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"AD! AD! AD! It's really, really you!" he yelled enthusiastically, engulfing him in an energetic bear hug.

"Agh! Yes, it is me! You are happy, I know, but I must breathe!"

Woofy relented, pulling back surprisingly quickly, with a bit of a puzzled expression on his face. He looked at Dubrovnikov, then back at me, then back at him for a moment... and then shrugged, gave him one more quick hug, and then returned to my side, snuggling up happily against my arm again.

Of course, Woofy's outburst hadn't gone unnoticed, and I could already see Dr. Artemis running towards us, with two of his team members in tow. The soldiers, though, had apparently decided to wander closer to the warehouse, and hadn't yet noticed the commotion behind them. For my part, I was still just staring at the man, and trying to wrap my head around the fact that the person standing in front of me was the one who had set all of this into motion.

I didn't have much time to react, though, as Dr. Artemis and his team were quickly upon us. He had his odd-looking dart gun in his hand, but it pointed lazily at the dirt as he did a vexed double-take at Dubrovnikov's unexpected presence.

"Dubrovnikov? How the... what in... why are you even here? Are you completely insane? This area's swarming with soldiers, a good number of whom would probably be happy to shoot you on sight! What could have possibly possessed you to come here?"

"Hah!" he replied, seemingly unfazed by the current situation. "I am no coward! Well... maybe I am a coward, I do not know. But when I hear my creations, my family, there is danger, you expect me to hide in a shack? Of course not! As soon as I hear, I catch the next plane back, and here I am! Well, I meant to be, how you say, not, ah, visible, but eh... Genetics I am good at, English I am okay at, but with hiding, I am not! So, I hide like the worst, I fight like the, eh, mostly worst, but I say to myself, would my family not fight for me? Of course they would! So... I am here."

"Right. Not that I don't understand your sentiment, Dr. Dubrovnikov, but surely a man of your intellect would have some common sense, yes? What could you have possibly done here, all alone?"

Dr. Dubrovnikov just shrugged. "Anything, something, who knows? These soldiers, always wanting to keep their secrets, so I think, maybe I show up, let them know if I die, if my family dies, all their secrets go out, and they get unpleasant custard on their faces!"

"You mean, egg?"

"Egg, custard, whatever! I saw the movie, once, where they do this, and the government is scared and goes far away, and everyone lives! I know little of government, and spying, but I say, eh, maybe it work, and what other thing do I have to do? This is what scientists do - they start with belief that anything is possible, and maybe it is not, but we try anyway! I find out, though, that I am, eh, not so good with the internet thing either, so I think the wrong button is pressed and the secrets are already flying down the wires for all the people to see. So I think, maybe they are too busy, maybe they do not notice this, maybe I come down anyway and see if I can, eh, gambit with them? But I see so many guns, and I get scared, and go to hide... like I say, at hiding I am not so good, and here I am. Now, what there is to do, I do not know, but there is always a new plan..."

"Well, here's a new plan for you - how about you let everyone here worry about rescuing your, ah, family, and you worry about, oh, I dunno... not ending up dead?"

"This plan, I am not sure I am so much having good feelings about it..."

"Uh, if I might explain," I interjected. Dr. Artemis just shrugged, and I went on to explain, very briefly, what was currently happening - and how we were actually trying to achieve roughly the same goal. Dr. Dubrovnikov seemed to understand that, although I wondered it that was more due to the fact that Woofy was here with me, happy and unharmed.

As I finished up, though, I noticed one of Dr. Artemis' team glancing back towards the building - and at the small group of soldiers walking back towards us.

Dr. Artemis noticed this as well, grimacing. "Oh, great, just what we need right now... Dubrovnikov, come with me, and I'll see if we can't find some place to hide you in the triage tent. I think we can keep you covered for now, and after that... well, we'll figure something out, I'm sure. Maybe a cap, or a surgical mask or something... but that's for later. We've got to move you now, though, before they get here." He looked over at me. "Um... If they ask for me, stall them or something. This guy's way too important, and I'm not going to let a bunch of amped-up soldiers kick the shit out of him."

"Uh, okay, I guess I'll just-" I began, but Dr. Artemis was already walking away, dragging Dr. Dubrovnikov, who stumbled along behind him. The approaching soldiers didn't seem to have noticed the situation, though, and there was no sign of anyone on the medical team outside by the time they approached. Oddly, though, they didn't seem all that interested in finding the medical staff - just us.

"Hey, uh, dude," one of the soldiers said, gesturing vaguely at me. "The commander wants you and your buddies up at the entrance, pronto."

"My buddies?"

"Yeah, you know, your friend, and that other fuzzy blue guy. Dunno what's up exactly, besides that everything is going really weird down there, and for some reason they think you can help sort it out."

"Uh, well, let me see if I can track down where they went..." I walked back towards the assault van, hoping that the two of them were inside there, and hadn't wandered off somewhere... or into the tent, which was precisely where the soldiers didn't need to be for the moment. In any case, though, checking the van would at least delay things for a few minutes.

I walked over to the van and knocked on the rear door. "Hey, A.J., you guys still in there?"

"Unh... Just a second!" A.J.'s muffled voice replied, accompanied by a bit of a commotion. The soldier, however, wasn't in a patient mood, and gestured for me to step aside. He pulled open the door a moment later, revealing a flushed-looking A.J. quickly zipping up the fly of his pants. Berkshire, for his part, was trying to get his pants untangled enough to get his feet through, his erection rather obviously straining agains the fabric of his sports briefs. The soldier by the door looked vaguely unsettled by the scene, apparently regretting his haste - the other one, though, seemed to be blushing slightly. They both managed to maintain their professionalism, though, and remained determinedly silent as A.J. and Berkshire finished getting dressed.

"Hey, guys," I said, probably not looking embarrassed about it at all - but then again, it was hardly the first time I'd seem them in that sort of situation. "Ah, sorry for the interruption, but it looks like they actually need us for something."

"But that's good, right?" Berkshire asked.

"Yeah, I think so... I mean, it's not like they're gonna ask us to go stare at corpses or something, so if they want us to go in, it's gotta be because they're still alive, and they need us to help make sure they're okay after all this."

"Okay," he said, and jumped down, with A.J. following close behind. As they did, though, I noticed some gear that had been left behind under one of the bench seats. Thinking back to my fear earlier, I reached in and grabbed one of the loose equipment belts, slinging it over my shoulder as we started to head over to the warehouse. The soldiers noticed, of course, but didn't say anything about it. As we walked, I glanced at its contents - there didn't seem to be a holster for a gun, but there was some kind of sheathed combat knife, and a can of mace. Not much, but something that could help if the unexpected happened.

We walked past the perimeter fence of the warehouse, weaving through a number of humvees and canvas-topped trucks that were parked haphazardly in front, mixed in with a number of black SUVs and tactical vans similar to the one we had arrived in. Judging by the number of vehicles, there should have been quite a few of the rogue soldiers around, but the only ones visible were from the general's command, milling about anxiously around the perimeter of the warehouse. As we approached the group standing by the door, though, I noticed that some of the soldiers seemed to be wearing a slightly different uniform than the general's troops. Oddly, though, they didn't seem to be restrained at all, and still had their rifles slung over their shoulders.

Before we could get all the way to the group, though, the general stepped towards us, pulling the four of us off to the side as the troops escorting us went back to keep an eye on the ones at the door. He gestured for us to form a small huddle, and and began talking in a lowered voice.

"Sorry to call you over like this, but the situation is quite a bit different than we'd imagined. We're still working on sorting out exactly what happened, but apparently there was an incident involving our canid friends that caused quite a problem from the soldiers guarding them, and the soldiers we've encountered so far believe that we're reinforcements sent to rescue them. I'm quite happy to play along with their misconceptions for now, as it means we might be able to resolve this without any bloodshed at all, at least not here - I don't know what will happen if the actual reinforcements run into the roadblocks we've set up around the perimeter to this area, but with any luck, we'll be able to sort out this scene and be gone before they have a chance to show up."

The general paused, looking a bit embarrassed. "Somehow, though, they're expecting that the rescue team also has a team of civilian experts along who are capable of sorting out whatever is going on inside. My soldiers can't pull that off, and it's quite possible that one of them might recognize Dr. Artemis or his team from their initial mission. Unfortunately, that leaves you four - I know you're not really expert in any of this, but you probably know at least as much as my own personnel, and having Cano Sapiens with you and under control will probably be enough to sell it. I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but if you can just talk to these soldiers and at least sound like you know what you're talking about, you're probably our best chance to solve this with everyone still alive."

I looked over at A.J. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at Berkshire, but turned back and nodded reluctantly. "So long as they're not gonna shoot us... I'll try it, sure. Maybe it should be Dave doing the talking, though - I mean, I can sell stuff, but Dave looks and sounds more like someone who might be a science guy, if you know what I mean... no offense."

"None taken, I guess... but it's a long way from looking slightly bookish to acting like an expert, and I'm not the best with people..."

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked over to see Woofy smiling at me.

"Don't worry, Dave - I know you can do it! After all, you get along great with me, and A.J., and Dr. Artemis and stuff, right?"

"Well, this is a little different, but..." I looked at Woofy again, feeling the indicator reflect confidence, or... anticipation? I knew that Woofy believed in me, and apparently for some reason seemed to think that I was capable of anything. Trying to bluff a group of armed soldiers, though... I reached over and grabbed Woofy's hand in mine, squeezing it tightly, while I ran my other hand along the equipment belt. This wouldn't be easy, but after everything I'd said earlier, I couldn't just duck out now. If my doing this meant that everyone got out of this okay, then...

"All right, I'll figure out some way to muddle through it," I finally said. "If they don't buy it, though... make sure that your guys have their guns out first."

"Given what's going on, I don't think you need to worry too much about that," the general said. "Just keep your cool, and I'm sure it'll work out well enough. If you're ready, let's head on over and see if we can start to make some sense of what's going on here."

We walked back over to the group of soldiers by the entrance, as I tried my best to make my expression look... Serious? Expert-like? There was a part of me that still couldn't quite believe that I was actually going to try this. In fact, the whole situation might have felt surreal, if it hadn't been for the fact that, due to the events of the last week, it didn't really seem all that bizarre in comparison. And in a way, the general was probably right - aside from Dr. Dubrovnikov, I probably had as much experience with people like Woofy as anyone else in the world.

Luckily, I didn't have much time to worry about it, as I looked up to take in a trio of very worried-looking soldiers in black, unadorned tactical uniforms.

"I do apologize for the delay," I heard the general say behind me. "In any case, our civilian team is here now, so if we could begin the debrief immediately..."

The soldiers glanced at each other for a moment, seeming to silently deliberate something, and then turned back to us.

"Request to speak to the civilians alone first, sir," the soldier in the middle stated.

"What?" The general sounded incredulous, but the way the soldiers had glanced at each other made me curious as to what they had to say - and from the exchange so far, it sounded like the soldiers had refused to say much of anything until we arrived. Why would they only want to talk to civilians, instead of fellow soldiers? Something had felt off about the situation ever since we were called over, and it seemed like the only way to find out would be to ask them directly.

I held up a hand, cutting the general off before he could continue. "Perhaps it would be better for us to talk with them first, to allay any concerns that they might have about Cano Sapiens exposure, and then they can give you a calm and impartial report once we're done."

I could hear the general puffing a bit behind me, but he had apparently reached a similar conclusion - the sooner we got them talking, the sooner we could figure out what was going on, no matter who they were actually talking to. "Alright - I'll get a sitrep from my troops on the scene while you do that, but I'll be just a few steps away if you need me. Try to work with them quickly - I want to hear from them as soon as you're done."

"No problem," I said, watching the trio of soldiers look slightly more relieved as the general and his entourage walked back over to the cluster of vehicles in front of the warehouse, talking hurriedly into a bulky radio handset that one of his subordinates handed him.

"Whew..." the middle soldier said as the general walked away. "I don't mean to be insubordinate, but talking to another military man about this, much less a general... no way, man, not gonna happen." The soldier looked back at us. "You guys, though..." He looked over at Woofy, shivered slightly, and tried to take an unconscious step back bumping into the wall behind him. "Um, I have to ask... your blue friends there, are they, you know, under control?"

I looked over at Woofy, who seemed to actually be pretty calm - for the current situation, at least. "I wouldn't be concerned about that, ah..."?

"Lieutenant O'Malley, doc." Well, at least one of them seemed to believe that I was a legitimate expert. Since it seemed to be working well enough, I decided to push it a bit further.

"Like I was saying, lieutenant, the Cano Sapiens with me are stabilized and under control, and are here to assist me in dealing with the others of their kind on site. I am, however, concerned about the state of the creatures that you have detained here. If they've been traumatized, they may need our immediate assistance-"

The lieutenant cut me off with an odd, nervously high-pitched burst of laughter. "Wait - traumatized? Them? I think you've got it all backwards, doc. Last I saw before we took off, they were doing just fine - it's what they were doing, and who they were doing it to, that's the problem. If anyone's fuckin' traumatized, doc, I'd think it would be us! Ah, sorry for swearing, it's just... If you'd seen what we'd seen..."

"Um... okay, then, let's back up, and you tell me exactly what happened. As I understand it, you brought them here to detain them, along with their partners, and then..."

"Yeah, okay. I mean, yes, at the start, it all seemed fine, you know? I mean, just like any other snatch and grab op. We went in, grabbed them up one by one, tossed them in the vans, and drove them all back here. I mean sure, there was some screaming, struggling, stuff like that, but not really any different than grabbing enemy combatants. We unloaded them here, and they all kinda huddled together, the blue guys looking all scared and holding on to their, you know, human partners and all, and we just left them there at first, because no one really knew what to do about them, and we lost contact with our CO shortly after we brought them here. The captain thought we were supposed to eventually shoot them all, but with no real orders..."

"Um, I know I'm no expert on the military," I interjected, "but soldiers kidnapping and killing U.S. citizens on American soil, whatever you call it, that sounds like a war crime."

"I know, right? I mean, I understand needing to keep them contained, or out of the public eye or whatever, but shooting them? The captain wanted to, I didn't, and even he wavered when I pointed out that the humans, at least, were definitely citizens, and there was no way we'd be able to shoot them and ever seen sunlight ourselves ever again. He kinda agreed, but the blue dudes were another matter - he was convinced by our CO that they were some sort of bioterror threat, and that we had to take care of them before whatever was inside them got released. I mean... is that true?"

"As far as I know, no," I replied. "All the test so far have shown that Cano Sapiens do not admit any toxic substances. The reason that there was an initial concern was due to the fact that some of their internal organs are toxic, but all of that is contained within their bodies. Um, I mean, in layman's terms, an example could be, uh... fugu, maybe? They're totally harmless, unless you cut them open and tried to eat them, or something like that."

"You mean like shooting them and spraying their internal organs all over the place?"

"Uh, yeah, that would be problematic too," I replied, while fervently hoping that the question was only hypothetical.

"Well, I guess in that sense, it's a good thing we didn't do that, then... I told the captain that it would be stupid to shoot them before we knew more, and I guess we can all thank our lucky stars that he actually listened. Anyway, we finally decided that we'd take all of the humans back to our headquarters and debrief them, then probably release them once we got further orders, and to hold onto the blue guys here until we knew for sure what to do with them. I mean, it seemed a safe enough place for them, and we had our MOPP gear on and sealed at the time, so at least it felt like the situation was under control. I mean, it did seem kinda odd given that there were a bunch of humans with them that seemed perfectly fine, but it seemed like a good idea to take precautions. Of course, the precaution we should have taken was to just keep them all together, as everything started to go wrong when we tried to separate the humans from the blue dudes to get them ready for transport."

I thought back to what Dr. Artemis had said about needing to keep in relatively close contact to Woofy - apparently, these soldiers had found out exactly what that was. "So, when you say things began to go wrong..."

"Well, a fair number of them didn't want to let go in the first place, and we had to basically pull them off, and people were screaming, and crying, and it was a mess, but we had our orders. As we began marching the humans across the warehouse, though, the blue guys got more and more agitated, and once they reached the far side of the warehouse, the blue dudes, I dunno, they just lost it or something. Scratching, biting, clawing at our suits, some of them were even frothing around the mouth. I was on the perimeter, not actually holding any of them, so I wasn't too bad off, but the guys who were holding them freaked when they saw them trying to tear their suits and let them go. They were too busy checking their suits for leaks to keep track of them, so I had my rifle up, tracking them as they ran across the warehouse, but I didn't know what to do - and pretty soon they were on top of the other guys, and I couldn't just open fire on the whole group. They didn't go after the soldiers, though, just their mates - they just pounced on them, holding them close, and then..."

"And then...?"

"Then they just... They just went from that, to suddenly, uh rubbing up against them like crazy, dry humping, like some sex switch got flipped in their brain or something. And the humans, they didn't seem surprised, they didn't resist or anything, just stripping their clothes off and letting it happen. All of a sudden, they were having a spontaneous, giant hundred-person orgy on the floor of the warehouse, completely oblivious to anyone, and none of us knew what the heck we were supposed to do. And then the captain, stubborn bastard that he is, thinks the whole thing's some sort of insult flung at him, and marches into the middle of it to try and stop it from happening. He manages to pull one of them off, but then two of the blue guys are done with their current partners, I guess, and grab onto him, they're totally naked, I mean, their... dicks, you know, were rubbing up against his BDUs, and they're cuddling up to him, rubbing his crotch and stuff... I thought he was gonna freak and start shooting - heck, I almost did at the sight - but he doesn't do anything. He just stands there and lets them do stuff to him, and I can't even see his face through his gas mask, I don't know what the hell's going on... But then he just shrugs, kinda, his body kinda relaxes, and then he just shrugs his rifle off his shoulder, undoes his equipment belt, and starts hugging one of the creatures that grabbed him. The blue guy pulls of his mask, and they start making out, and he doesn't look concerned at all... And we're all watching, none of us know what to do. Pretty soon, they pull him down, and he's in the middle of everything, lord knows what they were doing to him..." The lieutenant paused, shivering uncontrollably.

"Anyway, a couple of other guys decided to try to go in and pull him out, try to figure out what's going on. They get grabbed too. One of them tries to bring his rifle around, maybe to take one of them out, but then another blue guy decides to bury his face in the soldier's crotch, and he freaks, someone pulls his rifle away as he tries to get the guy off of him... but then he pauses, and starts to get into it, and pretty soon, both of them are on the floor getting it on just like all the rest of them. Everyone else is starting to get kinda scared, and we know we've gotta stop this somehow, but no one really knows what to do. I mean, we can't just fire into the crowd, what if we hit our own guys? Finally, we decide that we'll spray them all down with an emergency hose from the warehouse, see if a cold shower will calm them down, and then go in with riot shields and try to break it all up. So, we give them a good soaking, and it seems to dampen their spirits for the moment. A bunch of guys go in to break it up, with me and a few other soldiers on the perimeter keeping them covered in case anything else went off the rails. So, they go in, but whatever sex craze we triggered had only been shut down momentarily - as they're getting ready to pull our guys out of the pile, a bunch of the blue guys jump them, and the riot shields don't help much if a couple of them grab you from behind. And it's a giant furball - pardon the expression - they're all screaming muffled-like through their masks as they try to shake them off, but they're like limpets or something, and it happens just like the other guys. They're struggling for a few minutes, but after a while, they just kind of... relaxed, got into it, like the touch was just what they needed, they start sighing or moaning instead of screaming, and we're watching in horror as their uniforms are coming off, and I mean, these are, you know, regular soldiers, right? Straight guys, manly men, you know, and they're getting hard-ons, they're making out with these furry blue things, rubbing dicks with them, it's all just gone so horribly, horribly wrong... And then I notice a group of them, just standing there in that corner of the room, a bunch of sleeping, cum-covered guys lying at their feet, and they're looking at us and smiling, not maliciously, just... smiling... Uh, so then, and I'm not really proud of this, but then, me and the other guys on the perimeter, well... Basically, we got the fuck out of there, locked the doors behind us, and radioed for help."

The lieutenant looked a bit embarrassed at that last revelation. "That's why I had to talk to you, y'know? I mean, I can't tell a general that I just cut and ran when my men were in trouble, but I couldn't... I just couldn't. I knew what was gonna happen, and if we didn't get out and warn someone, well... maybe none of us ever got out, I didn't know. Plus, trying to describe that mess to a fellow soldier, I can't even imagine... I mean, somehow, I get the feeling that this isn't a huge surprise for you?"

I glanced over at Woofy, thinking back to what had happened at the CDC facility. I had worried that trying to come off as an expert might be difficult, but in this case, it seemed like honesty might actually be the best policy.

"Well... given what we know about this species so far, in my experience, the situation that you described is not, ah, wholly outside the realm of possibility. Based on what I've seen so far, when Cano Sapiens are paired off with partners and relatively isolated from each other, they tend to be quite stable, like our companions here. However, when they're put all together in one location, their interactions can become unpredictable, especially if someone tries to separate them from their partners." All of which happened to be true, when I thought about it - when Woofy and I were alone, things were generally pretty cool, but even just being with A.J. and Berkshire had made things a bit weirder, and the dynamic at the CDC building had basically been a barely-controlled orgy. Given what had happened to the people detained here, the soldier's account definitely seemed believable.

"Uh, okay... If you don't mind me asking, though, doc, you don't seem all that concerned by any of this... Is that a good sign? I mean, those are my guys in there, I wanna know if they're done for, or contaminated, or whatever. Do you think they're gonna be okay? I mean, aside from the trauma of, y'know, being raped by a bunch of weird fuzzy blue dudes."

I have to admit, I was taken aback when he used the word rape to describe what happened, but in a sense, I realized that he was probably right. After the past week, I'd become pretty much inured to the idea that for Woofy and his ilk, sex was simply something to be expected, and if Woofy or Berkshire or any of their brethren had randomly pounced on me, I'd probably take it in stride. Then again, though, I'd also had a week of experience with them, and all of my contact with them had been not only been generally consensual, but welcomed by me. For a group of soldiers trying to detain a group of people they didn't know much about, and feared as both a potential enemy and source of contamination... whatever the mechanism of what had occurred, regardless of whether it seemed like seduction, or whether they seemed to acquiesce... Well, maybe it was rape, as much as I hated to admit it. On the other hand, though, it was also an action of self-defense by a group who had already been rounded up, threatened, and were now facing their partners being hauled off, possibly to their deaths. Whatever it was, it may have been the only way they knew to fight back, and save themselves from a very dangerous situation. After all, the soldiers had been initially planning to kill all of them, so I couldn't feel all that sorry about what had happened to the soldiers in response. That being said, though, I still had to come up with something reassuring to say to the soldier in front of me, who obviously would have quite a different take on the events. I gave it my best shot, though, while trying to maintain an expert-like, relatively dispassionate tone.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened to your forces, but I do wish you had contacted us sooner, so that we could have given you the correct information on how to properly interact with your detainees. One of the things we discovered early on was that trying to separate a human/cano pair resulted in a considerable amount of trauma for the new species, and led to immediately erratic behavior. When they're quickly reunited, it's not an issue, but if you continued to pull them apart... Well, this is actually the first time we've seen that happen, and I now we know the results." I paused, realizing what what I'd said so far really hadn't been all that comforting. "The good news is, as I've probably already mentioned, there should be no risk of contamination whatsoever from regular, direct contact with Cano Sapiens. In fact, we've seen very little evidence of any detrimental effects of sexual contact with them. Also, to allay some other concerns that you might have, you should know that we haven't seen any cases at all of Cano Sapiens initiating any sort of penetrative intercourse." Which was true, at least as far as I knew. "In all likelihood, your men probably experienced, um, handjobs, dry humping, things like that. I realize that that's still a considerable amount of sexual contact, but hopefully less traumatic."

"Ah, okay... that's better than what I imagined, I guess. But it's still pretty creepy, y'know? I mean, they train you for combat and stuff, but something like this, I mean, there's no way to prepare for it."

Of course, I wasn't exactly trained for the job I was doing at the moment, either. Thinking back, though, I realized that my own "first contact" with Woofy had been relatively surprising, and only hesitantly consensual at first, although I accepted it quite rapidly. If a similar thing had happened here, then perhaps the soldiers weren't even particularly traumatized at all... "Overall, I think your men are going to be okay, and I'll do what I can to ensure that they get whatever care and support they need. However, we do need to get in there and assess the situation. I'll relay the basics of what you told me to the commander, but at some point, they're probably going to want to talk to you directly, so you should be ready for that. I think that if we remain calm and deal with this situation rationally and without assumptions, we'll be able to make sure that everyone involved gets through this as cleanly as possible."

"All right, doc. I mean... well, thanks for being straight-up with us, and just telling it like it is. This stuff, it's still a lot to wrap my head around, but I'm just glad to know that you think everyone's gonna be all right. Just... when you tell the general, try not to make us look to bad, all right? We really were trying to do the best we could in a totally crazy situation."

"Don't worry about that - given what happened, I think you did just fine. Given how out of control it sounds like things were, I'm not sure that my team could have resolved it any more successfully."

The soldier nodded his thanks, and appeared to share a somewhat relieved look with his companions as I turned to walk back the the general.

"Any luck?" The general asked as I approached. "From our initial recon, we've been able to see some people down inside, but we can't get a good view of the whole warehouse, and I'd like to know if you were able to get any sense of the current situation out of them."

"Well, you could probably say it's under control for the moment at least," I replied. "Actually, your earlier comments that Cano Sapiens weren't tactically useful at all might not be completely correct..."

"What do you mean?" The general looked at me skeptically.

"While it's an unusual, okay really unusual situation, according to what I heard, they somehow managed to, um, kinda seduce, and then incapacitate, an entire warehouse full of soldiers. If what I heard is correct, then... I imagine that the soldiers inside are probably in a similar state to the one we were in a few days back at the CDC place."

"Hmm... If you're right, and I imagine that you are, this makes the next phase even easier - we just head in, clean everyone up, and drive each group back to where they're supposed to be while they sleep it off. Good news indeed, and I have some good news as well - I've been on the radio with some of the other military commanders, and it seems that someone, somehow, was able to convince our rogue colonel that his paranoia was excessive, and he's agreed to at least call his remaining men in the field back to base, although I imagine that he won't resurface from wherever he's hiding himself until people decide whether or not to court-martial him. He's been a dangerously loose cannon for sure, but if you're correct in your assertion that no one's been permanently harmed as a result of his actions, I imagine the top brass will be more than happy to just kick him out of the service, and put this mess behind them as quickly as possible."

The general sighed heavily before continuing. "I suppose it probably helps that ever since Dubrovnikov's leak, the internet media has been going completely berserk, and it won't take all that long for the mainstream media to get their own coverage blocks lifted. Of course, to compound this whole mess, a boneheaded blogger with a digicam managed to slip through before we got a cordon up and got some footage of our approach on camera. We confiscated it when he tried to sneak back out, but he'd already managed to transfer a portion of it to his laptop and post it online. It's not much, but it has a glimpse of you and your fuzzy companions exiting one of the vehicles, which is enough to get people interested. Eventually, someone's going to recognize this area, and if we're not out of here before then, this whole thing is going to turn into a media circus. I'm glad that the situation on the interior is under control, because unless you want all of our faces to be plastered on the front page worldwide tomorrow, we need to get this situation taken care of now."

The general started off back towards the warehouse, giving orders on his radio while motioning for us to follow. When we got back to the front doors, most of the soldiers from around the perimeter were already approaching. A few of them escorted the "enemy" soldiers off to one of the waiting tactical vans, but the rest formed up in two columns on either side of the building's front doors. All it took from the general was a quick motion forward with his hand, and the columns sprang into motion, the front soldier swinging each double door out to the side, the next pair moving quickly forward to crouch off to each side just inside the doorway, scanning the foyer with their rifles. After a moment, they motioned as well, and the rest of the columns moved in, spreading out and moving through into the warehouse proper. We went to follow them, but the general motioned us back. "Wait for the soldiers to make sure everything is clear," he said. He was right, of course - if the soldier I'd talked to hadn't been completely accurate, or if he'd been setting us up for a trap, better to have armed soldiers verify the story first. I wasn't sure quite why I was so gung-ho all of a sudden, despite my earlier fear - although it might have something to do with the fact that Woofy, ever since hearing that his brethren were all right, had been flooding the indicator with eager anticipation at being reunited with them.

The all-clear signal, however, came surprisingly quickly, crackling over the radio. "We're clear, general," the voice said, "but you're gonna have a helluva time believing this. Well... okay, given these critters, maybe not. Anyway, sir, it's nice and quiet, no resistance at all."

"Acknowledged, sergeant, we'll be in in a moment. Do you need any medical assistance?"

"Nope, pretty sure everyone is a-ok. Not all conscious, but they seem fine. No evidence of any gunfire or physical struggle."

The general clicked off the radio. "Well, looks like your intel was good. If you'll follow me, let's see if we can get this sorted out quickly."

The foyer of the warehouse was relatively nondescript, holding little more than an abandoned desk and a quartet of filing cabinets tucked away in a corner. Both were well-coated with cobwebs, and a layer of dust seemed to cover most of the area, thick enough to preserve the outline of footprints for the dozens of people who had come through recently. Whatever this warehouse had once been, it had been empty for quite some time - probably the reason why it had been chosen as a makeshift detention facility.

We walked past the desk, down a short hallway illuminated by a bare fluorescent fixture, and through another set of double doors with guards already posted on them, to find ourselves in the warehouse proper.

The thing that hit me immediately upon walking through the door was the smell. Even in the large volume of the warehouse, the smell of sex was immediate, and dominated by the unmistakable musk of Woofy's brethren. Given that the only other smell the warehouse had to offer was stale dust, though, I couldn't say I minded all that much, although I could see the general wrinkling his nose at the unusual smell. Woofy and Berkshire, though, seemed to be enjoying it, and I felt Woofy's anticipation grow even more as we spotted the halfway-literal dogpile at the other end of the warehouse, surrounded by a loose semicircle of the general's befuddled-looking soldiers.

As we approached, Woofy and Berkshire broke away, taking off running to see what was going on. I continued to walk, though, looking closely at the condition of the warehouse, because something about it didn't seem quite right. Everything actually seemed fairly orderly, with a few rows of bunks, some neat piles of equipment, and not much else. After a moment, I realized that that was the problem - things were too neat given what the soldier had described to me. The clothing and gear was, for the most part, neatly squared away, and nothing looked ripped or torn. Even near the dogpile, clothing was a bit more haphazard, but still piled fairly neatly, and everything seemed to be intact. There also seemed to be a distinct lack of riot gear scattered around - in fact, the only gear I'd seen was neatly stacked on a crate, undisturbed, at the other end of the warehouse. In fact, the only real thing on this end were piles of clothing, with the occasional equipment belt - all the rifles were, again, neatly lined up on a series of racks some distance away. Something about the soldier's story was definitely off, but he was correct about one point - all of the people in the warehouse were together, intermingled, naked, and largely asleep, after having apparently engaged in a considerably exhausting orgy.

As I approached the pile, I noticed Woofy and Berkshire trying to awaken one of their brethren, who muzzily shook off their prodding and curled back around the person he was snuggling against. "G'way, tired," he mumbled, and they moved on to see if one of the others could be roused. A.J., though, started just walking around the pile, trying to take it all in. It was quite a sight - something on the order of seventy or so Cano Sapiens happily snuggled against close to twice that number of people. Generally, it was fairly easy to tell the soldiers from the civilians, mainly due to haircut, build, and the surprising prevalence of what appeared to be their unit tattoo on the right side of their butts. A few of the people still had shirts on, but they all seemed to be naked from the waist down. The main thing they were wearing, in fact, seemed to be cum, with copious amounts on both the people and the floor around them. Of course, when you have over two hundred people coming together in one location, some possibly more than once, I guess you'd have to expect that. Over here, though, the smell of it all was almost overwhelming, and I had the feeling that all of them would be in need of a long, hot shower once they got back to where they were supposed to be.

One of the naked soldiers on the edge of the pile was beginning to stir, though, and I went over to crouch down beside him. The general, noticing my movement, crouched down next to me, looking intently at the soldier as he rubbed sleepily at his eyes, then sat bolt upright as he noticed the man who was staring at him, and then the row of stars on the shoulders of his uniform.

"S-sir!" he gasped, attempting a salute, but then thinking better of it and quickly pulling both hands down to cover his crotch. "Uh... I, ah... I'd say I can explain, but I'm not sure you'd believe me. Um, really, we were going to take care of things, and, uh, I mean, I can... still..." He glanced over at a nearby Cano Sapiens, with a bit of a guilty look. "Actually, I don't know if I-"

"Don't worry, son," the general interjected. "Orders have changed - my command will be taking charge of your detainees from here on out. You boys are headed back to base, and if you're lucky, you might not even be court-martialed for illegally operating on American soil. However, it's definitely in your best interests to tell me what in heck happened here, and be honest about it."

The soldier shrugged. "Honest about it... Well, a general just woke me up, butt naked and covered in... I'm not really sure how anything I could say could really be any more embarrassing than where I'm at right now, so what the hell. Mind if I get my uniform back on first, though?" He gesticulated towards a nearby pile of clothing, and I reached over and tossed it to him. He hurriedly fished a pair of camo boxers out of the pile, pulling them on as quickly as he could, then worked on getting into the rest of the uniform as he continued.

"Well, you probably know how we got here, sir, and everything was going according to plan, admittedly with a bit of fear and worry on the part of the detainees, until the new orders came in - the ones to take all of the humans and ship them back to base to be debriefed and released, I guess. We separate them out, and start leading the one group away, and the, uh, Cano Something-or-others, well, they just... lost it. Somehow, they realized what was happening, and they just started sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to the soldiers that were near them, shivering the whole bit. They looked so... sad, helpless, vulnerable. Seeing them like that, I couldn't believe that they were a threat, neither could most of us, and the whole scene was just... Heart-wrenching. It's hard to explain, but when I signed up for the service, it was to go to war, to fight real threats, real enemies that wanted to do this country harm. Shooting civilians of any stripe just goes against that, and the notion of these poor little creatures bawling their eyes out, suffering, having the only people they really knew dragged away from them, terrified that they're going to die... It was just too much. Even for the captain, it was, so he just told us to ignore the order and let them be, and that he'd sort it out with command. Once we did, and they realized that it was going to be okay, the Cano guys mobbed the group of humans, and they looked so happy to be reunited, I think we all just breathed a sigh of relief."

He paused, using his shirt to try to wipe some of the sweat and... other fluids off of his abdomen. "Of course, their reunion started to get really enthusiastic, and clothes started flying off. It didn't take very long until they were going at it in full swing, and by then the captain had returned, and just told us to leave them be while someone with more authority figured out what to do. So, we just made a loose perimeter around them to make sure they didn't try to make a break for it, and, well, just watched, for the most part. I have to say, those Cano things, they really do have a lot of energy, and boy, do they like to apply it... Uh, sir," he said, coughing awkwardly. "That is to say... I guess if this whole mess isn't really even legal, you're not going to go after us for dereliction of duty, so I might as well just say it. All of them, together, they looked like they were having one hell of a time, you know what I mean? Eventually, though, the humans kinda got tired out and wanted to get some rest, but a lot of the Cano guys were still ready to go, and they asked if we wanted to join in. And to be honest, we've been on rotation for weeks, which means no sex, and we were already pretty keyed up, plus watching everything, and there was just this sense in the air, this feeling of arousal, and... Long story short, I said 'screw it', stripped down to my boxers, and went for the nearest one waving me over. I guess I just told myself, if they're not human, then it's not really gay, right? Plus, it wasn't like they were doing buttsex or anything like that, and by that point, I was so horny that their gender wasn't really an issue, so long as there was someone to get it on with. And wow, do they deliver..." He trailed off, a smile spreading across his face, like he was recalling what had happened - but then his gaze locked back on the general, and he quickly snapped back to the present.

"Uh, sir! Um, after that, I felt quite overwhelmingly tired, and so I regrettably fell asleep at my post sir, but not before noting that there were still soldiers on the perimeter of the warehouse. Although, I think they were actually heading out one of the doors, though, I guess that's a bit odd..."

"Not that odd," I said, relating briefly how the other soldiers had retreated.

"I can't say that I blame them," the soldier replied once I finished my account. "I mean, it's true that there are a few guys that are a bit more paranoid about stuff than everyone else - I don't think they even took their gasmasks off the whole time, even though we pointed out that the captives weren't wearing anything, and seemed just fine even after days of exposure. Sometimes, they go a little overboard with caution, but on the other hand, that same caution has saved a lot of lives... heck, mine included, and more than once at that! I mean, I'm not even quite sure why I did what I did. It's, y'know, way out of character, but the situation was so out there in the first place, it didn't seem like that much of a leap. Even so... You think they were right? That there was something in the air, but not poison, just stuff that makes you really horny? Like, whatchacallem, pheromones or something?"

The general glanced over at me when he said that, raising an eyebrow - I guess he'd somehow forgotten that I was just a civilian, and not actually part of Dr. Artemis' science team. I just shrugged, shaking my head. There wasn't anything that I knew of, and Dr. Artemis had said that he hadn't found any chemicals that had any provable effect. On the other hand, a group of trained soldiers, with a large percentage of them presumably straight, didn't just jump into frenzied gay sex with half-animal hybrids for no reason at all...

The general looked like he wanted to interrogate the soldier more, but instead he glanced down at his watch, grimacing. "As fascinating a story as this whole episode has been so far, it's probably not one that your actual commander - or your fellow soldiers, for that matter - want to see splashed across the front page of every newspaper in the country. Believe me, everyone here is going to get a thorough debrief at some point, but right now, we need to clear this area before the press shows up and this whole thing spirals even more out of control. Try to rouse as many troops as you can, but my men will carry them out to the transports asleep if need be. From there, I'm officially ordering your unit returned to Fort Aker, and you're all on restricted duty until a full debrief and psych eval for every troop here."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted, looking relieved to get away from the general's stern gaze, and quickly wandered around to the other side of the pile, trying to shake some of the other soldiers awake, with limited success. The general sighed, then picked up the radio and hailed Dr. Artemis.

"Doctor? The situation is fine, but most of them are still asleep... No, not harmed at all. They just had some sort of sexual event, and are tired out. Yes? Okay, we'll load them up, no problem." He put down the radio and turned to me. "All right, let's get this cleaned up. Grab any civilians or Cano Sapiens that you can, see if you can wake them up, but if you can't, just try to pick them up and bring them outside. We're gonna try to load everyone up and head back to the facility ASAP."

"Um, okay..." I said, but the general was already walking away, talking animatedly into the radio again. I looked around, and noticed that Woofy and Berkshire had roused a few of their brethren, and were conversing with them in their high-pitched language. A.J. Was nearby, appearing to listen in as he tried to shake one of the other civilians awake, only to be lazily waved off as the man yawned and rolled over. I walked over, reaching out to gently shake the shoulders of a few people along the way, only a couple of them stirring at my touch. By this time, though, the soldiers from outside were starting to file in, and quickly arranged something that seemed like a cross between a triage and a human conveyor belt - civilians and soldiers who were sufficiently roused were hastily encouraged to dress and then pointed in the direction of their respective transports and escorted in groups, while those still unconscious or half-asleep were quickly propped up by a pair of soldiers, and stumble-dragged forward to the waiting vans in a continuous line, with the soldiers quickly filing back to grab the next person as soon as their current charge was offloaded.

By this time, Woofy was back by my side, looking and feeling more confused than anything else, and we teamed up to escort groups of dazed young men and their fuzzy blue partners back over to the waiting CDC vehicles. Surprisingly, none of them seemed particularly the worse for wear after their ordeal, and aside from some of the couples holding each other particularly close, everyone seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Woofy exchanged a few high-pitched words with some of them, but I had a hard time thinking of what to say - even after everything that had happened, I still found it a bit awkward to talk to total strangers, especially humans, and especially those who I'd seen naked and covered in cum just a few minutes earlier. We shepherded three or four groups, and by the time we brought the last group out, most everyone was loaded up and the first vehicles were starting their engines. Woofy and I leaned against one of the remaining vehicles, and A.J. and Berkshire came over to join us after a few minutes. I just stayed there, feeling the warm metal of the vehicle against my back, as the four of us watched the last few stragglers being loaded up.

"Hey, over here!" a familiar voice called from off to the side, and I saw Dr. Artemis waving from the back of one of the other vans. I waved back, and the four of us headed over, jumping up into the van's rear compartment. One of the team members pulled the doors shut behind us, and the van started up a moment later. Looking around, I noticed that the van's occupants were no longer mixed - every person besides us was a member of Dr. Artemis' team, and all of them were wearing surgical caps and masks. Even so, I could pick out Dr. Dubrovnikov by his build alone, sitting in the middle of the bench opposite where we'd ended up.

"As you can probably tell, I made sure that there weren't any soldiers in here on the way back," Dr Artemis said, gesturing around. "Of course, we all know why that is..." He trailed off, as the team members, including Dr. Dubrovnikov, removed their masks. Upon seeing Dr. Dubrovnikov, Berkshire broke out in a huge grin, and tensed like he was about to pounce on him - but before he could, Woofy cut him off with a torrent of high-pitched language. Berkshire paused, listening to Woofy, then made a quick reply, darting his eyes between A.J. and Dubrovnikov. Finally, he gave Dubrovnikov one more lingering glance, before relaxing back on the bench, looking slightly flustered. I assumed A.J. had been able to understand the exchange, but he seemed to look more puzzled by it than I was. Before I could consider it more, though, Dr. Artemis spoke up, addressing everyone in the van.

"As you can see, we now have the infamous Dr. Dubrovnikov in our presence - the man behind this whole adventure so far. Of course," he continued, his voice taking on a bit of an edge, "now that we're finally alone, I think the Doctor has a bit of explaining to do. We've made sure that the military won't get their hooks into you, at least for now - the least you owe us is some answers."

Dr. Dubrovnikov at least had the good sense to look a bit chagrined, blushing slightly and darting his eyes down to his feet. "I know, yes, that I am no saint, but... What you wish to know, I will tell you, as I can find words to say how it is."

Dr. Artemis leaned back, his gaze still locked on Dubrovnikov. "Well, I guess the first question you can answer is... Why?"

"Why?" Dr. Dubrovnikov looked slightly confused.

"Why did you create these... Cano Sapiens in the first place? I know you're renowned for dabbling in experimental genetics, but this... This breaches every code of ethics the scientific community has, and it isn't the kind of thing you just jump into on a whim. You've got to have some pretty strong reasons to take the risks to did to bring this project to fruition."

"Ach, well... Look, it is like this. For a great time, there has been no person in this world, not for any kind of love. People, do not have this love, from what I feel of them. Men? They intimidate, they are hard, they can be friends, but their love, it cannot work. And women, women..." He paused, actually shivering visibly. "D'yavlo! Unforgiving, brutal as they are, to twist a knife, over and again... For people, these people, there is no love that I have. No love, just being alone, with my studies, my instruments, but it is not enough. But perhaps, I get ahead of myself..."

Dubrovnikov trailed off, seemingly trying to recall some distant memory, still shivering occasionally. It took another long, annoyed glare from Dr. Artemis to get him to continue.

"Ah, so anyway, to tell it, one must begin as a child. In Russia, life can be hard, and the people harder. My mother, my grandmother... I could say nothing of them that could be nice. These women, all women I knew... Hard, cold. I know their stare, the back of their hand, the belt, the wooden handle, I know them all, taste them every time I close my eyes..." He shivered anew, screwing his eyes shut, but when he reopened them, they glinted with anger. "But to speak of them is to tell others that they were people. They do not deserve even this. Their lives are not worthy, and I am fine with however they are. Perhaps they are dead, eaten by bugs, and I have no tears for them. They teach me just the one thing - that women are that great evil. The pain, every day, and the only thing that helps is a little dog, some kind of mixed thing that walked on the street, before I found it. It didn't care for them, it was nice, with kind eyes, and there was love. With it, I somehow lived, until Mother beat it too and it ran away. Then they beat me, and soon, I am running away too, their names like a curse I spit as I go far away, to Europe, and finally to here."

"I think I'm beginning to see your motivation..." Dr. Artemis said softly, as Dr. Dubrovnikov continued.

"So, I am here, but there is no love, only science. Women, their evil, I want to have none of it, so I stay away. I work, and in time, I hear of men who can have love with each other, so I try... But it is not good like this. They want to be too much like women, or they want something I do not want to do, and their bodies are muscle and power, not comfort... I can see their love, but I can not find it for me. But I continue my work, and I see how things can be put together, and one day I think, what if it can be put together... The form of a man, free of evil, with the pure love and comfort of a dog. And I realize, yes, it can be done! But there is no money, not for that, but for other things, and I find a way to put it together. For the other things, somehow, the projects are mixed up, and do not work, but... My idea, it is finally here, brought into life, and it all works! And I am so happy, until things go wrong, and I have to run again, for my own life. That is it, then - my life, and why I wanted the best of a man and a dog, a living thing where I could find love and all needs, all desires. That is why, man and dog."

"As for blue?" Dr. Dubrovnikov shrugged. "I do not know why they are blue."

Dr. Artemis, by this point, was slowly shaking his head. "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but frankly, I've heard far stranger reasons that people have given for scientific experiments. I guess you explanation makes sense, but... It just seems crazy that we're all here in this situation, all of our lives irrevocably affected, because you thought, for some reason, that you could scientifically engineer true love." He paused, a hint of a smile playing across his lips. "And even crazier that, in some respects, you kind of succeeded."

Dr. Dubrovnikov nodded at that, glancing across towards us. "True love... Well, a love true to me, as I was striving for. And yet, these people I see in front of me... From back at the start, from a time when I press the button to open the first chamber, I see this thing in them, I do not know how to describe, but it is like a bond, to pull people together. I feel it tug, pull back and forth, a web of some kind that grows with each one of them, my instruments say that it cannot be, but sometimes, one knows what machines do not. But it is never all the way there, this thing, I wonder... It taps at my mind, a touch here, a touch there, but always pulls away, back to that web, and I know that it can never take hold of me. But the four of you... This Doctor here has told me of some things described by you, and I wonder, how it is that you make true this thing that could never reach me... I create what I love, and it comes into being with something beyond what there was even to imagine, only to realize that such a thing does not come into being for me..."

"Wait, hold on a second," A.J. said. "Look, this link thing or whatever, I still don't really get it. But from what Berkshire told me, when they were back at your lab or whatever, they were pretty much all over you most of the time. You practically built your own harem, and now you're bitching about it?"

"It is true, that all of them did have the want of being there for me, and for my body, they made sure to take care very well, and their company was a happy thing for me, to teach them, to be with them. And it was a good time, but it was not so good enough, not quite for me, not quite for them. There was a sense of them that was not as right, that they would try to tell to me, but what was missing, I could not understand. I know that they would try to figure out the way of solving it, and to hear them build a language to talk faster to try and figure everything out, it was an amazement, but I do not know. Genetics, I know, this I know so well, but as a scientist among all of them, here was a thing that no machines could find out how to measure, and to solve a ghost, or a blur in the corner of an eye..." Dubrovnikov glanced over at Woofy again, seeming to marvel at his calm demeanor, comfortably snuggled against my side. "It must be crazy, but maybe all this, their walking into the world, maybe it was one more piece that I did not risk taking, until I had no choice but to run, but maybe it was the one piece that had to come into place. I look at you here, and the feeling of before that I saw, that of missing something, now it is gone..." He sat back, stroking his chin with his hand. "Maybe... Maybe what I overlook is..." He trailed off again, and for a few moments the van was silent, until Dr. Artemis cleared his throat.

"Admittedly, I have my own theories as to what's going on with that... Link, I suppose is the best term for it so far. What's odd, though, is that according to you, it was an unexpected occurrence, more a side effect of your experiments than anything else. Although, given that you worked on both this personal project and Basilisk simultaneously, it seems just as likely that this is something serendipitous, that happened inadvertently when the genetic strains from the two projects got mixed up somewhere along the line. There are other things that seem to come from that mixture - that a dog-human hybrid would have unexpected internal toxicology, for one thing, or the incredibly complex organic substances in some of their secretions. Heck, maybe that's even the reason they're blue. I guess what I don't understand is... When your own experiment turned out so much different than you'd expected, didn't you suspect something had gone wrong? Did you knowingly give the military a project that was irreparably contaminated?"

Dubrovnikov shrugged. "When the time arrived for the very first vat to open, even before I was able to discover the first things that were unexpected as they began to develop, the military was pounding at the door, their anger with me for taking too much time. I have a way to test my own, by simply trying to bring them to the world, but this other thing, who to test it on? How to know what it will do? The military, they say to test it is no problem, if the changes are there that are wanted, their tests would be worth it. If there was a way that I had been knowing the danger the first time, well... I cannot think what would happen on that now. It is there, and the soldiers want to take payment from my mistakes out of my flesh, that I can understand, but I would rather live, than apologize to the end of their guns."

"Hmm... Well, at some point, you're gonna have to take responsibility for your actions. What you did was rash, at best, and could have been a lot worse than a handful of casualties and dozens of people with new and unexpected partners. If your mistake had gone another way, and one of the contained toxins had instead gone airborne..." Dr. Artemis shuddered. "Whatever I think of it, though, ultimately your fate isn't going to be decided by me alone. That being said, if you can help us sort out the rest of this mess in a way that works out for everyone affected, that plus your little internet reveal will probably get you enough political capital to ensure your life, if not your complete freedom. Your answers so far have been... Somewhat helpful, I guess, but once we get back to the facility, I'm going to expect your complete cooperation." Dubrovnikov almost seemed to wince at the last comment, but after a moment, he nodded.

The van was finally quiet for a moment, but I noticed that A.J. seemed restless, a worried look spreading across his face. I started to lean over to ask him what was going on, but before I could, he abruptly spoke up.

"Um, speaking of going back... I guess we're all heading back to that facility, us and everyone who got rescued at the warehouse?"?

"Yes, that's right," Dr. Artemis replied.

"Well... Then what?"

"You'll stay there, I suppose... our personnel have been working on some better accommodations for the last few days, so you should get at least a bit more privacy."

'You mean just stay there, like, indefinitely? No offense, man, but burned-out apartment or not, I want to get back to my life. I know everyone wants this covered up, but the truth's already out there, right?"

Dr. Artemis nodded. "You're right - the cat's pretty much out of the bag. That means, though, that Cano Sapiens, and anyone conencted to them, are going to be front-page news for quite some time. A new, sentient lifeform, living among us... You just leave, walk back into the world, and your private life is going to disappear. Everyone's going to want a piece of you, and some are probably going to want that piece to be your head - this country doesn't have a great track record when it comes to treating people who are different, and Cano Sapiens is about as different as you can get. Maybe the general's a bit paranoid, but in a way, he's right - if you stay at the facility for now, we can keep you out of the spotlight, or at least keep the press at bay along the perimeter. If you really want to leave, we probably couldn't stop you, but your life really would get turned upside-down. I think there is a solution that provides a good middle ground for both privacy and security, but it's still in progress - which leaves the facility for the near future, at least the next couple of weeks."

A.J. considered that for a moment. "I guess you got a point there, what with people going crazy and all - they do that with just regular people who're famous, and Berkshire, yeah, kinda stands out. I guess I can wait it out for now, but it's gotta change pretty soon - I'm not gonna live the rest of my life in a freakin' research lab" I nodded in agreement, although for the short term at least, it was kind of an interesting place to be. It wasn't very much like a proper home, though... and after being with a lot of other people, mostly strangers, over the past couple of days, I realized I was longing for some time when Woofy and I could be together: just hanging out, with some semblance of a normal life.

I looked over at Woofy, who was snuggled up comfortably against my side, seeming to finally relax after the events of the day. Woofy looked back at me, gave me a tired smile, and slowly lowered his head onto my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around him and held him close as he drifted off to sleep, thinking about what A.J. had said. Even though he'd only touched on it obliquely, I realized that he'd hit on something I hadn't really considered - what all this meant for the long term. Ever since Woofy had come into my life, things had changed so quickly that my mind could barely keep up - in just about a week, I'd gone from being an accountant to participating in a truly bizarre military operation, on my way back to a government science lab, my whole previous life seemingly relegated to an obscure, uneventful dream. The craziness was finally slowing down, though, and the reality of it was beginning to sink in - normal, whatever that was in the past, was gone. Not just a dream - my whole life was gone. My apartment vanished in a cloud of smoke, probably fired from my job, my fate in the hands of a zealous scientist, well-intentioned or not, who I'd known for less than a week. Maybe things would get less crazy, but... what would it mean? A lot of things were gone, but in there place, there was Woofy, and being in his company had turned out to be the most enjoyable time in my entire life, despite everything else. Even so, his presence also meant that I somehow had to start a new life over, from scratch, and now that things were mostly settled, that life started now - in a van, hurtling down the highway towards a clandestine government research facility, to sit and wait for a future laid out in a vague and uncertain promise. On the other hand, though, there was no way to go back, and I felt confident that as long as Woofy and I could stay together, we'd find a way to make the best of whatever the situation turned out to be.

When I finally looked up again, I noticed that Berkshire had followed Woofy's lead, and was lightly snoring with his head in A.J.'S lap, A.J. absentmindedly stroking the fur on the back of his neck. I wondered if A.J. was having the same kind of thoughts that I was, but I didn't want to disturb the quiet. Neither did anyone else, apparently, and a fair number of the other scientists, Dubrovnikov included, crashed out for the rest of the drive back. The drive itself seemed uneventful, and without any windows, there really wasn't much to see. I closed my eyes for a bit, but couldn't sleep, at least relaxing in Woofy's embrace. Eventually, the van slid to a halt, and the doors slid open to reveal the silhouette of the facility, the buildings casting long shadows in the first light of dawn. I had barely noticed, but somehow the operation had lasted through most of the night. As we walked into the building, half-carrying Woofy on my shoulder, the day finally began to catch up with me. I stumbled down another sequence of hallway, slightly different from the last ones, and instead of emptying out into the makeshift room that had housed us last time, we were instead pointed towards one of the generic-looking doors that lined the side of the hallway. The nameplate by the door was covered by a sheet of paper that read DAVE/WOOFY in hastily written block letters. The inside had apparently been someone's office, with various work bulletins still stuck in a corkboard on the far wall, but the normal office furniture had been replaced by what looked like a futon, a standing wardrobe, and a small desk with a laptop and an external hard drive. Looking closer, though, I realized that while the laptop seemed brand new, the external was the backup drive from my apartment - at least something of my old life had somehow survived intact. I was too tired to think much about it, though, and after gently lowering Woofy down onto the futon, I only took the time to kick my shoes off before crashing down beside him, fully clothed. I hugged him close, feeling his warmth and the gentle rhythm of his breathing, leaving my concerns for another day as my mind quickly succumbed to sleep.

I awoke later that day to begin what would be a number of weeks in mostly uneventful limbo. Honestly, there wasn't a whole lot to do, especially when the world was temporarily reduced to a converted office, a handful of hallways, and the large room filled with "unattached" Canos. Some of the nearby rooms were filled with some of the other couples, but for the most part, they seemed to keep to themselves. Woofy and a few of the other ones occasionally conversed, and a handful of the more sociable people overcame their own preoccupations to talk to me, but most of them seemed somewhat intimidated by their sudden and traumatic change of environments. I could understand their trepidation, as the building itself was far from inviting on its own, and it made sense that someone in an unfamiliar situation like this would want to cling to the one thing in their life that they still knew. I never really felt lonely, though, because Woofy was almost always by my side, and the fact that there wasn't that much to do meant that we spent a lot of time just hanging out, and, well... doing it pretty much whenever we had some energy to spare. Having a private room made that a lot easier, to be sure, or at least a bit more comfortable for me - while Woofy might be used to it, I still wasn't particularly comfortable with going at it in the middle of a huge, blue orgy.

In between all that, I managed to fire up the laptop and access my info from the hard drive, which was mercifully intact. Sometime during the first week of waiting, one of the science team guys got a wireless net connection set up, and I was able to hop on the net and at least begin to pick up the pieces of my past life. My friends were a bit concerned, but happy to see me, and none of them were at all surprised by what happened to me - as I later found out, Woofy and I were the primary stars of the shakycam footage the guy had taken at the warehouse, posted in all its glory to every video hosting site under the sun. The press had been busy as well - most of my friends and colleagues had already been contacted for interviews, but ultimately hadn't had much to say, as they honestly didn't know much more than anyone else who wasn't directly involved. I was admittedly a bit vague about describing my own situation, to save them any more hounding, but I reassured them that I was fine, and that I'd see them again relatively soon. I also emailed my boss, who was oddly circumspect about the status of my employment, only mentioning that some official-looking men had come to have a chat with him, and that whatever was going to happen, I'd have to talk with them first. I made a note to mention that to Dr. Artemis, of course.

The web in general, of course, was filled with "news" regarding the sudden existence of Cano Sapiens, varying greatly in the actual amount of correct information, but discussion and debate were everywhere. The most authoritative information, of course, was Dr. Dubrovnikov's detailed exposé of Operation Basilisk, posted everywhere from Wikileaks to the features section of the Times, along with some scans of his raw experimental notes on the Cano project. Most of it, honestly, was beyond me - detailed descriptions of gene sequences and complex organic chemical charts, and the comprehensible parts mainly covered the things that I already knew. The controversy, though, was enormous - Basilisk, on the part of various commentators, was just the tip of the iceberg in a number of complex (and often competing) military conspiracy theories, everything from first contact to shadow governments. Some geneticists were up in arms at the notion that someone had created a "chimera," while others were ecstatic at the possibilities that Dubrovnikov's project had generated. Furries were quite obviously in favor, and a site had already been set up to pool contributions to hire Dubrovnikov when he surfaced for the express purpose of creating more hybrids. On the other hand, religious zealots were up in arms, calling the new creations "devils in disguise" and castigating Dubrovnikov for playing God. I could honestly only take so much of it, and eventually switched over to watching internet TV and playing the few games that could run on the laptop. While it might be a big debate for everyone else, it seemed like a done deal to me - Cano Sapiens were here, Woofy was here, and I had absolutely no regrets about that.

Dr. Artemis, for his part, promised that he was working on his solution, and was frequently away in meetings with various government functionaries, as well as some serious-looking people from the private sector. The ones I cam across generally tended to look at us for a moment, inquisitively, before moving on to their meeting, although one of them was forward enough to ask about petting Woofy's arm. Woofy shrugged and complied, but didn't seem too happy about it - "His hand was cold, and kinda shaking, and felt really weird," Woofy confided in me later. Of course, in the midst of all that, Dr. Artemis was still trying to figure out everything else he could about the Canos. Dr. Dubrovnikov helped him, of course, even though he was mainly confined to a remote lab, but on the few times I ran into him there, he seemed reasonably happy - restricted as he was, he was once again in the presence of his creations, which probably more than made up for it.

Some of Dr. Artemis' experiments, of course, involved us - probably, I figured, as he already had somewhat of a relationship with us, and that we might react more favorably to some of the things he asked of us, in the name of science. Many of the other couples were happy to do the simpler things, he'd said, like a basic medical exam, or interviews and questionnaires, but probably wouldn't respond well to more delicate subjects, like him asking asking me to drink Woofy's cum so he could see what the effects were.

"Come again?" I replied, incredulous, and Dr. Artemis barely contained a smirk at my accidental double-entendre.

"Well, you described it before, but there's something that doesn't quite make sense about it, so I want to test it again in a more controlled setting. I understand if it seems a bit... prurient, but it isn't like it's something you haven't done before, and it would go a long way in helping us understand one of the missing pieces in figuring out some aspects of Cano Sapiens. I won't force you to, but I'd really appreciate it if you would."

"So, you're saying you want to sit there and watch while I give Woofy a blowjob?"

Dr. Artemis looked askance at that. "No, no, of course not... I think you have the wrong idea. Do whatever you want with Woofy in private, just when you're done, just collect Woofy's semen in a specimen cup - easy enough, right? Then we'll take you into a room with some monitoring equipment set up, by yourself. You just have to ingest some of it, then just sit back, and we'll examine what happens. Nothing strange, nothing pornographic, just a simple, controlled experiment."

"You seriously don't see anything strange about me drinking someone's cum while you watch?" Dr. Artemis just shrugged, though, and Woofy seemed reasonably enthusiastic about it, so I decided to give it a try - after I got Dr. Artemis' guarantee that the observation part, at least, would happen with me fully clothed.

A few moments later, we were heading back to our room, clear plastic specimen cup in hand. Once we got back, and closed the door, I started to think about how we should go about doing it. It felt odd to be trying to do something inherently sexy in a dispassionate way, and the end result of what we were about to do wasn't really doing much for the mood. That didn't seem to bother Woofy all that much, though, as he quickly pulled off the nondescript loose jeans he had been wearing - the replacement clothing that had been supplied was adequate, if not particularly inspiring. Underneath, Woofy was wearing plain black boxer briefs, which did little to disguise a bulge that was already swelling in anticipation.

I set the cup on the floor and jumped onto the bed next to Woofy, wondering what to do next. I almost started to lean over, but thought better of it - while I'd talked about giving him head before, I realized that would probably result in my lapping up Woofy's cum ahead of time, possibly messing up the experiment. Instead, I snuggled up to his side, nuzzling his neck while I reached down to massage his bulge. While a handjob wasn't the sexiest thing ever, it would probably work out the best for what we were trying to do. And it sure felt good - the indicator was already purring happily, and soon Woofy's cock was straining against the fabric, looking for release - and, beneath my clothes, I could feel mine yearning to do the same. I wondered whether coming myself would affect the experiment, and I decided to at least try to hold back, although I wasn't sure if that would be possible.

After a few more sensuous moments, Woofy decided he couldn't take the tightness of the fabric any more, and pulled the waistband of the underwear down, letting his cock spring up, fully erect. He shrugged the underwear down onto his upper thighs, then returned to hugging me as I ran my finger down from the tip all the way along his shaft, gently caressing the bulge at the bottom before wrapping my fingers all the way around him. His skin was really warm to the touch, and the surface was soft, almost velvety, belying the rigid, pulsating strength contained within. Just touching him like that felt wonderful, and the indicator agreed, translating the feeling of my stimulating touch along with a happy wave of arousal. I tightened my grip just enough for my touch to feel exceptionally close, and then began to pump my fist up and down along his shaft. I started off slowly, allowing my fingers to carefully trace the contours of his member, giving him a little squeeze every time I reached the tip. He shuddered every time I did that, his cock straining against my hand and feeling even harder with each stroke, the indicator sending wave after wave of pleasurable sensation coursing through my head as Woofy moaned against me. I picked up the pace, Woofy's arousal growing steadily, and I had just enough presence of mind to reach over for the cup and rest it against Woofy's abdomen as I continued. My own cock was straining, noticeably tenting my jeans even with the restrictions of underwear, but I tried to ignore it, instead trying to consciously feel everything through Woofy's indicator. I was pumping even faster now, cupping Woofy's balls with my other hand, and suddenly my touch started feeling beyond amazing, the indicator going from pulsing to a continuous wave of pleasure, and I instinctively slowed down, letting Woofy feel me caressing every inch of him. His hips started to shudder as the leading edge of orgasm flashed into the indicator, threatening to take over my conscious thought, and it was all I could do to grab the cup and hold it steady as Woofy let out a low growl, the orgasm quickly overtaking him. For a moment, things seemed to fade in favor of a uniform warmth, but I was able to snap back quickly enough to feel Woofy breathing heavily against my neck as his cock pulsed repeatedly in my hand, and stream after stream of cum sprayed powerfully from the tip, most of it somehow making it into the cup despite the fact that I was also shaking with the power of the indicator's orgasm, errant droplets splattering warmly on my hand and arm. I gave Woofy a final squeeze as the orgasm subsided, laying back onto the futon and hoping that my own arousal would fade enough for me to concentrate on the rest of the experiment. As Woofy snuggled against me, sighing happily, I held the cup up to the light. Woofy's cum was considerably voluminous - despite the amount that had missed the cup, the thing was almost completely full. I held it up to the light, looking at what was contained within - it looked like cum, more or less, white and a bit translucent, but in the light, it also took on a slightly bluish tint, seeming to shimmer before my eyes.

After laying there for a few moments, basking in the afterglow, Woofy got dressed and we headed back to the lab where Dr. Artemis was waiting. I could barely walk straight, though, as my arousal had yet to abate, and even after a bit of adjustment, my own cock was still straining to escape over the waistband of my underwear. Once we arrived, Dr. Artemis looked carefully at the specimen cup, then tipped some of it into a separate vial and handed it back to me.

"Just head in there," Dr. Artemis said, gesturing to a door off to the side. "Woofy can wait here with me to observe the results, but for this, I need it to be just you alone in the room." Woofy seemed a bit reluctant to let me leave, but after a moment gave me a quick hug, and then went over to sit with Dr. Artemis at a large bank of displays while I walked into the other room.

The room was fairly nondescript, and looked a bit like an examination room, but with an easy chair instead of an exam table. I sat in the chair, noticing a number of wires coming off of it, as well as a clusted of instruments and optics pointing down from the ceiling, helping to monitor my condition. Aside from still feeling the effects of the indicator-led orgasm, though, and my own arousal, I felt pretty much fine. I eyed the specimen cup for a minute, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about the whole thing. Dr. Artemis was right, though - it wasn't like I hadn't done this before. Finally, I shrugged, and put the cup to my lips.

Woofy's cum felt a bit different now that it had had a chance to cool off - lukewarm, and a bit stickier, but it still had that oddly intriguing taste to it, and before I knew it, I had finished off everything in the container. I licked my lips, savoring the taste and wondering if anything was going to happen. The first time, it had been... strange, but then again, I had also been in close contact with Woofy at the time.

For a couple of minutes, nothing seemed to happen, and I began to wonder if the cum had really had any effect at all. I noticed, though, that my arousal suddenly started to increase, my cock straining forward even harder, despite the fact that both my hands were sitting on the chair's armrests. After a few moments, it became pretty much unbearable, and I finally undid the top of my pants, shrugging them and the boxer briefs down enough to release me. I stared down at my cock, sitting absolutely erect, twitching slightly side to side, and it was suddenly so sensitive I swore I could almost feel the air in the room brushing against it. In fact, even the room seemed to be reacting to the touch. Just the exhalation of my breath was enough to stimulate me, and all the straight lines in the room seemed to twitch back and forth in time with my cock as it reacted. Soon the lines began to undulate, waving back and forth like ripples cascading across a lake, and a tingling sensation began to course through my entire body. The world seemed to blur, as my arousal became almost uncontrollable, and then... honestly, I can't really remember all that clearly what happened next. What I could remember came in bursts - the clattering of equipment, a wall spinning around in my vision, a sudden burst of blue, fuzzy warmth, an orgasm that seemed to stretch on and on and on as time slowed to a comfortable halt. Everything else I only know from looking at the video later on - me stumbling around the room in a daze, me hastily stripping off all of my clothes while shuddering at the sensation of them touching my skin, me attempting to hump just about everything in the room, including the chair, the floor, and all four walls, and Woofy finally bursting in, naked, and subduing me with a surprisingly long session of snuggling and hip-grinding.

Dr. Artemis had apparently been genuinely surprised at my reaction, especially once he told me about the rest of his findings. "Once you were finished, I tried the exact same experiment with A.J. And Berkshire, with pretty much the same results. Here's the interesting part, though - remember when I told you that the compounds we found were complex, but seemed harmless? Well, I took a little bit of Woofy's semen before the experiment, and gave it to a scientist who volunteered for this, and who has had some contact with Cano Sapiens, but has never bonded with one. He drank it, and aside from complaining about the taste, absolutely nothing happened, despite observing him for a number of hours. Same thing when we tried it with another volunteer and Berkshire's sample. Whatever compounds there are, they have no effect on a regular person - so it's not just the compounds, but how they combine with the effects of being linked with a Cano..." He trailed off, looking like he'd just thought of something, and quickly went over to a nearby terminal, jotting down notes furiously.

We participated in a few other experiments after that, but none nearly as noteworthy. Mostly, Dr. Artemis would just call us in and ask us a question or two, usually general things about our experience together - what we thought the link was like, how we'd describe it. The questions and research were apparently paying off, though, and every day, Dr. Artemis looked more enthusiastic about his work. Sometimes, during the interviews, he'd pull us aside afterwards, and, bit by bit, explain his theories surrounding Cano Sapiens.

According to him, at least, with some backup from Dubrovnikov, the link, or at least one of the results of it, was a measurable physical phenomenon. Dr. Artemis' science team had been able to isolate repeatable differences in brainwave patterns on EEGs among not only linked and unlinked people, but linked and unlinked Canos as well. He still wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but he theorized that the link was actually awakening new areas of the brain, forming new and unique neural pathways, including pathways to unused receptors and pleasure centers that could be affected by the chemicals that the Canos emitted. "Unfortunately, the only way to tell for sure is during an autopsy, which obviously isn't feasible. Beyond that... Maybe we can get some volunteers into an fMRI machine and see if we can get more fine-grained detail, but there's definitely something there. The link truly is a remarkable phenomenon, and if it can be quantified, or replicated... The possibilities are endless."

As for the collection of unattached Canos, he was able to shed a bit more light on their behavior, and what I had witnessed in my vision. "As interesting as the links are in humans, they're far more important in Canos, something I think eluded Dr. Dubrovnikov due to the conditions in his lab. As far as I've been able to tell, it was just him, and a handful of assistants, for the entire population of Canos. For reasons I'm still not entirely clear one, as much as they all enjoy being together, and 'being' with each other on a regular basis, two Canos can't form a link with each other, at least not of the type they form with a person. However, the Canos themselves seemed to recognize their need fairly early on, and every time he was in the room with them, they were all trying to form a bond with him. Because they were competing, though, none of them were successful, and their frustration grew. Dr. Dubrovnikov was right that their probably formed their language as a means to talk through their problem themselves, as even he didn't even know how to describe it, let alone fix it. If they were all together, the desire was frustrating, but at least held in check by the presence of others - once Dubrovnikov left and they fled the facility, though, the desire became too strong, and they cast about for anyone that seemed compatible. Some of them found people - like you - but that fear of losing the connection seems to have stayed in the back of their minds. I believe that's why Woofy, and the others, have been so... insistent about contact with their partners when others of their kind are around, to reaffirm and strengthen that link. As to why that process causes additional changes to occur - the visions you and others have described, or A.J.'s sudden comprehension of their language, I'm still at a loss... perhaps with further study, we'll figure it out."

He'd sighed, then, looking a bit guilty. "It's unfortunate that it's taken as long as it has to figure out just how powerful this desire to be linked is, at least for them. The way they seem to describe it sometimes, it's like being tossed about in a roiling sea, being able to pop your head above water just frequently enough to catch your breath, but it's never quite enough - and if they are pulled away from a stable environment and others of their kind, it's like being pulled underwater, only instead of losing breath, it's more like losing their minds. If I'd realized earlier... I've been keeping them together and mostly way from people, all this time, for fear of someone getting inadvertently linked, not knowing just how much they've been suffering from this. Dr. Dubrovnikov, I think, feels the same way - he looked absolutely crestfallen when we finally figured that out. I can't just go and ask people off the street about it, though - imagine the media hurricane that would cause! Luckily, a lot of my staff were happy to volunteer, as I think they care about them as much as I have come to, and some of the soldiers stationed here as well. We're still working out the details, but I think it's going to work out well for all involved." Dr. Artemis hadn't mentioned himself among the volunteers, but he was soon being followed around everywhere by an especially energetic, dalmatian-looking one, and a few days after that, we encountered the two of them in the hall, Dr. Artemis looking slightly dazed. "Now... Now I know what the link feels like," is all he'd said, stumbling forward with his new mate practically glued to his side.

By the next week, though, he seemed to have fully recovered from his initial shock at the experience, and seemed more enthusiastic than ever when, shortly after lunch one day, he called all of us into what he called "the auditorium." It was actually one of the facility's large garages, with vehicles replaced by rows of folding chairs, and a podium and hastily-rigged sound system up in front. There must have been at least 200 of us there, all told, and every person was paired with a Cano, with the exception of the general standing off to the side of the podium. It was Dr. Artemis, though, who walked up to the microphone, his own partner in tow.

"Well, the day is finally here," he began, practically beaming. "It's taken a while to set this up, but I think you're going to enjoy it. By now, you're probably getting a bit sick of hanging around this place, right?" Two hundred heads nodded back at him. "The good news, then, is that today will be your last day here - and tomorrow, you get to go back to at least something closely approximating a normal life." As he spoke, an assistant brought over a covered easel, and pulled back the covering to reveal what looked like the map of a small town.

"What you see here," Dr. Artemis continued, gesturing at the display, "is a map of a development that was going to be called Meadow Vista. Going to be, that is, until the developer neared completion of the thing, and realized just how optimistic his appraisal of the economy had been. When I happened across it, his company was on the verge of bankruptcy, and the whole thing was going to be abandoned - a mostly-built ghost town. However, I was able to get in touch with a number of federal agencies, and it was determined that the best interests of these agencies would be to issue a grant to purchase the development and ensure its completion. The result is this: one hundred houses, common facilities and a bit of retail space, a gated community ensconced in the hills outside of your town. It's a decent place to live, with enough isolation and access control that you can be protected from paparazzi and the like, while still being able to have a more normal life, and allowing for the extended family of Cano Sapiens to stay in close contact with each other."

He cleared his throat before continuing, getting down to the details. "Of course, to make this work, a few... arrangements had to be made. Although I haven't yet seen any desire to do so, for people that are now bonded to Canos, we are fairly sure that such a bond is permanent, and lifelong. However, as this choice was not a voluntary one for most of you, at least at first, the government has decided that you should be compensated for your present situation, while ensuring that you maintain close contact with your partner. As a result, you are all now employees of the newly formed Cano Sapiens Protection Directorate, currently a subordinate organization under the umbrella of the CDC. Your job is simple - stay within 100 feet of your partners at all times. In return, your compensation includes full benefits, room and board at this development, and other support services, in addition to a reasonable annual salary."

Dr. Artemis glanced over at the general before continuing. "The catch, though, is that this is really more like a conscription than a hiring process - this contract of employment is, unfortunately, more or less mandatory, at least for the first few years. Despite my protestations that nothing involved with the Canos is communicable, my superiors at the CDC still want to keep you under at least some level of isolation until that can be proven completely. Additionally, other areas of government would like the press coverage of this to be gradual and controlled, something which I do agree with - in this sort of environment, the press can be kept at bay, and the idea of a new sentient race can be introduced, bit by bit, with the hope that the Canos will be able to live in the general society a few years hence, if they so choose, without a high level of controversy and exposure. So, for the first few years, this development will be your new home. It is a very pleasant place to live, though, and I ensure that as the newly named director of the CPD, I will use whatever resources are at my disposal to make this work out well for everyone. It's not perfect, I admit, and it's probably still a bit like a quarantine or house arrest, but it's the best compromise I can arrange. You may be confined in location, but at least you have the freedom, and the time, to pursue whatever interests you while you're there. Once the current pressure lets up, you'll be able to move back to your old life if you so wish, and you'll certainly be welcome to stay as well."

I overheard a bit of grumbling as Dr. Artemis outlined his "compromise," but not as much as I'd thought there would be - apparently, I wasn't the only person who had come to the conclusion that as long as they had their new partner, even a worse compromise would have been acceptable.

"In any case, we'll be heading out shortly, so gather up what things you have here. For those of you who were forced to vacate your previous residences, we've recovered your belongings and moved them into your new homes. Those of you who had their previous residence destroyed as part of the fallout from this situation, my team has attempted to replace as much of it as possible, and you will have ample opportunities to repurchase the rest." Judging by the number of people who perked up at this announcement, I realized that a fair number of people had suffered from the rogue military team's wave of destruction. "We've put a lot of planning into this, so I think the move should go fairly smoothly. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and I'll do whatever is in my power to address them. Anyway... Let's get going."

Dr. Artemis stepped away from the podium as the crowd of people surged up from their chairs, many of them quickly mobbing Dr. Artemis' position, shouting questions and the occasional angry tirade. For my part, I led Woofy away from the crowd, as I was reasonably satisfied with what had been laid out - with no apartment to go back to, and an uncertain world waiting outside to receive us, going to live in a controlled but relatively free environment seemed like a reasonable improvement over the current conditions.

There wasn't really much to gather up - the wardrobe had already been emptied and packed away, so it was a simple matter of picking up my laptop and drive and sticking them in a leather messenger bag that had apparently been left for that purpose. By the time we got back, the rest of the crowd had mostly dissipated, leaving the general to chat with a handful of his troops, and Dr. Artemis and his partner leaning against the podium, shooting the breeze with A.J. and Berkshire. He noticed us as we walked up, and waved us over.

"Hey, Dave, Woofy... As I was telling A.J. and Berkshire, here, I'm truly sorry again for what happened with your apartment, and that this compromise couldn't have given all of you a bit more freedom. Unfortunately, Cano Sapiens are still too much of an unknown, and people tend to be afraid of of things when they're not quite sure what they are. I'm sure, in time, we'll remedy that, but in the meantime, I think we can make things work out okay. I take it by your decision not to mob me at the end, that you're reasonably okay with it?"

Woofy and I both nodded. "As long as Dave's here, and I'm here, I know it's gonna be okay!" Woofy said, grinning, giving my arm a squeeze.

"Yeah... I'd say that sums it up well enough," I said, putting my arm around Woofy's shoulder, feeling his head snuggle up against my chest. Berkshire took a look at us for a moment, then snuggled similarly against A.J., who almost purred, faintly but happily, at the contact - then saw me grin at the noise and flushed briefly with embarrassment, before finally shrugging his shoulders and hugging Berkshire tightly.

Dr. Artemis' partner gave him a hug as well, not wanting to be left out. Dr. Artemis looked down at him, smiling. "You know, I still don't know what to call this guy, but he says he wants to think up his name once we get to where we're headed." Dr. Artemis looked back at us, with renewed enthusiasm. "Hey, since you guys are the first to get here, why don't we be the first to check out the new place? You get to settle in before everyone else shows up and things get hectic, and I get a respite from what's sure to be a long day of answering questions and making sure everything's squared away. What do you say?"

We all seemed fine with it, so Dr. Artemis led us over to a waiting van. It was another nondescript minivan-type vehicle, but at least it had a full complement of windows. Dr. Artemis jumped into the front seat, with his companion riding shotgun. Woofy and I hopped into the middle bucket seats after stowing the backpack in the cargo area, and Berkshire jumped onto the bench seat at the back, with A.J. following after him. In a few moments, the vehicle started up, and we were quickly on our way, the buildings of the CDC facility quickly fading into the distance behind us.

Eventually, the road merged onto the highway, and we headed back towards town. I watched the cityscape growing closer, the spires of the downtown corridor glinting in the afternoon sun, marveling in its unchanged skyline. Just looking at it like that, you'd never have guessed the magnitude of events that had taken place there. Despite everything that had happened, life had gone on, largely unchanged, but I was suddenly looking at it from a vastly different perspective.

Of course, we never reached the city proper - near the outskirts, the van pulled off towards one of the exits, which led to a short ride through one of the suburbs, switching to a narrower road that led up into the hills, pristine and newly-paved. After a few minutes of twisting through the rolling hills in a serpentine fashion, the road emptied out to reveal a heavily ornamented wrought-iron gate, the only opening in a decoratively-stuccoed wall, with ivy beginning to train up along the bottom. It was a gated community indeed, complete with a security kiosk containing a surprisingly alert-looking guard, although I realized that the gate, for now, was to keep us in just as much as to keep everyone else out.

The guard must have recognized Dr. Artemis, as the gate was already swinging open, and the van quickly drove past it and around a wide, landscaped roundabout that led to the development proper. In the middle of the roundabout, the sign advertising the development had been replaced with a large, official looking sign bearing the letters CPD, as well as an official-looking government seal, and the words "Authorized Personnel Only."

As we drove through, I noticed that the development was made up mainly of duplex condos, with patterned stucco walls that mirrored the style on the enclosing wall. They seemed to be divided up into quadrants, with twelve of so of the duplexed arrayed along a gently curving road. Although each condo appeared to share a wall, butting up against each other like row houses, each unit seemed fairly sizeable, and each duplex had a decently-sized, well-manicured yard. Each of the roads, as well as the entrance, joined up in a circular road around a large group of buildings in the center.

Dr. Artemis drove slowly around the inner loop, pointing out what the place had to offer. The development had all the usual amenities of a mid-to-upscale place - tennis courts, a decently-sized pool, a small exercise facility, and a landscaped park area with foot paths and a running track encircling it. Two other buildings had apparently been modified to fit the "board" part of the agreement - one into a large catering facility and restaurant-style cafeteria with a to-go window, and the other into an on-site general store where people could pick up their own ingredients if they wanted to cook for themselves. There was even an open-air amphitheater with a drive-in style movie screen and stadium speakers. All in all, it was looking to be quite a step from my somewhat cramped apartment.

After the quick tour, Dr. Artemis pulled down one of the quadrant roads. Duplexes lined both sides, but Dr. Artemis pulled into the driveway of the one at the very end. The left one, numbered 112, had a mailbox with A.J. And Berkshire's names stenciled onto it - the right one, 113, read Dave and Woofy.

"Well, this is is... What do you think? I figured, given how close you were before, that you'd be okay living next door to each other..." I replied that I was fine with it, but A.J. was already being pulled towards Berkshire, who quickly flung open the van door and bounded out to look at his new house. I could tell that Woofy was excited as well, so we got out in short order as well once I retrieved our meager luggage. Dr. Artemis met us at the end of the driveway, handing us each a keyring.

"I'd better head back to our new headquarters here and start getting some things ready, but feel free to settle in and get accustomed. Give me a call if you need anything." He handed us each a new business card with the CPD logo emblazoned on it. A moment later he was back in the van and headed off down the road, leaving us on the doorstep of our new home.

"So, Woofy, here we are... You wanna do the honors?" I jingled the keyring in my hand, and he nodded. He reached over and undid the lock, swinging the solid, well-finished wooden door open enthusiastically enough that I had to catch it before it slammed against the wall.

Woofy took a whirlwind tour of the place, bouncing from room to room, and up and down the stairs. I walked a bit more slowly, taking it all in.

As I had conjectured, it was certainly a step up from my apartment. The downstairs opened up into a spacious den, relatively bare at the moment with empty tables and bookcases, but with a comfy-looking couch, recliner, and a widescreen TV that would have towered above the one I had previously owned - apparently, the development had been mostly furnished when it was acquired, and for a reasonably upscale clientele. Or perhaps, Dr. Artemis' team had furnished it, as an identical gaming system to my previous one was hooked up to the side of the TV. The kitchen was fully equipped, with countertops made of some type of polished stone, and emptied out into a small dining area with a large window seat in the corner. To the side was a small bathroom, and a door out to the garage, which of course didn't contain any cars - we weren't going to be heading anywhere out of walking distance for a while. It did, however, have the usual outside appliances - furnace, water heater, washer and dryer. I walked back inside, passing Woofy as he bounced out to peer at the contents of the garage, and headed upstairs. The stairs opened out onto a hallway with a number of closets built in, and a spacious office with a skylight, equipped with a computer desk and filing cabinets. I slung the backpack off of my shoulder and set it down on the desk, vowing to get it set up later. On the other side, the hallway terminated in a well-lit master bedroom with large windows on each side, dominated by a large bed equipped with sheets that looked almost exactly the same as my previous ones. Curious, I opened up one of the dressers off to the side, and found it perfectly stocked with almost exactly the same clothes I had had before, with the one next to it containing all of Woofy's. I knew that some of Dr. Artemis' staff had done the laundry before back at the apartment, but apparently they'd also somehow cataloged everything that it contained, and replicated it almost perfectly here. I closed the drawer, marveling at their unusual efficiency, and noticed a pair of doors off to the side. One of them contained a walk-in closet with the rest of our clothes, with the far wall being a floor-to-ceiling mirror, and the other one led into the master bath. It was fairly impressive, with dual sinks laid into another stone countertop and the toilet tucked into a corner next to it, with a glassed-in shower stall and a bath that looked more like a hot tub dominating the opposite side. Upscale, indeed! Even though it might have been a gilded cage in some respects, I realized that I could definitely get used to this. Although they'd probably gotten the whole lot at a deep discount, if the government wanted to be generous, I was happy for the moment to accept their largesse.

I walked back out into the bedroom, wondering what to do, when I noticed a blue blur heading towards me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face Woofy just before he tackled me in a bear hug, sending both of us tumbling backward onto the bed. I sat back up, but Woofy grabbed me by the shoulders, babbling enthusiastically.

"Wow, this place is so neat! It's got windows in the walls and windows in the ceiling and windows you can sit on, and a huge empty room with a bunch of machines that make grumbling noises! Isn't it great, Dave? Isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty... actually, scratch that, it's really, really nice. I gotta hand it to Dr. Artemis - even from the very beginning, he's really pulled everything together, but I'm surprised he was able to pull together something like this. This... Is really great." And it was, absolutely - for the first time in far too long, in was in a place that at least had the potential to feel like home. I leaned back on the bed, stretching out my arms and legs. "Aah... after all of the craziness, after being in that facility for ages with people around all the time, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be here, alone, no doctors, no military, no science experiments or conspiracies... Just us, and maybe, maybe a normal life again."

Woofy looked over at me, still sitting on the side of the bed. "Hmm, well, I'm not sure what normal is supposed to be, but if normal means that you're here, and I'm here, and we can do some fun stuff together, then that would be great!" He closed his eyes for a moment, smiling, and it looked - and felt - like he was relaxing as well. Of course, mixed in with that, I recognized a very familiar feeling which seemed to be coming on as well...

Woofy stood up for a second, and I realized what he had in mind. Sure enough, a moment later, I heard his pants hit the floor, as I fumbled with the button on my own. A moment later, the bed bounced as he flopped down beside me, dressed only in his mesh shirt and a pair of the same black, form-fitting boxer briefs that I was wearing, his bulge already starting to strain out against the pouch in the front.

"Hey, let me help you with that," Woofy said, grinning manically, and I quickly felt his warm hands on top of mine. As I finished undoing the button, he interlaced his fingers with mine, slowly rubbing his fingertips back and forth along my palm. I almost purred at the sensual feel of it, but at the same time I couldn't help putting on a silly grin myself.

"I guess it's only fitting that this is how we inaugurate our new residence," I quipped, and Woofy laughed in response.

"Well, we're finally alone, right? We made it through everything, and we're finally here, together, and it's gonna stay this way, right? This is exactly how I want to start this with you, start it together, by being as close as we can..." He pulled his hands away for a moment to help him move in closer, and I could soon feel his warmth against my side, even through my clothes. As I felt my own arousal beginning to build, he reached up, slowly guiding his hand along my cheek, tilting my head gently to the side. I realized that his face was suddenly very close to mine, as he moved in and our lips touched.

Somehow, this time, the kiss worked exactly the way it was supposed to - no bumping, no awkwardness, just a moment of supreme closeness. For a while that was enough, and we just kissed, his tongue soon intertwined around mine, his hands gently caressing my face and neck, as I wrapped my own hands around his shoulders and hugged him tightly, stroking the fur on his back. It felt so perfectly relaxing, I almost wanted to just hold the kiss indefinitely, but I could feel myself swelling with arousal, and I could feel Woofy's bulge straining insistently against my side. Woofy sensed it as well, and we mutually pulled back, his tongue giving mine a quick squeeze before retreating. At this point, words were pretty much unnecessary, as we both knew by now what we wanted.

I moved my arms slowly downward, trailing my fingers through Woofy's fur, and gently massaging the muscles beneath, feeling the shivers my touch coaxed from his spine as they slid steadily lower. Woofy moaned, pressing against me, but his own hands were already in action, one sliding under my shirt to caress my chest, while the other darted below the now-open waist of my pants, quickly wrapping around my bulge and gently massaging it, his now-expert touch making my hips quiver as I strained to become erect. My own hands were now near his tail, and I gave it a few lingering strokes before moving lower to rest on his hips, on top of the fabric. As he continued to work on me, I slid my hand back over, the back of it pressed against my own side as my palm slid up against where his member was snuggled against me. It throbbed with warmth even through the fabric, and before I could even get ahold of it, his hips started thrusting at my touch, the indicator moaning with sex as he started pounding insistently against my palm. The touch felt good, though, and I let him go at it, making short, sharp barks as his own hands wavered in their motions, so caught up was he in the sudden contact. The indicator was alive with the feel of it, and I knew what was probably coming next.

He stopped with one final, powerful thrust, practically rigid against my hand, and quickly pulled back, panting. He arched onto all fours, his erection completely deforming the fabric, and he struggled for a moment to get the elastic around it before he pulled them off and kicked them away onto the floor. I was tugging on my pants already, but apparently not quickly enough as he was suddenly straddling me on his knees, pulling my pants to my knees, them my ankles, then off entirely. While he was doing that, his cock stood strongly at attention above me, and I leaned forward to give it a tentative stroke. This produced a shiver that radiated all the way up his body, and he gave out a low moan when it reached his head. He tilted forward and landed on top of me, but didn't waste any time - I felt a tug at my underwear, and then two hands wrapped around me, pulling the elastic back and pushing the underwear down around my thighs. Then he leaned in close to me, his upper body pressing against mine, but his back arched up slightly. Instead of pressing down, he held his hips up - and instead of suddenly being pressed tight against me, his cock met mine, crossing over to the side of it, forming an X where the shafts met, his tip pressing warmly against my abdomen while my tip slid against the fur on his. I gasped at the new type of contact, then almost purred as he slid his shaft up along mine, and then down along the other side, every so often pressing the tips directly together. I marveled at his control, even as the sensation pushed me toward the brink - it was an incredible feeling, him sliding back and forth against me, with his unbelievably soft fur teasing my tip with each downward stroke. In the back of my mind, I could feel his breath, his hands wrapped around me as they hugged tight against my chest, but all other feelings were drowned out by this incredibly contact, amplified by the same feeling pouring forth from Woofy's own senses. Just as the stimulation became overwhelming and sent me over the edge, he rocked his hips firmly downward, my member sliding ecstatically through his fur until it pressed flat against his stomach, cocooned in softness, as his snuggled up against the side of mine, warm and throbbing uncontrollably against my skin.

We came together, breathlessly, and I felt incredibly warm, all the tension of the past few weeks melting away as our cum pulsed out in a synchronized rhythm. There were no visions, no spiraling down into unconscious warmth, just the pleasant feeling of coming together, and basking in each other's embrace. It was calm, comfortable, perfect... almost normal, and exactly what I wanted. No craziness, no chemicals, no pretense - just the two of us, together, and undoubtedly in love.

We fell asleep just like that, in each other's arms. Then we woke up the next morning, and life went on. And it's still going on, even as I write this, with Woofy looking on over my shoulder, occasionally correcting my admittedly imperfect memory. It's true that it took some time to get started on this, but I suppose I eventually gave in to Dr. Artemis' cajoling. His latest project, now that he's taking a break from scientific research to spend time with his own partner (who took one look at the sign out front and named himself "Authorized," much to Dr. Artemis' consternation), and his latest project is to get us to talk about our experiences in our own words. Here, then, in this overlong tome, are my recollections of that first tumultuous period, during which Woofy came into my life, the world turned upside down, and everything changed - absolutely for the better. There's so much more I could write here, and maybe someday I will, but Woofy's waiting, with a feeling I know all too well. Perhaps another time, but I'll just say this, for anyone wondering at what happened next - while we're still living in this wonderful place, the gates now open whenever we want them to, to a world that's still wary, but growing more accepting by the day. And in case you're wondering, I did get to take Woofy to see the great tall-masted sailing ship from my childhood, but that's - ah! - a story for another time. Woofy's letting his hands do the talking at the moment, and I'm about ready to do the same. Anyway - for what it's worth, this is how it happened, in my own words; the first chapter of what has come to be my real life, and with Woofy by my side, I can't wait to see what's ahead.

Author's Note: If you've been reading this story from the beginning, congratulations! You have now read my first-ever complete novel. Additional notes will probably be lengthy, and will be posted as a separate journal entry.