FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The lights suddenly came on as two Dalmatians started to come to, their backs against one another as their vision began to clear. They found themselves on a white metal floor which glared in the overhead light as they slowly stood up, finding themselves also surrounded by three tall walls of a similar material and the fourth was shrouded completely in darkness. Both canines were naked, save for a silver collar that was wrapped around their necks. "Aaron, what is going on?" Eric asked as they started to move towards the black space.

"I can answer that for you." The Dalmatians turned to see that a large square of one of the walls light up and reveal the large head of a silver dragon. "My name is Argos, and I have to say I'm intrigued on how identical twins are going to fare in this competition. I'm rather glad that you awoke as one of the first double's groups... but enough of my rambling, let's see what your escape challenge is today."

Eric and Aaron looked at each other, but before they could ask anything of the AI the darkness that bordered on their left suddenly lit up. From what they could see there was a door that they estimated was about a hundred feet away and between them and it was a large twenty meter trough that held an opaque, light blue liquid. They both started over towards the edge of the pit before they quickly heard a grunt from Argos behind them.

"I see that you are both very eager to be on your way." Argos said with a smirk. "I would be remiss though if I did not give you a low down on what you face. The challenge is simple, simply get to the other side in one minute together. If one of you fails the challenge then you both fail, simple as that."

"One minute?" Aaron said as he looked back towards the alleyway. "We can't both swim across that distance in just a minute, especially with how thick it looks!"

"Who said anything about you two swimming?" Argos replied in a slightly belittling remark. "What you see before you is a Non-Newtonian fluid, so if you have the brains to work it out you should find that this challenge is rather easy. You'll have ten seconds to start your journey to the other side, and then one minute for the crossing itself. Word of warning though, once you've placed your first foot outside the room your minute starts whether ten seconds has ran out or not. Hope to see you both on the other side."

In the next second the dragon was gone, replaced with a countdown timer that ticked down from ten seconds. "Do you have any idea what a Non-Newtonian fluid is?" Aaron asked as he knelt down on the edge of the pool and poked the strange liquid, his finger met little resistance as it pushed in and felt like water, though it stuck slightly to his fur as he pulled it out. Curious, he slapped the liquid and felt it was hard beneath his palm as both Dalmatians watched the blue fluid ripple out.

"I think that maybe we run across it?" Erin offered as the clock clicked down passed the five second mark, the wall behind them slowly moving closer to the edge of the pit of strange fluid. "It's the only way that I can think about getting across it in the time that the AI allowed us. Of course, that almost seems... too simple."

"Well nothing we can really do about it now!" Aaron replied as the timer clicked down its last second. The two canines felt the cold steel of the wall against their backs. Both of them stepped onto the fluid and felt it surprisingly firm, though the second that they stopped they began to feel the thick ooze climb up over his feet. Immediately they pushed forward as the timer over their exit door started to count down from a minute. After the first few steps they got into a groove onto how to manipulate the fluid to become solid enough that their feet didn't sink at all. It appeared as they broke into a run that this part of the round was going to be an easy walk now that they solved it.

Unfortunately it appeared that the goo itself wasn't the only obstacle that they would have to contend with. Tentacles began to appear on the surface of the ooze, several of them actively whipping their way towards the two contestants. Aaron dodged his way through the gauntlet as they tried to get a hold of him, the slick blue substance rubbing on his fur as they grazed his body. Even with the obstructions in his way he was already halfway across the goo room and there was still forty seconds on the clock.

"Brother, help!" Eric suddenly cried out, causing the other Dalmatian to stop and turn around. It appeared that his twin had not been as fortunate as he was, one of the tentacles had wrapped itself around his waist while another had successfully secured itself around his wrist. With this momentum completely halted Eric's body began to sink down into the thick ooze, and as he looked at his brother with a fearful expression one of the thick goo appendages popped into his open mouth and muzzled him as the blue substance began to creep over his face.

Aaron began to feel his own feet sink down into the substance and he quickly unstuck himself before he turned and ran back. "I got you Eric!" He cried out as he reached out his own hand, grabbing at Eric's still free hand as the other Dalmatian's body had already sunk down to his waist. On his first pass he missed the connection, and the nature of the fluid forced him to take a few quick steps past his brother before he was able to try again. On his second pass he noticed that the clock had dipped below thirty five seconds, and he knew that if he couldn't pull him out this time that they were both about to succumb to particularly gooey fates.

Thankfully the second time went much better than the first, Aaron was able to secure both hands on Eric's hand and wrist and used his own momentum to try and wrench him out from the goo and the tentacle's grasps. With his brother's help Eric felt his body lift upwards, the blue ooze clung to his abs just below his chest as he struggled to wrench himself free as well. Their efforts didn't stop the tentacles from trying to keep their captive, even as Eric managed to pull himself out of the goo the one in his mouth continued to press against his throat, which caused him to grow erect as the same stuff around his butt began to try and press inside his body that way. At the same time Aaron felt something wrap around his thin tail, one of the tentacles taking advantage of his semi-prone state and engulfing his tail entirely and prodded against his own backside. The goo wasn't very strong though, and though the effort to pull Eric out caused his own body to sink up to his shins Aaron continued to pound his feet against the fluid to make it solid enough to retain his footing.

When Eric was able to walk again he tried to say his thanks to his brother, although all that came out was a garbled mess as he looked down at the tentacle still lodged firmly in his maw. "Leave it!" Aaron said as he grabbed the other Dalmatian's hand and pointed to the clock. There were only twenty seconds left by that time, and with each passing second the goo tentacles seemed to grow more and more restless as they continued to try and constrict around the two contestants. Luckily the goo around Eric's face had not gotten around his eyes yet, and with Aaron's continued help the two pushed their way forward. Some of the tentacles continued to wrap filaments of goo around them, both Eric and Aaron letting out a loud grunt as the ones that had been wrapped around them were forcibly slid out of their bodies.

As the two dodged around the tentacles they realized that their time was running out, which seemed to be the plan as the goo continued to push their path around the room. The other platform was just out of reach though, and it dawned on Eric that the goo could only form a certain number of tentacles. "Split up, divide their forces!" He said, his words still slightly garbled even without the tentacle in it. Aaron gave him a look of worry before he nodded and let their hands slide apart. As they ran to opposite sides of the room it appeared that the plan had worked, the force of slippery tentacles around each of them far less then when they had been together.

Aaron let out a shout as he dived between two of the flailing appendages that barred his advancement, the feel of goo replaced with metal as he rolled onto the platform. As he caught his breath he looked up to see that they only had six seconds left, and with him no longer on the surface the tentacles had begun to box Eric in. The other Dalmatian was so close that a sufficient dive like his own would get him over, but the tentacles would have none of it. With so little time left Aaron went back over to the edge and reached out his hand, and even as one of the tentacles wrapped around his wrist and bicep he kept his out and beckoned Eric forward.

Just like before Aaron felt his brother grab his hand, and with one mighty pull from Aaron and a lunge forward from his brother they both landed together as the timer froze in place with two seconds to spare. "Well well, another contestant continues forward." The two suddenly heard the AI's voice as they recovered, Eric still on top of Aaron as their hearts continued to pound and the goo hardened and flaked off their bodies. "Congratulations on being the first doubles team to make it to the next round, though I can see that you wouldn't have minded losing either."

As Argos chuckled the two brothers looked down to realize that their groins were at half-mast, both of them covering themselves with their hands as they looked up at the silver dragon on the viewscreen. "Nothing to be ashamed about, such things are why you are all here." Argos explained. "Now if you will please move on to the next room you will find that your next challenge awaits you there. Also, I have given you a little party gift, since you loved having that tentacle in your mouth after all."

Eric looked at the dragon in confusion until he stuck his tongue out, instead of his normal appendage they were surprised to see a blue tentacle poke past his lips and stick out nearly twice the length of his original one. "Also since you're partners, and brothers, I expect sharing to happen as well." Aaron opened his mouth in surprise, and when he did he revealed this his mouth had undergone a similar mutation as well. "You can try out your new additions in the next room, any tarrying about here will mean your disqualification. Now if you don't mind, I believe your opponent is waking up just about now..."

*************************************

There was a low groan as Apollo began to feel his senses return to him, his senses swimming as he heard the shuffling of someone else in the room next to him. As the ottercoon's vision cleared he realized that he was in a rather sterile room, the walls and floor a solid metal while thick metal bars seemed to split it in half. He rolled over onto his chest and saw that the gryphon that he had been talking to during the party was on the other side of the bars, also getting to his feet. He also realized that both he and the other male were completely naked aside from a metal collar that was attached to their necks.

"Hey, you alright over there?" Apollo asked as he crawled over to one of the spaces between the bars. "Zarrow, right?"

"Yeah, that's me." Zarrow replied as he used the bars to get to his feet. "You're Apollo... what's going on here? And why are we naked?"

"I will be answering that one for you two." They heard as both their heads turned to a viewscreen that appeared on both sides of the metal bars above a large panel that was eye level to them both. "Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, where you compete against others in a series of challenges and were stripped in order to provide as level a playing field as possible. You two are one of my most interesting acquisitions, two that don't really know each other too well but have been put together for the purpose of this competition. You can exchange pleasantries later, right now we have a challenge to get to."

Before either of the two can ask anything the AI goes on further, not letting them interrupt his explanation. "What we have here in this metal box is a panel, and on that panel is a way to lower the bars and open the door. You will have ten seconds to study the panel itself, and then one minute to find the correct way to activate the door. Now even though you two have just met I expect you both to be able to work together in order to solve this little puzzle. Well, at least I hope you are, because if you don't then you both will be disqualified."

"That's it?" Zarrow said to the image of Argos. "Just solve the puzzle in a minute and we can go?"

"Well, there are a few additional surprises to be had, but you'll see when the panel is revealed." Argos replied with a grin. "Oh, one more note, if you touch the panel before the ten seconds are up then the minute will begin regardless. No giving people extra time for brashness! Your timer will begin... now."

Both Apollo and Zarrow backed away as the cover of the metal box dissolved away and a timer appeared where the dragon was, their eyes widening as they looked at what lay beyond. Between them was what looked like a sheet of shimmering silver that took up the entire width and length of the box, the two looking at each other between the slats of the bars in confusion. "Here I was thinking some sort of computer panel." Apollo stated as he brought himself up close to the silver sheet, trying to see anything that would give him a hint of what it was.

"Same here." Zarrow replied as he scratched his beak. "I want to touch it, but I'm not sure what the consequences of such an action would entail."

The gryphon was surprised when he suddenly saw a hand stretch out of the silver fluid and wiggle its fingers around. "Hey, this is pretty cool!" Apollo said as he pushed his arm even further into the strange substance. "It feels like a liquid but you can't seem to break the surface, remarkably stretchy."

"That was rather reckless." Zarrow said with a sigh as he watched the remaining seconds of their ten second interlude wind down. "Though I think this will be something integral if we wish to get out of here. I would say that maybe one of us has to come through to the other side, but I don't see a door on your side either. I think we must wait for the actual contest to start before we can do anything."

"I think you're right." Apollo replied, watching as the last seconds of their time counted down to zero. As he did so he felt a strange numbness begin to spread from his arm, though when he looked down all he could see was his normal brown and black fur. He passed it off as an after effect of touching the strange metal and when the timer reached zero and a new one replaced it with a minute he knew he had more pressing matters to attend to... and as he watched he saw his playing field begin to distort and warp as a ball formed on one side of the field. "Huh, mine turned into a very strange looking obstacle course, like one of those novelty brain-teaser games."

Zarrow also watched as his side of the metal began to shift upwards, forming a series of ramps and valleys with a silver ball on one side and the indentation for a container on the other. "My side seems to have shifted into some sort of ball-rolling game as well." He informed the othercoon as he tried to move the ball, only to find it held fast into place. "I can't seem to get it to move though... wait, I think I got this, you have to move the ball on your side and I have to guide you through it and vice-versa. That's what that dragon meant by teamwork."

Apollo looked at the blank silver screen on his side and shrugged his shoulders as the gryphon told him were to start, slowly placing his hand against the silver metal. As his fingers pushed in the alien substance once more Zarrow saw the ball on his side of the field slowly begin to roll. While it was fascinating to watch the ball roll around on the screen he had to guide the ottercoon as well, making sure that he reversed the direction that he was telling him after several mistakes when the ball fell away. Once they got into the groove however the gryphon watched as the silver hands guided the ball down the last ramp and into the area marked 'goal'. Once it was there the screen turned blank, save for the words 'waiting for the other player puzzle to finish' in one corner.

"Your turn." Apollo said as he withdrew his hands from the interface. The tingling sensation had increased the entire time that he had been in contact with the strange material, and when he finally pulled away he noticed that his hands had turned a bright silver color. As he watched his partner's hands start to move the ball around his own directing was slightly distracted as he watched the metallic tendrils snake quickly up his arms. He realized that the longer they made contact with the interaction screen the faster the process would spread.

A sudden ding made him realize that while he had been contemplating Zarrow had already put the ball into the goal area. "Wow that was fast." The ottercoon said in surprise as several more metal panels popped off of the grid between them, the fluidic metal extending down until it reached the floor. Both contestants looked up and saw that they still had a little over half their time left, though as the second and hopefully final puzzle pushed out they realized they had a severe problem.

"I don't know about your side, but my obstacles are longer then I can stretch." The gryphon said as he saw the ball sitting near the bottom of the maze, tapping a silvered claw against his beak. "The maze itself isn't too complicated, but if we can't reach the ball then it's all for nothing anyway." Time was ticking away for them as he took a step back and took a hard look at a possible solution to their problem.

Once again it was Apollo who decided to take the initiative, pressing his entire body against the silver obstructions in their path. The material yielded surprisingly easy and Zarrow's beak dropped open slightly as he saw the outline of the male's form suddenly appear in the silver material. "Apollo, can you hear me?" The gryphon asked, and though it looked like Apollo could hear him when he opened his mouth no sound came out. "Alright, I'll take that as a yes, now I'll guide you to where the ball is at starting with your left foot..."

As Zarrow began to instruct his partner and use the contours of his body to move the ball further up the maze he couldn't help but blush slightly as he noticed the sizable erection that the ottercoon had as the ball moved across his taut stomach. Several times the ball almost moved off of his body and Zarrow grabbed the other male's side to get him to move back up, and he could see every touch have a very pleasurable effect on him and caused his body to shiver. Every time he touched him too he felt the skin seem to shift and harden, forming into what he could only guess was metal plates with circuitry lines in place. More than once the ottercoon let out a silent moan as the ball was pushed by his muzzle into the goal.

The second that the obstacles disappeared Apollo stepped back, and the gryphon's beak dropped when he saw what had happened to his impromptu partner. The entire front part of his body was covered in silver metal, which had formed over his fur into a hulking, almost monstrous appearance. There was also a look in his eyes, a mixture of fear, confusion, and strangely enough pleasure as he looked at him with his half-masked face. "It's creeping into my brain... hurry..." Apollo said, his voice rang with a slight electronic tinge as his left eye turned to a glowing yellow as the metal and circuitry swept over it.

Zarrow gulped slightly as he watched the robotic transformation take place, then looked down at his own hands. He hadn't really paid attention to himself since they had started the challenge, and as he wiggled his metal-encased appendages he realized just how far his own conversion had gone. The silvery color had gotten all the way up past his biceps, and his forearms were covered in thick silver and blue plates. When he looked up at the clock his heart sank even further as he realized that they only had fourteen seconds left on the clock.

"Well, here goes nothing." Zarrow grumbled as he slowly pushed into the silver screen, looking over at Apollo who had started to moan while his claws scrapped against his hardened eight pack. "You going to be able to spot me over there Apollo?"

Apollo took a second to compose himself, though it proved harder then he thought as he felt the strange silver wiring painlessly and almost pleasurably penetrating into his ears and nose as he nodded to his partner. Despite the strangeness of what was happening to him he knew that they had a task to perform, as he stood back up he saw the shape of his partner form into the silver mesh on his side of the obstacle course. As the outline of the gryphon began to move he tried to direct him to move the ball forward, though as he continued to talk he heard his voice become more and more electronic in tone. He could feel his body grow both stronger and hardened as his fur melted into metallic plates.

Zarrow looked like he tried to say something, but the silver that stretched out from his beak formed a tight seal around it as his body began to change. Unlike the ottercoon though as the ball began roll across the gryphon's chest he noticed that his chest began to bulge out. Apollo gasped slightly as they began to push out into very noticeable breasts, though he hadn't had a chance to dwell on it as their time ticked under seven seconds. He could tell that they were causing Zarrow quite a bit of pleasure, but unfortunately they also impeded the ball's progress towards the goal.

"Sorry about this Zarrow." Apollo said as he grabbed the gryphon by the breasts and spread them apart to allow the silver ball access to his transforming upper chest. Zarrow thrashed about in obvious pleasure but with Apollo's help he managed to help him get the ball across to his shoulders even as he could feel the generous mounds grow even bigger under his fingers. There were only four seconds left as he let go and told Zarrow to fish the ball into his mouth and move it to the goal, though at that point the ottercoon fell to his hands and knees as the transformation reached his cock and caused a surge of pleasure throughout his entire body. His eyes began to glow as he felt his brain being rewritten, his body going rigid as he saw the seconds tick down from three down to two, then one...

Both Apollo and Zarrow suddenly saw the silver mesh disappear, and the metal fall away from their bodies as Argos reappeared on one of the walls. "Well, squeaked that down to the wire." He said as he watched the two look over their recently untransformed bodies, well, almost completely untransformed. Apollo noticed that his member still had a metallic silver mesh, and Zarrow's chest had similarly textured breasts on his otherwise still male physique. "Good job you two, as you can see you've been given a small token of congratulations, now if you'll just head down the hallway we can move onto the next phase."

The two tried to ask questions, but before they could even speak the holograph vanished and a door opened to their right. "Well... I guess we should go." Zarrow said, looking down at his new endowments before the door. "Try not to stare..."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much." Apollo replied with a chuckel. "So... since this is considered a bonus, did that mean you wanted those?"

Zarrow just shook his head as the two walked off into the darkness...

******************************************

The darkness surrounded Eric and Aaron as they continued down the corridor, the only thing that guided them was a strip of glowing light on either side of the hallway. "I have the feeling that the goo wasn't the only obstacle that we're going to face." Eric said as he clung to his brother's side. Even though the goo had long since flecked off of their fur the feeling of it remained, which caused a strange mixture of fear and arousal in both of them. "Do you think they're all going to be like that?"

"I honestly have no idea Eric." Aaron replied. "We're just going to have to continue on, if we're lucky we'll meet that dragon and I can give him a piece of our mind about this weird-ass game."

Suddenly both Dalmatians heard a noise, which caused both of them to pause. "Hello?" The two heard a muffled cry, followed by someone pounding on what sounded like really thick glass. "Is someone out there!?"

"Hey, we're in here!" Eric shouted back, running up to where the voices came from. A loud bang rang out as the excited male smashed into something and fell back onto the dark floor. Aaron carefully followed up behind his bruised brother and placed his hand on the invisible wall. It felt like glass and extremely thick, and as he held his hand up against it he could feel a slight vibration course through it as the voices on the other side continued to cry out. As he peered into the darkness he thought he could make out two forms, though it was far too hard to make out in the inky blackness of the room they had stumbled into.

That all changed however as the floor beneath them suddenly lit up, white panels surrounding a black panel in the center with multi-colored dots arranged in rows. Techno music began to blare in both rooms as the two sets of contestants finally got a look at each other properly for the first time. The four of them eyed each other up, but before they could talk to each other a holographic version of the silver dragon appeared in the glass wall between them. "Well, it seems that you two are ready for your next test." The dragon said as looked at each of them.

"Hey you!" Aaron said as he pointed at the grinning AI. "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Sorry, all questions must be held until the end of the event." Argos replied with a smirk. "On to the head to head challenge that you two are about to participate in. I've decided since you are the first two double's groups to compete he'd play a classic party game. So I hope that you're loose and limber, because you're going to play twister!"

All four males looked at Argos with various degrees of stunned silence, their eyes glancing from each other to the dotted panel in the middle of their respective rooms. "The rules are simple, you and your partner are going to be contorting around each other and put your respective limbs on the colors I say. If you or your partner fail to hit three colors within the allotted time limit of five seconds then you are out, and the victors will continue on in the competition. Also if any time you or your partner fall on the mat then you are disqualified as well, even if you hadn't reached the five miss limit."

Before any of them could ask a question a loud techno beat began to blare throughout the room, the middle squares lit up once more in a flashing pattern. "Gentlemen, to your places." The voice of Argos boomed over the loudspeakers. "If you are not on the mat by the time the first color is called then automatic disqualification will occur."

The four naked males quickly scrambled onto the lighted pad, the two canines looking somewhat confident while the ottercoon and gryphon regarded each other auspiciously. None of them had expected to play naked twister, and especially not with their sibling or someone that they had only met a few hours ago. Yet the four scrambled to their positions and started on two random colors, both members of the team facing each other as the AI guided them into the proper place.

"Alright then, looks like we're ready to go." Argos says as the techno beat changed subtly and a foot and color appeared on the screen. "Three... two... one... and right foot yellow!"

All four creatures quickly put their right foot on the yellow square, the semi-opaque material lighting up as they put their feet on them. "Very good, though I had a hard time thinking anyone would flub on the first go." Argos said as the image changed. "Now, left hand red!"

There was a bit of hesitation between the four as they tried to figure out what was the best way for them to proceed, Aaron and Eric twisted over each other in order to get their hands on the lighted square while Zarrow and Apollo opted to keep themselves as separate as possible. The four of them easily managed to get their hands on one of the squares though, the four anthro's looking up to see a smug Argos look down at them while the colors changed once more. "Hope you don't think this is going to be this easy the whole time." The AI said as the wheel stopped. "Left foot red!"

"You got this?" Aaron asked his brother as he twined his left foot around the other Dalmatian, who nodded eagerly and put his own further down the line.

One the other side of the divider however the two found each other stretching slightly in order to get to the unoccupied square over each other's hands. "Usually I have to buy dinner first before the naked twister happens." Apollo said with a grin as his brown fur brushed against the gryphon's feathers, though as he saw the big-breasted but otherwise male teammate blush slightly it caused a slightly embarrassed chuckle to escape his lips. "Sorry, thought as long as we're grinding together I could offer a little respite."

"Oh, there's no respite here, little ottercoon." Argos said suddenly as the wheel once more spun. "The game continues until one of our two happy couples is out of the game. Now, right hand blue, let's get this party started!"

The four contestants looked down at their current stations, then at the blue strip that was on the other side of the playing mat. So far they neither of the two groups had too many troubles, but now they really had to stretch in order to reach them. The twins grabbed each other by the shoulders and braced themselves as they reached over towards the blue squares, both of them breathing a sigh of relief as their furry hands were lit up with soft blue light as they touched the correct area.

Meanwhile Apollo and Zarrow developed a similar plan, though with the way they were facing required them to do a bit more maneuvering. Still Apollo easily was able to twist his body around to put his hand on the right spot, but as he looked over to the gryphon he witnessed, too late to do anything, as his scaled digits slipped out and accidently hit the green square instead. "Oh crap!" He said, hearing a loud buzzer as his hand sunk into the rubbery substance and it began to creep up his arm. He managed to pull it up but by the time he did the green latex had spread up his arm and down his chest, causing his mouth to open slightly as it covered his nipples and squeezed tightly against his new endowments.

"Try not to get too titillated Zarrow, you still have two misses to go." Argos taunted as the rubber snaked down his other arm until his entire torso was covered in the thick green substance and tightened around his body until every detail could be seen in it. "As fun as this was to watch, let us continue. Right hand green!" The four easily moved their hands towards the green space, Zarrow wishing that it had been the previous call as Argos called out the next direction. "Left foot blue!"

Apollo and Zarrow looked each other nervously and then at their own feet. They could hear the beeps as their five seconds counted down, and both of them finally tried to get their legs onto the same area. Because he already had a strike against him the ottercoon let his partner go first, and when the gryphon managed to get his foot on he quickly tried to follow suit. Unfortunately his foot caught and it slammed down on one of the red squares instead. The two could only watch as the red material quickly traveled up his leg and thigh, a shiver of pleasure running through his body as the cool rubber wrapped around his cock.

"Eric no!" Both of them looked over to see one of the Dalmatians with their back on the ground and looking up at the other one in terror. Aaron held onto his brother's hand even after he had failed to grab him when he was teetering, and he could only watch as the rubbery material rose up from the floor and began to completely envelop his body. He tried to pull him up, but his own feet and legs had begun to sink into the mat as well.

"Oh dear, it appears that our twins have been disqualified." Argos said as the red rubber that had enveloped Apollo's legs and the green rubber that had covered Zarrow's chest and back melted back away. "Congratulations you two, it looks like the strangers are moving onto the next round. So much for blood being thicker than water, huh?"

"I guess so." Apollo replied, both of them thankful that the confining substance was off their bodies as they looked at the other two. By this time Aaron had given up the rescue effort and had fallen on top of his fallen brother, the two of them holding each other close as the rubber continued to creep up and join their bodies together. "So what's going to happen to them?"

"Well, that's up to you." Argos said with a grin as he tapped his muzzle. "You can either end their run right now, or you can choose to be merciful and let them go. The choice... is up to you."

Apollo and Zarrow looked at each other and huddled close to discuss. By this time only the two canine's heads were exposed, their bodies completely covered in the multicolored rubber that stretched and undulated with their movements. For a few minutes the two winners continued to discuss their options, until they finally turned to the AI with their answer. "We've decided to end their run here." Apollo said as Zarrow shook his head in agreement.

"Very well." Argos chuckled as a hidden door on their side of the room opened. "The next part of your challenge awaits, go on through while I'll take care of our... losers."

As the gryphon and ottercoon went through the door Argos' gaze turned to Eric and Aaron. "Now, what to do with you..." he said as the rubber flowed over their heads, both Dalmatians letting out gasps of surprise before their snouts were finally enveloped and their bodies solidified. "Perhaps you'll be wonderful floor art, a great conversation piece to be sure. 'Twins in Relief' we could call it..."