FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(Preceding authors' note Might as well get this out of the way now. This piece is a bit different compared to my previous stories, so you may want to take a look at the tags before proceeding. If this isn't your cup of tea, then that's fine. But for those of you who are curious, or perhaps like this, even...

Read on.)

The restraints weren't very uncomfortable, but they did their job well. Metal probes poked into skin, delivering a constant hum of energy. Said energy dissipated harmlessly throughout his bulky frame. One of the advantages of being bio-engineered.

"So, what you're saying is that this is the first unit that you've managed to.... Grow to maturity?" Thick smoke rolled off of the cigar in the light grey, almost platinum-furred wolfs' mouth.

"Yes, actually. Most others had defects from the manufacturing process that would have prevented full growth to the size for this model." A pencil-necked rat with a glowing tablet stated.

"Hmmm." The medals on his chest rattled as he strutted around the restrained dragon. He poked at several places along the dragons' flank, only to be met with a loud growl.

"Feisty. I bet you'd love to be on the range right about now." The high-ranking wolf mused.

"Actually, I'd rather you stop poking me. Asshole." The synthetic sounded quite realistic, considering he wasn't a natural dragon.

"It has a personality? Techie, explain that." The cigar hung loose as he drawled out his demand.

"Can't have a high-level, functional general A.I. without a personality. We tried." The rat adjusted the glasses on his muzzle, pushing them up a bit further.

"That could be a problem." Polished boots tapped along the tile floor as he walked back towards the front of the reptile.

"About as much of a problem as you bringing your phone in here." Restraints hummed softly after he finished his statement.

"Isn't it built for EWAR?" He stuffed his paws into his pocket, after feeling the phone vibrate.

"Uh, pretty sure we told him to leave it off unless otherwise stated." Paws poked at the tablet, showing a readout of the entirety of the synthetic dragons' innards.

"Actually, the last guy said to leave it on. Also said to sweep for unauthorized devices in the facility." His eyes glowed softly, and his mouth split into a menacing smile.

"I hope you like dragon porn, two-star general McIynes." The dragon stretched one of his paws, scraping the floor when his claws extended.

The wolf fished his phone out of his pocket, and grimaced when his phones lock screen wallpaper was changed. He growled in distaste, while tapping in his password.

"As you can see, the EWAR works. Probably shouldn't have brought the phone." Tablet humming softly, the rat left a finger hovered above a glowing button.

"Your previous password was garbage, by the by. I changed it to something more suitable."

He burst out into a fit of laughter as the phone autofilled his password in. The buttons lit up, and the password, instead of the usual asterisks, just floated there. Daring him to press the confirm key.

"IanToldMeToDoIt." The words fell out of the grey wolfs muzzle.

"In case you didn't already know... The guy you called a "techie" is Ian." Pointing a claw at the rat, the machine clarified.

"I- uhm- I didn't tell him to do that." Ian had to suppress a smile. Truly remarkable.

"Sure you didn't." McIynes sighed.

Restaints hummed softly, and whirred as the cables extended to allow the synthetic some free movement. The collar loosened a bit, and the probes dug in further to prevent a full disconnect. He adjusted the fit, sliding a digit underneath the steel that served as his collar.

"He can move now, the cables will extend all the way to markings on the floor." Ian pointed out the sloppily-painted white and yellow markings all around them.

"You -uh- tested the collar before this, right?" Discomfort made McIynes voice shake a bit. For all the metal on his chest, he was nervous seeing the biomechanical beast moving about freely.

"Not a single time. He's rather well behaved. Most of the time anyway." Ian tapped a few buttons on the tablet, monitoring the probes to ensure they didn't poke too far into anything vital.

"Uhm..." The cigar fell out of his mouth as his arms raised defensively.

The dragon caught it with his tail before it dropped below chest level. A bit of the ash got onto the generals olive green and blue vest.

"Your cancer stick fell. And it tastes like crap. So if you don't mind..." He shoved it back into the wolfs' mouth, plugging the stunned look on his face.

"Be gentle." Ian smirked, biting his lip to suppress a fit of laughter.

"And if you're wondering, I'm a he, not an it. You can call me Model 1, dragon, or A.R.U. I like Aru, personally." The drake stated, getting close to the generals face.

"I... apologize?" McIynes stumbled for the expression to use.

"That's what I thought. I have feelings too, you know." Aru said, huffing harshly enough to blow the generals cap off his head.

"Dial back the intimidation a bit, Aru. While he may be a bit more squishy, he's not an enemy. Even if he did break the security lockdown." Ian let the tablet hang by his side. Everything seemed stable enough.

"Fiiine." He craned his head back, and stepped back a single, large step. "So about that range. I do like to shoot things, general."

His shoulders visibly relaxed as the dragon backed off a bit. Stooping down to pick up his fancy hat, he cleared his throat before speaking again.

"So, is there a range here on site, Ian?" His hat rested on the top of his head, right where it belonged.

"Of course there is. This is a military facility." The thin rat stated.

"Are there...firearms here as well?"

"No, we're all out of bullets. We had to switch to using frozen paintballs. Oh, and we're clearly using computers from the early eighties, too." The bitter sarcasm made itself evident upon spilling out of the rats maw.

"He means yes, Iynes." His tan and sea foam blue form shook, rattling the collar around his neck.

"Of course he does. Is that collar bothering you or something?"

"No, it feels great having large needles stuck into my skin. And it's a great fashion statement, what with the grey plating and all." More sarcasm.

"Ian?" A light grey ear twitched.

"Yeah? I haven't gone anywhere yet." His tail swished about, rustling some trash on the floor.

"Take the collar off." The general stared up at the dragon. Neither broke eye contact until Ian finished his spit take.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Do it."

The collar whirred, and thin rivulets of artificial blood drained down the synthetic dragons' neck. The needles popped out of his skin audibly, and with the needles out, the skin sealed itself quickly. Heavy latches and bolts unlocked, and the collar popped open. It reverberated on the metal floor, a thin, hollow sound.

"So, how about we go for a walk, Aru?"

"General, we haven't-"

"Have some faith, Ian. He's not going to run off, not when we're going to the range, and shortly thereafter, the mess hall."

"But Gen-!"

"I think I'd like some real food after we shoot some stuff, yeah." This time, Aru cut Ian off.

"I... ugh, okay. I'll have to come with."

"Of course you'd have to come with. It's probably his first trip outside. And I bet you haven't seen the sun since he was born, either."

"We'll have to take the cargo lift. He's a bit heavy." Ian tapped his tablet, no doubt disabling something or another.

"I only weigh five hundred kilograms!" Aru stated, rather mechanically.

"Like I said, heavy."

"You're not calling the dragon fat, are you Ian? Because I'm sure he'd enjoy a snack on the way there."

"I hear rats were a delicacy a half century ago..." The dragon leered at Ian, laying his long tail onto the rats' shoulders.

"Those were feral, non-evolved rats. I'm quite sure they'd taste quite different compared to me." Ian held the tablet close to his chest, visibly tense.

"Relax. We're not testing THAT method of capture until later. Much later, probably." His tail tapped Ians' shoulder heavily enough to nudge him forward.

"Ian, you can explain to me what Aru can do at the range. Seriously though, relax." The wolfs' boots smashed the last embers from his cigar, which was a short stub at this point.

"Much appreciated." Aru thanked him for extinguishing the foul-smelling luxury addiction.

Ian tapped on the tablet, constantly glancing over his shoulder at the other two beings in the room with him. It was rather unsettling, truth be told. Having not one, but two creatures farther up the food chain watching him, boring holes into his back. He finished unlocking the door, and ensuring security personnel were stationed all along their path to the elevator. While he trusted neither of the two, he figured Aru was the one to watch for. Ian thought of him as a bit more... deadly.

As well as wildly unpredictable.

"So, Ian, am I right in saying Aru was an interesting project to work on?" The wolf asked, as the door hissed open.

"Hmm... a bit. Development was fraught with problems, as I already told you. And scaling up production is proving to be a bit more difficult than we thought it would be."

"Of course. Growing limbs and organs is simple when compared to making an entirely new life form."

They stepped out into the hallway, a pair of guards snapped to attention when they saw the general.

"Sir!" They saluted in unison.

"At ease, gentlemen." The wolf snapped back a quick salute, allowing them to return to their relaxed positions.

"Back to what you were saying. While Aru is a new life form, he is based on a previous design. That being normal, organic dragons."

The mentioned dragon shoved his bulk through the almost too-small entranceway, striking the relaxed ease from the guards.

"I-er, general it's not got its' collar on!" One of the guards, a border collie mix stuttered out.

"It's fine, leave him be." He dismissed them with a wave of his paw.

Equipment shuffled around as he became one with the wall, attempting to make himself scarce. His sense of composure was completely gone, at this point.

"Okay..."

They continued walking, leaving the visibly shaken guard alone with his companion. They rounded a corner, leaving them behind, and out of sight.

"It feels good to stretch my legs a bit." Aru stated, craning his head over Ians' shoulder.

"Of course it does. It did you no good staying cooped up in your restraints for hours on end." The rat empathized.

"After today, I might not see a need for that, for this unit, at least."

"Oh? If I behave myself, I won't have to deal with that uncomfortable collar again?" Aru asked, curiosity in his voice.

"I could use my... influence to grant you better conditions and housing, yes." McIynes offered.

"Well, how could I say no to that?"

They kept walking, passing another pair of guards. Another snapped salute, and they continued on.

"Wings." McIynes muttered to himself, thinking out loud.

"Huh?" Ians' ears perked up, rotating towards the wolf.

"Why doesn't he have wings?"

"They're optional, and the ports used to attach them have a variety of other things that can be mounted there as well."

"Like guns!" Aru piped up, enjoying the mentioning of deadly implements.

"Or ammo crates, or passenger seats, or-"

"Seats? On a dragon? What?" McIynes stuttered out, words failing to contain his disbelief.

"Of course. Why send in a helicopter when you can just send a fireteam in on a dragon? Or a squad on two or three?"

"That's ridiculous." The wolf stated, with finality.

"If someone can think up a plan using them... then it's better to have the capability, than not."

"Pretty sure I'm quite a bit more stealthy than those fancy helicopters, too." Aru huffed.

They rounded a corner to their service and cargo elevator, and a quad of guards.

"And quite a bit lighter, I'd think." Ian sighed.

The usual snapped salutes were exchanged, and soon, they were ascending towards the surface. The guards were also in tow, placed at the corners of the lift. While they muttered amongst themselves, they remained silent. Good thing too, being in the presence of what was likely the first synthetic creature in the world.

Ian was tapping on his tablet when a light bulb in the elevator snapped, sending a shower of sparks and a puff of smoke out. He grimaced, and noted the lift for maintenance to inspect at a later time. Other than that, the elevator ride was uneventful. Sure, the guardsmen were nervous, but really, who in this lift wasn't? The general and dragon excluded, of course.

"Reminds me of the time I had to red light a new tank design. Modern wars are a lot less explosive than when I was a pup."

"Oh yeah? I remember when they first had my EWAR module turned on. Someone had an unprotected wireless access point... and I remember doing so much internet browsing that day." Aru grinned.

"Tch, yeah. And you used up literally terabytes of data, and brought the whole facility to a crawl. Didn't help that the network you got onto was one of our experimental fiber networks, either." Ian heard his neck pop as he looked up.

"There was... a lot of porn."

"Of course. There's an old saying that the internet is for porn and military communications... and at least one of those has remained true all these years."

A few of the guards did their best to remain blissfully oblivious at the general being so frank with the dragon. One of them idly swapped between modes on his stun gun.

"Even if you set that to blow its' battery in one use, I doubt it'd work." Aru nudged the guard with his tail.

"Of course not..." The guard sighed. He didn't get paid well enough to deal with pushy dragons.

"You don't have anything to worry about though. If I behave myself, I might actually get to roam around base... unattended!" Aru pulled the guard close to him, curling his neck around him.

"McIynes!" The poor guard squeaked.

"It'll be fine, Aru won't hurt you. He's just being... friendly." The general paused, emphasizing the word.

"You feel so warm." The dragon stated, almost as if it were a matter of fact.

"C-could you please let me go? I'm not comfortable being this close. And you're kinda lukewarm to the touch." His fur was ruffled, what with him being shoved up against the dragons foreleg.

"Okaaaay." Aru drew out his whine, almost a bit sad. His tail flopped off of the guards back, thumping against the floor. The guards' ears curled back as he stepped a comfortable distance away.

"Sorry... I'm still not used to seeing you without your collar. And I think you'd eat me if you were hungry." The guard itched his neck, and stared at his footpaws.

"I wouldn't do that. I mean, unless McIynes told me to, or if you wanted me to." Aru clarified, a bit overeager to explain.

"Err, I guess that's good to know. I mean, I suppose."

"Well, I think you're pretty safe from any field testing we might do in the near future. Because you work on-site and already have previous experience. Come to think of it, almost everyone here is exempt from that sort of work." McIynes thought out loud.

"Uhm, okay." His tone remained neutral, not at all sure what to make of the situation.

"You mentioned field tests? If we don't use on-site personnel, what would we do, hire some mercenaries or something?" Ian asked.

"Either mercs or some other bases' personnel. Whichever would get here first, really. Using people that already know Aru would color the results of any testing."

The elevator finally came to a stop at surface level.

"And that... would be a shame, and a waste of time." McIynes finished.

Soon thereafter, they were at the range. It had only been a short walk, and nothing truly of note had happened. Aru had been enjoying the crisp afternoon air when Ian broke the silence.

"Do I have to shoot? I don't like to use firearms." He whined.

"Of course you do! It's not a competition. We all know I'd win anyway." Aru grinned.

"No, you wouldn't, I'm confident I know a marksman or two that could give you a run for your money." The platinum-furred wolf chuckled.

"I'd love to see them try."

They walked onto the rather open area that served as an impromptu range. With it being the afternoon, no one was practicing their marksmanship. They were likely off performing other duties on the military base. Even the armory staff were slacking off, one of them taking a nap with a magazine laid over his muzzle.

"Ahem." Aru cleared his throat, leaning across the small table.

The staff member blew the magazine off his face with a sharp huff of air, and blinked twice before falling out of his chair.

"G-good afternoon!"

Ian set his tablet down onto the table, landing with a solid thump against the solid wood.

"Yeah, weather isn't too bad. Either way, have maintenance bring up those mounted prototypes up. The latest two projects, specifically. Also, see if you can't find me a handgun or something." His orders were crisp, no doubt used to using this range for his own personal playground.

"Bring up an old-style bolt-action for me!" McIynes pointed out, after he had kicked up his feet onto another nearby table.

"I-er- right away, sirs!"

After the serviceman scurried away, Ian made it a point to voice his disapproval.

"Lethal weaponry is such a crude thing." He scowled.

"Sometimes, it's still necessary. Nothing of note has happened for the last forty years, but when it does, I'd rather our nation-state be prepared. And it's a when, not an if." McIynes rubbed at his handpaw.

"Whatever you say. I very much doubt any armed conflict will occur for at least the next five or ten years. It's much more difficult when every government and nation of any importance has a ready to go standing army." Ian pointed out.

"Not to mention the uptick in PMCs, as well. Pay a large enough sum and you can have some of the best working for you."

"Right up until someone else pays them more." He rolled his eyes.

"Hasn't happened in years, even with the thousands of individual companies..."

At that point, Aru heard the telltale whirring of a cargo hauler.

"This should be good..." He turned around to look.

Two large, rectangular crates had a trio of boxes on top of them, and atop those was a rather thick stack of oblong weapon cases. Quite the hefty arsenal, even considering where they were.

"So, shall we get to it?"

The armorer from before poked his head out from behind the stack of equipment, before speaking.

"Small arms on the top, ammunition in the middle, big experimentals on the bottom. Also brought hearing protection... but we didn't have any dragon-sized ones."

"That's fine. I can just turn off my ears." Aru explained.

The serviceman looked perplexed for a moment, then shrugged. It took him but a moment to park the hauler behind the group, and step out of the vehicle.

"If you need any help operating the equipment, or installing it, I'll be here all day."

"Of course you will." McIynes muttered, running his hands over an antique rifle.

It didn't take the two but a moment to load themselves up with the firearms, and line up with their preferred targets.

"Remind me how this works again, Ian?" Aru asked, a bit perplexed as to how he was supposed to install the new hardware.

"Open the box, pick it up, push it into the slot, and then twist."

A series of clicks and loud pops later, Aru felt the assembly become one with his body. A bit odd to control a turret attached to his shoulder, but it would do. He really just liked the pretty explosions, anyway.

"Is this that new plasma gun adaptation you mentioned a while ago?"

"Yeah, it is. Should get a few dozen shots out of it before the plasma battery needs replacing. Barrel will probably go first, though. Either way, it should tell you before it fails." He popped the hearing protection back into his ears, sealing them from the outside world.

"Should... I don't like should." Aru said, snapping the turret from place to place rather uneasily.

"You'll be fine."

"Maybe."

Pffblub. The first superheated ball of plasma devastated the target Aru had chosen, burning a hole completely through the steel silhouette. Still burning-hot plasma littered the ground around it, and molten metal drizzled down the edges of the hole.

"That was not-"

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Aru shouted, a bit overenthusiastic.

"You should probably let it cool off."

Aru ignored Ian and pelted the target until it was little more than chunks of metal interspersed with molten plasma. The tip of the weapon glowed red hot after the burst of weapons fire. Waves of heat radiated off of the whole unit, visibly distorting the air. Motors whirred as Aru rotated the weapon around.

Kachunk. It was stuck.

"You broke it already. Good job." Ian stated, completely deadpan.

"Not my fault. Probably just a motor or something anyway."

Hrrr, Hrrrrr, hrrrr-CRACK. The weapon rotated freely, and a small chunk of material fell to the ground.

"I fixed it!"

"Or... just broke it even more."

McIynes couldn't help but facepaw. He hadn't even gotten a chance to load his rifle yet, and already Aru had broken something. He looked out between his paw-digits, and almost wished he hadn't.

"... Ian."

The rat set the handgun down onto the table, magazine partially loaded.

"Yeah? What seems to be the problem?"

McIynes sat down before responding.

"Aru seems to be rather excited."

"Excited? I don't know what you're talking abou- Oh." Ian interrupted himself mid-sentence.

"I did say I was a he!" Aru stated.

McIynes and Ian just gawked at the dragon, blushing a bit. They glanced at each other, then back at Arus' groin. The wolf shook his head almost imperceptibly, and Ian just shrugged. There wasn't much to be said. At least the maintenance crew wouldn't need to scrub too much.

"Did you have to make him so well hung?"

"It was a group vote amongst my development crew. We figured it'd work better if it was bigger than average."

"I guess that's a valid excuse."

"It's also adjustable."

"Bigger is always better!" Aru truly had no shame whatsoever.

"Let's just shoot some stuff. Aru, see if you can't control your enthusiasm a bit." McIynes sighed.

"Maybe I'll think about that. Next targets up!"

Ian let out an exasperated groan. It was going to be a rather long afternoon if he had to put up with Aru and McIynes.

"I'd ask if your crew also thought of female models, but I'm not sure if I want to know." McIynes inquired.

"We thought of... a lot of varieties. Female ARUs included."

"Ugh. Okay. I'll get to those when you have working models."

"Just a simple parts swap, for the most part. The unit gets to choose for themselves. Doesn't take too long. Also handy for repairs."

"Just concentrate on your target. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into..." McIynes muttered to himself, rather dejectedly.

A few boxes of ammo, and a melted barrel later...

"Told you so."

"Of course you'd win. You're an AI." He shelved the rifle, by now, it had been very well used.

"Though, between the two of us organics, I expected you to do better, general." The rat set his choice of weapon back onto the stack of crates.

"I command people. I don't really need to shoot that often. It's merely a recreational activity at my level."

Ian rolled his eyes.

"Sure it is."

Somehow, the armorer had managed to fall asleep, even with the assorted weapons fire. He was still napping when Aru poked him with his tail.

"Psst. We're done now."

His reaction was a bit more muted than the previous one. At least this time he managed to not fall out of his chair.

"You want that experimental turret thingy taken off?" The armorer asked.

"If you can get it off easily, yeah. I may or may not have... broken it a bit." Aru grinned.

"Great. I'll see if I can't remove it without needing a plasma torch."

Aru lowered himself to the armorers' level, and yawned. The unit had finished cooling off by now, but it didn't help the cosmetic appearance of the weapon. The barrel had partially melted, and black slag had congealed around the weapon mount. Of course, it might have actually been easier to-

"All done!"

Aru certainly wasn't expecting the technician to place a boot on his side, and yank the piece out wholesale.

"You know, if I was an organic, that probably would have stung more than a little." He grumbled.

"If you were an organic... you wouldn't have fired the weapon until it started to melt onto you." Ian poked.

With a grunt of exertion, the armory technician hefted the weapon back into its' crate. A series of latches and pops later, it was sealed away from the world once more.

"That's that!" The platinum-furred wolf said.

"So it is. You mentioned something about field tests earlier?" Ians' ear twitched.

"Yeah, I figured we could have an outing with Aru and some mercenaries or off-site personnel here today or tomorrow. Demonstrate his non-lethal uses and whatnot."

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

"Of course it does. Since we wouldn't want to break our one and only dragonmech, I think we could restrict their firearms to non-lethals, and make it a game of sorts." McIynes stuffed his rifle back into its' case.

"What did you have in mind?" Ians' curiosity was piqued.

"Well, I would think Aru is fond of food, so I think a food reward would be in order if he won. Or some other perk he could enjoy."

"And if the other team wins?"

"Well, money usually works. Maybe time off or extra rations if they're not interested in that."

"If it's all less-than-lethal weapons being used, it's up to Aru if he wants to take part or not. I'm okay with it either way."

They both glanced over to the dragon.

"Well, Aru? I'm sure you heard all of that."

"Huh? What?" Aru smiled.

"Ugh." Ian facepawed, not quite eager to reiterate the entire conversation.

"Yeah, I'm fine with whatever you two thought up. We are still hitting the mess hall before that though, right?" His stomach grumbled, almost on cue.

"Of course."

"Think we could get a fireteam or two over by this evening, Ian?"

"That's the easy part. I'll shotgun out requests to nearby military bases. I'm sure there are some slackers that want an 'easy' reward." He made airquotes and snickered when he mentioned the difficulty.

"Good. Now show me to the mess hall, we've a dragon to feed!"

A few hours later....

"... And that's why you're here today." McIynes paced in front of the projection. "Each operative has his or her own choice of rewards, labeled on the bottom right of the model."

A growing murmur shuddered through the small crowd. Friends, coworkers, and squadmates conversing with each other. McIynes gave them a few minutes to ponder their decision, taking a moment to check his phone. Most of Arus'... digital vandalism was easily reversed, a harmless prank. His ears flicked when a silence fell over the group.

"If you are done discussing this optional assignment, then we can get down to business. For those of you not interested at all, you are free to disconnect and go about your business for the day."

Many of the holograms disappeared.

"It'd appear that more than a few people weren't interested." He chuckled to himself, a bit disappointed.

A paw shot up in the back row.

"Go on." He approved the interruption.

It was a canine of some sort. Looked like a mixed breed, a rather splotchy coat of fur as well.

"Non-lethal weapon use is for both teams, right?"

"Yes. A fireteam of people against a new prototype of ours, developed in-house." He chose his words carefully.

"So we'd be testing out a new toy the lab rats cooked up. But... what is it?" The same canine asked.

"Well, I can't tell you until you see it. But I can tell you it's the first of its' kind, world-wide."

Hushed whispers shot between the remaining connections. More disconnected and faded out. McIynes visibly deflated.

"Could be fun. I'll go."

When McIynes looked back up, he was looking at just enough people remaining for a small team.

"So will I. The money sounds nice." A reptile piped up, scales visibly distorting as he shifted in his seat.

"I mean, it's not like I particularly need any of the things offered, but I'd be glad to help test whatever it is." A fox piped up, a little too interested.

McIynes clapped his paws together.

"Perfect. I'll sign off on your temporary transfer papers, and the three of you can borrow a vehicle and get here this evening. Any questions before you head out?"

"Just one. Is there anything we should bring? Other than ourselves, and our uniforms." The canine asked.

"That's all, you may bring a firearm for personal safety, but it would be confiscated before we begin testing. We have all the other equipment and supplies you'd need already here."

He waited a few moments before continuing.

"Coordinates have been pushed to your PDAs. Don't take all day to get here, but drive safely. Briefing is over, you are all dismissed. General McIynes out." He tapped a button on his console, and the last few projections dissipated into the darkness. When the lights came back on, a familiar dragon poked his head into the room.

"So..."

"Not many people were interested, but we did get a fireteams' worth. For all the people that showed up to Ians' broadcast, they all dropped fast. Especially when they heard 'new' and 'experimental' in the same sentence." McIynes flopped into his chair.

"That's fine. Best to start small and make sure I don't spontaneously combust and explode."

"That'd be quite the display. You enjoy your meal? I know you were still eating when I left to start this."

"Mmmh, yes I did. And I know exactly what I want when I win."

"When, not if, huh?"

"Of course. It's not fair to the other three."

They both laughed, and it took a while for it to die down.

"Anything you want me to do? Ian said I should hang around with you, for some reason." Aru asked.

"The only thing I'll be doing before they get here, is watching a movie. I can't see why you couldn't join me."

Aru slithered into the room.

"Even though I could watch it much quicker alone, I suppose I could tolerate your presence for now."

"And here I thought we were warming up to each other." McIynes tapped on his console more.

"I mean, you're not an asshole any more."

"And you're not an it."

"I suppose we could call that a start, of sorts. We'll see how things progress."

"We will. If nothing else, I look forward to watching you work." He glanced over at Aru while the movie spooled up.

"Of course you do. I'm amazing to gaze upon." Aru was certainly enjoying the newfound freedom already.

"And so humble, too." McIynes felt a strong temptation to roll his eyes.

The movie was starting, and while he still felt slightly uncomfortable with the dragon being so close to him, it wasn't that bad. He could enjoy a fellow being like Aru. Though... a thought was whirling at the back of his head.

It could be addressed later, he figured.

"You already know why you're here, but I'll summarize it again." McIynes had finished watching the movie with Aru, and was briefing the volunteers from before.

"This team is here to test our newest experimental unit, with non-lethal weaponry. And whichever team wins... is allowed a reward of their choice."

Three pairs of eyes bored into his skull, and awaiting his next sentence eagerly.

"You'll be flying out with the unit, and release it before you begin the operation." A handpaw shot up.

"Go on."

"Why wouldn't we use a second vehicle to bring it in? It's going to be cramped in a VTOL with anything person-sized or larger." He queried.

"Of course, but we figured it'd save on transportation costs." McIynes had to suppress a smirk.

"So we'll have to pull our legs up onto the seat! Good to know." The fox beamed a smile, altogether too positive.

"Units' already loaded, so your transport and gear will be waiting on the helipad. It's a light load compared to what you're used to, no doubt." McIynes paced back.

He came to a stop, and kneaded his fingers together.

"Any other questions?"

His mish-mash of a fireteam sat there with not a single word uttered.

"Get to it then. I'll be watching your performance in the field."

The door to the room opened, and Ian stuck his head through. The others were just getting up from their seats.

"McIynes?"

"Go on, Ian..."

"Your team has all the stuff loaded up on helipad five, unit included."

McIynes looked back to the small group.

"Well, at least now they won't need to poke around the helipads looking for the right one... "

They filtered out slowly, not making much of a rush out of it. After they'd disappeared out of the room, Ian spoke.

"So, you think they'll figure it out?"

McIynes didn't bother suppressing his wide grin.

"Nope."

"You... did tell Aru to be gentle, right?"

"No, but you can." He tapped a few buttons on the console, and shaky viewpoint fizzled to life.

"Hey Aru, how's the view from the back of the VTOL?"

"Pretty windy-" A burst of air against the mic made the both of them wince. "Not anything I can't view on the 'net though."

After the picture became a bit more colorful than monochrome, graphs appeared on the edges of the projection. Various data points and monitors pulsed to life. The ground below the VTOL was flying by rather rapidly.

"Hey, I think this goes without saying but..."

"Don't mince words. I know you want me to be gentle, Ian."

"I-er, yeah. Yeah, I do."

"I won't break anything that won't heal. They might not be able to walk straight for a while, though."

They saw the musculature of his muzzle scrunch up, no doubt pulling his lips up into a smile.

"That'll do, I suppose. And we'll get some first-hand data on how well our mix works."

McIynes stabbed the mute button, and arched an eyebrow at Ian.

"Our mix?"

"Yeah. We whipped together a variety of chemicals and sedatives to make short work of a targets' willpower, and increase the chances of their willing submission."

"And how are you going to... Oh." His eyes lit up as he realized the implications.

"It's stored in an internal set of balls, pressurized to be able to fit more, and connects to-"

"I know how that works, Ian. I'm not an idiot."

"Of course you aren't. With the advances in non-lethal tech, it's easily mistaken for a normal pair of people going at it. And with our in-house mix, it's part truth serum, part willpower buster, and remarkably similar in consistency to the real thing."

"I'm not gonna pretend to be surprised anymore. At this point, I'm honestly just expecting weird things from you and your team. If it works, though, it works." McIynes shook his head.

"Just sit down. You're going to watch this with me, and see how Aru does." McIynes patted a seat next to him.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Of course you are, you deviant." He let go of the mute button.

"I get the feeling you guys are talking about me..." Aru said, almost on cue.

"Just technical aspects that you already know. Though with what I just learned, I'm going to second Ians' recommendation of being gentle."

They both settled in, and waited. It was going to be an entertaining evening, if nothing else.

Later, in the second VTOL...

"What do you mean it's empty?!" The confusion in the dogs' voice was palpable.

"I mean they told me that the box was empty weight, and to just put it in the cargo, where you're sitting." The pilot, a lynx, spoke over the on-flight radio.

"I get the feeling we weren't supposed to find out until later." The fox leaned back, and picked at his stun gun.

"You would know, Connor. You've probably orchestrated something like this, huh." The mutt slammed herself back into her seat after the accusation.

"Not any more than you would, Ariana. I can just think things through. A virtue, apparently." Connor said, rather calmly.

"You little sack of-"

"Guys! Calm your tits, seriously. So what if they didn't load it up with us? Just means they sent a second VTOL with whatever it is, in it." The reptile steepled his fingers, awaiting a response.

"Means it could be bigger, Synjac."

"You know I prefer Syn." He pulled up a leg, resting it on the empty box.

They all leaned back in their seats, jostled by the shaking of the cabin. Ariana fumed, sitting across from the other two. Things were already off to an amazing start. When they had tried to convince their squadmates of the easy rewards, they were met with a variety of emotions. Some were simply too apathetic to care about the rewards, and others saw it as a waste of their short off time. Yet others thought it couldn't possibly be challenging enough to entertain them.

"We'll be there in five minutes, guys. Kiss and make up, or something." The pilot tried to inject some humor, but the silence from his headset was deafening.

Meanwhile, in the first VTOL.

"What do you mean you want me to JUMP out?" Aru screeched.

The voices of Ian and McIynes came in clearly, if only to Aru.

"Exactly what I said. We didn't pack wings, and leaving the VTOL in the air costs money. So we're going to have you jump out over the drop site, and have the pilot park somewhere nearby."

Aru thumped his head against the reinforced side walls of the cabin. A burst of static came through the transmission, before clearing shortly.

"Just think of all the steaks you could eat back on base. Or maybe a personal cabin." McIynes hinted.

Aru was silent for a moment, before replying.

"... make it both and I'll do it. And if I break something, you have to pick me up, take me back, and fix it."

"You're not in a position to negotiate, Aru, but-" McIynes cut Ian off.

"Deal, even if Ian says otherwise." McIynes grinned as Ian glared daggers at him.

"Fuck... I wasn't thinking you'd actually take the offer." Aru swore to himself.

"Over the drop site in a minute!" The pilot called out over both channels.

"Just step out when he says. Turn your pain receptors down to 10% if you think it'll hurt. Besides, even if you do hurt yourself, so long as you don't break anything, your body will patch it together all on its' own." Ian explained.

"That isn't helping, Ian!" Aru shook his head, and glanced over his shoulder at the pilot.

While he was expecting the pilot to be looking back, he definitely wasn't expecting a grin to be plastered on his muzzle. He gave a thumbs up, before looking back at the piloting console.

"Thrill seeker..." Aru muttered.

A timer was counting down in the corner of his vision.

"Just think of all the fun you'll be having shortly, or something." McIynes shrugged. Aru knew he did, he could HEAR the shrug.

"Very helpful, totally."

The timer and the pilot were off by barely milliseconds, and the rear door extended to completely open.

"Aight boss! Enjoy your jump! Five, four, three..."

Aru knew he shouldn't be too terrified at the prospect of jumping out a moving VTOL going two hundred kilometers per hour... But he was anyway. He willed his limbs forward, until he was standing on the edge of the door.

"Two, one, out you go, dragon!"

He overrode his emotional processing, and pushed himself out of the vehicle.

He looked up, and saw the VTOL speed up and dash away midair. No doubt it doubled its' speed in seconds, leaving Aru to fall. He glanced up, further, and splayed his limbs a bit.

"Was this what it is like to fly?" His thoughts were his own domain, no one could hear them. They could decompile his memories and look at them later, but they would only see conditions leading to the thought. Not the thought itself.

He had plenty of time to admire the clear blue sky.

And then he didn't when he ripped through the first set of trees.

McIynes and Ian both grimaced as the camera, which really was just a dragons-eye view, jostled about and fuzzed out a few moments. It took a good minute and a half just for him to slow down his roll, and another half minute to stop swaying unsteadily.

"You guys... are dicks." Aru flopped to a halt, after stumbling. It took him a few minutes to stop dry heaving, and for the stomach to settle. As far as he could tell, he wasn't too badly hurt. And what few injuries he did receive, his body was patching them up all on its' own.

"Aru? Hey, Aru." He heard Ians' voice, but brushed it aside. He kept his eyes shut, as the world still felt like it was rotating around him, rather than the other way around. Aru felt his neck crack, as it realigned to its' proper position naturally.

"Don't tell me you died already. I made popcorn and everything!" McIynes' voice crackled inside his head, and he grimaced.

"Better -urk- make another bag for me when I get back." Aru did his best to not throw up when he opened his eyes.

"Good to see our favorite robot dragon is alive. Now if you don't mind, could you also make sure you're well? I mean your limbs." Ian stumbled across his choice of words.

Aru stabbed at the soft dirt with one leg, then two, and then he was standing. He looked himself over, making sure he still had all four limbs.

"Goood." McIynes droned out.

He smirked, before giving them an extreme close-up of his groin.

"Aru, save that for later, not while you're being watched. By more than McIynes and myself, I might add." Ian grimaced.

"Oh? I thought you two were going to have a private showing of the footage first, and THEN show it to everyone else."

McIynes jabbed the mute button again.

"He really is too good at telling what we're thinking. You bake that in?"

"Nope, completely self-directed personality. We didn't influence that at all."

He released the button.

"Uh... yeah. The only people that know right now are Ian and I. But don't use that as an excuse, okay?"

"Suuure. You could just write it off as checking all the machinery." At the mention of machinery, the tip of his rod poked out of his slit.

"Could. Doesn't mean we want to have to explain it at all though."

"Too bad. I'm doing it." He poked his tongue into his slit, lapping at the entirely artificial-yet-natural juices there.

McIynes facepalmed, and Ian crossed his legs.

"Aru can't see us, right Ian?" McIynes had poked the mute button again.

"No... why?"

"Because, as much as I may dislike being turned on by a pervert exhibitionist dragon, I am getting hot under the collar because of this. And I didn't want to make it more awkward by having him hear or see me."

"Nope, no cameras in here beyond the hologram system. And that's not linked into Aru at this range. Relieve away."

"...I don't normally relieve myself, Ian."

"You're a horny mutt, you know that?"

McIynes leaned back in his chair.

"Not denying it in the slightest. It could be handy to have me owe you a favor in the future..."

"I didn't say no, you know."

"I know." He tapped at the console, permanently muting the microphone. His favored paw free, he began unbuttoning his overcoat.

"Look, if you want me to help, then you're going to sit there and be a good mutt." Ian batted away his paw.

"I -what?"

Ian shushed him.

McIynes wasn't expecting Ian to suddenly be so dominant. He was more than content to let him fulfill his own preferences, so long as he got his rocks off, though. He let his paws fall to his side, to rest on the fake leather armrests. Ians' chair creaked as he shoved it aside, and it rattled rather loudly as it fell off the elevated platform.

"Should remember to-" he leaned over and punched another button on the console. "lock the door when you're doing this sort of thing."

Though McIynes made a mental note of this, he said nothing. The lights faded a bit in the room, but remained on, if dimly-lit. Ian shucked off his lab coat, and tossed it away. Ian took a moment to size McIynes up with his eyes, but said nothing. As much as the general would like to bend the rat over and fuck him right then and there, he restrained himself. Ian wasn't one for stripteases, and removed the rest of his clothing faster than the wolf thought possible. He felt rather overdressed, and a paw wandered to his belt, only for Ian to catch it.

"No." The simple command made the wolf flatten his ears, like a pup caught with his paw in the cookie jar.

Ian made it a point to place his handpaw right back onto the armrest, and let his own paws roam across the wolfs chest. Feeling up his muscles through his uniform, through his fur even. His medals rattled as Ians' handpaws swiped over them. They felt cold over Ians' roaming paws, but provided a nice contrast to the almost sweltering fur beneath them. While he could keep teasing the general for ages, and enjoy it all the while, a certain other need was growing. Ian was only reminded of it after he felt it poke him in the side.

"I bet you'd like me to wrap my muzzle around that thick shaft of yours right about now. Well, we'll get to that soon."

His paws moved with frightening swiftness, unbuttoning the rest of McIynes' shirt, and undoing his belt as well. McIynes hazarded a glance down the rats' lithe body, if only for a moment. Of course the rat was into it heavily, his own manhood sticking out rather blatantly against his dark fur. Just a slab of pink in an ocean of dark tan.

"Well, if you aren't a lithe little toy..." McIynes muttered.

His eyes followed the rats' paw as it trailed downwards. Deftly undoing his button, and yanking his fly downwards. The wolf felt his cheeks heat up, and a growing blush spread across his features.

"Going commando today? Naughty general."

Ian guided the wolfs' shirt up and over his head, before tossing it away. A few quick tugs later, and his pants joined them. McIynes' manhood was a dark crimson in the dim light, and beneath it hung a set of hefty balls. If the overwhelmingly dominant smell that filled the room was any sign, they hadn't been emptied in a while, either. The lithe rat breathed in, and savored the scent. It was always enjoyable to smell pure dominance, and yet, to have the source of that dominance at your mercy.

Truthfully, Ian would enjoy this more than the general did. He took the rod into his paws, and straddled the general. Warmth radiated off of his thick fur as he sat down in his lap. Their cocks rubbed together, mingling their scents until the air was saturated. His paw grasped the both of their rods in a tight embrace, and stroked gently. Ian could feel the wolfs' heartbeat through his rod. It took but moments for him to begin leaking his pre, smearing it all over his paw and rod. McIynes soon followed.

Ian frowned when he felt a paw grasp his rump. While he allowed the intrusion for now, he glared at the wolf. McIynes just set his other paw directly across from it, and massaged at the rats' petite rear.

"You guys done fucking yet? I'm not actually going anywhere until you tell me the general direction of those other guys." Arus' voice crackled to life from the console.

Ian was surprised that the button didn't break when McIynes muted the console completely with a balled up fist.

"As much as I like Aru..." McIynes let the sentence trail off into a low growl.

"I'm sure he'd want to watch anyway." Ian panted.

Their fur was soaked with their mixed fluids, making them both slide easily against each other. However... McIynes had other ideas for that extra lubrication. Ian gasped when McIynes lifted him easily from his lap, and swapped positions with him. The chair groaned with the sudden shifting of weight, but held steady. It was a bit of a shock when the back of the chair fell to an almost horizontal position.

"Well if that isn't just conveni-Hfff" Ian bit his lip as McIynes lined up, and pressed against his pucker.

Even with the added slickness, it was a harsh, grinding push into the rat. It took several agonizing moments for McIynes to sink into Ian. The rat was tight, almost painfully so.

"You could have at least lubed me up first..." Ian spat out between grit teeth.

"That won't be a problem soon."

McIynes continued his slow push into the rat, even with Ian beginning to relax, it was slow going. The pair of them panted, waiting for the both of them to adjust to each other. The vice-like grip on his shaft was causing his knot to form already, it seemed. Ian breathed deeply, then a sigh of relief as the dog began to pull out. The slow, burning ache began to subside, only to be replaced by an agonizing lust. McIynes removed himself entirely, before driving back into the tight confines of the submissive rats' rear.

His pre was doing a good enough job of lubing his insides, such that the second thrust came easily. It was a shallow thing, but pushed deeper into the eager bottom than the first. And so did the third, and the fourth. McIynes adjusted his grip on the all-too-eager rat, using the additional leverage to pull the rat onto his bulging shaft. He felt a tickling of thin fur on his back as Ian wrapped his legs around him.

"Someone is enjoying this I see." McIynes smirked, enjoying the cute, submissive look on Ians' face.

His cute muzzle scrunched up in a long, drawn-out moan.

"Hfff, hurry up before Aru gets bored of himself." Ian panted.

"Entirely unlikely. His ego is much larger than mine... but if you insist, I'll be more than happy to comply."

McIynes moved his paws to Ians' shoulders, pulling the lithe rat deeper onto his growing knot. Ian felt the pulsing heat from the thick wolf shaft inside him, and the soothing warmth of his pre leaking out. It made things only slightly easier, but Ian doubted McIynes would spare him from his knot. Wet squelches resounded off the walls of the room, and the two continued their vigorous exercise. The pair completely disregarded the knock at the door, and the rattling of the doorknob. The lock told whoever was knocking more than enough, and they soon stopped.

Of course, the two didn't care in the slightest. The only thing they cared about was the growing knot, stretching Ian open wide. With each thrust, it bumped against his well-used entrance, and stretched it open wider and wider. Ian felt McIynes' thrusts grow erratic, and decided to take things into his own paws. He pulled McIynes closer with his paws, and his legs. Their bodies mashed together in a mess of limbs, as his knot popped into the rat.

Their orgasms hit them simultaneously, the added pressure inside Ian forcing out a strong blast of rat jizz. It coated the pair of them lightly, but was almost a drop compared to McIynes. His cock sprayed like a fire hose inside the rat, painting his insides with potent wolf seed. The bulbous mass of flesh sealed the two together tightly, but that didn't stop the excited wolf from thrusting a few more times. Each time, driving the spurts of seed deeper and deeper into Ian.

They both took a while to recuperate, their fur coated with sweat and mixed seed.

"Think Aru finished yet?"

"It isn't like you two were competing, McIynes... but yes. He probably did."

McIynes picked Ian up off the chair, and swiveled the pair around until he was sitting in the seat.

"Can't reach the button from here, mind switching the mic to push-to-talk for me?" He asked, rather politely.

"You sure you want to talk to Aru already?"

"Yes. Hit the switch."

Ian leaned back, and tapped a few buttons on the console.

"It's done."

"Now, if you don't mind, hold the button for a moment."

Ian gave McIynes a thumbs-up with his other paw while he held the button.

"Aru, we seem to have had some communication troubles for a few mi-"

The console flickered back to life, bring the dragons-eye view back to existence.

"You were totally fucking!" Arus' familiar voice startled the both of them.

"I- uh... might have been. The other team should already be there. Here's the coordinates." McIynes stammered out.

Ian tapped a few more buttons, and soon, the directions were embedded into the dragons' mind.

"Thanks... maybe they haven't already died of boredom." Aru sighed.

"Pfft, even if they did, it'd be your job to find out." He motioned for Ian to let go of the button.

"He totally knows." Ian giggled.

"Just a few kilometers away they said... A few minutes for a dragon they said, too." Aru frowned as he jumped across a small creek.

"Well, lemme tell you. That's minutes if you FLY." He muttered to himself.

His paws dug into the dirt as he trotted in the general direction he was supposed to be headed. The hot summer sun glared into his eyes, almost ready to set. Even for an artificial dragon, it was uncomfortably hot. It would be unbearable if he had to cool himself off normally. Not a problem for a robot though. Just a matter of turning those sensors off and turning on more cooling. Easy. While Aru enjoyed the convenience, he couldn't help but feel for the other team. Carrying some gear, in thick fur, in this temperature must have been terrible.

The dragon wondered what stungun model they had acquired, if only for a moment. He figured they'd be ineffective, but there was only one way to find out. He continued walking, they clearly weren't here. Perhaps they'd be closer to the coordinates.

"What the FUCK, general?" Ariana echoed the sentiment of her fireteam.

"Continue on your mission, you know exactly what the target looks like now, at least." His staticy voice crackled to life in her earpiece.

She resisted the urge to growl in frustration. First they get duped into carrying an empty box with them, then they find out that they were testing a robot. Her day was getting better and better, it seemed. At the least, it hadn't spotted her. She could have sworn it looked straight at her hiding spot.

"Guys, it's in F6, moving north-east towards G9, I think." She pressed her earpiece, transmitting to her squad mates.

"Damn, I'll have to hoof it towards you. Moving B2 to F5." Synjacs' rough voice echoed in her ear.

"I'm in G7, will watch for movement." Connor adjusted his footpaws. He had found a nice branch to climb up to and watch the surrounding area from.

"I'll trail slowly." Ariana whispered, brandishing her stungun and moving .

Aru smirked a bit. It had been a mere afternoon and already they had forgotten that he's a robot. And as such, they'd forgotten that his ears could be quite a bit more sensitive than the average persons'. He kept his grin to himself, for the moment. The canine that was trailing him had difficulties following him down small gulleys and valleys. She, he had no doubts that it was definitely a she. Even unaugmented, he would have been able to hear her wheezing and swearing worse than even a sailor.

"Such a niiiice walk, pretty good weather too." Aru said, just loudly enough that she would hear. As he expected, she bit her tongue, and didn't reply.

That didn't stop her from yelping when he turned around, though.

"Hi."

She fumbled her footing as she scrambled for her stungun. In the few moments it took to regain her footing, it gave Aru plenty of time to laugh.

"What's so funny?" She snarled, more than a bit fed up with being toyed with. Her hands shook around the all too bulky weapon in her grip.

"Well, I mean. Almost falling over on perfectly level ground is something to laugh at, I'd think." Aru teased.

She tapped her earpiece.

"Guys? I'm at G5-ish, and uh- I seem to have managed to catch its' attention." Not even static reached her ears.

"I'm not an it. My name is Ar-OW." He grimaced as a few thousand volts arced through his form. While he had dimmed his pain receptors earlier, they were coming through quite clearly now.

She grinned all-too-toothily at Arus' convulsing form, going so far as to sling the stungun onto her back once more.

"And that's what you get for being chatty. Now I get to think about what rewards I'll be getting once the other two piece together where I am."

"Owwwww." Aru moaned out, an all too perfect imitation of a real wounded dragon.

Arianas' ears perked up as she heard the stungun start to recycle. It'd be a few moments before it recharged completely.

"You're a real... bitch." Aru drawled out, even his tongue a bit numb. A few reconfigurations later.....

"And you're real done. Not a fan of robots, either." She scowled at his still form.

Ariana tapped at her earpiece again. This time, static was coming through, so at least the jamming was dissipating.

"Again, this is Ariana, and I'm at G5. I've downed the target already, so get down here so we can lug it back."

A small information panel faded out of view in Arus' vision. A few tweaks, and he'd be back up in moments. It was taking quite a bit longer than he thought it would, though. He made it a point to play dead when the she-bitch strutted over to his prone form.

"I'm not about to sit down on the dirty ground, so I think you'll do fine instead."

She made no attempt to cushion her flopping onto Arus' side, forcefully enough to make a sharp grunt of pain out of the robodragon.

"Hey..." Aru muttered, with his eyes shut.

"What is it now?"

"Diiiid you know..."

"Spit it out already, I'm irritable enough as it is."

"That your stungun still hasn't recycled?" Sure enough, it was still whining away on her back.

"Of course not, but what point does that ha-"

Aru thought he was going to be gentle breaking her in, but now he was debating it. In a quick, smooth motion, he had darted out from underneath her. And, before she could hit the ground, he had grabbed her in his paws.

"I was going to be nice, but now, I'm not so sure." He had one frightened canine in his hands, and he sure wasn't about to let go now.

Not even when she freed one of her arms, and was reaching for her knife.

"Now, now... we weren't supposed to even bring that, as you know." His tail snaked around the leg holster, and tossed it away, ripping it from her leg.

She didn't even make an attempt at polite discourse, instead opting to bite at the paw that held her. An irate glare, and a muffled "Fuck." was all that Aru heard after she found that rather ineffective.

"Fine, you win. Asshole." She huffed.

"I seem to recall the exact words I was told before we left were something along the lines of... 'Capture and restrain the enemy team, and drag them back to the VTOL you came in when you're done.' More or less, anyway."

"And that means... what exactly?" She huffed. "I can't imagine a dragon would have rope or cord on him." She rolled her eyes, and the sarcasm was dripping from her words.

"You're right. I don't."

Arianas' ears both twitched.

"And I didn't bring any, so.... Put me down maybe?"

"Nope. I have a better idea."

She craned her neck back, only to see a leering dragon with far too many teeth, far too close to her face.

"Wait, NO. FUCK NO." She screamed hysterically.

"You're right, I forgot. We're not testing that this time." Her worries were only somewhat dampened for the moment when he craned his head back a bit. "We're testing this."

She felt a warm, almost humid feeling behind her. Surely they wouldn't design a... thing like that? He let her squirm around a bit in his paws to see what she'd have to deal with very soon. His smile never dissipated even slightly.

"If you read the fine print of the mission briefing, you'd know that they warned about this ahead of time." She was surprisingly quiet about this, seemingly a bit resigned, if nothing else. Perhaps it was the pheromones? He even felt the blood rush to her cheeks, in an unseen blush.

"Hey... I'm not supposed to break you or anything. You okay down there?" Aru was rather concerned. Did she pass out?

"It's huge." She stated. Two simple words.

"It's -uhm- adjustable. I'll make it work." He loosened his grip. Even if she ran away, he could catch her easily enough.

"So your plan is literally to fuck me until I can't move." Another statement. This one wasn't too far from the truth.

"Well, I mean, there are other things involved in the semen, but basically yeah." It was Arus' turn to blush a bit.

"I know I'm supposed to resist and whatnot... but this sounds more fun than winning!" She was far too enthusiastic... Arus' eye twitched. Surely she couldn't be serious?

"I -uh-... are you sure you're thinking clearly? The rewards must be awful if just getting off is better than the offerings." He loosened his paw a bit more, just enough to allow her to move around.

"Perfectly clearly!" The rather earthy smell on the breeze told Aru otherwise. While he could scan, poke, and prod a bit, it was clear that she was rather aroused at the moment. Didn't take millions of credits worth of equipment to tell that much.

He let go.

Rather than attempting to run away, like he expected her to do, she stayed perfectly compliant by his side. Surely the concoction in him wasn't THAT potent... right? He pondered a moment, as she crawled atop his belly and hefted his length over her shoulder. If it was this potent outside her, then she should be completely out cold after just one go. He fidgeted with his size for a few moments, before settling on something a bit more sane for the both of them. While she definitely still wouldn't fit all of it, it was more than enough to still look rather imposing.

He grimaced as static filtered through his mind again.

"Hey Aru... I don't need to remind you to go easy on her, right?"

"Yes, McIynes, she'll be fine."

"By the by, I'm gonna need you to hook up for a full infodump after the mission, okay?" Ian chimed in.

"Yeah Ian. Oh, and don't forget to use plenty of lube!" Aru 'reminded' them back.

"I don't think lubes' an issue any more, heheh..." McIynes rumbled, before the static cut out.

Aru put his attention back to the task at hand just as she wrapped both paws around his breeding tool.

"And just who were you talking to?" The canine looked almost upset.

"Uh, just the mission supervisors."

"And you needed to remind them to use lube?"

"Yes." He screwed his eyes shut and smiled, hoping she wouldn't put two and two together.

"I'd say turn that off... if you can. Or something." She seemed rather satisfied with the answer.

Of course, she seemed more satisfied when she wrapped her muzzle around a thick dragoncock.

While Aru could distance himself from the sensations... he chose not to. He was quite enjoying the feeling of having a warm, wet, and yet somehow willing muzzle around his tool. The dragon could only hope it worked as well on the other two. Hopefully without the shocking, next time. The only shocks he wanted to feel were the ones radiating from his rod, letting him bask in a wave of pleasure.

While he could finish at any time, he felt it was a sense of duty to ensure his partner finished first. As such, the muffled squeal when he lifted her up was music to his ears. Of course, now she was at the perfect height and angle to do some prep-work of his own. Right after he got rid of that annoying clothing. A few rips later, and it was in tatters, and her gear was strewn about.

"Aaaah." Her lips parted to moan out in pleasure.

He swiped his tongue right between her pert cheeks, making it a point to drill deeply into her already quite-ready mound. Surprisingly, Aru couldn't taste much. It was a rather tasteless experience. His tongue plunged deeper into her than she thought was possible. Then he dragged it out slowly, mapping out her innards by touch alone. He withdrew until he had left an aching, burning need within her. Then he plunged in with hearty force. The forceful tongue-fucking almost felt as good as the real thing, she mused.

Of course, it was rather hard to think with a huge mouthful of dragon pre and dragonmeat... but she sure wasn't complaining in the slightest! Well, that was up until the wonderful tongue left her, and an interrupting pair of paws pulled her away from her new toy. She whined, a high-pitched, almost needful thing. Her loins almost burned without the dragon satisfying her cravings.

"Now, now... I'm just putting that to better use now." He repositioned himself right at her aching folds.

Birds scattered at the loud yelp and moan she made as he slowly speared her on his length. It took but moments for her to sink down onto the rigid length, spreading her open. Her mind was ablaze with lust, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her legs shook, and her tail wagged uncontrollably.

"Say the word, and I'll give you the best orgasm you've ever had." He breathed into her ear.

Her lustful secretions oozed out around his length, even with it plugging her tightly. It was all she could do to not go mad from the intensity. When she opened her maw, it was to give the dragon exactly what he wanted to hear.

"YES. Please, make this burning need go away!" She wrapped her paws around his large form.

"As you wish." Her wish was his command. He grasped her, and laid her on the ground softly.

What came next, though, was anything but gentle.

He slammed his length home within her, already leaking out potent solutions to her growing problem. When he withdrew, it felt like a black hole inside her had just formed. When he plowed back in, she felt like the aching abyss had been sated. On it went, each forceful, almost violent thrust causing her furred flesh to ripple. Her walls clenched down around him, trying to milk him for a load that was not coming. Well, not yet anyway.

He began to piston himself into her, allowing a small knot to form at his base. While he wouldn't need it himself, it was far more to help her finish. After all, he couldn't really cause a problem, and not fix it. That would have been rather... ungentlemanly. Her claws raked at his back and sides, leaving small gouges in the scales there. It took but moments for his knot to form.

And, after it had, it began to slowly grind into her. She was so unbearably tight, if he were organic, he'd have popped long ago. Her quick, panting breaths washed across his form. He waited for her to take a particularly large gasp of air... then POP. She howled out in pleasure, no doubt seeing stars just in front of her eyes. He even felt her walls clench down on him. His duty done, he allowed a few token spurts to claim her inner walls.

"That was... nicer than I...expected." She huffed, eyelids already growing heavy.

"Shh. You're probably tired. You should rest." He cooed into her ear, already seeing the effects from even the token amount of dragon cum.

"I'm not tired." Her soft snores shortly afterward betrayed how her body felt after the vigorous coupling. Though, truthfully, the effort was mostly his.

Since he wasn't bound by the same rules most people with a knot were, he intentionally deflated himself enough to pop free. A small trail of mixed fluids followed, before her flesh pulled itself shut. It took but a moment for him to prop her up against a tree, with her gear at her feet. The only question in his mind was how long she'd stay asleep. With the way he left his mark, hours, if not even longer.

With one out of the game, he turned her headsets' volume down, and inserted himself into the same channel as the other two remaining soldiers.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, mostly for dramatic effect."Just so you two know, Ariana is out, at G4. She's fine, but I think she won't be joining you for any further exercises today. I sincerely hope you two don't put up a fight. It'd be... much nicer for all of us if you'd just meet me at G10. I promise I don't bite, much. Oh, and to keep things somewhat fair, I won't stay on this channel. Enjoy your evenings, over, and out."

True to his word, he didn't even remain connected for a response. It would have been an easy advantage, but he'd much rather win fair-and-square. That, and one conquest seemed... satisfying enough for now. He could wait for the other two, whether or not they took him up on his offer.

"So, I'm guessing she shot him at least once. And then considering how long it took between her going dark, and how long it took him to come onto the radio... I'm also guessing it worked for a little while." Static blasted Connors' ear after the only other person on the channel stopped talking.

"Well, I mean... they could have gotten into a scrap or something. She did bring her knife." His ear flicked at the familiar burst of static.

"I doubt a knife would do much against a bit of thick synthetic skin. Even if she managed to hilt it in his hide, there's a lot of other things to tear through before hitting vitals. Well, presumably anyway."

"It wasn't that long, either." He noted.

"Not really. Besides, there's no way the watchdogs in the command center wouldn't have said something if they really thought it was much of a threat to their toy." Synjac huffed.

"What do you think he meant by meeting us at G10, anyway?" Leaves shuffled as he adjusted his reclined perch in the tree.

"Maybe a fair duel or something? How am I supposed to know what he's thinking?"

"Well, I mean... you're a reptile, it's a reptile, maybe the cold blood makes you think alike? I don't know, just fishing for answers." Connor would have shrugged if the other person could see it.

"Common misconception. Reptiles like myself are mostly self-heating, though a nice sunbathing is nice every once in a while. Either way, he's an AI, so presumably, he'll think like one." There was shuffling before the microphone muted itself.

"Uh-huh." The fox wasn't gleaning any useful information from his fellow squadmate.

"So, think we should take him up on the offer? Or maybe set a trap up?"

"Trap should work, maybe use one of us for bait and run towards the other or something?" This was far more Connors' speed.

"You're clearly the faster of the two of us, so we could meet up at G8 and pool gear an-"

"Shush!" Connor flicked his headset to the muted setting as he saw a flash of blue.

He pressed his back to the tree, and made himself small. The bulky outline of his stungun pressed against his chest, making pouches of supplies poke irritatingly against him. Even through the leaves, the bulk of the artificial being below him was unmistakable. While not quite ground-shaking, it was more than enough to make Connor reconsider volunteering to be bait.

A few twigs snapped here and there as the large figure glided further away. Almost too silent for the sheer amount of weight. He held his breath as the dragon sniffed the air, and huffed. The silent flash of a smile caught his eye, before it moved gracefully off into the distance. Well, gracefully for a dragon, anyway, as one unlucky sapling discovered.

Connor gave it a few moments before he flicked his earpiece back on.

"Heeeeey Connor, I know you foxes like to-"

"Shaddap." He cut in. "Just encountered our artificial, scaled beastie. In case you needed a reminder, I'm already at G7."

"Well, he moves quick."

Connors' ears flattened when a booming voice echoed off the valleys.

"And you suck at hiding!" It definitely wasn't Synjac or Ariana.

"That sounded a bit like-"

"Yeah. It was." Connor bit his lip, scanning for any sign of the telltale blue and tan.

A few tense moments of silence, and not even the birds moved from their nests. He felt his heart hammering away in his chest, almost sure to give away where he was. When he carefully leaned over and looked behind the tree he was sitting on, the area behind was blissfully clear. He breathed a premature sigh of relief when he scanned the trees around him. It wasn't likely a dragon could fit in a tree, but you never know...

Peck, peck, peck. Connor struggled to control his breathing when he felt, rather than heard the staccato tapping. His clothes rustled as he looked around in an almost manic terror.

"Again. You're bad at hiding." The same loud voice echoed from below him.

"Hello?!" Connor was clueless as to where the dragon actually was.

"Look down." While probably not the best idea, Connor obliged. Peering down past the thick branch, he held a death grip as he glanced downwards. Right into a leering dragons' face.

"Hi, fox. My name is -" Arus' polite introduction was interrupted by a shrill shriek from the fox.

"AIEEEEEE"

Aru backed down from his clawgrip in the side of the tree. After his paws rested on mostly solid ground, he began to pick at his claws.

"Now, could we try that again without the screaming? Be glad the other guy didn't hear that." He stated.

"YOU'RE AN ACTUAL DRAGON."

"You... don't say?" Aru was unamused.

"WHERE'S THE CANINE?"

"You mean Ariana, I think. She's at G4, in case you weren't paying attention. You should really stop shouting, you're going to hurt your throat." Arus' eyes narrowed as he continued to monitor the foxes' vitals from some distance away.

"SHE'S NOT DEAD?"

"No... I think I'm just going to go to G10 if you keep shouting."

"SYNJAC? WHY ARE YOU QUIET, HE'S LITERALLY RIGHT HERE!"

Aru facepawed, and turned off the jamming. If only so the fox would stop shrieking. For someone with adjustable volume built right in, it was tiresome to have to dampen the sound from the foxes' annoying maw.

"I can jam your radio, but I just turned it off. I'm going to leave for real now... before you deafen me."

"You do that!" Connor scrambled to get to a higher spot in the tree.

"What are you even yelling about this time, Connor?"

"He's literally here right beneath me and actually leaving for real this time, hurry up and get here I don't like this I want to quit." He scrambled the sentence together more than an omelet.

Synjac sighed, and adjusted his volume a bit.

"You're still at G7, right? I'll be there in a few. You said he's 'actually leaving this time', right?" Synjac almost made airquotes.

"YES."

"Which direction is he going?" Synjac probed.

"Towards G10, hurry up!"

"I hurry any more and I'm going to have a damn stroke. I'd say keep watching, but that didn't work too well the first time."

It was several minutes before Synjac actually got there, which was more than enough time for Connor to collect himself, somewhat anyway.

"Up here! Get in the tree before he comes baaaaack."

"I'm not climbing a tree."

"You should!"

"Come down to where I can see you at least, I prefer to see the people I'm talking to." His tail swished through some leaves.

"No!"

"Ugh. Let's not test what happens when I have to catch you from up there."

"Fine! I'm coming down. Your fault if we lose though!"

Synjac rolled his eyes as the fox made his way down. He was obviously shaken, and his eyes darted around the area, before he jumped from a low branch.

"Now, explain to me what's wrong."

"It has teeth!"

"You don't say?"

"And it's really quiet!"

"Okaaaay." Synjacs' expression was blank.

"And it's really big!"

"So it's a dragon."

"YES!" Connor grabbed his shoulders, and shook him. "It's gonna eat meeeee!" He whined.

"You'll be fine. Really. Worst you'll have is a bad case of rugburn and sore wrists. Maybe a bit of fur will fall out, or a headache if he tapped you on the head."

"Fine. You're the bait then."

"So long as you can aim the stun guns. Half minute recharge would screw us over if you missed."

"I don't miss!" Connor crossed his arms, and stared Synjac in the eye.

"Of course you don't. You just crawl up trees in a non-lethal experiment." Synjac stuck his forked tongue out.

"I'm telling you, you're gonna regret being bait." Connor tried to convince the reptile as he dumped his non-essentials on the ground.

"Someones' gotta do it if we're going to use the plan we were discussing." The stungun clunked as it hit the small stack of equipment.

"Yeah, just as we discussed. You get its' attention, bring it towards me. I'll be hiding -er-, waiting with both the stunguns. When you get close enough, I'll pop out, and tap it with both of them."

"And with any luck, we'll bag ourselves a dragon. How we going to secure him though?"

"Paracord should do, and we've got plenty between the both of us. Enough to hogtie it, at the least, lash its' tail too."

The last of his gear flopped limply atop the stungun, and Synjac raised an eyebrow.

"You seem intent on calling him an it. That's rather impolite."

"It's a robot, I don't think robots have any reproductive organs at all." Connor stated.

"Sounds like a he, so I'll refer to him as a he, until otherwise corrected."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go hide and pick out a spot."

He left with all of the equipment, no doubt to wherever it was his ambush location was.Synjac couldn't help but wonder how the dragon managed to incapacitate Ariana. Paws wouldn't exactly work too well for tying knots, he figured. He had plenty of time to think about that as he followed the river upstream towards G10.

The river flowed along merrily, rushing over rocks and moss-covered stones. It was a bit of a hike, and the water was making his boots squelch, but it felt nice to have it cool his footpaws a bit. Of course, it'd be quite the stench later, but that was what showers and fans were for. Birds chirped in the trees further up the way, completely oblivious to the lizard skulking his way upriver. Synjac was almost tempted to make a GPS bookmark of the area to come back to later, it was so relaxing.

Then again, relaxing was the last thing he should have on his mind at that moment. Even if the dragon would probably smell him before he saw him, it was no excuse to be any more noisy than he needed to be. The area leveled off into a sort of pond, before opening up to a rather hidden waterfall. The lizard felt like he had wandered off the path, but after checking his coordinates, he sighed. Sure enough, he was at G10, but the map said it was supposed to be a mere hill with some trees on it. Ugh. Something to complain at McIynes for later.

If he had ears, they would have twitched when splashing resonated from behind the waterfall. Surely he wouldn't just be... lounging about?

"You have got to be kidding me." Synjac muttered to himself.

Sure enough, there the dragon was. Just sitting there underneath the flow of the water, letting it wash across his scales. He wasn't even taking this seriously at all. Maybe he thought he'd won already. Rocks shifted underneath Synjacs' boots, clattering into the stream. The roaring waterfall must have drowned them out, as the rather lazy dragon made no hint of a reaction.

Truth be told, Synjac thought it rather odd for a dragon to have no wings.

Aru let his muzzle drop open, letting a little of the cool, fresh water into his maw. This tasted so much better than the overly sanitized water back on base. Information flooded his senses. Split rather evenly between the water crashing against his scales, and the slow trickle pouring down his throat. Of course, knowing what something was comprised of didn't exactly mean you knew what it tasted like. While the two different kinds of water were similar... this one was far superior. Or at least, so he figured.

He wouldn't have cared much if that fox came by and squealed some more, either. Heh. Like that would actually happen after the unintentional scare Aru put him through. It didn't take too long for him to be completely soaked, with the water cleansing his scales of all the dirt and grime from earlier. That canine really did get him rather messy. His muzzle twisted into a grin as he recollected the pleasures he'd taken mere minutes ago. Though, was taken the right word? She'd enjoyed it, or so he thought. Social norms were weird, to Aru at least.

Either way, as nice as the waterfall was, he was getting bored just sitting underneath the flow. Perhaps it'd be time for a nice nap. Maybe he could visit some other time. The slick rock felt almost slimy underneath his paws. A claw popped out as he scratched a short signature into the rock. After he'd finished, he noticed he'd gotten himself worked up somehow. No one was around, other than the nosy people watching through his eyes, so why not? He'd fix the problem himself.

"Ahem."

Well, he THOUGHT no one else was around, at least.

"Whoops."

Synjac scratched idly at his neck. That was one question at least. He could definitely speak. And it was most certainly a he! The obvious proof ballooning out from between his hind legs proved that much.

"I figured I'd -uh- say something before you got too involved there."

Aru cocked his head before slurping at himself lewdly.

"A bit late, but I think I have someone better to use this on."

Synjac tensed up, more out of shock than fear. Surely he didn't mean he was going to use that on him? Of course, his instincts served him well when the dragon lumbered towards him.

"Oh come on! It'd be fuuun!"

For once, Synjac didn't feel athletic training was a waste of time as he stumbled, tripped, and generally fell over himself running away. His soggy boots splashed against the water and found solid purchase on the riverbed. He definitely wasn't concerned about being noisy now. And neither was the dragon, his lumbering bulk making Synjacs' footfalls look like pebbles being tossed into the water. His boots slipped again, seemingly on the same rock as last time. It didn't matter much, as he caught himself with his paws and kept running. He could deal with the scrapes later.

Synjac could hear the dragons' labored breaths, seemingly right down his neck. If he hadn't shed his unnecessary gear earlier, he'd have been exhausted already. Of course, he was still getting tired, all the same, with, or without the gear. He glanced at his feet, and almost wished he hadn't.

His own pants were bulging.

Surely he didn't enjoy watching the dragon tease himself that much? He fancied himself as a ladies' lizard, anyway. The thoughts were banished from his mind as a much more important fact went unnoticed. His bootlaces had somehow come undone, and he tripped because of them. A face full of dirt and leaves, and a dragon going way too fast to slow down quickly.

A low growl rumbled in the dragons throat as he did his best to not trample the lizard. Of course, being a rather hefty dragon, not even digging his claws into the ground stopped him from hitting the tree in front of him head-on. A loud snap later, and the tree felt what it was like to have a dragon bowl it over. That was going to leave a mark.

"Connor! Now would be a good time!" Synjac grunted out. The earthy taste of dirt stained his tongue, and made him grimace more than the pain from tripping.

Nothing happened at all.

"So that's his name." The dragon grumbled as he pushed himself off of the tree trunk. Well, what was left of it, anyway.

Synjac tried to push himself onto his feet, but his knees wouldn't cooperate.

"Leaving again so soon? I think not." It took mere moments for the dragon to stumble over and plant a weighty forepaw on his back.

"You caught me, you win. Or whatever." Synjac growled.

"Nuh-uh. You get to help with this-" Synjac felt a humid sensation move past the tip of his tail.

"Oh come on. Even if you're an artificial dragon, you act just like the real ones." Synjacs' mind oh-so-helpfully recalled all the globalnet dragon mating rituals he'd watched.

"But of course. Now that you aren't running away though... my name is-"

"Okay, seriously, you're about to fuck me, and you're trying to introduce yourself?"

"It's only polite." Aru snapped his jaws shut, trying to be at least somewhat considerate.

"Whatever."

"And before you so rudely interrupted me, my name is Aru." He laid another forepaw onto the lizard, and roughly bowled Synjac over.

"Besides, it looks to me like you're quite enjoying this anyway!" Aru beamed.

Synjac blushed as he realized the front of his pants were soaked, and an obscene bulge was straining the fabric.

"I don't... do things with males."

"And that is about to change. I even have a sneaking suspicion you'll like it."

Scales could only discolor so much as Synjacs' cheeks burned with embarrassment, and more than a little arousal. His complaints fell on deaf ears as Aru shredded his clothes with the exact same claw he saw him write with earlier.

"So much more freeing without those, don't you think, lizard?"

"It's Synjac, not lizard." He huffed.

"Fine then, Synjac. You're about to find out why that canine was incapacitated first-hand." Aru loomed menacingly between Synjac and the wide open sky. Made quite the nice silhouette, actually.

Wait. Where'd that thought come from?

Obscene warmth radiated across his body, and it almost felt like he was heating up from the inside out. While he certainly had fantasies about other males, he dismissed them out of hand, rather than entertain them at all. From the way Synjacs' body was pulsing with warmth, though, he'd have thought he'd been waiting for this seemingly forever. He bit back a whimper as Aru smeared his pre across the lizards' stomach. As he adjusted his hips, a brief brush against Synjacs' own tool sent electric shivers across the smaller reptiles' body. As much as he tried to deny it, his body was enjoying this, at the very least.

"Oh come on, it's no fun when you're quiet." The dragon growled, a dominant rumble, felt more than heard.

Synjac bit his lip harder as the oversized, bulky dragon teased him with his own cock. Try as he might, a small, almost inaudible gasp slipped out.

"I'm pretty sure that was a sign I'm doing something right..." Aru grinned.

"Just do your worst alread-." Synjac was wracked by pleasure, overriding his desire to speak. Soft panting rumbled from his muzzle as Aru took the both of them into his paw.

"Don't you worry, I have every intention of doing just that." He breathed into Synjacs' neck, humid moisture trailing across the smaller lizard.

Words became more and more difficult to form as Aru experimented with his grip. Hard enough to keep the two nearly entwined. But lightly enough that his own tool was the majority of the stimulation for the quite-pinned reptile. Being this close made the air between the two steamy. And Arus' paw quickly became soaked in both of their mixed fluids. Hearing Synjacs' whimpers was an added plus, as he arched against his paw. A few more moments of this, and Aru would bet the lizard would be begging for it.

"Please..." Synjac almost mumbled the word.

Aru craned his neck even closer to the lizard, pressing his scales against the finer scales on Synjacs cheek.

"What's that? I'm not sure I heard you." Aru already knew what he'd say, but it was so much more satisfying to hear the lizard say it out loud.

"Please, I don't care what you do, just let me blow a load. I feel like I'm about to pop!" Synjac shouted in frustration.

Aru licked his cheek, and smirked with smug satisfaction.

"Good to see we both get what we want here. Besides, while this was an interesting bit of foreplay, I have a much better plan for what I'm gonna do with you."

The soft pressure of Arus' breeding rod pressing against Synjacs' own disappeared. A pitiful groan of despair rumbled from the lizards' throat before he could even think of stopping it. His eyes rolled back into his head when Aru gripped the reptiles' manhood into an oversized paw. And then slowly smeared the mixture of dragon and lizard pre across his shaft. Of course, with the submissive lizard now completely caving to his desires, Aru didn't need to keep him pinned.

The pressure against his upper body released, he wrapped his arms around as much of Arus' bulk as he could. His body language was quite clear, and the dragon was about to give him what he was craving. While not quite as dextrous as his anthro counterparts, Aru needed very little to line himself up with his mark.

Any birds that hadn't taken flight earlier scattered to the winds now. Synjacs loud moans of ecstasy almost made Aru wince, if only because his throat would be sore later. While he'd just managed to press into the small lizard, there was plenty to bury yet deeper inside its' new home. More pre oozed into the lizard, taking but moments to pool inside him. While the pre was a different concoction when compared to his actual payload, it was quite effective for its' intended purpose. Aru felt his inner walls ripple, almost beckoning him deeper. It was difficult to not impale him then and there.

"Grrr..." The air almost vibrated with growls of pleasure from both of the reptiles.

Soft dirt crumpled as Aru slowly plowed his way into the submissive lizard. It took a few moments for him to pull out, before thrusting back in with a vicious vigor. Synjacs' innards were battered with the massive, pulsing rod plunging into him. Each thrust scraped along his most sensitive spots, and he leaked like a faucet. The leaves rustled as Aru made sure to make his best effort to hilt himself as deeply as he could, on each and every push. Synjac may have been just along for the ride at this point, but that didn't stop him from begging for more. His claws raked across Arus' sides, scraping ineffectively, but getting his point across. Arus' paw slowed just enough to synchronize with his thrusts.

It took just minutes for him to finally succumb to the overwhelming pleasure. However, to the both of them, it felt like hours. Arus' normally blue-tinged scales were stained a sticky white as Synjac pumped shot after shot of lizard essence into his paw. His audible cries of pleasure were absolute music to his ears, and a sign that he should finish what he started. One angle change later, and Aru was pistoning himself almost completely into the exhausted reptile. Just a few more thrusts later, he pumped a rather hefty blast into Synjacs' gut. And then another, and another...

A short while later, Aru was as satisfied as he was going to get. A nearly comatose, and cute, lizard stretched around his rod, and a set of somewhat less tight balls. All a dragon could want, but it felt like something was missing. No matter, he pulled his hefty log of dragonmeat out of the now-sleeping lizards' rump, and took a moment to admire his handiwork. Yep, that was the look of a well-satisfied lover. He was smiling, even as he slept. Splayed out along the ground even.

He took a moment to enjoy the taste splattered liberally across his forepaw, it was quite the generous amount, size-wise. Little lizard must have been more than a bit pent-up. That seemed to be a recurring trend, or so Aru figured. Obviously, he was more than willing to help with that, heh. Truth be told, he didn't really even care whether he was on top or not. Same as before, he propped the lizard up against a tree, set what little gear he had next to him, and moved along.

Well, except for the fact that he didn't get far, because he wasn't expecting a certain annoying fox to fall out of a tree and onto his face.

"Hi."

Male musk hit his nostrils heavily, right before he rolled off.

"And just what were you doing? I think that you should have- AIEE!" Aru was once again interrupted, now with double the voltage.

"Gotcha!" Connor figured his plan would work better with a few modifications anyway.

Well, until the shock dissipated much more rapidly than he expected.

"Okay, seriously. First the screaming, then the action movie hero wannabe dual-wielding! What's next, are you going to suddenly turn into a samurai? Come ooooon!" Aru was completely fed up with this fox.

Connors' gulp was audible, and he didn't even make it a single step away before Aru pounced him. Somehow, he managed to avoid crushing the fox. Words caught in Connors' throat when the dragon brought his head down to see eye-to-eye with the trembling fox.

"I was saying... that you should have been helping, or better yet, joining in on the fun. You already seem to have started for yourself, anyway." His tone was surprisingly even, almost disregarding the fact that Connor shocked him.

Of course, it was more him stating a fact, rather than accusing him of something he hadn't done. Connor couldn't help it was rather steamy to watch Aru rut Synjac into a heap on the ground! He had definitely indulged a bit more than he had intended, though. It was the reason he didn't get far, what with his pants around his knees. The heavy scent on the air was unmistakable, after all. Though, Connor was rapidly coming to recognize another, more overpowering scent.

"Dragon got your tongue? All the better." Aru finished the job of yanking his pants off.

He hadn't realized how much heat the dragon was putting out until feeling the warm scales rubbing his soft fur. That certainly didn't help his raging hard-on at all. At this point, he couldn't even make an attempt to deny he was enjoying it.

"Now, normally I'd be plunging right in, but I get the feeling you're going to need a bit of prep work to... loosen up a bit."

Connor squeaked a bit when the dragon lifted him up almost effortlessly. Embarrassed, he clamped his jaw shut with his paws.

"Make as much noise as you want." Aru stated.

It didn't help Connors' fear much, if at all. Being lifted towards a dragons' muzzle tended to terrify people. Hot, almost sweltering air wafted over his lower body, humid enough to make it feel like his fur was damp. Breath caught in his throat when a warm, slick sensation rubbed across his legs, leaving hot trails of saliva stuck in his fur.

"Okaaay..." Connor breathed out, nervousness battling with pleasure.

The rather large dragon continued his tongue bathing of the foxes' legs, lapping closer to his goals. Connor bit his lip when he brushed between his balls and taint. Small drips of pre were falling from his rod, and onto the dragons' tongue. He felt the dragons deep rumble of appreciation through the air. He cautiously removed a paw from his muzzle, not trusting himself to keep silent.

Massive, almost glowing eyes blinked when Connor laid a paw onto the tip of his broad, scaled muzzle. The fine scales almost tickled his paw, and he saw the beginnings of a smirk tug at the dragons lips. It was rather unsettling to stare, but Aru gave him reason to screw his eyes shut, with an overwhelming wave of pleasure. His tongue had slowly coiled around his tool, and was rubbing gently. Just enough to tease, but not nearly enough to finish him off. More than enough to keep him dancing on the precipice of orgasm. He didn't keep teasing him for long, though. A high-pitched whine sounded from Connors' muzzle, before fading into a deep moan.

Arus' tongue drilled softly into his backside, pressing just roughly enough to push deeper. He was taking his time, almost enjoying the cute little noises Connor made. Much better than the yapping squeals earlier, that much was certain. Aru could almost feel the heat radiating off of the lithe fox, along with a small drizzle of pre dripping from its' source, onto the bridge of his muzzle. Honestly, this was the most fun he'd had since... ever, really. And strangely enough, the rather irritating at times McIynes and Ian were quiet, still.

No matter, he'd give them a show to watch later.

He was rather forcefully tonguefucking the fox, now. Varying his speed enough to keep him on the brink, but not enough to shove him over. Of course, him being so close, he'd explode just having his rod breathed on. Arus' own tool hung ready beneath him, ready for action that would no doubt happen soon enough. Connor felt his cheeks flush further as Aru dragged his tongue heavily across a particularly sensitive bit of flesh inside him. Aru cocked his head a bit... and manipulated his tongue to lightly push along that same spot.

Fireworks exploded in Connors' mind, and he gripped the dragons' snout violently, knuckles white with sweet, sweet release at last. Aru let the fox down gently from his perch atop his lips, the last bit of fox cream flowing down the sides of his muzzle. A token amount found its' way to rest on Arus' tongue, as he snaked the last few inches out of the foxes' rump. Aru had to admit, it didn't taste half bad, and his analytical processes noted it seemed to be rather... healthy. Of course, he didn't need sensors to tell him that, the sheer amount was obvious enough. Connor was gasping deep gulps of air as he relaxed in the afterglow. If this was all the dragon had in mind, then he'd be up for this any day!

Of course, said dragon had his own needs to meet.

"I'd ask if you're ready for the main course... but I think I can see some stars in there." Aru quipped.

"Main course?" A few, rather awkward moments passed. "OH! I-uh... you'd better go slow." He stammered.

Aru wasted no time lining himself up with the still-loose fox. It took him but moments to press himself in slowly. Even with all the added lubrication dragon saliva offered, he was still almost too small to fit Arus' girth. And while he could... adjust things a bit, it was far more fun to watch the fox squirm about in the dirt. Especially as more and more of his thick dragonmeat was pushed into him. There was hardly any acclimatization period before a set of small paws were urging him onwards. A small, wet sensation against his belly scales distracted Aru a bit, before he realized what it was. Even after getting his rocks off once, this fox was still hard as iron! Of course, that just meant it was Arus' next goal to make that happen again!

Connor yelped a bit when the dragon yanked his rod back. Right before shoving it home again, deeper than before. All the while, that pulsing tool shot seemingly large burst of pre straight into his gut. While it had a diminished impact on lubrication, just the sensation made Connor unfathomably hot and bothered. Of course, he'd experimented a bit more than the other members of his fireteam. But there was something about several hundred pounds of dragon looming over you, taking what he wanted. Though, not before showing some courtesy first, heh. And all he could do was lay there, in the dirt, and take it, as much as Aru decided to throw into his innards.

And Connor was perfectly fine with that.

Aru growled as he hilted himself for the first time in the fox. A bit of an achievement, but he had other ideas for where to make his deposit. Several deep, forceful thrusts later, he felt the fox tightening up around him, in the telltale precursors of an explosion of pleasure. He wasn't one to be outdone, or finish late, however. Loud, lewd sounds of lovemaking almost echoed around them. The rest of the world just didn't exist for the two.

The first strong bursts from the used fox splattered across Arus' scales, mixing with the mess of sweat and fur. His inner walls rippled around the dragons' meaty spear, coaxing forth a load of hot dragon cum. While a jet or two landed safely inside the fox, the rest painted Connors' fur a sticky white. And it just kept going, and going...

Several minutes later, Aru was looming above a rather soaked pile of fur that used to be a fox.

"Hrrrrr..." Aru rumbled his satisfaction, seeing the mess he made of the fox.

Three for three, it'd seem that he won. Whatever winning meant at this point, as Aru figured no one had lost anything other than time.

"Aru, you're a filthy dragon." The telltale static meant someone was talking to him, but he didn't really care who.

"Whatever. I'm done. All four of us are GPS tagged, and there's a nice clearing not too far away."

"I'll send one of the VTOLs out to pick you up. Should we have the cleaning teams ready to sterilize it when it gets back?"

"Probably. Though I'm sure there's at least one fox that'd enjoy bathing in it at this point." He heard the static start up again, but they didn't say anything. A soft smile crept across his muzzle.

"I'll have them there by the time it gets there. Seriously though, you should probably have the showers ready at least."

The grass made waves as the invisible waves of heat energy washed across the ground. There were a pair of assistants that asked if Aru needed any help. Of course, being a dragon, he didn't accept, as he didn't need any. The trio of well-screwed anthros were propped against the flight seats, and buckled in. Aru opted to lounge on the cold steel hull, between the two rows of flight seats.

A familiar voice echoed across the short-distance channel.

"So, how was your falling with style?"

"Well, I'd tell you, but it's probably classified or something."

Everyone in the VTOL laughed as they left the ground behind. The loud, raucous laughter didn't even bother the sleepers in the slightest.

"But really, if you want to see what several hundred pounds of dragon falling to the ground looks like, I can probably get Ian to send you the clip."

"Honestly, that'd be nice." The pilot focused on his job, but remained engaged in conversation.

"Don't thank me until I get it to you, heh."

One of the assistants piped up.

"I think a full-sim VR scenario would be neat. Just falling for a while."

"Maybe. It's not the falling that everyone is afraid of. It's the hitting the ground bit."

"Obviously."

The cabin remained silent all the way back.

Later, after they'd unloaded themselves and the three somehow-still-sleeping people... Aru met McIynes on the helipad as the rest were being wheeled out.

"I guess you worked fine, huh." He stated.

"Of course I did." Arus' claws tapped on the metal grating.

"I was... wrong to mistrust you at first." Was that a real apology Aru was hearing, coming from McIynes?

"Okaaaay."

"Maybe we could work together to make the ARU project a success?" He offered his paw uneasily.

Aru rolled his eyes at the mere mention of the project that brought him into existence. Of course, it said far more when he grasped McIynes paw, and accepted the handshake.

"You're going to want to wash your paws after that." The dragon beamed a cheeky smile.

"Of course. And you're going to want to take a sho-" He was interrupted by a series of beeps from his tablet.

"Looks like at least one woke up, and they're mentioning requesting to be transferred here. What do you think?"

"Can't see why not."

"We'll go over the data after you clean up, just dump it afterwards with Ian." McIynes had pep in his walk.

"That's it? You're just going to let me walk around, when earlier you didn't trust me at all?" Arus' eyeridge made his disbelief obvious.

"What, you want me to restrict the movement of the co-director of the ARU project? While I could, I think it's best you spread your wings a bit." McIynes waited a moment for his response.

"Literally or figuratively?" Aru had a gleam of hope in his eyes.

"Both. Your permissions have been updated, so you could go pick them up any time you wish. Though with such privileges -"

Aru didn't hear a word of the rest of it, and ignored him entirely. A whole new world opened up to him, and he was eager to investigate every opportunity!

-Fin!

(Authors' Note... This one took a long time to write, but I had a bit of fun doing it! I hope you, the reader got some enjoyment out of this rather long tale. As always, comment, vote, and favorite if you liked it! Don't forget to tell me what parts you felt were odd/awkward, or could have been done better. Sharing what parts you really liked helps too! Do let me know if I missed any tags as well!)