Asher's Futa Chronicles

***

I warned you in the last chapter that this one would be smutless. That's still true. The slap and tickle shall return in the next chapter.

Now, let's get this pesky plot setup stuff out of the way.

Enjoy!

***

Chapter 4

ASHER

Most of the time, I don't remember my dreams. Maybe a faint feeling or something, but never what they were about. So, when I woke the next morning with an image lingering in my mind that was as clear as if I were looking at it right now, it was weird.

The image was of Shae, wearing her armor and standing in the forest out behind The Roadhouse. It was the place where I first spoke with the forest spirit who lives here.

*FOREST, NOW!* Shae's words rang through my head as if she'd been using a bullhorn in my ear.

While the Gestalt all had the ability to speak in each other's minds, they couldn't talk to someone else telepathically unless they were touching their blood.

OK, I've mentioned the Gestalt enough times now, I should probably give you a little explanation, huh?

The Gestalt consists of four people: Shae, James, Rhi, and Tara. Shae, James, and Rhi are all vampires from another Bio Hab, while Tara is a Daemon.

The Gestalt's not like the movie vampires, all crazy bloodlust and murdery. And they're not like the sparkly types either, with all the lying around on golf courses staring at moody-eyed teenagers. They're actually pretty decent people.

Shae was born in her Bio Hab's version of Ireland, like 300 years ago, or some such. She's been a vamp since she was 19 and still looks her original age.

James is only a couple of years old as a vamp and looks like he's in his thirties, maybe. He was in the military back in the day and has issues because of it.

But not nearly as many issues as Rhi. Rhi's also a relatively new vamp and looks like she's in her late 20s. She was also in the military, but got herself blown up, and it affected her mind in all sorts of weird ways. Needless to say, she's a bit crazy...and Remmi is in deep lust with her. But that's alright, Rhi is pretty amazing to look at...and in bed.

Then there's Tara. While Tara is a Daemon, she's not eight feet tall like Cr'eon. She might be five feet on her tiptoes. But whereas Cr'eon has a pretty sedate personality most of the time, Tara is anything but. The girl is downright bubbly and seems to have an affinity for me...or more specifically, my dick.

Shae and James are married, and Rhi and Tara are married.

A while back, someone started this process where all four of their minds began to "blend." As such, they're all attached to one another deeper than a spouse or blood family member. They're connected to the point they share memories as well as mental talking.

They rescued me and my friends from our doomed Bio Hab and eventually brought us here. They gave us a new shot at having a life. It might not be what we wanted, or "normal" for that matter, but at least it's a life.

Of all of them, I'd become closest to Shae. To the point we shared a weird mental link thingie that lasted two days. Don't ask me to explain it, cause I have no clue. All I know is that since then, we've been connected in some way.

But Shae has never been able to speak in my mind. At least not when she wasn't touching my blood using her weird vampire telepathy power.

Every part of me was saying that Shae was out there in the forest right now, waiting on me.

I dressed quickly, noting Remmi had already gotten up for the day, and made my way outside. I slipped out the back gate and found my way to the clearing.

Sure as shit, Shae was waiting for me.

"Hey you," Shae said with a smile and embraced me.

"Heya Shae," I said warmly, and I enjoyed her arms being around me once more. I could smell the light floral fragrance that I'd come to know as her smell.

"How did you--" I started, but she cut me off.

"I need you to go find Remmi," Shae began. "Both of you need to get all your gear together and come out here. Tell Angela and Sinjin you'll be gone a while, but keep it short. We don't have a lot of time."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Miranda's about to wake up," Shae said.

"So?" I said. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Miranda is The Roadhouse's steward. This means she's part of the Daemon system." Shae said, as if that was supposed to answer my question.

I stared at her when she stopped talking and twirled my hands in a "and?" fashion.

Shae gave one of her patented sighs and continued.

"She will recognize that you and Remmi are not Guardians and act accordingly," Shae said firmly. "Get it?"

Would Miranda attack Remmi and me for impersonating Guardians? I knew it was supposed to be a big no-no and all, but--and then I was trying to imagine what a magic house could do to us.

"Get a move on!" Shae said and gave me a not-so-gentle nudge back towards The Roadhouse.

The Gestalt wasn't supposed to be seen. They could occasionally come by The Roadhouse using some disguise they had, but it wasn't foolproof, especially if a lot of people were around, like how it was right now.

The Gestalt were fugitives from this big bad computer, called Behemoth, that ran most of the Bio Habs out there. So were we, for that matter. But unlike us, if the wrong people found out the Gestalt were here, Shae and crew would have to move on to another Bio Hab and not look back. I didn't want that, and neither did Remmi.

I gave Shae a quick glance and then headed to find Remmi.

Remmi was one for quick action. When I mentioned that Shae was waiting for us, she was packed in minutes.

Luckily, I found Sinjin instead of Angela. Angela would have chewed my ear off trying to find out what was going on. Sinjin had come to realize that there were big things that happened in this world, and Remmi and I were somehow a part of them now.

He just told us to be careful and check in when we could.

I told him I hoped it didn't cause problems with the guild, but he just waved me off and said he'd make something up if he had to.

Shae was still waiting for us when we got back.

"Ready? Good," Shae said after a brief hug with Remmi. Then we were off. She set a jogging pace, but not in the direction I was used to.

"Where are we going?" Remmi asked when it became apparent we were heading in the opposite direction from normal.

"The Wright's Temple," Shae said.

This brought a stupid grin to Remmi's face. Back before the temple opened, we'd gone up there with the Gestalt for training. After the training that night, it had turned into basically a gang bang in the dark.

As much as I was up for that to happen again, I had a feeling things were going to be very different this time.

***

"Whoa!" Remmi said as we stood in front of the Wright's Temple with our mouths agape.

"Whoa is right!" I agreed.

The last time we were here, the temple was a ruin. What few structures that had still stood were crumbling and threatening to collapse in a strong wind.

Now, this place looked like it could have had its dedication last week. There were a dozen buildings with fresh stone and painted decorations. The tower and three moon logo of The Protectorate Moons adorned each building.

Blazing braziers (say that three times fast) lit the complex as the sun had set a while ago.

Even with Shae setting a breakneck pace, it had taken all day to cross the river and traverse the mountains to get up here. For adventurers who weren't in as good of shape as Remmi and I were, it would have probably taken two days. But then again, anyone foolish enough to come up here was supposed to be the best of the best and all that.

James, Rhi, and Tara had been waiting for us when we arrived. Hugs and more than a few kisses made the rounds before we all settled down.

"Where have you guys been?" Remmi started. "We haven't heard a peep out of you guys in months!"

"Yeah, Tara, Larisa's been going nuts wondering what happened to you," I said.

Larisa had been enthralled with Tara and pined for her for months before the two finally hooked up. I'd had a hand in coaching the poor, innocent blacksmith, but I'd just been a stand-in for the real thing.

Tara frowned and shook her head. "Couldn't be helped," Tara said. "We've been busy."

"With what?" Remmi asked.

"The temple," James said. "That big earthquake a while back? That was the temple waking up."

"That quake was the temple's way of announcing itself," Rhi said. "It was felt clear back to the capital."

"Well, I hope they knew what it meant, because the people from Laghold had no idea," I offered.

"That's because it's been so long since the temple was open," Shae said. "Word's out now, so this place is going to get busy."

"So, what happened?" I asked.

"When the quake hit," James started. "Margeist told us the temple had opened and we were being summoned."

"Summoned?" Remmi asked.

"Yes," Shae said. "James let Tara and me know what was going on while we were at The Roadhouse. That's why we had to take off so suddenly, sorry."

I waved her apology away.

"Well, then what?" Remmi asked, enthralled with the story.

"We all met up here and, just like you, gawked at all the changes," Rhi said.

"Then we faced the temple," Shae said quietly. "The same as you're about to do."

"Whoa, hold on there," Remmi started, her excitement evaporating. "The guild said those who didn't defeat the temple were killed!"

"Don't worry," Tara said brightly. "I'm sure you two will do great!"

Remmi looked at me, her eyes wide.

"You don't really have a choice," James said.

"Of course we do!" Remmi said. "We can turn around and head right back down the mountain."

"To where?" Shae asked quickly. "Miranda's awake now. She woke up about the time we crossed the river. You step one foot back in The Roadhouse and she'll cut you down." Shae's voice, while stern, was laced with concern.

"We could always not go back," I offered. "This is a big Bio Hab. I'd miss the hell out of my friends, but it beats being dead."

The Gestalt looked at one another. From how they were looking at one another, I could tell they were talking mentally. They all made this weird constipation face anytime they did it.

"If we did try the temple, what are we looking at?" I asked when the silence lengthened.

"It won't be easy," Shae said quietly.

"As long as you've been keeping up with your training, it'll see you through," Rhi said.

"We can't tell you anything about the trial itself," James said, his voice serious. "You'll understand once you pass through." He pointed at the largest of all the buildings, the one with three braziers before it instead of one.

"Wait, don't we have to be registered with the guild?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's what that guild lady said. It's a requirement," Remmi said.

"Guardians are automatically logged with the guild," Tara said. "They're their own rank, separate from the other adventurers. Once the guild is up and running, they'll have access to the Administrator's database. When someone realized your names don't show up as Guardians, they'll issue bounties on you."

"Oh, that's just fucking great!" I spat. "I wish Cr'eon had mentioned that little part before I got us wrapped up in this."

"She couldn't have known," Tara said. "We only know because we were told about it--"

"Let me guess," Remmi said. "You were told about it after you defeated the temple?"

Tara nodded.

"Well, we're not supernatural vampires or aliens or anything. I hate to tell you, but we're just normal humans!" I exclaimed, the weight of our situation beginning to sink in.

Shae stepped forward and put her hands on my shoulders.

"I know it's scary, it's supposed to be. That's the point," Shae said. She turned and looked at Remmi. "We can't make you go in there; nobody can. You must enter on your own terms. So, it's your choice."

"Wait," Remmi said in desperation. "We could hide out with you guys!"

"Same problem as The Roadhouse," James said, shaking his head. "We have a steward who would treat you as an enemy."

"But, hold on," I started. "That sheriff guy in Laghold said only another Guardian can punish someone for being an imposter. Couldn't you guys just let us off with a warning? I mean, y'all are official Guardians now, right?"

"That's partially right," James said before looking at Shae briefly. "A Guardian will administer the punishment for impostors."

"But the punishment is always death," Shae said.

"We'd be compelled to kill you," Rhi said, looking uncomfortable.

"The fact we're able to bring you here and offer this option..." Shae started.

But then it hit me.

"Y'all ARE punishing us, aren't you?" I whispered.

"I had to do a lot of research to find this loophole," Tara said.

"That's true," Rhi said. "She actually went toe-to-toe with the Temple Master over this."

"Temple Master?" I asked.

"The--" James started, but Shae cleared her throat, and he closed his mouth.

"So," Remmi began. "If we'd chosen to run...we wouldn't have left here alive anyway. So much for choice."

"You won't run," Shae said, shaking her head. "And you won't fail." She smiled at us. "You'll go in there and knock this out. It won't be easy, but nothing worthwhile is."

"Besides," Tara said with a huge grin. "The sooner you beat this thing, the sooner we can celebrate!"

I glanced at Remmi, who still didn't look convinced.

"Yeah, what she said!" Rhi said, throwing a thumb at her wife.

I watched Remmi glance at Rhi, and just a trace of a smile flickered across her face. She was still scared, but she was determined not to let it beat her. Plus, being this close to Rhi had jacked Remmi's hormones through the roof again. She'd scale the sky and pluck down a moon if it meant she could be with Rhi again.

A soft hand on my cheek drew me back to face Shae.

"You two got this," Shae said, her thumb lightly tracing my lips.

"Hey, save that for the victory dance!" Remmi said, suddenly full of energy and seeming more her normal self. She grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the group, towards the imposing building.

I could tell she was overcompensating to mask her terror. But I appreciated the gesture; it helped me forget my own fear for a moment.

"We got this," Remmi said, echoing Shae's words as we stood looking at the dark entrance.

"Yeah," I sighed and straightened my shoulders. I tried to put a determined look on my face, but I wasn't sure if I managed it or not. "We got this," I said and nodded at Remmi.

My last thought before we crossed the threshold probably wasn't the most healthy. I figured that if we did fail, this way at least, our friends wouldn't have to live with the fact that they murdered us.

That's a lie. That wasn't my last thought.

As the darkness swallowed us, I glanced at Remmi and swore that if we made it through this, it would be the last time someone else had to pay for one of my dumb mistakes.