Undeath and Rebirth

Red eyes snapped open as Dion jolted from the bed, layered in sweat. He found Ebony Ivory no longer by his side, no doubt attending to crucial matters to help her transition as the new chieftain of the Noble Tribe. However, his half-succubi lovers were in her place; their nude bodies pressed to his own while they ravenously molested him. Noisily they kissed, licked, and suckled at his stiff cock and hefty furred testicles.

The caprine warrior failed to suppress a groan through his heavy breath. It wasn’t unusual to wake up to a double blowjob from Foal-Bearer and Wet Nurse. It was practically part of his morning routine, followed by breakfast and a bath.

But their coral-pink eyes lit up in a hostile manner, drawing out his concern more than arousal. “Amaranth? Amethyst?! What’s gotten intae ye?”

“A better question to ask is, what hasn’t gotten into us~?” Foal-Bearer snickered teasingly before burying her snout into his breeding bag, mouthing one orb to suckle on.

“We’ve fucked our way through most of the tribe, Sir Dion,” whined Wet Nurse. “Several times! But none of them could keep up with us! And we’re tired of being left unsatisfied!”

“We need a real stud~,” her twin drawled out with a long lick up his moist erection. “Someone who knows how to put us in our place.”

“Who will break us!”

“Breed us~!”

“Brand us like proper slaves,” they said in unison, punctuated by a flash of lightning outside the hut.

Dion’s face hardened. Their demonic instincts had taken over, the kindness all but lost from their predatory eyes. And without Bellatrix to discipline them, the coral pink sisters would lose all sense of balance.

Both sets of crystal tits enveloped the ram’s meaty shaft with an audible, wet squish, causing him to shudder. Precum leaked over their cleavage; alongside their drool, they let drip from their lips over his member and their massive boob flesh. The twins dragged his turgid tool between them, suckling on his tip, and kissed around it, making all sorts of messy, sloppy noises that made their stud harder.

“Grrack! Fuck! Girls, wait! Ye have tae sto-aaahp!” He tried to reason against how incredibly turned on he was.

“Not until you’ve unloaded all over our slutty faces~!” proclaimed Wet Nurse.

“And our fat tits~” mewled Foal Bearer, smacking hers against her sisters to batter his throbbing cock.

The pale ram was too flustered and worked over to fight against the duo. Gradually, he couldn’t take anymore and bellowed, thrusting his hips as cum shot out his pulsating tip like a geyser.

Volley after fierce volley caked the twin mares’ delighted faces and squishy breasts. They tittered, mouths wide open to catch what they could, tongues painted white as they were blasted by splooge.

Dion huffed, half-blinded, while the sexy sisters swapped sticky loads between them. They proudly sloshed and chewed on his seed, stuck to their gums, between their teeth, tethered from the tongue to the roofs of their mouths, before finally swallowing it with audible gulps.

They almost proved too much even for him, rubbing the cum that stained their torso into matted fur and silky soft flesh. They smashed their titties together while they smacked lips, moaning into each other’s mouths wetly.

“Mmmah~! Still not enough!” One twin hissed.

“We need more!” The other agreed

Their sultry gaze fell on their lover’s genitals, pleased to find the ram’s cock at half-mast.

Together, they begged, “You’ll give us more, won’t you… master~?”

Dion grunted angrily before seizing both sisters and lifting them into his arms. The half-succubi cooed in appreciation, blushing madly at how firmly the sturdy ram manhandled their supple flesh.

“Oooh! I think he plans on ravishing us, sister!”

“Yes! Please! Punish us for being such filthy, depraved sluts~!”

The warrior did his best to ignore the twins’ sultry banter, aware they would not listen to reason. Remembering what Bellatrix had told him about the ropes, Dion carried some with him for the trip. With a begrudging snort, he began tying them up, their tits, thighs, and buttocks pinched and squished between the constraints he bound around them. The crystal mares struggled testingly to ensure they were suspended above the hut’s interior.

“That’s more like it,” Wet Nurse grinned while squishing her inner thighs, which leaked her cunt nectar onto the earthy floor. “We’re completely at your mercy, master! All our holes, prime for the taking~!”

“Please don’t make us wait,” begged Foal-Bearer, shaking her ass the best she could with her limbs restrained like her sister. “Give us that cock juice! Punish us for being bad bitches~!”

Dion hardened his snout. “No choice, huh… If this is th’ only way tae get through tae you girls, then so be it!”

He batted his thick shaft against Foal-Bearer’s dripping entrance first, using her lubrication to help hilt inside her. Rough hands smacked across her ass when he started pounding away without restraint, urged by their shared slutty moans. The warrior ram was fortunate Ebony left behind virility potions to ensure he had the stamina to burn.

Dion drove himself into thoroughly plowing the naughty maid demon, making ‘plap’ sounds each time his hips met hers. With a deep moan, he rooted himself to finish deep inside Foal-Bearer, drenching in her squirting cuntjuice as her thighs trembled. With a wet ‘pop,’ the ram withdrew his hot rod and quickly stuffed it into Wet Nurse balls deep this time. He was determined to make this half-succubi buckle well before he did!

“Aaahhuah! Yeeessss, fuck! Beat that pussy! Let her know who she belongs to~!!”

Not long after, she clamped down hard upon hitting orgasm, triggered by her burly lover firing thick shots into her slimy womb. A steady stream of cum leaked out her marehood as Dion switched back to Foal-Bearer, this time using the crystalline mare’s puckered tailhole.

“Fuuuauaaahck!! Ghaad! That’s it, baby! Breed my ass~!”

Time slipped away during the heat of their passionate fucking, Dion not bothering to keep count of how many times he’s cum. His body was caked in sweat, spunk drizzling out their overstuffed orifices. At the moment, the lust-dazed warrior had both twins polishing his dick with their lips and tongues. His hand tightened behind their heads and pulled their manes; their faces pushed onto his cock as he alternated between each sister’s mouth. They sputtered, panted, and heaved their heavy, cum-soaked tits. “A-ah, master~!”

Gargles and sputters rose every time he filled the back of their throats and furiously facefucked them into submission. Their intertwined cutie marks shimmered from the shared pleasure of his forceful, dominant fellation, causing them to squirt messily.

“Mmmah~! M-master, talk dirty to us,” one fuck happy slut murmured drunkenly while the other was busy gurgling the ram’s sturdy dick. Slobber ran down their chins, adding more stain to their sticky, wet tits.

Heavy pants passed between his clenched teeth when Dion yelled, “C’mon! Taste that dick, ye greedy whore! Ah ain’t stoppin’ ’til Ah claim every last inch ov ye!” His muscular hips blurred, lost in a perpetual humping motion. “Yer tits, yer ass, yer sullied cunts! All ov it is mine, ya hear! Y’all live tae serve me like th’ cum hungry bitches ye are!”

Dion felt his heart hurt. He would never speak to them in such a vulgar manner, let alone any woman. He didn’t show it but was sorely uncomfortable with Foal-Beaer & Wet Nurse addressing him as ‘master.’ Despite the ram’s reservations, he couldn’t deny a certain thrill at their utter devotion to pleasing him, which helped to keep him hard and randy. He was going to need more than a pint after this!

He bellowed as his cock throbbed, and Foal-Bearer’s cheeks ballooned with another fat load. The half-succubi struggled to swallow it down before excess burned and exploded out her nostrils.

“Awww, no fair!” whined Wet Nurse, coveting the feeling of having her snout immediately stuffed.

Her wish was soon granted when Dion buried his hands around her skull and slipped his dick past her lips to unload the last bit of cum his balls could muster. Wet Nurse slurped eagerly, her throat making thick gulping sounds before he pulled out to squirt the residue onto her face and mane.

The spent sisters relaxed in their bindings, limbs occasionally twitching from exhaustion. Eyes glazed over, tongue hanging loosely out their gaped mouths, breasts jiggling with each needy exhale.

Dion sat down to catch his breath, studying his lovers with a softened gaze. Heaving a deep sigh, the pale caprine rose and caressed both cheeks, whispering, “Ah hope this helps ye calm down. Wait here an’ rest, mah most precious jewels. A’ll be back.”

With a tender kiss to both their faces, the warrior exited the hut, not bothering to put on his kilt.

While the tribe’s orgies had died down, several zebra stallions and mares continued to make love in the open, lounging about undisturbed by the strangely cloudy skies. Dion made his way past them, searching for the zebra huntress. He detected commotion and walked over to the small group of gathering zebras.

He politely pushed through until reaching the chief, Noble Savage, a look of contempt on his withered face. The younger warrior followed his gaze to the settlement outside, where Natural Selection was left suspended on a crude cross...with Ebony Ivory coiled around her former mate.

“What in th’?!” Dion strides closer, despite concerned mutters from the villagers. The zebress’ ears twitched at his arrival, turning her head to look at home while riding Natural with wild abandon.

“A-aahh! Please understand, Sir Dion,” Ebony explained through soft huffs. “I must fulfill my duty to my people by giving all an opportunity to-ngh! Inseminate my womb. And although he has been shunned for his crimes, Asili, too, deserves a chance! I hope you won’t think of me differently for-”

“Nah, Ah get it,” the ram reassured gently. “Gotta do what’s right fur yer tribe’s future.”

He, along with Noble Savage, was aware Ebony would need to make many hard decisions like this to fulfill her role as chieftain. Ones that not every member of her tribe would approve of, judging by the puzzled and conflicted looks the onlookers gave. Yet they dared not interrupt a sacred ritual now that it had been initiated.

The cross shook and rattled but refused to fall, buried firmly in the soil. Dion looked up at the undead zebra stallion, who wore a smug grin while doing his best to match his former mare’s movements. Relishing what would likely be the last time he would lay with a mare.

The pale caprine furrowed his brows, having already taken his part in the fertility ritual… but perhaps there was another way to help her.

Ebony gasped when she felt hands spread her striped buttocks wide, and something thick and hot prod her backdoor. “D-Dion? Wait, hold-!!”

The zebra mare cut herself off with a sharp moan upon her caprine lover, sheathing his member fully inside her ass, causing her marehood to clutch up around Natural Selection’s black cock.

The other villagers gasped in alarm, unsure what to make of this. Noble was both bewildered and impressed. Despite appearances, this wasn’t against tradition as it didn’t interfere with the ritual.

“Aaughh! What are you doing?!” demanded Natural, glaring hotly at the ram. “This is my time!”

“Oh, don’t mind me,” replied Dion with a haughty smirk, swinging his hips into Ebony’s firm striped asscheeks. “Just thought A’d lend mah third leg in boostin’ yer chances~.”

His response invoked a collective gasp from the other zebras, unsure what to make of this act. Noble was the most bewildered… and impressed. While this went against tradition, it wouldn’t interfere with the ritual.

The female zebra mewled in delight while Natural Selection’s face drew in a competitive snarl, flexing his muscular hips to shove more of his length inside her pussy.

Ebony Ivory found herself battered between the two rivals, both determined to stake their claim on her fertility. Reaching up, she undid the binds around Natural to set him free, where he landed on his feet and hooked her legs over his shoulders for a better angle to fuck her.

“I don’t need your ‘help,’” Natural proclaimed with a grunt, his eyes drawn. “I refuse to be beaten by an outsider!”

“Sae why don’t ye shut it an’ give her e’erythin’ ye’ve got?!” Dion boldly challenged. “She deserves far more than th’ shite ye’ve put her through!”

The two warriors strained and sweated as they hammered aggressively into Ebony; the thin flesh that separated their cocks stretched around their would-be broodmare. They felt her up all over while they pounded away, determined to prove who valued her the most.

Then, the threesome hit its peak. Both zebras and the ram reached their climax, Natural a few seconds before Dion, soaked in Ebony’s messy love nectar while they shot their loads deep in her thoroughly stretched fuckholes. The young chieftain quivered and shook between them, set down when they finally withdrew in unison. “That… was wonderful,” admitted Ebony through staggered breaths.

“Aye,” groaned Dion, his flaccid cock well-spent after back-to-back sexcapades. Crimson eyes fell on Natural Selection, who was doing his best to keep his crumbling form together. “Oi. Ye plannin’ on stirrin’ up more trouble? Cause A’ll stick ye back on that cross arse first!”

The undead zebra glared at his opponent while rubbing his wrists. “That…. Huff… won’t be necessary. I survived Mshenzi’s trial. I’ve earned my right to walk. Though that doesn’t mean I’m no longer exiled…”

With the black blood that animated him drained, he was pallid and wouldn’t last more than a few more days, at best.

Using the caprine to support herself, Ebony said, “You could use a bath. After which, I’ll escort you out.” Then, turning to the ram, she asked, “Join us?”

He grinned and nodded, the three walking over to a small stream nearby, leaving behind a concerned crowd of villagers. The zebra stallions and mares glanced at the old chieftain, who grunted, “You may choose to accept whatever fate comes from this union or challenge Ebony. What’s done is done.”

At this point, the ceremony had reached its end. Many zebras redressed and returned to their homes. The landscape gradually darkened, signifying night was approaching. Tomorrow would dawn a new era for the tribe. One where machines would become more commonplace to keep pace with their rivals.

Suddenly, a scream resonated throughout the huts that alerted the tribe. Dion, Ebony, and Natural immediately rushed out of the waters and sprinted to the source of terror.

The Noble Tribe gathered at the village center to find a young zebra restrained by a metallic whip sword wielded by the youngest princess, Tisha, a sick smile stretching her snout. Her sisters, Zuri and Kali, stood atop hut roofs as hovercrafts lowered in a hiss, loaded with armed enforcers from the Pundamilia Empire.

Spotting the distraught Noble Savage pushing his way through the crowd, the royal triad released three aerial drones that formed a hologram, and the Emperor’s face materialized over the village.

The elderly zebra narrowed his gaze at the digital visage. After acquiring his advanced tech, the Emperor started going by Kifalme Moja. But Mshenzi knew him by his real name.

“Sahel!” He called out angrily. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“An ultimatum, my old friend,” the Emperor responded, raising his hand to signal gunfire. Two soldiers shot plasma bullets at a couple warriors whose smoldering corpses caused more panic and outrage among the villagers. “Merge with the Empire, or be wiped clean from the slate. The future of Zebrica lies in steel!”

Ebony bared her teeth at Sahel’s daughters, noting their new cybernetic enhancements. Their feminine striped forms were plated with synthetic steel, with vibrant cyan, orange, and violet tronlines in between. Black loincloth obscuring bare crotches, their weapons stained with fresh blood.

Natural Selection was equally disgusted. Any self-respecting zebra who gave entirely to technological advancement was weak. But to see so many assembled restored a raging fire in his belly.

Noble looked between the military and his people, aware they were vastly outmatched. His brows furrowed, and his thick fists balled, weighing his options. Yet no matter the decision, there would most certainly be bloodshed…

The answer was given to him when Dion fetched his trusty spear, the ram offering a single nod while the old chieftain allowed his spite to surface in his wrinkled face.

Sahel raised an eyebrow. “Well? Out with it, Mzee! What is your answer!?”

“This!!” Noble bellowed when he hurled a spear. His aim was true, his reflexes and strength enhanced by the potions he’d consumed. But even so, Kali moved in a blur to deflect with her spear. The Emperor shook his head, tsking.

“Still, you cling to such primitive methods? Admirable… yet so unwise!”

“You have forgotten your roots, Sahel,” proclaimed the elder zebra, who brandished a machete to point at the Emperor. “Our ancestors will never forgive you for what you’ve done!”

“Stubborn mule! The historians will mark this day and remember you as the chieftain who doomed his entire tribe!!”

Both sides prepared for battle; villagers who could not fight took shelter while the brave mares and stallions stood alongside Noble Savage. Ebony whirled around her spear before taking a battle stance, as did Natural Selection. Dion took to her flank and summoned his claymore in a burst of red energy, teeth clenched.

“Amateurs,” spat Kali, who, along with Zuri, zoomed to Tisha’s sides and showed off their augmented weapons while the zebra troops locked and loaded. Storm clouds began to rumble, winds brushing through the conflicting forces. And when anticipation spiked, both Zebrican leaders yelled,

“Shambulio!”

Battle cries echoed, and both zebra factions engaged in martial combat. Despite the upgrades and gear, the Pundamilian enforcers could not withstand blows from spears. Likewise, the villagers suffered fatal wounds from the enemies’ plasma rifles.

The cybernetic princess wiped the floor with whoever was misfortunate enough to oppose them, carving up every tribesman faster than they could blink.

“All too easy,” Zuri said with a digital voice filter, extending her spear’s length to stab one warrior mare through her chest.

Tisha tittered while lashing her urumi around, sprinkling the ground with blood. “C’mon! Gimme more toys to break~!”

Kali shook her head and went straight for Noble Savage, wanting to end this miserable resistance early. She flung her chakram while the old warrior was distracted but was shocked to see him slash the swirling blades away.

“Impressive,” she complimented, opening her hand to recall her weapon through magnetic force. “Your skills hold up even though your strength has waned!”

Noble Savage huffed profusely. Even with a lifetime of experience and the enhancements of potions, age had caught up to chieftain. Nonetheless, he would not kneel before the Emperor so long as he drew breath.

Rushing forward, he repeatedly clashed with Kali to cover his people the best he could. But the old zebra soon became overwhelmed once her chakram separated into mini segments. The arm he used to block received small cuts, a few blades cutting through his taut stomach, causing him to cough up blood.

“Noble!” cried Ebony, who raced over to help… only for Zuri to obstruct her path.

“You and I have a score to settle, huntress!”

With a begrudged growl, the zebress redirected her charge to the augmented princess, sparks flying as metal brushed metal.

Dion surged with his Onoma-infused targe to deflect the plasma blasts, knocking away enforcers left and right. Spotting the chieftain under attack, he was about to jump in and help before a lash from Tisha’s whip sword sent him back.

“Ooh! You look like fun,” the zebra princess purred, swaying on her heels, her breasts and hips jiggling excitedly. “Want some new scars?”

The ram scoffed. “Sorry, lass. Ye’ll find A’m a lot harder tae take down.”

“Oh yeah? And why’s that?”

Dion answered by whirling his heavy sword in one hand, hammering the blade against his shield, and making a resounding clang as his aura flared. “A’m built different!”

This only made Tisha more titillated. “Now we’re talking! Better not disappoint me like all the other men before you~!”

She gleefully lunged at the caprine warrior, who did his best to deflect each slash and retaliate. This left poor Noble Savage to fall to his knees, his injured arm holding in his wounds while crimson ran out his snarling snout.

“You held out better than most,” said Kali, pointing the serrated blades of her chakram to his throat. “Take pride in that your last moments were spent in-”

Her parasyte picked up on an incoming projectile and turned around to intercept. A bola was thrown by Natural Selection, who’d taken up what weapons he could scavenge from a couple dozen bodies of his mortally wounded or slain tribe scattered across the bloodied settlement.

His attention was not on his former friend but the hologram when he loudly declared, “Hear me, false Emperor! I will prove to you that your Empire is weak! Today, Pundamilla will fall for this blasphemy!”

Hatred roared from Natural Selection’s words once he lunged for Kali, who effortlessly moved beyond his reach.

“Relying on such cheap hardware to dodge,” the zebra ranted. “I’ll rip it right off of you!!”

“Get off me, zombie slave!”

“The irony of calling us heretics,” mused Zuri, busy evading Ebony’s assault with similar ease. “This is the finest your tribe can offer? You move in slow motion! Come, sisters! Let us give father a good show!”

The vision of Emperor Sahel reclined on his throne with a chuckle of bemusement, his chin rested atop a hand, content to watch the drama unfold. Varys’ enhancements turned his daughters into untouchable killing machines. While sacrificing their bodies may have significantly affected his conscience, the results justified the means. No price was too grand for the betterment of his Empire!

Despite their skill and sheer numbers, the technorganic princesses efficiently dealt with every opponent thrown their way, able to move faster than flesh. Ebony was slapped aside with a wet crunch, Dion thrown by his curved horns into a well, Natural Selection’s spear ripped from his arms and shoved into his torso, impaled to a withered tree.

Archers rained arrows down on the interlopers alongside bolas and blow darts. None of them could successfully penetrate the enhanced princesses, who quickly moved in a blur and dealt with the tribe. Bones snapped, and flesh popped in bloody sprays while each tribesman fell.

Dion spat out a chipped tooth and rose back to his hooves, a black eye swelling over his right eyelid. Tisha approached him with swaggering hips, her urumi dragging along the ground.

“You’re a tough one, I’ll give you that,” chirped the young zebress. “But surely, you know there’s no hope of you winning this fight. Surrender now, and I’ll allow you to live with me in the palace! I could use a new concubine~!”

The battered caprine seethed. “A man who bends th’ knee so willingly is no man at all. Ye want mah defeat? Come earn it!!”

“Humph! Fine by me! I’ll take every piece I carve out of your-huh!?”

Tisha ducked her head when two pairs of clawed feet almost struck her upside the head. The twins landed protectively in front of Dion, their eyes shimmering and predatory-like. They went naked, protected by a demonic aura that radiated from their exposed skin.

“Amaranth? Amethyst?! Wha-how did ye..?”

“Back off, robo-slut,” one crystalline twin warned with a snarl.

“We won’t let you harm Sir Dion!” The other declared.

“Demon skanks!” cried Tisha as the demonic maids flung themselves at the cybernetic princess. To her astonishment, they could keep up with her, evading her urumi strikes!

Dion was momentarily stunned. Baffled yet utterly grateful that underneath their newfound demonic instincts, their love for him proved more robust than their sexual urges.

The half-succubi twins sailed hand-in-hand, each carried by a single bat-shaped wing that helped them glide faster, able to land a hard double kick that bypassed the parasyte attached to Tisha’s spine, sending her into a tree.

“Gaaagh! N-no… not possible!”

“Serves you right for relying so much on machinery,” Foal-Bearer huffed while she and her sister levitated together.

Wet Nurse sharply added, “After all the unbridled lust we’ve collected, we’re much stronger than before!”

“Stronger… but still not enough!” Proclaimed Zuri as she and Kali came to their sister’s aid, forcing the twins to counterattack. They strove to dart out of their range between divebombs and glittering balls of hellfire. Their demonic power smoldered around the princesses, enabling tooth and nail to even penetrate the cyber armor.

“This is bad,” Kali grunted, flinging her chakrams around to try and hit one of them. “The parasytes aren’t responding properly!”

“You’re both starting to annoy me,” growled Zuri, head snapping around to keep track of the succubi maids. Despite their solitary wing, the pair could easily sail the skies. “Just a little closer...”

She took the next assault directly, ignored the armor carved from her face, and seized Foal-Bearer’s ankle. Yanked down, she was slammed against the ground with a thud; the wind knocked from her as her ribs snapped with a wet crunch.

“Filthy whores! I should punish you… but you’d probably love that. No, I have a better idea!” With a cruel smirk, Zuri raised up Foal-Bearer’s limp body.

“Sister...! Ack-!” Wet Nurse cried out in unison with her twin; Foal-Bearer’s spine snapped against the cyber zebress’ stiff knee. She went limp as Wet Nurse crumpled from the shared pain.

“So whatever happens to one bitch, the other feels as well? Sweet~!” Tisha hummed.

“Must be a troublesome ability, especially when you’re flesh and bone,” berated Kali, spitting into one twin’s face.

“But why stop there?” added Zuri sadistically. “Let’s twist these demon bimbos into pretzels~!”

Glancing at Emperor Sahel, the princesses received a cold nod from their father. Slowly, Zuri began twisting Foal-Bearer further, the sound of broken bones crunching audibly from the strain under her casual exertions; the twins left to shriek bloody murder.

Kali and Tisha cackled with amusement as they resumed to strike down any opposing zebra that dared defy them, well over a hundred dead or near death. They made sport of anyone that attempted to intervene, satisfied there was no one left to challenge them.

Zuri cradled the shattered Foal-Bearer like a lover she danced with, smoothed the maid’s coral pink mane, playfully met her lips in a drawn-out kiss, arms tensed to fold her in half.

All the while, Sahel leaned in and drank, his face warped by a smug smile. He turned to Noble Savage, still favoring his gruesome injuries while Ebony struggled to crawl towards him.

It appeared no one else was left to oppose them.

Black fire billowed from the spear tip that pierced Zuri’s breast. She choked up uncolored fluid and dropped Foal-Bearer’s limp form, then strained to tear the skewer from her wound. Her sisters turned to Natural Selection, who’d torn the spear from his undead chest and thrown it back.

“This zombie needs to learn to stay dead!” Tisha pressed a foot to Wet Nurse’s throat. “But not an inch closer, or-” He was on her faster than she thought possible, his reanimated bulk smashed into the cyber huntress. Muscles strained as he snarled with brute force and ripped her mask away.

With her vulnerable flesh exposed, he readied a death blow, his fist balled up, merely to be stabbed in the back by Kali.

“Mwanaharamu!” the chakram weirder muttered before tossing him aside, the hole in his back crumbling into ashes while he yowled angrily.

“I’m tired of this,” Zuri announced to her sisters while holding her injured tit. “Break these bitches in half so we can-hmm?”

She turned to find Dion lumbering towards them, giant blade in hand, blood and sweat soaking his white fur and black wool. Heavy pants passed his lips while he eyed the princess angrily.

“Take. Your hands. Off them!”

Zuri dryly tittered. “And who are you to make such a request? You can hardly stand! What nerve… Kali! Tisha! Let’s end this already and go home!”

The princesses nodded and joined their sister in approaching Dion.

“N-no..!” Wet Nurse weakly cried, reaching out.

“Sir Dion!!” Wept Foal-Bearer.

The caprine warrior looked around at what was once a peaceful, festive vacation. Enforcers torched down huts with built-in flamethrowers amid the anguished cries of many zebras, mares, and foals. Ebony was sobbing, trying to awaken Noble Savage. Natural Selection could feel his form withering away into dust.

Dion understood the consequences of conflict. Should the daughters of Emperor Sahel succeed in taking him down, there would be no one to defend this village and its people.

As a warrior, he could not allow that to happen, aware of what awaited him back in his homeland. A mantle to take from his father. A niece mothered by his sister. And, if fate was kind, a child of his own to unite Ebony and her people with his clan.

So, focusing on his long deep breaths, Dion steeled his determination, manifested it into his Onoma, Ares… and went all out!

A flash of red energy surged around the caprine, making the augmented princesses pause. The Emperor winced in annoyance at the sudden illumination that erupted from the battle-born ram.

When the light diminished, the trio of zebress gasped at the sight that stood before them, as did the twins, Ebony, and many onlookers.

Now adorning Dion was a full suit of archaic armor, covering every inch of his bulk with red iron. Ram-shaped pauldrons guarded his shoulders. Rerebraces and couters joined underneath his gauntlets. A war-torn cape attached over his sturdy breastplate and gorget, flapping dramatically against the wind.

A tassel skirts around his black fleece, legs braces inside cuisses, poleyns, and greaves. His hoofs wore sabatons. The helm over his head now concealed his angry visage with a slitted visor, his curved horns the only things unprotected.

Even his mighty claymore looked twice as big. And the armored ram effortlessly lifted the bulky blade by the extended hilt, poising it at the zebra princesses that dared to harm his lovers.

“Heed these words,” Dion spoke from behind his helmet. “Ah am Sir Dion th’ Dauntless. Son ov th’ Shaman King. Brother tae th’ Lady Ewe. Defender ov th’ weak. Enemy tae th’ strong. This bloodshed goes no further!!”

“Tsk! What a loudmouth!”

“You heard him, girls!”

“Get him!!”

The zebra princesses lunged at their target, a blur of technicolored lines whirling around Dion, who hardly reacted to the display of agility.

Tisha was first to strike with her whip sword… only for the blades to chip against the arcane steel. Kali flung her chakram yet didn’t make so much of a dent before recalling it. And when Zuri went for an overhead stab from behind, the spear’s tip was lodged in the crimson steel plate, leaving her stuck.

“Gnngh! W-what the!?”

“My turn!”

Dion swung his claymore in a crimson arc, the force knocking them into walls and trees, damaging the parasytes attached to their spines.

“No!” Emperor Sahel snarled through the holographic screen. He barked at his men, “Don’t just stand there! Open fire!!”

The enforcers aimed their rifles and shot multi-laser bullets at Dion, each round reflecting off his Onoma-spawned armor. The extra weight made his movements sluggishly slow, each step accompanied by a heavy clang of metal. Despite this drawback, the ram could tank everything the Pundamilia Empire threw at him. And in return, with one great bound and slash from his claymore, he tore through an entire hovercraft, exploding into wreckage mid-air.

The sisters recovered on the sidelines, watching their forces fall before the army of one.

“T-this is really bad!!” Kali grumbled.

“That armor is impenetrable!”

“Stay strong, sisters,” encouraged Zuri. “He’ll wear himself out eventually!”

“But that could take hours,” complained Kali, her eyes already turned back to the settlement.

The youngest had a eureka moment. “Oh! I know! He’s slow in this form. We’ll butcher every last man, woman, and child until he comes out of his shell and-!”

Her plan was cut off by a massive blade crashing down over where they stood, the zebra princesses darting from the pursuing ram knight.

With the princesses apprehended, Wet Nurse managed to crawl over to her sister and cradled her to her chest.

“Hang in there, sis! We’re going to make it out of this!”

Likewise, Natural was able to stumble toward Ebony and Noble Savage, who watched Dion take on the cybernetic huntresses. “Pathetic,” the proud hunter grumbled. “We’ve become so frail; an outsider has to finish our battle for us!”

“He is no outsider,” Ebony dejected, admiringly smiling at the caprine knight. “Dion is a true warrior. And should he succeed, his grit and determination will carry through our people for generations to come!”

Noble quietly agreed, watching the knight in crimson armor make a valiant stand against the trio of augmented huntresses. Even with his hindered speed, he made massive lunges to reach his target, the blunt of his blade smashing the parasyte on Kali’s back. She let out a loud scream before dropping unconscious!

“Bastard!!” Tisha shrieked, flailing her urumi around to try and cut open that impregnable armor. Dion guarded with his gauntlets before grabbing the blade and reeling the staggered princess into a brutal headbutt.

She yelled, feeling her metallic skull fracture before collapsing to the ground, discolored liquid oozing out her sparking cracks.

“That’s it, Sir Dion!” cheered Wet Nurse. “Go medieval on their asses~!!”

“Not so fast!”

Their attention drew to Zuri, who held a squirming Ebony by spear, the tip pressing into her belly. “Take one step closer, and I’ll spill this hussie’s guts!”

“N-no..!” Natural tried to pry her off his former mate but was kicked away.

Noble crawled across a pool of his own blood. “You devils...!”

“Disenchant the armor and lower your weapon,” the princess demanded. “Now!!”

Weighing his options, Dion considered dropping his Onoma, despite knowing it would be suicide. He could feel what remained of the Pundamillian Enforcers aimed their weapons at him. There was a slim chance he could stall them to let some of the villagers escape. On the other hand, he might be able to take them like this, was he able to catch them! He sneered in frustration, the fallen forms of his lovers and friends in his sight.

“It doesn’t have to end this way, Sir Dion,” said Emperor Sahel, who accepted a cup of wine from a servant. Rolling the liquid around, he proposed, “You and your lovers don’t have to die with these foolish barbarians. You could walk away, though I’d prefer it if you swore loyalty to my Empire. You’re an outstanding soldier; it would be such a waste!”

“Th’ only waste Ah see here is you,” Dion rebutted, taking umbrage with his remark. “While ye sit there in luxury, yer soldiers—yer own kin die fur yer fruitless endeavor! Ah bow tae no Emperor!”

Sahel sighed after taking a sip of his drink. “What a pity. Very well, then. Zuri, finish them off, and-”

Before he could finish his decree, the Emperor detected a strange smell that made his snout scrunch. “Eegh! What is that foul odor?”

“Sir!” One nearby guard walked in with urgency. “The ventilation system has been compromised!”

“What!?”

The hologram’s camera zoomed in on a nearby wall vent, highlighting the toxic steam slowly filling the Emperor’s chambers. Immediately, he and his men rushed to strap respiratory masks over their faces right as the lights blacked out.

Zuri loosened her grip momentarily, allowing Ebony to break free and scurry beside Dion. But all were distracted by the disruption in the video feed.

Holding a button on his chair, Sahel demanded, “Commander, status report! What the hell is going on?!”

Instead of a swift response, the Emperor received the blood-curdling screams of his people, drowned out by inhuman roaring before the reception cut into white noise.

Zuri voiced her growing concerns. “F-Father?”

Sahel shrank into his throne with a startled gasp, eyes widened. “G-guards!!”

The hologram shifted focus to the entrance doors. A hunched figure draped in a dark magenta cloak with a feathery collar emerged from the sickly miasma. Large unkempt plumage folded behind her back, bizarre boils with eyes inside pulsating along the patagium. As she strode closer, the camera zoomed in on her face, a horrible avian visage with an unpleasant smile. Chartreuse eyes gleamed through the basil-green smog.

“Who is that?!” said Ebony.

“Varys,” Dion presumed, a gauntlet squeezed into a fist. “That buzzard-faced bastard was bound to show up sooner or-“

“N-no,” interrupted Zuri, shaking her head. “My sisters and I have seen him! He’s the one who engineered our enhancements. Whoever—whatever that is… It is not the plague doctor!”

“So that’s where you got your fancy gizmos,” scoffed Natural Selection, recalling the hi-tech coffins Mortis would make him and other undead rest inside.

“Good evening, your highness!” the bionic devil mockingly greeted with a short bow. “I hope you don’t mind if I let myself in.”

“M-Master Varys?! What brings you to my chambers?” the Emperor questioned squeamishly. All his smug bravado instantly vanished the moment his benefactor came knocking.

Viscera’s grin widened, amused by the Emperor’s inability to differentiate herself from her predecessor. “Why, I’ve come to collect what I’m owed! Those are my weapons your guards are pointing at me. Tsk, tsk, tsk… naughty boy~!”

She took one step, and Sahel’s private enforcers scurried to barricade the intruder from their Emperor. “Come any closer, and we’ll fry every feather off your scabby wings, devil!”

Viscera mewled before straightening her posture with a sickening crack of her spine. Her wings and claws extended, and her tail wave bewaved excitedly. “Careful, boys… I’m contagious~!”

Plasma rifles went off, but the decrypted creature proved far more agile than imagined. She took to the air to deliver a kick down, whipping her tail to knock aside the lineup. She leapt backward to avoid more fire while coiling one stallion’s ankle to drag him over and use his body as a meat shield.

After absorbing enough bullets, the nephilim flung the wasted corpse away. That’s when everyone got a better look at the tip of Viscera’s tail. Instead of the mechanical claw Varys was known for, meaty petals peeled back to bloom what resembled a titan arum. Carrion flies buzzed out of the spathe, attracted by the aroma of rotten flesh.

Positioning her tail overhead, the stem-like appendage glowed a foul green and shot out an acidic projectile that stained one guard. He cried out in agony as it rapidly dissolved his armor and flesh, his organs shriveling into an unhealthy color while spilling out his wound.

Emperor Sahel shrank his body further into his seat, panicking as more of his personalized squadron fled into the room, only to be sprayed or sliced apart.

Viscera seized one lone soldier by the throat, tracing a talon over his glass visor while he struggled and choked. With a throaty chuckle, she murmured, “Poor dear! It must be hard to breathe with this bulky thing! You should take it off~!”

“N-no, no no-!!”

The vulture-esque demi-human bashed his helmet open, exposing his face to the poisonous vapors that quickly filled his lungs. Instantaneously, his striped flesh broke into boils and warts, muscles expanding grotesquely while he bellowed. Puss and bile bled out his pours and unhinged mouth.

Viscera stepped back to watch the putrified hulk lash out against the other guardsmen. Misshapen fists pulverized the armored zebras into bloody mulch, yellowing veins bulging his bloated musculature.

When every last soldier was demolished, the mutant zombie turned his blank gaze at the cowardly Emperor. Letting out a roar, he blindly charged at Sahel… before the sickness plaguing his body proved too much and caused him to implode.

Chunky piles of meat and discolored blood splattered on the floor, staining Sahel’s robes as he quivered in fear. The onlookers outside the hologram could only observe the heinous massacre, Zuri especially fearful for her father’s life.

“You were right,” Ebony dryly stated. “This isn’t Varys. Somehow, it’s even worse!”

“Ooh~! Messy,” Viscera commented through the hologram, examining the putrid remains with a satisfied smirk. “There should be a way to prolong the effects. Oh well! Problems for later...”

Carefully stepping over the pile of infected cadavers, the bionic devil loomed over her prey before straddling his lap, earning another pitiful scream from the royal zebra.

“Wh-why are you doing this, Varys!? I-I thought you and I shared an accord with-?!”

“I’m not Varys, you ignoramus,” the avian-faced demon answered with annoyance. “He’s gone, decaying in his own failures. Only Viscera remains now~.”

“Vi-Viscera?!”

“As for why I’m doing this? Simple. I want every trace of my former self eradicated. Starting with his handy work~!”

This made Sahel pale. “Wh-what? No, you can’t! M-my Empire depends on this technology to thrive!! Without it, my legacy will perish!!”

“And whose fault is that?” Viscera countered while quivering with elation. The Emperor grew more disturbed when he felt something hard poke against his stomach, earning a playful titter.

“Silly little man,” the demi-human mocked. “Your foundations were already in ruins when you relied on someone else’s achievements. Supplementing your kingdom with outside technology, thinking you could use it to conquer all of Zebrica. You even turned your own children into living weapons! And they call me vile!”

Zuri trembled with rage, faint memories of her experience inside Varys’ transmutation pod. The horrific suffering she and her sisters endured to appease their father’s ambitions.

Viscera continued. “You’ve allowed your culture to become entangled with cybernetic advancements. So much that when it’s taken away, your entire country crumbles into worthless rubble. A pathetic reign for a pathetic king. A fitting conclusion if you ask me~.”

What little dignity Emperor Sahel had left was diminished by the bubbling mess he soon became, bawling like a babe while his torturer gingerly stroked his cheek.

“P-please, don’t kill me!” The zebra begged, feeling his heart beat frantically the closer those venomous talons were to his jugular. “I-I can still be of use to you!”

“Unfortunately true,” Viscera drolled. “You’ve kept your scientists busy building a secret dimensional transporter. One that would further expand your conquests. Typical tyrant. Why don’t we show the rest of the class your little science project, hmm?”

Aware he had zero options, Sahel nodded his head. With a pattern of pressed buttons on his throne, it spun and opened to reveal machinery mixed with enchanted runes. Dion, Ebony, Noble, and especially Zuri were astonished. Despite what Viscera claimed, he hadn’t entirely forsaken the old ways, instead using them to enhance where he could.

Unfortunately, by nature, advanced technology and magic were opposites, which often caused their machines to break down. And so, experimentation had proven slow and tedious. Nonetheless, his scientist had finished a workable prototype. Mustering what strength he could, Sahel began the incantation to activate the portal, runes shimmering to life.

Viscera kept her corpse flower tail close, the spadix pressing into his neck. “I suggest you cleanse your mind of any lingering thoughts of escape,” she warned. “Unless you wish to die slower than a slug can crawl~.”

Sahel swallowed hard and nodded. The crude portal’s glow reflected over the duo and threatened to blink out the entire camera feed observing them. The energy reserves needed to power it were tremendous. While it booted up with a hum, the rest of the Pundamilia Empire blacked out as its energy was siphoned, leaving the screaming citizens in further peril.

“Th-the portal is open for you, Vile One,” proclaimed Sahel.

With a low, satisfied snicker, Viscera patted his shoulder and said, “Well done, Emperor of fools! I’ll take it from here.”

“T-That means I’m free to leave now, right?”

Viscera didn’t answer. Instead, her grip on him tightened, and her cruel smile deepened.

“Y-you’re letting me go, right?!?”

The bionic devil hummed thoughtfully before replying, “That’s funny. I don’t recall ever saying I’d let you live~!”

“Bu-but I! I-I—”

“Devil!!” Zuri shouted, drawing their attention back to the holographic screen. “He did what you wanted! Release my father!!”

Viscera rolled her eyes and responded, “Pitiful child. You’re an even bigger fool than your daddy! Besides, I still need him for one more thing…”

A vicious smirk stretches her beak as she runs her finger across his neck, threatening to break skin.

“You should feel honored, your majesty! You’ll be the first to experience my blighted touch.”

“N-no no no no, wait, wait wait!!” The zebra emperor groveled, eyes puffy with tears. “By the ancestors, please!!”

“Tell them I said hi~!”

A small poke of her talon sealed his fate as the sickness rapidly corroded his arteries. Pain spread throughout his body, shuddering from fluctuating temperatures. Sahel fell to his knees, crying frantically, scurrying like a rat at the vivid hallucinations and colors that warped his vision. Blood, mucus, and foam seeped out the zebra’s eyes and snout once the virus took hold of his mortality.

Zuri collapsed and released a wail that brought her sisters back to consciousness, taking them only a few seconds to realize what was happening.

“What? No! NO!!”

“DADDY!!”

Viscera’s feathery ears and back spines tingled from the sounds of anguish while typing in a set of coordinates to the desired location. Then she turned to address the hologram, leering at the people through the screen.

“I suggest you hurry before the maggots finish feasting on your people,” the nephilim coldly stated. “Maybe you can salvage what’s left of your kingdom. As for me, I’ve got a rendezvous with my fellow demi-humans~.”

Her statement caught Dion’s attention. “Sae that’s what this carnage is about!?”

Ebony demanded, “Why are you after Zell and his people?!”

“See, I’d love to stick around and explain my evil plan—”

Viscera paused her monologue to lash out at the controls, firing more toxic blasts from her tail that melted the mechanisms that smoked and rattled violently.

“But this place is about to go belly up. Worry not! I have a feeling we’ll be running into each other real soon~!”

And with that, the vile one pulled out Varys’ plague doctor mask to obscure her face. Viscera took flight and soared into the spiraling portal, which grew more unstable by the seconds until the projection was lost entirely in a massive burst of illumination.

The hologram dissipated, and a boom thundered in the distance. The stormy skies dissipated, washing away the fire smoldering the village huts. Zuri, Kali, and Tisha were visibly shaken by what they had witnessed. A thousand thoughts ran through their heads, uncertain of what to do.

Then, rising up with the aid of her spear, the eldest princess ordered with tranquil fury, “We’re falling back. Hurry!”

Not another word was spoken as they boarded a hover carrier with what remained of the Pundamilia forces and evacuated the premises.

“Cowardice!” called Natural, who tried to hobble after them. Some of the wounded tribesmen reclaimed their bows and blowguns, shafts and darts fired after the interlopers, to no avail while they vanished into the plains. Reluctantly, the warriors stood down.

A moment later, the zebra tribe erupted into cheers at their small victory. Well over a hundred were slain in the invasion, with dozens more crippled or otherwise wounded.

Dion powered down his Onoma before dropping onto weak legs, stained in sweat. “Ah, thank fuck,” he wheezed. “Any more time in that armor would have killed me. Ah can’t believe three people did all this!”

“And yet it took one person to bring an entire city to its knees,” Wet Nurse pointed out, helping her sister limp over to their lover to comfort him.

“I’m barely keeping my lunch down as it is,” Foal-Bearer muttered while leaning into the ram’s frame to keep pressure off her back. “That ‘Viscera’ is one nasty customer!”

“Bah! Just another name in th’ growin’ list ov people who need an ass-kickin’,” insisted Dion, petting both twins’ heads. Frowning, he added, “Zell an’ Shadow Scythe better be prepared fur the shitstorm headin’ their way…”

Ebony limped over to the chief. “We need immediate medical attention!”

Medicine mares and witch doctors snapped to obey, sending stretchers out to help move the wounded. This included Foal-Bearer and Wet Nurse, to their embarrassment. All Dion could do was hope his lovers could heal with the satiation of lust, like all succubi.

Once certain they were in capable hands, he joined Ebony and Natural in helping Noble Savage to his bed, the healers patching up his shredded abdomen. Despite their efforts, tears leaked out of the huntress. She lamented, “I fear his wounds are fatal…”

“No!” Natural Selection clutched his own wound and shook his head. “Don’t you dare die, Mshenzi! T-there must be ways we can extend his life!”

“Unnatural ways,” murmured Noble, barely able to keep his half-lidded eyes open. “Forgive me, Nyeusi… My time came sooner than expected. There was much I still wanted to teach you. But I fear this path you must now walk alone. The tribe’s future now rests in you… and your future kin. Don’t lead them to ruin, love. Like I almost did…”

“Yes,” she whispered back, her head bowed. “I will not fail you!”

Noble then turned to Natural. “Asili… You came to the tribe’s aid, despite our differences. For this, I thank you. Though you, too, have reached your limit, you may pass knowing you’ve reclaimed a measure of your honor.”

A firm nod from Natural confirmed his words. “Had I not interfered, I could’ve stretched my life several more days. But what would be the point? This tribe gave birth to me. I couldn’t stand to let it sacrifice its pride. With this final act, I can return to the soil satisfied.”

The dying hunter cleared his throat before casting his gaze onto Dion. “You have won my respect, Knight of Clan Jakobson. I trust you will be there to take care of her.”

“Ov course,” the ram reassured, bowing his head.

“Good. And tell your sister I’m sorry I threatened her unborn child. It was… beneath me…”

With those parting words, Asili limped out of the village, bits of dust departing from the zebra’s now monochromatic, decaying vessel. The eyes of his former tribe were on him, rewarding him with silent gratitude. He allowed a smile to spread his snout before vanishing into the mist.

Dion asked, “Where’s he going?”

“Somewhere private to pass away,” surmised Ebony, her snout drawn. “Like a proud lion on his last hunt.” She knelt by the mortally wounded chief’s side. “Noble, I-”

“You both have my eternal gratitude...for what it’s worth.” Noble coughed and choked, barely able to focus. Once, he’d feared he’d die in bed. But now he felt relief to have those he trusted around him. The zebra chieftain lay comfortably on his back, staring out the hut’s roof to the sky, a smile brightening his face.

“Look… light is shining through the veil… at long last..!”

With the last of his strength gone, Mshenzi allowed blackness to take him to his awaiting ancestors, his eyelids closing one last time.

Everyone gathered hung their heads low, allowing sadness to open their throats and mourn the loss of their beloved leader.

Quiet sobs escaped Ebony, who quivered in Dion’s firm embrace. “Oh, mpenzi wangu!”

The ram squeezed her tightly, asking, “Dae ye need some time alone?”

She shook her head and wiped her eyes. “No. There’s too much I have to do...”

Grimly, Dion nodded. “Then we better keep movin’, Gràdh.”

Arm in arm, the ram and zebress exited the late chief’s hut when the tribesmen pointed to the sky.

“H-hey! It’s just as Noble said!!”

“There’s a light in the sky!”

“And it’s moving!”

Perplexed, they followed where the villages pointed to find a glowing object rapidly approaching from the darkened atmosphere. Everyone screamed when a saucer-shaped aerial craft flew down to hover above, eclipsing the entire settlement with its shadow.

“Aufurfuxakes, what now?!” Dion cursed.

The UFO’s underbelly lit up with hypnotic illumination, the circular orifice centered in its body opening to allow a lone female to descend a pillar of light. Once the figure touched down and the ram could see her correctly, he exclaimed, “Hold on… Bellatrix?!”

“Happy to see you, too, Dion,” replied the succubus with a small smile. She wore a black leather bondage bikini with heeled boots, her arms crossed over her scarlet breast. “I’d ask if you were enjoying your vacation, but from the look of things here…”

“Aye, ye just missed an entire civil war,” the caprine warrior confirmed. “Along wit more bad news…”

“When isn’t there? You can explain it on our way to Midnight’s world,” she noted while taking in the blood stains, broken weapons, ruined huts, and shattered well. “Where are the twins?”

“Not in th’ best shape...” he admitted.

“I see. Not to worry,” Bellatrix assured with a lazy flick of her spade-tipped tail. “I’m certain our new benefactor can help our poor, sweet twins. Now go get them and hurry aboard.”

Dion raised a skeptical brow, eying the massive eldritch beast suspiciously while Ebony called to a pair of hunters nearby. “Quickly! Bring Foal-Bearer and Wet Nurse here!”

After they nodded and rushed off to collect the crystalline duo, Ebony turned to warrior ram. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done. We’ve suffered a lot of casualties today. But without you, I imagine it would’ve been far worse.”

“Think nothin’ ov it,” insisted Dion, smiling bravely. “Any victory, great or small, should be cherished.”

She lowered her head and exhaled. “I wish I could go with you. Unfortunately, I-”

“Have to look after yer people now. Ah know...” His bright red eyes reflected her sorrow. “Sorry Ah can’t stick around for Noble Savage’s funeral. But mah family needs me. It’s time Ah return home.”

He raised Ebony’s chin for their lips to meet, and the new chieftess leaned into his kiss, savoring the moment before she had to face the challenges alone. Already, her people prepared the deal with fallout from Pundamilia’s end.

When they finally withdrew, Ebony softly whispered, “Once I’ve put my tribe back together, our village is yours, should you ever wish to call on our aid.”

“As is mine,” agreed Dion, resting his head on hers. “When A’m chieftain, A’ll return fur you… an’ our child.”

The zebress failed to suppress a titter. “Bold to assume it’ll be yours~.”

The pale caprine laughed. “If not, A’ll just have tae keep tryin’ ~!”

They shared a laugh and one more hug before a stretcher arrived with the twins. Dion and Bellatrix took the twins in their arms and ascended to the UFO, wrapped in a beam of light that shot down. Ebony Ivory waved goodbye as the spacecraft took off at unearthly speeds.

As she returned to restore unity and foundation with her fellow tribesman, she patted her slim stomach, aware that it would eventually become gravid with the future of their clan.

It was unlikely the cold seed of her ‘dead’ ex-lover would take root, unlike the ram’s warm, virile one. New life stewed in her fertile garden.

The former huntress, now chieftain, could only pray that this signified the end of this calamity.

Back in the Lost World, on the Isles of Parras, a thin layer of mist rolled around Demi-Trixie’s booted feet when she explored the area with a hum. Everywhere the miniature mare looked, there was exotic beauty and mystical landscapes. Every race and member of Clan Jakobson gathered supplies and tools, many visibly distraught by the idea that Canterlonians were invading their lands.

So naturally, it was up to her to cheer things up!

“Everyone’s being way too serious,” she remarked, “Time for a little light display to lighten the mood~!”

Demi-Trix launched fireworks into the skies, causing a few Minotaurs, fauns, and satyrs to pause and watch them pop. Those taking the chance to get some rest were awoken nearby. Sparklers, too, were spread across the earth and illuminated her radius.

“C’mon, everybody!” She called between her hands. “Let’s party while we still can!”

Much to her relief, the tulpa’s antics were met with laughter and smiles, her opening to boost morale slightly successful. Yet she knew there would be much more work to be done!

She began to dance mid-air on her heeled boots, then vanished in a poof of sparkly, colorful smoke, simply to appear behind one of the onlookers and tap them. This was repeated many times before she returned to the air and continued to kick her heels and swish her cape.

By this point, the citizens of the isles clapped along and collected by the shore. Her plushie minions, Shining (K)night, Cherry Poptart, and Sickle Shade also joined the celebration, where they flew and zipped over the shoals amidst the glimmer of fireworks continuously popped in a kaleidoscope of color.

The waves rolled over the beach once darkness started to fall and stars peeked out.

Unfortunately, the celebration was interrupted when a fisherman ran across the sands and shouted, “Help! S-sea monster! Washed up on th’ shore!”

There were a few murmurs from the crowd before General Seamus entered the scene with his orcs. “Take us tae it, lad!” He snorted.

Drawn by curiosity, Demi-Trix fluttered on pixie wings to investigate alongside the armored boars. To her surprise, Lord Haden was already marching there with druid staff in hand. His grassy mantle flowed against the salty gale, his ears flickering at the ominous outcries of some distressed beast.

“Shite! What horrid squeals,” noted Seamus. “Dae ye think it's th' Kraken? Maybe even Nessie?”

“No,” said Haden, whose gaze narrowed under prominent gray eyebrows.

On closer inspection, it resembled a ship of sorts but with organic components, almost like it had been swallowed up by some parasitic entity. It lacked any visible flags or a headpiece to identify it. “It’s definitely not ov this world… but Ah don’t think it’s connected tae Alma.”

His soldiers poked at the tendrils that wiggled from its hull with swords and spears, archers trained on it.

“Oi! Keep yer distance, laddies,” the orc general warned. “Let’s not provoke th’ damn thing!”

Demi-Trix gasped upon realizing what this was and flew next to the mountainous faun. “Wait! H-hold it!” She said as she landed on his shoulder. “Call off your men! I know this airship!”

“Airship?” The elder ram perked an eyebrow.

Instead, the cartoony mare knelt and pointed to a glass window, barely visible under the inky, oil-slick black substance that enveloped the craft. She spotted a male unicorn and female crystalline pegasus from inside, who shouted and struck at the nearly unbreakable windows for attention. “Holy smokes, I was right! It’s Ashen Dunes and Rhenaes! They’re old pals of mine! You know what this means?”

“Ah do not,” Lord Haden said in a gruff tone. “Enlighten me, tiny one.”

“This airship is actually an eldritch beast, like the manor I came from! Someone probably captured this poor creature and built this airship around it!”

He balked. “Poor creature...?”

“Yeah, it’s a prisoner! Oh, but I don’t think Ashen’s responsible. He can be a bit shady, but he believes in freedom! He told me he had won this airship in a bet on the outskirts of civilization! It’s one-of-a-kind in his world!”

“Well, ye clearly know more about this than me.” Haden turned to Seamus and the orcs. “Stand down, men. Let th’ tulpa handle this.”

Despite protests, they lowered their weapons and allowed Demi-Trix to wander closer to the tentacled abomination. She shifted back to mare size and crooned, “Oh~, Mr. Monster~! I want to talk with you!” She offered a dainty hand, and after a moment, one octopus-like coil wrapped repeatedly around the extended limb. “Ooh, it’s cold and slimy! Don’t worry, it’s okay!”

“This is ridiculous,” grunted Seamus.

“Ah would rather we not endanger our men when war is comin’, general,” reminded Haden. “Besides… It is quite funny.”

Demi-Trix’s eyes closed under her wide-brimmed witch hat, and she nodded repeatedly. “Uh-huh... mhmm... Oooh! Yeah, that’s fine!”

Successfully appeased by her unspoken words, since the abomination mentally linked with the tulpa for a moment to telepathically communicate, the blackness around the hull started to recede. The couple came from the parted inky curtain, alongside the small number of crewmen left to the merchant prince captain.

“Huh. Well, what do you know!” Seamus shrugged, ordering his soldiers, “Get them some food and shelter! Who knows how long they’ve been trapped in that beast’s belly!”

The four-horned ram went down to greet the pair personally. “Ah am Lord Haden. Shaman King ov th’ Isles ov Parras an’ reignin’ chieftain ov Clan Jakobson. State your names.”

“O-oh! Most certainly, sir,” the unicorn said as he and his marefriend bowed before the towering caprine. “Prince Ashen Dunes, brother of Cerise Silhouette and White Shadow Penumbra. Son of King Sombra and Queen Inky Rose!”

Haden stroked his beard, puzzled. “Strange. Last Ah heard, Sombra went by th’ name Ambros an’ took Radiant Hope as his wife…”

“Oh, we’re not from around here,” he insisted. “Another dimension. Confusing indeed. Ah! A-and this is my future fiance, Rhenaes!” The jade ballerina dancer colored at his words.

While Demi-Trix continued to soothe the eldritch beast, Ashen explained their side of events, about how Mortis had taken control of a three-headed dragon and the impending collapse of the destabilized multiverse.

“Hmph. Hearin’ that Kralot Andrei is someone else’s problem would be good news,” grumbled the old ram. “Though Ah suppose no universe is lucky tae have that wretched dragon. An’ ye say a lich now controls him?”

“Indeed! A-as you can plainly see, circumstances have become dire!”

“If it’s not too much to ask,” Rhenaes began timidly. “May we settle here for the time being? We lost our supplies during the dimensional shift!”

“Mmm… A’m afraid ye arrived at a most inopportune time,” confessed Haden. “Th’ Sovereign Witch ov Canterlot is plottin’ an invasion on our lands wit th’ Baobhan Sith an’ Kelpies at her side. They call themselves th’ Order ov Ròsan Dubha. Or Black Roses. An’ they threaten tae stain these meadows wit th’ blood ov mah people…”

“Oh dear,” Ashen said with pursed lips.

“How horrible…” agreed Rhenaes.

The sandy unicorn stroked his chin in thought. “Well, since we can’t return home, why don’t we help your cause? I’m no war veteran like my brother, but I can share information; the best weapon of all!”

The ram lord nodded. “We’ll take whate’er help ye can provide. In return, A’ll have a room prepared fur ye.”

“Thank you, Lord Haden,” the couple said graciously.

“Fidelma,” he called out, and a slender masked satyress pranced over. “See tae it that these two are given rooms tae stay in. Oh, an’ relay back tae mah daughter e’erythin’ Ashen Dunes has said.”

“At once,” she said, touching her heart before walking off.

“Your daughter? Oona’s here!?” Ashen gasped in alarm.

“Aye. When we got wind ov her abduction, rescuin’ her from th’ Black Roses’ grasp became mah priority. She’s near th’ mountainside, safe an’ sound.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Rheneas sighed in relief. “May we see her?”

“No.” Haden declined firmly, his face hardening. “She’s on th’ last leg ov her pregnancy an’ has since been unable to leave th’ house. For her protection, A’m only allowin’ a select few tae keep her company.”

“I suppose that’s understandable,” the jade pegasus said, a little disappointed. “She has been through a lot without Beatrix-”

“Speak not ov that reckless witch near mah presence!” Lord Haden growled, his voice betraying his stoic demeanor. “If she truly loved mah daughter, she would be here! By her side instead ov gallivantin’ across th’ multiverse.”

“But sir, she’s-“

“Ah have spoken!!” He finally barked, taking short breaths to recompose himself. With a less brash tone, the old chieftain said, “Forgive mah outrage. Ah only want what’s best fur Oona. But th' thought ov her givin' birth durin' Walpurgistnacht ails me…”

He turned to leave with his general and men, leaving no room for argument, much to their dismay.

That’s when Demi-Trix said, “Hey! Believe it or not, this eldritch creature’s scared! It feels lost and alone!”

Ashen stroked his chin. “How curious! Maybe I could-”

“Let me,” Rhenaes cuts in, who’d taken her lover’s hands. “I wish to be useful, too!”

“...okay. But be cautious,” emphasized Ashen as he squeezed her slender hands. Reluctantly, he watched his jade love descend back into the wrecked, overrun airship.

The crystal pegasus entered the airship’s core, shivering from the darkness and chill that enveloped her. To her, it was like a coffin...or a tomb. However, she traced the blackness to its source, the abomination emerging from the equivalent of the airship’s black box, its prison torn open amidst the battle with Andrei, followed by the cosmic, multiversal squall. Like so many of the battered crew, almost broken by a stroke of bad luck.

She crouched down and said, “You poor thing. How long have you been trapped here? Years? Decades?” She shivered when a tentacle wrapped around her thin arm, much like it had with Demi-Trix. “Oh! That tickles!” Thankfully, it warmed up from the body heat she radiated.

Its mind linked with hers, merely on a surface level, since the alien intelligence of an eldritch being could drive a mortal mad, especially after prolonged contact. She felt its emotions, and it, in turn, hers; the crystal mare visibly moved once she closed her eyes and whimpered for it.

One of the coils snaked up her ankle. “H-hey!” The creature hesitated, but when her tense posture relaxed, it continued its travel up her thigh, which started to coil around her midsection, gentler than she expected. “Ooh~...that feels kinda nice, actually,” Rhenaes admitted, her cheeks aflame.

More tentacles wrapped around the ballerina, massaging her tender flesh, while she failed to hold back subdued moans and leaned into its touch. Her lashes fluttered, eyes half-lidded when the creature slowly undressed her piece-by-piece.

“W-wait, I...I-I have a coltfriend...” The tentacles hesitated once more, already wrapped around her petite breasts, the idea of a solitary mate equally alien to this creature. In truth, it was half an excuse born out of fear. She knew Ashen had several romantic partners across the world.

But at Cerise’s demands, Ashen hadn’t so much as flirted with another stallion or mare since he started to court Rhenaes, the princess afraid he would play with her heart like he had others.

But the crystalline dancer knew Ashen wasn’t cruel despite being the kind who wanted to try every piece of fruit at least once!

“I...think he’d be okay with this. He wants me to discover who I am! And it’s my body you seek, not my heart. If this is what it’ll take to properly bond...” Despite her reservations, she relaxed entirely and submitted her flesh to the beast, which continued to feel her up to state its desire.

Yet the moment they made contact, she knew it was more than that. The creature was severely wounded by the crash on death’s door, and the satisfaction of its lust would help it heal.

At least it wouldn’t have to gobble down any innocents like the mansion once had!

Constricted all over by the creature, lifted in its slick tentacles, they rubbed her modest but perky breasts and slim buttocks, worked her up until she was nice and wet, its tendrils poised before her lips, puffy slit, and tailhole, respectively. Gradually, they teased her three holes before they started to worm their way inside. At the same time, suckers wrapped about her areola and nursed her nipples, while another encircled her swollen clit and made her squirm and cry out.

“Ah...wow. This is-!” Her words were muffled by the intruder, simultaneously stuffed from every direction, while her hands helped stroke off more tentacles. She had never felt this full in her life.

Lifted above the floor, no part of her left untouched or played with, Rhenaes’ wordless cry around the coil that stuffed her throat signified the first of many messy orgasms she would achieve today, the feminine nectar she squirted over the beast soaked into it, to help it heal.

The feathers of her outstretched plumage were tickled and rubbed, and her body started to move on its own, eyes rolled into her head, lost to bliss. She humped back into the tentacles pushed into her stretched obscenely wide cunt and ass, barely separated by a thin layer of flesh, and felt them rub her warm walls, which squeezed down. Her head bobbed to suck off one in her maw.

After an hour spent as this monster’s plaything, she slightly understood why Beatrix liked to indulge herself with bizarre monsters who fucked better than any stud. Able to touch and explore her in unimaginable places. She also wanted her friend Cerise to experience this unthinkable sea of sensation at least once, despite how dedicated the princess of darkness was to her husband.

The ballerina pegasus came anew, almost lost consciousness, blissed out, and thoroughly fucked raw. They came inside her, its ejaculations a potent aphrodisiac many of its lustier tentacled brethren would use to make unwilling females submit to hedonistic pleasures...but the creature used it to reward her and to transform any discomfort she felt into further bliss for what came next. More tentacles were driven into her winking cunt, pierced her cervix, into her womb.

Rhenaes squealed about a tentacle stuffed down her throat and came harder than ever, shaking as her toes curled. Her belly distended from the influx like she’d been impregnated, tentacles shooting load after load directly into her feminine core, where the thick sticky blasts impacted her drippy, slippery walls.

Rheneas blacked out for a time, holes left to ooze while she was continually fucked into submission.

The soft approach of sandals and the clicking of heeled boots pulled her attention back to consciousness. When Rhenaes tried to speak, the tentacle popped from her wet lips in a slick trail still tethered to the intruder, who blasted her face in a fresh batch of stickiness. “A-Ashen-? Mmph!” Its impossibly heavy load fired across her tongue as she coughed down more runny, salty spunk.

Ashen’s eyes widened, his unicorn horn alight. “Rheneas, are you hurt?”

Demi-Trix marched forward, hands on her rounded hips. “No, I think she’s fine! This is a consensual encounter, isn’t it~?”

Rheneas sluggishly nodded, barely able to think since her brain was fried from continuous climaxes as it drilled her sex holes. “W-wow, who knew this airship housed an entity like this?”

“I had no idea,” confessed Ashen, his posture relaxed. “This was a sea vessel before I spent a fortune and converted it into an airship. Many didn’t think it possible, but I sunk what riches I could into an inventor’s idea to make his dream a reality! The schematics led to what you see! The ship was once called the Nautilus...but I wouldn’t say its name since it was considered bad luck by its last captain. Actually, maybe that’s why he bet this ship?”

“Because it’s cursed?” Demi-Trix snickered.” That’s—ooh~!”

The short tulpa, somewhere between a unicorn that resembled Beatrix Belladonna and a demi-human after her rebirth, felt a tendril snake around her ankle. “Looks like it wants some fun with me, too! Oho, that tickles~! Some eldritch creatures feed on pain or fear...thankfully, this one’s benevolent! Albeit really horny!”

Ashen perked his brow at a tentacle aimed at him. “What, me too? Well, I, um... I’ve always been the adventurous sort!” He couldn’t deny his painful hard-on as he watched his love be penetrated from all directions, no part of her unmolested or unmarked by moist tentacles.

The extensions encircled Rhenaes’ nipples, distended her perky, firm tits when they pulled them to fullness and lashed her buttocks while they pulled on her messy mane and tail. She tightened and moaned louder around the tentacle lodged down her gullet, overwhelmed. More tentacles raised around her ballooned up with cum they freshly unloaded all over her nubile curves.

Her matted fur, pleasantly slick and sticky from the massive cumshots that continuously fired across her, glistened while her plume spread to its full width. The entity assured her she couldn’t be knocked up by its releases unless it wanted her to be, that it valued the lovely jade mare.

The blackness over the hull parted to allow the seawater in. A chill swept over the trio, layered with a salty smell, the waters left to rise while they filled the hull’s wrecked interior. Rhenaes and Ashen shuddered momentarily, fearing they would drown, while Demi-Trix stood poised with confidence when sucker-lined tendrils clambered up heeled boots onto her flesh.

What two of them feared would become a sarcophagus proved closer to an alien womb, the water-like amniotic fluid, the creature psychically linked with the comely threesome to share in their emotions and protect them from the elements while they made love.

Coils undressed Ashen and Demi-Trix, the former’s lean body pressed to Rhenaes, the merchant made aware why his love had mated with the eldritch beast, the three of them and the creature now linked, able to communicate without words, but by pure emotion.

He smiled at Rhenaes and nodded. The couple embraced; his stallionhood sank into his love beside the tentacles that had taken her while they started to make love. Simultaneously, Demi-Trix made love for the first time; her fairy-like body offered to help heal the wounded beast.

The tulpa had realized much about herself since her resurrection, the childish side of Beatrix she once represented had now given way to Belladonna’s insatiable libido. It did not help that Moxxi had helped recreate her through her thoughts; the imp’s incredible lust added to that. The nature of Zeloph, who helped bring her back into existence, had helped balance that lustful side of her out until now...but curiosity about sex and this creature overwhelmed her!

Demi-Trix, too, felt all her virgin holes stretched and filled, watched Ashen and Rhenaes consummate their love, their snouts locked in hungry kisses while tentacles penetrated their backsides, submerged underwater.

For hours, they all lost themselves to the unabated pleasures of the flesh. Amid this union, the creature made its wishes known. To bond with Rhenaes as its vessel and restore the Nautilus’ power in return for pleasure beyond compare.

Nighttime settled over the waves as Demi-Trix took a long stroll across the beach. A few folks have warned her to be weary of water demons, such as the alluring siren or tempting kelpie. And if they were anything like Douglas…

The tulpa shuddered, recalling her time trapped in a cage while that briny sadist tortured her friends. She could only hope Bellatrix and Omen made it out somehow.

“Gotta look on the brighter side of things,” she told herself, arms behind her head. While Demi-Trix had been occupied soothing the beast disguised as the ship, the miniature mare had also heard the shaman king’s grievances.

“Big me’s out there doing her best,” she said assuringly. “She’ll be here before those bad guys storm the islands and when little Abby is born! I know it! Right guys?”

While two of her plushies nodded, the one that resembled Shadow Scythe tilted its head down.

“Hey! No one asked for a party pooper! Beatrix is gonna set things right and-whaa!?”

She must have tripped on something because the tulpa suddenly lost balance and fell forward… except her face planted into the worn carpet surface instead of the soft sand to cushion her fall.

Demi-trip shook off the tweety birds chirping around her head to take in her surroundings, brows furrowed in confusion. “What the-?!”

No longer was she on the shores of Parras… but in an empty living room of an old-fashioned manor. Not what the eldritch beast used to take the form of since she would recognize the decor. This place looked less haunted and more cleaned with furniture and hanging portraits.

Most unnerving was the ambiance of a distorted gramophone playing classical-sounding music off a scratch record before looping over itself.

“Where the heck am I?” wondered Demi-Trix, her voice reverberating off the polished walls. “And where are my plushies?!”

She was about to call out their names before a chilling thought crept up her brain. What else was pulled here beside her? Perhaps it was better to not draw attention by shouting for her dolls…

With a gulp of unease, the cartoony mare decided to explore this abandoned place, starting with a nearby window sill. When Demi-Trix looked outside, her eyes dilated upon discovering a suburban street. Some houses were lit up to signify people were living there, but others were missing off the driveway, leaving only an imprint of where the establishments once stood.

Lone street lamps highlighted the vacant roads, leading towards… nothing.

No stars to indicate night. No sign of the sun to ensure dawn was coming. Just a massive void of blackness.

And then the darkness lit up with eldritch lightning, highlighting several homes in a red hue, each ripped away from different eras of time. Homes directly taken from Ponyville were merged with huts from Zebrica as if something smashed them together. Upside skyscrapers stretched out the clouds towards the ground. And other structures she couldn’t identify were floating around.

But what frightened the tulpa the most was the elongated, quadrupedal legs of a titanic abomination slowly walking through the horizon. Demi-Trix ducked under the window, fearing whatever those limbs were attached to might have seen her.

The tulpa could feel her heart thumping out of her chest. Nothing about this hellscape made sense except one thing; she had to get out of there!

‘I must have glitched through realities,’ she surmised internally. ‘Maybe I can find something to teleport me back?’

Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of a door opened, and an eerie scarlet light emanated from below a staircase. Then, three robed figures appeared out of the corner, causing Demi-Trix to zip behind a pillow. Her hand covered her snout to suppress a gasp upon seeing the cloaks with widened eyes.

‘The Cult of the Nemesis!?’

While she never personally met the infamous group during their initial run, she recognized them through Beatrix’s oldest recollections. Horrible memories of how the cultists hunted the young witch and her mother down to fulfill the dark prophecy of the Necronomicon. She thought they had disbanded after Beatrix thwarted their plans. Yet there they were, red robes and all, a sigil of an eye trapped between jaws, entering a room within a realm of confusion.

‘They have to be responsible for this nonsense! Surely!!’

Swallowing down her fear to calm her beating heart, Demi-Trix quietly followed the triad of cult members through the twisted corridor. The tiny unicorn poked her head through the door when she felt safe.

On the other side was a forest, crooked black and white trees without leaves towering towards a blood-red sky. Occasionally, the landscape would visibly glitch with static and distortion, as if the entire realm was playing through a faulty television screen.

Nonetheless, the pixie-sized tulpa pushed away her distress and continued to tail behind the three cultists through the woods. Her ears perked at the warped disembodied voices of children laughing, one even sounding like a pitched-down cry.

Eventually, they reached a decorative dining room table in a clearing where other members had already started feasting. Monochrome bodies of ponies, fauns, changelings, and other sapient creatures were casually carved open with knives and forks. Eaten while the cultists talked amongst each other.

Demi-Trix clamped her hand around her throat while hiding behind a branch. Their victim’s eyes and mouths were etched out with black scribbles, limbs twitching to indicate they were still alive…

One cultist, wearing robes that reflected a higher status, carried a chalice towards the head of the table. And the mini mare’s eyes dilated upon who was sitting at the end.

‘What... No, it can’t be... T-That’s..!’

A dark gray buck, robed similarly as the cultists, accepted the cup, mouthing a polite ‘Thank You’ before stuffing his snout with a fork full of finely prepared entrails, resembling a delectable cuisine. His mouth forms a satisfied smile after swallowing his meal.

“Everything is falling into place,” the spokesman reported, sitting beside the cervine, who sipped the crimson liquid off the rim. “A quarter of the multiverse has been obliterated, allowing the in-between to seep through the cracks. Some dimensions have even collapsed into each other. Shaping new realms.”

“Exactly as I foresaw,” Omen commented, maroon eyes on his staff that held an ancient artifact between stag skulls. “But even those worlds will not prosper long. With every use of Mandela’s Hourglass, reality unravels at the seams. The wall that separates dimensions crumbles away, revealing every mind and dream to me!”

With a wave of his hand, the storm clouds parted, revealing three stars that glimmered faintly.

Omen reached out with a stretched grin, saying, “And like the stars in the cosmos, I shall snuff them all out! Every…”

He poked the northern star, which diminished instantly.

“… last…”

The same happened with the eastern star.

“…one.”

With the last star erased, nothingness remained.

“Then, everything will be as it should. Quiet. Dark. Peaceful. Thoughtless. The pathway to nowhere will open again.”

“And all that will be shall lead to nowhere,” the Cult of the Nemesis chanted before resuming to dine on mortal flesh. Demi-Trix could only stare at the nightmare stag, shell-shocked, while her mind comprehends the harsh truth.

“Seer of Black Dreams,” one cultist spoke with a feminine voice. “Must we continue this secrecy? Surely, Beatrix Belladonna already suspects our alliance with the changelings on Midnight Blitzer’s planet?”

After a mindful sip, Omen replied, “Do you ask out of concern or impatience?”

“Both.”

“Then you should know why we must uphold anonymity. Any victim who knows their attacker’s face will seek to right the wrongs done to them. Most of the time, by any means necessary. Vengeance is a never-ending spiral that consumes every aspect of the soul. Do you wish to end up like Mortis Soltaire?”

The cultist shook her head.

“All I ask is for you to remain patient,” insisted the dark stag, lip curled to the side. “The time of your reunion with Beatrix will come soon.”

Demi-Trix furrowed her eyebrows. ‘What?’

“Thank you, Hart of Darkness.”

Omen turned his attention to the spokesmen. “How is your vessel fairing, Vox? Do you require a new body?”

“Not yet,” he responded in a deep baritone. “This form serves me well. It should last long after the siege of Moon Hammer and his ville.”

“Excellent,” the cervine chuckled, wiping his snout with a handkerchief. “Speaking of which, shall we see how our friend is fairing?”

Yielding his staff, Omen opened a viewing portal through a torn rift, monochrome static screech above the dining table before taking a spherical shape. Within the orb was Beatrix, working herself up to a sweat with all her magical training.

‘Big me!’ Demi-Trix gently reached out before pulling back her arm, lest she is accidentally spotted. Looking down, the mini mare noticed the cult member who spoke up earlier, clutching her fist while observing the violet mare.

The nightmare stag grinned widely, admiring how her voluptuous body moved while casting several high-level spells, including those that incorporated her Onoma. But he could tell by Beatrix’s worn expression how much she was struggling.

“Alas, Belladonna,” he purred softly, tracing her outline with a clawed finger. “So caught up in all the conflict, she’s confused about who the bigger threat is!”

The picture glitched to show the Crystal Empire’s military, led by a mustard stallion with half his face burnt off, giving orders to his troops while moving out. “Is it the once lustrous kingdom run by a genocidal madman..?”

It distorted again to display Queen Chrysalis meditating in her emerald pool underneath the mycelium of an eldritch mushroom. “… the infected changeling resurgence we’ve arranged to wipe them out..?”

Finally, it shifted to Queen Tatyana, who stood at the bow of her ship while her armed paladins shuffled around resources. “… or the vain replicant and her legion of monsters, about to wage war on our beloved’s people?”

The Cult of the Nemesis shared a collected snicker, the answer to his rhetorical question humorously obvious. The table settled down when the screen glitched, and Oona Ewe appeared.

‘Oh no!’

She sat comfortably in a chair, knitting a new set of pajamas while talking with Minerva, who was on her way out to grab her some replenishments.

Omen sighed. “Poor sweet Oona. The distance between you two has grown unbearable, hasn’t it? Truly you did not deserve this!”

When the door closed, the azure sheep’s expression shifted from contentment to sorrow while she knitted.

“The longer Beatrix spends time away, the more you question her commitment to you and Abadonna. Of course, how could you expect her to let go of her thirst for adventures? And if that’s the case, does that mean her love for you is insufficient?”

‘No! That’s not true!’ Demi-Trix internally shouted, tears running down her face.

“Do not fret, my dear,” Omen said huskily, eyes glowing ominously. “I will be with you soon. To love and protect you until the very end of days~.”

‘NO!! YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM, YOU FIEND!!’

With a wave of his hand, he closed the observation portal to open a new one behind his chair. A chaotic swirling vortex of black and red threatened to assimilate this liminal space.

“Now then,” Omen began as he and the cultists stood up. “Chrysalis has likely begun her siege. Bring to her that which she desires and aid the resurgence. Fiery Kickstart and the Crystal Empire will come and box them in. Strike only when the two forces are locked in combat.”

The cultists nodded, each member disappearing into the spiraling portal. Only Vox was left, and before he joined his fellow eldritch enthusiasts, he turned to the nightmare stag and asked, “What will you do?”

“I will be joining you shortly,” Omen answered, antlers briefly shimmering. “A recent vision informs me that one of Beatrix’s friends will discover me. I’ll need to travel there in order to figure out who. But first, I have a small matter that requires my attention...”

Demi-Trix watched the hooded figure dissolve with the closing rift, leaving her and the nightmare stag alone in the restabilizing forest. If the tulpa could quietly conjure her own portal, she could teleport back to the isles and warn—

“I know you’re back there, Demi-Trix,” Omen’s voice called, invading her brain like a parasitic worm. “There’s no use hiding. Come on out!”

A moment passed before the cartoony mare with pixie wings abandoned the tree, cautiously hovering over the gray cervine. Her frightened eyes fixed on his cool maroon gaze, a thin smile spreading his snout.

The tulpa let out all her mounting dread and fury when she was within range. “I-It was you! All this time, you’ve been the one driving every reality into chaos,” she declared fiercely, accusingly pointing her finger at his nose. “ You’re behind everything!!”

“Well, aren’t you the little genius~?” The nahtdyr chuckled sarcastically. “Honestly, I wasn’t even trying to hide my intentions. And with the other villains running amuck, it was much easier to work behind the scenes. In this case, literally.”

The tulpa demanded, “But why?! Why are you doing this! We trusted you!!”

“What difference would it make to tell you? I can see it in your eyes. You’ve already made your choice,” the gray buck countered, frowning.

With clenched teeth, Demi-Trix unleashed all her fireworks and rockets to explode right in his face. But the way she experienced her course of action was greatly altered. The tulpa couldn’t move a muscle while her future self continued without her.

Then, everything flowed backward; the afterimages of her actions collided with the mini mare, the force rattling Demi-Trix to her core.

“Huh!? W-what just happened!? Wasn’t that—!”

Omen’s shadow manifested behind him, catching the fairy-like tulpa in its dark claw, tightening its grasp to ensure she couldn’t wiggle free.

“Correct. I no longer need to rely solely on my Onoma to fight,” revealed the nightmare stag, holding up his staff. “What you just experienced is a small fraction of Mandela’s Hourglass. With it, I can rearrange time however I want.”

“Nnnghaah! No… let me go!!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said the nahtdyr, eyes narrowed. “Not while you can still utter a word of my plan to another soul. Hmm...” He paused to stroke his chin. “That’s right. If I kill you, you’ll just regenerate with enough imagination. How Irksome...”

A sly grin graces his features. “Guess I’ll have to keep you silent the old fashion way...~.”

His monstrous elk-shaped shadow held up another artifact, a pendulum etched with the signature sigil of the Nemesis. It held it close to her face, the pendant swinging side to side when it glowed with a pale light. Even when she closed her eyes, its illumination burned behind her lids, compelling her to surrender. Soon, Demi-Trix felt her surroundings fade away and the heaviness of sleep gripping her tightly.

“When I countdown to one, you will forget everything here,” instructed Omen, his voice reverberating around her brain. “The next time you wake up, you will go about your business as you normally do. Three…”

“N-no!” Demi-Trix weakly protested, struggling to resist.

“… Two…”

“Don’t! O-Oona!”

“…ꄲꋊꏂ!”

The pendulum stopped swaying, and the tulpa was unconscious. Omen smiled, stroking her tiny head with a clawed finger. With his witness out of commission, the nightmare stag opened a smaller portal to release Demi-Trix, dropping her to a distant, unknown planet. His shadow dematerialized, allowing a sigh of relief to pass his lips.

“Another potential path averted.”

Suddenly, his eyes blacked out, and he grasped his head in pain, his antlers receiving a surge of black energy like a pair of antennae. Strange depictions and scenes overwhelmed his psyche, forcing the gray cervine to his knees until it was over.

Omen panted heavily, blackness oozing out his eye sockets like teardrops. He muttered what the vision could have meant until landing on an epiphany. One that made his snout stretch back into an angry smile.

“ꁝꏂꁝ… ꇙꄲ ꌦꄲ꒤'꒦ꏂ ꉔꄲꂵꏂ ꁝꏂꋪꏂ ꋬꇙ ꅐꏂ꒒꒒!”

Oona sat back down on her chair with a freshly brewed cup of tea, deciding to give knitting a break. Her honey-brown eyes glanced to the window, the midnight sky for once not obscured by darkened clouds.

Despite being back home, where it was peaceful, and away from the galactic entropy, the dream faun couldn’t shake off her dreadful melancholy. While meaning well, her father grounded her in her own home, barring visitors outside himself, Fidelma, and Minerva.

She huffed with unease, hoping her lover was doing alright and that Iclyn wasn’t giving the witch too much trouble. But perhaps the deighdyr’s natural aloofness was needed to balance things out?

“Ah miss her greatly,” she admitted with a sniffle, unable to hide her loneliness. “What are th' chances she’s been sleepin' 'round instead ov… No, Oona! Ye mustn’t think that! Beatrix will be here fur me when she can..!”

But that still didn’t sound convincing. The shamaness didn’t have a problem with how promiscuous her partner was. They’ve shared each other with interested parties before!

No. The problem was that Oona didn’t believe Beatrix wanted to fully settle down with her once Abby was born, not at the risk of giving up her wayward ways and having adventures across the multiverse. And she didn’t want to even stomach factoring the witch’s immortality…

Then there was the matter of her brother’s knowledge of this catastrophe, along with everyone still trapped in the castle with Countess Alma. So many of their enemies were on the move, as she learned from Fidelma that Mortis had brought Andrei in his quest for retribution against Shadow Scythe and Zeloph.

Oona twisted her snout in frustration, aware she could not do much in her current state. Her ability to dream walk could risk the baby’s health.

“Omen… Bellatrix… surely, ye’ve figured out a way tae free yerselves, right?”

All this excessive worrying was only making the pregnancy harder on herself. So Oona set aside her cup and resumed her sewing with furrowed brows. What was taking Minvera so long with groceries? What was taking Beatrix so long to get back to her..?

Tatyana was coming on Walpurgisnacht, where all magical properties would be at their most potent. A full-scale assault by powerful mages and the Vice Lords’ assistance could very well spell the end for her people. Did that not matter to her!?

In her vexation, Oona hissed when her needle slipped and pricked her hand. She suckled the blood-speckled wound before lifting her heavy body to fetch her disinfecting ointment and a bandage.

Not long after she finished wrapping her hand, a soft knock at the door alerted the dream faun. “Bah, finally! Took her long enough…”

Lady Ewe waddled over, using her dream catcher staff for support. Her customary robes and tunic proved too small with how massive her belly had gotten. The caprine’s already motherly mounds threatened to spill out of her maternity gown.

When she reached the door, Oona paused to catch her breath, rubbing her sore lower back. Then, once she steadied herself, the sheep shaman twisted the knob to open the door.

“Was there a hold up at th’ market, teacher? Why were ye out sae…?!?”

Oona’s eyes widened, and her mouth gaped with a loss for words.

Instead of the mystical driver woman, she found a small caprine girl standing in the doorway, a white wide-brimmed hat and cloak cape shielding her from the rain. She had long curly black wool tied behind by a single sizeable turquoise bead. Her bangs coiled around the tiny ram’s horns, and the unicorn horn protruded out of her head.

When the little faun lifted her head to meet her gaze, Oona lost her grip, and her staff fell to the floor with an audible ‘thunk.’

Her expression was longing, her eyes a mixing shade of yellow and violet with black sclera, which watered with tears. A sad smile formed, and she said a single word that sent a chill up the pregnant shamaness’ spine.

“Mom..!”