FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Where did you go?..." Sydney crouched atop a small overhang that used to be a second floor as she panned her gaze about slowly. "Yoyo, anything?"

An upheaval of debris and red mist from below contradicted the otter's radio response. "Nope."

"Smart-ass. Thanks." The meerkat took a calming breath and hopped down from her perch, smoothing her tall descent with a somersault. She clicked her headset radio as she dusted herself off and straightened her tie. "Everything looking alright from back there? I could use a break."

"And I could use some more charges. Ammo's alright, but I'm blowing through batteries with all those armored guys. Only have two--" There was a pause, then a poof of dust followed by the crack of the rifle. "...make that ~one~ left. You do look clear though."

"Then use the break to find some more of those things. Your overwatch fire is doing wonders for my team's morale." Cid looked around, hearing the occasional gunfire echoing but unable to place the direction of any given instance. "We're spreading out too thin, guys. Regroup on the northeastern face of the building."

A blob of pink fur faded into existence on a nearby broken chair. "Um, mom...?"

"Yes, Cait? You don't need to ask to speak, you know."

"I know that, but... I didn't want to just do things without asking..." The symbiont meekly donned her head until spotting Sydney's encouraging expression. "I was thinking... we could help by finding people through this wreckage."

"Oh? You can do that?" Cid grinned and knelt beside her phantasmal child, nodding to Leannan as she came into view as well. "How does it work? I'm all ears, hon."

"Well, it's hard to explain without using really ~big words~ and all..."

Lea briefly chuckled as she took over for her sister. "No need to explain anything, really. She figured out that we can sense the distortions around us by movement and sound. There's some stuff with gravity waves in there if you'd like your head to melt, though."

"Please no, thank you. You know science isn't really my thing." Cid took a moment to hug Cait, pausing to appreciate how absolutely real her pink fluff felt. "Alright, do it if it won't require much from me."

Lea confirmed, "It'll take a bit of energy we stockpile, and too much might make you more tired."

"Better than the last three guys we ran into around that corner back there. Go ahead, girls." There was a brief, disorienting dimming of Sydney's vision, but after a moment ripples resembling bipedal beings appeared in her view. "Wow. That's... different. Oh, and would you ~look at that~..."

"The displacement doesn't appear to be light enough to be ours, mom..." Cait groaned as she reworked the visuals to become color coded based on density. "The redder ones are probably bad guys based on that armor."

"All I needed to hear, hon. So that's a bad guy behind that wall over there... Any more ideas? All I've got is my pistol and Yoyo's out of the picture."

Leannan gained a smile that slewed into a smirk. "Cait, keep handling the view. I'll beef up the next shot you fire, mom." The larger symbiont walked over to the wall in question and tapped the masonry. "I think I can get it to go clean through. You'll love it. Though... maybe fire a second one to be sure?"

"Considering I can't punch through that armor normally, that's all I've got. Here goes:" Cid raised her pistol and fired a doubled volley at the brickwork. Upon impact, the first round exploded hard enough to send the meerkat off balance. The second round then had the same effect on the chestplate and upper torso of a Sect scout. "Holy... shitballs."

"That seems like a proper response." Ex trudged in from a break in the wall behind Sydney, then opened its cockpit to reveal Carbon. "Looks like you're having a ~bit~ too much fun out here, Cid."

"Family bonding." Sydney jumped into the cockpit and sat in Carbon's lap, using their suits' contact to find Evelyn. «Our kids are naturals at this, Eve. You should be proud.»

«Oh really? Just what have they been up to?»

«Making things go boom, apparently.» Carbon shifted around so Cid would sit more comfortably in his lap without obstructing his view. «You do know this is designed to hold ~one~ person, right?»

«Tough it out, Carbon. I need a bigger weapon and a ride, and Ex fits the bill.» Sydney used her Link to control the walking tank through Carbon and closed the cockpit. «You can put up with a short joyride, right? Please?»

Carbon sighed and threw up his paws. «All yours, sweetheart. I was just checking on you anyway, so if you need to get back to base that's fine. I could use the ammo anyway.»

«Handing over control...» Eve shrank herself down to better fit the cramped area, her girls following suit. «He's all yours, Sydney. Don't forget about the satellite feeds; they're live and only quarter a second behind.»

«Thanks, Eve. I promise I won't scratch him.»

«You should be thanking Carbon. She's the one that's so attached to her machines.»

«'She'?» Sydney wiggled her butt with a smile, her tail catching on a bulge in Carbon's suit. «I don't think he's a she just yet, Eve.»

«Not quite, but close enough.» Carbon tried to relax her boner away, but Cid only pressed her point and let herself mold to Carbon's frontside. «Ah, careful there. You're making Ex move.»

«And you've got ~tits~. Harder to concentrate when I know those are behind me now.» Cid grinned as she teased the hybrid even more, yet somehow picked up rather quickly how to make the walking mech do her bidding simultaneously. «So you're changing then? How long until I can't get plowed anymore?»

«A day or so.» Eve gave her children some room as they showed signs of shared pleasure with their host. «I'm taking my time, what with the fighting and... other important factors.»

«She's saying you're in heat, Sydney.» Carbon gave up and reached for her erection, shoving it a bit less noticeably to the side. «The way this little guy's been the last day or so, I can't exactly disagree there.»

«You've been hiding this for that long? Poor otter...» Cid kept her eyes on the road, so to say, yet using her leverage on top she managed to shove down her pants and underwear. «I'll give you some relief. Gods know I could use some too.»

Carbon had nothing else to do at the moment except stare at the drooling, practically-steaming mess of a cunt as it slid across her tented bodysuit. «If you think we have time, I'm all for some of that.» She ran a finger over her groin and an opening formed, freeing her cock from its tight prison. «You know I love getting some of that meerkat.»

«More like meer~pussy~.» Sydney lifted her waist just a moment, lined up that rod of otter cock, and impaled herself to the root. «Holy fuck... Ah, I'm a bit...»

«Sensitive, yeah. I can feel that.» Carbon took the initiative, softly shoving herself inward and lifting Cid off in rhythm. «Damn. I don't think I'll last long at all like this.»

«Aww... My poor, pent-up otter...» Ex picked up its pace just as Sydney took the lead over her girlfriend. «First one's free, Carbon. Just let yourself go.»

«Ah, fuck... I can't...» Carbon hunched forward and hugged Sydney from behind, pinning her down so their sexes were flush. Then with a squeaky hiss she clamped her teeth around the scruff of Cid's neck and let loose, whitewashing the meerkat's womb with her seed. «Goddess, Sydney... Fuck, I love you.»

«Mm... I love you too, Carbon. But don't stop there; you've got to... ooh...» Cid jerked her midsection forward, then back again. «Oh! Gods... Oh fuck...»

«Ah... Oh, that took a little bit longer than I'd expect.» By now Sydney was spasming wildly on Carbon's cock, enticing a satisfied smile from the otter. «Not used to making love in heat, I see.»

«Oh!... Gods... Gods damn...» Cid slowly came down from her peak, turning into a pile of goo in Carbon's lap. «That felt... amazing. Do it ~again~.»

«That's harder than it sounds, kitten.» Carbon pulled herself free of their sweltering junction, only for Sydney to turn around and plunge that cock right back inside of her. «Carbon, that was about the best feeling I've ever had. We're going for round two, whether you like it or not.»

«Well it'll take some ~encouragement~ to get me ready again. I'm more female than male now, so that part of me's not exactly at its strongest.»

Evelyn sat up, woozy from her shared experience. «I can keep her hard, but she's right. You'll have to work her back up if you want to sate that fire again.»

«Sate that fire?» Cid quirked her head a moment, then giggled at the thought. «You had me scared there for a moment, Eve. Don't make it sound like Carbon knocked me up when you're stopping it.»

«But I'm not...» Eve fluttered her eyes as she regained her wits. «You two made it sound like you wanted children, so... I'm not enhancing your chances, but I'm not hindering them either.»

«Oh. Well... that's something to think about.»

Carbon jerked his hips into Cid's with a grin. «But don't. I think you'd make a wonderful mother, and I can see myself raising a few miniature bodyguards with you.»

Evelyn nodded as she snuggled with her children, calming them after their shared orgasms. «And your mother would have loved seeing you settle down too, Carbon.»

«Then it's fine. I won't pay it any mind." Cid smiled and pecked a few smeared kisses on Carbon's mask. "Besides, your chances aren't that great with me anyway, so it shouldn't be an issue for a while. My job depends on it, anyway.»

«I don't want to ruin your job, Sydney. I just... think a family would be nice after this war is over."» Carbon started gently thrusting into his lover, enticing murmured moans from her lips. «But I'm not pushing you yet, ~meerpuss~. Let's take care of that heat and talk about this later.»

«I already regret coming up with that.» Cid began bouncing atop Carbon in opposition to her thrusts. «But there's one thing I regret more...»

«Hmm? That you're still wearing too much for this, maybe?»

«No, that ~you~ are.» Cid reached beneath Carbon's chin and eased her whole gas mask up and over her head, then promptly mashed her lips into the otter's own. «I wanted to kiss you like this when we came. Wait... Oh, I like this Link stuff. Talking while kissing is nice.»

«And Frenching.» Carbon's tongue shoved forward and rolled around Sydney's for a bit before they both chuckled out of the kiss. «Okay, so it takes some getting used to. The rest is perfect though. ~You're~ perfect.»

Sydney sat down hard on Carbon's lap, wedging the hybrid's cock as deep as it would fit. «What we looking like? Sitrep?»

«Uh... Gonna take a while like this.»

Cid furled her eyebrows at the task ahead of her, then smiled as she reached for one of Carbon's tendrils. «Open, please.» The flower on the end spread open, lubricating slime glistening the insides. Sydney took the flower and planted it on one of Carbon's tits, then repeated the process with another. «Now make me a dildo, hon.»

«A... Um...?» Carbon cooed and moaned as Evelyn took over, suckling her tits with her own flowers. Then that third tendril made itself quite known, the central pistils having engorged before it shoved roughly into Carbon's snatch. «Oh Goddess! Sydney... What the...?!»

«Some tactical countermeasures to help you focus on your prize.» Cid slid her hips forward and back as far and hard as she could manage. «Now why don't you ~claim it~, otter?»

«Ah... Wait, this is too much...» Carbon tried to find any excuse to get Eve and Cid to back off a little. «What about Ex? We need to get back--»

«Already at base, Carbon. In fact, this corner seems to be empty...» Sydney waved a paw and the cockpit cracked wide open, a rush of cool air rustling through her fur. «So much better. They don't call it 'heat' for nothing, huh?»

Being a tad less warm-blooded, that slight chill felt like ice to Carbon and tingled her senses with a shock of sensation. «G-Goddess! I think... Ah!...»

«Do it, Carbon.» Sydney embraced her otter tightly, binding their lips together until she relented. «Finish inside me. Fill me up!»

«Ah, Sy-Sydney!» While the volume suffered some, Carbon's second offering was still more than enough to quench her lover's blazing fire. She bucked a few times as she shot a single, heavy stream into Sydney, seemingly with the sole intent of firing off the meerkat's best orgasm to date. «Gah! Gruh! Fuck!»

«I-I d-don't...» Sydney could barely see straight--her eyes literally crossing for a moment--as her peak washed over her whole body. When she snapped back to reality she found her teeth firmly planted in Carbon's shoulder and backed her head away unsteadily. «I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--»

«I'm fine, Sydney. You bite like a girl.»

Cid bopped the otter and then dunked her mask over her face backwards. «Says the lady with a ~dick~. Well... a dick that serves a mighty fine purpose, I guess.» She eased herself up and off Carbon, then backed herself up to hang her tail out the cockpit so she could give said dick a kiss. «Thank you, ~little Carbon~.»

«Shit, Cid... Wait a--»

«What? Don't think you've got a third round for me?» The meerkat gave her otter's maleness a playful lick. «Don't worry, Carbon. I'm not asking for more. We could use a bit of cleanup though if--»

«That's not--» Carbon froze stiff for a moment, her eyes flaring wide open as she spotted something. "Cid, fuck..."

Sydney quirked her head to the side and followed her lover's line of sight, her own gaze landing squarely upon Iolvin's questioning expression. "Oh my gods! Shit!"

Carbon sprang back into action just as Sydney shoved against her, the hybrid using her tail and tendrils to cover the meerkat's unmentionables. "Uh... Yoyo, what's...?"

"I... I didn't see anything, really." Yoyo shielded his eyes and spun around, giving the two time enough to clothe themselves. "I saw you guys stopped for a while and figured something was broken. Glad to see I was wrong, at least. Sorry."

Zoë then chimed in with a nugget of innocence her master could have lived without. "But... is Mister Cid actually a woman? Or is it like with your sister, master?"

Sydney's reaction was the opposite of the violent bloodbath Carbon expected, the meerkat sulking in her arms and flushing violet in embarrassment. «What the fuck am I gonna do!?»

«His sister knows and she's kept your secret. I trust Yoyo here just as much. Zoë might have been an issue, but she's bound to Yoyo's will now...» Carbon hugged her girlfriend and rubbed her neck and head. "Don't tell anyone, Iolvin. Sydney could have a lot of issues--plus if she didn't kill you first I might."

"I don't... I mean, the last world she was a girl and it all worked out." Yoyo walked out of the cockpit's sight lines and rested against Ex's side. "I don't think it's that big of a deal, but I'll respect that if she's that insistent. Fibre, you know me enough to understand how I am regarding differing cultures."

"Thank you. Now I owe you and Adrian an even better honeymoon after all this." Carbon lifted Sydney's head and gave her cheek a soft, reassuring kiss. «It'll be alright. Hell, it might be better for you two if you're fighting together like this. It's also not like he's requiring you to wear a dress from now on or anything.»

«Don't even joke about that. I don't want to remember what those girls did to me on top of all this.» Cid took a calming breath and dipped just her head outside the cockpit. "You better be as good as your word, big guy. No slips, no gossip, anything like that. We understand each other?"

"Like I said: I didn't see anything. Neither did Zoë." Yoyo gave the meerkat a confirmatory nod and then raised a questioning finger. "Does anyone else know about this? Just getting my facts straight."

"Well... Your sister knows. But I said no gossip, and that goes for everyone."

"Lulu knows? Funny coincidence."

Carbon joined the head-poking at that comment. "How so?"

"I was sworn to secrecy for more than just Cid here, even if the cat's out of the bag now with Rhyme. Oh, or do you prefer Sydney in private?"

"Cid, please." The meerkat sighed as she slipped back into the mech, followed by pulling her otter inside so she could close the cockpit. "Let's just re-arm and live through this. We can talk about it later, and I expect your full attention when we do."

"No problem. I'll keep covering your ass until then."

"Don't look at my ass, pervert. Just because I'm a woman--"

"You do know I'm bi, right? Shiny new husband ring any bells?" Yoyo gave Ex a few hard slaps and headed back to his post. "I did think you had a more feminine ass than my Adri, too. I guess I don't need to be jealous now, haha. I'm loaded up again, so I'll be on my perch. Keep an eye out for Lulu though. She's apparently up and about again and I'd like to know how she's doing, please."

Carbon took over control of the mech now that Sydney gained a little fury with her embarrassment. "We'll check on her for you. Focus on helping our men."

"I'll do my best." Yoyo picked up his rifle and headed to his sniping nest. "Oh, but... how will I ever find our guys without a shining beacon like Cid's ~ass~ to guide me?"

Sydney briefly lurched Ex's arm to strangle the large otter, but her rage-fueled impulse was cut short along with her control over the walking death machine. «Woah, girl. No need for that.»

«I'm so going to kill him. Slowly.»

---

"What am I gonna do...?" Ilaria raised her head and scanned around the area, ignoring the sounds of exotic gunfire and explosions in favor of the support soldier divvying out ammunition to others in the distance. "Shit. I need to know how to do this without hurting you, Rhyme. But these guys need a solution fast... Damnit."

"You were actually alive in there, yeah? Guess we're both knackered over... that..." Robyn looked up to the otter beside her and presented two adorable, if dirty, fox kits nuzzling each other in their slumber. "Thank you, Lucy. If not for you, I'd have truly lost everything back there."

"I, uh..." Ari shook off her concerns for a moment, gazing upon those sleeping girls in wonder. "Anytime. A mother shouldn't outlive her children, especially not beautiful jills like those."

"They're my reason for living. If I'd lost them too... I'm not sure we'd be having this chit-chat."

"Don't think that way, hon. I know how you feel right now, but it'll get better in time." Ari sighed as she remembered her late wife, then smiled a bit when she finally started making the differentiation between her Robyn and the others. "I lost my wife shortly after an even larger explosion. Thankfully a very skilled doctor saved my unborn children afterwards."

"We both share that fate, for truth?" The squirrel looked down to her girls and caressed their heads gingerly. "I'm sorry for that. Curious though: how are your children doing with only one mother around?"

"They're rambunctious and far too playful, so I think that means they're happy. It wasn't always like that, though." The otter joined in with her large paw, grinning at the warm and fluffy baby fur of the kits' hides. "I locked myself away from everyone and everything else after losing my wife. If not for my brother, my whelps would have suffered through that. Please, don't make the same mistake I did; use every moment going forward to cram as much love into those two as possible."

"I... I will, yeah." Robyn brought her children up for a cozy hug, but quickly braced them against her bosom with an expression of fear. "Hey--!"

"What the--!?"

Robyn went flying to the side, landing lifelessly out in the open of the rooftop. With a sadistic giggle a much larger fluff drake took her place, pinning Ari's arms back. "~Oops~. I don't know my own strength."

"What the fuck was that for, Lilly!? She was holding her girls!"

Lilith smashed her forehead into Ilaria's face, drawing blood from her nose. "Shut up. She's not important. Making sure you suffer, though..."

"Whuh? Ah..." Ari spit out some amber blood that she'd snorted into her throat. "What the fucking fuck is wrong with you? How can I help?"

"You can die, slowly." Finally figuring out the mechanism, Lilly detached Ari's false arm. This enticed a scream as the nerve connections were unexpectedly severed, which the drake silenced with a paw and a chuckle. "Atta' girl. I guess the leg works the same way?" It did, nearly to the point of forcing Ilaria to black out. "Oh, I like this better than my old plan ~by far~."

"Guh-huh... F-Fuck..."

"No, thank you. Maybe that would work, though. A fitting death for a cunt that fucked my brother." Lilly took the prosthetic arm at first,then shook her head with a grin. "What am I thinking? This would work much better."

Ari sat and watched helplessly as Lilly shredded her shorts and lined up her false hindpaw to her crotch. "What are you--?"

"Helping you fuck yourself." The drake pinned Ari with her weight, clamped a paw around her muzzle, and began firmly shoving that prosthesis into her tight otter box. "Might as well embrace it, hon. It'll only hurt more if you fight it. Just be the loose ~slut~ you really are."

Crying came from behind the slumped squirrel, rejuvenating the fight in what remained of Ilaria enough to break her muzzle free. "Kill me then! Just help Robyn first!"

"And let you go longer without suffering? Fat chance. And like I even give a--" The fluff drake snickered and turned her head to check that the squirrel wouldn't surprise her with an attack, but instead found a pool of red and two wailing, blood-soaked babies. "--shit... Oh, fuck. I didn't hit her that hard, did I?"

"I'll... I'll let you take your fucking time if you really want. Save her."

Lilith's expression suddenly changed to one of horror as she slumped limply. "Wait... What am I doing? What the fuck did I just do!?"

Ilaria prioritized Robyn's health over hers and took the opening, pulling herself closer by one paw with all her might. "Please hold on! Please!"

"Wait..." Surprisingly, Lilly pulled Ari closer to the slumped squirrel but recoiled when she noticed a paving stone near an apparent point of impact. "Oh gods... I'm... I'm a monster, just like Vorak..."

"Robyn!? Hey!" Ari rolled the squirrel onto her back, whimpering at the sight of blood pulsing out of a wound concealed beneath her hair. "No... No, no, no...!"

"Huh...?" Robyn fluttered her eyes, but never once locked them on anything. "So... bright..."

Ari applied pressure to the wound, but her paw was far from an ideal tool for the job. "Stay with me, Robyn. I'm here. Just focus on my voice and we'll have you some help in no time."

"But we don't... have any medics." Lilly drove that last stake of reality deeper into Ari's heart. "She's going to bleed out. Gods, I... I did this."

"But there has to be a way we can--" Ilaria frowned at the pained and confused expression on Robyn's face. "No. Not like this. Not with your kids!"

Lilly drooped her head in her paws and let the waterworks flow. "Why would I do this!? She's suffering!"

"And she deserves so much better." With tears streaming down her bloodied face as well, Ilaria formed a small blade out of nanites and shoved it through the stem of Robyn's neck. "Be... at peace, Robyn."

"Gods, you... You didn't need to..."

"It was better than that slow hell of a death you doomed her to." Ari swallowed her pain in favor of revenge, crawling towards Lilly with that dagger. "What the fuck has gotten into you?"

"I don't know! I just--" Lilly moved back defensively after receiving a slash to her scaled leg. "Please wait! I don't know what the fuck is happening!"

"Like hell you don't! No playing the amnesia card! You were spouting shit about your brother!" Ari tried to slash again, finding her reach lacking. "Go fuck yourself! You killed her, then you tried to kill me... Let's see how you like it!"

"I really don't know! I was walking over to check on you and then... I couldn't control my body! Something just clicked!"

"Oh really? And my boot up my snatch was just from some primal instinct!?"

"No! I... I wanted that, deep down." Lilly stood up and fetched the otter's limbs, using her logical brain to show fealty to her leader. "I'd never actually do it though. Carbon I understand, but if he didn't hate you so much Vorak might not have gone to the enemy. He might have... been alive now."

"So you hate my ass. I get it." Ari angrily grabbed her arm and snapped it into place, using the new limb to facilitate the same with her leg. "You killed this world's Robyn, though. Why the fuck? Why shouldn't I take her revenge? Her daughters' revenge?"

"You... You can. if I'm really like Vorak... it'd be for the best."

Ilaria stood next to the drake and shoved her dagger hard enough into her throat to draw blood, yet Lilith didn't react in the least. "You're serious. What the fuck?"

"I don't know. That's exactly why you should just kill me, because it might happen again."

"No, I'm not doing a thing until we figure out what made you snap. Even for your brother, that's too vast a difference in personality. I don't think that's hereditary." Ari wiped her eyes on her arm and knelt down to pick up the two baby girls. "Gods, these two... This whole battle ended up making them orphans..."

"No, I did that..."

"Their other mother was killed by a walker, so that's not entirely... true..." Ari perked up and checked out the battle in the distance. "Rhyme's brother got her killed. He... He might have gotten them both killed, actually. What were you doing, exactly, before you lost it?"

Lilly closed her eyes as she thought back. "I was closing the reserve cargo hatch after everyone pulled out the ammo. Then I called your brother to let him know you woke up. He said something snarky back and I started heading over here. Then... well..."

"The radio. Fuck, it was the radio." Ari passed the children to Lilly, jogged over to the side of the orbiter, ducked inside, and emerged with a bundle of wiring in her bio-mechanical paw. "No other way to explain it: that bastard piggybacked our signal with some kind of subliminal shit. Don't hook this up again and stick to the encrypted handhelds."

"But it makes less sense than me just..." Lilly gawked at the kits cradled in her large arms, barely able to speak afterwards. "I-I'll never be... be able to... I mean, these kids..."

"You didn't do it on your own. You wouldn't be about to die from regret right now if you really meant it." Ari looked around and found her weapons, quickly equipping herself for a fight. "Don't worry though; I'll make that bastard regret pulling a stunt like that. We can all play a nice game of soccer with his head when I'm done with the rest of him."

"Wait, what are you planning?"

"Payback, for everyone we've lost. For your brother, too." Ari checked her revolver and armed the chambering slide. "I think he was hypnotized too when he attacked us. He wouldn't have flown that nuke to a safer distance unless that was the case. Watch those kids for me while I find out the truth."

"I'll take care of them. Go do what you think is right. Avenge her, Commander." Lilly watched as Ari sprinted towards the front-line, a wobble in her step due to the abuse she'd endured at the drakes paws. "Yeah, I'll take care of you two, since you don't have anyone else. That's the least I should do... You shouldn't pay for my sins."

---

"Sis? What the hell are you doing out there?" Ilaria groaned as she clicked off her radio, only to have the conversation bleed into beamed messages conjoined to emotions of frustration and concern. «Lulu, Cid and I can handle whatever it is you're thinking. Don't push yourself after... that.»

«First of all, don't show doubt on the radio. The men don't need even a hint of negativity right now. Second...» Ari tapped her radio again then readied her bow. "I'm killing that bastard. Clear me a path to the far left."

"Oh, I think I just saw you leaving camp." Sydney suppressed a giggle over the line as she got back into her groove, the meerkat somehow having far too much fun. "I'll cover your flanks. Oh, there you are. Seven o'clock."

Ari checked over her shoulder as she started sprinting into a crumbled wall, kicking herself up to a collapsed second floor. "Keep up or dig in. I'm not stopping until I have his head in my paws."

"Lulu, think about this. There's heavy shit in your way. You don't know what this guy looks like. Hell, you don't even know he's here."

"Oh, he's here. He sounded like the gloating type, or at least like he oversees everything personally." The otter paused her conversation for a moment as an enemy patrol came into sight, continuing in a whisper as she drew back her bowstring. "He's causing all of our problems right now, and we still don't know what he's doing with all that oxydium. If we stop him here, we give ourselves a fighting chance."

"Lulu, he's Rhyme's--"

Cid interrupted with a hushed, "Ari, I've got the left two."

"Go." Ari loosed a serrated broadhead into the rightmost soldier's neck, ignoring whatever armor he possessed. As the other two dropped with four wisps of a silenced pistol Ari readied another arrow and built her speed back up. "Good kills, Cid. And Yoyo, don't deter me. I'm doing what's right for the planet, even... even if it means I lose Rhyme. At least this way everyone I care about gets to live."

"If... that's your choice, I'm not going to stop you." Yoyo fired a shot, the slug punching through not one but two enemies' chests. "I'm not gonna let you die from a bad choice though. Cut through the next building. There's five guys on the left street, so be quick."

"Thanks, lil' bro." Ari saw the guys her twin mentioned and slid down a broken floor to ground level. She rolled forward to her hindpaws and continued unhindered into the mentioned gap in the next building, barely avoiding the group's attention. "I need to flank them, Yoyo. Keep us to the left."

"The southern street looks clear after this building." Cid whistled to bring Ari's eyes upward, the meerkat somehow having retained her height when crossing buildings. "I think I can go over the next apartment building. I'll relay the next junction from there."

"Damn, Cid. Remind me never to race you." Ari did as recommended, shoulder-slamming a door open and veering down the left street. "How much further?"

"Just one more block. The mechs are just barely to our right, so we're behind the--" A trade of gunfire almost caused Ilaria to hesitate until Cid's familiar confidence came back on the line. "Okay, big group. I'm safe enough up here, so I'm pulling them north. Stay on the south of the building and you're clear to that portal."

"Thanks, Cid. Yoyo, give the guy some support so he doesn't get shot."

"Will do, sis. Keep safe yourself."

"You know I will." Ari huffed as she sprinted the rest of the way down the street, only pausing to wind up an arrow and drop a single sentry at the upcoming intersection. "Alright... Portal's here..."

"Ari? I heard what happened from Lilly." Carbon calmed the line with a somber tone. "You don't have to get revenge. We just need to get home and close this portal. If we can strand them here--"

"He needs to die. If he's around, he might find a way back home. We can't risk it." Ilaria panned her gaze around slowly over each and every Terran traitor, her eyes locking upon a nearly perfect male replica of Rhyme. "I've got him. Going in."

"Ilaria, listen to me closely. She's dead. If you try to kill that man now, like this, you'll only end up the same way." Carbon took a moment to let her words sink in deeper. "Hate only begets more hate. Get a grip on your emotions and let's come up with a plan first."

"I have a plan. I'm cutting the head off the snake, right here and now. I'm far enough away to retreat." Ari nocked a pointed, lighter arrow and set up a sure shot. "Time to die, asshole."

The tanuki suddenly looked in Ari's direction as she loosed that arrow, moving his body enough that his arm was merely grazed instead of his heart being skewered. "So you ~did~ have some balls!"

Ari's eyes shot wide open in her failed attempt. She immediately threw Gungnir over her shoulder and unholstered Mjolnir, but the enemy leader's lackeys had already formed a barrier protecting him. "Fuck. Fight like a man, you fucking coward!"

"Ironic, coming from a woman." The tanuki simply smiled as he walked towards the portal, vital organs obscured by fleshy shields. "Well, I've confirmed what I needed. I can leave and that pesky hybrid you here to burn and have no further resistance. All according to plan."

"The fuck? You're actually running away?"

"Oh, but haven't you heard? There's a nuclear missle being tested in this poor city." The tanuki paused near a device that could only match that description and tapped a few keys, causing a timer to start on the bomb. "I'd suggest you get to a safe distance, unless you'd rather die in a pointless struggle."

"You _fucking bastard _! There's innocent people here!"

"And none of them matter in the end. Maybe this city is doomed to be wiped off the face of the Earth in all iterations. I couldn't care less." The evil canine chortled contently as he backed up into the interdimensional portal. "I'd bundle up, dear. I hear nuclear winter can get a tad chilly. ~Toodles~."

Ari took a shot but was too late, the tanuki having passed back into Earth Prime. "Fuck!" As a hail of return fire pattered and plunked around her, Ari pulled herself back behind the the corner of her building and tried to think of a plan. "Guys, he's gone and we have a problem."

"What does that mean, Lulu? What kind of problem?"

"A nuke. They brought a damn nuke and it's already counting down." Ari took a second to check the enemy troops, only to duck her head due to more suppressive fire. "They hell? They aren't retreating?"

"I can't explain it. In all the years I've fought these guys, they all sacrifice themselves for the cause." Carbon took a moment to grunt in a bout with another walker, one that ended close to Ilaria's position. "Something never added up there, but it's how they are. We'll have to go through them if we want to get home."

"I spot at least five more of those mech things, Carbon." Ari started circling around her building, but chose to head further south so she might approach the nuke from an even larger flanking arc. "We can't fight them head on, guys. Our best bet... if for me to take out the nuke."

"You'll die if you do that!"

"I know how the control boards work. I'm sure I can stop it."

"Lulu!" Yoyo took a shot below his sister's hindpaws, stopping her in her tracks. "They're closing the portal. We're... We can't make it. Just head back and maybe we can fly far enough away..."

"And get stuck here forever?" Ari slowly started moving again, determined to die fighting. "I'm not dying here if I can help it. Michelle and Mikhaila are out there and they ~need~ me. I'm not leaving my kids al--"

"Woah!"

A huge flare of light and a resounding boom forced Ari to look back towards the portal. By the time her eyes adjusted to the sudden blinding light, two of the walking tanks were reduced to molten slag and flames. A moment later another flood of light cracked and sizzled through the air in the form of a blue-hued lightning bolt coming from the direction of the portal. Another walker exploded just seconds before melting under the duress of such an elemental force.

"What the hell is that!?" Ari found a gas light post and carefully pulled herself atop it for a better look. "Is that... Ashe?"

"Y-Yeah." Yoyo hesitated longer than normal, but upon confirming a friendly face he instinctively began firing to protect it. "Get her out of there. I've got you covered and they're panicking."

"Yeah, because she's ~kicking their asses~." Ari smiled as she renewed her faith in her assault. "I don't know how... but I don't see a radio on her and she doesn't know about the nuke. That's not good."

Carbon punched collapsed the face of a mech with Ex's fist as it foolishly turned away from her to face the new threat. "We'll clean up. Go, Ari."

"Thanks, guys!" The otter slid down her light post and dashed towards the portal, watching in amazement as Ashe somehow tore up a chunk of earth to shield herself from gunfire. "Atta' girl, Ashe. Keep 'em busy for me."

Ilaria closed the gap carefully, trying her best to stay hidden in the confusion. Such a plan was exponentially easier once Ashe started spewing fire from nowhere, like some sort of magical flamethrower. Then it dawned on Ari that this wasn't her Ashe, but rather Sparks showing off her namesake in all the right ways. Ari finally slid behind the Arctic wolf's barrier and peeked towards the thankfully unscathed nuke.

"Sparks, you're a ~genius~."

"I'm no master wizard, but I'm trying my best." The wolf was heaving out of breath as she shoved a small crystal into a pouch and produced another, only for a bolt of lightning to jump from it and arc between eight enemies. "I can't... keep this up..."

"Everyone either get to the ship or get through this portal! We need to move before they rally!"

"Already on it." Lilly slowly lifted the orbiter off the rooftop, testing her basic repairs to the damaged engine pod. "We're loaded up and heading on through."

"Good. Don't wait on us. Just get everyone you can to safety." Ari fired a few shots towards her side of the cover, then slid up against the nuclear device. "Was it the green wire or the blue wire...?"

"Please don't joke about that, Lulu!" Yoyo took a hopeful shot from the moving orbiter, somehow managing to shred a soldier's calf before he could jump into Ari's flank. "Hurry up, sis!"

"I've... uh..." Ari combed through a series of exposed circuits, minding the detonation contacts carefully. "The fourth series... and this routes through the timer... a custom trigger..." Finally Ilaria's face flushed with a grin as she reached for a small circuit board. "This one! Aha! This is ~my~ nuke now."

"Damn, that was fast." Carbon piloted Ex over a sea of corpses and stopped ahead of Ilaria as a hulking shield. "Even Eve is still figuring it out."

"Oh yeah? Weapons specialist. Oh and I'm not kidding." Ari checked that Cid and the remaining men were following in Carbon's large footsteps. "Grab this football and huff it to the end-zone. Everyone else get the hell through. We're trapping the rest here."

"Taking my advice? It's a bit late, but it'll do." Ex picked up the nuke and shielded it with both arms. "I'm guessing we have a way out if she's here?"

"The girls probably dropped her off by the portal. They can pull us back to the ship too, I bet." Ari holstered her revolver and picked up the exhausted wolf next to her. "Ready?"

"Always."

Ilaria hopped through the portal, reality bending around her until her home reality folded over the alternate one. "Okay... Damn, that's unsettling without a ship." Carbon followed a second later, turning around to shield everyone from small arms fire on the other end of the portal. "Starbreeze, we're at the enemy portal. Get my girls to--"

No signal was required, the floor opening up and dropping everyone into the fore cargo bay of the Starbreeze to meet two extremely happy twins. <Mom!>

"Girls!" Ari carefully laid Sparks down on the metal floor and then leaped over to embrace her pups. "I thought I'd never see you again! Oh gods!"

Once everyone was safely through and inside the ship, the twins closed their emergency escape route and fell to their knees with their mother. <We did our best for you, mom.>

Ari steadied her exhausted children as tears flushed from her eyes. <You did more than enough. I'm so proud of you, my whelps.>

"We're not done yet." Carbon cracked open his cockpit and fidgeted with his mask. "Lilly, you guys alright?"

"Just broke... atmo... don't see... Starbr--... beacon though..."

Ari quirked her head and pulled up her watch interface. "Right, she's on handsets. Prisma, where are we? Can you relay our position for Lilly?"

"Oh, welcome back. We are currently in low Earth orbit over the Pacific ocean, approximately near the eastern edge of former Australia." The AI casually blew off her captain's expression of disbelief as she prepared a data packet. "Poor signal... No matter. Coordinates sent. Rendezvous in about nineteen minutes."

"Th-Thank you." Ari turned to her girls in amazement, suddenly understanding why their eyes were drooping from utter lack of energy. <That's... amazing, girls. Punching a hole through the damn Earth is what I'd label above and beyond the call.>

"That was way too much fun." Cid reached inside Ex and gave Carbon a kiss on her mask. "And I'm glad we brought them back together. They look so happy."

Carbon playfully pulled her crossdressing girlfriend into his lap so they could hug while watching Ari do the same with her girls. "I want that, too."

"You want ~what~?"

"~That~." Carbon nuzzled Cid's neck from behind, not the least bit embarrassed that a new erection began pressing into her tail. "One day, I'd like something to fight for. Some_one_ to fight for. I think... I finally figured out how powerful that can be thanks to her."

Sydney seductively grinned as she closed the cockpit. "Then let's get started on that, ~pronto~."

"Heeeee..."