PART 04

The next few weeks passed with relative calm.

The day after 04 woke up in 06's bed after losing half a day, Master called an all-staff meeting, and told them that each of them would have to meet with 01 for a short "evaluation." 04's was scheduled last.

He was terrified the entire day, mostly hanging around the mess hall so he could help 10 with dish duty and also stress-eat, but then his time finally came up. The evaluation was easy, and it passed in a blur. 04 couldn't even remember what they had talked about. He only remembered walking out with a warm, fuzzy feeling that lasted a long time.

His euphoria lasted days, in fact. He started sleeping in 06's room and they were having an incredible amount of sex. 04 found himself having sex with a lot of people. It was like someone had converted his anxiety directly into pure husky horniness. He fucked 06 in his bed, he let 06 fuck him, he sucked 10 off under his apron in the mess hall, he let the malamutes spitroast him while 07 watched him and masturbated, and he even climbed on top of 11 and pounded him when he knew everybody else would say he was being too rough (11 pronounced him "acceptably energetic"). He hung around Master in hopes of being chosen for the otter's release (and it worked a few times). He even thought about blowing the new polar bear like Master had, but couldn't work up the nerve.

His mysterious horniness lasted a full week before he could calm down again, and even then he was still way above his normal arousal level. But he finally felt normal and relaxed again for the first time in weeks, if a little fuzzy. Things went well for another two weeks after that.

Whatever Master had done to 02 had removed a lot of the tension from their lives. The huge shepherd was either with 16 learning about the facility - he genuinely did not remember a single thing prior to his "recalibration" - or with 03 and the other sheps. He steered clear of the huskies, but he wasn't unfriendly. He actually seemed to be a little bit shy and he could barely tell the huskies apart. He only seemed to know who 04 was, and actually appeared to be nursing a little bit of a crush on him. He was sweet and calm and friendly, and it was like night and day.

04 wondered how much of his newfound relaxation was the result of 02's recalibration. He hadn't realized how much of an incendiary force the big dog had become. 02's buddy 03 certainly seemed a lot calmer now, so maybe that was the reason all of 04's tension was gone. It was a mystery he idly wondered about, dimly and dull, sometimes, when he was running, or on the second supply run to Prudhoe Bay, or on dish duty in the mess. But he wasn't too concerned.

It was mid-October now, and the sun didn't rise until 9 or 9:15 in the morning and was down by 6:30 pm. It often didn't get above freezing anymore, and the nights were as cold as 15 or 20 degrees. There was already snow on the ground - only a few inches, but more would be coming. The lake wasn't completely frozen over but it would be soon; they were already storing water because there wasn't quite enough snow on the ground yet to fully rely on the melt tank. At night they could see the northern lights more and more frequently as night chipped away at more and more of the daylight hours.

All of them were clinging to the last vestiges of the fall, spending as much time outside as they could before the month of darkness coming in December. Temperatures would be 20 degrees below zero in February and March. 04 still went for a daily run, though he had to wear pants and a coat. The harsh arctic winter marched relentlessly toward them.

16 was integrating well. Chef 10 never seemed to leave the polar bear's side after that first night, and once 16 "met" the huskies, 11 quickly peeled off too. One of the two of them was almost always with the polar bear, and now 11 was often helping in the kitchen. 04 couldn't remember a single time he had seen 10 and 11 interact prior to 16's arrival, but now the bear had seemingly brought the slim husky and the beefy chef shep together as much as he had drawn them to himself. It was rare to see any of them without at least one of the other two. The dogs were easy and relaxed with one another.

For some reason 04 couldn't recall, they were doing a security overhaul of the entire facility, and 16 was leading it. Shortly after 16's initiation, Master took 01 and 16 down to Fairbanks, after taking two benches out of the Suburban so the big jaguar and polar bear could fit inside. When they came back they had a trailer full of crates. 04 had helped unload them, and the boxes were heavy. A lot of them held electronics equipment. Many of them were marked "LIVE AMMUNITION" and he recognized several long rifle cases.

Right after that a bank of monitors went up in the research trailer, and another in the mess, showing live security feed around their facility and the surrounding area. Two of the cameras were mounted on their trailers, trained on the road. One of them was all the way down the access road 20 miles away, filming their turnoff to the Dalton Highway. The only thing they couldn't see was the...what was it? There was some other kind of facility on the road with them. He couldn't quite remember what it was, though. It was probably fine.

In addition to the cameras and monitors, 16 was now certifying many of them with firearms. They set up a shooting range behind the cabin and he had at least two of them practicing there once a day. 03 and 05 were the best at it, with 14 and 15 close behind, though 04 was pretty good too. The guns felt heavy and familiar in his hands and he loaded and cleaned them with ease. A few of the dogs, including 06, were scared to even touch them, so they got to be exempt. Idly, 04 wondered what the reason was for the overhaul, but nothing came to mind so he just didn't worry about it. Once he got over his horniness, everything felt dull and relaxed to him. Dull and relaxed and calm.

16 learned sign language in record time, and the malamutes began to hang out in his cabin, bringing 07 along with them. They had a spare bed in one of their quarters that they brought to 16's cabin to use as a makeshift lounge space. 04 originally thought it was because of the cabin's high ceilings, since both 14 and 15 were 7 feet tall and their ears almost grazed the ceilings in the trailers, but later he tagged along with 06 and found out why.

16 kept the fire going all the time in his cabin, and true to his word, Master had procured electric heating. Now that it was lived-in, the cabin was a delight. It could hold all of them, and many nights it did. Even on their 20 degree evenings the cabin was warm and cozy and inviting. They had already been storing some of the extra bedding in the cabin, and they moved in some of the extra furniture. 12 could sew, and with a few of the other dogs' help, they made cushions out of old fabric.

It was a nice little space. One night 10 had made little bread treats that he served with marinara sauce, and another night he made some kind of fruit crumble in a cast-iron dutch oven, right on the fire, which made the cabin smell amazing. 01 surprised them all by setting up some of his equipment as a projector with little speakers, using a sheet as a projector screen. They watched a movie from the 1960's called Mirage. 04 couldn't remember the last time he had seen a movie, and while the plot was difficult to follow, he just sat, wedged in between 05 and 06, enjoying their warmth, and watched. The cabin took on an almost dorm-like feel, and in two weeks, most of them went from hanging out in their own rooms at night after-shift, or the tiny gathering area in the front of the husky and shepherd trailers, to hanging out in 16's cabin.

It was on one of these nights, amidst the smell of baking apples and woodsmoke, that 04 had his next horrible revelation.

Most of their duties were restricted to weekdays and the weekend was generally reserved for relaxing, which Master said was important. Three weeks after 16's initiation and 02's wipe, it was a Friday night.

04 finished mopping the mess hall, his last task of the day, at 6:30, just as the sun was going down. 10 had been in there baking something, some kind of biscuits or pastries based on the scent, and scurried off with a huge sheet tray right as 04 was finishing up. 04 headed back to the husky trailer to pick up 06.

06 was napping, sprawled out on his bed, half covered by a blanket that was so twisted it looked like it was trying to suffocate him like a snake. His foot was hanging off the bed and he was snoring, mouth wide open.

04 walked in, cracking a smile. "Wake uuuuuppp," he cooed. He sat down in 06's chair, which was so close to the bed in the cramped space that he could easily reach the bed. He reached forward and rubbed 06's bare belly. 04 loved 06's belly. He ate a lot but he worked out even more, and the other husky had a perfect flat tummy. He stroked the dog's belly from his chest to his waist.

06 groaned. "Hawroooooooooooooooooo," he whined. "Gimme another half hour."

04 chuckled. "No, we're gonna miss the food. 10 said he has a surprise. It smelled really good." He curled his fingers and scratched 06 through his fur.

06 stretched, his muscular arms up over his head, and 04 could feel the other dog's taut belly stretch. He felt his abs, feeling up his stomach. 06 was naked, and his scent filled 04's nose.

Swallowing hard, he let his paw slide down to 06's sheath, and then to his balls.

"Unngh!" 06 grunted. He lifted himself up onto his elbows and looked down at 04, surprised, blinking sleepily.

Swallowing, feeling his heart pounding, 04 stared guiltily back at him. He felt his ears tilt back. "You mind if I, ah..." He rolled 06's balls in his hands, rubbing his sheath with his thumb. The other dog was stiffening under his grip.

06 took a deep breath and let it out as a shivering exhale. "Yeah, man, go ahead," he grunted, watching 04 intently. "Suck it. Suck me off." He wanted it now. Sex had been the furthest thing on his mind ten seconds ago, but now he wanted 04.

The thought made 04 shiver. Nodding, he lowered his head to 06's waist and planted his muzzle on the dog's fuzzy sheath, coaxing the dog's cock out with his hand, into his waiting mouth.

He got a little fuzzy, as he always did, his conditioning taking over his mind and his body, but he was still present for the act. 04 loved blowing 06, because the dog writhed and squirmed like he was getting a full body massage. 06 reached down and held 04's head down against his perfect belly, and bucked his hips, gently fucking 04's waiting muzzle. His hands were strong on 04's head and his enthusiasm made it so exciting.

06 came quickly, and 04 lapped up every drop. After he finally finished cumming, 06 stroked his head for half a minute. When 04 lifted his head, he was calm and relaxed and felt so happy. He was hard in his pants, but he didn't feel the need to jack off, because he knew he would just be horny again in another twenty minutes.

06 was panting, staring at him, tongue lolling out. "Man. What's got into you?"

04 swallowed, frowning. The taste of 06's acrid cum filled his mouth and nose. "I don't know. I just can't help myself lately." He licked his chops and his nose.

06 sat up. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. Slowly, he climbed out of bed and began searching for clothes to put on, his naked form within touching distance of 04 at all times. The room was filled with his scent, and it washed over 04. He tried not to notice how beautiful 06 was, the bright whites of his fur, the inky blacks. He just sat and observed.

06 finished putting on black sweat pants and a white t-shirt. He stopped in front of 04, stared at him, and reached out to take 04's muzzle in his hands. He stroked 04's face, rubbing the base of his jaw, holding his muzzle and reaching up to stroke his head. 04 was mildly surprised at the gesture, but it felt amazing, and after a moment he just closed his eyes and tried to keep his head up. 06's hands felt amazing on him, and 04 felt so relaxed he could have fallen asleep.

Slowly, 06's hands stopped moving, and 04 half-opened his eyes.

06 was staring at him, frowning, his blue eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay, buddy?" he asked, softly.

04 stared up at him. He didn't know how to answer, so he finally answered honestly. "I don't know," he said.

That didn't seem to make 06 feel any better. He stood, watching 04 with his brow furrowed in concern, and then finally nodded. "Okay," he said, softly. "Let's go."

Nodding, 04 stood up. He swayed a little on his feet but it didn't take him long to get his bearings again.

***

---

The connection hall had lights, but not many, and it was already dark outside, so the hall was dim.

04 trailed after 06, following him, watching his tail idly wag, and almost bumped into him when the dog stopped before he got to the rear exterior door.

He stumbled.

06 turned back and smiled playfully at him as he disappeared through the fire door into Master and 01's trailer. He disappeared down the narrow connection hallway.

Eyes widening, 04 felt his heart start pounding. "What are you doing?!" he hissed, scampering after the other husky.

Turning, grinning evilly, a glint in his eye, 06 walked four more steps and knocked loudly on 01's door.

04 felt his blood turn to ice. He watched, horrified.

"Coming," growled a deep, threatening voice inside.

"What are you doing?!" he hissed, again.

06 beamed at him. "Something you'll thank me for!"

The door opened. It was dark in the connection hall, and the occupant was lit from behind, accompanied by a wave of air so hot it was almost steamy. A wave of jaguar scent came with it, warming and spicy, and 04 felt his entire body respond.

It was 01, of course, and while 04 was used to the big jaguar wearing the tight little shorts that barely covered his massive quads and bulge, he was not ready for the fact that 01 wasn't wearing anything else.

Bare-chested, muscular and triangular, his thick muscles in perfect relief under his glistening black fur, 01 stared at them with confusion. "Oh. I thought you were Master." He frowned severely. He had a perfect flat stomach and wide, muscular shoulders. "Good evening, 04." He squinted at 06. "12."

06 beamed. "Close enough."

The jaguar stared down at them. "Why are you here?"

04 cringed.

06 was unphased. "Why are you here? You should come to 16's cabin." He wagged delightedly. "There's food and there's going to be a movie. Come hang out!"

01 frowned severely. He looked back and forth between them.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," 04 blurted.

The jaguar stared at him for a moment.

04 resisted the urge to cower. He felt his ears fold back and couldn't un-fold them.

The jaguar's face softened. "I don't...not want to come." He sighed. "The cabin is just very cold."

06 smiled vacantly at him. "It's a lot better now. With the fire going and all of us in there it's pretty warm. And it's pretty relaxed so you can always wrap up in a blanket."

01 considered, dubiously.

The husky beamed. "And it'll be really warm if you wrap up in a blanket with two naked huskies."

04 turned to him, horrified.

01's eyes slowly widened, and then he actually looked embarrassed. He looked away, his face flushing.

06 just smiled, wagging innocently. "Here...feel how warm we are," he said, reaching forward and putting his hands flat on 01's beefy chest.

01 jerked, but didn't pull away. He stared at 06, shocked.

"06! What are you doing!" 04 hissed. He stared at the dog's flat hands on the big cat's perfect chest. He was horrified and aroused. His heart was pounding and his dick was about to slide out of his sheath.

06 just smiled pleasantly up at the jaguar. "Do you feel it?"

Eyes wide, breathing shallowly, 01 nodded down at him.

06 beamed. "Do you want to feel 04, too?" he asked, innocently. "Just to check?" he said, with a smile.

01 stared at him, his golden eyes wide. He slowly turned his eyes to 04.

04 looked up at him. He swallowed, trying not to cower. His body wanted to bend into a submissive pretzel

Silently, 01 opened his hand. He gently extended it to 04, fingers open. The way he would take a child's hand.

04's eyes widened.

01 watched him. Calmly. Relaxed. No expectations. 04 knew he could have played it off. 01 wouldn't have minded. He was reaching out.

04 looked down. Silently, he took the big jaguar's hand.

01 had probably expected him just to hold it, but 04 was feeling trusting and a little horny, so he lifted the huge cat's hand - it was heavy, even just guiding it - and put 01's palm up against his face and throat. He looked away as he did it, blushing hotly.

01 made a soft, barely-perceptible chuff, and gently curled his fingers, cradling 04's muzzle and face in his hand. Silently, he stroked 04's face with his thumb.

Shivering, 04 resisted the urge to nuzzle and lick 01's palm. He just stood there, breathing hard, feeling the warmth of 01's soft leather pawpads, the strength of his huge hand, taking in his scent. He was flooded by the memory of the cat's big hands all over his exposed chest and stomach, the cat's thick fingers carefully tugging his jockstrap down his legs, leaving him exposed. He shivered.

They stood like that for what seemed like a long time.

Then, quietly, 01 took his hand back. He looked back and forth between the two of them - 06, and then 04, and then 06 again.

"I will come," he said. He gave them one final look, stepped awkwardly backwards, and closed the door to his room in their faces.

06 laughed. He turned to 04. "I like him!" He headed off down the corridor.

04 raised his lips in a snarl. "What's the matter with you?!" he snapped. His entire body was burning. He was sweating, even in just his t-shirt.

They left the rear door of the connection hall, descended the safety-grate metal steps to ground level, and walked around Master's trailer toward the cabin.

It was already dark outside, and the night air was probably around 20 degrees and windy, which helped cool 04 off. He looked up. The northern lights were visible as a gentle glow. There was still a little moon left and it made them hard to see.

"Seriously, what is the matter with you?" 04 demanded, as they rounded the corner of Master and 01's trailer.

06 beamed at him, raising one eyebrow. "You should be thanking me. If we play our cards right, one or both of us could be scoring the jaguar tonight." He shrugged. "You're the horny one. I'm just planning ahead...I know if I don't run interference for you, you'll sneak off and fuck 11 again."

04 stared, and then let out a long sigh. "God. I fucked him so hard last night he actually said I did a good job."

06 let out a low whistle. "Wow! And your competition is a polar bear. That's pretty good."

04 smiled, and then let out a little sigh. "Thanks. I wish I knew what was going on with me."

06 smiled. "Don't worry! I'm sure the answer is right around the corner."

They rounded the corner to the cabin.

As soon as they opened the front door, 04 could smell food, and it smelled amazing. He smelled the pastries he had smelled in the mess, and then apples baking again. And something with chocolate? A few of the dogs were in front of the fireplace making smores. It looked warm and cozy and inviting. The only light was from the fire and the projector and a few little oil lanterns.

10 appeared in front of them with a little pastry in each hand. The big shepherd was beaming. "Welcome!" he said. "Open up!"

06 and 04 both opened their mouths without question. 10 popped a little pastry into each of their muzzles.

They chewed. It was a delicious buttery flaky pastry and there was some kind of delightful little meat preserve inside. It tasted beefy and chewy and spicy and peppery and it was fucking amazing. The meat was pleasantly leathery, like a dog chew, and had a nice spice that lit up his tongue. The taste was a little familiar.

"Is that..." 04 pondered. "Gochujang jerky?" Horrified, he looked around for 05. The shepherd was sitting on a cushion by the fire. He spotted them and waved.

10 laughed. "It's okay. He donated a pack to me. I told him I could make them better."

04 looked back at 05. The shepherd had a plate of the little pastries. The ones on his plate had the beef sticking out of both ends, 04 noted. Like a little hot dog.

"You were right," 04 said. "Can I eat fifteen more of those?"

06 nodded his agreement.

10 lit up. "Yes! I made so many." He beamed, wagging. "Come on in and get a drink."

They both walked in and stomped the snow off their boots. The floor of the cabin was wood plank, and 16 kept it fastidiously clean.

04 observed the huge polar bear across the room. They had a table in here now, too, and he was seated at it, with 02 and 03. 11 was there too, pressed so close to the bear he was cuddled up against him. 16 waved, and 04 swallowed his nervousness and waved back. 08 and 09 were here too, at the stove with 05. 09 was strumming an acoustic guitar, a surprise gift from Master on the last supply run. 14 and 15 were already watching a movie with the closed captions on and the volume blasting, curled up on 16's massive bed in the corner. For half a second, 04 thought the malamutes had left their buddy 07 behind, and then he spotted a husky tail poking out of the mass of fluffy malamute fur. He smiled.

10 appeared in front of them with two red plastic cups. "Here!" he said, holding them out.

04 and 06 each took one. 04 smelled apple cider (from concentrate, like most of their food), sugar, spices, and something sharp and acrid that immediately hit his nose.

His eyes widened. "10!" he said. "Is there liquor in this?! What if Master finds ou-"

The beefy shep grinned. "It's okay! Master said we could. We each have a two-shot ration." He lowered his head conspiratorially. "Do you want both of your shots right now?"

04 raised his eyebrows. He blinked. "Uh, no thanks," he said. "I'll come find you later."

10 beamed, his tongue lolling out. He seemed like maybe he'd had more than his allotted ration. "Great!" he said. A timer dinged up near the fireplace. "Oh, gotta get that. Get settled!" He loped away.

04 glanced to 06 to say something and found the other husky staring at his cup with one of his ears back. He looked up. He looked sick.

04 stared. "Wh...are you okay?" he asked, softly.

06 opened his mouth to say something. He was still staring at his cup with something like horror. "I-" he started, but didn't follow it up with anything.

04 looked down at his cup. He could smell the alcohol wafting off of it. Oh.

He reached forward and took the cup out of the other husky's hand. "Oh, hey, here, give me that." He took it away from 06. "You don't have to drink if you don't want to."

06's relief was palpable and instantaneous. The other husky sighed, his flattened ear rising up. He exhaled, long and slow, and straightened his shoulders. He smiled brightly. "Thanks, 04. I don't know what came over me."

04 poured the other husky's drink into his own cup. "Here, see? All gone!" He nested the cups in his hand. "Do you want me to get rid of mine?"

06 shook his head. "No! No, enjoy it. I'm so sorry." He shook his head, taking another breath and letting it out as a shaky sigh. "That was weird!" He smiled. "I'm gonna go get some more of those little meat puffs. You wanna sit somewhere?"

04 nodded. "Sure, buddy," he said, with a warm smile.

06 wandered away, his tail wagging cutely behind him, and 04 looked around.

There was a long wooden bench along the entrance wall that would have a good view of the room. He elected to stay there.

04 walked over and sat, setting his cup down next to him. He looked up at the movie, which was already blasting away. It was in black and white with a loud orchestral score. It was still in the opening credits and he saw the word Spellbound and the name Alfred Hitchcock, which meant nothing to him. Idly, he watched.

As he waited, 12 and 13 walked in, apparently fresh from a run, as they were both steaming. Once 01 showed up - if he showed - they would have a full house, leaving only Master alone in the trailer network.

06 reappeared with a plastic plate full of little pastries. He also had two scoops of some kind of baked apple thing. It all smelled amazing, and 04 was instantly wagging and drooling.

"Oh, my God," he said. "I cannot believe what 10 can do with canned apples."

06 chuckled. "Right?" He grinned. "Open!"

04 opened his mouth, and 06 stuck a pastry in. He chewed, and this one was even better than the first. His senses came alive.

06 gestured at the movie. There were several attractive 1940's people onscreen. It looked like it was supposed to be inside a hospital or asylum of some kind, but based on how everyone looked it might as well have been a supper club. Things looked beautiful and tense. "You wanna watch?"

04 frowned. "No, this looks like it'll give you nightmares." He turned back.

06 stared at him, and looked away, frowning. "That only happened once."

04 cracked a smile. "We've only seen one movie." He looked around for something else. "Maybe we can get 09 to sing." He looked around for the young shepherd.

Across the room, 04 saw 09's ears perk up. He lasered in on him.

04 smiled. Setting his drink down, he mimed playing a guitar.

09 straightened up, cleared his throat, and immediately began singing.

04 didn't recognize the tune at all, but he did vastly enjoy it. Together with 06, he listened to 09 sing from across the cabin, mixed in with sweeping orchestral score and the weird clippy non-accent that all movie stars had in the '40s. 10 came by to top off their drinks, and 04 drank both of them again. Pleasantly buzzed, with a full belly, 04 sat, and listened, and leaned against 06.

The door clunked, and then pulled open. 04 glanced over and saw an empty doorway, and was about to get up, assuming the wind had pulled the door open, when he realized that it was 01, all black and dressed in a big black parka. He saw the big cat's golden eyes and felt his entire body tense.

01 walked in, a lot closer to the 9-foot tall door than any of the dogs were, and looked around. A lot of the conversation dropped off, and 09 even stopped playing for a moment, before embarrassedly resuming.

01 looked around, and had just enough time to nod at 04 and 06, before chef 10 appeared in front of him with a pastry and a plastic cup. "Hi!" the dog said, wagging, and 04 surmised that 10 was definitely over his ration.

Wide-eyed, the jaguar accepted the food. He delicately sniffed the pastry and then bit half of it off. He chewed slowly, and then frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Did...did you put meat in this bread?"

Wincing, 10 nodded guiltily.

01 stared at him, eyes wide and intense. "It is AMAZING."

10 beamed and loped away.

01 looked around, and after a moment, actually shrugged out of his parka. He hung it on the rack by the door. He walked up to 04 and 06 and just nodded.

"You're right," he rumbled. "It is fairly warm in here."

06 beamed at him. "So I guess you won't be needing any husky heaters, then," he said, wagging mischievously.

The jaguar stared at him for a long time, raising his drink to his lips. He took a long pull without breaking eye contact.

"I didn't say that," he said, expression betraying nothing.

04 felt his heart start pounding.

06 stared up at him, and then grinned. "Well. It's supposed to be a cold night, sir," he said.

The big cat nodded. "As always." He glanced at 04, then back at 06, then took a look around. His eyes settled on the projector. "Has it been playing long?" he asked.

"Nope!" 06 chirped. "Just started."

01 turned back to them. "I believe I will watch. I will...let you know if I get cold."

06 beamed at him. "I'll be waiting!"

01 nodded at 04, and then headed for 16's bed in the corner. He eyed the shoe pile, and reluctantly stooped to remove his boots. He was wearing a pair of thick wool socks that 04 had remembered receiving with his gear kit but had never actually worn.

Nimbly, 01 climbed up on 16's bed and nestled his way into the corner. Looking up to the screen, he settled in.

06 turned to 04 and waggled his eyebrows.

04 chuckled. "I don't know how you can be so bold with him. I'm still a little scared of him."

06 smiled amiably at him and let out a little sigh. "Four, he likes you. He fucked you, man. He's never fucked me."

04 snorted. "Yeah, well, seems like you might need to update that status after tonight."

06 chuckled and reached down to squeeze his arm.

They went back to listening.

After three or four songs 09 took a break and accepted a drink. He was a handsome kid. He sat with his back to the huge stone fireplace, ringed by 12 and 13, two huskies, and 08, another shep. 04 always loved seeing the huskies and the shepherds mix, and this warmed his heart. Guzzling a cup of water, 09 passed the guitar to 12. 04 idly watched as the older husky took the guitar, tuned it, and then started playing something in a minor key.

It was complex, scales, in a minor key, and it made something short in 04's brain.

Wide-eyed, he stared.

12 started singing, and 04 knew what he was going to sing before he sang it. "I've been spinning now for time, couple bottles by my side, I got sinnin' on my mind...sippin' on red wine..."

04 felt his entire body tense. He knew this song.

12 had a beautiful voice but it made 04's blood run cold. "I've been sitting here for ages...ripping out pages...how'd I get so faded? How'd I get so faded?"

He swallowed. The fur on his arms was standing up. Why did he know this?

12 sang on, closing his eyes. 'Oh, nono don't, leave me lonely now...if you loved me how'd you never learn? Ooh, colored crimson in my eyes, one or two could take my mind..."

It came to him, suddenly. His ex-girlfriend had liked this song. It was Ed Sheeran. She'd bought this album and played it every time they drove together somewhere. She'd make him put the windows down in his Jeep and blast the entire album, even though it was his car, and Sing was the only good track off that album and even that wasn't very good.

All of his fur stood up.

"This is how it ends...I feel the chemicals...burn in my...bloodstream."

Had he ever remembered anything before? He thought frantically about it, trying to hold still.

"Fading out again...I feel the chemicals...burn in my...bloodstream..."

09 whooped. 04 flinched.

06 finally noticed. He turned his head. "Hey, are you okay?"

12 continued with the rest of the song. 04 tried to ignore his hackles rising.

He swallowed. "I'm fine," he said. But he didn't feel fine. He felt like his haze of stupidity and horniness were lifting like fog on the lake blowing away in a stiff wind.

Lifting his drink, he swallowed, and frowned.

As 12 droned on about "tell me when it kicks in," 04 looked around. He had a clear head now, and something was bothering him. Something was wrong. 12's guitar riffs drilled into his brain as he looked around for the threat.

His eyes settled on the polar bear.

16 was in the far left of the cabin, the opposite end of where the movie was taking place. He was seated at a bench in front of a tall table, with 11, the slim husky cuddled up next to him. As 04 watched, the polar bear stood, gently sliding 11 off the bench. They walked across the cabin, and as they passed by the fire, 16 tugged on 10's arm. The shepherd was fussing over some food and drinks on the hearth. 16 tugged him away, leaned way down, held him tight, and closed their muzzles together. 04 watched the moment 10 started squirming, and he knew 16 was probably choking the dog with his tongue. He writhed, remembering the feeling of 16's huge tongue in his mouth, stretching his jaw and blocking his throat.

10 thrashed in the bear's grip, holding hard on to 16's arms, until the polar bear disengaged, and then shivered, panting, his own tongue lolling out. He looked shocked, but horny, panting with a dazed expression.

04 let out a shaky breath.

16 rumbled something in 10's ear, and 10 looked reluctantly back at the food, before 11 slipped his arm in 10's arm, sidling up to him, and together the two guided the chef shep away from the food. 04 watched them pile into a blanket and add themselves to the movie cuddle pile.

What's happening in the movie? 11 signed.

These people are all crazy, 15 signed back. He was smiling. Good so far.

Frowning, 04 turned away. 16 didn't seem like a threat, just a big horny monster. He could easily cause any amount of trouble that he wanted to. Instead, he was acting as a friendly party host. 04 hadn't had the nerve to seek out his company since he got here, but that was intimidation at his size because they would probably end up having sex, and not evaluation of him as a threat.

Right?

"All the voices in my mind," 12 sang, "Calling out across the line...all the voices in my mind...calling out across the line..." It went on, and on, perfectly faithful to a rendition that 04 had heard a hundred times, in a life he didn't remember.

But did he?

He thought of 02, who didn't even seem to think he'd had a life before the facility. Idly, he looked around to find him.

The biggest shepherd was still at the table. As 04 turned, he saw the huge dog staring directly at him. His eyebrows shot upward.

Blushing, 02 looked away, immediately. He hung his head, ears back, face red.

04 stared. It was suddenly clear to him that the huge shepherd did have a crush on him after all. Surprised, he stared. 02 looked back up, his head dipped submissively. They made eye contact. The king shepherd risked a shy smile, and then immediately looked away again.

04 pondered, resisting the urge to frown and instead smiling politely back. 02 was important, too. Had he really forgotten about the dog strapped to the gurney, the mysterious green liquid draining slowly into him? 03 had kept 02 on a pretty tight leash since his recalibration. 04 should probably go check on the big dog. 02 clearly wasn't going to mind the company.

06 chuckled next to him. "Yo, we are definitely gonna score tonight."

04 turned to say something about 02 but to his surprise, 06 was looking the other way. 04 followed his gaze.

He was looking at 01, who was staring right at the two of them, golden eyes in the darkness. He glanced away.

06 turned to him, grinning. "I think our big cat might need a little warming up. That's the fourth time I've caught him staring." He raised an eyebrow, beaming. "You wanna go for it?"

04 looked over again. The big jaguar was staring at him. This time, he didn't look away. Just watched for a few moments. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to 06. His gaze was long and piercing.

04 swallowed, his fur standing on end. His heart was racing. "It doesn't look like he's gonna be picky on who he gets." He swallowed. "This was your idea. You should go over there."

06 raised one eyebrow. "Me?" He frowned. "Just me? What are you gonna do?"

"Um," 04 said.

He had to decide. 01 might have valuable information about what was going on in the facility. He would definitely head back to the lab if 04 and 06 pushed. But wasn't that using him for information? 04 felt terrible about it just as the big panther seemed to be warming up to them. And 04 still hadn't really had extensive contact with 16, and the big polar bear was friendly and always up for more company. He might reveal something too. But 02 could be a good lead if 04 wanted more details on the weirdest thing currently happening in the facility. And 04 was starting to genuinely miss talking to him.

In the end, he decided to follow the lead he was least scared of. He raised his eyes to 02, on the other side of the cabin.

06 followed his gaze. This time they both caught the big shepherd staring.

04 turned back. "I feel like I need to go make up with 02. It's been so weird since he got...back."

06 turned back to 04. "Oh, wow! Mr. Popularity. Okay, go bag that big dog. Do you mind if I take the big cat?" He smiled. "We can meet back here in an hour and switch."

04 laughed, despite himself. 06 always could always get a chuckle out of him. "In an hour you're gonna be in bed with an ice pack under your tail." He smiled.

06 raised one eyebrow. "Jesus, here's hoping. Okay, friend. Let's go!"

"You first!" 04 told him. He wanted to see how things would go, in case 06 needed backup.

06 grinned. "Thanks, buddy. You've always got my back." He leaned forward and gave 04 a sweet little lick, winked, and lifted himself to his feet. Tail wagging, he loped over to the movie pile, straight for the big jaguar in the corner.

"Hey," he said, kicking his boots off. "Mind if I join you?"

01's eyebrows rose. He swallowed. His attention was fully on 06 and he actually looked a little nervous.

Insanely, 04 felt a little pang of jealousy. He pointed his ears as hard as he could, and could just make out the rumble of the big cat's deep voice.

"Not at all. Good evening," he rumbled.

"It's about to be!" 06 said, crawling up onto the bed, and dropping into the blanket pile next to the big cat.

04 smiled, resolved himself, slammed the rest of his drink, set the empty cup down on the bench, and stood up to walk to the big table.

As soon as 02 saw him coming, the huge shepherd reacted like he'd been caught in the trash can. He straightened up, ears perfectly erect, and watched, eyes wide. 03 was next to him, the dark-faced shepherd seated in the corner of the cabin. They were alone at the table, facing into the cabin, maybe ten feet from the guitar circle, alone. 03 caught a glance of 04 and frowned.

12 started playing Pieces of You now, and it made 04's ears ring like he was standing inside a church bell.

He ignored it. He walked up to the head of the table and looked up at 02. He needed to talk to the big shepherd. He ignored 03, who was already staring daggers into him.

"Hey," he said to 02, his voice low. "Mind if I join you? Or do you want to keep just staring at each other all night?" He smiled in what he hoped was a sultry way, and not forced.

The shepherd stared at him, and then lowered his head, ears tilting back. 04 could immediately hear his tail wagging, whump whump whump whump against the log wall behind him. "Sorry for staring," he said, smiling bashfully.

04 smiled, and it was authentic. 02 was adorable, shy, and awkward. He'd been like this before, when they were all new to the facility. Just a big goofy shepherd. "Don't be sorry," 04 said. "You can stare. I don't see you talking to many of the huskies."

02 smiled at him, beaming. "I try to leave you alone. 03 says you're all really, really busy."

04's smile froze on his face. He stared, and slowly turned to the other shepherd. "Really," he said, icily.

03 stared balefully back at him, his golden eyes narrowed in his mostly-black face. The other shepherd was a big man, too, shorter than 02 but still 6 inches taller than 04, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, and thick with muscle. He would have been terrifying if 04 hadn't felt such contempt for him.

So it wasn't a coincidence that 04 hadn't crossed paths with 02. 03 was keeping him away on purpose. And 04 knew exactly why - the first night 02 had "arrived," 04 had asked him what he thought were very general questions about his "prior posting." 02 hadn't been able to answer and had gotten upset. 04 had dropped it but clearly 03 was holding a grudge. Maybe it was because he was a little buzzed, but if he'd been closer to 03 he would have been tempted to slap him across his stupid angry face.

Redoubling his smile, he turned back to 02. The big dog was clueless about the animosity at the table.

"Well!" 04 announced. "I'm never too busy for a big handsome shepherd. In fact..." He reached down for the hem of his shirt, yanked upward on it, and shrugged out of his shirt, arching his back to show off his perfect stomach and meaty chest. He lifted the shirt over his chest, showing off his ripped arms. "You can stare all you want." He smirked at the two dogs.

02 stared at him in stunned silence. Mouth hanging open, the huge shepherd's amber eyes followed the curves of 04's lithe black and white body. As he watched, his tongue began to poke out as he panted gently. Next to him, 03's face screwed into a mask of fury.

"Anyway," 04 said, leaning against the table. It was sized for 16, or at least 02, and came up nearly to his chest. "Anybody got a drink left?"

Wordlessly, his eyes not leaving the husky's muscular chest, 02 reached for his drink and slid it right up next to the husky.

Smiling, 04 reached for it. He put his hand on top of 02's huge paw and held it there.

02's eyes widened.

"Thanks," 04 said, quietly. He picked up the plastic cup and lifted it to his lips. He drank it faster than he intended to. The alcohol and cider went sharply down his throat.

03 rumbled in disapproval. "You're over your ration," he grunted.

04 gave him a side-eye. He was definitely feeling the buzz. "Master didn't say we couldn't exchange. I used to drink ten times this much in college."

03 was so surprised by that statement that he momentarily seemed to forget to be enraged.

04 ignored him. He focused on the big shepherd, hitting him with a 1000-watt smile.

02 finally made eye contact again, surprised. He stared into the husky's blue eyes.

"So, you're hanging out with 03, huh?" 04 rumbled. He leaned on the table, putting his hand down on 02's big mitt again. "That's kinda funny. 02 and 03?"

The dog stared dopily back at him, and then broke into a grin. "I guess," he said. "I never thought of it." He started wagging again.

04 nodded severely. "You know, we used to have another 02," he said, softly.

02 stared. After a moment, his golden eyes widened. "R-really?" he said, quietly.

03 was staring daggers into him. 04 ignored him.

"Yeah," 04 said. He was definitely feeling the booze. He felt the insane urge to keep picking at the scab. "A big king shepherd. Just like you."

The king shepherd watched 04. His brow furrowed. "Really?" He swallowed. "W-what...what happened to him?" he asked, hesitantly.

04 took a deep breath, and let it out as a long sigh. "Don't know. He was just gone one day," he said, sadly.

"Stop it," snapped 03, sharply.

04 frowned. "You're staying in his room," he said, with a concerned frown.

02 recoiled, pulling his hand back. He actually looked scared. "Wh-what?!" he asked, a scared whine creeping into his voice.

04 frowned. He instantly felt bad.

"04, I'm warning you," 03 growled, leaning forward.

04 glanced at him, frowning. He turned back to the big dog. "I'm sorry. I'm teasing. We..." He swallowed, and forced a smile. "We never had an 02 before you."

02 stared at him, and then turned to 03, eyebrows up and ears back, scared.

03's face instantly softened. "It's true." He turned to 04. "The husky is just being an asshole."

02 let out a shaky, relieved sigh. He turned back to 04. His ears were still flat against his head.

"Hey, I'm sorry," 04 said. He frowned. "C'mere." He reached up with both hands.

Dipping his head submissively, 02 leaned downward toward him.

"Aww, 02, I'm sorry!" 04 sighed. He reached up to stroke the big dog's huge fuzzy face and ears. "I'm so sorry. I was just teasing. I thought it would be funny." He held 02's chin and stroked him with his other hand.

02 stared soulfully up at him. "I'm sorry I got scared," he mumbled.

04 felt his heart breaking. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to be mean." He squeezed 02's head and leaned up to kiss his nose.

02's eyebrows rose at that, and his big ears flopped up, and he looked shyly away.

04 let out a long sigh. He didn't know why he'd pushed the big dog. Well, yes he did, because asshole 02 would have deserved it. But new sweet 02 didn't. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you'd spook so easily."

02 swallowed, ears back again. "It's okay," he said, softly. "It was worth it, for the kiss." He looked away, blushing, hiding a little smile.

04 stared, surprised.

02 turned to look back at him, head still dipped a little, and offered him another shy little smile.

04 stared back. His heart was pounding.

On some level, he knew it was his conditioning, and the promise of size-difference sex. But on another level, this was 02, and 04 was feeling things he hadn't felt in a long time.

He'd missed 02, he suddenly realized.

04 was at a loss for words for a moment, and then he managed to stammer out a reply. He forced a flirty smile. "Yeah?" he asked.

Shyly, 02 nodded.

God, it was cute. 04 couldn't help but smile, genuinely. "You want another one?"

Excited, 02 nodded. His ears were up now and 04 could hear his tail wagging.

Beaming, 04 leaned in and stood on his tiptoes. 02 leaned down, and their muzzles connected, and they kissed. 04 closed his eyes, enjoying 02's taste, his nostrils full of the big dog's scent, and they opened their mouths at the same time, their tongues working against one another, and 04 let out a long, rumbling growl as his sheath filled up and his cock spilled out into his sweatpants.

They broke the kiss after a long few moments. 04 stared in mild surprise. 02 stared worshipfully back at him, in absolute bliss.

Mouth still open, 04 took a long breath. He shook his head, looked at 02, looked at the stunned 03, and then swallowed. He looked down and he was obviously, painfully hard into his sweatpants. "C-can I sit between you guys?" he said, softly.

What was happening? What was he feeling? Was this more of his mysterious induced horniness? It felt different for some reason. What was happening to him?

02 wagged. "Sure!" he said. 03 didn't say anything.

02 scooted out of the way and 04 clambered up on the high bench. The table came up to his chest, because of course it did. This was 16's cabin and the table was sized for him. 04 scooted along, the table level with his armpits, and scooted in. He glanced warily at 03 to his left. The big dog narrowed his eyes. 02 slipped back in.

Even with the angry 03 directly next to him, 04 felt a little more secure in the corner with 02 between him and everyone else in the cabin.

He looked out over the table.

12 had turned the guitar back over to 09 who was playing a song 04 didn't recognize at all. 08 had wandered over to watch the movie. 07 was now in 14's lap, and 04 was not at all surprised to see the husky was completely naked, his cock half out of his sheath as 14 idly rubbed the dog's belly and inner thighs. 15 had a hand on 07's belly, too. He looked for 06, and it took him a moment to find him, because he was nestled up against 01's side, with the panther's big arm circled around him. The panther was nuzzling the top of 06's head.

It all felt surreal, and wrong. 04 was drunk, he suddenly realized. He was drunk and this was all wrong.

04 frowned at the table. "How the fuck was 11 sitting here?" he snapped. "This is a table for giants."

For the first time, 03 laughed. "How do you think? He was sitting in 16's lap," he chuckled. He smirked at the husky.

04 turned to glare at him, and then pivoted 180 degrees to 02.

"Gimmie a boost," he grunted at the big shepherd.

02 looked surprised, and then shy again. Smiling, he scooted a little closer.

04 clambered up onto the dog's left leg, straddling 02's left thigh with his asscheeks, and could finally see at a reasonable height. He spotted another unattended red plastic cup and reached for it. Without a second thought, he downed the contents. It was lukewarm cider and it burned going down.

Pushed forward by 02's musclegut, 04 started to slide off the shepherd's lap. "Ope!" 02 said.

04 turned and looked up at him. "You better hold me," he said. He looked up at 02.

02 looked down at him from inches away. Silently, the big dog put his arms loosely around 04's bare chest. He was looking less nervous and more intense by the moment.

04 narrowed his eyes. "I said hold me," he snapped, putting his hands over 02's big paws. He put 02's left hand under his arm, tight across his bare stomach, and his right hand on his own thigh. He felt the heat immediately.

He stared up at 02 from inches away.

02 stared down at him, golden eyes hesitant and searching.

They both felt something.

04 was shocked. I'm gonna fuck this dog tonight, he thought.

He tilted his muzzle up, just an inch or two, not nearly enough to reach the shepherd, but it was enough to signal his willingness, and that was all the sign that 02 needed.

The shepherd leaned down, opening his mouth, and as soon as their muzzles met 02's tongue was inside his mouth. 04 sucked, hard, closing his eyes, pushing back hard against the shepherd's warm lips, and 02's arms tightened around him, really tightened. He held him hard and strong, and 04 shivered and squirmed and pushed his muzzle hard against 02 like he was trying to shove him away. He heard himself whimper in pleasure, and he swam in his alcoholic haze and warmth and 02's wonderful scent.

I missed him so much, he thought. They'd used to do this. When they were new. Before 02 had gotten mean.

They kissed for a long time, and 04 could feel his heart pounding and feel his dick throbbing. He took 02's hand and pulled it over his crotch, so the shepherd could feel too, and 02 growled into his mouth and rubbed his cock, hard, and 04 writhed and shivered in his grasp, whimpering and grunting and growling.

It went on seemingly forever, and then 03 started growling.

They both broke the kiss.

Dazed, surprised, 04 turned.

The other shepherd was glaring at him, lip raised, ears forward, eyes murderous. Not at them. At him.

"At least let me out of the god damn bench first," he growled.

04 stared at him. He resisted the urge to narrow his eyes.

03 and 04 had never really been friends, but he had always been civil, until 02 had started to go off the rails and turned the shepherds into a mean little gang. 03 had always been all business, calm, even-keeled, except when Master or one of the other dogs had worked him up into a sweaty, horny fervor. Those occasions seemed to be the only times that 03 was truly enjoying himself.

Now 04 did narrow his eyes. Well. If 03 needed a good fucking, 04 was going to provide.

"Pull your buddy in," he said, to 02.

03's brow furrowed, in anger and confusion, and then 02's arm left 04's shoulder and reached for 03. He reached the other shepherd easily, and then effortlessly yanked him over. 03 flailed, eyes wide in surprise, and 02 grabbed him by the scruff, and yanked him bodily right up against 04. 03 was big, but 02 was bigger.

"What the fuck are you doing, 04?!" 03 hissed, baring his teeth.

Setting his eyes, 04 reached for the other shepherd's crotch.

"Don't you dare!" 03 growled, his face a mask of shock and anger.

04 settled his strong hands into 03's crotch, pressing his sweatpants down hard, and as expected he found the shepherd already hard. Staring at him, he squeezed his cock, and began massaging.

"Don't...don't!" hissed 03, but his eyes were already sliding half-shut under 04's ministration. "You little black and white fucker," he groaned, squirming in place. He was so hard under 04's hand. It was hard to massage the dog's fat cock left-handed, but 04 worked into a rhythm, pumping 03's cock as best he could through the dog's sweatpants. "I...hate...you..." he gasped, his muzzle opening and his tongue spilling out. He had a longer coat than the other sheps, and it lent him a bearded, dignified look, which made it all the more exciting when his arousal overcame him like this.

04 pivoted, turning to him. He massaged the dazed dog's cock for another few seconds, staring at him. Slowly, he leaned in.

"Get off me," 03 groaned, his muzzle slightly open, his eyes closed almost to slits. 04 hadn't been this close to 03 in months, close enough to smell the musky woodsmoke aroma of the big shepherd as he slowly lost control to his arousal. It was a familiar scent and, surprisingly, it made 04's heart twinge with longing.

"I missed him, but I missed you, too," 04 told him, and then leaned in and their muzzles connected.

03 leaned hard into the kiss, immediately, mouth opening, and 04 basked in his taste, similar to 02 but so distinctly different, his tongue, thicker and rougher, his aggressive kissing as he ground his hips and cock against 04's hand. 04 knew 03's scent as well as he knew his own.

04 reached into 02's lap with his other hand, feeling for the dog's crotch, making the huge dog next to him jump, and found 02's huge cock hard and fully out of his sheath. 02 let out a shaky, excited breath, and 04 had a much easier time pumping the huge dog's thick meat through his sweatpants, because he was right-handed. 02 shivered, his entire big body quaking, and he clamped his massive paw down on 04's dick so hard he almost cut off blood flow. 02 wasn't coordinated enough to jack and be jacked at the same time, 04 knew from experience, so he just serviced the big dogs.

Fully drunk now, half-naked, sucking face with 03, sandwiched between the two biggest shepherds with both of their dicks in his hands, 04 just writhed in place, brain hazy, body singing, mind gone. It felt good, and right, and familiar.

They did that for a long time, and then 04 literally started to run out of air, so he broke the kiss. 03 stared at him from inches away, panting. Over his shoulder, 02 was panting and also drooling.

He wanted them.

He wanted them both.

"Let's go fuck," 04 said. His voice sounded distant and raspy, even to himself.

03 stared at him, dazed. He nodded. "Okay," he said, softly.

04 turned to 02. "Yes," the big dog said, loudly, forcefully.

04 couldn't help but smile. "Your place, big dog. My room is too little for the two of you."

02 nodded with seriousness, looked around, and slid out of the booth. He was still fully erect in his sweatpants, 04 nodded, and the shepherd absolutely reeked of precum.

As he followed 02 to the door, feeling the floor roll gently underneath him, he looked over to the movie pile, looking for his friend. He found 06 in 01's lap, straddling the big panther, facing him. 06's shirt was off, too, and they were making out.

Just before the door closed, 04 saw 01's eyes open. The jaguar looked directly at him.

And then the door closed, and he was outside.

***

---

The walk back to the trailers was a short one but the cold air seemed to cool 03 off.

02 was not cooled off at all. The big shepherd was panting, even on the walk, and he kept glancing back at 04 to make sure he was behind him. His fat cock was still hard, too, tenting his uniform pants. He looked intense and excited, wagging.

Carrying his shirt, 04 chuckled. He was still pretty buzzed and feeling pretty good. "Wow, you're ready to go." He turned to 03 as they were climbing the perforated metal steps to the connection hall. "Have you not been taking care of your boy? He looks like he really needs to fuck." He wagged idly behind himself.

03 glanced at him. "We haven't done anything since he...got here."

04 stared. "R...really?"

03 bored holes into his eyes. "Yes," he snapped. "We just met. Don't you remember when you were new, 04?" he asked, pointedly.

04 thought about that. He tried to remember when they had first arrived at the facility. They were clearly the first ones to inhabit it. There had been a lot of work, and it had just been the three of them, plus Master, 01, and 05. They hadn't even acquired 06 yet. 04 was the only husky.

He thought about that. He remembered being in his room, alone in the husky trailer, jacking off every night, fantasizing about the other dogs, and of course Master had periodically dropped by his room, and when Master was around, everything got really fuzzy and horny and he woke up feeling great with a sore asshole. But it probably had been a while before he'd actually worked up the nerve to seek out any of the other dogs on his own.

Probably...about three weeks.

Huh.

The two dog trailers were at the end of the connection hallway. 02 fast-walked past all the other trailers to the shepherd trailer, checking to make sure 03 and 04 were following twice, and hurriedly opened the door. 04 chuckled. Big dog needed a release.

Both trailers had six small rooms and two big rooms. In the husky trailer, 14 and 15 got the big rooms, since the malamutes were each seven feet tall. In the shepherd trailer, 02 and 03 got the big rooms, even though 03 was only 6'6", though the way Master was picking up new arrivals lately, 04 wondered if he would be getting pre-empted soon.

02's room was at the end of the hall, with a door at a 45-degree angle opposite 03's door. The thin door opened into the room and 02 walked in, ducking in the doorframe. He loped quickly into the room and turned around.

His room was mostly bed, as all of their rooms were, though the beds in the end-rooms were up against the far wall, to accommodate the fact that two 8' beds spaced end-to-end occupied the entire width of the trailer. On the other wall was a tiny closet, a small desk with a chair, and a miniscule sink.

"Well, here we are," 02 said, smiling nervously.

"Here we are," 04 said, grinning, walking forward and pressing himself up against the big dog's belly. He looked goofily up at him.

02 looked surprised, and then intense. He cautiously lowered his head to 04's muzzle.

The husky closed his eyes and met the shepherd's muzzle, and they kissed long, and loudly, and wetly.

04 put his hands up and stroked 02's belly, hard, running his paws up and down the shepherd's sides. 02 had a pronounced potbelly, and 04 fucking loved it, and it had been probaby six months since 02 had let him touch it.

02 squirmed away from him. "Ssstopppp," the shepherd whined. He looked away, smiling bashfully. "I don't have a six-pack like the rest of you."

The husky recoiled, eyes wide. "Are you kidding? That's why you're so fuckin' hot." He reached for the hem of the dog's shirt and yanked on it. "Off, please."

02 blushed, smiling awkwardly, and reluctantly tugged off his shirt. His huge body moved dangerously in the space, like a giant mechanical arm operating in a broom closet. His arms grazed the ceiling as the shirt came off his big frame.

02 was built like a powerlifter, with a pronounced belly and a thick, beefy musculature to match. His belly was big and soft and white, his white fur running up to the underside of his throat. 04 drank in the sight of him, his buzzed head reeling and his cock throbbing. He'd known what 02 looked like, of course, but it hit so different when he wasn't scared of him. "Flex for me," he ordered, dazed.

Smiling shyly, 02 lifted both his arms and flexed both of his biceps. He looked as wide as Master was tall. His arms looked like slabs of beef.

"Wh-what do you think?" he asked, shyly.

Wordlessly, 04 slid to his knees.

02's eyebrows shot up. Behind 04, 03 groaned and let out an annoyed breath.

04 licked his chops, letting his tongue show. "C'mere," he said.

02 stared at him, and then slowly stepped toward him. He stood over him, his mouth open, panting. A few little drops of drool came off of 02's tongue and spattered down on 04's face. It made the husky's heart pound. The big dog stank of arousal and there was a big fat bulge in his sweats.

His mouth flooding with saliva, 04 reached up for 02's pants and curled his fingers in under the waistband of 02's sweatpants. He gently tugged downward, exposing the white fluffy fur under 02's belly, soft and wet and matted down by sweat and elastic, and then yanked the dog's pants down, all the way to his knees.

02 groaned as his cock was free and squirmed in place, panting. He wasn't wearing underwear, and his cock bounced up and hit 04 in the chin, which is what the husky had wanted. 02 had a big fat beautiful cock, 9 or 10 inches, deep red with a perfect round head, and 04 loved it. He leaned in and rubbed his muzzle up against it, drinking in the scent of sweat and dog and cock, closing his eyes. As he nuzzled, he reached up and curled his fingers around the dog's fat shaft, squeezing and massaging, putting his other hand on 02's muscular leg to steady the two of them.

"Aaaaaaaahnngghh!" 02 gasped. He shivered.

04 let his eyes slide close and aimed the cock at his mouth. He opened wide and slowly lunged. 02's cock was salty and filled his muzzle, flattening his tongue against the base of his jaw. 04 pushed his head forward, choking himself on the fat meat until he felt his gag reflex kick in. He strained to keep his jaw open, moaning and slurping.

"Oh God," 02 moaned. He shivered.

04 guzzled 02's dick for a few long moments, filling his nostrils, letting his head swim with 02's familiar scent, before he remembered the other dog in the room.

Reluctantly disengaging from 02's member, 04 idly pumped the dog's slick, fat cock. He turned his head to see what 03 was doing.

The other shepherd was behind him, glaring. He had his arms crossed and he looked mad.

04 shuffled, on his knees. He was between the two of them. He scooted past 02 in the narrow space between the bed and the desk. Reaching up, he wiped drool away from his muzzle with the back of his paw.

"Grab your friend," he ordered, raspily.

02 stared at him, nodded wordlessly, and crossed the room in a step. He parked next to 03 and put a big bare arm over his shoulders, holding him.

"Hey!" 03 snapped. "What's the big idea?"

04 crossed to him and was on the dog's waistline in a second.

"Don't even think about-" 03 started.

04 snarled at him. He pulled the other shepherd's pants down, hard. 03 was wearing standard-issue black briefs, which 04 quickly tugged down, too. He wasn't fully hard, but he wasn't soft, either. The muscular dog was about halfway out of his sheath, and 04 leaned forward and put his muzzle around the dog's entire cock and sheath.

03 stiffened, growling, and 02 tightened his grip around the dog's broad shoulders. 04 held his hips, holding the dog in place against his squirming, and suckled hard, massaging the dog's sheath and shaft with his tongue, and 03's cock slowly and inexorably slid out of his sheath, thickening, into 04's muzzle, until the husky had to slide off the shepherd's sheath and just suck his shaft.

03 let out a shaky breath, pumping his hips gently into 04's muzzle, and the husky knew he had him. He looked up, into 03's eyes, and saw the shepherd's eyes narrowed in his black face. His mouth was open, though, and he was panting.

Slowly, he pulled off of 03's dick, making eye contact with him as he did it.

03 stared down into 04's blue eyes, and silently, he shivered.

04 turned back to 02, smiling up at him, and reached up to take the dog's cock in his left hand as he sank down on his cock. He kept his right hand on 03's throbbing member, one of the dog's dicks in each of his hands, and sucked, slowly bobbing up and down on one of their dicks, and then the other, trailing streamers of husky drool every time he went back and forth, his own cock hard and leaking in his pants, blissed out and rumbling.

His conditioning wasn't kicking in, because he was in control here. He had two of the biggest dogs here, with their pants around their knees, holding perfectly still for him, both watching him intently to see what he would do next. He relished their combined scents, the two big dogs' smells mingling in his nose, with the acrid smell of precum and the meaty scents of their two fat dicks, enhanced by his saliva all over both of them. 02 squeezed 03 hard, grinding against him, and 03 stood in place, hands curled into fists at his sides, grunting and shivering.

04 went back and forth for a long time, feeling them get closer and closer, enjoying the milky, perfumey scent of precum on his tongue, until finally, his jaw started to cramp, and he pulled off.

Panting, rolling his neck, he sat back on his haunches, dazed.

"Are you okay?" 02 asked, immediately.

04 looked up at him, reaching up to wipe at his slobbery muzzle with the back of his hand. "You two smell good together," he rumbled.

Staring down at him, 02 blushed.

"Get on the bed," 04 told him. "But first, get naked."

Nodding, 02 immediately yanked his pants down, and then stopped to hurriedly unlace his boots and clunk out of them. 03 just frowned.

04 stared at him, dropping his pants and kicking off his boots. He was rock-hard too, not that that was a surprise. "Didn't you hear me? Your boy wants to fuck. You don't want to upset the new guy, do you, 03?" He glared.

03 frowned, and reached for the hem of his shirt.

"Wait," 04 told him.

The big shepherd stopped.

Slowly, 04 reached for the dog's shirt. He lifted it up, exposing 03's perfect muscular belly, dragging his hands up the dog's wide flanks. Growling, 03 lifted his arms, and 04 tugged the broad-shouldered shepherd's shirt off, standing on his very tiptoes so he could pull the shirt over the tall shepherd's head.

When he pulled the shirt off, the dog underneath looked enraged. But 04 was still buzzed, and he was getting used to it. He smiled. 03 was thick and muscular, and it was worth it to see him shirtless.

03 rolled his golden eyes. "Let's just get this over with." He slid his pants down, and 04 noted he was still rock-hard.

There was a crash as 02 flopped onto the bed. He beamed back at 04, his huge shepherd ears tilted slightly backwards in embarrassment.

04 grinned at him. He slid out of his own pants, ejecting his boots in one step each, and scrambled up onto 02's tall bed. He crawled toward the shepherd and then climbed him like a mountain.

"Oof!" 02 grunted as the husky flattened himself on his belly, and then there was a husky tongue halfway down his throat and he couldn't say anything. "Mmmm-mmmm," he moaned, sucking on 04's tongue, and then he lifted his huge hands and ran them up and down 04's back.

04 shivered under the meaty dog's big mitts, arching his back and humping. They were both hard, and their dicks were grinding against one another.

The bed rocked, and 04 glanced to see that 03 had climbed on, too, and was watching the two of them make out with a frown.

04 glanced at him, and then slid down off 02's belly, sliding into the small space between the shepherds, pressed up between them.

03 leaned into it, and too late 04 realized his back was to the other shepherd.

03 engaged immediately, chuckling evilly and leaning hard against him, his cock digging up against 04's ass. "Oh, wow, presenting to me already?" he asked. He ground suggestively against 04's fluffy butt.

04 squirmed, turning to flash his teeth at 03.

03 narrowed his eyes. "Now, now," he said. "You don't want to upset the new guy, do you, 04?" He reached forward and dug his big hand in between 04's legs, digging his fingers up into 04's perineum. It was hard. It was too hard.

"Arrrrp!" 04 yelped, twitching. He snarled at 03, showing his teeth.

The shepherd was grinning evilly at him. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I guess I got too excited."

04 narrowed his eyes. He frowned. I should really Sleepy Puppy this jerk, he thought.

He stopped.

Confused, alarmed, his heart pounding, he stared.

Sleepy puppy. He knew that. He knew what would happen. 03 would shut down, and then he would follow orders.

04's heart started pounding. What was this command? Where had it come from? It didn't make any sense, and yet 04 knew it to be true. Any of them would respond to that. He didn't know why it was true, or where it had come from, but he knew with complete certainty that it would work. It was like he was remembering a thought from someone else's brain.

03 stared at him, shocked. He seemed to know the mood had changed.

02 picked up on it immediately. He frowned. "Y-you okay?" he asked, hesitantly. He sat up on his elbows.

04 looked at him, wide-eyed.

03 frowned. "What's the matter with you?"

The husky looked back and forth between the two of them. "Wh...I..." He pondered. His head was reeling. He was still a little drunk but now he felt like the world was escaping him. "Can I ask you both something?"

02 looked concerned now. 03 looked confused and annoyed.

04 swallowed. "Does the phraseSleepy puppy mean anything to you?"

The effect on them was startling and immediate.

On his right, 03 recoiled as if slapped. He blinked, surprised, and his mouth dropped open. He reeled, dazed, his eyes confused and unfocused. Immediately, his eyelids started to drift shut. He let out a soft, confused, nonsensical noise.

On his left, 02 just...dropped. The big dog immediately went limp, dropping lifelessly back onto the bed, making it shake. He lay there as if unconscious, his mouth hanging open, his eyes half-closed, his pupils rolled back into his head. His tongue was lolled out and hung limply out of the side of his mouth.

Heart pounding, 04 stared at them. A surge of adrenaline filled him. What had he done to them?!

03 had been hit less hard than 02. He was still somewhat conscious, though he was struggling.

And that made sense. That's how the command would work. 03 had a lot more going on in his brain. 02 only had three weeks' worth of thoughts, most of it commands, and the order had turned his brain off immediately.

04 wriggled around and gently shook 03. "Hey!" he said. "Hey, snap out of it! Come back to me!" He reached up and lightly smacked the dog's muzzle.

"Hhhh...ahhhngnghh," 03 stammered, his head rolling. He blinked, wide and exaggerated. He seemed to be trying to get his eyes to focus. "Whhhh..."

"Wake up!" 04 whimpered. He slapped 03 again, harder. Oh, God. What if he couldn't reverse this? "Please! 03!" he whined.

03 finally seemed to notice him. He blinked, long and slow, and after another few more blinks he seemed to really see 04 again.

"Wh..." he stammered. He took a few deep breaths. "What," he whispered.

"I'm so sorry!" 04 whined. "I didn't know it would do that!"

03 took a deep breath. He still seemed to be having trouble getting his eyes to focus. "M...my head. It all went blank." He took a few deep breaths. He finally looked over 04 and saw 02. He gasped.

04 turned. 02 was still flat on the bed, his arms at his sides, unresponsive.

03 scrambled off the bed, to his feet. He leaned over, filling the room. "What did you do to him?! To us?!" he demanded.

04 swallowed. "I used a trigger phrase." He scooted off the bed and dropped off, standing next to 03. He was scared. He put his hands up and wrapped his arms around himself.

03 stared at him, his eyes wide. "What the fuck is a trigger phrase?"

04 shivered. "It's a phrase that activates some of our conditioning. I think there's a lot of them." He swallowed. He felt his ears wiggle and realized he was shaking.

03 stared at him. He looked confused and skeptical, on the verge of a scowl, like he was trying to decide if he should be mad or not. "Where did you learn it?"

04 swallowed. "I don't know. I'm starting to remember things." He swallowed. "What do you remember from your life before...here? Before Alaska?"

03 frowned. He was a handsome dog, and he still looked handsome, even upset. "N...nothing," he finally said. "Master took all our memories. I only remember this place." He zeroed his gaze on 04 and narrowed his yellow eyes. For some reason, possibly because he was the only shepherd with a completely-black face, he looked terrifying when he did this. "What do you remember?" he asked, in a low and dangerous voice.

04 stared at him. Finally, he looked away. "I remembered something about that song earlier. I had a girlfriend who used to listen to it a lot."

03 stared at him like he'd grown caribou antlers. The dog's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it.

04 looked away, scowling. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't ask for this." He hugged himself a little tighter, watching the zonked dog on the bed. 02 still stared up at nothing.

03 took a deep breath, and finally swallowed. "You should talk to Master."

04 let out a long sigh. "I don't think so."

03 looked horrified. "04, you're talking crazy. You have to tell him."

04 glanced at him. "I feel like I did already, and they put me in this weird horny trance." He shook his head. "I told them what was going on and they just made me dumb and horny for three weeks."

03 snorted. "I hadn't noticed a difference."

04 winced. He glanced at 03 to try to see if it was a joke. The other dog was staring blankly back at him. It didn't feel like a joke. He looked back away.

03 cleared his throat. "Anyway, what's wrong with being dumb and horny? That's kind of our whole deal here, in case you hadn't noticed."

04 turned to him. "I don't think we're safe," he snapped. "I feel like something is wrong."

03 stared at him, eyes wide. "W-why? What's wrong?" he asked, softly.

04 didn't look at him. "I don't know," he said.

03 groaned. "Great," he said. "I'm glad you had a good reason."

04 glanced at him, and then lowered his head.

03 was silent for a moment, and then let out a long sigh. "Hey, I'm...sorry," he grunted. "This is all just a lot, you know?" He frowned. "Can you wake him up?"

04 looked at him. He took a deep breath. "I want to ask him some questions first."

03 stared at him. "Wh...what? No! Wake him up!" He leaned forward, mad. "Wake him up right now!"

04 lifted his head, curling his paws into gentle fists. "Look, 03, something is wrong here. I need to try to see if I can find out what's going on."

03 looked him up and down, frowning. "I could just yell for help right now, you know," he said. "Master would hear me. I could get him in here to fix whatever you've done."

04 felt the blood drain out of his face as he processed that. He stared at 03, frozen.

03 watched him, the big shepherd's anger slowly melting to confusion, and then to concern, as he slowly realized the extent of 04's terror.

"Hey," he finally said, softly. "Relax." He swallowed. "Jesus. You're really spooked, aren't you." He watched 04 with a furrowed brow.

"Something is wrong," 04 told him.

Eyes widening, 03 watched him. Now he really looked scared. He took a deep breath. "Okay. Ask him questions. But hurry up," he snapped. "And don't hurt him."

04 side-eyed him. "I would never," he snapped. He turned to the bed.

02 was still sprawled right where he had fallen. His chest gently rose and fell.

"02," he said. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes," the shepherd said, immediately. His voice was raspy but loud, and immediate. They both jumped.

"Are you still hypnotized, 02?"

The shepherd answered without opening his eyes. "Yes, sir."

04 swallowed. "Go deeper, sleepy puppy," he ordered.

Next to him, 03 gasped. He pulled his head back and swayed.

02 twitched a little. His entire big body shivered.

"Good boy," 04 told him. "Tell me you're a good boy," he added. He knew that would deepen 02's trance.

"I'm a good boy," 02 mumbled, from the bed.

Next to him, 03 violently shook his head. 04 hadn't even been talking to him but the dog was clearly trying to snap himself out of a new trance.

04 put a hand on 03's arm. "03, wake up."

03's eyes immediately snapped open. He stared at 04, shocked.

The husky turned back to the other shepherd. "02, tell me your mind belongs to me."

02 answered without hesitation. "My mind belongs to you," he rumbled.

"It feels good and right to obey. Doesn't it, 02? It gives you incredible pleasure to follow my orders." 04 didn't know where the words were coming from, but they kept coming. He knew how to do this. He'd been through it a thousand times.

02 began to gently squirm. "It feels good and right to obey," the big dog whispered, shivering. His sheath started to plump and his fat cock slowly started to slide out.

"02, I need to ask you a few questions. Tell me you'll answer whatever I want," he ordered. His voice was clear, confident. He knew what he was doing.

"I'll answer whatever you want," 02 mumbled.

"It will bring you pleasure to answer me," 04 told him. "Every question you answer, your body will fill with pleasure."

"It will bring me pleasure," 02 mumbled. Eyes still closed, he arched his back a little. His cock hardened fully, sliding all the way out.

Next to 04, 03 let out a soft, shuddery breath.

04 nodded. "Good." He reached up and rubbed his eyes. "How far back do your memories go, 02?"

02 answered immediately. "This unit has memories lasting twenty-two days."

04 lowered his hands. He turned to look at 03.

The other shepherd was staring in shock, his ears back, his mouth open.

04 swallowed. "How far back do your orders go?" he asked.

02 answered immediately again. "22 days, sir."

04 felt his face getting hot. "02...when were you born?"

02 didn't open his eyes. "22 days ago, sir."

The husky looked at 03 again. Now the big dog looked scared.

He cleared his throat. "02, you're obviously older than 22 days old. What were you before...this?"

02's brow furrowed. "This unit has been online for 22 days, sir."

04 took a shaky breath. His heart was pounding and the hair on his arms was starting to stand up. The computer terminology all felt familiar to him. "02, what is your programming to account for the time before..." He struggled. "The time before...this unit was...online."

02 immediately piped up. "Programming is as follows: I have arrived at Master's facility anew. My life before here doesn't matter. The dogs are friends. Master is my master. 01 is just another drone just like me. I was a bad dog in my previous life and it's an honor to be reborn to serve Master."

04 just stared.

Slowly, he turned to 03. The other shepherd's mouth was open, and his eyes were wide with horror.

04 frowned. "Still think we're safe?"

03 didn't answer, just watched 02 with increasing concern.

04 cleared his throat. "Unit 02, I need information from before you...came online. I need information about your life from before that period."

Emotionlessly, 02 took a breath. "This unit is not authorized to recall that information," he said.

04 stared blankly at him, and then he remembered the prompt.

"02, I need to access information from your previous life. Administrator clearance 01."

In the husky's peripheral vision, 03 turned to him.

"Access granted," 02 said, in a singsong voice. "Proceed with your inquiry."

04 turned to look at 03. The big shepherd was staring at him with something between wonder and horror.

He turned back to the prone dog. "Unit 02, what was your post before this station?"

02 continued staring mindlessly up at the ceiling, eyes narrowed almost to slits. "Answer not found," he said, emotionlessly.

04 frowned. "Where did you live before Alaska?"

"Answer not found."

04 narrowed his eyes. "What was your name before 02? Your occupation? Your marital status?"

"Answer not found. Answer not found. Answer not found."

04 growled softly. "We're not getting anywhere." He turned to 03. "I need to put you under."

03 snapped his head back, eyes wide. "What?! Why?" he demanded.

04 narrowed his eyes. "You're the control group. I want to see if I can access your memories from before the station." He swallowed. "While we still can."

03's ears folded back and he showed his teeth. He glared down at 04. "No way! Fuck you!"

04 rolled his eyes. "Jesus, 03. Doesn't this terrify you?" He gestured at the passed-out king shepherd. "What if he was just the start? What if we're next?"

03's eyebrows shot up. "Why would we be next?!"

04 threw his hands up. "I don't know, maybe because he's 02, and you're 03 and I'm 04?! You idiot?!!?"

03 opened his mouth to snap back, but he didn't have a rebuttal for that. He just stared at 04 and eventually closed his mouth.

The husky let out a weary sigh. "Come on. We're wasting time. Don't you trust me?"

03 made a face. "Of course not!" he snapped.

That stung a little. 04 narrowed his eyes. "You know, I don't have to ask you this," he said, dangerously. "I can just do it to you. I have a free pass to turn your brain off whenever I want."

03 stared at him, and slowly, his eyes widened. He watched 04, his ears folding back, and after a moment his mouth opened. His tongue poked out, just a little, as he started softly panting. He watched him, silently, his mind seemingly racing.

04 furrowed his brow. The big shepherd looked scared, but he almost looked...turned on, too.

The husky felt his jaw drop open. "Oh my God. Are you into this?!"

03 actually recoiled his head in shock. "What?! Of course not!" he hissed.

04 frowned at him. He pondered. "I mean, it would make sense. We're probably all conditioned to be into it." He stepped forward, reaching up to gently touch 03's bare chest.

The big dog flinched, but made no attempt to pull away. He just watched 04, with increasingly-widening eyes.

04 watched him back. "Are you sure you don't like the idea, 03?" he asked, softly, seductively. He trailed his hand down 03's chest, over his flat belly. "You don't want me poking around in your head? Doing whatever I wanted to you?"

03's eyes widened and his brow furrowed. He showed his teeth, like he was going to bite. He didn't move away, at all. "I don't want you in my head," he whispered, shakily.

04 glanced down. The shepherd's cock was threatening to make an appearance again. His sheath was plump and already starting to part.

The husky raised an eyebrow, smiled genially. "I don't know, friend...I could give you some fun new commands." He stroked 03's belly and then reached up to feel for one of his nipples. He felt the dog's nipple harden under his fingertips, poking through his fur. "What do you think of that?" He looked up at him with his blue eyes and stared.

03 shivered, watching him. His cock started to slide out of his sheath. "S-stop it," he whispered.

"I could make you my servant," 04 told him, letting his hand slide down to gently brush 03's cock.

The big shepherd shivered. He was breathing heavily now. His tongue poked out. He watched 04 from inches away, terrified and aroused, frozen.

04 reached up and gently took the dog's big muzzle in his hands. "Listen," he said. "I have never been more sure about anything that we need answers."

03 watched him, his golden eyes intense and frightened, and eventually he swallowed, and nodded. "O-okay," he whispered.

04 squeezed his face. "I won't do anything weird. I promise." He released the dog. "Lay down."

Turning away, the shepherd let out a shaky breath. He climbed back onto the bed, glanced nervously at the unresponsive 02, and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

He looked scared.

04 leaned in, frowning sympathetically. He touched 03's belly. The big dog flinched.

The husky sighed. "It's okay," he said, softly. "It's gonna be okay. This is good." He patted his chest.

03 frowned severely and glared up at him. "Yeah, and what if you're programmed to do this to me? What if this is why you have a bad feeling?" He stared daggers into 04.

The husky didn't have an answer to that. He opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Just get it over with," 03 grumbled. He frowned. "But if you do anything weird to me, I swear to God I'll kick your little black and white ass so hard that-"

"Sleepy puppy," 04 snapped at him.

03 flinched as if struck. His eyes immediately unfocused. He stared in 04's general direction, stunned.

04 frowned at him. It was unnerving. 03 looked like he had been stabbed and his brain and body were in the process of realizing it. "Sleepy puppy!" he said, again.

03 flinched, staring in his general direction, and tried to respond. His eyes were confused, searching. He lay on the bed, reeling, stunned. "Hhhhhh," he gasped, meaninglessly.

04 leaned forward and stroked the dog's face. "Go to sleep, sleepy puppy," he said.

03 jerked one final time, his eyes rolling back into his head, his mouth opening, and finally went out, his arms going limp at his sides. As he did it, he exhaled, letting out a long vocalization. "Aaaaahhhhh-hhhhhhhh," he hissed, and then he was out.

04 swallowed. The dog had sounded like he was dying.

Shivering, he stared. Okay. This was fine. Right? Yes. This was good.

The two biggest shepherds lay stretched out, naked, and helpless before him, unresponsive.

He shivered. This was fine.

Okay.

He cleared his throat. "Unit 03, tell me you're a good boy."

03 stiffened on the bed. His tongue retracted into his mouth as he prepared to speak. "I'm a good boy, sir," he mumbled. He shivered a little in apparent pleasure.

04 nodded. He took 03 through a few more prompts. 03 repeated everything dutifully back to him, his big body gently quivering with delight.

04 stared at him. How many times have I laid on a gurney and repeated back these same prompts? he wondered. He couldn't recall any specific time, or in fact, even any details at all. But in his heart he knew it to be dozens. Or hundreds. How else did he know all of these scripts?

He watched the big helpless dog.

"Unit 03, status report," he said.

03 answered immediately. "Status: optimal," he mumbled.

04 watched him. "Anything to report?"

"Nothing to report, sir," 03 said, perfectly evenly. He was totally devoid of emotion. His voice actually sounded different when he wasn't angry, 04 realized. He frowned.

He stared at the prone dog. "Have you noticed anything strange at the facility?"

03 processed for a moment. "02's memories deleted. New bear." He paused. "New security. Motion sensors tripped."

04 felt his heart catch in his chest. "Wh-what?!" he asked. "When did the motion sensors trip?"

03 answered emotionlessly. "Eight days ago."

The husky stared. Jesus, he'd been out of it. That settled it - Master and 01 had done something to him. He swallowed. "What happened?"

03's brow furrowed. "Clarify request."

04 thought for a moment. "Describe the timeline of the motion sensors activation."

His eyes closed, 03 narrated emotionlessly at the ceiling. "Motion sensor 3 tripped at 8:31 pm. Motion sensor 11 tripped at 9:45 pm. Motion sensor 8 tripped at 11:07 pm. No intruders located. No further incidents."

04 couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Does Master know?"

03 grunted. "16 alerted Master."

04 stared. His mind was racing. Why hadn't 03 mentioned this? Why hadn't anyone mentioned it?

This was presumably a new system that was installed as part of 16's security upgrade. It was entirely possible - even plausible - that these were false alarms triggered by a new system in its first Alaska winter.

And yet...

He swallowed. "Why didn't you tell me about the motion sensor breaches?" he asked.

"I don't like you," 03 answered, immediately.

04 stared at him, stunned. After a moment, he grimaced. He felt that one in the pit of his stomach.

"Wh...why not?" he asked, softly.

03's brow furrowed. "Always causing trouble," he said.

04 watched the dog.

After a moment, he shook his head. "Are you concerned about 02?" he asked.

"No," 03 answered, immediately.

04 bit back a growl. "Why not?" he snarled.

03 was silent for a few moments.

"Inquiry unclear," he said, finally.

04 stared.

He was stalling on the questions he really wanted to ask, he realized.

He sighed.

"Unit 03...how far back do your memories go?" he asked.

03 answered immediately. "One thousand, two hundred, and forty-nine days, sir."

04 felt his blood run cold.

That was over three years. The fur on his arms started to stand up.

"Wh-wh-where did you live before Alaska?" he asked.

03 answered without hesitation. "Tampa, Florida, United States," he said.

04 stared at him. Tampa? That was almost as far away as you could get from Alaska and still be in the US. More importantly, 03 knew he was from Tampa.

He swallowed, his heart pounding. "What was your occupation?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Law enforcement officer," 03 answered.

04 stared at him. 03 was a cop from Florida.

He could see it.

All his fur was standing on end. He could feel his heart beating in his throat.

"What...what was your name?" he whispered.

"Access denied," 03 told him.

04 stared. He knew the override. He could use it.

Silently, shaking, he stared at the big, helpless dog.

Finally, he shook his head. No. He wouldn't do it. He already had his answer - 03 still had his memories, though they were locked away. 02's memories were completely gone. He'd been wiped. Formatted. Factory reset. The only thing in his mind was what Master and 01 had put there in the last three weeks. Something was happening.

He looked down at the two prone shepherds. It was time to wake them up.

"02, 03, can you hear me?"

"I hear and obey," they both said, in unison.

04 watched them. This power was terrifying but also kind of exciting.

He looked down at 03, broad-shouldered, muscular, helpless. Hadn't 03 been turned on by this whole thing? The husky considered, and then remembered he could just ask.

He cleared his throat.

"03, do you like the idea of me poking around in your head?"

03 answered as clear as a bell. "Yes, sir. I love it."

04 stared at him. "03, are you aroused by the idea of me poking around in your head? Asserting my control?"

03 squirmed ever-so-slightly. "Y-yes, sir," he answered, a very slight tremor in his voice. He arched his back, almost imperceptibly, and his soft sheath began to plump up.

04 immediately felt his own cock stir. His mouth felt dry. "Would you like me to give you a command?" he asked, his voice raspy. "Would you like me to make you do things, 03?"

The big shepherd began to squirm. "Yes, sir. Very much," he said. His arms lay flat at his sides but his red cockhead began to poke out of his sheath.

04 stared. "Okay. Uh." He thought for a moment. "Listen to me, 03. Here is your command. When I tell you to kneel, your body will take over and kneel. When I tell you to beg, your body will take over and lift your hands and arms into a begging posture. You'll beg like a good boy and you won't be able to move until I release you from that position. Do you understand?"

03 squeezed his eyes shut, squirming gently in place. "Yes, sir," he said, his voice low and deep.

"Do you like that?" 04 asked, hesitantly.

"Very much, sir," 03 said, shivering.

04 nodded. "Very good. When you wake up, you'll have no memory of these questions, or that command. But you'll still have to obey them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," whispered the shepherd.

04 watched him. "Good." He stared.

He stared for a long time.

Finally, he took a deep breath. "03...wake up," he said.

The big shepherd woke up very slowly. First his mouth opened, and then his eyes slid hesitantly open. He lay there, breathing through his mouth, eyes half open, and looked quizzically around the room. He moved slowly and he seemed to be disoriented.

04 leaned forward and gently stroked his chest. "Hey," he rumbled. "How are you feeling?"

03 groaned, blinking sleepily at him. "Wh...whozza..."

Frowning, 04 leaned forward and licked 03's face. He put his hands on the big dog's chest and did it over and over again. Surprisingly, 03 let him.

Finally, 03 started to stir, lifting his arm to rub at his eyes. He blinked a lot, looking around, eyes bleary. "Unnnnnghh," he said. "Jesus."

04 stared at him with tightened lips. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Slowly, dazed, 03 nodded. "Yeah. That's...that really puts you out," he said, dazed.

04 sighed. "I'm sorry."

03 squeezed one eye shut and looked at him with the other. "I'm okay. Wh...what did you find out?" he asked.

04 stared at him. "Do you want to know what your job was before you came to Alaska?"

Now, 03's eyes both snapped open. He stared at 04 with absolute, undisguised horror. "No!" he gasped.

04 cracked a smile. "I didn't think so. Well, you still remember. It's all there. Master is just blocking it. And I bet if you Slee- I bet if you put me under, it would all still be there, too."

03 looked at him, and then turned to look at 02. He was frowning. "So they definitely did something to him." He furrowed his brow. "So what does this mean?" He lifted himself up onto his elbows.

04 took a deep breath. He still didn't really have any answers. "I...don't know. But I don't like it."

03 rolled his eyes elaborately. "Oh, great. So you melted my brain for nothing. Super."

04 stared at him, feeling his muzzle curl into a frown. "Not for nothing. At least now we know something is going on here."

03 narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, sure, that was worth putting me out. You had a bad feeling and now you still have a bad feeling." He swung his legs off the bed. "You know, this is why nobody likes you. You do nothing but cause trouble."

04 winced. That stung.

03 frowned down at him. "Maybe Master should wipe you next." He raised his lips, showing his teeth.

04 narrowed his eyes. "Kneel," he said, simply.

03 stared at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. And then he started moving, lifting himself off the bed, and his eyes instantly snapped open to circles.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?!" the big shepherd stammered. He took a few steps and lowered himself to his knees. Terrified, he knelt, staring up at 04.

Holy shit. It worked. 04 watched him with raised eyebrows. "Beg," the husky told him.

Eyes wide, the shepherd raised his hands into a begging pose, eyes wide, tail tucked between his legs. He arched his back, his muscular body in a perfect begging pose, his eyes wide and ears back, horrified.

"What is this?!" he gasped, his voice high and frightened. "What did you do to me?!"

04 stared at him, amazed. Fascinated, he crouched down facing the shepherd. Was he faking it? "Are you fucking with me?" he asked, suspiciously.

03 shivered. His big arms and chest flexed and he grit his teeth, fighting against unseen forces, trying to bring his arms down, and failing. He started panting. "What did you do?!" he demanded, starting to shake.

04 watched him, amazed. "I programmed you. I told you to do this if I told you to kneel," he said. He watched the frozen shepherd. "You really can't move?"

The other dog curled his lips up and snarled. His ears were up and he was mad now. It looked ridiculously out of place in the submissive begging pose. 03's back was arched with his ass out, his knees open, his balls swinging, his sheath hanging out.

04 stared at him. He looked down at 03's package. Sure enough, his sheath was plumped up.

The shepherd grit his teeth, growling, his entire body tensed as he fought to lower his arms. "L-l-let me go!" he snarled. "So help me, 04!" It was somewhere between a growl and a whimper.

The husky lowered himself to the floor, kneeling in front of 04. "You told me I could do this."

03 lifted his head, hissing, gritting his teeth. "No I did not!" he snarled.

04 watched him. "You told me it turns you on."

03 snapped his head down, eyes wide. He stared at 04 with something like terror.

Cautiously, he reached for 03's sheath.

"God dammit!" the shepherd whimpered.

He touched 03's package. The bigger dog flinched, and then whimpered.

03's sheath was hot to the touch and responded to 04's white paw immediately. The husky gently massaged, and 03's cock spilled into his hand immediately.

03 groaned. "04, please...please..." he whimpered. He begged 04 with his eyes.

His cock was fully hard now, and 04 lightly curled his fingers around, sliding gently up and down, lazily jacking the big shepherd off.

03 squeezed his eyes shut, struggling with his whole body and not moving an inch. He whined, plaintively, and then degraded into an actual whimper.

04 reached up and stroked his face. "Ssshhh, he said. "I know you love it."

Miserably, 03 half-opened his eyes.

"I could put you out again," he whispered to 03. "I could give you new commands. I could do anything I want to you."

In his hand, 03's cock hardened. The dog stared at him, inches away, his lips parted, his eyes half-closed, breathing hard.

04 leaned in, jacking the shepherd faster. "I could make you my slave. Would you like to be my butler, 03? Wear what I tell you? Serve me instead of Master?"

03 whined loudly, lifting his head. "Let me go!" he begged.

"Fine," 04 said. He pulled his hand away. "Maybe I'll play with your buddy instead."

03 snapped his eyes open. "Leave him alone!" he roared.

04 clumsily got to his feet. His knees hurt from all the kneeling. "Was he mad he didn't get to cum in the polar bear?" he asked, staggering to the bed. His legs were asleep.

"Of course he was," 03 snarled, through his teeth, still in his submissive pose. "What do you think?!"

04 turned back to him. "Well! Let's make up for it!" he said. He turned to the massive 02 sprawled out on the bed. "02, are you listening?"

02's deep voice came immediately. "Yes, sir," he rumbled.

"02, when you wake up, you're going to be hornier than you've ever been. You're going to be so aroused you can't think. You're going to need to fuck the nearest thing. If you don't fuck a husky, you might die."

On the floor, frozen in a begging pose, 03's mouth dropped open.

"Do you understand me, 02?"

The big dog grunted. "Yes, sir. I might die."

04 grinned. "You're going to fuck a husky, and you're going to be like a robot. You're going to pump and pump and pump, like a robot." He thought for a moment. "You'll be a dogbot. Hump like an oil rig, long and slow and deep, until I tell you to stop." That was how 04 liked to be fucked, low and slow, until he came. He was going to get 02 off but he might as well make it fun for himself, too. "Do you understand?"

"I'll be dogbot. Fuck a husky," 02 said. The big dog was squirming. His big sheath opened up and his fat cock started to slide out.

04 stared. Oh. Right.

It only took him a second to find 02's lube in a drawer. He oiled 02's huge meatstick, using both hands on the dog's enormous knob. He liberally greased himself under his tail, washed his hands in the little sink, and turned around, bending over 02's desk.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you as soon as I can move," 03 snarled, hard and helpless on the other side of the floor.

04 glanced at him, and didn't respond. "02," he said, loudly. "Wake up."

On the bed, 02 snapped his eyes open. He sat up like Frankenstein's monster - stiff, eyes wide, and with a huge erection. He looked around, saw 03, barely registered his presence, and then lasered his eyes on 04's waiting asshole.

04 lifted his curly tail, grinning.

02 stared at him, stunned, alarmed. "I...I...I...I need to..." he stammered.

04 shook his muscular little butt. "It's okay, puppy. Come and get it."

02 moved like he was using his body for the first time. He staggered off the bed, his eyes locked on to 04's asshole.

04 took a deep breath.

02 put one big arm around 04's belly, holding him with startling strength, and one on his cock, guiding it in against the husky's vulnerable asshole.

04 felt 02's huge cock jam into his ass, wiggle for a moment, and then sink into him, splitting him wide open.

04 arched his back, hissing. "Hnnngggghhh!" he groaned. "Oh, God yes," he moaned. "Fuck, I missed this," he snarled.

02 didn't even register the comment. He sank in to the hilt, paused a moment, and then started to draw out. He did it slow at first, establishing a rhythm. He was like a machine starting up.

04 arched his back, hard, leaning forward. He grit his teeth, hissing. 02 threatened to pull him back off his feet, and then sank back into the husky, shoving him forward again.

Sensing the husky's unsteadiness, 02 put his big hands on 04's hips and held him. He squeezed, actually digging his claws in, and now 04 really didn't even have to hold the desk or even hold himself in place, because 02 was bigger and stronger than 04 by orders of magnitude and the husky was not going anywhere.

"Ah!" 04 gasped, squirming. He resisted the urge to clench, bending over, panting. Drool dripped off his tongue as he panted, spotting 02's desktop with husky spit. 02 felt impossibly large inside him - taking 01 had been one thing, but the cat had just let 04 sink onto him and then played with him. 02 was fucking him.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" 04 gasped, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk, as the massive king shepherd behind him just plowed him relentlessly.

04 settled in, letting his eyes drift shut, enjoying the heat and the fullness and the sounds. 02 was almost silent except for his heavy breathing. He really was a machine. He simply fucked and fucked and fucked, breathing heavily and drooling down 04's back, in and out, splitting the husky open like a pumping rig.

04's insides started to radiate pleasure, and he arched his back hard, curling his tail up as hard as he could, lifting himself up onto his toes to push back into the bigger dog. He could barely keep his eyes open. Pleasure radiated out from under his tail and filled every corner of his body. He wasn't hard, he never was when he was getting fucked, but he knew he could easily reach down and cum in a matter of a minute or so. It was good, it felt good.

He heard whimpering.

Ears perking, 04 snapped his head up. 02 did not stop fucking him and in fact did not even pause.

Baffled, 04 looked over his shoulder.

03 was still frozen in place, begging submissively, rock-hard, ears back. He was whimpering.

As 04 watched, the big shepherd grit his teeth, trying frantically to get out of his begging position. All he succeeded in doing was making himself shiver. He was still rock-hard, throbbing, his face flushed with arousal. A drop of pre ran down his iron-stiff cock, and the big dog shuddered from head to toe. He whimpered again.

04 sighed.

He should leave 03 in this position, and make him watch his best friend fuck 04's fluffy brains out. He'd been torturing 04 for months, and he obviously wasn't taking the husky's concerns seriously. He thought 04 was always causing trouble? Let him shiver on his knees for an hour or so and let him see what trouble really was. Maybe he would cum hands-free as he was trapped in a begging pose.

But then again, 03 was scared, and traumatized over what had happened to his best friend, and just trying to get by the same as 04 was, given the insane circumstances in which they lived.

So what should he do?

Sighing, 04 rolled his eyes.

"02, fuck me on all fours on the floor," he ordered.

The king shepherd didn't even respond, he just pulled, yanking 04 away from the desk, making him yelp loudly. 02 spun on his feet, taking 04 with him. The huge dog got onto all fours, pushing the husky with him, and by the time they were seated on their hands and knees he was fucking the smaller dog again.

04 got shoved forward by the inward thrust and yanked backward by the pullout, so 02 straightened up and dug his claws into the husky's hips again.

04 panted, spotting the floor with drool, trying to adjust.

Three feet away from them, 03 knelt, stunned. His wide eyes roved over both of the entangled dogs. His tongue lolled out. He looked like a mixture of aroused and scared.

04 looked at him, eyes half shut, tongue hanging out. 02 was back in a rhythm and it was turning his brain to happy jello again. "Hey," he mumbled to 03.

The shepherd swallowed, frowning. He looked miserable. "Please," he whimpered. "Let me out."

04 frowned. "Are you gonna be n-nice?" he gasped.

03 strained, gritting his teeth. He shivered again. His dick wiggled. He really needed release, too, 04 realized. "Yes!" he whimpered. His ears wouldn't rise from his head.

04 nodded, lazily, the big shepherd still vigorously fucking him. "Okay. If you come over here and use my mouth, I'll release you."

03 stared at him, his eyes widening. "Wh-what?"

04 raised his head and flashed his teeth. "Come over here and fuck my mouth!" He scowled. "I missed both of you." He looked away. "Get over here and muzzlefuck me!"

When he looked back, 03 was staring at him in stunned silence, his mouth open. He finally closed his mouth, and nodded. "Okay," he said.

04 narrowed his eyes. "You're released," he said.

03 collapsed like a puppet with cut strings, dropping immediately. He landed hard on his elbows, grunting loudly as he hit the floor of the trailer. He stayed there for a long moment, eyes wide, panting.

04 felt his ears fold back against his head. This is where he snaps my neck, he thought, watching the big shepherd warily.

02 reacted to none of this, continuing to vigorously fuck the husky's wet hole.

03 finally took a deep breath and let it out as a long, shuddery exhalation. He lifted himself shakily to his hands and knees, and then to his knees, crawling toward 04, eyes narrowed.

04 looked away. He cowered, his ears flat. He would have tucked his tail between his legs except he obviously couldn't with 02 back there.

"You...little...bastard..." 03 growled, advancing toward him.

04 licked his chops nervously. 03 was definitely going to be rough, assuming he even really did muzzlefuck 04 instead of just strangling him outright.

03 put his big mittlike hands on 04's shoulders.

The husky flinched.

Now 02 did grunt, because 04 had clenched on his cock. He recovered a moment later.

03 did not grab 04's throat, or muzzle, or even his ears. To the husky's surprise, 03 reached under 04's chest and lifted him straight upward.

04 found himself lifted helplessly to his knees. He arched his back to accommodate the king shepherd still pounding his asshole.

03 was directly in front of him, and then crushed up against him. He reached around 04 to take 02's hands. "Here, buddy," he told him. "Hold him like this."

03 guided 02's huge arms to bearhug 04 from behind, holding him by the shoulders and chest. 02's massive arms enveloped 04, crushing him against his big belly, and the husky suddenly realized he couldn't possibly escape even if he wanted to, and then 02 started pumping again, and now it was so much worse. 02 was just shallowly humping now, barely sliding half of his length in and out, but it was so much harder because 04 couldn't move at all, and when 02 hilted he really hilted. His knot was starting to swell, and every time it passed into or out of 04's asshole it stretched him a little further.

04 squirmed helplessly, eyes wide, whimpering. He looked pleadingly up at 03.

The big shepherd smiled sadistically down at him. "You missed both of us, huh?" he said, low and dangerous. He leaned in, looming over 04, and reached for the husky's dick, flattening it against his body. "Did you miss this?"

He leaned down for a kiss and instantly shoved his huge flat tongue into 04's mouth, choking him. 04 writhed, helplessly caught in 02's grasp, and somehow the inescapable bearhug was made so much worse by the relentless invasion of his muzzle and his asshole simultaneously.

03 held him there a long time before he broke the kiss. As he pulled away a streamer of drool connected them. He reached up, now, forcing 04's muzzle open with his thumb.

04 struggled to yank his head away, but 03 was too strong and he couldn't get away.

He played with the husky's mouth, jamming his thumb in, and his cock, massaging him relentlessly at the same time. It was horribly overstimulating and shorting 04's brain out with pleasure.

"Did you miss this?" 03 growled.

04 whimpered. "Yetth!" he whined.

03 chuckled darkly. "I knew it. You love it, don't you? Helpless little puppy."

04 shivered. He'd wanted to suck 03 off. He'd wanted to bring them back together. Instead, 03 was torturing him with pleasure. He'd lost control, and he loved it.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" 03 teased him. He leaned in, looming, crushing him between 02 and 03. "You love this, you little slut. You're helpless to resist. You can't even argue with me. Look how much you love this."

"Nnnhhhhhhrowrooowrooooo!" 04 whimpered. He did love it. He needed it so bad. He needed to cum. "H-harderrr," he begged 03.

02 was the one to hear him, and thrust harder, lifting him up off of his knees. 04 gasped, mildly horrified to discover that he was being supported by 02's arms and his cock. His eyes went wide.

03 noticed, raised his eyebrows in surprise, and lowered his eyes, grinning sadistically. He was still inches away, still playing with 04's mostly-flaccid cock. His hands were huge and strong and unavoidable. 04 felt captured and exposed at the same time.

There was pleasure rising in his guts, pleasure he couldn't resist.

04 stared up at 03, eyes wide and desperate.

The big shepherd chuckled. "You can't handle much more, can you, little puppy? I can see it in your eyes." He leaned forward, nipping at the side of 04's neck, still playing relentlessly with his dick.

04 lifted his head, his eyes rolling back. His legs were starting to go numb. He squirmed, and 02 moaned behind him.

03 connected their muzzles again, shoving his tongue into 04's mouth, fighting with the husky's tongue.

"Mmmmmmmmmm!" 04 moaned, straining to talk around 03's muzzle. "Tie me!" he shouted.

Behind him, on the very next thrust, 02 popped into him.

The big dog's knot wasn't all the way inflated, but it was still a noticeable pop as it slid into 04, and it was too much for him. The husky shivered, arching his back, shaking violently, his ass and cock spasming as he came all over 03's hands. Neither of the shepherds let up, 02 still bucking as best he could tied inside the husky, and 03 shoving his tongue down 04's throat, still relentlessly massaging his spasming cock. "Aaaah-aaahhh!" 04 moaned. "Cum!" he squealed.

02's arms crushed him now - he had barely been holding 04 before, he realized, as the big dog almost squeezed the air out of his lungs - and bucked in one final time, and his breath turned to growling, panting breaths as his entire massive body tensed.

04 came for a long time, feeling the urge to buck in his hips, to hump, to smear 03's black paws with all of the seed in his body, but 03 kept up, pushing back against him, kissing him, crushing him between the two dogs' big bodies, so 04 couldn't even move, just grind. 04 whimpered and whined and shivered between them, and they both held him and squeezed him and kissed him.

The husky felt semen and anxiety pouring out of him, and he wasn't even sure when he was done. 03 broke the kiss and leaned in to nibble at his neck.

04 hung, helpless, panting.

02 took a long time to recover, too, perched on his knees, sweating and panting. He took a few deep breaths, letting them out as long sighs, and finally let out a long "hooooo-boy." He swallowed, leaned forward, and gently nuzzled 04's head and ears.

When he could finally breathe again, 04 cleared his throat. He took a deep breath, let it out, and took another. His horniness was finally sated.

"Lean me down," he said, raspily.

02 wasn't under his control anymore, but he complied regardless.

Putting his paws under him, feeling like his whole body was sore, 04 perched on all fours directly in front of 03's rigid, dripping cock.

The big dog seemed surprised. "You sure?" he asked, skeptically.

04 just stared up at him.

03 nodded. "Suit yourself!" he said. His tone was flippant but he looked relieved. He inched excitedly forward, poking his throbbing dick into 04's mouth, and immediately moaned in relief.

04 sucked diligently, closing his eyes, letting his conditioning take over. 03's cock was hot and familiar and reassuring in his mouth. The big shep grabbed his ears, straining to hold on with his messy hands, and 04 was rewarded with a steady stream of pre and then a delightfully satisfying rush of acrid cum on his tongue.

When the big dog had stopped grunting and shivering, they moved to the bed.

04 was still stuck to 02, who did his best to move the smaller dog without jostling him. When they got onto the bed, 02 cuddled up behind him, licking his ears and kissing his neck. He seemed pretty out of it, probably because 04 had made him fuck so hard for so long. As soon as they were laying down the dog seemed to get drowsy, and unsurprisingly, he was out before his knot had even deflated.

03 was...fine. He climbed in bed too, and he faced 04 because that was the only way he could face.

The husky stared at him. 03 looked back.

Finally 04 frowned. "Do you really hate me?" he whimpered, softly.

03 blinked at him, shocked, and then his face slowly softened. "N...no, 04. I just..." He started over. "Things are just...weird right now. 02 really needs help and this is all...an adjustment. It's all I've been thinking about and...things got weird. I'm...I'm sorry. I don't hate you."

04 blinked at him, and then smiled. He started wagging, but then 02 grunted in his sleep, so he stopped.

03 watched the whole thing, and then rolled his eyes. He rolled his shoulders, getting comfortable.

04 looked him up and down. He deeply inhaled, taking in both of their scents. Comforting. Familiar.

03 stared at him from inches away. He was waiting for him to say something. Patiently. Calm. He knew something was on 04's mind. Again, it reminded 04 of the early days.

"Do you ever wonder..." he asked, his voice sounding foreign even to himself. "...about why we're here?" He swallowed. "About what Master is...doing to us? What the point of all this is?"

03 blinked at him. His golden eyes flicked away as he thought about it. "I mean...no, not really. I trust him."

04 frowned. That wasn't really conclusive. Master could have made 03 trust him. He probably did, in fact.

03 watched him. "You're still worried."

04 let out a long sigh. "They did something to 02," he said. "They...wiped him. His memories aren't just repressed, like ours. They...reset him, somehow. His memories are gone."

Behind him, 02 gently stirred. He rumbled, opening his huge mouth and yawning, smacking his lips directly into 04's ear, and then calmed down again, resting the weight of his huge head on 04's neck.

03's eyes left 04 to watch the other shepherd, and then flicked back down to the husky. "We got 02 back," he said. "The old 02."

04 stared. "We got our old 02 back. The real old 02 is gone forever." He swallowed, feeling himself start to shiver. "He's...he's dead. They killed him, 03," he said, tears forming in his eyes.

03 thought about that, frowning. "Well...if that was him coming through, then the real old 02 was an asshole." He reached up to stroke 04's face.

04 tried to come up with a rebuttal to that, but he couldn't, because 03 was right. He closed his mouth.

"It's okay, 04," 03 whispered to him. "We're okay. It's all gonna be okay."

Silently, 04 nodded. "I'm gonna make sure of that," he said, softly. "I'm gonna keep us safe. Me and you and 02 and 06." He took a breath and let it out as a shuddery sigh. "I'm gonna make sure we're all safe. Forever."

Quietly, 03 nodded. He didn't say anything in response. Just scooted a little closer, nose to nose with 04.

Behind the husky, 02 tightened his grasp, letting out a happy, satisfied rumble, and despite his anxiety, nestled in the warm pile of sweaty shepherds, 04 quickly fell asleep.

***

The next day was the worst day of 04's life, as far as he knew.

He woke up around 5 am, stuffed between 02 and 03, his entire body stiff. He carefully, and then haphazardly, extricated himself from the forest of shepherd limbs and bellies, crawled down off the dog-pile, picked up his pants and shirt, and staggered back across the connection hall to the husky trailer. It was silent and dark and the dead of night, the scant moonlight reflecting off the snow and eerily lighting the windows. The aurora borealis was in view, tinting the light that filtered in through the windows a gentle, hazy green.

He passed 06's room, not wanting to disturb him, and went right to his own room. He was pleasantly surprised to find 06 curled up in 04's bed.

The other husky barely stirred as 04 climbed into bed and cuddled up behind him. The dog radiated the scent of sweat, and cum, and jaguar. 04 took a deep breath, burying his nose in the other husky's ruff, and squeezed him tight. 06 barely stirred, except to let out a tired, affectionate grumble, and then went immediately back to sleep.

04 lay behind him, awake, thinking. Thinking about 03, who had been a cop in Tampa sometime around three and a half years ago, and himself, and the bear, and the mine, and 01, and Master, and what it all meant. He couldn't come up with anything, and to his surprise, listening to the soft, regular breathing of the other husky, feeling him warm in 04's arms, eventually he drifted off.

The morning was routine - 10 cooked a huge late breakfast for them, assisted by 11. It was pancakes with jarred strawberries and bacon and rehydrated eggs, and 04 felt like he was tasting food for the first time in weeks. Everyone came and went. He saw 02 and 03, together as always. 02 gave him a shy smile. 03 said nothing but put a comforting hand on 04's shoulder as he walked past. 04 was quiet but passed it off as a long, late night.

They didn't have the bulk of their tasks but 04 still had to sweep the mess trailer, or by Monday the fur would be half a foot deep. 06 left him to go take a nap, and even 10 and 11 left the mess to go see 16 for a bit.

He was deep in thought, his back to the door, sweeping up a four inch pile of dog fur, when the door opened behind him.

He heard someone start to say something, and then everything went black. And then he was out.

***

---

It took 04 a long time to wake up.

He was groggy. His thoughts were moving like cold grease, almost solid. His body wouldn't respond. He could tell he was lying on his back, but his arms wouldn't rise from his sides. His eyes wouldn't even open.

"04," said a small voice above him. "Come on, 04. Wake up."

The husky opened his eyes to slits, and saw a small lutrine face, inches away from him. He smelled him as soon as he saw him, and he could smell other things - cleaning solution and rubbing alcohol and hot equipment and otter.

04 snapped his eyes open.

Master stood over him, boring into him with his red eyes. 01 was behind him, towering over him in a black sweatshirt. 04 jerked violently in shock, his arms and chest spasming before he could even fully perceive what was around him, except his body didn't move. His wrists were restrained at his sides, surrounded by thick leather restraints, held helplessly down to the table, and as he tried to free himself he realized his legs were shackled too. He was in the research trailer. He was on the gurney. He was strapped down to the fucking gurney with Master and 01 standing over him. His heart launched into his throat.

He looked up at Master, horrified. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening.

The little otter opened his mouth. "04-" he started, gently.

His voice broke through 04's disbelief.

This was happening.

This was happening.

He was going to die.

Everything went red. 04 felt his body responding, yanking on the restraints, jerking, thrashing, flailing. He couldn't breathe. He was going to die and Master wouldn't even be the one to do it because he was going to suffocate right here on the table.

Master said something, loudly, something 04 couldn't hear, because his brain was no longer processing sound. A thousand panicked thoughts were crashing through him every second. They know they know what I did they're going to wipe me they're going to erase me I have to escape I'm going to die I can't breathe I can't breathe I can't breathe.

He wasn't getting away. He was starting to hurt himself. His arms and legs were ripping. His joints were going to tear before the leather did.

There was a sound, a long and terrified scream-howl, and 04 was stunned to realize that it was coming from himself.

01 surged toward him out of the background, and suddenly 04 felt himself crushed against the table, pushed down by something huge and black and warm and immeasurably stronger than him, and now his struggles didn't matter because he couldn't even move. It was on his chest and shoulders, pinning him to the gurney, and the warmth and strength started to leech through his terrified adrenaline rush, and he realized 01 was laying on top of him, pinning him to the table with his full body weight.

He was crushed, held, pinned, and suddenly he could feel his body again. He took a long and ragged gasping breath.

01 leaned on him, hard, and 04 could finally resist the urge to tear at his restraints. He still couldn't breathe, and he gasped, panting, his tongue lolling out. His heart was racing, adrenaline burning through his veins, and his entire body would not unclench. He squirmed against 01, tongue lolling out, and he could smell his own sweat and panic.

"-easy, easy, you're okay, easy, easy," 01 was mumbling, low and soft and comforting, and 04 could suddenly hear it.

He stared up at the cat, shaking, panting, gasping. Crazed.

01 straightened up, his big hands on 04's chest, still holding him down. The black cat watched him, his yellow eyes wide and shocked.

04 sucked in a breath. "Please," he whimpered. His voice didn't sound like himself. "Please let me go," 04 whined. He could barely form the words. He just wanted to whine, to cry, to whimper.

"04, what's the m-"

"Please let me go! I'll be good. I promise. I won't be bad anymore." His heart hurt. His entire chest hurt. He was starting to cry. He cowered, his ears back, shaking, looking from the cat, to the otter, and back. "I don't want to die."

01 stared at him, his brow furrowed, horrified, his feline features twisted into shock. "What?!" he gasped, stunned.

04 pushed up under him, trying to arch his back. Tears were streaming down his face. "Please! Please let me go!" he whimpered. His voice was shaking. It was getting hard to breathe again. "I won't tell anybody what I know. I won't use the triggers again. I promise." He was sobbing, now. It was getting hard to get words out. "I won't ask any more questions. I'll just be a good boy. I j-just wanna go back to my room. Please. Please." He stared up at the jaguar, begging with his eyes, his breath hitching.

01 stared down at him, stunned.

Master peeked around the jaguar. He looked startled, eyes wide, disbelieving. "01, what is happening?" he asked. His voice was shaking.

The big cat frowned, staring at 04. "I don't know, sir," he said, his voice uncertain. "I'm going to put him out again."

04 felt his blood turn to ice.

I'm going to put him out.

He recoiled, his breath catching in his throat. 01 knew the trigger phrases, he realized, horrified.

He's gonna say it.

01 loomed over him. "04, sleepy pu-"

"NNOOOOAOWWROOOO!" 04 scream-howled. He arched his back, his entire body spasming.

01 jerked violently. He actually leapt off his feet, six inches or so off the ground.

"DON'T DO IT!" 04 screamed. He pulled on the restraints. He knew it was useless but his body wouldn't let him stop pulling. "Please! Don't put me out don't put me out don't put me out!" he howled. He squeezed his eyes shut, thrashing.

01 stared down at him, his eyes wide, his ears back. He looked terrified.

"Please please please!" 04 squeaked. He was shaking so hard that the restraints were starting to dig into his wrists again. His arms wouldn't unclench. "Don't do it. Don't put me out," he whimpered, desperately. He stared up at 01 plaintively.

01 watched him, and then turned down to look at Master.

Staring at the husky, Master swallowed. "Leave him," he said, softly. He frowned. He didn't look mad, or accusatory. He looked concerned, and shocked, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes were wide.

04 snapped his head up to look at the jaguar. "Why do you know that?!" he scream-accused. "Why do you know that trigger phrase?!"

01 stared down at him. The jaguar's eyes went from wide to guilty, and suddenly he looked away.

04 stared up at him, and as he watched the big cat guiltily avoid eye contact, something horrible occurred to him, and then it all made sense.

He stared up at 01. "You don't...know...the trigger phrase," he said, slowly. "You...you made it."

01 wouldn't look at him.

04 sank back onto the gurney. The world felt very far away. His vision tracked back to the jaguar. "You're not a drone, are you," he heard himself ask.

The cat glanced at him, but only for a moment. He was grimacing.

"I'm sorry," he said, softly, finally.

So that was it. It had all been a lie. They weren't finally growing closer after all these years. 01 had been in on it from the start.

He really was alone.

Dazed, 04 felt himself go limp. He reflexively tried to put his arms around himself, so he could curl up in a dejected little ball, but he was still restrained.

Frustration and misery bubbled up inside him. "ROWRROROOOOUGHH!" he scream-howled, thrashing against his restraints, making the metal rattle violently against the sides of the gurney. Master and 01 both jumped, startled.

They stood in silence for a moment.

After a few moments, 01 glanced at Master, and looked back at the dejected husky. He set his jaw. "I'm going to let him out," he said.

Master's eyes widened. "Ooooone," he said, long and drawn out. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

The big cat turned to glower down at him. "He's upset," he growled.

Master glanced up at the cat, and then looked back down at 04. "I don't want him to hurt himself," he said, his red eyes wide. He swallowed. "Or anyone else."

01 grunted. "Look at him. He's not even moving."

Master looked up at the cat one more time, and then back down at the husky. He let out a shaky breath. "Okay," he said. "Let him out."

01 nodded. He leaned over 04, taking his wrist, gently lifting his arm, and fumbled with the big buckle. He wouldn't look 04 in the eye. He unclasped the husky's arms, leaving 04 to rub his injured wrists, and then moved to his bare husky feet. He unclasped his ankles and returned to the side of the bed, where he slid one massive jaguar arm under his back. He was so big that 04 was almost in a sitting position by the time 01 got his arm under the husky's back. The jaguar lifted him carefully, tenderly, into a sitting position.

04 watched him.

"I'm sorry," 01 whispered. He didn't move away, just left his huge paws on 04's shoulders.

04 felt something inside him break, and lifted his paws to cover his face, as his chest clenched and something spilled out of him.

He cried for a long time, unable to stop or even help himself, tears running down his face and his hands, stinging his raw wrists, as he hitched and strained to breathe. 01 stood there the whole time, guarding him, one big hand on each of 04's shoulders. It still felt comforting, even though 01 was the reason he was crying, which really, truly, was absolutely the worst part of it all.

Finally, 04 felt he was empty. Empty of tears, empty of emotions. His energy was completely sapped. He just...ran out.

01 gently squeezed him and straightened up. Master appeared and handed 04 a pile of tissues. Feeling numb, 04 wiped his eyes and his nose, and set the wad of tissues on the gurney next to him.

With his exhaustion came clarity.

He looked at the two of them.

"Who are you?" he asked 01, softly.

The jaguar frowned. "I'm a neuroscientist," he said. He looked like he was intending to continue, but then he just...didn't.

04 nodded. "Okay," he said. He swallowed. "Don't put me out, please," he asked, flatly. His throat hurt and his voice was raspy. He felt like he was in someone else's body. "It's not helping."

01 shook his head. "I won't," he said.

Swallowing, 04 turned to Master. "And please stay out of my head," he asked, softly. His heart started pounding at the thought of asking something of Master, but he was desperate. He looked away, submissively, feeling his ears fold back. "For now. Please."

Master's eyebrows went up just a little, but it was only in surprise. He didn't look mad at all. "I will," he said.

04 looked back and forth between them. "What's happening to me?" he asked, softly.

01 and Master looked at each other.

01 took a deep breath, and let it out as an uncertain sigh. He searched for his words for a long time. "We think you are remembering things. Even after we suppress them." He frowned. "Your memories are irregular. It's causing you...distress."

04 watched him, and slowly nodded. "Why me?" he asked.

01's face softened. "We don't know," he said, gently.

04 looked up at him, and then at Master. "Why did you have me tied up?" he asked, his voice shaking. He tried to keep the sound of betrayal out of his voice. It didn't work.

01 frowned. "I'm so sorry. I thought...I thought it would calm you." He let out a long sigh. "Sometimes it helps."

04 nodded. He swallowed, hard. He could think, now that he was out of the restraints. And breathe. He looked around, at the scary device that had been around 02's head, the one he thought they were going to use on him. "What does this machine do?" he asked.

01 and Master looked at each other. The otter cleared his throat. "You know I have...abilities."

04 nodded slowly. He swallowed. "You control minds."

Master took a long breath. He looked up, made eye contact. "My abilities are very strong but they're not...permanent. Eventually a subject will regress and start to remember the memories I've blocked."

04 felt his eyes widen. He should have wanted his memories back. Instead, the thought terrified him.

Master frowned. "The machine solves that problem. It's a targeted destruction of long-term memories. If the subject has nothing to regress to, he can't regress."

04 looked up at the big jaguar. "That's not what he's here for, then?" he said.

01 frowned.

Master glanced up at the jaguar, and then looked back down at 04. "No. 01 is here because 14 confused dogs was a lot to handle, and deep hypnosis turned out to be the perfect tool for managing that. You're all blank slates - very receptive to hypnosis. His triggers keep you all calm. Complacent. Obedient."

04 felt the blood drain out of his face. He looked up at the big cat.

01 wouldn't look at him.

Swallowing, he looked back down at Master. "Why did you put 02 through the machine? Are you just...working through the drones?" He shivered. 03 would be next. And then him.

Master blinked, and then took a breath and let out a long sigh. "No," he said. "That was an entirely different problem." He looked up at 01.

The jaguar swallowed. "02 was experiencing... breakthroughs. He had a very... strong personality, and we were having difficulty controlling him." He frowned. "He didn't remember anything, but his past trauma and aggressions were coming through in his behavior here. It became..." He swallowed, hard. "...very bad."

04 glanced at Master. "So you did it for his benefit?" He narrowed his eyes.

The otter frowned. "Is that so hard to believe?"

04 stared back. "Have you done it to anyone else?"

Master maintained eye contact. "No," he said.

04 looked at him, and then up at 01. He swallowed. "Are you going to do it to me?" he asked, softly.

Master and 01 looked at each other.

"No," 01 said.

"Maybe," Master said.

04 turned to Master with horror. 01 swung his entire head around to glare murderously.

The otter took a shocked step back, raising his hands defensively. "Don't look at me like that!" He gestured at 04. "Look how miserable he is!" He turned to the husky. "Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't be happier starting over?" He frowned.

Involuntarily, 04 began shaking.

Master opened his mouth to say something else, but didn't say anything. "I'm sorry," he said, looking the terrified husky up and down. "Truly. This is uncharted territory." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

They were all silent for a moment.

01 stared at the husky. "04," he said, gently. "I need some information from you. Can you answer some questions for me?"

Silently, looking away, 04 nodded.

"How did you know the trigger phrase and the programming sequence?"

04 stared at the floor. "I don't know."

"Did you remember it?"

04's wrists were starting to sting painfully. He gently rubbed them, one at a time. His skin was raw and irritated under his matted-down fur. He'd probably pulled out half the fur on his wrists. "It just came to me," he answered, hollowly.

"Do you remember your name?"

"No," 04 answered.

"Do you remember anywhere you've lived before Alaska?"

"No," 04 said, staring out the window.

Suddenly, he felt it. A little itching at the back of his brain. Like something was trying to distract him.

Master was in his head. His heart launched into his throat.

He snapped his head to the otter, who was staring right at him. Horrified, he lurched away, slapping his hands over his ears. "Get out!" he screamed.

Both of them jumped. Master looked horrified and then guilty. "Oh God, I'm sorry" he squeaked. "Part of it is passive." The otter grimaced and swallowed hard. "I don't even think about it. It's just...an impulse. Like bouncing your leg or tapping your fingers." He frowned. "I'm so, so sorry. I was thinking about what you were feeling and it just happened."

04 stared at him, panting, and shivered.

"I just...see into brains sometimes," Master said. "I won't do it again."

04 frowned, and turned away. Shakily, he raised his eyes back up to 01. He swallowed, steeling himself.

"So now what?" the husky asked, softly.

Master and 01 looked slowly at each other, and then back to him.

"We don't know," Master said, softly.

01 frowned. "We were trying to determine what had changed your status. Which part of your programming is breaking down."

04 stared at them. It sounded like a lot of tinkering going on in his head. He lowered his head, his ears folding back. "Are you going to experiment on me?" he asked, softly.

Master grimaced. 01 furrowed his brow.

The otter swallowed, and let out a slow breath. "It's not...like that," he said, frowning.

04 stared at him in disbelief. "How is it not like that?" he asked, quietly.

The otter took a deep breath. "Look, this is not...we aren't doing...the point of this isn't..." He seemed frustrated. He took a deep breath and finally he spoke again. "There's no good way to describe what's going on here. Right now let's concentrate on finding a solution."

01 sighed.

04 glanced up at him, and then turned back to stare dubiously at Master. He let out a long sigh. "A solution?"

Master raised an eyebrow. "Besides the obvious." His eyes flicked to the machine.

04 shivered. He swallowed. "Does your...control still work on me?" he asked Master.

The otter blinked his red eyes back at him. "Pardon?" he asked.

04 swallowed. "Can you still control my mind?" He looked away, his face feeling hot. He'd wanted to know just for the purpose of troubleshooting, but asking the question out loud was horrifying. And a little exciting.

Master stared at him, his little mouth hanging open. Finally he cocked his head, furrowing his brow. "Do you...want me to try?" he asked.

04 shivered. "Will you bring me back?"

Master stared at him. "Of course," he said, gently.

The husky watched him. He squeezed his hands into fists. "Okay," he said. "Then do it."

Master nodded.

Scared, excited, his heart pounding, 04 looked shyly at the small otter.

Master stared back at him, his red eyes focused and unblinking, and suddenly 04 felt the otter pouring into him. He gasped, jerking his head back, but Master was gushing into his brain like a tidal wave of scalding hot water, obliterating all of his thoughts and feelings and concerns and opinions, it was just Master, he was only Master, only Master's will. His body was gone and his brain was gone, and nothing mattered except the glowing red eyes in front of him and what Master wanted, and what Master would command him to do. His life and his existence and his God were Master.

The tidal wave subsided, and 04 found himself on his knees, on the floor, his muzzle pressed up against Master's crotch, clinging to the otter's short legs. He was rock-hard and he couldn't feel most of his body. He stared up at him, dazed, exhausted, and insanely, he liked it. The feeling of Master's hard cock against his muzzle, his musky otter scent filling 04's nostrils, was still bliss.

Master reached down and stroked his face. 04 shivered in pleasure.

"Well, I guess that isn't the problem," Master said, low and soft.

04 stared up at him. He still couldn't talk yet, and his whole body felt numb.

01 reached down, put his big hands under 04's armpits, and effortlessly lifted the husky off the floor. He hefted him like a cord of firewood, and set him down on the gurney.

04 blinked at him, and then frowned. "I hate it when you do that," he said, feeling his face heat up.

01 had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry," he said, softly.

Master pointed. "Don't be sorry. Now you try."

01 turned to him. "What?"

Master frowned. "We tried my abilities. Try using some triggers on him."

01 blinked at him and then turned back to 04, frowning.

The husky stiffened. He still felt betrayed by the lying jaguar. But Master did have a point.

Looking away, he sighed. "Please just do it," he said.

01 hesitated. "Are you sure?"

04 glanced at him. "Just do it!" he snapped.

The jaguar frowned. He looked down at 04, stooping down to his level.

04 looked away. His eyes suddenly felt wet, and he had to blink away tears. The big jaguar's attention felt like salt in a raw wound.

"04," 01 rumbled, softly. "Please look at me."

04 clenched his jaw. His heart was pounding. I like you just fine, 01 had told him. It had all been part of his lies. "I can't," he said, blinking again. This time the tears ran down his face.

01 let out a long sigh. "I understand," he said, softly. "It's okay, good puppy."

04 squeezed his eyes shut.

01's big hands reached up to stroke his face. "Good, good puppy," he told him.

The words settled into 04. Something inside his brain shifted.

Startled, he opened his eyes.

The panther was stroking his face. His touch felt hot. Electric. 04 felt himself straighten up. He was starting to feel far away again. "Whh-" he mumbled, staring into the big cat's wide golden eyes.

"Good, good puppy," 01 repeated, and now the words seemed to echo in 04's head.

He straightened up further, arching his back. He felt his muzzle open. His tongue lolled out. He was dizzy now, too, but it felt good. Energizing. His mind was at a standstill, his thoughts would not come, he could think of nothing but eagerness: maybe he would say it again.

01 squeezed the sides of his face, rubbing his muzzle. "Good, good puppy," he said. "Who's a good puppy?"

04 felt his heart pounding. He held himself ramrod straight. His hands rose and curled at his chest, in a begging posture. He stared forward with unfocused eyes at the blurry black shape in front of him. "I'm a good puppy," he whined, shivering.

The cat in front of him was still talking, but he couldn't hear anything anymore. He didn't care what was happening. He just held still and stared straight ahead, drooling onto the floor, eyes wide and happy and unfocused.

Finally something started to cut through the foggy haze surrounding him. "Come back to us, good boy. Breathe. Relax. 2. Getting closer. Starting to feel your body. Aaand....1."

04 opened his eyes, or at least tried to, except his eyes were already open. He blinked feverishly. For a moment he was confused, and then he remembered where he was and what was going on.

He looked around. He was kneeling on the gurney, hot, and rock-hard in his work pants. His shirt was pulled up around his chest and his bare belly was still tingling from the rubbing he had been getting. His stomach fur was all fluffed the wrong way.. Startled, he looked at Master and 01.

04 felt himself flush. Folding his ears back, he scrambled back into a seating position, tugging his shirt back down.

01 looked him over, frowning. "How was that?" he asked. "Effective?"

04 shot him a look. "Do you really have to ask?" he snapped.

01 stared at him, surprised, and then dipped his head, folding his ears back. He looked away, embarrassed.

04 felt a little bad. But what did he care? 01 didn't really care about him at all anyway.

Master snorted. "Great, so we're back at square one. My abilities aren't the problem, and your hypnosis isn't the problem." He raised an annoyed eyebrow.

04 looked back and forth between them.

That left only one solution.

He thought about 02 in the machine, and pictured himself wandering cluelessly around the facility. Opening doors he'd been through a thousand times, to see what was behind them. Introducing himself to his packmates, face vacantly happy and brainless. He started gently shivering. "You're going to wipe me, aren't you?"

01 stiffened. "I will not let that happen!" he growled.

Master sighed. "Juan, maybe he's got a point," he said, his voice resigned. "It's very telling that 02 and 04 both escalated at the same time."

04 stared. He felt the blood slowly drain from his face.

Had...had he said J-

01 rose to his full height. "02 was a special case!" he snapped. "You know what was wrong with him. You know what he'd done before he got here!" He showed his huge feline teeth. "It's a miracle he lasted this long!"

04 stared, desperate to follow. Had he imagined it?

Master glared. "And we've ruled out your guitar theory."

"No we haven't!" 01 snapped. "Study after study has linked music to long-term memory recall!"

Master looked away. It was almost an eyeroll. "And that clearly was an exacerbating factor and not the root cause. Please, Juan, you of all people can't ignore-"

04 jerked violently in shock. All of the fur on his arms stood up.

He'd said it again.

Involuntarily, 04 let out a whimper.

They both fell silent and turned to him.

04 felt his heart pounding. His hackles stood up.

He swallowed. "Did...did you call him Juan?" he whispered.

They both stared at him. Their eyes widened. Master's mouth opened slightly. 01's ears folded back and his eyes snapped open. They both looked horrified.

04 cowered, his ears back.

They were both silent.

"You could hear that?" 01 asked, softly.

04 swallowed. "You have a name?" he asked, shakily.

Master looked from the husky to the jaguar, and back. "His programming is failing completely," he said, slowly, flatly.

04 dipped his head. Master was not happy. He felt himself beginning to shake.

01 swallowed. "You didn't hear 01? You can hear him say Juan?" he asked, sharply.

04 just looked up at him, his ears back.

"We have to wipe him," Master said.

01 snapped his big head around. "No!" he roared. "I can fix this!"

Master flashed his scary little mustelid teeth. "Juan Carlos, do you not remember what he tried to do the last time he was lucid?" He was raising his voice. "To me? To us? The very most recent time?" He stabbed at 01 with a finger.

The jaguar's eyes were blazing. "So then what?! We just erase his mind without knowing why any of this happened? And then what! Another dog goes, we just wipe him too?" His voice was rising in pitch. "We can't do it! I won't do it! We need to know WHY!"

Master's face twisted into a growl. "He cannot be allowed to return to lucidity while you figure it out!" he snarled.

04 watched, his eyes widening. "A-a-...." He swallowed. He choked on the words.

They both turned to him.

04 swallowed. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked.

Master and 01 looked at each other. Finally, Master sighed.

"I'm sorry, 04," he said. "You shouldn't have to see this." He let out a long sigh.

04 felt miserable. His guts were churning. 01's betrayal was bad enough. Now Master was so afraid of him he wanted him wiped. He put his face in his paws.

01 let out a strangled moan. "I'm so sorry. You're supposed to be happy," he said. "You were happy! You were all happy," he said, miserably.

Master stared for a moment, and then frowned. He looked up at 01. "When?" he asked.

01 stared for a moment. "What?" he asked.

Master looked at 04, and then back up at 01. "When was the last time he was happy?"

01 looked horrified, and then devastated. He opened his mouth, and then shut it. To 04's astonishment, the big cat started to shake.

Master frowned. "That wasn't a dig, you idiot. I mean literally - when was the last time he was happy?" He frowned. "That might give us a clue. And he might remember now that he's so lucid."

01 stared at him, took a slow breath, and let it out. Slowly, he turned to the husky. "04," he said. "You've been very afraid the last few weeks, haven't you?"

Guiltily, 04 nodded.

01 watched him. "Do you remember the last time...you felt safe?"

04 stared. He frowned, thinking about it. About the last time he truly felt contentment.

He smelled leather,

and gasoline,

and his best friend,

and Master,

close by,

his tail tapping 04's ankles.

He was excited for the drive, to see town, to get out of the facility, to see the ocean, to spend time with Master.

Hm.

"On the trip up to Prudhoe Bay. The first one," he said, softly.

01 watched him. "And when did you...lose that feeling?"

He thought about it.

He

heard

the crunch of gravel,

felt

the truck gently heave as it bounced in potholes, tugging the heavy trailer,

smelled

the brush and the gravel and the rain and the minerals in the streams that came down off the mountains.

Felt

the Suburban buck as they

slowly

coasted

to a stop.

He saw 16's face as they pulled up next to him.

Gray eyes.

Pipe smoke and snow.

His hackles rose.

"The bear," he said. He looked up at Master. He swallowed. "I think...I think it all started then." He looked at Master. "Sitting behind you in the truck. That moment. I just knew something was wrong." He frowned. "I was terrified at that moment and it hasn't gone away since."

01 and Master looked at each other.

"So it is something external," 01 mused.

Master frowned. "It's 16. And we tried this already."

01 narrowed his eyes. "We don't know that. He just said that was the moment. What if he saw something else?"

Master thought about it, and then furrowed his brow. "I...suppose," he said. He seemed interested.

01 probed further. "Where were you when you saw that?"

The otter pondered. "The beginning of that old mine claim."

01's eyes widened excitedly. "What if he saw something else there?"

Master frowned. "What?"

01 leaned forward. "If he saw something that he would consider a credible survival risk, his subconscious could override all of his programming." He thought about it. "It could put his entire conditioning in jeopardy. A mind that wants to stay alive can override almost anything. You'd be able to put him under, but none of his programming would stick." He was excited now. "He'd be having breakthroughs all the time. Maybe even some memories resurfacing."

Master frowned, glancing down at 04, and back up. "I thought we dealt with this with all the security."

01 frowned. "Well, we thought we did."

Master stared at him. "Juan, what you're saying is...in his opinion," - he pointed at 04 - "even with all we've done...our lives are still in danger?"

01 stared at him.

They both turned to look at 04.

The husky swallowed.

At the head of the trailer, the door banged open, and they all jumped. The massive head and shoulders of a polar bear appeared, up at the ceiling, stooping to get in, as 16 surged into the room. It was straight out of a monster movie.

04 was looking right at the door when it happened and he could not keep the scream from his lips.

16 either didn't notice or didn't care. He went right up to 01 and Master, stooping as the trailer only had 8 foot ceilings. "Sirs!" he said. "I need to talk to you!" he said. Someone's coming. From the mine. On foot."

They all stared.

04 felt his blood run cold.

"On foot?" Master said, incredulously. "We're fifteen miles from the mine."

16 nodded, stooping in the trailer. "Yes, sir," he said. He stoop-walked across the research trailer to a large flatscreen monitor. 04's eyes widened as he realized that 16 had a handgun tucked into his waistband at the small of his back. "Please come here, sir," he said.

Master glanced at 04, frowning. "I'm so sorry. We'll work this out. I promise." The otter quickly shuffled after 16.

04 couldn't see what 16 was doing, but he saw the monitor boot up and then the feeds of several security cameras flipping through, one after another. Finally, the feed settled on the end of their access road, approaching the facility.

04 and 01 looked at each other. 01 looked nervous. His tail swished behind him anxiously.

Frowning, 04 slid off the gurney and padded after Master and 16. His bare feet were cold on the trailer floor. 01 followed after him. 04 could hear the jaguar's feet thumping lightly along behind him.

As he got to the computer, he saw the feed of their access road. A bright green rectangle kept jumping around the same figure in the distance, tracking the figure's movement. In the corner, SENSOR 09 SENSOR 10 were blinking in red. He got a closer look.

There was a young woman walking toward the facility.

04 stared, his jaws dropping open. He couldn't tell her species, only that she wasn't wearing enough clothing. The air temperature could not have been above freezing and the girl only wore a jacket, with a blanket wrapped around her head and shoulders. It wasn't anything thick enough to combat the frigid arctic wind. She was holding her arms around her shoulders and walking forward into the wind.

"How far out?" Master asked.

16 looked down at him. "A little under five miles. She just tripped the motion sensors."

Master turned to him. "She walked ten miles already?"

Frowning severely, 16 nodded.

On the monitor, three more boxes started flashing red. SENSOR 01 SENSOR 02 SENSOR 03. After a moment SENSOR 28 SENSOR 29 started flashing too.

04 felt his heart start pounding.

"That's nowhere near her," 16 grunted. He grabbed for the computer mouse and feverishly clicked. The feeds flipped through. Finally, the monitor settled on Camera 1. 04 recognized the turnoff to the Dalton Highway.

There was a pickup truck rapidly approaching the turnoff. It was coming from the mine, headed toward the highway.

04 felt his heart start pounding. Coming from the mine.

As they watched, the truck skidded to a rapid stop. The feed wasn't great and the truck was too far away, but 04 recognized the make and model. It was a beat-up old crew cab Dodge Ram. But something looked off about it.

The scale was wrong. It was too tall.

As the driver's door swung open, he realized why.

This was not a Ram, the standard-size pickup which would have accommodated 04 or Master. It was a Ram XL, which was built for folks 01 and 16's size.

They really did get another polar bear, 04 thought, his head spinning.

He was wrong, as it turned out. As the door rocked open and a huge booted paw swung out, 04 saw a big muzzle, and broad shoulders under a tactical jacket, and pointed ears, and a huge, thick tail.

His hackles rose and he felt the blood drain from his face.

Wolves.

His back to the camera, the massive wolf stared into the distance, looking around. As they watched, he retrieved a pair of binoculars from the truck. Effortlessly, he leapt up into the bed. The truck bucked gently under his weight.

Scanning the horizon, the wolf's tail swished angrily behind him. Standing in the bed of the truck, he towered over the cab. He must have been at least 8 feet tall. Maybe 9.

Swallowing, 04 thought of the other feed. They're looking for the girl, he thought. They're looking for the girl and they went the wrong way.

Soon they would realize their mistake, and head the other way up the old mining road.

Right to them.

No one else got out of the truck, but of course they didn't need to. Where there was one wolf, there were many.

They were all silent, and then Master turned to look up at 16. "What is going on?" he asked, quietly.

16 turned to frown at him. "I don't know, sir," he said. He changed the feed back to the girl. Silently, steadily, the figure in the distance marched toward them.

They all watched.

04 swallowed.

"It's happening," he heard himself say.