FSE

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Moving out of the tiled corridor into the next challenge room Felinus held his tail in his paws, kneading it sheepishly as he followed Flinty into the next room. He should have been feeling more relaxed now, less self conscious about being naked but it was hard to ignore it.

It was more than just that though, the game the nimbats had just made them play and the tangled mess it had degenerated into. No one had been lost and Nibble had been quite profuse in declaring them victors for not falling over first.

It had gone on for hours until exhausted, satisfied and very drained he'd fallen asleep. When they had woken up the nimbats had started it going again. After another hour or two of very enjoyable carnal fun they had been shuffled out of the game room and down this corridor.

The new challenge room was a hexagonal shape, a sealed set of bronze gates blocked the far exit with a huge bronze and iron fountain in the middle. Four rather lewd statues of a rat a weasel, a lion and a rabbit adorned the centre, each spraying a stream of freshwater into the air to land with a gentle rippling splash in the basin. Looking away from the statue, ears burning with a blush at the wickedly indecent positions the statues were in he glanced at the nimbats as they flapped and flittered above their heads whispering to each other.

"Are you going to tell us what we have to do next?" Felinus demanded, dropping his tail and staring up at them, "Is this another game like last time or...."

Nibble dropped down, wings buzzing as he floated around Felinus' head, "More sex? Nah we're here to play a proper series of games this time."

The purple bat creature zoomed off as Frisky alighted on the lion statue, toes curling about the big cat's rock hard water spout. The cinnamon coloured bat smirked up at the statue and flexed his claws as if teasing someone before speaking.

"The next game is quite simple but also high stakes, it is the last game before you reach the central vault and gain a chance to claim the Whisper!"

"Alright, nearly there," Felinus said rubbing his paws together, "So what do we have to do this time?"

"The next chamber is the Hall of Wands," Frisky declared, gesturing toward were Nibble was working a device on the wall to open a gateway leading onwards, "There are four stations across the length of the hall, each guarded by a magical wand set into a device."

"You need to disable the devices," Nibble called out as the metal gates stopping them from continuing onwards clanked open, "You have five minutes to stop each device or else the wand will go off!"

"Wait," Flinty said, grabbing Felinus' arm to stop him from walking forward, "Is that five minutes per device, or in total from when we enter the hall?"

"Ooooh, good question," Felinus murmured as he turned to stare at the cinnamon coloured nimbat perched on the statue, "I wouldn't put it past either of you to cheat us like that."

Frisky just smirked and launched himself into the air, "Five minutes per device, the timer starts when you press the button marked with a star on the plinth the devices are built into."

"Glad we cleared that up," Flinty declared and walked forwards towards the gates. Felinus however paused just outside and looked up at Nibble.

"What about Aira? Can... we do anything to get him back?"

"Aira?" Nibble cocked his head to one side and smirked, "There is nothing you can do to get him back, he never left your side."

Felinus frowned, opened his mouth as if to ask something then shook his head and hurried after Flinty into the hall beyond. It was a grand room with a marble room, bounded by four large archways. Set into the floor in the middle of each archway was a pedestal holding a wand.

The nearest pedestal was split in two by a large divider of stone, with the wand emerging from the top of it. A short octagonal crystal column topped by a gleaming silver sphere wrapped in gold wire. The surface of the plinth on each side of the divider was embedded with twelve crystals of that glowed with a variety of colours. In the centre of each side there was also a stone button shaped like a star just waiting for them to press it.

"Is this it?" Felinus asked as he approached and peered at the set up over Flinty's shoulder, "What do we need to do?"

"Well," the blue fox said slowly, rubbing his muzzle and examining the plaque on the front of the pedestal, "According to this, each of these crystals produces a different tone when pressed. We need to play the right sequence or tune once we start the timer or it will zap us."

"Great," Felinus grumbled, "I am not really a musical type you know... why can't we just walk past? There is plenty of space?"

"You'd think that," Flinty gestured at the marble floor, "See how the space between the columns is a different colour? If we walk off the other side without solving the puzzle the wand will zap us."

"Of course it will," Felinus sighed, "What will it do to us?"

"Random polymorph spell it says here," Flinty gestured at the plaque, "Turn us into a dumb animal and leave us at the nimbat's mercy."

Felinus wrinkled his muzzle and nodded, "Well, let's start this thing up and see if we can work it out."

"Sure, ok we both need to stand on opposite sides so we can't see each others controls," Flinty moved around to stand on one side and Felinus took up a position on the other side.

"Now what?" Felinus asked with a frown, "We both push the star buttons and then?"

"I think one set of our crystals will light up and we call them out and the other has to press those crystals."

"Is that it?" Felinus frowned, "That seems, deceptively simple to me... we missing something?"

"No idea," Flinty rubbed his muzzle then shrugged, "But that's what I think we have to do."

"Ok... well on three then?" Felinus held his hand over the star shaped button and after counting down depressed the switch in front of him. The pedestal made a soft clanking sound and then the crystals all flashed with lights. Before they started to flash on and off in a sequence of lights. Quickly the cat called them out to Flinty and soft, lilting tones started to ring out as he hit the buttons in front of him.

Then it was Flinty's turn to call out a pattern, Felinus hurriedly hit the gems before him, the odd music chiming through the still air of the great marble hall. This repeated three more times, each sequence of flashing lights growing faster and more complex but somehow Flinty kept up with his startled commands and when it was his turn to play Felinus succeeded in bashing out his tune in turn.

After the fourth turn at playing the music the pedestal made a clicking sound, the wand was pulled down inside with a soft grinding sound and Felinus sagged in relief.

"We did it, damn that last one was insane!"

"Yeah, but we did it," Flinty grinned and tugged on the cat's arm, "Come on, let's try the next one."

Felinus followed the blue fox toward the next archway spanning the length of the hallway and the pedestal that sat squarely in the middle. This one was made from bronze and copper and the stand was a mesh of interconnected wire frames. There were several small openings and inside Felinus could make out spinning gears, swinging counterweights and twitching, ticking devices.

Crouching down next to Flinty the grey cat peered inside and rubbed his chin in consternation. He looked up at Flinty who was studying the top of the pedestal. There was another wand fixed to the top, this one attached to some sort of mechanical arm.

"So what do we have to do?" Felinus asked with a frown,

"Text up here says we need to adjust the clockwork until we are able to reach inside disarm the trap... but I don't understand any of the maths here."

Felinus stood up and looked at the script covering the top of the pedestal and frowned, "Yeah I haven't got a clue. I do have one idea though."

"Oh?" Flinty asked curiously and smiled, "What did you have in...." he trailed off and his eyes widened. Felinus just grinned at the fox's reaction and let the power coursing through his veins take over.

Flinty was no doubt reacting to the way Felinus was changing. Stiff, thick whiskers were spreading out on either side of his nose. His ears were changing, growing round and pink, fur shedding from them as his bones cracked, his muscles and organs slithered about inside him and he shrank.

Dropping in size rapidly Felinus arched his back as he landed on all fours before the fox and gasped loudly. Shuddering he squirmed from side to side, hips in the air, wriggling and mewling as the slithering, shifting, flowing sensation of transforming ripped through his body.

He continued to shrink, to twist, to change, his hands lost most of their fur and his feet elongated, his ankles repositioning themselves into a stance much more suited for standing on all four feet. Shaking his head, tear-drop body close to the ground Felinus lifted his head and squeaked as his tail shed its fur and his sharp, feline fangs were replaced by a pair of rat buck teeth.

Seconds had passed, maybe twenty of them in total but it always felt like a lot longer. Breathing heavily the former cat pushed up off the ground with his front paws and stood on his hind legs looking up at Flinty.

"I... forgot you were a were-rat," Flinty muttered somewhat embarrassed, rubbing at the back of his neck, "You so rarely change around me..."

Felinus brushed his whiskers and then scampered forwards and leapt at the pedestals. His small claws gripped the framework and he clambered upwards swiftly. Once he'd reached the first opening he carefully slid his body inside then started to clamber deeper into the mechanism.

Once he was inside it didn't take long for Felinus to find the guts of the mechanism. There was a simple series of cogs, a pin, a wound up spring and one of those weird, perpetually spinning weight arrangements. Squeaking the rat reached out and pulled out the pin. His small pink paws were perfectly suited to gripping, tugging, pulling and with a splink the small piece of metal slipped free of its housing.

The result was spectacular, at least from Felinus' viewpoint. The whole mechanism just unwound, springs lost tension, cogs stopped moving and the spinning, shifting, whirling, continuously moving parts all juddered to a halt. Scrambling back out of the clockwork pillar Felinus looked up at Flinty and grinned, showing off his buck teeth.

Flinty laughed and reached down to pick him up. Felinus allowed this, digging his claws into the fox's bare arm fur and scrambled up to perch on his shoulder.

"Useful, bet they didn't expect that of us, ok onwards, one more to go and we are out of this hall of traps!"

The next archway was blocked by another pedestal, one more wand and a series of peculiar arms and ligaments. The plinth was full of different shaped cubes and indentations. Each shape had engraved lines of metal and as he looked at it Felinus saw it was really not that hard. All you had to do was fit the shapes into the appropriate holes and match the metal lines to complete the grid partially engraved into the pedestal.

Turning to Flinty the rat squeaked then stopped as he remembered he couldn't speak like this. Tensing his muscles Felinus prepared to scamper down to the ground so he could turn back. But Flinty didn't wait, he picked up one of the cubes and slotted it into place. He then took another and popped it into the matching hole. Except Flinty wasn't completing the grid, he must not have seen it!

With a squeak of alarm Felinus jumped for the law and triggered his ability to shift! He was too slow however, as his back arched and his body grew he saw through a haze of discomfort Flinty click a shape into place and trigger a trap. Instantly the metal armatures snapped into action.

They quickly span a web of thick black latex bandages around the fox. Felinus cried out and tried to stumbled to his feet but his knees hadn't finished changing back so he thumped into the ground. Rolling onto his side, cat claws flexing as his hands shifted and grew fur Felinus watched as his friend was entombed in the whirling black bandages.

They were forming a skin tight layer that outlined Flinty's body but left him very little room to do more then wriggle. Clambering to his feet Felinus staggered forwards, grabbed Flinty's shoulders and tried to pry the bandages away from his shoulders.

"It's too late," Flinty said, tilting his head back to look into Felinus' eyes, "It's got me... there is only one thing left to do... will you do it for me Felinus? Will you help me to complete the challenges?"

"Of course, but I can still get you free," tugging at the latex with his claws he tried his best to slice through the tacky plastic wrap covering him.

"No, Felinus look at me," lifting his head the cat's eyes met the fox's and he froze. His claws grew still as he lost himself in those brightly glowing fox eyes. He'd never seen them glow so brightly and so he just stood there, staring in dazed awe.

Black latex was wrapping itself around Flinty's head, tightening, layering thickly, obscuring the outline of his body beneath the thick layers but Felinus didn't care. All that mattered was looking into those beautiful eyes, relaxing and letting the fox wash over him.

For a moment his mind resisted, he felt the probing touch of the fox but then he obeyed the command in that gaze to relax. Giving in felt so good, it was so right and with a shudder Felinus felt his fur ripple. This transformation was so very different to what he usually felt when he turned into a rat. It was new, different, his body flowed effortlessly into the new shape that was pouring out of Flinty's gaze.

Blue fur, white fur, blonde hair, a fox's build and muzzle and a new mind. His thoughts were fading, his vision growing blurry and the last thing Felinus saw before he blacked out Flinty's eyes being covered. Black latex bandages coiled around the fox's muzzle and covered his eyes and with a start he shuddered and started to wriggle as the latex clinging to his body grew tighter.

This wasn't right, he wasn't the one who was being wrapped up... but... no... here he was, cocooned, mummified... Flinty shook his head and pushed down the last traces of Felinus' thoughts and stepped back to admire the wriggling shape in the black bandages.

Flinty brushed his paws down his chest and twitched his fox tail to check everything was in order then grinned, reaching out one paw to tweak the bulging outline of fox cock now lost in the bandages.

"Well fox, you seem occupied, I'll leave you here to wriggle and push on. I'd ah... dig you out but I think it'd just grab me too," turning away from his wriggling mummified self Flinty hurried toward the exit. Stopping before the archway he peered into the room that waited beyond this trapped hallway and grinned. This was it! The next chamber was clearly the centre, the source... there on the altar was the gleaming shape of the Whisper of the Occult!

Laughing at having made it this far Flinty stepped across the threshold then yelped as something flashed and a bolt of light slammed into him! The doorway was trapped and he'd walked straight into it! With a sickening lurch he fell forwards onto all fours and cried out as the magic coursed through his body!

So close and he'd fallen to a trap at the last second!