FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

"I don't need your help," Theo grumbled.

"CausDek doesn't seem to think so," Morel replied, approaching him with the tether. Theo stiffened as the other scientist began to attach it to his CausDek hazard suit.

"Is that so?" Theo snarled. "What did our most admired employers tell you about me?"

"You?" Morel lifted an eyebrow, then shook his head. "Nothing. I was just referencing CausDek regulation. An operative on an expedition requires a good sense of direction, a CausDek tether, discretion, and-"

"A partner. Yes, I know. I'm not just an expeditionary, I'm-"

"Theo Hall, the one who cracked the third level of the disarray." Morel gave Theo a wink before tugging on the tether. Theo grunted while Morel pulled on the ropy part of the tether, pulling it away from the scientist and towards the control terminal. He tied it around a rung on the side of the terminal just below the hanging HotKnife. It wasn't really meant to pull him back, merely to mark where he had been. "There, all good."

"So, you do know me."

"Of course. CausDek might not have told me anything about you, but your previous partners have."

"I don't care what they told you."

"Oh, I know. Believe me. But also believe that you do need my help. We don't want another Peterson incident."

"I'm not a fool like him."

"Of course not!" Morel said. "You're nothing like him, especially now. Though you could be if you want. They never were quite successful in locking down that zone."

"No." Theo sneered. "I have no interest in...eggs. I'm going to the fourth door."

"You mean the maze."

"Perhaps to lesser minds it seems like a maze, but..." Theo shrugged. "It's no more complex than the third door. It just needs the right mind applied to it."

"Your mind."

"Precisely." He scowled at Morel as he put on the ear piece. "Why do we need this? You can monitor my vitals with my implants that CausDek so graciously implanted us with."

"Regulation," Morel replied bluntly..

"Fine. Just don't talk too much. I'll..." His frown deepened. "Call in the required reports, but no more than that. No idle chit chat, no complaining, no-" He scrunched up his face. "-sharing of problems. I'm going to solve this door without your assistance."

"Hey, you're the boss," Morel replied. "I'm just here to observe and ensure whatever you find doesn't make its way back unquarantined. And if you're contaminated...well, I'll make sure the correct contamination procedures are put in effect." He smiled an easy smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm alright with just watching."

"Hmph." Theo grunted. "Good." He turned towards the sealed door. "Shall we begin?"

"Sure," Morel said. He moved around towards the terminal, tapping some keys while he looked to the tether. "Tether looks good. Suit appears intact." He tapped his ear piece. "Comms?"

"On," Theo said, wincing as Morel's voice crackled in his ears. "Anything you can do about that damn feedback?"

"Dunno. Seems to be originating from the disarray. You know how it is. Chaotic."

"No." Theo shook his head. "It's ordered if anything."

"You don't say."

"There's patterns in the chaos. Consistencies. Familiarities."

"Uh-huh. Familiar things, eh? What does that mean?"

"It means we more often than not find what we expect."

"That doesn't make any sense. Are you suggesting Peterson was expecting eggs? Because it sure seemed like an unexpected-"

"No!" Theo waved a hand. "...Never mind. You're thinking too small. You wouldn't understand."

"Wait. Let me try one more stab at it. So, you're going to the fourth door which leads to an unsolvable maze."

"For small minds, yes."

"A maze so...what? Can you expect a minotaur?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You said familiarities! A maze and a minotaur, it's-"

"I thought you said you liked to watch."

"Right. Ok. Let's start then."

Morel tapped a few more keys and what sounded like a great gasp emitted from the sealed door as it slowly opened. Theo walked a few steps forward, stopping just short of the opening portal. He took a few deep breaths as he looked beyond the confines of the containment chamber into a plain white hall. Though it looked innocuous enough, the agent knew it was part of the dimensional disarray.

It was a misnomer as far as Theo was concerned, a name that brought to mind science fiction and not scientific study. Sure, much of what they encountered was alien and new. Sure, much of what they found had yet to be understood. And sure, most of the disarray had confounded humanity's greatest minds, including even himself but...

But it was no disarray, not by definition. He was certain it was patterned. He was sure there was some equation that could explain it, but such an algorithm wasn't found back on Earth in the comfort of air conditioned spaces while looking through piles and piles of data. No, it was out there in the field, for the disarray was as much of a physical thing as a body...or a mind. To really truly understand it, one had to be in it; even if what the disarray presented itself confounded and confused at those moments when one was present. Even if entering the disarray presented such a clear and present danger every second one remained inside it.

Perhaps that's why Theo really preferred to get his hands dirty rather than research, the thrill of danger and discovery mixed with the knowledge that he was going to solve this puzzle one piece at a time even under the most confoundable duress and when he did...

Well, then he might know more than the disarray - he might understand not just the universal equation, but the equation that dictated all realities? He would be like-

"Uh, are you going to go?"

Theo looked over his shoulder and saw Morel staring at him.

"It's, uh, open. Do you need anything else? A sword, perhaps?"

"A sword?"

"For the minotaur!"

"Be quiet, buffoon," Theo snarled and stepped forward into the disarray.

Immediately he felt a shift. There was a certain stillness to the air for a moment and then it seemed to writhe around him. The white walls to either side of him seemed alive and he just now noticed the doors that were down the hall. No - he had known they were there for he had been here before and the disarray knew it too.

"I'm in," he said.

"Happy hunting," was Morel's reply.

Theo snorted and walked down the hall, mindful of the tether unspooling behind him. What a useless contraption. He never had trouble finding his way back or forward for that matter. He snorted again, passing one door, then another, then a third, and finally stopped at the fourth. The explorer faced it. It was a plain wooden door painted white that looked no different than the others, but this was it: the fourth door, the entrance to the maze, one of many within the disarray. If he figured this one out, then he would be one step closer to understanding the whole.

He opened the door and what laid beyond was another hallway, though this one was made of up hedges, bushes that looked normal until he noticed their tops were lined with unblinking large serpentine eyes.

"Hmm," he said.

"Creepy, huh?" Morel said in his ear.

"Quiet!" Theo snarled. "Only speak when necessary. I need to think."

"You're right, you're right," Morel sighed. "No more interruptions from me, I promise. You've got to keep your ears open for the minotaur, after all."

"There. Is. No. Minotaur."

Theo waited a second and there was no response from Morel. Good. He stepped into the hedge maze of unblinking eyes and walked straight ahead. Though there were countless eyes visible, none were looking at him - except one. He looked up into the sky and found a large compound eye staring down at him, or so he presumed. One of the thousands of its facets must be looking at him. Theo vaguely wondered if there were answers in that eye in the sky, but some instinct told him to keep his head down and eyes forward. Since guts and common sense had kept him alive and intact thus far, he did just that, continuing forward through the hedges until he reached a crossroad. His gut told him to go left and so he went left, stepping into-

A shallow stream that flowed down between two sand dunes that rose up and up and up. He frowned and looked back to see his tether and the hedge beyond, though it looked faint, like a mirage. He half expected Morel to question his sudden stop, but there was only the sound of trickling water. Good. He could think in quiet. Had he taken the right away? He wasn't sure, but neither was he sure why there were hands reaching out from the dunes now, grubby palms, taloned fingers and padded paws all grasping for him. Slapping one away he retreated to the middle of the shallow stream. At least there was a proper sun here.

Forward. Forward, he had to keep going forward. And left into the field of tails. And right into the night lit only dimly by moonlight where he did his best to ignore the shadowy figures around him and their whispers. Forward into the hall of mirrors where lusty lizards leered, but their shapely figures and non-mammalian mammaries did nothing to entice him to stop. Left onto stairs that went up and up while moving paintings hung into the air. Right and left and forward and sometimes backwards only to go right then right and so on until-

Until he stumbled into what seemed to be an abandoned barroom. Theo was glad, because at this point he felt like he needed a drink. He was dizzy and a little weary and he almost closed the door behind him before remembering his tether. He looked behind him and there it was, leading off into what appeared to be a murky swamp. The explorer groaned and scratched his head. Hadn't he just been chased by something? Or had that been the place before? He couldn't remember. He took a few steps into his new reality and glanced around at surroundings that were familiar.

There was the bar, of course, with its tall stools in front and cabinet of liquor behind it. It even had a radio playing a tune that seemed oddly familiar, yet alien all the same. There were plenty of tables too, but their chairs were as empty as the rest of the place. In the back were what he presumed to be two restrooms, though the symbols on each door were unrecognizable for the usual gentlemen and ladies ones he was used to. Finally, off on the far side in the corner where one could expect a pool table and darts to be was-

A bull.

Theo blinked, but it was still there. It wasn't a real, live bull but the mechanical approximation of a male bovine, just as big if not bigger than the real thing and yet so much more sleek and synthetic. At first the scientist thought it might be one of those mechanical riding bulls, but there was too much complexity in the machine's design for it to be simply something to rock back and forth on. Sure, there was sleek shiny metal in place of fur and those horns didn't look made of bone, but the construct seemed otherwise equipped with joints and structure to support more than mere mechanical movement. It looked like it could move even if it was still for the time being, its head looking forward with black eyes dark.

Theo would have hardly given it a second glance, had he not noticed a door behind it impossibly wedged into the corner. It appeared to be a white wooden door. He blinked again - that door, it had to be it! Not the solution to the maze, but a start at least. Still, there was the bull and something bothered Theo about it. Was it the bull's complete lack of movement? Or was it the intricacies and details of its construction right down to what appeared to be its brass balls? Or was it merely familiarity, something he had seen or heard of before but-

He snarled. Of course. Now he knew what it was.

"Morel?"

"Theo? Oh thank god, I've been calling for you every half hour according to regulation and you haven't-"

"What? No, I haven't even been out for-"

"Six hours? Yes, you definitely have."

"I definitely have not." Theo checked his watch. "I admit I should have called you at the thirty minute mark but it's only been forty three!"

"Damn disarray."

"No, it's this CausDek crap." Theo grunted. "Hmm. That gives me an idea...Morel, has CausDek ever manufactured bovine automatons?"

"Like cow constructs?"

"More like bull."

"No bull. I mean, not that I know of."

"Well, look it up!" Theo snapped.

"I am! Why do you ask?"

"Because ahead of me is a mechanical bull and it looks too familiar to be-"

"Shit! That's the minotaur!"

"It's not a minotaur. There is no minotaur!"

"But you said there's a pattern. If there's a maze, there's a minotaur. It fits with your theory!"

"I know what I said and you don't understand it in the least, you dolt! There is no minotaur, and I've found my answer!"

"But-"

"Quiet, you fool! I must concentrate!"

Theo snarled and walked up to the bull - no, the door. Or, he would have had the bull not been mostly in the way, a stoic guardian to the first step to solving this maze. Up close the construct seemed even larger and the fact that it was completely still made it somehow all the more intimidating. It's not as if he expected it to spring to life but...what would he do if it did?

Run, of course.

For now though, he had to figure a way around it. Around, however, seemed impossible, not unless he wanted to get caught on its long horns, and there just wasn't enough space to fit around its rear. Beneath, then? He could do it if he crawled. He'd just have to be careful not to lift his head too early lest he bang it against its belly...or its balls.

With this plan in mind, Theo got onto his hands and knees and started to crawl beneath the bull. He'd only have to go a little bit before he could lift a hand and turn the door's handle. He just hoped his tether didn't get caught on the bull. If it did, well, he had his HotKnife ready at his side. He didn't need the tether, not really. He could find his way back with or without it...or Morel for that matter.

Theo had only been crawling under the belly of the bull for a few seconds when something clicked. He froze. What was that sound? Or rather, lack of sound, for the scientist soon realized that the radio had turned off. The only sound he could hear was his own harried breaths, at least until something creaked above him.

This time Theo didn't freeze, but looked up and watched as the bull's belly rose. No, not just the belly - the bull itself, its joints creaking as it reared on its hindlegs and stayed there. Theo stared up at it while it looked down at him with glowing red eyes that seemed to smolder. It snorted and steam poured out of its red hot nostrils. Its forehooves sparked and became hot and red as well and it didn't take Theo long to guess its intentions.

"Shit!" Theo screamed, rolling out of the way of the falling hooves. They didn't crash into the ground as he had expected; instead, they clumsily missed him before raising again, the bull snorting its disappointment.

"Theo, what's going on?" Morel asked and Theo winced at the unwelcomed feedback in his ears.

"Shut up!" he hissed. He drew his HotKnife and scurried back while the bull tried to touch him with its white hot hooves again. For what reason he did not know, but he didn't intend to find out. He glanced at the bull's legs and noticed what looked like synthetic tendons. He blinked when he found his gaze drawn in between those legs where the bull's heavy balls hung, but now a large red shaft pressed out above it. What purpose could that hold? He shook his head and returned his gaze to the tendons. Perhaps if he cut them he might be able to immobilize the mechanical beast. He'd have to time it right, of course...

He dashed forward as the hulking bull tried again to touch him with its hooves and just narrowly avoided them. Smiling at his success, the scientist swiped his weapon at the exposed tendon of the bull's left leg. The HotKnife worked as intended, perhaps too well as a white, cool fluid splashed onto the scientist's face from the wound. He gagged and tried to wipe it away before he realized it tasted rich and creamy like...milk? He only had a second to register this thought before something large and hot slapped him against the face. He yelped and dropped his weapon as he fell on his rear, rubbing at his stinging cheek while he tried to locate its source. He turned his head and froze when he found himself face to face with the bull's turgid, torrid shaft.

The bull bellowed and Theo spun around, wincing from the stinging of his cheek as he crawled away from the beast. He made it only a few feet before he felt two hot, heavy weights pressing against his rear. Even as he cried out, he looked over his shoulder and saw the bull's hooves on his ass, their heat burning through his protective suit to brand his butt. Groaning, he crawled forward while the bull lurched behind him, the consequence of its wound finally coming to bear as it wobbled on its legs before collapsing. It landed with a thud that shook the whole place, its head coming to rest mere inches from Theo's feet.

"Fuck!" Theo swore, staring back at the bull who regarded him with those red-hot eyes. "Fuck!"

"What is it?" Morel asked.

"The fucking..." Theo panted, gasping as he wiggled backwards so this ruined pants and underwear fell to his booted feet. He threw away the tether around his waist before getting onto his knees and looked over to his shoulder at the bull before settling his eyes on his butt. Two barcodes were stamped upon his bare, red cheeks. "The fucking bull branded me!"

"What? What's going on?"

Abruptly, the bull lurched forward with a bellow and a creak. Before Theo could do little more than yelp, the bull was upon him. Not just atop of him, but mounting him, pressing that hot, hard shaft into his exposed rear.

"Theo? Theo? What's going on now?"

Theo could only moan and groan in response as he felt that metallic member press into his pucker. He panted and tried to scramble away, but the bull had him dead to rights.

"Are you ok? Your heart rate is elevated and-"

Theo moaned in response as the bull thrust into him again and again, the warm rod slipping in easily, almost as if it were meant to be there. It felt better than he expected all things considered, his own member stiffening at the intrusion of another but the pleasure was punctuated by two other stinging sensations in his rear followed by what felt like cool liquid seeping into him. With a start, Theo realized he had been injected, something he couldn't very well act upon with the bull still atop him.

Injected with what?

The question remained unanswered for now as he heard the bull bellow above him, the loud mechanical din echoing throughout the room. In the next moment, Theo felt that mechanical cock stiffen in his ass and then something hot and sticky spilled out. He felt his face go flush as he realized what had just happened.

"Theo? Your heart rate is still elevated, but it seems to be plateauing and-"

"Shut up!" Theo panted as he tried to wriggle away from the bull. Thankfully, the bovine machine seemed to have the same thought as it pulled out of him, the scientist shivering while the weight lifted off him. He heard something clatter to the floor and he turned his head to see there were two nearly empty syringes dripping a white fluid laying near his feet...and the bull's cock above it. It had cooled down a little, but it still dribbled with some of its seed. Is that what it was that was dribbling too from his sore asshole?

The scientist shivered while the bull snorted, its hot breath steaming upon Theo's neck. He looked up to the bull and saw that the intensity and colors of its eyes had changed. They were a peaceful, curious blue and they regarded him with an intelligence he had not detected before. The bull's jaws creaked as it opened them. Theo winced, but all it did was lick his neck.

"Moo?" it said in a deep, rattling tone.

Theo stared at the bull and the bull stared back.

"What was that? Theo? Speak to me!"

"Moo?" the bull repeated, but it wasn't a question really, more of a statement, and it was directed at him.

"No!" Theo shouted back, crawling forward. Propelled by manic energy, he got to his feet and ran half naked and branded from the bull, following his tether towards where he had entered this place. Behind him he heard the bull bellow and give chase, wounded as it was.

"Theo? Not to worry you, but I'm detecting the introduction of foreign fluids into your system."

"I know," Theo hissed, awkwardly walking with his pants bunched at his boots out of the barroom door in what appeared to be a glade marked with a path of purple flowers. Had he been here before? The presence of his tether seemed to suggest so, but it didn't seem very familiar.

"You know? What the hell is happening?"

"Nothing," Theo said. "I'm..."

His stomach gurgled and he clutched at it. He looked down and his eyes widened. His stomach seemed a little swollen, but what surprised him was down below at his crotch. His prick was still hard and erect, but it was the sight of pubic hair falling away while a puffy pink mass formed there that got his attention. It was...well, he wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't like the sight of it and something else appearing over his increasingly smooth crotch. It was a smooth and rubbery substance, was mostly white, though spotted with black here and there, and it was subsuming his skin, spreading down his exposed legs.

"Fuck."

"Theo? Heart rate is elevating again."

"I know. I know. I know!"

"Theo? You have to tell me what's going on."

"Shut up! I'm trying to figure this out..."

"It was the minotaur, wasn't it?"

"Shut up!"

"What did it do to you?"

What had it done to him? Theo grimaced as his stomach rumbled again. He didn't feel hungry, merely nauseous as he lifted his shirt to examine his stomach. He whimpered when he saw his muscle was wasting away as a similarly smooth synthetic material like that found on his legs spread over his growing gut. From here, the white and sometimes black spotted pattern was more apparent. It reminded him of a...of a...

"Cow," he murmured, gaze dropping to that pink mass still swelling above his stiff cock. There were four red spots on it now and as he watched they pressed out in what looked like little nubs. No, not nubs - teats!

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Theo said, bringing his hand down to touch that pink mass. He shuddered and quickly pulled his hand away. It...his udder...no, that thing was horribly sensitive and that touch had somehow made his erection even harder. It throbbed and pressed up against the spongy sac and Theo shuddered and let out an involuntary moan as his shaft started to drip.

"Nothing? Theo, you've got to-"

The bull bellowed behind him. Theo turned his head and saw the machine shuffling towards him, its injured leg still dripping that white liquid, that-

Milk.

"The minotaur! Run, Theo, run!"

Theo didn't need to be told to run. He was already sprinting down the path of purple flowers, following his tether towards what would be one room or reality closer. He wished he could remember his entire journey here, but his mind was jumbled as it was distracted. His new udder wiggled and sloshed, actually sloshed, as he ran. Even more troubling was the sensation of his hips pulling apart, wrenching him to one side and then the other before sending him tumbling off the path and onto the grassy ground.

The changing human groaned and placed his hands on the ground to push himself up just as his fingers ached. He grimaced, balling his fingers into fists before uncurling them a moment later to find that they were them stiffer, blacker, harder. Worse, his thumb was stuck to his index finger while the other three were likewise melded, a divide now between his two hands. It was absurd, but it reminded him vaguely of a hoof.

"No, no," he said.

"No? A minotaur isn't changing you? Then what is it?"

Theo shook his head, pressing his hardening hands against the ground as he got to his feet. The compromised employee shivered, not daring to look down at his arms while that same synthetic material spread down them.

"Morel," he said. "I've been contaminated."

"No shit. That's usually what foreign substances entering your body does. I've already contacted recovery ops."

"No! I-" Theo grunted as his hands twinged. He looked down and watched as his fingers contorted and melded into two separate shapes, cloven like...like...

"Mroo!" The bull lowed behind him and Theo set off sprinting again as fast as he could with his pants around his ankles. Back on the path now, he risked one glance behind him and saw that the bull was moving faster now, though it still leaked milk from its wound.

Milk.

Theo shivered at the thought of the sweet, creamy substance and did his best to ignore the subtle swelling he felt between his legs, though it felt not so subtle when his burgeoning udder jiggled and bounced slightly off his erection. How could he be aroused at a time like this? Every bit of his mind should be urging him forward and yet there was a part of his mind that wanted to turn back and be mounted by the bull like a proper cow this time and-

"Urgh!" Theo groaned. It wasn't just thoughts that were intruding on his mind either, but a scent reached his nose. It was strong, deep and musky, and he knew it had to come from the bull. He snorted, nostrils flaring as his nose became bigger and the brand on his cheek burned. He touched one hand there for a second to confirm that the soft, smooth material was spreading there now too, and it was doing more than replacing his skin. He gritted his teeth as his jaw ached, his lips thickening before feeling the stuff slide inside his mouth as well. He gagged and couldn't help but slow down just as he passed the next door in what appeared to be a parking lot filled with cars. Cars with no doors or openings, he realized, but at least there were a few big enough to hide behind for a few breaths.

The changing man followed the tether a little longer before ducking off to the side behind a large vehicle and not a moment too soon before his feet ached. They pressed against their confines with pulsing throbs while he panted, staring helplessly between his increasingly hooved hands and his laced up boots.

"Fuck," he swore before coughing again, wincing as he felt his neck thicken, broader and black now. He squirmed as he felt that synthetic material spread down his throat into him, stomach gurgling while it pressed against his shirt. Theo shook his head and his ears simply flopped against the sides of his skull, their shape becoming much more oval as the synthetic smoothness overcame them. Still, his earpiece remained attached, hanging stubbornly on even if his hearing itself left him temporarily. For a few moments he could only feel the rapid beating of his heart and the panting of his harried breaths before it returned in a rush.

"-than contaminated." He heard Morel say. "You're infected!"

"I know," Theo snarled. "I'm fine."

"Fine? Because-"

"Shut it! I'm trying to think..."

He looked between his hooves and his boots again. He pondered for a few moments before shrugging and bending over while lifting a foot so he could get his teeth on the laces. He clamped thickening teeth down while the heat rose upon the bare cheeks on his ass. The heat subsided somewhat as he pulled the laces loose, but that was little solace when he knew the synthetic skin was spreading. It was more than that - the scientist groaned and flexed his back as it seemed to expand, becoming heavier and broader while at the front his chest did likewise. He was growing thicker, heftier, and heavier and his shoulders and back broadened while he undid the laces of his first boot. His gut grumbled and Theo couldn't help but let out a very inhuman groan as he felt it dip towards the floor. It felt heavier and heavier, as if he was eating a big meal, but he hadn't eaten in a few hours at least. Still, he ignored it for now as he moved onto the second one, his legs thickening before his eyes too, though not as much as his torso and back. Instead, their structure seemed to be changing most of all while his udder...

He pulled and the laces became untied between his flatter, thicker teeth. He glanced down to that pink mass and shuddered as it swelled larger and rounder, its four red little nubs pressing out into proper teats. It was not only getting bigger, but filling with something else as well that made it slosh even more than it had before as it wriggled and writhed with growth. Reflexively he brought his hooved hands to press down against it, but only managed to brush his hands against a couple of those taut teats. He shivered as little white dribbles of milk spilled out, running in little rivulets down his growing udder to spill onto his still dribbling cock. Groaning, he pulled his hands away and instead focused on what he could deal with; that is, the boots that still remained upon his very achy feet. He wriggled his legs and winced as his ankles cracked and bones restructured. Were they bones or were they metal now? He couldn't be sure, but a moment later he felt that same sensation in his arms as their structure shifted to better match his legs, forcing his hooved hands onto the ground. Hands - could they really be considered hands now?

The thought swept out of his mind as he rolled onto his side, udder jiggling and hanging over his widening hips while his pelvis realigned. He placed his hands, his...hooves on the ground and let out a sigh of relief as the first boot shook free. His relief was short lived, however, for he saw he had freed not a foot, but another hoof.

"This is incredible! Your physiology has shifted so radically in such a short amount of time!" Morel's voice was ecstatic. "Not even Peterson changed this quickly!"

"Ungh," Theo grunted in response, shaking loose the other boot only to find another hoof had been let loose. He frowned and then winced while his jaws began to press forward, his widening nose going along for the ride as it became black and padded.

"What's happening with your hands? They seem so much less dexterous."

"Fuck off," Theo hissed with some difficulty. He panted and his tongue fell out of his mouth. For a few moments, it was numb as it thickened and stretched, before retreating back into his proto muzzle. He licked the undersides of his teeth and felt how flat they were now, meant more for grinding than chewing. He thought back to the path of flowers he had just trod on and felt his stomach grumble...or was it stomachs?

"Do you need a hand?"

"Thuck offth!" Theo spat, his thick tongue getting in the way of words now.

"Why? I'm your partner, Theo. I've got recovery ops on the line. Just let me know where you are. You don't seem to be near your tether base, that's for sure."

"I don't..." Theo panted as his jaws stretched just a little bit longer. There was that grumble in his stomach and he looked down to see what was the matter. He was still putting on muscle and mass, courtesy of the synthetic spread, and a moment later his shirt ripped apart, no longer able to contain his increasingly bulky frame. His stomach was a smooth white with black up the sides, but it itself certainly wasn't smooth and it wasn't just because of his udder. No, it had a definite swell to it and one that wasn't derived from fat. Rather, there seemed to be a firmness to it that he wanted so dearly to confirm, but he couldn't quite reach his hooves there. His arms, or really his legs, just weren't meant for that anymore. They were meant to stand and support, not grasp and manipulate and so he could only stare at that swelling in his belly. Without meaning to, he let out a low grunt, udder sloshing and cock throbbing while he tried to figure out what it meant.

"This really is incredible, Theo," Morel chattered in his ear. "You have two heartbeats. Two!"

Theo blinked, eyelids growing heavier while his lashes thickened. He opened his thickening, broader jaws to respond, but all that came out was a surprised moo as he realized what had happened to him.

"Wait, wait. My mistake. You still only have one heart. There's...another within you? Hmm. Interesting how the implants adapted."

Theo shook his head, ears flopping on either side of his reshaping skull. His eyes watered and then he lost all sight for only a moment before he could see again clearer than before except...

Except something was in his vision. He blinked and it didn't go away. It took him a second to realize it was his snout.

"Theo, are you pregnant?"

"S-shut up, Moo...Morel."

"Did the...did the minotaur mount you?"

Clip. Clop. Clang. Clip. Clop. Clang.

"Mrooo?" the bull bellowed, too close for comfort.

Theo stiffened, nostrils flaring. He sniffed and he took in a familiar scent, strong and metallic and yet utterly masculine. His member throbbed and he meant to let out a soft hiss, though it sounded more like a low moo. The brand, the barcodes on his rear, heated up and he felt himself unconsciously raising his rump as the smooth synthetic material finally swept over it. His buttocks lost their distinct separation as they expanded while the barcodes joined together into one. His once flat rear taking on some heft and artificial fat while it grew into an ample rump better aligned with his legs. His still sore pucker rose a little and widened as the synthetic stuff surged inside, the scientist shuddered as he felt himself growing all the more sensitive there. Reluctantly he stood on his hind legs to support his heftier rear, though he had to splay out his legs more as his udder experienced another surge of growth. It swelled wide and larger, thickening teats hanging lower and lower to the ground. Theo couldn't help but let out a groan as he struggled to hold up its weight along with his swollen belly, a groan that became a loud moo as more milk suffused the pink sac.

"Moooo!" Theo bellowed.

Clip. Clop. Clang. Clip. Clop. Clang.

Theo's eyes widened as he heard the bull draw near. What would it see? A half formed freak, something that looked like a cow but wasn't quite it? Or would it see him as enough of a cow to mount again and ensure he really was pregnant because...

Because it was what he wanted? To be mounted by the bull, because he was a cow or close enough, a sleek, synthetic simulacrum of the bovine ideal, well equipped with udder and cow cunt both? Well no, not the second.

Not yet.

Theo shivered and shook his head, huffing as his face settled a little more into bovine proportions. He nervously licked the inside of his elongated jaws as he considered what to do. Something tugged at his mind, an errant thought that was pulled away as something stretched from his streamlined spine. He couldn't help but give another gasp as a tail snaked its way out above his rear, the hairy black tip the sole furred part of him. It stretched and stretched and yet it remained raised as if in invitation.

"Mroo?"

Theo had to turn his head to look over his side instead of a shoulder to see the mechanical bull standing not too far from him, its eyes still that blissful blue. Though Theo was bigger now, the bull still seemed large and imposing. In addition it looked more complex, more modular than when he had seen it last, new seams and ports having seemingly appeared on the machine. It's cock was still there too, of course, hot and ready and Theo shuddered in arousal at the sight of the metal beast. It didn't look threatening, rather it looked like it wanted to help him and yet Theo felt his rage rise and wash over his arousal at the sight of the malicious, beguiling machine. It had done this to him! Hadn't it been enough to humiliate him? No, it had to change him too, and for what?

He received an answer of sorts when his eyes drifted to the bull's injury that still leaked that white substance, a coolant of some kind. No, not coolant for he had tasted it and knew what it really was - milk, and who had plenty of milk?

Him.

The bull dipped its head and nudged that udder, his udder, and Theo couldn't help but shiver as some milk dribbled from those taut teats. His cock too pulsed, dripping more of what was now a mostly clear liquid right before his shaft began to shrivel. The bull lifted its head and then tilted it as it regarded his rear. No, his barcode brand, Theo realized.

"Youuuuuu..." the bull lowed. "Mooooooo?"

Theo's anger spiked and he wasn't sure if it was implanted instinct or mere common sense, but he raised a hindleg back and kicked the bull straight in the snout. The big beast retreated with a surprised bellow and Theo was running away, or at least stumbling away, the movements of his altered feet awkward and stilted thanks to his unfamiliarity of his stance combined with the weight and heft of his udder and belly both. Each clumsy clop sent vibrations up to his upper body and it didn't help that those vibrations made his udder shake and wobble more as it brushed against his hind legs, spraying milk onto the concrete floor. His shrinking shaft bobbed up and down too, sometimes pressing against his udder and making matters worse. Even more troubling was how his tail hung lower, its tufted tip often coming into contact with his hefty milk sac. For better or not, matters were getting milky.

"Nuhhhh..." Theo murmured, having trouble getting the word out past his thick tongue. He wasn't going to remain this way. He was going to return to Morel and the terminal, he was going to be decontaminated, he was going to be-

Giving birth to a calf soon.

"Nuhh..." he repeated, but even the denial felt flat to his floppy cow ears. He was pregnant, or so he presumed. Why else would he have so much milk? That's the only time cows produced milk, right? Then again, this was the disarray and rules weren't always followed. Yes, that had to be it. He was...he was just a fat cow with a fatter udder and a cock too, the last remnant of his masculinity and humanity.

...

Where had he meant to go with that line of thinking again? No, he was Theo Hall, the brilliant scientist who had figured out the third floor of the dimensional disarray and the genius who would solve the mystery of the fourth door. He just had to...had to put one hoof in front of the other and follow the tether.

Follow the tether. Just ignore his sloshing udder.

Follow the tether. One hoof in the front of the other.

Follow the tether. He couldn't think about his cock getting smaller and smaller even as it pressed incessantly against his overfull udder while a new opening formed beneath his pucker.

Follow the tether. Bull. What bull?

Follow the tether. Ignore that last little stretching of his snout.

Follow the tether. Closer, closer, clo-

"Theo? Theo, are you there?"

"Moo...moooorel?"

"Hey, that's right, it's me! Wasn't sure if you could still understand me. Seems like the adaptive implants are working well! Finally something from CausDek that isn't crap."

Follow the tether. One foot in front of the other.

"I'm sure you know better than me, but I can confirm you are indeed pregnant. Congrats, Theo! It's a boy!"

Theo huffed, but bit back a reply. Follow the tether. Ignore the idiot.

"I actually don't know whether that's true or not. The boy portion, but you are definitely pregnant. How's it feel?"

Follow the tether. Forward, forward, always forward.

"Not going to answer me? How am I supposed to help you, Theo?"

"I...du...don'th...needth yur...helpth," Theo finally replied.

"You don't? Well, can you tell me where you are then, Theo?"

Theo blinked and came to a stumbling halt, hefty udder sloshing against either of his hindlegs. His dick throbbed but in a different way now. It was so small, so miniscule, so meaningless that he almost didn't notice it slowly shifting its position as it meandered up towards the folds forming beneath his tail. He did notice it, however, because he was not in some strange swamp or flower lined glade, but a hall of mirrors. The mirrors were the same ones he had passed before, they had to be, but no lascivious lizard ladies leered at him now. No, there was only the image of a cow from every conceivable angle. A synthetic seeming cow, but a cow nonetheless.

"What do you see, Theo?"

Theo looked into the mirror and peered at the bovine face looking back. It, no, he stared with those big black eyes, the pupils a softly glowing dim blue, but he wasn't dim! No, and neither was he a docile cow as those otherwise empty eyes seemed to suggest and he wasn't afraid either even if his ears flopped back.

Was he?

The brand of the bull's hoof burned on his cheek as he shook his head. No, of course not. What did he have to fear at what he saw before him? He looked like the classic cow, black and white, yet no cow was so smooth or slightly shiny beneath the soft lighting found beneath the hall. Neither was any real cow so streamlined and yet so bulky at the same time. He would have liked it to blame it on his udder, that taut, pink sac with its visible veins and thick teats that now dripped milk, but his dairy maker wasn't the only source of heft. He had that belly too, a clearly firm pregnant swell that nearly looked out of place on his otherwise smooth body. Idly he wondered if his offspring would look like him, something synthetic on the outside and yet organic on the inside, for how else would Morel be taking his vitals?

He huffed. Of course he was still organic - mostly. But what did that mean? Why did that matter? He looked over his side for answers to another mirror and caught sight of his butt. Almost instinctively his ropey tail lifted to show the barcode branded across it. He narrowed his eyes at what he thought were numbers before realizing he had no idea what they meant. What did they say about him? That he was a cow? A dairy cow? A real milker with a knack for maternity?

No. No. He shook his head. He was Theo. Theo...Theo...hadn't he had a last name? Or at least another name? He snorted and this thought was forgotten as his attention went back to that mirror and the image of his bovine derriere, but there was more there than just cow butt. There was his cow cunt too, one of the few parts of him that appeared as organic as his udder. It pulsed gently and a little bit of his need gently leaked down his throbbing lips. He...he was female now. Biologically at least. A true cow laden with milk and calf. All he needed was a bull and he would be set for more. Just another application of that red hot shaft and-

"Muhhh..." Theo drawled, having difficulty forming the simplest no. Of course. How could he speak?

He was a cow.

"Muhh!" he bellowed, then paused. Again he tried: "Mooo...?"

"Is that you? Recovery ops is waiting on confirmation!"

The cow blinked. Is that who? Was it him? Or her? And who was that? The name, it was...

"Moora?" he hazarded.

"Yeah. Nope. Sorry, guys. Don't think that's him. Yeah, sounded like a cow to me. Don't have vitals either. Just showing lots of lactose. Weird, huh. Well, what do you expect from CausDek crap?"

"Moo?"

"See, there it is again. Shit, he might have clipped his earpiece onto a cow as a joke. Why is there a cow in the disarray? Hell if I know. Do you understand the disarray? Didn't think so! Eh, who knows. He's probably just milking his genius explorer routine. Maybe he'll call in. Or maybe..." There was a chuckle. "He found the minotaur."

The cow huffed. His...her...his head hurt. There was someone speaking, but the words and context were losing meaning with every passing second. He shook his head and something fell from his ear. A tag? No. No, he had to...had to...

Clip. Clop. Clank.

The cow's eyes widened. Now that was a sound he recognized. He started to move forward, away from that sound, away from that wondrous scent of brass and bull while he wondered where those other cows were going.

Why was he fleeing?

Because he to...to-

Follow the tether.

Follow the tether, something urged, and so the cow followed the tether, walking naturally on his hooves while that scent and that noise drew ever closer. Suddenly the cow found himself walking in a stream in a place that was hot and sandy and dusty. How...? But he couldn't question for long. He had to follow the tether and not think so much because...

Because a docile cow like him didn't have to think too much? No, no, that couldn't be right. He wasn't a docile cow, was he? No, he was a...docile dairy cow. That's right! That's why he had that overfull udder and so swollen belly and yet he felt ready to be mated as milk, ready for-

Follow the tether.

He followed, clumsily clopping through the stream while his leaking milk contributed to the flow. Gosh, he needed to be milked, to be freed of this pressure within his udder and mind. A good milking would set things right, right? But first, he had to follow the tether until the end... or near enough.

Then the desert was gone and the cow found himself in a dark place where the hedges were lined with eyes. They stared at him, but the cow didn't care. They didn't feel threatening and plus he could feel himself getting close to the end. He walked forward further and further until he saw a door.

Clip. Clop. Clang.

He had to hurry! The cow went a little faster, excitedly following the tether further until he reached its frayed end. He paused, staring at it and then looking up to the closed door before him. Shouldn't there be more?

Clop. Clang.

There had to be more! A tether simply didn't end. It lead to safety. Perhaps...perhaps this was where he was meant to be?

Clang.

There was that scent and that sound. The cow turned his head and there the bull was, that magnificent bull with his calming blue eyes, the blue that was so much like him, shiny and synthetic, and yet not for he was the cow, the nurturing one, the one that provided, and the look in that bull's artificial eyes told him he wanted something from-

Her.

Her, because she was female, a pregnant, milky docile dairy cow. And she was his and he was hers, for they were a pair. The bull huffed as he looked over the code stamped upon her bovine posterior, his eye turning gold.

"Moo...?" he said nodding towards her.

"Moo!" she replied, and was it her or did the bull seem to smile? No, no, that was silly. Bulls didn't smile and docile cows like her didn't think too much. She had no need for a name or arrogance or the idea to think that she understood everything, because really there was little she had to understand. What she could understand now was that her bull needed her, needed her help, the male shifting to the side to show her his leaking leg. She lowed in response and the bull approached. She submitted as he mounted her, though their arrangement was not the norm. True, she did feel his hot, throbbing tool press into her cow cunt, but he seemed to slide onto her, midsection opening to clamp onto her with an embrace that pinched for a moment before feeling warm and comfortable. His head laid atop hers and she sighed as he licked at the brand upon her face. She stiffened as the tendrils snaked out from this hind legs, thin suction capable tubes that attached to her teats. It was a tether, one she didn't mind following especially as shortly afterwards they began to milk the cow in earnest while the bull thrust into her over and over while the milk flowed into his systems.

The cow let out a contented moo, filled and likewise being vacated, more than just milk flowing out of her overflowing udder. Theo, maze, minotaur, dimensional disarray, discovery...it all meant nothing to the new dairy cow swollen with milk in her udder and a calf in her womb. She sighed, content as the bull's head slid over and split in half to encase her's before clicking shut for now, not that she minded. She looked through his golden eyes and smiled at what she saw, simple images for a simple cow. She milked him while he milked her and for now they were one, bull and cow, minotaur and dairy dear, synthetically symbiotic, another component to the dimensional disarray, another component for someone else to solve, certainly not a simple, milk minded cow. No, no. She was content, and so was he.