FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next day the two of them made their way bright and early through the London International Airport, meeting first at the café where they had breakfast. Bladewolf commented that it was a nice when he wasn't bleeding out all over it, the two able still see a few remnants of the previous morning despite the cleaning crew's best efforts to cover it up. Once they had finished their hasty meal they got on the plane, the two flying together after switching seats so they could discuss what the wolf had in mind for this training regiment of his. It also gave Benji a chance to see how well Bladewolf was recovering even though he had changed his own bandages before he had gotten to the café, something that was very apparent given the bulges that were underneath his clothing as he sat down.

As the two flew to their destination, which was Denver International Airport in the United States, they talked more and got to know about one another. Benji found out that there were a few retreats that boasted some of the best training anywhere in the world, more so than anything he could find in the UK. Though the shirewolf was a bit concerned that he was going to push him too hard as soon as they land he was reassured that he would take his advice and take it slow for the first few days. Benji said that was good to hear and that he had also been looking into places that would help him not only heal his wounds but also to relax as well, helping to speed along his recovery so that he could get back on his feet faster.

By the time the two had landed in Denver they found one another becoming fast friends, especially since they only knew one another now that they were in a foreign land. After passing through customs and retrieving their luggage they went to the place that Bladewolf had found, using a rideshare program in order to head over there. Though he was there mostly to help take care of his newfound companion as promised Benji couldn't help but take in the new sites as well, feeling the rush of adventure one got when being somewhere they had never been before. He had started to make mental notes of places that he might want to explore with Bladewolf once he had finished checking in with this training program as they reached their destination and were dropped off in front of the building.

"Are you... sure this is where you're supposed to be going?" Benji asked as they found themselves standing in front of a place with no signs or other visible markings.

"This is the address that was on the site..." Bladewolf said as he went up to the windows, which were covered with a thin layer of dust, and looked inside. "It's empty!"

Benji quickly went up and looked through the other door to see what the wolf was talking about; the rather large space was completely barren save for a few cardboard boxes as well as some mats that were sprawled out on the floor. "I don't suppose you already paid for this program..." the shirewolf asked they backed away from the abandoned property. "Because if you did-"

"No, it was payment on arrival thank goodness," Bladewolf replied, scratching his head angrily as he looked around for some other sign of what he was looking for. "I don't get it, if this was closed then why is the site still active?"

"Maybe they moved locations?" Benji offered, pointing over towards a nearby bar. "Hey, I know it's still a bit early in the day but maybe someone in there will know. If anyone has knowledge of what's going on in the area it's a barfly at a pub."

Bladewolf sighed and just nodded, the two of them crossing the street towards a bar that had a flashing open sign on it. When they peaked inside they found that it was rather dark and had a bit of a dive feel to it. There was a person in a hoodie sitting at the bar as well as the bartender himself though, which was good enough for them to go over and sit down next to them. The bartender gave them a wary look and asked what it was that they wanted, and though they had questions to ask they decided to be polite and order a drink first before they began their interrogation.

Once they had glasses in hand the bartender was about to turn around when Bladewolf quickly stopped him. "Hey, we were thinking about stopping by that training center across the street," the wolf asked, Benji letting him ask the questions while he took a sip of his cranberry juice. "Did it close recently or something? It looks like they just packed up and left."

"They did," the bartender replied simply. "Ever since people started hearing about the monsters a lot of folks started to pack up and leave."

"Monsters?" Benji interjected, suddenly remembering what he had heard on the news. "Are you talking about those aliens like on the television?"

"Aliens, monsters, whatever you want to call them," the bartender scoffed. "Supposedly half the Rocky Mountains are crawling with whatever is out there, even a few taking up shop somewhere near here. I don't believe any of that nonsense but there are enough that do that decided they rather not live near some sort of creature nest."

The two continued to talk with him for a bit but it appeared other then the knowledge of several stores closing down and the fact the military had been in Denver more than once with a large force he didn't seem to know much. The two thanked him for his information and Benji put down a few extra dollars along with the payment for their drinks. The shire wolf hadn't even realized that their travels had put them so close to a source of mystery and intrigue in the United States, yet it appeared that they inadvertently had landed on its doorstep. But if these creatures truly were in the Rockies, the two discussed as they drank, and encroaching upon Denver wouldn't they have just locked down the entire city?

"You would be surprised at what they are willing to do in order to make this threat look less then what it actually is," a voice that was not the bartender said, the two of them looking up from their conversation to see that the bartender had actually left and that the hooded figure was the one talking to them. "Sorry, didn't mean to barge in on your conversation, but I couldn't help but overhear that you were talking about the mountains and the aliens that were there and couldn't help but put my two cents in. I also heard you were trying to get involved with the training club that was across the street?"

"Yeah, for all the good that did," Bladewolf grumbled as he swirled the contents of his glasses. "Thought that I might have finally found a place that would help me boost my skills, instead I'm stuck here in Denver with my friend here for a few months while we try and figure out what to do next."

Benji was flattered that the wolf had said they were friends, though before he could say anything about it he heard the other patron speak up once more. "So you're looking to increase your power?" he asked, the wolf nodding as they moved up closer to where they sat. "I happen to know of a place where you might be able to get such things, if you want I can tell you."

"I'm not sure about this," Benji said with a slight frown. "I know we're new around here but... if we decided... to..."

The otter had removed his hood and both wolf and shire wolf found themselves transfixed on the eyes of the male in front of them. They were a vibrant green in color and they almost seemed like they were glowing as he looked between the two of them. "You don't have to go if you don't want to," the otter said as he leaned in even closer, the other two doing the same. "All I'm doing is offering you a friendly place to train where you can get exactly what you want, the decision to go and seek it is all yours..."

As the otter, who at some point introduced himself as Khana even though they don't remember him saying it, told them were to go the two of them could only seem to focus on the eyes of the creature in front of them. It was like those were telling them more then the words that were coming out of his mouth as they continued to sit there. Eventually they found themselves still staring at the otter even though Khana had stopped talking, the two finally blinking when they realized they were surrounded by silence. They looked at one another sheepishly and thanked the otter for giving them the info before they left the bar.

Khana just wished them good luck on their latest adventure as the two paid for their drinks and hopped off of the bar stools to capitalize on this new information. Once they had left the bar the otter allowed the grin that had been playing on his face to grow on his muzzle as the back of his sweatshirt bulged with something moving underneath. "It appears that we have two more coming your way," the otter said as a tentacle pushed out past his hood, a single glowing green eye looking at him as he winked back. "I think they may just have the solution to our expansion problem."

The next day Benji and Bladewolf found themselves moving through the misty mountain morning, the shirewolf helping the wolf up some of the steeper parts of the path as they made their way towards the location that they had been told about. More than once they had to help one another to get over the rough and rocky terrain, mostly Benji helping the still healing wolf that insisted on continuing on despite the increasing danger of their path. For the shirewolf he was more than happy to help him out even as rocky inclines gave way to sheer cliffs and steep valleys that could spell disaster if they took one wrong step. Eventually the sun they had seen come up from the horizon began to dip down below it once more as they took another break after passing a particularly dangerous rock ledge before arriving on a plateau.

"We must be getting really high up there," Benji said as he took a second to catch his breath. "Even when we arrived in Denver I could tell the air was thin, but this is almost suffocating."

"Take a few minutes to try and adjust," Bladewolf replied. "Hopefully we don't have to climb too much higher, otherwise we're going to have to make camp and acclimate properly. From what that otter at the bar told us though we should be getting close to these so-called training grounds."

"You don't believe him?" Benji asked as he sipped on a bottle of water.

"I just think there's something strange about it all," Bladewolf stated with a slight shrug. "I can't really put my finger on it, but ever since we left that bar it feels like I knew where we've been going this entire time. Honestly I can't even remember the last time that I looked at the map to see where we are."

As Benji was about to respond he looked down when he realized that he hadn't utilized their map or the GPS on their phones to try and figure out where they had gone either. It was like they were being guided by some unknown force to their destination that they had gotten from someone they didn't even know. What if this was just a ruse? The possibility that they were heading into some sort of ambush crossed the shirewolf's mind, though he couldn't imagine the amount of trouble it would take to lead someone this far into the mountains just to mug them.

As the darkness began to grow deeper the two realized they wouldn't be making much more progress either, climbing the mountain at night even with a clear sky full of stars and the moon would be just as treacherous as when they went through that fog during the morning. As they sat however they began to notice a light coming from a different source, something glowing and green that was just over the hill that they had decided to rest on. The two looked at one another before deciding to investigate and moving over the lip.

What they found on the other side of the ridge caused them both to gasp. It was a small, bright green river that was cut through the stone, which looked blackened as though the liquid had scorched it as it moved down into the valley below. It looked like it was made out of toxic or nuclear waste even though they couldn't fathom what could possibly cause such a spill. They also realized if that was the case they were likely dead already and at the moment neither of them were feeling ill as they slowly slid down the steep embankment to the other side.

"What do you think it is?" Bladewolf asked as they stared at the glowing substance running past them. "Can't be pollution, could it?"

"That's what I was thinking initially," Benji replied. "But unless they're pumping waste up here just to have it dump back into the valley I don't believe that's the case." The shire wolf slowly walked forward towards the edge of the green liquid, looking down at the rock that it had cut into. "This stone looks like it's been acid washed but I don't get what could possibly be in it that would make it black like that."

"Perhaps this is something based on what that otter was talking about," Bladewolf said as they looked at the strange stream towards the potential source of it. "We were going to have to make camp soon anyway, why not see what this is all about?"

Though Benji wasn't quite sure about following such a potentially problematic river he reminded himself that he was there not only for Bladewolf but also for adventure, and as he looked over at the wolf he seemed more than eager to do so. He knew that his traveling companion was eager for this power that was potentially lurking about on this mountain. It was understandable that he was so eager to find this source of power that was promised up there; during the day they had continued to get to know one another better and the wolf confessed that one of the hardest things that he had to deal with ever since he gotten defeated in the tube tunnels, and part of the reason he wanted to gain more strength was to make sure that never happened again. The lupine was so determined that it actually gave him a similar feeling to help him get what he was looking for.

They didn't have to go far in order to find the source of the river, which turned out to be a cave that was set into a small peak that went further up that was mostly covered by foilage and rubble. Since they didn't have the means to continue any further up, so instead they decided to give the cave a try. If anything, the two of them believed that they could set up camp should there be nothing there. Benji and Bladewolf set their packs near the entrance of the cave and after making sure there was enough space for them to wiggle into the obstructed area they grabbed their flashlights and started to head inside.

Unlike the air outside the atmosphere in the cave was almost damp, the wolf and shirewolf looking around at the stone with the beams of light they shined in front of them. Unlike the tiny stream they had used to find the place the stone walls that they passed as they ventured forth were unmistakably shiny and black, like someone had taken a vat of liquid latex and thrown it down the hole. As they left the cave entrance they also found that the stone glowed with a green hue as well. Despite the insidious look Benji found himself moving towards it to examine the strange phenomenon on the cave wall even further.

"It looks like... veins," Benji said as he resisted the urge to reach out and touch it, especially when the area he was looking at started to leak with a thick green goo that dribbled down the rubber wall. "I've never seen anything like this before in my life."

"Definitely seems unusual to me," Bladewolf replied as he got to a small lip in the cave, looking down the several foot drop into a small cavern below that branched off into several different tunnels. "Especially since there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason for why these caves even exist in the first place."

With a little help from Benji the wolf climbed down the small ledge and then helped the Shirewolf do the same, the two of them then immediately looking around after they both had their feet on the floor. Unlike the passage above which just had the strange walls this area felt like they had stepped into an entirely different world. They could smell something in the air that caused the fur on the back of their neck to stand on end as they shined their lights down each of the pathways to see if there was anything there. A breeze wafted past them as they looked down each of the four tunnels that branched from the cavern they had just breached.

"This looks like an easy way to get lost," Bladewolf explained as he continued to squint his eyes to try and find some indicator of where to go.

"It looks like you're already lost..."

Both Bladewolf and Benji jumped slightly and quickly scanned the area as a voice that was not either of theirs echoed through the tunnels and the cavern they stood in. "Hello?" Benji called out, stepping forward. "Is there someone else down here?"

"Brave souls you two..." the voice once more said after a few seconds of silence. "Willingly wondering into a cave that reeks of danger and mystery."

"Hey, knock it off!" Bladewolf replied as he steps forward as well. "Come out and face us!"

"We're here because we met one of your friends in Denver!" Benji added in as he put a hand on the chest of the wolf to prevent him from advancing forward. "His name was Khana I believe and he gave us directions to get here in the first place!"

"That is not why you are here..." the voice hissed, the two of them hearing a low noise that sounded like the chittering of insects as they pulled closer together. "Tell us... why have you come to such a place?"

The two found themselves at a loss for words, the fact they were talking to some mysterious entity in the middle of a cavern full of rubber-covered rocks making it hard for them to think of a proper response to the situation. Finally after about a minute or so Bladewolf spoke up, taking another step forward and puffing out his chest. "I'm here because I'm on a quest for power," the wolf stated simply. "I will make myself stronger no matter what!"

"I'm here because I wanted to go on an adventure," Benji admitted a few seconds afterwards. "And I knew that Bladewolf was coming here and I wanted to make sure that he was alright..." the shirewolf realized that he was getting into rather personal details and found himself blushing slightly before shaking his head. "I mean, I wanted some excitement and to aid Bladewolf on his own journey."

The two paused and waited, finding their breaths were heavy as they waited for a response that never came. "I don't like this..." Bladewolf stated before looking at Benji. "Why don't you go up to our packs and grab the chalk that we brought with us, this is one of the reasons that it's in that kit in the first place. I'll stay down here in case our mysterious cave-dweller down here decides to show his face."

"Are you sure?" Benji asked worriedly. "I know you've recovered a bit but with all the hiking we've done I don't want you down here alone in case whoever it is decides to attack."

"I'm pretty sure if the guy wanted to attack us they could have done so by now and we wouldn't have had much in the way of defending ourselves," Bladewolf explained, his eyes drifting from Benji to the caves behind him and back again. "Plus our packs are only a few minutes back by the cave entrance, you should be able to get them and come back in no time at all. Trust me, I'll be alright."

Though the shirewolf had more that he wanted to say he also knew that the other lupine was right, giving him a nod instead and turning to climb back up the rock wall into the cave they had come from. Bladewolf helped give him a boost and after Benji declared he would be right back he turned and disappeared from the entrance of the cave. Bladewolf could hear the steps of his traveling companion quickly growing fainter until he couldn't hear anything at all, which prompted him to turn back towards the tunnels. Though he had no intention of leaving the cavern that he was in now he did want to try and see if he could see just a little further into each one to try and discern where to go when Benji came back.

After traveling a few feet into the first tunnel he realized that one led into a dead end with large stone blocks from either a cave-in or just the natural process of time had blocked the way. That made things easier for them, the wolf thought to himself as he left that one and went into the second. The fact that they still didn't hear the voice as the minutes passed caused him to continue to be on end as he slowly made his way down the second tunnel next to the first one. Despite displaying confidence to Benji the wolf could feel his heart practically pounding in his chest as he did smell something not right with this place, a scent that caused his primordial brain to enter into fight or flight mode as he looked back to make sure he didn't lose the cavern in his sights.

Once he was sure that he hadn't ventured too far forward he turned back around and stopped dead in his tracks as he caught something out of the corner of his eye that definitely had not been there before. At first he thought that it was one of the strange rocks that surrounded the cave that had fallen, but whatever it was seemed to float there as he quickly brought up his flashlight to try and see it. By the time he illuminated the area however it was gone; but even without it physically being there it was almost like he could still see it in his mind's eye, especially since it looked like it had a glowing green orb in the middle of it. Even though he knew that Benji would be back any minute now with the means to keep themselves from getting lost he found himself compelled to move forward and quickly turned the corner of the cavern.

"That's it..." the voice suddenly said once more, causing Bladewolf to shiver despite himself as he continued his trek into the cavern. "You can feel it... the pulsating of power that is in this place. It's all yours... if you can find it."

The voice seemed like it was taunting him at this point. Bladewolf thought to himself as he continued deeper into the cavern, his thoughts becoming fixated on attempting to find what he thought he might have seen. Even though in the back of his mind he remembered that Benji wouldn't know where he was if he kept going this way he found himself compelled to continue, climbing up another set of the strange stones in order to get to another section of the cave. He could feel his still-injured body groan in protest but even that didn't stop him as he got to the top, gasping and panting as he pulled himself over.

Unlike what he had previously ventured through Bladewolf might have thought that he just transgressed into an alien world as he slowly got to his feet once more. Tendrils of black and bright, glowing green grew along the wall like a strange organic lattice, even along the floor as he saw the same liquid from the stream pooled in depressions on the stone floor. Once more he felt his fear instinct spike as he knew there was nothing to explain this, except... his mind went back to what had been said in the bar. Alien creatures that were roaming the Rocky Mountains... the same mountains that they were in as he found himself swallowing hard.

Just as Bladewolf had the thought of possibly attempting to double back there was movement in the cavern that grabbed his attention once more. It was some sort of shiny rubber flower that stuck out from another area in the cave, its petals closed as it slowly waved back and forth despite the air in the cavern being still. Was this the thing that he had seen in the tunnels, Bladewolf thought to himself as he slowly moved further into the cavern towards it. Even though he knew that he should go back his feet continued to move forward, avoiding the puddles on the ground until he was only a few feet away from the strange cave flora.

"Is this what I'm looking for?" the wolf asked out loud as he examined the shiny, glistening stalk of the large flower as it continued to wave lazily in the air. "Is this really going to give me the strength that I want?"

"All the strength you could ever desires and so much more," the voice hissed, the sound feeling like someone was practically whispering into his ear as the chittering noise that he had heard before continued. "Ask yourself this, is it something that you truly want? What are you willing to give up in order to obtain true power?"

Bladewolf found himself swallowing hard as the noise increased slightly, the strange clicking and hissing sounds surrounding him as he began to tentatively reach up his hand towards the bulb of the flower. "I'm... willing to give up..." each word that formed in his throat felt so deliberate that he had a hard time getting them out, his eyes fixated on the plant that had stopped its movement as his palm hovered centimeters from it. "...everything..."

The wolf's eyes widened slightly as the rubbery petals of the flower began to open, unfurling to reveal the pistil withing... except that it definitely wasn't that. Bladewolf found himself locked in a gaze with a single green, glowing eye that seemed to stare not only at him but through him as well as it began to rise up until they were eye to eye. Almost instantly his lupine form seemed to relax, his eyes glazing over as the small green tendrils underneath the eye reached out towards him. He could feel his jaw dropping as his thoughts became muddled and cloudy, as if the light that radiated from the bizarre creature was interfering with their formation as he found himself standing and staring in a complete daze.

Bladewolf was so enthralled with the creature he had stumbled upon that he didn't notice that two more had entered into the cavern, the border collie and kizmit walking towards him with smiles on their muzzles while looking over him. "It appears this one is very eager," the canine stated as the two of them examined their latest prey, snapping and waving their fingers in front of Bladewolf and seeing no change in his vacant expression. "I don't even think we would have needed to put up this ruse Gola, he probably would have willingly walked into our embrace."

"True..." the kizmit replied as his smile grew even broader, his glowing green eyes practically flashing as he licked his lips with his tongue that was a similar hue to his irises and slowly growing longer. "But where would the fun be in that? So what do you think Neox, how are we going to proceed with this one?"

"I think traditional means are best," Neox replied, taking his hand and brushing it against the back of Bladewolf's head as the digits turned black and fused together while swelling with new growth. "We need to be somewhat quick in order to make sure that his friend doesn't wander off too far looking for him, plus I think we teased this one enough. Let's give him the power he so desperately wants..."