FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

PelTar Tower rose higher than any other tower in the sprawl. It was the final built, after they leveled the last pre-war skyscraper that stood in its place. Even an express elevator took twenty minutes to climb the length of its spine. The massive structure was in the shape of an octagon, and its roof was one of the few that had no greenery growing across it. Ice and snow capped it like a mountaintop trapped forever in winter.

Normally the roof stayed sealed off, with a single stairwell that led to it. That dark, unused stairwell reminded Lunelei of the pit’s quiet. It seemed to him one needed a pilgrimage to the sprawl’s extremes for silence. Its depths or heights. A sleek skin of ice covered the handle of the door. When he grasped it, he glanced down the stairwell to see if anyone followed him.

Just outside the stairwell was an amusement park called Stratosphere that made up the entirety of the tower's top district. Towers typically layered themselves in residential, business, and recreational arcologies that alternated in bands. Lunelei needed to know a code-word for someone at the ticket booth to guide him to the stairwell. The move through the arcology to here all felt very smooth and subtle: Lunelei still bought a ticket, and his guide stopped at different sites; they patiently meandered along until reaching the stairwell to the roof. To this meeting Lunelei wore a black crop-top shirt and compression shorts and carried a single weapon that he concealed in the palm of his hand.

Taking a deep breath, he tapped Archayon’s magic. Just the slightest of touches to wrap a protective layer of warmth around himself. Then he opened the door and walked onto the roof. The frigid air still made the silver dragon shudder a little. His earfrills fluttered in the wind, and the air instantly turned thin and sharp in his lungs. Across the roof, towards its ledge lingered six other dragons. All different shapes and sizes. Clenching the small bar in his hand, Lunelei approached them.

Littered around the group were open weapon cases. Some dragons had guns strapped across their shoulders, all but one wore body armor across most of their scales. One black and maroon-striped dragon tinkered with a rifle, another wore a full body suit that covered everything but their horns, another with a cobalt hide wore as little as Lunelei. Kisk, Lunelei was surprised to see, was among them as well. The tall and lean brass dragon dressed in a sleek plated combat armor that fit snugly to his form.

“Right on time, pit fighter,” the black and maroon dragon said. “We was worried you’d keep us waiting.”

“This your muscle, Kisk?” the cobalt asked with a low hiss.

“Oh he’s the real deal,” the black said before approaching Lunelei. “I’ve watched his streams.” The black dragon’s predatory grin made it difficult not to feel tense, even when the dragon offered his gloved hand. “Name’s Gazz, good to meet you.”

Lunelei shook his hand and simply said, “Lune.” Gazz was shorter than Lunelei—all the dragons on the rooftop except Kisk were.

“Don’t mind Mosk, he’s an asshole.” Gazz winked. It made him seem suddenly, friendly and handsome. A band of maroon went up past the collar of his body armor and across the top part of his muzzle. An enticing clear border of red and black Lunelei wanted to trace further down his body—

“Call me an asshole again. We’ll see if I keep you alive tonight,” Mosk threatened, breaking Lunelei’s train of thought. Mauren was right about needing to visit a brothel—just about every friendly gesture had an effect on Lunelei these days. The silver dragon needed to especially keep his distance here. After all, these dragons were the enemy.

Lunelei asked Kisk, “What are we going after tonight?”

“We’re going to break into the Lower Warrens and take some things,” Kisk said, looking over the skyline in the direction of the palace.

Lunelei felt a pit drop in his stomach, though, he tried not to show anything. Mosk, who’d apparently watched him closely, laughed and announced, “Your muscle’s scared, Kisk.”

Lunelei glared at the cobalt dragon. Gazz clapped him on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Lune. Ole Gazz here’ll keep you safe.”

Lunelei was sure if he tried to back out now they would kill him to make sure he didn’t blow their operation. It was not the Lower Warrens as a target that worried Lunelei, though. It was who might be there.

Lunelei asked Kisk, “You have a way in?”

Kisk nodded. “Our previous operative might have been captured, but she gave us the names of the operational staff for the Warrens. It’s easy to get one of them to flip when you have their family at gunpoint.”

Lunelei’s heart pounded in his chest when he asked, “You mean Setara’s attendant? That dragoness that got caught at the ball?” Lunelei tried to keep things vague. Not make it seem like an accusation, but the silver dragon thinking out loud. Kisk’s warning look told Lunelei he was utterly disposable.

All the dragons in the group gave Lunelei hard stares. They were all members, then, of Archayon’s Phoenix. At least he was on the right path… now he just needed to survive the night. It was Gazz who broke the silence, “Watch where you step, pit fighter. Lot could go wrong tonight.”

Lunelei ignored the obvious threat and changed the subject, “When do we start?”

***

You should just go talk to him, Kyle said to Chisur.

Chisur sat in the lounge of his suite, his daughter in his arms with a bottle of formula. Kyle couldn’t actually nurse, but it was hardly an issue. With how freewheeling dragons were in their gender and body modifications, roughly half of all newborns fed on formula. Eska lay balled in Chisur’s right arm, tiny clawed hands groping the plastic bottle. The little dragoness carried Chisur’s scales and a tuft of Kyle’s white hair. Her horns were still nubs at the back of her head, and her wings would stay clutched to her back for some months yet. Her tongue hung a little out of her mouth. She got the recessive trait Chisur had that gave him an oversized tongue, and his daughter didn’t have quite the motor skills to figure out how to keep it all in her mouth without some help.

You’re supposed to be sleeping, Chisur answered back to his mate.

It’s hard to when your worry is so strong it starts to cloud my thoughts. The door to Chisur’s bedroom opened and the prince heard his mate say aloud, “Let me take Eska. I’m not allowed in the Warrens anyways, and perhaps talking there with our connection dampened… it might mean something to him, Chisur.” Kyle had crossed the room while he spoke and now his hands slid across Chisur’s collarbone. A light embrace, Kyle nuzzling his cheek from behind before a whispered, “We’ve both been worried about him.”

“I just…” Chisur leaned back into his mate, watching his daughter suckling at the bottle.

“Talk to him, see what he has to say. This might have less to do with us and more to do with what he needs.”

“Needs we can’t provide?”

Kyle chuckled and Chisur felt his mate’s head shake. “You can’t be everywhere for everyone. You know this. Nor do dragons want you to. Go to him, just tell him we’re worried, and we want to be here for him as much as we can.” Kyle circled the couch and offered his hands. “Give me Eska and I’ll gladly hand you back your daughter when you return.” Chisur did, kissing Kyle’s brow before he whispered, “I promise not to be long.”

Chisur left lightly dressed, heading for the nearest entrance to the Lower Warrens. There were physical access entrances within the palace, which Chisur always preferred to take over the magical means most dragons used. Not having his magic and tether cut off all at once, but slowly as he entered each layer of wards helped him adjust. The Lower Warrens were dug underground, beneath the sea-floor behind the palace. A maintenance elevator thirty paces across ran the length of the descent down the sloped concrete tunnel to the facility. Chisur rode the lift alone, sitting at a bench and leaning against a guard rail. His earfrills twitched in the silent cave, the only noise being the hum of the elevator motor.

The trip usually took ten minutes. Chisur guessed he was halfway through the descent when the lights of the cave cut out and the elevator snapped to a halt. In the pitch black, Chisur could not see his hand in front of his face. A backup battery kicked on and the elevator began moving, slowly, with lights blinking along its edges. The red lights cast the tunnel in rhythmic, foreboding glow. Chisur reached for Kyle and found his tether all too easy to draw on. Which meant someone had done something to the wards around the Warrens.

***

A week passed quickly. Kyle was right that Jerawk would spend most of his time monitoring communications, leading meetings with diplomats, and reporting to both the council and Chisur. Being so busy, Jerawk felt strange to be disconnected from his mates much as he was. As an attendant, he could count on one hand the number of days he didn’t spend hours by Chisur’s side, but things changed in a week. Especially because of Casey always drawing away his attention in the evenings.

Casey, a secret he recognized he kept to himself for reasons all too selfish. Jerawk had very little things that were his, and, in a strange way, Casey was his. Even if Jerawk was unsure how much he actually liked the human. Casey did a poor job as an informant, and cared little about describing Earth in ways Jerawk understood. Still, each evening they met and chatted for several hours at a time, Jerawk taking the late shifts in the Lower Warrens just to be sure no one knew about their connection.

Mostly it consisted of running a switch board: swapping across multiple screens while Teneer patiently explained Archayon to various governments. He would take a look at a screen, take a sip of tea (floral smelling, amber colored with a nutty taste and heavy dose of caffeine), and check for a message from Casey.

Casey never had a regular time when he logged on. The ansible couldn’t exactly leave his apartment and Jerawk supposed the human had a life to maintain. Still, tonight he was later than normal, and Jerawk felt worried and antsy. The empty room he sat in had several bare desks, each with a single monitor, touchpad, and a keyboard. The bank of computers that housed Teneer and the ansible receivers existed under the floor. The cloistering, sanitary white of the Lower Warrens, with its overhead light that made it difficult to track day from night, always put Jerawk on edge.

So when Casey sent, What’s up, Jerawk? the dragon felt a little wave of relief pass through him at the company.

Baby-sitting Teneer. You’re late tonight.

Aww, you miss me? Jerawk huffed but Casey saved him from responding. I was out with some friends, no worries. Just a bit drunk.

Well at least one of us is enjoying themselves.

Lower Warrens got you down again?

It’s clammy here.

Word. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I promise I’ll always try to check-in. I really look forward to talking to you. It’s like I’ve got a secret, like when I was in the closet, only this secret feels good and exciting.

Closet?

Casey explained the concept while Jerawk shuddered at the thought. He knew before the Scarring certain places like that existed on Archayon. They’d already discussed how Kyle’s parents kicked him out for being gay—it was how they each confirmed they knew the same Kyle Reed. That strange initial connection between them helped solidify Jerawk’s commitment to maintaining their contact.

Jerawk shifted the subject: Are your governments still not saying much?

Just that they are “in contact.” I even checked international news sources at the library for you today. Everyone seems nervous to give anything away.

It’s troubling they won’t share anything with your people.

Yeah governments suck.

We decided today to plan a visit to the U.N. Ideally next month.

Dope, probably the best idea. I imagine for countries here this kinda feels like getting picked out for dodgeball.

There you go again.

Kids line up, team captains pick the kids one at a time for their team. The kids that get picked first are considered the best at the game while the kids that get picked last are always considered the people they want on their team the least. I always got picked last.

But what is dodgeball? Jerawk sipped his tea and wondered how Casey would respond.

It’s in the name, isn’t it?

I’m just messing with you.

Lol. You had me there. I can never really tell with you, you know?

I’m picking up stuff from you, dude. Jerawk typed this with a slight smile, his tail swishing a little behind his chair.

Ugh don’t say dude. Just sounds fake.

Word.

Stop it.

;-)

Damn, I think I’m a bad influence. Casey said, and Jerawk took a moment to check through Teneer’s logs. It took a bit, so he didn’t immediately respond when Casey said, I’m really glad I get to talk with you, Jerawk. Then after silence from Jerawk’s end, Casey had quickly added, Sorry if that was weird.

It’s not weird, Jerawk wrote back. I’m glad we get to chat too.

Wanna know what my twitter timeline’s been talking about?

Sure, Jerawk wrote before he quickly added, Getting more tea, I’ll be back.

Just use brb, dude.

Jerawk carried the transparent mug out of the room. The Lower Warrens were a nerve center for Archay’s intelligence operations. Jerawk running his diplomatic envoy out of it was, perhaps, a bit of a tell about their true intentions with Earth. The Lower Warrens kept such top security that Jerawk only got access to the facility two weeks before. Chisur could access the Warrens, but wards all around the complex kept it magically dead and suppressed tethers so information could not be relayed outside of it. All of which Chisur found deeply uncomfortable. Jerawk didn’t blame the prince; even without Chisur’s deep connection to magic, not feeling Archayon’s natural flow of energy made Jerawk’s scales prickle. With the complex’s low ceiling and harsh lights, everything about it spelled out discomfort and focusing on Casey was an easy escape for Jerawk.

The small, yellow dragon passed a few other dragons, but at this time of night most of the work going on was just systems monitoring. The closest breakroom was empty except for some tables and chairs. Jerawk stuck the mug into a nook in the wall and keyed a few buttons into the display above it before he waited for his tea to brew. He yawned while more amber liquid filled the mug.

When he returned to his monitor he saw Casey left him plenty to go through: So anyways, people here are trying to decide if dragons fuck. It got started cause in that video there were a lot of them with open shirts or no tops and so now people, or like, all the queer people I follow on twitter, which is most the people I follow, wanna know if dragons are just really cool and chill about sex.

Jerawk settled back into his chair and asked, Is that something you really want to know?

People already drew porn and stuff, so yeah, why not?

Porn?

Yeah, like there’s some stuff of you.

Jerawk winced a little. Not exactly the sort of impression I wanted to make on humans.

Yeah, another debate is whether people are pro-fucking dragons or not. Lot of people already assume Kyle is into it.

You already know the answer to that.

Yeah, you were his first dragon right?

Let’s just say our species are compatible.

Jerawk took a sip and rounded through Teneer’s logs again. When he returned to the chat Casey had written, I’m pro dragon fucking. Then, Sorry, that was probably weird. I’m not coming onto you or anything. It’s just like let folks chase their bliss, right?

Jerawk smirked. Seeing Casey’s embarrassment across the screen was too inviting not to tease at. But would you fuck a dragon?

I’m not against it, I guess.

Would you fuck me? Jerawk sent the message as a joke, not even considering he had no idea what Casey looked like.

Casey’s message client stayed silent for several minutes. Long enough that Jerawk started typing out an apology when the dragon got a flat, Yes.

Jerawk snickered, feeling a bit relieved he’d not run Casey off. He responded: Pro-fuck then.

Casey quickly excused himself, I’m genuinely curious and since I know about you and Kyle and you also seem like a cool dude… Can we, uh, change the subject?

Sure thing. I’ll just keep all that in mind when I visit your planet.

>.>

This symbol Jerawk didn’t understand, but let it drop until Casey added, I can’t believe I’m flirting with an alien.

It’s a cultural exchange.

Funny way to describe wanting to exchange fluids.

Jerawk laughed loud enough he had to slap a hand over his muzzle before sheepishly peeking out the door to make sure no one heard him. That’s when the lights overhead cut out and plunged the entire facility into darkness.

***

They set up their portal on PelTar’s rooftop: a simple set of rods laid out on the ground in the shape of a dragon sized oval. An electric spark knifed across it before the ground lit up, revealing a room on the other side. A short dragon in a warren uniform—a light gown of lilac with gold trim—waited for them. Stepping through, Lunelei felt a little nauseous at the loss of magic. He still carried only the weapon in his palm. It was a rod that concealed a whip-thin retractable blade the length of Lunelei’s arm. When he revealed it, Gazz gave an appreciative whistle.

The weapon was called Filament. Nanites powered by Lunelei’s magic held together its structure, and when powered it could pierce steel with a thrust and slice through most armor. It was an experimental weapon Lunelei had stolen but not yet used, so he had no clue how well it would hold up in a fight. But it was a good choice for their target: tight hallways and small rooms made up most of the Warrens, and any sort of fighting would be close quarters more often than not.

When they all stepped through the portal, Mosk had to cling to Gazz’s side to keep from falling over. Lunelei realized the cobalt dragon must be the team’s mage. The portal closed behind the seven dragons, and they stood in a black chamber with a white ceiling and a white hallway leading into the facility.

Kisk glanced at the dragon in the Warren uniform and ordered, “Cut the power.”

The dragon said, “It should happen any second. I set up a kill program to execute after the portal closed. That’ll take care of the wards and then you’ll let my mate go, right?”

Lunelei frowned at the emerald green dragon. The fool.

Kisk lifted the pistol in his hand and unloaded a round into the dragon’s skull.

The power cut and saved Lunelei from the sight of the ballistic shredding the top half of the dragon’s head. They were plunged into darkness before the emergency power cycled on. The austere white of the Lower Warrens shifted to an orange glow and Lunelei gasped as magic surged through the entire facility for perhaps the first time in years.

Kisk said, “You all have your orders and a layout of the facility. Kill anyone you come across. Lune, you’re with me and Gazz.”

Lunelei’s grip on Filament tightened. He had hoped subduing would be enough, but no. Kisk wanted no witnesses.

Mosk slid into a sitting position, closing his eyes before he began a communion with Archayon. Channeling the energy of the planet would allow Mosk to extend his senses throughout the facility. Lunelei guessed that was how Kisk planned to quickly map and keep track of everyone in the Warrens. The other three dragons of their party ran ahead and took a hall to their left, and soon ballistic fire began to fill the halls. Both Kisk and Gazz touched a button at their collars before a combat helmet deployed from the back of their armor and covered their heads. Kisk’s face disappeared entirely while Gazz’s left his muzzle exposed.

Gazz hefted his rifle and said, “Lead the way, boss.”

***

Jerawk didn’t know what the fuck to do. He knew there were evacuation protocols, but the little dragon completely froze up as soon as he heard gunfire erupt through the facility. Shouts and screams—people were getting killed. He shut the door to his room and turned the lock. He had no idea if that would stop anything but what else could he do?

Scared and not thinking clearly, he went to his monitor and started typing.

Shit shit shit

What’s up?

I don’t know? Gunshots? Fuck it’s an attack of some kind

Shit. Why are you talking to me?

I don’t know what to do Casey

Hide?

I’m trying

Okay, Jerawk, I’ll stay right here with you. Just grab your phone, find somewhere and just keep talking to me.

Jerawk grabbed his phone from the desk and looked around the room. The door slid open and close, so he couldn’t bar or block it. Whole body shaking, trying to keep from falling over with panic, he slipped under his desk and wrapped his tail around himself. He prayed no one would see him, or that a stray bullet wouldn’t fly through the wall and hit him.

He checked his phone and saw Casey sent, You hidden?

Thank the Queen the ansibles and Teneer ran on the backup power. Literally anyone with him, even an alien from another world, was better than nothing.

Yes. Just a sec.

Jerawk sent a frantic all caps message to Kyle and Chisur. He didn’t need to wait long before Kyle responded, We know. Chisur just got there. More help is on the way, but something’s keeping the portal blocked. Stay put. You’re going to be okay. I love you, Jerawk.

The way it was said nearly made Jerawk vomit. The sort of thing someone added to a message they thought might be the last they send to someone. Still he responded, Okay, I love you both.

Entering a communion to help Chisur, won’t be able to send anything else. See you soon.

Jerawk nodded before returning to Casey. Help is coming.

That’s great. Just keep talking to me till then. I’m right here.

***

The large, sheet metal doors to the Warrens’ maintenance entrance gaped open. Some dragons saw Chisur flying down and frantically called out for help. Chisur told them it was safe and to flee up the tunnel. As he walked into the Warrens, his body began to glow. In his suite, Kyle sat in their focusing chamber, Eska on his lap while he communed with Archayon. His mate channeled the planet’s energy across their tether to the prince. A year ago, such a thing was unheard of, but Kyle and Chisur’s bond had only grown stronger, and the two were able to do things with magic that used to be considered only theoretical.

With an overflowing source of magic at his disposal, Chisur marched through the large maintenance entrance and into the familiar, narrower corridors of the Warrens. Walls were made of a transparent plastic like their phone casings, and usually if the walls were transparent a dragon could see from one end of the facility to the other, but with the floors emitting a soft orange light, everything was dim and confused.

Not that Chisur needed sight with Kyle channeling magic as he was. While he focused on the physical sensations before him, Kyle’s mind reached out through the Warrens, using the flow of magical energy to track bodies moving around in the chaos. There’s a mage at the usual entrance. I imagine he’s doing something similar to what I’m doing.

Only he’s not arming anyone with an endless supply of magic, Chisur thought as he ran towards the sound of fighting.

It looks like there are two groups to deal with. The first one is actually making its way right for you.

And the second?

They’re headed in the opposite direction.

Chisur cursed. What about Jerawk?

I’m still looking for him. There are a lot of dragons fleeing and running around.

The attackers and the mage would be obvious to pick out, but anyone else…

Chisur rounded a corner and saw the silhouettes of three dragons forty paces away. They ducked into a room. Chisur heard screaming and gunshots. He snarled and charged down the corridor; only for one of the dragons to face him and unload his rifle. Chisur put up a shield soon as he saw the rifle and the bullets stayed suspended in the air between both dragons, but Chisur needed to stop in his tracks to maintain the shield. His attacker studied him for a moment, then turned and looked into the room to say something.

Mistake. Chisur stomped his foot, and a surge of energy snaked through the floor and beneath the dragon before the metal floor exploded up into a spike. Chisur impaled his attacker on the warped stalagmite, pinning him by the gut to the ceiling before he roared and went after the other two. Both rushed around the mangled dragon and one dropped an explosive before they turned a corner. Chisur reached out toward the grenade and closed a fist around it. There was a muffled eruption as a field of magic absorbed the explosion before Chisur called out, “Your bullets and bombs won’t work on me.”

One’s about to rush you, Kyle warned as Chisur stepped to the corner. The prince saw a swing of a stun baton. The weapon crackled with electricity when Chisur caught its end, snarling in pain as a shock went through his body before he channeled his own energy down the rod and into the hands of the dragon holding it. Chisur smelled his scales cooking beneath his armor before the dragon dropped to the ground. When he looked up, he saw the last one turn the corner of a hallway.

Chisur made to go after them but Kyle said, Wait!

“What?” the prince snarled aloud. To his left there was a dragon with his throat torn open by bullet. Further down the hall another lied on her back, blood pouring from a cavernous wound in her chest. A trail of corpses followed the dragon Chisur pursued.

I found Jerawk, Kyle said. The other group is heading right for him. They’re stalled by some kind of security force, but hurry Chisur.

Right. Jerawk. He’d come here to see Jerawk. And now he needed to save him. Cursing, Chisur started running straight for his mate.

***

“You going to do anything?” Gazz yelled over the sound of gunfire. He bled from a wound in his shoulder where a bullet punctured his armor. Though aside from holding his rifle in his left arm, the dragon didn’t seem to show much pain.

Down the hall were two guards in NanoArmor. The suits collapsed into the size of a band worn around the wrist before expanding for full body protection. Lunelei was not surprised to encounter them; though, it was bad luck that Mosk was not able to warn them. The mage had been dealing with something else at the time.

Lunelei asked, “You’ve got explosives, right?”

“Just some grenades that won’t do shit to those walking tanks,” Gazz snarled.

Lunelei exchanged a glance with Kisk, who nodded to Gazz. Grumbling, Gazz readied an explosive while Lunelei crouched on the pads of his feet and started channeling a minor spell. It only took a few moments before he was ready. His eyes snapped open and he said, “Do it.”

Gazz tossed the grenade over his shoulder and into the hall. Fire opened up at the explosive as Lunelei leapt with unnatural speed into the corridor. He slammed against the wall feet first, dexterously running along it before leaping over both armored guards. Lunelei landed behind them. Both dragons started to turn to face Lunelei just as the grenade went off. Shrapnel exploded in the hall and both guards absorbed the worst of it with their armor. Lunelei felt a few splinters of metal slice his shoulder and leg before he lashed out with Filament.

The one weakness with the NanoArmor is it reacted to where the most perceived danger was, like focusing most of its strength in the direction of a blast. Lunelei’s blade slashed up one dragon’s side, cutting open the dragon’s armor in a neat split before the nanites sewed the gash shut. It mattered little, Lunelei had cut deep and snapped ribs, and, before the nanites finished repairing the armor of the first dragon, he thrusted Filament into the helmet of the other. The needle-like blade pierced through the dragon’s skull, and Lunelei released a shock of magic down the blade into the victim’s brain. The silver dragon knocked both over with a shove, and the dragons struggled with their suits as they died trapped in them.

When Kisk entered the hall, he was grim. He said, “We’re down two men. We need to hurry.”

Gazz had lost his grin, too. “It’s that fucking prince, Kisk. I just know it.”

“We don’t,” Kisk said, “And our job isn’t to kill him.”

“Fuck you, I’m going after him.”

“Do as you wish. Lune?”

“Sir.”

“We still have work to do.”

Lunelei followed Kisk, certain he would not see Gazz again.

Fighting intensified the deeper into the Warrens they went. Security protocols had fallen into place, and the guards on duty mustered to protect what Kisk was after. Lunelei felt silly for not recognizing sooner that they were headed to the central data core of the Warrens. A hub of A.I. managed databanks that stored and decoded all the intel the Lower Warrens collected. What else could Kisk have been after in the Lower Warrens but information?

Lunelei rushed a rifle wielding guard, Filament whipping in the air. He slashed upward and cleaved off the dragon’s arm. A scream erupted in Lunelei’s earfrill as he bulled forward with the wounded dragon to a spot where two more guards had barricaded the corridor with desks while they fired down the hall. Each hesitated when they saw Lunelei charging with one of their companions as a shield. By the time one of the barricaded dragons discharged his weapon it was too late. Lunelei hurled the armless, screaming dragon over the barricade at them. The rifle was knocked upwards by the dragon’s dead weight before the gun fired and filled the dragon’s waist. The two uninjured guards struggled to get up, but Lunelei already stood over them. Filament made quick, precise work of them.

Panting, and studying the wreckage of bodies beneath him, Lunelei didn’t hear Kisk approach until he climbed over the barricade.

“Gazz confirmed that it is the prince,” Kisk said. “He’s dead now. Mosk says the way forward is clear except for that room right there.” The dragon pointed down the hall. “Kill whoever is in there to make sure they can’t meddle. Then be ready to hold off Chisur.”

Lunelei nodded while Kisk walked past. With his back to Lunelei, it would be so easy to run him through. Blood dripped from the tip of Filament while he watched Kisk turn into a room a dozen paces away. On the other end of the corridor, the silver dragon heard the self-righteous roar of the prince, still just a bright glowing comet hurtling towards him. Lunelei sighed. He needed to kill the dragon hiding in the room a few doors down from the data core. Mosk, Lunelei knew, watched the silver dragon for any sign of disobedience. He needed to be as convincing as possible.

***

Things have gone quiet, Jerawk texted. I don’t hear anymore gunshots.

Maybe it’s stopped? Casey suggested. Just wait there for someone to come get you. Chisur is coming to get you.

Jerawk nodded and watched the door. He heard someone outside, messing with the keypad. It didn’t open. Jerawk, voice shaky, called out, “W-who is it?”

Something thin and pointed suddenly pierced the door. Jerawk ducked back beneath the desk while he listened to metal getting shorn apart, the sound making him cover his ears. He heard the clang of the metal door kicked to the ground. Jerawk had no choice, he had called out so whoever broke through the door knew he was in here. If he faced them he might be able to do something at least.

Jerawk looked over the desk and froze up. Standing inside the room was a silver dragon. He wore little, and the weapon he carried seemed like a strange chord of metal. His hide was splashed in blood, and, with the door open, Jerawk nearly gagged on the stench of death coming from the halls. The silver dragon stared back, shocked as well for a moment before his jaw set to a glower. He said quietly, “I’m sorry, but I need to make this look good.”

The silver dragon crossed the room so quick Jerawk barely had time to put up his hands. It didn’t matter. The bigger dragon’s punch snapped Jerawk’s head backwards and he spun, colliding muzzle-first into a wall. A hand closed around his throat, cutting off his air in an instant. His head throbbed in pain as a knee slammed into the small of his back. A choking gasp erupted from the little yellow dragon. Jerawk had the horrid thought this brute just planned to beat him to death. With the hand still around his throat, the silver dragon tossed Jerawk like a ragdoll across the room. His tail and legs hit a desk and he pitched to the ground, brow slamming into the tile. Light erupted behind his vision. He sobbed and managed to roll onto his side, clutching his skull before a hand on his horn yanked him to his feet. The silver dragon dragged Jerawk into the hallway before he shouted, “Stop!”

Jerawk froze, eyes blurry from tears. He saw something glowing down the orange-lit hallway. Something sharp poked under his jaw, and the silver announced, “This is what you’re here for, isn’t it Chisur?”

“Let him go if you want to live.” The sound of Chisur’s voice made Jerawk begin to weep. It was a deep, infuriated snarl. The prince must have been at least twenty paces down the hall.

The silver dragon told him, “I’m a mage, prince. If you try to use any spells I’ll know and then plunge this blade into your mate’s skull.”

Chisur roared, a great furious bellow that came closer to a beast than a sapient being. But the prince didn’t move any closer.

Jerawk whimpered, “Please,” but he wasn’t sure who the plea was for.

The silver whispered, “I know you’re scared. I promise I’m not going to kill you.”

The gentle, apologetic voice made Jerawk’s breath catch. Chisur asked down the hall, “What are you after?”

But the silver ignored him and kept whispering to Jerawk, “Please, for the sake of all who died here, give this message to your prince: Tell him to meet me, disguised and alone, at the North Cattalon Memorial Museum, fourth recreational arcology of CattaCatta, two days from now at noon.”

Jerawk was shaking when his prince bellowed, “Answer me!”

Behind them, another dragon said, “Lune, we’ve got what we’ve come for.”

Lune, the silver dragon, said over his shoulder, “Alright, you get a head start back to the portal and I’ll catch up.”

“We won’t wait for you.”

“Understood.”

Jerawk heard another dragon’s feet pad down the corridor before Lune whispered again. “You get all that?”

Jerawk nodded best he could without disturbing the point pricking his scales.

“Repeat it back to me.”

Jerawk did his best; it took a few tries to get through all of it, but once he did Lune said, “I’m sorry, for all of this.” This was not directed to Jerawk, but down the corridor to Chisur.

“Then release him and come into custody,” Chisur ordered.

Lune ignored him and said to Jerawk, “Remain still or I might kill you.” The grip on his horn tightened, as Jerawk tried his best to obey. It was strange, feeling that blade prick him. He felt it push through his head, a painful stab at his sinuses before slipping past his skull, the blade poking out just above Jerawk’s eye. Though Jerawk didn’t know that. He felt it like an injection of a needle, a numbness, a flare of pain once the blade removed itself and blood filled the gaps it left in his scales. Chisur howled in anguish as Lune tossed Jerawk back into the room he had hid in. Jerawk’s back slammed into the wall, and that honestly hurt worse than being stabbed.

Then Chisur was there, the dragon glowing bright, hands cupping Jerawk’s muzzle and whispering Jerawk’s name in pained questions. Magic flowed through the wound and it healed instantly, Jerawk gasping as he looked up at his prince. Both dragons’ eyes were wet with tears when they embraced. Jerawk wept, body wracked with sobs that made his aches worse while the prince held him and cooed, “You’re safe… I’m here, Jerawk. I’m not going to leave your side.”

And the little dragon wept and wept.

***

Lunelei caught up with Kisk right as the brass dragon reached the entrance. Only Mosk and another dragon that Lunelei didn’t get the name of remained. In a single moment they all stood back on the roof of PelTar. Kisk’s helmet retracted and he took a banded collar the nameless dragon had stolen. The device was a glossy looking silver. Lunelei had no idea what Kisk retrieved from the central data core.

Kisk told the group, “The pay of those who died will be split among you. The prince was an unexpected problem. There’s no one to blame for this operation going sideways like it did, but we did accomplish our objective.”

Lunelei felt very worn, both physically and mentally. Yet he kept on alert and watched the three remaining dragons carefully. Mosk said, “Quick thinking baiting the prince like that, Lune. Though you didn’t kill your hostage.”

Tension coiled in Lunelei’s lower back, but he’d already thought up an answer for the mage. “I knew if I left him alive the prince wouldn’t pursue us.”

Kisk nodded. “It was the right call. While killing the prince would have been the best outcome, he’d already endangered the mission enough.”

“Tsk.” Mosk started walking for the door to the rooftop. “I’m heading back, Kisk.”

Kisk turned to the other dragon. “You’re dismissed as well. I want to debrief with Lunelei alone.”

When both dragons left the rooftop, and it was just them and the equipment brought up for their operation, Kisk said, “You did well tonight.”

“I did what I was paid to do,” Lunelei said evenly. He still had not relaxed his grip on Filament, or taken his eyes off Kisk’s hands to make sure the dragon didn’t reach for his gun.

Kisk noticed. “You can relax. I know I couldn’t kill you before you killed me. It would be pointless to try now that I’m alone.”

“Alright,” Lunelei said, slackening his grip on Filament.

“You’re an oddity, Lune. Peerless fighter. A skilled mage. And you think quickly in combat situations.”

Lunelei cut to the point. “You want to know where I learned all that.”

“Pit fighters can learn to fight anywhere. You knew exactly how to deal with that NanoArmor tonight, how to deal with that walking calamity of magic that Archay calls a prince. And that weapon, I’ve not seen something like it before.”

Lunelei sighed. He knew what to do when pressed like this. He was too close to success to retreat now. “I used to be an agent for the Lower Warrens.”

Kisk showed nothing. “Used to be?”

“You spend enough time on the lower levels of towers and you begin to wonder what the fuck any of this means to the palace. If they care about anyone but maintaining the upper arcologies and their lives of luxury.”

Kisk nodded. “Even so, this raid must have been hard for you.”

“I’ve killed dragons who thought they were my friends before. I had no problem doing it again.”

“So you recognized some people tonight.”

“Of course,” Lunelei said, amazed at his own restraint. He knew the names of every dragon he killed tonight. At one point, knowing them had been his job.

“Then there’s no doubt in my mind that this was a true test of your loyalty. Mosk watched you very closely, if you had hesitated at all he would have left you on the other side of the portal.”

Lunelei went back to watching Kisk’s hands. “I assumed as much.”

“That also explains how you were able to piece together Phelise so easily. My guess, then, is you know who I represent.”

“If I cared, don’t you think I would have killed you all on this rooftop?”

Kisk laughed, a barking noise that filled the open night air. “My my, you are a find… I’ll wire the money for tonight through the account I’ve been managing for your pit fights. Hang around that scene, and I’m sure I will contact you for another job. A Stratosphere employee should meet you at the stairwell and guide you back to the elevator. Be sure to have him help you wash the blood off before you head down the tower. Don’t want to attract any unwanted attention, now do you?”

Dismissed, Lunelei headed for the door, unsure until he exited the rooftop whether or not Kisk would choose to unload a round into his back.

***

“Setara, the color of your scales should be something you take great pride in. But they can also get in the way. Sometimes you may need to go unseen to do your duties to your people, so today I am going to show you how to change their color with magic.”

That’s what her mother said to Setara the day she turned five. They sat for long hours in the queen’s garden at the top of the palace, Airok patiently leading Setara through her first communion.

“You are not going to change your scales, just the way light catches them. Feel the warmth of magic flow around you, gentle as a bath. Picture colors you love, Setara. The ones of this flower, perhaps, and draw it about yourself. Tell the magic you wish to be that color, will it and if you do hard enough magic will listen.”

For a child, it was immensely difficult and took hours of practice to even change the scales on her hand. But Airok had been patient, giving Setara breaks when she got frustrated and just needed to play among the flowers to calm down. Setara liked that memory as meditative focus when she took the few moments she needed now to channel the spell.

A dragoness resembling that flower walked through the doors of a brothel in the sixth recreational arcology in the TorVah Tower. The place was called The Queen’s Bed and was one Setara used to frequent when she still lived her life as a princess. In her current form, her scales were violet, with black hair and claws, and a shock of yellow blooming across her front. Black dots scattered over her hide and a few trailed under her eye like beauty marks. She walked to the counter and bought a room. The exchange took a matter of moments with the dragon at the front desk. It was why Setara preferred this place. She never needed an appointment.

A clerk led Setara to a room on the floor above. It had a standing shower in it, a wide bed with drawers beneath that held toys and lubricants. It was one of the more simple rooms. A knock announced her partner before the door opened and a large dragon muscled into the dimly lit room. He snarled and pounced on her. Setara could have easily stopped him, but she didn’t. She had made a very specific request to the front desk: “Plain room, the biggest, meanest looking male you have available. I want him to beat me up and rape me.”

“A safe word, ma’am?”

“If I choose to make him stop he’ll need the safe word.”

Setara gasped as long claws sank into her ribs. The dragon pinned her on her back to the bed while Setara weakly attempted to push him off. His weight felt good and heavy on top of the violet dragoness. His tongue, an oversized one, spilled from his mouth and wetly licked up her collarbone and across her muzzle before the dragon said, “I’m going to enjoy fucking you.”

Setara turned her head as drool from the larger male’s muzzle dripped on her cheek. He was bigger than her, and his scales a tarnished red that in the dark room she could imagine as… and that’s what she really wanted.

She whimpered and said, “We can’t…”

Her partner squeezed the base of her breast and popped her nipple straight up into his biting muzzle. Teeth caught tender flesh and Setara grabbed his horn to try and shove him away. “Brother—stop please!” She hadn’t planned for the words to come out, but this dragon in the dark resembled him in so many ways. And it was what she wanted Chisur to do: to take the choice away from her. To lust so deeply for her he held her down and took this need from her. Break a seal she was too afraid to even run her fingers along.

The dragon over her laughed and released her nipple. His breath washed across her neck as he growled, “That’s what you want, huh, perverted slut? For your brother to fuck, ya?”

“Sh-shut up,” Setara hissed while he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed.

“Say it.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’m gonna rape you anyways, sister, why don’t you just admit you want this?”

Setara tried to free her wrists, but the bigger male was stronger than her. She knew other ways to free herself, of course, but she wanted to feel the struggle. The fight.

She snapped at him, “There’s no way you’ll get me to say something like that.”

He laughed at her, the grip on her wrist tightened till it was painful. She gasped and in a flash his lips pressed to hers and that oversized tongue invaded her mouth. She groaned as it filled her muzzle and pushed into her throat. The intrusion was slick and smooth, her throat swallowing along the muscle. She wriggled in his grip, her tail lashing around on the bed while his knees rested on her thighs and kept her legs held down. He turned his head to the side and opened his jaws wide to descend on her muzzle so more of his tongue worked its way inside her. She felt it blocking off her air. Tears sprang to her eyes as her struggling slowly came to a stop. She went still, vision blurry and lungs heaving from a lack of breath. Then the dragon yanked his tongue back and Setara coughed for air while the muscle licked wetly against her cheek.

While she gasped for breath, the dragon told her, “You’re going to do exactly what I say or I’m going to choke you like that again and again, sister.” He released her wrists and one hand reached for her cunt. She ached between her legs, and knew a slick warmth greeted her “brother’s” hand when he palmed her mound. He chuckled when he felt her apparent need and said, “By the end of tonight you’re going to call me master.”

“Never,” she snarled.

The dragon sat up and backhanded her. His knuckles struck Setara’s face with enough force that her lips smashed against her teeth and sliced her mouth open. Blood filled her muzzle and the dragon over her grinned, flashing fangs and letting that wet, vile tongue hang from his mouth for a moment. Then he said, “It’s not any fun if I don’t get to break you.”

***

Her brother fucked her for an hour before fitting his knot into her cunt.

Setara didn’t usually take cock, and his was the biggest to ever fuck her. When he first entered her pussy, she squirmed and groaned, humiliated by how good and painful it felt. How he laughed over her. He took her first on her back, telling Setara how lucky he was to have such a sexy sister. How by the end of the night she’d be begging to be his slave. His fuck toy.

And the dragon was good at his work. His claws descended and rent her hide just enough to leave pinpricked trails of blood. After hilting inside her he refused to move, just played with her clit with a torturous bit of magic that made the end of his finger buzz with electricity. He hung his lips over hers and told her he wouldn’t stop till she chose to kiss him. At first she just pecked his lips and he told her, “Come on, I know you love your brother, needy bitch. Show me.” She refused at first, but when she felt an embarrassingly quick orgasm approach, she gave in and did kiss him. He was good at it, too. That tongue not simply overwhelming her but working through her mouth, coiling around hers, teasing at her throat. He kept their lips locked and fucked her. His knot slapped against her clit till she came anyways, her weak moan muffled around the tremendous oral muscle in her mouth.

Then he flipped her over and hiked her ass into the air. Her tail whipped against his chest as he fucked her roughly from behind, kneading her butt and eventually slowing down to finger her there. Setara groaned as her brother’s thick digits pushed roughly in and out of her asshole. The only preparation was the slick wet of her sex that dripped down her taint while he’d fucked her on her back. Soon, he’d gotten all four fingers into her and told her she needed to start bouncing back on his cock. When she didn’t move right away he bit her tail and tore scales from it. Setara screamed in pain when it happened, and immediately plunged backwards, bouncing on that knot while those fingers followed her motion. That cock knocked against her cervix on every thrust, and already by twenty minutes into her session her sore pussy came for a second time.

He released her and asked her then if she was ready to give in to her brother. Setara told the dragon to go fuck himself. Her brother laughed and threw the exhausted dragoness on her back before he spun into a sixty-nine position. He fucked her throat patiently. She stayed pinned, struggling and coughing around his cock while his tongue went to work on her traitorous cunt. He slowly sawed in and out of her muzzle, knocking her snout with his knot while his dexterous oral muscle teased her g-spot and his fingers tortured her clit. The nub was inflamed and in pain, but Setara quickly came three more times in the span of ten minutes, becoming so compliant she started sucking and swallowing on that massive breeding organ. She became accustomed to its musky taste and masculine smell, those heady mixtures made her wonder if her brother was conditioning her. If he wanted her to associate cumming with the scent of his cock. The thought of that—of Chisur doing that to her made her nearly scream her actual brother’s name when she came the third time in that position.

By the time Setara straddled his lap, bouncing her legs of her own tired accord, she’d lost track of how many times she came. Her lower half was a numb haze of painful, aching pleasure when he finally knotted her.

Setara’s back arched and her breasts pushed up against her brother’s broad chest. She groaned, body quaking while her walls milked that meaty spire. With all the time that spaded tip spent beating on her egg chamber’s entrance, her cervix yielded easily to it when it inserted itself into her womb. Her partner’s big hands squeezed her waist and she whined a little.

“Please…” she whispered. She leaned against him while his cock throbbed inside her. She could feel his pulse through that shaft, feeling it pumping but nothing came. No seed flooded her core or bred her. Her brother grunted and claws cut into her scales as he started to pull her upward. Setara struggled as she felt that knot slowly ripped from her yawning pussy, till it freed itself and she screamed in his ears while he laughed. Her juices flooded his lap. He bit her neck and yanked her back down, hips rolling forward so that black bulb of cock flesh speared its way back into her.

She groaned and quaked in his arms. He whispered as he started lifting her again, “It hurts, doesn’t it?”

Tears in Setara’s eyes made it hard to see the way her brother studied her face as he slammed down again. She threw her head back in a silent scream, a part of her wishing she’d given a safe word. She was too weak, too broken to fight him now. And it was painful, the pressure of her cunt being opened by that massive knot, after he stirred her up for so long and made her so sensitive…

“Find your words sister,” he grunted as he ripped her off his knot again. “You like that it hurts, don’t you?”

“Y-fuck!” she cursed as he ploughed back into her, “Yes! Yes!”

“That’s what makes us perfect for each other. I need a slutty slave, you need a master.” Torn off, torn back down. That knot splitting her open again and again. Wet cum stains covered the bed, but they were all hers. He still hadn’t cum. Knotting her wasn’t enough. He wanted… wanted… “Say it,” he growled against her.

“Y-y… you’re my master.”

He murred, chest rumbling against her breast. Even the feeling of her nipples rubbing against his scales seemed like so much sensation at this point. “My sister, my slutty little slave,” he whispered and yanked her back down. “Kiss your master, your brother.”

Setara did without hesitation, eagerly moaning against his lips, her hands on his horns to keep his lips to hers. And it was like he was waiting for her to completely submit. Warmth rushed into her belly. Strong, masculine seed filled her fertile womb in a matter of moments while she tried to suck her master’s tongue into her mouth. Ecstatic emotions coursed through her body while she clenched down on that cock. Seed lined the length of her walls. Virile cum pushed against that knot, but the prodigious amount of spunk spilling into her body remained. She was being bred for the first time in her life, and her cunt couldn’t help but weakly spasm and try to milk everything from her brother. His wonderful breeding organ was all she needed in that moment.

The dragon, a stranger, licked the bite marks on her neck and cooed in her ear: “That’s it sister… let everything go… all you need to do is serve your brother’s cock… carry my young. Submit to your master and just enjoy yourself.”

“I want it…” she answered, voice a rakish, breathy mess. “I want it so bad…” And she wanted it to be Chisur, which was the worst, traitorous thought. She’d never let it happen, but he was the only dragon she trusted to care for her like this again and again. Night after night.

She felt the scales of her belly grow taut with the dragon’s seed. Her whole core warmed and her body abuzz with a numb pleasure.

The dragon she straddled drew back and Setara saw his scales weren’t a deep ruby but more a faded rust. She recognized a familiar grief wash through her, fresh tears springing to her eyes as he asked, “Hey, you alright?” Setara pursed her lips and nodded, but this stranger saw through her and hugged her close. He rubbed down her back and whispered, “I was a bit worried, since you didn’t give the front desk a safe word. We’re done now, I think. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I hope this helped.”

The affection and care of a stranger. She wanted to clasp this dragon to her chest and not let him go. She only answered him with more tears, and since they still needed to wait for his knot to come down, the dragon simply stroked her back and offered sheepishly, “My name’s Kalto. What’s yours?”

Without thinking, Setara gave the name everyone had called her for the last year. “Lu…” a sob blocked the word, “Lunelei.”

“Alright, Lunelei. Let’s just talk for a bit. Do you usually come to brothels with such dangerous requests?”

Breath catching, “No… t-tonight was hard… I needed… needed something to make me forget for a moment.”

“You don’t need to say any more about it,” he cooed in her ear. “I hope this helped.” Kalto hugged her tighter, and violet dragoness wept and wept.