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Puppy Upgrade v1.9

Come day time, Mat woke up with a yawn and rolled over in his bed, tossing sheets off little by little until he

felt ready to get up. The alarm had already beeped, it was time to go to work. Down on the foot end of the bed, Ricky

was curled up like the good pet he'd become. By now, the wolf's rubbery coating he got at work for 'testing purposes'

had worn off, and much of the fur had regrown. Still the wolf was behaving well, like a good trained pet should. Much

thanks to the various experiments in obedience that had been put in, as Ricky was on and off on loan to the test

procedures, to help the fox pay off all the work that had gone into getting his almost free pet.

"Up you go, pup! Time to go to work!" said Mat, stretching and getting out of bed, patting his side to get

Ricky to come along to the kitchen where the fox got himself a nice big mug of coffee. Mat used one of the many wet

food cans from the institute to dump in a bowl for his wolf to eat, complete with the sedating drugs meant to wear away

at the pet's mind over a long duration of time. Watching the wolf-become-dog, Mat began thinking that he couldn't just

take his pet in to work every day, especially during the days when no testing was on the schedule. The fox still had

his desk job to handle, and felt a bit guilty that his pet wolf mostly got to just lie on the floor next to him while

working.

Driving in to the institute, Mat thought about what to do. He wasn't sure if he could let the wolf stay at home

all day, partly from not keeping an eye on him, and also thinking that if someone should show up, they might even steal

the very obedient wolf that he'd still not paid off to have. He so much adored his sweet pet.

Arriving at the studying asylum, with Ricky on all fours walking along as usual to the front door, the fox

traded shifts with Phil who had the night shift now.

"Heya, stinker!" Mat grinned, "Ready to go home for a nice nap? Nothing horribly bad happening while I was

away, I hope?"

The skunk replied in kind, "Hey yerself, lazy boy. You give foxes a bad name, you're too shy to be slutty." He

snickers. "It's been a calm night. Not much going on while the subjects are just stowed away in their cells. No

visitors or anything. Lets me keep up on Fortnite without interruptions. Hah! Well, see ya tonight."

Phil gathered up his things from the front desk and headed out, with a friendly nuzzle at his fellow co-worker,

and gave Ricky a ruffle on the head. "I see your boy is coming along well. He's almost back to his fluffy self, now.

Still behaving, hm?"

Mat nodded and smiled in his typical shy fashion, "Yes.. He's being a very good boy. I'm still not sure if I

can leave him at home while I come here.. In case he gets anxious or something. I don't know, really. Haven't had a pet

before, but it's nice to have someone to share the home with."

The skunk smiled back, packed up and leaving. "Well, You two have a good day. It can't be more boring than the

night shift, that's for sure. Hah!" With a wave, Phil exited the institute to get a few hours of sleep before it was

time to 'work' again.

Mat settled down behind the reception desk, patting his side to get Ricky to lie down on the floor nearby. The

fox went about his daily business of checking records and waiting for the occasional visitor or new admittance to come

in. Meanwhile, his thoughts were still occupied on how to keep his pet more active, and still leave Mat to fulfill his

work duties.

As the opportunity arose, next time Dr. Bryan on the day shift came around the reception area to see what news

had appeared, Mat coughed and thought of how best to approach the topic. The doc, a lot more experienced in reading

people, picked up on it.

"Something on your mind?" asked the feline, and looked down at where the wolf was contentedly curled up on the

floor. "The training holding up, still?"

"Uh.. yes," said Mat, "He's doing fine, I'm just unsure if he would be okay at home now and then, alone. I

mean, I like him, but isn't he.. well, a distraction here for others? Or for me, while I try to work and he pushes up

for some attention. It's fine while he's helping you with some training experiment, that way he is being kept busy. But

when he's home alone, I think he needs something to do so he won't just become a lazy house pet.. right?"

Bryan nodded, looking at the wolf with his mostly shed rubber just visible under the growing fur. "Well.

Perhaps we can do something about that in the next round of tests. If we take him off your paws for a few weeks, maybe

that will give you a bit of time to catch up on filing and work. What do you think? And he will be here all the time,

so you can see him whenever you feel like it." The doc is thinking up what experiments are lined up, and how they might

suit the pet wolf. "For the particular new model we have lined up, we would need a fresh subject, though. Do we have

any fresh patients lined up, or ? ?"

Mat looked over the schedule, tapping away at the terminal. "Not at the moment, no, the ones we have are in

their cells, and have their training schedules set already. Most owners just want the regular pet treatment.

Admittedly, several have been impressed with how well Ricky here is performing, being so docile and obedient. I think

he has swayed several owners into going for the full pet conversion instead of just a few minor behavior corrections."

There's more than a hint of pride in the fox's voice, thinking of how well his wolf is helping business by just being

here.

The doc stroked his chin fur, looking both at Mat and his toy. "If we were to take him in now.. we would have

to take some of the conditioning away before he would be useful to us. Are you okay with that?"

"Uh.. take the conditioning away? So.. he wouldn't be a pet any more?" Mat asked, a tony of worry in his voice.

"I do like him the way he is.. So very well behaved."

"Heh, don't worry about it. If the tests work out fine, then he will still be useful to you. And if not, well,

then we can just put him back in the training program and he will be back to the state he is in now. It didn't take

many weeks to convert him, as you recall, and we'll just take him off the sedatives for a while to let him regain his

mind. Nothing that can't be fixed by resuming his feeding."

The fox nodded, slowly, thinking it over. In reality, it was an easy choice. He did want his pet to be more

useful on its own, when left alone at home, and there was no real risk associated with it as he could get the 'old

personality' back. Neither the fox nor cheetah considered what Ricky thought of it; after all, the wolf was merely a

test subject. He agreed to having the wolf sent back into treatment, after all, that is how he is paying off the cost

of getting the pet.

"Excellent!" Bryan says, "I'll just take him along downstairs and we'll get him fitted out. Now, the first

couple of weeks you can only watch him, as he will have to be alone for the re-conditioning. But, like we said, that

will just let you work without interruption. Deal?"

Mat nodded with a weak smile, not entirely sure what would happen, but he was still happy in a way that both

his pet and himself would get a new experience. He let the doc clip a leash on Ricky and take him away.

~~~

Dr. Bryan led the wolf through the hallways of the holding cells to the room where Ricky was before, where all

his fur had been taken off of him. He was still obedient enough to pad along without questioning, and once inside the

de-furring station, a pair of orderlies helped position the wolf up on the table he was on several months ago. This

time around, it was to remove all traces of residual rubber from when Ricky had been turned into a shiny smooth, statue

like, creature. Now, the orderlies used soft chemicals to wipe away the remainders of rubber under the growing coat,

until just a plain, if slightly damp, furred wolf remained on the table, as the doctor looked on with a bit of mild

amusement. He had seen it before, so it was not a special thing, but he still thought highly of his well trained staff

for being so efficient.

"That will do, he is cleaned up enough to treat now. We will start with a few weeks in solitary. I want him

trained, or should I say un-trained, to resemble his former self, before we start on any serious rebuilding. Jacket him

up, please, and then wheel him over to the long term cell."

The helpers nodded in agreement. Drying the wolf off and removing the remainder of cleaning liquids, they then

began fitting him into a series of restraints. Tom the horse brought over a large heap of canvas materials from a

storage box. First off, they had the wolf stand up on all fours atop the work table, lifting his paws one by one to

slide the straitjacket from the bundle up along Ricky's arms, and as the jacket was slid all the way up to the wolf's

shoulders, they began to fasten it down. Sliding in belt loops behind the back and tugging them firmly shut. When the

wolf's upper body is covered, the groin straps are applied to make sure that the jacket won't slide off, or be able to

wiggle out of through the opening at the head. Now, they pushed Ricky down on his belly. First attaching thick paw

mitts to fully hide the wolf paws, and then looping the straitjacket straps through the attached mitten rings so they

were held in place as the jacket got fully secured, with the slips coming from each jacket arm tying together behind

the wolf's back, there being tugged together hard enough that Ricky was hugging himself and unable to even jiggle his

arms in the slightest.

"Phew, that's hard work!" Charlie said, patting the wolf's upwards facing rump, then again tugging the back and

groin straps a few notches tighter to make sure that the whole jacket assembly would not shift in the slightest. He and

Tom then unfurled what could best be described as canvas pants with additional strap points, beginning to slide them up

over the wolf's legs. Ricky lay still, obedient as ever, as the tight canvas got pulled up to fully coat his slightly

furred legs. Before tugging the new pants fully on though, the orderlies prepared their subject by rolling him over on

his back and sliding a catheter into the urethra, swiftly and efficiently, not minding any small whimpers that Ricky

let out. Once that was in place, a larger plug was forced up the wolf's rear, needing a bit of shifting around to get

in between the snug groin straps of the jacket. This device also with a tube attached, both of them getting slid

through openings in the canvas pants.

Continuing their work, the staff forced the pants fully up along Ricky's legs, to where it could be attached to

the jacket itself, now forming a full body cocoon of canvas and belts with just the waste tubes sticking out. Similar

mitts to those covering the wolf's hands were not put on his feet, and attached to the leg cuffs of the pants so as to

fully hide the body under the restraining materials, mitts that, like at the hands, forced Ricky's toes and pawpads

into a very specific, secured position where they could not even wiggle.

When the subject was totally hidden inside his canvas cocoon, he was lifted up by two pairs of strong hands to

be placed on a wheeled gurney. They did not bother strapping him to it, as he was still being so compliant, and he was

only going to be set in a cell down the hallway. They rolled him up to the cell door, then again lifted the wolf up

easily in strong horse arms to place him down inside the blandly colored cell, on a 'bed', or table more like it,

fastened to the floor. Only Ricky's face being visible now, limbs and tail tucked inside the tight cocoon. They began

securing belts from the table up over Ricky's body, through loops in the jacket and pants, to firmly squish him down

onto the mildly padded surface.

Dr. Bryan entered the cell after the orderlies to watch over the proceedings. "Good, hook him up, and add the

hood too. That one, with the extra ear buds and feeder tube." The cheetah looked on as the last canvas part was

attached to Ricky, a full head hood with a large dildo shape inside the muzzle, getting pushed past wolf teeth and

probing the back of his throat. Ricky kept staying still thanks to his previous training, but a hint of fear showed in

his eyes just before the hood got pushed all the way down, probe filling his muzzle and blinding thick canvas shutting

out all light, blinding the wolf completely.

~~~

The doctor watched as the last head strap got attached, now holding the subject fully immobile on the table. He

then took a personal interest in plugging everything in to make sure it got done properly. Waste tubes from the rear

and catheter with a slight ongoing suction, the rear tube also flooding with water once every half hour to make sure

the wolf was completely cleaned out inside. The feeder tube through the wide mouth gag got hooked up to a nutrient

solution, and Dr. Bryan took his time adjusting the feed settings to include various stimulants and psychoactive drugs,

this time without the sedatives. Normally, one would take some time to taper off on the obedience conditioning

chemicals, but this was an extra opportunity to see how a halfway treated subject reacted to sudden withdrawal. Wires

from the ear plugs were connected to an audio source, set to constantly repeat phrases.

'You have free will. You are trapped here. There is no way out unless you make it. Think of how you have been

used as a mere pet for so long. You are your own person. Remember the humiliation. How you have felt. What you were

before.' were just a selection of the phrases told into Ricky's ears, over and over, while the drugs previously used to

make him docile now were replaced with stimulants and awakening concoctions, starting to remove the conditioning from

before, and aiming to restore, if not free will perhaps, then at least the notion of rebellion and desire to be free as

the wolf would have more of his higher brain functions become active again.

Pleased with the initial settings, the cheetah exited the room and closes the door, leaving Ricky in darkness,

quiet apart from the whispers right into his ears, and the constricting feel of the full body restraints. Every other

day Dr. Bryan came in to check on the subject, mainly the vitals and noting which drugs should be added or removed,

measuring success mostly by how the wolf tugged inside the full body straitjacket. The more Ricky struggled, the more

he was obviously re-conditioned to attempt escape. Doc wasn't worried about checking in on the patient, as Ricky was

both blind and deaf, even the nose covered inside the hood, so he was fully unaware of any other presence in the room.

Only darkness, claustrophobic squeezing, the occasional cleaning out with cold water shooting up his rump. No sense of

time whatsoever.

~~~

Dr. Bryan took an early day off, so that next day both he and Chester could meet in the conference room, along

with technicians from the experimental lab. Several staff were needed for this project, and it was generally thought to

be a good idea to have a common meeting at the beginning for discussing what the goals were and what was actually

possible to implement.

Chester started the presentation at the whiteboard, facing the others. "Good morning. I'll get right to the

point so we don't waste getting up too early in the morning," he chuckled.

"We've got a new project to work with. A semi conditioned subject is currently being treated back to normal, to

give us a fresh start. We would like to both enhance him, and to maintain a degree of control. As an aside, this will

be an uncharted field as of yet, but if we do succeed - and I have full faith in Jeff and Herbert here to come up with

ideas - there are many applications for this new development. Possibly drug free conditioning of subjects, and if we

put in a bit of extra effort, perhaps even commonplace commercial uses, including those juicy military contracts. That

is why we're meeting up with both doctors and technicians here - yes?" he asks, and looked up as the dingo half raised

his paw. "-- Ah, of course Jeff, robotics researchers, I meant to say. Sorry about that. Anyway, we think that a

collaboration would be good here. Combining psychological treatment with augmented robotics, to both go for the mind as

well as enhancing the body. We already know that merely pumping someone full of steroids, heh, like you tech people say

we're doing, admittedly does not create a strong or durable enough person. And likewise, merely slapping on a few metal

parts," he grinned amicably, poking fun both ways, "does not necessarily produce a result that is controllable or

obedient when it has to be. With that, I'll hand over to Herbert for the introductory ideas."

The deer got up and approached the whiteboard, drawing a rough outline of a four legged creature in green

marker. "Indeed, this will be a collaboration. From the doctors, we will need a thorough testing of the subject's

capabilities, and input on the possible drugs to be used. On our end, we'll provide the extra power needed." As he

talked, he draw in red marker over the body, mostly straight lines and circles connected in a way not unlike a skeletal

diagram. "I and Jeff will begin work on actuators to place here, here and here," he said, pointing at various joints of

the diagram, "which will provide extra strength as needed, and also retarding - or restricting, if you prefer simpler

terms - motion when so desired. We will put together what amounts to an exoskeleton to place on the subject's body,

enabling much stronger motions such as jumping, reaction times, and so forth. The first problem we see with this is

that if we are not careful, we might, ah.. Well, we might rip him apart if too much power is used. Hence, we need to

know what his body is capable of to begin with. After the first test run, we can slowly increase its abilities as the

body becomes more used to it and limber up. We will need to work closely with you, heh, meat wranglers, to get test

results that are acceptable upper limits for what the suit will provide."

He nodded to the dingo and they switched places. Jeff took up the capped marker and pointed at the outlined

animal's limbs and head. "An initial thought will be that it is simple to add sensors, acting as extra eyes both front

and sideways, both for what have you night vision and echolocation, which will be fed to a central unit that we think

may be placed as a backpack on top of the spine.. yes?" he asked as the cheetah raised a paw.

"Can't we place some of the items inside the body, perhaps by shrinking the guts, or replacing a lung or

kidney?" Dr. Bryan asked, mostly thinking about how bulky it would make the unit.

Jeff gave it a few seconds' thought before replying,. "Not at the moment. As technology advances, perhaps we

will be able to, some day even replacing the skeletal system inside the body through invasive surgery, but that is

years ahead. Due to its batteries and components taking up so much space, I-- we-- feel that for the prototype, it is

best to have it as an external unit. This will both help us fine tune the controls and go bug hunting, and for the

subject itself, he will have his full bodily function so that we do not remove parts, like a lung, that would give him

extra oxygen and thus power, in this example. We would have to figure out how to co-ordinate the suit power with the

subject itself. Take the examples of quicker reaction times, or perhaps a high jump. If the body is unaware of what

happens, then we may tear a tendon or muscle simply by jerking it too hard without warning." Thinking on his feet, and

also keeping notes for refining the ideas later on after the brainstorm meet, he continued, "One likely approach to

this is to help the body by some wiring up of the muscles to act in the same way the suit tries to. Quick reflexes are

the best test case, I would think, since that requires a lot of motion in a very short time. If the suit moves back, or

turns the head, then a select triggering of the leg or neck musculature could have the body move along on its own, thus

reducing the stress put on it from mechanical forces. Naturally we would have some safeguard sensors built in so that

the suit controls 'know' within which limits it is allowed to move the mechanicals. A certain tug may be allowed, but

not hard enough to damage the wearer unless absolutely necessary. Here I am thinking ahead of schedule as you mentioned

possible military applications. Consider the case where an incoming projectile is about to hit; then it is acceptable

to rip a shoulder muscle in order to duck fast enough to dodge, or in short, minimize damage to the wearer by choosing

the lesser of two evils. I would think that one of the first things we would need in our department would be a physical

test, and your medical knowledge of how to trigger limbs in what way and where. Does that sound like a reasonable

start?"

The doctors looked at each other, both fairly good at knowing what the other was thinking, and the bull Chester

spoke first. "That we can do, no problem. We already have the training chair to use, and we are able to fit that with

stress sensors aswell. The subject will go through some conditioning, and we will also measure his reaction times and

the strength of the body itself. By the time it comes to that, hopefully you will have a first prototype ready to test

with. At the moment our subject has just begun un-learning what he was previously used for, a house pet, and it will be

at least two weeks before he is close to what a fresh subject would act like. That should give you some time to make a

workable mock-up, and for us to do the required modifications to the chair room. So, we will map out his strengths and

examine where to pulse the body. Does that seem like a reasonable time frame?"

The techs, or robotics researchers as they liked to be called to not sound like simple mechanics, nodded in

agreement, and the meeting was concluded, pairs of techs and docs walking off to their respective departments, talking

among each other on the way about how the meeting went and where to proceed from there.

~~~

The doctors and staff set to work in the treatment room, adding tension sensors to each of the restraining

belts over the wide, thick wooden chair, on its multiple cuffs and straps meant to hold a whole body fixated. Several

more sensors were left on a wheeled table nearby, for application once the subject was ready for testing.

"Careful with those sensors," cautioned the doctor as staff put them on, "If we break or twist one up, it will

skew the readings. We don't need an extra month of exo-suit testing just because we didn't do a good enough job

preparing for it."

The stationary sensors were small air filled rubber bubbles, each leading to a pressure meter, tubes and wires

tied along the frame of the chair so they would be out of the way. Several more were placed beneath where the arms and

legs would be, as well as in spots up along both sides of the back, paired with similar ones on the inside of the belts

crossing the torso and thighs.

Ricky was checked in on daily in the solitary, or as it was now being used, recovery cell. For the first week,

he had been lying good and still inside the thick woven cocoon, but then a few twitches and tugs began, and little by

little the package could be seen moving and trying to tug from inside the thick canvas, the numerous tough restraints

keeping him from doing anything more than a slight jiggle. Still, each day the struggles intensified as much as the

wolf managed. He was now sufficiently stimulated, and without the mind numbing drugs keeping him in a pet state, was

more afraid of what his situation was. He did not remember how he had been stuck inside the jacket and cocooning

covers, so as he came back to a thinking state, it was like he was buried alive. The small whispers in the ear buds

were now too weak for him to listen to. He kept on pulling as much as he could without getting anywhere, and still the

periodic draining flush feeling chilly up his rear was the only way he had to measure time. He had no idea how long

between the uncomfortable water sprays happened, and the feeding tube slowly trickled down into his stomach, not

helping either. For all he knew, and how it felt, he had already been in there for an eternity.

When the hood was eventually slid off the wolf's head, he could only squint up at the sharp lights in the cell

after having been blinded in darkness for weeks. Blurry shapes of furs moving around him stood out, and slowly he

regained enough vision to see that he was in a drab hospital-green painted room. Until the neck strap was released

though, he could not see his own body.

Dr. Chester was present along with the large horses, overseeing the freeing of the wolf from his table. They

went about releasing the straps, but kept him in the canvas cocoon. At least now Ricky could see what he was stuck in,

looking down along his body and just seeing an off-white suit that held him in a mummy like stationary pose even as he

was lifted over onto a gurney by strong hooves.

"Whaaah? whrrrmm..." the wolf tried to say, only to find that he couldn't speak yet. Months of being a quiet

pet, and then a long duration of enforced mummification, had left him in a very disoriented state. He was just grateful

that he could see again, and that the voices in his ears were gone. Soon though, that changed to questioning and

irritation. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, his last memories slowly returning were of him coming to the

institute for.. as best as he could recall it.. a week or two of 'playing inmate' for the fun and thrills of it. Not

even aware that it was now roughly half a year later.

The orderlies wheeled the gurney out down the hall towards the treatment room, and once there, began to

unfasten the leg part of the canvas suit.

"Hang on a second. We'll do this the easiest way." said Chester and got an injector that he shot into the

wolf's neck, spreading a muscle relaxant throughout the body. "I'm not sure how well he's recovered physically yet, and

there's no sense in having to struggle to move him over to the chair. Continue, please."

Tom nodded and the two horses set about removing the catheter and the butt plug, tossing everything in a hamper

marked for cleaning and laundry. Next up, the straitjacket was loosened little by little, freeing the wolf's arms and

then releasing in the back, ending with the mitts being taken off and the jacket itself slid off to go into the hamper.

Ricky felt cool air against his fur for the first time in weeks and tried to move, but the drug kept him from

doing more than twitching his fingertips and making groaning sounds, slurring through his limp jaw, as he was being

carried from the gurney and placed in the heavy chair. He felt the small bumps of the balloon sensors push lightly

against his body, and then the restraints were being applied. While one of the horses held him upright so he wouldn't

fall out, the other orderly began methodically fastening Ricky down. Starting with the waist, as that part of the body

was least likely to shift during the setup, a wide belt got slid around the wolf's body, and extra care was taken to

make sure that the balloon sensors inside the belt were fully covered and pushing flat against the body. The next belt

was placed around Ricky's chest, with a slight upwards pull to make him sit straight in the chair despite his limp

body, tightened down firmly enough that he wouldn't slump.

Working their way out from there, the two orderlies took turns where one held the limb being worked on in its

proper position, while the other applied the cuffs there. First off were the thighs, belted down to stay spread so that

the lower legs hung down along the front legs of the chair. Enough pressure was used to cinch the straps down to make

the wolf's fur stand up a bit on either side of the worn but still very serviceable leather. Following that, working

out along the legs, ankle cuffs were secured to pin the subject's legs fully to the chair, with hindpaws flat down on

the floor. More cuffs were applied, first across the throat with a soft padding on the inside to make sure that Ricky

wouldn't accidentally choke, and yet another across the forehead. Now that he was safely stuck in an upright sitting

position, the orderlies could begin work on the arms; holding one arm at a time down on the armrest, and buckling in

the upper arm cuffs to begin with. Once satisfied that the arms wouldn't move sideways or out, wrist straps were

applied to pin the wolf's paws down, with fingers splayed out along the long armrest. Just to keep the tail out of the

way, that too got bound up behind the chair, with attachments both near the base and up close to the tip, so all it

could do would be to twitch slightly.

Once the wolf was fully secured and immobilized, with all the sensor tubes tucked in neatly along the chair to

a box on its back, both staff could work one side each of Ricky, sliding in numerous extra sensor and test straps, made

from a simple stretchy fabric with a resistive wire inside it that would change its reading depending on the exerted

force, each also with a dual pair of electrodes on the inside with small nubs to push through the fur and make skin

contact. A multitude of such were attached on the still available parts of the subject, on his upper and lower arms and

legs, simply stretched around both limb and the chair armrest and legs. Finally, a muzzle was picked up and slipped

over Ricky's face, with a thick rubber bit jiggled in between the limp wolf's jaws, then tightened down to force him

biting down hard on it. Mainly as a safety procedure to keep him from biting his tongue, but also serving to mute the

wolf beyond muffled groans and noises. As a final touch, individual small sensors were fitted around each finger and

toe of all four paws.

Ricky could feel all of what was happening to him, and tried to move and make slurred sounds meanwhile,

attempting to squirm away but his body just would not cooperate. By now he was awake enough to be aware of what was

happening, and having vague memories of the first time he was in this treatment room, he certainly did not look forward

to another session. "Mhhll.. mfshh.." he mumbled even before the mouth guard was put in place, struggling to form words.

Once the wolf was fully set in place in the chair, all the wire bundles tucked away to the box at the back

which then led to a single thick cable towards the control room, the orderlies left the room. Dr. Bryan came in,

instead, and pulled up a stool to sit nearby Ricky. First the doc injected him with a counteragent for the muscle

relaxant, then the cheetah waited patiently, occasionally tapping a reflex hammer against a wolf knee, sometimes at the

nuts with a light bump, observing the reactions. He looked up into Ricky's eyes too, to see when the pupils reached a

normal state and the wolf was clearly aware and could focus.

"Looks like we're ready to go, hmm? You're all awake there? Follow the light, please." he said, holding up a

light pen and moving it side to side, checking Ricky's reactions until he was satisfied that the wolf was now aware

and, had he not been secured, able to move. Not exactly normally, as Ricky had just come from such a long time of being

kept perfectly still in the cell, but good enough to run tests on. The doc exited the treatment room and moved over to

the control chamber nearby, with all its controls and a large window for observing the patient.

"All recording equipment set up?" he asked Charlie, who nodded. "Good, let's start with some basic motor

functions to wake him up fully." said the doc, not so much talking to himself as to the microphone, to keep a full log

of what went on and the subject's responses. "We will begin with the lower level that the subject experienced on his

first admittance, noting muscle and nerve responses." With the flip of a main power switch the console hummed to life,

and a few key presses on the controller console had a series of test jolts run through Ricky's body, one cuff pair at a

time. The strength of the briefly twitching muscles in arms, legs, chest and belly were duly recorded from the tension

sensors, along with the power used. As the nerve stimulation cycled through the wolf's head, cheeks, and genitals, the

readings provided enough information to show that the subject was awake and functioning enough to attempt pulling

against the straps, counting as a success.

Dr. Bryan talked into the microphone to the treatment room with an almost apologetic tone of voice, "We're now

going to measure your maximum responses for the first time. It might sting a little, so don't be alarmed, it's supposed

to feel that way." He tapped away at the keyboard to run another full body test, this time set up to ramp the power up

slowly until there was no further change in the sensor output.

Ricky could hear what was going on, but only flatten his ears and look sideways at the large single-way mirror

glass. His eyes suddenly widened as he felt his left leg tremble on its own, then cramp up fully. He tried to make

noise, a 'MRGH!' coming out around the rubber bit and tears starting to form in his eyes as the leg remained clenched

up for nearly five seconds. Without pause, the shocks continued in that thigh, then up along the right leg in a similar

fashion. After that, from leg to leg, the wolf's rear tightened up and he lifted his fingers off the arm rests in a

helpless plea. Still the cycle kept on going, through the arms, one at a time, starting at the lower arm and measuring

both how much the arm itself tensed, as well as how the fingers moved as Ricky's paws jerked in and tried to ball up.

In the control room, the doc watched the display, both curious about the result and also ready to stop it

manually in case the programming should misfire. On the display, the outline of a morph body was drawn, and as the

tests ran through various body parts, small boxes with digits updated to show the power used and the maximum tension

strength in each limb, clearly marked with 'direct stimulation' and 'indirect reaction'. The jolts kept going up

Ricky's arms, having the biceps press out to the straps until they creaked softly, then moving down to the chest and

belly where it was clearly visible how the body pushed out, at first a little, then up to the maximum the muscles could

manage, all dutifully noted on the control display.

The wolf drooled down the sides of his maw around the rubber bit, shaking and trying to free himself, but that

only gave spurious readings on the sensor display that had already measured the maximum effort in most of the body.

When done with all the muscle groups, the jolts turned to Ricky's groin, there also pulsing and increasing, and the

'indirect reaction' figures for the whole body were updated to show how much the subject could attempt moving from the

induced pain alone. As before, holding for a second or two when maximum readings were achieved, then moving on to the

cheeks and briefly through the head as well. A little more caution was used at the head, since that was known to induce

more spasms and less actual 'continuous forced reaction' as was searched for. The poor wolf felt like his head was

exploding, and still the tests only ran for a few seconds in each spot. Suddenly, all of the stimulation shut off, and

Ricky looked down through wet eyes, panting rapidly.

"Excellent," said the doctor over the intercom, "We have a first set of readings now. You can relax, we will

give you some small stimulation now for the rest of the day." He then tapped on the console to set it to a buzzing,

prickling stimulation into all of the muscle groups on the wolf. Nothing as mean as the real test was, but just to keep

the body activated and letting it recover from the solitary stillness without the need for taking him out of the chair.

"I'll go and see how the group is coming along. Tom, could you stay here and keep an eye on him? The regular

watch and wait job." The horse nodded, taking the seat at the observation window and pulled up a magazine to read

through while giving Ricky the occasional glance. The program was set to stimulate muscles and reactivate them, like

would normally be done to patients in full confinement that still needed some activity to keep from atrophying, and the

orderly only had to remain in the room as a manual cut-off guard if something should go wrong, or the subject would

show an abnormal reaction. As always, no subject left unsupervised during any type of treatment.

~~~

Dr. Bryan went to the break room to get himself another mug of coffee, meeting up with the bull there who had taken a

nap on the couch. "Heya, Chez. Or good morning? Heh." The cheetah stretched out with a pop in his limber back, then

resumed sipping his coffee. "I guess we have to put up with a little less sleep for a few days in the name of science,

huh? Speaking of which.. when you're awake, it's time to go see the techs for another meeting."

The two doctors made their way to the conference room, meeting up with the dingo and deer outside it, those two

also with huge coffee mugs in their paws and showing bags under their eyes. "You too, huh?" said Herbert, "Been a busy

couple of weeks." He yawned widely. "I hope it's not a super rush to get the suit parts done.. but we're almost there.

Howza testing going?"

The cheetah nodded, sipped coffee again, then replied "Yeh, no hurry.. It'll be a few days until he's ready.

So, wanna show us what you got so far?"

All four of them filed into the conference room, where the anatomy outline was still on the whiteboard. Jeff

stepped up to it to take the first turn. "What we have so far is a simple chassis with actuators. We combined the fast

acting methods used in prosthetic limbs for quick motion, and pneumatics for stronger, slower motions, such as jumping

or gripping. Either system will shut the other one off, to prevent damage to the mechanics. We're still a little ways

off from coordinating them to act at the same time, but that should be.. -yawns- done in a couple of days, and can be

trimmed up after the suit is put on if necessary. Urgh, weak coffee.. Where was I? Oh, yes. Once we have the results

from you guys, we can plug him in and begin the live tests. We've got most of the controls figured out already, it's

not that hard with a model this simple. We also thought up add-ons that could make the suit more modular for various

purposes. Some are still being worked on, but the idea is that after he's in the frame, things like replaceable paws

can be clicked on, and a sort of headgear with an actuated outer muzzle, made from possibly metal or some other similar

durable material. It would cover most of the subject's head and provide bite or attack power, while both shielding the

face and also not relying on biological teeth to bite with. On the other end of things, as a type of house pet, the

mechanics of the suit can get a fake fur cover to mostly mask the metallic nature, and larger, softer paws, to give a

family friendly appeal."

"How would the power pack be shaped, you mentioned something like a backpack earlier? And are there any

provisions for feeding and waste removal?" the bull chimed in. "Can it too be made to look, well.. less bulky, to let

it walk around in spaces not much wider than the plain body can?"

Jeff nodded towards the deer, "Herb can take over here. He's been in charge of that part of the project."

The other technician joined up at the whiteboard, now with a rolled up printout that got draped over the

surface. "This is what we have so far. Instead of a single unit sticking up, as you said, like a backpack, we have

compartmentalized the functions so that power, pressure pumps, and control are in one slim line box each, attaching in

a segmented fashion from the shoulders and down to the small of the back. This will both aid in maneuverability and

keeping the profile low. The rearmost compartment houses two liquid tanks, one is for water, possibly with nutrient or

chemical additives to keep the subject hydrated and energized, and the other goes around the left thigh like so, to a

catheter that will keep any waste fluid from leaking out. Considering how we will balance the fluid intake and the

liquid form of nutrients, we feel that there is no immediate need to add a waste receptacle for solid matter. When the

device is in its recharge bay, two simple click-lock hoses in a single connector will both drain the waste and refill

the hydration tank, requiring a minimum of effort on the user's part. The controls will work together with the body to

make it move in unison. If you will come along down to the work shop, you can see our progress so far and let us

explain more of what we need from your training setup."

The four of them exited the room for, of course, a coffee break first, talking about small generic things and

then over to plain gossipy small talk. Being caffeine fortified, the group then proceeded to the basement with its

special training facilities and work spaces. Inside the tech room, amidst a huge mess of wiring, testing equipment,

coils and springs of all kind that the doctors could barely identify, stood a skeletal looking quadruped frame on the

center table.

Herbert went to the controls to start the device up, so far with a number of wires and pressure tubes coming

off of it to the side. "The frame itself is mostly finished, we're working on replacing all these connections with the

self contained power pack, though it will serve as a proof of concept." He had the frame take slow steps forward and

down a ramp made of crates to stand on the floor. With the controls, he made the frame walk around in a slow circle,

the metal end points of the legs clicking on the floor, and ended the demonstration by having it jump up high to just

touch the ceiling with its forelegs. A rustle and rattle accompanying the motions as the wiring harness was pulled

around. "I've been using motion capture to record most of the normal range of movement that come pre-programmed, but as

the subject gets fitted inside it, the suit will learn its wearer's capabilities and the walking motion should very

soon be more fluid and natural. All of this data is of course sent back to us as well, for using in the next versions."

The dingo approached the suit and swept a paw towards it, "Try to push it over." he offered the doctors,

proudly smiling. Chester approached the frame and gave it a light shove, at which the frame spread its legs slightly

for a firm footing and lowered center of mass. The cheetah pressed harder, but the frame was now sufficiently dug in to

not fall over with anything less than picking it up to flip it over.

Jeff continued, "We're very pleased with the reactions so far. This is one example of what the device itself

can do, right now it is locked in a 'stay put' stance, where it tries its best to counter any motion. Together with the

visual, tactile, and range finding sensors, it can learn to anticipate, for lack of a better word, what is about to

happen, and so be prepared in advance. That is a very crude generalization, since we will also need faster actions with

the help and consideration of a subject placed in the frame."

He goes to a display and pulls up an image of the frame, with hand drawn notes on the digital whiteboard app.

"The frame itself can sense when it is being tugged at, both from external sources and from within. In effect, that

means it will counter the wearer too if he tries to move in a way he's not supposed to. For the faster and stronger

motions though, it would be very helpful if we had some control of the organic body itself. See here, here and here,

where the frame is close to the body. Can you perhaps help us with this part, as we're not entirely sure how to

coordinate the mechanical and biological motivation?"

Dr. Bryan conferred briefly with Dr. Chester, and came to a conclusion. "That should be doable. After training,

we can prepare the subject for an easy insertion, most likely through implants. We should have the data on reaction

times and strength by then. Is that what the product needs?"

Jeff thought about it as he looked at the diagram, then at the frame itself. "I think that will be ideal. What

do you say, Herb, since you're in charge of the actual controls?"

The deer nodded, "That would be most helpful, yes. As the suit learns motion from the subject, it can also use

its own controls to augment reactions before the organic brain has time to think about it. It will no doubt help

training the subject to do as the user wishes, leading to a lesser power requirement later on when the mechanics don't

need to work as hard. We'll finish up the integration of the power pack, and then I think we are ready for a test run

once your subject is done with its training and preparation."

~~~

Dr. Chester went to the treatment control room, as the cheetah went to the break room for a nap. Dan the

bulldog was currently monitoring the chair bound wolf. "How are things with our pup? No strange reactions out of the

ordinary?"

"Nah, doc, he's being very well behaved. Looks like he's recovered pretty well from the holding cell. Want to

take over for a while?"

The doc smiled with satisfaction and nodded, "Yes, I think it's time to do another test run. After that we have

a wish list from the tech guys on what they need. Go get some rest for now, later today I will need a couple of you

guys to help me with the setup. Meanwhile I'll just run the wolf through his paces to see if he's ready for use yet."

As the dog walked out, Chester sat down at the controls and loaded up the test routine from before, and tapped

away at the keyboard to add a second set of measurement boxes next to the previous ones. The ongoing stimulation having

Ricky twitch in a regular fashion suddenly stopped, giving the subject a small break where he could just sit in the

chair and relax. Doc examined the graphs from the recorded session over a day and a half to see how the wolf had

responded to recovery, noting how much Ricky struggled on his own as well to try pulling free. It was as good a measure

as any of both strength and will.

"How are you feeling, in there? Just.. heh, shake your head if you don't want to participate," the doc teased

good-naturedly, then in a more serious voice added, "Just like before, we'll run a few tests on you. Try to stay

relaxed, it will help the readings and you'll be done quicker." He set up the automated test program, waiting for the

wolf to settle in before starting it.

Ricky gulped down around the rubber bit, blinking to clear his eyes. The constant nips and twitches in his

limbs were gone for the moment. He had some vague recollection of having a needle stuck in his arm for intravenous

feeding and hydration, and the bag hanging off his inserted catheter had been jostled a few times as staff went in to

empty it out. His body ached from sitting still in the tough chair for so long, barely able to wiggle his fingers and

toes, and as the lights had been on all the time, he had no chance to get any kind of rest for the nearly two days he

had been strapped in. He clearly remembered the sharp bites from the previous 'test run', and now tried to make a

little noise and look at the large mirror wall. "Mmhlahh.. mnuhhnh..!"

His begging complaints were cut short as the second test run began, going through the same sequence again, so

he knew roughly what would happen and already were building up a good dose of fear for the last tests he knew would

come. He felt the tingle begin in his right leg, building up to have the muscles twitch and then shudder, moving on to

a full cramp that got the wolf's toes to curl and leg tensing, standing out under the cuffs and causing soft creaks

from the tough straps. Up the one leg, then the left one got the same run-through test. Next up were the arms, now both

at once got triggered, making Ricky scratch ineffectively with clipped claws on the wooden arm rests. His bucking as he

tried to arch his back were duly noted in the automated recording, as well as showing the doc on the display which body

parts tried to move 'without direct stimulation'.

The jolts continued through Ricky's chest and waist, always building up from the lowest setting and to where he

was so tightened up that he could hardly breathe, holding still there for a few seconds to make sure the wolf was

indeed at his limit. Then came the part that Ricky had feared the most, when the triggers at his nuts fired up, again

building up from a tickle to an intense horror that had him shaking under the multiple restraints, trying to scream out

past the muzzle gag.

Chester sat in the control room and kept an eye on the readings, numbers ticking up in the boxes until

stabilizing at the full force that the subject could manage. He felt just a little bit sorry for the wolf, but thought

it better him than the doc. He remembered how, long ago, a husky of the staff had wanted to try out the chair when he

thought he was alone, and then got roped into becoming the subject himself. Some furs were just a bit too curious for

their own good.. The doc's musings were interrupted as the wolf now bucked in a different manner, as the test shocks

had moved up to the head.

Ricky was foaming a bit around the gag when the jolts now made him see flashes of light and be less aware of

his surroundings, both fingers and toes twitching randomly. After a short while, all the power cut out and he was given

a short while to recover. He heard the doc's voice over the intercom.

"You're halfway there, boy. You're doing just fine! Only this time, well.. We have to do just one more round of

tests, for stamina. Bite down, it will be over before you know it."

The wolf was blinking to see clearly again, feeling dizzy and disoriented. 'M-more tests?' he thought to

himself, 'What could possibly--' And there his thoughts were cut off as all limbs and body now got the previously

measured full power, having the whole body seize up and press out against all the straps. A quick choked noise escaped

past the gag before he ran out of air, and the power was on for ten seconds, feeling like ten eternities to Ricky.

Then, all ceased and he was let to flump back in the chair to gasp for air. After a few seconds of relaxing, the jolts

hit again.

Chester kept manually triggering the full body shocks in the control room, and was aware enough of the wolf's

limits that he let go before the automatic controls would cut off. Several of these abusive bursts were pumped through

the subject, while readings noted how hard the attempted struggles were. Only when those numbers began dropping, did

the doc stop the running tests, as he now had a generally good idea of how much forced exertion the wolf was capable of

before weakening. He turned the control machinery off, and called over the intercom to the break room.

"Dan, you still awake in there? Could you bring Tom or Charlie, whichever has gotten the most rest, and also

Dr. Bryan to the treatment room? Let doc know that we are ready to continue with the next phase."

The two doctors stood by in the chair room while orderlies began unstrapping Ricky from the chair. Moving away

all those sensor pads, unbuckling cuffs, and like when he was put there, using one of the staff to hold the body

upright as the other removed the last belts. Once that was done, Dr. Bryan moved in with a sedative syringe, plunging

it into the wolf's neck.

"Don't worry, this is for your own good, so you don't hurt yourself." he said and patted the limp wolf's

shoulder, then ordered the body be laid up on the gurney and wheeled out to an operating theatre. He and Dr. Chester

dressed up in scrubs while the orderlies showered Ricky off with an antiseptic solution and shaved off the fur in spots

on several points along each limb, along with the torso and the back of the head. Ricky was then placed on an operating

table, and the two doctors went to work. Making several small incisions at precise points at most major muscle groups,

inserting tiny tipped electrodes with wires sticking out just past the skin, thin as the strands of fur around them.

All of the small cuts were felt by the wolf, but he was too sedated to move, and luckily for him also a bit

tranquilized so it did not hurt much.

When done, having closed up all the incisions and wiped them down again to prevent infection, Ricky was

carefully moved back onto the gurney on his belly, two loose belts strapped over his back and his knees to keep him

from falling off during transport.

~~~

Ricky was moved down to the tech lab and placed in the middle, next to the frame. Chester excused himself and

went to get some needed rest. The engineers began examining the wolf, both physically looking for the embedded contact

points, and poring over the test data on a screen. Dr. Bryan stayed along in case he was needed for anything medical,

and of course the orderlies were there to be muscle for the techs when things needed lifting.

On the work table lay the parts of the frame, now with the completed backpack assemblies, and a first set of

rubber padded paws, all laid out neatly and organized. A large number of thin but sturdy cuffs were built into the

frame now, two each for both upper and lower legs, and arms. Wider ones along the spine section, and a couple at the

front end.

"If you could help me out here, please," said Jeff, "I'll position these parts where they will fit, and I'll

need you to make sure he's secured into each of them." The orderlies nodded, taking turns to hold the body and roll it

over while the other held limbs still for Jeff to lay out each part, first the largest one that went on Ricky's back,

then the four parts going out along the arms and legs of the wolf. As all of them got cinched in tight, and then

connected with several screws to the back portion, the body lay in a loose but bunched up heap on the work table. Using

chains hanging from the ceiling, they clipped hooks into the neck and rear ends of the frame to let it 'stand up' so

that every part of the subject's body were reachable.

Herb had looked over the images from the operation, and since it was his area of work, he set about connecting

all those implanted wires to receptors in the frame, making sure that none were pinched, and covering all with small

pieces of protective tubing so that they could not be accidentally disconnected. Backpack compartments were plugged

together, forming a sleek line up across the spine, looking nearly armor like in appearance. From the rearmost pack, a

needle was stuck into Ricky's right thigh on the inside, providing the liquid nutrient feeder, and the catheter already

in place got hooked up to the other tube coming out of that pack. To keep it firmly in place, a small chastity cage

like device was also attached to slide into Ricky's sheath, the whole device then fastened to the waist strap.

Permanent chastity was just a side effect of producing a low maintenance assembly. As a last part, the rubberized paws

were clicked onto the end of all four legs, housing and covering Ricky's hands and feet out of sight.

"I think we are ready for a first test," the deer announced, going to his controls and tapping away at keys. A

small -bip- was heard from the backpack. "At the moment, the frame itself is completely loose. We'll begin by checking

the connections." As he tapped through the various points, Ricky's dangling body twitched a leg, curled up an arm, bent

his head up, all through direct stimulation, since the wolf was still drugged enough to be unable to move on his own.

Only small groans came from the maw as he tried to voice his displeasure.

"Excellent, we have contact everywhere. Now we'll power the limbs up.." More tapping of the keys, and suddenly

the dangling wolf took on a ready stance. It was lowered down on the table, standing on its own after the hooks were

removed. "If you'd please, could you set it down on the floor?" he asked of the orderlies. The wolf's stiff body was

lifted down and placed in a cleared out area, with a bright yellow perimeter drawn on the floor. "I'll release the

joints a bit, and we can walk it over to the storage cell until the wolf has enough strength to stand on his own."

As easy as driving a toy car, a handheld remote made the wolf in its frame take soft steps forward, very slowly

and with a bit of a wobble. "This is to be expected. With only generic motion models, a real life object is not that

easy to maneuver until it has had some training. That is where we need the subject itself to be aware and capable of

moving." The framed wolf took hesitant steps forward, the pneumatics of the legs hissing softly. Under the metal, the

wolf's thighs and arms could be seen to tense up a bit with each step.

"We're using the connectors that you placed in him to augment the suit. Or rather, it will be the other way

around when he is capable of independent motion. Sensors in the framework pick up on where he tries to go, and moves

the exoskeleton accordingly. Likewise, after a training period, they will also be used to make his muscles tug at the

same time the suit is moving, so that there is no conflict or struggle between them."

Ricky was walked over to a side hole in the wall and simply stood there on all fours. Jeff plugged in the

multi-connector that carried power for the backpack, and the two tubes for refilling and draining the liquid tanks.

Tapping on the back plate, the suit was set in 'still' mode. "He will be fine here while we all take some well earned

rest. The suit will remain as still as it was earlier when you saw it, so he won't go wandering off even as the

tranquilizer wears off."

The wolf looked out through blurred eyes and could hear what was said about him, but not move. For the moment,

his body still felt like jelly as it was so drugged, and he was almost thankful that the suit kept him standing up. And

no more tests in the feared treatment room.

The lights went out in the engineering room, and so the suited-up Ricky was left alone in there, only monitored

by a night vision camera and the suit itself, to let one of the staff keep an eye on the experimental enhanced wolf.

~~~

Slowly, the wolf regained his senses as the drugs wore off, both the obedience and the sedatives. Now he found

himself stuck in a dark room. He tried to move, only to find that the frame parts that he was partially aware of having

been put onto him, now kept him from moving. The way he was held inside it, he didn't feel the extra backpack weight,

as the artificial legs took up most of the load.

"H-hello?" he mumbled, then shouted a few times, "Can anybody hear me? I can't get out of here!"

The sounds were shown as waves on the monitoring station, kept at a low volume so that most of the staff could

get some rest. All through the night the subject's pleas went on, loud at first, then dying down as he grew hoarse and

no one still came to let him out. He wasn't even sure what time it was inside the dark room, almost as disorienting as

the solitary cell had been, though now he could feel a slight movement of air brush his fur from the ventilation system.

Suddenly, the door to the engineering room opened, and lights were turned on, blinding Ricky and making him

squint hard. A bull walked up to kneel in front of him, tapping him on the nose and shining a flashlight into his eyes.

"His reactions seem normal enough. Can we begin a test run of the suit?" asked Dr. Chester.

Through blurry eyes, Ricky saw a dingo at a computer console. "Of course. Just disconnect him and we'll walk

him out." Jeff waited for the doc to unclip the tubes and wires harness, then released the suit locks. "C'mon, pup.

Come on over here, okay?"

Ricky suddenly sagged slightly as the frame stopped supporting him and now felt like an extra weight all over

his body and through his four.. legs? He had no hands to use? Looking down, he saw his forepaws hidden inside large

plastic and rubber coated mitts, attached to the hard metal on his arms. He stood and took a few cautious steps

forward. "What.. what is this? Why can't I stand up?" he asked, looking up at the two furs in the room as he walked out

a couple of steps, then halted as he was not sure what awaited there.

"Let's make a note that it might need a type of muzzle restraint. Possibly combined with the guarding muzzle

that we discussed earlier," the dingo said, continuing to push at the controls. "For now, I'll guide him to the ring we

drew up. This is a good first part to show how the suit works."

Ricky felt a sting in his thighs, causing him to walk forward another couple of steps, moving sluggishly under

the weight of the frame. Suddenly, everything became easier, almost like he was weightless, and he found that he could

walk with only slight motions of his four legs. Still he tried to resist the path, and felt like he was walking through

mud when leaning to the sides.

Jeff explained the workings to the doc, "I have set a goal for him to reach. When he gets there, any motion to

continue or walk aside will be met with increasing resistance from the frame. To begin with, the joint locks will begin

to brake him, up to a full lock-up if needed, and it is also combined with small current pushed in through the implants

in the direction he is not supposed to go. That also serves to minimize power consumption as it takes only a little

power to induce pain in his nerves, versus what is needed to operate the mechanical brakes. When he follows the set

path, the frame will help him instead, so that his own body doesn't have to make much effort to take long strides.

Since he, and it, are still in the learning phase, we will have to train the subject to move normally, and the

controller will pick up on the motor nerve signals to better learn how to aid, without over-shooting, force that

increases the wearer's intentions without being too helpful and stretching the organic parts too far. As time goes on,

when it is set on for example a patrolling schedule, the controller will also keep learning what new limits the body

has. Or simply put, the more exercise he gets, the more the frame will 'know' that it can augment his motions."

Ricky wobbled a bit sideways, then felt a sharp sting in his right arm, leg, and side of the torso, as if he

had stumbled against an electric fence. He let out a brief yelp, then righted himself up again. If he stood still, a

growing nip, then outright jolt, hit his legs and lower back to shove him onward. Following the invisible path, he

padded out into the middle of the room, inside the large circle drawn on the floor. Once he was at the center it became

harder to move, not just from the weight of the suit on him, but it was actively freezing him in place. He didn't take

long to just stand still, especially since he was by now aware and sentient enough to hear how he was being discussed,

and already having felt some of the 'special motivation' forces if he did not do as he was supposed to.

The dingo tapped a few keys on the console. "The frame sensors are active, and can see all around the body. For

now, they have been set to let him walk free inside the yellow circle, and with some difficulty to the outer red

circle, but not crossing it. It is too small a testing ground for really letting the suit learn, but as a proof of

concept it should work well. Go on, subject? er, what was its name again?" he asides to Dr. Chester. "Ah. Yes. Go on,

Subject 35.. 'Ricky'. Feel free to explore the surroundings."

In the suit, the wolf felt the locks release when he tried lifting a paw. He found that he could walk around

with no problems, examining the room and looking at the gear lining the benches, and the two furs watching him.

Starting to walk over to them, he again felt the situation like he was standing in thick mud, and looked down. Without

him knowing it, he had crossed the yellow line and was halfway to the red. He already knew that the gear he was wearing

could enforce stillness or even pain, so he walked backwards, without any hindrance at all.

"T-this is not funny! Why do you keep me in here? I want to get out!" he complained as he padded around the

empty floor inside the yellow circle.

Dr. Chester commented, "Can we keep him quiet until the headgear is assembled? This much noise is just

distracting." Being handed a small remote from Jeff, pointing at a red button, he pushed that down and suddenly the

suit froze still, with a sudden and cut off "YI--!" coming from Ricky. "Well now.. This will come in handy. Since you

can understand what we say, pet, I'll just warn you that we would like you to cooperate and be quiet. If you can't be

quiet on your own, we will just pause you like this until you.. well, I guess until you run out of air. But it will

take much longer to train your suit that way. So you will be helpful, won't you?"

Ricky stood perfectly still in mid-step as the button was pressed, all the suit locks engaging and a powerful

ongoing jolt was sent into his limbs and chest, burning fiercely and causing him to not be able to breathe in. Under

the rigid metal frame, the wolf's muscles could be seen tensing and quivering. He even felt like he was wetting

himself, but that was more of a psychological sensation as the drainage tube up to the backpack kept his bladder empty.

When the long, perhaps even three seconds of it, shock ceased and the suit returned him to a standing position, he

gasped in air heavily but did not say anything. Only, warily, continuing to walk around inside the safe circle at

random.

Jeff noted, "As you can see, that can be an effective behavioral training tool for you. And, well, I'm no psych

doc like you are, but he seems to learn quickly. Whether that's good for rapid training, or will keep him quietly

defiant, heh, that's luckily not my job to figure out. The controls will let you freeze him, use a few reward and

punishments, and can also be used to 'paint' with its laser pointer along the route he's allowed to walk. If there are

contradictions in the controls, the small display will either warn you if it seems unreasonable, or caution that the

command will not be carried out because it is impossible, such as walk forward and backward at the same time."

The doc seemed satisfied and smiled, "So, can we take it out for a better test of its capabilities? You

mentioned augmented reactions and strength. Let's see what we have to work with before starting in on his mind."

Jeff nodded and led the way out, taking the remote for now to point 'follow the holder', that would cause Ricky

to feel the motivating zaps if he was too slow, and otherwise leave an easily walkable trail in the shortest path

towards the controls. But, as he found out when he was almost at the two furs' heels, he got slowed down and was not

allowed to come too close. The trio went to the upper floor, taking the stairs, as Jeff pointed out that various forms

of motion included complicated coordination, and stairs were one of the easily available, good test conditions that

would let the frame learn more fluid motion.

They went outside the institute proper onto the grounds, and here the engineer was keen to show off his ideas.

"Herb should really be here to explain this, as he is the software and simulations guy among us. I really just made the

hardware. But, anyway.. let's show off a quick run. I honestly do not know how long it will take for the suit and

wearer to sync up, so hopefully we will both be positively surprised, yes?"

The pointer on the remote was turned on and drew a crude circle around the lawn, sometimes passing over hedges

and benches. After the path was plotted, the two stood together to examine the controls and set it as both a boundary

and the smallest region allowed. In effect, it instantly motivated Ricky with a jolt towards the nearest part of the

path, making him leap forward and run to his goal. Once there, brakes in some joints, release in others, was used to

quickly turn him sideways to stand in the direction of the circle. "So.. now we just make it run, and because it is

confined to a virtual tunnel, it can only go forward. It.. he.. it's hard to keep the two apart now, is it not? Both

subject and device are a single experiment.. Mmm, anyway. Let's set it running."

Ricky felt the small nudge as a tingle against his legs and began trotting forward, but the suit sped up faster

than he intended to. He had to stretch his four legs to keep up, yet slowly it became more natural as the suit itself

now triggered the proper arm- and leg muscles to tense and relax at the same time the actuators moved. It was

originally thought to force him if disobedient, but as a side effect those carefully triggered jolts also turned the

wolf's body into part of the machinery, acting in unison so that slow-moving muscles weren't holding the suit back

simply because the subject didn't know what was expected of him. Several long laps around the lawn were run, and where

an obstacle was reached, a boosted power jump with extra strength from the suit's rear legs made the whole contraption

sail over the benches and brush. It was almost a freeing sensation for Ricky, as he was let outside for the first time

in so long, and feeling so powerful and fast. ? As long as he did just what was expected of him.

The dingo noted with satisfaction, "See how well it cleared those obstacles. No extra energy was spent in

making a longer jump than necessary, thanks to the sensor array scanning behind and finding solid ground. In theory,

when the organic body has gotten more workout and become used to its new powers, we can easily have him jump at least

three times his regular height. Had we used a feline subject, that would have been even higher."

Chester agreed with a smile, seeing the quickly moving wolf run around and round the yard. "This might help us

keep the amount of drugs down as well, to make him a good pet, or whatever he will be used for. As he 'learns' the

proper behavior pattern, less and less correction is likely to be needed to get him to obey commands. For a pet, well,

it's good to make him mostly mindless. For guard duty, we might want to keep parts of his consciousness so that he can

make decisions of his own. As long as they are within the acceptable parameters."

Just to try it out, Chester picked a pebble up and threw it towards Ricky, missing by a long shot. "Tch.. you

just wait until you're as old as me, you'll see.." he mumbles to the dingo who was muffling a giggle. Another try with

a toss, the small rock flew towards where the suit would be. In what appeared long before impact, the suit crouched

down in a skidding motion so as not to lose too much speed, dodging the mini projectile, then resumed its speedy gait.

"Well, color me impressed, I see that all that talk about fast reactions wasn't all, heh, bull poop."

Jeff smiled, proud over his creation. "It's nothing, really. While the subject looks mostly straight ahead, the

sensors have a full field of vision, and it takes no effort at all to decide what incoming objects might hit it. Think

of it like the hedges it's jumping over. They too are impacting objects, to be dodged within the parameters, and

slowing down is not allowed, leaving dodge or leap as the options. Now as the controller learns its wearer's

limitations, it can also trigger the muscles to brace for a crouch, or jump, so that the organic body isn't just jerked

around without warning. I think I can leave it here with you, to take back into conditioning when you think it's done

enough running for today, yes? You'll see here on the controls how much water is left in the tank, and his vitals, for

deciding when it's time to come back for a recharge."

Chester stood alone for a while, admiring how fluently the enhanced wolf ran around, and how quickly after the

first lap the running and jumping became less awkward, better timed. Marvels of technology, indeed, he thought. After

another few laps, he decided to take the subject back inside, and hit the 'cancel program' and 'follow leader' to get

Ricky to turn and come running back, following doc inside the building. "Isn't that nice? All that power? And you just

have to be quiet and accept it, then nothing bad will happen to you."

The wolf nodded briefly, hearing the implicit threat in that statement, and walked along. The solitary cell

where he had been held before, but had hardly any memory of, was still vacant, and now the recharge/feeder station had

been installed there. Chester pointed the remote at the station and with a 'click', the path towards it was set, having

Ricky walk up and turn around to sit down on it. Connecting the multipurpose device was still a manual task, but

something that the engineers had said they would work on before the subject was released to its new owner.

~~~

As the suit-wolf sat in the room, now left unsupervised since the controls had been shown to work

satisfactorily without him being able to run away, and with the suit ready to alert staff if something untowards should

happen, a while later the door opened and the large bulldog along with a deer entered. "Let's keep this to ourselves,

hmm?" said Herbert, grinning at Dan, "We have to, ahh.. test out the reliability of the subject, of course."

The dog smiled back, anticipating one of the nice job perks here, to get to fool around with the subjects in

training as they wouldn't be able to complain about it, and often not remember it afterwards either. "Sure thing, doc."

he said, calling most every researcher 'doc'. "For.. science or something. Can it stand up on its own?"

Herb picked up the remote and guided Ricky up to standing and turning sideways, in a way that still had the

charge station connected. "Yep, but it might get a little noisy. Let's slip this on, first." He had brought a tough

leather dog muzzle that got slid over Ricky's face, forcing the jaws together, and tying it to the neck part of the

suit so that the wolf's head was held up and pointing forward. Paws set to stand on tip-toe for maximum height. "Guests

first.." he said with a grin, motioning to the rear end, while the deer himself was opening his lab coat up and

beginning to rub his groin onto Ricky's muted face.

The wolf went wide eyed, this was not at all what he had expected in his new super suit. He thought it was all

going to be a treat to get stronger powers as long as he obeyed. But now he had the deer's nuts covering his nose, and

the sheath lowering down to rub along the pointed wolfy muzzle in slight humping motions.

"There's something so nice about a good obedient pet, isn't there..?" Herbert said, as he just enjoyed having

so much control over this new toy.

Dan meanwhile had slid his pants down and stood at the rear of the suit, stroking the pinned up tail and

trailing a finger in between the thighs. He leaned down to give a couple of wet licks right on Ricky's pucker, getting

it wet, and also being pleased that the fully liquid diet and draining meant that the wolf rump was at most musky but

not dirty. After a short bit of foreplay, taking deep whiffs of puppy nuts, he stood up and stroked himself hard enough

to let his tip poke out. Without much ado, he then began to press inside Ricky's butt, forcing himself on the helpless

subject. Sliding in a little further with each small thrust, ignoring the muted groans and muffled whines coming from

under the deer's groin. "D' ya think he enjoys this as much as we do?"

Herbert got a wicked smile and fingered the remote. "Not for long. I'll just trigger the implants to give him a

pleasure reward.. But when he's twitching like he's about to come, he'll get a nasty corrective shock to the nuts and

neck. We'll just leave that on for now.. Poor boy, forced milking without being able to get off. I'll probably make a

note about how this might affect his psyche. You don't mind, do you, puppers?" he said, tweaking Ricky's ears. "Lemme

know when you're all pushed in. Got some more surprises for you that he can do.. Heh heh.. Ricky, the trick lovin'

puppy."

That large dog was gripping the hip sections of the steel frame to hang on to, a steady grip, as he began

jabbing in hard in earnest. He could feel the wolfy rump clenching as if it was trying to push him out. Any pressure

added was just a bonus as far as Dan was concerned, it just added to the feel of it all. "I.. hff.. I think I'm almost

all the way in.. Hng. He's a tight boy. Must'a been given a really light treatment over at Mat's place."

Herb smiled and said, "Good.. just you push in and stay there. Lemme show you what this thing can do." More

simple taps on the remote, and the selective punishment mode was activated. Not just when Ricky would try to climax

from being entered and stimulated, but now also rhythmically cramping his thighs and jolting his balls. All of that

caused the wolf to shudder inside the frame, so rigid that it did not let him move in the slightest, but both the staff

could see muscles work under the fur as he really tried.

Dan grunted and held still, gripping the frame tighter. "Oh.. heck.. I want one'a these for myself now!" he

moaned, feeling the wolf butt contract and spasm around the dog shaft, like it was trying to suck him off with muscle

power alone. "I.. don't even hafta move.. Imma.." The big dog arched his back and tried to hold it in for at least

another half minute, but then was thoroughly milked. Pushing in a bit deeper, with a soft 'pop' his knot got into Ricky

and began swelling up amidst wet noises. "H-hell.. Didna expect to.. get stuck to your project.." he half chuckled, in

a merrily delirious voice.

The deer meanwhile was soft humping the toy's face, feeling the attempted yowls under the tight muzzle, taking

his time and stroking cocktip through wolf head fur until he too came, making a large mess between Ricky's ears and

trailing down between the eyes.

"Hurr.. yeah.. the front ain't bad either.. All that makes him bob and jiggle so damn teasingly. Ih- imagine

when we have a proper muzzle control built in. He'll be a hit at any party.."

Ricky meanwhile could just stand still and take it, feeling a soft buzzing tease through his genitals, getting

him to try humping but being held firmly in the frame. And even when he felt like he was going to get off, a few well

placed pain jolts totally distracted both his mind and body from anything pleasurable. Then being entered, shaking in

the metal frame as it had been literally months since he first entered the institute, and had his last intercourse with

his then-mate, the desert wolf.

When the shocks hit his legs and the punishment-part of the probes in his groin, he tried to yell out, and all

that came out was a sharp huffing of warm air right into the sack of the deer covering his vision. He began to blur

out, all the sensations just too much for his mind to make sense of. No problem for the staff, as his suited up body

was still held in a perfect humping position.

After both of them were satisfied, Herb dutifully waited for Dan to shrink down enough to pull out. Meanwhile,

he loosened the muzzle up just enough for Ricky to stick his tongue out, trying to pant, but meeting only deer shaft

and was forced to lap that clean before he could pant in fresh air. The teasing buzz was still left on, along with the

negative reinforcement chastity each time he thought he was coming close. Ricky mumbled something unintelligible,

hoping they would just replace him in his safe charge station where he at least was left alone. He got his wish,

partially.

Dan dismounted with a wet sound, bulldog semen trailing down the wolf's thighs, rubbing himself clean on the

tail sticking up there. "Ahh.. hell yeah.. Damn that lucky fox. Next stray we get in here, I'm so getting in line for,

uh, adopting.." he murmured to himself, clearly pleased.

Herb waited until both were finished with the toy, then set it back to sit down on the charge position. "Hngh..

That was.. successful.. If you don't mind, could you clean it off? Matted fur is just so unseemly." Grinning and

tucking himself back in, the deer gave Ricky a pat on the head and left.

The big dog stayed behind for a little while, first to rub his own shaft on the toy's maw, careful not to push

in since it might bite. Then, before leaving, he took a hose and sprayed Ricky down thoroughly from head to butt, and

the pools on the floor, to drain away into a sink. "Hnnf.. now I have my feet all messy from this cleaning up. Hey,

dog, do something about this." After a short while, realizing that the suit did not understand the command, he tried

again. "Subject 35. Lick my boots off clean. And when you're done with that, lap up excess water and mess from the

floor around you."

That was simple enough to be understood, and the dog frame bent down to where its muzzle was close to Dan's

boots. He had to lean over and open the headgear a bit to allow the wolf's tongue to stick out, but after that the

licks began. Slow at first, then with an obvious pain jolt somewhere in the body, along with a muffled yelp, the

cleaning sped up. The bulldog stood over him, waiting and watching, thinking what a good boy it was. If only all pets

came with built in controls.

After sniffing up and lapping the boots fully clean, Ricky's head was nudged towards the floor, the puddles of

mixed spoo and water and some shed fur. He was made to lick straight off the ground, getting not just the recent bodily

fluids, but leftover disinfectant and other cleaning supplies commonly used to keep the cells free of bacteria. It

stung his tongue, but the suit would not let him move away. Since it could not be avoided, his best guess was that the

sensors would pick up on things he shouldn't try to lick in, like sharp objects, or - if they could spot that -

actually dangerous chemicals.

Ricky was then left sitting in damp, soggy fur in the recharge spot, with upset stomach, feeling a terrible

ache in his rear, and the milking without climax kept going on! They had not shut it off before leaving! Until the next

day, all he could do was make quiet moans throughout the night, not getting any sleep at all.

~~~

After a couple of days, Dr. Bryan entered the holding cell. Sniffing the air for leftover musk, he muted a

snicker at what had obviously happened here. Conversationally, he picked up the remote. "So, what's all this moaning

about? Hmm.. Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure you would agree with me that keeping you on this chastity program is one way to

help break your spirit. I see no reason to end that experiment. We'd let you hump someone else, but.. eh, I'll leave

that up to Jeff, since he's the hardware guy. If it's too much trouble replacing your catheter, I see no reason to

remove it at all."

The doc disconnected the charge station and set the remote to 'free motion', meaning that by default Ricky

could wander as he pleased now, except for coming too close to the remote itself. "C'mere boy. It's time to introduce

you to your new owner.. well, old one, but I don't think you remember too much of that." He led the suited up wolf

towards the front desk, in mid day. Ricky felt embarrassed at being shown off like this, to visitors and staff,

especially the bulldog that had.. well.. raped him in the cell. Bryan handed over the remote along with a brief

instruction leaflet to Mat, who was surprised and instantly perked his fox ears at seeing his old pet.

"It's you! Ricky-boy! Did you miss me? It's so good to see you again!" the fox gushed, kneeling to pat over the

wolf's exposed head, then looked up at doc. "Is that muzzle really necessary? I mean.. isn't he trained yet?"

Dr. Bryan replied, "It's for both your safety for now. The suit takes a bit of learning to fully cooperate with

his body, but the engineers are making a sort of plush cover that will hide all the metal parts. They tell me he will

be just as cuddly as before. And, so we don't rob you of your sweet pet, his meal refills will contain a certain dose

of obedience drugs as well. Not the same dose as before, since we want to observe how his mind reacts to being in the

suit, but like the previous one, within a year or so he should be fully compliant and not need more drugs to stay

loyal. Perhaps even quicker, as the suit now helps reinforce a desired behavior in your pet. On an optimistic

diagnosis, in under half a year he will be just as obedient as before, even without the suit. But with it still on,

think of how much better he will be. A very strong, speedy, loyal friend who has no problem guarding you, or staying at

home and being a sentry as well as never becoming bored with his task. You don't even have to remember to feed him

unless you want to, the new charge station that is being prepared has a small arm to let it connect to his backpack

automatically when he's low on power, or either of the tanks need filled or emptied. Of course you can still bring him

to work! In fact, for the first month or two, we actually expect it, so that we can note his progress thoroughly."

"Also, the engineers gave me this to hand to you. It's some kind of identification bracelet, keyed to you and

only you. If you should lose the remote, or someone else gets hold of it, you can still manually override commands, and

if it appears to be a threatening situation, you are the only one he will not attack. Think of it as a.. hm, they put

it along the lines of having a rapid police response in case of burglary or the like."

Mat smiled and kept petting the distracted wolf, who was still on the chastity program, and after the sudden

abuse and all that he was through, was now beginning to feel lucky that he was going home with a friendly fox.

~~~

Coming home later that day after his shift had ended, Mat brought with him the suited up wolf, still in the

muzzle though he had been promised a full headgear within the next few days, and the upgraded charge station was

already part of the package. He set that up in the kitchen, where Ricky's bowls had previously been. "I think that's a

nice place for it. It'll be just like our breakfasts before going to work! Now.. have a sniff around and, uh.." He

consulted the manual briefly, making sure that all windows and doors were closed, "'Map the area'. Do you understand?"

He didn't have to wait for the wolf to acknowledge, as the suit itself picked up certain command words. Mat

felt the snug bracelet around his wrist, doubling as a watch so he could both find it useful and a sign of a bond with

his special pet.

The bionic wolf wandered around the whole apartment, nose to the ground to sniff up traces of who had been

there before, mapping out the layout of the area it was supposed to guard when put in that mode, and also setting

boundaries it was not allowed to step outside unless commanded to. When it, he, returned to the fox, Ricky sat down on

his haunches and lolled his tongue out a bit past the muzzle straps.

"I know, I know puppy, but it's just there for a little while. Soon you'll have a much nicer thingy put on and

then you can nose and lick just like you used to! Isn't that great?"

~~~

The same night, Mat had his large wolf sleep on the bed as usual, though he had to tuck his hindpaws up a bit

now under the extra weight of the suit. Until the soft padded outer cover was in place, the metal-wolf was not nearly

as cuddly as before. But he was still happy to have his Ricky back home.

Come next day, Mat patted the wolf's head and talked to him. "I'm off to work now. They gave me one day for you

to stay at home and look around. Guard duty!" The last part said as a command, making Ricky stiffen up and start to do

a continuous wandering patrol around the apartment, looking into each room and using sensors to spot anything out of

the ordinary. Not that much happened, but the suit kept transmitting data back to the engineers for collating and

checking that it was functioning as intended. Future plans, when the snap-on assault muzzle was in place, was to stage

a break-in and observe reactions. For now though, they were more interested in seeing that Subject 35 was working

properly, and only taking recharge breaks in standby mode when no immediate threat was detected.

Ricky kept on wandering, mumbling quietly through the loosened muzzle, finding that whenever he tried to use a

paw to nudge it off, or to bump his way out past a door or window, the suit just like before first made him sluggish,

then froze up and sent corrective shocks. He soon learned to accept his limits, and to enjoy the enhanced body he now

was in. Not like he had a choice. The feeder kept mixing in a small amount of obedience drugs in his nutrient supply,

wearing away slowly at his mind until he was the same good boy he had been before this latest experiment. Another

controlled feed, checking to make sure he did not become too mindless, a good pet should be able to show affection and

dislike. The stronger drugs were for the potentially soldier-like creations where a thinking but unemotional, and

mindlessly obedience, were more valued than a house pet routine.

~~~

Mat was merrily unawares of his pet's ongoing milking and negative reinforcement he got back home, all day

while the fox was at work. He was just glad to have his pet back. Taking him in for modifications now and then would

not be any different than the many times Ricky had been sent down to the treatment rooms as part of the pay-off plan.

So went the days for the happy fox, and the enhanced wolf that did not even feel his mind slipping away under the

drugs and blindly following where the suit led him. Thoughts just becoming more muddled, harder to form.

Within weeks, the wolf was genuinely happy to see Mat every time he came home, and excited like a pup to be

taken out for walks, even when it was in to the institute. More experiments were to follow, upgrades to be performed,

and the occasional use behind closed doors of this overly eager, easily controllable pup-toy.