THE CHRONICLES OF FINALGAMER
Beyond My Grasp

"A pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events."
Time Enough For Love, Robert A Heinlein

Water ran down his closed eyes, slowly making them blink open tensely.  The raptor found himself elsewhere yet again, a different land, a different setting, a different atmosphere, even if it was the early morning.  The sun slowly rised from the east overhead, finding his head to be upon cool marble, looking up to receive a spattering of water upon his face.  He shuddered and woke up properly, realising he had been lying against a fountain.  Gazing up around him, he saw himself within a small city.  A few early risers noticed him, murmured some words he just about caught, and left him be, until about 10 minutes later when a guard walked up to him with clanking steps and asked:
	"You okay?"
	"Uhhh..."
James was too unfocused to even begin thinking of a conversation as he tried to talk to the guard standing to one side.
	"Mmwha?"
	"Sir, are you okay?"
The brass-armoured soldier was large-chested with firm legs, wearing a helmet with a visor and one meshed circular hole for speaking.
	"Uhhh...yeah?"
	"Good, then you better move along, yer loitering.  Also you better find something to cover yerself up or else I have to arrest you for public indecency."
James nodded dumbly with his head still feeling in disarray as he got up to balance himself, nearly falling back in the fountain but walking forwards instead as he saw more properly the stone-walled city.  He himself was standing in a cobbled square, with one elevated walkway heading to a bar of some sort, or at least that's what the neon sign made him think.  Noticing also he was naked, covering up with some embarrassment as a few people stared at him weirdly, he thought to ask the guard:
	"Uhh, 'scuse me, sir?"
	"Yeah?"
	"Can you tell me where I am?"
	"What, you don't remember?"
	"I uhh...had an accident and my memory's kinda fuzzy."
	"Ahhh, well yer in the main city of the mining planet Hillys, Sector Four."
	"Sector...four?"
	"Yeah...where you come from anyway?"
	"Ungh...I...fuck my head."
	"Maybe you oughta go to the doctor, you don't look so good.  You need help?"
	"I...nah I'll be fine...th-thanks..."

He wandered off into the growing crowd of people as the city began to wake up with him, investigating this city of Hillys, the denizens an intriguing mixture of anthros and humans which soothed him by the familiarity, even if the architecture and machines felt rather old to him.  He walked around a corner to see a few people protesting with banners that read "RISE HILLYS", "NO MORE ALPHA SECTIONS" or "SUPPORT IRIS".  This only irritated him with their ranting so he quickly moved on with his headache.
He tried to remember why his head was so sore, but he knew all too well why and tried to get past the whole business on Ibis Island.  His claws looked alien to him for a while.  Even after he had recovered himself back to normality, he still felt rather distressed and mentally off-balance, the stress of his travels and experiences affecting him more than he realised.
Even after eventually accepting the existence of the dozens, even thousands of worlds that might exist beyond his home, each new world's dangers only scared and bewildered him.  He just wanted to return home, cursing himself for not being able to do so, and at first he felt sorry for himself, before shaking his head and murmuring:
	"For fuck's sake James, stop being such an emo, you'll be home someday...ugh...just wish I could get back as easily as I enter every other place, just really pissing me off now...I mean I'm a good guy right?  I'm not a bad person, I'm good to people, I was good to Daisy, Sam, Gunther, even those raptors, I saved them dammit!  So why is the universe trying to screw with me!?"
	"Hey pal, you mind turnin' down the crazy volume a li'l?"

The voice of the Deep South came to his ears from nearby, looking to see a short portly anthro pig with tusks gazing at him a little disapprovingly.  He wore a wifebeater shirt, brown jacket and jeans, standing next to a human female of striking green all over.  Clothes, eyes, even lipstick, the colour of which made James sneer.
	"Hey at least my jeans weren't once made for watermelons."
	"You tryin' to start a fight, boah?"
	"Just saying to leave me alone, pork pie."
	"Pey'j come on, just leave him."
	"Uhhh yer right, we gotta get back."
Waddling off, the pig ignored the raptor.  Feeling rather annoyed at starting an argument, James went to the woman and asked:
	"Uh hey, I'm sorry about before but...you know where I can find a doctor?"
	"Uhh yeah you just go up the opposite way and he'll have a sign on the right."
	"Right...thanks."
Feeling weird for even asking, he took her directions and walked away shyly, hearing barely in the background something along the lines of "scaly weirdo" from the pig as he tried to find anything to indicate a doctor's office.  Trying to ignore the fact he was naked in a whole other world, he stumbled into the doctor's office, who was a rather lean looking feline in a suit behind a counter in a receptionist area.  Posters across the yellow stone walls spoke of the Alpha Sections and of looking after yourself, with chairs on either side of the door.
	"Uhhh hello?"
	"Hmm?  How can I help you sir?"
	"I...I ended up near the fountain over at the square, my head's all fucked up and...well...naked."
	"Ahh...bad party?"
	"I honestly can't remember, could you help me or give me a place to lie down?"
	"Of course.  Just sit down and I'll call for someone mister...?"
	"Uhh James...James Campbell."
Nodding his thanks, he sat down on a chair, lying his head back against the cool wall and sighing as he tried to collect his thoughts.  After a few minutes, a female doctor came over to see him, a large cow of slightly bluish blotches.
	"Mr. Campbell?"
	"Yeah?"
	"Come with me please."
Standing up, he followed the large yet not portly bovine to a medical room.  There was one bed, as well as a variety of cabinets and tables and charts all around the room encircling the one lit bed.  The thought of lying down on it made him uncomfortable, a bit too close to some memories of before, but he was asked:
	"Sit up on this please."

Clambering onto the bed, he sat himself upon it with a light above him as she asked him various questions while bringing out her instruments.
	"So, what happened to you, sir?"
	"I found myself against the fountain at the square, naked with a splitting headache for some reason."
	"Did you consume any alcohol last night?"
	"Not as far as I can remember, but I do drink."
	"How about drugs?"
	"No way, I'm not going that road."
	"Good.  Do you remember anything from last night?"
	"Nope, I just...ngh, I wish I could remember."
	"Let me do a few tests."
First she brought out a stethoscope, the cold touch of which made the raptor gasp as the end of it pressed on his chest, his heart beating a little quick but nothing too out of the ordinary.  Then she brought out a small hammer to tap his knee, making it twitch upwards in a half-kick.  Finally she decided to bring out a breathalyser, which looked like a calculator with a funnel on one end of it.
	"Breathe into this until I say stop."
James did so, familiar with the equipment as breathed in a continuous single breath until she told him to stop, letting the machine examine his breath for any traces, and coming up with a surprising result.
	"Well, you're completely clean Mr. Campbell.  When was the last time you had any alcohol?"
	"Uhhh...back at the bar in...yeah...maybe two or three weeks ago?"
	"Hmm...are you sure?"
	"Not really...why?"
	"It's just that this test says you haven't consumed any alcohol for at least a year, it's completely out of your system."
	"A...a year!?"
	"Seems so."
	"But...but...no way, that doesn't make any sense, I was in that bar with Gunther like a few weeks ago, th-that was a few weeks ago I swear!  I remember that!"
	"Calm down Mr. Campbell, you're just confused, something happened to you and I'll see if I can help-"
	"How can it have been a year, those drinks had alcohol in them, I remember that stupid Falcon Punch really knocked me down!"
He tried to think as the doctor wrote down notes in a journal nearby, the raptor frantic in trying to make a theory until one came to him.  The dinosaur island.  How long had he really been there for?  He thought back to that tiny bar, which now he remembered on Ibis Island, just before the raptor attacked him when he had that pissy cocktail, which nevertheless had alcohol in it, but barely.  Even then...
	"Are you SURE that machine of yours says I haven't drunk in a YEAR?"
	"Very sure, this machine's never lied to me in its six years of service."
	"...fffffuck...I'm so confused..."
	"If you want, I can give you directions to a hostel that will help you out.  You just need some good rest, I don't see anything physically wrong with you apart from some old scars, but you can always come back if anything goes wrong."
	"Uhh okay...th-thanks doc."

With her directions written down on a scrap of paper, he walked through the streets quickly to try and reach the hostel as soon as possible, which was thankfully only a few streets away.  The city was large but well laid-out in a way that didn't confuse him, a wide variety of anthros to hustle through from walruses to canines, and cows to sharks.  At the very least, he felt closer to home than before as he entered the hostel.  A small two-floor motel with a desk in a partition, stairs to the right of it, a row of four seats on both sides of the entrance giving the illusion of a hotel.
	"May I...help you?" asked a walrus at the desk.
	"OH uhh hi, I got directions to here from the doctor up the road, could you give me a free bed and clothes?  I've been...I had a bad week."
	"Ahh, well that's no problem, we can accommodate you for a few days."
	"Oh that's all I need, really at least two days is fine just to get my head back on track."
	"Very well, let me find you a room...hmmm...ah, room 113."
He took a key off the rack from a list of available ones he had.
	"Can I have you sign this please, since you are intent on staying?"
The walrus twirled the guestbook around to face James, with a pen in it at the latest page.  A row of names were listed in various forms of handwriting from the chickenscratch of educated professionals to the less curvaceous hands of others.  James wrote down his full name in a childishly blunt easy-to-read manner, like that of a 10th-grader, reflecting his education never having advanced beyond the level of a high-schooler.
	"Come with me please."

Walking with the walrus clerk, he was led to a room up the stairs and along a hallway to the third door on the left, of a series of 12 doors on each side.  Invited into the room, James sighed at the chance to get some good sleep.  The room was rather small, and it was a shared accommodation it seemed, with two beds separated only by a small dresser and a closet with two doors that had a keyhole each.  A window overlooked the street below which James gazed out of as the walrus said:
	"We can discuss payment later if you wish."
	"W-wait, I thought this was free."
	"Oh no no no, sorry, we are just cheaper than hotels, but you still have to pay."
	"Aaaah...okay.  How much then, I suppose I can find a job and some money later on?"
	"Firstly you just relax and get some clothes from the spares in the closet our last guest left behind."
	"Well...thanks."
With the key he opened one closet door to find a few clothes he could wear, firstly taking down a pair of what appeared to be tracksuit pants, easily fitting on him, despite the fact there was no tailhole in the back, which became uncomfortable.  He shifted through a few more clothes before he saw a pair of rather tacky-looking red and orange slacks, which indeed had a tail hole for the back.  With no other options, he went with it, finding them surprisingly comfy.
	"This'll do, thanks sir!"
	"No problem, now you just sleep and we'll discuss payment after."
With that, he was left alone, the door closed as he laid out on the bed.  Or rather, he fell onto it with a murr of pleasure escaping him, crawling into the covers and sighing at finally being able to sleep in an actual comfortable bed that he hadn't felt since Crossville.  Tired as he was, he just wanted to clear his head and get his bearings in this Hillys place, and he easily dozed off, his dreams being kind to him.

After a good night's sleep and a rather cool dream about fighting on the streets against a violent gang while assisted by a rather handsome boxing kangaroo in denim shorts, James woke up sometime in the later afternoon with a happy erection, sneering a little at having such after his first good sleep.
	"I must have enjoyed myself then," he said as he thought back on the dream he had, and the kangaroo he had an intimate time with.
Deciding he had to do something about it, he got up with a clear head and went to the bathroom along the hallway to sort out his "morning wood", thankfully finding it empty.  Locking the door and standing over the toilet to stroke himself off hard, he moaned quietly to himself about his dream.  Not often did he have dreams involving any sex, but this one was particularly fun, when amidst the thuggish brutality of dealing out street justice, he was seduced by an intriguing punkish kangaroo, replaying the scene in his head.
Grabbing the choke collar he had, being forced against the wall, fucked by brutishly strong thighs.  Huge padded feet thumping the ground, such a force he had felt even from his dreams.  And he loved it.  He relished his first time in what felt like months in finally having some personal release to clear his head somewhat, pressing one hand on the wall as he felt his muscles tense.
Soon he shuddered and spurted his orgasm into the toilet, panting happily as he cleared his mind of lust.  With dripping cock and wide-awake mind thanks to his orgasmic surge, the sense of slight shame soon came to him as he murmured:
	"Wish he'd been anthro though...eeecchh just a dream dun worry about it."

Wiping his cock clean and flushing, he realised he should take a shower, realising he hadn't had one in a long time since Crossville, or maybe Mute City.  He wasn't sure, but he felt rather dirty all of a sudden and decided to do just that.
Taking his slacks off, he turned the water on, gauging the hot and cold until it was bearable and got in to soap himself all over.  One of the benefits of being a reptile was having no hair to shampoo, saving a fortune in toiletries and cosmetics when he only had to keep himself well-oiled and soaped-up to look good.  Maybe there was the occasional scale-care lotion, which in all honesty he never really had used a lot of, or had the opportunity to use in his life.
He remembered how Sarah was rather meticulous on washing herself, particularly due to her species in which caring for her body was more important concerning water than most, and how it was much more sensitive to certain oils and such.  She had to make sure she bought the right ones, whereas James just needed something to keep scales clean, and that was rarely difficult to find.  After reminiscing enough during his soaping of his naked body, he resisted the temptation to think of shower sex fantasies to get out and let others use it.  Drying himself off with a towel, he put his slacks back on and sighed, feeling much more refreshed, and a lot more back in normal society, before going down to find the clerk still at the desk.
	"Ahh, good afternoon Mr. Campbell!"
	"Hey there!"
	"Did you sleep well?"
	"Oy...best sleep I had in weeks, thanks."
	"Glad to hear."
	"So I wanna know how I can pay when I'm...well, kinda empty here."
	"Well, we do have options available, if you wouldn't mind some menial chores for the upkeep of the hostel."
	"Sure, I'll do it."
	"Good!  Why don't you help in the kitchen, the cooks can give you something."

Heading to the kitchen eagerly, he found a rather nice looking rectangular layout of steel cabinets, bubbling pots and the sounds of chopping clonks on wood.  He was swiftly approached by an anthro shark, rubber-like skin and clothed in chef attire, with an accent that seemed to speak of Southeast Asia.  James was rather surprised, it had been years since he met one, a rare minority in his world.
	"Yes, what you want?"
	"Oh uhh the guy at the desk said I could pay off my rent by helping you?"
	"Ah, helping?  You can clean dishes."
	"Alright."
Wow the sharks here are Asian too, thought James, what the hell's up with that?
Not making any arguments, he went over to the dishes where there laid a sizeable pile of grotty-looking plates and cutlery, one dark-skinned human slowly working away on them.
	"Hey there, gonna help you with the dishes."
	"O-oh, yeah sure, I'll clean, you dry."
The raptor went into it with arms fully in, cleaning every dish to a shine that was given to him as he piled them up to one side carefully, as well as glasses and cutlery.
	"I'm James by the way."
	"Oh hey, I'm Darren, pleased to meet you."
	"You working your debt off too?"
	"Yeah, hehe, you too?"
	"Ended up here without any money, needed to rest.  The uhhh...the walrus guy, yeah, he said I could do something here."
	"How long you been here?"
	"Ahhhh I arrived this morning."
	"I arrived two days back."
	"Checked this city out a li'l?" asked the raptor.
	"It's okay, pretty busy though, some places still gotta rebuild after the last attack."
	"...the what?"
	"Didn't ya hear on the news!?"
	"Ahhhh...nooo, what?"
	"The Domz, blew this place to hell a month back."
	"Domz?"
	"Come on, you musta heard of them!"
	"O-OH, y-yeah yeah I-sorry I just woke up, my head's not fully on right now."
	"S'alright...so yeah, terrible wasn't it?"
	"Yeah, it is.  Hope they don't come back for a long while."
He had no idea of what the guy said, but he learnt from previous experience to try and pretend to keep up with the populace until he could get better answers.  Little else was said between the two as they finished up the dishes, occasionally getting a few new ones in before the shark cook came up to them and said:
	"You two did well!  We have to cook now, so get out please."
Politely removed from the kitchen, James chuckled and headed back to the clerk with Darren. who smiled his large-tusked grin at the two.
	"Ahh, thank you lads for the extra help."
	"No problem Mr. Julian," said Darren.
	"Well now I have nothing else for you to do, so unless you want to stay longer or so..."
	"Actually," said James, "I might stay another day more, just to get my bearings.  I'm gonna check the town out."
	"Very good, oh but can you bring back the room key?"
	"Ahhh sure, hang on."
James hurried back to his room and took his key from it, cursing himself a bit to be so stupid to leave it unlocked, but thankfully he had no possessions in there other than the pouch bag of handgun clips he rummaged through.  Then he realised his other big mistake.
	"Shiiiit...glad the guard didn't see that...w-wait, where's my handgun!?  Aww crap musta fell out back with the raptors.  Oh well."
He took the pouch regardless in case he could find some use for it, as well as to not have it stolen as he locked his room and headed back down with the key, giving it to Mr. Julian.
	"Thank you Mr. Campbell."
	"Welp, laters, I'll be back in the evening or so."
And with that, he decided to explore the town of Hillys with a mind now fully awake.
The city sprawled across the land with its Mediterranean-style housing, widely filled with a various populace of people and vehicles largely in the form of hovercrafts skimming across the various canals that crisscrossed throughout the streets.  It reminded James of a place he once read in the book of coffee back in Crossville.  He couldn't remember the name precisely, but he didn't care and merely kept walking through the streets.  Gazing across the riverways and the boats that chugged along back and forth, as well as seeing some zeppelins and airships above him, he smiled fondly at coming back to a not too-complex civilisation.  Truly this was a lively profitable land.