A Golden Era

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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#5 of A New Era

In the final installment of this season of Era, the Makovi leader has been found and has converted Tyler into a full-blooded latex naga? Can his friends rescue him and stop the invasion before the entire city is turned into a smoldering crater? Read and find out!

Commission for PanzerMaus


In the observation deck overlooking a gym filled with the eggs and assimilation snakes of the Makovi three rubber nagas stared each other down. Sam and Fredrick stood on one side of the room, their hands entwined as they watched the alien Siridis look them over. The two disguised humans knew that they were in trouble, they had just resisted the other naga's attempt to seed them both with eggs and in the process had blown their cover of being converted humans like the rest of the town they had infiltrated. With the Makovi being mind-linked to one another he could have already contacted the entire lot of converted townspeople who could be converging on their location at the moment. When a minute passed and no such alarm seemed to be raised Sam and Fredrick's fear turned to curiosity as the alien continued to stare at them.

"I am surprised that you managed to make it this far without being detected by Alitar." Siridis finally said, slithering cautiously closer to the other two. "He had mentioned that there were attempts by his people to see if planets out in the sector of space had life before, but that nothing had panned out. Perhaps your race had intercepted the probe before it could convert the population, it would certainly explain the technology around your necks."

Both Sam and Fredrick's hands went subconsciously up to the collars around their necks, though they quickly put them back down when he saw Siridis look at them. "You're correct, the organization we work for managed to stop the conversion process before it took root on this planet." Sam explained truthfully. "We're here to stop a similar invasion from happening, though it seems that we may be a bit late. You said 'his people', does that mean you're not actually a Makovi?"

"I'm not... though I couldn't honestly tell you what race I used to be." Siridis admitted. "My planet was converted a long time ago by the Makovi race, it's only through sheer force of will that I've managed to avoid losing myself completely to the mental rewriting of being turned into one. As you can see by the former humans of this town the transformation process makes you unaware you were even part of a different race, living only to serve the Makovi and their conquering ways."

"Yeah, we're well aware of that feeling." Fredrick admitted sheepishly.

"But now that you're here perhaps I can finally slip myself from the bonds of my master." Siridis mused. "I've long dreamed of the time that I could return to my old form, whatever it may be, but I've never had a chance until this moment. I trust that you had a plan for dealing with him?"

Sam and Fredrick nodded and filled in the other latex naga of the plan they had, including the collar that they had to slip onto Alitar in order to free the others of their fates. As they did Siridis seemed to grow more and more excited, and once they were finished he clapped his hands together gleefully. "Excellent!" He exclaimed loudly, then quickly hushed himself and waited for a second to make sure no one heard him before he continued. "Alitar is the one who converted me as well, kept me as his little pet, so if your technology truly works then I will be freed as well!"

"Good to hear." Sam replied. "Our teammates Brandon and Tyler are looking for Alitar as well, but with your help we should find him in no time now."

"Of course, I can-... wait, did you say Tyler?" Siridis asked, both nagas nodding in reply which caused the alien's eyes to widen slightly. "Oh no..."

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

Tyler awoke suddenly, his slitted pupils contracted as he gasped for air. As his serpentine body began to rise up from the bed his ice-blue eyes scanned the room and he found himself in the same bedroom that Alitar had left him in before. Even as the veil of sleep left him his thoughts continued to feel fuzzy as he got off the bed and slithered towards the window, the deep darkness outside indicated that he had been out of it for several hours at least since he had entered the bedroom at dusk. When he looked outside he saw the same scenario as before, dozens of rubber nagas minding their own business as they made their way through the streets under the light of the streetlamps. Suddenly several of them seemed to stop and look up in his general direction, which made him dart backwards and close the curtains.

As the previous events of the day began to come back to him his clawed hands went up to his neck and found the lack of his silver collar. He quickly could feel panic begin to rise in his chest, but the more he analyzed himself the more his fear turned to curiosity. The intense mental pressure that he had felt when he had nearly been converted into a Makovi the first time wasn't there, while he felt the thoughts of the other converted humans it felt like his own mental faculties were above them. It was like he could tap into the hivemind network at any time but didn't need to be a part of it, which gave him a small amount of hope that his conversion hadn't revealed their plans to the other Makovi or, more importantly, to Alitar.

The thought of the other naga seemed to summon the presence of Alitar, who had a tray filled with strange-looking items that he set down on the nearby table as he smiled at Tyler. "Glad to see you're awake." Alitar said. "You must be a natural, you transitioned far faster than anyone I've ever seen before. Anyways I felt your neural network flare up so I figured you'd be awake and be absolutely famished so I brought in a few of our native foodstuffs ."

At first Tyler was about to refuse but when he looked at the items on the tray he could feel his stomach, or whatever the Makovi had for a stomach, begin to gurgle. He moved over to the table and as he looked over each item he got hungrier despite his lack of knowledge what each item was. Finally he reached down and took one of the strange crystalline spheres and popped it into his mouth, and as he did his senses exploded with flavors he could only describe mentally as delicious. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Alitar smile as he began to stuff his face with the alien treats.

"So how are we feeling, any residual pain?" Alitar asked as he slid up behind the eating male, his rubbery hands sliding over Tyler's scaly shoulders as he shook his stuffed maw. "Good good, perhaps we can watch the sun rise as we consummate our first time as true Makovi mates."

Sun rise... the realization hit Tyler mid-bite as he remembered the time limit for his mission. If he didn't get the Makovi invasion thread under control by that time the entire town would be nothing but a smoldering crater, themselves included if they didn't get out in time. Alitar seemed to sense his sudden spike in anxiety and turned him around, their snouts connecting in a deep kiss as their tongues twisted around each other. The former human could feel his body melt in the slightly bigger male's embrace, for the few seconds they were together it felt like nothing else mattered in the world but the feeling of those muscular latex coils wrapped around his own.

"What's troubling you love?" Alitar asked, stroking a clawed finger down Tyler's face lovingly.

"I just..." Tyler could feel the want to tell the Makovi everything, but he managed to stifle it down. "I was wondering, why can I feel the mental network that connects the others but don't feel the same drive that being connected with it seems to bring?"

Alitar chuckled a bit, then uncoiled from Tyler and looked towards the window. "You're a true Makovi now, not one of these lowly converts." He explained as he took one of the foods from the tray and ate it. "As part of the prestige you can choose to share your thoughts with the others or not as well as be free from the compulsions that being a converted brings. While our servants must be kept in line we are free to do what we please, which is why you find that your thoughts are still your own. I'm hoping though that soon we'll be able to merge our memories, I wish to know everything about you and I'm hoping you feel the same way for me, but as part of your new ranking all I can do is ask."

Tyler was relieved when he heard the explanation, it meant that even though he had been turned into an alien creature he had actually received some benefit from the transformation. Unfortunately now he seemed to be torn; the human part of his psyche wanted to use his newfound position to manipulate Alitar in order to get the golden collar on him and end the mission, but a new part of him felt genuine feelings for the rubber naga and wanted nothing more than to carry out his plans so that they can gain the prestige for conquering a planet while they mated wildly. It was a strange conflict that he was not prepared to handle, but he could tell that the alien creature wanted to be with him and he felt a growing need to reciprocate.

"Oh, before I forget." Alitar said as he held up a finger before he reached behind him for something. Tyler's heart nearly dropped to his stomach when he saw the naga holding the silver collar that had originally kept the Makovi thoughts at bay, though as he looked at the relaxed look on the alien's face it appeared he didn't know what the true intention of it was. "I wanted to return this to you, I took it off when I converted you and didn't want you to get worried that it was lost."

"Oh, thank you." Tyler replied as he took the collar and set it down on the table, an idea forming in his mind... "You know, I have something for you if you want it, I think it would look good on you and then we can match." Alitar nodded and popped another morsel of food into his maw as he left the bedroom and made his way into the dining room. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found his rucksack where he had left it and even more so when he opened it to find the golden collar still inside. All he had to do was put this around the naga's neck and the town would be free, their mission would be complete and no one will have to die.

But as his clawed hands ran over the shining metal a twinge of doubt formed in his mind. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt guilty about what he was about to do, even though he had only met the alien creature a few years ago he found himself wondering if perhaps this action wasn't the best course. Sure he would save humanity, he thought to himself, but how good was humanity anyway? Having the species go from human to alien rubber naga might not be so bad after all, with his collar off he could feel the connectivity that everyone in the town had to one another and that wasn't such a bad thing. As Tyler continued to debate in his head he found his hand slowly putting the collar back into the bag, his hand quivered slightly as he felt the heavy object fall back to the bottom of it.

"Something wrong love?" Tyler suddenly heard behind him, when he snapped his head around he saw Alitar in the doorway with a look of slight concern on his face.

"Yeah, fine." Tyler quickly replied, the former human could feel his anxiety melt away when he stared upon the sexy form of the alien creature as he let the bag fall to his side. "I can't find what I was looking for, I guess it got lost somewhere."

"Oh, that's too bad." Alitar said with a shrug, slithering over and putting his strong arms around him. "Well since you lost yours, perhaps you could wear something of mine."

Tyler cocked his head in question before he felt the serpent's hands slide up behind him and something fell down around his neck. When he looked down he saw a glittering crystal pendant similar to the one that Alitar wore around his neck, the former human's jaw wide as he picked it up and examined the multihued stone. "Alitar, it's... it's beautiful." Tyler stammered, looking up and locking eyes with the alien. "I have something... I think... well... about your invasion plans... I..."

Before Tyler could get his sentence out completely the door suddenly opened and another naga, which Tyler was able to identify as the former Mayor from a quick probe of his thoughts, stumbled into the room out of breath. "Oh thank goodness, it's just you!" He said, relieved. "I had left my post for just a minute and when I came back and no one was there and I heard talking I thought for a second that someone else had come in and-"

"Quiet!" To Tyler's surprise it was his mouth that said the words, though he could sense a similar anger from the other Makovi as he slowly slithered up to the quivering creature. "You dare come barging in and interrupt us while we're talking, then not even bother to apologize at your own incompetence? You should be groveling at our coils for forgiveness from your masters!"

The former Mayor began to bow down and stutter his apologies, but Alitar quickly cut him off. "My mate is right, you have been nothing but a bother since I converted you." He rebuked. "I thought with your former position you might be useful, but that novelty has expired and I think you need to be resigned to your true fate. The only thing I have to ask my dear mate is if he would prefer heads or tails, or more specifically mouth or slit."

"You've been dealing with him longer, I'll let you take his slit." Tyler replied, internally surprised both at how little he cared for the dignity of the former human and how much he wanted to teach him a lesson with his ovipositor. Even as the other naga begged for another chance to prove his worth it was drowned out by the squeak of rubber on rubber as Alitar coiled his body around him. When their slits lined up Tyler could sense his mate's member begin to slide out of its home and push into the other naga's sex, which caused them both to shudder and moan. The former Mayor's protests became nothing more than soft grunts as Alitar penetrated him fully, his rubber cock sliding easily into the other's body as small eggs began to shift in his body for implantation.

The entire time Tyler watched he could feel his own ovipositor slide out, despite the drive to breed not being there all he could think about was putting his own eggs into the rubber naga, and when he looked to Alitar the alien grinned and nodded him over. It was all the invitation Tyler needed and when he reached out psychically to the former Mayor he found the other male very responsive. All it took was a single mental command and the submissive naga opened his mouth and slid his lips down his rubbery shaft. The feeling was divine, both the mouth on his member and the control he had over the converted human. If this was what the Makovi felt, Tyler reasoned as he felt his own first egg shift into this ovipositor, he could begin to intimately understand why...

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

"What do you mean Tyler's been turned!?" Brandon hissed. Fredrick and Sam had managed to find their teammate in a park outside of the house where Tyler had been brought into and explained to him the situation, including the fact that they had Siridis right next to them. "I knew something was wrong when he was brought into that house, but because I wasn't swarmed with Makovi I figured that he was still alright enough not to storm the place."

"It is likely that Alitar has used a special potion to convert your friend fully into a Makovi." Siridis explained. "They don't breed like most other races do, they transform others that they want to mate with. Naturally they could just be with a converted but they consider that to be beneath their station, so they turn the ones they believe are worthy or they fell in love with into members of their species. I was supposed to be promoted myself some time ago but Alitar kept pushing it off, I think it was because he was secretly enjoying having me as a pet. He must have believed that your friend possessed something that he needed or desired to help him, since you say he is the head of your group I wouldn't be surprised if he saw the leadership qualities."

"Great, an alien's recruitment is about to get an entire town blown up by sunrise." Sam quipped. "Now what do we do?"

The four began to plot when suddenly all the converted humans began to move in the same direction, the three humans turned to Siridis, whose eyes widened slightly. "It's Alitar, he's just sent a command for everyone to come to the town square." Siridis said. "We need to go there now or it's going to be suspicious."

The four nagas slithered their way with the others into the town square, the three disguised humans tried not to look surprised at the sheer number of Mavoki that they were surrounded by. In the middle of it all was a wooden platform that had been set up for stage performances, but for now there were only two Makovi on the stage, one Siridis identified as Alitar and the other that Sam, Fredrick, and Brandon knew was Tyler. While Tyler hung back Alitar took to the center stage, a spotlight shined from one of the nearby towers on him as he waved his hands to the crowd. All the Makovi cheered, which included the disguised humans and Siridis.

"I don't get it, he's got ample opportunity to slap the collar on him." Fredrick hissed to the others. "Alitar has left his back completely open to him... wait, he doesn't even have the collar on him! I thought you said that he would have some semblance of control over his mind?"

"I can only guess that becoming a true Makovi has colored your friend's perceptions." Siridis hissed back. "I can only tell you what I've seen before, obviously I have no firsthand experience so-"

Siridis was suddenly interrupted as Alitar began to speak into the microphone on stage. "My brethren, today the sun rises on a new era of your human history!" A rise of cheers came up from the crowd which caused Alitar to pause until it died down. "We have amassed our forces and are ready to move on to a far bigger goal, from what I have learned there are over a million people in the next city that are just waiting for us to come and liberate them from their humanity. Once we have converted them then the Makovi race will spread over the surface of the world until your planet has joined the many that have already felt our loving touch. I know that we had normally planned to initialize our invasion in a few days but my wonderful mate, your new leader, has informed me that it would be best if we struck now before the sun passes the horizon. So prepare yourselves, in thirty minutes you begin the journey to fulfill your destiny!"

The three disguised humans looked at each other worriedly as the crowd erupted once more in a wild roar of applause, then left with Siridis to a place where they could talk in relative privacy. "Well, Tyler just screwed over the human race." Fredrick muttered angrily. "Even if we could get a message back to headquarters there's no way they could mobilize in time to prevent the Makovi from moving which means anything short of a nuclear weapon isn't going to contain this, and the agency hasn't had that clearance since Hiroshima."

"I'm sorry, I should have guessed that your friend might have formed a mating bond, it would explain why he's acting the way he is." Siridis confessed. "Makovi believe something akin to your species' 'love at first sight', when they have genuine feelings of love for one of their converted they generally act on it quickly... plus I know that Alitar has been particularly lonely as of late."

"So it's because an alien is lovesick that we're all going to be nagas." Brandon said angrily. "We may as well take off these collars and join the fold now."

"But Tyler hasn't given us up yet." Sam quickly retorted. "I think the human part of him is still trying to finish the mission, but he's going to need our help. He saved us from the Makovi last time, I think it's time to return the favor."

"Well, I suppose you are right, no sense in giving up now anyway." Fredrick said with a shrug. "How are we going to collar the main alien though? If they start moving it's going to be next to impossible to get up close to him, plus who knows if the Makovi Tyler is going to call us out if he senses a threat to his... mate... when we approach."

"Then we have thirty minutes to save humanity." Sam said. "Brandon, you go get the collar from the house you said that Tyler went into, hopefully it's still there. Fredrick, Siridis, and I will find where Tyler and Alitar is and come up with a plan on the way. I know it's not the most put together idea, but it's going to have to do on the fly. Now let's go do what we came here to do."

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

Ten minutes later Tyler and Alitar slithered into a hot tub, the bubbling water cascaded over their latex scales as they giggled and kissed each other. "Are you sure we have time for this?" Alitar said as Tyler let him deeper into the large tub. "All our converts are gearing up to assimilate the city as we speak, we have at most twenty minutes."

"Then we'll be able to spend twenty minutes together." Tyler replied with a grin as he grabbed a champagne bottle and popped it open. "You're on your way to an important victory for your... our kind, and I wanted to be able to celebrate with my lover while I can."

"Why you devilish snake." Alitar smirked. "Alright, a little celebration can't hurt."

As they passed the bottle back and forth their coils began to wrap around one another, even though Tyler had alien taste buds the bubbly still tasted good to him. He could tell Alitar enjoyed it as well as he spent more and more time with the bottle. He wasn't sure that a Makovi could even get drunk, but that wasn't the point of the experience. The two's creatures grew closer to each other as their coils twined around each other under the water.

"Tyler, can I ask you a question?" Alitar asked as Tyler took a long pull from the champagne bottle before he nodded. "You have been extremely guarded with your thoughts, even after I have given everything to you we still haven't shared our thoughts with one another. I know I can't rush you, but I'm curious why you haven't given yourself to me in body or mind yet?"

Tyler felt himself tense up as the alien creature stared at him and waited for his response. Even though more and more of his psyche had continued to fall under the influence of the Makovi he still had a bit of humanity, which screamed at him that he was literally sleeping with the enemy and that he was about to doom humanity. Even though he hadn't told Alitar about the others or his mission he had moved up the timetable in order to prevent the converted or Alitar from his organization's attack, but he knew if he shared his mind with the alien he would discover everything. Strangely it wasn't the fact that his teammates would be discovered that was the problem, he was more worried that when Alitar find out he was there to take him out that he would break his heart.

Tyler decided that a distraction was needed and kissed him full in the mouth, which caused Alitar to moan as their members pressed against the hard muscle of each other's stomachs. The water slickened their rubbery bodies to the point where they slid over each other effortlessly, which made it slightly hard for them to line their slits up. "So who's going to go in to who first?" Tyler asked, which only caused Alitar to grin.

As their thick members rubbed against one another Alitar grabbed them both and pressed them together, which caused them both to shiver as they extended to their maximum length. Tyler watched as the naga began to slide forward, guiding both tapered ovipositors until the tapered tips pressed into each other's slits. The former human gasped with delight as they began to penetrate each other at the same time, their breath quickening as they felt the slick insides of the other begin to press against the sensitive flesh.

"Oh God, Alitar." Tyler moaned as their slits continued to move closer to each other, their cocks slowly disappearing into the other's body. "This is amazing!" Alitar just concentrated until there wasn't enough room for his hand, but by then the walls of their body was enough for him to continue to push. With one final thrust they cried out in ecstasy as they hilted each other at the same time, their bodies truly connected to one another.

"If you think this is good." Alitar panted as they began to grind against one another in an effort to push even deeper. "You should try this when our minds are connected, the pleasure loop will blow your mind." A sudden pang of guilt sliced through the pleasure that Tyler was experiencing as his new mate once more brought up the want to open his mind to him. As their bodies squeezed and tightened around each other Tyler's resolve began to crumble, if the world is going to be taken over he would find out eventually and figured if his lover was going to find out then it would be best if he told him first.

"Well, isn't this a sight." A voice caused Tyler and Alitar to quickly untangle themselves from each other, both of them looking up to see Siridis slither in.

"Siridis?" Alitar asked, slightly suprirsed. "I was wondering where you had run off too, your thoughts had been heard to track and I was starting to get worried. Are our assimilation snakes ready to move along with the main breeders?"

"I'm sure they are." Siridis replied with a sneer. "Not that it matters in the slightest."

Alitar and Tyler looked at each other, then back at the contemptuous naga. Tyler could tell that Alitar was visibly angry at the blatant insubordination, but his anger was quickly overshadowed by fear as they saw three other nagas come into the room behind Siridis. Tyler recognized them immediately and saw that one of them had a golden collar in their hands. "I demand to know what the meaning of this is!" Alitar shouted as he slid out of the hot tub and onto the wet tile that surrounded it. "Siridis, I swear you will be so full of eggs you won't be able to eat for a week!"

"Yeah, I already saw that particular form of punishment when I went to retrieve this." Brandon replied while he held up the golden collar. "That naga is so full of eggs that he's more spherical then cylindrical now, I could hear them clacking inside him when I pushed him out of the way. We're here to make sure that it never happens to another human again."

Alitar seemed to focus intensely on Brandon for a few seconds, his face slowly twisted into an expression of surprise when nothing seemed to happen. "I can't control you, how is that possible?" Alitar gasped. "You've been converted, a true Makovi should have no problem subduing your weak thoughts!"

"It's because of these, my dear Alitar." Siridis said as he held up his head and showed the silver metal of a collar wrapped around his neck. "I hope you don't mind my borrowing yours Tyler, but it appeared that you had no further use for it so your friends re-speced it so it would protect me from the Makovi influence as well."

Tyler slunk back into the water as Alitar's head snapped down to look at him, the former human could feel shame and embarrassment rise up in him as he watched the alien's expression go from surprise to sadness. "You... you were in on this?" Alitar said hurtfully. "This whole time you were just getting close to me to what, put one of those collars on me? Was that the thing that you wanted to put on me the first time that you woke up after the gifts I gave you?"

"Alitar... I'm so sorry." Tyler replied as he fought back tears, unaware until that moment that Makovi were even capable of crying. "Yes, I was with them to put that collar on you to capture you and restore the town to normal, but then you fully converted me and I had these feelings so I tried to help but-"

"Enough!" Alitar hissed angrily, causing Tyler to sink even lower into the water. "I knew that it was too good to be true, that after all this time I would have finally found a mate to elevate on this pathetic mud ball of a planet." The alien naga's rage then turned to the four nagas that had started to cautiously approach him and stared at Siridis. "And you... you betray me after all the personal attention I gave you? You'd still be in an egg pit on your home planet if I hadn't taken an interest in you and brought you along with me!"

"Enough talk, let's collar the bastard." Siridis hissed as they stood off against the lone naga, though Alitar quickly found himself joined by a second as Tyler lunged forward next to him.

"Tyler, get out of the way." Fredrick warned. "We know that whatever this alien did to you is messing with your mind, but there has to be enough human left in you to step aside and let us do this. He's about to turn this whole world into another breeder planet just like Siridis' home world was, but we can stop this right now and we would really like to not have to beat your ass to the ground to do it."

"I can't let you hurt him." Tyler replied resolutely. "I know this is crazy, but..." he turned back to look at Alitar, "...I love him."

"Tyler, that's the Makovi talking." Sam tried to explain. "You are not in love! Can't you see he's just manipulating you now that the collar isn't around your neck to stop him?"

Tyler said nothing, just continued to stand there and stare straight at his former teammates. The four looked at each other for a few seconds before they shook their heads, then turned back towards the two. Sam and Fredrick reared back to strike Alitar when several of the wooden doors in the spa suddenly splinted open, guardian Makovi poured into the room and shot straight for Siridis and the others.

"Get them!" Alitar shouted suddenly, pointing a clawed finger at the disguised humans. Sam and Fredrick tried to bull rush Alitar but were quickly tackled upon and subdued by several of the very large, four armed nagas as they coiled around their bodies and held their hands behind their back. Brandon and Siridis quickly followed suit, all of them pinned down to the tile by the muscular rubber nagas. As they continued to struggle Siridis slithered up and took the collar from Brandon's hand, then tossed it behind him where it clattered to the ground.

"Did you imbecilic humans really think you could beat me?" Alitar said as he leaned down and looked into Brandon's eyes. "I may not be able to control you, but you failed to remember the thousands that await my every command and execute them instantly. Something that you will soon come to understand..."

Brandon screamed out and struggled against his captors as he felt the rubbery hands of the alien naga reach behind his neck and begin to undo the latch on his collar. Within seconds everyone heard the click of the release mechanism and the cool metal slid off of Brandon's neck and almost immediately his body went relaxed as his eyes dilated. The rest of his group looked on in horror as the guardian Makovi let him go and he rose back up, he stared blankly at Alitar for a second before he bowed his head low. "Forgive me master, I am willing to serve wherever you wish." Brandon said, which caused a smirk to form on Alitar's lips as he tossed the silver collar in the hot tub.

"Let's see, whose next." Alitar said as he looked down between the remaining three. "Siridis... I think I'm going to save you for last. Why don't we move on to the obvious couple in the room, since the guardian naga has been keeping eyes on this one since they came in I think I'm going to make his mate succumb first while he watches."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Sam shouted as he flew into a fury, the naga that had previous held down Brandon moved over to help restrain him as Alitar lowered his body and cupped Fredrick's quivering jaw in his hands.

"You should feel lucky that you have someone who loves you so." Alitar said, his finger's rubbed against the rubber scales on Fredrick's cheeks before they slid to the back of his neck. Sam continued to curse and fight as Alitar slowly undid the collar around Fredrick's neck, Fredrick slowly closing his eyes as he waited for the process to finish. Unlike Brandon, who had been in the middle of fighting when he lost control, Fredrick's transition was far more subtle. When he looked up at the alien again their snouts met in a kiss which caused Sam to launch into a full-blown rage.

"I'm going to kill you!" Sam shouted. "You better hope you get this collar off me because if I get free before you do I'll break your neck instead of collaring it!" His anger suddenly turned to Tyler, who had continued to stay back once the guardian nagas had come in. "I hope you're happy Tyler, you doomed us all! We're all going to be mindless slaves for the rest of our lives because!... because... cause..."

Tyler raised an eyeridge in confusion before he looked over and saw Alitar next to the subdued naga, Sam's collar clenched tightly in his hand before he threw it aside as Sam's eyes went wide. "I'm so sorry masters!" Sam quickly apologized, his head and body bowed down so low his snout touched the floor. "I should have not yelled, please forgive me for everything and allow me to continue to serve as your guardian!"

"Much better." Alitar said as the two completely mentally converted nagas joined the ranks of the other Makovi, which left only Siridis and the guardian who still restrained him in front of him. "Your turn."

Siridis said nothing, only stared blankly ahead as he was hoisted up to eye level with Alitar. When he continued to refuse to look at him Alitar chuckled and traced a claw up and down Siridis' scaly chest, which caused the other naga to tremble slightly. As Tyler watched he noticed that it was him that Alitar was staring at, and though he adverted his eyes from such an accusatory gaze he couldn't help but look back. When Tyler finally got the nerve to look at Siridis again he didn't see anger, resentment, or contempt; instead what he read on the naga's face was an almost pleading look. As Alitar continued to gloat and started to reach back for the collar around Siridis' neck the other alien continued to keep eye contact and when Tyler broke away an insistent look formed on the naga's face that caused him to refocus.

"I hope you enjoyed your short-lived rebellion, because once this planet is the Makovi's you won't see the light of day for some time." Alitar said as he undid the collar and let it slide off his neck. Before the metal could even hit the floor Tyler saw Siridis' reptilian pupils widen and there was a sudden mental pressure against his brain. It didn't take much to figure out it was the newly mentally-reintegrated naga and Tyler decided to open his mind to him.

Instantly Tyler found himself in a completely alien landscape, when he looked around he saw that he was in the middle of a park filled with humanoid alien creatures. Their faces and bodies had what he could best describe as a mix of feline and avian creatures, they were covered in short blue and purple fur and some of them had a pair a long, feathered wings. He watched as they went about their business much like humans on earth; some of them walked down the pathways underneath strange trees while others sat in the grass-like substance that covered the ground. It was a peaceful, happy scene, but it was soon disrupted by a loud crash that caused all the creatures to look in the direction of the blast.

Soon a second blast followed the first, then a third which caused the creatures to start to panic. As all eyes stared at the fireballs that erupted into the air none of them noticed as innumerable shiny black serpents began to crawl their way. By the time someone noticed the quick creatures were on them, those that had been sitting on the grass were covered by several as they pushed their way into their mouths and what Tyler assumed were their sexual orifices. People started to scream but that only gave the snakes easier access as those who were unfortunate enough to be caught on the ground began to writhe as the too-familiar black latex began to leak out of their bodies and assimilate their fur. Those who were further away from the initial invasion started to run, only to run into fully formed Makovi that sank their fangs into their necks as their ovipositors began to slide out of their slits. Within a minute the idyllic scene had turned to pure chaos and as Tyler watched new Makovi rose up from where aliens had laid only seconds ago and quickly turned on the remaining unconverted while black ships flew over their heads. One in particular continued to struggle even as the latex covered his head, his eyes seemed to stare straight at Tyler before his face began to form into a reptilian rubber snout with very familiar markings...

Tyler blinked as the scene suddenly disappeared and he found himself once more back in the spa on Earth just as the metal collar clattered loudly to the ground and Siridis slumped slightly forward. Meanwhile Alitar chuckled as he watched his pet fall into the thralldom of pure submissiveness, molding his mind like putty to stamp out any remaining sparks of independence.

"I'm not going to let you have that chance again." Alitar said as he grabbed Siridis by the sides of his head and forced him to make eye contact. "Did you really think that you would one day be free? And then what, go and liberate your planet from Makovi control? When I get done with you you'll hardly remember what you are, much less what you were. All you will be able to think about is how good it's going to feel laying all those eggs to seed future planets while every Makovi I can find uses your slit and mouth to fill you up while I-"

Click.

Even though it was hardly audible the sound of the auto-locking mechanism on the golden collar could be heard throughout the entire room, Alitar looking down in disbelief at the metal object around his neck. He looked behind him to see Tyler, his hands retreated back from the alien's neck after he had put the collar in place. "But you said you loved me." Alitar finally said in disbelief. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, but Siridis reminded me what I had been fighting for." Tyler managed to say. "Humans might not be perfect, but I'd rather we continue to live with our ability to choose instead of being taken over by a race of alien rubber nagas. So... I had to do it, no matter how much it hurt.

Alitar's face quickly went from shock to contempt as he glared at Tyler. "You want to cast your lot with them?" He asked angrily. "Fine, then you can join them in the pits! Guardians, restrain him!"

When nothing happened Alitar looked around at the huge nagas and saw that their latex scales had begun to melt and distort. Rubber reptile arms began to fall off of bodies and liquidate as well as all their other reptilian features until Alitar and Tyler stood in a room with a dozen very confused and very naked men and woman. When they realized their lack of clothing situation they quickly scattered to the nearest available doors, which left only five rubber nagas and one alien cat-bird person. Soon the only nagas left were Alitar and Tyler as Fredrick, Sam, and Brandon reached up to their faces and pulled them away, the rubber turned back into a mask as the rest of their reptilian bodies melted away from their human forms.

"This doesn't mean you won!" Alitar said as he desperately tried to remove the collar around his neck, only to get shocked which caused his entire body to spasm. "When I get this collar off I'll just seed a new town! Then my converts and I will come and make sure you're all personally turned by me as a public spectacle!"

"Sam, put him down." Brandon said, his arms crossed.

"With pleasure." Sam replied with a grin as he pulled a small, thin device from his pocket, Alitar's body writhing on the tile for several seconds before it stopped and the naga collapsed into unconsciousness. "That'll teach him for putting his lips on my man." Fredrick grinned as Sam pulled him into a deep kiss, the two wrapping their arms around each other.

"Hey hey, not now!" Brandon said as he practically pulled him apart. "You two go back to our mobile headquarters and tell command the threat is over, though I suspect their eye on the sky spotting a few thousand naked humans running around will be proof enough I'd rather not get blown up on top of everything else. Tyler, why don't you and I help Siridis back to his ship so... hey, why haven't you demasked yet?"

Tyler looked down at the tile, which caused the other member of his team to look at each other in confusion. Finally it was Siridis who spoke up, looking at Tyler apologetically before he turned to the humans. "I suppose I can be the one to explain this..."

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

Three days later Alitar sat coiled up in one corner of the small room in the bunker that served as the team headquarters for Tyler and the others. The only thing in the padded cell was a television and remote that had been built into the wall, which he used to watch the stories of the town that 'went crazy after an illegal LSD ring dumped their stash into the groundwater supply'. As he watched the reporter on the screen the door suddenly opened, a human walking through the threshold before it closed and sealed up behind him. "So they were able to revert you to human form." Alitar commented as he turned away. "Congratulations to you Tyler."

"Actually, they didn't." Tyler replied as he pulled a ring off of his finger, his body shimmering before it reverted back to his rubber naga form. "The bonding process was permanent and irreversible, so I'll never be truly human again. What the boys in the lab cooked up is a type of alien DNA suppression device, I guess considering the fluidic nature of your race's form I'm able to contain it to form some semblance of my human body."

"Well then I guess you can consider it another win for your kind." Alitar spat as he uncoiled himself and slithered towards the other naga. "Tell me, can they invent a ring to restore my capability to produce eggs again, or return the poison glands that they ripped out of my skull while I was still awake? If I return to my people again can I do it as a fully-function Makovi or will I forever be scarred by my encounter with your brutal race?!"

Tyler gave the alien naga a few seconds to calm down, then continued on. "Alitar, you've already been told that you can't go back to your people, the organization declared that it would be too risky for you to return with the information you know. Plus Siridis took off with your ship, why is anybody's guess though he made mention of mobilizing a resistance effort against your people. The rest of your technology and personal effects will be detained in a secret bunker for scientific study."

For a second it looked like Alitar was about to have another outburst, but instead his body slumped against itself dejectedly. "Fine, that's fine." Alitar finally muttered. "I'm a failure to my race anyway, I disobeyed orders and came to a planet single-handedly in order to conquer it and then couldn't even do that. Even if I did go back I'd probably be sentenced to the breeding pits, then when they found out I couldn't produce eggs anymore I'd probably just be killed or turned into a servant."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Tyler replied, fiddling with something in his hands before he held out his balled up hand to the alien. "Here, I did manage to secure one thing for you. Hold out your hands."

Alitar rolled his eyes, but when Tyler didn't budge he sighed and opened his palms. Tyler let go of the object and it fell into the naga's hand, the crystal sparkling in the light of the room as Alitar looked at it in surprise. "My pendant!" He said excitedly as he put it around his neck. "I thought I would never see this again."

"I snuck it off of you while you were unconscious." Tyler admitted. "I thought it would nice if we continued to match, don't you think?" Alitar's eyes narrowed slightly in a mixture of confusion and doubt at Tyler, as though unsure what to say to the other naga. He got up and slithered away to the television, then turned it off before he turned back to him, looking straight at the pendant that dangled against Tyler's rubber-scaled chest.

"You realize I gave that crystal to someone I thought I was going to be mated to the rest of my life." Alitar said, a mix of sadness and anger in his voice. "I'm not sure if I can stand to see it on someone who not only hates me but had an active role in ruining my life."

"Alitar..." Tyler said, Alitar huffing and turning away in defiance. "I know this doesn't mean much to you now but after you turned me into a Makovi-"

"Worst mistake of my life."

"After you turned me into a Makovi, I started to see you in a whole different light." Tyler continued despite the interruption. "I didn't see you as the enemy anymore, just this guy who was very sweet and kind to me. I know that part of it was the conversion process but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy spending time with you, heck if it wasn't for the fact you were threatening the entirety of the human race we probably would have stayed mates."

For the longest time neither creature said anything, Tyler waiting patiently as he saw Alitar mull over what he had just said. After what seemed like an eternity Alitar turned and came back towards Tyler, stopping only a few inches away from his body. "Back at the spa, when your friends were threatening me, you said you loved me." Alitar said. "Was that true, or something you were saying in order to have me keep my guard down around you so you could put that collar on me?"

"Alitar, there were so many feelings that were flying around that spa." Tyler said, which caused Alitar to turn away until the other naga put a hand on his cheek and pushed his gaze back to him. "I know your people are very quick when it comes to deciding mates, and when I became a Makovi I must have inherited that trait. I do love you Alitar, so much so that I've asked the boys in the lab to make you a ring so that you can disguise yourself as human and I can take you out of this cell."

The last of Alitar's prideful posturing broke down and he wrapped his arms around Tyler, the two embracing for the first time since the alien's capture. "Oh Tyler, I still love you too." Alitar admitted between kisses. "All this time I've been here my thoughts haven't been on my failure or my people, just what my life would be like if I couldn't spend it with you. But are you sure your people are alright with this, I did just try to essentially take over the world."

"As long as you don't try to do it again the organization believes that you are no longer a threat to the human population, although you can't expose your true self to the public." Tyler explained with a laugh. "The lab guys say that your ring is going to be a bit more difficult since they have to start with alien DNA and mask it to be human, but they said that it is possible. In all honesty I think you're going to like it here, outside we can be two human boyfriends and inside we can be two Makovi mates."

"As long as you're with me I think I'll like it here too." Alitar said with a smile. Tyler smiled back and turned to leave, but as he did he felt a strong hand grip his wrist as Alitar pulled him back. "Tyler, I have to tell you something... I was sort of holding back in case I was going to be in prison for the rest of my life but now that I'm living with you I have to tell you something about the time while you were transitioning to a full-Makovi."

Tyler saw the concern on his lover's latex-scaled face and his own quickly matched it. "What is it?" He asked, Alitar opened his mouth as though to say something but quickly closed it and put a hand against his face. "Alitar, what's wrong? C'mon, you can tell me, I assume we're going to share our memories completely soon anyway." For a few more seconds Alitar seemed to have trouble saying the words before he finally blurted it out.

"I used my beacon to mark this planet on the Makovian map. I relayed that this was a prime planet for conversion and that I was going to take it... they know that billions of humans are here and they'll know I failed, which means they'll be coming to take the planet anyway!"