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Survivors.

2020 was the year it all started. The beginning of the end, at least for the majority of us. There we were, on a temperate little ball of rock, water, and atmosphere, floating around our Sun for untold centuries. People had begun to suspect the coming problems years prior to this, but nobody really did anything. People were too worried about natural resources, or money, or expanding the borders of their nations.

Who would have thought that our doom could come from nature itself? For the first half of the 21stcentury, people were up in arms over Global Warming. Some cried that Humanity had produced too much pollution over the centuries, and we were heating up our planet to catastrophic failure. Others argued that the yearly warming was a natural event that we could not avoid. They were both right in a way. Temperatures were as hot as ever recorded during that balmy summer, and events were set in motion that would change us all forever. History has often shown that periods of global warming led to periods of global cooling, and our building heat wave was no exception.

That summer enough previously frozen ground-ice had melted and run back off back into the ocean, to finish the process of upsetting both the water levels world-wide, and the currents. The oceans stopped bringing nice warm water from the equator up to the northern parts of the world, as well as the south. Over the next few years, the whole planet got gradually cooler. It wasn't anything drastic, but a drop of a mean 1c per year rapidly adds up. Over the next decade the planet cooled back down to where it had been back before all this global warming had started, but it kept right on getting colder. By 2040 winter lasted over half of the year even in the equatorial regions, and near the poles it was too cold to survive.

It didn't take long for the scientists to see what was happening, and where this was all leading. No amount of human meddling could stop what was in progress, so they looked in another direction. Survival became top priority for the world, and for once in recorded history the vast majority of the human population banded together with a common goal. Technology had been exploding all these years, and people world-wide knew the egg-heads would save them for sure! A two-part plan was eventually put together, requiring the free resources of most of the developed world to put together.

Part one was the largest space-craft ever built by man, combined with the largest cryogenic hibernation project ever dared. It was true that our science had found a way to freeze a man in suspended animation, and revive him later. The problem was it was never done on a regular basis, and only in the most dire medical emergencies. World leaders decided this was a big enough emergency to merit the plan, and began selecting people to freeze. It took another decade, but a veritable floating city was constructed in orbit, complete with the most modern systems and engines designed to date. There had always been plans to begin human colonization of other planets, but they really never got off the ground until now.

One hundred thousand people were selected to board the colony ship in stasis, with the hopes that humanity would continue somewhere else in the universe. A further ten thousand people were put onto the ship fully awake, charged with making sure the ship stayed on course, and that the people in stasis stayed alive. They were in for a long trip, at least a few years from here to the closest star system. Decades prior to now an earth-like planet was photographed in the nearby Proxima Centari system, so that would be the destination of choice. And so it was that during the "summer" of 2055, that the colony ship Prometheus blasted off from Earth Orbit, and casted itself onto the winds of fate.

During the construction of the Prometheus, the second part of the survival plan was also going ahead at full steam. Massive underground shelters were being constructed under the Rocky Mountains, as well as other similar mountain ranges all over the world. The ones in the Rockies were by far the largest, digging down several Kilometers into the warm crust of the planet. With millions of people working day and night, the underground cities rapidly took shape and form. Essentially huge flat cylinders stacked one atop the other, the newly named city of "Home" was opened to be populated mere months after the Prometheus blasted off for deep space. Already the remaining population was beginning to smell a rat of sorts, as even average Joe could do simple math. Home could only fit 5 million people, out of at least a billion that lived in North America. The shelters the rest of the world over had similar problems, being able to hold anywhere from a hundred thousand people, to half a million. Before the deep freeze had started, Earth boasted a human population of 8 billion people. By the time the Shelters were built and the space-ship launched, half that were dead from extreme cold or starvation. All told, the worldwide shelters could hold 10 million people.

Almost instantly there was mass panic, rioting, and even organized suicide. The worldwide governments worked quickly to shuttle the people selected to live into the shelters, and locked the doors behind them. It was a rather efficient operation, the chosen survivors having been long since made privy to their new lot in life, and living on standby near train stations and the like. During a blizzard on an unknown date in 2057, the last human survivor was secured in the underground shelters, and the massive upper doors were welded shut. Second, third, and even fourth level doors were shut behind them, sealing off construction sights, high-level warehouses, and other cave like structures used to aid in the building of the underground city network of Home.

By then it was so cold around most of the shelter locations, that even a well protected man could not survive for more than an hour or two. What was left of Humanity quickly died out or killed themselves off, in some cases smashing themselves in vain against the sealed doors of shelters that could not let them in. Hap-hazard radio contact was kept between the various shelters, but increasing storm activity on the surface made it hard to keep in touch for long. Contact of sorts was kept between Home and the Prometheus as well, though it consisted mostly of short reports once every month.

Life settled back into normality over the years, with people going to work, learning, having children, and generally living. The underground cities were the most advanced life-sustaining shelters ever constructed, and they were meant to last. The scientists who came up with the dual-plan fully expected to have to stay down there for decades, if not a Century. They were not sure if the planet would ever warm itself back up on its own, but they hoped to use their borrowed time wisely to seek other solutions to the problem. Meanwhile the common man enjoyed finally being warm again after years of winter temperatures, and quickly forgot about the ice covered world above.

Unfortunately things are not always so simple, and fate threw us all a few curve balls. Late in 2060 all contact was lost with the European shelter, followed a few weeks later by a loss of contact with the one in South-East Asia. Japan followed, as well as South America, and the rest of the small shelters scattered here and there worldwide. The public of Home demanded to know what had happened, worried that perhaps the shelters had failed. Scans of the surface revealed so much snow cover that they were barely able to get out radio waves. Combined with solar flare activity and electro-magnetic storms, standard communication was swiftly rendered useless. The final crushing blow came when all contact was lost with the Prometheus. It was unknown if something had happened to them, but it was more likely the communications blackout had terminated their link as well.

So Home was left to itself, 5 million assorted Humans stacked on-top of each-other, locked in an artificial cave. Fortunately the human Animal is an adaptable creature, and life went on. Families were formed, children were born, parents eventually died, and time passed. Quite a deal of time actually, all told nearly a century went by with nothing of consequence. But today is a special day, at least in my opinion. I will later be told that it is the 23rdof April, 2137, and today is the day I was born. Or hatched, I should say. People are not generally considered to be "born" from an egg, though I really can't see the difference myself.

I can see I have gotten ahead of myself, so perhaps I should go back a few years. As the 22ndcentury unfolded before the citizens of Home, the Scientific body were no sooner to finding a way out of this mess than they were 40 years prior. Various crack-pot solutions had been dreamed up and promptly rejected, as they had the very real possibility of either making things worse up above, or requiring technology we simply didn't have. To top it all off, everyone down below had absolutely no idea what the situation was like above. They were at least a Kilometer below ground at the highest levels of the shelter anyone could still get into, and last anyone checked there was at least 50 feet of ice and snow covering the upper doors. Nobody could get in or out, and as far as they knew nobody could survive the trip anyways. New ideas were being thought up to try and warm the place up a tad, or at least see if nature was starting to mend the damage. Everything revolved around seeing what was up there, and that was easier said than done.

A scouting party was formed to try and at least explore the long abandoned upper levels of the shelter, where the first engineers began digging the tunnels down to their underground world. They were fitted with the very best in survival equipment, and warm clothing. As they entered the lift towards the sub-levels of warehouses, they could already feel the cold above. Temperatures steadily dropped as they traveled almost a kilometer up the steel and concrete shaft, soon becoming -40c even in the deepest section previously closed off. As they walked up endless flights of stairs, temperatures continued to drop, already taxing their gear to the limit at -50c. Before they even got to the first construction depot, members of the team were already freezing to death. Half of the team froze where they stood after a few minutes more exposure at -60c, while the rest labored to move their stiff bodies back down to the shelter below. All told, only 3 men out of 12 made it back alive, and most had to undergo months of extensive medical treatment.

That ended a major part of the plan to re-take the surface right there, but opened up other options to a few bright young geneticists. They all realized that nothing they had down in the shelters could keep humans alive long enough to so much as go and open the doors, let alone do much good on the surface. So, a brilliant scheme was hatched to create a new life-form that could retake the surface, and survive there without assistance. The ultimate goal would be to somehow find a way to warm the place up, or perhaps find useful materials to help keep the shelters warm and safe. They all knew the shelters had only been designed to live in for a century, and that time was fast approaching.

So, the genetics experts got together, and started mixing up the DNA of various creatures they had on file, with humans to try and make the perfect part-human hybrid animal. They planned and plotted for years, time ticking away as they tried one mixture after another. There were several failures, inhuman monsters which were quickly put to death for their own good as well as ours. Finally they settled on what they figured was the ideal genetic mixture, and set to work with the master plan.

In a way, my race are the children of the previous generation. Men and women were gathered up to donate their genetic material, and were explained to in detail what was going to be done with it. Nobody was really having children anymore, for fear that they would just starve or freeze to death later. This was a boon to families who really wanted kids, even if they were getting a new species out of it. The eggs and sperm of men and women were mixed up with the DNA of several reptiles, and a combination of hump-back and Orca whales. The result, was us. As a human couldn't possibly carry what wound up being an egg at least a foot in diameter, if not more, we were bred in the test tube, and raised in a group hatchery of sorts. Our genetic parents cared for our eggs for over a year, while we grew and matured inside the shell.

Finally the big day arrived, and the first peeps came echoing down the dimly lighted hallways. Parents were summoned to our clutch, as all of us seemed to be ready to come out at the same time. In total, there was 12 eggs sitting in warm nests of blankets, shaking from side to side and splintering off goo-encrusted bits of shell as we clawed our way through. I was not the first to emerge, but came out somewhere in the middle. My parents later told me of the scene, describing it in good detail. I suppose it helped that the whole event was captured on video, but I digress.

As I burst through the last fragments of my shell, it was quickly revealed just how alien we were to the rest of the shelter inhabitants. We were each about a foot in height already, with sleek leathery hides and small patches of scale-plates at the joints, and forming a crest of sorts on our rounded muzzles. Our faces looked like a cross between the round and short nose of a whale, and the longer pointy looking snout of a reptile. To the humans it made us look a little more friendly, every surface was rounded and plump, already caked with under-layers of whale-like blubber. We had large intelligent eyes, already searching out the voices we'd heard for so long in our eggs.

Our general construction was very human like, with long powerful arms concealing both thick muscles, hard bones, and even more fat. We all had thick hands, somewhat paw-like, but still possessing opposable thumbs, and three large fat fingers. At the end of each digit was a small retractable claw, quite sharp but fully hidden when inside our hands. Our legs were quite human like as well, but quite thick and muscular, again with a plentiful under-coating of insulating blubber. We had large reptilian paws for feet, with three to four massive splayed toes, offering plenty of balance for our large thick frames. Topping it all off was an already rounded and fat belly, plus an equally thick and blubber-swollen tail.

Most of us figured out how to stand within a few hours of being out of the shell, but it was quite wobbly and not exactly graceful. I was a little confused as to my surroundings, jumping at shadows and shying away from all the unfamiliar creatures standing in the light. Then I heard the all-too familiar voices of my parents, who had cooed and spoken over my egg all this time. Raising my arms up to be lifted, I was soon brought home for the first time. Father had to carry me, because even freshly hatched I weighed at least 40 pounds.

Upon reflection, I suppose my parents were quite the open minded couple. They had wanted a son, but I'm not sure they expected the trouble they had to go through to get one. We aged and developed at about the same rate a human child would have, though with considerably more intelligence. I was speaking fluently by the time I was a year out of the shell, and getting into trouble much sooner than that. By a year of age we were all about a foot and a half in height, and 60 pounds on average, some aiming closer to 70. One thing that proved quite interesting among the parents and the geneticist breeders, was that there was no fixed pattern to follow for our coloration. Some of us had dark mixtures of green for our coloring, others ran the gambit from red to blue. Some had the patterns of the whales who's DNA they borrowed, still more were flat black or even perfectly white. I myself ran a really light green for most of my body, almost becoming blue in places. I had a paler still green belly, which was continuing to grow at an alarming rate with the rest of me.

There isn't much to say about my youth. It was spent mostly with my parents, or other creatures such as myself. Human children tended to shy away, as we were so much larger and stronger. Surely the parents realized this, and kept us all separate for good measure. The years passed, and we were educated by the greatest minds available. All the while, more families were investing in the future with one of our new line, and the scientists struggled to find a name for us all. Several scientific names were suggested, but the population at large decided on calling us "Dragons". I know we look nothing like the massive winged beasts of myth and legend, but the name stuck. As for myself, my parents named me Winston, after one of their now deceased relatives. I think he was my genetic Grandfather, and had formerly lived in the European Union.

Eventually we all came closer to the present, and the year is currently 2157. I have since turned 20 years old, as well as the rest of my clutch-mates. We've spent the last few years training in everything from science to military operations, search and rescue, plus winter survival. Many treks up to the frozen upper levels have proven that the cold bothers us not one bit, which is very good in everyones eyes. There are hundreds more of us Dragons in training, plus more still being educated, and still more being raised by their parents. In total, I believe there is currently more than a thousand of us, and hundreds more are expected to hatch later in the year. Some of the geneticists that started this project have already passed away, but the survivors and younger minds have carried the torch along, producing more and more of us for eager parents to care for. We are the hope for the future, and we rather enjoy the title.

I myself have grown up to be rather large, I'm told, but personally I think I'm about average. Currently your run-of-the-mill Dragon stands around 10ft in height, and masses between 6000-8000 pounds. Some might wonder how we could possibly weigh so much, but they quickly start believing it when they actually take us in. Sporting arms and legs as big round as small trees, plus a belly thats at the smallest several feet in diameter, you can see where it all adds up. Again, I fit towards the average for size, a well rounded 10ft and 6 inches, plus 8400 pounds. I look like somebody has wrapped skin around barrels for my limbs, while I've eaten an entire elephant and asked for seconds. My belly sticks out almost 5ft in-front of me, and sags over my... neither regions. All the humans, my parents included, seem rather prudish at the best of times, filled with taboo and archaic modesty when it comes to being nude. They rather dislike being reminded how well endowed we all are, and prefer that we cover ourselves as best we can. Frankly I think wearing barely fitting shorts only shows my assets off more, unless you completely ignore the bulge under my belly. Even the females of my line can't hide it, sporting massive spherical breasts, just barely covered by tight fitting shirts. It would be so much easier if they'd just let us run around naked, but we comply with our parents wishes. After all, it seems half the fun of wearing all this clothing is getting to tear it off somebody else... but I digress.

The doctors have been making many observations and notes of our behavior of late, probably due to the fact that over the years we've all become quite... excited around one another. Even I can't deny wanting a quiet moment or two with some of my clutch-mates off in a secluded area. I suppose the scientists are curious about our mating habits, and wonder if we ourselves will be able to have young of our own. I suppose time will tell, but for now nothing beats going for a romp with a Dragon. I remember an unfortunate accident of sorts that happened a few years back, when the clutch that came after mine was reaching puberty. Several of the teen-aged Dragons got a little too randy for their own good, and didn't have the will-power to restrain themselves. After they had availed themselves of every other member of their clutch, they went after new prey. Now, even during puberty a Dragon can be quite large, at least human sized if not bigger. However this doesn't count our other assets. To quote one of the lab assistants, "We're hung like horses.". At first I had no idea what she meant by this, and I've never seen a horse. But I get the idea now, and I rather agree with her. Though I think some of the largest among my clutch would put even the largest horse to shame.

You can see how this would be a problem, should a Dragon decide he really wanted to mate with a Human. Those teens I mentioned ran into exactly that problem, and didn't bother to check if they were hurting anyone. By the time they were finished, they had literally filled several human women up to the point of where they exploded. We were all cleaning up that particular mess, and punishment was swift. Even with their sex-crazed minds, the trio should have known better. They were terminated, but not immediately as the public might have known. Many of us believe very strongly in an eye for an eye, and letting the punishment fit the crime. So as far as all the Humans know, they were simply taken out back and shot. In reality, all mature dragons took their turn doing to them what they did to the Human women. By the time we were finished, their fatty bodies and elastic hides were stretched to the limit, resulting in simply gargantuan bloated blobs of fat and spunk. This went on for days, filling them up as far as their bodies would let it go, before they too finally exploded. It was meant as an object lesson for us all, to watch what we were doing around the Humans. Some found it very distasteful, others rather enjoyed themselves. To this day many of us enjoy a good filling now and again, though not to such explosive limits as that trio received. Who knew that our firm leathery hides would be so stretchy? I've given it a try myself, with a few friends and an air compressor up in one of the abandoned workshops. I'd filled most of the room before I felt like I was going to burst. Fortunately my friends are all good lads, and they let me stay that way until I was quite satisfied, then helped me deflate and go back about my day. I'm not sure if any of the Humans know about our particular quirks... Probably not, as we mostly practice them were they cannot go...

Its drawing very close to the end of our final training phase, and everyone in my clutch is quite eager to make a trip outside. We've only seen pictures of what the world used to look like. Not a single one of us has seen what everything is like right now, so we're eager to go and have a peek. Despite our almost perfect resistance to the cold, it was still apparently so freezing up there that we'd been outfitted with some warm clothing to take up with us. They're pretty much just large coats, loose fitting trousers, thick foot-wrappings, gloves of sorts, and hoods. I personally think we look rather silly in the things, but even we start getting a little chilly hanging around for hours at -60.

I've got some spare time to myself tonight, so I think I'm going to go have another stretching-session with some of my friends after lights out. They've got another compressor on-line apparently, so we'll be able to have fun in pairs!

*** *** ***

Winston set down the keyboard he was writing his journals in, and hauled his heavy ass up off the ground. As the Dragons had kept growing, nobody had really bothered making furniture for them. Perhaps one day when they actually found how big one of them could get, but for now they were quite content to make use of all their rump-padding. The primary power was shutting down for the night, part of a conservation project to further extend the lifespan of the nuclear generators. They were running on a very fixed amount of fuel, so the less power used the better. His parents had already gone to bed for the night, bundling up under extra blankets to further conserve energy by not using too much shelter-heating. The families of the Dragons had long since been moved to larger quarters, to deal with the massive creatures seemingly endless growth. They were closer to the surface, so the mean temperature wasn't quite as warm as the more cozy lower depths. Winston ducked his large smooth head under the lip of the doorway, scraping his newly developing horns and fins against the ceiling. They were a new development that the clutch seems to have been manifesting, large ear-fins and smaller sets of horns across the tops of their heads.

The big fellow squashed his huge frame through the almost too-small door, and shut it firmly behind him. He was sure his parents heard him leaving at night from time to time, but they never brought it up. This was a good thing in his mind, as he knew damn well that any Human would find their activities strange to say the least. The last thing they wanted was any of the egg-heads trying to stop them from having fun, "for their own good", or some other stupid reason. It was a short walk to one of the dis-used cargo ramps to the upper levels, then a longer walk up several levels to get to their private club of sorts. It was located inside several large warehouses, with more than enough room for a few stretchy hybrids. Members of his clutch and some of the younger ones were already there, two already blowing up slowly but surely, while a trio sat around a huge table to one side, re-building yet another air compressor. It was hard to use the tiny Human sized tools, but some of the bright ones had gone so far as to make larger versions of the things for themselves.

Winston took a moment to simply enjoy the sight of the duo ballooning away in the middle of the vast space. One was a male whom was a year younger than he was, pale red in color and already quite ballooned. His normally 8ft tall frame was already swollen up into a more sphere-like geometry, currently passing 20ft for size. Bumping up against him was a bright yellow female with a cream-colored belly, passing about 30ft for size. She was his age, and a member of his clutch. He smiled at her the most, as she made for quite the sight. Huge bloated belly, fat and air-gorged rear end, and boobs that would put most weather-balloons to shame. She was smiling widely around the hose in her mouth, and waved a bloated paw at Winston's arrival. Her parents named her Samantha, but everyone just called her Sam for short. The male beside her was unknown to Winston, but he still made for quite the amusing sight. He was clearly enjoying himself, as his endowments were just as blown up as his body, standing out massive and squashed against his ballooned belly. As he neared 25ft in height, he spat out the hose with a gasp, hide creaking nosily as the air was shut off. It must have only been his first or second time, as most of the local crew could get quite a deal larger. Sam was proving that with particular zeal, as she pushed past 40ft around, and just kept on swelling. His own massive endowments sticking out far enough to completely defeat the purpose of wearing shorts, Winston rumbled happily and waddled up to hug against her expanding frame. They'd been very good friends for years, and had shared many the comfortable night together... in one position or another.

The ceiling was only 50ft in height, and it looked like the yellow lass was aiming to reach the top! Not too many of them could get quite that big yet, but most of the oldest Clutch certainly could, and they suspected they could get much bigger. Winston purred and playfully rubbed his swollen package up against her expanded frame, earning a squeak for his troubles. She spat out the hose once her massive body thumped up against the ceiling, squeaking loudly. With a grin she tilted herself down to give him a warm nuzzle, and suck a glance at his throbbing and very ready package.

"Well now, I take it you're happy to see me?" She couldn't keep the mirth out of her voice, rolling forwards to get her head down to Winston's belly level. He laughed at the blatantly obvious question, and rocked back to bump his belly into her nose, and his massive length under her chin.

"Do you even have to ask? You know how much I love it when you get huge. I'd say everyone else agrees too."

Winston emphasized his statement with a sweeping paw around the room. Every male was standing at attention to say the least, and even some of the women were interested. He ran a thick pudgy finger against her ballooned body, already contemplating rolling her outside for a bit of private fun... She clearly had much the same idea, but had even less problems with being frisky in public than he did. She lunged forwards and enveloped his entire package with her huge jaws, gulping the 8 inch thick rod down by the foot, and suckling heavily. Winston gasped at the sudden pleasure being delivered to his entire body, and found himself holding on to Sam's rounded body in short order. He helped as much as he could with the situation, thrusting up into her waiting jaws while she greedily milked him for all he was worth.

There was nothing at all like having sex with a willing and happy balloon, and it was something the most of them enjoyed to no end. His load swiftly charged, balls swelling up even bigger while he hissed out his bliss, and finally exploded forth into his massively bloated lady-friend. She gulped it all down eagerly, adding even more mass to her already swollen frame, perhaps creaking out a few more inches in every direction. Anyone who called the Dragons potent was using the greatest of all understatements. With a few dirty thoughts and ample time, they could probably flood a fairly good-sized area with their seed. The females were no exception, having enough tit-flesh to produce more milk than a herd of cows! Eventually he ran dry despite Sam's continued suckling, and Winston found himself blushing and turning his head to the sound of many clapping paws. Even more Dragons had wandered in, and they had all enjoyed the show. Pulling his slowly deflating length out of Sam's jaws, he gave her a kiss on the snout, and resumed hugging up against her bloated frame. She was purring quite happily herself, locked in a state of lusty bliss from being blown up so big. They all agreed, it felt practically orgasmic to get inflated to that size.

Winston looked around to see a Orca-Colored Dragon taking a turn with the second hose, rounding up quite happily and at a good pace. He was a familiar face, here at least once a week for the past few months. Winston waited to see if anyone else wanted a turn with the hose Sam had only so recently spit out, and picked it back up again. He felt a brief temptation to see how much larger she could get, but suppressed it knowing that she'd likely burst against something sharp up above. Instead he stuffed the hose into his own jaws, and rumbled loudly as his already big belly started to slowly stretch out bigger and rounder... It was turning out to be a great night indeed!

After a fun night filled with expansion and more rolls in the hay than he could remember, Winston eventually staggered back home for a good nights sleep. It was quite a bit later than he realized, and some of the extremely early risers were already up and about. Squeezing back through the front door, he soon was fast asleep in his makeshift bed, snoring loudly. If his parents ever knew about his midnight adventures, they never let him know about it. Either way, they were oddly acceptant people, so he doubted there would be much trouble. He woke up later in the morning when his folks were already up and about, making some breakfast for themselves, and quite a good deal of food for him. A dozen eggs, a full pound of ham, an entire loaf of bread toasted up with preserves, and several liters of coffee. Just the thing to get a Dragon ready for another day of testing. He greeted them warmly as usual while wandering out to the table, just sitting on the floor as no chair in the building could hold his huge frame. Devouring the food laid before him with as much grace as possible, he exchanged pleasantries and answered questions about the daily assignments.

"So," His father asked between slurps of coffee, "what is your little scouting team up to today Son?"

Winston washed down a large spoon full of eggs and toast with a few large gulps of the potent black brew, and began to lay out the plan as he knew it. "Well, the tailors have finished our new winter gear, so we're going to actually try and go outside today. We're bringing cutting equipment to break the welds on the doors, and a backup generator to hopefully power the motors required to open the heavy things."

His parents both nodded, knowing full well from the stories and public plans just how much work was cut out for them. The main doors were circular in shape, 50ft in diameter and made of foot-thick titanium. Also, the main doors were actually layers, namely being a grand total of 6 doors all inter-locking together to form a perfect air-tight seal. Moving that much heavy metal was no mean feat, so everyone hoped the automatic door mechanics would still work after all this time. Winston's parents were worried that even winter clothing wouldn't be warm enough for them that close to the outside, but even they had forgotten that their non-human son was created for cold climates. They would know for sure in short order, they just hoped it wouldn't endanger any of their children in the process.

After breakfast, Winston ducked into his washroom to get cleaned up. The engineers who had built the place had really done a slick job with the washroom. Seeing as they had no idea how large the Dragons would get over time, they had built most of the house in modular sections that could be moved or expanded as time passed. At present, the washroom had 20ft high ceilings, and was mostly made of steel and concrete. There was a Dragon-sized toilet in one corner, as well as a comparable sink and mirror. The shower was the real crowning achievement in Winston's opinion. It was a 20ft cube, sealed in on all sides but one with the walls and ceiling of the unit. A large heavy curtain covered the exposed portion, offering him whatever privacy he felt like having at the time. Several water-jets meshed seamlessly from the walls and ceiling, offering warm soapy spray over his entire body at once. There was also a large hand-wand to get at more delicate places, and it had other uses too. One of Winston's favorite thrills outside of his weekly stretching sessions, was to remove the wand from the end of the hose, and enjoy a good water bloating in one of his many orifices. Feeling limber and rather randy still from the previous nights fun, he eagerly climbed into the soapy lathering spray, and picked up the hand wand. Un-screwing the wand itself, he gave himself a sultry grin and stuffed the hose into his ample backside. Turning the water on a moderate setting, he let out a loud purr as his belly began to swell up larger with warm water. Thick soapy suds were beginning to build up on his ample stretchy hide, as he leaned forwards and wrapped his mitts around his considerable package. Pawing for as long as he could, the continued expansion of his belly soon caused him to lose his grip in the slippery situation. Laying there thrusting against his own belly, he soon was lifted up off the ground by the bloat.

He hoped he could still get the hose out of his backside without any trouble, as he was already starting to fill up more than half the shower with his inflating body. Huge wang pulsing and swelling up further, he rubbed at his own girth while enjoying the warmth from so much hot water inside him. Within a few minutes his head started to rub against the ceiling, belly nearing the sprayers on the wall. He was a huge soapy mess by now, a giant puff-ball blown up and sloshing away. Somewhat reluctantly he used his tail-tip to wrap around the still pumping hose, and pulled it out of his backside. All the water rapidly gushed right back out of him, making even more of a mess. Fortunately the place was designed to hold all the water in and not flood the house. As he drained his gigantic pecker went off like a cannon from all the fun, adding gallons of Dragon seed to the draining water. Eventually he stood himself up again, having deflated back to normal and finally gotten back to his senses. He switched off the soapy sprayers and rinsed himself off, reaching over to another set of controls to end the water flow and instead switch on several hot-air blowers to dry him off. All told he was in there perhaps 20 minutes, and was rather satisfied plus clean as can be. The shower itself was spotless, as if he'd never even been inside it. Yep, those engineers certainly did know how to show a Dragon a good time.

Dressing in some over-sized shorts and a t-shirt of sorts, he bade his family goodbye for the day, and began walking towards the large building the team used as a makeshift base. It was a fair distance on the other side of this level, then up two more. Fortunately the people whom had built this place also had thought of mass-transit, so there were small moving platforms and automated sidewalks here and there, to help speed people along major routes or to the elevators between levels. The automated sidewalks couldn't handle the weight of a Dragon, so Winston stuck to the moving industrial platforms. They were basically like a flat-bed train car, but automated and going daily from point to point. In short order he arrived at the cargo elevators the Dragons used to get between levels, and found himself walking into the base within minutes.

He was greeted by the other members of his small scouting team, there being only half a dozen of them ready and trained at present. Sam was there, and he threw her a wink and a friendly smile. The other four were familiar faces from his clutch, whom he had known for years and grown up with. Jack was a darker shade of green compared to Winston, more like a Jade coloration. They were about equal in mass and height. Vladimir was one of the Dragons to take on Orca like colorations, and was a few inches taller than everyone else. Robbert and Richard were twins, and both had an amusing color patterning. They were exactly the same height, and exactly the same weight, but Robbert was perfectly black, while Richard was perfectly white. Everyone jokingly called them Yin and Yang, and the name stuck when they were wrestling one day in our youth. The other five were already geared up and ready to go, so Winston quickly got into his winter gear and donned his equipment belt.

Some humans were there at a table full of other gadgets, and once Winston was ready they called the team over to explain the mission. Each of them was given large flashlights, bags full of rations, small heaters and pots to melt ice and snow for drinking, a large rifle, several large pistols, and knives for each. There were other little emergency survival kits, but the contents of those have been fairly standard for years. Finally they were led over to another table, and directed to each pick up and carry a large backpack. They had rigid metal frames and straps to hold them tight across the chest and waist, and were moderately heavy, even for a Dragon. The men explained that in each bag was a little beacon of sorts that they had constructed. Each consisted of a portable fusion reactor that simply needed to be turned on, plus a few power connections for equipment. They also had in the bags the supplies to build small sheds around each of the units, to keep out the snow and the worst of the cold. To complete it all, each bag contained a communication link, both consisting of radio and direct laser-communication. They were to set off out of the mountains, and head south through what used to be Alberta, planting the monitoring stations every few hundred kilometers. The Fusion generators themselves also had some weather monitoring equipment built in, so they could notice any temperature changes over time.

The goal was to try and reach as far into the borders of the old United States territories as possible. The idea was to go back west through the Mountains, and meet up with the old Canadian highway #1. That would lead them through what they expected to be ruins of several Canadian cities and towns, heading south all the while until they dipped into the US areas. The scientists wanted a reading from the coastal areas, so Seattle was selected as a stopping point for their little adventure. It would be a long journey, almost 1000 kilometers on foot. Fortunately the Dragons had long strides, and could trot along for extended periods without rest or even water. The average human can walk for a sustained period at about 5km per hour. The Dragons with their longer strides could get up to about 10km per hour, and sustain it pretty much all day long. They were of course in no hurry, and had weeks of food on their person. Plus they were fairly certain they could loot through lost cities for whatever they could eat. They did not know how bad the snow would be however, so that would be the limiting factor in their travel time.

With the plan set and the path chosen, they finally put on the rest of their gear, namely heavy boots and gloves specially made for their unique paws. Additional tools were stuck into their belts, and they grabbed gigantic snow-shoes on their way up the lift to the doors. Other Dragons were waiting there for him, busy powering up the massive door movement systems, and cutting through the layers upon layers of welding. They had already gotten 5 of the 6 doors out of the way and were just cutting the last one free. The secondary doors had been closed behind them, to prevent all the cold air from blasting into the shelter below. Finally with a massive crack and the whining of long disused machinery, the final door slid back to reveal a bleak white landscape. Everything was covered in ice and snow, there being a 20ft high drift against the door which had now spilled in on everyone. This was too much for some of the younger unprotected Dragons, and they scurried down to warmer places. The bare rock tips of mountains could be seen here and there, and the sun could just barely be seen through the thick overhead cloud layer. It was all so strange for them all, this being the first time they'd ever seen anything outside their warm shelter. The scouting party did up their hoods and put on heavy sun-glasses to prevent snow-blindness. Winston decided to take the lead, and climbed over the drift and set off down what they thought was the road. The doors were all shut behind them moments later, though they were not welded shut this time. The scouting party got their bearings as they were instructed, and consulted their wrist compasses to determine the best course of direction. In short order they were off, swinging to the west and heading back through the old roadway mountain passes.

Their movements came fairly easy, the clothing not being restrictive enough to limit mobility or speed. They made good time, and settled into the quiet task of putting one massive foot in-front of the other for the day. It was not very windy as they rounded the peak of the pass and started downwards, the mountains themselves serving to stop most of the blowing snow. The snow itself was perhaps only a foot deep, it being so cold that over time the lower layers had packed into ice. Hours passed, and the fairly bright day started to wane into evening. The light level was dropping, so the group looked to find some-place to stay. They had been following what they thought was the old high-way all this time, the tops of old power-poles being about the only thing to keep them on track. Eventually one of the group tripped over the top of something hidden from view in the snow, and it turned out to be an old roadway sign pointing them towards a nearby town. They all agreed this would be a good place to stop for the night, and rounded the corner of rocks and snow to find an eerie sight. Old and mostly destroyed buildings were just barely poking out of the snow and ice, some mere rusted frames of steel and concrete. Other more well-built structures were holding together well enough, and they selected what looked like a fairly well-intact building to make camp for the night. It may have been a public gym, or a warehouse for all they knew. They managed to dig through the snow drifts and find a service entrance still solid enough to move without being reduced to rust colored flakes.

Soon they were sealed inside the large structure, and according to some faded print on the wall, this was the gym of the Golden city High-School. Winston circled the town of Golden on his map, and nodded with pleasure at the distance they'd covered in just that one day. They turned on one of the heaters and cooked dinner for the night, and soon drifted off into secure slumber. They were all enjoying the trip so far, and it looked like it was going to be a relatively easy one.

*** *** ***

The journey itself was fairly uneventful as a whole. They deployed the shelters and power stations every few hundred kilometers or so, and walked as far as daylight permitted. Some nights they had to stay in makeshift snow-caves, others they camped in the ruins of long lost cities. In each case, they never found a single sign of surviving human life. They didn't expect any, so it certainly didn't come as a surprise. They did find life however, namely a few surviving examples of the native wildlife. They were surprised that some of the deer and bear could live in this cold, but they had managed. In truth, they were already deep arctic species such as polar bear and the like, which had just moved further south as the poles became too cold for them. This was just like home, so they were doing rather well. Still, the population seemed low, as there was not very much to eat. Generally even the large white bears gave the huge Dragons a wide berth, being rather scared of this creature they'd never seen before.

Once or twice the team had to stop and rest for longer periods of time, or simply chose to rummage through long forgotten warehouses for extra supplies. Not even the canned goods had survived this long however, and the best they came up with was some meat frozen solid in an old deep-freeze. It was edible when thawed, but it didn't taste like much of anything anymore. Winston had at first thought they could make the trip to Seattle in about 2 weeks, but when they finally arrived it was nearing 4. They were setting up the last weather station in the mid afternoon one clear and sunny day, the first they'd ever seen since leaving the shelter. They looked out over the coast, and saw that even the ocean was frozen over. The temperature readout on the last station showed it to only be -40c here, which was a big improvement over the -60 to -70 up in the mountains. It was still too cold for humans, what with there being no shelter or food source available. Still, it was some bit of data for the egg-heads back home to look into.

That evening they turned on their radio and tuned it into the frequencies used by their newly constructed com-link system, and gave it a try. Winston picked up the crude transmitter and brought it gently to his muzzle, worried that he'd break the small thing in his large paws. Clearing his throat and leaning a little closer to the heating unit, he set his end to broadcast, and gave it a try.

"Winston to Home... Winston to home... We've made it to Seattle, and have completed the communication and weather-relay system. Please reply if you can hear us."

Static was all they received for a few minutes, then they heard the sound of hushed voices and scrambling feet. Apparently the people back in the shelter were not paying that close attention to their radio. Eventually somebody answered, identifying himself as one of the new radio techs assigned to the com-system.

"Hello! We can hear you, though it is a bit static filled. Stand-by, we are going to run a complete systems check and try to clear everything up. We will contact you when we are finished."

The rest of the team shrugged, and went about the business of continuing to set-up for the night. They had selected a small storage warehouse to sleep in, surprised to find the entrance so clear of snow. It must have been used at some point by other survivors before they moved on or died out. That, and it was aimed just right away from the blowing snow, and sheltered by other units in the area. It just had enough space inside for the 6 of them and their packs, though they didn't mind the proximity. It was nice to be warm, even though the cold didn't really bother them much. About half an hour passed before the radio operators back at Home got back to them, and declared they had fine-tuned the units as much as they could.

Winston was given a set of instructions for moderate alterations and fine-tuning to the systems on their way home, plus asked to dictate the journey so far. As the others settled down to sleep, he rattled off how long it took them to get there, how far they were able to travel each day, the weather patterns he had noticed, snow depth, the ruins in each of the cities, and so forth. He managed to get it all down in about an hour, and was told finally that was all they needed. They hoped to put the data to good use, for better outfitting future scouting missions and so-forth. They were already gathering lots of useful climate data from the sensors they had set-up, and hoped to start building weather models again for the surface. Winston was told to get some rest for a few days, and explore the city if they were so inclined. They were cautioned to be on their guard, because nobody knew what might be waiting for them, even if it was just a building ready to fall on their heads. After that, they were to come back home the way they came, and make those field-adjustments to the com-units. The transmission was ended with Winston asking the radio operators to relay a message to their families, saying they were all just fine. With that, he happily joined the others in slumber, warm and safe.

The following day was more fun for all, as they left most of their gear in the make-shift shelter, and set off to explore more of the Seattle ruins. Like most of the world they had seen, it was blanketed by thick drifts of snow. They were almost completely unable to get into any of the more densely built areas, as the snow had piled up thick between the buildings. So, they stuck to the light residential areas, and whatever other buildings they could get into. Most houses were completely buried under the snow, and they were too large to get into them anyways. They found a few more warehouses with nothing special in them, and even a few old-style military vehicles left to rot in the ice. Mostly it was as they expected, old buildings barely intact, and not much sign that anyone had ever lived here. Any human remains were long gone, or frozen deep in the ice. Some of the larger buildings were quite roomy inside, and some of the team commented that this would be a great place to have a stretching session. Unfortunately they didn't have a compressor or anything handy to indulge in such pleasures, so they had to settle for naughty thoughts and hopes for later. They all agreed that they really wanted a warm shower, it being too bloody cold out.

The twins Richard and Robert found a few vehicles left behind in some large unidentified building, and commented on their potential uses. One was an old hover-craft of sorts which used to be a small passenger ferry. The other was a former Armored Personnel Carrier, equipped with large tracks that looked to be quite able to deal with the heavy snow pack. Both were confirmed to be quite dead and unable to work, but they were ideas to be brought home. One thing they had back in the shelter was lots of old vehicles and equipment, and they were all sure the Engineers could cobble something of use together. On their way out of town a few days later, one of the team spotted a curious looking building, and decided to have a look. It appeared to be an old education center, or perhaps public library. Either way, it had row after row of computers inside, prompting a grin from all 6 of the Dragons. They knew any form of computing would be welcome back home, as they really didn't have any facilities for making new machines of such complexity. Even if they didn't work, the information stored on the Hard-Drives was likely still valid, being of Solid-State configuration if not better by the time the big freeze hit. They gathered up all they could carry, their formerly over-stuffed cargo packs being quite empty now with the weather-stations built. All told, they managed to salvage 60 computing systems and their monitors, plus inputs, cables, and the like. Their bounties secured, they set off for Home with glee in their hearts.

"Hey guys!" Sam exclaimed, "These things used to be hooked up to that Internet thing our teachers taught us about. I wonder how much porn will be on them?"

All 6 got a laugh out of that, loud and full of mirth, echoing down long abandoned streets into the snow drifts beyond.

It took another 3 weeks or so to hike back to the Shelter, and they were greeted by quite a few of their kin at the doors. Much back thumping, tail-hugs, and general glee was exchanged with all. Once the massive doors were securely shut behind them, everyone went about their business, and the scouting team went down to the warmer levels to greet their Human companions and families. The Scientists and Engineers were over-joyed at the delivery of computer systems, and practically fell over themselves to snap one up and take it back to labs to see if they were working. The Dragons left them to it, and made brief reports as to what they had seen on the way back. It was mostly what they'd seen on the way out, minus a few large storms that had forced them to take shelter for a few days. They also relayed information about the abandoned vehicles, and agreed to give more detailed accounts after they had some rest.

Winston returned home and greeted his family warmly, followed by a long shower and a hot meal. He told them about the 2 month trip, and hoped future trips would be somewhat quicker. They all noticed he had grown some during the long absence, a few inches at least having added themselves to his already ample frame. They were not surprised, as he had been growing his entire life, and didn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. He slept in his own room that night, at first lonely without the scouting team there. But eventually fatigue and comfort weighed his eyes, and he was snoring away.

The next few days were filled with activity, everything from drawing down sketches of the vehicles they'd seen, to giving more detailed descriptions of the ruins outside. Most of the Computers seemed to be working just fine, the extreme cold having not done much of anything to the ruggedly built machines. Most of them were using software that the people of Home still used, as nobody had developed anything new since everything fell apart in the world. There was mixed information on the units, but some of it was quite useful. Everything from personal accounts of people facing the disaster, to last tidbits of data created or researched by teams of people assembling survival teams and the vehicles to get them through the snow. Engineers in some of the upper levels had already converted one of the utility warehouses into a vehicle service bay, and were working on taking some old construction vehicles and outfitting them for use in the cold and snow. The Hovercraft design was looking the most promising, with electrical systems powered by one of the colonies fusion generators. The beauty to these things is once they were brought on-line, they could generally be ignored for decades. Eventually the fuel would run out, and the reaction would spend itself. Hydrogen was not all that difficult to create, so that wasn't a big worry.

It took them months, but eventually they created a Dragon-sized Hovercraft, with huge plastic skirts and super efficient engines, all powered by the Fusion power plant. The beast of a machine was over a hundred feet long, and 60ft wide. It could hold the scouting team as it was, plus extra members with ease. Plus, they had built it with a bunk-house in the back, so the vehicle itself could be used as a shelter. By then Winston and the others had grown yet again, most of them standing about 11ft in height now. Their winter clothing had to be adjusted to fit, and everyone hoped they didn't get too much bigger in the short term, as the ceilings inside the vehicle were only 12ft high. 4 more Dragons from their clutch and the one right after joined the Scouting team as well, others beginning training for a second team if needed. That made a full 10 dragons, which could still fit fairly comfortably inside their new snow-tackling vehicle. It was laid out fairly nice inside, with basic sanitary facilities and beds in the back, plus room for 3 up-front and everyone else sitting on large benches around the inner-skin of the big beast. Several tests just outside the shelter doors proved the vehicle to be fairly agile, and able to go about 50km per hour safely in the snow. They figured they could go much faster, but usually the snow was coming down so hard visibility was limited. Safety was the prime consideration, and the vehicles speed was certainly a lot faster than walking. Almost half a year after the first trip on foot, the vehicle was given a name by its builders. "Hyperion", named after the ancient Greek titan of light.

Some weeks later the Hyperion was loaded up with more weather stations and other gear, plus more supplies for hungry Dragons. The scouting team was loaded up with their cold weather gear, but fortunately this time they would only need to wear it if they were going outside for prolonged periods. Unknown to the Humans, the Dragons had also brought some personal effects on-board, hidden away in the cargo compartments. They were likely going to be out for weeks again, despite going much faster. They were given a larger list of spots to visit and things to examine, plus suggestions on where to place weather stations. This time they were going east, stopping off first in the nearby city of Calgary. Some people in the Shelter wanted the scouting party to head north to Edmonton, but everyone agreed that it was just too cold going any further north. From Calgary they were to head south to Lethbridge, and cross into the former state of Montana. Their ultimate goal was to travel down through Wyoming and into Colorado, making a stop both in Denver and Colorado Springs. The Cheyenne Mountain facility was high on the list of places to check out, as it was re-fitted into a survival shelter back when Home came on-line. All contact was lost with the complex along with every other one in the world, and they hoped to find some sign of survival.

The team set out, taking their time and enjoying their new ride with open pleasure. It was a joy to plow through the snow as if it wasn't even there, and glide over the ice-covered surfaces as if floating. With the rugged capabilities of their new toy, they were able to generally avoid the roads all together if they so desired, and go in straight lines to their objectives. Again, they stopped and built weather stations every 200km or so, building a fine network all the way down to Colorado. Stopping for the night in Denver, they found a huge aircraft hanger easy enough to get into, and parked the Hyperion for the night. There was enough room in the hanger for them to mill around and stretch, having quickly warmed up the insulated building with their portable heating units and the Hyperion itself. One of the Dragons eagerly unpacked one of the toys they had brought along, namely a newly completed compressor and some hoses. They plugged it in to the Hyperion power supply, and spent the evening blowing each-other up, mating, and generally having a good time. Winston broke his old size record of 50ft, stretching up until he was a huge reptilian sphere, over 60ft in diameter! Sam got at least that large as well, perhaps a few inches wider just to show everyone up. Some of the new members of the scouting team got as big as they could as well, but barely came to the 30ft mark. Still, everyone had a good time, happy to be so free and relaxed out in the world. A few of them decided to sleep out in the hanger, and stayed inflated the entire night. Others paired off and found a quiet corner to snuggle, while the rest slept on the limited bed-space inside their vehicle. All in all, it was a very good evening, and good for the morale of everyone.

The next day they set their sights on the Cheyenne Mountain complex, hoping for some good news. They were all not quite sure how they would be welcomed, as the potentially surviving humans would have no knowledge of their existence. It was to their great disappointment and sorrow to not find much at all left of the facility, other than a crater filled with snow. Their personal communicators picked up a faint radio-broadcast a few hundred yards from the crater rim, inside a snow-covered concrete bunker. It contained audio logs and historical information from the makeshift colony, for about 20 years after Home lost contact with them. The logs were bleak, displaying the despair and loss of the twenty-thousand or so survivors packed into the old military facility. Conditions were not nearly as comfortable as they were in Home, people packed wherever there was room for them, in bunk beds or cots. There wasn't much to do, other than be entertained with whatever the survivors brought into their shelter with them. You can only watch the same short-supply of movies so many times before they get boring. The same goes for books, or even games and the like. Some worried about dieing from boredom, but that was not the case. Not 3 years after Home lost contact with the other facilities, the power generators started to break down. What followed was 17 years of hell, living in poorly lit rooms, barely growing enough food to prevent starving to death, and barely being able to keep the heaters going. Life was pretty much sleeping most of the time for them at that point, hoping something could be done to help them. Around 2080 the last of the generators were breaking down, and there simply wasn't anything they could do to keep them running anymore. By then over half the population had died from malnutrition, sickness, or killed themselves.

Before the lights went out, a few people there whom had previously been in the Military revealed a final solution for everyone. The base had an old fail-safe system of sorts, consisting of a large yield nuclear bomb built in the lowest levels. It would destroy the whole base instantly, and end everyones suffering once and for all. Nobody really wanted to go on anymore, so they filled out these logs with personal information, and what data they could about their fate. Then they pushed the detonator, and ended it all for good. Whomever had brought the logs out to this shelter was still there, frozen solid in a chair nearby. It expressly said that anyone to find this log should stay out of the crater, as it was sure to be radioactive for years. The Dragons were not too worried based on how much time had passed, but they didn't want to take any chances. They gathered the logs and got back into the Hyperion, and went back to their Aircraft Hanger in Denver. Nobody wanted to have much fun that evening, the whole team being quite distressed with the ultimate fate of the shelter occupants. Winston made his report with tears in his eyes for the poor people, while the rest of the team openly wept and held each-other for comfort. They had never had to deal with such a situation before, and it was hitting them hard. Fortunately a good nights sleep did them all well, and they were able to carry on with dry eyes and hopeful hearts.

Despite the unhappy news, they were asked to swing west and check out Salt-Lake city on their way back home, as the former population of Mormons would have likely built their own shelters as well. By now the Dragons were not expecting much, but they figured it was worth a try. It took a few days to navigate their way into Utah and make it into the city, but eventually they did arrive. There was no specific shelter to look for, so they tried likely locations such as large public structures. It took some digging, but they did find some signs of previous habitation. It looked as if people were here for a while, but had moved on somewhere else years ago. There were no signs at all as to what direction they headed, so the team considered it a lost cause. Still, it was better finding a used shelter than a crater like they had in Cheyenne. Winston called in a report on the subject, and they all squashed back into the Hyperion to head home. It would be another few days before they made it back, and they were not exactly in a rush. Every so-often they'd find a large enough area to make camp in, and sometimes broke out the compressor for some fun. They certainly did know what they liked, and had no shame at all when it came to pleasuring themselves in potentially extreme ways.

One member of the team commented that this method of hit-and-miss searching through cities was rather wasteful and random. They all agreed that it would make far more sense to use their sensor-network to broadcast a general signal to anyone who might be listening. If they got replies, then they could go in search of survivors. In the meantime, they could focus on expanding the weather stations and communication network. The Scientists figured that a hundred of the little stations placed over the entire continent would provide enough coverage for communication and research, but more would of course be better. When they got home the team was going to propose their alternate plan to the shelter leaders, and go from there.

If nothing else, they didn't expect to be idle or bored for a good long while.

*** *** ***

And that is how I spent most of my early adult life for a fair amount of time. When we got back to the shelter after our first trip with the Hyperion, it was already late into April of 2158. Much to our surprise, it was actually the 23rd, my Hatch-Day! To be more specific, it was the hatching day of my entire clutch, as we all popped out of our eggs within a few hours of one-another. About 7 members of our scouting team was from the first clutch, and the other 5 were waiting for us with cake and booze. The humans brewed a rather potent beer down in the lower levels of the shelter, which the Dragons took to like ducks to water. It took a lot to even get a buzz going, but not a one of us yet enjoyed getting Drunk, or the unpleasant reminders of our vice the following day. We mostly stuck to our other pleasures, behind closed doors and away from misunderstanding eyes.

We proposed our new plan to the Scientist group responsible for the weather stations and communications, and they agreed that our method would be far more efficient. And after our very unpleasant experiences with the Cheyenne facility, it was agreed that a less depressing search pattern would probably be good for our mental health. Being as the members of my clutch were now 21, we all got together and had our yearly sizing. Every year shortly after our hatch days, the genetics cast and several doctors liked to get us all together by the clutch, and weigh us in. Proportions were measured, weights were taken, and other little medical tests preformed. All of us had neared 12ft in height by now, and Vladimir with his Orca patterns had passed everyone else yet again, standing 12ft and 2 inches. New measurements were taken for winter clothing, and it was decided to let the younger clutch to our own take the Hyperion out next time. With its 12 foot ceilings, our group could just barely fit in it anymore. And with our huge blubber-lined bulks, fitting through the door was looking to be a challenge in short order. The mechanics up in the Vehicle shop were already working on newer models of their hovercraft design, making larger ones for only one or two bigger Dragons, rather than a dozen smaller ones. They had no idea how big we were going to get, so their latest model had room for a trio of 20ft tall Dragons, plus room to eat and sleep. It was about as big as the first Hyperion, but laid out differently and definitely a little higher up off the ground.

It would be a while before these newer models were finished, so my clutch was put on inside duty for the most part. We helped out train and educate the younger broods, and worked to convert some of the upper levels to Dragon shelters. With the hatching of the latest clutch, our population was up to about 1200. The breeders were careful not to make too many of us too fast, as we took a lot of food and resources to keep going. Fortunately there was a lot of everything, but we were still doing our part to make sure it stayed that way. One of the upper construction levels was better sealed off, and had row after row of warehouse buildings converted into new hydroponic projects. A handful of us could easily tend farms, and as such they were laid out with Dragons in mind. Humans were more than welcome to come and enjoy the greenery, but swiftly felt dwarfed walking around equipment built with a giant fat Dragon in mind. Besides, even the lowest construction level was cold enough that the Humans didn't like to stay long. It was warm of course inside the hydroponics farms, but that was beside the point.

A lot of us older folks stayed more towards the upper levels these days anyways, as we couldn't fit into human-sized houses anymore. I could still fit into my family home however, but that was because it was built with us in mind. Recently I'd had the washroom expanded as well, what with my own recent expansions getting in the way. My parents seemed a little disconcerted living in a building with 20ft high ceilings, but they got used to it. Taking all those stairs up to the second floor must have been a pain though. Still, the second level with their rooms were human sized, so they didn't mind.

In total, there was 5 levels of mixed warehouses and construction equipment on the top of the shelter, the highest one being where the main entrance was. Similar hatch-like doors were built between each level, going up huge stone walkways and the like. There were no elevators here, so at least it was easy to keep the heating even with only the one door to worry about. The lowest "Dragon-Level" as they came to be known, was on average about -5c outside, though warmer in the farms. The next level up was -10c, and thats where several warehouses were being converted into Dragon Housing. They were warmer inside, and some were roomy enough for plenty of stretching sessions. Still, the highest ceiling was still only about 50-60 feet, so we couldn't get all that large. The next three levels dropped in temperature from -20 all the way down to -40 and -50, but they were still unused. We figured they could probably be used at some point, but we didn't need them yet.

I spent a lot of my free time up there, enjoying the company of my own kind. Everything from games, building new machines, or rampant pleasure sessions were abundant. Life was definitely good for those years, and I really have no complaints. Late that year the first new model of Hyperion Mk2 came on-line, and three of us were called down to test the thing out. The vehicle workshop was on the highest level of the shelter that the humans used, one level below our new farms. It made for easy access for all involved, being only a short walk from our respective homes and recreation centers. The new model really was a sight, with a streamlined body and much higher ceiling than the previous model. We climbed inside and inspected the controls, pleased to see that the chairs could be adjusted to fit our growing bulks, as well as the control stations themselves. There was just enough room for three of us to sleep in the back, though the space would likely get quite cozy if we got a few feet larger in every direction. We didn't mind cuddling however, and usually enjoyed sleeping in groups.

After a few days of adjustments and helping the human mechanic teams clean up, we fired up the engines and moved it outside the shop. Slowly but surely we took it up through the levels, pleased to see that it fit between the doors and got outside. It was a tight fit, but we pulled it off without too much trouble. Still, that confirmed one thing we had been worrying about. Any new models of this magnificent vehicle would likely have to be built by our own paws, and we would probably have to do so in the upper levels, if not outside entirely. There just wasn't enough space for the things. A few of us suggested that the humans should build smaller models for themselves, but after having been warm and safe for so long, nobody wanted to go outside and face the cold. If anything went wrong with a Hyperion, we could just get out and walk home. If that happened to a human team, they'd likely freeze to death within hours, even with winter gear. Ultimately I suppose all this fun outside was one of the main reasons we were created, so we might as well do our jobs.

The Hyperion Mk2 was just as agile as the previous model, though we still kept the speed down thanks to poor visibility. After a few more days of tests up on the surface, we parked it in the main level, and went back down to see where we'd be going with it. The scientists were waiting for us of course, this time standing on a raised platform so we didn't have to look down so far to see them. Likewise, they didn't have to hurt their necks looking up at us. A win-win situation, to be sure. This time around three of us were going to be sent back out to the west-coast, aiming to dip down through Washington into Oregon, and down into California. We were also going to try and drive further down into Mexico, and complete a sensor-net for the west coast. A side mission was to try and take the new Hyperion out onto the frozen ocean, after first making sure the ice was thick enough. When moving the vehicle didn't push down very hard on anything at all, but if we set it down it still weighed about 40 tons. Adding in our own multi-ton weight, thats a lot of force put down on the ground. So long as the ice stayed several feet thick, we should be OK. Any thinner than about 4ft, and we wouldn't even risk taking the Hyperion over it for now. We knew from training and history that the hovercraft could go over water, but again, if we ever stopped we would sink.

The next day we set off again, following much the same route we traveled that first time on foot, passing through what was left of Canada on our way down to Seattle. We made stops in Portland, San-Fransisco, LA, and finally San-Diego. Every 200km or so there stood a new weather station, secure in a light shack of sorts. We were making good time, setting up two stations a day, and covering 400-500 KM before calling it a night. Much do our disappointment we didn't find any good places to have a little expanding fun, but we hoped to locate something perhaps on our way back. Heading south from San-Diego, we passed into Mexico, and headed down the long peninsula making up a part of the western coast. All the while we noticed the weather was changing, bringing less snow and more sunny days. Still, with the worldwide weather and random cloud cover, it was still cold here. Only -30c however, certainly more favorable to humans. But with every scrap of land buried under feet of ice, there certainly wasn't anything to live off of. At the very southern most tip of the peninsula, we spotted something quite interesting in the distance. It was like a small mountain of ice moving slowly through what we thought was a completely frozen-over ocean. It turns out the salt content was still enough in the waters this close to the equator, that during the "summer" months there was still liquid patches close to the surface. We reported our findings back to Home, and they seemed pleased with the news. It wasn't exactly the warming trend everyone had been hoping for, but even the slightest sign that the whole planet was not a giant ice-ball was good news indeed. We went back north, pausing again in LA to raid the airport, finding a rather huge hanger to play in. Myself, Sam, and Vlad were on this particular trip, and we all broke our previous best for size, pushing past 70ft in diameter! At one point we mis-took Vlad's wriggling distress for throes of pleasure, and nearly popped the poor fellow. He was so stretched out by that particular adventure, that his belly was sagging down to his feet for days. Fortunately he returned to normal as if nothing happened. We were more careful after that, as we didn't want to burst ourselves. If nothing else, we were fairly certain that doing so would be quite fatal.

The following morning we headed up to the north-bay area of California, and tested the waters so to speak. Quick checks with drills showed the ice to be almost 10ft thick in places, the thinnest sheets still over 8ft. We checked the location against our maps, and headed out into the frozen ocean. It took days, but we mapped where it was currently safe to be, and found it quite secure for our craft to land for a while. The bleak landscape was certainly quite the sight, being so far from land with nothing else in sight. After going out about 2000 KM and completely losing sight of land, we decided it would be best to head back to Home. From what we were noticing, the ice was quite thick all the way across the ocean, so long as you didn't head too far south. We felt going any further south than the middle of California would probably be a bad idea, and drew a curved line on our map to show the danger zones.

We hatched a plan of sorts on our way home, and brought it up with the other scouting parties and the humans when we got back. With the ocean secure enough for travel, and the new Hyperion proving itself, we proposed launching a long-range expedition to Japan. This prompted some discussion, as we'd not gone that far from home before. Surely not off our own continent! Still, it was no more or less safe than being outside the shelter in the first place, so it was something to consider. Eventually we decided to try and build a communication link across the ocean itself, and build a larger weather station in Japan. Seeing as it was nearly 9000 KM from California to Japan, the com-link systems we'd been using so far would not cut it. One scientist proposed building a fiber-optic connection of sort all the way across the ocean, but Home simply did not have that much of the stuff to use, nor did we have the materials to build it. A more potent radio facility was suggested, but with the weather outside the connection might be very bad. Finally we agreed on a neat little system, namely a direct laser link. Basically they would be pointing a series of lasers at one-another across the huge distance, with multiple beams for redundancy in bad weather. So long as a reflective surface was not put in between every single beam, there would be a com-link across the ocean. The bandwidth potentials for such a project were staggering, and nothing like it had ever been tried before. There was certainly nobody to get in the way of the beams, and the Dragons would set up little targets every hundred KM or so to help with the aiming.

The massive relay stations were built soon enough, basically being larger versions of the laser-communication systems they were already using. These would be on all the time however, so bigger fusion generators were constructed. Two primary stations would be constructed, one just outside of San-Fransisco, the other on mainland Japan. The targets were basically just hoops of metal anchored to the ground, to help guide the laser, and prevent anyone getting in the way of the beam. It would also act as a roadway marker of sorts, directing future traffic across the ocean so long as the ice stayed where it was. It took a month just to get all the parts put together for assembling the stations, and both the Hyperion transports were used to ferry them all out to the California coast for assembly. While the younger team of scouts built the station, Sam, Vladimir, and I took out the Mk2 into the frozen ocean again, and began lining up the targets. We had a rough guess of where they would all go, and the other craft would come along behind and adjust them as needed. All told, the project only took a few weeks to set-up and configure, ending with both teams turning on and configuring the second station on the distant shores of Japan. Minor corrections would be made by the second team on the way back to Home, but my team would stay here and listen for any com chatter. We had enough food and supplies to stay here for weeks before we set off for home ourselves, so we settled in to enjoy the time off. It was a very short trip from where the Japan relay station was built, to the former Narita International airport. Its massive buildings and hangers were still poking out of the snow in places, sometimes for several dozen feet. This proved to be an ample place to rest and relax, and the main aircraft hanger converted quickly into more than enough room for us to fill up as big as we wanted, plus park our Hyperion off to one side. The portable heaters made the place quite comfortable in short order, even melting some of the snow from around the outside. We checked our communication link with the main relay, and had a little fun.

Vlad busied himself setting up our trusty compressor, while Sam put down a thick roll of carpet on the cold concrete floor. Even with the heaters going full blast, the concrete would take a little while to warm up after so many years in sub zero temperatures. As I was bending over to take off my boots, that sneak Vlad reached over and stuffed a hissing hose straight up my ass! I was shocked for a moment, but soon started purring as the air rushed in and began to swell up my belly. It didn't matter how many times we did this, the sense of filling up never got old. Sam tugged off my shorts before I exploded out of them, leaving me naked and very obviously aroused at the situation. As my greenish belly rounded out more before us all, the rest of me soon followed suit, getting spherical all over. Already I was a 20ft ball-like creature, stretching effortlessly while my loins puffed up to a rigid and impressive size. The situation was only made worse by Sam grabbing a double paw-full of my meat, and mounting it while straddling my belly. I was in quite the state of bliss from that moment on, filling up ever larger while Sam had her way with me. Even my loins had inflated a little, filling Sam rather expertly and much to her obvious delight. Even Vlad was enjoying himself, sitting there pawing off while I inflated and Sam did her thing.

My body passed 30ft around in no time, followed shortly by 40. I went off like a cannon inside Sam, swelling her belly a little from the gallons of seed shot forth. She moaned and kept rocking back and forth on my gigantic pecker, milking me for all I was worth. She certainly wasn't done, and kept herself corked working me up for a second time around. Vlad was already making quite a mess of himself down below, purring almost as loud as I was while I continued to bloat and grow. The ceilings were a hundred feet high in this cavernous hanger, and I idly wondered through the fog of euphoria if I'd make it to the top. I knew I would find out soon enough, while my spherical body passed 60ft in diameter, and Sam was lustily bouncing away on my inflated package, earning a few more gallons of dragon-seed for her trouble. It was clear I wouldn't be putting forth any more for the time being, so she climbed off and hugged her own bloated belly against my massive frame instead. Even Vlad was hugging up against me, squeaking somewhat as my stretchy hide grew and grew. 70 feet yielded to 80 in no time, and by then I started to feel tight. Vlad had an idea though, based partially on his own experiences when we almost popped him previously. He broke off his hug and went to the compressor, and turned it to a much lower setting. I was still filling up, but it was so slow now I barely noticed. Sometimes he stopped the flow entirely, letting my body rest and adapt to this new level of bloat. All the while he and Sam took turns blowing each-other up to smaller sizes, and having a few rolls in the hay while they were at it. We shared everything, from toys to mates. I was happy to see both of them getting along so well, as it brought the three of us closer together.

As the evening went on, Vlad let me blow up bigger and bigger, one foot at a time. Sometimes I complained that I was going to explode, but he felt my belly and it was if the tautness was relaxing over time. Finally as it got to be really late, I looked up and bumped my head against the ceiling! I grinned broadly around bloated cheeks, knowing that I'd shattered previous records for size. I was a hundred feet around! And a little more ovoid than before, having stretched out once I rubbed up against the ceiling and far walls. Vlad and Sam were both impressed, and wanted to give this method a try as well over the following nights. Finally after a while Vlad unhooked me from the compressor hose, and went to help me deflate for the night. I asked him not to, and admitted with a sultry grin I wanted to stay this way for the night. He agreed, and I wound up getting more company. Sam stayed blown up for the night as well, though not nearly as huge as I was. Vlad crawled up onto my back and slept there as well, pulling a blanket over his head for extra warmth. It was one hell of an evening, one I hoped to have more of as time passed.

Over the next few nights Vlad and Sam both had their turn being stretched up huge over the whole evening, and after several days we three were able to balloon up to that size without the slightest discomfort or worry. In fact, the bigger we got, the more we craved it and the easier it became. We decided to limit ourselves to our current bloat levels for the time being, not only because we didn't have any more room to grow, but because we didn't want to risk exploding. Some time for our bodies to adjust would probably be a good thing. After a week of generally amusing ourselves in that large hanger, we received a call from Home. They had picked up weak radio chatter coming from parts of Tokyo, further north up the island nation from where we were. It was in Japanese, but fortunately they had a few people living in home who were descendants of the Japanese population. It was translated as a general distress call, looking for any other survivors who might render assistance. They had lost contact with the outside world, and over time had lost parts of their own shelter to equipment failure or other problems. They were a population of 200 people, the last of their nation living alone in the dark. From our history, the Japanese were supposed to have saved far more than that, anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000 people, depending on who made the recording. We had no idea where the rest had all gone, but we supposed that was something we could ask them. The translators in Home made contact with the survivors, and let them know that the primary North America facility was still on-line, and all was well. They also told them about their efforts to re-establish communications again, hence why we could hear them now.

As was common in the days before the freeze, practically everyone still in the Japanese shelter spoke perfect standard English, as well as their native tongue. This proved to be quite the good thing, as us Dragons didn't speak a word of Japanese. Seeing as we were the ones that had to go and rescue them, the radio operators and scientists went about the odd job of explaining my scouting party to them, and our species in general. Their first messages were viewed as utter lies, or some kind of sick joke. Eventually they got the message across that the weather was so bad outside, that no other way of getting functional people up top was possible. After several days of details, stories, and even some detailed descriptions, we were asked to go to their shelter and see what we could do for them. The first Hyperion had been dispatched the moment the com chatter was heard, just with one Dragon pilot on board. We hoped that the extra room on that large ship, plus the room we still had on the Mk2, would allow us to evacuate all of them in one go. Worst case, we could make two trips. As our communication link was up and working, plus all the targets quite clearly visible with their glow from the laser light, the make-shift highway across the ocean would let us move much quicker than we did on land. We figured we could zip across the entire ocean at about 300km/h, if not more. It was something we would try when we got the chance.

As it stood, we pulled up the Mk2 to the service entrance of one of Tokyo's many underground subway stations, put on our winter gear, and got out of the Hyperion. It was a short walk for us going underground, clearing the path of snow and ice as we went. According to the radio broadcasts, this shelter was a small secondary one built in this particular station, further back underground in a service tunnel, and several workshops. They had simply closed the emergency doors to the subway system itself, and built a new heavy door to the service tunnels. That combined with heating systems and power generators much like our own, had let the few hundred survivors continue living down here all this time. They had no idea what had happened to the main shelter, or even the other smaller shelters all along the subway system. We finally made our way through heaps of snow and rubble, and came to a huge double-door system which sealed the service tunnel off from the rest of the world. I found a pipe of sorts sticking out of the snow, and used it to knock on the heavy steel doors. Then we just sat tight and waited. Soon some faint lights came on around the seal of the first tunnel door, and it rolled out of the way to let us in. We shrugged, and all three of us walked into the makeshift airlock. The first door cycled close behind us, and the lights came up brighter, plus the heaters kicked in. We were taking off our hoods and jackets when the inner door rolled open, revealing the curious and awe-struck faces of several orientals. One of them was standing ahead of everyone else, apparently the leader of this little group of people. He looked our large reptilian frames up and down for a moment, neither side saying anything. Then with a half smirk, and a tear rolling down one cheek, he opened his mouth.

"Since when did Godzilla become a Sumo Wrestler?"

I laughed, so did Sam and Vlad. We were loud, but the mirth could not be mistaken. Some of the group joined in with mixed mirth and relief, others weeping openly. I guess 80 years was a long time to think you were all alone. A few of the more bold ran up and embraced us, sometimes several at a time, as there was indeed plenty of us Dragons to go around. We were invited inside finally, and lead off the train-tracks to a raised platform of concrete and wood. Before we came up, we were asked to remove our boots, which we did eagerly. They never gave enough room to wiggle our paws around. Some marveled at the size of our gigantic Dinosaur-like feet, and the claws on the end of each toe. They were swiftly told by the more older members of the group to stop staring, and went about their business.

In short order we found ourselves sitting around a crude fire-place further in the large concrete bunker of sorts, being served tea and bowls of rice. None of us could manage the flimsy chop-sticks the residents used, but nobody seemed offended when we simply slurped up the contents of our bowls all at once. They asked for stories of our lives, whatever wasn't provided by the radio operators back at Home. I supplied all I felt they would like to hear, leaving out some details like our long list of kinks and private activities. It felt both odd and wonderful to be accepted without question, like they had always known of our existence. We hoped other survivors would be so happy to see us.

After the short sit and a snack, I explained that another one of our craft was on the way, with room to hopefully take everyone out in one shot. It might be standing room only for some, but we figured we could do it. Plus there was more than enough cargo space to take any valuables they wanted with them. The whole group was quite happy at the news, as their own shelter was finally starting to fail after all these years. They had almost 500 people here when they started, but as the systems failed and less food was grown, families just didn't have any children to decrease the population. Now there was just slightly less than 200 of them, the oldest in their 60's, the youngest in their late teens. Now that we had shown up, they could continue their families, or even form new ones with the members of Home. Lodging for them was not a problem. A combination of lower food supplies and worry about the future had caused similar population decline back in our shelter, so the 5 million or so people that started the place had dropped to only 4. There were warm beds waiting for everyone back home, if not entire sections of levels abandoned and waiting for occupants again.

It took another day for the Hyperion Mk1 to catch up with us, and we spent most of an afternoon loading all the belongings of this shelter into its cargo holds. The people came next, wrapped up in heavy blankets and carried out by eager Dragons. One by one we evacuated every last one of them, and managed to get 180 onto the Hyperion 1 with its solitary pilot. The old and infirm were given spaces to sleep and lay down, while everyone else found cramped corners to sleep in, or shared bench seating up front with the pilot. We were so broad, that 3 people could sit in one of our chairs without too much trouble. The remaining 18 people came onto the Mk2 with my team, mostly staying back in our cramped little sleeping area. It was a tight fit, but nobody complained. At least it was secure and warm. We set out first, ducking into the ice-filled bay and heading for the signal markers of our com-system, speeding up as we went. Some of the Japanese marveled at our craft, others fell into a deep sleep and stayed that way for hours. We evened out at about 200kph, with the Mk1 trailing along a few kilometers behind us for safety. We drove in shifts as we could, the poor pilot in the Mk1 having no relief to give him a break. Sometimes we stopped to let him rest, and did our best to keep everyone fed. The survivors managed to take care of themselves quite well, and we managed to cross the ocean in 3 very long days with not much rest for any of us. We decided a break was in order, and found another aircraft hanger at the San Fransisco airport to house everyone in for a day.

They enjoyed the opportunity to get out and stretch their legs, once we had turned the heaters on for a while anyways. Some opted to sleep out of the vehicles that night, and everyone cooked up some of their meager food supplies for supper. We four Dragons restrained ourselves from partaking in our usual evening activities, what with so many people around likely to get upset or confused. It took another few days of travel, with the odd stop here and there, but we finally made it back to Home with all present and accounted for. The Japanese marveled at the massive 6-door entryway to our super-shelter, and were astounded when they saw just how many Dragons there were milling around the upper levels. Fortunately nobody was ballooning out in the open, as we reserved that for both night-time, and inside buildings where we wouldn't be caught.

We drove them down to the upper human levels, and got everyone off in short order. Some of the old and sick were taken to medical facilities, while everyone else was welcomed to Home, and shown to quarters. It wasn't every day you found more people for a disaster shelter! The scouting teams were praised for a job well done, and the lone pilot of the Mk1 was led off for a hot shower and a long rest. I too enjoyed quite a lot of down time, with mixed stretching sessions both up with the other Dragons, and in my personal shower. I tell you, the humans don't know what they're missing.

*** *** ***

The next few years were much the same for Winston and the other Dragons. Time passed, more clutches hatched, and more missions were planned all over the world. During the spring of 2167 that the prime clutch turned 30, and were really starting to show just how large they could become. The 12 of them had pushed past 20ft several years back, and had since stretched out to over 30ft in height. They were so big that the first scouting party had been disbanded several years ago, replaced by younger and smaller Dragons that could still fit into the Hyperion model hovercraft. Others had been built by this time, and they had even constructed a depot of sorts in the top most level of the shelter, plus repair bays and the like. In total there were 5 of the wonderful craft now, zipping along the frozen surface of Earth on a regular basis. The entire North-American continent had been mapped again, as well a South America and Europe, plus Africa and the Asian nations. All that was left was the northern parts of old Russia, plus the south-east Asian island chains, and the continent of Australia.

All told, several thousand more human survivors had been found during this time, and re-located to Home. Some of the shelters of other nations were found to be completely abandoned, with no sign of human habitation. To this day nobody knows where all those people went, and chances are nobody will until the Earth leaves its current ice-age behind. The population of Dragon Kind has increased to tens of thousands, and as such the entire former construction levels of Home have been turned into housing and food production for the huge beasts. The elder-clutch spends most of its time in the upper levels, being far too big to even fit in the cargo elevators anymore. Plans were laid down to try and build surface shelters for them, if nothing else to hopefully provide more room for the still growing creatures. The genetics technicians were long since asked to explain why they just kept growing, but no answer was found. It could be that this was in their nature now, as a completely new species doesn't need to fall into past observation to size and scale. It could be they were taking a chapter from the Dinosaurs of past, growing to fit their environment. There certainly was a lot of space for them!

Winston stood about 35ft tall these days, and was of equal size to everyone else in his Clutch, give or take a few inches. Each of them weighed a staggering 300 tons or so, with waistlines varying from 23 to 24 feet in diameter. They were certainly quite the sight to look at, though it was usually only other Dragons that caught sight of the elder Clutch. Most humans were unsettled somewhat at the Dragons when they were only 3 times the height of the average human, let alone this gigantic. Plus, with the elders being too big to really enter Home that often, the Humans couldn't get up that high to see them anyways. This didn't bother most of the Dragons too much, as it let them enjoy themselves without the worry of being looked at funny, told to stop, or anything of the sort. Through careful observation and various self-testing, most of the Dragons who partook in their infamous "stretching sessions" found that on average the largest they could blow themselves up was about 10 times their current size. Some were better than others, and it took practice to get that big. As it stood, Winston and the others could balloon up to over 350ft around! They didn't get the chance to get that big overly often, as they had to do it outside. No building could hold them when they were swelling out to such magnificent sizes. So, they had to wait until the weather was favorable, and usually had to go on trips to partake in such joys. There wasn't enough room immediately outside Home, what with their new construction projects and the like.

They had already built a few makeshift shelters of their own near the equator, where it was warmer. The weather was usually more favorable there, plus they had cleared huge tracks of land to enjoy their favorite hobbies. It was quite a trek to get there on foot, so it was rare that the older generations could even get down there. Dragon and Human engineers were working on solutions to transport for the elders, and were mostly coming up with open-topped snow-scooters of massive size, to hold their gigantic bulks. The prototypes were still under construction, and they were working on making parts modular so they could be expanded to fit everyones growing frame. Despite their continued growth and massive sizes, the scientists back in Home had determined that they were still not technically adults yet. Their biology was such that once they were fully grown, then they would be true adults as far as the species was concerned. Everyone already considered them as such, what with their superior intelligence and strength. Still, they had not yet shown any sign of true adult behavior, or reproduction.

Sure, they mated for pleasure, but it never yielded any productive results. The genetics cast was eager to see them start making clutches of their own, as currently their race depended entirely on human technology to keep growing in numbers. It would likely be a few years yet before this happened, but everyone was just guessing.

The most the older clutches saw of their human families was through regular visits to the surface, wrapped in warm clothing and taken via the old Hyperion Mk1. The Dragon-Housing up on the surface was imposing to most, being gigantic rectangular structures of steel and stone, built partially into the mountainside a short distance from the Home main entrance. As nobody was quite sure when the Dragons were going to stop growing, the builders had planned for the future. Each structure had 60ft ceilings, and had been rigged up with giant sliding doors which usually covered part of one entire wall. Windows had been left out of the construction for now, to further increase the insulation. Once you were inside it was quite nice, and rather roomy. The Dragons did not need much in the way of furniture, mainly a large mattress on the floor for sleeping, benches to sit on, and blankets. Many of them had smaller things for the Humans to sit on, but some just had to do with sharing their own seats. Winston simply had his parents sit on his lap, and carried them around if they needed to use any of the facilities. This worked out for them, though he had to be very gentile. One wrong move and he could easily do them great harm. He was worried about his Mother, who was showing signs of old age. They had already been older than he was when they took him home, so many years ago. As it stood, both his parents were over 60 years old, and rapidly nearing 70. They were frail, prone to illness, and life in the Shelter was certainly not an old-age facility. They knew they might not live much longer, so they were doing the best they could to make sure their son lived a long and happy life. They were pleased to see that he had his own house, and could feed himself without worry. That was as much as most people could hope for these days, as anything else was pure luxury.

Panic had struck home a few years earlier, as some of their power systems had finally begun to fail. It had been just over a Century since Home came online, and it was only meant to last that long. Generators were breaking, life-support systems were failing, old farming systems wearing out and falling apart. In some cases the rushed construction efforts of the facility were starting to show, and the structure itself was starting to wear out. Thousands of people were lost when a portion of the rock wall down in the lower levels collapsed, crushing a housing unit and knocking another one over. It looked as if Home wasn't going to last much longer, and there really wasn't anything anyone could do about it anymore. The stone was eroded, the metals were rusting, and the whole place was falling to pieces. Humans were still not having children of their own, and the older generations had already begun to die off. It was looking like the human population of earth was going to go extinct after-all, as the surface certainly was not warming up in a hurry.

The communication system built over the years now covered pretty much every inch of the globe, making sure anyone outside Home could keep in touch no matter where they were off to. They also had their radios and lasers tuned skywards again, hoping for any sign from the long lost colony ship. Hopes were dim, but one never knew.

It was during a sunny day in the middle of 2172 that the last human parent of the elder clutch was laid to rest. Winston had lost both of his parents the previous year, and the clutch felt closer than ever. They were family, and now every last one of their parents were gone. Most of them had ballooned in size over the previous seasons, reaching 40ft and inching ever higher. Despite the sadness in everyones heart over losing members of their family, their spirits were lifted by a ruckus stirring down in the communication relay facility of Home. They had picked up scattered radio transmissions from the Proxima Centari colony! They were sent via standard Radio, so they must have been in transit for years. In fact, the message stated that it had been sent 20 years ago, along with some mixed information about the status of the colony.

They had landed safely a few years after they were sent out, and had scrapped their ship to lay the foundation of their new town. The planet was much like earth was before the ice-age struck, though a little larger in size and mass. Curiously its gravity was a little less than that of earth, partially due to its lower density and slower rotation. As it stood, a day was about 30 hours in length, via earth standards. They had two clocks there, earth time and local time. All in all, they had spent the last part of the century simply getting themselves started again. Raising buildings, getting power and sewage systems working, building roads, creating industry, you name it. The one thing they were focusing on was doing everything right. Despite the abundance of space, they were taking the time to lay out roadways and buildings with the future in mind. How many people would be living here in 50 years? That was their main question, and they built everything with that in mind. They had finally gotten powerful enough radio transmitters built to send out this message, but stated that they were close to perfecting new modes of communication that would make talking to Earth a real-time thing, rather than waiting years. New modes of propulsion were in the works as well, hoping to break the light barrier and come rescue anyone who might still be alive.

A message was composed in reply, sending details not only of the surviving population of Home, but of the Dragons as well. Humanity had by then dwindled to a mere 2 million people, over half of Home now abandoned and left to rot. The working portions were heavily populated, and living conditions were as good as could be expected. It was only 3 years later when the reply was intercepted however, not by the new colony, but by a space-ship they had sent to go inspect things directly. They replied with a much quicker form of radio, modulated so we could still pick it up. Everyone was overjoyed, and eagerly awaited their arrival. They were testing the first generation of their FTL engine, which had so far carried them from Proxima Centari to Earth in 6 months. It was a cargo barge of sorts, large enough to take thousands of people back with them. The young and middle-aged people of good health were selected to make the trip, as the elderly and infirm were not expected to survive the ordeals of space travel.

So early in 2175 the landing barges from their ship began picking people up, and caring for the rest of us as best they could. The colonists all wore fancy looking space-suits of sorts, which kept them quite warm and mobile despite the blizzard in progress. They were all in awe of the Dragons, most notably the eldest clutch, which were considerably larger than their landing craft. Winston eagerly picked one up to have a look, but was asked to put it back down again when he nearly gave the pilot a heart attack. He supposed they'd never considered that 45ft of Dragon would be that strong.

More ships followed in their wake, going a little faster each time and taking more people back home with them. It took a decade, but eventually every last surviving human was evacuated from Earth, and taken to their new warm home light years away. The eldest clutch finally hit their plateau for size, stopping their upward assent when they all hit about 50ft in height, plus hundreds of tons for weight. And as the scientists predicted, they entered sexual maturity as well. Finally the females were fertile, as were the males. The elder clutch mated with themselves and anyone else who had come into season, and in short order new eggs were well in development.

Winston set a new record for self-expansion, blowing himself up to over 600ft around the middle, and staying that way for 48 hours. It was a personal best, and nobody else has been able to get that big for that long to date. Everyone tries it from time to time, but no-one has quite made it yet. He sired a clutch of 3 to Sam, and has spent most of his adult life raising the little Dragons to live in a big snowy world. They kept the upper levels of Home online to continue growing food, but mostly everyone lived outside. Some had even moved to their equatorial colonies, where the snow was finally starting to melt during summer seasons. Members of their own scientist cast figured it would be at least another century before the planet was entirely out of its current ice-age, but for now life was looking good.

During the summer of the year 2200 the first farm broke ground in equatorial lands, where a happy village of massive Dragons lived. It was also the year that a much larger ship came to visit from Proxima Centari, asking if any Dragons wanted to come and live with them? It was a tempting offer, and many of the young chose to go visit with long lost friends and human relatives. Even their massive cargo ships were no match for the elders, so for now us older Dragons stayed put. We were happy, we were gigantic, fat, and rather pleased with ourselves. Dragons had indeed inherited the Earth, and we intended on keeping it for a good long while.

Everyone is welcome to come and visit us, and stay wherever you please. Home has been sealed off for good now, kept for all time as a shrine to Human engineering and stubbornness. They refused to back down and die when the world changed, and brought new descendants into being to help take over the burden of life. If you do come to visit, bring food, and maybe a new compressor. We Dragons eat a lot, and have curious hobbies indeed. Until then, we'll be seeing you!