediately ran to the door. He heaved it open just as the monster burst into the room. Rex had to dodge some stone falling from the ceiling but recovered quick enough to follow the lion in.

Once he got through the doorway, Aron immediately closed the door. He twisted a similar sun symbol on the door, locking it. He backed away as the entire wall shook, the monster trying to get in but unable to break through.

Aron fell on his rear and let out a deep breath. Next to him, Rex had his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Another close one." Rex stood up straight, patting the dirt off his shirt.

"Can it be the last one, please?" Aron also got on his feet so he could walk around. The room had no windows to let light in so the only sources were from Aron's flames and Rex's flashlight. The area they were in was far dustier than the one they came from. Just walking seemed to create clouds.

As they moved down the room, they noticed a glint in the distance. As they got closer they came across a tall golden statue. At least 10 feet in height, the statue depicted a wolf holding an unfamiliar object in an outstretched arm.

Rex circled the statue, examining it top to bottom. "What's this doing here?"

"At least we finally found some treasure. I have no idea how to get it out of here though."

"Or past monster mutt back there," Rex reminded.

"Don't remind me." The lion walked up to the base of the statue. "Wow, this thing's tall. How much do you think it weighs?"

"Too much probably. Unless we bring a truck or something I doubt this thing's moving anywhere." Rex turned his head, pointing his flashlight at the head. "Hey, is it just me or are the eyes kind of...weird?"

Aron stepped back until he could get a view. "I think you're right. It's almost like it's glowing."

Rex adjusted his shirt. "What could be making it look like that?" He lowered the flashlight to fan himself.

Aron stared quizzically at the German Shepherd. "Are you okay? Why are you sweating?"

"Not sure," came Rex's reply, "It just got really hot here all of a sudden. You don't feel like it?"

"Um, hello? Infused with a fire spirit here. I don't get hot."

Rex took off his sweat soaked shirt and dropped it. "That's a little better."

"Wait hold on a second."

"What?"

"Something's off. Have you always been that muscular?"

"What are you talking- huh?" Rex had a lean body type from hiking and exploring. But looking down his pectoral and abdominal muscles were more pronounced. He ran a hand over his torso. They even felt thicker than before. He took a look at his arms. Gosh his arms looked swollen, too. "Maybe I'm just dehydrated. Get me some..." His eyes widened.

"What are you looking at? " The German Shepherd was looking right at the lion. Aron followed his gaze down. "Oh jeez!" His normally thin frame suddenly had a swimmer's build. "Why's it happening to me? Is the air poisonous or something?"

"We better find an exit or- UGHFFF!" Rex hunched over, as though he got kicked in the stomach. His whole body trembled.

"Rex!" Aron moved towards his friend. But before he could take two steps he felt pain explode in his body. It was like lightning struck his body. His muscles tightened, rendering immobile. After about twenty seconds the sensation faded and he slumped onto the floor.

Rex also regained control of his body but a new feeling filled him up. His whole body buzzed with energy. "Ooh, what's going on..." He flexed an arm seeing his biceps form a thick peak. But as he kept staring he could see that muscle rising further and further. "Whoa..."

Aron could see his friend start to thicken with muscle. He went slack-jawed just watching Rex's back widening and growing definition. What seemed like mountain ranges were forming, with all the ridges appearing on his back.

"How are you growing- ahhh ohhhh..." The lion's mind blanked out from the intense energy coursing through his body. He could feel his legs pump up with muscles, his calves ballooning and his thighs thickening with muscle. He couldn't keep his legs together anymore, his lower body widening and forcing his feet apart.

Meanwhile, Rex was entranced by the front of his body. His pecs, as thick and round as basketballs, made looking at his feet a difficult task. Squeezing them, he could hardly make a dent. "Somehow we're becoming bodybuilders. Ah, my pants are getting tight!" True enough, his pants were stretched to their limit, looking like a second skin. The sound of tearing filled the air as the fibers gave in to the growing tree trunks inside them. Thick mounds of muscle burst through destroying the leggings. Rex grunted, lifting one of his legs and slamming it on the ground, further ripping the rest of his pants.

"I-ooh-I think we're getting taller too!" Aron felt the walls were closing in once he was able to take his eyes off his body. He also saw that Rex's head almost reached the ceiling.

Power kept pouring into the two adventurers, both of them accepting this gift from the unknown source. Unbeknownst to either of them, the eyes on the golden statue glowed more intensely.

Rex had to resort to sitting on his knees, having grown too tall to properly stand. He had his hands on his massive thighs, each resembling a steel drum in width and weight. His hands moved up to his well-defined abdominals. He grinned as he rubbed the eight-pack he never had before.

Next to him, Aron was on his back, roaring as muscle and height poured into him. He kicked out a cannon-sized leg and caught the wall, destroying a part of it and shaking the entire room. "Ooh god we've gotten so powerful! Urgh, but I don't think we're going to fit in this room soon." He easily touched the ceiling with his hand, which created cracks from the force of his incredible arm. "Whoops."

Rex knew they had to do something. Their bodies took up at least 70% of the space in the room. An idea crossed his mind when he saw Aron's accidental destruction. The bulldozer-sized German Shepherd slowly got on his hands. He waited until he could feel his back pressed against the ceiling, which groaned weakly. Satisfied, Rex pushed upwards. Stone and bricks rained down all over the room as his unstoppable body broke through.

Aron nodded in approval and proceeded to get up on his feet, too. He swung his arms, destroying as much of the building as he could, using his newly acquired strength and the growth that kept flowing through his body.

Outside, all the nearby structures trembled as though an earthquake had begun. Then, like a demolition bomb going off, the building exploded outward, revealing two gigantic furs. Their bulky bodies unharmed by the destruction, the German Shepherd and the burning lion merely moaned and grinned at their seemingly limitless strength.

"I think that's it," Rex said, their bodies no longer growing.

"This is definitely the best find on an expedition ever." Aron laughed, flexing his augmented muscles.

A noise on the ground took their attention. Coming out of the wreckage, the "giant" monster that had pursued them on their expedition shook its head, confused by what had transpired. Then he looked up and saw what had been his prey suddenly looming three times as tall as it.

Aron bent over the beast with a cruel smile. "Boo."

The monster fled as fast as it could, it's pounding footsteps causing some structures to crumble further.

As Aron laughed out loud, Rex knelt down and dug through the debris until he found what he was looking for. He stood back up and showed the lion the golden statue, it's eyes no longer glowing. "Well, I don't think we'll have anymore trouble bringing this back home."

The lion smiled. "I hope the airline doesn't mind the extra weight."

END