FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

She awoke with a start as she felt a bump in the surface underneath her. There was a pounding in the back of her head, her vision was dark, and at first she couldn’t remember who she was or where she was. As she tried to move, she realized that her hands were bound behind her back, and that there was a gag covering her mouth. Despite the lingering wooziness, it was slowly becoming clear to her that she was in trouble. BIG trouble.

As her mind cleared, she recognized the sensation of motion, as well as the slight bumpiness in the road underneath them. The rumble of the engine was clearly audible as well, a large engine, like in a large moving truck. Though it was hard to tell, it didn’t feel like she was moving too fast, which she hoped meant that they might still be in the city. Her eyes weren’t getting any more information, still awash in darkness, but she realized that it was probably because she was in the back and the truck was closed up tight.

Oh, no...very big trouble.

Things were slowly coming back to her. She remembered her name, Sandy Gallicharius. Daughter to a powerful and wealthy political family, a household name in the state, never mind their city of residence, Havenford...and quite possibly the reason she was in this predicament. The memories of the day were still quite blurry, but she remembered she had gone out to buy some groceries at one of the little mom-and-pop stores that still graced some of the street corners of Havenford. She couldn’t recall if she’d made it to the store, nor whether she had seen an attacker or whether it had come up behind her without her knowledge. She hoped that she hadn’t lost any hints as to her attacker’s identity, lest she make it out of this and need to provide information.

The truck. Someone had to be driving it. Though the engine was loud enough to make hearing anything else difficult, she hoped that the truck’s back end was connected directly to the bed so that she might hear something. She scooted herself towards the front of the hold, using the motion of the truck to guide her properly, and got her ear as close as she could, straining to hear through the growl of the engine and the thumps when they hit even small bumps in the road. Though far from clear, she was able to faintly make out some conversation.

“...be late, as if it matters...know what’s in the back that’s so damn important…”

“Not like we...choice, fucking Roman says he’s gonna...don’t do this right, I can’t afford to get kicked...only money I can get since…”

“...you wouldn’t use…sounds demeaning to say ‘ascended,’ like...not that great to be more human…” Her eyes widened and breath quickened when she heard that. She didn’t need any context to know what that word was used for most often nowadays: a Pokémon that had undergone the procedure to become a Pokémorph. These procedures weren’t exactly new to her - perhaps not common, but she’d heard a handful of stories about humans and Pokémon deciding to get new bodies that split the difference. But ‘ascended’ was a term the former Pokémon generally didn’t like, as it suggested that they were just stupid beasts before they turned. To hear one of them use that as a self-descriptor...well, she technically hadn’t heard it, or at least hadn’t made it out, but from the response of the other it had to have.

But if these were Pokémorphs, and she was all but certain that at least one of them was, then she was in even bigger trouble. They were often wrapped up in shady activities, partly because legitimate businesses tended to avoid hiring them and partly because criminals sometimes used the procedure as a way of hiding a former identity. And given that many of them were well-attuned to whatever Pokémon they resembled, they were strong and tough creatures and would be far more difficult to escape from. Whoever had done this to her seemed certain to want to hold on to her.

She tried to catch more, and heard more bits and pieces of conversation, but they seemed to have turned to other matters, ones not relevant to her situation, at least not that she could tell. Such was the case for some length of time, she surmised about fifteen or twenty minutes, until the truck slowed to a stop. The engine was still idling, but the sound was slightly quieter she could hear a bit more clearly. “...know this is gonna slow us down, why you gotta be so damn curious?”

“Because they were all acting weird, and when has Remyl ever not told us what we were carrying? Something’s up, I just gotta see, this’ll only take a minute.”

“Fine, but you’re putting your ass on the line if Roman comes after us for being late.”

She heard a door open and shut, and her heartbeat began to quicken. There wasn’t much she could do, tied up and gagged, and she hoped that whoever was coming to see her, they weren’t going to do anything to her. From the sound of it, they didn’t know it was her back there...why that would be she didn’t know, but she hoped that they weren’t going to see it as an opportunity to-

The door opened with a loud metallic squeal, and light flooded the hold, forcing her to squint. In the haze she could see a green reptilian figure standing in the doorway; as his eyes landed on her, he gave off a startled gasp and staggered backwards like he’d been shot. “S...S...Sandy?!”

Again her eyes widened. The way he’d said it, it sounded like he knew her more than just from around town. But it couldn’t have been...not unless…

“B-Ben! Get the fuck out here right now!” Her vision cleared just fast enough before the figure vanished behind the other door that she could tell it was a Groyvle morph. But before she could process that, the name clicked in her memory. Ben? It, it can’t, it wouldn’t be…

“The hell’s gotten into you, Taris?”

“Just...just go look!”

“Jeez, settle the fuck down! You’re gonna shout loud enough for someone to hear-” The other door at the back of the hold swung open with a slightly quieter squeal, and the red-orange form of a Charmeleon morph appeared in her sights. The fire lizard stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of her; his jaw dropped and his expression instantly took on one of alarm. “Oh my god, Sandy!”

Without hesitation the Charmeleon leapt into the hold and started looking her over, trying to undo the gag and bindings. “Motherfuckers, what did they do to you? Did they hurt you? Fucking Roman, what the hell was he thinking, kidnapping? I swear I’ll take his goddamned head off!” All of this was somewhat passing by Sandy, who was in a state of near shock. How can this be...trapped in the back of a truck driven by my ex-boyfriend and former Pokémon? Who’ve both changed since I last saw them? What the hell is going on in my life?

Taris had stayed by the doorway, seemingly stonewalled by his discovery. “Ben…” he said with a shaky voice. “We are...we are not…”

“Of course we’re not, Taris. Not on your life.” He grunted and finally just took his claws and sliced through the cords holding Sandy’s wrists; almost automatically, she brought them in front of her, rubbing along where she’d been bound to deal with the soreness. “Change of plans, we’re gonna make for Ketterling. Hopefully they don’t get suspicious until we’re out of Havenford, but that’s the only spot they don’t know about.”

“That’s gonna take ages, they’ll know we ditched them before we get there!”

“You have any better ideas?” Ben shot a glare at Taris, who clammed up instantly and looked away. “We’re not safe anywhere, but that’s better than anything else. It’s not gonna do us any good to panic, we just have to take what we can get for now. C’mon, let’s get to the front so we can get out of here fast.”

“R...right…” Taris shook his head, then held out his hand for Sandy. She took it hesitantly, letting him help her step out of the back and take her to the front of the truck. She quietly crept into the back seat, a very small and uncomfortable space but definitely an upgrade from the truck’s rear end. Ben and Taris seemed to be avoiding looking directly at her as they got back on the road, and her gut told her that they weren’t any happier about what had happened than she was.

At least, I hope I’m right about that...it may be the only way I get out of here safely…

---

The drive turned out to be long, uncomfortable, but thankfully uneventful. At some point Sandy began questioning the two, asking them about what was going on that had gotten her stuck in this position. They’d been slow to open up, no doubt because of thoughts of their shared pasts weighing on their minds; it was on hers, too, but she was deliberately avoiding them, trying to focus on the dangers of the here and now.

Eventually they started talking in earnest, and what she heard was far from pleasant. The Roman they kept mentioning was the leader of one of the larger gangs in Havenford, a fact which had only clicked in her head after they’d been talking for a while; she’d heard the name before, but only in passing. A lot of illegal activities went through his order, and while the police were able to trip them up at times, they weren’t able to get to Roman directly. They admitted to Sandy that they were runners for Roman, moving a lot of illicit cargo, generally drugs, black market or pirated goods. It wasn’t a pleasant job, trying to keep their activities from the police and from other gangs which would have loved to get their hands on the goods for themselves. But they had somehow managed to stay under the radar, and it was partly due to them that Roman’s gang had the clout it did.

But it seemed like that wasn’t enough for Roman anymore. He wanted more, some kind of guarantee of safety which would keep him from the clutches of the law no matter what he did. And he wanted to eliminate the competition, the other gangs in Havenford which they frequently clashed with. At this point Taris and Ben weren’t privy to any of Roman’s ideas, but Sandy thought she could guess: kidnapping her and holding her hostage would allow them to get to her family, and they would want them to use their political power to direct law enforcement to crack down on the other gangs while avoiding Roman and his crew. She couldn’t help but wonder what Roman might have had in store for her if her parents wouldn’t accede to his demands, and hoped she wouldn’t have to find out.

The sun had almost totally retreated behind the horizon before they arrived at the safe house. Ben took her in as discreetly as possible, leaving Taris to take the truck elsewhere; it would have been too much of a giveaway to have it at the safe house. The house wasn’t terribly large, but appeared in Sandy’s eyes to have enough room to keep them all in there without being too cramped. Though it was dark now, when she got inside she could tell it was being kept up, if not actively lived in, which she hoped meant running water and food. “What is this place?” she asked Ben, who was checking the locks on the door.

“Ketterling. It’s one of the safe houses for Pokémorphs, established by the Pokémorph Underground.” Now that she had heard of; a semi-secret society for the benefit of Pokémorphs, providing them with some measure of support in a society which offered little of that. The idea of the safe houses was new to her, but she supposed that that was perhaps to their benefit if other people were in the same boat. “They prefer if we don’t put them at the risk of criminal activities, but we don’t have a choice now. Even Roman doesn’t know about most of them, but I’m sure he’ll find out if we’re missing for too long. So the lower a profile we keep, the better. That means we’re going to have to stay inside, keep most of the lights off, leave as little sign that we’re here as possible.”

“What...what would Roman do to me if he found me?”

Ben seemed to stiffen up. “I...don’t know. Roman can be...unpredictable. It’s best if none of us ever find out for sure.”

“You don’t think he would-”

“If I could make any promises, I would.” The terseness of his reply was not lost on Sandy, and that made her all the more nervous about her situation. She nodded quietly and let Ben take care of things at the door, while following Taris deeper into the house. The Grovyle morph led her into a small bedroom, furnished with a nicely-made bed and a few other amenities...but entirely lacking windows.

“You can have this room to yourself,” Taris said quietly. “If someone should give us any trouble, you can hide under the bed or in the closet, or if you’re really worried, there’s a hidden panel near the bed’s headboard which you can slide out and hide behind.”

“Goodness...why so many hiding spots?”

“This is meant to be a refuge for us...we get targeted by people who don’t like us, and sometimes they go hunting after us...I’ve heard about bounties on some of our heads before, not for anything we do but just because they think it’s fun. So our safe houses have hiding spots so that we can avoid them. Most of the time they won’t actually enter a house to come after us, but you never know with some of them.”

“Oh…” It was rather shacking to hear that; Sandy knew that life for Pokémorphs wasn’t the easiest thing by a long shot, but the idea that people could go hunting them like that was beyond anything she’d ever imagined. “Um...thank you...I hope nothing happens while we’re here, but I’ll keep that all in mind.”

“Yeah...Sandy, uh...I’m really sorry you got wrapped up in all of this. If I’d’ve known...I mean, I never would have allowed them to do something like this…”

“I know, Taris...in a way I’m lucky it was like this, if you’d’ve been no part of it...I don’t think anyone else would’ve been as likely to let me go…”

Taris nodded, but still seemed quite uneasy. “Um...I’m gonna go help Ben with checking the security and everything. We’ll check in on you later, okay?”

“Yeah, okay...thanks, Taris.”

---

It was a rather boring hour that passed. Sandy didn’t really have anything other than her thoughts to occupy her time. There wasn’t any sort of entertainment in the room, and she couldn’t even use her phone in case someone was tracing the signal. All she could do was lay on the bed and try not to panic or wallow in self-pity.

She just had to keep telling herself that it could be worse. She could be in Roman’s hands right now, and then...well, she didn’t want to think about what that would mean. And Ben and Taris, if nothing else, could be trusted. She believed truly that they didn’t know what had been going on - if they had, they wouldn’t have gone to see what was in the truck in the first place, nor untied her and tried to help her. She trusted them to try to keep her safe...hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

She was just starting to drift off to sleep when the door opened. The extra light in the room quickly revealed that it was Ben, looking fairly somber and holding a beer in his hand, though he didn’t seem to be drunk. “You doing okay, Sandy?”

“I guess, all things considered.” She did her best to sound grateful, but there was an edge to her voice that she hadn’t had with Taris. There was a reason Ben was her ex-boyfriend, after all - he hadn’t exactly been the model boyfriend when they’d been going out, and she’d thrown him out after finding out he’d been cheating on her. Though she trusted him to be doing the right thing here, that didn’t really make everything all right.

Ben seemed to pick up on that, and let out a slightly smoky sigh. “I guess this doesn’t really go well with your never wanting to see me again. Can’t say I’d blame you.”

“I’m glad you understand that, at least. Don’t get me wrong, though...I do appreciate what you’re doing for me. It’s just...it still brings up some unpleasant memories for me.”

“I understand. I was kind of an asshole.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement. I cared about you, Ben, I put a year and a half of my life into you, thinking you were someone I could love and trust. It was a mistake to think I could fix you into the perfect boyfriend, but I wasn’t expecting there to be another girl.”

Ben dropped his head. “To be honest, and don’t take this the wrong way at all, but...you were the other girl.”

“What…”

“What I mean is, I was in a steady relationship before I met you...and I basically pretended I wasn’t just so I could have you as well. I was lying to you from the start, and that’s on top of lying to my first girlfriend. It was scummy, that’s all there is to it.”

“But...why?”

“Because I was a piece of garbage, Sandy. Well, still am, but...yeah, I was a piece of garbage. I was more interested in getting my rocks off than actually thinking about what I was doing to others.” He took a sip of his beer and sighed deeply. “I was only thinking about how great it was that I was able to have two girls, not about what those two girls might have thought. When you found me out and kicked me out, I was furious because I thought it was so unfair of you to act that way...just like a self-absorbed piece of shit. Of course, it didn’t take long for my first girlfriend to notice I wasn’t myself. She was smarter than I was, too...poked around a bit and found out about you, hit the roof and broke up with me as well. So I was in a shitty state, and that’s when my buddy roped me into Roman’s schemes.”

“So you’re saying that was our fault?” Sandy said, a bit coldly.

“Oh, hell no, not by a long shot...I think he’d been having his eye on me for a long time, and that was just the opportunity to get me in because I’d lost all my meaningful connections. When you’re not attached, there’s less outside of yourself to worry about, and those are the guys Roman likes to have, because they’re less likely to flake out on him. So I started doing shit for him, and he rewarded me by letting me have a good time with some of his girls. And that went on for a while...of course, then I got caught, and became one of the big faces that the cops were looking for. Roman directed me to the clinic, and I made the switch about ten months ago.”

“Of course, it was different after that...Roman employs morphs, but he doesn’t really like them all that much, so he was a lot cooler towards me after that. And I found out that morphs get a really shitty lot in life as well...I mean, you could see it all the time, but I never really looked, you know? I guess...it just kinda woke me up, I started looking at myself and realized I didn’t like what I saw. I mean, it took a while for me to really figure it out...at first it was just like, I don’t like me now, I used to be better, but after a while I just kinda figured out that I wasn’t better, I just was too stupid and self-absorbed to figure it out. Hmph, and it’s not like I’ve really done better, either...I know I’m scum now, but I still haven’t really done that much to shape up. Guess it’s kinda hard to do when I’m still working for that creep.”

Looking at the fiery Pokémorph, Sandy couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of pity; she was still very much hurt by Ben’s actions, and wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive him for it, but it did seem like he genuinely realized what he’d done wrong. And she wasn’t sure she could blame him for not escaping Roman; opportunities for morphs were slim as it was, and she doubted Roman would let him go quietly, especially with as much as he had to know. “You know that if you keep going like this, it’s going to end badly for you.”

“Yep...I’d probably deserve it, too, the way I’ve been, the choices I’ve made. I keep hoping that I’ll get that one opportunity to turn my life around, that opening that’ll let me get out of this mess and make something of myself...but maybe this is my punishment, and I have to survive it if I want to have that chance.” He lifted his beer again, then stopped, and set it back down on the end table. “Mmh...stupid. Taris’ gonna be back soon, I’ll be needing to keep watch while he rests...can’t be boozed up for that.”

Sandy watched him as he stood up and stretched, the flames on his tail flickering more strongly as he was spurred to activity. He pulled off his stained shirt, tossing it in a basket near the bed. Her eyes darted along his body, and she found herself surprisingly drawn to his appearance; he wasn’t large, but his body did appear fairly taut and tough, with enough muscle to be attractive. She had to force herself to turn away; despite everything that had happened, she still had lingering feelings for Ben - it was a large part of the reason why she still struggled with his actions - and it appeared that the differing shape hadn’t really quashed them, at least not enough.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to linger on him long, as he seemed to be on the way out. “I dunno...I know I have to find my way out...but that’s for me to figure out. Right now...I’ve just gotta make sure you don’t suffer for it. So...yeah, I’ll go take watch, and make sure no one comes for us.” He hesitated at the doorway, wavering a bit between going in and out. “I think Taris wanted to talk to you, too...if you’re up for it.”

“I guess...I’m not really doing anything other than sitting here wondering what’s going to happen.”

“Okay...I’ll let him know. I’m sorry about all this, Sandy. We’ll get you out of it, I promise.” And with that, he left the room, taking the light from his tail with him and leaving the room quite dim once again. She sighed and laid back in the bed, waiting for the Grovyle morph to arrive. Talking with him probably wouldn’t be as tense as with Ben, but she still felt like it was going to be a bit emotional. Maybe more for Taris than for her, even…

The wait took longer than she expected, long enough that she needed a trip to the restroom. Like the bedroom it was attached to, it was small and windowless, a bit cramped even, though she wasn’t about to complain about that. The fact that they went to such lengths to keep anyone outside from seeing in made her wonder about how bad their lives could get...were people really that vicious to morphs that they needed safe houses with secret panels and extreme privacy? Clearly some people felt so, which was a truly unnerving thought.

When she got out of the bathroom, she saw Taris sitting on the bed, staring up at the ceiling; now he too was shirtless, his body leaner than Ben’s, but still with a lithe muscle that spoke of a toughness beyond his appearance. It surprised her that she was finding him attractive as well; that she couldn’t explain from past feelings, she certainly hadn’t felt that way when she’d been his trainer. Am I just starved, is that it? “Hi, Taris.”

“Hey…” Taris still sounded nervous, evasive, like he didn’t really want to be there. “You...doing all right?”

“All things considered...just a bit bored, I guess. And anxious.”

“Sorry about that. We don’t really have anything here for entertainment...the less distractions for us, the better to tell if there are prowlers around. Guests...well, they’re not that common.”

Sandy nodded in understanding. “How’s life been treating you, Taris?”

“...Not as great as I hoped. Guess I was kind of naïve for thinking I know what kind of adventures I was gonna have...but, then again, I never was the brightest guy, I guess.”

“No one really knows what they’re gonna get in life. But it wouldn’t be living if we knew what was coming.” She paused briefly, eyes lingering on his body for more than one reason. “I...didn’t expect to see you like this. I hope you weren’t forced into it…”

Taris shook his head slowly. “No...my choice. Didn’t quite get all I wanted out of it, though. Listen, Sandy...I have a confession.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I told you that day that I wanted to leave on my own...well, I wasn’t completely honest with you back then…”

Sandy started. “You...what?”

“I mean, I wasn’t totally lying…I did feel like I was in a rut, and I wanted something different in life than what I had...and it wasn’t anything against you, goodness no, you gave me some of the best years of my life, and it wasn’t your fault at all that I wanted more. But...it was…” He paused, taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. “It was...something more...that was also why I had to leave. It was...well, I...I was just...kinda...falling in love with you…”

“You were f...falling in love with me?”

“I know how it sounds. Pokémon, human, not right. I mean, sure, they don’t treat it like a criminal thing anymore, but it...it usually just doesn’t work. And I couldn’t say it...I mean, you had a boyfriend, there was no way I could just put something like that on you, it would have been horrible of me. Even if your boyfriend wasn’t...well, that’s no excuse, you didn’t know then and it wouldn’t have made things any better.” The lizard put a hand to his head, looking more than a bit stressed out. “When I found out what Ben had done...gods, I wanted to lay into him so bad...took all I had to not be an idiot and smack him around.”

“Trust me, you weren’t the only one. But it wouldn’t have solved anything...I’ve just been trying to move on.”

“That’s good. But...yeah, I couldn’t have brought that up. I just, I tried for a long time to just ignore it, try to get over it or distract myself from it, not let it get to me, and I just...I couldn’t. I knew it was going to mess things up at some point, and I...I just couldn’t do that to you. So I made the decision to leave. I knew, it was going to be painful, for both of us, but at least we could part on good terms, rather than a mess, and maybe if the distance helped me get over it, I could come back at some point. I genuinely did feel, for a while, like I would be able to go back, relieve my feelings, maybe find someone else that would steal my heart away, and then it would be easier...but it didn’t work out that way.”

“Is that why you...got the treatment?”

Taris shrugged. “Partly...honestly, I don’t really know what all was going through my mind when I made the decision, because it was just so much. I guess I thought changing my body might help me get over the things that were holding me back...I felt kind of like I couldn’t fit in in a civilized world the way I was, not on my own, and I didn’t just want to go back to the wild completely either. And...well, Ben doesn’t like when I say this, but I wanted to ascend. I wanted to be more than a Pokémon.”

“Taris…”

“I figured you might not like that, either...I just, I don’t have anything against Pokémon, but I...we aren’t...they aren’t really people. Not fully animals, but not fully people. And I know there’s a lot of Pokémon and humans and even morphs who would have my head on a stake for saying it, but it’s how I feel, how I’ve always felt, as a Pokémon and a morph. Being like this, I haven’t had an easy life, I’ve had to deal with a lot of crap, but...I still don’t regret it, because I feel more like a person. I feel like I fit better.”

“I...don’t really know what to say to that…” Sandy responded, slowly and hesitantly. “I guess...if you’re happier, if you feel like you’re better off, than that’s all you can ask for, isn’t it? That’s all I really wanted for you in the first place...and if you found it, that’s a good thing.”

“It is...though...um...no, I shouldn’t…”

“What is it?”

“It’s just...well, I said I changed partly to get past my feelings, thinking that maybe if I was different they would go away...but, um...they didn’t, they never really…”

He didn’t finish, but he didn’t have to for Sandy to draw the conclusions. “Oh...oh…”

Suddenly Taris stood up, almost like he’d been stung. “I should go...shouldn’t have said that, last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable, not like you haven’t been through enough already-”

“Taris! Taris, please!” The Grovyle morph stopped, and reluctantly looked over in her direction. “I...I don’t want you to feel like you have to avoid me...you can’t, um, you can’t help your feelings, any more than I can help mine, and I’ve got some that I’ve not wanted for a while, too...I trust you, Taris, you were always good to me, and I know you’ve got a good heart, even if what you’re doing doesn’t bring out its best. You’ve helped keep me safe here, and I truly do appreciate that...you don’t make me feel uncomfortable, there’s no one else I’d rather have around watching my back in a situation like this.”

Taris didn’t appear entirely set at ease from this, but he nodded and settled back on the bed. “Th...thank you, Sandy...I’m sorry about all this...this whole mess and me having these issues and all…”

“It’ll be all right…” For the first time, Sandy started to feel hopeful that that would indeed be the case. “And I’ll...try not to make anything more complicated with your issues, if it helps any.”

She thought she saw a tiny smile form briefly on Taris’ face. “I...thank you. I won’t...I’ll try not to dwell on them.” It was gone quickly, though, and he was back to being sullen and serious. “Sorry...I’m gonna try to get some sleep...Ben’s gonna be on guard part of the night, but I’ve gotta relieve him sometime...I’ll try to tlak with you more tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, okay...thanks, Taris.” She watched the Grovyle morph leave, her heart a bit heavy at the revelation. She’d never expected to hear that from Taris...it was far from unheard of for a Pokémon to fall in love with a human, and vice-versa, but there’d never been a hint of that from him. Now that she knew, she wondered if there was anything she could have done differently, to help him deal with his feelings rather than feeling like he had to run from them. Maybe not...she didn’t think she would have reciprocated, not at that level, and she doubted she could’ve made them go away. Though, with the amount of time she spent looking at his body just now, maybe there was something more…

She mentally smacked herself. The stress was wearing her out, and she was clearly looking for some kind of distraction from it. That was it...sleep would probably be a good idea for her as well. She sighed and slipped under the covers, turning off the lamp and letting darkness wash over the room, a very complete and potent darkness that made falling into slumber quite easy. All she could do was hope that her dreams would be peaceful.

---

“Peaceful” wasn’t exactly the right term for the dreams she had. The first ones had been rather less than nice, though at least not outright nightmares. But at some point during the night, they had started to take a very different tenor. She dreamed about Ben and Taris, their bodies against hers, rubbing and stroking and touching her in all the right places...when she woke up in the morning, or what she presumed was morning, her lower half was wet and sticky, her clothes stained with the fluids of her arousal.

She groaned as he took stock of the mess. There was no way out of it, she needed to wash up, both herself and her garments. “Goddammit...I hope they have a washing machine in here, there’s no way I can go anywhere like this.”

She sighed, more frustrated with herself than anything. She had enough going on, with a gang leader after her and having to hide out far from home with two Pokémorphs who were major fixtures in her past, to say nothing of her parents probably being sick with worry and her friends wondering what happened to her. This was so not the time for wet dreams.

Turning on the lamp once more, she saw the hamper with the shirts Ben and Taris had discarded the day before. Well, it was better than nothing...she didn’t like the idea of not having anything to wear, but they’d have to come off of her at some point to get cleaned and it wasn’t like she had anything else. A quick check in the bathroom showed that there were towels in there; she’d just cover up with that for the time being.

The small bathroom had a small shower, nothing overly comfortable but it worked well enough for her purposes. She got in and started cleaning off...the warm water cascading over her body was remarkably soothing, washing away not just the stickiness from her night and the grime from the previous day but also a fair bit of the anxiety and stress that they represented. It wasn’t a great situation, but it could’ve been worse...she wasn’t in Roman’s hands, hadn’t been picked up by someone who wouldn’t give one whit for her condition. If she could get the chance to contact her parents and the police, it would be over, and she had a better chance of that where she was now than she would have under other circumstances.

Yet, something inside her was still nagging at her. The shower could only do so much for her state of mind, and there was one thing in her mind which wasn’t so easily washed away.

You’re dreaming about them for a reason. You want them. Bad.

Well, maybe I do. I haven’t been with a guy since...well, that one guy after Ben that I never saw again. But this is wrong. They’re keeping me here and watching out for a dangerous gang...I don’t even know if they’re really keeping me safe, or just holding me for them.

You know they wouldn’t do that. You trust them. They aren’t those kind of people.

...I don’t know how much I can really trust Ben...but I know I can trust Taris. He’s got a good heart, always has...I know I can trust him to be defending me if I’m in danger. He’s one of the best people I know. But I couldn’t, not now, and not when he’s got feelings for me like that, it would be cruel.

Who says it has to be one and done? You like Taris. You like him a lot. Perhaps you even love him.

I loved him like a...like a friend, not like that!

Maybe back then. But you can love him like a lover now. What’s stopping you?

It’s been almost three years since I last saw him, I didn’t just fall in love all over again!

You never stopped thinking about him, though, did you? He wasn’t gone from your heart. And now that you know how he feels…

But I don’t even know if I’d feel anything for him…

Isn’t he one of the best people you know? Someone you would trust to have your back no matter what? You have feelings for him, very good feelings...maybe it’s not the kind of love you expected, but who’s to say it won’t be that way once you spend time together? Maybe he’s the one who can help you finally get past Ben.

And he’s right there, too, holding the fort with Taris. Even if I was to think about this kind of thing with Taris, it would be pretty cruel of me to throw it in his face like that.

Well, maybe he can be given a reward for doing something right this time.

Are you crazy? Using my body as a reward, that’s just...slutty! I’m not that kind of girl!

It’s not like you’re going to make a habit of it. Besides, it’s been over a year since you had any action with a guy. There are two here who are hot, available, and would do you in a heartbeat. Why not treat yourself? After all, as much as you’ve been through, you could stand to feel good for a while.

Sandy groaned audibly. This internal argument was not going well for her reasonable side.

She switched off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. It was a bit small, but covered everything important...it would have to suffice until she did the laundry. At least she felt cleaner, fresher than when she’d woken up...even if she hadn’t resolved all her uncertainties, she was in better shape to deal with them than before.

The moment she exited the bathroom back into the bedroom, she yelped in shock and nearly dropped her towel. Taris was in the bedroom, completely nude, trying to wipe down the end table. He looked up with a jerk and yelped himself when he saw her state. “Ah! Sandy!”

“Taris!”

“I’m so sorry! I was just…I was just getting the laundry to wash everything, and I knocked over the beer and didn’t want to leave a mess, and didn’t realize you were gonna be out so soon-”

“It’s okay! It’s...it’s okay!” Sandy felt her heart rate easing back up. She felt a bit silly being so shocked; it wasn’t like Taris was exactly a stranger around here, and even being unclothed, well, it wasn’t like he wore anything back when he was a regular Pokémon, and nothing more was visible here. Some morphs could get away with that if there was nothing lewd clearly visible, though there were areas where morphs were predominant that were even more permissive. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“I should’ve waited, I think…” She could see Taris’s face flushed deeply. “Made sure you wouldn’t be disturbed or anything…”

“Don’t worry about it...I wasn’t going to be wearing anything more anyway, I needed to get my clothes laundered myself. They were a mess after last night.”

“Y-yeah...I could, um…”

“Smell it, I know. Sorry...I should’ve warned you.”

“It’s fine...not like I don’t know anything about that kind of thing. And it’s not...erm, unfamiliar.”

“Right, you’d know it from the past, of course.” She was trying to be evasive, but even thinking about it was bringing back images from her dream...to hell with it, it didn’t matter if this wasn’t the best time or place, she was making her move. “Do you…have a moment, Taris?”

“Um...s-sure…I, uh, should I get the laundry started first, or-”

“No, stay here...that can wait for a bit.”

“Well...Ben’s clothes are in there, too, he’ll probably be waiting-”

“He can wait for a bit,” Sandy cut him off with a slight edge to her voice. She hadn’t meant to be that sharp, but it had the intended effect as Taris ceased his opposition. Satisfied, she stepped over to him, the poor Grovyle getting ever redder as her barely covered body came into his proximity. “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for what you did yesterday. I couldn’t hear too much while I was trapped back there, but I did hear you insisting on checking on what was in the back of that truck...if you hadn’t, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me.”

“I...I just knew something was up. But the fact that you were involved at all...and that I almost…”

“You didn’t. And you wouldn’t have if you’d known. But I’m glad it was you and not someone else. They might not have thought anything more of it. And when it comes down to it...I’ve always liked that about you, Taris. You were always good at heart, hating to hurt anyone...I remember how you always apologized to your opponent after a battle, something I’ve almost never heard of in other Pokémon. And you always tried to do the right thing in whatever you did, even when others tried to push you...heck, even I was guilty of pushing you the wrong way a couple times. I’ll bet that’s made it difficult for you to work with Roman, hasn’t it?”

Taris nodded hesitantly. “He and his crew don’t like how hard it is to get me to do something...I tell them I only want legit work, and I’m asking a lot of questions they don’t like to answer. It just makes me sick, the thought of hurting someone is terrible, even if I’m not trying to...I think they paired me with Ben to try to get him to rub off on me, so that I’d be a little less wary, but I think the opposite happened…”

“That would be a good thing...he could’ve used a few more of your traits from the start. Maybe he would’ve been a better boyfriend if he had them. But...I guess if I was looking for those traits in someone, maybe there’s a simpler answer.”

“A simpler answer?” She could’ve laughed, he seemed so clueless, yet she knew it was because he’d already decided what the future held. Well, she was going to get him to consider an alternative.

“Yeah...go for the one who already has what I’d want.”

“Go for...wait...y-you...you’re not…”

Now she did laugh, as Taris got redder than ever. “All that blood rushing to your head and it’s still not clicking, huh?” she teased gently. “I promise you, though, I’m not trying to play with you, or mess with your head. You’re a great guy, I’ve always been close to you, and I’ve admired you for ages...I can’t think of much better to have in a boyfriend, especially after the last few attempts.”

“But...I mean...h-how could I...I’m a morph, you’re a human...what would they say…”

“I don’t really care what they say. If they’re so scandalized by the two of us together, all I’d tell them is that the humans should have tried harder to be desirable.” She put her free arm around Taris, drawing them closer together. “I don’t know...what the future holds. I can’t say whether it’ll work out. But I want to try...and the truth is...even though I haven’t seen you like this before...I already know I find you attractive. What happened last night in my dreams was proof enough.”

Taris’s eyes widened at this admission, but before he could speak or question it, she raised her hands up to his head, letting her towel drop and exposing her body, and brought it down to kiss him on the lips. He was so shocked at this that he found himself immobilized, unable to even respond with a twitch as she held her lips against him. She pulled away after a moment, smiling warmly at him. “You okay?”

It took him a bit to unfreeze, and though he still seemed a bit in a daze, it seemed like he’d gotten it together. “Y-yeah...I’m...I’m okay...can we...try that again, now that my head’s working again?”

“Of course.” She brought them together again, and this time when she kissed, he returned it, his tongue twining with hers as he wrapped his arms around her, the two sharing their tastes with each other and rubbing their bodies against each other. His hands wandered over her sides and back as he leaned into her, getting much more into it as he started to process that it was actually happening, his dreams were coming true in the most unlikely way he could imagine. His touch was electric on Sandy’s body, gentle yet strong, almost greedy as he caressed over just about every bit of her skin that was within his reach.

One of the Grovyle’s hands soon wandered down to her nethers, his lightly clawed fingers brushing against her clitoris as he started to finger her. Sandy had to pull back and let out a slightly loud moan, the sensation sudden and wonderful, overpowering almost. It was rare when one of her partners paid attention to her in this way...Ben certainly hadn’t been a great lover, but she’d taken it because she didn’t really know better at the time. Taris, on the other hand, seemed to know how to please a woman, and he was definitely doing a great job on her now. She felt rather compelled to return the favor, a hand fading down towards his slit and growing member. She wasn’t expecting his size, quite a bit bigger than she’d taken before...the shape was also different, with a more pointed tip leading to a notably larger girth further down the shaft; and it was slick under her touch, coated with something wet and warm, like he was built prepared for these activities.

They started shifting slowly over to the bed, still engaged with each other in all their ways, unquestionably on course to go further, when the squeak of the door opening caught their attention. They both looked over quickly, startled at the sight of Ben standing in the doorway, his eyes wide in shock. The Charmeleon was in the buff as well, not much of a shock considering what Taris had said earlier about getting their clothes washed. “I...uh, s-sorry...I heard moaning...I thought you might be...um, sick or something…oh...jeez, I, uh, I didn’t think, uh...I’ll just, um…”

Ben took a step back to leave, but stopped when Sandy spoke up. “Wait...close the door, and lock it, Ben. And you on the inside.”

Ben stuttered a bit, then just shut his mouth and did as he was told. When he turned back around, Sandy was standing almost right behind him, a serious look on her face, and he nearly jumped.

“Here’s the deal...I never really got over you. You hurt me, badly, and as stupid as it was, I still had feelings for you that never went away. And you’ve even told me that you haven’t really gotten better, you’ve just realized how bad you were, so it’s still not going to be easy between us no matter what. But...you have helped me through this, and you have at least seen yourself for who you are, which is a start. And as much as I shouldn’t, I do find you sexy like this. And the way I see it, after what you did to me, you owe me something, probably something more than you can give me. So...I’m going to give you a chance to do something for me, something that might make up a little bit of what you did. We’re not getting back together, I can tell you that right now. But...if you can make me feel good, then you can earn a little good karma back, and take a small step away from scum. Do you think you can do that?”

Ben remained silent and staring all throughout her speech. When she finished, he swallowed, and slowly nodded. “...You’re right...I owe you much more than that...and maybe someday I’ll find a way to make good on that...but...I’ll do whatever you ask of me right now.”

“Good...now come, you’ve got work to do.” She walked back over to the bed, where Taris was standing awkwardly by, not certain what was about to happen. “Taris...why don’t you sit down on the bed here, and get ready to hold me. Ben, come over here and get ready...I want you to make me feel as good as you can.”

Swallowing hard, Ben nodded and stepped over to the bed slowly. Despite his hesitation, his body certainly seemed eager enough, his own cock rising slowly out of its slit, a bit of steam wafting off of it. It looked rather similar to Taris’s, a bit thicker at the end and with less girth at the base, and was about a match in length. Certainly more impressive than he had been before, though she felt it wise not to mention that out loud.

“Okay...Taris, if you don’t mind…” She pushed back against Taris’s body, her rear pressing against his cock, giving him the clearest possible hint. She didn’t have a lot of experience with anal sex but she trusted Taris to be gentle with her. The Grovyle took her sides in his hands, helping her as she gently guided herself onto that staff, the tip parting her more easily than she expected as its slickness seemed to diminish the tightness almost on contact. He couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan as his cock was engulfed within her, slowly taking more and more of it until she had it most of the way inside.

Sandy panted a bit, the feeling of fullness unexpectedly strong. She was entering some new territory here, but she wanted to make the most of it while she could. With a nod, she motioned to Ben, spreading her legs a bit more to offer her pussy to him, already dripping expectantly. “Okay...it’s your turn.”

No longer hesitant, the Charmeleon stepped up and lined up with her entrance, the tip brushing lightly against her lips. He was hot, but not unpleasantly so, definitely warm enough to make her feel it but he wouldn’t burn her. She realized just then that he would be the first she’d ever taken without a condom...but it would be almost impossible for him to knock her up, his DNA was now so different, so she cast aside her brief worries and gave him a nod to go ahead.

He slipped in slowly, working her open with gentle pushes and making sure she wasn’t in any discomfort. He was so thick, but like with Taris before, she seemed to be loosening up on contact, his fluids incredible at making her feel at ease. Ben’s eyes closed and he drew in a sharp breath as he felt the touch of a woman’s pussy for the first time since his transformation, and it felt better than ever, maybe it was the lack of action but he felt more sensitive than before, and it was definitely a tighter fit that wrapped him snugly. He kept at it until he was pretty deep inside, stopping at her touch on his arm. Opening his eyes, he could see the pleasure in her features, her deep breaths. It was at once gratifying and shaming, his mind casting back to their past and realizing how short he’d come up as a lover before. This time, he vowed, it would be different.

Slowly the two began to thrust, treating her very delicately as they got her used to this novel position. She was already loving it, the two of them together made her feel so full, front and back, and they still had more to give, they were just easing her into it. She could almost feel them rub against each other, pushing themselves against the flesh that separated them as if trying to meld together, only making them both feel more wonderful. It was all she could do to support herself on Taris, trying to move along with them, show them how much she was appreciating them.

But if she thought it couldn’t get better, she was very wrong. Suddenly she felt Taris’s hand sweep down to her crotch, and his fingers find her clit again, rubbing it firmly and making her gasp as the sensations down there got even better. Moments later, Ben bowed his head down and began licking at her breast, his hot tongue sweeping over the mound and around her nipple, each touch leaving a very nice, lingering sensation. And then Taris leaned his head over her shoulder and started using his tongue on her other breast, the cooler organ focusing in on her nipple more and lashing over the sensitive nub quickly and expertly.

It all had Sandy on cloud nine. Each time those tongues swept over her nipples, it sent another shiver down her spine. And their teamwork at her pussy was even better, pleasuring her both at the surface and within her depths. Taris’s occupation of her ass was the icing, feeling much better than she’d anticipated...they were both proving to be every bit as she’d hoped, Ben had definitely gotten better at this and Taris was fantastic. She found herself whispering for more, quietly urging them on, surges of pleasure making her writhe and shudder under their arms.

And her companions were hardly falling short in their own enjoyment. Both of them were going faster, deeper, sinking themselves in to the base now, their sizes not proving an impediment at all. Ben was plumbing her deepest depths, his tip passing her innermost barrier with ease, while Taris was pushing farther into her rear than anything had ever gone from that end before. She was so tight, so lively, and they felt it on every inch of their cocks, the convulsion and the wetness and the energy from her body. Too soon, they were closing in on the edges of their limits, the shared inexperience making holding back a severe challenge...but neither one of them was willing to stop until Sandy was brought over with them.

They didn’t know how close she was, their ministrations had been most effective. It seemed like every moment was another little bit of heaven, releasing powerful flashes of euphoria that kept her shaking under them. It was almost too much, the constant pleasure on top of her mini-climaxes, yet she didn’t dare act to stop them, desperately wanting them to take her to the finale. Closer and closer she came, assailed by tongues and fingers and cocks, until with a shuddering cry, she felt the long-needed storm of orgasm crash over her, her body jerking between them as her hands grasped at Taris’s scales. She soaked Ben’s shaft with her fluids, a fair gush erupting from her, the heat from his cock making them hiss as they squirted out around him.

It was too much for Ben, and with a slight growl the Charmeleon came hard, shooting deep inside Sandy as his hands clenched around her shoulders, driving himself in as deep as he could as his climax tore through him. Thick gluts of seed painted her depths, the fluid fiercely hot, sensations of heat lingering wherever they touched, compounding Sandy’s already immeasurable pleasure as he kept firing over and over, filling her for the first time ever. It wasn’t long before Taris, too, was set off, his own seed rushing into her bowels, thicker and stickier than Ben’s, not nearly as hot, but another wonderful rush inside her body, adding to the fullness provided by his cock.

They seemed almost endless, their loads much more prolific and their orgasms longer than any man who had been with her before, and she rode them out equally, inundated with raw pleasure that almost felt like it might break her at moments. When it finally started to fade, it felt like it had been an eternity, one that she would never forget. She sank in their arms, wearied from the intense bout, but deeply and truly satisfied. “That...was amazing...both of you…”

“I would hope for nothing less,” Taris said, with a brief nuzzling of her cheek from behind. He carefully lifted her off of his cock, drawing Ben’s out from her as well, letting some of his seed drip out of her. The Grovyle was flushed, and almost seemed a bit absent, like he was in a dream, one that he certainly wouldn’t have wanted to end. On the other side, Ben was panting, a bit deeper red in the face himself, but seemed more collected. It had been too long, partly a drought self-imposed, and finally having it again felt great...but at the same time, he could tell that this was a moment for Sandy and Taris, and he was in the way. At least, perhaps, he’d moved up a bit in her eyes.

Turning away, he stepped slowly towards the door, the other two watching him curiously. “I...really enjoyed that, and I hope you did as well. But...I need to get back out there. I still need to be watching out...never know when Rocco’s men might come slinking around.”

Just as he reached the door, Sandy spoke up again. “Ben...you did a good job. Thank you.”

Ben turned back and nodded, smiling at her, a more at-ease expression than she’d seen on him yet. “Thank you, Sandy...I...I’ll keep on trying to do better.” Then he turned and left, closing the door and leaving her with Taris.

The Grovyle looked at her awkwardly. “Um...do you want me to-”

“I don’t want you to go anywhere, Taris.” Sandy wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. “I still want more of you...and I think I can guess that you want more of me, too.”

“I...I don’t think I could ever get enough of you.”

“Maybe we’ll have to find out.” She pulled away and laid back on the bed, spreading her legs and beckoning to him. “Come on, Taris...let me feel you the way you always wanted to.”

He flushed even harder at the thought of that, but there was little hesitation from him this time. In a moment he’d turned and crawled over her, placing himself over her almost imposingly. He could feel the heat from Ben’s cum lingering around her entrance as his cock grazed it...it was inflaming his lust quite effectively, the primal spirit of competition making him want to claim the female, while his desire for her made him want to give her the greatest pleasure he possibly could. “There’s so many ways I want to do it with you, Sandy...I only want what’s best for you.”

“Sweet-talker...you’ve already shown me how much you can do. Now I want to see your wild side...take me hard, fast, let yourself go.”

“Are you sure? I could...get pretty wild…”

Sandy grinned at him devilishly. “Prove it.”

With a challenge like that, how could he resist? Bracing his arms on either side of her, he plunged in sharply, burying his whole length inside her in an instant. She cried out loud, clutching the bedclothes as he drove into her over and over, giving her as much of his energy as he felt he could without hurting her. It was glorious, a bout of relief from his usual restraint, a rare moment to cut loose and get in touch with his Pokémon side.

Sandy didn’t expect this much out of him, but she was pleasantly surprised about how it felt. She expected it to be rough, maybe painful, but quite the contrary, the wild pounding was intense and wonderful, a romp that left her breathless and electrified with pleasure. She pushed herself into him, meeting some of his thrusts with her own, unable to match his energy but adding to it nonetheless. Already she was feeling the thunderous rounds of pleasure from before, only coming much more quickly and closer together.

The wild romp made the bed squeak over and over, the furious thrusts almost making the two of them bounce beyond their own movements. They clutched each other tight, wild hands taking arms in grip, unable to do anything more than that under the rush of ecstasy the two of them were experiencing. Sweat poured off of them, soaking the covers in the evidence of their intense pleasure. And all they could think about was more, taking all they could from it, letting it consume them for the brief time that it could.

It couldn’t last, and finally the two of them cried out together as their climaxes hit nearly in tandem. Taris’s seed rushed into her, joining Ben’s as the Grovyle made his case for being the prime male, pumping round after round of his sticky fluid into her depths. Sandy’s own liquids joined them as she jerked under her lover, pleasure rampaging through here and making her vision go white. She could feel him deep inside, feel his essence filling her and the rush of her fluids washing over him. They held each other close as they rode out the waves, their bodies almost seeming to become one for the duration.

Slowly the high faded, leaving both of them panting heavily, exhausted by their efforts. Taris held her as he rolled the two of them onto their sides, still inside her as the last dribbles of cum came out from him. “I...hope that wasn’t...too much…” he managed to get out in between breaths, his hands caressing her back as he tried to settle her.

“Ah...maybe it was…but it was...the right kind...of too much…” Sandy replied slowly. There was no question to her that it had been worth it, she wasn’t regretting this for a moment. “Taris...you were wonderful. I...hope you understand...that I don’t just want this to be a one-time thing.”

“Sandy...nothing would make me happier. You mean so much to me...I’m sorry if I ever made it seem otherwise. You’ve made a dream come true for me, I’ll do everything I can to make one come true for you.”

“Mm...I won’t doubt you for a second, Taris.” She held him as close as she could, wondering if perhaps he’d already succeeded.