Chapter 68: Slaughter

[Phoenix's POV before Taylor disappeared]

Watching Taylor descend towards her Dad was a simple thing... But for some reason I was getting an odd feeling from the man, and wasn't entirely sure why. The baser instincts I gained from aliens like Wildmutt and Blitzwolfer were telling me there was some form of danger about him, that something was wrong, but I didn't know why. (Aside from the obvious...) Though I didn't really want to consider the possibility that her Father was turned into an unwilling bomb.

Thankfully, Taylor had reached her Father, so I didn't have to think about that particular thing at the moment. I watched as she became visible, startling Trickster who had somehow known she'd appeared behind him, only for her to disappear before he could finish speaking. With her gone it was time for me to start my part of the plan.

With a mental cackle I tightened the hold on the dial, then twisted. Ah Puch was meant to be a last resort, yes, but this was one of the ideal situations to use him in, so this could be excused... There was also probably influence from my Ectonurite nature, power like that was intoxicating after all, so it wouldn't Surprising if there was a little influence from there.

That thought aside, the familiar surge of power flowe...- Horror flooded through our Bond, an absolutely DELICIOUS feast being fed directly to my SOUL! (Oh yesyESYES!) The world around me blossomed into such a wondrous buffet of Anxiety/Self Doubt/Confusion/Depression/Rage.

It was all so tantalizing that I could feel my Evolved Ectonurite instincts salivating at the opportunity. (And it's all for ME!)

On reflex I dimmed my bio-luminescent chest and lower body, the emerald glow dimming to a black that matched the rest of my upper body. I flexed my claws, idly Annoyed at the loss of my pinky due to evolutionary 'Reasons.' The tendrils on my skull writhed as my emerald eye snapped open, zoning in on the tasty morsels registering that their little trap was foiled before it could even be sprung.(Ink Tank's Ultimate Ghostfreak. The vid's 'Giving Classic Aliens ULTIMATE FORMS: PART 2)

(Oh but that's not true at all, is it? Nonono, it's NOT!) There was a trap to be sprung, and I would not let it go to waste.

With a nearly silent cackle, I raised both hands to my skull, momentarily gripping the trio of tendrils growing out of my head before I ripped them out. There was no pain in this, it was essentially the same as plucking a hair to me. With them removed I opened my hands, encouraging the mental connection to form as I implanted my order. (Go, acquire me my morsels.)

My tendrils wriggled within the palms of my hand, quickly dissipating and flowing out of them like the smoke they'd become. I watched, Anticipating the moment my offshoots possessed their targets... Then paused once they did. Taking in what information I could get, I felt my eyes, three of which had grown on my head, narrow as I stared at 'Sundancer.' (This... Dangerous.) Sundancer herself would've been the antithesis to my current form, sunlight or plasma would've been enough to severely maim, if not outright kill me...

But this 'Sundancer?' The one who'd chosen to call herself 'Storm Rider', was capable of creating localized lightning storms. Not thunderstorms, nonono, not something so mundane, literal LIGHTNING storms were at the tips of her fingers for her to command. (No, she is dangerous.) I would not allow my meal to be interrupted by the only threat within the whole fucking state. (Devour her.)

That was all it took.

One simple command and I was being fed a delicacy that had my Evolved Ectonurite nature salivating. She didn't know what was happening, Panic flooding her soul as she fell to her knees and desperately brought her hands up to clutch her throat as if it would save her. But no, there would be no miracle, no mercy.

Only nourishment.

Even now,with hardly a few seconds of feed, I could feel one of my tendrils beginning to regrow. It would take time, and some passive absorption of the ambient heat/electricity to generate even more of my own 'Bio-electricity', but I would have another tendril soon.

"""MARS!/Rider!"""

I watched through one of my new eyes as 'Trickster' stared at Storm Rider, the eyes behind his full face mask seemingly wide as he watched her body visibly wither before his very eyes. He wasn't the only one of course, the rest of this ragtag little team were moving, the bear and turtle running towards her, the knight shifting its body and growing spikes all over itself as some form of protection, while the banshee woman backed away, going even paler then she already was. I could feel it, feel their Fear and Confusion.

It was DELICIOUS!

And I wanted MORE!

I increased the drain on Storm Rider, her limbs becoming rail thin as she collapsed onto the ground, a loud 'Crack' going through the silent warehouse as her now brittle bones snapped. |.h...x!| I ignored the buzz in the corner of my mind, something far more attention worthy playing out in front of me.

Storm Rider was dying.

She knew it.

These delectable morsels gathered around her knew it.

And the sheer quality of Despair they were producing because of those facts was a delicacy.

I watched through the eye connected to her, felt it through the offshoot feeding me her essence, and smiled an unseen smile as Storm Rider's life and Despair had been snuffed out, an eye snapping shut as its host breathed her last. It hadn't even taken long to drain the pathetic creature, just 46 seconds and all that she was, all she could have been, belonged to me. And yet her last thoughts, a prayer to God, was the most Amusing out of that whole situation to me. That meaningless prayer made me cackle at just how worthless it was.

There would be no God.

No relief or eternal rest for her, nor for the rest of these fools.

They wanted to trap a pair of monsters, yet they were a little under-prepared for just one of those monsters. How Sad. |.h...ix!|

The sound reverberated throughout the warehouse, spikes of Fear/Terror making my laugh sound crueler then it already was, further increasing the effects of the former emotions.

It was such an Amusing little feedback loop!

The sudden explosion of Wrath made me pause though, a little Curious about the source. "WHO'S THERE?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Trickster, who had decided to keep the name for some reason, was wildly looking around, frantic in his search for me...

And as I watched him, I couldn't help but ponder why I shouldn't indulge the unfortunate little clone. (It's not like he'll live for much longer. He'd may as well spend the rest of his short little life entertaining me before I get tired of him.) That thought only grew when a portion of the ceiling disappeared, being replaced by concrete. Naturally, physics did not accept concrete where proper infrastructure was, causing it to plummet to the ground with a loud reverberating slam.

I looked between the now broken chunk of cement, the steel rafters on the ground, then to Trickster, who still didn't know where I was...

And had such a marvelous idea.

The quality of Desp...- |PHOENIX!| My entire body spasmed, eyes snapping towards the sudden source of Fearful Worry. Appearing from seemingly nowhere was a black and gold clad figure, the head uncovered to show a female Ectonurite that sparked emotions comparable to Agony against my own Evolved Ectonurite nature. My claws wrapped around my head, eyes slamming shut as the pain wracked through my form.

It was wrongwrongwroNG! Agony was meant to be a delicacy that would fuel my feast! It WAS NOT MEANT TO HURT ME!

"SKRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...-" A hand slammed against my chest, the strength that welled within my form receding faster then it ever had before, and with it, a good portion of the Agony that'd been slamming into my skull. With Ah Puch's Madness gone, I could sort of think clearly... And I really wished I couldn't considering the unholy headache I had. "Ugh... Fuckin...-"

And then a pair of arms were wrapped around me, the familiar feeling of my Mate bringing me back to reality. |You're okay! Oh thank God you're okay!| I could feel the Worry and Concern radiating off of her side of the Bond, feel the traces of Fear and Horror just beneath them, and did my best to try and fix myself s...- Everything was set aside as a wave of Wrath surged through the Bond, my eye snapping open just in time to see a fucking massive chunk of concrete falling towards us.

Reacting more on instinct then anything conscious, I activated my intangibility. My Mate apparently had the same idea, so the concrete just harmlessly fell through us and went careening down to the ground.

For a moment, there was silence. We didn't move, the mo...- Clones and 53's didn't say anything, and the emotions coming through our Bond were muted... Until Trickster opened his fat fucking mouth. "GET DOWN HERE AND DIE!"

This time the steel rafters he'd broken earlier were now falling towards us, and we both came alive. [I'm going to kill them. All, of them.]

There would be no compromise. My head was pounding, my body felt both full and broken, and I was one step away from turning into Gravattack in order to drop a black hole on this entire fucking state.

I had run out of fucks to give, and no longer cared we were in Phoenix Arizona.

My Mate was silent for a moment, staring into my eye with her own, before slowly nodding. She most likely knew what I was feeling, and thankfully didn't want to argue about it. The ocean of Wrath within her was repurposed as she looked up to the sky, her tail whipping around and curling like a scythe. |I'll get the mercenaries.|

And like that, she flew towards the roof... Leaving me alone in a warehouse with people I wanted nothing more but to tear limb from limb.

My eye shifted down my body, coming to a stop on my back as I stared at Trickster. The stupid clone just glared back at me, his eyes far too expressive behind a mask, but I knew. Underneath his Rage had been a pool of Fear and Desperation that even now, was most likely still there...

And I'd give him ample reason to fear me. "You want me? Then you will get me."

[Play Beethoven Virus - Diana Boncheva ft BanYa]

And with that, I went invisible before I shot towards the banshee woman, hand raised as I dove, then pressed the dial as I was in range. My momentum would be enough to carry me as I changed out of Ghostfreak, because for as much as my head felt like I'd been slammed into a steel wall, I wasn't stupid enough to stay in a form linked to one that I'd lost control of.

That aside, out went Ghostfreak, in came a Blitzwolfer who was moving like a speeding bullet towards Acceptable Prey. The Not-Banshee was bound to be the simplest to eliminate due to her being the frailest, and my instincts confirmed this. My headache had subsided, pure predatory instinct slotting itself in so I could both recognize her weakness, as well as take in the moment my prey recognized what was going to happen. Her eyes, which were pure red, widened, her heart hammered in her chest, and she managed to get out a "Ple...-" Before my jaws clamped down on her throat, my claws spearing into her shoulders as my body slammed into hers. I'd idly believed she could go intangible, which would be a minor disaster, but either she couldn't, or it was an activated ability.

Either way, she hadn't done it, and for that she would die.

We crashed into the ground, a 'Snap' echoing in my ears as her spine shattered against my weight and the floor. I took a moment to savor the taste in my mouth, then yanked my head up, ripping out her throat and reflexively swallowing the flesh as I did. (An acceptable ambush for subpar prey.) I brushed the thought aside as I tore my claws out of her shoulders, using her body to propel myself forwards to the nearest wall in order to avoid the combination of falling steel and what sounded/felt like a blade of wind. (Is it..?) Impaling the wall with a hand and foot, I looked towards the sources, seeing that yes, the bear man's tail was indeed poised like it launched a projectile. (Hmm... Worthy prey.)

My ears registered the sounds of gunshots, the beating of fragile wings and chittering of tiny claws, while my eyes flickered over to Trickster. His head was lined up with where I was, which was bad.

Retracting my claws led me to fall back to the ground, just in time to avoid being effected by Trickster replacing the wall with a part of the roof. "STAY STILL YOU FUCK!"

I didn't bother replying, instead opting to open my maw in his direction. "SHIT!" A rather apt summary of what happened next.

"AWOOOOOOOOOO!" My howl rent the stone in front of me, heading straight towards him. He managed to evade due to the distance between us, but one of his legs was caught in it, a scream leaving his throat as the limb was mangled. I took notice of the fact he didn't swap places with one of his 'Team', but filed it away. The Worthy Prey had his hands on his head, face scrunched up in pain, most likely due to some enhanced senses.

Seeing the clear sign of weakness I closed my maw and lunged. The brief flash of Annoyance momentarily distracted me from my prey, but because it did I noticed the sound of liquid rushing against the ground, as well as slow sizzling coming nearer. Not risking it I jumped, opened my maw, then howled straight down. "AWOOOOOOO!"

The floor cracked, dust exploded outwards, and I flipped over in time to see a surge of silver liquid engulf where I'd previously been, melting the area before my howl blasted it away. (Simple prey. One direct howl will splatter it for long enough to deal with the rest.) Landing onto the ground, I lunged towards the nearest prey, my eyes lighting up as I took in the still reeling form of the bear. The Worthy Prey would be felled by my claw, nothing would stop that.

The bear wouldn't go simply, lashing out with his tail and an arm the moment he noticed my approach, but that was fine. Worthy Prey deserved a proper strug...- I yelped as a spinning shell slammed into my side, Pain momentarily coursing through me as my body flew through the air. Righting myself was simple, as was slamming my claws into the ground, slowing myself to a stop. I took a moment to take stock of the tear in my abdomen, my Rage flaring as I noticed a gash having been torn into me from the sharp spikes adorning his shell. (HE DARES?!)

The wound itself was of no consequence, it would heal as all wounds did, it was the fact he had interrupted my take down that Infuriated me. The turtle bore his teeth, my own fangs coming out as I growled at the pe...- PAIN! Yelping, I jumped away from my previous spot, the ground beneath me having been replaced by a portion of wall... Which included my claws, as well as some of the flesh at the tip of my fingers and toes! There was only one person capable of that, my eyes snapping towards the down but not dead form of Trickster. (THEY DARE?!) I growled, the sound filling the air as I glared at the prey before me.

Knowing better then to stay in place and let the Worthless Prey ensnare more of my flesh, I ran. I ignored the pulses of Pain from my hands and feet, focusing on encircling all the prey before me and ensuring their deaths. (Worthy Prey will be difficult to hunt with the pest guarding it. Worthless Prey is already injured, and seemingly immobile, yet is about to be protected by the Mimic...) My growl reached a fever pitch, and I opened my maw. (Distract, then KILL!)

Seeing my maw open put the prey on guard... How unfortunate they were not the targets. "AWOOOOOOOOOO!" My howl slammed into the ground in front of me, stone and dust exploding outwards and covering me from view. Raising a blooded paw towards my chest I palmed the dial, then twisted.

My wounds healed, power engulfed my being, and I knew what I would do with it.

Slamming my hind legs into the ground, I shot into the air. Taking a moment to mark where my prey were, and to note the Mimic was now in front of and guarding the Worthless Prey, I moved my auxiliary jaws back and fired. """AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!""" The wall behind me shattered, the bear screamed in Agony, dropping to his knees and grabbing his head as my body shot forwards like a speeding bullet.

It didn't matter if they could see me, they would be too slow to react to my sudden acceleration.

And they were, especially my target. The pest barely had enough time to enter his shell before I was upon him.

My body crashed onto the ground besides him, a clawed paw gripping his head as I slammed it down onto ground, cratering it. The Pest struggled in my grip, fruitlessly trying to free his head as I tightened the hold I had against his skull, claws digging into his flesh as I did. With a growl, echoed by my auxiliary maws, I ran forwards, dragging The Pest with me as I shot towards towards the Worthless Prey. His removal was paramount to prevent further interruptions to my hunt of the Worthy Prey.

As I drew closer to the wounded Human, the Mimic rose, its form turning into a mockery of my own, charging at me with claws and auxiliary maws, making me growl. "Foolish creature!" I raised my filled paw, throwing The Pest towards The Mimic.

The fool avoided the impromptu projectile by turning back into a puddle of silver, yet that was what I wanted. Slamming both paws into the ground, I anchored myself and opened my main maw, while lining up all of my auxiliary maws. """""BEGONE! GWOOOOOOOOO!/AOOOOOOOOO!""""" The combined howl obliterated everything in front of me, including the shielding around the building if the sound of something shattering like glass was anything to go by.

Not letting my guard down yet, I surveyed the area, my ears flicking about as I focused on the sounds of heartbeats in my general vicinity. The Worthy Prey still lived, but his heart thundered in his chest, the scent of Fear prevalent enough to lead me to believe he would either die like a rat or give me a proper struggle before I ended his life.

I hoped for the latter, I truly did. |Finished?|

[End song]

For a moment, I paused. I knew the voice of course, but the fact it was in my head forced me to think...

Then recognize what the fuck was going on. I growled to myself for a second, my instincts were apparently fucked because of Ah Puch, then shook my head. [Boutta be. You?]

The sounds of insects intensified, the feeling of my Mate coming closer led me to look up through the broken parts of the ceiling. Because of that I managed to see my Mate, in full Rhea form, drop down from the ceiling and onto the ground besides me. Our eyes met, and I could already tell her answer without needing to check her emotions or get a response. |There'll probably be an uptick in anything from the 'Pede' family. Flies too if the bodies aren't devoured before their breeding cycles are done.|

My nose twitched at that, pests were pests, but I shook the thought away and huffed as she started coming towards me. [That's whatever.] I paused again as my Mate circled me, once again checking for wounds. I wasn't nearly as wounded the last time I became Anubis, the wounds I sustained earlier having been healed... They'd still ache when I went back to my base form, but as of now I was fine.

Though she most likely didn't believe the same considering her hackles raised, she growled a bit, Annoyed Anger coming through from the Bond, then turned to glare at the downed form of the Worthy Prey, which had apparently fallen unconscious at some point. I snorted at the glare she sent him, as well as the way her growl increased in volume when she turned back to glare at me. "Didn't even hit me." Which was true. I hadn't even gotten the chance to sink my fangs into his hide before getting interrupted and blowing everything in front of me to hell.

She kept growling for a bit, but slowly came to a stop, huffing as she shook her head and started turning back into herself. Getting the idea I reached up to the dial, gently pressing it when my paw reached it... And immediately winced when I turned back into Blitzwolfer, a low whimper coming through as the Pain of losing my claws and finger/toe flesh, as well as having a chunk torn out of me registered. They were fine for now, and the Pain had already receded, though Concern once again came through the Bond, and I shot my Mate a shaky, but Amused grin. "Don't say a goddamn word." I just gave her the most innocent look I could at the moment, making her scoff.

The flicker of Relief I felt from her was noted, but unmentioned.

That aside, I shook my head, dropping down onto my hind legs and momentarily resting against the ground. Neither of us immediately said anything, a silence filling the air, aside from the sounds of a fuckton of bugs doing bug things in the background...

Then she spoke. |There's a bomb attached to my Dad's ribs.|

...

...

...

[Is it bad to say I expected it in his brain?] Because I did. This was Bakuda, even if she was in this weird state of constantly Triggering and may or may not be controlled via her Shard. It also made sense to me considering Cauldron were probably fucked up enough to go for it,

Though, the physical twitch, which was immediately followed by the small spike in Annoyance, told me that yes, yes it was. [What are the rest of the Pack doing about it?] Because there was no doubt in my mind they were already up to something.

And just as I thought, she confirmed it. |They're going to modify one of the Vita Chambers to work as a surgical apparatus. Apparently it'll be a 2 birds 1 stone situation since they're planning on setting up that meeting with Uppercrust soon.|

Ah, that. I almost forgot about it considering all the shit we'd been dealing with. [Time?] Depending on how long it took I'd either have to wait, or just put on my big boy pants and tough through whatever Pain I'd be in later, because there was no doubt in my mind that there would be consequences to me losing control over Ah Puch, as well as my nails and flesh.

Her reply was immediate. |With or without us helping?| And of course there was a good question.

I hummed at it, idly watching as she palmed her Hawkmoon, then let go, only to do it again. She was Nervous, for good reason considering this involved her Father, but not something to directly call out. [Both. Latter then former.]

|Without us they can get it done in an hour. With us it will take a quarter of that.|

My hum dragged on at that, noting the silent demand. That was enough for me. [I'm probably going to be sore as all hell when we get back... Probably a bit manic too if I change into one of the Big Brains...] Even now, I was actively beating back the Loboan instincts to go put the Worthy Prey out of its Misery and feast on his flesh. Throw in a loss of control over Juryrigg or Brainstorm, and you got a fuckin issue on multiple fronts. The former could/probably would turn our home upside down or figure out interplanetary travel on 'Purpose', while the latter would probably piss someone off with his condescending attitude... Or create another A.I because he wanted to outdo the Dragon Sisters...

I pushed those thoughts aside, continuing with my response. [Though, I could probably manage 15 minutes.] Which was true. The only reason I was as fucked up as I was was because you couldn't exactly train against getting your nails ripped out by Power bullshit, or suddenly fighting alien instincts after having sucked out someone's life force...

Well, we could, but no shot in hell was I going to suggest either, because that was bound to get us fucked up.

There was a pulse of Affectionate Gratitude, as well as a physical reaction of her posture Relaxing from its tense state, at that, but I just mentally brushed it away. I'd rather she focus on her Father then the fact she'd made me temporarily insane.

After that I growled, getting up and stretching my body to work out any kinks I might've missed. I wasn't going to turn back yet, Humans had more sensitive nerves in our hands and feet then Loboans did, and I wasn't about to have a seizure over the sensations of losing my nails and toes.

When something eventually popped in my back, I looked over to the Worthy Prey, licking my lips as I took in his vulnerable form. It'd be easy to just trot over and snap his neck with my jaws, and would get me a filling amount of food should I want it. Unfortunately for me, and fortunately for the Worthy Prey, my Mate had another idea. |Wait, we need him.| I paused, side eying my Mate as I sent a inquiry for answers. |He might have information on Cauldron,| The unimpressed raised brow I sent her earned me a huff, but she went on. |Okay, that's shit and we both know it.| I snorted. |But we still need to test the Case 53 cure, and we've got a test subject right there.|

Now that was something that made me think. That was going to be something we did, I hadn't forgotten, especially after Aunt Dragon had made me promise to work on them when there was time.

Having a guinea pig would help in the long run with that particular project. (Plus, we could always dispose of him if it doesn't work, or he's a shit.) Nodding at that thought, I turned back to my Mate, narrowing my eyes at the sudden stiffness, as well as Confusion coming from her. [What's wrong?]

The silence was not only unexpected, but somewhat Worrying.

It only got worse when she answered.

|Apparently The Roost was under attack..?|

...

...

...

When I fully processed what I'd just heard I had the appropriate response. I saw red, my fur bristled, claws digging into the cracked and broken concrete, and my maw split open as Wrath surged through me. "WHAT?!" My body shook at the unreleased Sonic Howl, phantom pains wracking my form, but I didn't care about either of those.

Our Den had been assaulted!

Den Mother was still there!

Our Hatchling and Shared Mate were there!

ANYONE THAT HURT THEM WOULD SUFFER!

|CALM DOWN!| My eyes locked onto the hidden ones of my Mate, a growl rumbling through my throat as I glared at her. She DARED order me to calm down after being told that?! |Amy, Scylla and Melody fended them off.| My growls lowered, my maw slowly coming to a close as my mind registered that...

Then my Human brain realized something there that stood out. [Mother I can see... Scylla I also see,] Our Hatchling was quite an effective hunter, so it was no Surprise that she helped... [But Amy?] Our Shared Mate wasn't exactly combat trained, so hearing she helped had reasonably brought me up short.

My Mate just nodded, but I felt her Surprised Pride, which only made me more Curious.

Feeling my Curiosity, she elaborated. |So... Apparently, this was right after I ported back here, Amy just finished working on her Suit, after the alarms went out, and Mom alerted her that there were mercenaries and Capes on the mountain range.|

My hackles rose again, the connection being made instantly. [Cauldron!] She nodded at me, her lips set in a taught line as her posture tensed. Neither of us liked what we were hearing, and knowing that Cauldron was officially starting to move against us wasn't helping. [Are they fine?] The Roost would be fine, it was strong enough to withstand a nuclear explosion after all, but Amy and Scylla were far too squishy for my liking.

Den Mother was an A.I, she was practically immortal so long as the internet existed, so my Worry for her, as present as it was, was lesser then what I'd felt for them.

My Mate went to nod, but paused, looking at me, then the Worthy Prey. |Let's go home first. It'll be easier for them to tell/show us what happened.| I huffed at that, she wasn't wrong, and turned to the Worthy Prey. My Mate could easily lift him by using her Suits Strength Mode, but it would be easier for me to just impale him with my claws and drag him along as we ported back home.

So I did just that.

My claws easily sunk into his hide, I'd been tempted to grasp his spine, he wouldn't die if I tore something and 'Accidentally' paralyzed him, but eventually settled for just hooking my claws around his shoulder blade.

With him done, I dragged him towards my Mate, who was just staring at me with Resigned Exasperation. I wasn't really sure why she was feeling that, this was just the simplest solution, but whatever.

After shaking her head a bit, physically and mentally, she placed a hand on my shoulder, and without any fanfare, we ported away from the warehouse. I had to shake away the sudden Discomfort from teleporting, but when I did I was able to pick up the scents of our Shared Mate and Hatchling.

Not waiting for them to come to us I yanked my claws from the Worthy Prey's hide, ignoring the Annoyed sigh and mentions of 'Blood on the rug', bounding out towards the source of their scents. That was easy considering the door was open, granting me instant access to the mountain range. My eyes roamed the area, the lack of sunlight not hindering me at all as my eyes darted towards the spot my nose picked up their scents, leading me to see our Shared Mate, Hatchling, Den Mother(s), and vehicles.

I didn't care about what they were gathered around, instead homing in on my Shared Mate and Hatchling. I shot forwards, clearing the distance between us in moments. "What the fu...-" My eyes roamed my Shared Mate's form, scrutinizing the primarily black Suit with toxic purple highlights, the emblem of purple coiled serpents on her chest. Her mask was fine, serpentine features and caustic marigold slit snake eyes to see out of, so all around an acceptable look.

That wasn't what I really cared for at the moment, my eyes checking her over for any wounds, which was difficult to do considering she was fully Suited up. Mentally growling at my inability to check if she was hurt, I looked at her, staring at her through the snake eyes of her mask. "Healthy? Safe?"

She was silent for a moment, a scent of Confusion coming from her. She shook her head after a moment, the scent decreasing a bit as she did. "Uh... Yeah? I'm fine." I narrowed my eyes for a bit, listening to her heartbeat to ensure she wasn't hiding anything. When her heartbeat stayed steady, I nodded, Relaxing as I dipped down, nuzzling my Shared Mate's masked form for a few moments as I did.

Hear heartbeat picked up, body locking in place at the close contact, but that was fine. She would get used to our Affection in time.

There were giggles coming from nearby, an eye opening as I took in the form of my Den Mother leaning against Behemoth in its Duel Runner configuration. We looked at each other for a moment before I decided to disregard it, it'd be mentioned later.

After I had that thought something poked my abdomen, both eyes opening as I backed away to get a good look at my Hatchling. She was coiled around her Mother, her feathers, armor, and scales somewhat dirtied by blood and the odd bit of flash snagged on the aforementioned parts. Yet despite that my little snake seemed quite Pleased with herself going by the massive fanged smile she gave me. "$Daddy! Daddy I did it! I bit the baddies! I helped Mommy and Granny,$" It took far too much control to not snort at what she called Den Mother. "$Take out the bad people trying to take our home! I did good, right Daddy?$"

I grinned at her, my Hatchling helping protect the Den had me feeling quite Proud of her. Deciding to show her how Proud of her I was I nuzzled her just like I'd done her Mother, earning me the equivalent of giggles from a snake.

It was a nice sound in my opinion.

"$Daddy no! I can clean myself!$" Said giggles had turned into whines when I started bathing her, her hunt was over, she had no reason to still be dirty, especially when I was right here. "$Mommy, get him to stooooop!$"

Her pleas went ignored, mainly because her Mother was still processing my show of Affection... And also because she couldn't understand Methanosian Serpent.

"# God, this is going straight to my Core Memories. #" That was noted, but ignored...

For now.

[A half hour later]

Now that my Loboan instincts were placated, and the bear dude was locked away somewhere, I could think way more clearly then before. Probably helped that I was back to myself at the moment too, and had already gone through the whole transferred Pain thing...

Which hurt like a BITCH! I officially sympathized with anyone who had to deal with hangnails or shit like that, because holy shit I would've preferred to get more chunks torn outta me then losing my nails. (Ripping out nails being a torture technique makes sense now.)

Shooing that thought away, I sunk into the bed, taking Comfort in my mattress and the familiar weight of my Daughter's head on my chest.

We'd done the thing for Taylor's Dad, so he would be bomb free long before tomorrow morning. All that was left now was waiting for Amy and Taylor to come back with whatever we were going to eat, then have the former tell us what the fuck we missed during my temporary insanity, and our shared slaughter of fuckers that thought they could trap us.

After that...

Well, we'd figure it out... Though one thing was for sure, we were going to make Cauldron hurt for pulling this shit, and I had many, many ideas on just how to do that.

Next ch is solely Amy's POV of what happened while they were out.

And just so there's no confusion about why Taylor's Horror at finding a bomb in her Dad fueled Ah Puch as opposed to hurt him like her concern and worry did, it's about the context behind them. Her Horror was purely negative, while her worry was negative in nature, but was focused on her worry for him... Which doesn't make much sense in those words.

It's like being scared of being shot, or worried about someone you care about being shot. They're the same emotion, but the context behind them are different.

Anyway, Evo summary.

Ah Puch/Evolved Ectonurite(Again from The Ink Tank) - Around the time the Loboans went to war against invading species, the Ectonurite's had been dealing with issues of their own. The sudden loss of Luna Lobo did not go unnoticed, prompting various species to begin taking an interest in the Anur System in order to figure out how exactly a planet just suddenly disappeared. Sensing new victims, the Ectonurite's began picking them off, taking whoever they wanted.

Unfortunately for them these species didn't take being attacked kindly, retaliating with extreme prejudice. Yet despite their frail appearances, Ectonurite's were the powerhouses of the Anur System. For every one they lost, 10 of their enemies were made examples of, provoking an even more drastic response. It didn't help the invaders that they were fighting on and around THEIR planet, leading to a swift annihilation of the invading forces...

Yet it did not stop there.

Due to the attack, as well as the defilement of their people, multiple races declared war against Anur Phaetos and the Ectonurites. Over decades of the war against multiple races, the Ectonurites were forced to evolve, to become far better then they were in order to crush their opposition beneath their non existent heels. So they developed new abilities, long range and remote controlled possession, ambient heat/electrical absorption, telekinesis, as well as the ability to always be intangible. There were trade offs of course, but it would be worth it to show their invaders their wrath.

Ah Puch gains

Sunlight immunity

Remote controlled possession/feeding

Permanent intangibility

Telekinesis

Ambient heat/electricity absorption

Short range Bio-Electric stun bolts

Negative emotion sensing

Ectonurite spawning

Ah Puch loses

Super Strength(He can't fucking touch anything)

Density shifting

Offensive tentacles

Weaknesses

Energy intensive(Starve him of heat and electricity and he'll fuckin die)

Instincts overpowering reason

Radiation/Plasma/Lightning