Asher's Futa Chronicles

***

James and Remmi deal with the after-effects of Asher's fight with the Tempest B.

Enjoy!

PS: Got a long chapter next week for y'all. FYI.

***

Chapter 30

JAMES

*I lost her, James. Can you still feel her? I can't feel her anymore!* Shae's panicked mental voice pounded at the inside of my skull.

I know Shae and Asher had gotten close...as close as two people could get. Maybe even closer than Shae and I were? No, I knew that wasn't true. She was the one who made me, after all. Plus, we'd had history long before that. It was just my insecurities talking. It couldn't be jealousy. I cared for that twerp Asher just as much as Shae did.

But the longer their relationship had gone on, the more anxious Shea became, which wasn't like her at all. I guessed the long-distance relationship was reminding Shae of the early days of our relationship. But then again...I was probably trying to make this about me and not what it was really about.

*It's OK, Shae,* I soothed the ancient vampire that was my wife. That's unfair, was 300 ancient? *At the end, I felt someone else helping Asher.*

*Who?* Shae asked, her mental voice full of trepidation. *Tara says it wasn't her and Rhi's...well...you know what shape she's in right now.*

This reminded me of the wringer my little Gestalt had been put through lately. Four people trying to man an outpost designed for 100+ soldiers stretched even our special talents. Of course, those soldiers were Daemons who'd been designed to be better than us from the start. It was no wonder Rhi had been forced to...that she was...the way she was, now.

The thought of Rhi's condition started me on a spiral of PTSD remnants...but that's what happened when you shared a mind with three other people. Correction, four.

*I don't know, Shae,* I said softly and rubbed my eyes. They were burning from exhaustion. I'd been unable to sleep for the last few days. Trying to get The Roadhouse up to a war footing was only one excuse. Asher was the other.

I'd been working on fortifications when I'd sensed Asher's predicament. Asher's mental connection with the Gestalt had been growing since she'd bonded with Shae during their two days together.

At first, Shae held the strongest connection with Asher, but as time passed, my link with Asher had overtaken Shae's. We still couldn't figure out why, but then again, none of us really understood how our Gestalt worked.

Natalie had been the one who'd done this to us; she was the only one who knew how it all worked. But she died when our Bio Hab burned, and we'd been trying to figure it out on our own ever since.

Rhi, Shae, and I had been able to speak in one another's heads nearly from the start. Tara had taken a little while, but nowhere near as long as Asher was taking.

We weren't sure at first if Asher had been added to the Gestalt. Part of me hoped the girl had been excluded from the weird link. The poor thing had been through enough as it was without being subjected to the insanity we'd been through. But the selfish part of me didn't want to let her go.

But as time went on, it was clear she was part of our Gestalt. We just didn't understand why it was taking her so long to integrate. We could catch glimpses of emotion from Asher when she was in trouble. Shae had even managed to project enough words to convey a message to Asher once. But this was nothing like how it had worked for the rest of us.

Then two days ago happened. Every time I closed my eyes, I started seeing through Asher's eyes. I couldn't speak with her, but I got the sense she was hunting something and was in trouble.

I was so affected by this link that I'd been walking into doors and had even fallen off the perimeter wall once! After that, I'd had to stop doing everything else to focus on Asher till she was done with whatever she was doing or the link broke.

When Asher found what she'd been hunting, things took a turn. Now, I felt like a passenger, watching things unfold. I could see the creature Asher was fighting, but she didn't seem able to see it. Or if she did, it was affecting her to the point she couldn't fight it.

I tried talking, but she didn't seem to hear me, which was no small wonder given how loud the creature was.

Then it burned her, and things changed.

Our link seemed to solidify, and she could hear me, or at least sense what I was trying to say. I did my best to guide her in the fight and thought she'd finally turned the tide. But then my link was pushed aside by something else. It might have been the pain. She'd been burned by the creature at least twice. I'd taken as much of that pain from her as the link would allow and helped her bottle up the rest so she could keep fighting.

Then I was out, the link severed. Asher wasn't dead. At least, I didn't think she was. The pain at the end was overwhelming. I was pretty sure she was passing out from it. Even now, I could still feel the echo of the link with Asher. But with how unusual her connection to the Gestalt was, nothing was certain.

A creaking of stairs caused me to glance across the Roadhouse's common room. I'd been sitting at a table in the corner for the last few hours. I'd tried to make it to my room when the fight started, but I only made it as far as this table.

Remmi was coming down the stairs still dressed in her nightclothes. Her hair was disheveled, her face pale, and I could tell she was shaking.

I got up and stumbled across the room to her, not in much better shape.

"Are you alright?" I asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

Luckily, the common room was nearly empty this time of night. There were a few adventurers still drinking, but they were on the guild side of the room and out of sight.

"Nightmare...* Remmi said and nearly bowled me over with the force of the word. I had to grab onto the railing to keep from falling. Remmi had started the word aloud and finished it in my head.

Remmi wasn't psychic that I knew of, and I knew for damned sure she wasn't part of the Gestalt. We'd tried everything we could think of on Remmi once we learned Asher had linked to us. But there wasn't a single sign she was part of us.

Looking at her now, it was easy to tell she was in shock.

"Come on," I said as I turned her around and led her back up the stairs.

*I think I know who stepped in, Shae.* I sent quietly as I led Remmi back to her room.

*Who?* Shae replied hastily.

*I think Remmi just woke up, but I'm not sure,* I sent. I sensed Shae's intentions and jumped in. *She's in shock, so leave her be for now. I've got her.*

*Let me know what you learn,* Shae said, her frustration and impatience nearly palpable through our link.

As I said, when it came to Asher, Shae was a bit of a mess. And I was pretty sure it wasn't her usual "mom" mentality towards our group that was causing it.

Remmi didn't resist as I led her to her bed. She didn't mutter another word as I tucked her in. All she did was stare at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused. It wasn't the 1,000-meter stare I was used to seeing in those I'd served with; this was something else.

I needed advice, but the group's resident psychologist wasn't very reliable right now. I had a choice: call Rhi, or sit here and watch Remmi go through whatever it was alone.

When I realized Remmi wasn't even blinking, I made the call.

*Rhi?* I sent it as quietly and delicately as I could, preparing myself for the reply.

*WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!?!* said the thing that was now living inside Rhi's head.

When Rhi'd first been made a vampire, she'd been forced to fight. Well, that's not true. She'd wanted to become the vampire equivalent of an MMA fighter. The problem was, she was so good that someone else came along and took control of her, making her fight not for the fun of it, but for her new master's profit. And he didn't care about what it did to her in the process.

It had taken Rhi two years to recover once she was "saved" by a different slave master named Pagoda. This guy wanted an elegant assassin and saw the potential in Rhi. So, he took the wild animal Rhi had become and caged that part of her in her mind. Rhi could tap into the power there, but remained in control.

When the outpost was attacked, Rhi'd been forced to release that animal to protect herself and Terri, who'd been there for training. Needless to say, the animal refused to return to its mental cage once the attack ended. Rhi had been trying to deal with it ever since.

If it hadn't been for her mind link with the Gestalt, and us sharing the "mental load" with her, we'd have lost Rhi. Even now, Tara, Shae, and I struggled to deal with the raw emotions from Rhi's mental animal. Oftentimes, it bled over, causing erratic behavior in each of us.

It was a process.

*Rhi, Remmi's in trouble, I need your help,* I said with forced calm.

I'm sure if I hadn't mentioned Remmi, the only reply I would have got would have been furious silence. Instead, I got the first rational sentence I'd heard from Rhi in months.

*What's wrong with Remmi?* Rhi's voice was still strained, but it wasn't the overwhelming ferocity she normally conveyed these days.

Remmi was to Rhi, as Asher was to Shae. I don't know what it was about Asher and Remmi, but they were kryptonite to our Gestalt. I take that back, I knew exactly what it was about them because I felt the same way.

But Remmi had lusted after Rhi in a way that made the rest of us chuckle. She'd been so open and honest with her intentions that you couldn't help but love the girl's tenacity.

Rhi had resisted at first, but Remmi had been relentless. She chipped away at Rhi's resolve, what there was of it, until she'd wrestled the big woman down to the mattresses. Now, Rhi adored Remmi.

I have the most fucked upingly awesome relationships.

*I don't know,* I started. *She might have made a mental connection with Asher while she was mid-fight. I think she's in mental shock.*

I saw Remmi's entire body rock as if she'd been hit by something. It took a moment for me to realize Rhi was trying to touch Remmi's mind.

*Be careful!* I snapped.

*THEN JUST FUCKING BITE HER ALREADY! QUIT WASTING TIME WITH THIS 'I THINK' CRAP!*

I flinched and bit my tongue as I counted to 10 before I replied.

*Fine. Give me a minute,* I said as I lay on the bed beside Remmi.

*HURRY UP!* Rhi said impatiently.

I knew I now had Rhi's full attention as I could feel her overbearing presence in my head. I tried to ignore it as I took Remmi's hand and used a small dagger to prick her finger.

Trying to calm my mind, I focused on the bead of blood welling up from the shallow wound. Slipping into someone's mind via a bloodtouch was a delicate thing. You could do serious harm if you weren't careful. It was something that shouldn't be tried while a mental gorilla was breathing down your neck.

I was surprised when the pressure from Rhi's mind relaxed slightly. She didn't pull back much, but the fact that she managed to restrain herself at all was shocking.

Before she changed her mind, I quickly slipped Remmi's finger in my mouth.

Everyone's mindscape is different. Sometimes it's a reflection of who they are, sometimes it's based on what was going on in the moment. You never knew what you're going to get.

I didn't have much experience doing it, personally. I tried to stay out of people's heads unless they invited me in. So, when I saw nothing but darkness, I had no idea what was going on.

Looking around, I tried to find something to latch onto. A sky, a ceiling, a wall, anything. But there was nothing.

Then there was a ripple. Water? I snapped my fingers and felt the resistance. I was underwater. I blew out air, watching which direction the bubbles went, so I knew which way was up.

When the bubbles stopped and just hung there, I gave up that thought. Luckily, I didn't have to breathe; otherwise, I'd have started panicking. It had taken a long time for me to get used to that little vampire feature.

*THE ENEMY'S GATE IS DOWN, IDDIOT!* Rhi's outburst reminded me she was tagging along on this little jaunt.

There was nothing visual to indicate where Rhi pointed. All I had was a feeling of her intention, and I looked in that direction.

I felt the sensation of movement, and an orange speck appeared, growing larger as we went.

The speck turned itself into Asher's body, curled up and on fire, but not burning. The flames licked at her flesh, but a blue light stood between the fire and her skin. It seemed to be protecting her from harm.

*What's happening to her?* Remmi asked.

I turned to find Remmi standing beside me, staring down at her girlfriend's burning body.

*ARE YOU...alright?* Rhi's mental voice changed midsentence from animal to her normal self.

Remmi flinched, but didn't respond.

*She can't hear me,*Rhi said softly. *MAKE HER HEAR ME!*

For the first time since I'd known her, I pushed Rhi away, something I'd never do to her under normal circumstances. Surprisingly, I felt her presence fade.

*I don't know, Remmi,* I said, refocusing on the reason I came here.

*Asher was fighting,* Remmi said, staring at the burning woman, firelight reflecting in her unblinking eyes.

*Yes,* I said softly. *Asher was fighting a monster.*

*It was hurting her...bad,* Remmi's voice became that of a child on the last word. *I saw it...in my nightmare,* she continued in that same child's voice. *Was that real?* Remmi asked, turning to look at me for the first time.

*Yes,* I said. *Asher was fighting a monster and got hurt. Did you try to help her?*

*I wanted to help, but I wasn't there,* Remmi said in the same child's voice. *Then she was losing, so I helped anyway,* Remmi said in her normal voice and turned back to Asher.

Taking hold of Remmi's shoulders, I turned her to face me.

*Remmi, is Asher still alive?* I asked.

*I helped her,* Remmi said simply, her voice haunted.

*How?* I asked.

*She couldn't see, so I saw for her,* Remmi said. *I gave her my eyes.*

I looked into Remmi's eyes, but they were the same empty, distant eyes I'd seen on the "outside."

*She's trapped in Asher's mind,* Rhi's true voice whispered to me. *Get her out, James.*

*And just how do I do that?* I asked.

*FIGURE IT THE FUCK OUT, I CAN'T DO EVERYTHING FOR YOU!* Rhi's animal roared.

Rhi's presence winked out, leaving me alone with Remmi, trapped in Asher's mind.

*Well, if she was trapped in Asher's mind, that means Asher was still alive...right?* I asked myself. Then I looked around at the nothingness surrounding us. *Was this a deathspace? I'd heard of them, but was that possible?* Panic suddenly welled up in my mind, making me momentarily panic.

A warm hand on my cheek slowed my panic-stricken mind, calming me the way Shae's touch always did.

*She's alive, just hurting,* Remmi said, some life returning to her eyes.

*How do you know?* I asked.

*Look,* Remmi pointed at Asher's curled-up body.

As I watched, the flames died until only embers remained. They still smoldered atop the blue shell of light that protected Asher, but the roaring fire was out.

Remmi looked around.

I sensed she was seeing something I wasn't.

*What is it?* I asked. *What do you see?*

*She's been found,* Remmi said in a strangely calm voice that I didn't recognize.

I felt our roles reversing here.

*It needs us to leave. It says we're in the way.* Remmi said, her voice coming with a strangely familiar musical note to it.

*Who is 'it'?* I asked, suddenly fearful of the answer.

Then Remmi's green eyes turned to the same crystal blue as Asher's. the same blue as the thing protecting Asher's skin.

*Your job is done, I have her now,* a completely new voice spoke from Remmi's lips, its words reverberating as if a guitar string had been plucked.

The darkness faded as the glowstone light of Remmi's room came into view.

I was looking at Remmi, who was staring back with eyes that were, once more, full of life.

"Enjoying yourself?" Remmi asked slowly.

"Humph?" I mumbled, realizing I still had Remmi's finger in my mouth. "Sorry," I managed as I released her finger.

"That must be embarrassing," Remmi said as she sucked on her pricked finger.

"Uh, yeah," I managed, feeling my face go hot.

Remmi grinned as she watched the blush creeping across my face.

"So?" Remmi asked.

"So what?" I asked back.

"So, how do I taste?" Remmi asked, her eyes focusing on me intently.

"Uh...good?" I said, unsure what was going on. Remmi had been a walking zombie when this started. Now, she was...flirting with me?

*Can you blame me?* Remmi's thought floated into my head before her words followed. "I mean, here I wake up, finding you in my bed, sucking on my finger. What's a girl to think?"

All I could do was blink at her with my mouth open. Then I remembered I'd still be able to touch her mind for a few minutes after a bloodtouch.

*That's how I can still hear her thoughts,* I told myself. *Wait,* I stopped myself. *How'd she hear my thoughts?*

*Fuck now, talk later,* Remmi's mind speak came again in my head.

Remmi rolled towards me and pulled my gaping mouth to hers.

All the twisted-up thoughts and questions in my head evaporated the moment Remmi's tongue slipped into my mouth. After that, I didn't care anymore.

I kissed her back with enthusiasm as my hands pulled her tight against my body. She was warm and soft, and she smelled wonderful. This only sent my libido into overdrive.

I'd been at The Roadhouse three days now. In that time, I'd worked non-stop trying to prepare the place for war. That is, up until the incident with Asher. Then that took all my time. I hadn't had a free moment to even contemplate someone else as I'd been in "working" mode the whole time. Not to mention, I hadn't been around any of the others in the Gestalt in nearly a month now. Needless to say, I was a bit pent up.

As I swapped spit with Remmi and clawed at her back, my whoremones reminded me of what I'd been missing out on. So, I tried to make up for it by focusing all my attention on this eager and willing woman in my arms.

*Stop thinking and just kiss me,* Remmi said. Even though mindspeak didn't require a mouth, Remmi's thoughts came across as if muffled from kissing.

I grinned, remembering when I used to do that when I was first starting out with mind speak.

*Focus!* Remmi said, grabbing my shoulders and, with surprising strength, pushing me down her body.

She wasted no time in pulling off her nightclothes, and I helped her as best I could.

Soon enough, I was kissing her tight stomach and teasing her thighs with nips, causing her to groan and squirm beneath me.

The cute, frustrated sounds she made as I continued to tease her made me smile, erasing the last of the nightmare we'd been fighting through a few minutes ago.

Feeling Remmi's fingers tightening on the back of my head, I let her steer my mouth to her waiting pussy. She sighed as my lips touched her sex. I wasted no time in reacquainting myself with her body.

*With as much as I prefer girls, there's just something to be said for razor burn on your inner thighs,* Remmi moaned as I went to work pleasing her.

*Clothes off, now!* Remmi demanded minutes later as my tongue delicately lapped at her clit.

I tried to sit up, but Remmi's hand stopped me and pulled me back to her pussy.

*Multitask!* Remmi demanded.

*James, what is going on?* Shae's voice interrupted as I was trying to bury my tongue inside Remmi while tugging my clothes off.

*Not now!* Remmi shot back at Shae directly!

I'm sure Shae had as many questions as I did, but she smartly kept her mouth shut to avoid Remmi's ire.

*Yes, there!* Remmi mentally shouted as my mouth brought her to climax.

She didn't let go of my head and rode my face while moaning lewdly.