FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Beneath the God Who Rules the World

Part 2

Cyuss awoke in the wee hours of the morning. He was well rested after sleeping uninterrupted for 9 hours, and he stretched to wake up the rest of his godly body. His thoughts went back to the previous day. Thinking about Ryan gave him a feeling of invigoration, in more ways than one as he looked down to his morning wood at full erection.

“I think I have enough time to take care of this," he told himself as he laid back on the bed, exposed to the cool morning air as he gripped his cock and began stroking. He quickly moved his hand up and down his shaft, stroking quickly and eagerly, closing his eyes as he pictured the human in his head once again, just like the night before. He breathed deeply as the pleasure quickly built up. He resisted the urge to grunt, despite his room being sound-proofed, as he picked up the pace. He tensed up, letting out a soft moan as he climaxed hard. He shot rope after rope of healthy virile cum, completely coating his crotch and right hand. He sat up and looked down at the mess he left and chuckled to himself. He cleaned both the cum and smell off completely with magic before getting up properly and heading downstairs to eat.

As he preferred being nude in his home, he usually didn't bother dressing until after he eats, not that any of his servants minded. In fact they were usually in awe of his impressive form and figure, many of which filled their afterlives of fantasy with such an impressive male.

Cyuss made it to the dining room table, where his breakfast was waiting for him, punctual as usual. He preferred it that way, and he noticed Mewus was also there waiting for him.

“Good morning Master sleepyhead." He greeted with a chuckle. “Sleep well?"

“Good morning Mewus," he responded in kind as he sat down, “I slept soundly, as expected."

“Have any sweet dreams? Maybe about a certain new hire?" Mewus giggled teasingly. Cyuss just ignored him and began to eat.

“Any news to report?"

“Well the weather is nice and sunny today," the mew morph responded, “the servants are already up and attending their daily activities, nothing out of the ordinary to report."

“Very good," Cyuss stated, quickly finishing his breakfast and standing up, “I shall be going now."

“Makes sense," Mewus began, “we want to get there before your new fascination does, right?"

“We?"

“Well, you did want my help, right? Remember last night?"

“I did not think that translated to you coming to work with me."

“It's fine if you don't want me coming along, though I enjoy seeing the outside world with you, if you'll have me." Cyuss usually doesn't have anyone with him, but he did want Mewus's insight in getting to know Ryan better, so he nodded.

“Very well," Cyuss said, “You'll need to stay hidden so no one sees you."

“That's no problem, I AM a Mew after all," Mewus chuckled and followed his master to the front door. As he did he fetched Cyuss's now clean and dry three-piece suit and assisted Cyuss in redressing. He helped tight and straighten it expertly, to make the god look even sharper than ever.

They stepped outside the large main doors and through the front castle grounds into Cyuss's Aston Martin. Despite not needing it, they both fastened their seatbelts before the god started the car and began the long drive into the city. The morning sun was just beginning to rise, delivering a glow of brilliant gold and orange across the green landscape. Cyuss always appreciate the beautiful mornings in this form. It was calm, quiet, like he was driving through an elegant painting.

Before long he found himself in the main city highway, working his way through the morning rush traffic. Despite never having any issues, he was not a fan of the traffic, nor was anyone else for that matter. To him it was a chaotic cacophony of selfish people speeding off to their jobs, not caring about the fact that everyone else was doing the same thing. Speeding along, cutting through lanes, ignoring certain safety laws, putting themselves and others at risk for horrible accidents and death every day, or coffee burns from containers not properly sealed between their legs because they bought sizes too big for their cup holders. It was nothing more than the fault of his creations showing the light, but it was to be expected.

After making his way through the hellish traffic, he pulled into the parking complex, the security gate for his private space was there already awaiting him, and they opened the gate without hesitation.

“We're here Mewus," Cyuss proclaimed.

“Yup I know," Mewus said, and chanted a small spell before turning invisible. It was easy to trick a mortal's eyes with such a trivial spell, meaning Mewus could maintain the form without needing to expend any energy. Only Cyuss could still see him perfectly. He parked his car and shut it off and stepped out. The Mew followed suit, floating above Cyuss at shoulder length, his tail wagged eagerly, he always enjoyed outings away from the castle, as it helped satisfy the mew's curiosity.

Cyuss made it to his office, his secretary hadn't arrived yet, as she didn't start until 8:30 every morning. He checked the clock in his office, and the ornate grandfather clock displayed 8:07. It would be an hour before Ryan and most of the workers arrived, so he kept himself busy with varying tasks in the meantime. The morning went by without a hitch. It was a fairly standard Tuesday. People had settled past their Monday woes and focused on their work for the day. By the time 11:00 rolled around Cyuss wanted to head down and see what Ryan was doing. He could've looked at one of the security cameras on his console, but he felt better wanting to see him in person.

He got up from his desk and headed out, the invisible Mewus following above and behind. He informed the white tigress secretary to leave any messages for him that came in before heading to the elevator. He followed the same path to the tech labs as he did the day prior, though this time he pretty much ignored the gossip, especially the daily gossip the admittedly useless HR department loved filling their days with. Eventually he badged his way through there and walked to the desk where Ryan was sitting. Unlike yesterday, his workstation was finally fully setup, and Ryan was hard at work going through his training, as well as working on a starter project, effectively to prove his efficiency at his job.

Ryan's attire was relatively unchanged, albeit he was wearing a polo shirt of a different color. What surprised Cyuss though was something different. Ryan had a different expression on his face. The same aura of optimism he displayed was still there, but his facial expression was one of pure concentration, it looked almost like he was scowling, a normal observer would think he's angry, but he was far from that.

'So that's him,' Mewus spoke telepathically directly to Cyuss's mind, 'he's even cuter in person.'

'It seems everytime I see him, he feels like a complete mystery,' Cyuss replied back in the same fashion, 'it's strange and yet fascinates me.'

'You know you might find out more if you just talk to him,' Mewus began, 'though I'm sure in this setting it would be awkward for the big cheese to be talking to an entry level grunt like that.'

'I'd like to know more, but for now I'm content with just watching him.' And watched him he did, staying out of everyone's way while he did so. Ryan's job specifically was a difficult one by design. He was a technological floater with many different tasks, building computer programs, developing websites, designing graphics and menus, editing videos, games, and multi-media via post production. It was a very admittedly unique job despite being entry level, and required a unique set of difficult skills. It was one hardly fit for effectively a child fresh out of college. Despite that the human seemed focused on performing the tasks all the same. When Mewus asked him about Ryan's job, he took the time to explain the details to the mew morph.

'That sounds rather difficult,' Mewus began, 'Sounds more like a job for someone with many years' experience and a higher salary to do it, so why bring in an entry level person and pay a low wage like that?'

'Diversity hire,' the god replied sternly, and Mewus looked at him questioningly. 'This isn't the first time HR has pulled such a stunt. The idiocies of Social Justice and special interest groups pressure them into hiring equal representation regardless of the job's need or the hire's qualifications. On top of that, I'm sure both the financial department and HR pull these off to reduce the costs involved with focusing on Merit nowadays.'

'Well,' Mewus said, 'at least it gave you a chance to see Ryan, so maybe it's a good thing for once.'

'We'll have to see,' Cyuss said, 'hopefully he can do the job, his background does show that promise.' As he watched, he saw Ryan's cubicle neighbor began to chat him up. He was a young hedgehog, very slim in stature, a background clearly Asian in nature. Ryan would look up occasionally but was focused on his work. His work required four screens worth to keep track of everything, along with two keyboard and other extraneous tech, meaning the human couldn't afford much distraction. Cyuss hoped it wouldn't burden the human too much.

Before long it was lunch time, and the human got up and stretched slowly. He looked exhausted, and the god could sense it. The human passed by and badged his way to the current floor's breakroom so he could eat his homemade lunch. Cyuss decided he watched long enough and headed back up to his office. Once there he pulled up the security cameras from his console and flipped through each one until he came across the breakroom in question. Lot's of people took their lunch at this hour and Ryan was no exception. It was nice as Cyuss offered everyone a paid lunch hour. People like that because they basically get an hour's pay for doing nothing, and it also meant they didn't have to stay an extra hour to put in their 8 hours' worth. He saw the human sitting alone in the corner though. He was looking out the window while eating what looked like a turkey sandwich.

The more he watched, the more he grew fascinated, and he reached out with his powers and began to probe the human's mind. He wanted to read what the human was thinking right now, about his current situation.

'What a tough day,' The human spoke to himself in his mind, 'only my second day and they've given me a lot to do. I hope Hsu doesn't distract me too much. He's a nice guy but I still need to get used to the work I'm doing here, it's not like it was in school. Still, it's pretty exciting they got me on projects already.'

'Wow, he doesn't seem that phased by it yet,' Mewus spoke, clearly, he's listening in too, Cyuss shushed him and kept listening.

'Dylan sure was intent on beating me last night. But I won't make it any easier tonight on the next races. I love this new Mario Kart game, but it's not that different from the last one. I should take some time to play some Xenoblade Chronicles or Final Fantasy XIII tonight as well, might help me unwind.' And it was back to video games, it seemed like above all else that was Ryan's passion. Perhaps the type of work he went into helps him get closer to that passion. Cyuss decided to finally leave the human alone for the day and cut his connection from the human's mind, though not before giving a short magical incantation, restoring some of the human's natural energy.

“So, what are your thoughts?" Cyuss asked aloud, now that they were in complete privacy.

“He's a keeper for sure," Mewus bounced around in mid-air nonchalantly, “It's a shame you spotted him first, otherwise I might have asked him out myself."

“He doesn't act like he orients in that way though," Cyuss said.

“What do you mean?" Mewus asked.

“He acts like any other straight male."

“He does, but trust me, he is completely gay."

“How do you know for sure?"

“Call it a sixth sense big guy," he said. “I'm willing to bet his home computer is full of gay porn to the brim."

“If you say so," Cyuss said, “I know his records talk about his activism in the community, but he acts nothing like the stereotypes of any gay male."

“Does that bother you?"

“Not at all, in fact I think I prefer it that way."

“He's a lot like you in that respect. You only prefer males, but everyone sees you like any other straight guy." Mewus explained. “So, when are you going to ask him out?"

“I'm not sure, but I think I should wait, until Ryan becomes more accustomed here." Cyuss said.

“Nothing wrong with that," the mew replied, “just don't wait too long, the longer you wait, the more time another person has to sweep him off his feet. After all, if a god like you is attracted to him, then you can bet someone else definitely is and might just try." Cyuss was about to respond when his phone console on his desk went off, and the Arceus pokemorph answered.

“What is it?"

“Mr. Ark," his secretary began, “The tech director and department heads are awaiting you for the 1 PM project meeting at the designated room."

“Tell them I'll be there shortly, thank you." He cut the call after that, preferring short communication and stood up. “I'll be back shortly."

“Just keep in mind what I said big guy," the mew replied, “let me know when you want to move on to the next step."

The Arceus hurried on to the meeting room in question back on the tech floor. This was standard routine, every month the tech department heads would meet with him to effectively report in on the progress of all the current projects. When he stepped in there were 13 men and women waiting for him at the large meeting table. Food was brought in for everyone including himself as it was during the lunch hours.

“Apologies for the wait," Cyuss started, “please proceed."

“Thank you, Mr. Ark," the Director stated, he was a pudgy overweight otter sporting thick glasses and a sweater vest, he pulled up a slide on the projector board to give everyone a visual. “The main projects the programming team is working on is progressing as scheduled. Due to an influx of new hires our pace as slowed down considerably this week, but it should be easy to catch up with some overtime."

“We've had to let go of the payment gateway developer last Friday," another bunny lady began, she was the director of 3rd party integrations with outsourced clients, “So that update project is on hold until we can find a suitable replacement."

“The clients aren't going to wait," another business head began, “the longer that security program takes to finish the more money we'll lose as a result."

“The installation team will also need a test platform as soon as possible, with a properly designed UI system to mitigate testing time and improve usability," another overweight Pig stated, in the midst of scarfing down his lunch, he was the head of quality assurance.

“Sounds to me like we'll have to place projects on haitus until your teams can properly organize," Cyuss stated coldly to the otter, “you can't afford to let any projects become sloppy."

“There's no need to worry. As it so happens we have a new hire who can shoulder all those projects for us. We'll still make the established deadlines in time."

“Are you talking about Mr. Ryan Lewis?" The bunny began sternly.

“The human?" the Pig interjected, “Isn't he just an entry level grunt?"

“He's new, but he shows talent and promise, I think he'll perform these tasks well." Another lady rose her hand, a middle-aged vixen expressed concern.

“I heard you had him on some publishing projects as well. Isn't thrusting four major scale projects on him this early a little overwhelming?"

“We don't have any other choice if we're going to get these projects out in time." The director replied.

“I'm not so sure," another man asked, “you seem to put a lot of stock on this human. Last time you tried this with a new hire they quit, and it put a major spanner into the works."

“Still it needs to be done," the pig interjected once again, taking a second plate full of food to stuff himself with. “If he succeeds, profits and stock will improve, and if he fails, the losses will be minor and easy to replace."

“Is that agreeable with you Mr. Ark?" the director asked the pokemorph at the other end of the table. Cyuss had a stern look on his face as he pondered the possibilities. He didn't like the situation at all. When he watched the human earlier, he could tell they had given him a lot of work already. And the thought of pushing even more work on the human made him seem… angry? Wait, he was angry that the human was being stressed? He's never felt that before. Still, he wasn't satisfied with the decision and decided to speak up.

“Are you absolutely certain that all these projects need to be done by their expected deadline?"

“This is unlike you sir," said another suit, “you usually say to have it done by any means necessary."

“I'm merely saying I'm not entirely confident about the director's plan. Thrusting that much work on a new hire is both unconventional and a rather large risk. I'm not against the idea, I'm just saying considering spreading the workload among the more experienced workers as well. I'm sure there are a few with a lighter workload in various departments who can easily handle the project, even if it means pushing the deadline back a bit. I hope you know what you are doing director."

“There's nothing to worry about Mr. President," The director bowed, “I'll make sure this works out in your favor."

“For your sake, I hope it does too," he replied in his usual sternness. He then turned to the gaming director. “What's the security report on your end."

“I'm glad you asked Mr. President," the fit middle-aged wolf in question began, adjusting his glasses, “Accounting has picked up something interesting from one of our online platforms."

“Which platform and in what form?" Mr. Ark asked.

“The publishing firm for an Online MMORPG called 'Swords and Sorcery'. Apparently, there have been some discrepancies in how fees are being handled. We're still looking into it, but there is a concern from our department of the possibility of a user information leak that could occur from a potential hole in the security."

“Has this been verified," The otter asked.

“Nothing major as of yet," the wolf continued, “we're still looking into it, but I wished to bring it up as a possibility of a patch being created to shore up this issue. If there is a leak, it can lead to a possibility of hackers getting the player base's financial information, however, if we start developing a patch now we could shore this issue up before it becomes a problem." Cyuss agreed but didn't say anything. Out of all the heads in the room, the wolf was the one who seemed to know what he was doing the most.

“We don't even know if it's even a real issue," the pig chuckled, “there's no need to concern the cyber security team over this matter until we can confirm the scope of this supposed leak."

“I agree," the otter stated, “while the concern is noted, I think we should wait until the next meeting when we've had time to see this develop."

“But that's in a month from now," the wolf replied, “we can't wait that long on this issue, what if something happens in that time?"

“Then we shall deal with it then," the bunny stated. “For now, I think we've spoken about everything that needs to be said this meeting."

“I agree," the otter said, “any other statements from the table before we adjourn?" Nobody else had anything to say. Cyuss could sense the wolf's concern, but there wasn't anything the pokemorph could do yet in that regard, so he said nothing. “Then that's it, enjoy lunch everyone." Most of the other suits got up and left, including the wolf, who seemed visibly frustrated. Cyuss wasn't entirely happy about the proceedings either, and he stood up, adjusting his suit coat.

“I hope you know what you're doing," Cyuss said to the otter before stepping out and heading back to his office. When he left only the pig, bunny, and otter was left behind. The pig was still eating, filling his oversized stomach.

“I agree with that sentiment Hans," the bunny spoke up, “That's a lot of pressure."

“Oh relax Gloria," he said, “I've thought it all through. In the end it'll just make the three of us look good."

“You don't think this is going to bite us in the ass," she replied.

“Like I said," the pig replied in between bites, “if it doesn't work out, it'll be easy to pick up the pieces. And if it succeeds it'll make us look great, and put us in a good bargaining position for bonuses and promotions."

“Either way it'll only make us look good like Mr. Don says." He said to Gloria nodding to the pig in question.

“You don't think Mr. Ark or Mr. Aotsuki will take offense to this?"

“Let that wolf think what he wants, that's a non-issue. And if it does, let's just say that new hires make for a great scapegoat."

***

The rest of the day went without a hitch, and Cyuss had decided to follow Ryan to his apartment once again. Mewus followed suit, staying invisible once again. He waited for Ryan to get to his apartment, both of them floating to the same windowsill, hidden by the large plant in the corner. Ryan stepped inside and turned on the air conditioning. Then he fired up his electronics and was about to get started on dinner when his doorbell rang. Confused, the human went to answer the door. What was waiting for him looked like a male fox, seemingly a few years older than the human, wearing a tank top and gym shorts, he also seemed to be holding a box.

“Can I help you?" The human asked, he clearly didn't know who this guy was.

“Oh, h-hello there," The fox said, tail twitching nervously, “sorry if I caught you at a bad time. You're just my um, upstairs neighbor?"

“Are you asking me or telling me?" The human asked, “You're on the 7th floor?"

“That's right, I saw you moving in a week ago and thought you might like a welcome basket."

“Oh, thank you," the human said and took the offered box, checking the contents inside, “I'm sorry I didn't get anything for you."

“It's ok," he said, “I'm sure you were busy. M-my name is Shaun."

“Ryan," the human replied and offered a handshake, which the fox eagerly took, “Nice to meet you, would you like to come in?"

“Oh, n-no that's ok, I just wanted to meet and greet you properly. I'll leave you alone now."

“Oh, well ok then. Thanks again for the gift basket."

“Don't worry about it, I'll see you later." The two-waved goodbye and the human shut the door, a bit confused by the awkward exchange.

“That was kind of weird." Ryan spoke to himself, “he seemed nice enough though." The human set the box down on the table and made himself a quick dinner of top ramen, with some chicken and carrots cut and added in for a little extra substance, and grabbed some chopsticks before hopping down on the couch and putting his headphones on, logging to the same chatrooms as the previous night. Cyuss listened in again.

“Hey Ry guy what's up tonight?" A familiar male voice popped up again.

“Not much," he replied, “just going full Otaku tonight."

“Wait, does that mean we're not going to race?"

“I'd like to, but I had a long stressful day, I kind of just want to unwind and watch some anime or play one of my RPGs."

“I get ya, hey that reminds me, I got a cool new setup from the recent Swords and Sorcery expansion. I know you don't play MMOs but I've been doing so well with that setup that I just had to share it."

“That's cool," Ryan began, “I didn't know the new expansion was out yet, how much did it cost."

“It was 20 dollars, but there's A LOT of content from this expansion, it's doing really well."

'That was the game Mr. Aotsuki was talking about at the meeting,' Cyuss thought to himself curiously, still listening in.

“Is Sue coming on tonight?" Ryan asked.

“Nah, she had work and family stuff tonight, so it's just us, though Coby said he might hop on PSN for a chat there."

“That's cool."

“So how stressful was it. I know you said you had a long day but you sounded like you got a lot on your plate."

“I hate to admit it, but you're right. It's only my second day and they stuck me with quite a few things to do. And rumor around the water cooler is I'm going to get even more."

“Geez, you haven't even fully settled in yet, maybe they have something against you or something."

“What makes you think that?" Ryan asked.

“Well I'm no conspiracy theorist," he continued, “but you're young, very smart, very talented, the ladies find you attractive. Don't lie to me I know it's true. In the eyes of many you're a guy whose got it made. That's a recipe for making a lot of enemies. I don't have white collar experience, but I know how conniving some of them are, instead of fighting with brute force, someone may try to sabotage you in the future. The only thing I'll say to you is be careful. You're my friend, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

“Thanks Dylan," Ryan replied, “I'm not too worried about it, but I appreciate you looking out for me."

“Its what friends are for, Sue might make fun of me for my callowness, but I do care about you guys a lot."

“I know, we've been friends for ages… You know what, how about some Mario Kart, I can spare an hour."

“Now that's what I wanted to hear," Dylan said eagerly, “bring it on." Ryan's night of fun picked up the same way it left off before. Even when they stopped playing Mario Kart and Ryan picked a single player game to play for a while, they continued to talk about different things. Cyuss and Mewus continued to watch and study the human's habits. It was a good thing no one could see them from where they were. After a while Ryan disconnected from the chat and was by himself again.

“I think we've seen enough today," Cyuss told Mewus, who looked back curiously.

“You sure?" the mew asked, “we're just getting to the good part."

“What do you mean?"

“Take a look," Mewus pointed, his eyes were glowing, allowing the mew to look more closely similar to binoculars. Cyuss did the same. What he saw intrigued him greatly. Ryan had hit a switch and the display from the laptop was now displaying on the tv screen, and what was showing on it was very obviously a porn video. On the video was a very obviously buff and older Nidoking pokemorph shoving his huge cock deep into a twinky human boy's ass. While the human had the volume down, the noise and moans were easily heard by the Arceus pokemorph. Just as Mewus called it, it was definitely gay porn, leaving no doubt in his mind that the human was indeed gay. They moved around the corner to get a better look, and saw the human pants less, and huffing hotly as he furiously fapped to the pace of the video, his own cut cock clearly visible, just a bit longer than 7 inches at length.

The sight was arousing for both of the spying males, including Cyuss in particular, who felt his tight speedo like underwear begin to bulge. He wanted to touch himself while he watched, but was aware he was out in the open, and it started to feel wrong to keep spying on him like this, especially with the human believing he had full privacy.

“Let's go," he spoke to Mewus.

“Awe," he drooped, “we're getting to the best part."

“You can pleasure yourself to this at home. I think we've bothered him enough today."

“He doesn't even know we're here," Mewus replied, “but I understand. There'll be other times. Besides I'm hungry." The two snuck off just as the human had cum in his own hand, enjoying the video in piece.

***

A week and a half passed after that. Cyuss stopped following Ryan home, giving him the space to acclimate, though he would regularly watch him at his desk through the security cameras. Whenever he saw him he'd think of both times he saw him naked, and it took the Arceus every urge to resist fapping while at work. He may be the top of the top, but he also wished to keep a particular image to those who worked under him. Didn't stop him from doing so at home though. One night he even called out the human's name while he fapped.

Today was a Friday, meaning most people were already checked out and ready to go home for the weekend. Some had even reported out of office to start their weekend early.

Ryan was no exception. He had finally started getting the swing of things, and even managed to finish a few small projects on time. However, it was obvious on the human's face he was getting harried. Three of his bosses continued pushing task after task and project after project on him. Cyuss was monitoring the human closely the whole time, and was actually impressed. It was rare to see the god impressed by a mortal, but Ryan had proven his worth in his field of work in only two weeks of work, accomplishing more than some of the veterans had, and at the same level of quality too.

This however was coming at a cost. It was no secret, even to the other workers that Ryan was getting overwhelmed. His cubicle neighbor Hsu noticed this more than anyone, and seemed concerned. He asked Ryan how he was doing in the bathroom one time, but the human seemed to laugh it off, giving the same optimistic smile as if to assure the hedgehog.

Cyuss could see right through that expression though. He could see Ryan was getting stressed and frustrated, but didn't want to express out of fear of getting fired. Understandable, this would be a terrible position for him to be in if that happened. Still, it worried Cyuss a bit. Still, the god kept performing his own daily duties to the company, taking his pockets of free time to continue observing the human.

During the afternoon Ryan was approached at his desk by another familiar face. It was Mr. Aotsuki, the wolf from the prior week's meeting. Cyuss normally wouldn't care, but since he was talking to Ryan he decided to listen in.

“Pardon me Mr. Lewis do you have a minute?" the middle-aged wolf asked.

“I'm a bit swamped but I can spare a minute," Ryan replied, “what is it sir...?"

“I'm sorry let me introduce myself first," the wolf said, offering his paw in a handshake which the human took, “My name is Mitsuhisa Aotsuki. I'm the lead director of the Gaming faction here, my responsibility is leading and upholding the quality of our gaming products we publish through this corporation and our subsidiaries."

“Nice to meet you," Ryan said tiredly.

“I understand you have a lot on your plate, and I really didn't want to burden you with more trouble, but I have a bit of a crisis on my hands, and I'm in desperate need of your talents." The wolf was visibly harried and sweating, he had taken his suit jacket off earlier, still with his formal white business shirt and blue tie on.

“What's the trouble?" Ryan asked.

“Well, have you heard of the game Swords and Sorcery by chance?"

“Yeah, I have a few friends who play that game religiously."

“Well, my developers were researching a potential leak in the games' code over the last week in case there were any problems. My colleagues don't seem to think it's a big deal, even after month's deliberation they don't see it as a big concern."

“You see something they don't."

“Correct, you're a sharp young man, we just found something, may I?"

“Sure?" Ryan said curiously, opening a new tab on his lower left screen for the wolf. The wolf took over the keyboard, going through a few login windows and pulling up some data.

“Take a look at this table here," he said and pointed directly where he wanted the human to see. “This is the transaction data for the new expansion that was just released. This is what our transaction numbers are showing at. However, there are discrepancies." Ryan wasn't sure what he was looking at, but then saw the main sales numbers by demographic and was confused.

“Wait a minute," Ryan began and took the keyboard again, opening a new browser and opening up a gaming news website. “This chart shows that the expansion sold over 2 million copies each week, but the numbers showing on each chart are some fairways below that, easily 2-400 thousand copies below."

“Exactly," Mr. Aotsuki said, “now despite that, the actual sales revenue was studied and found that we're getting the right amount of money matching the sales figures in that news article, so we're getting the right sales, but the records of each transaction aren't showing up properly, resulting in the amount of sales records on the financial end coming up wrong. But that's only the surface of the issue."

“What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

“We handle each individual transaction with an encryption ID we use to keep personal information well hidden on a protected server. However, someone messed up the encryption algorithm. See, the algorithm is supposed to send the data to specific databases based on the structure of the encryption ID. However, we noticed certain patterns in the algorithm puts out the ID it shouldn't, so the computer system thinks the transaction is for something else, and stores the records in a different database." Ryan gave a look of absolute shock at that reveal.

“That's quite the oversight," Ryan said. “and the game is really popular. If a hacker finds out the trend, they could use that exploit to make a backdoor. It could bypass all the security and give them complete access to all their financial information, completely bypassing the encryption tokens."

“Finally, someone understands," The wolf gave an exasperated sigh, he looked like he wanted to hug the human, “We need to find exactly where this hole is coming from and patch it up, and this is where you come in."

“You want me to make a patch? Don't you have anyone else under you to handle that?"

“Under normal circumstances yes," he said, “but this came at the worst possible time. I have to catch a flight in 2 hours to Los Angeles to begin preparing for the Electronics Entertainment Expo."

“E3?" Ryan asked.

“Correct, and most of my programmers are out. 3 of them have taken their vacation, and another just left on maternity leave, I have no one directly under me right now who can take this project. I have no one to turn to but you Mr. Lewis. Please, I'm begging for your help. Millions of people's personal information is at risk here." Ryan was shocked, he'd never seen a higher up so desperate before. He also felt the level of pressure this type of thing posed upon himself.

“This is a lot to take on I'm not sure I can do it," Ryan said admittedly.

“I promise to make it worth your while Mr. Lewis," Mr. Aotsuki said, “If you can do it, I'll promise you a healthy bonus for the project, and I can help you network your way up in your career." Ryan took a few minutes to really think about it.

“When do you need it done by?"

“Before the end of the week tomorrow."

“You're kidding, you need me to develop an MMO patch in a single day?! All by myself and effectively from scratch?"

“I'm sorry Mr. Lewis," He shook his head, “It needs to be done both on the back end, and the game end as well. If I could convince my colleagues a month ago to get a patch going, I wouldn't have needed to involve you. But as it stands, we're all in hot water, and times are desperate." Ryan leaned his head back and gave a sigh.

“Alright, I'll give it a try." Ryan said tiredly, “But, I'm still new at this, don't expect me to be able to perform a miracle."

“That's all I ask," Mr. Aotsuki patted the human's shoulders happily, “You're a life saver, a personal Jesus Christ. Let me give you my cell number, if you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call."

“Alright, thanks Mr. Aotsuki," Ryan said taking the offered business card and setting it down on a rolodex.

“Please, call me Mitsuhisa," he replied, “I'm counting on you. I'll push forward the notice for you to take paid overtime so don't worry about that. I need to run now if I'm going to catch my flight, take care." They gave each other a goodbye before hurrying off. Ryan leaned back on his chair. The smile on Ryan's face at the beginning of his first week was gone now, only a look of worry and potential panic. Cyuss looked on, reading his mind easily. He was pondering all the possibilities, worried of what would happen if he failed. He considered calling his mother, telling her he needed to move back, potentially getting his grocery store job back. But he couldn't, he didn't want to disappoint them, he couldn't face his friends and family if he ran away. But he wasn't sure what the do. The potential of that happening to Ryan gave Cyuss a feeling he hadn't experienced before.

“What is it I'm feeling?" Cyuss asked himself, “I've never felt this way about another's plight before. Is it empathy, or just plain concern." Was it any of those things he thought. He knew regardless, he didn't want this human to go away, and whenever the thought occurred it gave him this dreadful sense and he hated it. He saw Ryan get up and head to the bathroom, he followed the cameras to keep an eye on him. In the bathroom, Ryan quickly washed his face, and pulled a small container from his pocket, inside was a variance of his prescription medications. He took three pills in particular with some water. Two for headache/migraine treatment, and the third was a caffeine pill for energy.

“Guess I now have my first official all nightery," he said to himself in the mirror, before heading back to his desk. Cyuss decided to also stay, at least as long as he did and keep watch over him and his progress. After a phone call to Mewus to inform him of his plans, the mew understood, albeit with confusion. Cyuss figured he could watch Ryan's progress, and potentially step in if something arose. He would keep watch on the human, even if he didn't realize it yet.

The next few hours passed and it was quitting time. Ryan was just wrapping his assigned projects he was supposed to get done at that point and was just about to switch gears to Mitsuhisa's patch project. Fortunately, IT had contacted him earlier, giving him the needed access rights, he needed at the wolf's request. Hsu noticed Ryan was still neck deep in his work and spoke up.

“Hey buddy," he said, “I heard around the water cooler you were given an all-nighter, looks like the rumor was true."

“It is," Ryan replied, “got an emergency project I need to get done before tomorrow, I'm gonna be stuck here all night, and I'm not even sure I can finish."

“Really?" he asked, “can't even take a break?"

“I'm not sure if I can," Ryan replied. Hsu tapped his chin.

“I haven't known you long, but I like an honest hardworking guy, and as it so happens, I have a small project I have overtime for a couple hours to finish. How about I order us a pizza, my treat."

“You can do that?" Ryan asked.

“Yeah, don't worry about I know a great place, I'll cover it this time, just tell me what kind of pizza you want." Hsu called in delivery on his cell. He had to go all the way to the bottom floor to pick it up and sign for it, but before long they were both enjoying some pizza while hard at work at their respective projects. Cyuss continued to look on as Ryan worked, never once leaving his site. After a couple hours, Hsu clocked out and left, leaving Ryan the rest of the pizza. The human continued working. It was clear he was struggling, though he didn't break his concentration for anything. He waved hi to the janitor cleaning up once, but that was the extent of his interactions. Cyuss leaned back and rubbed his forehead, a bit tired from watching and pondering. He figured he'd close his eyes for a second and let Ryan to do his work.

***

When his eyes opened up again, Cyuss learned he had fallen asleep, and he had checked the time. It was 3:23 AM. How did he sleep that long he pondered? He turned the camera view on and saw Ryan still at his desk, typing feverishly, and making motions with his mouse and drawing tablet. He seemed to still be hard at work. Cyuss thought if he should do anything to help. A thought then crossed his mind.

“Maybe he'll like some hot chocolate," Cyuss said aloud. He remembered when reading Ryan's mind that he enjoyed that, and it would help give him a little kick. It would also give him an opportunity him to meet him face to face for the first time. He couldn't call it in though, that would be too suspicious, so instead, he decided to go to the break room, and make some himself. He went down a few floors and utilized one of the clean unused coffee machines to make it. Usually other people make stuff like this for him, but it was still easy and trivial for the deity. Soon he had a nice mug full of hot chocolate and made his way down to the tech labs. No one else was there. In fact, besides night security, there wasn't anyone else present in the building let alone this floor. He tagged his way in quietly, keeping the hot mug steady in his hand, and maneuvered past the offices and cubicles to the corner cubicle Ryan was at. What he saw surprised him though.

Ryan was still in his seat, but he was fast asleep. His arms were down both sides, his head perched beside his desk next to the tablet, his screens were still up and active. Cyuss stepped closer, seeing his sleeping figure and set the mug down on a coaster on the opposite side of the desk. He then quietly reached over the sleeping human and examined the screen, clicking through each tab to see what was going on. By studying the data on one screen and the code on the other, he was able to see what the issue was. It was an even bigger issue than Mr. Aotsuki previously thought, and Cyuss had already planned on chewing them out. He changed screens and saw a distribution upload already in progress. He opened a copy of the file in question and read it.

“Swords and Sorcery Patch v2.34.591. Patch notes, Transaction Menu updates, bug fixes related to user stability, and other various bug fixes." He was surprised. The human actually did it. He finished making a patch that would take a more skilled developer a week or more to build, and he had it done in a single night. For some reason, Cyuss smiled when he realized that. He felt, happy for the human, another alien feeling to him. It was no time for him to question it however. Instead he saw the human sleeping again, breathing quietly and calmly. The patch was already being sent out, and he saw an email sent to Mr. Aotsuki confirming the patch was being distributed live. He decided he didn't want to disturb Ryan, and used his magic to transform the mug into a heat containing travel mug, sealed to avoid spilling. Afterwards he took his suit jacket off, and carefully and gently set it over the human's top half. He watched as the human stir a bit, and held onto the jacket almost like a blanket. The sight of that seemed cute to the god.

“Sleep well young one," he whispered quietly, gently touching his shoulder, and soothing his muscles with a little magic, and then Cyuss turned to leave, heading to his car to finally head home, giving the overworked human some much needed peace.