Black Meridian: [Epilogue]
#28 of Black Meridian
[Epilogue]
Eleckton, The Umen Province
Six Months Later,
A dusty saloon, half-filled with cigarette smoke, barely filled with customers. It smelled firstly of stale tobacco and hard liquor, while beneath that festered the stench of unwashed bodies and gun oil. Rustlers came here, cattle-helps and farmers, it was a people's saloon, the elites had their own place up-town.
The latest guest set his hat down on the counter, coughing up a lungful of dust and sighing as his ass fell onto one of the stools at the bar.
"Whiskey, neat." He grunted at the bartender, a stony eyed horse that looked almost as tired as he felt. The bartender poured his drink wordlessly, moving on to another patron. "Thankya sir." The guest sipped his drink, eyes glazing over as they stared out the saloon window, the yellow afternoon light hypnotising him. He'd been in Eleckton in while now, or at least, longer there than any other town of late. Without that damn coyote, his friends in the Curse had been no help, and he was on his last legs.
"You made your choice!" That's what they said, paws resting on their guns. The fucking bastards.
He lit a cigarette, exhaling, and wondering where it all went wrong. A smarter man would say it was only a matter of time now, but he'd never been known for being smart.
"Howdy partner." A gruff voice said, setting their own hat down on the counter next to his. Beau grunted an acknowledgement, but otherwise focused on his drink. "Y'come here often pal?"
"Look, buddy." He began, turning. "I ain't really in the m--" His words trailed off as he met the man's eyes.
"Heya Beau." Fletcher said, a sly grin on his muzzle. He wore a dark, heavy jacket over flannel, and brown rustler trousers. Anyone from the circus would have recognised the coat as his stage getup. "How 'ya doin'?"
"You drinkin'?" The bartender asked him, shuffling over. The coyote motioned for a beer, then refocused on the squirming opossum.
"How-how'd you find me?" He asked nervously.
"I thought; where would I go, if I were a scumbag like you, huh?" His eyes went somewhere else for a brief moment. "Imagine you are Beau Riddon." He muttered.
"We're in a bar, you ain't gonna kill me here." The opossum sneered.
"Oh I ain't?" Fletcher asked, raising an eyebrow. He brushed his jacket back, revealing an eight-shooter on his hip. "Try me, boy."
Beau was breathing heavily, glancing around for anyone who might help. He found nothing, and so downed his drink, standing suddenly. "You keep back from me Fulbright, I-I'm warnin' ya, y'hear?"
"You know there's a warrant out for that rotting hide'a yours Beau?" Fletcher asked casually, dropping some coins on the counter for his untouched beer, standing slowly. "One step over in fact, Hildeburg Province - dead or alive, that's what the Baron's poster said." Beau licked his lips, his gaze pleading with the bartender as he came over.
"You boys got trouble, you take it ousside now, got it?" He said gruffly, laying both his meaty hands on the bar top. "I ain't cleanin' more blood outta these floors." Fletcher picked up his hat from the counter, placed it gently on his head. Beau caught sight of the faintest of scars peeking out from the fur-line there.
"Don't you worry none sir, this won't get messy jus' yet."
"You wouldn't." He whispered, eyes darting.
"Why don't we step outside some? Like the good fella said?"
"I ain't."
"How 'bout I ask nicely?" Fletcher added, his revolver suddenly held low in paw, the hammer drawn back. Beau looked again to the bartender for help, but the horse wanted nothing to do with him.
"You bastard, I saved your life!" The opossum exclaimed, turning and marching outside, pushing fiercely through the saloon's double doors, trying to tell himself he was still in control. "You'd be nothing 'thout me, and that jackal'a yours woulda died nailed to a cross!"
"You killed my friend Beau." Fletcher replied smoothly. "It's that simple."
"Why didn't you kill me on Blood Mesa when yous had the chance then?"
"Someone else needed it more'n I. I was feelin' merciful, it don't matter none." Fletcher shrugged. "There were other things weighing on my mind 'sides you at the time, resurrection does clear one's thoughts. C'mon, we're walkin' outta town."
The two kept moving, passing the buildings, passing the border. They even walked by a sheriff without issue. Fletcher walked just a few feet behind Riddon, his gun holstered, a paw on the grip at all times. Eventually they left the town border behind, passing into the swaths of knee high grass. It wasn't too far a walk, but enough that the city no longer dwarfed them. The journey contained no discussion, and Beau only briefly considered trying to run. There was no point though and the coyote knew it as much as he - no cover for miles, nowhere to hide. They eventually came to a small clearing, a large dead tree laid across the middle.
Lyric leaned against it, his posture relaxed, his paws cupping a match as he lit his cigarette.
"Howdy there Beau." He puffed, taking a second drag. "End'a the line." Riddon inhaled deeply, exhaled.
"You killed Drast, you got what you wanted!"
"What I wanted was _you_boy! We been playin' this game fer far too long. It's over." Lyric's damaged eye-socket was hidden beneath a leather eye patch, his paws still missing fur from where the nail wounds had healed over. Fletcher knew from experience that beneath his shirt laid a veritable mural of cuts and bullet wounds.
"You like killin' just as much as I do, you Cyclops bastard." Beau replied. "What 'bout that boy? You just let him die!"
"Choosin' those as your last words?" Lyric asked, chuckling. "We're past that."
Fletcher counted the seconds. After six, Beau's paw blurred, and his revolver was in paw. He raised it at the jackal, and Lyric put four shots through his chest without blinking. Beau's mouth fell open, and his paws twitched, his gun tumbling free and falling in the dust. He coughed once, a mouthful of blood hiccupping up onto his chin, before he simply fell over backwards. His body continued to twitch in the dirt, but his eyes were gone.
Beau Riddon was dead.
Lyric held his position firm, gun up, a thin wisp of smoke trailing from the barrel. His eye was wide, his paw shaking slightly.
"It's done." He whispered, as Fletcher came to his side. The coyote took the slide-action pistol, tucking it into the jackal's shoulder holster. He pulled the quivering man into a tight embrace, squeezing his neck.
"It's over." He whispered.
...
"What happened?" Narem asked, standing up from his position on the bed. The three were renting a small apartment in the quiet end of Eleckton, it didn't have much, but it had a sink with a tap and a bed big enough for the three of them.
"Riddon's gone." Lyric said, pulling his jacket off and dumping it on the desk. He and Fletcher hung their guns up on the back of the door, sighing.
"Then we're finished." Narem replied, falling back. The other two nodded. Fletcher took Lyric by the waist, kissing him gently.
"I'm proud of you." He whispered. Lyric blushed slightly, dragging the coyote to the bed.
"We've got something good here." He said softly, waiting as Narem stood, the three huddled in a circle. "We had to go through hell for it, but it's ours."
"I love you both." Narem said, and the others nodded. He stepped forward then, kissing Fletcher fiercely, his paw running over the bulge in the coyote's trousers. They broke apart.
"Isn't this a bit strange? The timing, I mean." Fletcher asked, laughing nervously.
"Nothin' about this is normal boy." Lyric said, wrapping his paws around his waist and kissing his neck. "Just do what feels right, and forget anyone else."
Fletcher wanted to kiss Narem next, so he did. The leopard fumbled slightly, but managed to undo his belt and trousers, shoving them down. Fletcher tugged off his shirt, and let Lyric lead him over to the bed. He watched the jackal tug his underwear down, dick bouncing up into the air, a droplet of pre shining at the tip.
"Ready huh?" Lyric asked, and the coyote nodded, blushing deeply. Lyric sat down on the bed, stripping his own clothes off. His own deep red cock stood firm, quivering slightly. Fletcher stepped forward and climbed onto him, inhaling his scent as he straddled him, slightly light-headed.
"Ah," He gasped, as Lyric wrapped a paw around both of their dicks, stroking slowly.
"Feels good huh?"
"Very." Behind Fletcher, Narem had taken his own clothes off and was watching, gently toying with his own cock, licking his lips like a predator. Lyric wasted no time, releasing their dicks and guiding his towards Fletcher's tailhole. There was enough pre and sheath-slickness to keep everything nice and slippery, and he gently pushed the tip of his cock into the coyote, Fletcher grunting slowly as it breached, letting himself sit back. Lyric moaned as he pushed deeper inside, slowly pulling back, and then driving in again. Fletcher, bouncing on his knees, cock dripping pre, writhed in place, gasping as Lyric slowly fucked him a little deeper each time.
The jackal took hold of the coyote's dick, squeezing at the now-exposed knot, cupping his balls and massaging his fingers into Fletcher's taint. Fletcher was in ecstasy, the sheer scent of Lyric driving him crazy, not to mention the thick warmness of the jackal's cock rhythmically slamming into him. Lyric put his paws on Fletcher's waist and kept the pace up, driving himself deeper, rotating his hips, and stretching the coyote out as much as he could. Fletcher just groaned and sighed, trying to move his hips in time, but preferring to let Lyric take charge.
Especially for what came next.
Lyric signalled for Fletcher to slow then, and the coyote obeyed, leaning forward and kissing him. Fletcher shivered as he felt slender, delicate leopard paws touch his thighs as Narem stepped up behind him.
"Are you ready?" He cooed gently, and Fletcher nodded. He hadn't been on the receiving end of this yet, but he was ready for it. He grit his teeth as he felt the tip of Narem's cock touch his hole, forced up against Lyric's, everything slick. There was a moment of pressure applied and suddenly Fletcher cried out, the air punched out of him. His ass felt spread, and he could do nothing but whine with pleasure as the leopard's cock slowly slid inside him, grinding against the jackal's. Eventually both the cat and the jackal were deep inside him, and it was all Fletcher could do to squeeze the sheets of the bed as they took turns thrusting and grunting. They'd worked out - from experience topping Narem - that it worked best when one of the dicks was still, while the other worked at movement.
Fletcher ran a paw quickly over his cock, but he was so sensitive it was trembling, long lines of pre bubbling from the top and dripping onto Lyric's belly, his cum ready to burst at any moment.
"That feels..." He groaned. "So good."
Lyric pulled him down for a kiss, their tongues brushing against one another, a guttural growl sounding in the jackal's throat. Narem huffed, his body slapping up against Lyric and Fletcher's as he thrust.
"Are you ready?" Lyric whispered.
"I can't last much longer." Fletcher whined.
"I'm close, I'm fucking close," Narem said, panting heavily. "I'm gonna, I'm... ah..." He went still and suddenly Lyric was shuddering, quivering in place as he felt Narem's cock, squeezed up against his own, trembling and shaking. Through his own, he could feel the lines of cum pulsing through the leopard's dick and shooting into Fletcher, and this combined with the sudden warmth pushed him over the edge. Lyric bit Fletcher's neck as he came, his paw wrapping around the coyote's cock as he too orgasmed, rope after thick rope shooting out onto Lyric's chest, some landing on his chin, painting both the jackal and his own chest.
The three orgasmed together, and eventually Narem pulled out, hissing as his post-cum sensitivity almost hurt him. Lyric collapsed on top of Fletcher, his dick still inside, panting heavily. Narem came around and joined in the cuddle, some of Fletcher's cum spilling onto his fur.
"Sorry I didn't last very long." Fletcher said softly, blushing deeply. "It just... it felt so good."
"It's alright, none of us did any better. Actually, think you finished last, boy." Lyric replied, laughing. Fletcher nodded. His ass was already a bit sore, and he imagined it would get worse by morning. For the moment though, he was content to lie in the post-orgasm glow, a deep sense of relaxation spreading through him.
Eventually he stirred. "Aight, both'a you off me now, I need a towel." The two climbed up, helping him to his feet, offering up a small rag for him to wipe himself down with. Fletcher cleaned himself, and then pulled his trousers up over himself. He kissed Lyric and Narem each, then excused himself to the back, begging a bit of air.
It was cooler outside, and a light evening wind tugged at his fur. He loved being with the other two, but still the urge he'd felt before Blood Mesa itched at him. He was torn, part of him wanting to be with them, part wanting a good year or so to himself. He felt surer of who he was now, but there was still a great distance to go.
[Imagine you are the greatest mind ever be created, and you are trapped inside a feeble prison of flesh.] Telos said, his voice shimmering like a perfectly reflective pool of water. He often said things of similar effect, and as far as Fletcher had determined, it seemed the primary method the artificial mind used to understand things.
We destroyed your body; don't you want to be free? Fletcher thought, not expecting a coherent answer.
[The world will never be free of me, nor I it. I was made to save this rock.] As it had explained, when Fletcher had been revived by the Vessel, a small and highly compartmentalised version of Telos had been imprinted on his mind. Deep within the folds of his memory, a kind of sleeper cell was hidden, waiting for activation. When the Vessel had destroyed itself, it had been able to reach only him and trigger the unfolding. A small version of the machine lived in Fletcher's mind now, and it spoke to him rarely, but enough to confirm it was there. As such, it was prone to strange sentences.
It was how they'd found Beau Riddon, in the end. Not that Narem or Lyric knew it, as Fletcher had cautiously disguised the advice it gave.
"You can rest peacefully now Ursula, at least that's something." He muttered, licking his lips.
If they ever came across another Serpent Vessel, which was unlikely, Telos claimed it could rebuild itself within that machine. Fletcher was sure if he ever found another one of those heinous things, he wouldn't let the being inside him anywhere near it.
Leave me alone, it's over.
[It's not. For Project Ouroboros, the point was it was to be unending, from nothing - everything, a holographic mind. Imagine you are the creator of Telos.]
_Not now._Fletcher thought, shaking his head. It frightened him, always trying to compile 'workable models' of a mind. Always talking about saving things. Fletcher wondered if it could influence him in any way, take over him like some kind of psychic vampire. He shivered, despite the fact it wasn't cold.
"So, what do we do now?" He turned in place to see Narem approaching, a small mug of coffee clutched in his delicate paws. "Lyric is sleeping. We've been hunting Riddon for months, feels weird to be over. What's next?"
_I need to be alone._Fletcher thought, but he held his tongue.
"We travel to Rarick Province, try to pick up the circus's trail. Find Miss Meridian, Thume, Aloysius, the others." He said. "Rebuild our lives I s'pose."
"You think it'll be that easy?" Narem asked, snaking a paw around Fletcher's waist and holding him tight. The coyote inhaled deeply, exhaled. He was so aware of his breathing now, always conscious he had once been dead. He wondered how much Telos had changed when it revived him.
"Maybe. Riddon's dead, cult is gone. We can just survive."
"Alright then." The leopard replied contently. Fletcher turned suddenly and pulled him into a tight embrace, inhaling his feline smell, heart racing.
"I'm glad I found you." He whispered, relaxing as Narem returned the hug.
"Me too."
[Imagine you are Fletcher Fulbright.]
[The End.]
Black Meridian Post-Script
I can't really be damned right-aligning the title for the PS. To be honest, the formatting for the story has been hell, haha. SoFurry REALLY does not like right aligning, not doing THAT again.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading my story, this is a little segment where I waffle on a bit about some of my closing thoughts. First of all, I really hope you enjoyed it. I know this one has problems (as do most stories), but I'm overall happy with the way it ended. In the next week or so I'll write a 'Black Meridian: Aftermath' journal, talking about what I thought some of the strengths and weaknesses of this story were, plus what's next for me. So if you like reading authors thoughts about their work that's for you. Otherwise feel free to skip it, I suppose it's a bit self-indulgent.
I really enjoyed writing these characters. My main goal with Black Meridian was to write a story with memorable side characters, as I felt that was a real weakness in some of my earlier stuff. So hopefully you thought I achieved that too. My personal favourite characters were Thume, Dopesmoker, and Nadine.
I think Black Meridian had some serious problems too, not to try and bring down your vibe, but I'll write about that more in the journal.
Did I trick you with Fletcher's 'death'? Admit it, you can admit it if I did. I hoped that the end of some of my other stories might lend me credibility when it comes to killing characters. I also hope you'll forgive my indulgence with that final sex scene - I really wanted to write a threesome DP scene, haha.
Telos lives on in Fletcher's mind, and while Beau Riddon might be dead, there's still a lot in store for these guys. I'd like to revisit this world one day, and do a sequel of sorts about where the characters would be about twenty years from now (spoilers, they don't get a happily ever after). I even have a title in mind: Black Oblivion.
I don't know if people want to read that though, and as a writer, you always have to balance what you want to write with what people want to read. I've got a really cool idea for my next story though :3
If you're interested, this story was 401 pages long, and had 120,751 words.
Stay tuned. Thank you for reading Black Meridian.