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Virtually Real Part 9: Recovery and Explosions

Returning Characters:

Prowl-Ar: Human Tiger shifter

Kyle: Quadrimorph Eastern Dragon

Tas: Thylacine

Swift: Otter

Mika: White Mouse

Talon: Western Dragon

Bruin: Lion Bear Hybrid

Evan: Older Lion

Shot: Horse

Dr. Enrique: Human Genetic Reconfiguration Specialist

The King's Shadow: Unknown entity, usually Prowl-Ar

Notes:

Casona = Captain

Sanctu = Sacred

Destril = Gravely Dishonored

I leaned against the counter, completely invisible to the program, and watched as Talon and "I" came through the portal from the Leos Realm. I shuddered and felt like vomiting again. From my new angle I watched as I stumbled, hitting the exam table and ripping the combat patch away. The damage was far more extensive than I'd thought.

"Talon, please step aside." House's avatar appeared and caught my falling body placing it in a medical tube. "Master Prowl-Ar will recover in time. I have sent a request to the King's Shadow to find his mate and convince him to return as quickly as possible. In the meantime you also need to enter a chamber so that your kill switches can be safely removed."

"House! What is going on? You know you're not to summon me unless- Prowl-Ar! House, tell me what happened immediately." Kyle yelled as he appeared out of a portal.

I smiled, Kyle was playing his part perfectly. I glanced at Talon to see his reaction to the idea that my mate was a nine foot tall anthropomorphic eastern dragon. However, Talon was on his knees with his forehead on the floor.

"Great Lord, please forgive this unworthy one. Master Prowl-Ar was injured trying to protect me."

Kyle looked confused and glanced around the room.

"Computer revise observation mode so that only Kyle can see and hear me."

"Unable to comply. You are now locked in limited observation mode until your avatar completes his regeneration."

Kyle scowled, then looked down at the prostrate western dragon. Obviously he heard the computer refusing my order and knew he'd have to play out the scenario on his own.

"You don't look injured. Why are you acting that way? Unless my mate drastically changed in my absence, he would never approve of such groveling."

"I'm not injured, but my former Casona was about to detonate a bomb implanted in my neck. I am kneeling because it is forbidden to look upon a member of the sacred class."

"Just stand up already, I'm not a member of 'your' religion."

"I cannot. It is forbidden."

"You would disobey the direct order of a sacred dragon?"

"Please note this is a real world simulation and the subject can still self-terminate to avoid overly stressful situations." The computer announced.

Kyle looked surprised. "Look, I'm not trying to punish you for your beliefs, but I'm from a different realm. So even though I look like a member your sacred class, I'm in no way related to those dragons. Now, please look at me."

Talon slowly raised his head taking in Kyle's form a little at a time. "You still look like the depictions of the Sacred Ones."

"Would a member of that group be mated to a human?"

"Never, they are dedicated to keeping their lineage pure."

"There you go, I couldn't be a Sacred Dragon by virtue of being mated to your master. I doubt it will help any, but since you are my mate's slave, I still expect you to follow my orders the same as you would follow his. At least until he tells you differently."

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Now get into that med-tube so that those bombs can be removed. Once you are finished we'll go and deal with your former Captain. He's going to regret injuring my mate, even if it was inadvertent."

I grinned as Talon quickly scrambled into the med-tube.

"House, I need access to Prowl-Ar's resources and for you to open the portal to Dr. Enrique's office. I need to go and bring my first two slaves home."

I found myself standing in the private waiting room with Tasmin seated on one of the couches. He had his robe pulled tightly around him and was shivering.

"Would you please stop ignoring me and turn up the heat?"

I was caught off guard thinking I was still in observer mode. It only took a moment longer to realize I was in my King's Shadow disguise. "I'm not ignoring you, I'm guarding you. You do not belong in this realm. As for the chill, I suggest you get used to it. Master Lightstripe, your master's mate, prefers his slaves to be naked most of the time."

Mate, Kyle kept saying it as though we really were mated, but he was 'real' now. How could he possibly consider me worthy of such a title?

Kyle entered, escorted by a very happy looking Vixen and once again I couldn't help but admire his perfection. Even the blood spattered on him didn't upset me like it probably should have. I nearly went of character before remembering the King's Shadow wasn't allowed such thought about any being. "I hope you didn't overpay her. I'll be very displeased if I have to overpay the next time I require the Doctor's services. It's bad enough the way Lord Lightstripe hands out jewels."

The Vixen laughed as she left.

"Wonderful, you're as bad as your mate." I'd stuttered on the word but the computer had dubbed the correct tone. I felt it an indescribable connection that I never wanted to loose. I needed his mark and I didn't care if he ripped my arm off to give it to me. I was pulled back into the present at the sound of his voice.

"I gave the receptionist two sapphires to match her eyes and here is the receipt for the otter's care."

"His name is Swift." Tasmin interrupted.

We ignored him and I took the paper. I needed something to distract me from that voice in my head telling me to shut down the game and beg him to make me his. I shuddered at the list of repairs the damage was worse that I'd imagined, I flashed back to the open doorway. Yeah, that cleared my head of any thoughts of pleasure. "I hope the one responsible for this dies a slow and agonizing death."

"Unfortunately he died rather quickly. I was so angry, seeing the horror he had inflicted, I acted on instinct and ripped out his throat."

"You know, with the trauma he has suffered, this one isn't likely to make a good pleasure slave?"

"Given time and care, I believe he will come around."

"That explains the otter, but what about this one?" I nodded toward Tasmin.

"The otter's mate. He agreed to also become my slave so that together they can serve the minimum ten year span to repay me. Instead of the otter having to serve me for the rest of his life."

I glanced once again at the paper and then directly at Tasmin. "You'd better be very appreciative to your new master. He is putting a lot more value into saving your mate than he'll ever get back from a meager ten years of service from two slaves. Master Dacat, I shouldn't have to remind you, but they need to be collared at all times."

"I was just getting to that." Kyle pulled out a dark red smart-cloth collar with bright red stripes and slipped it over Tasmin's head.

"This is a slave collar?" Tasmin started to pull on it only for it to tighten and begin choking him.

"Let go and relax. The fabric will loosen if you leave it alone." Kyle grabbed Tasmin's hands and pulled them away from the cloth. The collar immediately loosened as Tasmin gasped for breath.

"The villagers all think Master Prowl-Ar is soft for using cloth collars instead of iron. If they knew the truth they'd quickly change their minds. Speaking of whom, how is he? House didn't provide details when he sent me to retrieve you."

"He's not as physically damaged as the otter, but he did lose a lot of blood. It'll likely be several days before he's recovered. Mentally, I'm not sure how he is going to cope. I get the feeling he didn't expect me to return but now that I have . . . I don't know. Time moves differently between realms and I've been gone far longer than I expected." Kyle smiled at me.

I felt like he'd been reading my mind. Was I really that obvious?

The door opened and Dr. Enrique entered interrupting my train of thought. "Mister Shadow, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I had need to speak with Master Dacat on behalf of his mate Master Lightstripe." There it was again, I stuttered and the computer automatically corrected it but from the look Kyle gave me it was obvious

He heard it.

The Doctor took in the sight of Kyle, as though analyzing him as a test subject. "All those pleasure slaves and such an impressive specimen as a mate? Gods, where does he get the time, energy, or stamina to keep up with them all. Or perhaps he isn't and that is the reason you're building a harem of your own? Not that it is any of my business. I've finished repairing and regenerating the patient's body. However, repairing his mind is outside of my expertise, but I've done the best I can."

An anthro rabbit nurse escorted Swift into the room.

"A new employee, Doctor?" I asked.

"Yes, I've been quite busy recently and I felt that it was time to do some hiring."

The nurse smiled, "Please, avoid any strenuous activity, especially sex, for at least seventy two hours to ensure he has completely healed."

Swift glanced around locking in on Tasmin and shuffling to him. "Tas, what is going on? The last thing I remember is Mistress knocking on my door so that I could interview a new client."

"Short term memory loss? Is he suppressing the trauma or . . ." I trailed off finally understanding what the Doctor meant by doing the best he could.

Dr. Enrique tapped the side of his nose, "I've only done what was best for the patent's recovery."

"You realize that is going to make things rather difficult for Master Dacat?" I asked.

"I was asked to, and I quote, 'do everything in your power to save this otter's life'. That would include making sure that he wouldn't be likely to take his own life if the memories resurfaced. Now if you'll excuse me I have other patients to attend to."

"Master Dacat, you will need to register your slaves. When you get home have House summon Mika. He'll be able to help you with that." Damn it, I stuttered on 'home' as well.

"Won't you be joining us?" Kyle asked in surprise.

I was once again pushed out and into observer mode.

"Alas, no. The Kingdom is still in an uproar from current events and it is best that I'm not far from the King's side for any great length of time. I'm sure you'll be able to handle any situation that comes up until Lord Prowl-Ar has recovered." The King's Shadow then disappeared trough a shadow portal.

"House, open a portal. Swift, Tasmin, please step through."

Tasmin took Swift's paw and led him through the portal with Kyle following. As they arrived in the courtyard Kyle slipped a collar over Swift's head.

"What is this?" he asked in confusion.

"It is your slave collar. Don't try to remove it. It'll tighten up and choke you."

"But, I'm not a slave." He insisted.

Kyle sighed, "Please follow me." He led them to the fountain.

The statues had changed again. At the center standing back to back was Kyle and myself with our fingers interlocked. I felt tears running down my cheeks. This is what I wanted more than anything, if Kyle was really willing to love someone as pathetic as me, maybe, maybe I wasn't completely worthless. I wiped the tears away taking in the rest of the display. The next tier down had half the slaves kneeling, leaning forward, resting their hands on the shoulders of their mates on the bottom tier, Tasmin and Swift included.

Swift ran his hands over his statue, "The craftsmanship is incredible how is this possible?"

"As soon as you enter my realm I know your exact dimensions and can recreate them instantly." House said as his avatar appeared. Swift jumped back staring at him.

"Swift, Tasmin, this is House. He is the guardian of this realm. He maintains the grounds, controls the traveling portals, and looks after the welfare of everyone living here."

"Everyone?" Tasmin asked.

"Yes, aside from Masters Kyle and Prowl-Ar there are currently 34 other residents, including yourselves."

"Thirty-four! Prowl-Ar has been busy." Kyle said in surprise.

"Thirty-two, as Swift and Tasmin belong to you Lord Kyle."

"Huh, that is going to take time to get used to. Now, the King's Shadow told me to have you summon Mika to assist in registering . . . my slaves."

"He is currently in his baking class. I'll send him out as soon as he is finished."

"Baking class? How can a baker assist with slave registration?" Kyle asked.

"He was an apprentice to the Slave Guild before an unfortunate incident reduced him to a slave. Master Prowl-Ar, purchased him but part of the agreement is he would be taught the skills of a baker."

"Wait, the slaves here are taught a trade and not just used for their Master's pleasure?" Tasmin asked.

I grinned wondering how Kyle was going to deal with that question.

"So, my mate requires all of his slaves attend classes?" he asked House.

"No, that would be foolish. Evan is an adult from the Doctor's realm and doesn't require further education. Talon, whom you've already met is from the Leonar Realm and held a position on an exploration starship. He's more likely to study you and Prowl-Ar than to take classes. Your slaves are from the Pirate's Realm, and will likely need courses in reading and writing. Of course they will be tested to know for sure."

"What if we want to learn forbidden skills like sword fighting or shooting?" Swift asked.

"I have yet to come across any class that is 'forbidden'. Master Prowl-Ar is very lenient when it comes to education."

"House, that isn't entirely true. Some courses are restricted until the student is trusted." I quickly pointed out.

"It should be noted, however, that you will need to prove you can be trusted before you can take the courses you mentioned."

"Who gets to make the decision on whether we can be trusted?" Tasmin asked.

"As Guardian of this realm the final decision falls to me, with input from both Kyle and Prowl-Ar, of course."

"Tas, you're just going along with this whole slave thing?" Swift asked in confusion.

"I know you've lost your memories of the last day, but trust me, there wasn't much choice. You were as good as dead, but Master Kyle was able to save you at a great loss of money. You should have been his slave for life, but he offered us a deal. If I joined you as his slaves then we would only have to serve him for ten years."

"It might as well be life then." Swift slumped down on the fountain ledge.

"That's not true. Part of being a slave in this realm is the excellent medical facilities. You will both easily live to be ninety or more." House pointed out.

"That's not possible." Tasmin gasped.

"Really? I'm over 150." Kyle informed them.

"Yeah, but you're a dragon." Swift added.

"So? Master Prowl-Ar is over a 100 and he's human. Come to think of it I've never asked how old he actually is. House, how old is my mate?"

I laughed, "Good luck, that information has been carefully scrubbed from all records and neither Mahan nor I will ever let that become common knowledge."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have that information. I can do a rough estimation based on his physical and genetic makeup. However, there would be a margin of error between 100 and 1000 years."

"Thank you, House, that is really useful." Kyle said rolling his eyes.

I laughed at the action since I'd have done the exact same thing.

"You are very welcome, Master Dacat."

"Someone needs to update you to recognize sarcasm." Kyle growled.

"I understand it quite well. You on the other hand need a refresher course on the subject. Ah, here comes Mika."

Mika quickly covered himself with his data pad. "House! Master Prowl-Ar said we would be warned when he has guests so that we can be clothed."

"Yes, when we have guests. However, Master Kyle isn't a guest. He is Master Prowl-Ar's mate. This is his home when he isn't traveling to other realms. Swift and Tasmin are his slaves, he hasn't informed them of the rules due to the fact even he doesn't know them yet."

"Oh!" Mika gave Kyle an appraising look and then grinned as though the situation seemed completely normal. "The first rule is that we are not allowed to lie. Master Prowl-Ar is very strict about that one. Second is that all slaves are to be nude except in special circumstances. So far these have included full body suits and armor in combat training, winter clothing when we travel the hot springs realm, aprons when working in the kitchen, and house uniforms when we are expecting guests. At least that has been the consensus regarding the uniform in our wardrobes. The next rule is that every slave has a mate that they are responsible for and to. Since you two arrived together that would make you mates."

Tasmin laughed, "We're already mated so that isn't a problem."

"All right then, let's get your registration out of the way. Master Kyle, I'll start with Swift. Do you want to start your own count with Subject 001 or continue with Master's numbering system and make him number 033?"

Kyle seemed to think about that for a moment. "I think continuing the established number system would be best."

"Subject 031, river otter, male. What is your name and age?"

"Swift and I'm eighteen."

"Master Prowl-Ar is currently indisposed, so this indiscretion will not be recorded. Now, would you like to try answering the question truthfully?" House asked.

"House, I'm going to be keeping a much closer eye on you as soon as I'm regenerated." I warned.

Swift looked at the ground but refused to speak.

"He doesn't know how old he is. I don't know my age either. We couldn't work at the Cherry Rose unless we were eighteen so that's the age we both claimed to be." Tasmin quickly said in Swift's defense.

"Swift is sixteen and Tasmin is eighteen." House informed Mika.

"You said your name is Swift. Is that it, and if it is, do you prefer to be called something else?"

"No, just Swift."

"Okay, now I need to know your seller, reason for sale, and price?"

"There wasn't a seller. I rescued him and paid for his medical bills so I guess that would be the price." Kyle said.

"And how much was that?" Mika asked scribbling on the pad.

"House can you do the conversion math for 3 million credits?"

"Scanning your receipt. The appropriate conversion would be 2,452 gold."

"So each of them would be 1,226 gold." Kyle said.

Mika collapsed in shock.

"How much is that in our money?" Tasmin asked.

"156,000 Royals, each." House said.

"Tas, there's no way we could ever pay back that much." Swift cried. Master Dacat, I'm sorry for my earlier behavior. I- I can't believe anyone would waste that much money on worthless orphans like us."

"You're not worthless. Not now, or even before your injuries."

"M-Master Kyle, I'm not allowed to lie, but I can't put that amount on the registration form. The most anyone has ever paid for a slave is 100 gold, and that is only in fairy stories."

"Let me have the pad for a minute. Tasmin, is that what you wish to be called or do you prefer, Tas?"

"Um, I prefer Tas among friends."

"That's fine, I'm putting down your sales prices at ten gold each. There, now if Prowl-Ar has a problem with the registration papers he can bring it up when I tell him how much of his money I spent." He winked presumable at them but he was looking at my statue when he did it.

"Um, I'm still trying to catch up here. Is anybody going to tell me what happened to me that caused me to lose my memory?" Swift asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. I only saw you for a second before Master Dacat portalled you away, but it's going to haunt me." Tas replied.

"Tell me anyway. If I'm going to be a slave because of injuries I really want to know how bad it was."

"I'm not going to speculate or give a description of your condition, but I can tell you what was done to you. Starting from your head and moving down," Kyle pulled out the list, "severe concussion, brain trauma, tongue removed, broken jaw, crushed vocal chords, torn esophagus, four broken ribs, punctured right lung collapsed left lung, Left arm broken in three places, right arm fractured, severe lacerations around wrists, seven missing fingers, bruised liver, colon ruptured in two places, torn rectum, missing penis, sheath, scrotum and tentacles, cracked pelvic bone, left leg broken in two places, severe lacerations on tail and ankles and massive blood loss." Kyle sighed, "Those were just the physical injuries. You were in shock and your heart stopped twice during regeneration. Also according to this receipt once your regeneration was complete you attempted to kill yourself necessitating the chemical adjustment to your short term memory."

"How did all that happen? We had a system to call for help if a client tried to do something we didn't want."

"It's not your fault. Dane, your client, had perfected his skills at hiding his true self even from the royal court. I was hired to hunt him down, but even I wasn't informed of the depths of his depravity."

"What about the others? You saved me and Tas but the rest of the house-"

"They're safe. Master Dacat killed the bastard before he saved you." Tas reassured Swift.

"Actually, I did both at the same time. Lord Mordred died of either suffocation or blood loss after I'd portalled Swift to the Doctor. Still it is something that I will regret for some time."

"WHAT!!! He got what he deserved." Tas yelled.

"No Tas, he deserved very slow agonizing torture to the point where he begged to die only to be regenerated and have the cycle start all over again until he had suffered for every one of the boys he killed. Then, he deserved to die."

I shuddered, Kyle had a darkness in him to rival my own. I really hadn't expected that.

"Dead is dead, and that's good enough for me. Besides after seeing the state of Swift's room, Dane might have enjoyed being tortured like that." Tas pointed out.

"I- I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps what I did was the right thing after all." Kyle replied.

"Master, what exactly will we be expected to do for you?" Swift asked a fearful expression on his muzzle.

"I guess you'll be doing the same things here as you did at the Rose, but you'll only have two clients. Mika, what are the duties that Master Prowl-Ar requires from you?"

"There is the sex, of course. We have to attend classes to better ourselves. We're free to have or refuse sex with any of our brothers the only one we can't reuse is Master Prowl-Ar. Though, so far, he's only ordered one of us to have sex with him. You'll need to speak with Evan to get more details about that."

"What about food?" Swift asked.

"We get two guaranteed meals a day, but if we get hungry House has always been happy to provide what we need and we're allowed to pick what we want from the orchard and garden."

"And bedrooms?" Swift added.

"Oh, well we don't get bedrooms. There is Master's room and our room. We all have beds, though we share them with our mates. If you're looking for privacy, as you can see the house is quite large. There is plenty of room on the island as well, but House also maintains open portals to several 'safe' realms so there is plenty of space to be all alone if you feel the need. Oh and another thing, House has indoor plumbing. I don't know if you had that in your realm, but we didn't in the one I'm from, and I'm telling you it is way better than outhouses and chamber pots."

"Tas, I think-" Swift started.

"Master Dacat, if there were say, two more slaves willing to help us repay our debt, could we be able to shorten our time to five years?"

"No." Mika quickly interrupted. "Even if Master Dacat wanted such a deal he couldn't make it. A slave has to serve a single master for a minimum of ten years before he can be freed. Even Master Prowl-Ar is bound by that rule. Otherwise there are several of us he would have freed immediately, myself included. Still, being a slave to Master Prowl-Ar, in my experience so far, is closer to being 'free' than most free individuals ever imagine. Oh sure, I'm forced to learn how to bake, a task that I'm not really fond of, but House makes lessons easy and even fun at times compared to the horror of being apprenticed to my grandfather."

"Tas, we need to go back to the Rose." Swift said pulling on Tas' arm.

"Think about what you're saying. Besides you're not allowed to return to that realm since you're technically dead there."

"So you go. Besides, you're the one they'd listen to anyway."

"What are you two scheming?" Kyle asked, narrowing his eyes.

"We're not doing whatever that word means. It's just that our brothers might agree to um, join us here. If given the chance."

"Why would they do that?" Kyle asked.

"Diggs also works at Rose and his partner, Mitch is too young so he's been mostly living on the streets and 'sneaking in' after hours to be with Diggs. They're . . . they are the closest thing I have to family. We've never really had a real home, but we've always done our best to stay together and protect each other. Here, we'd have food, shelter, and possibly safety. Diggs and I started working at the Rose because it was better than being raped in the streets. What you're offering is better than the Rose, and if Mika is any indication, you'll take Mitch in regardless of his age."

Kyle sighed, "House, can you open a portal to the Cherry Rose, please?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot."

"House, primary user command override, allow Kyle and his slaves to return to the pirate's realm." I ordered.

"It is very difficult to maintain a portal to that realm. If I could reach it again you would have very little time to accomplish your task."

"How long would we have?"

"Forty-five minutes at the most. However, I'll forcibly pull you back after forty minutes then the portal will collapse and I'll never be able to access that realm again."

"We have half an hour, at the most, to be safe. So Diggs will be at the Rose, how long will it take you to find Mitch?"

"He's likely to be close-by considering the time we left." Swift replied.

"House, open the portal."

"Starting the countdown."

"Lord Dacat, you're back!" Will exclaimed.

They appeared in the main reception area. The furniture had been moved back against the walls and Will was on his knees in the center of the room with the lion twins approaching him. It seemed I was still locked in observer mode.

"Swift! You really are alive!" A kangaroo yelled, bounding over to the group.

"Diggs, hurry and get Mitch. We don't have much time to convince you two to come with us." Swift announced.

"Hold it right there mister. All three of you have contracts. Now that Lord Dacat has seen fit to return you two, you'll remain here." The Raccoon Dog announced.

"How much?" Kyle asked.

"What?" She replied.

"Their contracts, how much to buy them?"

"You don't have the money."

Both Tas and Swift laughed.

"You three find the other one. I'll deal with this." Kyle said, glaring at the Madam.

"Come on Diggs, we've got to find Mitch before our time runs out."

"Now as I was saying, how much would be required?"

"3,000 Royals." She said, as though no one could afford such a price.

"Let's see, with the conversion that would be roughly 69 gold and some odd silver. We'll call it seventy so that we don't need to haggle. Kyle walked over to the desk, laid out seven stacks of ten gold coins.in a row. Then a second and a third row followed. "There, 210 gold coins worth well over 9,000 Royals, satisfied?"

"Mistress, he's paying three thousand, for each of them, and in gold." Carly whispered in shock. "What should I do?"

"Master Dacat, we found Mitch."

"Did you tell him and Diggs what they'll be agreeing to if they join you?"

"We'll have to serve you instead of the Mistress, but you'll take Mitch in as well." Diggs replied.

"No, all of you will be my pleasure slaves for the next ten years. In exchange you'll be provided with food, shelter and an education. You'll also have the freedom to roam the estate grounds."

"I was convinced when Tas told me you provided free food and a bed I wouldn't need to sneak into." Mitch announced.

"Having to serve only one client is better than what I have to do here to survive." Diggs said looking around and his fellow workers.

"Two, you'll have to follow my mate's orders as well." Kyle quickly pointed out.

"Still better than here."

Kyle checked his watch, "We still have fifteen minutes if you have anything you wish to keep or good-byes to make now is the time."

They looked at each other and shook their heads. "We don't have anything except each other and everyone that we'd say goodbye to is right here in this room." Tas said.

"Alright then. House, open the portal."

Swift led Mitch through followed by Tas and Diggs. "Will, take care of yourself." Kyle said, just before stepping through.

Mika was still at the fountain when the scene shifted. "So, you convinced them to become your slaves. Did you learn that from Master Prowl-Ar or did he learn it from you?"

"Huh?" Kyle said.

"Never mind. Subject 035, red kangaroo, male, seventeen, named Diggs. Is that a nickname or your full name?" Mika asked.

"My full name is Diggory, but I prefer Diggs."

"Subject 036, dingo, male, fourteen, Mitch."

"That's it, just Mitch." The dingo said.

"And the rest of the information, Master Kyle?"

"The same as Tas and Swift."

"Good, I'll finish this up and send it to the guild. You need to get their collars on and their clothes off. House wanted me to inform you that Talon will be finished shortly. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my lessons before my buns burn."

"You get spanked if you're late?" Mitch sneered.

"For your information I'm baking blackberry stuffed buns, and they need to be removed from the oven before they burn."

"Go ahead, Mika. I'm sure Mitch will change his attitude since he'll be on cleaning duty in the kitchen after your lessons, for a week, starting tomorrow."

Mika nodded and jogged toward the house.

"You're joking, right?" Mitch whined.

"No, I'm not. The first thing you do on arrival is run your mouth without thinking."

"I'm sorry, Master. I've told him repeatedly he needs to think before opening his mouth. However, I wasn't able properly punish him." Tas tried to apologize for Mitch's behavior.

"Tas, that ain't fair. You're supposed to be on my side."

"Sorry Mitch, but you're on your own. We've all told you to think first at some point." Diggs said.

"Not you too, maybe I was better off on the streets."

"It doesn't matter now. For the next ten years you belong to me. Now everyone, please remove your clothes."

Tas and Diggs, shrugged of their robes and Swift removed the paper patient gown he'd had on and Kyle slid a collar on Diggs.

"I'm keeping my clothes." Mitch said defiantly.

Kyle sighed, "House, how much does the Doctor charge to 'fix' dogs?"

"If you insist you can get him fixed in the village for 75 coppers. However I should point out Prowl-Ar will not be pleased with your decision."

"If you want, I can hold him down and you could remove them yourself for free. I'm sure the medical unit would be able to heal the external damage." Talon said, as he arrived.

"Wait, there's no need for such extreme actions! It isn't about the nudity: It's the clothes themselves. I know they probably look like rags to you, but what Mitch didn't fight to obtain himself, we bought for him." Diggs said shielding Mitch.

"Diggs, would you stop telling him everything." Mitch whined.

"Don't you get it? When they say 'fix' they're talking about chopping off your balls." Diggs whispered.

"WHAT!" Mitch yelled.

"Unlike my mate, whom likes his slaves fully functional 'down there', no one gets under my tail except for him. So if you're going to keep acting like a petulant fool I'll simply have you 'fixed'".

Mitched slowly started taking off his clothes. Once he was nude he just stood staring at the ground crying and looking broken.

"Damn it. House, pause game." I ordered.

"Game paused."

"Are you alright?" Kyle asked, as he quickly focused on me.

"I'm fine. I paused the game so that you could take stock of the situation."

"Huh?"

"Look at Mitch. Not as a character in a game, but as an individual. What do you see?"

"A stubborn, mouthy, street kid."

"Fine, now consider for a moment, you just forced him to make a choice between a part of himself and the only things he has ever likely been able to call his own. Items given to him by his family who sold their bodies to buy those clothes for him. Now look again at the individual standing there and what do you see?"

"Oh shit, I've broken him. What do I do now?"

"I can't just tell you. Keep in mind that altering your slaves is an extreme decision and shouldn't be discussed lightly. Kitchen duty was a really good choice, by the way. Oh, one last things to remember, just because it's a house rule the slaves are required to go without clothes they all have wardrobes to keep items that have sentimental value."

Kyle nodded as he got back into position to resume the game. As the scene restarted Kyle stepped forward and knelt down. "You know, if these are important to you, you shouldn't just drop them on the ground."

"Huh?" Mitch looked up, tears matting down his cheek fur.

"I asked you to remove your clothes, I didn't say I was taking them away from you. House will take them for cleaning and then place them in your wardrobe. If you want he can mend them or even make them look brand new again. As for the threat of having you 'fixed' I was a bit irritated by your attitude and with your brazenness. I figured you'd brush that off as well. While I didn't mean to upset you as much as I did, your actions prove that you do know how serious being a slave is. Now, I still have to put a collar on you otherwise we'll both be in real trouble. I'm not currently up to date on the exact rules, since I hadn't planned on becoming a Master, but I think if I don't collar you I end up being a slave and you get executed."

"So what are you waiting for, put it on me." Mitch sniffled.

Kyle smiled, "Tas and Swift told me you've been on the street your whole life. I want you to remember, you don't have to fight over everything any more. The other slaves here probably have similar stories, Right Talon?"

"I haven't really met everyone yet. My realm is on the brink of a massive war and Prowl-Ar was attempting to help my people have a chance at survival. Of course that was before my former Casona tried to kill me, and nearly got Master Prowl-Ar killed as well. My mate would have been killed by his former Master if Prowl-Ar hadn't saved him. All because Master Prowler out bid him in order to acquire me at a slave auction. As far as I can tell all my fellow slaves were saved from some sort of tragic event, so you four should fit right in."

"I'll do my best to see that they do. Hello, my name is Bruin, I'm a lion/bear hybrid, and I'm tentatively the one in charge until either Master Prowl-Ar or my father returns. Except when Master Dacat is here of course. House filled us in when he summoned us." Bruin told Kyle.

"I'm Shot, and I'll be accompanying you on your mission so that our brothers will know you're telling the truth and you are Master Prowl-Ar's mate."

"Alright you four, follow me and I'll help you get settled in. Oh, Mitch is it? Just leave your clothes by the fountain. House will take care of them." Bruin said.

"But they're important to me."

"Then House will take good care of them. Besides the first places we will be visiting are the showers and baths and you certainly don't need clothes for that."

"Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I've taken care of this whole war mess, or in three days when Master Prowl-Ar has recovered, whichever comes first. Shot, lead me to the armory."

The room went black and then an isle appeared leading to the VR chamber door. "Computer, what the hell?" I yelled.

"From this point forward all actions are blocked until your avatar is regenerated. Do to having knowledge of the actions taken by Master Dacat may corrupt the integrity of the game you must now leave the VR Chamber."

I considered overriding the computer but decided taking a few days to come to terms with my new reality might not be such a bad idea. I looked around as if I could catch a glimpse of Kyle before leaving the VR chamber.

***

I stood at the back of the bridge watching the crew. None of them had noticed when I portalled in, and why should they? I'd forced the computer to release my avatar ahead of schedule. Kyle was sitting in the captain's seat looking regal. Aaron was at the communications, Talon at navigation, and Shot was at the weapons station. I guessed Stripes had transferred over to the Captive 5 and unless things had drastically changed Evan, Raze, and Pyre were also aboard the cargo ship with the taur delegation.

"If you're thinking of sneaking up on me, it is impossible. I always know where you are. Though I'm surprised House let you out early." Kyle said with a smirk.

I stepped up on the command dais, leaned against the command console, and kissed him on the side of his muzzle. "House was afraid the boys might mutiny if I didn't show up and let them know you really are my mate."

"I wouldn't have mutinied against Lord Kyle." Talon stated.

"I suggest you keep an eye on Talon. He might not mutiny against me, but he might choose me over you. All because of some misplaced idea that I might be some Sacred Dragon species."

"Talon, do you want to change your collar color from black to red? If you do I don't have a problem with that, but your ten years will reset the moment you do." I pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. Lord Kyle is your mate, so technically we all belong to both of you. Right?"

"I wouldn't have mutinied. House informed me that Master Dacat was your mate and that's good enough for me. Even if he isn't a great leader." Shot said glancing back apologetically.

"Thank you Shot, for that ringing endorsement." Kyle muttered.

"I'm not trying to be mean or get into trouble Master Dacat, but you've questioned nearly every decision you've made so far."

Kyle sighed. "He's right, I'm really not suited to be a leader."

"We'll work on that. So Aaron, what about you?"

"Tomorrow night, roughly three hours after Master Kyle told us you'd be back."

"Huh?" Kyle asked in confusion.

"That's when I had the mutiny planned. Don't get me wrong Master Kyle is a great guy, if overly naive, but he really doesn't have a clue what you had planned. Not to mention he left me with access to the computer system unsupervised. Even I wouldn't trust somebody like me with that kind of power."

"Wait, what?" Kyle exclaimed.

"Aaron is from the same realm as Dr. Enrique. In fact he is a known criminal hacktivist."

"I thought, other than Talon, and Evan all your slaves were from less developed realms, or at least, hadn't been taught much about technology."

I laughed. "Aaron is right, you are a bit naive. Maybe that's why I love you so much." After my little 'vacation' I knew for a fact I really did love him and I'd do anything for him.

"Ugh. If you're going to be all gooshy and romantic get a room." Aaron complained.

"Make a note, Aaron is squeamish about public displays of affection." I said before resting my head on Kyle's shoulder.

"Not to interrupt but if I'm reading things right we're just about to the point where we need to drop out of FTL." Talon stated.

"Let me get out-" Kyle started.

"Stay where you are, Captain Dacat." I quickly moved to the pilot's station. "Aaron, are the Vantage and the Captive 5 slaved to this ship?"

"The computers are slaved and they are also attached to us by magnetic clamps."

"Oh shit! Open a communications channel to all ships."

"Channel open."

"Everyone, brace yourselves. We're dropping out of faster-than-light speed and it's likely to be rough. These ships were never designed make a combined jump like this. Dropping out of hyperspace in 3... 2... 1!"

The ship shook as we seemed to come to a complete stop. "Vantage, update us on our exact position. Captive 5 what is your current condition?"

"This is impossible we're just outside the edge of the Alliance's central system. We should be at the edge of Alliance territory."

"Disengage all tethers and communication with the Vantage and Captive 5." I ordered.

"Tethers powered down and retracting."

"Thanks Kyle. Talon I assume you're the one responsible for the change in course?"

"Yes, Sir. You made it very clear that time was of gave importance."

"It is, plot an in system micro jump to the primary planet. Once plotted send the coordinates to the Captive 5. Evan, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Sir, we're just completing our systems check and everything seems to be in order. It is good to hear your voice again, Master."

"Do you think you can make the jump on your own, or would you prefer if the Captive 5 remained slaved to the Pride?"

"I'd prefer if you remained in control. I don't think I or the crew over here are ready to try a jump on our own."

"Talon, what kind of defenses are we facing?"

"It's likely that all defenses will be offline due the fact that they don't have ships that can over-jump the surrounding systems. Plus if we jump in the next few minutes we'll arrive before any warning broadcast from the Vantage. Coordinates are set both here and on the Captive 5."

"Jumping now." I said as I re-engaged the hyperdrive. It was only a few seconds and we dropped back out above the Draconian home world.

"Unidentified ships, please broadcast identity and reason for visit to the capital."

"So what now, Captain?" Kyle asked.

"Hey, you're the one in the Captain's seat. I'm just piloting this deathtrap."

Talon shook his wings, "Aaron, transfer communications to my station."

"You got it."

"This is Endon Talon Windspear, formerly of the exploration vessel Vantage. I am currently under the command of Sanctu Dacat."

"Please repeat, did you say Sanctu?"

"I repeat, Sanctu Dacat, in command of Lightstripe's Pride and diplomatic shuttle Captive 5. He requires priority clearance to dock at Council Aery."

"Clearance granted, please transfer control to automated approach and landing."

"Aaron, go ahead and let them take us in but keep a close eye on it. If you see anything suspicious immediately return control to Prowl-Ar."

"Yes, Sir."

"Talon, what did you tell them my rank was?"

"Sanctu, it is the title given to a Sacred Dragon. Basically you out rank all other ranks."

"So now we have a bunch of diplomatic meetings to suffer through?" Shot groaned.

"Nope, just one. We land, meet with the High Council, warn them about the Leonar Empire, introduce them to the freed slaves and Dirt's representatives, give them the plans for the Leonar FTL drives and the Lightstripe's Pride as a gift, and then we all portal back home. Well, it might take two meetings to do all of that. The important thing is to warn them war is at their door step and they'd better get ready for it."

"No matter what happens, Masters, you're going to have to pretend Master Kyle is in charge and you aren't mates. The Sacred Ones are rarely seen in public. At most you'll likely only see the young in the Council building where they are allowed to spend time learning about the lower classes. Their society is separate from lesser Draconians. They are seen as the spiritual core of our world. Gods know what would happen if they caught you being affectionate toward each other."

"They sound stuffy and boring." Kyle said.

"Aaron, give me a private line to Evan." I ordered.

"Evan here, Master."

"Evan, get yourselves organized. As soon as we land I want everyone together."

"Yes, Sir."

I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not, but it took twenty minutes before the automated controls had us sitting on the landing deck.

"Aaron, ship wide broadcast. Everyone, we have now landed in the capital of the Draconian Alliance. Gather any personal property and join the crew at the main access ramp. We will not be returning to this ship."

As we exited the personnel from the Captive 5 hurried over to meet us.

I activated the portal back to House. "Evan, Shot, and Stripes I'm sending you back to the house. Raze and Pyre you can join them if you don't want to get mixed up in the politics of your home planet becoming a protectorate of the Empire and the coming war."

"We've discussed it with our tribe-mates, and they decided it would be best if we weren't involved. They think I'm too wild, Pyre isn't mentally stable, and we're both too young. We'll go with Evan and avoid the boredom." Raze stated.

"And the looks of derision, yeah I see you rolling your eyes Elder Greybrush." Pyre added.

"Aaron, I still need you and you skills. Talon, this is your world, so of course you're staying. Finally I'm betting we wouldn't even make it off the landing deck if Sanctu Dacat doesn't remain with us." I winked at Kyle and he adopted what I'm sure he thought was a regal pose. "Keep that up and we'll both be in trouble when I tear off your clothes with my teeth." I quietly growled, letting just a bit of my tiger self be heard.

Kyle flinched and then grinned, "Bring it on, Pilot Nightiger.

"Masters, our escort is approaching." Talon hissed.

"Alright, those going to House get through the portal and let everyone know we'll be home as soon as possible."

The escort arrived just as the portal closed. I turned only to find the four guards and two officials kneeling with their foreheads on the ground.

"What are you doing? You can't escort us like that. Surely you were informed who you were to be escorting?" I asked.

"We were not informed Sanctu Dacat was a Sacred Elder. We believed him to be another student here to take Destril Ketz's place."

"Destril? A young Sacred was caught being inappropriate with a lesser ranked student?" Talon asked.

"No, Sir, not a lesser student; with a Groundling."

"A Groundling!" Talon shouted in shock.

"Is Sanctu Dacat, not here to deal with the situation?"

"I- I don't know. Please rise and escort the diplomats to the shuttle. I will consult with Sanctu Dacat's retainers to find an answer to your inquiry." Talon waited as the group moved away.

"Gods, a Groundling, this does not bode well." He said.

"Alright, spill what does it all mean?" I quickly asked.

"The Destril title is given to a young Sacred Dragon that has dishonored himself. While not common the young are sometimes caught 'experimenting' with each other. It probably happens more often than most will ever admit. The punishment is to be returned to the temple. It's anyone's guess what happens there. It is only if the ranks of the two individuals are widely separated that they receive the title of dishonor. The punishment for that is a quick death for the higher ranked dragon. It is exceedingly rare for one to be caught with a standard dragon. In this case it means a slow and painful public death for both."

"What is a 'Groundling'?" Kyle asked.

"The lowest dragon class. They are called Groundlings because they don't have wings. Personally I never understood why they became the lowest class, considering the sacred class doesn't have wings either. Anyway such an indiscretion has never happened before. Well, that anyone knows about, since the only thing considered worse would be the union of a sacred and a non-dragon. Sorry, Masters, but you insist on the truth."

"What is his punishment to be?" I asked.

"That's likely what they're hoping you are here for. To pass judgement and set the punishment. This is really outside anything most of us would ever imagine having to deal with."

"How am I supposed to come up with something worse than slow public death?" Kyle asked.

"Um, Sir, can I offer a solution?"

"Go ahead, Aaron." I said.

"How about complete erasure? Or however you want to phrase it."

"Huh?"

"Make them your slaves and send them through the portal. I mean, with the best scenario being death I'm sure they'd agree to be slaves instead."

I smiled, "Two more lives saved. Seems like a good plan to me. What do you think, Talon?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because if anything goes wrong, as it often does, you'll be the one most effected. You'll probably never be able to return."

"Like I told my former Casona, since becoming your slave I've been treated with more respect and honor than I ever received before. Getting to know Master Kyle has really opened my eyes on how dysfunctional our society has become. I still think it is better than being enslaved by the Leonar Empire, but I really don't feel like I belong here anymore. So I'm with you no matter what you decide, Master."

"Well then, have all but two guards escort the group of representatives to the council chambers and wait for us there. The two guards will take us to the two prisoners."

Talon walked over to the guards and then, after exchanging a few words returned with two of them.

"We can take the diplomatic shuttle immediately. The others will have to wait until a larger transport arrives." Talon said looking directly at me.

"Why are you speaking to that creature?" One of the guards hissed.

"And what is the meaning of the band around your neck?" The other added.

"I am Prowl-Ar Nightiger, Talon is speaking to me as not to dishonor himself, as a lower cast individual, by addressing Sanctu Dacat directly. The bands denote that Talon and Aaron have acquired enough honor to speak and act freely in is presence."

"You're not wearing one."

Kyle made a slashing motion with his hand. "Sanctu Dacat orders that you will not speak again." I held up my arms showing my gauntlets, "As Sanctu Dacat's attendant and personal guard I am of a higher rank so my bands are different. My rank is-".

Kyle placed his hand on my shoulder. I dropped to one knee with my head down. When he removed his hand I slowly stood keeping my head down. "Take us to the Destril and the Groundling."

We entered the shuttle with our escorts moving to the front. Neither talked, but from my position I could see them exchanging worried glances. Within minutes we landed at a non-descript building. Everyone exited and the guards move to the sides of a lift door. The one on the right pushed the call button.

"Our escort will remain here. When the lift reaches its destination internal security will take over escort duty." Talon stated.

"You have been here before?" Kyle asked.

Talon dropped to one knee and the guards dropped to what I was beginning to realize was their instinctive reaction to one of the Sacred Class. I was amused to see that Aaron had read the signs and also kneeled.

"Lord Prowl-Ar, I did inform you that I was unworthy. I was placed in holding on several occasions during my youth."

I once again kneeled as well, "Yes, however I did not realize your indiscretions had resulted in incarceration. This oversight is my mistake, not yours."

Kyle nodded, and gestured in a lifting motion just as the doors slid open. He entered and we quickly followed.

Once the doors closed Aaron gave a sigh of relief, "I bet our escort up there is sending a warning to the guards at our destination."

I glared at Aaron and held my finger against his mouth. Then I cuffed his ear and gestured at the walls. His eyes went wide and he immediately nodded his understanding. He pulled out a small cube and after fiddling with it passed it to me.

"There, now any nearby cameras and microphones will only pick up static."

Before I could say anything the lift stopped. As the door opened Aaron was proven right since the guards waiting for us were down on one knee.

"Sanctu Dacat will require a sound proof room, the Destril, and the Groundling. There will be no recordings of the punishment, video or audio. The punishment will only be observed by myself. Talon and Aaron will stand guard outside the room to insure no other observation or interference takes place."

The guards nodded and led us to a room that that looked to be made for conducting autopsies. In the center was a large metal table with a recessed top and a drain. It also had anchor points for restraints. There were also anchor points at several locations on the walls and floor. Kyle continued to study the room as I stepped out.

"Bring the Groundling and secure him to the table, leather binding only, no locks, chains, or clothing. Those items will get in the way. Once he is secured bring in the Destril and secure him to the wall in the same way, where he'll have full view of the table."

"Both at the same time?" One of the guards asked.

"Yes, the dishonored one will watch the punishment of the first knowing his fate will be far worse."

The guards shuddered, "What is the punishment going to be?"

I glanced back at the room and then whispered, "Erasure."

"I've never heard of that."

"It's newly developed. A device is used to disintegrate biological matter. It is very clean and efficient. However, at lower settings it can disintegrate areas a bit at a time. I'm not going to enjoy witnessing this punishment. Now hurry before Sanctu Dacat becomes impatient."

The guards rushed off and I returned to Kyle's side. I could tell from his smirk that he'd heard everything I'd said and wanted to comment.

Four guards brought in the Groundling. Like Talon he had hide instead of scales. He was counter shaded mostly white, but his front running from his neck to the end of his tail along with his horns was black. His tail split at the end into a trident shape. The guards hoisted him onto the table and as he struggled I could tell each tail lobe was at least semi-prehensile. Strangely he had a line of silver hair with dyed black tips on his head. He continued to struggle against his gag and restraints as the Eastern dragon was escorted in. He was also white with black horns, but had blue patterns in the fur that covered his body and his overly fluffy tail was gray. It actually looked like it had been dipped in black pigment and then repeatedly rinsed to remove most of the color.

Kyle grabbed the furred dragon by the back of the neck and waved the guards out. They quickly retreated and I closed the door. I checked Aaron's scrambler cube and the light on it was the same as when he said it was working. I quickly secured the leather cuffs to the wall. Once He was secure I moved to the table and removed the Groundling's gag. He didn't say anything he just glared at Kyle. An obvious sign of disrespect. I shrugged and returned to the furred dragon. As I removed his gag I noticed how wet and matted his facial fur was from crying.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Kyle asked.

"Leave him alone. Just hurry up and kill us already." The groundling shouted.

"Yarl, please don't make this any worse." The sacred pleaded.

"How the fuck-"

I slapped Yarl, "Watch your language."

The two dragons just stared at me in shock.

"Prowl-Ar-" Kyle started.

"Don't start with me. That one," I pointed at the sacred dragon, "has given up and is on the verge of complete mental shut down and this one I'm not sure is worth the trouble."

"This isn't like you."

"No kidding, it's the damned dragon pheromones. One is deeply ashamed and depressed and the other is really angry and they're both afraid of how deeply they feel about each other. Add to that emotional stew your feelings of concerned and protectiveness. I'm feeling every bit of it and it's enough to drive me insane here!" I yelled.

Kyle grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss. Suddenly my mind cleared and I only felt his deep love for me.

The furred dragon gasped, "What the . . . You're going to execute us for getting caught holding hands after doing that with a lower life form?"

Kyle broke the kiss and glared at sacred. "Be very careful how you refer to my mate, and possibly your future master."

"Well, that made things easier. All they're feeling now is confusion. So let's start over, my name is Lord Prowl-Ar Nightiger, or Lightstripe depending on the realm I am in, and this is my mate Master Kyle Dacat. Contrary to his species he is not a Sacred Dragon, simply because we are not from this universe. You are a Sacred Dragon and if I understand it your name is Ketz. Your possible future mate on the table is a Groundling named Yarl. When we arrived the guards decided that Kyle was here to deal with your situation." I walked over and removed Ketz's bindings leaving him completely nude.

"So what are you going to do with us?" He asked.

"Well, I'm going to give you a choice between life and death. You know that you're going to die here so I'll explain the life choice. I'll send you to my universe where you will join my harem of pleasure slaves. Yes, that means Kyle and I will be able to have sex with you any time we want and you'll have to follow all our orders. However, the two of you will become mates and you will be able to reject the advances of the other slaves if you wish."

Kyle removed Yarl's restraints. "You'll also be treated better and have more educational options. Not to mention entertainment collected from many other realms. Though you should probably be warned that the house is all male. Oh and only one other slave knows about the class ranking in this realm so no one is going to judge you."

"What about the one who knows our relationship is wrong?" Yarl asked.

"First off it isn't wrong and secondly he's mated to a tiger hybrid and has stated his disgust at the class concept. He even questioned why Groundlings are the lowest dragon class since you don't have wings just like the sacred class."

Yarl grinned at Ketz.

"Yes, I know told me the same thing." Ketz said like it was an ongoing argument between them.

"So, what is your decision?" I asked.

They looked at each other then nodded simultaneously. "I'm not sure life as a slave is better than death, but being alive and with my chosen mate makes it an easy choice to make."

"Ketz is right, I'm in as well." Yarl announced.

I pulled out two collars and Yarl gasped, "The dragon and cat outside had those on are they-"

"Yes, Talon and Aaron are also my slaves."

"But they had clothing, and weapons." Ketz said.

"I issue clothing when it is needed and Talon has proven he can be trusted. Aaron, on the other hand, can be trusted with guns but he has to be carefully monitored when he's working with computers." I finished with the collars and leaned back. "So Kyle, what do you think? Does the black and white work or should we switch them to your red collars?"

"The red might have worked for Yarl, but it would just seem wrong for Ketz so we'll stick with both of them as your slaves."

I opened the portal, "House, please inform Evan that I have two new slaves and I need him to help them settle in."

"Very good, Sir."

"Who was that?" Ketz asked.

"That, Ketz, was House. He is a highly advanced A.I. and the Guardian of your new home realm. Now step through the interdimensional portal and walk toward the house. You'll be met by an older lion named Evan, another one of my slaves, He's basically in charge when Kyle and I are away. He'll help you get settled."

"What about you? The guards will know you let us escape."

"Don't worry, Yarl. Master Prowl-Ar has already created a cover story for your apparent disintegration."

They both nodded again and stepped through the portal.

"Now for the really hard part."

"What's up?"

"When we walk out of here I have to look like I just watched you slowly disintegrate Ketz and Yarl a little at a time but you need to look like it had no effect on you."

"How are we going to pull that off?"

"Give me five minutes. Computer, take me to observer mode."

Five minutes later I reappeared visibly shaken.

"Are you alright?" Kyle rushed to my side, "You look like you've been through hell."

"In a way I have. I had the computer replay the events between Dane and Swift starting four minutes before you killed Dane."

"Are you insane?" Kyle yelled.

"Probably, just a bit. Now let's go get this over with." I walked over to the door while Kyle straightened his uniform. I shut down Aaron's signal scrambler and pushed the intercom button. "Sanctu Dacat has finished. Please unlock the door." There was a loud click and I pulled the door open holding it as Kyle walked out and continued toward the elevator.

I followed and immediately noticed the guards refused to look at either of us. After a single glance at me, even Talon and Aaron averted their gaze.

"Sanctu Dacat is ready to meet with the High Council. Please alert our guide's we are on our way up."

The lift doors closed and Aaron held his hand out, as if he expected me to return his scrambler. I quickly turned it back on. "You think I'm giving this back to you?"

"Just until we get home. You and Master Kyle are the center of attention and no one pays attention to a cub like me."

"Fine. I accept your argument, on the condition you'll give it up, so I can lock it in the armory where it belongs when we get home."

"I'm guessing, from the way you look, they turned down your offer and you had to execute them after all." Talon sighed, and continued to look away."

"They're safe. The state I'm in is from Kyle telling me the story of how he rescued his first slave."

"You look as though you were actually-" The lift stopped and Talon shut up immediately."

Our escort was waiting for us, one in the pilot's seat and the other holding the door.

***

We arrived at the Council Chambers only to discover the meeting had started without us. We were ushered into an antechamber to wait while we were announced. Kyle pointed toward Aaron's pocket. Aaron quickly pulled out the scrambler.

"Tell me, Talon, do you have any friends and family you'd like to visit while we're here?"

"Uh, we don't have families like some mammal species. When we hatch we are raised and educated with our clutch mates. I suppose some would consider that a family, but as the smallest of the hatching I was constantly picked on. In fact I'm surprised I survived at all. So no family or friends." He hung his head, "In fact I can't think of anything or anyone I'm going to miss, or will miss me, when we leave."

"So if I do something rather foolish you really won't have a problem escaping with us?"

"Kyle, what are you planning?" I asked.

"Something Barret taught me. Sometimes you've got to make a big bang to get things done. Come on, we're not going to play their political games."

"But we're supposed to wait here until we are announced, Sanctu Kyle." Talon argued.

"Like I said, political games, they'll keep us waiting just to appear they aren't afraid of a Sacred Dragon. Hey, Tiger, you ready to make some noise?"

"We're really going to play it this way?" I asked.

"That's the plan." Kyle grinned.

"Fine, give me a couple minutes here."

"Talon and Aaron, seeing as things are about to get messy there's something I need to tell you. I haven't been entirely honest with everyone. You see I'm not exactly human anymore. Don't get me wrong, I started life as a human, but in my travels I was able to make changes to myself."

"What sort of changes?" Aaron asked.

"I'm now what is referred to as a theriomorph, it means beast change, in simplest terms I can shift my form." I concentrated and shifted to my median Tiger form."

"Holy shit!" Aaron yelled.

"That- That is impressive, and it explains why our collars are black with white stripes." Talon said.

Aaron laughed, "Now I know why you call yourself Lightstripe or Nightiger."

"Actually there's more to the second name. With my black fur and white stripes the Night and Tiger are easily explained, but 'Nigh" also means 'near' or 'almost' meaning I'm almost a tiger. Though I can shift further into a full tiger form. Now the only ones that know about this are the two of you, Kyle of course, and the King's Shadow. When we get back to House I want you to keep it a secret until I can let everyone else know." I shifted back to human form.

"Why are you telling us-" Aaron's eyes went wide and he stared at Kyle.

Talon backed up against the wall "No. No, no, no, no, no, that isn't possible."

Kyle shifted to his human form, "I'm not exactly the same as my mate." He continued to shift into his true median form and then into his true Red XIII form. "This is the form I was born with." He shifted back through his forms until he was in his median dragon form once again. "However this is the form I've come to prefer."

Talon slid down until he was sitting on the floor, "So you're really not a Sacred Dragon."

"No, I'm a quadrimorh. I can take the forms of four different species and Eastern Dragon just happens to be one of them. So how will the High Council react if I go full dragon on them?"

"Honestly, they'll likely soil themselves. It would literally be considered a divine visitation. Anything you say would be taken as divine law."

"Really?" Kyle said as a grin split his muzzle.

"Kyle, control yourself." I warned.

"Of course, just one last question. I know that my form is called Sacred and the wingless are Groundlings, but what term do they use for your class?"

"Oh, we're Standards, my lord."

"Thank you, now let's go stir up some trouble."

"Aaron, do you think you could find a way to reverse you scrambler so that it makes all devices transmit their signal to all other devices? Never mind, I'll be right back."

I portalled back to House and headed for the armory. "House, I need two headsets sized and shaped for Talon and Aaron. Full audio video recording and transmission capabilities no other enhancements." When I arrived I put on my own headset. "Hello again old friend." The options menu immediately activated and I canceled it. Only to get a new message.

"Headset online, updating programs, one new update available. Broad spectrum audio/video transmission application. Install this feature?"

"Install." I stated clearly. A glowing ring formed and quickly filled. Producing another message.

"Install complete, returning to pre-set functions."

I grabbed the two new headsets and portalled back to the ante-chamber. "Aaron and Talon, put these on. Once activated you'll transmit everything you see and hear, overriding all other signals. I'm not sure what the range will be, but I'm betting the appearance of a Devine Dragon will mean it gets re-broadcast throughout the Alliance."

"How do we activate them? Oh, we just tell them-" Talon started to ask.

"Only activate them when or if Kyle shifts to full dragon form."

"Can we go now? I'm starting to feel annoyed that we're being ignored." Kyle asked.

I walked over and tapped on the door. There was no response so I tried knocking. When that didn't work I tried the handle. I scowled, and opened one of my combat pouches pulling out an explosive.

"Oh shit!" Kyle yelled flipping a table on its side. "Get down, open your mouths, and cover your ears."

"If you can hear me out there I suggest you run, because this door and likely part of the wall is about to explode." I yelled as I placed the shaped charge and walked back to the table. I smiled at Kyle, "I made a promise a long time ago that nobody would ever lock up my mate again." Kyle looked at me in surprise as if he thought I'd forget the promise I made to him in his original game. I hit the detonator and the room shook as the doors were reduced to metal shavings.

"Oops, I may have over done it." I laughed.

"You think? You could drive a tank through that opening. Kyle yelled, as he rubbed his ears.

I laughed as I walked through the debris. I glanced down the hallways but they were empty. "Analysis mode, any biological remains?"

"Scanning, biological remnants in debris limited to wood only."

"You'll be happy to hear that I didn't kill anyone, this time."

"You've done that before?" Talon asked.

"Yeah, I have a bad habit of making enemies. When you travel between realms things tend to happen."

"What do you mean 'things'?" Aaron asked.

"You know little things like sparking an intergalactic war, or two, or maybe more. It's hard to keep track. Now let's get going, we wouldn't want to keep the council waiting." I winked and Kyle started laughing as we headed down the hall.