New Dawn Chapter 3: Hivemind
#4 of New Dawn
Author's personal log. Don't really care about the date at the moment. I've been Nocti's "queen" for six hours now, and I'm now somehow able to hear ding-dong's... limited thoughts. He can hear mine, but I've managed to block him out with a bit of effort. We're still stuck as Scyther for the time being, and while I don't mind it at all, I'm worried about Noc. I mean, he's starting to get his individuality back, but he's still way too drone-like. Me? I'll likely be staying this way for a long time.
Anyway, were in Poketara now, just waiting Overgrown Forest for night to fall. No sense letting anyone know that a pair of Team Starlight members are prowling around, especially if Alice and Lita's former owner is around. I've been practicing my cutting and carving skills with my scythes, and I ordered Nocti to sleep. Poor pup... He stayed up all night polishing my new exoskeleton before I woke up and caught him using a bloody buffer on me. Still, it was a sweet gesture.
I looked out across the dark forest floor around me from my pearch in a large tree, taking in the beautiful sight. Feral Pokemon are a common sight all across Poketara now, and seeing Sewaddle and Caterpie crawling around as they go from place to place is something I never stopped and enjoyed during my trips to the Trainer and Ranger regions. I even spotted a Levanny just before they jumped up towards me.
When she landed on the branch, she had a worried look, and was clearly ready to fight for some reason. I held up my scythes and switched to my 'feral speech mode', explaining why Nocti and I were there. Apparently, she became rather embarrassed from her kneejerk reaction, apologizing. I flipped my scythes back to reveal my hands, and offered a hug to the walking leaf, which she gladly accepted. Oddly enough, she also decided to stay and talk.
We talked for several hours, and I got two major surprises in our discussion. First of all, I found out that some mysterious Dark-types had been through recently, looking for a pair of morphs. One was a 'well-decorated' Zoroark who led them, and mentioned Alice and Lita. I had to think it was their former owner. Only a dark-type would be able to overpower the likes of a Mewtwo morph. He also apparently had a pair of Murkrow guards with him. I had to wince on hearing that, as while Murkrow were rather fragile in combat, they had speed on their side. This wasn't going to be an easy mission if we got caught.
The second surprise came from the Levanny's curiosity. She asked about Pokemon Rescue and what we do, and the more I told her, the more she seemed to want a chance as a rescuer. She wasn't really much of a fighter yet, but she was willing. The problem, of course, was the language barrier. Most morphs could only speak human English, and a few could speak Earth Japanese through what they call 'old tongue'. I took a moment to think, then called Altair on my Omnivice.
"Hey sis, I'm sending you some intel my new friend here gave me." I said, using the Omnivice file transfer to give Altair an intel report. "I also need a favor from you."
I could sense hir smirk, even from over three thousand kilometres away. "No, Terra. I'm not turning Nocti into a permanent bug with you."
"Funny, but no." I replied, palm hitting my forehead. "My new friend here is a feral Levanny, and she really wants to try being a rescuer. Got anything that might help her?"
"Sure." Shi said. I could hear some metal clattering in the background. "I have a universal translator system here somewhere. I'll find it by the time you get back. However, she can't go on the mission with you. If she'll do it, send her to old Pokemon Square. I'll have Nemi escort her into Breakwater."
I looked down at Nocti, who was sleeping at the base of the tree. Using our connection, I tried to gauge his condition. "Alti, I'm sending Noc with her. I'm not comfortable with his current state. Not with this new intel, anyway. Noc can protect her, and I can stay more stealthy on my own, especially with my ShadowRunner training."
"Fine." Shi sighed. "I'll meet them in old Pokemon Square. Just... be careful."
After waking Nocti up and sending them off towards old Pokemon Square, I decided to make my way into Lagumacosta. Lagumacosta... The very name made me feel at home with my new Scyther body, and the actual city itself made me smile. It was made in the core of the old "friend area" of Overgrown forest, and covered several square kilometres. However... That was just on the surface. Many of the houses were in the trees, most carved out of the massive redwood trunks. I rarely went into the residental area, and I wasn't going into the main city tonight, so I decided to keep myself from focusing too much on it.
My target was Club Hivemind, and thankfully it wasn't far. A few trees in, a couple of twists and turns, and I was at the employee entrance. It looked rather plain and out of place, with a wooden door that seemed to be rotting. However, that was just a ruse. I placed my hand on it, and within moments, I found myself in the employee dressing room, surrounded by fellow bug-types who were getting into rather risque clothing of all kinds. It was a rather familiar place for me, as I loved working here on my time off.
As I started to walk towards the door, I felt a familiar three-digit hand grasp my shoulder. "Hey, hon! Ya really goin' out there without yer usual?"
I smiled, turning to face the beautiful brown Ariados behind me, Aria. She was already holding my typical red latex dominatrix outfit, complete with transforming gloves, stockings with claw holes, kinky dress, full thorax-and-abdomen harness... and a fresh collar and leash to tag a new submissive. I flicked my wings softly in thought.
"You know, I'm actually on a mission..." I told hir, considering a lot of possibilities at once, "...but it might not hurt to go out in my usual."
I walked over to one of the dressing booths and sat down on the wooden bench, raising up my feet. Aria, being the costume and make-up designer for Hivemind, loved dressing the employees, and that included me. She started with the boot-style stockings, slipping the tight rubber over my wide feet and claws like a pro. Unexpectedly, she then pulled out some claw paint and smiled at me. We didn't need words for that sort of thing. I nodded, then decided to take some time and get a bit more intel. Aria was one of the go-to people for hearing the latest gossip.
"Say Ari, you might know better than anyone. Have you heard anything about a rich-looking Zoroark with a pair of Murkrow bodyguards coming by Hivemind? I'm kinda having to keep an eye out for them."
"You mean Gozen?" She replied casually, painting a beetle wing design in red and black on each of my claws. "They came in a couple days ago lookin' for a few hours with some of da girls. Said they were looking for some special ones. Never said what kind, though. They got a hotel room and decided to come back tonight."
I switched feet, putting the painted one in a fan while she worked on the other. "Alright. Oh! Sis said there were a couple of new girls, Alice and Lita. I'm supposed to escort them to Breakwater tonight, but I've got no clue what they're like. Have you met them yet?"
"Oh, sure." She said, working a bit quicker. "Cute ones, for sure. Real teasers. Alice is wearin' a Beedrill suit, and Lita's a Butterfree. Mistress said they're bein' protected from someone. That why ya takin' 'em home with ya?"
Aria finished the other foot rather quickly as well, probably taking the hint that something was going on. While my newly painted claws dried, she moved to get my gloves on quickly, getting me to raise my arms up a bit. I decided to let her in, since I knew I could trust her.
"Yeah. Gozen's their former owner." I replied while sighing, causing Aria to look stunned for a moment. "Apparently abused them, so they're getting protection back home. You know how Vee is when shi hears about abused submissives."
Aria seemed distracted by something as shi slid my gloves on over my arms, looking back at the closet. My wings flicked softly as my mind tried to wonderwhat was going through her mind. Without a word, shi wandered over and opened it up, and what she took out made my eyes go wide. In her hands was a much more intimidating dominatrix outfit made specifically for Scyther, with heavier-looking armor plates, all of them black, and no shine at all. It was mostly made for the body and head... The head, that drew my attention. It was a full hooded mask, with small spikes in the corners of the maw, a set of long upper fangs, and deep blood red lenses over the eyes. Just looking at it told me my sister had designed it hirself. Then came the arm and leg coverings, which had cruel, deadly looking retractable claws on the hands and claw extensions on the feet.
I stared for a bit, but it didn't take too long to figure out what Aria was thinking. The outfit would make me out to be a very intimidating figure, and if Gozen and his lackies were anywhere out there, they wouldn't want to face me while I wore that. Even more, I could see Vega's personal insignia, a pair of purple claw marks shaped as a 'V". Only certain people can wear that insignia on whatever they wear, and I was one of them.
"Aria, give me a sec. I need to make sure of something, but I like your thinking." I told her. My mind opened up the hex-grid of my Omnivice HUD and opened up a communications line with Altair. "Alti, I need some advice."
"Never open a demon's pants without wearing a mask." Shi replied.
I groaned at the joke, crossing my arms. "No, ding-dong. My suit malfunctioned, right? I'm sitting here staring at a heavy-duty dominatrix outfit that Vee had to have a hand in. According to my scanners, it might cause a reaction with my suit. If I have it put on, what would happen?"
Shi was silent for a while, probably going over the results from my scanners with hir own Omnivice. Finally, hir sly voice came back into my ear. "Well... If you put that suit on, it'll fuse with your suit. Since your suit is your body now, that means you'll become one hell of an intimidating dom, and probably make Nocti about twenty kinds of happy."
I couldn't help but smirk at Altair's one track mind. My choices, however, weren't so clear cut. On one hand, I'd have one hell of an advantage in both combat and bed. On the other, I'd look like one hell of a cruel mistress. I took my time thinking about it.
Finally, I gave Aria a nod. "Alright. Alti, I need you to monitor me during this. Rather not have another surprise waiting for me."
Aria immediately brought the outfit to me and started getting the leg pieces on my limbs. I hadn't noticed it earlier, but the pieces were actually larger than my insect body normally was. Just the legs alone made me another twenty-five centimetres taller, and a good fifteen centis thicker in general. I felt... I felt stronger. Not slower, but the enlargement did make me a little less dexterous. Then came the lower thorax and abdomen. My backside felt so thick that I might as well have been pregnant with a clutch of eggs already.
Begrudgingly, I had to sit down for the next part. The midsection and upper thorax were pulled tight around my body, and I could feel my wings enlarge on their own the moment the latex sank into me. They felt light, but... Just, damn I could probably whip up a small tornado to level my old stomping grounds on Earth. I was so focused, though, that I hadn't even noticed that the new muscular arms had been put on me. I flexed them a bit, noticing that they were still rather skinny, but had more... meat to them. Just the raw energy I sensed told me I had to be a little more careful with them than I usually was.
I gave a low sigh as I leaned down to have the headpiece put onto me, my eyes closed. Aria slid it over my face and forehead first, then pulled it back and down like a muzzled hood. The rubber itself was cold at first, but as shi pressed it against my shoulders and chest to complete the seal, it was like my skin had suddenly been put under a heater. My inner head melded with the new pieces. The mouth spikes, the fangs, the thick and cruel-looking head fins that curled back to spikes, the red and evil eyes... Everything felt like I had just been caught in the middle of a heat wave. And then... nothing. Everything stopped. The air, the warmth, maybe even time itself.
My eyes opened, and I looked around with a much larger field of view. All eyes were on me, and all I could muster was an awkward and deep breath of relief that it hadn't gone further, as I had thought it would. Sure, the two Ledian in the back had their mouths covered in shock, but it wasn't until I stood up and turned to a mirror that I understood why. Looking back at me... Looking at me wasn't the slender and feminine Scyther I had came in as. No. Instead, I looked... demonic? Evil? No... I looked like a bloody W'Nactr, the demons I had faced and later befriended in the Omega Wars. I looked like a Scyther W'Nactr. My thick clawed fingers, my new wings made of energy, my crimson eyes... My much taller and menacing figure...
"Altair..." I said, my voice now slightly deeper, yet still somehow more feminine. "Altair, what the hell did I just become? I know you had to have designed this."
There was almost a minute of awkward silence, with everyone's breathing sounding louder than the music playing on the dance floor just down the hall.
"Terra... I didn't design that. Vega did. That's all hir work." Altair replied. My heart would have skipped a beat if it had still been a physical thing. "Shi must have used W'Nactr physiology for the Devourer when shi made it."
The Devourer, Esandra, was a high-ranking W'Nactr that had once been a part of our sister Sirius... That made a lot of sense. I flipped out one of my scythes, the serrated edges and large 'catch hook' telling me all I needed to know. My new body had been based off of her.
"Let Esandra know what's happened..." I said, flipping the blade back into it's sheathed position. "...and Vee. I've got a mission to finish. ... Thanks sis."
The communications system cut off, and I looked down at Aria, who I was now dwarfing. I smiled, even if it might have come off as wicked, and gave hir a hug. "Thanks, Aria. I'll make sure this gets some real use." Aria simply nodded and embraced my body for a moment still in shock.
With a heavy breath, I made my way out of the dressing room and into the sex rooms in the back. Many fellow Hivemind employees were out and about, some using rented suits to join in the fun of the 'hive mind' that Queen Fara Ingatora maintained, just like her predecessors. I was immune to it unless I opened myself to the hive, and I usually did. However, tonight was different. I couldn't open myself like that when I needed to conceal a pair of victims.
One corner... Two corners... Th- I stopped counting the moment I turned that third time. Standing just outside the dance floor, surrounded by a rather busty Butterfree and Beedrill, was a very familiar sight: a silver and very handsome Scyther. That was one of my mates, Sildra, and he just happened to be surrounded by Lita and Alice. The two of them were slowly leading him off into a nearby private room, though he kept stopping and kissing along their necks. I couldn't help but laugh, as he was clearly under the effects of "Fara's Nectar", a breeding aphrodisiac that made the victim become extremely horny. Thankfully, I had the antidote.
As they reached me, I reached down and pinned him to a wall, forcefully kissing him on the lips. At least, that's what I made it look like. In reality, I was feeding him a bit of my own nectar. Being a prism dragon by birth, I could create a special toxin that normally sent the victim into sexual overdrive. However, it also acted as a cure for Fara's Nectar, which I found out the hard way a while back.
He froze and looked up at me, blinking a few times. I simply gave him a real kiss and whispered into his ear. "It's me, Terra. We'll have a real party soon, but I've gotta get these girls 'home' before tonight."
He nodded, kissing me back and giving a soft "Scyyy..." before heading back to the dance floor. I really hated to miss that chance, but I could always pull him in bed after everything was finished.
I turned to his former escorts with a smile. "Ladies, Pokemon Rescue has arrived in style. Let's get you two to safe... ty..."
As soon as I had started to open my stupid mouth, I saw a Zoroark and two Murkrow turning around the far corner of the hallway. It was Gozen, for sure. He was your typical Zoroark morph, except dressed in a business suit and wearing black glasses over his eyes. If I hadn't known better, I would have mistaken him for a bloody FBI agent from back on Earth. Well, aside from the collection of feathers hanging from his mane. I quickly smiled and picked both of them up into my arms before wandering back down the hallway where I came from, stopping just out of sight to let them down.
"Get to the dressing room and have Aria get you ready to leave. Keep the suits with you. You might need them." I said, keeping an eye on the shadows.
"We'll keep the suits on, thanks." Alice said, smirking and crossing her arms. "At least a few more days, anyway."
I snickered softly. "Fine with me. Go get some clothes from Aria, and get ready to head out to Breakwater. Gozen knew who you two were. He isn't going to let you go easy, but I'll take care of that."
They ran off down the hallway, and I turned back to face Gozen. He was halfway to me, and I could see the rage in his eyes as he ripped his shades off and crushed them. Then, he made his first mistake. He jumped at me with a heavy feral growl. With my new size increase, he pretty much bounced off of me with the dull thud of skull impacting chitin plating, falling to the floor and rolling a few feet backward. His lackies launched themselves at me as well, but their beaks were poised and glowing, preparing for a pair of Drill Peck attacks. When they got into range, I unsheathed my claws and Slashed at them in a flurry of strikes. The attacks dropped them instantly. So much for being bodyguards.
Gozen shook his head as he came to, his rage building. "How dare you strike me." He yelled in a rather British accent. With another burst of energy, he launched himself at me again, claws glowing a bright blood red. However, he didn't get far.
I snatched him out of the air by his throat, holding him just out of reach. A subtle beating wasn't going to work with the jackass, so I flipped my scythe out on my left hand and held the jagged edge to his groin, and made as cruel and evil of a smile as I could.
"I don't like you, little kit." I said, making my voice sound as raspy and demonic as possible. He struggled and growled, wrapping his hands around my wrist in a weak attempt to dislodge himself. "In fact, I should fucking strip you down and make sure everyone knows how much of a sissy little bitch you are. Maybe torture you like you do with your property."
I made sure I wasn't choking him, but when he tried to kick at me, I gripped a little tighter and pinned him to a wall, setting the blade right against the sheath under his suit. "Don't test me, pup. I don't play nice, and I won't be easywith you. I'll rape that sorry hole you call a mouth till you go mute. I got no problem with it, and I'll enjoy hearing you scream your fucking lungs out. I'll own you, and your fucking soul will be mine."
"You can't own me." He replied, his voice hoarse from the vibrating of his growls. "No one can. I'll own the goddamned world."
Internally, I sighed. This guy was too dangerous to release. "Wrong answer." I smashed my armored forehead into his skull, the impact knocking him out cold.
After dropping out of my act, I looked around, finding a lot of morphs staring at me. They were scared out of their skins, mouths agape at the scene they had just witnessed.
"Sorry, everyone." I said, my voice returning to it's normal feminine self. "Pokemon Rescue business. I was trying to scare him into submission. I'm not normally like this."
Without another word, I flipped my scythe back and hoisted my three captures over my shoulders, then left to pick up Alice and Lita.
After putting Gozen and his crow buddies in Hivemind suits, I left them with Queen Fara for integration into her hive. Lovely Ariados, that Fara. She can rewire minds without psychic powers, just by bringing them into her collective. As for Alice and Lita, I escorted them to the Old Pokemon Square portal and met up with Nocti. We're staying in Hivemind for a few days.
Nocti's back to normal, but he wanted to partner up with me while I get used to my new state. Gee, I wonder why. Regardless, I'm glad I've got someone with me during this transition. Only thing is... He's already after me to see how big I really am. Scyyyyy... Muscle lovers...