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"writing": "[b][u][center]A Starfox Adventures Parody\nChapter 12: Results of the Return\nSponsored by Roureem\nBy Draconicon[/center][/u][/b]\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt was a fiery adventure to get to the core of the Mountain Force Point Temple, but eventually, they arrived at the pillar. Krystal sighed, leaning on her staff as she shook her head. \n\n“I cannot believe that any dinosaur had to go through all that to reach this thing,” she muttered under her breath as she looked at the squat, rounded pillar in the middle of the room. “Half of them would have died and the other half would have given up.”\n\n“I bet that we’re getting the hard way since we’re not them,” Fox said, leaning against the wall and looking back the way they’d come. “I mean, no way that they could have fit in some of those rooms.”\n\n“Or been able to deal with the flamethrowers.”\n\n“That, too.”\n\n“Though, judging from your tent…”\n\n“Yes, yes, I enjoyed the show.”\n\nAs had she, though she was sure that the layer of sweat that ran down her back and along her thighs disguised the bits of her own juices. The fiery temple had done a number on both of them, and she could feel the mountain’s heat seeping through her fur and into her bones. \n\nBut even with that…\n\n[i]I shouldn’t be this…needy.[/i]\n\nIt had been a problem since their ascent of Moon Mountain, and it had only gotten worse as they made their way through the temple. Part of it was the flame, and yes, part of it was the fact that she was naked and Fox was nearly so – though those briefs of his did little to provide anything in the way of modesty – but that was not all of it. Not by a long shot. \n\nEver since the mines, she had fought mixed feelings about her own body and her own needs. The fact that she had come so close to a feeling of dirtiness, corruption in the mines, and the fact that she had enjoyed what she’d done to Fox and been tempted to let him take control at the same time sent shivers down her spine. The words of the Krazoa still lingered in her mind. She had to keep control, to not lose herself, but the more that she thought about it, the less she realized that she understood what it meant. \n\nAt first, she’d thought that the spirit merely meant that she should maintain control, that she should never allow herself to be dominated, but…\n\nBut what if that was not the case?\n\n“We should put the Spellstone back and leave this place,” Krystal said, shaking her head and retracting her staff to its resting position. “It is oppressive.”\n\n“You sure you’re okay?”\n\n“I am [i]fine.[/i]”\n\n“You know that’s how people say it when they aren’t, right?”\n\n“Since when did you become telepathic?”\n\n“Okay, okay, fine. Sheesh.”\n\nHe held out his hand for the stone and she passed it over. As he walked over to the pillar, she leaned against the wall again, pressing her fingers to her forehead. \n\n[i]I shouldn’t snap at him. It is not his fault. It is far from his fault.[/i]\n\nBut the desires in her were getting stronger, and they were the sort of desires that no Cerinean woman should have. Not least the sort of things that had come up upon seeing the historical rock outside. \n\nFuck-meat. \n\nThe idea of someone losing their warrior’s pride, being conquered and becoming something like…that…should have been reprehensible to her. It was akin to slavery. \n\nAnd yet, the Sharpklaw had used it as a way for the new generations to both take over form the old, and to allow the old to still have a purpose. No longer fit for the battlefield, but certainly fit for the bed. Their legs spread, their holes filled, their cocks used as pleasure toys. She could almost imagine that as a good life. \n\nAlmost. \n\nAlmost. \n\nBut the worst part was – \n\n[i]Fox spread out, his neck collared, his eyes glazed over as she rolled her hips up and down on his cock –[i]\n\nKrystal shook her head. \n\n[i]Herself with her ankles chained and her feet pulled up to her ears, no longer her fault for wanting things, no longer something she could fight against as someone put their cock inside of her ass –[/i]\n\nShe groaned, holding her fingers to her temples until the images faded away. \n\nThose were what she feared. Not merely the idea of enjoying someone else, but the idea that she could either become a slave, or a slaver. Someone that took others, or was taken by others. \n\nBecause under that system…it wasn’t her fault. It was just the way that things worked. And that appealed to her so much that it terrified her. \n\n[i]Am I that weak?[/i] she wondered as Fox circled the pillar, pressing his fingers to the open slots on its sides. [i]No respectable female would want to be taken in like that. Nobody would want to lose themselves…or be remade…[/i]\n\nBoth aroused and somewhat hating herself, Krystal forced the images out of her head. For now, at least, she would keep what sexual thoughts she could out of her head. The last thing that she needed was to make a mistake because she was too pent-up. When they returned to the Hollow, perhaps, she would take the time to get off and make sure that she was thinking of things properly. \n\n[i]And then we’ll be dressed again…[/i]\n\nEven if that was a little bit of a downside on its own – \n\n[i]No. I am fine with nudity, but I should not want to be naked…[/i]\n\nExcept she did. She sighed. What else had changed?\n\n“Okay, I think I got this figured out,” Fox said. \n\n“Then put it back so we can go.”\n\nIt was more clipped and strained than she wanted, but she wasn’t going to apologize. Not here, not when things could be made all the worse for it. She crossed her arms under her breasts, feeling Fox’s eyes on her for a moment before he turned back to the pillar. \n\nAs he set the stone where it was supposed to go, everything changed. Krystal’s eyes went wide as the energy of the mountain below her suddenly turned, going from a flaring heat all around them to a current, almost like a tide that had been pulled right again by a dam in its way. It flowed in and out rather than just crashing against the shore, and there was a sense of balance, a sense of…\n\nA sense of rightness…\n\nAnd a sense of something else, too, as if the heat had not only been harnessed, but redirected. It ran up through her, warming her, to a point where she almost wondered if she could have returned to the Snowhorn Wastes and walked through it as naked as she was now without a problem. It ran up through her legs, warming her soles, almost tickling her feet like tongues of warm air, and – \n\n[i]No, no, no…[/i]\n\nShe wasn’t going to think about where it was settling further up. She shook her head, extending her staff once more. \n\n“We should go,” she said. \n\n“That feels…weird,” Fox muttered. \n\n“It is part of the planet’s power. It’s soul, perhaps. Come on.”\n\n“But –”\n\n“Outside. Please.”\n\n“Alright, alright, after you.”\n\n#\n\nThankfully, it was a shorter trip to the front door than it had been to the pillars. The traps would likely reset for their next visit, she imagined, but at least they were out of the heated core of the mountain temple. And yet, the heat that came from replacing the stone continued. \n\nShe rested her hand on her stomach, focusing on herself for a moment. Her telepathy couldn’t take that away from her, but she could, at least, reduce the way that her body was responding to the heat down there. It was…how would she describe it?\n\n“Still hot out here,” Fox muttered. \n\n“Mmm-hmm.”\n\n“Feels…heh…feels kinda like the nights out that I had when I was still at the Academy. All hot-blooded. Not thinking straight. Almost like I wasn’t even a person anymore. Like a –”\n\n“Like a beast?”\n\n“Yeah…yeah, kinda like that,” Fox admitted. \n\nThat was what it reminded her of, she realized. This was the sort of mindless rut that came from being in heat, from being brought down to what the body remembered when its ancestors crawled on all fours. This was what the body craved, what it was supposed to want to keep the bloodlines going. Replacing the spellstone had pushed that old need to the surface, forcing her to think about her own fertility, her own needs, and what potential partners she had around that would fulfill those needs. \n\n[i]Hmmph…[/i]\n\nNot quite against her will, she looked down. Fox’s briefs were stretched forward around a hard-on that she knew wasn’t just for her, as much as he did enjoy looking. The feeling in the air was like something had been…\n\n[i]It’s like the world has been turned backward, like the spellstones channel more than just the natural flow of the world. They keep it static, and for a world filled with animals that are speaking but not much more…[/i]\n\nThen that would mean that the spellstones kept their animal instincts alive. Perhaps even pulled them back toward the bestial side of things, which was why most of them were more feral, less advanced. \n\n[i]But if that is the case, then how did they build the palace?[/i]\n\nIt had to be the Krazoa, she realized. The spellstones kept the planet in place, and the Krazoa allowed life to flourish and grow. \n\n“We have only done one-half of what needs to be done,” Krystal muttered, gripping her staff a little tighter. \n\n“I mean, yeah. We only returned one spellstone.”\n\n“That isn’t –”\n\nThe wind kicked up, and even Krystal felt the chill as it cut through her fur. She hissed, shaking her head as she pulled back into the tunnel by half a step. Fox joined her, groaning and wrapping his arms around his middle. \n\n“What I wouldn’t give for my coat right now,” he muttered. \n\n“At least you have something.”\n\n“My skivvies aren’t doing anything to keep me warm, I’ll tell you that.”\n\n“Well, neither is my soaked fur…”\n\nShaking her head, she looked back at the sky…and her mouth fell open. \n\n“Fox?”\n\n“What?”\n\n“Tell me I am seeing things.”\n\n“What – oh. Oh. Uh…”\n\n“I’m not seeing things, am I?”\n\n“No. No, you’re not. Not unless I’m the only one seeing a giant spectral man floating in the sky.”\n\nIt was more than just a giant spectral man, she thought, but Fox wasn’t to know. It was the same masked figure of the spirit that she had released in Krazoa Palace, except that it was far, far larger, tall enough to span the sky and reach toward the heavens. It had to be a hundred times her size, larger than any structure that she had ever seen in her life, with a great head that looked down on her and a spectral robe that appeared to be made of stars and space dust. \n\n“What am I looking at?” Fox whispered. \n\n“It is one of the Krazoa, the spirits of this planet.”\n\n“Spirits? But –”\n\n[b]You are the ones that have begun the Restoration?[/b]\n\nThe voice boomed through the skies before reaching them, and Krystal hissed through clenched teeth. It was as if someone had grabbed her by the ear and screamed into her skull. The voice echoed through her head, bouncing across her mind and driving everything else out of it. Fox slumped against the stone wall of the tunnel, holding his head; if he could feel it, too, then this thing was more powerful than the spirit that she had rescued. \n\n“Who…who are you?” Krystal managed to get out, one hand against her head. \n\n[b]I am the Krazoa God, one out of many. The spirits of the Krazoa create me with their power, coming together to form me. And you…you will doom this planet if you seek naught but the stones.[/b]\n\n“I know! I can feel that! But what are we supposed to do?!” she shouted back. \n\n[b]Seek the Shrines. They are spread throughout the land. One is near, and contains a spirit that seeks freedom. Find it, and return it to the palace.[/b]\n\n“Wait. Wait!” \n\nFox grunted as he stumbled past her, one eye closed and his hand cupping the side of his head. He glared up at the Krazoa God, shaking his head. \n\n“I have questions!”\n\n[b]Rescue the spirits, and you will have your answers.[/b]\n\n“No, no, that’s not how this is going to work! You are going to give me answers, even if I have to – get back here!”\n\nBut it was too late. The shape of the Krazoa God faded from the skies, leaving behind nothing but the stars themselves. Krystal sighed as she leaned against her staff, feeling the headache that his voice had left behind throbbing away behind her eyeballs. \n\nShe’d never felt someone that was that psychically powerful before. There had been masters of her own species that had the strength to put thoughts in the minds of others, even control them, but the idea of having such power that they could shout across such a vast space and be heard, even dominating them to such an extent, was beyond her experience. She had been so focused on just pushing through the pain to get what little information she could that she hadn’t even thought to be angry. \n\nYet, Fox had. He had stepped forward and tried to demand something from a being that had more power than either of them, and she could not imagine the courage that would have taken. \n\nOr the stupidity, she supposed. He was not always one for thinking things through properly. \n\n“Well…At least now we know what we need to do,” Krystal said. \n\n“What, you think that big sky-guy was right?” Fox asked. “I’ve never heard of them before.”\n\n“Nor I, before arriving on this planet, but I have seen one spirit before. They exist, and they are…needed.”\n\n“So, what, we’re taking this guy on his word?”\n\n“For the moment.”\n\n“…What happened the last time that you saw one?”\n\n“…I…” She sighed. “It was…an experience. And one that I believe that you should share.”\n\n“…Okay. If you trust him, I’ll go along with it for now. But at least try and explain the whole thing to me on the way down. You’ve got some other reason to go along with this than what he’s saying.”\n\n“Are you sure that you are not telepathic?”\n\n“No, you just have a [i]very[/i] open face, and something’s been bothering you since we got back to the planet. I don’t know what it is, but something has.”\n\n“…I suppose you deserve an explanation, at that. Walk with me; the Shrine should not be hard to find.”\n\n#\n\n“And that is why I believe that the Krazoa God is telling us at least some of the truth,” she said, finally finishing her theory of the shifting minds and static nature of the spellstones. “If the stones restore the planet, then the Krazoa maintain their growth. The planet is kept lush and vibrant from all the power that the spellstones channel upward, but it is a static power, dragging everything backward, keeping it from evolving or growing. Only the spirits themselves grant the knowledge and the inspiration to keep pushing forward, which is why there are so few cities.”\n\n“And why the Sharpklaw are an exception,” Fox muttered. \n\n“…I had not thought of that, but yes…”\n\nShe stopped at a hole in the mountainside, her eyes caught by a golden flicker deeper in. This was it, she supposed; they would need to go and get the spirit in a moment or two. Yet, the thought held her tight. \n\nThe Sharpklaw, unlike the other tribes on the planet, were further from the restrictive nature of the spellstones. They weren’t pulled down; they were free, able to think, able to grow without everything else. That was why they were able to come up with something so strange and alien as ‘fuck-meat.’ And for all their other horrible ways of living, they were trying to advance, to grow out of the mud and be something more than just another tribe in the jungle. \n\nGoing about it all the wrong ways, Krystal admitted, but they were still trying, and that was atypical for the planet. \n\n“You are…very good at finding key details like that, Fox,” she said, smiling despite herself. “I’m glad that we can talk about this.”\n\n“Heh, well, you were very good at explaining the whole thing.” He rubbed the back of his head. “So, I get your point. The Krazoa will probably make things better. At least, a little bit better, but…”\n\n“But what?”\n\n“What happens when we rescue them? You didn’t get to that point.”\n\n“Of course.” \n\nShe nodded into the tunnel, gesturing with her staff. Fox looked into the darkness, then blinked. \n\n“What –”\n\n“The Shrines are like portals. They exist somewhere else, and this is the way into them. From what the other spirit told me, there are trials, tests in each shrine, and to take the spirit out, you have to pass the test.”\n\n“Uh-huh…And when you take the spirit out, what’s that involve?”\n\n“This is the part you may not like.”\n\n“I knew there would be something.”\n\n“It rides in you.”\n\n“…What, you mean – like a parasite?”\n\n“More like a ghost, possessing you to an extent. It does not control you, but it does…alter you,” she said. \n\nShe still remembered what it had done to her, how it had given her a feeling of power, capability, strength…and lust. This planet was filled with lust, she was beginning to believe. Filled with it to the point that she doubted that anyone could come here without eventually falling into bed with someone else. \n\nShe shook her head, keeping her thoughts on the moment. \n\n“Once the test is beaten, the spirit will come out into the open, and it will slide into the one that beat the test. When it did it to me, it stayed inside until I reached its place of rest in the Krazoa Palace.”\n\n“So, if I do this, then I have to carry this thing all the way back there.”\n\n“Correct.”\n\n“…This is going to be [i]really[/i] weird,” Fox muttered, shaking his head. “But if it’s what we have to do, let’s get this over with.”\n\n“You want to carry it?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. \n\n“No, but you did the last one, so I might as well do this one. See how it feels.”\n\n“Alright. Come.”\n\nThey entered the cave together. Eventually, they reached the archway, glowing gold and purple. Shimmering waves of energy marked the portal within, and letters in the dinosaur language were engraved around the top of the archway. Krystal peered at it for a moment, then nodded, turning and offering her staff to her comrade. \n\n“What –”\n\n“It is the test of combat. You will have to fight.”\n\n“…And the blaster’s a no-go?”\n\n“It is.”\n\n“Why am I not surprised?”\n\nShe smiled as he took the staff from her. Giving him space to test its weight, she imagined this would be quite the experience for him. It certainly had been for her. \n\nAfter he was acclimated to the staff, they stepped through together. The shimmering, tingling feeling of the energy around them faded away, and Krystal was grateful that they lost some of the heat that the spellstone had saturated the air with as they did. Maybe she could stop thinking of as much sex for a while. \n\nThe portal dropped them in a square room, tiled blue, with a raised arena in the middle of the chamber. A single staircase led up to it, and Fox glanced back at her. He shrugged at it, an eyebrow raised, and she nodded. \n\nAs he walked up, she couldn’t help but enjoy the view from behind. She had been kind enough not to read his mind while they had gone up the mountain – or at least, not deeply – but if she had an open face, then he had an open mind. He did very little to hide what he was thinking, and even though he cut off some of the thoughts before they could get out of control, he still thought them. He’d been staring at her sex, at her rump, and – \n\n[i]My feet…[/i]\n\nIt was still somewhat strange to think of someone else finding her feet sensual, or attractive. The rest of her, yes, but that was still new. She smiled despite herself, shifting from one foot to the other. \n\nThis…this felt a little more acceptable, she supposed. Looking at him, thinking of how he looked at her; it felt like those thoughts were less ‘bad’ than the fantasies of either taking him as ‘fuck-meat’ or having him (or someone worse) do the same to her. This…this felt innocent in comparison. \n\nAnd it was a nice view. They’d had a long, sweaty walk up to the mountain, and it had been no easier coming back down. Fox’s fur was matted to his body, but that didn’t take away how attractive he was. Even the white cloth of his briefs getting sucked up against his rump, showing off the muscular shape of his rear, was actually quite appealing to look at. She watched him ascend the stairway, licking her lips as one hand slid further down between her legs, stroking idly around her clit. \n\nHe reached the arena floor, tapped it with the staff, and waited. Krystal did the same, her eyes flicking toward the corners of the room. Nothing appeared on her level, but at the pillars that ringed the raised floor – \n\n[i]To your left.[/i]\n\nFox spun as a Sharpklaw appeared, jamming the butt of the staff into the dinosaur’s stomach. The warrior stumbled backward, grabbing at its gut, only to take the staff right in the chin and go tumbling backward. \n\nIt disappeared as soon as it left the ring, and she realized that they were being conjured, summoned by the shrine as part of the test. \n\n[i]But why summon the Sharpklaw?[/i]\n\nUnless they were such outsiders that they were considered akin to demons by the shrine? Or did one only see the enemies that they expected to see? Would the Earth Walkers have seen the Red-Eyes? \n\nShe didn’t have time to think about that before the test continued. More and more Sharpklaw appeared out of the shadows, weapons raised as they charged Fox, and Krystal bit her lips as she watched the fight. \n\nShe was ready to help him if needed, and was keeping an eye on all the warriors that were appearing to warn him, but so far, she hadn’t needed to. Other than the first one, Fox spotted every foe before they could get close, and he was fast enough that he could dodge, evade, or parry anything coming his way. \n\nIt was…oddly enticing to watch him move like that. \n\nKrystal smiled despite herself, her finger between her legs sliding over her clit with a little more insistence as she watched Fox work. He moved with surprising silence, not calling out the way that the warriors back home would. There was no war-cry as he jabbed the staff around, no shout as he delivered blows. He did not grunt, nor huff. He just moved, moving from strike to parry to strike without a word. \n\nAnd his muscles rolled along his back and his arms in startling clarity. She could see every toned bulge, and couldn’t help but imagine having him against her again, finding those muscles by touch rather than just seeing them at a distance. \n\nAnd then he spun, swinging the end of the staff around against several enemies at once. He faced her, briefly, and she saw his bulge. Hard again, not soft as it had become during their walk. \n\n[i]He has the battle-lust, too…[/i]\n\nShe shivered, having to force her finger away from her sex to avoid pushing herself further. It was getting out of control; eye-candy or not, she should be ready to help him if he needed it – \n\nBoooong.\n\nA deep gong-sound filled the air as Fox felled the last of the Sharpklaw. The room went from blue to purple, and she looked up as the spirit descended from above. Fox did as well, the staff still in hand as he turned on his heel to face the Krazoa Spirit. \n\n[i]You have done well, Warrior. Carry me home,[/i] it said with a voice that was gentler, but no less powerful, than the Krazoa God. \n\n“Krystal?” Fox said, never taking his eyes off the spirit. \n\n“Just…let it happen. It knows what to do.”\n\n“Okay…I’m trusting you here.”\n\nShe knew that. She just hoped she was right. \n\nFox held his arms out to the sides, and Krystal watched as the Krazoa Spirit moved closer. The various tentacles oozing out from behind it wrapped around Fox on all sides, stroking over his thighs, his arms, his hands, his chest, and his neck. She remembered the fondling, stroking feeling that the other spirit had given her, and a little blush burned on her cheeks as she imagined going through it again. \n\n[i]Or with an audience…[/i]\n\nKrystal kept her hands at her sides as she watched the tendrils continue stroking over Fox’s body. She wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not, but she was half-sure that the Krazoa Spirit actually slid one tentacle into his briefs, rubbing his rump, and Fox stood up a little straighter in a way that made her wonder what was happening at his front. \n\nBut there was no time to wonder properly. The Krazoa Spirit pushed forward, and Fox gasped, lifted up on tiptoe. \n\n[i]He’s fine. He’s fine. He’s fine.[/i]\n\nShe knew he was, could feel his thoughts and knew that there was no pain there. Everything she remembered told her that there was no pain in being filled with the spirit, even if it was new and uncomfortable at first. But that didn’t mean that it was easy to just stay there and let it happen, even as she watched him shiver and – \n\nBulge. \n\nBulge. \n\nBulge. \n\nHer eyes went wide as the muscles along his shoulders and back popped, thickening and getting bigger as the spirit sunk deeper into him. His arms swelled, and his back hunched for a moment before he stood taller than ever. \n\n[i]What…[/i]\n\nThe power of the spirit continued to fill him, a faint purple sheen sliding over his fur as it went inside of him. She stared, slack-jawed, as Fox clenched his hands into fists, groaning and growling as he…as he just grew, she realized. \n\nNot huge, not becoming some massive wolf-like being, but rather just becoming stronger, fitter, more powerful. He looked less sleek and more like some powerful warrior, his legs getting thicker in the thighs and calves and the just-visible abs at his stomach popping out harder, looking almost like muscle turned to armor. \n\nAnd as he turned around, as he swayed toward the stairs, she saw him grow between his legs, as well. That throbbing bulge got bigger, an inch longer, two inches, three, before finally stopping. It was big enough that it pulled the waistband of his briefs forward, and she could just barely see the swell of his sac through the now-stretched leg holes. The garment was almost pointless, she realized. \n\n[i]Oh…my…[/i]\n\nHer thoughts ran wild as she imagined what that would feel like. She tried to stop herself, but they kept coming, ramming through what little barriers of self-control that she tried to throw up. He was bigger, stronger, and…honestly, sexier than he had been, and the sheer size of that shaft between his legs – \n\n[i]He was nice inside of me before. But that…that would…[/i]\n\nKrystal winced, knowing where those thoughts were going, and more, knowing how they were not what she needed. She pushed herself away from the wall, rushing up the steps to him, and held her hand out for her staff. \n\nAfter a moment, he gave it to her. She squeezed it tight, holding the end of it against her cheek. She grounded herself with the feeling, slowly forcing her heart to slow down, and – \n\n“Well, you enjoyed the show,” Fox said. \n\n“…What?”\n\n“I can smell it now. This…this thing makes it…really obvious,” he said, rubbing his nose and huffing. “Fuck…”\n\n“…That is the one thing I think we should hold off on,” she said, even though her own body was screaming the same thing. \n\n“At least…mmmph…at least until we get this sorted out, yeah. Fuck…fuck, I’m so…so big…”\n\n[i]Yes, yes, you are, and that would stretch me out more than you ever did before, and more than the staff did, and – I really, really, really need to stop thinking about this before I do something very, very stupid.[/i]\n\nKrystal waved for him to follow, leading the way back to the portal out. It was going to be a long walk back to the Hollow, and she doubted that either of them was going to have very clean thoughts on the way. She just hoped that she’d be able to resist them until the spirit was no longer a factor. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]\n\nSummary: The first spellstone is returned, and a little more lore of the world is uncovered. \n\nTags: F/solo, M/solo, Fox McCloud, Krystal, Starfox Adventures, Series, Parody, Rule 34, Fingering, Wet, Nudity, Corruption, Fighting, Muscle, Growth, Bulge, Briefs, ",
"writing_bbcode_parsed": "
A Starfox Adventures Parody Chapter 12: Results of the Return Sponsored by Roureem By Draconicon
It was a fiery adventure to get to the core of the Mountain Force Point Temple, but eventually, they arrived at the pillar. Krystal sighed, leaning on her staff as she shook her head.
“I cannot believe that any dinosaur had to go through all that to reach this thing,” she muttered under her breath as she looked at the squat, rounded pillar in the middle of the room. “Half of them would have died and the other half would have given up.”
“I bet that we’re getting the hard way since we’re not them,” Fox said, leaning against the wall and looking back the way they’d come. “I mean, no way that they could have fit in some of those rooms.”
“Or been able to deal with the flamethrowers.”
“That, too.”
“Though, judging from your tent…”
“Yes, yes, I enjoyed the show.”
As had she, though she was sure that the layer of sweat that ran down her back and along her thighs disguised the bits of her own juices. The fiery temple had done a number on both of them, and she could feel the mountain’s heat seeping through her fur and into her bones.
But even with that…
I shouldn’t be this…needy.
It had been a problem since their ascent of Moon Mountain, and it had only gotten worse as they made their way through the temple. Part of it was the flame, and yes, part of it was the fact that she was naked and Fox was nearly so – though those briefs of his did little to provide anything in the way of modesty – but that was not all of it. Not by a long shot.
Ever since the mines, she had fought mixed feelings about her own body and her own needs. The fact that she had come so close to a feeling of dirtiness, corruption in the mines, and the fact that she had enjoyed what she’d done to Fox and been tempted to let him take control at the same time sent shivers down her spine. The words of the Krazoa still lingered in her mind. She had to keep control, to not lose herself, but the more that she thought about it, the less she realized that she understood what it meant.
At first, she’d thought that the spirit merely meant that she should maintain control, that she should never allow herself to be dominated, but…
But what if that was not the case?
“We should put the Spellstone back and leave this place,” Krystal said, shaking her head and retracting her staff to its resting position. “It is oppressive.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“I am fine.”
“You know that’s how people say it when they aren’t, right?”
“Since when did you become telepathic?”
“Okay, okay, fine. Sheesh.”
He held out his hand for the stone and she passed it over. As he walked over to the pillar, she leaned against the wall again, pressing her fingers to her forehead.
I shouldn’t snap at him. It is not his fault. It is far from his fault.
But the desires in her were getting stronger, and they were the sort of desires that no Cerinean woman should have. Not least the sort of things that had come up upon seeing the historical rock outside.
Fuck-meat.
The idea of someone losing their warrior’s pride, being conquered and becoming something like…that…should have been reprehensible to her. It was akin to slavery.
And yet, the Sharpklaw had used it as a way for the new generations to both take over form the old, and to allow the old to still have a purpose. No longer fit for the battlefield, but certainly fit for the bed. Their legs spread, their holes filled, their cocks used as pleasure toys. She could almost imagine that as a good life.
Almost.
Almost.
But the worst part was –
Fox spread out, his neck collared, his eyes glazed over as she rolled her hips up and down on his cock –
Krystal shook her head.
Herself with her ankles chained and her feet pulled up to her ears, no longer her fault for wanting things, no longer something she could fight against as someone put their cock inside of her ass –
She groaned, holding her fingers to her temples until the images faded away.
Those were what she feared. Not merely the idea of enjoying someone else, but the idea that she could either become a slave, or a slaver. Someone that took others, or was taken by others.
Because under that system…it wasn’t her fault. It was just the way that things worked. And that appealed to her so much that it terrified her.
Am I that weak? she wondered as Fox circled the pillar, pressing his fingers to the open slots on its sides. No respectable female would want to be taken in like that. Nobody would want to lose themselves…or be remade…
Both aroused and somewhat hating herself, Krystal forced the images out of her head. For now, at least, she would keep what sexual thoughts she could out of her head. The last thing that she needed was to make a mistake because she was too pent-up. When they returned to the Hollow, perhaps, she would take the time to get off and make sure that she was thinking of things properly.
And then we’ll be dressed again…
Even if that was a little bit of a downside on its own –
No. I am fine with nudity, but I should not want to be naked…
Except she did. She sighed. What else had changed?
“Okay, I think I got this figured out,” Fox said.
“Then put it back so we can go.”
It was more clipped and strained than she wanted, but she wasn’t going to apologize. Not here, not when things could be made all the worse for it. She crossed her arms under her breasts, feeling Fox’s eyes on her for a moment before he turned back to the pillar.
As he set the stone where it was supposed to go, everything changed. Krystal’s eyes went wide as the energy of the mountain below her suddenly turned, going from a flaring heat all around them to a current, almost like a tide that had been pulled right again by a dam in its way. It flowed in and out rather than just crashing against the shore, and there was a sense of balance, a sense of…
A sense of rightness…
And a sense of something else, too, as if the heat had not only been harnessed, but redirected. It ran up through her, warming her, to a point where she almost wondered if she could have returned to the Snowhorn Wastes and walked through it as naked as she was now without a problem. It ran up through her legs, warming her soles, almost tickling her feet like tongues of warm air, and –
No, no, no…
She wasn’t going to think about where it was settling further up. She shook her head, extending her staff once more.
“We should go,” she said.
“That feels…weird,” Fox muttered.
“It is part of the planet’s power. It’s soul, perhaps. Come on.”
“But –”
“Outside. Please.”
“Alright, alright, after you.”
#
Thankfully, it was a shorter trip to the front door than it had been to the pillars. The traps would likely reset for their next visit, she imagined, but at least they were out of the heated core of the mountain temple. And yet, the heat that came from replacing the stone continued.
She rested her hand on her stomach, focusing on herself for a moment. Her telepathy couldn’t take that away from her, but she could, at least, reduce the way that her body was responding to the heat down there. It was…how would she describe it?
“Still hot out here,” Fox muttered.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Feels…heh…feels kinda like the nights out that I had when I was still at the Academy. All hot-blooded. Not thinking straight. Almost like I wasn’t even a person anymore. Like a –”
“Like a beast?”
“Yeah…yeah, kinda like that,” Fox admitted.
That was what it reminded her of, she realized. This was the sort of mindless rut that came from being in heat, from being brought down to what the body remembered when its ancestors crawled on all fours. This was what the body craved, what it was supposed to want to keep the bloodlines going. Replacing the spellstone had pushed that old need to the surface, forcing her to think about her own fertility, her own needs, and what potential partners she had around that would fulfill those needs.
Hmmph…
Not quite against her will, she looked down. Fox’s briefs were stretched forward around a hard-on that she knew wasn’t just for her, as much as he did enjoy looking. The feeling in the air was like something had been…
It’s like the world has been turned backward, like the spellstones channel more than just the natural flow of the world. They keep it static, and for a world filled with animals that are speaking but not much more…
Then that would mean that the spellstones kept their animal instincts alive. Perhaps even pulled them back toward the bestial side of things, which was why most of them were more feral, less advanced.
But if that is the case, then how did they build the palace?
It had to be the Krazoa, she realized. The spellstones kept the planet in place, and the Krazoa allowed life to flourish and grow.
“We have only done one-half of what needs to be done,” Krystal muttered, gripping her staff a little tighter.
“I mean, yeah. We only returned one spellstone.”
“That isn’t –”
The wind kicked up, and even Krystal felt the chill as it cut through her fur. She hissed, shaking her head as she pulled back into the tunnel by half a step. Fox joined her, groaning and wrapping his arms around his middle.
“What I wouldn’t give for my coat right now,” he muttered.
“At least you have something.”
“My skivvies aren’t doing anything to keep me warm, I’ll tell you that.”
“Well, neither is my soaked fur…”
Shaking her head, she looked back at the sky…and her mouth fell open.
“Fox?”
“What?”
“Tell me I am seeing things.”
“What – oh. Oh. Uh…”
“I’m not seeing things, am I?”
“No. No, you’re not. Not unless I’m the only one seeing a giant spectral man floating in the sky.”
It was more than just a giant spectral man, she thought, but Fox wasn’t to know. It was the same masked figure of the spirit that she had released in Krazoa Palace, except that it was far, far larger, tall enough to span the sky and reach toward the heavens. It had to be a hundred times her size, larger than any structure that she had ever seen in her life, with a great head that looked down on her and a spectral robe that appeared to be made of stars and space dust.
“What am I looking at?” Fox whispered.
“It is one of the Krazoa, the spirits of this planet.”
“Spirits? But –”
You are the ones that have begun the Restoration?
The voice boomed through the skies before reaching them, and Krystal hissed through clenched teeth. It was as if someone had grabbed her by the ear and screamed into her skull. The voice echoed through her head, bouncing across her mind and driving everything else out of it. Fox slumped against the stone wall of the tunnel, holding his head; if he could feel it, too, then this thing was more powerful than the spirit that she had rescued.
“Who…who are you?” Krystal managed to get out, one hand against her head.
I am the Krazoa God, one out of many. The spirits of the Krazoa create me with their power, coming together to form me. And you…you will doom this planet if you seek naught but the stones.
“I know! I can feel that! But what are we supposed to do?!” she shouted back.
Seek the Shrines. They are spread throughout the land. One is near, and contains a spirit that seeks freedom. Find it, and return it to the palace.
“Wait. Wait!”
Fox grunted as he stumbled past her, one eye closed and his hand cupping the side of his head. He glared up at the Krazoa God, shaking his head.
“I have questions!”
Rescue the spirits, and you will have your answers.
“No, no, that’s not how this is going to work! You are going to give me answers, even if I have to – get back here!”
But it was too late. The shape of the Krazoa God faded from the skies, leaving behind nothing but the stars themselves. Krystal sighed as she leaned against her staff, feeling the headache that his voice had left behind throbbing away behind her eyeballs.
She’d never felt someone that was that psychically powerful before. There had been masters of her own species that had the strength to put thoughts in the minds of others, even control them, but the idea of having such power that they could shout across such a vast space and be heard, even dominating them to such an extent, was beyond her experience. She had been so focused on just pushing through the pain to get what little information she could that she hadn’t even thought to be angry.
Yet, Fox had. He had stepped forward and tried to demand something from a being that had more power than either of them, and she could not imagine the courage that would have taken.
Or the stupidity, she supposed. He was not always one for thinking things through properly.
“Well…At least now we know what we need to do,” Krystal said.
“What, you think that big sky-guy was right?” Fox asked. “I’ve never heard of them before.”
“Nor I, before arriving on this planet, but I have seen one spirit before. They exist, and they are…needed.”
“So, what, we’re taking this guy on his word?”
“For the moment.”
“…What happened the last time that you saw one?”
“…I…” She sighed. “It was…an experience. And one that I believe that you should share.”
“…Okay. If you trust him, I’ll go along with it for now. But at least try and explain the whole thing to me on the way down. You’ve got some other reason to go along with this than what he’s saying.”
“Are you sure that you are not telepathic?”
“No, you just have a very open face, and something’s been bothering you since we got back to the planet. I don’t know what it is, but something has.”
“…I suppose you deserve an explanation, at that. Walk with me; the Shrine should not be hard to find.”
#
“And that is why I believe that the Krazoa God is telling us at least some of the truth,” she said, finally finishing her theory of the shifting minds and static nature of the spellstones. “If the stones restore the planet, then the Krazoa maintain their growth. The planet is kept lush and vibrant from all the power that the spellstones channel upward, but it is a static power, dragging everything backward, keeping it from evolving or growing. Only the spirits themselves grant the knowledge and the inspiration to keep pushing forward, which is why there are so few cities.”
“And why the Sharpklaw are an exception,” Fox muttered.
“…I had not thought of that, but yes…”
She stopped at a hole in the mountainside, her eyes caught by a golden flicker deeper in. This was it, she supposed; they would need to go and get the spirit in a moment or two. Yet, the thought held her tight.
The Sharpklaw, unlike the other tribes on the planet, were further from the restrictive nature of the spellstones. They weren’t pulled down; they were free, able to think, able to grow without everything else. That was why they were able to come up with something so strange and alien as ‘fuck-meat.’ And for all their other horrible ways of living, they were trying to advance, to grow out of the mud and be something more than just another tribe in the jungle.
Going about it all the wrong ways, Krystal admitted, but they were still trying, and that was atypical for the planet.
“You are…very good at finding key details like that, Fox,” she said, smiling despite herself. “I’m glad that we can talk about this.”
“Heh, well, you were very good at explaining the whole thing.” He rubbed the back of his head. “So, I get your point. The Krazoa will probably make things better. At least, a little bit better, but…”
“But what?”
“What happens when we rescue them? You didn’t get to that point.”
“Of course.”
She nodded into the tunnel, gesturing with her staff. Fox looked into the darkness, then blinked.
“What –”
“The Shrines are like portals. They exist somewhere else, and this is the way into them. From what the other spirit told me, there are trials, tests in each shrine, and to take the spirit out, you have to pass the test.”
“Uh-huh…And when you take the spirit out, what’s that involve?”
“This is the part you may not like.”
“I knew there would be something.”
“It rides in you.”
“…What, you mean – like a parasite?”
“More like a ghost, possessing you to an extent. It does not control you, but it does…alter you,” she said.
She still remembered what it had done to her, how it had given her a feeling of power, capability, strength…and lust. This planet was filled with lust, she was beginning to believe. Filled with it to the point that she doubted that anyone could come here without eventually falling into bed with someone else.
She shook her head, keeping her thoughts on the moment.
“Once the test is beaten, the spirit will come out into the open, and it will slide into the one that beat the test. When it did it to me, it stayed inside until I reached its place of rest in the Krazoa Palace.”
“So, if I do this, then I have to carry this thing all the way back there.”
“Correct.”
“…This is going to be really weird,” Fox muttered, shaking his head. “But if it’s what we have to do, let’s get this over with.”
“You want to carry it?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“No, but you did the last one, so I might as well do this one. See how it feels.”
“Alright. Come.”
They entered the cave together. Eventually, they reached the archway, glowing gold and purple. Shimmering waves of energy marked the portal within, and letters in the dinosaur language were engraved around the top of the archway. Krystal peered at it for a moment, then nodded, turning and offering her staff to her comrade.
“What –”
“It is the test of combat. You will have to fight.”
“…And the blaster’s a no-go?”
“It is.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
She smiled as he took the staff from her. Giving him space to test its weight, she imagined this would be quite the experience for him. It certainly had been for her.
After he was acclimated to the staff, they stepped through together. The shimmering, tingling feeling of the energy around them faded away, and Krystal was grateful that they lost some of the heat that the spellstone had saturated the air with as they did. Maybe she could stop thinking of as much sex for a while.
The portal dropped them in a square room, tiled blue, with a raised arena in the middle of the chamber. A single staircase led up to it, and Fox glanced back at her. He shrugged at it, an eyebrow raised, and she nodded.
As he walked up, she couldn’t help but enjoy the view from behind. She had been kind enough not to read his mind while they had gone up the mountain – or at least, not deeply – but if she had an open face, then he had an open mind. He did very little to hide what he was thinking, and even though he cut off some of the thoughts before they could get out of control, he still thought them. He’d been staring at her sex, at her rump, and –
My feet…
It was still somewhat strange to think of someone else finding her feet sensual, or attractive. The rest of her, yes, but that was still new. She smiled despite herself, shifting from one foot to the other.
This…this felt a little more acceptable, she supposed. Looking at him, thinking of how he looked at her; it felt like those thoughts were less ‘bad’ than the fantasies of either taking him as ‘fuck-meat’ or having him (or someone worse) do the same to her. This…this felt innocent in comparison.
And it was a nice view. They’d had a long, sweaty walk up to the mountain, and it had been no easier coming back down. Fox’s fur was matted to his body, but that didn’t take away how attractive he was. Even the white cloth of his briefs getting sucked up against his rump, showing off the muscular shape of his rear, was actually quite appealing to look at. She watched him ascend the stairway, licking her lips as one hand slid further down between her legs, stroking idly around her clit.
He reached the arena floor, tapped it with the staff, and waited. Krystal did the same, her eyes flicking toward the corners of the room. Nothing appeared on her level, but at the pillars that ringed the raised floor –
To your left.
Fox spun as a Sharpklaw appeared, jamming the butt of the staff into the dinosaur’s stomach. The warrior stumbled backward, grabbing at its gut, only to take the staff right in the chin and go tumbling backward.
It disappeared as soon as it left the ring, and she realized that they were being conjured, summoned by the shrine as part of the test.
But why summon the Sharpklaw?
Unless they were such outsiders that they were considered akin to demons by the shrine? Or did one only see the enemies that they expected to see? Would the Earth Walkers have seen the Red-Eyes?
She didn’t have time to think about that before the test continued. More and more Sharpklaw appeared out of the shadows, weapons raised as they charged Fox, and Krystal bit her lips as she watched the fight.
She was ready to help him if needed, and was keeping an eye on all the warriors that were appearing to warn him, but so far, she hadn’t needed to. Other than the first one, Fox spotted every foe before they could get close, and he was fast enough that he could dodge, evade, or parry anything coming his way.
It was…oddly enticing to watch him move like that.
Krystal smiled despite herself, her finger between her legs sliding over her clit with a little more insistence as she watched Fox work. He moved with surprising silence, not calling out the way that the warriors back home would. There was no war-cry as he jabbed the staff around, no shout as he delivered blows. He did not grunt, nor huff. He just moved, moving from strike to parry to strike without a word.
And his muscles rolled along his back and his arms in startling clarity. She could see every toned bulge, and couldn’t help but imagine having him against her again, finding those muscles by touch rather than just seeing them at a distance.
And then he spun, swinging the end of the staff around against several enemies at once. He faced her, briefly, and she saw his bulge. Hard again, not soft as it had become during their walk.
He has the battle-lust, too…
She shivered, having to force her finger away from her sex to avoid pushing herself further. It was getting out of control; eye-candy or not, she should be ready to help him if he needed it –
Boooong.
A deep gong-sound filled the air as Fox felled the last of the Sharpklaw. The room went from blue to purple, and she looked up as the spirit descended from above. Fox did as well, the staff still in hand as he turned on his heel to face the Krazoa Spirit.
You have done well, Warrior. Carry me home, it said with a voice that was gentler, but no less powerful, than the Krazoa God.
“Krystal?” Fox said, never taking his eyes off the spirit.
“Just…let it happen. It knows what to do.”
“Okay…I’m trusting you here.”
She knew that. She just hoped she was right.
Fox held his arms out to the sides, and Krystal watched as the Krazoa Spirit moved closer. The various tentacles oozing out from behind it wrapped around Fox on all sides, stroking over his thighs, his arms, his hands, his chest, and his neck. She remembered the fondling, stroking feeling that the other spirit had given her, and a little blush burned on her cheeks as she imagined going through it again.
Or with an audience…
Krystal kept her hands at her sides as she watched the tendrils continue stroking over Fox’s body. She wasn’t sure if she imagined it or not, but she was half-sure that the Krazoa Spirit actually slid one tentacle into his briefs, rubbing his rump, and Fox stood up a little straighter in a way that made her wonder what was happening at his front.
But there was no time to wonder properly. The Krazoa Spirit pushed forward, and Fox gasped, lifted up on tiptoe.
He’s fine. He’s fine. He’s fine.
She knew he was, could feel his thoughts and knew that there was no pain there. Everything she remembered told her that there was no pain in being filled with the spirit, even if it was new and uncomfortable at first. But that didn’t mean that it was easy to just stay there and let it happen, even as she watched him shiver and –
Bulge.
Bulge.
Bulge.
Her eyes went wide as the muscles along his shoulders and back popped, thickening and getting bigger as the spirit sunk deeper into him. His arms swelled, and his back hunched for a moment before he stood taller than ever.
What…
The power of the spirit continued to fill him, a faint purple sheen sliding over his fur as it went inside of him. She stared, slack-jawed, as Fox clenched his hands into fists, groaning and growling as he…as he just grew, she realized.
Not huge, not becoming some massive wolf-like being, but rather just becoming stronger, fitter, more powerful. He looked less sleek and more like some powerful warrior, his legs getting thicker in the thighs and calves and the just-visible abs at his stomach popping out harder, looking almost like muscle turned to armor.
And as he turned around, as he swayed toward the stairs, she saw him grow between his legs, as well. That throbbing bulge got bigger, an inch longer, two inches, three, before finally stopping. It was big enough that it pulled the waistband of his briefs forward, and she could just barely see the swell of his sac through the now-stretched leg holes. The garment was almost pointless, she realized.
Oh…my…
Her thoughts ran wild as she imagined what that would feel like. She tried to stop herself, but they kept coming, ramming through what little barriers of self-control that she tried to throw up. He was bigger, stronger, and…honestly, sexier than he had been, and the sheer size of that shaft between his legs –
He was nice inside of me before. But that…that would…
Krystal winced, knowing where those thoughts were going, and more, knowing how they were not what she needed. She pushed herself away from the wall, rushing up the steps to him, and held her hand out for her staff.
After a moment, he gave it to her. She squeezed it tight, holding the end of it against her cheek. She grounded herself with the feeling, slowly forcing her heart to slow down, and –
“Well, you enjoyed the show,” Fox said.
“…What?”
“I can smell it now. This…this thing makes it…really obvious,” he said, rubbing his nose and huffing. “Fuck…”
“…That is the one thing I think we should hold off on,” she said, even though her own body was screaming the same thing.
“At least…mmmph…at least until we get this sorted out, yeah. Fuck…fuck, I’m so…so big…”
Yes, yes, you are, and that would stretch me out more than you ever did before, and more than the staff did, and – I really, really, really need to stop thinking about this before I do something very, very stupid.
Krystal waved for him to follow, leading the way back to the portal out. It was going to be a long walk back to the Hollow, and she doubted that either of them was going to have very clean thoughts on the way. She just hoped that she’d be able to resist them until the spirit was no longer a factor.
The End
Summary: The first spellstone is returned, and a little more lore of the world is uncovered.