Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Aftermath (Razgriz x Lustfull_Sin)

Razgriz

Shall we write beautiful stories together?
Supporter
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
*Tuesday, August 24, 3487. Location: Deseus, Daften Continent, Oman City. Time: 9:13am. Standard day on Deseus*

All around Oman City, the colonists in the Human Expansion Project awoke and went about their daily activities. Some ran the farms to help grow the crops, others worked in the factories to manufacture goods like chrome-steel and various plastics, and other still filled the other (perhaps less glorious) jobs that needed to be filled. From grocery vending to accounting to vehicular maintenance, it was like Earth had followed them here. Hover-cars traversed high in the sky, buildings were built taller instead of wider, leaving no danger to any animals on the ground intact and minimizing the environmental impact they had on the planet. It had been only a few years since the program's initiation, but already several major cities had been established on the surface, and more were being constructed with each passing day. The whole thing seemed like something their ancestors would have considered impossible: Flying cars, 100%-efficient renewable energy sources, and zero population growth among other things. Yes, it seemed like the humans really made a name for themselves; now able to traverse even the darkest reaches of space and colonize other worlds without damaging them like they had in the past. How far they had come from their admittedly barbaric and wasteful past selves.

The research crews initially were sent across the galaxy and beyond to investigate planets for habitation. Thanks to faster than light travel, or FTL travel for short, distances that would take trillions of years to cross could be covered in a minimum of five years; this naturally meant that humans would try to explore as much of the Milky Way as they could. It wasn't that Earth was bad; in fact, almost every environmental issue their ancestors had caused had been solved. It was merely the human drive for knowledge that led them to explore the stars for different worlds were they might even be able to live on. And with the progression of faster-than-light travel technology, they found that it was very much possible to do so. One research crew led by Dr. Marcus Stanislaus Braun stumbled across a very much Earth-like planet, down to the nearest molecule of air. Every test was conducted to determine its viability, and to their joy, it was deemed a more-than-suitable place for human inhabitants. More than thirty times the size of their home planet, the problem of natural heating was offset by increased proximity to its parent star. The oceans and other various water bodies were also determined to be almost purely fresh water with minimal salt contamination, a strange but very welcome occurrence. It did mean, however, that salt would have to be shipped back from Earth to this new colony; a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but still annoying nonetheless. The atmosphere? Same 78-21-1 mix as the Earth's, and with a comfortable surface pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch, the populace wouldn't have to be using pressure suits to survive, unlike the poor saps that colonized Io. The crust? Extremely high amounts of osmium, iridium and several other precious metals deemed "rare" on Earth; the core was also determined via deep-penetrating resonant sonogram that it was a nickel-iron mix, meaning the steel industry would do quite well here. in almost every respect, this was Earth, only much, much larger and rich with ground, ripe for development. Within a year, several thousand volunteers had signed up for this new home and traveled to the planet named "Deseus". It would take several more years to get people settled in. But even then, there was an obstacle that would reveal itself to the humans trying to live on this strange new world.

Only a year after the humans had finished setting up colonies around this new planet, had they realized that they were not alone here. To say the local species was strange would be an understatement; almost all of them humanoid to a very large degree, they appeared to be anthropomorphized versions of their Earthly counterparts, and many of them seemed to be representations of mythological figures. There were mermaid-like creatures, strange part-insect ones, and a sighting of one that looked like a Minotaur. Initial surveys of these strange new creatures showed them to possess very high levels of intelligence and some members even possessed the capacity to speak English. They weren't openly hostile, unless a male or female of a species happened upon his/her mate conversing with a human. But even then, most of the conflicts were resolved peacefully. Soon enough, the project shifted from helping the humans adjust to the Super-Earth planet to integrating the humans and newly-deemed "Mamono" populations together. Most of them seemed relatively inviting in welcoming the humans to the planet, especially the females and others even allowed them to be studied in their natural environment, leading several groups to try and catalogue the various species of the planet in an attempt to understand them further. Further down the line, inter species marriages were taking place; it seemed like everything was getting better for betterment's sake. However, things would soon begin to change....For the worst.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Friday, July 3, 3586. Location: Deseus, Evugid Continent, Wahiba Sands Central Information Center, designation 'Echo Base'. Time: 1:56pm. Human disappearances continue to climb*

"Sir, Lieutenant Cowell from Nizwa just reported in; another six disappearances. Only males again: Four married, two single" First Comms Officer James Anderson said as he removed the black comm-visor from his head, turning a brown leather swivel seat to face the Base Commander. The Comm Officer was a stout man, about five-six but fairly built, his entire form in a bright blue bodysuit with red accents on the shoulders, wrists and neck. He rubbed his tired eyes as he waited for the Base Commander’s response. Anderson's duties included fielding all military-level between installations and ensuring the security and maintenance of the milnet, which had been going crazy due to the high volume of disappearances throughout the human towns. The Base Commander, one Dennis Ray Collins, pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation, staying silent for a few moments. His black locks were frazzled from trying to get results, but the abductions were just stressful nonsense. “This is just what we need” he groaned; a much taller man, he was a bit more on the lean side. His black and grey uniform cleanly pressed, his entire being screamed military upbringing. It normally took a lot to get under his skin, being a fairly neutral tempered man, but this was just too much. It was up to him to defend these people, and he was failing.

The abductions had been going on for almost three years now; husbands and men alike seemed to be abducted, never to be heard from again and the searches for their bodies turned to be just as fruitless. Some cities had been picked clean of residents, turning the settlements into nothing more than futuristic ghost towns. Even with the addition of extra security from troop deployments on Earth, the number of humans on the planet was decreasing. It was like nothing they were doing was working and this latest six brought the total number of abductions up to over fifty thousand; the human population was only about three hundred thousand strong on this planet, what with it still being a trial colony, so having a sixth of their total number abducted did not bode well. “What do we do, Sir?” Anderson then asked, along with everyone else as they turned to Luckily, though they were about to receive a fresh batch of over thirty thousand soldiers from the United Nations Space Corps, as the military forces here were spread quite thin. This would only be the first of three installments of troops to help defend their towns. Additional military bases had been quickly and efficiently assembled to accommodate the massive influx of military strength, so the troops would be good to go as soon as they landed.

And as if on cue, a voice played over the intercom, “Ground Control, Echo Base, this is the SSC Harbinger. We’re in geosynchronous orbit with your location, requesting permission to deploy shuttlecraft”. Harbinger was a Halcyon-class interplanetary transport cruiser, able to transport almost one hundred thousand people and various-sized cargo pieces comfortably. Anderson then asked the Commander, “Orders, Sir?” Collins just nodded and said, “Bring ‘em down. We need the bodies. Let’s get to work people, we have colonists to protect”. Anderson smiled and turned back to face the console, opening up the channel and replying, “Copy your last, Harbinger. You’re cleared to deploy shuttlecraft. Transferring you to a UNSC operator”. A short, red-haired man dressed in a similar fashion to Anderson soon took over, as his job was now truly beginning. The holoboards was soon alight with activity; requests for approach vectors were heralded, screens lit up with profiles of the units aboard each individual shuttle, and unit deployments were handed down from the Commander to the various shuttles. After about an hour of all this, the red-haired air traffic controller simply said, "No fucking way". This made Collins turn towards the Comm Officer and reply, "What is it, Anderson?" James then turned, removed his headset and said, “Sir, you’re not going to believe this. Three Delta Force regiments are here”. Collins was noticeably shocked; Delta Force? Why would the baddest of the military badasses be deployed here? Did the brass think the situation was that terrible? “Well, holy shit, Command’s really throwing us a bone here” Collins then replied, seeming stuck at what to say. However, he soon got his shit together and ordered the regiments be split up among the standard soldier ranks; each Delta Force soldier was a one-man army in and of him or herself, so having even a few of them in the forces meant to protect the towns would be a significant force multiplier. “Let’s just pray to god this is enough” Collins commented lowly. All across the planet, the large shuttles landed in the bases near towns, troops in standard UNSC infantry armor poured out and set themselves up. Among these newly organized platoons were Delta Force soldiers, dressed in very intimidating Devastator armor, seeming ready to go at the drop of a hat. Larger transports also touched down, deploying ATLAS mechanized war suits as supplemental armor. None of them expected just what it was they were supposed to protect the colonists from.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Thursday, March 22nd, 3640. Location: Deseus, Ilias Landmass, Onyx Town. Time: 7:42am Human forces attempting to hold off Mamono incursion for civilian evacuation*

“This is Hunter-One-Actual! We are getting overrun! I repeat, we are getting overrun! Request immediate air support! We have colonists that need evacuation!” Eighteen-year-old Delta Force Field Captain Jackson Whitelock was shouting into a radio over the sounds of gunfire. “Watch the left flank!” another soldier shouted as what looked like shadows darted back and forth. "They're surrounding us!" "Calm the fuck down and keep up the pressure!" "Watch your sectors!" A scream for help was heard from another soldier as the poor bastard was dragged away by the shadow figures deep into the surrounding forest. “Roger, Hunter One Actual. Ospreys are five minutes from your position, just sit tight!” was the traffic controller’s response. Jackson cursed, but replied, "Roger, we'll hold off as long as we can! Over and out!" GARDIAN shields had been deployed around the town to keep the creatures from abducting any of the colonists, leaving the soldiers to fend off the horde of attackers. They wouldn’t last long if they got attacked though, so the soldiers there had to fend them off for as long they could. It turned out Mamono were indeed responsible for the abductions; these half-human bastards had abducted the human males and taken them as husbands. The Mamono had also taken to abducting human women as well, but this was a far less prominent occurrence, as the males were quite obviously the primary target. A fair few turned out to be consensual relations, the pair having fled to hide where no one would find them, but a larger part were men being forcibly raped. And several captures of specimens and subsequent analysis by scientists trying to figure out why the Mamono were behaving so differently only led to them being raped as well. The policy had now shifted from trying to integrate Mamonos and humans to protecting those already in the colonies at any cost; the Mamono that were legally married to humans fell into protected category, as some had been killed by 'wild' Mamono to obtain mates. But all the others would face indiscriminate extermination should they prove to be hostile and approach any human settlements, which a lot of them seemed to be and do. This way had been going on for quite a few years now, and seemed to only get more and more intense as entire towns, their people and armed forces were ousted due to conflict. The number of occupied human cities was diminishing, as were the number of humans.

What made this battle worse was that these particular Mamono – glimpses of which revealed them to be Wolves – were fast and efficient pack-hunters, able to circumvent even the most hardened soldier's defenses and take him for themselves. Several men had been abducted already, but the humans seemed to be holding out; they’d “euthanized” several of the Wolves already, but this pack was particularly large and aggressive. “Hunter-One-Actual, this is Osprey Two-Zero. Designate target area” a voice then played over the radio; the soldier picked it up and replied, “Attack all targets north of orange smoke! You’re cleared hot!” Jackson then unhooked an L83A1 Target Marker and threw the metal canister over the boulder he’d been using as cover; orange flumes began billowing out, and two of the twin-rotored aircraft soon hovered above the battle scene. “We see it, engaging hostiles!” 30mm autocannons loaded with HE rounds soon erupted from the belly of the gunship, shredding the environment and enemies with equal prejudice. Howls could be heard as the massive guns ripped the Wolves to pieces, trees and ground being chewed to bits by the relentless barrage from the gunships. Two other Ospreys soon touched down and opened the bay doors, letting the civilians clamber inside. "Hunter-One-Actual, this is Osprey Two-One! All civilians are boarding now! Hold them off as long as you can!” Jackson replied heatedly, “Roger! Base Control, request ARCLIGHT incendiary strike!" “Acknowledged. ARCLIGHT bomber inbound. ETA three minutes”. Jackson then added, "Proceed to Killbox Three-Bravo! Attack direction west! Danger close! Burn it down!”

The battle raged on, gunfire and screams echoing across the increasingly destroyed landscape. "ARCLIGHT, two minutes out". A few more soldiers were abducted, but the Wolf presence was starting to noticeably lessen. “ARCLIGHT, one minute out” the bomber’s voice spoke over the radio; Jackson then shouted, “The heat’s coming! Get down!” “ARCLIGHT strike away. Impact in 5….4…..3…..2……Impact!” All surviving soldiers ducked; a whistling was heard before a series of massive airblasts rocked the area, setting the forest to the north ablaze from the incendiary liquid within. Poking their heads up, they could see the plumes of black smoke; no way anything survived that. But that didn't mean they wouldn't regroup and perform a counter-offensive strike. “Let’s go! Move out!” the field commander shouted; as soon as the soldiers were on-board, Onyx Town was soon left empty, echoing with the ghosts of this event, just like so many had been and were becoming across the planet. Just as they left, they could see even more Wolves attack from a different direction, only to find the town itself empty and without any prey to take for themselves. "Take that, you rotten fucks!" Jackson shouted as the bay doors finally closed, leaving his regiment of five and about thirty other civilians to rest. “Sir, just what the hell is going on?” one civilian asked Jackson as Onyx Town faded from view, to which the Delta Force soldier replied, “I don’t know, but with the way things have been……I wouldn't be surprised if we had to leave this planet altogether”.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Location: Evugid Continent, Zipangu Region, Diamond City. Time: 7:59am Non-abducted human population on Deseus down to 62% original size. Situation critical*

Over in Diamond City, the situation was FUBAR; all of the soldiers - thirty UNSC standard infantry and six Delta Force - except one were all abducted by these strange, humanoid creatures, along with all the male and female colonists. The one lone soldier, a standard grunt by the name of Zachary Cole Williams, UNSC Private First Class, stood with the M5A3 assault rifle shouldered, watching with unflinching determination as a single female came forth. Her slim yet curvaceous body clothed in what appeared to be a traditional red-orange Chinese qipao decorated with artistic depictions of golden leafy vines, a slit at the side to reveal a well-formed, creamy-fleshed thigh and a cutout at her chest revealing an ample amount of cleavage. Her blond locks fell down to her back, while at the top of her head sat two ears, like those of a fox. Her golden brown hues focused on him and him alone as she drew closer, two fluffy, blonde-colored tails flowing elegantly behind her; the young man thought she was going to kidnap him and do unspeakable things to him. And with these thoughts in mind, the mind killer known as fear began to creep within him, making his once unbreakable resolution start to falter under her eerily calm gaze.

"S.....stay...back...." Zachary stuttered, feeling the fear well up within him, his eyes - hidden by the visored helmet he wore - widening in fright and making his grip on the gun shaky; before long, her ample chest was but mere inches from the muzzle of the rifle. But for some reason, the young soldier just couldn't pull the trigger; he tried to mask his fear, saying "Ge...get away....I'll shoot....". The fox-woman, the ears and tail being the only fox-like traits about her, smiled and giggled before replying sweetly, "No you won't darling......If you really wanted to kill me, you would have done so already..." A forefinger then raised up slightly and its tip pushed the barrel down and away, leaving the fear-frozen man standing there. Another sweet giggle was heard as her slender arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, her bountiful chest pressing against his own and her melodic voice adding, "Sshhhh, it's alright.....There's no need to be afraid, sweety. I can show you pleasures no human woman could even fathom. All you have to do....is give in and be mine and mine alone. And in return, I'll happily be your woman". As if to add more comfort, her soft-furred tails wrapped around them both, her magic radiating from them in waves, working to soothe this man and convince him of her sincerity.

Zach instantly felt the tension melt away, his once vice-like grip on the weapon loosening and letting the rifle drop with a clatter from his hand. The woman smiled and said, "That's a good boy; but I wanna see this pretty face of yours...." Her delicate hands reached up and gently lifted the helmet from his head; beneath lay the face of a man who came from good genes. Strong jaw, taut cheekbones, bright vibrant hair and eyes blue as the skies above, a perfect ten in her eyes. A satisfied smirk now crossed her lips as she casually cast the helmet aside, "Just as I thought....A child born from parents of the higher echelons of society......Yes, you are perfect....Let's find somewhere more private, shall we? Wouldn't want any of these lesser peons to steal my prize, and surely you won't want anyone other than me, right?". Zachary simply nodded, now completely entranced by this woman's beauty and words, the fear that once mercilessly gripped his heart now gone. "Excellent....Off we go, then" was her final statement; a bright flash of light encased them and when it faded, they had vanished to locations unknown. Never to be seen or heard from again.

*Location: Daften Continent, Tzir Forest. Time: 2:43pm*

"Oh shit....oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" was all Patrick Svenson, former Assistant Director of Interspecies Studies, was saying as he ran with all the energy he could muster into the dense jungle of Tzir Grove. He was a lithe man, but not all skin and bones; his platinum hair was messy and frazzled, his once pristine laboratory uniform - a white lab coat, white button-up shirt with red necktie, black slacks and polished black leather shoes - covered with grime, tears and scuff marks. His skin was lacerated in a few places from crashing through thorn-saturated brush; the adrenaline seemed to be in infinite supply for him, even now his blood screamed in his ears, his mind pushing him on and on. His eyes, a light shade of green with hints of blue, were wide and scanning endlessly, searching his surroundings so as to hopefully catch any threats before they caught him. He'd taken off from the nearby town of Delia after his research laboratory had been assaulted by tall, dark-skinned females in loincloths with huge swords. They'd said something about letting the hunt commence; those words alone made him realize they were an Amazoness tribe. Even now, he could still hear his co-workers scream as they were taken away; he'd hid in a locked supply closet until the coast was clear, then made a break for it. He'd since lost count of how many days he'd been running; however, that didn't even make him think of stopping. He just prayed he could lose any pursuers in this thick brush; then he'd be in the clear.

He then felt himself trip over something; he landed with a loud grunt as he fell onto his face and just laid there for a moment, not moving the slightest. "Ergggh...." he groaned out as he pushed himself; however, the panic rose in him again as he felt something thick wrap around his ankle and start to pull on him. "O...oh god, oh god! Someone! Anyone! H...help!" young Patrick shouted, his hands clawing at the dirt below him in a fruitless attempt to get away. His cries would go unanswered, but his struggling would not cease; even as he was lifted off the ground and into the air, his body thrashed, trying to free itself from the captor. He was then turned, his body hanging upside down around to face an enormous specimen of flora; its large pink petals were each about the length of an old-day SUV and the hemispherical base pod had to be at least seven feet wide and about five feet deep. Thorn-covered roots grew out, evenly spaced around the circumference of the stalk. "What on Earth....." Patrick said, pausing as the strange flower stood before him; he craned his neck forward to look and see that a vine from the base of the pod was what was holding onto him. His eyes widened in shock as the petals began to part; was this how he was going to die? Being eaten by a carnivorous plant? His eyes then closed shut as whimpers escaped his lips and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he continued to try and break free; he didn't want to see his own death coming at him, it was just too much to handle.

As the minutes passed, nothing happened to him; it wasn't until he heard "Alraune.....?", the voice itself soft and non-provocative, that he opened his eyes. What stood before him was something he'd never seen before....Inside the flower was not rows and columns of razor-sharp teeth, but a beautiful woman. The woman's expression was one of concern and puzzlement, as if wondering why he was struggling; her violet hues, though, were captivating and comforting, seeming to assure the researcher that no harm would come to him. It wasn't long before his struggles stopped; he then broke his stupefied stare to look at the rest of her body. Her skin green as the leaves of a tree, every inch of her just under five and a half foot figure was sinfully curvaceous, a good portion of it covered in leafy vines as well. She seemed to be standing in amber liquid, the level reaching about midway up her nicely plump thighs; in fact, her body seemed to be covered in it, as her flesh was quite shiny and reflected the late afternoon sunlight, giving her a very healthy looking glow. Her C-cup breasts were exposed to him, revealing emerald-green nipples and areola and what hat looked like a beautiful rose laid in her waist-length green-yellow locks. "Alraune...." the plant-woman said; this time, a subtle yet very intoxicating scent began to fill the air, flooding Patrick's nostrils and slowly making the rest of his tension disappear and replace it with a growing lust.

Two more vines then appeared from the base of the pod and began to undress him; strangely, even though his clothing was tattered and torn, she took it off of his body with the utmost care and precision. Within minutes, everything he'd been wearing had been neatly folded and placed beside her pod; the two new vines then proceeded to turn the man right side up and draw him into her flower, Patrick felt the warm liquid coat his legs as he was placed in front of her, the level reaching just above his knees. The woman then drew closer to him, pressing her naked, slippery form gently against his body as she ground her hips on his slowly stiffening manhood. Her slender arms wrapped around his shoulders as she then drew in for a heated kiss, her soft mounds pressing against his chest and her hardened nipples rubbing on his now nectar-soaked skin; Patrick could feel what was easily the sweetest liquid he'd ever partaken in coat every inch of his mouth. When the kiss was over, she pulled back to look up at him, a smile now very much present on that cute face of hers. Patrick then embraced her and kissed her again, submitting to her unspoken desire and will. The petals then shook and came to life, drawing up and sealing them inside for the rest of his days.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Saturday, August 10, 3644. Location: Deseus, Evugid Continent, Zipangu Region, Thunder City Command Base. Time: 6:42pm Human population down to 23% of its original size. Colonization of Planet Deseus deemed failure. Planetwide Evacuation at 99.9% completion….*

Two years........for two whole freaking years this war against the Mamono had gone on; the humans that had not been captured were escorted off the planet in droves via shuttle. Evacuation sites had been pre-established, where the shuttles would land under heavy guard and quickly take off. One such location was the Thunder City Command Base, where the last set of colonists was ready to be evacuated. Jackson Whitelock himself, now twenty years old and a Delta Force Lieutenant for his valorous defense of Onyx Town, stood in full Devastator armor, Reaper rifle charged and at the ready. He saw the fear in these people's eyes; he felt bad for these people. They just wanted to experience life on a new planet, and all this shit happened. They came here hoping to experience being on a different world, but this was a cruel reminder that the galaxy could be very unforgiving and that humanity was still new to all this. A lot made to this particular evac station, but the soldiers present knew that there were still a lot missing. Rumors even circulated that a fair chunk abandoned a chance to return home to actually live with these things...Course, those were just rumors, but deep down they knew at least five to ten percent actually chose that. Why they did was anyone's guess; that just meant their names would be crossed off from the registry and all personal data expunged and cleaned out. Like they never even existed...Officially.

Soon, the final civilian and infantry shuttles took off, the roof panels sliding back into place and leaving the remaining six Delta Force soldiers to wait for their own ride. They would be on lock-down until evac arrived to pick them up. "Well, holy shit, can't believe that's the last of 'em. A lot more than I thought there would be" a fellow Delta Force soldier commented, a Graver Machine Gun resting on his armored shoulder and his eyes following the shuttle as it soon disappeared into orbit. "Yeah, well, once we're off this rock, first round's on me" Jackson replied; he already wished he was home. Hell, he wished he was home two years ago after being in this mess. Oddly enough, he'd re-enlist after this tour was over, just not if he had to come back here. "Hell no, Whitelock, I'm buying the first round. After how much ass you kicked at Onyx Town, you deserve it" A third Delta Force added, clapping Jackson on the back. Still, there was a bit of a solemn tone; a few weeks ago, their Squad Captain got ambushed on a solo op. He was never found, not even with aerial scans. But to lift their spirits a little, a voice played over the radio, "Delta Force, This is Viper-Two-Two. We'll be there in five, just sit tight" Whoops of joy were heard from the soldiers, each getting antsy at the thought of finally getting out of here.

However, their victory party was cut short when a loud "BANG!" resonated at the front metal door, forcing all of them to turn sharply. There was a huge dent that hadn't been there, before; naturally, all of them readied their weapons. "Bolsov, Williams, get into the ATLAS suits. Now" Whitelock commanded; a nod from the soldiers was all that he received before the mechanized armor was online, weapon systems at the ready. This was the only two they had, and Bolsov and Williams were the best pilots Delta Force had to offer. More bangs were heard, the dent in the giant chrome-steel door growing larger and larger with each hit. The tension grew so thick one could cut it with a knife, each soldier's finger resting on the trigger ready to pull at a moment's notice. But then, the banging stopped.....No low strength hits, it just stopped. That didn't make them any less uneasy, heads turning trying to see where whatever the hell that was could have going. After a few minutes, Jackson took the opportunity and activated his earbud, saying "Viper-Two-Two, we need you here double-time...."

However, a final thud had sounded and the once-indestructible door now had a truck-sized hole in it. A group of four very large, muscular women holding giant metal clubs walked in, small horns growing out of their foreheads; these were a group of Oni, all of the Delta Force soldiers just froze in fear. What the hell were these things?. The one in the middle, possessing dark-red skin and dressed in what appeared to be animal skins, took a deep breath through her nose and said with a wide, toothy smile, "Well, well, lots of strong males here. Fine children we will have". This was all it took for Jackson to say, "Delta Force! Open fire!" Machine gun and rifle burst out; however, the Oni women didn't seem to be fazed. "Take them, sisters!" the one in the middle shouted. "Bolsov! Williams!" Jackson shouted; the two ATLAS mechs charged in, tangling directly with two of the women. Within moments, the heavy-locked back door was forced open and they now had an exit "Come on, come on!" Jackson said, waving his remaining crew through the back door. Jackson would not follow; instead he turned back around and went to assist the ATLAS pilots, who were currently getting their asses kicked. Jackson's armor pounded heavily on the ground as he strode in, firing his rifle to try and get the Oni's attention. It worked on one of them, who noticed a relatively unprotected human and went to reach for him; however, Williams then clocked her in the back of the head and rendered the woman unconscious. "THAT WAS MY SISTER!" another shouted, and jumped on top of the ATLAS. "Big mistake, dyke. This one's for Marcus!" Williams growled; a button was pushed and the entire mech's surface became electrified, shocking the Oni until she let go and slumped to the floor. This made the other Oni stop and strongly reconsider; they grabbed their unconscious siblings and pulled them out of danger. "Quick! While they're regrouping!" Jackson said and led them toward the rear entrance. Bolsov's ATLAS, a heavier "Prime" variant whereas Williams' was an "A" variant, crashed through the wall, opening the entrance up even further.

The shuttle had landed in a large grassy field, having been instructed to take a secondary landing zone as the first was compromised. It was just finishing boarding the Delta Force members and was about to take off; the other soldiers though saw the two mechs and Jackson striding towards them. "Hold up, hold up, here they come!" one of them shouted; it only took a minute to get Bolsov and Williams out and into the shuttle. The first ATLAS mech was compacted and slid onto the ship, and they were halfway through the second one when a loud shrieking was heard. More Wolves seemed to stride out from nowhere. HUNDREDS of them, and they were soon all over the shuttle, trying to claw their way inside. What was worse, one of the Oni from before was charging at them. Jackson then did the unthinkable; after shoving Williams inside the shuttle, he boarded the single ATLAS and activated it, the mechanized battle suit roaring back to life and going to work. Within moments, the Wolves were thrown clean off, the mech's massive strength more than a match for these flat-chested pups. The shuttle now was out of the Wolves' and Oni's reach, but that wasn't the challenge; the real challenge would be the Oni that was gaining on them, clearly running straight for Jackson. "Whitelock! What are you doing, comrade!" Bolsov shouted at him through his earpiece; Jackson just said, "Saving your asses! Now go!" Warrant Officer Williams then replied, the desperation very much evident in his voice "No! We're not leaving you behind! Viper-Two-Two, hold your position! Delta Squad, fire!" Bolsov's gun erupted from the backhatch of the shuttle, soon to be joined by the rest of his squad. The Oni, unfazed by the aerial barrage, slammed into the ATLAS, trying to pin it down and tear out the human inside for her own pleasure. "This isn't up for....discussion, Bolsov! Pull out! I'll be fine! No sacrifice, no victory! Viper-Two-Two, ignore Officer Williams...nrgh... and get them the hell out of here! That's an order!" Kinsey's lip's quivered beneath his armored mask; he never thought someone would willingly leave themselves behind like this. Not to those monstrosities. And that sentiment was shared by the pilots and other Delta Force soldiers before they shot off into orbit, now out of the range of any Mamono wishing to capture a male. As their radios faded out, leaving the weakening signal behind, Jackson' voice played, "An...If one of.....tell Kayla....I'm sorry. Tha....I lo..." The signal then faded to static, and before long a tear opened in space and the shuttle began its years-long journey back to their home world with the other escapees.

Jackson threw off the Oni, who seemed to be getting more and more frustrated at his resistance. Jackson then used his trump card: Twin medium-range booster rockets that allowed him to make a huge leap out of danger's path. Activating these would destroy the ATLAS upon landing, given how beat up it was from the Oni woman's strength, but at least he'd put some distance between them. Huge plumes of flame and acrid smoke erupted from the mech's back, propelling it high into the air after a huge leap upward and away from the scene; the Oni could only choke for a short moment, then bellow in frustration as her prize disappeared into the distance. Jackson sailed far away, easily over thirty miles, before crashing into the center of a destroyed town. The ATLAS was definitely a goner, he thought to himself as he clambered out and examined his surroundings. He didn't know which one this was, but he didn't care; this was home for now. And he'd make it work; taking out the Reaper rifle, Breaker sidearm and Flash Knife stored in a side compartment, along with several modifications and magazines of ammunition for each weapon, and placing them into their respective compartments of his Devastator armor, he then made tracks into a nearby bunker and set up what he would call a temporary home.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Saturday, August 14, 3648. Location: Deseus, Evugid Continent, Jacinto Ruins. Present day, four years following planetwide evacuation*

Jackson had long since lost track of time that he'd been on this planet; a couple of years he knew, but just how long was a mystery to him. He laid down on his bed, the front door sealed tight so that those abominations couldn't get their hands on him. He'd had to move around a lot, because if he stayed in one place for too long, the Mamono seemed to come snooping around. He'd settled into the highest room at the top of a surprisingly intact twenty-story building, which he'd turned into his own personal headquarters. Traps that he'd lifted from the abandoned armory in his current town were placed along the hallways leading towards his room; he had enough food, water and ammo to last him a short while. In fact, he was just walking in with the latest raid to the armory a few miles down the road; the Mamono had become cunning, and learned of his tendency to stay in the well-armored vaults. But now he was here in a high-rise apartment, at the very top; yes, there was a lack of defensibility, but he needed to change where he would hide, lest they discover a pattern and intercept him.

All of this running, all of this having to hide and survive wore him out. Now devoid of his Devastator armor - which lay against the wall opposite the room in standby mode - his true human form was revealed: A six-foot-four, well-toned body with various impressions on his skin from how often he had to wear his armor. His untrimmed hair, once a vibrant brown but significantly dulled from his exertions, reached down to his shoulder blades. He stood in the room, left only in a pair of hand-washed underwear; naturally, living here meant none of the electric appliances could be used, since it might alert wondering Mamono to his location. His black bodysuit hung over the back of a chair, its surface riddled with holes and stains from lack of maintenance. It could still be used, but some of its functionality was lost; the thermoregulating matrix in the suit was heavily degraded, making it less effective at monitoring his body temperature. He'd managed to make a bit of progress in fixing it, but he couldn't find the necessary to make a full repair, but at least it would work for now. He'd just finished maintenance on his armor and was now working on the Reaper; for that he did find the right tools, which was great because this armor he wore and the gun he carried were the two things - along with his training and learned tactical ability - that kept him out of those freaks' clutches for this long.

Once he finished his maintenance, he decided to rest for a little bit; it was stuffy so he cracked open a window and let the breeze blow in a little. The tired soldier then fell back on the bed, his dulled green eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling. "Boy one hell of a mess I landed myself in" he commented blandly; he wondered if anyone missed him back on Earth. His parents, his friends......All of them he left behind to save his squad-mates. Whether it was blind stupid heroism or an unbreakable sense of duty, he'd thrown himself into the lion's den to make sure his squad got out alive. He looked over at the holopad that was on the desk; this was something he found on a prior trip and used to help put his thoughts on something solid and keep his mind sane. After typing in a few things about his recent outing for more supplies, he hit 'Save' and then put it back down; was it even worth doing this? Who was going to read it? No one. Even still...There was something comforting about putting his thoughts and such onto something solid. It freed up his brain and spirit to focus on other things, namely survival and potentially finding a ride off this damned planet.

"Tch...That ain't gonna happen anytime soon" he muttered, running a hand through his messy hair; needless to say, despite his hard-wired habit of trying to keep himself presentable, he was definitely looking rugged. Heavy stubble covered his squared jaw, and his eyes were dark from massive lack of sleep and overdependence on recovered stimulants and caffeine pills to stay awake. Giving a defeated sigh, he then went to retrieve the Breaker sidearm he'd kept with him; most important task of the day, he thought. If he was going to make it out of here, he needed his tools to be in top shape. He looked over the weapon's form as he sat in another chair, examining it for defects; this thing had saved his ass a few times, but it was a bitch to find spare parts for. Luckily, they were built to last, so maintenance was something that could be put off for a surprising length of time. Unfortunately, Jackson had left his room window open in an attempt to air it out, letting the small amount of his scent trail to the outside and potentially waft into the noses of any Mamono who might be searching for a man to claim as their own.
 
*Date Unknown, Year Unknown. Location: Umbre, Zipangu Mountains.*


No one on Umbres knew when it started or how it started. This planet was riddled with creatures unknown by others. Humanoids. Half their bodies that of creatures from a different planet along with some human characteristics. Umbres was a thriving place. Males and females coming together, mating, prospering, growing, but it was slowly coming to an end…..for the males that is. The first one to show signs was a male Oni. He was strong and fierce, his body built like stone. Nothing, well…no one could bring him down, except for this. There wasn’t much sign of it, but as the days passed, his skin was paler, no longer that healthy red tint that most Oni’s had. His hair had been falling out and he could no longer walk. He coughed blood, eyes blood shot, his stomach unstable and forcing him to retch. By the tenth day, he wasn’t able to move at all. Unable to go out and relieve himself. Unable to bathe himself. Chew his own food. It was as if everything was slowly shutting down. By the time this one died, two others began to show signs of the illness. Days passed, none of the Oni not knowing what to do. As the two went, five more were sick. As those five died, ten more caught it. Quickly, the number of Oni’s that were catching this disease was slowly meeting their demise. And it wasn’t all the Oni’s. No. Only the males. Thinking it would be best to consult another creatures, they brought in a Lamia, thinking that one who uses plants and poisons of different kinds would know if this was truly a disease or not.

The Lamia, being male, checked each Oni that was suffering. Inspecting their skin, feeling how soft it was to the touch. He was unable to determine what the cause was. Leaving, the Lamia was unaware that he now carried the disease with him. As he slithered across the forest, he began to cough himself, feeling flustered. Before he reached in home, he bumped into a male Werewolf or was confronted by one. Before a battle could be issued, the Lamia was able to escape, though he left behind the deadly disease for the wolf to carry on. Days passed and little by little, all the males of every species began to show signs of what the Oni had suffered from. The females were in chaos, wondering what was happening and how could it be stopped. They were forced to watch as their mates, brothers, sons; all began to perish thanks to this unknown outbreak.

The Mother of Monsters of Umbre ordered the woman to burn every dead male’s body. The last thing she wanted was for this disease to continue spreading, least of all attacking the females as well. Though it pained them, the females all obeyed, unable to go against their Mother’s wishes. And so, for months, the smell of burning skin, fur, scales or feathers could be smelled. Some females had taken their lives, unable to live on this planet without their mate. Some females had gone crazy from the despair and anger of what had happened, going against and accusing their Mother for the outbreak. Females fought one another, blaming each other. Centuries of living peacefully without problems, all shattered, thanks to something unknown to them. Alliances broken. Wars started. Death’s increasing. The Mother of Monsters wasn’t sure how much she was going handle all this, but she only wished there had been someone who could have helped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Friday, January 1, 3486. Location: Umbre, The Field of Drein. Time: 10:45 am
*

The females of Umbre’s weren’t sure how much time had passed since they last saw a living male. Decades perhaps. How many, they didn’t know, but to see males roaming their planet had been a joy. They were strange. They came down from the sky in these metal looking boxes that were loud and caused a lot of wind to blow. When it opened, the females all hid, watching from behind trees and bushes, watching as one by one, these strange figures appeared, wearing some sort of armor. They were big and shiny, just like the box they came in. Their language was bizarre as well.

They held up these devices, pointing them here and there, saying things that they thought were strange. Immediately, Mother was informed, telling her of the strange creatures that appeared. Curiosity got the better of her, though she commanded that no one make any contact with these creatures. Any hostility and they were to be killed. The females may have their differences against each other, but the last thing they would do is deal with something that was unknown to them. Leaving her domain, Mother had made good timing, reaching the wide expanse of a dead field known as The Field of Drein. Drein being the Guardian of death and misery for them. Watching, Mother was curious as to know why they were here. What purpose did they have? Did they mean to cause harm to her children? Before she could think of any more answers, it seemed that someone had or is stupid enough to make first contact. Seeing the unknown creatures reveal some sort of weapon, Mother reacted, her instinct being to protect her child. Shooting from out of the forest that surround the field, Mother made quite the impression, slithering quickly across the field and appearing before the unknown beings, stretching her body upward, forcing them to look up at her with awe and fear. She stared them down until they lowered their weapons. Silence was something that began to irritate Mother, but finally, one of the unknown creatures, raised its limbs, reaching for its head, until he twisted and removed it, a hissing sound could be heard.

These creatures were deranged, or so she thought, but what was under that head, was another head. “H-How….do you have two heads?”She asked, surprising the being.

The being simply smiled. “It's not a head. “He said, tapping on the hard headed sphere. “It’s a helmet.”

“A….helmet?”She asked, curious. Curiosity always getting the best of her, this became the day where the females from this planet slowly began to learn about Earth and what came from there.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Monday, May 18, 3583. Location: Umbre renamed Deseus, Various Locations. Time: Varies.*


“Look. There.”

“Oh, my. Yesss. Look at hiss form. Sssuch strength. Mmm, I can sssmell him from here.”

“Sssister, let usss have him. We ssshall ssshare and create many.”

“Yesss sssister. Let’sss take him.”

Two Lamias smirked at each other, both looking the same, their lower half covered in purple scales with a few green and black here and there to make intricate patterns. Two sets of golden eyes watched the human farmer, slithering close to him, keeping quiet. He was sweating from hoeing the ground in order to plant more vegetation. The smell of his sweat drove the Lamias to lust, having been chosen to become their new mate. Before he was aware of it, one of the Lamia’s smoothed her hands up along his naked back, then wrapping them around his neck in a loving hug. “Mmm, you sssmell even better up clossse.”She said, her long forked tongue darting out and licking up his cheek. Her naked breasts pressed against his back, making him shudder and gasp a bit.

The second Lamia appeared in front of him, her naked upper body rubbing against his, until she was eye to eye with him. “You are perfect to be our mate.”

“M-Mate? No wait. You can’t-“

“Hmm, yesss, our mate. We ssshall make love and make lotsss of children.”Said the first, kissing his neck.

“No” He struggled, but suddenly, found that he couldn’t move his body. Looking down, it seemed both Lamias had managed to wrap their snake like bodies around his, keeping him in place.

“Oh Yesss.You will be oursss forever.” The Lamias snickered and without another word, dragged their new found mate off into the forest, back to their cave where he will be fucked until he either kills himself or they kill him accidently with love.



Location: Oskues Sea, Capt San’s ship.

“Captain, were over run.”

“Dammit you fool. Call someone. See if we can’t get any-“

A tentacle appeared and wrapped around Capt’ San’s face, rendering him silent.

“No need to call anymore. I think you three will be enough for us.”A Scylla chuckled, bring the Capt’ closer to her half naked body. Her tentacles soon wrapped around his body, keeping him immobile. “Your body is so hot.”She purred almost, her tentacles tightening a bit by accident. “Sisters, take the rest for your pleasure. This one is mine.”

The woman cheered, their tentacles reaching for the other remaining sailors. Six, along with Capt’ San’s were taken from the boat and into the sea. To where, no one knows and they weren’t seen again.


Location: Beheth Forest Wet Marsh, Zipangu Region


“S-So good. Yes. Yes. Oh Scries, yes.”Eiki, an Oomukade, moaned as she forced her body up and down her new mates throbbing shaft. Her body held him in place, already; her toxins were keeping him immobile as she used him for her own self crazed pleasure. “You feel…s-so wonderful. So hot inside me.”She worked her hips, trying to take him in deeper inside herself, wanting the spiritual energy of his semen to warm her belly.

The innocent man could only lie there and moan out, unable to move his own hips or limbs to seek pleasure for himself. “Oh God…please….please st-“

“Don’t say please. You shouldn’t beg to your new wife.”She said, running her long tongue along his cheek until she couldn’t help herself and kissed him, her tongue tasting every inch of his mouth. She moaned loudly, her body hot, slick with sweat against his. She couldn’t stop kissing him, needing the taste of his hot saliva down her throat. Soon enough, he began to move, his hands slowly caressing along her back and down, squeezing her rear.

“So fucking hot.”He moaned and moved his hips against her’s, trying to get in deeper.

“Ahh, yes. Yes, yes. I love you. I love you.”She cried and kissed him once more, the sounds of their hot love making echoing throughout the marsh.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Saturday, August 14, 3648. Location: Deseus, Evugid Continent, Jacinto Ruins. Present Day.*


Since that faithful day four years ago, all the men had left the planet, leaving the Mamono as they had been named, with nothing. The Mamonos only wanted to prosper and turn their planet back to how it had been before, but it seems that just snatching males from either their homes or from anymore was seen as wrong. The Werewolves had been no match in capturing those last few male soldiers, but it seemed one had been stupid enough to escape. As to where he is, no one actually knew. The search had been on ever since. Mother wanted this male, hoping to breed some males out of him, but in truth, all the females on Deseus wanted this male for themselves.

Yurin sighed, her body easily gliding over the soft grass underneath her. For days she has searched and had come up with nothing. Oh she had discovered the various placing the human male had been, and figured he was going around in a certain pattern, trying to keep his whereabouts unknown. As of right now, Yurin has lost track of him. She had thought she had picked up his scent, but it had been nothing more than another small hiding place he had used. He would either use old homes left abandoned, or caves never before used in years. Yurin was getting tired of this.

“Where are you my love?”She whispered, sighing as she looked up at the sky. The sun was up high, the month hot, which she liked, since her blood ran cold. Being a Lamia had its advantages and disadvantages, but overall, she liked being what she was. Perfect in form, her breasts were nice and large, like….what did that one male call them….Melons….or something. She didn’t think they were that big. Her breasts were covered in a simple cloth, wrapped about them like a ribbon almost, bound in the front with a bow. Her lower body had lovely scales of different shades of blue scales with a few black ones to make intricate designs. Her personal parts covered in a simple skirt that was tied at the hip. She didn’t have much jewelry on her, but she did love her gold arm band as well as the gold bracelet she fell accidently stole. Her eyes the color of fire and hair a midnight black, skin creamy and pale, Yurin dubbed herself the most beautiful Lamia there ever was.

Slipping from Oskues Forest, she sniffed around for a moment, hoping to catch her male’s scent. “Oh…not here.”She pouted and slithered forward, looking around for any sign of him, something or anything out of the ordinary. Sighing, she looked up, seeing one out of many tall structures the humans had built. It was abandoned, she knew and she doubt he would be stupid enough to sleep in-

She stopped in her track, sniffing the air. The smell was uncommon, musky and Earthy. Yurin looked around, making sure no other Mamonos were around. “Are you in there my love?”She asked, already seeing him as the lover he was meant to be. Moving around the large structure, she checked for anything unusual, looking up and down, until finally, on the South side of the building, a window was open. It was the only window and the smell was coming from there. “You are there. I smell you my love.”She smiled, looking around once more, making sure she wasn’t followed or anything and then soon began her easy climb up the building. There were a few balconies, some intact, others not really, but she used whatever she could, stretching her body upwards, pulling and pushing herself up, making no sound as she finally reached the highest opened window. Carefully, she peeked in, seeing nothing at first, until, suddenly, movement. Smiling and keeping herself from making any sound, Yurin easily slipped through the window, her heavy body making no sound. Gently and quietly, she shut the window and placing the lock on it, keeping his scent from escaping and attracting other females. The smell of him was everywhere, overwhelming her senses. How long has her love been in here? Not long it seems, for the musky smell of the room itself still lingered from having been closed up for so long.

Moving across the floor to an open door, Yurin peeked in, carefully looked around and saw him, there, on a chair. His back to her, he seemed to be working on something. Using this as her advantage, Yurin sneaked in and before he knew it, she jumped in, wrapping her body around his, his arms held firmly to his sides. Whatever he had been working on fell to the floor. “I finally found you my love.”She said and hugged him, rubbing her cheek along his. “For years. Searching so many years, but finally, I have found you.” She may have only seen him once in her life, but the once was enough to make her fall in love. “Oh my love. Promise me you’ll never leave me. Not ever again.” Already she was becoming obsessive and possessive, her scent wrapping all over his body.
 
Jackson of course had no idea that he was being actively hunted; neither did he possess the understanding of the various creatures' abilities, nor even the magnitude of the Mamono's presence on this planet. He was no scientist, interested in trying to understand them and their extremely weird origins. He was a soldier, a human bred for combat and built for war; throughout his family line, the males of the Whitelock family had served in the UNSC, carrying the prestige of valor and service to Earth from generation to generation. However, despite his capacity to perform and all the training he'd received, the fact was he knew too little about his enemy to fully understand his actions.

And he was about to receive the greatest surprise of his life; despite having secured every entrance that he could, Lamia were a very clever race and seemingly able to circumvent just about anything the humans had set up in ways of defense. And given the nimbleness of their bodies, they could easily avoid and slither around just about any trap. And of course, due to his own fatigue, his recent check on said traps made him forget to lock the door to the room he was currently sitting in.

He let out a loud "Oomph!" as the serpent woman tackled him hard, the Breaker sidearm flying from his grip and skittering to a halt on the hard floor. He felt something smooth and cool wrap tightly around his body, restraining his arms and rendering him completely immobile. "W...what...the....." he grunted out as he tried to wriggle free of the vice-like grip. "Fuck!" he shouted at himself mentally; four years, four years he'd been running, trying to avoid getting captured. And now here he was, wrapped up in an amourous Lamia's coils.

"L..love? Bitch, I...ain't your love!" he spat out venomously in response to her words, feeling his skin crawl as she rubbed up against him. He continued to struggle, his powerful body flexing fruitlessly against the smooth coils of the Lamia's lower form. However, for as strong as Jackson, the Lamia had ensnared him, and a human was simply not capable of brawling physically in a fight. "L...lemme go, you fucking half-human freak!" he then growled, his spastic struggling finally ceasing after a few minutes; he knew he was sunk in body, but she'd have a hell of time breaking him mentally. However, neither of them seemed to take into account that the window to his room specifically was still open, as she had crawled in another open window to a room he'd visited to scavenge for supplies.
 
He struggled against her and she rather liked it. The rubbing of bodies, the heat of his warming her's. Oh how she loved and missed the feeling. "Oh my love, yes, keep struggling, it'll only make me hold you tighter."She said encouragingly. Though it seemed he wasn’t rubbing and struggling to please her, but to in fact escape. The words he spat at her made her heart drop, as well as her face. “Oh…but…”She stuttered, staring at him. How could he refuse her? She was the most beautiful, most gorgeous, loving Lamia there ever was, unlike her sisters and Mother.

“You…shouldn’t talk like that to your soon-to-be wife.”She said, holding him tighter. “Unless….”she glared at him, her pupils turning into thin slits. “Is there another.”She hissed, her tongue slipping out before his face. “If there is another, I shall peel her skin and remove her head so you may no longer think her worthy and attractive.”Sitting up straight, she sniffed the air, trying to determine if there was another creature here in this place with him. So far, she smelled nothing, only his scent and no one else’s.

Looking down, Yurin forced herself to calm down. He is still struggling to accept the fact that he is her’s. Yes. That’s the possible reason. He’s still in shock at having to finally meet his true love and mate. “Oh. You aren’t keeping anyone else here. I’m glad.” She smiled sweetly, her hands rubbing along his cheeks, feeling the stubble he had going on. “Call me Yurin my love. You’ll never forget it once were married and are intertwined in love making.”Yurin sighed at the thought. “I will make sure no other female gets near you. You are mine and only mine. No one will ever have you and if you dare leave me-“ Her smiled contorted into a sadistic grin, her eyes changing once more into thin slits. “I will wrap myself about your body until you no longer breathe and ever bone in your body is broken and turned into dust within you. No one will have you then.” Her face changed suddenly back into a charming smile.

“Tell me my love. Do you wish to go ahead with the marriage and-“She blushed pink. “-proceed to the love mating that binds us together, or wait a bit to let your mind settle at the fact that you now have a potential mate. Don’t worry. I’m willing to wait a day.”
 
Jackson could only sit limply in the tight coils of her body, the physical fight having left him for a moment. Though her words made his eyes shoot open; what the hell was she on about? "Soon-to-be....ngh....wife? I don't fucking think so!" he replied angrily; like hell he was going to get married to this.....thing. "And I'll talk to you......" he started to say, but paused when she changed her demeanor on the spot, becoming noticeably darker and more sinister. Great, now he had a full-blown psycho to deal with at the same time. "What a fun box of surprises this bitch is" Jackson commented at her mentally; if she hoped to intimidate him with threats of skinning someone else alive - especially if it was another Mamono - she was failing horribly. Truthfully, she'd be doing him a favor if it were the case; he wouldn't have to waste a bullet.

He grimaced as she rubbed his cheeks and asked him to call her by her proper name, her slender fingers caressing the slightly rough skin gently. What really pissed him off was when she started her stupid talk about him like he was her property now; little did he know just how backwards he had it. If he were to marry her, she would become his in her totality. However, the fight-or-flight response - which was strongly shouting "Fight!" at this particular moment - was making him obnoxiously resilient (from an average Mamono's point of view). Even as she threatened to kill him should he leave her, her ignorance towards just who he was showed more and more; he was a Delta Force Lieutenant, and they were trained to be 100% unafraid of death, to even embrace it willingly should the Reaper come for them.

As she then held him up and asked if he wanted to mate with her, Jackson just felt his revulsion for her grow more and more; ironically he then started laughing as he reconsidered what it was she just said to him. At first it was just a low chuckle, a rather creepy grin stretched across his face before it burst into full-out laughter for a few seconds, then quieted down to no laughing at all. He then looked back up and replied, "You really think I give two shits about dying? Hell, I've considered killing myself so this wouldn't happen to me! But no, I had to be the stubborn moron and try to hold on to the hope I'd make off this hellhole! So you know what?" He then paused and soon enough, he spat right in the Lamia's face, the gob of saliva hitting right between her eyes. He then continued, his tone as serious as ever, "You might as well just kill me now, you goddamn mutant freak!"
 
((Sorry for taking a while. I just got a second job, so I've been going to beed uber early just to wake up early to go in for training.))


Yurin assumed the soft chuckle meant that he was happy to be her husband. She was so thrilled. But as he continued to chuckle then outright burst into laughter, Yurin simply stared at him, then frowned. "What is so amusing my love?"She asked, wating to know what was so amusing. Perhaps it was the fact that he was just so over joyed about the news. Hearing him relax now, she tilted her head to the side. His response wasn't what she expected. He was confusing and Yurin simply stared at him. So he was upset at the fact that he stayed in this planet instead of leaving with his friends. That was his problem or perhaps it was just destiny.

"My love, it-"the sudden feel of something hot and sticky caught her off guard. He spat at her. He had to odacity to spit at her, his own wife. If her tail had a rattle at the end, he would hear how pissed she was.Her eyese changed, the black of her eyes consuming the white instead of turning into slits. Her teeth seemed to have elongated a bit, her nails sharpening."you son of a bitch. If you won't be mine-"She raised her hand, nails gleaming, showing their sharpness. "-then you will be no-"


A loud crash sounded, the window having been busted and three Black Harpies appeared. Yurin's eyes widen. "He is mine."She hissed at the Harpies, but gasped as one appeared before her, its taloned foot gripping her throat tightly. "N-No."She gasped, her air being cut off. She was trying to concentrate on keeping her hold on her lover, but having air was more important. She slowly uncoiled herself from around him, though not quick enough. Struggling for air, she spasmed and accidently threw her love against the wall, heer hands trying hard to pry off the Harpy's foot from around her neck.

"The nerve you have on keeping him to yourself."The Harpy said, squaking a little. "When were done with you, will take him as our husbands." She said, seeing the Lamia's bulge. "Sisters."She called and the other jumped at Yurin, tearing at her skin and scales, using their sharp talons to penetrate through her scales.

Yurin screamed, trying her best to either slither away or curl herself into a ball, but the Harpy weren't giving her a chance. She tried to covere heer face, but one of the Harpy's managed to scratch her, taking one of her eyes in the process. Blood splattered her and there, Yurin's tail flaying about, imprinting blood on the walls and floor. "My love...please..."She called, hoping to get help.


"You think he'll want to help a disguting snake like you."One of the Harpy's snickered. The Harpies were distracting themselvese, not purposely, but they were determined to teach this Lamia a lesson, as well as end her life completely. With their determination, this gave the human a chance to either make his escape or stay and fight while they weren't looking. The Harpies just assumed he would simply stay still, fear keeping him in place. Little did they know.


((There. I gave Jackson a means to escape.))
 
('Tis alright; congrats on the second job though. And nicely done on the post! Loving this!)
Jackson braced himself for his end, his eyes closing as her clawed fingers ready themselves to end his life. Time seemed to slow down as the Lamia's angered expression stared at him, his own one of odd serenity, representing an unflinching acceptance of his fate. "So this is it, then. Heh, I made it a pretty long time.....Not bad, Whitelock. Not bad" he said to himself, his tension loosening as he waited for the eternal slumber to overtake him. However, fate was a cruel mistress, and would see to it that his life not end here. Not yet, not now. As if on cue, his eyes snapped back open at the sound of breaking glass, seeing three petite women with what appeared to be feathers on their arms and bird legs that started at the knee of her human-shaped thighs. Just how many different kinds of freaks did he have to encounter? But suddenly, the Harpies attacked, and Yurin's throwing him into a wall didn't help at all. "Oomph!" was all he said as his muscled form collided with the metal wall before falling over onto all fours. Now he got to see that the freaks were going after each other. Well, no matter; now that they were distracted, he could make his move. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, his bodysuit was on with well-practiced precision and execution, the biorecognition making it cling to his body like a second skin. He then jumped into and powered on his Devastator armor, retrieving the Breaker sidearm that had skittered across the floor when the snake woman tackled him.

Now he had two choices: Go out the main door and likely run into more of these things, or shoot his way past the four monsters and jump out the window. The hallways were too confined and provided too many potential ambush points; his armor would let him survive the drop from the window, and he would have a much larger field of view. He decided the window was the best choice; even better, he could use one of the new arrivals as a landing cushion, reducing the armor damage down to nothing. The sidearm flashed and a loud "BANG!" was heard; one of the Harpies now had a hole in her head, the light in her eyes fading as she slumped to the floor. Before anything else could be said or done, Jackson swung the high-caliber handcannon to the next Harpy, the one with her talons around Yurin's neck, and pulled the trigger; the massive slug caught her in the chest, puncturing her heart and forcing her to release her grip.

Jackson then charged and crashed his heavily-armored body into the final Harpy, the two of them plummeting out the window to fall the entire twenty-stories to the ground below, inadvertently saving Yurin's life. The two of them would tangle in the air, each trying to gain superiority over the other, blows being exchanged but the energy shielding around Jackson's armor rendered her strikes virtually ineffective; Jackson just growled as he finally managed to turn them over so that she was underneath him, "Brace for impact!" The ground below cratered as they hit, some of the artificial ground sticking up from the impact point in shards. The Harpy's lightweight skeleton crushed easily under the heavy form of an armored Delta Force soldier, cracks ringing out as impact sandwiched her lithe body. "Thanks for softening the landing" he said emotionlessly, climbing off of the woman before he placed the Breaker sidearm into a thigh compartment of his armor; he then reached to draw out the Reaper rifle from the compartment between his shoulders before taking off, leaving a bleeding Yurin to live another day. Jackson's armor-augmented body crashed into the neighboring woods, pushing aside shrubs and brush alike as he made his way out of the area; his metal-encased feet pounded into the softer earth of the forest, trying to find a good place to hide. He ran and ran, eventually scurrying up a tree with extremely thick and wide branches. It was here that he paused, his eyes darting this way and that as he scanned for any more hostile targets. His chest heaved as he tried to draw in breath, perspiration soaking into his bodysuit and helping the on-board ventilators to cool him off; after a few moments he managed to calm down somewhat, though he couldn't fully relax with the knowledge that these things might still be looking for him.

However, his troubles were far from over; he suddenly felt his heart seize up, the pain radiating through his chest. His hand clutched the armored panel as the pressure grew and grew; was he having a heart attack? His breaths became shorter and shallower, the cold sweat being somewhat mitigated by the black bodysuit he wore under his armor. His body wavered as a wave of lightheadedness threatened to overtake him; it was only luck that made him shoot an arm out to stabilize himself. After a few moments, the sensations passed, allowing him to try and catch his breath. His armored torso rose and fell as he tried to quell the sudden rush of adrenaline, before returning to normal. He used this opportunity to check himself over; his armor was covered in streaks of red from the fight between the bird and snake women. A few black feathers clung to him from the one he'd used as a landing pad; metal fingers pinched those off and threw them aside, a look of disgust hidden by his helmet. He then sat down at the base of the branch, his broad back resting against the tree's trunk; he could feel himself crashing down from the sudden surge of endorphins and adrenaline that fueled his heart-pounding escape. "Well, fuck, now I need to find somewhere else" he commented lowly, small huffs of exhaustion still present in his voice. He was noticeably and arguably pissed off; his escape forced him to leave most of his stuff behind. He'd just lost a good portion of his supplies, especially ammo, water and food; the survival kit he'd restocked on his last armory raid would last him about two weeks, three if he ate REALLY sparingly.

As nice as this break was though, even if it only was a few minutes, he knew standing still out in the open like this was a death sentence; he didn't know what these damned things did with the humans they abducted and he didn't intend to find. After grabbing his kit - a small metal box packed with various medicines, tools and items stuffed into a foam-like material - and taking out a green-stained glass bottle of pills, he took off his helmet and popped one in his mouth before placing everything back, a hissing occurring as his suit was once again sealed. Jackson shivered in disgust as he chewed the pill; this was a carefully-blended, super-concentrated dose of essential nutrients and vitamins that enabled a soldier to survive under extreme conditions. But the one thing they couldn't fix was the taste; it felt like he was chewing on rubberized soap. Eventually, he swallowed it, shaking his head and sucking on the inside of his mouth to get the last of it. "Blegh, all these advancements we have and we can't make a nutrient pill taste any less shitty" he grumbled as he hopped down from the tree, his armored form making a soft 'thud' from the landing. He then continued on his way, moving cautiously and keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might try to jump him.
 
The Harpies were unaware of the human’s actions, their minds distracted in exterminating Yurin. As one slashed with her talons, another snapped her head to bite and another to kick. As Yurin screeched in pain, one of the Harpies, decided to check on the human. Just as she turned her head, something whizzed past her ear and before she knew it, her sister fell to the ground, blood pooling on the floor.

“What!?!”She shrieked, seeing the nice sized hole in the back of her head. Looking up she saw the human charge at her other sister and another awful sound vibrated her ears. “Gaaahhhhh…”The sound of the shot was too loud for her sensitive ears and the Harpy had her hand up, covering them. With her ears ringing, she didn’t notice him coming after her, that is, until her body was violently shoved and soon, she was free falling. “You fucking human.”She screeched, trying to twist their bodies while in mid air, trying to force his grip off her. “Let me go. You’ll kill us both.”She said and as she swung her hands, trying to get him off, he managed to turn them without her knowing. “What?”Was all she said before her body was forced into the ground, ever bone breaking, turning into dust practically. She made no sound, made no movement. The life was instantly taken from her. Lifeless eyes gazed up to the sky, her stomach was open and her guts gushed out of her body. The impact had been too much for her tiny body. Her leg was bent in an awful position, her arm was the same. She was left to be fed upon by the crows, not even a prayer given, but at least she was given a thank you for being so kind as to be a cushion.

Back in the room above the high building, Yurin lay in a puddle of blood, both her’s and the Harpies. She coughed, swallowing back blood, but it kept coming up. “M-My….love…….Y-You….s-saved me…..”She whispered, a tear streaming down her temple. She smiled before she let death take her. Whether he intentionally saved her or not, she was grateful either way for at least she died thinking that someone like that did indeed love her.


In an open field near the forest that had surrounded the man made building, a Weresheep named Punff was dozing on the soft grass, her body curled into a ball as she slept. The sun was up high, warming her up and she was dreaming, thinking about the human that was hiding about on Umb-….Deseus. She still, even after so many years, can’t call it such an ugly name. To her, this planet will always be known as Umbre.

Mumbling a bit, she turned onto her back, a hand resting on her stomach, the other on her side. She had been sent to go off into the forest to pick fruit, but right when she stepped into this lovely, vast field, the sun high, drowsiness slowly wrapped itself around her, until she simply stopped, laid herself down and fell asleep. Now as she dreamed, she pictured what her ideal human looked like. Tall, built, muscled. Mean body, but wonderful and sweet personality. He would always touch her, fluff her fluff and rub against her until they finally made love. Moaning, Punff pressed her thighs together, dreaming at how he was touching her, until suddenly, something woke her. Her eyes slowly opened and up above; she saw something circling the sky. Tilting her head, she wasn’t sure what it was, until she heard the high pitched shriek, giving Punff the indication that a Harpy was circling her. “O-Oh no.”She simply said and took her time in getting up, sleep still in her system. “Go…away…Harpy.” She ought to thank it, since it woke her up. Lanthe would be so upset if she found out that Punff fell asleep. Looking towards the direction of the forest, she began to make her way to it, the Harpy losing interest all of a sudden.

Yawning, Punff took her time, moving past the thick trees, sniffing out the fruit that was bared. “Mmm, I don’t….*yawn* wanna pick fruit.”She mumbled and stopped, looking up at a tree. Up above, shiny red apples were bunched together, high up in the branches. Looking around, Punff reached her hands up, as if that would summon the fruit down. She couldn’t climb trees and Lanthe told her to only pick things she could reach, but she loved apples and rarely ever had the chance to eat one. Nibbling her lip, she looked around and smiled. Moving, she picked up a falling stick and went back to the tree, lifting it up and wiggling it a bit, not sure whether she was reaching or not. She was way off the mark.
 
As soon as Jackson left, another slightly smaller Lamia called Talbor,slithered out from behind the treeline, brushing auburn locks - themselves streaked with small amounts of gray - out of her face as her hazel-red hues following the man, watching him disappear into the thick brush; unlike Yurin, Talbor's chest was still developing, akin to...oh what did the human call them...."bee stings". Why they would reference breast size to an act of aggression by a flower-pollinating insect was beyond her, but that didn't concern her at the moment. Her skin, both on her human and serpent portions, was also a much lighter color and lacked distinctive patterning, evidence of her youth as a Lamia Shirohebi; her attire, however, was the exact same as her friend's. Even if she was of mating age and that Lamia - like the other Mamono - lived considerably longer lifespans than humans, she was still relatively young; the other Lamia, however, had encouraged her to follow Yurin and learn how to trap a mate. A move that didn't make sense considering this one human male was the only known male specimen on the entire Umbrean surface; still, his persistence and ability to out-think and overpower the other species of Mamono was evidence of his desirability as a mating partner. But now she wasn't so sure she wanted to mate with him; Mother had said this human was strong, but to battle with a Harpy and win? Not to mentioning evading capture for four years and surviving such a high fall while doing so? Truly impressive feats for any human; even a powerful Lamia like Yurin would be at the very most moderately injured from that high of a descent. Of course, the young serpent-woman had no idea of what it was Jackson was using, but she was awed and frightened at the same time nonetheless, hence her waiting to come out after the dangerous human had left.

Part of her wanted to trail Yurin anyway, and either try and steal him from her friend, or perhaps convince Yurin to share such a valuable specimen with her. Her first thought after the human had bolted was to trail and capture him, but her concern for her friend overloaded her need to mate. Earlier, as she was following Yurin's last known trail, she'd smelled Lamia blood being shed, and soon caught wind of a sulfurous, acidic stench accompanied by sharp reports of sound, and then the shrill shrieks of at least two Harpies. She knew Yurin was headed in this direction in search of the human male, so she felt it necessary to see if Yurin was alright. Her serpentine lower half contracted and relaxed, pushing her along the hard surface as she followed the increasing stench of blood. She soon came upon the dead and horribly maimed Harpy; a sigh left her lips which had curved upward into a slight smirk. Served these birdwomen right; Harpies and Lamia were mortal enemies, much like the snake eagles and serpents of the planet Earth. Talbor shook her head and climbed up the side of the building; soon enough she reached the top and was horrified at what she saw: Yurin lay dead in a pool of blood, numerous lacerations marring her otherwise flawless body and two more Harpies laying dead on the floor, one with a hole in her head and the other possessing a hole in her chest. The strong acidic stench perforated every available inch of space; just what was it the human used? It certainly wasn't anything the Lamia used to hunt or defend territory with. Her eyes narrowed into slits and her nails lengthened with fury; however, she saw that Yurin still possessed a fair bit of color in her face, and her heat signature was there, if only just barely, and that alone calmed her down.

"Hang on, Yurin......God damn it, I'm not losing you!" Talbor cried out, wrapping the majority of her coils around Yurin's wounds to keep them from opening up anymore and beginning to carry her out through the window; she would plead Mother to do something to save Yurin's life. Even if she was already dead, those last wisps of life energy in her were all the motivation she needed to get her friend home. It took some time and careful maneuvering through the broken balconies, but she eventually made it back down the ground. She then began the arduous journey back to her home, hoping that Mother could at least bring Yurin back, if at severely reduced strength and stamina. She would care for Yurin and do everything for her if she had to, she didn't mind; too many Lamia had died, and she wasn't about let her friend join them, even if it was a fruitless effort to start with. After several arduous hours of moving at a painstakingly slow pace, Talbor eventually arrived at a cave carved deep into the side of the Drein Mountain; several other Lamia looked on as Talbor went past, carrying the limp form of Yurin to an area in the cave where radiant crystals poured light onto the ground; this light would aid in recovery as it emitted a special radiation that only the Mamono could utilize beneficially, but with the severity of Yurin's wounds, it would certainly require Mother's help to even have a hope of bringing her back. "Quick! Someone bring Mother here! Yurin's hurt!" another Lamia shouted; Talbor would not leave, tears trailing down her face as she prayed her friend would make it back, her dainty hands holding onto Yurin's delicate but stronger one.

Jackson, meanwhile, was making some headway into the Oskues Forest; this planet's rotational cycle was screwy as hell, even worse than the Antarctic during winter. But instead of perpetual darkness, it was perpetual light almost; no, it was that day and night was longer on this planet due to its increased size and slower rotation speed. Even after four years on this planet, he still wasn't fully used to this, but he'd largely adapted. He had to, otherwise he might fall asleep at a very inopportune time and let what happened in the ruins of Jacinto happen even earlier. Not that he'd slept that much to begin with; most of his diet was military rations and freeze-dried 95% caffeine pills to keep himself awake. But still he moved on, taking careful steps as he swung his barrel to and fro, scanning for anything that needed to be shot. He could feel his heart beating in his ears; he was too exposed out here. Anything could attack him from any direction, but he knew he couldn't stay in Jacinto anymore. Too much attention, he'd drawn too much attention to himself by killing those strange birdwomen and he had a damn good feeling there would be others coming to investigate.

"That damned snake woman just had to find me and fuck up my hideout. I hope those fucking birds killed her" he grumbled irritably; though he'd didn't deny it was endlessly gratifying to put down those rabid humanoids. While he didn't know what it was that the snake woman wanted with him, her actions were pretty obvious. Especially with how she was referring to him how he was "her love". But it didn't make any sense; why would she come after a human like that? "Heh, maybe the other guys thought she was an ugly fuck too" Jackson commented humorously and lowly; however, his thoughts were interrupted a few minutes later when he heard a rather soft sleepy voice speak about not wanted to pick fruit. It was distinctly feminine....Was it another human? No, it couldn't be....."Better check it out" he said mentally, his hands gripping his rifle tightly before placing his back against a tree and slowly peeking out around the thick trunk. There was someone there, but it clearly wasn't human. At least, not all the way. "What the...." he said mentally as he stared at the woman-like creature. Her forelegs, forearms, biceps, back of the neck and waist were covered in what appeared to be wool, much like that of a sheep. It was a side view, but he could clearly see her nicely-sized breasts, covered in what appeared to be a leather-like material, but leaving the rest of her creamy-skinned body exposed. He would think that she was a weird costume wearer, were it not for the curled horns on her head and the tail which twitched every so often. He even saw a hoof as she raised a leg up trying to reach some rather high-hanging fruit. He had no idea what she was, or what she was capable of; hell, he didn't even know if it was a she, but certain attributes, like her tits and well-formed thighs, certainly as that being true.

He ducked back behind the tree, his armored chest rising and falling silently as he tried to calm himself and his armored hands clutching his gun as if his life depended on it; in his mind, it did, so letting the gun down was not an option. She didn't seem to take note of him, so he did what he thought was best and started to creep away; he didn't want to get overpowered like he did with the snake woman again. And after seeing what those big muscled chicks did to an ATLAS suit, he wasn't sure if her dainty look was authentic or a ploy to get someone like him to lower his guard. He didn't want to take the chance, so creeping away seemed like the best option; his steps were slow and deliberate, trying not to step on anything lest he alert her to his presence while checking every three or four steps to make sure she didn't notice him. However, after about ten or twelve steps, his right foot crunched on a small pile of branches and cracked loudly; he froze momentarily before taking off like a lightning bolt, his booted feet thudding heavily on the ground. It wasn't long before Jackson ran straight into another tree, his armor clanged rather loudly as it struck the hard trunk, his heavy form falling heavily to the ground. "Fuuuck....." he groaned rather loudly as he tried to sit himself up, further alerting the previously unsuspecting Mamono to his location.
 
Yurin had assumed she was in some other plane, no longer on Umbre. Warm hands grasped at her body, then began to pull her across the floor. To where, she didn’t know, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see. Wherever she was taken, she hoped they would be merciful and just kill her quickly. Her body was heavy, weak, too much blood had been lost. It felt as if she had been dragged for so many days, though it was no more than hours until her body was finally taken to her home where all the Lamia of Umbre resided.

Muffled sounds played in her ears. She couldn’t make out who was talking, what was being said. Were they planning to eat her, perhaps torment her? Did the Harpies not finish with her? If so, then she had been dragged back to their lair, to be either eaten or tortured until death slowly came to her. She couldn’t move, her breathing slow.

Mother was lounging about, her body intertwined with a few of her daughters in order to keep warm. The large cave warmed up during some days, longer during the hotter season. In her hand, a large rat with purple fur and large black ears wiggled as it dangled by its tail. Starring at it without much car, she simply watched as the rat tried it best to get away, but to no avail. “ It’ll only hurt for a second.”She told it and raised it, the rat hovering over her opened mouth, until suddenly, someone shouted, making her snap her head towards the one that interrupted. “Who days disturb my-“

“M-Mother. I-It’s Yurin. Yurin is hurt.” Said the Lamia, Lithe.

Mother straightened, the rat dropped and forgotten. “What?”She asked, the two snakes that were mingled and connected to her hair twisted about in curiousness.

“Yurin was attacked. Please Mother.”

Without missing a beat, Mother had broken free from her daughter, her body quick even though she was bigger than any Lamia born from her. Moving swiftly over the ground, Mother didn’t bother to wait for her daughter. Moving towards the front of the cave, slithering down a tunnel, then another. The smell of blood was easy for her to smell and she could tell who’s it was easily. Reaching what would be known as the healing-chamber of the cave, her eyes immediately took in Yurin’s form. “No.”Gasping, Mother moved fast, wrapping herself around Yurin’s body,coiling herself along with Talbor as well. Her hands gently framed her daughter’s face, seeing how pale it was. Hissing, she looked at Talbor. “Tell me who did thisssss.”The ‘s’ were always accented longer whenever Mother was upset.

As she listened, Mother began to use her special ability, slowly healing Yurin and stopping any wounds that were bleeding. That done, she brought her wrist to her mouth and bit off a good chunk, blood gushing out and skirting. She pressed her wrist to Yurin’s mouth, making sure her mouth was opened enough and let her blood flow down her throat. Mother’s blood was special, which only her daughter were able to consume in order to regain their strength and heal their wounds. “You will live. And once you have rested……..I will hunt down the ones that did this to you.”



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Punff threw her stick up in the air, hoping to knock the fruit down, but it made no contact and simply fell down, almost hitting her on the head. “Ehhhh….”She said, picking it up and starring at it for a moment. “I must find a longer one.”She said, but made no effort to go and look. She honestly hated fruit picking. She much rather enjoy a nice nap or a cuddle with Lanthe. Sighing again, Punff was about to head out and search for another longer stick, until the crunch of dry leaves and twigs made her ears twitch. Turning quickly, she pressed her back against the tree’s trunk, looking around left and right for anyone. “Who’s there?”She called, seeing no one at first, until some shadow zoomed past the bushes. “H-Hey….??”She called out, hearing heavy foot falls, and then a heavy slam and finally a heavy thud.

Curious, which Punff always was, she cautiously went to see what it was that was watching her.

Perhaps it’s nothing. Perhaps it was a Worker Ant or……something.

Nibbling her lip, Punff was cautious, moving between the bushes and trees, until finally she came up to the shadow that had dashed away to make an escape. The shadow was actually a human and a male at that. He struggled to get up.

What in the world was he wearing?
Punff stared at him for a moment, until she realized that this was the human that had stayed when everyone else left. “Ah….you’re the one.”She said, her heart skipping a bit. He looked just like the ideal mate she had thought of. Big, bulky, strong, scary yet was sweet. Blushing, Punff moved closer until she was standing next to him. The effect of her wool slowly wrapping around him even if she wasn’t fully in contact with him yet. “You’re the one…..that stayed behind.” She said and slowly, her lips curved until she was smiling down at him. All over, her body warmed up as she stared at him. He was really handsome. Finally, Punff was going to mate. She was going to have children and she hoped that he would stay and became her mate. Slowly, she moved on top of him and sat herself on his stomach. Like the wool on her body, she weighed practically nothing. Her hands slowly smoothed over the hard material that covered his chest. She wished she could touch his skin instead of this cold metal thing that covered his body. As she moved, the contact on him, the effect of her wool became stronger, making this human light headed a bit. “ You’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”She said, leaning down, rubbing her cheek against his, feeling how rough it was. Her tail twitched in excitement.
 
Talbor froze as she felt the dark aura around Mother intensify and approach quickly; any Mamono was stupid to harm any of her children, especially if they were a Lamia like her. All the other Lamia who were present also backed away as Mother's powerful coils wrapped around Yurin's unconscious form, while Talbor simply let out a startled squeak of fright as she was wrapped up too; Mother was one of the strongest Mamono on the planet and the one who birthed the various races which now inhabited Umbre. The poor Lamia couldn't even form coherent words as Mother poured her red healing blood down Yurin's throat, the fluid already working to heal the damage she'd sustained.

Eventually though, Talbor managed to get the nerve to speak up, even with the fright still prevalent in her tone, "M..Mother, I have no idea what really happened. But I...I will tell you what I did see..." Talbor took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself so that she could communicate her thoughts, then spoke again, "I was following Yurin, and had been for some time, but stayed back because I knew she wanted to try and find that human male you want. The way she was moving, it seemed like she was on the right track to finding him. She eventually came to a town.....I think it was the one the humans called "Jacinto"...And I could sense she'd found the human. But then I heard loud noises, and then the smell of blood and an acid stench filled the air. By the time I came to the town itself, the human had jumped out of a high window and slammed a Harpy into the ground". She could feel that dreadful knot forming in her stomach, tears starting to make her eyes shine and her voice choking with repressed sobs.

Jacinto was quite a far ways away from Mother's den, and for a Lamia as small as Talbor was, that was quite a feat to carry Yurin all the way back. After calming herself down again, Talbor continued to recount the details, "And when that man ran off, I found that the Harpy had been killed. And when I climbed the side of the building to get to where Yurin was.....She was as you see her now. And there were two other Harpies.....Lying dead in a pool of Yurin's blood mixed with their own". She choked back another few sobs, her chest rising and falling as she tried to manage her emotions, "But.....I...don't know...who hurt Yurin......Please, tell me, will Yurin be OK?" It was clear by Talbor's words that only Yurin would be able to get the identity of those that had done this to Yurin; already there was chatter and whispers in the caves amongst the other Lamia. Many believed it was the human that had done this; he'd killed several other Mamono before, so it wasn't too far out there to suggest that he'd somehow slashed Yurin badly. Others still thought the Harpies that did it, and the human merely took the opportunity to extinguish their lives, they being those that threatened his survival. Though it puzzled them why this human was still resisting even after four long years; it wasn't like they were going to eat him or anything like that. Was it so wrong to want one's species to continue?
Jackson grunted as he tried to sit up; luckily, the helmet he was wearing didn't make him jar his head too much, but he felt pretty dumb for running into a tree like that. He was just about to sit up when he heard a voice speak to him about being the one. The armored panels on his helmets retracted to reveal his face as he leaned his head back; there was that strange....thing that was complaining about picking fruit. Before he could even think about moving, she was standing right over him, allowing her admittedly perfect figure to be seen by him; within moments, he felt his eyes and body getting heavy. "Wh..at the....." he said, feeling his energy being drained from him; he was starting to feel sleepy all of a sudden. "No, no, no.....Stay awake, dammit!" he shouted mentally at himself; he tried to fight it, but he was losing and quick. The death grip he'd had on the Reaper rifle loosened considerably, his fingers uncurling to let the weapon rest loosely in his hand, the stock sitting precariously on his arm.

"My body....what are you....." he stammered out, feeling his eyelids begin to close; he was still conscious enough to feel the woman rest herself on his heavily-armored body. The Devastator armor could reflect and protect against multiple forms of radiation - ultraviolet, nuclear, and extreme heat to name a few - but against the sleep magic of this Weresheep's wool, it was useless. Her dainty hands rubbed over the brushed metal that concealed his toned form from view; as light as she was, he could still feel her on top of him. Jackson wouldn't be able to hold out much longer at this rate; as his vision darkened, he could feel this strange creature rubbing against his cheek, one of the few parts of his face that were exposed from the standby state of his helmet. And that was the last thing he remembered before slipping into the dream realm; now it would be up to Punff to drag his heavy ass back to her abode, as it was unlikely she would be able to figure out how to unlock the metal casing which prevented her from feeling his flesh beneath her fingertips. Lucky for her, the suit he wore would conceal his scent, so there would be no other Mamono that would try to steal him from her.
 
Mother was forcing herself to calm down or else she would end up crushing both Talbor and Yurin thanks to her rage. With her nerves as settled as she could have them, she listened, the worlds being said were doing everything except calm her. Her pupils turned into thinner slits of anger, listening intentily, hearing Harpies being mentioned as well as that human.

Looking down at Yurin once the story had been told, she watched as slowly the wounds on her body were slowly closing. Whispers began to circle, filling her ears. It was Harpies that did this to Yurin, though others think it was the human. No human being could have done this to a Lamia. Lamias were quicker than humans and even though that Human managed to have brought down three Harpies, he couldn’t have brought down Yurin. “SILENCE!!!”She bellowed, the walls shaking from the strength of her yell. All were silent. “No human in existence has been able to harm a Lamia. These wounds were done by Harpies. Clean, precise slashes. My own daughters going against their own sisters.” Mother would often times be disgusted of what she gave birth, but she never had the heart to kill her own offspring. Lately though, her children of different classes have been going against each other, seeking out the human in order to increase their numbers and their strength. Mother needed the human. She needed to give birth to more Lamias, more Mamonos in order to turn Umbre back to how it had been. She needed male offsprings, more than anything. “Yurin will live my darling, do not cry anymore.” Her voice soothing, she reached her hand and smoothed away the tears that Talbor let fall. Looking over her shoulder, she called over two of her daughters. “Submerge her into the white pool so that her strength can return. Be careful, her wounds are still closing.” Uncoiling herself from both Yurin and Talbor, the two Lamias took hold of Yurin and gently dragged her towards a large pool filled with white water. Inside, smooth crystals, the same that were embedded along the walls of this chamber, lined the edges, giving the pool a stronger healing effect.

“My daughters. It feels as if everyone single daughter of mine are after the human that had been left behind. What they wish to do with him is beyond me, but I deserve to have that human more than anything.” As she spoke, she looked to all her daughters that were gathered. “With this human, Umbre will be restored back to how it had been. I believe that with this human, Umbre can be filled once again with males for all of you to have.” The Lamias whispered to each other, smiles curving their lips. “This human must be found and brought back to me. He shall be my mate, my husband and fellow ruler of this planet.” Smiling, her eyes gleaming. “As my daughters, my loves, you will have access to using this human to fulfill your sexual needs as well as help in bringing males into this world.” All the Lamias cheered.

Looking at Talbor, Mother cupped her cheeks. “My lovely Talbor. You have done a great job, bringing your sister back home to us. Now I must ask for your help. Since you know where exactly the human had last been seen, I must ask that you guide a few of your sisters, the Warriors, in order to locate him and bring him back. Can you do this my Talbor? Will you prove to me how strong you are and bring me back that human?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Punff smiled, her body rubbing against his, her lips smoothing over his rough cheek. Sitting up, she looked down, seeing his eyes closed and his breathing slow and relaxed. Smiling, she looked down and frowned. Nibbling her lip, she tapped her knuckles against the hard plating that covered his body. “How is Punff suppose to get her hands on you?”She asked him even though he was sleeping so soundly. Examining the metal suit, she bit her lip, trying to figure something out, until something slammed against her forehead, causing her to fall off her human. Her hands pressed at her forehead, trying to rub away the pain. “Owwwwwww….”She cried, sitting up and glared, her eyes changing in color a bit. “Who fucking did-“She stopped, seeing Lanthe a few feet away, her hand tossing and catching a peachkee fruit. “O-Oh…Lanthe…. I was just….that is…..I was picking fruit…and well…”


Lanthe, a Holstaurus, glared at her friend, a frown on her lips. She had been waiting for Punff all day, expecting her friend to being home plenty of fresh fruit for them to eat. Instead, all she had done was wait, wait, wait and then worry while she waited. She had assumed something had happened to her. Perhaps she had been attacked by Werewolves or Harpies. Trailing her friends scent, Lanthe had managed to catch up to Punff’s scent. Smelling her at the field then trailing her here.

She expect to find a dead body, but instead, she found her friend on top of something, rubbing against them and then looking at them with thoughts no doubt running through her mind. “What are you doing Punff? I had been waiting all day for you to-“


“Lanthe, it’s the human. The human that had stayed here.”


Lanthe was stunned into silence. The human that had been left behind. Cautiously, she moved closer, stopping as she examined the human. The poor thing looked pale. Dark circles marred the undersides of his eyes. His cheeks looked a bit sunk in. He wasn’t or hadn’t been eating properly. Frowning, she looked at Punff. “Punff. You were going to assault him without even checking to see how his health was.”


“I didn’t mean-“


“Come. We’ll bring him back home. Rub your wool even more on his face so that he stays asleep.”


Sighing, Punff complied and rubbed her arm against his nose, making sure the sleep effect was intensified. Moving out of the way, Punff watched as Lanthe easily picked up the human and tossed him over her shoulder without trouble.


“That…thing that is on the ground. I think it’s his. Bring it, though we will keep it hidden from him. I’m assuming that is a weapon of some sort.”


Complying, Punff picked up the humans shiny, metal….thing and then turned and followed Lanthe, trudging out of the forest, though they cautiously looked around, making sure no one and nothing was following her. The small cottage that Lanthe and Punff lived in was no more than an hour away. It had belonged to a human who had been Lanthe’s mate at the time before he left, saying that he had been afraid for his safety. Punff had been owned, though had been simply kept around for display. The cottage was located at the end of the field where Punff had been napping. Not many Mamono pass by, since there wasn’t much around except for an endless field where Lanthe and Punff grazed. Moving swiftly through the forest until they arrived at the field, both Mamonos moved fast with their load, still checking to see that no one found them. A high, brown fence encircled the cottage, a small stable in the back could be seen and a vegetable patch was off to the side. The cottage had two floors and was a bit bigger than most cottages. The human that had owned it wasn’t into big houses and farms. Something small and simple had been enough for him.


Getting inside, Punff locked the door and Lanthe set the human down on the soft couch, the poor piece of furniture creeking from the heavy weight.

“What will we do when he wakes up?”Asked Punff to Lanthe.


“I’m not sure. But I’ll think of something when the time comes. Until then, lets let him rest. Poor thing needs it.”
 
Talbor sniffed a few times as Mother tried to soothe her frazzled nerves; the confidence in which she assured that Yurin would survive seemed to rub off and soon enough, the young Lamia's repressed sobs had ceased, though her eyes were still watery and puffy. A lithe hand came up to brush away the stray tears that Mother had missed; she really did love Mother. Mother took care of her children very well; though Talbor wondered why she wanted a human that clearly was against even being near a Mamono. Even as she began what the others would consider a motivating speech, with promises of having this male to satisfy their desires and breed males for them, Talbor was still hesitant about getting near him; yes, she was a Lamia, but she was also young and after seeing that human fall from such a great height and live, combined with fighting against a Harpy and winning in their element, she was frightened by him. Was it really smart to let someone that strong and dangerous into their den?

However, Mother's words snapped her out of her train of thoughts, her innocent hazel hues gazing up at Mother as she asked her to lead the Warriors to where the human was last seen; the poor little Lamia froze, as if in shock at her request. "M..Mother, I don't know.....if I can....." Talbor said timidly, tapping the tips of her fingers together and looking away in shame, her pale cheeks tinted red with embarrassment. She should have guessed that Mother would ask her to try and find where the human had gone; he was probably far away from here by now, and frankly, she didn't want to be near him after seeing what he did. The Warriors were strong, yes, but what if this human was stronger? She wasn't as fast as her sisters, being so young and relatively inexperienced, and that in turn created a large lack of self-confidence in her innate power as a Lamia.

Meanwhile, the human in question was out like a light; he never snored, but the breathing through the face-mask in his helmet made it sound like someone on a life-support apparatus. His breaths shallow and possessing a slight echo, his armored chest rising and falling and the glint of light in the window bouncing off the silvered-blue surface of the Devastator armor he wore. It would seem that Punff and Lanthe had yet to remove it, or simply did not care enough to even try for the sake of letting him finally get some decent sleep. His head faced the small kitchen, his right and leg dangling off the side of the rather large sofa as he slumbered on and on. When he finally came to, his head felt weird, like someone had slipped a roofie in his food or something. But, he did feel oddly refreshed; letting out a loud yawn, he sat up on the couch.....Wait, couch?!

Jackson's heart rate spiked as he realized he wasn't out in the field where he remembered being; he was still armored fully, the metal making slight clinging noises as his hands touched over his metal-covered form. He reached for the back compartment just above his shoulder blades; his Reaper rifle was gone. He then looked around and saw he was in a house; how the fuck did he get here? He then remembered...The strange creature standing over him and his body feeling heavy....That strange girl must have dragged him back. Well, she was an idiot for leaving him with his armor; he reached down and pulled the Breaker sidearm from his armor's thigh compartment. He needed to find his rifle; it had the most ammunition of either of his weapons and had the greatest versatility. Even with his armor, he felt incredibly vulnerable without the rifle; it was the final piece of the puzzle, the thing that had enabled his survival up to this point. And with that, he began searching the living room, trying to see if she was stupid enough to hide it nearby, unknowing that there was more than one of them here.
 
Mother grabbed hold of her child’s cheeks, soothing her with a gentle voice. “You can my child. You can. You managed to bring your sister back here. Back to our home. Any other creature would have left their sibling to rot and die out there where it laid dead…but you. You brought your sister back to her family.” She wrapped her arms around Talbor, her cheek pressed against the top of her head. “Show your sister Yurin how strong you are. Show all your sisters my child. You alone are the only one that can lead the Warriors where it is that Yurin was hurt. They will see if any Harpies are lurking nearby and hopefully they can scent out the human.”

Upon mentioning the Warriors, six females appeared, their shoulders and forearms covered in armor with metal scales covering all around. Their snake bodies covered in light chainmail that allowed them to move easily and when they coiled into each other to protect themselves, the chainmail would pressed together, protecting their bodies from attacks caused by Harpy talons or Werewolf claws. Tribal tattoos were marked on their dark skin, from their stomach to their backs and even their faces. They were specifically chosen by Mother herself. These Warriors would die protecting their Queen and den no matter what.

“They are ready to be showed the way my love. Now go. Make us all proud. Show everyone what a strong spirit you have. When your task if done you may return and I promise that Yurin will be waiting upon your return.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lanthe was in the kitchen, her hands gently squeezing at her breasts as milky skirted out into a metal pot in the sink. She hummed to herself, the pot was nearly half full. “This should be enough.”She said and grabbed a rag, wiping her nipple and righted her shirt back in place. Grabbing both handles, she lifted the pot and set it on the old fashioned stove her husband had been so fond of. Back where he had been from..Earth she believed it was called, stoves didn’t look like this. Everything was computer operated, whatever that was. All you had to do was just tell the stove to turn on and it would heat up, no fire appearing at all. She didn’t find that amusing. Instead the stove that he liked was a very old type from way back in the day as he had said. It was thanks to his great-grandfather who made him appreciate the older things in life. The stove had a little door in the front where one tossed wood all the way in the back and to the sides, heating up any of the pots and pants that were placed on top as well as bake anything that was placed inside. Opening the little door, she glanced in, seeing the wood still burning pretty well. “I’ll have Punff get me more fire wood. And from there, that little sheep can start cutting the vegetables.”She said closing the little stove door.

Punff and Lanthe were herbivores so they only consumed anything vegetation or fruit. Since they had the human sleeping in the living room at the moment, they had to figure out a way to feed him, since Lanthe knew that humans were omnivores. Punff at the moment was out catching something that the human would like. “I wonder if she found something.”She asked as she grabbed a spoon and began to stir the milk that was slowly warming up.

When they brought the human home, Lanthe figured he was a warrior of some sort, since the metal he wore protected his body. Lanthe or Punff were able to figure out how to get it off him in order to make him more comfortable, so they left him as is. As for the weapon Punff brought with her, Lanthe stowed it away in a place where the human wouldn’t be able to find it.



Punff wasn’t sure what a human ate, since she didn’t pay attention to them eating, but Lanthe said they ate meat, which was disgusting to her. What kind of meat? Punff didn’t know. Looking around the back of the house, Punff simply looked at the ground, trying to figure something out. “What do I get him?”She asked, nibbling her lip. As if someone somewhere felt pity, a frog hopped in front of Punff. It was green with yellow stripes and had a bumpy back. It croaked, looking at nothing as it simply sat there. “Oh! Perfect.”She said and quickly snatched it by its foot. “I’m sure he’ll like to eat you.”She said and the frog simply croaked.

Heading back to the house, Punff went towards the front and walked in, opening the door and closing it gently. Looking up, she saw the human moving about the living room, looking for something it seemed. “Oh? You’re awake.” She smiled sweetly, her cheeks flushing a bit, the frog still in hand. “I’m glad you’re alright. You look much more refreshed.” Punff wasn’t aware that the human was still a bit skittish around creatures like her. “Are you hungry? I brought you something for you to eat.”She raised the frog to show him. “Though I cannot fathom how you humans can each another live creatures. It’s awful and disgusting.”
 
Talbor could only look up at Mother as she confided her confidence in her ability; that alone seemed to give the young Lamia quite the boost in confidence. As Mother embraced her, her violet-skinned cheek resting on the top of her dainty head, Talbor's slender arms wrapped around Mother's midsection; she would do her best to prove herself to her sisters. To all her sisters, she would prove that she was ready to become a true member of the Lamia race. When she pulled away, Talbor could be seen looking quite confident in herself about finding this human; thankfully, she would have the Warriors with her, which meant that it would be that much easier to find this human and subdue him. Talbor snapped out of her daze as the metal-plated Lamia; she had to admit, the armor her warrior-class sisters wore was very intimidating. There was no way that human could beat them, now that the strongest of the Lamia - second only to Mother - would be accompanying her. "I will, Mother; I'll bring that human back, no matter what". Talbor said calmly and with clear resolve as she led her troop towards the ruins of Jacinto.

It would take about less an hour to reach the deserted city; now that she didn't have to drag a semi-conscious sibling of hers, she could move a lot more freely. As she and the Warriors cleared the edge of the surrounding forest, Talbor once again looked toward the building that she'd seen the human fall from. She audibly gulped as she recalled the scene; the human and the Harpy were battling it out in mid-air, and the human ultimately prevailed. How anyone could do that was beyond her, but she shook her free of those thoughts, lest she lose her composure. A small number of loud squawks caught her attention; there was a murder of crows picking at the remains of the dead Harpy the human had crushed. A twistedly humorous situation, considering the Harpy herself had the same color as the ones feeding off her carcass; the irony itself made her suppress a childish giggle, and that alone helped clear her head.

"This way, sisters....Perhaps the broken chicken can give us a clue as to where the human has gone" she then said, slithering across the hard pavement of the city surface; she hated the way it felt. So rough and spiky, nothing like the soft grass she was used to sliding around on. As the troop approached, the foul stench of the dead Harpy roasting in the mid-afternoon sun overloaded her sense of smell and forced her to back away. "Ergh! Disgusting Harpy......" she groaned, pinching her nose shut.
The human in question meanwhile was trying to carefully move stuff around to locate his missing equipment; he'd just about searched every inch of this place and nothing came up. "Well, fuck...." he thought to himself; give her credit for hiding it out of sight and range. "Think, Jackson.....If you were a half-human freak.....Scratch that, that won't work...." he then added mentally; how could he possibly think like one? He didn't even know what they really were, only that the eggheads had called them "Mamono"....Whatever the fuck that meant.

Jackson was about to turn and leave to go into a different room, when a soft voice caught his attention; he spun around so quick he almost lost his balance. His back was up against the wall, both literally and figuratively; it was that weird bitch from before. "You....." he said, his voice sounding raspy and very slightly distorted from playing through the speakers in his helmet; the panels that had retracted into the top now slid down to completely cover his face, revealing piercing blue eyes from the armor's mechatronic systems. He then regained his composure; he had a gun, and his past experience told him that he could kill these things if he had to; when she raised her arm, he almost instantly raised the pistol and pointed the barrel at her, his armored finger resting on the trigger.

However, when she showed him the frog that she was holding, a stupefied look developed beneath the armored panels of the helmet that obscured his face. What amazed him even more was the suggestion that he would eat it; what was he, French? Still, she probably didn't know, given the fact that she was a Mamono. "A frog.......You brought me a frog to eat..Yeah, sure, because that's sooooo fucking believable...Is that one of your ways of poisoning us or something?" Jackson then asked heatedly; if she was trying to poison him, she sure wasn't being subtle about it. Did she take him for an idiot? "Now.....tell me where my gun is......Before I paint the wall behind you with your brains" he then said; after a few moments, he then added, ".....Of course, I could just kill you here and tear this house apart to find it, but I'd rather not expend the energy I have left".
 
All six females bowed their heads to Mother and departed, following Talbor to where she had last seen the human. The Warriors in truth needed no guidance, since they knew where Jacinto was. They practically scoured every bit of land there was of Umbre.

Not even an hour passed for once they reached the ruins of Jacinto; it had felt like ten minutes or so. The stench of death was obvious in the air and the low squawks of ravens caught their attention. As the Warriors moved across the hard, cemented floor, they all didn’t bother to hide their dissatisfaction of the feeling. “Humans could never appreciate the finer things.” Said the red skinned Talih, her shimmery blue eyes scanning the area.

“Humans are only good for two things To work and to pleasure.” Said the fair, yellow skinned Issae.

Talih moved close to the dead Harpy on the floor, her eyes scanning her plastered and broken body. “The human was either heavy or he wore something heavy.”She said, looking at Talbor who no doubt already knew the answer, since she was there.

“Falile, can you sniff him out.” Asked Issae.

Falile, a dark skinned Lamia with blazing red eyes, looked at her fellow sisters. She had a metal mouth guard that was to keep others safe since she had the nasty habit of biting, whether she was biting a friend or foe. Snarling almost, Falile’s eyes slitted, her head tilting upward a bit. She was the most vicious of the Warriors. Once you were tangled in a battle with her, there was no way you would survive.

Taking in a deep breath, Falile sniffed a few times and hissed. Without saying anything, she moved fast, the sounds of her armor rubbing against the cement floor, until they mellowed once she was on soft dirt and grass. Falile headed for the forest. Her nose picking up a distinct scent. It was almost like an explosive powder kind of smell, the smell she had smelled a long time ago, back where there were still humans around. She remembered coming across some of the soldiers, all using their strange sort of weapons that made a loud noise, shooting something small into a target and the smell that it left. The human had used that same sort of weapon and Falile was following that smell.


Issae signaled the rest of her sisters to follow Falile, trying their best to keep up. “Talbor, did the human go this way by chance, or were you hiding and had your eyes closed when he fled?” She asked, not caring where she sounded mean or not.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Punff couldn’t help, but chuckle at the way he reacted. “I won’t hurt you.”She said and the frog in her hand croaked. “And neither will he, though it will be sad that you will have to eat him.”She said, her tail wiggling a bit. Humans eating meat. How disgusting. Sighing, she looked at him, and then frowned as he mentioned that she was trying to poison him. “P-Poison? Me? No..I…..I don’t think its poisonous.”She said, looking at the frog. “Are you poisonous?”She asked it and it only croaked. “That isn’t helpful. I need to know if your poisonous.”She said, shaking him a bit and screeched as it slapped its sticky tongue between her eyes, making her flail both hands and the frog was flung to the wall, slipping down and plopped on the ground uninjured.

Wiping her forehead, Punff stared at him, her face full of confusion. “Gun? What’s a gun?”She asked, not knowing what he spoke of and apperantly wasn’t fazed by his threat at all. As to the object he was asking about, she could only guess.. “Is a gun that big, metal thing that’s this big?”She measured with her hands. “And has a hole at one end and a handle?”She asked. “If that’s what it is……….uhhh..I don’t have it. That is to say, well..in a sense, we do…well..Lanthe does…but you can’t get it back.”She blushed.



Speaking of Lanthe, she had heard a commotion in the living room and appeared in the doorway at the same time that Jackson had threatened Punff and Punff unaware of it. “Hurt a single piece of wool on her and you will find yourself trampled.” She said, eyes narrowed.


“Lanthe!”Punff gasped and rushed to her, wrapping her arms around her hips. “He said I was trying to poison him with the frog I got him.”She pointed to the frog that was now sitting by a small table. “And he’s asking about for his….umm…what was it called?”


“His gun.”Lanthe answered.


“Yes, that. He wants it and……..Lanthe is that frog poisonous?”Punff asked.


Lanthe looked at the little thing and frowned, though quickly changed her expression. “No sweet, it isn’t.” Total lie, because those frogs secreted poisonous oil when it felt threatened. To creatures like her and Punff, it would only cause them minor illness, like a fever and diarrhea, but for a human, it was instant death. She wondered if the human knew about the frog, if not, then Punff was lucky. “As for the…gun...”She looked at the human. “Your….gun or whatever it is, is stowed in a safe place and unfortunately, you can’t get it." She moved Punff to her side, a hand placed gently on her shoulder.

"Now, if you are done with your threats and bad behavior, are you hungry? I have some milk boiling and Punff here-"she patted the Weresheep's shoulder lovingly. "- is going to cut some fresh fruit and vegetables." Perhaps the mention of something familiar and safe with help in earing his trust, if not, at least get him to calm a bit.
 
Talbor merely listened as her hot-blooded sisters criticized the humans, both from the past and the one who was currently at large. Talbor in truth felt kind of the same way; though she observed that they didn't really expand as much they could have. Their cities were relatively small, some even smaller than the cavernous town where Mother and her Lamia offspring. Though herself being Shirohebi and having yet to make the trek to inhabit the Zipangu region where all Shirohebi resided, she knew that humans were more capable than most of her sisters might expected. And perhaps it was the trait of perseverance that drew Mother to this human. Though, she truthfully had really seen very little of humanity, and could only go off of the word of the more-traveled Warriors.

"I don't know......All I saw was that this human was big, blue, and shiny. Whether that is his true form or not, I cannot say" Talbor replied to Talih's unspoken question, watching as Falile came forth and began searching. On top of being the most vicious, Falile was also their best tracker, her sense of smell almost rivaling that of Mother's. It was here that Talbor made a bit of a theory; perhaps Mother had sent the six warriors along not to take down this human. Strong as he was, two Warriors would be more than sufficient to take him down. But maybe she wanted to have extra insurance so that Falile didn't kill the man; Mother did need him alive after all. And Falile wasn't exactly known for her gentleness.

"Just because I don't like fighting does not mean I'm a coward, Issae!" Talbor replied back heatedly to the yellow-skinned Lamia's remark, her sisters going on without her in search of the human. "I may not be as strong as the rest of you, and I'm still young......" Talbor stopped when a faintly violet-skinned Lamia laid a hand on the young Shirohebi's shoulder. She looked to see the shoulder-length, lime-green hair hanging in front of the face of Etssa, herself an Echidna like Mother. Already Etssa had the patterns and serpent-body coloration of their dear Mother, and of the six Warriors was the wisest and most mature along with Talih. She was still younger than her, so much so that her characteristic hair-snakes hadn't even grown in yet. Her yellow eyes were filled with a gentle glow, reassuring the young Shirohebi. "Easy, Talbor........Don't let Issae goad you. You'll make a fine Shirohebi when you're all grown up. Now come, let's find this human". Another Lamia, a full-grown Medusa named Mei, snickered as she slithered her onyx-black body up alongside Talbor, "I wouldn't worry either, Talbor; she's just upset because you were the one Mother chose to lead the expedition. Besides, I bet the human shoots himself when he so much as looks at her". Etssa sighed, knowing Issae all too well to predict where this would lead, "Mei, please learn when to keep your mouth shut......"
Back in the hut, many miles from where the unknown Lamia pursuers were headed, Jackson was busy facing down problems of his own. His grip on the sidearm and stance never slackened in the slightest. Though he tried his hardest not to laugh like a hyena when the frog smacked her in the face with his tongue; he couldn't afford to lose focus. But it was still one of the funniest things he'd ever seen in his four years of running. As she described the gun though, the soldier grew more and more irritated, thinking her little expose of his weapon was a ploy to buy. "Stop fucking with me and hand it over...." he growled, the pressure on the trigger slightly increasing. He had a feeling he would have to spill some blood here, but he was really hoping not to. Not for their sake; it was just that ammunition was hard to come across, and too many gunshots might alert more of these freaks to his location.

Just the hammer started to make its way back, preparing itself to strike the primer which would blow this thing's brains to oblivion, the pressure released when another one came into the room, her hooves making distinctive clacking sounds against the hardwood flooring. "Oh, this is just fucking great. Another damned monster....." he grumbled, his eyes roaming her figure from beneath the armored plating of his helmet visor, trying to guess what her strength might be. This one was different; dressed in a pair of overall-shorts and a black-and-white patterned sleeveless shirt which seemed to only stretch tightly over her huge breasts, her legs were thick at the thighs and covered in black-and-white hair, much like a cow back on Earth. Except she wasn't fat in the slightest; her stomach was a nice flat, but not anorexic-looking like some of the women back on Earth. And instead of curled horns on her head, they made semi-arches pointing straight up and curving inward. Her hair was just as short as the first one, only it was black and white as well. A thick tail ending in a bushy bunch could be seen swinging back and forth behind her.

When his analysis of her was complete, his ears barely paying attention to any discourse between them and mostly taking in what she'd said about his weapon, he then responded, "No, I ain't hungry, you mutant freak.......I want my gun. And like I told your friend, I ain't above wastin' a few bullets to get it back. And I'd rather not expend the energy tearing apart this house to get it, but if you're going to make it difficult....." A hissing was heard as an ankle compartment opened, sending his Flash Blade hurtling into the air, his left hand deftly grabbing and repositioning so that his gun hand rested on the wrist of his knife hand, the lethal end of both weapons pointing towards the two Mamono. "Now, I'm gonna give you one last chance.......Hand over my gun, and I promise not to leave your rotting corpses for the vultures....."
 
Issae ignored the youngling and went and followed her sister. She didn’t have time to babysit. They were on a mission. If Mother bred with this human that perhaps, just maybe, there could be a chance to bring males back into this maleless planet. All the females were wild and crazy, seeking pleasure and this human was the only one that can give it to them, but they had to get to him first. Some females tended to either kill their mates after pleasure or kill them because of pleasure. Mother would use him over and over until she got what she wanted. She admitted to all that she would share, perhaps hoping that her daughters would be able to bare males.

Following Falile, Issae scanned her surroundings. The trees were thick and grouped close together. “Do you smell anything?”She called out to the dark skin Lamia.



“Do not speak to me.” Falile hissed back, her nose a few inches from the ground. “He was smart to move in zigzags, though it did him no good.” She said to herself. She hated having her sisters with her. Mother only sent them with her was because she needed to be watched. Understandable. Falile had the habit of killing the kids Mother would ask for. It wasn’t her fault she was born this way.


Talih stayed behind a bit, looking back at the others. “Will you hurry up?”She called out a bit annoyed. If they wanted to dawdle and chat they could have stayed back home. “And where is Muine?” She asked, not seeing the full grown Shirohebi. “Dammit. Not only must we keep eyes on Falile, but Muine is more of a nuisance.” Not so much as a nuisance, but more like a danger, second to Falile.

Muine had, in a sense, a split personality. Most of the time she was tranquil and quiet, a lost look to her face. It always looked as if she was daydreaming, not listening when one spoke to her, but she listened well, she just didn’t seem to care. If one tended to say something rude to her or insult her, her character changes before a second hits. A deadly viper she was, though viper she was not.

Cursing, she looked at Mei and Etssa. “Search for her not. I do not wish to be coiled by her. Hurry. Falile is far ahead of us and I hope has already found something.”



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



“Don’t call us that.” Punff said, her face changing to that of annoyance. “We aren’t monsters. If we were, you would be nothing more than a rotting corpse by now.”


“Punff, enough.” Said Lanthe.

“No. It isn’t fair. When the other more deadlier females attack or do anything bad, us innocent and calm ones get blamed and ridiculed for what they did. We aren’t monsters.”She said, holding back tears.

Patting her head, Lanthe looked back to the human. Eyes narrowed, she watched as he drew another weapon, this one having jumped from where it hid on his leg and was now being held, the point staring straight at them. “You would dare kill the ones that practically saved you. How long do you think you could have survived out there in the forest? Some of the food here on Umbre isn’t suitable for humans. How many risks would you take in eating something that would kill you?” She asked, trying to calm her annoyance. “Your man made weapons-“She scoffed in disgust. “- Do you honestly think all your weapons can kill all of us?”

Without him being aware, the frog that had snapped its tongue on Punff’s forehead slowly moved across the floor towards Lanthe, keeping to the edges and out of Jackson’s sight. She looked at it quickly, before averting her eyes. She would us him, poor thing, but she had to. From there, she would force him to yield and take his weapons. He wasn’t strong or heavy for she had easily picked him up with that heavy metal suit he wore. “Closer, closer. Get closer frog.”She mentally asked it, staring at the human as she thought. “We won’t hurt you. We are the friendliest creatures. We just want to keep you safe.” She said, trying to distract him. Thankfully the frog was in front of her and she wasn’t sure he noticed. “If you won’t put the gun down……”She said, calculating her aim. “Then…….I will.” and with that, she kicked the frog hard, sending it flying towards the human.

With the human distracted in dodging the frog, Lanthe rushed forward, moving quick even with her size and seized his wrist, turning and flipping him over her back and slamming him down on the ground, breaking the floor boards a bit. She slammed a hoof down on his chest, keeping him still. “Punff, his weapons.”She said
.

Punff had been surprised by it all and awed. “Oh Lanthe…”She said, seeing her friend as a hero. When Lanthe spoke, she hadn’t listened for a second until she shook her head. “Oh. Yes. Right." Rushing forward, she picked up the knife and weapon, gripping them. “What do I do with them?”

“Hide them. “

“Where?”

“Anywhere where he will not be able to find it. Hide it well Punff or else.”

Thinking for only a second, Punff nodded and rushed out, opening the front door and ran out.
 
Mei was becoming noticeably agitated, the stony, blade-like tip of her tail twitching back and forth subconsciously; if it weren't for the fact that this man was the only proclaimed hope of saving their species, she'd just get rid of him and save their clan the trouble of trying to track this bastard down. The smaller hair-snakes, which comprised the entirety of her pigtails but not all of her silver chin-length locks, hissed and writhed as to atone to this. While Mei didn't fully understand why this human kept running, she supposed it didn't really matter. Like Falile, the Medusa found something....titillating about the thrill of the hunt. And besides, at least this man kept it all interesting; normally prey would just run and run until they tired. But not this human, he was clever; he'd change hideouts, go to places that no one would expect to find him. And it was for that reason alone that Mei would follow her sisters; she wanted to be part of the group that captured what could easily be considered their most elusive prey yet.

Etssa, meanwhile was, leading Talbor and Mei up towards Falile's position; being an Echidna, she certainly felt the others were too harsh on the man. How would they feel if they were hunted like an animal? He'd been eluding them for four years, and he never stopped. It was only natural for an animal to run when it felt cornered or threatened. She deduced that this human probably didn't even know why the female Mamono were all looking for him; she wouldn't know if it was correct until they found him. IF they found him before something else did. But while Etssa understood this male's reasons for running - hell, she would do the same if she was in his position - it didn't change the fact that they needed him if the Mamono were going to continue as a species.

Eventually they would catch up to Falile and the others, who seemed to be stuck in a clearing, the perimeter surrounded by various fruit trees. Mei took a sniff of the air and snarled, slamming a fist into a nearby tree and causing several pieces of ripe fruit to fall to the ground around them. "Damn it. Of all the places he had to go and could have gone, it was right. fucking. here. Damn him....." she growled. Etssa sighed again, "Mei, you must learn to control your temper....." "And what? He's fucking with us, Etssa!" "I hardly think so......He's scared, running like any prey animal would. Truthfully, I feel kind of sorry for him. The poor thing must be exhausted by now....." "How can you act so understanding? We can't even find his scent because of all the damn fruit growing here!"

"Would you all keep it down please? I'm trying to eat here....." a third voice then said rather lazily; Etssa and Mei peered up to see their sixth Warrior sister Miune high up sitting up in the branches. Being a full-grown Shirohebi, her scales were ghostly white, but possessed definition and sheen much like the hair that went down to where her serpentine and human parts connected. The latter part of her body was graced with a white kimono-like robe open at the hips and shoulders, the purple flaps at the front covering her unmentionables and tied at the "waist" with a bow-tied sash belt. The chain-mail she wore on her serpent lower body clinked as her tail swung back and forth, a third of its length draped over a sturdy branch. In her right hand she held a coraberry, a crimson heart-shaped fruit, and was clearly eating it. The juices dripped down her chin with each bite into its rich flesh, the syrupy juice dribbling down to hit the tops of her nicely-sized mounds. "What the hell do you think you're doing, lazy-ass?! In case you forgot, we're kinda looking for someone, idiot!" Mei shouted up at her sister, who seemed to disregard her presence. Miune just stared into the brilliant blue sky; she loved spring. She loved the smells of the plants, especially the fruit trees; part of her wondered if this human they were supposed to find like fruit trees. She inhaled deeply and relaxedly, briefly entertaining the thought of her wrapping her coils around this man, smothering him with her love and affection.

Elsewhere, Jackson was busy staring down Lanthe and Punff, each trying to gauge the other. Jackson just snorted as the sheep-woman told him not to call them monsters; what the hell else were they? Sure, some of them was human, but not the rest. Her breaking down on the verge of tears was met with nothing in regards to empathy from him; he'd spent four years plus running from freaks like this. And this was the second time he'd been caught....That couldn't mean anything good. In his eyes, he was getting sloppy; normally, he'd have just bolted by now, but they had something of his. Something he needed badly, and he was about sick of trying to negotiate with them.

"They've worked pretty well so far; I killed three bird-women before your whiny friend there took me hostage..." he then pointed out in an aggravated tone; this was getting ridiculous. He would have just shot the sheep and torn this house apart, but now he was out-numbered and very likely outmatched. "Yeah, sure you won't.....That's why you knocked me out and dragged my ass back to....wherever this is" Jackson then replied haughtily. Now he'd had enough; the cow-woman seemed the bigger threat, so he trained his pistol sights on her, intent on using his Flash Blade like a tomahawk on the other. A button was pressed on the hilt of the knife, making its length light up with arcs of electricity; just before he could go into action, that same frog was sent hurtling towards him, hitting his visor and obscuring his vision. "You fucking......" he growled, certainly caught off-guard by this move; before he could get it off, he felt something grab his wrist and before he knew it, he was flipped over, his heavy form crashing into the floor of the house, sending his pistol and flash blade flying out of his hands. A pained gasp left his chest, before he felt a pressure on his armor, seeing a hooved leg where the sensation was occurring.

He looked up to see Lanthe looking down at him, and then he was disarmed. He could only watch as he struggled to get free, his last line of man-made defense being taken away. "You're going to regret that..." he grumbled, sending an armored fist into the back of her knee, making it buckle before shooting a hand up to grab her horn. He then used the suit's mechanized frame to hurtle her off of him, sending the cow-woman crashing into the wall behind him. He then brought his legs back up and flipped himself onto his feet spinning around to face the cow-girl, his armored form at the ready for another strike. "Don't wanna hurt me, huh? You're so full of shit. Not that I would expect anything less from a monster" he then growled, his heart racing at the sudden influx of adrenaline. He'd fight to his last breath if it meant not being taken alive by these things. Unfortunately, it was this attitude that was the real problem. Not just by coming across as rude, but the physiological implications as well.

Before either of them could proceed further, Jackson felt the pain from before make a return, only this time it was worse; an armored hand clutched at his chest as he felt his heart seize up again. He would quickly find that no matter how strong one was, the body was just like any other machine: Too much use and it would wear out eventually, especially in regards to vital organs like the heart. His extensive running without proper rest, even with the brief reprieve Punff had given him, along with poor nutrition had pushed him to his absolute maximum in terms of physiological endurance. Shortly, his body was at its limit and was starting to fail on him. Shallow breaths emanated from his mouth as he collapsed to a knee. "D....damn.......it......No...Not now...." he gasped out, soon falling to his side with a loud "clunk", his eyes - hidden by the armored visor - clenched shut in agony. And as much as he tried to get up, he couldn't; his strength was suddenly sapped from him, and his suit felt like it would become his coffin. "No....I..I can't...die.....I don't wanna......" he continued to gasp out, his body noticeably trembling as he struggled to keep a hold on himself, his breathing quickening and deepening as his heart started to undergo fibrillation.

He suddenly felt like he needed out of this suit and now, though he couldn't really explain why; after speaking some faint commands, the armored suit opened up at the back, finally giving Punff and Lanthe a look at his true human form as he crawled out and flopped onto his back. Only now it was covered in a torn, ragged black body-suit concealing his body save for his face; like Lanthe had observed earlier, his eyes were horribly sunken and his skin was almost ghostly pale. The flesh that could be seen was covered in the glossy sheen of a cold sweat, his chest rising and falling in successively faster intervals in the throes of the heart attack that threatened to end him. The nanotrite conduits in his suit charged up upon sensing his increased heart-rate, a distinct whining sound as the capacitors reached their full charge and delivered to the bio-circuit that made up his heart, making his chest jump. And that seemed to do it, evidenced by his body laying limply and his chest heaving from the sudden rush of adrenaline; funny how before he was so willing to embrace Death himself, but in this moment, he'd lost his steely resolve to die. But he did say that he was stubborn enough to try and survive, even if he was being hunted like an animal. Though he seemed to fail to notice that now he was completely vulnerable without his protective armor.
 
“Where? Where? WHERE?” Falile screeched, her tail slamming against a tree trunk, a nice hunk having been broken out. Her pupils were slits, her nostrils flared as she tried to scent out the human. “THAT FUCKING HUMAN.”She hissed. Oh was he clever, hiding around here. The scent of these fruits was potent, strong and he was fucking smart to use them in order to hide himself.

Issae had backed away, trying not to get in the line of Falile’s attacks. “Be calm. He is around here. He has nowhere to go.” She said trying to reassure him. Looking over her shoulder, she frowned at Mei, wishing that the damn Medusa would calm down as well. She wasn’t helping either and with Falile angry, having two to deal with wouldn’t be good. “Mei, hold your tongue or else-“She said, stopping when she heard Muine’s voice. Stiffening, she looked up, seeing the lazy eyed Shirohebi enjoy a delicious sweet fruit. “Shit. If Mei get’s Muine pissed, we are fucked. “Mei, hold your tongue or else.”She warned, not wishing to deal with both Muine and Falile.

Talih looked up at the tree, brows raised. How long had she been up there? Was she up there right when everyone cleared the forest? “Muine do you see anything?”She asked, wondering if she was useful at the moment. Looking at Issae, Talih had a bit of a worried look to her face.

“I know. I know. Mei isn’t helping and Falile-“ She heard a screech of anger. “-is getting riled up.” Looking at Falile, she tried to sooth the Lamia. “Calm yourself Falile. It will not help if you are stressed.”

“S-Stressed? STRESSED! That…..fucking human…is toying with me.”She voice thickened with the anger that was growing. “When I find him I will fuck him until he begs to die.”

“But Mother-“

“Mother knew the risk of sending me. She. Knew.” And with that Falile went left, opposite of where the human had actually been taken.


‘~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lanthe looked down and sighed. “This is for your own- haaa” she creamed, pain searing in the back of her knee as she felt his heavy fist make contact. Her leg bucked, making her fall forward a bit. “D-Dam-“ Her words were cut off, her head tilted forward, her horn grabbed painfully. “L-Let go of me-ehh, eeehhhh.”Tossed without a care, Lanthe was slammed into the fall, her breath leaving her lungs. This human was stubborn as hell and strong as well, but Lanthe was stronger. She wouldn’t let him get the best of her. “D-Dammit.” She said, getting up on shaking hands and knees. “You were the one that made me take action. You should not have threatened.”She said, trying to make him see that it was all his doing.

Looking up at him, but just as she did, he grabbed at his chest. She could not tell what was wrong, for his face was covered. “W-What…what is happening? What is wrong?” Lanthe asked, getting to her feet quickly.


At that moment, Punff returned, rushing through the living room, her hands dirty from the soil outside. “Lanthe I hid-“She stopped, seeing the human fall to one knee. “What did you do to him?”She asked, rushing towards the human.

“I have done nothing. He suddenly started doing this.”She said, worried now. Seeing him finally fall to the floor, Lanthe rushed to him, looking at his body. “Dammit. This suit is a hinder.” She hated it so much. They had tried to figure out how to remove it from his body in order for him to lie properly and sleep comfortably, but they weren’t able to and left him as is. Now, it seemed all her prayers at that time were finally being answered. A hiss sound was heard and the suit began to retract him his body, opening until he rolled out. What true beauty. So strong. So well sculpted. Lanthe was in a brief daze until she shook herself out of it, seeing the pain that was written all over his face.

“What do we do Lanthe? What do we do?” Asked Punff in a worry, watching as he convulsed for a moment before he finally stopped. The pain was still there, his skin coated in sweat and white as snow almost.

“Punff, rub your wool. He needs to rest.”She said, grabbing her hand and bringing her down on her knees. The wool around her wrists was brought to his face, rubbing against his nose. “Sleep human. Simply sleep.” She cooed as Punff rubbed her wool over him, sleep filling his senses.

Watching as he finally dozed off, Lanthe and Punff picked him up by his arms and ankles, moving him back onto the couch. Punff gather rags and a pale of cool water and began dampening his forehead from the sweat. “Will he be alright?” She asked, worried.

“He needs to eat. Tis noticeable he lacked proper food, thus proper nutrition. We will force my milk down his mouth little by little; it will help him regain what he has lost. Till then, Punff, you must stay close for in case he awakens; you need to put him back to sleep. Poor thing desperately needs it. He may hate us for keeping him like this, but hopefully, he will realize how much he needed it.”
Nodding, Punff continued to care for him, dabbing at his face and neck while Lanthe went to the kitchen, removed the boiling milk from the fire and let it cooled. It was going to be a long day and no doubt would there be many more like this. Two or three days should be enough to give him strength once more.
 
(Figure we can switch to Jackson, Lanthe and Punff only after this post, since they're going in the completely wrong direction and all)
Miune sighed; clearly she wasn't going to be able to enjoy the coraberry she'd picked for herself. Thankfully, she was a pretty level-headed Lamia much like Etssa herself and it took a lot to get her angry. But when she did, even someone like Falile wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance. "No, Issae, I don't see anything" the Shirohebi replied lazily, tossing the half-eaten fruit aside as she realized her little break was over; must her sisters be so loud and obnoxious? Still, it was probably best that they start moving again and find this human as quickly as possible; when it came down to it, she would stake her claim on this man after Mother was finished with him. Miune then slowly climbed down, going from branch to branch until she reached the bottom; the miko robe she wore, showing her flat stomach and "hips", caught on the smaller branches several times, but her bulk and the strength of the fabric kept it from tearing.

Miune then approached Mei, her crimson eyes equally as petrifying as the Medusa's glare, and said, "By the way, Mei, call me "lazy-ass" again and you'll regret it. My water magic can bring men ultimate pleasure, but for others.......Well, I don't think you want to find out". Mei noticeably hesitated, her golden eyes widening in surprise and fright. But Miune seemed satisfied with her non-responsiveness and followed off after Falile, Issae and Talih. Mei then stuck her tongue out childishly, which earned a smack to the back of the head from Etssa. "Knock it off, we still have a job to do" the young Echidna said blankly; Mei's hair-snakes hissed in retaliation as she turned to face her older sister, but back down again at Etssa's blank stare. Mei realized the futility of trying to fight someone who could easily subdue Falile and just grimaced before turning with a huff, her stone-like scales making scrapping noises as she followed her sister. Etssa breathed out a sight of relief, glad that a potential civil war was averted; it was trying at times, keeping her younger siblings in line. Miune was easily the most docile next to her, then followed Talih. Falile, Mei and Issae were the hotheaded ones, and the hardest to control.

However, Etssa snapped out of her daze when she realized Talbor was nowhere to be found; she then said, "Talbor? Talbor....You can come out, everything's OK" A small rustle was heard, and the younger of the two Shirohebi poked her head out from behind a jugamelon tree. "Etssa.....I don't like it when they fight. It scares me" Talbor then said, her petite form shaking a little as additional confirmation. Etssa made her over to the young Lamia and patted her head, saying in a soothing tone, "Don't worry, Talbor, nothing's going to happen, I promise you that. Once we find this human, we can make things right again and stop all this infighting". Talbor looked up at the eldest Warrior, feeling her worry disappear upon seeing the Echidna's confident and comforting eyes. "Now come along, sister, we mustn't fall behind" Etssa then said, leading Talbor after the five other Lamia, unknowing that they were completely missing the mark.

The man the seven Lamia were looking for was now in possession of Lanthe and Punff, both rather striking humanoid creatures who were easily the least Jackson would have to worry about in terms of assault. The only ones who could be any less imposing were the mermaids, but since they were far from any ocean, these two were the best he could have possibly come across. Despite his beliefs of their desire to torment him and break him, a Holstaurus and a Weresheep were the some of the gentlest land creatures in this region. He should count himself lucky that he wasn't found by an Amazoness tribe, or something even worse like a Minotaur, which ironically was a close, extremely violent-tempered cousin to the Holstaurus.

Even still, in his hazed mind - weary from extensive fatigue, hunger and sleep deprivation - he was weakly trying to struggle, trying to keep these two away from him. He didn't know why he left the safety of his armor, as it had been the one thing aside from his now confiscated rifle that had been a single point of consistency in this crazy, messed up world. "N...No....syaa..sta..stay 'way....stay away" he pleaded weakly, his body shivering from the cold sweat of his near fatal heart attack. He then felt something rub against his nose, and again his consciousness started to fade; in his weakened state, he fell asleep much more easily this time, his dark-circled eyes closing and his chiseled, time-ravaged body calming down. He didn't even get a chance to hear Lanthe's words as the blissful warmth finally overtook him and he passed into the realm of dreams. His breathing evened out, his sculpted chest rising and falling beneath the ragged bodysuit he wore, its definition visible even beneath the dirtied, semi-thick fabric.

If one were to look on this scene from the outside, they might find it touching that these two had looked past the man's initial hostility and taken him in to care for him. Whether this was out of a sense of duty or stemmed from their own inward, innate kindness was subject for debate, but for the moment, it seemed young Jackson's perilous situation had been averted. Time and patience would only tell if the last remaining male on Umbre would accept his place as company of these two Mamono. As Punff dabbed at his face and pulled down the hood of his bodysuit to wipe his neck of the sweat, she would begin to see the evidence of his plight: Scars from battling a pack of Werewolves that had managed to knock off his helmet, leaving ragged scars that looked barely healed over, and that was only the beginning of what his body might tell her should she decide to investigate.
 
It felt like they were going in circles. Falile scented all around, going this way and that and would either end up in the same spot or the edge of the forest. She was getting agitated and her sisters were all ready to deal with her. “H-He……he isn’t here.”She simply said, stopping suddenly. She didn’t twitch, didn’t move a muscle, nothing. “We’ve been going in circles. We have seen nothing. His scent is undetectable.”Looking up at the trees, she saw more fruits filling the branches. “A-And…..and these….fucking fruit are FUCKING EVERYWHERE.”She shrieked, spinning and slamming her tail against it tree, easily knocking it down and hearing it creak from the its weight until it fell to the ground.


“Falile calm yourself.” Talih said, raising her hands in order to calm her.


“C-Calm down. CALM DOWN. We’ve been going in fucking circles you stupid bitch. We have not seen that fucking human at all. All these fucking fruits are hiding his fucking scent or perhaps, for all we know, HE ISN’T HERE ARE ALL.” She turned her eyes to Talbor. “For all I know, that little bitch lied. For all we know, she’s hiding him.” She hissed, pupils turning into small slits in the center of her eyes.


Talih looked to Talbor. “Talbor, are you sure the human rushed into the forest. Do not lie.”She said, trying to keep the girl from losing her life.


“You should have ditched Yurin and followed him, it would had saved us all from running around in fucking circles. “Falile hissed, inching closer to the girl, though was intervened by Issae.


“You would have wanted our sister to get eaten by the crows.”


“Her fault for trying to claim the fucking human. She should have come back, asked for assistance and guided us back to where the human had been. Instead, the fucking bitch decided to claim him for herself, knowing better. Serves her right to have been attacked by Harpies.”


Issae wanted to slap her, but withheld her hand. Make a move and Issae would find herself on the floor lifeless.


“Send her back home. I don’t want her near me.”Falile said and turned away.


Talih looked at Talbor and let out a sigh. “Oh fuck.”She said, not sure what to do. “As fucked up as it sounds, she has a point. We wouldn’t be running around in circles if Talbor hadn’t simply left Yurin and followed the human. No doubt he isn’t here at all and we’re just wasting our time.”



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`


While Lanthe had gone off to prepare some broth to give to the human, Punff had grabbed a chair and sat herself, dabbing away at the human’s skin. “Poor thing.”She said, gently tugging at the strange piece of clothing he wore. It hugged his body, showing off his beautiful form and muscles. She needed to get it off in order to properly clean him and the thought of getting him naked had her blushed. “Stupid. He’s asleep and weak. You wouldn’t dare assault him?”She asked herself that and found it hard to answer. Mentally punching herself, she tugged at the neck, pulling it down and gasped, seeing such nasty scars that had yet to heal properly. “Oh you poor thing. Lanthe’s milk will help in healing those.”She said, pressing the cloth gently over the scratches.

The material of his clothing easily stretched and miracle for her, there was a zipper in the front, so it beat having to figure out how to remove the damn thing. Blushing, she took hold of the metal zipper between her thumb and finger and gently pulled down, slowly revealing his skin little by little. She shouldn’t be getting turned on at the fact that she was going to get him naked. He was sleeping for honest sakes and even if he had been awake, he would have been too weak to fight. This was for medicinal purposes. She had to get him clean. Halfway down to his stomach, Punff realized the zipper stopped just above his crotch. Thinking about that, had her blushing more. She could easily slip her hand inside and feel-

The croak next to her had her jumping off the seat, hands raised over her head. “It's not what you think. I wasn’t thinking of doing anything.”She said, looking over her shoulder, expecting to see Lanthe. “Huh?” Looking around, Punff caught something green moving and saw that it was that damn frog. “Stupid. You scared me.”She said and kissed it gently.

Turning back to the human, she sighed and busied herself, slipping his arms from the suit, pulling it down as she rolled his body from one side to the other until the suit was bunch around his waist. “There.” Punff frowned at each scar that had been revealed. Some caused by some creatures, others caused by something else. The things he had to go through. Punff had no scars on her body. Most of the time, it was hard for creatures like herself to have permanent marks. Dipping the rag back in the bucket, wringing it out, she began to clean his skin. Right when she smoothed the rag over his arms, Lanthe appeared with a tray, a small mug filled with warm milk and a bowl filled with vegetable broth.



“Here. Help me in order to get this down his throat. He needs to nutrients in his body.”She said to Punff.


Both females worked together, Punff gently tilting his head and opening his mouth while Lanthe slowly poured Milk little by little in his mouth, then the brother. “Will feed him every five or so hours. It’ll be a slow process, but I’m hoping the next time we let him wake up, he’ll be better.
 
Talbor and Mei jumped as Falile knocked over a tree with the sheer force of her strike, the Medusa putting herself in front of the young Shirohebi lest the violent Lamia try and turn on her. Mei's golden hues flashed as she readied herself to have use her last resort weapon: her literally-petrifying gaze. Much like the snake-haired woman for which her species had received its name, her gaze - when properly activated - would turn anything that dared meet her eyes with their own into a solid stone statue. She of course didn't want to use this; well, she did, considering how much of a violent bitch Falile was being right now. But it would be such a pain to drag her stone-cased form all the way back to Mother's den.

Talbor just nodded, replying timidly "Y...yes, the human ran into the forest. B..but....I don't know which way he went after that......" She couldn't believe that Falile would make that conclusion; shouldn't it have been obvious through her actions that she genuinely feared this human? She let out a startled yelp and hid behind Mei some more, the Medusa readying herself to petrify the ill-tempered sister of hers. "Falile, Talih, that's enough!" Etssa then said, sliding herself between the two. She wasn't about to have her sisters spill each other's blood. Not when they needed to work together to find this human.

Etssa then turned to Issae and replied, "And as for you, Issae, I suggest you hold your tongue. Talbor has shown more valor and courage by bringing Yurin back; if anything, you and Falile are the cowardly and weak ones for suggesting she leave her behind in the first place. So Talbor is staying right here with us; if you don't like it, then you can go back. Just know that Mother WILL be informed why you were sent back from the assignment, one way or another". Even with Falile and Issae being as strong as they were, they couldn't hold a candle to Mother's power. And Etssa knew how much the Warriors hated failure, herself included. Their reactions to her words would go unnoticed by Etssa, who started to slither away saying, "Now if we're all done bickering, let's keep looking; the human couldn't have gotten far".
Jackson's unconscious form lay near-lifeless on the sofa, unable to feel as the cute Weresheep started undoing his bodysuit and exposing more of the ghostly-pale flesh that lay beneath. If it weren't for the very faint breathing and barely-noticeable rising and falling of his well-defined chest, one might think the ill-off man was actually dead. Thankfully, he wasn't, and now it would be up to the two he thought to be his jailers to bring him back from a potential death. His head lolled slightly as Punff cradled his cranium, his now very loose jaw muscles able to let his mouth open before Lanthe poured the warm, creamy liquid down his gullet. Even with this much the effect was instantly noticeable: Some of his coloration had returned, and the smaller lacerations over his body seemed to close up of their own free will. There was still much to be done, but at least with this, the stranded young man just might be able to survive.

As the hours went by, Jackson's body began to restore itself, a most satisfactory combination tender loving care of the two Mamono and the foods which they fed him. He didn't consciously respond to anything they did; however, the restoration of his body's internal mechanisms allowed the blood to free more freely with time. His once seemingly non-existent heartbeat soon thudded against his ribcage; it was still fairly subdued, but at least now either of the two Mamono would be able to feel it. And while Punff's initial thoughts to "inspecting" him went unnoticed - or at the very least unmentioned - by Lanthe, it remained to be seen if she would hold off such a thing. Of course, if she went ahead with it, there'd certainly be no resistance on Jackson's part.

*Two days later*

Jackson's body was well on the way to recovery; nearly all of his superficial wounds had been closed up, and most of the darkness under his eyes had disappeared. The color to his skin had largely returned as well, possessing a more tanned appearance which served to accentuate his muscular frame. The only noticeable physical anomalies aside from a few of the larger scars were the fact that his cheekbones were still somewhat sunken, and not all of the muscle mass he previously had had returned to him. Internally, he was still quite the train-wreck: Much of the muscle damage he'd had to push through during his time of running and gunning through this hostile land was still largely untreated, and his cardiovascular system - especially his heart - would still prevent him from doing much heavy work, lest he aggravate it and undergo another attack.

However, he possess enough energy to stir awake; a subdued groan left his lips as his eyelids twitched before parting, revealing the dulled green hues that were his irises. Under normal circumstances, they were usually quite bright and vibrant, but the physical toll of his actions drained much of his energy. The young man tried to sit up, but he felt so drained that he gave up almost immediately. When his eyes fully opened, they were assaulted by the bright light of the morning sun, causing him to moan and squeeze them shut, turning his head weakly away from the irritating glare. His vision was hazy, and his head spun, but he had enough sense to realize he was still alive. "Wh...a..t....Wh..where...?" Jackson mumbled; if he were fully awake, he would realize that his Devastator armor was gone, having too been hidden by the Mamono who were currently caring for him.
 
*Two Days Later*


Punff hummed as she stirred the vegetables and broth within the pot, the steam lifting and filling the air around her, making her tail wiggle in anticipation. She had helped Lanthe in picking the vegetables from the garden behind the house. Ripe and ready they were and Punff wanted to eat them then and there, but she had to wait. The broth that was being made thanks to the veggies would be cooled a bit and forced down the human’s throat. It had been like that for the past two days. Every few hours, Lanthe and her would gently pour vegetable broth and warm milk down his throat. The results of it had shown. His skin no longer had that nasty pale look to them and his face looked more relax than it did two days ago, but his body still needed proper food in his system, but only liquids could be given until he awoke.

With Lanthe out, gathering more wood for the stove, Punff gently moved the heavy pot off the burner. She opened the small little oven door and with a metal poker, she scattered the burning wood in order to dim the fire a bit so they could burn out and cool. “Best to see how our guest is doing.”She told herself, checking to make sure the fire wasn’t that strong, then closed the little door, moving away and headed for the living area and then towards the bedrooms.

Lanthe had easily moved him to a spare room her late husband had added to the house. The human was tucked away in a soft bed made of wild bird feathers and a bit of Weresheep cotton in order to give the person, in this case the human, a more relaxed feeling as they slept. Walking down the small hallway, Punff gently pushed the door open, having been left ajar just in case the human woke and saw him awake and shifted in order to keep the sun from his face it seems. “Oh, you’re awake.”She said and rushed to the open window, reached her dainty hands up and closed the curtains. A bit of light seeped between, but no longer was the sun being a hinder to him. Cautiously, she moved close to the large bed where he laid, looking him over. He looked much better. “Are you okay? Thirsty? Would you care for some water…or perhaps milk? How about something to eat?” She asked, wondering if he was well enough to understand her. Perhaps he was still weak. Nibbling her lip, she wished Lanthe was here, but Punff had to be the big girl and take care of him until she returned or else Lanthe would kill her if something happened to him while under her care. “You should relax and sleep more. You’re body has been slowly processing the vegetable broth and milk we’ve been giving you in order to help in regaining your strength.” Moving to a bucket neck to the bed, Punff reached in and grabbed a rag submerged in water. She wrung it out then hesitated, wondering if he would attack her if she tried to clean at his forehead. “He’s weak. He can’t do anything.” She told herself and slowly reached her hand, keeping her eyes on him in case he decided to do something. “You’re safe you know. There is no need to be afraid of me or of Lanthe. We’ve been taking care of you ever since you had that sudden attack of yours. We were afraid, for we didn’t know what had happened to you. We hoped that if wouldn’t have happened again while you were sleeping.”She said gently as she pressed the damp cloth to his forehead. “We won’t hurt you. We promise.”
 
The reprieve from the light was certainly welcome for the unfortunate human; the dimming of the ambient illumination eased the strain on his corneas. The young man felt himself waking up more and more, his senses returning enough to catch her words and get a better grasp of his situation. He still couldn't move as freely as he would have liked, as he still needed rest, but at the very least he would survive. His head fell back onto the soft pillows; wherever he was, it was incredibly comfortable. Everything hugged his skin so nicely, made him feel warm and like he was back home in his own bed. Jackson froze, his heart rate spiking again as he realized something: His armor was gone, and so was his bodysuit, leaving him only in his birthday suit. He was completely naked and vulnerable, and he didn't like it.

Even with the sudden realization and surge of adrenaline, his body didn't move too much; he wouldn't have another attack like before, as Lanthe's milk and the broth they fed him repaired most of the structural damage to his internal organs. It would likely be a little longer before he fully recovered; this was four years worth of damage being spoken of, after all. But still, he would prove to be a stubborn as always; when Punff pressed the wet rag to his forehead, his right arm snaked raised from above the cotton comforter and weakly closed around the Weresheep's wrist. She would be able to tell that he couldn't really do anything, but the fact that he would touch her might surprise.

"D...don't touch....me......Monster" he breathed out; his hand weakly pushed at her wrist trying to get her hand away from him, not even able to move it in the slightest bit. His eyes, still somewhat dim but possessing more of a noticeable fire from before, "M...my armor.....weapons.....Wher....Where....are they?" He then gave a series of coughs, feeling his throat had been rubbed raw with coarse sandpaper, before speaking with a bit more fluidity, but the volume of his voice was still subdued, "Whatever you plan on doing to me.....Just get it over with......You won't break me....". It was clear that despite Punff's attempts to calm him down, his experiences still veiled him from seeing the truth.
 
Back
Top Bottom