Favorite Company - (Reverse SI)

[Ryu Gabriev]

In the midst of A-kon, a new Wild Snippet appears!
*********
All the while I’d been revealing my idea, I half expected Dax to say that Ian was again on the move and I’d be forced to just gun him down before he hurt someone else.

As we drove to where he was waiting for us, since by this point it seemed clear he was waiting for us, I thought he’d start running and it would end with some grand shootout a few miles away near a school or something.

Which meant once the four of us were standing at an opening in the brush cover that would guide us to where the Irishman still remained, I was so nervous and scared and jittery that if someone stepped on a twig at that point I’d probably keel over right then and there. ‘What am I doing? Who am I to give commands to these people? ’

But just when it seemed like I’d pass out from breathing too much, I felt a warm, rough hand clap itself onto my forearm. “You have already crafted an excellent plan, my friend. Now all you need do is execute it.”

My eyes followed the sound and locked onto the retired general’s face. “Do not look so distraught, or that feeling will spread to those you lead.”

I felt my shoulders hunch close to each other. “But what makes me qualified to be a leader? Yea, I came up with this cockamamy idea in the first place just so that I wouldn’t have to kill one of my best friends, but I’m no soldier. I’m just… just someone normal and boring.”

The aged firebender nodded with eyes closed before crossing his arms in front of himself. “Yes, this is true. You are no soldier.” His left eye opened to look at me for an instant, then it’s twin joined it as his face lit up in a smile. “However, I have watched you for the past few days, as you interacted with us and allowed us to see your world. I have seen a young man of kind heart, who has given of himself simply because it is what his honor and conscience insist upon. Who when faced with a threat to one he calls a friend has then reached into himself to find the will to do what needs to be done. And while it is true that you are not trained for this sort of situation, frankly I have known many who were that fared far worse when battle came.”

I smiled a little at that, before the worried frown reasserted itself. “But everything depends on the next few seconds. What if I mess this up, Iroh?”

Brown eyes full of age and wisdom focused upon hazel eyes full of doubt. “Even plans conceived by the most cunning strategists are like simple bubbles of soap when used against the enemy. Thus, a leader must fortify that plan with the skills and trust of those he commands, turning a fragile bubble into a mighty barricade.”

He and I then gazed to the side where Dax was waving her hand to get our attention, the signal that Yohko was in position and ready to go. “The time has come. Are you ready, young captain?”

Maybe it was how he said it, or just what he called me right then, but I swear to this day so many years later it was as if a switch went off in my mind clearing away the mist inside. And what was left, I’m actually a little proud to say, was ready to rock. “Let’s do this, old man.”

Iroh nodded with a smirk and the both of us strode through the breach. Inside, the bare branches above our heads allowed enough light in to make sight an easy thing. Ian was sitting cross-legged in the center of the covered clearing next to the jagged stump of an old tree that had once shaded the immediate area alongside it’s kin. Hie head tilted at the aged firebender and myself before grinning slightly. “Nice to see you finally showed up. Any longer and I would’ve been ready to come back after you, devil hunter.”

The aged firebender and I turned to face each other for an instant before turning our very confused gazes back upon the possessed Irishman. “I’m a what now?”

My friend’s glowing eyes suddenly brightened considerably as he snarled at the both of us. “You as well as this host would take me for a fool! You honestly believe centuries of battle against the accursed women of the Mano line would not give us insight into some of the magic’s workings?! You are turning. Soon, very soon your essence will be at it’s peak and then! Then another thrice-damned line of Hunters will begin.” Just then, Ian seemed to regain his composure as his eyes dimmed to their original luminescence and his mouth formed into a grin. “Thus why I decided to find an out of the way place and wait for you to follow me, since here there are few things to interfere with me ending this problem before it begins…”

He raised his left hand as eldritch lightning began to gather within it. “One Devil Hunter away, no doubt licking her wounds. The foreigner Trill, using her crafts and sciences to aid the Hunter’s recovery, and no doubt leaving her light weapon in your care. Which leaves an old man crippled by regrets and a man with a little boy’s heart to face me. Pathetic.”

My face gave a deep frown for an instant at the Irishman’s description of myself and my new friends, before following through with the plan and letting a smirk that I really didn’t feel form on my lips. “Maybe so, man, but I have to wonder about something.”

Ian paused in his windup with a slightly confused expression as I nonchalantly tucked my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “What makes you think the girls would avoid all the fun?”

My possessed friend’s eyes widened seconds before the branches behind him began to rustle loudly. He quickly spun around and tossed the energy ball at the noise, grinning when a sudden shriek filled his ears.

That grin didn’t fade even as a bright red gout of flame impacted against a barrier that had up to this point been completely invisible. Ian turned back our way before shaking his head dramatically. “Hitting a man in the back? Such a dishonorable tactic…”

The retired general took that as his cue and dove for the possessed Irishman while I stood still with a pinched expression on my face. Iroh and Ian quickly traded off blows and kicks, fire blasts and waves of psychic energy. It was at that point I turned to the right and called out. “Yohko, Jadzia, now!!”

At that moment the Trill Scientist and Devil Hunter both burst from the barren bushes to the right and far side of the clearing. Yohko, though not transformed into a Devil Hunter, rushed at the demon with several inscribed slips of paper while Dax covered her advance with several beams of crimson light from her chosen weapon.

We might as well have shot mace in his eyes. The moment Ian noticed the talismans he made every motion possible to keep distance from the young Mano woman. Unfortunately, the lieutenant commander’s energy beams bounced off of his barrier harmlessly and the aged firebender was doing more damage to the surroundings instead of his target. The Irishman wasn’t limiting himself to just dodging, however, choosing to toss lightning and various large branches that he could get his mental grip on any of the trio fighting him as they moved and dodged in turn.

I’d like to say there was some sort of rhythm to it, but frankly it was a three-for-all that was slowly but surely taxing the demon’s abilities beyond their limits. But just when it looked like we’d simply tire him out to the point of collapse, he suddenly made a mad dash for me forcing the others to stop their attacks or risk hitting me in the process.

Now with me held in front of him and his left hand free to aim another energy blast at me, the Irishman’s grin was back in force. “I thought you were smarter than this, Jon. The three of them just fought me to a standstill right in front of you and all you could do was stand and watch. You didn’t even try to dodge out of the way of… wait.”

His expression fell at the same exact moment the energy of a phaser blast pierced his side, dropping him to the ground. I stepped away from Ian a few paces and turned to face him, which allowed the Irishman to see that I had Dax’s phaser in my hand. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak, instead bearing his teeth in a fierce snarl while I began speaking. “Yea, I know: ‘Didn’t the Trill only have one weapon?’ You’re right, she did.”

I gave a nod to Jadzia who showed off the boxy frame of her tricorder and proceeded to shoot herself in the hand with it, leaving no damage. “It seems tricorders can do a pretty good visual of a phaser blast when tuned properly, even though it has no actual power behind the shot. But since we were counting on you actually keeping up that barrier of yours the whole time, the possibility of you getting hit and noticing what wasn’t there seemed rather small.”

Iroh moved behind the Irishman and got a firm grip on his shoulders, keeping Ian in a kneeling position. “Now we’re all going to stay put right here, until Yohko heads to the car and comes back with an actual ofuda charm to use on you, then say our goodbyes and banish your ethereal ass back where it came from nice and proper.”

My possessed friend lost his snarl and managed to tilt his head towards the Devil Hunter. She in turn grinned widely and showed that the strips of paper in her hand had the kanji for Fake messily drawn upon them.

The demon seemed to be gaining a little more fluidity in what movement he could make as his body visibly relaxed in front of us. “Well done, Hunter. You have valiantly risked life and limb for a trusted friend. But is it worth it, I wonder, knowing what he has done?”

I frowned deeply. “All those people that were killed back there were your doing, monster! You’re just using my friend’s body like a puppet!”

The possessed Irishman lifted his head to face me before grinning fiercely. “Are you so certain? Surely you must be curious as to why it was so easy for me to possess this man’s body…”

I thought about it for a few moments before answering. “There isn’t anything to be curious about. You possessed him, end of story.”

At that instant, the grin turned into a snarl! “Then allow me to show how limited your perception can be!!”

The demon sudden broke free from Iroh’s grip and lunged for me, and my hand squeezed the phaser on reflex. The beam hit Ian smack dab in the center of his forehead while a small bolt of lightning from the aged firebender struck him from behind. The next thing I know, my possessed friend was sprawled upon the ground and I dropped to my knees at the sight as my legs lost the strength to hold me up.

I dunno how long I just sat there with the words ‘I killed him’ racing through my head before my body decided it had had enough fun today and allowed me to pass out in a dead faint.

[PCHeintz72]

I feel kind of bad, I missed the April update, the May update occurred in May, which is when I do not post in this forum or TFF forum, and I almost missed this update....

Despite lack of responses, I have been enjoying the story.

The three snippets were pretty good... I kind of have to wonder if the demon was correct in that the friend had some issue allowing for a easier takeover, or if it was just to make him wonder.

With this, you probably have enough to post chapter 2 to FF.NET, especially since it sort of ended an arc or trial, however you want to phrase it.

[Ryu Gabriev]

I feel kind of bad, I missed the April update, the May update occurred in May, which is when I do not post in this forum or TFF forum, and I almost missed this update....

Despite lack of responses, I have been enjoying the story.

The three snippets were pretty good... I kind of have to wonder if the demon was correct in that the friend had some issue allowing for a easier takeover, or if it was just to make him wonder.

With this, you probably have enough to post chapter 2 to FF.NET, especially since it sort of ended an arc or trial, however you want to phrase it.

No cliffhangers on this subject here, I've still got 700 words to use up. It'll be clear what Chapter 3 will bring in the beginning. Besides, at least you posted something. I love getting responses, and this was a very nice one.

[Ryu Gabriev]

As I woke up this time I started to wonder if I would somehow lose my right to call myself a man if I fainted in the presence of women anymore today. That thought made me give off a snort of laughter before the reason why I fainted came back to me.

...I killed him.

I mean, I suppose Ian would’ve prefered that to being that demon’s meat puppet any longer… still though…

It was around that point I registered the fact I was back in Ian’s room, on his bed, as I turned my head towards the window. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping to stall any tears from escaping as I continued to silently grieve over all that had gone down. To win, to succeed despite everything that could’ve gone wrong and then have that very victory blown apart right in front of you. A sob managed to sneak out of my throat as did a few tears from my sealed eyelids.

“Jon, you awake?” I heard Dax’s voice to the right of me just as a warm hand lightly shook my left shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw the Trill scientist looking over me with a gentle expression on her face. “How’re you feeling?”

I snorted a lungfull of air in through my nose to clear it of any phlegm that might be waiting to drip out before responding as Dax’s expression suddenly turned surprised at what I’d just done in front of her. “A-a little stunned, honestly. All that effort, and the demon still got away with it.”

The lieutenant commander gave off a light smirk before helping me up into a sitting position. She then directed my attention to the area near the foot of the of the bed where Ian’s body had been propped up on a chair and was twitching every so-

My train of thought suddenly derailed as I registered that Ian’s body was showing signs of life. It was at that moment Yohko and Iroh both walked into the Irishman’s room from the opposing doors connecting to the hallway and bathroom respectively. As the two of them registered that I was up, both the aged firebender and devil hunter started smothering laughter at my rather gobsmacked look.

The retired general was first to regain his composure after a few moments. “I’m glad you were able to regain consciousness when you did, my friend. Any longer and we felt it would be best to proceed without you.”

That phrasing helped me throw off my mental bluescreen. “Um, ok… Glad to hear it, man. W-what exactly were you all waiting for?”

Instead of answering, Iroh simply directed the young Mano woman to go ahead with what she was about to do. That turned out to be Yohko simply walking up to where Ian was propped up and, with a wink in my direction, lightly tapping an elaborate strip of paper onto the Irishman’s forehead. An instant later, sparks of energy began dancing across Ian’s body making him grimace in pain. Suddenly the possessed Irishman’s eyes opened as he jerked to a standing position while giving off a literal roar of agony. The four of us watched on as after a few moments of the demon futilely tearing at the ofuda and thrashing about in place, a midnight black mist ejected from my friend's body and evaporated into nothingness. With nothing to continue the struggle, my friend simply collapsed to his knees in a slump.

Slowly, the Irishman began to stir, raising a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinching it to help stave off a rather nasty headache. He started to speak, but it came out raspy and weak before he coughed loudly to clear his throat before trying again. “...Jon...if you ever shoot me with that thing again I’m gonna punch you in the dick so hard you’ll be peeing blood for weeks.”

Yes, he could have said anything other than a threat to my urinary tract, but I honestly didn’t care as I fumbled my forward and tackled him in a bear hug with new tears in my eyes. After a few seconds the Irishman started lightly patting me on the back. “Jon, you done yet?”

I shook my head, still holding on. I admit at the time I was worried that I might be dreaming and keeping a grip on Ian was helping fade that fear. Unfortunately, that meant that things quickly began to feel awkward for the Irishman and he started lightly pushing at me, hoping I’d get the message. “Aaaaanytime you’re ready, Jon. Just eh, starting to feel a bit trapped...again… and unable to move freely… again.”

Ok, thinking back on this I should’ve probably wised up and let go of him since that should’ve been enough to assuage any lingering fears at that point. Problem was I was kinda stuck in la-la land giddy over the facts that I didn’t kill my friend and I did save his life. Even then, I don’t blame him for what occurred next.

Growling out my name, Ian roughly shoved me away from him… and a force other than his arms aided in prying me off, flinging me into the far wall of his room. I impacted the wall, thankfully impacting only drywall as my body punched through before I fell out of the hole landing on the bed. As quick as could be I propped myself up on my arms staring straight at Ian with wide eyes. Everyone else was too, just as dumbstruck over how I could be flung several feet by a normal human being.

And given the way Ian was now looking at his arms, the concept and how it didn’t seem to fit with how things should be had registered with him as well. He then turned to the nearby chair and thrust out his hand palm open. Whatever was now within him responded once more, knocking the furniture into the shelving along the window side of the room. An outright feral grin spread over my friend’s face as he began experimenting with his newfound ability. First by pulling and pushing random objects about his room, then by picking small things up and letting them orbit his body while giggling madly. Thankfully, this display of power was prevented from escalating further when the Irishman actually used a burst of his ability to cause Yohko’s skirt to flip upward as if a swift wind erupted underneath her.

The young Mano woman shrieked and took a few moments to try keeping her panties out of sight before she gained a furious look on her face, stomped up to Ian and clocked him upside the head. With his concentration disrupted, everything that had been affected by his telekinesis dropped to the floor. Rubbing his head where she hit him, Ian grinned roguishly at Yohko. “You could do so much better than plain white. Ever think of wearing a thong?”

The devil hunter’s face blanked for an instant before flushing deep red with anger. She raised her hand high as if to hit him again, before her features suddenly calmed to normal. She pivoted on her heel to face my direction before climbing onto Ian’s bed and draped herself over my back with her arms loosely around my neck. “That’s something Jon’s more likely to find out about instead of you.” She then nuzzled the back of my head with her cheek, making several giddy thoughts flutter about in my stomach as I gave off an embarrassed chuckle at my reversal of feminine fortune.

Iroh clapped his hands twice, snapping all of us out of our little reverie. “While this is a rather entertaining diversion, should we not be asking ourselves why Mr. Gram is now capable of such unusual feats?”

Dax took out her tricorder and walked up to Ian, taking several scans of his head and body. “...mmm… I’d have to use a medical tricorder to get the whole set of changes, but I’m detecting brainwave activity far higher than what should be seen in your average humanoid. The neurological mass is also somewhat denser than before.” Dax crossed her arms in front of herself for a moment before speaking again. “It could be a side effect of the combination of both the stun blast and Iroh’s lightning hitting Ian’s nervous system. It’s possible that when that happened the overload of energy… supercharged him for lack of a better word. I just really wish Julian were here right now, he could make more sense of these readings than me.”

I blinked in confusion with Yohko still leaning on my back. “So basically, since I zapped Gram in the head by mistake, he’s got Force powers now? And is this a permanent thing?”

The Trill scientist gave a shrug of her shoulders. “I’m not a medical doctor, Jonathan, I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen with this.”

The Irishman had gotten bored with the conversation and levitated a thick ceramic cup from the eastern-style tea set he owned and proceeded to entertain himself by using the cup to lazily trace figure eights in the air in front of him. Dax gave off a slight frown at that. ”Ian, I don’t think you should be using these powers of yours so frivolously. For all we know, this could be a side effect of brain damage from what happened to you earlier.”

The cup halted its journey for an instant as Gram now had a frown to match Jadzia’s. A breath of time later it began moving through the air again, only it’s path had grown considerably more complex. After a minute or so of mutual silence I decided to speak up. “Ian, I think it’d be a good idea to quit playing with your new toy for a bit. We still need to figure out what to do next since it seems like all hell’s breaking loose around us. Demons popping up outta nowhere isn’t natural for our world.”

The empowered Irishman smirked as the cup started moving faster along it’s unseen path. “If more of ‘em come our way, I’ll use this trick of mine to stuff those demons back into their hole.”

Suddenly Iroh reached out and plucked the cup from its midair journey. “Perhaps, young man, but in the meantime it seems rude to play with such abilities while we’re in the middle of a discussion like this.”

My friend’s expression remained neutral though his body language started growing tense. “I’m listening already, what’s the plan?”

With that statement, three sets of eyes zeroed in on me as did the fourth once he realized who the rest were looking at. The aged firebender spoke up.“Well, Jonathan? What is our plan, now?”

Now normally I like being the center of attention, but given what was hinging on the attention I opted for being nervous instead. “Why ask me? I mean, yea, my idea worked. Why does that mean I’m the leader now?”

Iroh smiled at me. “It isn’t just the fact your strategy proved successful, but also that with Mr. Gram gaining these new abilities after his ordeal you still seem to recognize them for what they are. Thus, you remain the most logical choice to synchronize all our talents together. Do you disagree?”

I felt Yohko adjust her positioning on my upper back as I leaned backward slightly with a thoughtful expression on my face. “Well, no. I suppose I don’t, man… Lemme think.”

I closed my eyes to help me focus, and a moment later I continued speaking. ”I guess we need to try going after any other demons nearby. The one that infested Ian said ‘We are the first, and certainly not the last’. That sounds like baddies are all over the place right now. The five of us might be the only ones that can do anything about it.”

Ian suddenly kneeled in front of me moving into my field of vision, locking eyes with my own. “I for one will not run from this. Do any of you have an idea what it feels like to be possessed?! It’s like an out-of-control roller coaster, you can see what’s coming and you wanna stop it but you can’t. I just saw my own hands gutting grown men, tearing through their flesh.” He then stood up and turned away from me. “We’re fighting, Jon. We’re fighting and we’re killing them because I… because we must. And because I frankly wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.”

Then I suggest you all step to it, then.

The five of us suddenly jerked at the voice that spoke up seconds before Q of all beings appeared in a flash before us. He was leaning against the door to Gram’s closet with his arms crossed in front of himself, still wearing his own take on a Starfleet uniform, still with that damnable haughty look on his face. “Frankly I’m impressed with you, Jonathan. You actually managed to pull off that hairbrained scheme of yours.”

I only could look at the godling for a second before I felt a growl rumble in my chest and my blood start to boil. I slipped out of Yohko’s grip and flung myself at the member of the Continuum with my right fist swinging for his noggin. Only the little bastard flashed away from where he had been meaning my fist slammed into the wall. I winced as I pulled my hand back and started shaking it about, popping the knuckles to help reduce the twinging pain.

Q reappeared standing right next to me. “Now now, violence isn’t the answer…”

I gave off a little quiver in anger before speaking very calmly. “You’re right, Q. Violence isn’t the answer. It’s the question.” I suddenly bared my teeth in a snarl as I turned around to face Q again. “And for what you did the answer is ‘FUCK YES’!!”

Ian moved at the same time I did, actually showing he might have more than just Force Push to play with as energy began collecting in his hand. For my part, I had my fist chambered and swung just as I finished getting Q in my sights.

That’s when the omnipotent annoyance reminded all of us of the fact he was hit by Sisko that one time because he allowed it to happen. Q lazily caught my fist and proceeded to squeeze it like it was in a vice, bringing me to my knees in screaming pain. At the same time my friend had his legs pulled out from under him, actually getting him to flip completely over landing roughly on his stomach. Whatever attack the empowered Irishman had been charging up suddenly fizzled as Ian had the wind knocked out of him. “First, don’t blame me for the demons running around the place, it’s that interesting ring of Yohko’s that guided them here.”

The devil hunter gave off a shocked gasp upon hearing that, which in turn helped me get angry enough to ignore the pain from my hand for an instant. “How dare you blame her f-gahahaaa!!”

Q tightened his grip keeping me on my knees before speaking up again. “Second, while a part of me would enjoy watching the both of you rail against omnipotence for as long as you are willing to try we frankly don’t have time to waste like that.”

Before anyone could say anything the godling snapped his fingers warping the lot of us out of there. The next thing any of us knew, we appeared high in the sky, held up by invisible forces out of our control. Q then finally let go of my hand and allowed all of us to look around. Didn’t take long for us to figure out that we were a few thousand feet above the Trinity River with the inner city of Dallas a relatively short distance away. Right before our eyes, a deep blood red light began emanating from somewhere in the city center. Just as quick as it appeared it began to fade, and an inhuman roar suddenly echoed in our ears.

I felt an arctic chill go down my spine. “Q, what the hell was that?”

The omnipotent annoyance frowned before answering. “That would be one of the first successes of the demon spirits in bringing their larger fellows to this world. They’ve infested several hundred of you lower life forms and began performing summoning rituals to call their brethren here. Unless something is done, these demons will use your quaint little section of the universe as a foothold for their conquest.”

As we continued to look on, one of the smaller buildings suddenly imploded while air raid sirens began to blare. The attack had begun. Dax began comforting Yohko as she became hysterical while Iroh merely looked at the growing carnage with a pinched look on his face. That left Ian and myself who both turned back to the godling that continued holding a similar frown to us our way. “Well then, do you still wish to attack me? Or do you now understand that you all have much bigger fish to fry?”
*********
Chapter 2 - Complete.

[ckosacranoid]

Looks like things have just gotten very messy for our heros and everyone else.

[Ryu Gabriev]

Dunno if this is a good part to end a scene on, but at the same time the Muse is telling me she's making headway with the blocked river. She's only been at it for three @#$%^ Months....
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Chapter 3: Cause For Departure
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It didn't take much time after Q brought us back for the five us to pile into my car and take off for Dallas proper. It looked like a scene out of Independence Day as the traffic was deadlocked going away from Dallas, but heading towards the road was absolutely clear. With no other disruptions, the five of us reached the West End in record time, meaning I quickly found myself unable to think of anything beyond the devastation all around us.

Part of I-35 had been severed with several vehicles hanging precariously from the spots they managed to stop upon. The building the Spaghetti Warehouse had been in had its upper floors collapsed atop the rest of itself along with several other buildings in the West End. From there, whatever these bastard demons summoned started to push its way across town to the east. A chill December wind began blowing, further adding to the rather creepy atmosphere. We began to follow the trail, noticing other clues as we went. The further into the city we walked, since Iroh believed the sound of the car might attract things that we were better off not making the acquaintance of, the more sticky clumps of thread started to appear. Almost like webbing, believe it or not, which Ian couldn’t help but comment on. "Well, Jon, I can only hope this is webbing. If it's spooge we're so fucked..."

Amazingly, despite everything happening, my wit was still open for business. “In which case, Ian, be glad it isn’t a roach.” I smirked as the Irishman gave off a quick shudder. Ian had been absolutely disgusted by roaches since he was little, and as his good and trusted friends, we had done our part by needling him about it every chance we got. Unfortunately a few seconds later, I was reminded in another way that things had changed. An invisible force actually gripped my boxers and yanked upwards, giving me a monster wedgie that lifted me off the ground for an instant or so. I spun back around, taking the opportunity to also stuff the band of my boxers back beneath my jeans. I locked eyes on the most obvious suspect, and sure enough, Ian’s right hand was still raised up in a fist while a smirk held on his face. “How now, Jon?”

I grumbled out what part of the buttocks he reminded me most of while turning back around to follow the sticky trail with the others close behind. Soon large circular cocoons began to appear, some slightly quivering every few seconds with whatever was locked inside. Others were empty, with blood spatters and various bits of gore coating the ground around them. A rather grisly thought popped into my head right then and flew right out my mouth a second later. "Anyone else wondering what are inside these things?"

The others turned to face the cocoon I was next to, but it was Yohko who wordlessly strode up to it and cut the silken container open with her sword. An unconscious little girl was inside, wearing a torn light blue jacket and pants. Her long dark hair and deeply tanned skin identified her further as a mexican. Which raised a second point: No mexican family that I’d ever seen would be caught dead abandoning their kid to something like this. She couldn't be more than eight or nine years old, where'd her folks get off to?

My answer arrived in the form of light skittering sounds heading our way, and a disheveled mop of dark hair poking around the corner of a nearby building. I called out to whoever it was, but he or she suddenly ducked back behind the wall which in turn made me tell the others to watch the kid while I dashed after the mystery person.

But seconds before I would've turned the corner, the mystery person lunged for me with a hissing cry! I jerked backwards swearing aloud, only to have a blade of gleaming silver fly from my peripheral vision to the right of me. The blade and devil hunter that wielded it chopped at the creature's torso, easily splitting it in twain. The lower body fell to the street with a muted thump while the upper half flew a meter or so before landing as well upon the ground. Its upper body jerked and spasmed for a few moments, then went still. I was still trying to get the shaking to stop in my limbs, so Ian took the initiative to give whatever jumped me a closer look. A few seconds later the Irishman spoke up. "Jon, I think we've got a real problem here."

I raised an eyebrow at that. “You mean aside from the fact we're in the middle of a damn demonic invasion?” I stood and walked to where the corpse now lay and got a good look at it. The lower body easily reminded us of a black hairless spider, scaled to human sized that is, minus the head and two of its legs. The torso was actually harder to get a grasp on. For while the feminine looking upper half possessed muted brown skin, spindly arms that ended in claws, and fangs jutting out from her mouth... she was wearing a shredded pink tube top and jacket, and a gold hoop earring in each of her ears. So either whatever was invading had an interest in human clothes or this creature wasn't always what she appeared as now. I honestly had a hard time figuring out which was the worse option. “Jon, I know full well that I’m drawing this from my old Monster Manual, but this chick looks suspiciously like a drider.”

“That she do…” I flinched suddenly as a thought came to me. "Dude, do you get the horrific feeling that we're seeing the end result of these cocoons?"

As if to answer my question all the silken sacks around us began bucking and writhing violently while claws began piercing through the material encasing their owners. Dax grabbed up the girl in her arms and we all hauled ass away from the ‘nursery area’.
*******

[Ryu Gabriev]

After running full tilt for a few minutes our group ducked inside a gift store that had been left open in all the chaos. A few moments passed, and then all five of us slumped to the floor with a great sigh.

"Sonuvabitch you'd think with all the hours I put into playing Skyrim I'd realize giant cocoons all over the place were a bad thing!!" I shouted out once I had regained my breath. "This is nuts, plain and simple!"

The Irishman sat up from his position after laughing at my comments. “The cocoons in Skyrim held spider eggs, Jon, that made them useful. Whatever those were back there, not useful.”

Iroh and Jadzia both gave a small chuckle at that before Yohko suddenly stood up and began walking quickly towards the entranceway. I asked where she was heading off to but the Devil Hunter gave no answer as she shoved her way through the door and continued down a side street in the direction we had been traveling. Dax got up to follow after her, but I waved at her to sit back down. "I'll do it. I've got a pretty good feeling what's got her riled up anyway."

That said, I stood and followed after the Mano woman, breaking into a light jog as she came into view. She’d been going in a more or less straight line after she left our hiding spot for which I was grateful. I called out her name, but Yohko kept on walking. I repeated it, but she began walking a bit faster. Finally, getting frustrated, I barreled forward in a full run. Getting in front of the Devil Hunter I stopped, turned, and blocked her way with my body holding my arms outstretched. "Yohko! For God's sake, girl, where the hell are you going without the rest of us?!"

In response, the young woman stopped in front of me and began shouting my way in rapid fire Japanese while gesturing back towards the store we'd been hiding in.

I'm embarrassed to admit I just stood there for a few seconds wondering who switched the audio on me until my head rebooted properly. All five of us had been using the lieutenant commander’s combadge to communicate with each other since my guests arrived. Yohko and I must've walked out of its effective range.

"Time to see if these little trinkets are worth the circuit boards they're built with." I slipped a hand into my right side pocket of my jeans and pulled out a pin that had been shaped to look like a Federation combadge, minus the gold trim and black oval backing the arrow. Dax had passed one to each of us right before we had headed for the inner city, and now seemed as good a time as any to see if Trek tech could work with 20th century parts.

I set the badge on the right side of my chest, arrow pointing upwards. Then after tapping it twice, I tried speaking again. "Testing, one two, three. Q is an obnoxious jerk, over."

I ended up hearing two kinds of sounds in response, a snort of laughter from Yohko, and light giggle coming from the badge. "Jon, this is Dax. You only need to tap the combadge once to turn on the UT. But thanks anyway for helping me make sure the comm function works as well. Dax out..."

I grinned suddenly as I realized just how amazing Starfleet tech heads could be, with a few scattered electronics that any hobbyist could get a hold of Dax had actually recreated one of the most used pieces of technology in her universe right here. Then I turned my gaze back to the Mano woman and my grin fell away at her rather cross expression. “OK, girl, what’s got you so riled up?”

Her brown eyes narrowed into slits. “...You…”

I blinked a bit at that answer. “Me?! What the hell did I-”

“You’re laughing at all this!! All of you actually laughing at those people back there who've turned into monsters! What's wrong with you?!" I opened my mouth to reply but the devil hunter forged ahead in her rant cutting me off. "None of those people can change back, Jon! I don't know spells or sutras that can reverse that kind of effect. I might, might be able to keep that little girl from turning, but what about her parents?!"

I shut my mouth with an audible click as Yohko continued saying her piece. “How many others are dead now because of this demon? How many a tree now freaks like those back there?!” I watched on as the young japanese woman started shaking in place, her words coming in a stutter. “H-h-how… how m-many are… gone... b-because of me?”

"WHAT?!" I roared out, seeing red in the edge of my vision. Without thinking of how it might look to an outsider, I closed the distance between us and grabbed hold of Yohko by her shoulders. When she turned her face away from me, I actually shook her which forced her vision straight ahead into mine once again. "You. Listen. Here. Did you ask to get sent to my world by Q?"

The devil hunter slowly murmured out a no, which thankfully gave me the seconds I needed to settle down into a less hostile frame of mind. I loosened my grip on Yohko’s shoulders as I continued speaking. "And did you have a flipping clue before you got here that your Yoma Ring might be capable of drawing demons to you?"

She answered again in the negative before continuing. "But I should've known! Those monsters could appear anywhere on my world and yet they always seem to show up in my damn hometown?!"

My rebuttal was swift. "Until you had proof of them following the Mano family, and thus, their heirlooms any thought that demons just showed up where they pleased would've been the natural response!"

"My family moved all over Japan!" Her temper began flaring as she and I ended up almost nose - to - nose in our verbal sparring match.

"But never out of Japan! So it could still be seen as a coincidence by any who might’ve noticed!" I gestured with my right hand in a wide arc behind me. "You yourself mentioned this was your first time in America, and that you thought you'd left the problems of your world where you came from. Meaning! You had no clue this might happen in the least!!"

"I'm still responsible for all this, Jon! I'm the devil hunter, I saw the signs, and I still! Did! Nothing!" Her sword swung outward in a similar arc to the one made by me earlier before she thrust it into the ground right beside her.

The fact she easily pierced solid concrete to reach the soil underneath didn't go unnoticed by me either. But I was going to win this argument, dammit! “You wanna punish someone for not having foresight? Fine! Start with Me, the guy who knew about you, and the ring, and the transdimensional asshat demon lord Tokima that started this whole one hundred eighth generation long square dance before you even consider anything you might’ve known or not known about!!”

Yohko’s reply died in her throat as her eyes grew wide. Unfortunately, I was too mad to really notice as I kept ranting. “I should've said no, when Q offered me a wish in exchange for keeping you guys out of trouble for seven days… but no, I had to be greedy. Couldn't let go of my dad, so I'm easy pickings for the first Puck in a Starfleet uniform that decides to pop on in.”

I did a slow half spin in place as I took in the devastation all around us. “Now, instead of just sucking it up and dealing with it I've probably doomed the whole damn world, if not just the city.”

“Such burdens you have. Please allow me to lighten them for you.” I started turning in Yohko’s direction to thank her for the offer only to find her staring upwards with a growing look of panic on her face. ‘Wait a minute, when did Yohko gain a high class accent?’

My eyes jerked skyward and I had my answer- At least a dozen of those butt-ugly human-morphed driders were along the walls of the buildings surrounding the devil hunter and I. And to make this budding nightmare even worse, there was another kind of drider with them, but this one was more symmetrical in her body shape instead of a misshapen mix of spider and humanoid like her allies.

But the fact her upper half carried the elongated ears, bright white hair and coal-black skin of a drow made the sight far less appealing to the fantasy nut in me.

“Huh… At least we know what got summoned by those possessed people now....” That was all I managed to say before the mob of monsters lunged toward the two of us.
******
RL stinks when you're trying to write sometimes.

[ckosacranoid]

i see the group gets to fight the followers of the spider god...fun...now where are the drow showing up to handle the driders?

[Ryu Gabriev]

Hello loyal friends... first off I have a few things to say regarding the story here. One: A friend of mine was very knowledgeable about the Drow and helped me fix the major screw up I was about to create for myself by using a Drider and/or having the populace turn into Driders. This has been changed to the Big Bad being a Drow Priestess and her horde of over sized spiders. The material afterwards shall reflect this fact. Two: I. NEED. A. BETA READER. Preferably one who knows much about multiple series along several genre lines. You don't have to know EVERYTHING ever done, but this tale is likely to jump along several shows and whatnot before it's end. Anyone who wishes to help me please PM me ASAP.

And now, the first new material for 2016!!
*******
It’s jarring when someone gives you a good slap to wake you up, but at the same time you can’t deny how effective it can be for kicking your brain back into gear. That’s what I realized after I got a nice pair of stinging smacks across my face, and that drow from before was what I next laid eyes on.

She was pretty, that fact sure wasn’t in doubt. Her outfit hugged her body and had a long diamond cut in the front, showing off her impressive cleavage and trim stomach, with a silvery web mesh covering the opening. It reached to about mid-thigh, and the off-black material was mixed with silvery spider web patterns all throughout. A metallic whip was hanging coiled at her right side of the belt round her waist. Her bone white hair reached well to her calves and was held in a single thick braid. Her boots were of smooth black leather that reached up to her lower thighs, where more web patterns crisscrossed around the cuff at the top. My eyes followed the braid back to it’s source, allowing me to notice the gleaming tiara, silver yet again, with a large smooth ruby set within. But when my eyes drifted down to her own I learned two things. One, they matched the crimson of the stone in her tiara, and Two, apparently she didn’t like guys staring her in the face cause in that instant her arm whipped out to slap me again. My head jerked to the side with the blow, but I couldn't really say it hurt all that much.

“I do not recall giving you permission to gaze upon me, human...” Her voice was velvet, smooth sounding to the ears. A small smirk found its way to her lips. “But I suppose you may take the vision of my beauty along as a remembrance on your journey to the afterlife.”

So she didn't want me looking at her but actually didn't mind the attention? Beautiful, I'm dealing with a fantasy realm feminist…

Since I was already looking in the general direction I glanced around at the situation the devil hunter and myself found ourselves in. Both of us were webbed up against a brick wall by our arms and legs spread eagle style in some random alleyway or building where it looked like her minions were sealing off every nook and cranny with more webs, turning it into a lair of some kind. Near Yohko and I on the opposing wall was what looked to be a makeshift altar, with a stylised symbol of a spider painted on the bricks above it. I'm reeeally hoping it was dark red because that was the only paint color she could find on such short notice.

It was then that Yohko began to stir, slowly at first, then much faster after the slap-happy elf gave her one across the cheek. After that, my friend glanced all around with growing dread before noticing me and our ‘host’. “Just what are you?! Why did you do this to all these people?!”

In a split second, the elf had whipped each of her arms faster than I could follow, and in the next possible instant a pair of knives had impaled the devil hunter in the upper chest right to where the shoulder joint would be found, drawing blood. Smiling at the shrieks that her attack invoked, the white haired wench continued speaking. “Why does a wolf butcher a sheep? Because it can.”

Yohko could only grimace and squirm in place like a specimen on the dissection table as the elf continued talking. “It’s so sad that I didn’t think to carry my good tools with me today, I shall only be able to make this last half as long now, even with two new toys.”

I felt rage blossom inside my chest from hearing that. “TOYS?! We’re human beings, dammit!”

For her part, the drow simply folded her arms under her sizable chest and looked back at me with a half-lidded expression before giving of a melancholy sigh.“Yes, I know… Your kind doesn’t last nearly as long as an orc or dwarf even if I was twice as rough on one of them, it’s rather disappointing in all honesty.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She was having fun tearing us apart piece by piece, fun! My body began shivering in place, not from the cold outside, but from the storm of emotions building within me. I raised my head to lock eyes with the drow once more, and I just stared. But instead of the reaction I was wanting from our captor, she started focusing on me a bit more before a gleeful smile spread over her face. I blinked twice at that as she strode up to me and gently wiped something away from my-

That was when I felt the other one slide down my right cheek. Tears. Oh, goddammit I was actually losing my self control that much?! With a practiced gesture she licked the moistened digit clean of salt water, before shivering in delight. “Ahh, delicious. Like the sweetest wine from home…”

My eyes turned away. My cheeks felt hot and all I wanted to do was disappear, just so I could escape that damn haughty expression of hers. My self-recrimination ended quite abruptly when Yohko began screaming once more. My head jerked her way just in time to see that damned elf pull the rest of one of her knives out of the body of my friend. The blade was long and wavy, with one edge cut in smooth fangs all the way to the hilt. The hilt itself was made of an off white material, like ivory, with the pommel shaped into a dragon’s head.

With it removed from her body, Yohko’s blood began pouring freely from the wound until the drow spoke in some odd, harsh sounding language and ran her fingertips along the torn flesh. Just like that, the muscle and skin reknit itself shut so well that the only clue to the devil hunter being injured was the tear in her dress. Our ‘host’ then removed the second knife, an exact twin of the first, and did the same with the other injury. Yohko hung limply in her bonds, completely exhausted from what she just endured. Still didn’t stop her from tensing up like a rabbit the moment the elf drew near again. “B-back! Stay back!!”

The white haired wench glided up towards my friend until they were almost nose-to-nose. She then gently cupped Yohko’s chin in her hand. “Shh, child. Your turn is over for now…” As the drow trailed off a whimsical smirk formed on her face. “However, I think I should make sure no fragments from your pretty dress end up in your flesh after it’s healed. Mother did impress upon me the importance of keeping wounds tidy.”

Both the devil hunter and myself were confused at that statement at first until the elf lifted one of her knives to the hem of Yohko’s dress and started cutting. With a few swift, clean strokes my friend lost her uniform and panties leaving her in only her bracers, ankle bands and slippers. As the drow stepped back to contemplate the view the devil hunter tried to put on a brave face despite the embarrassed flush over her face. “Happy now?! Or are you s-still shocked I can look better than you wearing absolutely nothing at all?!”

That got a real belly laugh out of the elf. “An excellent front, child. Though I doubt even a man from your race could speak well of your attributes given... my-”

Doubtless the drow would’ve kept up her preening had she not turned my way and noticed where my eyes were focused on. Or rather whom they were focused on. In my defense, I was trying to make sure that Yohko’s body hadn’t been hurt again by the damn elf’s knifeplay. Problem was, that meant from the drow's position in front of us that it seemed I had eyes for the devil hunter and her alone. So I guess it made sense to her to stab me right between the legs at that particular moment.

Yes, you heard that correctly. Between. The. Legs. Also known as Ballbusting for Professionals, In-Home Castration, and/or Sack Removal.

I won’t even try to go into what that felt like, mostly because I can’t recall those few moments with any accuracy. I asked Yohko afterwards where in the jewels I was hit, but all she could do was wince and simply point out that I really didn’t want to know. I think the fact that she was having sympathetic pain over a nut strike was enough to get my curiosity to shut up. Anyway, once the damn drow had felt I’d suffered enough, she pulled the blade out of me and did the same healing trick as before. This allowed me to blissfully hit unconsciousness until I was roused again, this time by a fist to the gut which left me gasping for air. Took me a few tries, but finally I was able to get my breathing back under control. At that point, I simply lifted my hazel eyes to meet the bitch’s crimson ones head on and just kept staring, retribution be damned.

Imagine my surprise when instead of anger, a look of excitement started to form on her face. “Since you seem intent on letting your eyes go where they shouldn’t, boy, I feel the best way to end our little session together is to show you something quite… stimulating… for both of us.” Before I could even wonder at what she might be talking about, her right hand reached up to unbutton the clasp holding her dress collar shut. Then, with an almost mechanical pace she disrobed leaving her in her boots and tiara before letting the garment fall from her grip onto the ground.

I blinked twice before commenting. “Um… Stupid Question, but have you ever stripped for a guy’s pleasure before?”

For the first time during this whole ordeal, I think I actually caught the white haired wench flat footed as her haughty expression vanished and a puzzled frown took it’s place. Her eyes narrowed a second later. “Are you still suggesting that this little tramp next to you can be more enticing than I?”

Part of me wondered where I ‘first’ suggested such a thing, but I continued my argument. “It’s not what you have that counts, it’s how you use it…” Suddenly a thought struck me, and I allowed a small smirk to hit my lips. “Then again, I suppose if you never really needed to pursue a man’s attention It’d be difficult for you to learn how to act really sexy when you want to be…” Time to make the pitch, C’mon Jon don’t fuck this up! “Now Yohko here, she’s had a real hard time trying to get guys to notice her in the past, and as a result she could show you moves that would bring dead men back to life.”

The elf then giggled at my words which made her free swinging breasts quiver in rather distracting ways. ”And I, full of wonder and mystery, obviously should just release the wench from her bonds so that she may dance for us… correct?” She sneered. “You must think me a fool. Why would I, a chosen of Lolth who possessed enough cunning and power to replace my mother as a priestess at my age, need to learn some strutting gestures a woman of lesser breed has to use to pitifully beg for a man’s attention?”

Despite myself, I felt my face fall, only to hear the drow speak up again. “...But I suppose even the highest Matrons found it easier to excite their men through something other than commands…”

With that the white haired wench picked up her dress, walked up to Yohko and cut the devil hunter free before tossing the black gown right on top of her head. “Remember girl, I shall be watching with some interest, so do try to impress me.”

Yohko gave off a bit of a dumbfounded look as the elf leaned back against the brick wall beside me with her arms crossed under her bosom and a light smirk on her face. I, for my part, just kept hanging where I was, but did offer my friend a little support. “C’mon girl, show ‘er how you conjure up a sword from a guy’s pants with those moves of yours.”

The devil hunter’s face brightened before turning downright sultry at me. “Well, if you insist, Jon… I suppose I can give you both something to remember.”

I actually blushed hard at that, either she’s an actress waiting to be discovered or I may have struck the Eros motherload. Slowly Yohko picked up the dress and pressed it to her body, her eyes locked with mine the entire time. My friend then fully opened the gap into a complete circle of cloth before shimmying her legs, butt, abs, and breasts into the garment one tantalising inch at a time. Best part was when Yohko gave a half-turn and broke rhythm at her buns, letting her hands and the fabric frame that derriere just so for a few moments before moving on.

And of course the damn drow has to interrupt while the show’s going on. “I suppose she does have a sort of simplistic charm to her movements. But it seems painfully obvious of which areas of her body she would wish you to notice.”

My eyes turned to the white haired wench only to notice that she’d developed an odd twitch. “It's called ‘playing to the crowd’. Most guys… and not a few girls, apparently… find a firm butt to be a rather interesting sight.”

The drow gave off a lascivious grin. ”No doubt. But is it truly a ‘crowd’ when there are but three around to witness the display?”

I blinked twice at that. “Three? Where’d ya get that number from?”

The elf giggled again before she moved in front of me and leaned in close while bracing herself on the wall with her left hand. “Why from you…” She pressed her bosom against my upper chest in a not - uncomfortable way while giving me a half-lidded look. “Me…” Suddenly the elf’s free hand reached for the crotch of my jeans and squeezed. “And him.”

I somehow managed to avoid screaming out in pain this time around, though a cough that was an octave higher than it should have been squeaked out. “W-well they say ‘Three’s a Crowd’, don’t they?”

The drow’s grin became more intense, just as Yohko completed another half turn so that she was facing her impromptu audience once more. The outfit was now just underneath her breasts, but the devil hunter’s expression had shifted from sultry to cold neutral. In a smooth, swift motion my friend had slipped the dress the rest of the way onto her body and summoned her weapon into her hands. Oddly enough, the moment the clasp at the collar was secure the garment shifted and shrunk in all the right ways to fit perfectly on my friend’s frame.

In the next instant, Yohko lunged for the drow just as she turned her head in the direction of the sudden flash of light provided by the Soul Sword’s arrival. That slight warning proved to be all the drow needed as she leaned away from the weapon reaching for her and gracefully leapt out of the way. I'm just glad the devil hunter adjusted her thrust in time or her sword would've done far worse than embed itself in the brick wall a scant few inches away from my head.

[PCHeintz72]

Bwahahaha... brilliant...

Though you left off at a climactic moment.

[ckosacranoid]

Yes, talk about getting off thecsubject.....funny scence.

[Ryu Gabriev]

“Well well, so that sword of hers can be summoned? And here I thought it was just a decorated blade.“ The devil hunter gave off a light smirk as she made ready to charge once more.

Suddenly, the dress Yohko wore began to tighten even further, strangling her throat and compressing her chest. My friend dropped her blade and brought both hands to her neck, trying desperately to loosen the collar in any way possible. I cried out to the devil hunter as she fell to her knees before whipping my head to the white haired wench with renewed anger. “Shut it off! Now!”

The elf only smirked in response. “You see, the enchantment that allows that gown to refit itself every time it’s worn has a secondary use for the odd raider that might try to claim those garments should I or any of my ancestors be defeated. If the wearer is not Drow, a few moments after the neck clasp is secured the garment forcefully tightens till the victim asphyxiates. Something which should occur in-” The drow raised her head in a thoughtful gesture before holding up her free hand, palm facing away from me, with all five fingers extended. “-five minutes, I believe. Humans tire so easily…”

The white haired wench slinked up to me again and lifted the knife that she had kept a hold on throughout the whole ordeal thus far. “Hopefully you’ll be able to last long enough to carry me the rest of the way. Who knows? Impress me, and I may just keep you alive afterwards.”

The look in her eyes and erect mounds were starting to tell the whole story to me. And it wasn’t one I wanted to star in. She stalked towards me, one painfully slow step at a time, savoring the moment.“Now for my favorite part of the game: ‘Taming the Snake’!”

Just then, as if by the magic of movie timing, flames erupted along the left side and ceiling of the enclosed area! The spiders nearby squealed and hissed in panic, scattering every which way. To the right of me, beams of blood red laser light cut through the only wall not on fire creating an opening to the outside. Jadzia and Ian dashed through, only to stop in shock at the sight of Yohko rolling on the ground gasping for air and me stuck to the wall with the damn drow right next to me. That lasted for only the instant the irishman needed to figure out what was about to occur before his features twisted in a murderous scowl. Before the elf could do anything to resist, my friend had thrust out one hand in a grasping motion making the white haired wench clutch at her throat before being psychically tugged into the air.

“Go help Jon…” That was all the neophyte psychic said to the lieutenant commander before devoting all his attention to his elven captive. She began thrashing and kicking about to things only she could see while remaining suspended in mid air.

Dax quickly cut me down from the wall using her phaser, and the moment my feet hit the ground I made a mad dash to the devil hunter’s side. Her struggles had started to lessen as the dress continued to tighten around her body. Yohko had managed to unclasp the collar, but the fabric itself had refused to budge further. I didn’t really have any strategy at the moment so I just grabbed whichever parts of the garment were hanging free and started tugging.

Iroh and Dax crowded over me suggesting ways to help peel the dress off of the devil hunter, the retired general using a low flame to burn the garment and Dax trying her phaser at a low setting to cut the dress apart. I quickly shot down Iroh’s idea since I had no clue if there were any other sorts of magical anti-theft devices on the garment besides what was already assailing my friend. Dax’s idea would need too much time to lower the settings on her weapon to a voltage high enough to cut the cloth but low enough not to hurt my friend, and also, unknown magic bullshit. Ian, for his part, was still doing whatever he was doing to the drow hanging a few feet in midair. Given how she was now shrieking like a banshee I just focused on Yohko and continued pulling.

That was when I heard a raspy whisper from the devil hunter. I asked her to repeat it but she was speaking so softly I still couldn't understand. Finally, Yohko risked the last of her breath and simply belted out that she needed the remains of her uniform that had been cut from her earlier. Iroh hurried to where it had fallen and tossed the ruined red dress at me. I caught the bit of silk and turned back to Yohko, only to see her fall unconscious as the cloth vise took its opportunity to make her waistline look like a Victorian fashion model.

Dax had her tricorder out and was looking very concerned at the data being streamed. “Jon, we have to get this thing off of her now or she is never waking up again!”
I panicked and started trying to get a firm grip on the material so I could stretch it out in some way. “I know, I know!! What am I supposed to do Dax? Not like I can force feed her oxygen!”

To use that ol’ cliche to death: That’s when it struck me. The breathing portion of CPR might do it, but on the other hand I’d never done the procedure to anyone not made of plastic. Jadzia Dax, though… “Starfleet officers know CPR, right?”

The lieutenant commander gave me a look before nodding. “I can, but that doesn’t help with-”

I raised my hand to cut her off. “I know, but Yohko needed her devil hunting dress for something. Three-to-One odds that it’s some goofy sutra that can get her outta this mess. Even if I’m wrong it’s better than watching her pass before my eyes!”

The Trill had partially moved into position to begin breathing for Yohko, before looking back up at me with another odd expression. “My Eyes?”

Before I could reply she began administering CPR, leaving me to fume at the implication. One eternal moment later, the devil hunter coughed and sprung back to life. Though she was a little out of it at first. “...m-mama? Could you you tell Chi this dress is too tight? I can’t breathe…”

Despite myself, I smirked a bit. “I’ll make sure Sayoko gets the message. Anyway Yohko, here’s your hunting outfit. Now hurry and do whatever you were about to do before Dax has to put another pint of air in ya!”

The devil hunter’s brow scrunched up at that statement before her eyes snapped open in recognition. I handed Yohko the lump of silk and watched on as she held it close to her chest and begin chanting with eyes closed. “By my Oath as a Devil Hunter, against all enemies that come after me, for all daughters that come after me, I claim this magic and power for my clan.”

On and on she chanted that phrase with the odd echo pattern, and I watched in awe as the remnants of her uniform began leeching into the dress she was trapped in. Thankfully as this continued the elven garment stopped choking the devil hunter’s torso and filled out to something more comfortable. After a few minutes more, the two dresses merged into one leaving Yohko with eyes closed and hands pressed against the chest of her new red garment.

[ckosacranoid]

mean while, the elf is really getting off you could say hanging out midair...though the pusnishment might be a little weird for her.

[Cheb]

, the first new material for 2016

I feel so ashamed of not commenting here. Being too busy is not an excuse
If only there was a like button for us the lazy ones, like that of the spacebattles board.

spooge

Yay, a new unfamiliar word! Learning English further.

remnants of her uniform began leeching into the dress she was trapped in.

A rarely used idea, reminds me of that SGVY webcomic.

[Ryu Gabriev]

“Now that’s what I call Alteration.” I quipped as my friend buttoned up the collar of her new uniform. And what changes they were! The slim diamond cut in the front remained from before, but instead of the silvery mesh, the Mano clan stylized yin-yang symbol now fit neatly in part of the gap. The spider web patterns throughout the former garment had been rewoven into sparkling pale gold kanji script all along the borders of the dress. The neck clasp was now a carved ivory button in the shape of the Mano yin-yang.

Everything seemed OK now, so I started to turn away so I could confront Ian about why he chose to stay out of the situation with Yohko when she stopped me in my tracks by reaching out to grab hold of my left hand. I turned back, only to notice she was giving me a way too sweet smile. “Jon, we need to have a little talk about that stunt you made me go through with just now... “

I didn’t need the Force to guess where this was headed. I briefly looked to Iroh and Dax for aid only to notice that the both of them gave me the same eyebrow raised smirk. I grimaced, then turned to my friend to face the music. “Look Yohko, I’m sorry, honestly. At first when the whole damn drow’s lack of skill first came up, I was trying to stall so I could think of something without being in pain from whatever she did to us next. After that, well…”

The devil hunter’s smile flipped to a frown as she further scrutinized me. ”After that, you assumed that I would do whatever stupid thing you came up with next without even asking me?”

Iroh finally thought to give me a hand with the conversation. “Sometimes a plan cannot be confirmed in the fraction of time before it is needed.”

I gave a dip of my head in acknowledgement to the retired general’s point before continuing. “Honestly though, I was expecting you to badmouth the idea and bicker with me in general. That you ran with it, and did it well, was as much a shock to me as it was the elf over there.”

I immediately regretted drawing our attention to the white haired wench the moment the four of us turned in Ian’s direction. He still had his hand in a clutching grip, though his eyes and brow fidgeted every so often. An ear splitting wail erupted from the still twitching elf and we all noticed a dark liquid beginning to dribble off of her onto the floor. “Guys… am I crazy or is she bleeding out of her-”

The devil hunter quickly pulled my head away muttering how we probably shouldn’t pry into whatever the irishman was up to with our prisoner. The lieutenant commander had a few things on her mind about the subject, though. “Jon, whatever this… creature was doing and about to do with you and Yohko can’t be worth this… this torture.”

The aged firebender nodded in agreement. ”Indeed, no matter how dark a person’s actions can be, that does not give us an excuse to lower our reactions to their level of depravity.”

“Iroh, that shit might work for most people-” The Irishman strode up to the group while thrusting his hand to the side. In the same instant the drow hanging in midair sailed in the direction of Ian’s hand to crash against the shrine with a sickening crunch. “-but drow cannot be shown mercy at all. You find them, you end them. Besides, this one was a real piece of work.”

Once the Irishman had made his way towards us, I finally noticed the proof the his little escapades with fancy new powers could come at a cost. “Holy shit! Ian, you’re bleeding man!!”

His nostrils were doing a fair impression of waterfalls as twin streams of crimson dribbled down his face. As I pointed it out to him, the Irishman finally seemed to notice before moving to clean his face off. Ian had an intensity to him that I hadn’t really seen before, like he was holding everything in and was puffed up by the feelings underneath his skin. “But like I was saying, drow aren’t like normal people, Iroh. From the minute they’re born, assuming they’re not male and possibly immediately sacrificed to their fucking spider goddess, Lolth, they are indoctrinated to see themselves as superior, all other races as beneath them and to backstab their fellow drow if the reward is worth it slash follows the will of the aforementioned spider bitch god.”

Ian shivered slightly before looking me in the eye. “It’s just like in the books, Jon. I only caught small glimpses here and there, but I saw it. That drow bitch being born, becoming a priestess-”

The Irishman suddenly started spasming in his arms forcing me and Dax to each hold a limb until he stopped. Thankfully, stop he did, and after a few more moments to compose himself he continued speaking. “Jonathan, she had a thing for other races. Men, women, humans, dwarves, elves it didn’t fucking matter to her… she was gonna turn you and Yohko into goddamn fuck toys!!”

I grimaced. “Ian, you don’t have to-”

“Jon... I need to get this out of my head as soon as possible. Talking… It helps do that.” I took a second, then nodded for him to go on. “Not much left anyway. The last image I saw after that one with all the chained up servants was one of the same room they were held in, but there was blood on the walls and floor. Her mind finally shattered after that, so I didn’t see anything else.”

Ian finally seemed to deflate after that and grew calmer. He then turned his gaze to the devil hunter, who by that time had made her way to the rest of the group and had been listening in on the narration. “By the way, Yohko, you might want to do what you did to that uniform of yours to the rest of that drow’s gear, every bit of it’s enchanted in some way.” My friend then stood up and made his way to the opening the team had made in the drow’s former lair. I followed him, while Iroh, Dax and Yohko moved to where the dead elf now lay before stripping the corpse of the rest of what she had with her.

Ian and I just continued walking down the passage until it turned upward and opened up onto the street. Seems we’d been in one of the inner city underground tunnels for foot traffic between buildings the whole time. Sirens were blaring as the soft booms of explosions echoed in the distance. I shook my head in despair. “What have I done, man? Yea we fixed you up and stopped that white-haired wench back there… but how many other monsters are out there? How long are people gonna be killed by demons?”

Ian grabbed hold of my left arm and tugged me around to face him. “Q did this, Jonathan. Not you. Don’t you ever take the blame for him pulling this shit.”

We both kept silent for a few moments while all hell broke loose in the distance. Then, unbidden a question I’d never thought to ask before now sunk down from my brain and fell out of my mouth. “Why’d he do this, man? What does he gain by turning our world into a warzone?!”

Insight, among other things.

The both of us jerked suddenly as Q materialized before our eyes leaning lightly on the brick wall with his arms crossed in front of him. “You both have seen that half-baked effort by Roddenberry to portray the Q in a legitimate fashion? If so, you should know full well mortal beings intrigue my people. For all our omnipotence and foresight, you lot still continue to do things that surprise us.”

I felt my fists clench but managed to stay put. “How does that equate to this, Q?”

The godling’s eyes rolled. “Like I said, insight. Many’s the time I have seen Jean-Luc regain control of that overworked vessel of his using only his wits and skill. But how far could it go? If the threat was great enough, could a mortal become inventive enough to overcome it? Just the thought is immensely entertaining.”

My left eye twitched. “...you want entertaining…?” I suddenly dove for Q with my right hand balled in a fist as I yelled, “Ian, fortify!” The neophyte psychic already had the gist of it as an aura of power wrapped itself around my fist before it impacted with the wall. Multiple spiderweb cracks began spreading from the impact site, as sadly, Q had teleported away just before I struck.

That’s exactly what I’m talking about. How long did it take you to come up with that plan of attack after noticing Ian had figured out the use of telepathy? Your observational skills and inventiveness are just what I need to win this little contest!

Ian turned to me with a neutral expression and a raised eyebrow. “What contest might he be talking about, Jon?”

I gave my horsetail a nervous tug before speaking. “All the Q have this wacko Bet thing going, and for some reason I’m the guy he chose to be his wager. He’s the one that transported everyone here in the first place.”

The irishman’s eyes narrowed. “So he’s the reason I had a fucking demon in my brain for a few hours today?!”

Yes. But you mortals dealing with the fallout is part of the rules, I can’t hold your hand throughout this whole thing. Not as interesting as, say, watching simple mortals in extraordinary circumstances grow to match those challenges and survive…

“Don’t suppose it would kill you to tell the rules to your current pawn, would it?” I said with a frown. “And rematerialize already, just looking up at the ceiling is creepy!”

I think not. You and your amigo here might be distracted with useless thoughts of murder if I were to discuss the rules with you face to face.

The both of us fumed silently as the godling continued speaking. First, during this competition the Q as a whole are unable to use their omniscience at all so that we can gauge the consequences of any ‘move’ we make for our chosen mortal or group of mortals. Second, we can make any move we wish, but we cannot undo a move once it's been put in play. Finally, the submission with the fewest moves that reaches the most interesting conclusion is considered the victor.

“Now I know what a chess match feels like for the pieces…” I grumbled as Ian could only nod in agreement. “Anything else, Q? Perhaps another hidden twist you’d like to screw us with?!”

Q didn’t answer me, and a few minutes later the both of us walked back to where the rest of the team had been. First thing we noticed was that Yohko had been busy reinventing her look as a devil hunter. Her pumps, anklets and wrist guards were switched for a pair of tanned leather gauntlets and calf high boots with a low heel. Plates of the same light gold material her old gear was comprised of were sewn onto the backs of each hand, her forearms and both shins. A thin leather belt was wound about her trim waist, possessing two small sheaths at crisscrossed angles at the back and a loose dongle at the right side where something could be hung from. The crown had turned gold to match everything else and shifted into a pattern of loosely woven strands that looped about her head. The gem in the center stayed the same color but had gained a bright sparkle in the light.

Speaking for myself, all the new glitz added a fine measure of new hotness to the devil hunter. “Daaamn, Yohko. You made that suit look better than ever!”

Yohko smiled at the whistle I gave for emphasis and preened a bit before doing a little spin to show off her new accoutrements. “It's all in the spell, really. My great ancestor came up with a way to make magical items demons had in their possession usable by a member of the Mano clan or their allies after we defeated them. It even changes the item’s form if necessary, so that we devil hunters are as protected as we can possibly be.”

I nodded in admiration, clearly the Mano family was far more than their oddball reputation would have you believe. “Color me impressed, Yohko. The look is out of sight, but what about it’s function? What do your new odds ’n ends do?”

My friend blinked a couple of times before grinning sheepishly. “Um...I dunno?”

My right hand clapped against my head in frustration while everyone else chuckled at the situation. Yohko took the opportunity to gather up the white haired wench’s weapons and turn them to her cause while Iroh and Dax looked me over for any lingering damage. Ian just sat slumped against the wall and within moments was snoring lightly.

“To hear Yohko tell it Jon, this drow put the both of you through the wringer but I can’t detect any signs of laceration or trauma…” Dax ran scan after scan trying to figure out why our stories and the available evidence weren’t trying to get along. “I’m detecting blood on the inseam of your jeans and similar readings where Yohko said she got stabbed, but no scarring whatsoever on either of you…”

I rolled my eyes at the perfect example of Federation Tech blindness. “That would be thanks to the drow’s healing magic. As a priestess she’d have access to some really potent stuff, most likely so that she could keep her ‘toys in fair condition’, if you get my meaning.”

The lieutenant commander gave me a half-lidded smirk and grin. “Yes Jon, I’m sure that the magic kept you from getting a nasty scar.”

I would’ve laid heavily into Dax on that subject given what I just went through, but the retired general beat me to the punch. “Commander, one should never rely upon the wisdom of their own land above that of any other. To do so leaves one blind in a way few can ever match. Perhaps it is indeed magic, or some other power, but you should know better than to deny the effect of something simply because it does not match your view of the world.”

Dax blinked twice as she grew a sheepish look to her face. “...that’s a good point. With someone like Q hanging around it probably is best to expect the unexpected and keep an open mind about what I see during this out-of-world experience.”

Very good, Jadzia! I had a feeling you'd be up for this challenge.

Iroh and Dax were startled by the sudden vocal intrusion, but I had grown used to the outbursts of the godling’s continued eavesdropping and just grimaced in response. “The hell do you want now, Q?”

Q answered by rematerializing in front of us with arms crossed in front of him and a grin on his face. “I think now would be an excellent opportunity to shake things up a bit.”

“That pretty much tops the list of things I didn’t want to hear today. I quit, Q, You hear me?! Find some other sucker in some other dimension ‘cause I’m not playing this damn game of yours anymore!!” I folded my arms in front of myself, looking as defiant as I could. Though given how the godling was still smirking, I don’t think it was having much of an effect. “I don’t care if this means Dad dies tomorrow, just take my houseguests and go away.”

Q just waggled a finger at me. “Tut tut tut, I’ll not have that kind of defeatist talk in my camp. You’ve been doing exceptionally well thus far, saving your friend, giving him power, saving yourself and the devil hunter and giving her more power. I'm now quite interested in seeing what a change of scenery will force you and your teammates to reach for.” The omnipotent ass then cupped his free hand under his chin, as If in thought. “You think I should ask Jean-Luc about this? He's always prattling on about ‘human spirit’ this and ‘humanity’ that, so perhaps he's learned a few ways to motivate people…”

As he continued to focus on his question, I gave off an exasperated sigh, rolled my eyes again and moved to tell him off spectacularly. To this day I still don't know why I said what I said just then. “Q, I don't give a royal fuck where, just get us outta this!!”

The way Q’s eyes just lit up was not a good sign, neither was the bright smile on his face. “What an excellent idea…”

Before any of us could tell him otherwise, the godling snapped his fingers and the lot of us disappeared in a great flash of light.
*****
And THAT, my friends, is the end of Chapter 3. Up to this point I've been trying for 10k sized chapters because I thought that was the size professionals strive for, only to be shown that usually novels never pass the 100,000 word mark. So, next chapter onward I'm gonna be reducing the size of the chapters to around 6000 words. This is not the death knell of the story, just a slight adjustment so that time constraints can be eased and so I can get used to the smaller range.