1. Owner of a Lonely Heart

“God! Not another resolution," groaned Spencer. He dropped the dining-area trash bags at Rory's feet, emphasizing his opinion of the tiresome New Year's tradition. “What was it last year? Start a YouTube channel? Learn to play the guitar? There've been so many, I've lost track."

Rory's pale arms were elbow-deep in a fish fryer scrubbing at stale grease and bits of charcoaled breading. He paused to wipe sweat from his brow.

“Actually, it was getting buff at the gym."

Spencer appraised his friend's slender frame and meager stature.

“And like every other resolution for the last ten years…nothing. Look at you, skinny and girlie as ever."

“Yeah, well, I couldn't afford a membership."

“Blah. Blah. Always some excuse. Look. As your oldest and bestest friend, I'm offering free advice." Spencer placed his massive palm on Rory's shoulder. “You open to that?"

Pals since elementary school, the pair behaved like siblings, except that Spencer was burly, tall, and black, while Rory was short, delicate, and white. Still, Spencer was the substitute cool older brother Rory craved but never had, and his advice was always welcome, as was the casual, intimate contact he dispensed so freely. Rory gazed up into Spencer's brown eyes and nodded.

“You worry too much about who you are. Look at me. I know what I am—a lazy bum of mediocre talent and intelligence. No stupid resolutions are ever gonna change that, but that doesn't mean I can't have a better future than slinging fish and chips. My newest girlfriend, Becky…I told you about her, right?"

“Yeah. Engineering grad student."

“Exactly. She's smart, hardworking, has fantastic earning potential, is okay-enough-looking, and best of all, she's got cripplingly low self-esteem. I tell her she's pretty once in a while, and she babies me the rest of my life."

“That sounds kind of crass and manipulative."

“Not at all. She gets what she wants, and so do I. Besides, you're missing the point."

“Which is?"

“Seize an easy opportunity, man. Find someone. Self-improvement doesn't have to be hard work."

“Well, I think it does. At least for me. I can change by myself."

Spencer's thick brow furrowed.

“I like you the way you are."

Rory's throat constricted. His tear ducts swelled. He simultaneously hated and loved it when Spencer spoke like that. Turning away, Rory wiped his forearm across his moistened nose and sniffed. Spencer mistook his broken heart for financial troubles.

“Your parents are threatening to kick you out again, aren't they?"

Rory appreciated Spencer's misunderstanding. It allowed him to conceal his unrequited love.

“Yeah, but that's incidental. I want to finish my degree and need tuition money. The owner is looking for a new assistant manager."

“Is that why you volunteered to close all week?"

“I've even started a pet-sitting business in my parent's basement. You wouldn't believe what guilt-ridden owners will pay when traveling."

“A side-hustle, eh? Is that why you have a dog hidden in the storeroom?"

Rory gasped. The Icelandic sheepdog was small and quiet. It should have been undetectable hidden behind a wall of boxes in the back of the storeroom.

“Oh shit! You found him?"

“Yep. I got a nose for that kind of thing." Spencer tapped the tip of his for emphasis. “Why the fuck you bring it here anyway?"

“He gets lonely, and he's so sweet, loving, and gentle. The owner's paying extra for me to be with him constantly. It's just for a couple more days."

Spencer shrugged and donned his jacket.

“Whatever. If you get caught, it's your funeral—probably mine too since the boss thinks we're joined-at-the-hip slackers jerking off on company time." Spencer checked his phone and grinned. “But that's a worry for another day. I gotta give my gravy train's ego a little boost tonight…if you know what I mean," Spencer added with a wink. “Like I said: a two-way street, buddy. See ya tomorrow."

Facing two hours of lonely cleaning, Rory first released his canine charge. The fox-faced Argos greeted him with a smile and excessive licking.

“Who's a good boy?" Rory cooed.

Argos yipped and danced in circles. His question mark tail swished like a manic maid's feather duster. Rory knelt to hug and calm him. The dog's rust and white-colored fur was thick and weatherproof, a joy to stroke, and the physical contact beat a tranquilizer, but this was not the time for cuddles.

“Come help me finish up," Rory urged.

Time passed quickly with his smile-inducing companion until only one task remained. Argos dutifully followed Rory on each trip to the alley dumpsters.

After tossing the last bag, Argos growled—an unexpected sound from the usually mild-mannered dog. The rapid slap of running footsteps followed, and a kid in clown-sized sneakers, baggy orange sweatpants, and a black hoody obscuring his or her face nearly collided with Rory.

“Help me," the hooded figure pleaded. It sounded like a young woman. “They want to kill me!"

Confused, Rory looked towards the alley's intersection with the main street. Nobody followed. The frightened fugitive fidgeted, shifting her gaze between Rory, the growling Argos, and the restaurant's open back door.

“I don't see anyone. Who do you think is…?"

Without asking permission, she ran inside, forcing Rory to follow.

“Hey! You can't go in there! That's private property."

As Rory put his hand on the door, he heard a soft pop, then something ricocheted against the metal surface. The alley's mouth silhouetted two menacing figures with leveled guns.

Terrified, Rory grabbed Argos, ducked inside, slammed, and bolted the door to the pinging of more projectiles. The intruder, blocking the narrow hallway, removed from under her hoodie something resembling a shiny silver bicycle chain interwoven with wires running through crystals and black ceramic nodules. After tossing the contraption in the air, it hovered in place and spun like a lasso with multicolored lightning dancing around its outer rim. A golden glow grew in its center.

Rory stood transfixed while his guest—he still assumed she was female—undressed. The hoodie fell away first, revealing a reptilian face covered in fine, iridescent violet scales. Sprouting from above her large, black eyes were two curved horns. After kicking the shoes away and wriggling out of the sweats, she flexed a pair of four-toed feet and wiggled a short, fat tail protruding from thick hips. A beautiful mane of fuschia-colored feathers ran from the crown of her head to her tail's tip.

“Sorry. Wrong geologic era again," she apologized in unaccented English—no hissing like Rory thought an anthropomorphic reptile might make. “Don't worry, though. You'll be fine once I'm gone…."

A rhythmic thudding hammered the door as if by a battering ram.

“…Preferably before that gives way. Just need a few seconds more."

Argos barked, intent upon charging the lizard alien, but Rory held his collar tight. She flinched, clearly afraid until the dancing electricity on the circle's outer rim faded.

“Excellent! I'm going. Don't follow. The hoop will disappear on its own, and no one will be the wiser."

A nictitating membrane flashed across her right eye, parodying a wink before she vanished through the glowing center just as the straining door burst inward. Still holding Argos, Rory was knocked tumbling into the ominous pool of alien light.

Upon contact with the shimmering barrier, his skin crawled with gooseflesh. Paralyzed, hovering upside down above the floor, he incongruously worried about the damaged door. More relevant were the two sinister humans in black commando fatigues. They were also frozen.

Both held strange weapons like oversized pistols with elongated barrels. The man's expression was grim and assassin-like, scanning for threats. The woman, however, expressed shock and alarm, her free arm reaching for Rory, who desperately wanted to grasp her proffered hand. To his horror, she and everything beyond the hoop's rim retreated towards an impossibly far distance as if stretched across a black hole's event horizon. The surreal tableau then pixilated like a pointillist painting, the dots moving and swirling in random vortices, gradually shedding their hues until all averaged to uniform oblivion.

2. Turn and Face the Strange Ch-ch-changes

Regaining consciousness, Rory assumed he was home in bed, shedding a bizarre dream's lingering remnants. While wondering whether he could sleep a little longer, his recent encounter resurfaced as frightening reality validated by his recovering senses.

Faint, rhythmic chirps, croaks, and squeaks of unrecognizable outdoor denizens greeted his ears. He spooned Argos like a hug pillow, the light, yeasty smell of his fur a familiar comfort given the cool night air, gentle breeze, and hard ground he lay upon. When he opened his eyes, all was black except for a sparse scattering of stars and a galaxy's hazy thumbprint directly overhead. Rory wasn't an astronomer, but no view from Earth matched this.

Afraid, he clutched Argos tighter, seeking comfort but realized instead his companion had tripled in size. The dog's body contours were also altered. Rory could only describe them as human-shaped.

Distracted by the sudden bewildering sunrise, he set the conundrum aside. Instead of Sol's yellow orb, a small, reddish-orange star crested the horizon, followed by the broad arc of a banded gas giant emerging beneath. Transfixed by the extraterrestrial panorama, Rory felt Argos stir and turn his head.

“Good morning," he said, yawning as if a talking human-dog hybrid were no cause for alarm.

Rory recoiled, crab-walking backward, but the transformation's astounding effects followed, the tip of his own canine snout partially blocking his vision. Glancing down, he saw his clothes and belongings were gone, and the rest of his body was a twin to Argos's, including fur, canine genitals, and curlicue tail.

“What's the matter?" Argos asked.

Everything, Rory thought, but he was trying not to panic. Instead, he swallowed the lump of anxiety blocking his throat and answered, “Are you kidding?"

Argos's brow furrowed, and he cocked his head with dog-like perplexity while perusing his new form, particularly his paw-like hands.

“Yeah. This is really different. I can talk and think like a human…like you, in fact. Your memories and knowledge are in my head. It's pretty cool."

“Cool? This is all freakin' me out."

Weird new feelings and unfamiliar sensations tickled Rory's psyche, threatening hysteria. Rather than contemplate his altered state, Rory sought distraction in his surroundings. He was sitting on a rock slab perched high on a steep slope overlooking a broad valley and facing the dawn. The gleaming snake of a river meandered from horizon to horizon with no apparent head or tail. Argos joined him sitting hip-to-hip.

“Where are we?" asked Argos.

“Not on Earth. We're lost and alone many light-years from home, I think."

“Not alone." Argos snuggled against Rory's side, stroking his arm and back. “We've got each other."

Rory appreciated the sentiment but found the sudden extrusion of Argos's penis from its sheath disconcerting.

“Uh, bruh. You're lipstick's showing."

“Huh? Oh!" Argos hunched over for a better view. He tried licking it, but his long tongue stopped short.

Rory smiled, grateful for something amusing to distract his befuddled senses.

“People don't bend like that or lick their own genitals."

“Really?" Argos cocked his head again as if accessing unfamiliar memories. “I guess not. I kind of miss that. It always felt good."

The admission prompted a nascent stirring in Rory's loins.

“I suppose I'd be down there all day if I could, but why'd you get a boner anyway?"

“Oh. I don't know. I guess I was thinking about how much I love you."

“Me? That's uh…That's kind of inappropriate."

“Why?"

“You're a dog."

“Dog-man, and so are you."

“Right now, I am…we are, but maybe we'll change back. What happens then?"

“I don't care. I loved you when I was a dog, and I'll still love you even if I become a dog again."

“Love? Like the romantic you-want-to-be-my-mate kind of love?"

Argos pressed his shoulder against Rory's and nuzzled behind his ear. Ripples of sensual stimulus propagated through Rory's altered body. Beyond conscious control, his cock slipped free of its fuzzy sleeve, joining its brother in glistening, trembling red glory.

“Yes. When we first met, I knew. You smelled right, and I know you have fantasized about something like this before."

It was true Rory had yanked off to furry porn, but he never imagined the reality could be so erotic. Argos licked at the corner of Rory's mouth. The tender, amorous gesture awakened hidden desire. With surreal detachment, Rory's paw-like hand crept towards Argos's staff. When his palm and finger pads contacted the hot flesh, novel tactile sensations energized his libido. Responding with a rumbling purr, Argos spread his legs wider and rested his snout contentedly upon Rory's nape. Pre trickled forth, sliming Rory's fury hand while lubricating its rhythmic stroking. Argos whined and whimpered like a puppy, his orgasm building until Rory abruptly halted, squeezing the spasming shaft.

“Why did you stop?" Argos gasped.

Rory had tasted dick but never dog dick. He was curious.

“You can't lick yourself, but I can do it for you. Would you like that?"

“Yes." Argos's muted response was less verbal affirmation than a contented noise.

Rory knelt between his lover's furry thighs and inhaled. His canine nose amplified every scent, his hybrid brain craving each breath, revitalizing the routine deed as if reliving his first time.

Swallowing most of Argo's cock without triggering his gag reflex was surprisingly easy with an elongated mouth. Argos responded to the wet embrace by swelling larger, especially his knot, which Rory squeezed, inducing his lover to a swift finish.

Argos's claw-like nails gouged the soft limestone, his whine intensifying as his body shuddered, and a flood of salty warmth slithered down Rory's throat, the taste and smell hammer blows of pleasure against his augmented senses. Copious semen spilled from his lips between swallows, joining Rory's sticky ejaculate puddling on the gray stone surface.

“That…That…That was incredible," huffed Argos. “Let me do you."

Rory desired nothing more, but exchanging blowjobs seemed a distraction from their survival.

“Maybe later." Rory licked cum from his mouth and chin, savoring the flavor. “Definitely later, but first, I'm thirsty, and you must be absolutely dehydrated after that gusher."

“There's a river." Argos pointed to the valley.

“I read somewhere that rivers lead to civilization. Can't remember where."

“Boy Scout manual."

“How do you know…? Oh. Right. It's really weird having a talking dog with my memories."

“Look on the bright side. I know what makes you happy, like having me poke your butthole with my…."

“Okay! Okay. I get it. That's a plus, but don't repeat that around others…if we find any others."

“I'll let you do the talking. Are we heading down?"

Clouds were piling high on the eastern horizon faster than Rory thought possible. As he pondered what to do, lightning flashed, followed seconds later by deafening thunder and pouring rain.

“Fresh water is gonna find us no matter where we go." Looking upslope, Rory espied an escarpment pocked with dark recesses. “And shelter seems like the greater need. Let's head up instead."

3. My Beloved Monster

The rugged climb was made easier after Argos located a trail. It switchbacked through open, rocky fields and groves of trees with dark purple and black leaves. The size, variety, and abundance of what could have passed for bananas and other tropical fruit astounded Rory, but he didn't dare sample any until he was starving, having no idea whether any were toxic.

They encountered only small and harmless creatures, nothing remotely threatening. Bat-winged flyers resembling neither birds nor mammals flitted about the trees. A fluorescent yellow rabbit-like animal with feathery moth antennae and too many eyes hopped across their path. Argos barked several times and wanted to give chase, but Rory stopped him. The little critter exhibited no fear, happily munching on small daisy-like flowers. Approaching within a few centimeters, Rory sampled its scent, registering cinnamon, cloves, or whatever one might bake into a pumpkin pie.

“Can I eat it?" Argos begged, but Rory led him away by his paw.

“Maybe later when we are starving. The storm's getting closer. We need to go."

As they neared the sheer rock face, the trail ended at an ominous cave. With the darkening storm occluding the feeble sun, the interior remained a black, dimensionless, uninviting void. Rory and Argos sniffed the air but detected nothing untoward. Still, neither moved to enter until lightning and the simultaneous roar of thunder stood their fur erect in the positively charged atmosphere. Large, soaking raindrops followed, quenching their thirst but also rendering the unknown more inviting.

They rushed inside, slipped on the cavern's polished floor, and tripped over several stalagmites before stopping. As their eyes adjusted, the downpour exceeded anything Rory had ever witnessed. A muddy waterfall soon blocked the entrance. Most of the torrent continued downslope, but enough pooled inside that they retreated further into the cave's depths, escaping the rising water. After the dazzling lightning moved on, they noticed portions of the ceiling glowed a liquid gold, illuminating a single route deeper into the mountain.

“Phosphorescent fungi?" suggested Argos. Rory flashed him the how-the-hell-did-you-know-that look. “Something else you read about once," Argos added, shrugging his shoulders.

“It looks like it was placed there on purpose," observed Rory, “Which is creepy, but there's no telling how high the water might rise, so I say we see where it leads."

A hundred meters of twists, turns, and numerous bypassed unlit side passages brought them to a barrier resembling a water-tight submarine hatch, except there was no handwheel or obvious opening mechanism. Instead, the metallic oval hissed and swung inward on its own at their approach. The interior space beyond blinded them with harsh white light.

Argos sniffed the air. “Are we going in? Something weird-smelling lives here."

“Yeah. This feels like a trap, but we need answers."

The space beyond the door resembled a machine shop. Tables, shelves, cabinets, tools, and assorted hardware of alien design lined the walls, hung from cables, or rested on every flat surface.

Rory and Argos crept inside, prepared to run out again at the slightest hint of danger, but the hatch hissed shut in classic horror-movie fashion, eliminating that option. Another similar portal on the opposite wall opened, and a larger-than-man-sized creature trundled in on too many stubby legs under a truncated cone-shaped body. Its skin reflected light like shiny black latex.

The monster sprouted snake-like appendages from its body as it moved towards the Terrans. Rory and Argos tried to evade, but the whip-like tentacles multiplied, elongated, and thrashed everywhere at once. One snared Rory's right ankle, adhering like glue. It dragged him from under a table to suspend him upside down like a caught chicken. Argos was also captured and similarly held up for the eyeless creature's inspection.

“What's it going to do to us," Argos whined.

“I don't know, but I don't think it's anything good."

As if blessed with prophesy's curse, Rory trembled as tentacles restrained his and Argos's wrists and more prodded at their faces and nether regions. Before either could scream, a rubbery strand slipped past their lips and down their throats. Only dentist-chair grunts and incoherent sounds escaped their overstretched jaws.

Though the intrusion was unpleasant, something numbed Rory's gag reflex, preventing choking or suffocation, leaving him to worry what horrible alien embryos it was implanting in his stomach. His anxiety tripled when a second tapered pseudopod defeated his clenched sphincter and explored the depths of his large intestine. The assault was the most horrific thing Rory had ever experienced, but just as he thought he might go mad, a languid, sensual warmth calmed his tormented nerves like a powerful narcotic.

Being raped by a Chthuluesque horror was never a turn-on for Rory, but he became intensely aroused nonetheless, and Argos seemed similarly afflicted. They both sprouted throbbing erections that were tickled and caressed by tentacles sprouting finger-like offshoots. Numerous heart-thumping orgasms followed, Rory and Argos spraying cum upon themselves and their tormentor.

When the flexible probes retracted, Rory suffered surprising regret, doubting the same excruciating level of euphoric pleasure was achievable by any other means. Pooping out alien babies or having them explode from his stomach seemed acceptable consequences for experiencing something so mind-blowingly erotic even once.

Lowered to the floor, Argos and Rory recovered their strength as the rubber-skinned monster absorbed all but two arms while transforming from a smooth geometric shape to a naked replica of Spencer. Rory might have popped a boner over that if his dick wasn't so worn out.

“My apologies for any discomfort you experienced," it said, coopting Spencer's voice. “Pseudopod insertion allows rapid access to language and social-physical preferences. The moment I realized you were in distress, I modified your nervous systems to interpret the intrusion as pleasurable. I apologize again if I went too far, but your perceptions of sexual stimuli were unique and exciting to explore. Perhaps when we have captured the time transgressor, you will allow me another session?"

Having his stomach and butt probed was one thing, but this second invasion into Rory's mind was too much.

“Wait! Hold on. You were in our heads? Dammit! First Argos, now…whatever you are. Does everyone get to read my mind?"

“Be assured I only accessed mission-essential knowledge, like your cognitive abilities and current emotional state."

“Emotional state! I'll give you my emotional state. It's mad as hell. Who and what are you? Where are we? Why are Argos and I furries? Why are you Spencer? What the fuck is going on?"

“I shall answer each of your questions in turn, but time is precious, and I need you to be patient and listen. Okay?"

Rory mellowed slightly as he always did in Spencer's calming presence.

“Sure. Fine. Some answers would be nice."

“Excellent. You are in these bodies because the time hoop isn't programmed to transport your species. It generated two genetically identical individuals from your combined DNA during the reconstitution process. As to me, I am a non-evolved organic construct. I have no name, just a designation, but you may call me Neoc since your race enjoys acronyms. I can shapeshift. This form is meant to comfort and reduce your stress levels. I was designed and grown by an advanced alien race for many purposes, but I am on this moon to detect, apprehend, and detain time transgressors."

“Oh. You protect the timeline?"

“Time is not a line with a fixed direction, nor is it separate from matter and space. The mathematics and physics required for full comprehension are…complex. The best I can do is say the past, present, and future coexist as interactive probabilities creating the coherent symmetry that is our universe."

“Coexist like all together at once? Does that mean everything has already happened, and we can't change the future?"

“Free will is not curtailed. You can choose or take any action you want, but you are always influenced by everything that has happened or will happen. The topology of space-time is flexible within limits like an elastic band."

Rory exchanged a confused glance with Argos but held his questions.

“It is possible to safely jump the timeline without serious consequences," continued the alien. “But one must be extremely careful not to threaten symmetry. A careless action or series of actions could lead to devastating consequences."

“What? Like destroying the universe or something?

“That is not possible. You can't break time or the universe any more than you can undo the Big Bang. Time is self-healing because it repairs any serious breach by eliminating the cause, typically the initiator of the dilemma."

“Like the little lizard lady…and us?"

“Precisely. She is dangerously close to having herself and innocents like you forever deleted from the point of intrusion on, so no more questions. We must act immediately to catch her."

“How?"

“Just help gather my equipment and come with me to the top of the ridge. I'll explain on the way."

4. All You Need is…

“Having you two here is serendipitous," explained Neoc as they rode an elevator to the flat plateau hundreds of meters above the cave. “The trap requires three capture units working in perfect synchronization. I have not found a way to automate the process, so we will do it manually."

“I don't see how we can help. What do Arogos or I know about time travel?"

“Nothing, really, but you just need to follow my lead and do what feels right. Time's elastic force will tug your decisions in the right direction."

“That sounds like metaphysical mystical bullshit, but okay. How does this trap work?"

“These devices," Neoc pointed to the play-station-controller-like units Rory and Argos held, “will deactivate the hoop and contain our quarry with a force field. The hoop is programmed to deliver time travelers to this moon between jumps. It is a safe resting place modified to have abundant resources with no dangerous predators."

“That little time thief lizard made this moon?"

“Say transgressor, not thief. Time can't be stolen, and her race did not build this place, nor did they create the time hoop. The Ymlusgiaid, as her kind are called, are technological primitives like humans. My creators rescued them from your past just before a comet struck Earth sixty-four million years ago. Sentience is rare in the universe and hence precious. That two should arise on one world…very unique and worth preserving."

“The Yim…Yimlooshy…whatever, is a dinosaur?"

The trio exited the elevator.

“Yes. They reside under our care but are like mischievous children. One clever little imp named Teithiwr stole the time hoop. Fortunately, I am tracking her signal and can force her next appearance to this small region between the diamond shapes marked on the rock."

Neoc glanced at his controller.

“That probability approaches unity in thirty-five seconds, so take your device, stand on a marker, and manipulate the buttons and rollers as I instructed to keep the glowing light in the center of your screen. Hurry now!"

Given so little training, Rory doubted their chances. Still, when the time hoop appeared in the middle of their triangle glowing and spinning just like before, he furiously worked the controls, finding them surprisingly intuitive, like a video game.

Their purple-and-red-hued quarry popped out one side and quickly realized her predicament. She tried retreating, but something Neoc did—or maybe they all did together, Rory couldn't be sure in the ensuing confusion—deactivated the high-tech chain, stifling the golden glow.

“Keep her in place while I immobilize her!" Neoc shouted. “Don't approach. She is very dangerous when cornered."

Tentacles sprang from Neoc's body—bizarre and disturbingly arousing, considering Neoc still resembled Spencer. They snaked towards Teithiwr. She neatly severed several with her retractable claws and deflected the rest by spinning and slapping her tail while screeching like a raptor from Jurassic Park. Rory and Argos watched helplessly as she nimbly tapped one of the time hoop's black nodules with her foot, and the glow returned. Their consoles were useless to stop it.

In a few seconds, their quarry would escape. Remembering Teithiwr's reaction to Argos's barking in the restaurant. He signaled his twin to help with a distraction.

Dropping their consoles, Rory and Argos rushed in, barking and snapping at Teithiwr's heels. She responded with lightning-fast attacks, but Rory's new body was nearly as quick, and tag-teaming with Argos—like wolves harrying prey—they kept her off-balance long enough for Neoc to sneak a pseudopod up her cloacal slit. Her shocked expression froze for several seconds before she fell limp onto her belly.

“Excellent improvisation, you two," praised Neoc.

The three victors converged to stand over Teithiwr, who lay grinning euphorically with her face in an expanding puddle of drool.

“You are lucky, young lady, that I caught you before this crisis worsened," Neoc chastised.

“I'm sorry," Teithiwr slurred, “I got lost trying to visit my real home. I didn't know I was hurting anything. Are we going to be erased?"

“That we are having this conversation argues no, but I'm detecting probabilistic instabilities requiring the four of us to make causal adjustments to our past and future selves."

“Us?" blurted Rory. “I want to go home."

Argos remained silent, but Teithiwr seconded the sentiment.

“Me, too. My real home in the past."

“I can feel both your contrition and longing," said Neoc sadly, his embedded tentacle accessing Teithiwr's emotions. “I sympathize and wish to help. Though it is impossible to change the events that destroyed your world, there is no harm in visiting—if accompanied by a competent guide like me, that is."

“That's all I wanted," said the smiling Teithiwr as Neoc's pseudopod withdrew. “Thank you."

Neoc turned to Rory, placing a hand on his shoulder, mimicking Spencer's manner.

“Restoring symmetry is a non-linear process requiring multiple, unpredictable, iterative adjustments, likely requiring several Earth-years. Teithiwr and I cannot do it without you and Argos."

“Can we at least be human again?"

“Yes. A simple adjustment…."

“No!" Argos turned his pleading, puppy-dog eyes upon Rory. “How else can we be together? Don't you love me?"

Argos's tears tugged Rory's heart stronger than time's elastic band.

“I do love you," he admitted, crushing Argos in a hug. “I want to be with you forever."

“Then don't let them undo this."

Begging Neoc, Rory asked, “Can't we keep the best parts of this misadventure?"

“Well…," the alien mused while poking at his controller. “My calculations indicate there are repair options where you and Argos remain soulmates. Since Teithiwr is getting her dream, it's only fair you two get yours." He smiled Spencer's captivating smile. “And isn't love what you sought all along, Rory?"

“Yes. It's so obvious now. I was stuck on Spencer—an impossible, inescapable delusion…until…until all of you made me see the truth."

Rory dragged Teithiwr and Neoc into his embrace with Argos.

“And now, my true love and I get to adventure across time with aliens and dinosaurs. Best freakin' resolution ever!"

[End of Story]