Monsterverse 5 - ch 3

I sprinted through the monster woods, growling as I rubbed against another one of those blue plants. It had my leg this time, same side as before, and the itching started almost immediately.

“Do the armor thing like last time,” Kinara said, and I shook my head. “No time, we have to find them.”

Except, not three steps later and I collapsed, my leg immobile. A shout sounded from nearby, and I pushed myself up to try and see what it was, then shifted as another shout came. Kinara was at my side, shouting, “Basty, do it!”

I agreed, and said, “Please, Basty.”

Immediately, the little guy was off of me, running back in the direction of the blue plant.

“We have trouble,” Suiko said, joining me and Kinara.

“What is it?” Kinara asked.

“I’m not sure, but I imagine those are the Mamadules mentioned.”

She showed me a vision of what she’d seen. Tall, metallic legs moved through the land, sweeping up creatures in their nets. They had some of the hairy ones we’d met—the Eadrags—and to my horror, I realized one of them had Amabie! Another had Jalee, and all of her lightning bursts weren’t doing a damn thing to get her free.

“They must have Lizzy and Randi, too,” I grunted, trying to stand but falling. “FUCK!”

Another shout came, and I knew that one because it was so similar to the noise she made during climax--Milrae.

“What are they?” I asked.

“Tools of the Hunters,” Kinara said, shivering, as she wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to the cover of plants nearby as the ground shook. “And one’s coming.”

“We’ve fought monsters before,” I countered, hating the burning, piercing sensation that was radiating up from my leg.

She ran a hand over my forehead. “Dear, we’re in my world now. Trust me when I say that this is going to be unlike anything you’ve dealt with. And… try to save us.”

“What?”

“It might not be able to hunt you in the same way it can my kind. So… I’ll distract it while you get healed up, then you do your damned best to follow and get us out of there. Otherwise, we came here for nothing.”

“Don’t you dare,” I started, but she was already up and running. She leaped into the air, flapping her arms and gaining momentum to dart off to the left.

My heart thudded strong, blood coursing across my skull. Kinara was out of sight, lost to the darkness, and I had no idea what it was I was going up against.

Then again, a second later I had a better concept. A massive, metal leg slammed into the ground in front of me, not ten paces off. It was as thick as a tree and had moving parts at work, another landing almost out of my area of sight. Then came the nets, swooshing through the air, carrying with them a scent like pepper or cayenne. It hit my nostrils, stinging, and I momentarily forgot about my leg.

A yelp sounded and I hung my head, knowing that had to be Kinara. Even when I felt Basty’s slimy tongue on my leg, healing me, I couldn’t look up.

“Suiko?” I said.

“I’m here,” she replied.

“You couldn’t have stopped her? That thing?”

She appeared at my side, sitting with legs pulled up to her chest, eyes focused out on the darkness.

“No,” she said. “Even back home something like that would have been a challenge. Here, I feel that my powers are largely held at bay. But I can trace them, at least to a distance.”

“Please do.” For the first time since we had all stripped, when I looked at her there was zero amount of checking her out involved. I was simply too freaked out, too worried, and still very much in pain.

Basty was done, and as before, thin armor covered the area. I was able to remove it, but it stayed in place almost like a magnet. Again, I was tempted to use this as a way of covering and protecting my groin, but couldn’t bring myself to endure either the pain of the plant on my genitals or the rest of what it would take. I’d keep the armor I had for now, but not rush to get more.

More importantly, I could use my leg again. I stood, scooped up Basty, and mentally pulled at Suiko to join me. I began to sprint, going all out, but Suiko was at my ear, shouting, “There’s no way. Charging in like this won’t do any good.”

“I can’t let them all be captured!” I leaped over a rock, landed with one leg in a swampy puddle, and nearly fell. Catching myself and pushing against a tree to get my direction right, I kept going. Those metal legs were ahead, glistening faintly in the light. Less so, as they moved again, becoming more distant.

Suiko seemed to be correct--there wasn’t much chance of me catching up, But such a thing as futility wasn’t about to stop me. I charged on, giving it my all until my legs gave out and I went flying to land on the ground, thudding there, and then bouncing before I rolled and came to a stop.

I lay there, panting, staring up at the sky. How was I supposed to live with myself having let them go? As dark clouds moved to block out streaming light in the sky, I closed my eyes and thought back on that first time meeting Kinara. The taste of her mouth on mine, and then the others, too. This was impossible! Ahlaksiz was so wise, Milrae so strong. All of them were the most powerful beings I’d ever come across, and now they were… what, exactly? Toys or food for hunters?

“Very interesting… pose.” Suiko floated over me, and I realized I was lying there, spread eagled. I groaned, turning slightly, but not caring enough to really bother sitting up.

“What’s any of it matter?” I asked.

“If you think running after them is the only way, I’d have to say it’s time for a lesson in strategy. Also, in not giving up like a little bitch.”

“Hey now.” I frowned, eyeing her and realizing she was right. It wasn’t like I’d seen them get their heads blown off or anything like that. As long as they were still alive, I wasn’t without hope.

Suiko lowered herself to my side, kneeling in my line of sight. Basty morphed to join her, so that both of them were staring intently at me. The ground was cold against my skin, and worse, wet. I finally pushed myself up to sit, and returned their stare.

“Fine, we find another way. But since none of us are from here, how do you propose we do that?”

Suiko frowned, patting Basty on the head. As she did so, her hand became somewhat solid so that she could make contact.

“Find someone who would know, I suppose?” She turned, head rotating as if straight out of that exorcism movie. “I’m not sure where to start with that, but it’s one option.”

“In the meantime, we can head over in that direction, and hope to find help on the way.”

“Exactly. We don’t throw in the towel… ever.”

I reached out for her hand, and she took mine, helping me to stand. Once we were up, I continued to hold onto her hand, then pulled her in for a hug. Her body took form so that I could feel her against me, and we let that sit for a moment before I turned to Basty and motioned him up.

“You two are amazing,” I said. “Thank you for sticking with me. We’re going to save them--every one of them.”

Basty said, “Good,” then scampered up and leaped the last bit to land on my shoulder before going into scarf mode. I hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but I must’ve looked ridiculous, nude but for a scarf. Whatever, I grinned at the smile Suiko was giving me, likely having the same thought.

“If the darkness gets to be too much and you need to escape into one of the memories, let me know,” Suiko said.

I considered it, because damn, some of those memories could be fun. But no, I shook my head.

“We’ve wasted enough time as it is. Let’s keep moving.”

“Actually, I think I can make it happen while you move. I’ll stay at your side to keep you from stumbling into any trees.”

“I…” With a grin, I shrugged, but said, “It’s you who really wants it, huh?”

She looked caught, and nodded. “Experiencing it from your point of view is… wonderful. Plus, I’m thrown off by not being the most terrifying creature around.”

As we went, I decided to try the Suiko idea, so let her know. Soon we were whisked away, a memory of she and I going at it. As far as distractions went, this was the way to do it! Her perky breasts swaying, a hand on my balls, my hands gripping ghost ass. Oh, God, the moaning, her kiss, the way she sent warmth through me. Was this a memory, or somehow actually happening, if at least in our minds?

“Suiko?” I said, wondering if I could communicate with her while in the midst of this love making extravaganza.

“Yes?” she replied, my body tingling with the sound of her voice.

“Get ready.”

At that moment, the memory of me climaxed. When my cock tingled and then the warmth spread through me, the climax hitting, Suiko moaned as if she were orgasming. In a sense, I suppose, she was. Her moaning continued even after I’d left the memory, returning to my body as I ran across a dark plateau in the monster world.

Finally, she slowed, pulling me to a stop with her. She was breathing heavily, eyes half-shut. The hair between her legs glistened.

“Had fun?” I asked.

“It was perfect,” she replied, then pulled me in for a passionate kiss. A strange sensation swept over me, and I knew instantly that it wasn’t related to our mental escape.

She had started to move again, but I pulled her back, eyeing our surroundings.

“What is it?” she asked, catching on.

“I’m not sure yet.”

Off to the right was a cliff, with rolling hills beyond and a bramble of twisted trees. To the left and ahead, more swamplands, along with clumps of bushes and thicker trees that reminded me of humongous bok choy plants. Thick at the base, rising up to a canopy above. Likely providing shade during the day that allowed the clumps of bushes to grow beneath. It was on one of these thick trees that I saw the first marking--a V with what looked like a face in the middle. Painted with blue, maybe made from those blue plants I was starting a love-hate relationship with.

I motioned Suiko over, and alerted Basty to be ready. My bat senses hadn’t been of much use since arriving here, but now they were tingling.

“These remind me of markings back in Japan,” Suiko said. “A cult out west. The markings are quite different, but see how they form a pattern?”

“Pattern?” I eyed her, watching as she flew over to another tree to use her glow to highlight another painting. She did it again, and by the fourth, I was starting to get the idea--we seemed to be at the base of a V if looked at from a bird’s eye view. Which made me wonder, what would we find at the face of this formation?

Before we could go to find out, though, Suiko sent me the equivalent of a mental poke. I spun, ready for action, but what I saw came as quite a surprise. Kneeling on the ground at her side was a woman, and judging by her pale skin and lack of tail or wings, I had to assume she was human. Running forward, I got my confirmation, and saw it was Lizzy. Somehow, she’d managed to escape!

If we hadn’t left the memory when we did, we might have run right past her, leaving her behind for this possible cult or whatever had made the V and face.

“Liz, where’s Randi? The rest of them?” I knelt at her side, helping her to stand. She pulled back, though, eyes wide with fright. Finally, she seemed to register that it was me, and calmed.

“Taken.”  Lizzy held her head, looking down at the ground. After a beat, her gaze met mine. “Must be they can hunt monsters somehow, but the two of us, not…?”

“I don’t follow.”

Suiko materialized next to me. “Meaning, those strange metal things can sense monsters, and are programmed to go after them. You two, not so much. Same with Basty and me.” I had to assume Koharu had been swept up along with the others due to proximity, but wondered if maybe her kind had long ago been related to the monsters.

Lizzy nodded, but scooted away at the sight of her. “Are you really a… ghost? I wanted to ask before, but with so many of us, it felt wrong.”

“Does me being a ghost scare you more than them being monsters?” Suiko held out her arms, levitating off the ground, hair streaming out around her. “To answer your question, I am.”

“I see.” Lizzy gulped, eyes going to me, then back to the ghost. “And my turn. Maybe? I was terrified when Rand first switched to Randi, then when I saw the rest of the monsters. But somehow that always felt so unreal. Like I could pretend it was a dream. Seeing a real, actual ghost, though? That’s terrifying. The implications alone…”

“They explained to me that ghosts work differently to how we think of them,” I said.

Suiko nodded. “Your relatives, for example, probably not ghosts. Most people who die, actually, wouldn’t be.”

Lizzy nodded, then wrapped her arms around her chest, eyeing me with confusion. “Isn’t this all weird for you?”

I shrugged. “I suppose if you think of it like a twisted version of a nudist colony… It’s weird to know that I’m hanging out there, and that you might be looking, but a bit less weird as I get more used to it.”

Her eyes darted down, but she quickly caught herself. “Not that. I meant, all of it. How do you justify ghosts, monsters, this world?”

“You’re just now asking that?”

“We have time to think.”

“Indeed.” I pursed my lips in thought, then shrugged. “Oddly, I think in a way I kind of always knew it was out there. Even when I was reading, watching, or writing stories, it felt like I was simply getting a glimpse through a window that most people never bother to look through. You know?”

She frowned, but said, “Maybe.”

Her eyes went back to Suiko, and she said, “Can I touch you?”

“Can you…?” Suiko laughed, then held out a hand. “Solid, or do you want your hand to go through?”

“You can choose?”

Suiko nodded.

“If I were to walk through you…?” Lizzy bit her lip.

“That would be incredibly rude.” Suiko kept her hand out, even though she clearly was annoyed.

“Sorry, forget it.”

“Oh just…” Suiko stepped forward, grabbing her hand and holding it, then pulling it to her belly, and letting it pass through.

“Wicked,” Lizzy said, eyes lighting up as she pulled her hand back, eyeing it as if expecting there to be something on it, like residual ectoplasm.

I had to wonder what would happen if Suiko made herself solid when a hand was already in her, but decided the annoyed look on her face meant this wasn’t the time to ask.

“We need to find them,” I said. “Come on, maybe…” Eyeing her, it hit me what I should have done. “The mask.”

Her eyes widened and she turned, gripping me by the shoulders. “Don’t you dare. You heard what they said.”

“Yeah, but--”

“But nothing. I’ve seen first-hand what it can be like to lose control to that thing. If you hadn’t saved me, I’d have been trapped as raging darkness forever.”

“If it’s our only hope of saving them, it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“No!” She pulled me close, and before I knew what was happening, she’d taken the satchel!

“Liz,” I protested, going after her, but she turned and I saw a blur of shadow projecting where her leg was about to go--right into my exposed nuts!

Quickly throwing myself aside, I figured this was a time for more of a mental attack. I didn’t want to hurt her, after all. So as her kick slid past, thankfully not connecting with my scrotum, I let Basty have his fun.

A flash of darkness cut out, even the little light there was, and then I heard a scream. The light of Suiko glowed, showing Lizzy on the ground, backing up, scrambling, but clutching the satchel to her chest. Her eyes were darting about, clearly seeing something that wasn’t there.

“Hand it over,” I commanded.

She let out another scream, then rolled in the semi-swamp, getting herself filthy, clearly trying to protect herself from something that wasn’t there.

“Enough, Basty,” I said, and knelt at her side. “Liz, this isn’t the--”

Her hand had shot out, cutting off my words as it gripped my balls, fiercely. She leaned in, face an inch from mine, and said, “You promise you aren’t going to use the mask. Promise, or I end your ability to ever have children right here. These bad boys pop, and I run off with the mask.”

“It won’t be that easy, though,” Suiko said, appearing at my side, hand on her wrist.

Whatever intimidation effect she’d been going for, Lizzy was clearly more terrified of the mask. Still, the increased pressure on my balls told me this did have her worried. In any other situation, the thought of her holding my balls while my limp cock lay across her wrist would have been a turn on. Given the threat, it was far from one.

A flash of terror in Lizzy’s shifty eyes told me Basty was trying something, and the grip suddenly became very painful.

“Okay, okay,” I said. “Basty, back off. Suiko, we’re good. Liz, are you with me? Liz--listen, I won’t use the mask, okay? Not here, not like that. Can you…?”

She blinked, eyes moving to her hand as if realizing for the first time what was happening. Her thumb ran along my testicle, and then she released it, falling back, putting her hand to her mouth in surprise. Yeah, same hand, which I later looked back on and found humorous, but at the time we were all too freaked out for such thoughts.

“What’d I do,” she said, then knelt, handing over the satchel, head lowered. “It was like fear took over, and I had no control.”

I slowly reached out and accepted the satchel back, looping it over my head and under my left side--the side with the armor. Clearly, I’d have to be more careful with it. Plus, Lizzy’s actions had given me something to really think about.

“Forget about it,” I said, leaning back on my heels in a kneeling position, breathing deep in hopes of the dull pain leaving. As I breathed, I shared a worried glance with Suiko, but also noticed that this area had a heavier swamp smell than before.

“Are you okay?” Lizzy reached out as if her touch would help somehow, but stopped, realizing where her hand was going. She froze, making eye contact with me. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey…” I took her hand, and kissed the back of it. “Look, it’s nothing. I mean, a few years ago that would’ve been a real big step in my contact with a woman, but now? Forget about it.”

She looked relieved that I was making a joke out of it, and leaned back, chuckling.

A blast of cold wind sent us shivering, and suddenly she was on me again, this time arms wrapped around me, sheltering herself from the wind. I’d gone rigid, though, almost expecting another attack. When no hand gripped my balls or strikes of any sort came my way, I held her, too, and made eye contact with Suiko.

Her expression showed uncertainty, even worry. I got it. This woman had just attacked me! On top of that, she wasn’t really part of the group, and here we were, pressed together, nude.

“Don’t worry,” I said, mentally so that only Suiko would hear. “Nothing is going to happen.”

Another gust of wind came, and this time it was accompanied by my bat sense telling me danger was close. It wasn’t from Lizzy, either. We had company.