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Here's a link!\nhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1k0PobVi3hgyzg8zrro6rnqLLpm_cybJd-3LP-kvp1KI/edit?usp=sharing\n\nFeel like giving me a little financial assistance? I’ve set up a SubscribeStar account! I'm extremely thankful for everyone who donates anything they can, be it a subscription or one-off donation.\nhttps://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Back with our irregularly scheduled Exes chapter!

Potentially Triggering Tags:
None

Chapter Summaries:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VHNSczlxfkUvf34NKZN...

Curious about my custom species? Here's a link!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k0PobVi3hgyzg8zrro6...

Feel like giving me a little financial assistance?  I’ve set up a SubscribeStar account!  I'm extremely thankful for everyone who donates anything they can, be it a subscription or one-off donation.
https://subscribestar.adult/kiroberos-entertainment", "writing": "Things were progressing nicely. I checked the mixtures over, with over two dozen samples now being tested on the counter we'd set up. This portion of the sewage system opened up fully for maintenance under the building, big enough for more than a single file, Vulkus-sized passage. I decided to simply... borrow it. I'd tell Vox eventually, but for now, it suited my needs.\n\nFaefire orbs lit the place now, and I relaxed, stepping away from the counter and walking over to the twins again. They both perked and grinned, standing as I approached with their tails starting to wag. They looked... a lot different with all of their scars regenerated. Plus, they were both probably a hundred pounds heavier, with muscles like steel cord, and full sets of mixed leather and metal plate armor on.\n\n``Everything's slowly coming into play. Remi and I will need backup for when the delivery gets here. They're taking the caravan path into the city, along the second Southwestern route, and they'll be traveling fast...'' They both gave a toothy grin at that.\n\n``Of course! Exes is master!'' Kar nodded to me, and I smiled, leaning in and nuzzling him along the cheek.\n\nKan nuzzled my other side, both wagging even faster now. ``Yeah, Exes! You know we're with you and stealthy-girl, Remi!''\n\nI sighed and relaxed, then nodded to them both. ``Thank you. The caravan will be here by tomorrow. They'll probably be moving in at night to avoid attention. We'll hit them from the drainage ditch, just outside of the gate, from the cover of the forest there... Remi's already mapped it out for us...'' I slid them both a copy of the map, which they took immediately and started to examine. What Ignaus wanted, he wasn't going to get. The lab had been `liquidated' prior to the raid having hit it. This last shipment was going to be a hefty one, thanks to that. On top of the special slave, there should be a ton of alchemical supplies and coin. Plus, we'd put a stop to not only illegal slaving monsters, but ones who performed sick experiments on Garkin.\n\nIf I was going to survive here, I could use all of that. I checked the samples again, then sighed as they all were coming back negative. Every single one of them had the infection. Tch. Well, I'd keep working. The infection in me wasn't a traditional one by any means. It was... an energy wavelength. It carried itself using Aether energy, and was nigh invisible to any scan Aion used currently. It could be picked up with a dense particle weave scanner, purely due to the chaotic motions it produced, but that was hit or miss really. Thankfully, True Alchemy could pick it up. But that [i]did[/i] tell me more about the infection itself.\n\nIt was a mistake, for one. I cleaned the samples out afterwards, sorting the vials back into the crate the twins had brought. The wavelength was unstable and decayed with repetition. If it was given to a non-sapient, without a link to a Nexus, or an inanimate object made of organic material... like a corpse... It mutated in just a few minutes, causing growths and deformities. The only reason the twins were okay really was because they were linked to me, via the Nexus. That wavelength was constantly mirrored with the baseline that I had provided for them, correcting it to be stable again. To hold its form.\n\nIn the wild, the infection would be... very short-lived. Meaning its current form was both intentional, and a... corruption of itself. It definitely wasn't a natural thing. Instead, it was like the wavelength of the Nexus itself had been faulty, and created this corruptive, infectious energy drifting off from itself like radiation, but for a very, very limited set of vectors. It persisted only in fluids. If the arrangement slowed down or sped up too much, into either a solid or a gas, the wavelength wasn't able to maintain itself. Shelf life in seconds. Objects couldn't carry the infection, thus. Nor did it spread over the air.\n\nBut why the fluids it picked? Specifically, blood and sexual fluids. That felt engineered to me. As if someone, somewhere, consciously decided that. I exhaled shakily, closing the lid on the crate again. Sources... unconfirmed for the original Nexus. It... In its true state as a non-decaying energy wavelength, I imagine there wouldn't be this corruption effect. But... the Cult got theirs from the Demons. Where did the Demons get it? I could very safely assume it wasn't Aion, at this point. Outside... The Aether. The Nexus was definitely from the Aether. But all our samples I'd seen so far had been imperfect. Assuming that this thing couldn't exist in its decaying form in the wild, that meant there was probably an original somewhere. Somewhere outside Aion. Something that [i]hosted[/i] the original Nexus. But what?\n\nI rubbed my temples, nursing a headache now from overthinking and general fatigue. One eye repaired. In a couple days, I'd go back in and get the second eye fixed. My bandages were off. Things were growing bigger again. I had balls again. They were small and tender, but growing... I sighed, then looked back to the twins. ``Anyway, I need to go rest. I'll be back later tonight, and I'll swap out to Exa for you two. Just hold the fort until then...'' They both gave a little perk and bark, throwing a salute each, and I chuckled.\n\n``Yay! Exa! We missed her.''\n\n``Yeah! Wait, is new form mate-able?!''\n\nI rolled my eye at that. ``I mean, technically, but she doesn't produce fluids yet. Come on, guys. I [i]just[/i] got her nose working. Give me a bit...'' They grinned of course. Oy. Always something to do...\n\n``No rush! Just good to see her...'' Kar nodded twice, and I relaxed, smiling to him again.\n\n``Of course. She wants to see you two, too. Anyway, in a bit. Remi said she'd be down in an hour or so with food for you from the bar...''\n\nThey both grinned at that, and I shot them a wink before stepping to the side and through a wrinkle again, up two stories and back into the medical ward in an instant. Tch... even with the sanitization we'd done to the place, that smell...\n\nSighing, I stood there for a moment before reaching inside, mentally, and booping paws with Exa as we rotated, swapping mental places in our body. ``Ugh! Shower!''\n\nI chuckled at her very first thought. ``That one's on you. I'm tired...'' A huff, and I chuckled, heading over to the bed inside our little house, once again metal and tentacle-laden. One of these days, I'd look into that, too.\n\nThe wavelength wasn't able to be suppressed. It died naturally via matter phase shifting, but that wasn't reliable as a sterilization attempt. Especially for sexual fluids. I doubted Remi wanted me pouring scalding water inside of her after sex... Suppressing it, though, did nothing. Even the tiniest bit of the wavelength getting inside someone was mass-infectious. It was the most aggressive spread I'd ever seen, actually. There was no natural defense the body had against it. Or soul, I should say. Worse, consecutive hosts for the wavelength carried the exact same wavelength. The twins were both infectious too, but they carried [i]my[/i] wavelength signal. Any they infected would become a part of my nexus.\n\nMy paws touched on my desk, and I debated sitting down again. Tch. No. I pushed off it and instead flopped over on my makeshift bed. Ugh. Chronak said that if a problem seems impossible, to just put it down for a while and come back later with a fresh perspective. I always thought it was an excuse for him to take a nap but... maybe he was on to something. That, and I really [i]was[/i] tired. Exa's and my sleep schedules were entirely unsynchronized from each other, but we both needed sleep still.\n\nA short nap then. Then awake again tonight to... finally talk to Vox. This was going to be fun...\n\n[center]~ ~ ~ ~ ~[/center]\n\nI'd washed up nicely now and finally didn't smell like sewage. While I admitted it was a convenient and clever hiding spot, I lacked Exes' complete disregard for disgusting stuff like that. Not that I minded taking showers. The warm water flowing over my fur, soaking into muscle and feeling amazing... Plus I'd... discovered all new sensations to drive certain things. I'd admitted to being female, which really... freed me, it felt like. Being in a male body had gone from dysphoric to... very lewd once I accepted it as not [i]my[/i] body. It was like I got to play with Exes' body instead... Heh. He'd probably flail if he heard that thought. I listened for a moment, but nothing. Poor baby must have passed out hard. I giggled to myself as I dried off with a towel. Good news, at least. The larger, growing penis was indeed functional! Fully tested!\n\nNot that I fully knew what a girl felt like down there yet. I was eager to find out, admittedly, but Exes hadn't finished all the functionality there yet. I suppose creating a fully functioning body out of pure magic was complicated already, without me asking for all sorts of realistic bells and whistles. Plus, he kinda already had a lot on his plate. Of course, the more Exes recovered, at least in body, the more I'd probably prefer him taking over instead of me. This body was fine for the moment but... Right now, we were... really underweight for a male, and now recovering from the first round of detoxing. I could imagine me starting to feel uncomfortable if he started dumping the muscles on.\n\nRemi was busy for a bit, so I tentatively headed out into the main hallway, then leaned against the balcony overlooking the game floor, watching the crowds. The gambling hall was busy pretty much all day and night, and it was kind of... comforting after a while. The thrum of people and life here, always present and always at least giving the illusion of not being alone.\n\nA part of me was kind of curious as to how the games were played, but I knew they were sort of engineered to have people lose them and lose money. It would be more fun to just play then without the betting bit, I thought, but eh. Exes could probably go down there and rob people blind with his True Alchemy stuff he has going. But that would probably get a lot of people accusing him of cheating, especially if he raked in a ton of money. I never thought I'd think that robbing the caravan blind tomorrow night would be the [i]safer[/i] option.\n\nPart of it I knew was Exes wanted to get back at Ignaus, and the most assured way to hurt him was hitting his bottom line. The target was also convenient because they'd have lots of alchemy stuff. Plus, this slave was something majorly important to the Agency. Remi had been working hard getting information and scouting for the last day or so, and I knew things were serious. Still, I felt a little nervous.\n\nI stood again, then walked slowly to the right instead, heading back and towards Vox's private lounge. The guards nodded towards me as I approached, and I gave them both a smile, pausing in front of them. I knew I didn't have anything to hide, but I think it made them feel better just to be sure, giving me a full pat-down as I held my arms out and spread my legs wider. At least they were gentle about it.\n\nOf course, if I woke up Exes and swapped out, sneaking weapons past them would be super easy, so... It was amazing how many forms of security were completely invalidated by reality warping. Well, no, maybe not so surprising. My ears perked, and I smiled as I saw Meria at once of the booths, PEC headset on and grinning as she moved her gloved paws around. Vox was sitting across from her, reading over what looked like old newspapers.\n\nHe perked as he saw me, then grinned and waved. ``Ah, X! How are you feeling?'' I mentally sighed and prepared myself. I told Remi that I'd... get through some of it by myself, after all. She'd probably be fifteen minutes or so, still.\n\nVox frowned a split second later, eyes trailing down to my bare neck. I gave him a nod instead, then braced myself before responding verbally instead. ``I'm... doing okay. But I'd like to talk to you about a few things, if that's okay?''\n\nHis eyes shot open wide, and Meria froze too, frowning into the headset as her large ears wiggled above her. She turned it off a second later, then looked towards me, eyes also widening. Ah, she heard that. Vox nodded, however, then patted the booth bench next to him. ``Of course, X! You... You can speak?''\n\nI sat down in the booth, relaxing there for a moment before slowly nodding. ``Yeah. As of last night, anyway. It's partly what I wanted to talk about...'' Meria's ears twitched lightly as she set the headset down on the table.\n\n``Did you remember more about yourself?''\n\nThat I could nod to, anyway. Technically the truth. Which was the most fun kind. ``Sort of. I... spoke with my other self last night, while sleeping. He explained quite a lot. I also... discovered more about myself in that I'm... a girl. He's a boy, and this body belongs to him. He's working on a way for us to share it better. I picked Exa, as a name.''\n\nMeria frowned, looking confused, and Voxet lowered his ears a little, shifting to concerned-looking instead. ``I... see. You... spoke to yourself...?'' Ugh. This was going to be complicated. They probably just thought I was crazy...\n\nI sighed, then shook my head. ``No, he's not me. I'm not him. I'm a... fragment of his soul that came into existence after Atir used the Soulthorn on us. It was a... Demon artifact.'' [i]That[/i] got their attention, both widening their eyes at that.\n\n``A Demon artifact?! Where did he... fuck, the Agency has Council connections...'' Vox's eyes narrowed at that, and I nodded.\n\n``They do. They have... uh, had a lot of Demon Artifacts. Atir's two twin boys stole their entire vault's worth before running away, though.'' And Meria was back to confused looking. Vox frowned again.\n\n``How... do you even know that?''\n\nI coughed lightly. ``Because they work for the person inside of me. He has means to talk to them instantly at any distance. Something that happened while they were... training us. They're currently in the sewer underneath us, with the full vault of artifacts and a bunch of experiments he's running.''\n\nMeria just looked overwhelmed now, and Vox was getting there. At least until he panicked, anyway. ``W-What?! They're under [i]this[/i] building?! The Black Keld?'' I nodded again to that.\n\n``At his orders, yeah.'' I nudged Exes inside of myself, and felt him stir again. It didn't take him long to assess the situation, then mentally sigh. Yeah, I know...\n\nVox gave a twitch. ``No, that's just... No, they can't keep that stuff down there! Fuck! Who is this guy inside of you?!''\n\nI gave a nod to that. ``I figured you'd ask. I woke him up for you. We'll swap now for a bit.'' Vox managed another frown before I fell backwards, giving a little paw slap to Exes as we passed. Good luck!\n\nYeah, I was pretty sure I was going to need it. At least to not give either of them heart attacks. My eye opened up, and I locked onto Vox a moment later, technically the first time we were meeting. ``Mmm, hey Voxet. Nice to... meet you for the first time? Meria...'' I gave them both a polite nod, watching his ears flick back up, curious expression now.\n\n``Your voice completely changed... You're the one inside of... Exa? That means... you're the original owner of the body. She's a fragment?'' I nodded to that.\n\n``Yeah. My soul was fragmented when Atir attempted to inflict Ego Death on me using a pair of Demon artifacts. He... almost succeeded. I took a lot of damage and had to retreat inside of myself for a long while. Exa was the one who grew into my place during that time. But I've figured out where her soul fragment is inside of me and isolated it, letting her grow on her own. I don't... want [i]her[/i] to be replaced by me, either.'' I think that hit all the main points there.\n\nMeria frowned. ``How... do you even know all this?'' Right, minus that one.\n\n``Because I use True Alchemy. My name's Exes, by the way.'' I touched my chest, unsealing my Keyhole again. The dim light of the lounge was washed out entirely by the brilliant azure glow from both my chest an eye a moment later, shifting about gently with the rune arrays.\n\nFor a long moment, they both just stared at me in shock, gaze switching between my eye and chest. Vox sank a little a moment later, then slowly changed into a grimace. ``[i]Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck[/i]... You really [i]are[/i] the Grandmaster Alchemist?!'' I averted my eyes at that.\n\n``Remi's reaction was almost identical. At least at first... But yes, I am. I was kidnapped by Cultists in Talgrand. They couldn't get away with me though, so they swapped me with your order, and took the female Inaga as bait to lure the guards away. But I got picked up accidentally by the slavers instead and sent here. It... hasn't been a pleasant stay so far, present company excluded...'' I exhaled softly at that, then just let them both slowly process it. Exa snickered inside me as she watched, of course. Brat.\n\nActivating the inner enchantment, I extended my paw to the right, and with a flare of light, Exa appeared too, forming out of pure glowing magic before the illusion settled and made her look exactly like anyone else would, sitting in the booth next to me. ``Exa...'' I overlayed her with the same tunic type I was wearing, tailored to a female of course, even though I doubted either of them would have cared if she were naked.\n\n``Exa...? Oh! You're female... right...'' Meria looked her over, looking surprised, but she grinned and nodded rapidly to her.\n\n``Yup! Exes made me this neat projection to use so far. It's sorta like the PEC's avatar system...''\n\nI coughed. ``Inspired by! But uh, yeah. Basically. It's where I got the idea, anyway.''\n\nVox gave a low groan, rubbing at his temples before glancing to the left ever so slightly. My eye traced his, then looked to the left, spotting the ice bucket and wine by the looks of it that they'd left by the hot tub. Heh, I knew the feeling. My paw slid to the right, and the bucket seamlessly fell through a wrinkle, with barely the tiniest `clink' as it was on the table instead. I slid it over to both him and Meria as they gave a little jump.\n\n``If you need it... Sorry to just spring all this on you. I've been... trying to lay low and gather intelligence and supplies. The Cult of the Shattering is still after me, and I don't know who I can trust...'' I sighed at that, looking away from the two of them, even as Vox broke out the bottle of wine again.\n\n``They're... dangerous? No, of course they're dangerous. They almost captured you if it wasn't for a stupid mistake...''\n\nI slowly sighed, not looking to him that time. ``Yeah. I... was stupid and naive. It... This has been a wakeup call, if nothing else. I'm rapidly patching up vulnerabilities in myself.''\n\n``Exes...'' Meria frowned to me, but I shook my head, slowly.\n\n``I'll... be okay. Eventually. Hopefully... I'm healing fast now. But I don't... know how to contact people I know I can trust, without the Cult intercepting any messages I send out, or finding me via them. I've been trying to figure out what representation they have in Nulidia. I'm... afraid that even one of the seven council members is one...'' \n\nExa gently nuzzled my right cheek, and I smiled to her, relaxing a little. Remi was right. I think she was stronger than both of us, in a way. Of course... she hadn't gone through what we had, really. Mmm, right. I perked a moment later, then looked down at my tunic. ``Oh, did you bring the papers? I was sleeping so...''\n\nShe grinned and nodded. ``Yup. Bottom right pocket.'' Ah! I reached into the one over my right hip, then slid the folded papers out of it before passing them to Vox.\n\n``Hmm? What are these?'' He unfolded them as he asked, then widened his eyes at the invoices, scouting maps, and the detailed attack plan.\n\n``Tomorrow night, Ignaus' shipment from that Garkin facility to the Southwest arrives. Remi's been scouting for me, and I made some plans up that will allow us to hit the caravan. My intent is to kill as few as possible, but no promises. But as much suffering as they've caused to a whole bunch of innocent Garkin, I can't bring myself to really feel that sorry...'' My muzzle twitched, and I reigned in my anger again before exhaling softly. ``Regardless, what I want is to hit Ignaus where it hurts, and to take all the Alchemy supplies and free the special slave. All the coin they're expected to have is yours... I... owe you something at the very least for your hospitality and aid so far, Voxet. You've helped Exa and I a lot...''\n\nHis eyes widened as he listened, then looked over the invoice, and widened them even more. ``Holy shit! That's... a lot of coin. If... If that's even halfway accurate, that would be enough to immediately...''\n\n``Relocate out of Nulidia, permanently, while severing all your underground ties and establish a normal life for yourself and Meria? Probably even pay for fertility treatments for her...'' He froze at that, as did Meria, and I glanced over to him as he slowly nodded.\n\n``You... were the one spying on me, weren't you?'' His eyes searched my expression, even as I nodded.\n\n``I... was. I'm sorry, Voxet. I don't... Trust is in short supply for me, and I had to know if I could trust you...'' I sighed and looked away from him again, and his ears lowered a little.\n\nThere was a pause, and Meria frowned. ``You... must have decided you [i]could[/i] trust us, then.'' I slowly nodded to her, and she got a little smile instead, surprising me. ``And... you probably figured out that we got you originally as a sort of... surrogate.'' I slowly nodded again. I'd gathered as much.\n\nShe sighed, scratching the surface of the table before giving a little chuckle. ``It's ironic, being a Jakatar and discovering I was entirely infertile. Rare, too, but... Vox and I have been wanting kids for a long time now. Raising them here would be a terrible idea of course. He was planning on cutting his ties, paying people off where needed, and keeping enough left over for us to make a life for ourselves somewhere else. Somewhere safer, where we could have a family. Probably... not very... karmic for a master information broker and thief, but... We were going to try.'' I realized I didn't know much about [i]her[/i]. But she'd just called herself a thief...?\n\nVox slowly nodded to that. ``Just... keep using Vox, Exes. And yes. That was the plan. The bribes turned out more expensive and... slower to take than I'd expected, but it's been an ongoing process for two years now. I want to keep a baseline minimum for us to set up somewhere else too, of course... But... urges are urges, Exes. We decided to... pick up a young slave instead as a sort of surrogate offspring. Took us a while to decide between an Inaga and an Illan. We wanted a smaller species, with fur. Sounds probably disgusting to you but...''\n\nI chuckled, then shook my head. ``My eyes have been opened to what disgusting really looks like. No, Vox. I doubt you're even the only ones to ever do such a thing. And if it were just Exa, then... she'd probably have been happy with the role.'' She gave a shy smile and nod to that, but grabbed my paw under the table and gave me a squeeze. Right. ``But because of me; who I am... it's a little more complicated. And dangerous. I know there should be enough coin there for you two to make a clean break from Nulidia. It's the best I can do as thanks for helping me, at the moment...''\n\nHe slowly looked back at all the papers I'd passed to him, then sighed. ``Can you... pull this off without drawing attention?''\n\nI nodded. ``Remi's made sure the plan's airtight. I'll be providing additional insurance towards that myself. Fast and quiet. No identification and we'll be gone before anyone even knows they were hit.''\n\nSlowly, he nodded at that. ``I... right. Then if the plan goes off without a hitch... there's no sense in rushing. Rush moves after a big hit like that point at blame. No... just come back here with everything and keep laying low. I'll not act like anything's out of the ordinary either, and just wait for it all to blow over. We can take care of the slave here until then, so they're safe.''\n\nI watched him carefully, then searched his expression as he finished. He was right of course. At least for himself. If he packed up and moved to leave after a big hit like that, it would draw attention to him quite quickly. I didn't plan on being identified or caught in the first place of course, so less to worry about for me. But... keeping this place as a spot to lay low was... ideal.\n\nI nodded finally. ``Alright. It's a wise move, so yeah, I'll go for it. Though you might get some attention regardless, even if it does go completely as planned.''\n\nHe snorted at that. ``Ignaus I can handle. He'll be looking to accuse a [i]lot[/i] of people for his missing items.'' Well then...\n\nMy ears perked, and I looked to the right before she even appeared. Remi slid out of the shadows, wearing a grin as she gave a wave. ``Sup! See ya got started without me. Kinda thankful fer that... Been kinda ah shitty head o' security lately...''\n\nVox smirked, then chuckled. ``You mean technically working for someone else for a bit? Well, I can hardly say that Exes or Exa have goals that go against my own, so...''\n\nHe seemed to think absolutely nothing of her just hopping up onto the table and walking across it, as she nabbed a glass for herself from near the wine pail. ``Keh. Workin' fer?'' She flushed a little at that, and he lifted an eyebrow to her. Of course she'd focus on-\n\nShe rotated first before leaning in and softly kissing me instead. I smirked into her muzzle and nuzzled her back, causing her to shiver and Exa to pout next to me. Remi had just pulled back with a grin, when Exa ducked forward and pulled her into a kiss as well, causing me to chuckle in amusement. Vox looked shocked at the double display, but Meria was smirking.\n\n``Oh my! Remi, interested in a male? Exes is just that charming, is he?''\n\nThe Illan pulled back, bumping noses with Exa before winking over her shoulder to Meria. ``He's somethin', alright. Exa is too though. Price fer huntin' `em was high, though! They're makin' me go ta [i]therapy[/i] with them!'' She shuddered at that, and Vox gave a snorting laugh before covering his muzzle. Remi shot him a glare, of course.\n\n``I'm surprised, but... happy at the same time, Remi. Both for you and hopefully a more meaningful relationship, and for you deciding to try therapy...'' He gave her a softer smile and nod at that, and she relaxed a little, managing a little smile of her own... at least before pouring herself a big glass of the wine and downing half with a shiver. Heh.\n\nVox took a sip of his own before slowly exhaling, staring into it for a long moment before turning to me again. ``So, you... need to attempt to get a hold of someone who's not a cultist, then? Do you... have anyone specific in mind?''\n\nI exhaled softly at that. ``Ideally either Queen Morrigan or King Kormir. I was working directly with Queen Morrigan before all this... Failing that, one of the Princesses or Princes. I don't... know for sure who [i]isn't[/i] a cultist other than them, unfortunately.'' Now I wasn't even sure of Calien...\n\nHe gave a low whistle at that. ``They're all... pretty high station for my usual circles. I could [i]try[/i] to get a message through, but the only way it would be subtle at all is if I sent it obscured. Or, I suppose, got the attention of a passing Shadowstalker or something. I hear they're everywhere...'' Heh. Only issue was, how could you tell who was a Shadowstalker, and who was a Cultist?\n\nMeria lowered her floppy ears a little. ``That... makes me nervous. Would [i]we[/i] get in trouble then? We've been clean for a long time...'' Vox shot her a look, but I shook my head at that.\n\n``I wouldn't worry about that. If you helped them find me, I don't think they're going to be worried about your records all that much. It's not like you're on the level of assholery that the Agency is...'' Remi snorted, then laughed at that.\n\n``Point there. Ah don't think they'd even bat an eye, `specially if Exes told `em not ta... Though... Ah think Ah'm... gonna follow Exes if so... Vox.'' She looked up to him with that, and he gave a softer smile, expression lowering a bit.\n\nHe hesitated, then nodded. ``It's okay, Remi. You've helped me for years now. Plus, once Meria and I get out of Nulidia, I think we'll be a lot safer anyway. If... they really can forgive what we've done before, starting a legit life in Talgrand or Kaldar even. Maybe you'll even be able to drop by on occasion and catch up?''\n\nShe searched his expression for a long moment before moving to a softer smile, then nodding. ``Aye! Gotta make sure yer stayin' outta trouble o' course! Ah think this is fer tha best all around, really. Ah can look inta findin' Ah Bloodstalker even... Ah know they're all loyal...''\n\nMy ears perked at that. Right! Remi was... Hmm. ``Kyry?'' I looked to her with that, and her eyes shot open wide, before she looked to me instead.\n\nThere was a long pause before she snorted, then gave a chuckle. ``Fuck, Exes... Ya don't ask fer no small favors. That's... Okay. Ah'll elevate that ta try ta aim fer our Captain...'' She stuck her tongue out at me, and I shot her a wink.\n\n``I think there might be one hanging out on the surface, near the clinic... Vulkus female. Black and charcoal gray...'' Vox looked surprised, but Remi perked, then grinned.\n\n``Cirinth is around an' didn't even say hi? Fer shame! Alright. Ah'll go poke `er an' vet `er myself, come firstday...'' Oh! Well, that sounded promising. I gave Remi a nod at that, and relaxed again. Not that I was going to put my faith in it turning out like that. No, the most stable thing I could do right now was to secure the goods tomorrow night, for myself. And gleefully free the slave out from under Ignaus, as a bit of personal `fuck you', of course.\n\n``Sounds like a deal, once tomorrow night is done.'' She gave a sharp nod to that, then downed the rest of her wine.\n\nExa grinned as she watched, then slowly nodded herself. ``Mmm, yeah! We should go down and see the twins after this and show off the projection? Hmm. I wonder what the special slave is like, other than a Garkin...?'' I shot her a skeptical look. Well, guess I'd better prioritize finishing up the bells and whistles on her avatar sooner, rather than later... Wouldn't want either of them to chaff anything sensitive humping dry magic at this point...\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Things were progressing nicely.  I checked the mixtures over, with over two dozen samples now being tested on the counter we'd set up.  This portion of the sewage system opened up fully for maintenance under the building, big enough for more than a single file, Vulkus-sized passage.  I decided to simply... borrow it.  I'd tell Vox eventually, but for now, it suited my needs.

Faefire orbs lit the place now, and I relaxed, stepping away from the counter and walking over to the twins again.  They both perked and grinned, standing as I approached with their tails starting to wag.  They looked... a lot different with all of their scars regenerated.  Plus, they were both probably a hundred pounds heavier, with muscles like steel cord, and full sets of mixed leather and metal plate armor on.

``Everything's slowly coming into play.  Remi and I will need backup for when the delivery gets here.  They're taking the caravan path into the city, along the second Southwestern route, and they'll be traveling fast...''  They both gave a toothy grin at that.

``Of course!  Exes is master!''  Kar nodded to me, and I smiled, leaning in and nuzzling him along the cheek.

Kan nuzzled my other side, both wagging even faster now.  ``Yeah, Exes!  You know we're with you and stealthy-girl, Remi!''

I sighed and relaxed, then nodded to them both.  ``Thank you.  The caravan will be here by tomorrow.  They'll probably be moving in at night to avoid attention.  We'll hit them from the drainage ditch, just outside of the gate, from the cover of the forest there...  Remi's already mapped it out for us...''  I slid them both a copy of the map, which they took immediately and started to examine.  What Ignaus wanted, he wasn't going to get.  The lab had been `liquidated' prior to the raid having hit it.  This last shipment was going to be a hefty one, thanks to that.  On top of the special slave, there should be a ton of alchemical supplies and coin.  Plus, we'd put a stop to not only illegal slaving monsters, but ones who performed sick experiments on Garkin.

If I was going to survive here, I could use all of that.  I checked the samples again, then sighed as they all were coming back negative.  Every single one of them had the infection.  Tch.  Well, I'd keep working.  The infection in me wasn't a traditional one by any means.  It was... an energy wavelength.  It carried itself using Aether energy, and was nigh invisible to any scan Aion used currently.  It could be picked up with a dense particle weave scanner, purely due to the chaotic motions it produced, but that was hit or miss really.  Thankfully, True Alchemy could pick it up.  But that did tell me more about the infection itself.

It was a mistake, for one.  I cleaned the samples out afterwards, sorting the vials back into the crate the twins had brought.  The wavelength was unstable and decayed with repetition.  If it was given to a non-sapient, without a link to a Nexus, or an inanimate object made of organic material... like a corpse...  It mutated in just a few minutes, causing growths and deformities.  The only reason the twins were okay really was because they were linked to me, via the Nexus.  That wavelength was constantly mirrored with the baseline that I had provided for them, correcting it to be stable again.  To hold its form.

In the wild, the infection would be... very short-lived.  Meaning its current form was both intentional, and a... corruption of itself.  It definitely wasn't a natural thing.  Instead, it was like the wavelength of the Nexus itself had been faulty, and created this corruptive, infectious energy drifting off from itself like radiation, but for a very, very limited set of vectors.  It persisted only in fluids.  If the arrangement slowed down or sped up too much, into either a solid or a gas, the wavelength wasn't able to maintain itself.  Shelf life in seconds.  Objects couldn't carry the infection, thus.  Nor did it spread over the air.

But why the fluids it picked?  Specifically, blood and sexual fluids.  That felt engineered to me.  As if someone, somewhere, consciously decided that.  I exhaled shakily, closing the lid on the crate again.  Sources... unconfirmed for the original Nexus.  It...  In its true state as a non-decaying energy wavelength, I imagine there wouldn't be this corruption effect.  But... the Cult got theirs from the Demons.  Where did the Demons get it?  I could very safely assume it wasn't Aion, at this point.  Outside...  The Aether.  The Nexus was definitely from the Aether.  But all our samples I'd seen so far had been imperfect.  Assuming that this thing couldn't exist in its decaying form in the wild, that meant there was probably an original somewhere.  Somewhere outside Aion.  Something that hosted the original Nexus.  But what?

I rubbed my temples, nursing a headache now from overthinking and general fatigue.  One eye repaired.  In a couple days, I'd go back in and get the second eye fixed.  My bandages were off.  Things were growing bigger again.  I had balls again.  They were small and tender, but growing...  I sighed, then looked back to the twins.  ``Anyway, I need to go rest.  I'll be back later tonight, and I'll swap out to Exa for you two.  Just hold the fort until then...''  They both gave a little perk and bark, throwing a salute each, and I chuckled.

``Yay!  Exa!  We missed her.''

``Yeah!  Wait, is new form mate-able?!''

I rolled my eye at that.  ``I mean, technically, but she doesn't produce fluids yet.  Come on, guys.  I just got her nose working.  Give me a bit...''  They grinned of course.  Oy.  Always something to do...

``No rush!  Just good to see her...''  Kar nodded twice, and I relaxed, smiling to him again.

``Of course.  She wants to see you two, too.  Anyway, in a bit.  Remi said she'd be down in an hour or so with food for you from the bar...''

They both grinned at that, and I shot them a wink before stepping to the side and through a wrinkle again, up two stories and back into the medical ward in an instant.  Tch... even with the sanitization we'd done to the place, that smell...

Sighing, I stood there for a moment before reaching inside, mentally, and booping paws with Exa as we rotated, swapping mental places in our body.  ``Ugh!  Shower!''

I chuckled at her very first thought.  ``That one's on you.  I'm tired...''  A huff, and I chuckled, heading over to the bed inside our little house, once again metal and tentacle-laden.  One of these days, I'd look into that, too.

The wavelength wasn't able to be suppressed.  It died naturally via matter phase shifting, but that wasn't reliable as a sterilization attempt.  Especially for sexual fluids.  I doubted Remi wanted me pouring scalding water inside of her after sex...  Suppressing it, though, did nothing.  Even the tiniest bit of the wavelength getting inside someone was mass-infectious.  It was the most aggressive spread I'd ever seen, actually.  There was no natural defense the body had against it.  Or soul, I should say.  Worse, consecutive hosts for the wavelength carried the exact same wavelength.  The twins were both infectious too, but they carried my wavelength signal.  Any they infected would become a part of my nexus.

My paws touched on my desk, and I debated sitting down again.  Tch.  No.  I pushed off it and instead flopped over on my makeshift bed.  Ugh.  Chronak said that if a problem seems impossible, to just put it down for a while and come back later with a fresh perspective.  I always thought it was an excuse for him to take a nap but... maybe he was on to something.  That, and I really was tired.  Exa's and my sleep schedules were entirely unsynchronized from each other, but we both needed sleep still.

A short nap then.  Then awake again tonight to... finally talk to Vox.  This was going to be fun...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


I'd washed up nicely now and finally didn't smell like sewage.  While I admitted it was a convenient and clever hiding spot, I lacked Exes' complete disregard for disgusting stuff like that.  Not that I minded taking showers.  The warm water flowing over my fur, soaking into muscle and feeling amazing...  Plus I'd... discovered all new sensations to drive certain things.  I'd admitted to being female, which really... freed me, it felt like.  Being in a male body had gone from dysphoric to... very lewd once I accepted it as not my body.  It was like I got to play with Exes' body instead...  Heh.  He'd probably flail if he heard that thought.  I listened for a moment, but nothing.  Poor baby must have passed out hard.  I giggled to myself as I dried off with a towel.  Good news, at least.  The larger, growing penis was indeed functional!  Fully tested!

Not that I fully knew what a girl felt like down there yet.  I was eager to find out, admittedly, but Exes hadn't finished all the functionality there yet.  I suppose creating a fully functioning body out of pure magic was complicated already, without me asking for all sorts of realistic bells and whistles.  Plus, he kinda already had a lot on his plate.  Of course, the more Exes recovered, at least in body, the more I'd probably prefer him taking over instead of me.  This body was fine for the moment but...  Right now, we were... really underweight for a male, and now recovering from the first round of detoxing.  I could imagine me starting to feel uncomfortable if he started dumping the muscles on.

Remi was busy for a bit, so I tentatively headed out into the main hallway, then leaned against the balcony overlooking the game floor, watching the crowds.  The gambling hall was busy pretty much all day and night, and it was kind of... comforting after a while.  The thrum of people and life here, always present and always at least giving the illusion of not being alone.

A part of me was kind of curious as to how the games were played, but I knew they were sort of engineered to have people lose them and lose money.  It would be more fun to just play then without the betting bit, I thought, but eh.  Exes could probably go down there and rob people blind with his True Alchemy stuff he has going.  But that would probably get a lot of people accusing him of cheating, especially if he raked in a ton of money.  I never thought I'd think that robbing the caravan blind tomorrow night would be the safer option.

Part of it I knew was Exes wanted to get back at Ignaus, and the most assured way to hurt him was hitting his bottom line.  The target was also convenient because they'd have lots of alchemy stuff.  Plus, this slave was something majorly important to the Agency.  Remi had been working hard getting information and scouting for the last day or so, and I knew things were serious.  Still, I felt a little nervous.

I stood again, then walked slowly to the right instead, heading back and towards Vox's private lounge.  The guards nodded towards me as I approached, and I gave them both a smile, pausing in front of them.  I knew I didn't have anything to hide, but I think it made them feel better just to be sure, giving me a full pat-down as I held my arms out and spread my legs wider.  At least they were gentle about it.

Of course, if I woke up Exes and swapped out, sneaking weapons past them would be super easy, so...  It was amazing how many forms of security were completely invalidated by reality warping.  Well, no, maybe not so surprising.  My ears perked, and I smiled as I saw Meria at once of the booths, PEC headset on and grinning as she moved her gloved paws around.  Vox was sitting across from her, reading over what looked like old newspapers.

He perked as he saw me, then grinned and waved.  ``Ah, X!  How are you feeling?''  I mentally sighed and prepared myself.  I told Remi that I'd... get through some of it by myself, after all.  She'd probably be fifteen minutes or so, still.

Vox frowned a split second later, eyes trailing down to my bare neck.  I gave him a nod instead, then braced myself before responding verbally instead.  ``I'm... doing okay.  But I'd like to talk to you about a few things, if that's okay?''

His eyes shot open wide, and Meria froze too, frowning into the headset as her large ears wiggled above her.  She turned it off a second later, then looked towards me, eyes also widening.  Ah, she heard that.  Vox nodded, however, then patted the booth bench next to him.  ``Of course, X!  You...  You can speak?''

I sat down in the booth, relaxing there for a moment before slowly nodding.  ``Yeah.  As of last night, anyway.  It's partly what I wanted to talk about...''  Meria's ears twitched lightly as she set the headset down on the table.

``Did you remember more about yourself?''

That I could nod to, anyway.  Technically the truth.  Which was the most fun kind.  ``Sort of.  I... spoke with my other self last night, while sleeping.  He explained quite a lot.  I also... discovered more about myself in that I'm... a girl.  He's a boy, and this body belongs to him.  He's working on a way for us to share it better.  I picked Exa, as a name.''

Meria frowned, looking confused, and Voxet lowered his ears a little, shifting to concerned-looking instead.  ``I... see.  You... spoke to yourself...?''  Ugh.  This was going to be complicated.  They probably just thought I was crazy...

I sighed, then shook my head.  ``No, he's not me.  I'm not him.  I'm a... fragment of his soul that came into existence after Atir used the Soulthorn on us.  It was a... Demon artifact.''  That got their attention, both widening their eyes at that.

``A Demon artifact?!  Where did he... fuck, the Agency has Council connections...''  Vox's eyes narrowed at that, and I nodded.

``They do.  They have... uh, had a lot of Demon Artifacts.  Atir's two twin boys stole their entire vault's worth before running away, though.''  And Meria was back to confused looking.  Vox frowned again.

``How... do you even know that?''

I coughed lightly.  ``Because they work for the person inside of me.  He has means to talk to them instantly at any distance.  Something that happened while they were... training us.  They're currently in the sewer underneath us, with the full vault of artifacts and a bunch of experiments he's running.''

Meria just looked overwhelmed now, and Vox was getting there.  At least until he panicked, anyway.  ``W-What?!  They're under this building?!  The Black Keld?''  I nodded again to that.

``At his orders, yeah.''  I nudged Exes inside of myself, and felt him stir again.  It didn't take him long to assess the situation, then mentally sigh.  Yeah, I know...

Vox gave a twitch.  ``No, that's just...  No, they can't keep that stuff down there!  Fuck!  Who is this guy inside of you?!''

I gave a nod to that.  ``I figured you'd ask.  I woke him up for you.  We'll swap now for a bit.''  Vox managed another frown before I fell backwards, giving a little paw slap to Exes as we passed.  Good luck!

Yeah, I was pretty sure I was going to need it.  At least to not give either of them heart attacks.  My eye opened up, and I locked onto Vox a moment later, technically the first time we were meeting.  ``Mmm, hey Voxet.  Nice to... meet you for the first time?  Meria...''  I gave them both a polite nod, watching his ears flick back up, curious expression now.

``Your voice completely changed...  You're the one inside of... Exa?  That means... you're the original owner of the body.  She's a fragment?''  I nodded to that.

``Yeah.  My soul was fragmented when Atir attempted to inflict Ego Death on me using a pair of Demon artifacts.  He... almost succeeded.  I took a lot of damage and had to retreat inside of myself for a long while.  Exa was the one who grew into my place during that time.  But I've figured out where her soul fragment is inside of me and isolated it, letting her grow on her own.  I don't... want her to be replaced by me, either.''  I think that hit all the main points there.

Meria frowned.  ``How... do you even know all this?''  Right, minus that one.

``Because I use True Alchemy.  My name's Exes, by the way.''  I touched my chest, unsealing my Keyhole again.  The dim light of the lounge was washed out entirely by the brilliant azure glow from both my chest an eye a moment later, shifting about gently with the rune arrays.

For a long moment, they both just stared at me in shock, gaze switching between my eye and chest.  Vox sank a little a moment later, then slowly changed into a grimace.  ``Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck...  You really are the Grandmaster Alchemist?!''  I averted my eyes at that.

``Remi's reaction was almost identical.  At least at first...  But yes, I am.  I was kidnapped by Cultists in Talgrand.  They couldn't get away with me though, so they swapped me with your order, and took the female Inaga as bait to lure the guards away.  But I got picked up accidentally by the slavers instead and sent here.  It... hasn't been a pleasant stay so far, present company excluded...''  I exhaled softly at that, then just let them both slowly process it.  Exa snickered inside me as she watched, of course.  Brat.

Activating the inner enchantment, I extended my paw to the right, and with a flare of light, Exa appeared too, forming out of pure glowing magic before the illusion settled and made her look exactly like anyone else would, sitting in the booth next to me.  ``Exa...''  I overlayed her with the same tunic type I was wearing, tailored to a female of course, even though I doubted either of them would have cared if she were naked.

``Exa...?  Oh!  You're female... right...''  Meria looked her over, looking surprised, but she grinned and nodded rapidly to her.

``Yup!  Exes made me this neat projection to use so far.  It's sorta like the PEC's avatar system...''

I coughed.  ``Inspired by!  But uh, yeah.  Basically.  It's where I got the idea, anyway.''

Vox gave a low groan, rubbing at his temples before glancing to the left ever so slightly.  My eye traced his, then looked to the left, spotting the ice bucket and wine by the looks of it that they'd left by the hot tub.  Heh, I knew the feeling.  My paw slid to the right, and the bucket seamlessly fell through a wrinkle, with barely the tiniest `clink' as it was on the table instead.  I slid it over to both him and Meria as they gave a little jump.

``If you need it...  Sorry to just spring all this on you.  I've been... trying to lay low and gather intelligence and supplies.  The Cult of the Shattering is still after me, and I don't know who I can trust...''  I sighed at that, looking away from the two of them, even as Vox broke out the bottle of wine again.

``They're... dangerous?  No, of course they're dangerous.  They almost captured you if it wasn't for a stupid mistake...''

I slowly sighed, not looking to him that time.  ``Yeah.  I... was stupid and naive.  It...  This has been a wakeup call, if nothing else.  I'm rapidly patching up vulnerabilities in myself.''

``Exes...''  Meria frowned to me, but I shook my head, slowly.

``I'll... be okay.  Eventually.  Hopefully...  I'm healing fast now.  But I don't... know how to contact people I know I can trust, without the Cult intercepting any messages I send out, or finding me via them.  I've been trying to figure out what representation they have in Nulidia.  I'm... afraid that even one of the seven council members is one...''

Exa gently nuzzled my right cheek, and I smiled to her, relaxing a little.  Remi was right.  I think she was stronger than both of us, in a way.  Of course... she hadn't gone through what we had, really.  Mmm, right.  I perked a moment later, then looked down at my tunic.  ``Oh, did you bring the papers?  I was sleeping so...''

She grinned and nodded.  ``Yup.  Bottom right pocket.''  Ah!  I reached into the one over my right hip, then slid the folded papers out of it before passing them to Vox.

``Hmm?  What are these?''  He unfolded them as he asked, then widened his eyes at the invoices, scouting maps, and the detailed attack plan.

``Tomorrow night, Ignaus' shipment from that Garkin facility to the Southwest arrives.  Remi's been scouting for me, and I made some plans up that will allow us to hit the caravan.  My intent is to kill as few as possible, but no promises.  But as much suffering as they've caused to a whole bunch of innocent Garkin, I can't bring myself to really feel that sorry...''  My muzzle twitched, and I reigned in my anger again before exhaling softly.  ``Regardless, what I want is to hit Ignaus where it hurts, and to take all the Alchemy supplies and free the special slave.  All the coin they're expected to have is yours...  I... owe you something at the very least for your hospitality and aid so far, Voxet.  You've helped Exa and I a lot...''

His eyes widened as he listened, then looked over the invoice, and widened them even more.  ``Holy shit!  That's... a lot of coin.  If...  If that's even halfway accurate, that would be enough to immediately...''

``Relocate out of Nulidia, permanently, while severing all your underground ties and establish a normal life for yourself and Meria?  Probably even pay for fertility treatments for her...''  He froze at that, as did Meria, and I glanced over to him as he slowly nodded.

``You... were the one spying on me, weren't you?''  His eyes searched my expression, even as I nodded.

``I... was.  I'm sorry, Voxet.  I don't...  Trust is in short supply for me, and I had to know if I could trust you...''  I sighed and looked away from him again, and his ears lowered a little.

There was a pause, and Meria frowned.  ``You... must have decided you could trust us, then.''  I slowly nodded to her, and she got a little smile instead, surprising me.  ``And... you probably figured out that we got you originally as a sort of... surrogate.''  I slowly nodded again.  I'd gathered as much.

She sighed, scratching the surface of the table before giving a little chuckle.  ``It's ironic, being a Jakatar and discovering I was entirely infertile.  Rare, too, but...  Vox and I have been wanting kids for a long time now.  Raising them here would be a terrible idea of course.  He was planning on cutting his ties, paying people off where needed, and keeping enough left over for us to make a life for ourselves somewhere else.  Somewhere safer, where we could have a family.  Probably... not very... karmic for a master information broker and thief, but...  We were going to try.''  I realized I didn't know much about her.  But she'd just called herself a thief...?

Vox slowly nodded to that.  ``Just... keep using Vox, Exes.  And yes.  That was the plan.  The bribes turned out more expensive and... slower to take than I'd expected, but it's been an ongoing process for two years now.  I want to keep a baseline minimum for us to set up somewhere else too, of course...  But... urges are urges, Exes.  We decided to... pick up a young slave instead as a sort of surrogate offspring.  Took us a while to decide between an Inaga and an Illan.  We wanted a smaller species, with fur.  Sounds probably disgusting to you but...''

I chuckled, then shook my head.  ``My eyes have been opened to what disgusting really looks like.  No, Vox.  I doubt you're even the only ones to ever do such a thing.  And if it were just Exa, then... she'd probably have been happy with the role.''  She gave a shy smile and nod to that, but grabbed my paw under the table and gave me a squeeze.  Right.  ``But because of me; who I am... it's a little more complicated.  And dangerous.  I know there should be enough coin there for you two to make a clean break from Nulidia.  It's the best I can do as thanks for helping me, at the moment...''

He slowly looked back at all the papers I'd passed to him, then sighed.  ``Can you... pull this off without drawing attention?''

I nodded.  ``Remi's made sure the plan's airtight.  I'll be providing additional insurance towards that myself.  Fast and quiet.  No identification and we'll be gone before anyone even knows they were hit.''

Slowly, he nodded at that.  ``I... right.  Then if the plan goes off without a hitch... there's no sense in rushing.  Rush moves after a big hit like that point at blame.  No... just come back here with everything and keep laying low.  I'll not act like anything's out of the ordinary either, and just wait for it all to blow over.  We can take care of the slave here until then, so they're safe.''

I watched him carefully, then searched his expression as he finished.  He was right of course.  At least for himself.  If he packed up and moved to leave after a big hit like that, it would draw attention to him quite quickly.  I didn't plan on being identified or caught in the first place of course, so less to worry about for me.  But... keeping this place as a spot to lay low was... ideal.

I nodded finally.  ``Alright.  It's a wise move, so yeah, I'll go for it.  Though you might get some attention regardless, even if it does go completely as planned.''

He snorted at that.  ``Ignaus I can handle.  He'll be looking to accuse a lot of people for his missing items.''  Well then...

My ears perked, and I looked to the right before she even appeared.  Remi slid out of the shadows, wearing a grin as she gave a wave.  ``Sup!  See ya got started without me.  Kinda thankful fer that...  Been kinda ah shitty head o' security lately...''

Vox smirked, then chuckled.  ``You mean technically working for someone else for a bit?  Well, I can hardly say that Exes or Exa have goals that go against my own, so...''

He seemed to think absolutely nothing of her just hopping up onto the table and walking across it, as she nabbed a glass for herself from near the wine pail.  ``Keh.  Workin' fer?''  She flushed a little at that, and he lifted an eyebrow to her.  Of course she'd focus on-

She rotated first before leaning in and softly kissing me instead.  I smirked into her muzzle and nuzzled her back, causing her to shiver and Exa to pout next to me.  Remi had just pulled back with a grin, when Exa ducked forward and pulled her into a kiss as well, causing me to chuckle in amusement.  Vox looked shocked at the double display, but Meria was smirking.

``Oh my!  Remi, interested in a male?  Exes is just that charming, is he?''

The Illan pulled back, bumping noses with Exa before winking over her shoulder to Meria.  ``He's somethin', alright.  Exa is too though.  Price fer huntin' `em was high, though!  They're makin' me go ta therapy with them!''  She shuddered at that, and Vox gave a snorting laugh before covering his muzzle.  Remi shot him a glare, of course.

``I'm surprised, but... happy at the same time, Remi.  Both for you and hopefully a more meaningful relationship, and for you deciding to try therapy...''  He gave her a softer smile and nod at that, and she relaxed a little, managing a little smile of her own... at least before pouring herself a big glass of the wine and downing half with a shiver.  Heh.

Vox took a sip of his own before slowly exhaling, staring into it for a long moment before turning to me again.  ``So, you... need to attempt to get a hold of someone who's not a cultist, then?  Do you... have anyone specific in mind?''

I exhaled softly at that.  ``Ideally either Queen Morrigan or King Kormir.  I was working directly with Queen Morrigan before all this...  Failing that, one of the Princesses or Princes.  I don't... know for sure who isn't a cultist other than them, unfortunately.''  Now I wasn't even sure of Calien...

He gave a low whistle at that.  ``They're all... pretty high station for my usual circles.  I could try to get a message through, but the only way it would be subtle at all is if I sent it obscured.  Or, I suppose, got the attention of a passing Shadowstalker or something.  I hear they're everywhere...''  Heh.  Only issue was, how could you tell who was a Shadowstalker, and who was a Cultist?

Meria lowered her floppy ears a little.  ``That... makes me nervous.  Would we get in trouble then?  We've been clean for a long time...''  Vox shot her a look, but I shook my head at that.

``I wouldn't worry about that.  If you helped them find me, I don't think they're going to be worried about your records all that much.  It's not like you're on the level of assholery that the Agency is...''  Remi snorted, then laughed at that.

``Point there.  Ah don't think they'd even bat an eye, `specially if Exes told `em not ta...  Though... Ah think Ah'm... gonna follow Exes if so... Vox.''  She looked up to him with that, and he gave a softer smile, expression lowering a bit.

He hesitated, then nodded.  ``It's okay, Remi.  You've helped me for years now.  Plus, once Meria and I get out of Nulidia, I think we'll be a lot safer anyway.  If... they really can forgive what we've done before, starting a legit life in Talgrand or Kaldar even.  Maybe you'll even be able to drop by on occasion and catch up?''

She searched his expression for a long moment before moving to a softer smile, then nodding.  ``Aye!  Gotta make sure yer stayin' outta trouble o' course!  Ah think this is fer tha best all around, really.  Ah can look inta findin' Ah Bloodstalker even...  Ah know they're all loyal...''

My ears perked at that.  Right!  Remi was...  Hmm.  ``Kyry?''  I looked to her with that, and her eyes shot open wide, before she looked to me instead.

There was a long pause before she snorted, then gave a chuckle.  ``Fuck, Exes...  Ya don't ask fer no small favors.  That's...  Okay.  Ah'll elevate that ta try ta aim fer our Captain...''  She stuck her tongue out at me, and I shot her a wink.

``I think there might be one hanging out on the surface, near the clinic...  Vulkus female.  Black and charcoal gray...''  Vox looked surprised, but Remi perked, then grinned.

``Cirinth is around an' didn't even say hi?  Fer shame!  Alright.  Ah'll go poke `er an' vet `er myself, come firstday...''  Oh!  Well, that sounded promising.  I gave Remi a nod at that, and relaxed again.  Not that I was going to put my faith in it turning out like that.  No, the most stable thing I could do right now was to secure the goods tomorrow night, for myself.  And gleefully free the slave out from under Ignaus, as a bit of personal `fuck you', of course.

``Sounds like a deal, once tomorrow night is done.''  She gave a sharp nod to that, then downed the rest of her wine.

Exa grinned as she watched, then slowly nodded herself.  ``Mmm, yeah!  We should go down and see the twins after this and show off the projection?  Hmm.  I wonder what the special slave is like, other than a Garkin...?''  I shot her a skeptical look.  Well, guess I'd better prioritize finishing up the bells and whistles on her avatar sooner, rather than later...  Wouldn't want either of them to chaff anything sensitive humping dry magic at this point...

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