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Shattered Shards: Shardstalkers

Chapter 1

By Von Krieger

Gerrig smiled to herself as she floated in the cool dark waters of her meditation pool. The she-serpent delighted in the smooth, gentle flow of water over her scales, the sea's caress of her wing membranes, and the almost playful fondling it gave of other areas. The seas were not her domain; they belonged to one of her cousins, another of the Dark Pantheon. But the dark of the sea beneath her palace offered a tranquility and solitude that she had come to rely upon the channel her power to is fullest.

She smiled as one of her three pairs of hands cupped her midsection, she would soon have another champion to place in the mortal world. Her egg was ready; it merely needed to be fertilized by traditional means or by implantation. Gender mattered not to a being infused with divine power; her offspring would draw what it needed from her chosen one.

The dark goddess of fertility had sewn seeds that were now ripe for harvest. Metaphorical seeds, plants and sex had no involvement with what was to happen. Well... the plants didn't. But as with nearly everything she laid her six hands upon, sex was involved in some way. It wasn't required, but Gerrig found more enjoyment out of plans coming to fruition when it was. The time was right for her to reach out into the gaps between worlds, between realms of existence, and to pull from the ground the carrots of scheming she had planted. It didn't have quite the sinister ring to it, but it was the most accurate comparison to what she was doing. Planting something, only to rip it from the soil when it suited her purpose.

The three year cycle, where the Dark Moon was highest in the sky, when the wicked were the most powerful, it peaked tonight. Tonight Gerrig and her kin could reach out into the realm of probability and scoop up large pieces of existence. Large compared to what they could usually take or leave, usually little more than a small item the size of Gerrig's fist or forearm. During the last Black Apogee Gerrig had placed buildings, mansions, entire towns, places that would draw in the sort of power she craved, to coax, caress, and seduce those that dwelt near them into being her followers.

She whispered thanks to the Nameless Ones, the unknown great gods and goddesses that had made all of creation, and then stood back, out of even the scope of the lesser deities that came into being within their construct. A union of two disparate creations had resulted in a fusion of realities unlike anything Gerrig had ever known, the fabric of existence was weak, allowing for easier manipulation, as well as being able to, for brief moments, reach out and grasp the creations of others. True, Gerrig and her ilk could never truly affect them. They could only touch what the grand gods had cast aside, had decided not to be. Bits of time that could have been, but weren't. Probabilities, stories that could have been, but weren't, but were allowed to remain in a strange sort of limbo. They were not woven into the fabrics of the reality that had created them, but existed alongside them.

These scraps of reality, if one used the sewing analogy, could easily be snatched by anyone with the proper reach, and upon this night Gerrig had that reach. She closed her eyes and sent her power into the void between possibilities, seeking out the beacons of her power that existed on the manifold worlds where she had placed those three years prior.

The serpentine goddess reached out and gently (for her) took hold of the scraps and pulled, drawing them from the metaphorical sewing room floors and wastebins to her own room, taking the oddly shaped bits of... thread. The weaving analogy worked better here, stealing threads to weave into her own tapestry. With her concentration on her tasks, the metaphors really broke down, for as she was gathering in the harvest she was also sewing seeds, which any farmer knew was something you just didn't do. But then again, what mortal botanist would dare criticize a goddess on her cultivation practices.

She placed locations she had crafted, agents that she had coaxed in the proper direction, faithful clerics and acolytes of the manifold orders that worshipped her outright rather than in subterfuge (or unknowingly) as many did. Gerrig was not picky how her followers chose to worship, she wasn't one for letting them choose at all. Mortals were wayward little creatures, and they needed a guiding hand. She let her sister Miruku play the devoted mother, the kindhearted teacher offering advice, holding hands, kissing scraped knees and such, metaphorically. Most mortal races didn't quite have the terminology to describe the sort of nurturing that Gerrig favored, since it was somewhere between the ideas of mental domination that the snot-squid Aboleth and their Octopus Overlord rivals the Cthulhan had as a foundation of their underground societies and the surface races' ideas of love and affection.

Gerrig chuckled to herself as she cleared her mind, scouring the world beneath her for the proper places to set her newly acquired treasures. Some of them were places that she'd plucked up and moved into other realities, and it was easy to find matches for those. But for others it was a bit more difficult. It would take a little time, and she didn't want her children getting worried while she finished her business.

A few words of encouragement, and then there was the delightful pleasure granted of a job well done, a fraction of the delicious rewards she could grant her followers, knowing or not. Ah, she was feeling generous, granting a few of her newly arrived children a few of their unknown desires. Being an expectant mother always put her in a rather generous mood, and she hoped that her newly adopted children had one amongst them that would make Mommy very happy...

-o-

Thunder rumbled in the skies over the peaceful compound. Heavy rain knocked petals from flowers and sent leaves and fruit alike cascading down from the trees. Through the curtain of the rain the stone exteriors of the buildings could be seen. They looked almost out of place with their red clay-tiled roofs and the style that they were made in, it was as if they had been plucked from a desert somewhere and set down in the lush grove.

Dubbed 'Felicity House' the orphanage consisted of several of the buildings, connected by roofed walkways, and in some cases, shared basements. Most of the children were down in one of them, clustered around an old black and white TV, one of their caretakers futzing with the rabbit ears to try and improve the picture and sound.

"...Severe weather warning for the great tetra-country area, with a tornado watch in effect for..." the television went to static for a span of several seconds "...counties. Channel..." more static, "weather spotters have described the storm clouds as thick and eerie, almost with a red or purple tint to them."

Mimi sighed as she continued to futz with the television, there was a nice, big one up in the den, but with the orphanage out in the rural area, cable TV wasn't really an option, and the rain made the satellite dish act up. Plus if there really were tornados on the way, it would be safer for everyone being down here.

The catgirl looked around the room, her sister Nana was doing a headcount on the 7-10 year olds, while Tama and Pico were playing with some of the children to help ease their fears. Mimi wasn't fond of the new responsibilities that they all had thrust upon them, but she was more than willing to help out. The four older catgirls, Grace, Alto, Lucy, and the orphanage's owner, Felicia, all were undergoing some strange thing. Mimi had a pretty good idea of what it was, but from the few books she could find on her race, Catwomen were only supposed to go into heat for a few weeks out of the year, a year and a half prior, Felicia had gone into an almost constant state of heat, need, and longing.

Even with only a human sense of smell, it had stirred something up in a few of the older male orphans, several of them essentially forcing themselves upon Felicia, but the eldest catgirl was so needful it seemed that she let it happen, rather than fight them off. It had thankfully ceased during the pregnancy that resulted from the incident, but once the quadruplets had been born Felicia had gone right back into heat, and strangely seemed to take the other three in with her.

Grace seemed the least affected. She could temporarily hide her feline traits under a cloak of magic. They all could, though most of them not for very long, and she conducted all of Felicity House's business in the local towns; getting groceries and the like. The strange condition of heat didn't seem to be purely connected to all the catgirls who had gone through puberty, as Mimi and Nana were not continually lust stricken. Both of them had felt the ravages of heat earlier in the year, but it had come and gone, thankfully without pregnancy.

Felicia frowned upon it, as for some reason unknown to Mimi she had taken on the trappings of a Catholic nun. The elder catgirl wore her habit often, even though she usually went without any other sort of clothing, though that bothered her. Her nipples were just so sensitive, especially with her swollen, milk-filled breasts, wearing anything would irritate them.

Mimi had dealt with her heat in the way that seemed the most common, in the arms of another catgirl. Grace and Alto seemed quite keen to pleasure one another, while Lucy often joined in. But Nana and Mimi had taken care of one another. 'Sister' Felicia greatly frowned upon that, however, saying that it was wrong.

But Mimi didn't particularly care. There were no catboys around for her to make love to, and it seemed stranger to find passion in the arms of a member of another species, a human, rather than another catgirl.

The fuzz in the feed finally vanished, "Rainfall is most severe in this area here." The weatherman said, motioning with his hand around an oddly even weather front. It was strangely bullseye shaped, not the somewhat roundish or oval forms thunderstorms sometimes took, but one that was absolutely positively, perfectly circular. "This front is oddly symmetrical, as if it were focused around a single point. The cloud cover seemed to arrive out of nowhere, and this rainfall was not in our forecast for today. It's like the storm just popped into being, centered around this one point."

Mimi's eyes widened, for she knew exactly where that one point was: Felicity House.

-o-

The catgirl ran as fast as her clawed feet could carry her. She winced as she heard the ripping of carpet as she darted across the complex, Sister Felicia had to be told about this. She was the only one that could possibly know what to do, as none of the other catgirls had any experience with the supernatural.

Felicity House lacked a priest, and despite Felicia's upbringing, she didn't really seem comfortable actually leading a full service. She just went about with what she could remember as best she could. It made her happy, and many of the orphans and caretakers attended, though Mimi, Nana, Tama, and Pico did not. Mimi knew where her mentor would be, and as she pulled open the doors to the sanctuary she was struck by an almost tangible feeling of lust and need. It was like someone had thrown a ball at her midsection, but rather than impact with flesh, it instead threatened to send her spiraling into a near-bestial state of lust. Mimi sucked in a breath through her teeth and approached the alter, where Felicia was kneeling.

The catgirl winced, her mentor's lips were moving and she was praying, but rather than having her hands clasped in the familiar position, Mimi found that Felicia had one hand between her legs and the other cupping a milk-filled breast. Mimi found herself licking her lips, finding herself instinctively wanting to assure that those droplets did not go to waste. Resolutely though she managed to fight off the ache that sent moisture trickling down her bare thighs. Like all the catgirls she thought clothing should be something to wear when going out in public, and that nakedness was the way one ought to be at home, as it was what made them feel the most comfortable.

"M-ma'am," she stammered, resisting her urge to press up against Felicia.

The elder catgirl's eyes opened and she gasped, looking down in bafflement at the placement of her hands, "That's strange... I... I was praying, for an end to this..." she waved her hands around, not able to quite find the proper word. Though she was the oldest, Mimi had long since noted that she wasn't the brightest, and tended to be a little bit... stuffy about things.

"Desire?" Mimi suggested.

Felicia nodded and winced, as if giving it a name enabled the sensation to secure a deeper power over her, "Yes, that."

Mimi closed her eyes as Felicia began to absentmindedly lick her fingers clean, "Ma'am, there's something weird going on. The storm outside is centered on us. I saw the radar map thing on TV and it looks like a dart board, with us right at the center. This storm is supernatural and I... I..."

She could resist no longer, jumping on Felicia, her legs wrapping around her mentor's waist, her lips seeking out Felicia's own.

At first Felicia tried to resist, but she found her will to fight easily sapped by the soft lips against her own and the rough tongue within her mouth."Not in the sanctum!" she thought to herself, but as she found her hands slipping between Mimi's legs, she found herself obeying a small voice in the back of her mind. What better way to show devotion to life and love then to perform the act that made life, to make love in a holy place, under the gaze of her goddess.

The thought made Felicia hesitate, and with all her strength she managed to push Mimi off of her, and with all her will managed to prevent herself from pouncing the younger catgirl herself.

As if for the first time Felicia found herself looking around at the chapel. She had always thought that the furnishings had been those of her faith, but looking back, she couldn't exactly recall what any of them were. Not the statues in the corner, or the images of the stained glass windows, nor the large figure that loomed over the altar.

The windows showed sexual acts taking place, the statues were those of winged women with obscene never regions, and the stature behind the altar was that of a winged woman with many breasts and a serpent's tail instead of legs. The stone image was carved with grand attention to detail, the sapphire eyes seemingly to glint with amusement, and the outstretched arm beckoning Felicia back into the loving, blissful, erotic embrace of her goddess.

"N-no!" she stammered, backing away from the altar. Somehow the statue had clouded her mind, altering her perceptions. The serpent's bountiful breasts and rounded belly were signs that she was a goddess of pregnancy and fertility, and from the thick, bestial phallus that jutted from just below her waist, she was more than certainly a goddess of sex as well.

Felicia pulled Mimi to her feet, her anger managing to bury the fires of her lust beneath the flames of her rage. But still she found her body longing to be pressed close to her ward, and Mimi's purring and licking at her neck wasn't helping in the slightest. With a great effort, Felicia managed to pull the two of them from the chapel, their lust dimming as the great double doors closed behind them.

Mimi's eyes widened as most of the lusting sensation left her, "Oh geez, that was terrible!" she said, wincing.

Felicia nodded, her own desire having gone down a few notches, but she had spent so much time in the chapel that it seemed to have infused her to the very core. "I... I can't believe that that's been there for years and I've never noticed." She blushed and removed her habit, looking at it sadly.

"I don't think that I can wear this." She said softly, "I haven't been able to keep the vows that go along with it, and somehow managed to be seduced and coerced into..." she shuddered, "It's blasphemous is what it is. But I just... just can't..." she shuddered and shook her head.

There was an intense flash of red light, followed by a rumble of thunder that made the windows rattle in their frames for several seconds.

Felicia's eyes widened, "Oh! A thunderstorm, and a bad one! Mimi, we need to..."

Mimi shook her head, "Everyone is already down in the basement. But the storm isn't natural, that's what I came to tell you. It's perfectly round, and it's centered on Felicity House. Someone, or something, has..."

Another lightning strike turned the interior of the orphanage white, but rather than thunder, the flash was accompanied by something else, a momentary sensation of pressure and then release, and with that release Felicia and Mimi found themselves collapsing to the floor, knees unable to support them as their bodies were rocked by the incredibly, intense pleasure of a series of powerful, rapid climaxes.

"Welcome to all my followers," hissed a soft, pleasant, seductive, and yet still serpentine voice, "Your mistress calls you here so that you may earn your rewards as her loyal children, as well as to compete amongst yourselves for the right to become my champion."

Images flashed through the minds of the two catgirls; the power, the pleasure, and the rewards that could easily be theirs if they only obeyed and worshipped this being of obvious great power. The pounding of rain upon the orphanage roof had vanished, and the song of birds could be heard.

Felicia growled at the words and stormed to the door, determined to pummel the speaker into apologizing for inflicting a permanent state of heat upon her. But her wrath faded, replaced by awe as she saw the sky above her home.

Though it was bright as day, the sky was a deep black, dotted with stars as well as other, larger objects that were far, far closer. Some that looked as if one could fly to them, if one had wings. From her place on the third floor balcony across from the chapel Felicia could see over the garden between the three wings of the orphanage, past the dried up creek, and down into the mountain valley below. The plants and trees around the orphanage were far different than those found several hundred feet beyond it, and Felicia now knew why. They hadn't been planted, the buildings had been built here and sent into her own world.

They had been out of place and they would have given most people a subconscious feeling of unease, shooing them away. But Felicia was a supernatural creature herself, and had been drawn to the site, enraptured by its power, and when the structure was called home, it took all the occupants along with it.

"Mimi, make sure everyone stays inside. Get everybody down into the basements, find Grace and Lucy and get them down there too. Have the older children help move the nursery down there, and make sure that..." Felicia blinked, as if suddenly realizing something.

She looked down and ran a hand over her trim, flat midsection, looking puzzled. "Eliza, Kathryn, Delilah, and Anita." She said, naming off her four daughters who were in the nursery, being overseen by Grace. The eldest of the catgirls, aside from Felicia, Grace tended to the nursery, and though she was not pregnant she oddly had begun to lactate and enjoyed nursing Felicia's children, as well as the other half dozen babies. "Has it really been that long? I feel like I still ought to be pregnant..." Felicia said softly, "What did that so-called goddess do to me? Why do I feel so weird and..."

One of the older boys rounded the corner, panting, his long black hair hanging in his face, "Mimi, the TV signal went out. We can't get anything, not even on the radio on Mei's MP3 player." Yuri managed to pant. He stared at Felicia, who was holding her midsection, her teeth clenched.

"Is Sister Felicia alright?" he asked, worried, taking a step forward.

"I don't..." Mimi began, only to be knocked out of the way as Felicia darted forward.

"Why do I need your cock inside me?" she yowled, finishing her sentence, once more overcome with heat. The human youth's eyes widened, and he blushed at her words, not quite realizing what they meant before the catwoman impacted with him, her lips finding his, her taloned hands clawing for the zipper of his pants.

Mimi shuddered, unable to stop herself from watching as her mentor removed Yuri's pants and began to work her tongue over his half-erect member. The unmistakable scent (to a catgirl's keen nose) of semen filled the air; it seemed that the strange orgasmic sensation that had struck Felicia and Mimi had hit some of the other residents as well.

The catgirl found herself licking her lips, wanting to join Felicia in lapping Yuri's shaft clean of every drop, and then coaxing more from him. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the two, heat building once more in her loins. Mimi crawled over to the wall, leaning against it, her view perfect to watch Felicia and Yuri as the catwoman toyed with her young charge, coaxing him to full erection with her tongue.

"Mmm... just what I need..." Felicia purred as she lowered herself onto the young man's cock. Mimi felt a stab of jealousy, loathing that it wasn't her pussy that Yuri's delicious manhood was filling, but for the moment her fingers would suffice. Mmm... maybe if she asked, Felicia would share?

That seemed fair. She'd ask, just as soon as Felicia was done. The catwoman let out a yowl of pleasure as the young man filled her. He had looked confused at first, and a little afraid. But now it seemed he was quite enjoying himself, a blissful expression on his face. He almost seemed to be purring with delight. Mimi blinked at that, for Yuri was indeed purring. It was perfectly normal for a catperson to do, but Mimi was rather sure that humans didn't purr during sex. But as she drew in a breath through her nose, she found that Yuri's scent wasn't human. It was something familiar, and yet different. It was most definitely Yuri, but there was also a goodly portion of it that was feline, as well as a part of the familiar scent of the other catgirls, but... different.

Silver-grey claws tore their way through the toes of Yuri's shoes and the matching talons upon the young male's fingers were digging into the carpet as Felicia really began to ride him. The catwoman's own pinkish claws tore open Yuri's shirt, caressing the strips of white, grey, and black fur they found beneath the garment. Mimi watched in fascination as fur began to grow over Yuri's skin.

At first it seemed to be in a pattern like Mimi and the other catgirls had, but instead it seemed that they were stripes of darker fur, with the lighter shade emerging several seconds later. Was this what a male catperson looked like; more bestial and feral looking than the females? The young catgirl wasn't sure, but the soft shimmering coat of Yuri made her want to press up against him, to cuddle against the shiny softness. The catboy let out a playful growl and knocked Felicia's arms aside, making the catwoman tumble down atop him. He pressed ebon lips against hers, his face pushing outward slightly into a feline muzzle. Felicia didn't seem to mind and gleefully explored Yuri's new maw with her tongue.

Felicia's tail lashed from side to side, something cats usually did when agitated. Mimi had seen this happen when the older catgirls were getting intimate. It meant they'd claw your face off if you interrupted them. Quite rapidly Yuri had a tail of his own joining in the motion.

Mimi found herself wanting to play with it, for it was unlike her own and those of the other catgirls. It was large, thick, and very fluffy, with long, shaggy fur that Mimi wanted to run her fingers through, to cuddle up against, and to groom playfully with her rough tongue. In the span of a few minutes Yuri had gone from a well-built young human to a drop dead gorgeous snow leopard-boy with a coat of beautiful fur to die for. This sort of thing didn't just happen, and Mimi had never detected the slightest hint of anything feline in his scent, or anything supernatural for that matter.

Yuri let out a feral roar as he climaxed, joined by a pleasured yowl from Felicia, who threw her head back as the catboy's seed surged into her eager body. Mimi could see the stress and tension almost oozing from her mentor's body as each jet of seed pumped into her hungry sex.

With a satisfied sigh Felicia stood, revealing Yuri's altered equipment; his shaft was nearly a foot long, and rather oddly shaped if what Mimi had seen in the showers was anything to go by. It was also a shade of black that stood out against the white-grey fur of Yuri's underbelly. And despite his romp with Felicia the cute male was still hard, and he looked rather eager for more. Felicia looked somewhat confused and was staring off into space as several emotions seemed to have her in their grip simultaneously.

Mimi grinned, if her mentor wasn't going to tend to the needs of the cute male, he was open for some equally needy female to take and ravish. The catgirl was on Yuri in an instant, snuggling into the snow leopard's soft pelt.

The catboy had a fanged grin upon his face as he guided his length into Mimi's sopping snatch. The catgirl was more calm and placid than Felicia had been, but no less needy. Instead of on his back, Yuri sat instead, with Mimi in his lap. He purred happily, stroking her sapphire hair and licking playfully at her ears. It felt so natural to him, so right. It was what he ought to do for a soft, small, cute feline lover. He brushed a lock of bright red hair out of his eyes and tilted Mimi's head back, allowing him to look into the catgirl's needful eyes for a moment before giving her the sweet kiss she craved.

-o-

For the first time in quite some time Felicia's mind was perfectly clear, utterly free of the lustful fog that had bewitched it for such a long while. She wasn't sure how long exactly she had been under the influence of the demonic being that had perverted her chapel and seduced her and the other catgirls into committing such wicked, depraved acts of lust.

But even as she could recognize them as such, she didn't feel any sort of anger, regret, or outrage at the actions. She'd just... had sex with one of the young men that had been entrusted to her care, while he'd transformed into a feline creature, as much snow leopard as human, unlike herself. Felicia was more human-like than cat-like, and had never seen a creature like the one that Yuri had become.

Well, she had, but it hadn't been of a feline nature. But oddly there seemed to be a portion of Felicia's kind within the young male. The natural rosettes of the leopard were also joined by stripe-like markings that greatly resembled the strips and patterning of fur that grew over the bodies of all the catgirls.

A year, perhaps more, spent in debauchery had certainly left its mark upon Felicia, for as she turned her gaze upon the coupling of Yuri and Mimi her first thoughts weren't to scold them about having sex before marriage, or to warn of the dangers of pregnancy, or any of a dozen other things a responsible adult ought to. Rather her thoughts were along the lines of "They look like they're having fun. I wonder if they'd mind if I joined in?"

Despite the almost instinctual desire to join in, Felicia didn't feel the least bit aroused. For the first time in a long while she actually felt no sexual need whatsoever. Free of lust and of mental fog, Felicia actually felt like herself again, almost. She turned away from the mating cat-couple, ashamed at her wicked thoughts. Some darkness had slowly trickled into her soul, driving out the pure light that had once dwelled there. There was a strange disconnect between her rational mind and her emotions and instincts. She recognized that the way she was feeling was wrong, that it was strange, that it was not who she was. Yet her emotions and desires were completely anathema to the person she believed herself to be.

Felicia shuddered, her fur standing on end as a shiver went through her body. Something terrible was happening nearby, but she didn't know where. Felicia closed her eyes and tried to focus upon the strange sensation, but it slipped away from her. Held almost tauntingly out of her reach.

"You cannot use your mistress' power and reject it at the same time." Purred an amused voice.

Felicia spun, looking all around her, but could not find the source of the strange voice. It sounded... oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place a finger on it.

"Things are happening that are beyond your control, pretty kitty," the voice continued, "And the only way you're going to be able to come out of this without anyone getting hurt is to let in a little bit of that darkness."

"Who are you?" Felicia growled, turning in a slow circle, not wanting to put her back to an unseen foe, she edged towards a door and tugged it open, her keen feline eyes seeing through the darkness, but finding nothing but a stairwell.

"For as long as the Dark Moon is at its zenith and the Black Pantheon tests its champions, I will be your guide." The voice purred, "Beyond that? Who knows?"

"Dark Moon? Black Pantheon? What's going on?!" the catwoman virtually roared, echoing up and down the empty staircase.

"Your orphanage and all those within it have been plucked from your world and placed in this one. Gerrig, the dark goddess whom you are championing, has called you and others like you here to do battle. You will fight for her amusement, and out of it all one of you will rise and become champion, becoming mother or father to the next of her demigod children." The voice explained.

Felicia wrinkled her nose, "I don't want any part of that, fighting, dark goddesses, demon children, anything like that! I just want to have a nice, peaceful life here. I want to help people!"

The voice chuckled, "Right now there are four of your orphans fighting in your stead. The only way you're going to get to them before something unfortunate happens is to accept that the darkness is a part of you."

Felicia slammed a fist into the wall, sending bits of plaster falling onto the steps.

"Dark does not always mean evil, you know. The darkness in a movie theater that lets you more easily see the screen, the warm darkness beneath your bed covers in the morning, the darkness surrounding two lovers sleeping in a tender embrace..."

Felicia gritted her teeth and stopped struggling against the unfamiliar mindscape of her emotions and instincts, she let the person that the dark goddess had forced her into becoming taken over. But only for a moment, and in that moment she heard feral growls of rage and a cry of pain. It was enough, she knew where she needed to be.

Her claws clicked upon the tile floor as she burst out the front door, heading towards the fish pond behind the orphanage. Felicia hoped she would be in time...