The light of three moons cascades along her naked figure,‭ ‬each dancing,‭ ‬spiraling before coalescing in washes of color,‭ ‬decorating her perfect body‭ ‬as she rocks upwards,‭ ‬then falls down once more like an angel’s descent to earth.‭ ‬Colors glint along the thin sheen of sweat that coats her soft,‭ ‬light skin‭; ‬and beyond,‭ ‬only darkness envelops the two of us.‭ ‬She leans down,‭ ‬and her waterfall of bright golden hair shimmers with an opalescent green,‭ ‬followed by clear,‭ ‬bright blue before mingling with a vibrant,‭ ‬flaming orange.‭ ‬Her hair spills down around her neck and around the gentle heart-shape of her face,‭ ‬and her lips meet mine,‭ ‬entangling me,‭ ‬entrenching me in a long,‭ ‬deep kiss.

Where I’m from I’m used to just one moon,‭ ‬one moon sluggishly revolving around the world I once knew.‭ ‬Now with the night having fallen and the sky darkened into a fierce pitch,‭ ‬it makes the colors of those rapidly orbiting celestial bodies glow and shimmer,‭ ‬picking up every small reflection,‭ ‬and making my newly-freed lover seem to glow in the dark‭ ‬--‭ ‬dazzling colored blackness lighting her like a beacon in my night-adjusted eyes.‭ ‬We kiss hard,‭ ‬and I feel her tongue entering my mouth to slide and stroke across my own,‭ ‬and she continues to rock up and down in my lap,‭ ‬keeping her divine figure in perpetual motion as my fantasy maiden‭ ‬rides my strange and amazing new figure,‭ ‬eager to please me like no person’s ever been.

‭“‬I’m yours,‭ ‬strange hero,‭” ‬she whispers,‭ ‬backing away slightly,‭ ‬kissing me again.‭ ‬The two of us lay on the fallen petals of the weird flowers from the thorny forests beyond,‭ ‬a soft and shifting bed of delicate violet.

‭“‬Your name,‭” ‬I whisper back.‭ ‬There should be a question mark there,‭ ‬I feel,‭ ‬but the question itself is quick and hushed,‭ ‬more a demand than a query.‭ ‬The girl smiles‭ ‬--‭ ‬I can feel her lips curl against mine as she answers breathlessly within the soft cage of our kiss.

‭“‬Ciphia,‭” ‬she answers,‭ ‬smiling again,‭ ‬kissing me again,‭ ‬and I feel her tighten around me‭ ‬--‭ ‬clenching the forbidden entrance she willingly offered around the new-and-improved rod I won along with my ironically feminine figure.‭ “‬And you are Allara,‭ ‬my savior.‭”

Yeah,‭ ‬I am.‭ ‬Allara.‭ ‬The Deadslayer,‭ ‬she calls me.‭ ‬Thodax called me the same thing.‭ ‬Because I killed those zombies‭? ‬That’s a really specific nickname to catch on so fast.‭ ‬Then again...‭ ‬it‭ ‬is kinda catchy,‭ ‬isn’t it‭?

Regardless of what I’m known as here,‭ ‬Allan has no place in this world.‭ ‬If I awaken‭ ‬--‭ ‬if I wake up‭; ‬crap,‭ ‬this world is changing the way I think‭! ‬--‭ ‬then so be it.‭ ‬But for now I need to embrace the world I’m in.‭ ‬And it’s a far,‭ ‬far better world than the one I left.

I lean into her kiss,‭ ‬my own tongue extending to meet hers as our embrace deepens,‭ ‬intensifies.‭ ‬I thrust my hips upward and I feel her whimper into my mouth,‭ ‬her own rhythmic rocking in my lap not slowing,‭ ‬meeting my own erratic,‭ ‬hungry thrusts forward.‭ ‬I feel her snug entrance flex and then relax,‭ ‬easing slickly up and down along my aching shaft again and again,‭ ‬and though I try to ignore it I can feel the stiffness between us,‭ ‬the feeling of Ciphia’s rigid‭ ‬member trapped between our flat stomachs.‭ ‬I have too many questions to bother asking any at all,‭ ‬and instead I focus all of my attention on this rescued blonde.‭ ‬On Ciphia.

She gasps and breaks our kiss,‭ ‬straightening back up in my lap,‭ ‬perpendicular to my prone form and bouncing up and down on top of me,‭ ‬bathed in the erratic neon moonlight of this impossible world.‭ ‬Her full,‭ ‬sumptuous breasts jiggle and leap with every downward drop of her weight against me,‭ ‬her scintillating hair a shifting,‭ ‬bouncing maelstrom of color that hypnotizes me even as I’m entirely enveloped by the transcendent pleasure she gives me.

I thrust inside of her,‭ ‬again,‭ ‬then again,‭ ‬and she nestles her backside down around me as her snug back hole spasms around me.‭ ‬I’m slick from our earlier play,‭ ‬her saliva and my own spunk mixing into a bubbly,‭ ‬sticky mixture that made it perfectly easy for her to mount me and take me while proclaiming she was mine.‭ ‬No complaints here.‭ ‬I stare captivated as her breasts bounce in place as she hops onto me again and again,‭ ‬and now I’m confronted with an unavoidable view of this girl’s own meatstick‭ ‬--‭ ‬the way it wobbles and flexes,‭ ‬tensing with hardness from the pleasure I’m giving her backside.‭ ‬She tenses again,‭ ‬whimpering,‭ ‬and her eyes meet mine,‭ ‬big and green and adoring,‭ ‬and we connect in this strange way,‭ ‬this primal way,‭ ‬like nothing I’ve ever experienced.‭ ‬For the first time I’m within another person and in that sense we’re one,‭ ‬we’re joined.

I reach upwards to grip one of her full breasts,‭ ‬feeling it squish against my fingers,‭ ‬resistant yet pliable,‭ ‬big yet firm,‭ ‬still slick from the deposit I made on it earlier.‭ ‬I prop my knees up and thrust my pelvis upwards,‭ ‬driving into her snug back entrance and finding my hips inexhaustible ‬--‭ ‬while my breathing rises with excitement my body doesn’t seem to tire,‭ ‬and I go faster,‭ ‬faster,‭ ‬and I hear Ciphia let out a cry of ecstasy that shakes her entire body,‭ ‬causes her to quake and spasm.‭ ‬The heavy swells of her perfect breasts shudder and almost vibrate with the intensity of her shaking,‭ ‬her hard dick tensing before unloading onto me,‭ ‬coating my firm‭ ‬tattooed stomach and firm breasts with her cream...‭ ‬even as I return the favor.

My breath catches as I look up at her,‭ ‬going numb in places as I watch her gasp with pleasure of her own,‭ ‬seized in the throes of her own climax which only grow more intense as I release within her.‭ ‬I feel pulse after pulse rock me,‭ ‬a look of realization and excitement dawning on Ciphia’s face as she realizes I’m filling her,‭ ‬pumping her full of what I was taught was for making babies and nothing else.‭ ‬Oh well‭ ‬--‭ ‬new world,‭ ‬new rules.

Ciphia falls down against my chest,‭ ‬panting,‭ ‬whimpering in the aftershocks of her pleasure as she buries her face between my soft breasts,‭ ‬arms wrapping around me as she joins me in our combined stickiness.‭ ‬Her breathing is rapid and shallow,‭ ‬but slows‭ ‬--‭ ‬I shiver as I feel her gentle kisses start to trail up my chest and neck,‭ ‬to my jaw,‭ ‬nibbling my ear.‭ “‬Thank you again for saving me,‭ ‬Deadslayer,‭” ‬she whispers softly.‭ “‬But I must confess something.‭”

I let out a soft breath of my own,‭ ‬my hands tracing lightly along her hips,‭ ‬then sides,‭ ‬then up across her smooth back.‭ ‬At this point,‭ ‬she could tell me anything.‭ “‬What...‭ ‬what is it‭?”

“I may have acted selfishly in how...‭ ‬generously,‭ ‬I rewarded you,‭” ‬she looks up at me with a wicked grin,‭ ‬kissing my lower lip gently,‭ ‬then suckling it.‭ “‬And I have absolutely no regrets.‭”

Eesh.‭ ‬I’ve spent my whole life using the internet as my girlfriend and now girls are trying to manipulate me into nights of passion‭? ‬Yeah,‭ ‬this has gotta be a figment of my imagination‭; ‬nothing this amazing could be real.

I fold my arms around her waist and hold her gently to me,‭ ‬my breath steadying as I relax against the bed of alien flower petals we’ve made.‭ ‬My eyes drift into slits as I feel Ciphia’s heartbeat slow,‭ ‬enjoying the strange lightshow of this world’s fast-moving moons,‭ ‬the way their colors combine and splatter across the darkness like the frenzied strokes of a mad painter across an impossible landscape of flowers,‭ ‬thorns,‭ ‬and strange hills of dark earth.‭ ‬Above me is space and those frantic celestial bodies,‭ ‬the stars ebbing and drifting,‭ ‬rearranging,‭ ‬lulling me into a deep sleep.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

I’m awoken by a sunrise,‭ ‬or...‭ ‬what I assume must substitute a sunrise in this world.‭ ‬Bright white flames seem to cavort along the skyline independent of any single specific nexus of heat and light that might designate an actual solar system‭ ‬--‭ ‬dispelling the multicolored day-glo darkness with light.

I blink my eyes and sit up,‭ ‬and a big part of me expects the world to be back to the way it was,‭ ‬in my own bed,‭ ‬wheezing from poor sleep,‭ ‬the sounds of my mom making breakfast on the floor below.‭ ‬That’s not what I’m greeted by,‭ ‬and more and more I’m being forced to accept the possibility,‭ ‬if not the certainty,‭ ‬that this is my new reality.‭ ‬That the transformation and transport I underwent are...‭ ‬if not permanent,‭ ‬certainly‭ ‬real.

‭“‬You’re awake,‭ ‬Deadslayer,‭” ‬I hear a whisper by my side,‭ ‬and the warmth of Ciphia’s body reminds me of her closeness,‭ ‬cuddled into my side and nuzzling one of my tattooed breasts tenderly.‭ “‬Thodax shall be far away by now,‭ ‬as he has yet to return.‭”

I squeeze my eyes shut for a moment.‭ ‬Thodax.‭ ‬Dark lord.‭ ‬Possibly an evil robot sorcerer.‭ ‬Normal stuff that happens every day.‭ “‬Where will he be‭?” ‬I ask.‭ ‬I’m at a disadvantage here,‭ ‬at least as far as Ciphia is concerned.‭ ‬I should get as much information from her as I can.

‭“‬I’m uncertain,‭” ‬she whispers back,‭ ‬sitting up and rolling over onto me,‭ ‬laying flat on my body so that she can kiss my lips again.‭ ‬I can feel her smooth girlshaft,‭ ‬semi-hard from sleep,‭ ‬press tenderly into mine.‭ ‬I don’t resist.‭ “‬But we should return to my village before he strikes again.‭ ‬We know his plan now,‭ ‬yes‭?”

Plan‭? ‬He had a plan‭? ‬Raise the dead,‭ ‬and um....

‭“‬The Tora’sai‭!” ‬Ciphia exclaims.‭ “‬I can ask my father about it.‭ ‬One of our elders,‭ ‬or sages,‭ ‬must know of its location.‭ ‬We merely need to get it before he does.‭”

Right.‭ ‬The Tora’sai.‭ ‬How could I forget that.‭ ‬To be honest,‭ ‬I do remember Thodax mentioning something that would grant him some kind of ultimate power,‭ ‬but I was pretty understandably distracted at the time.‭ “‬Where is your father,‭ ‬then‭?” ‬I ask,‭ ‬lightly touching my nose to hers.‭ ‬These small gestures of intimacy are still incredibly sweet to me,‭ ‬unique,‭ ‬delightful.‭ ‬I’m still riding the high of last night,‭ ‬the power and...‭ ‬apparent desirability of my new form.

‭“‬It isn’t far from here,‭” ‬the blonde whispers,‭ ‬her arms wrapping around my middle,‭ ‬holding me as much as a sensual gesture as a call for protection.‭ “‬Past the star-marsh.‭ ‬I can take you.”

I nod a little,‭ ‬nuzzling her soft,‭ ‬sweet hair and starting to sit up.‭ “‬Let us go then,‭” ‬I say,‭ ‬dramatically.‭ “‬I would learn more of this Thodax,‭ ‬and the Tora’sai he so desires.‭ ‬And--‭” ‬my stomach releases an intimidating growl.‭ “‬I hunger.‭”

“There shall be feasts from wall to wall of the great winehalls of my father,‭ ‬Deadslayer,‭” ‬Ciphia coos,‭ ‬kissing my cheek,‭ ‬her hand brushing up to firmly grope my breast,‭ ‬sending an impulse of pleasure shooting through me.‭ “‬I shall see to it.‭”

A few moments pass,‭ ‬and I have risen up,‭ ‬stripping away the banner of one of the fallen soldiers I killed last night‭ ‬--‭ ‬enough fabric to make a loincloth of sorts.‭ ‬While my new body may be amazing,‭ ‬I still don’t wanna walk around with my wanger hanging out,‭ ‬y’know‭? ‬Ciphia follows suit,‭ ‬making a simple covering for herself but leaving her enthralling breasts exposed,‭ ‬just as I,‭ ‬perhaps hypocritically,‭ ‬also did.‭ “‬Point me in the direction of your village...‭” ‬what do I call her‭? ‬What sounds badass‭? ‬Badasses don’t call people by their names,‭ ‬right‭? “‬...Maiden.‭”

Ciphia inhales deeply,‭ ‬taking a quick look around.‭ ‬We’re just outside of the cemetery where we encountered Thodax,‭ ‬now,‭ ‬and it only takes her a few moments to get a general direction.‭ “‬This way.‭”

I nod,‭ ‬stretching my back slightly and starting to walk behind her,‭ ‬keeping my eye out for any danger.‭ ‬Ordinarily this would be the last thing I’d do‭ ‬--‭ ‬after all,‭ ‬not noticing danger means you aren’t responsible for it,‭ ‬right‭? ‬--‭ ‬but I‭ ‬do feel responsible for Ciphia now.‭ ‬Not only that,‭ ‬but after my encounter with the undead I feel more than capable of providing a challenge to any random encounters we find along the way.

The star-marsh ends up being very much as I might have imagined it‭; ‬a swamp of strange,‭ ‬clear,‭ ‬black water amidst short hills and tall reeds,‭ ‬spongy and wet and extensive,‭ ‬unavoidable on our route to the village Ciphia was kidnapped from.‭ ‬Within that water‭ ‬--‭ ‬I’ll call it water due to a total lack of understanding of what it actually is‭ ‬--‭ ‬is blackness,‭ ‬sparkling and twinkling,‭ ‬like a whole new cosmos within its depths.

We move forward,‭ ‬carefully squelching our bare feet through the wetness and muck,‭ ‬the sky squirming and scintillating with these frantic light sources above us.‭ ‬It’s only a ways past the cemetery‭ ‬that I start to see strange machines burbling out of the clean-smelling but foul-looking swamps,‭ ‬rusted but struggling to operate.‭ ‬Failing.‭ ‬I can’t tell what they might have been for.

‭“‬They used to pump water to our village,‭” ‬Ciphia says softly,‭ ‬noticing my gaze.‭ “‬Before Thodax tainted the water with his corruption.‭”

“Who is this Thodax,‭ ‬anyway‭? ‬I know he wanted to raise an army of fallen soldiers,‭ ‬and...‭ ‬something about a Tora’sai,‭ ‬but--‭”

“Thodax is the darkness that corrupts all life.‭ ‬Conquers,‭ ‬destroys,‭ ‬seizes,‭” ‬Ciphia murmurs as she makes her way around a deeper poor of black,‭ ‬void-like liquid.‭ “‬With the Tora’sai he’ll take more,‭ ‬and our life will be over.‭ ‬Our water,‭ ‬our trading routes.‭ ‬There will no longer be villages or cities.‭ ‬Only his empire.‭” ‬Her voice takes on a sort of gravity,‭ ‬and I glance towards her,‭ ‬taking in the look of melancholy on her face.‭ ‬She’s seen more than she lets on.

‭“‬I’ll do everything I can to stop him,‭” ‬I growl.‭ ‬Yeesh,‭ ‬either I’ve fallen head over heels or I’ve totally lost my mind‭! ‬Fighting the guy on the spot is one thing,‭ ‬but now I’m agreeing to go to war‭? ‬Did I get bumped on the head on my way to this weird place‭? “‬How far is your villa--‭”

“By the archons.‭” ‬I hear her horrified whisper beside me,‭ ‬and feel my fingers tighten to fists in anticipation.‭ ‬I know nothing of the archons,‭ ‬but I know an exclamation when I hear it.‭ ‬I look to her face,‭ ‬to those big emerald eyes,‭ ‬and follow their direction‭ ‬--‭ ‬facing forward and a bit to the left,‭ ‬to what I had seen as only a mound of swampy earth.‭ ‬Ciphia,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬sees beyond it‭; ‬sees the plumes of smoke drifting up behind that rise of ground.‭ “‬We have to hurry‭!” ‬she shouts,‭ ‬dashing off ahead of me.

I catch up quickly,‭ ‬oddly,‭ ‬and have to slow down to match her pace as my powerful new legs pump beneath me.‭ ‬I can see the smoke too now,‭ ‬and I can only assume that it’s her village.‭ ‬Perhaps this Thodax struck earlier than any of us thought‭? ‬Enraged by my defiance‭?

The sucking bogs of the star-marsh begins to exhaust Ciphia and I lift her up with one arm,‭ ‬draping her soft frame around my neck and charging forward,‭ ‬inexhaustible,‭ ‬unstoppable,‭ ‬fueled by the power rush of my new form.‭ ‬The wet squelching void beneath my feet tries to drag me down with every step but is no match for my brute strength.‭ ‬In moments I am free of the swamp and sprinting,‭ ‬carrying Ciphia along my shoulders,‭ ‬along a plane of flat,‭ ‬crimson-grassed ground towards the source of the smoke.

I hear inhuman shrieks in the distance.‭ ‬Ciphia flinches at the sound,‭ ‬as if she’s heard it before.‭ ‬Something animalistic.

I charge forward with her in my arms,‭ ‬feeling my muscles throb indomitably as I race across intraversable terrain,‭ ‬making my way closer and closer to the source of the smoke.‭ ‬When I crest that hill I can see the village below‭ ‬--‭ ‬along with a strange sea even blacker than the pools of the marsh,‭ ‬seemingly endless‭ ‬--‭ ‬and I race towards it,‭ ‬keeping my breathing even.‭ ‬I’m the hero here.‭ ‬Can’t flag out.

When I arrive at the wooden gates I set Ciphia down beside me,‭ ‬storming past the open palisade and into the village beyond,‭ ‬to be treated to a sight of carnage.‭ ‬The people of this place,‭ ‬Ciphia’s people,‭ ‬have been all but wiped out‭ ‬--‭ ‬many lie dead,‭ ‬more in cages to be taken away for some unknown purpose.‭ ‬The culprit though,‭ ‬does not appear to be Thodax,‭ ‬nor any army of corpses he may have raised.‭ ‬What now occupies this small town makes me pause,‭ ‬makes me remember my situation,‭ ‬the...‭ ‬incredulousness of where I am and what I’m doing.

‭“‬Those are dinosaurs,‭” ‬I whisper,‭ ‬freezing in my tracks.‭ ‬Not only dinosaurs,‭ ‬though‭ ‬--‭ ‬these stampede through the village equipped with advanced weaponry,‭ ‬flamethrowers strapped to the shoulders or sides of raptor mounts,‭ ‬or tyrannosaurus stampeding through the town without riders.‭ ‬Pterosaurs scream through the flame-lit skies above,‭ ‬lasers shooting out of the lightweight weaponry packs strapped to their airborne bodies.‭ ‬Upon each creature of suitable size is a rider‭; ‬their skin in varying shades of violet through blue.‭ ‬I spot four arms and two legs upon each of these alien creatures as they set down cages and traps,‭ ‬capturing the remaining members of Ciphia’s tribe‭ (‬which appear to be normal humans like me‭)‬.

Bare-chested and loincloth-clad I charge into the fray of bodies,‭ ‬of savage raiders and their mounts.‭ ‬Without a weapon I lash out with a punch,‭ ‬sending one large raptor flying along with their rider as I charge forward.‭ ‬The beasts and riders are entirely dominating the small village they’ve invaded,‭ ‬clearly not expecting much of a fight‭ ‬--‭ ‬but neither did they expect me.‭ ‬With the outstanding speed and strength of my new body I leap up,‭ ‬grabbing one flying creature from the air and latching my fingers onto both wings.‭ ‬I feel it strain against me and hold me aloft for a moment‭; ‬its lean,‭ ‬tall rider crying out in some alien language as I tear off one wing,‭ ‬then the second,‭ ‬sending the beast diving to the ground and its rider along with it.

‭“‬Lu-at‭! ‬Chat sha-ta al hat-t‭!” ‬I hear the cry of a female rider,‭ ‬racing towards me on what can only be some kind of massive raptor,‭ ‬flamethrowers strapped to either side of the rapidly-charging beast.‭ ‬She herself‭ ‬--‭ ‬clad in an elaborate metallic harness and wielding a strange lance of alien make‭ ‬--‭ ‬rushes towards me with a flurry of forward strikes,‭ ‬her mount lashing out at me with teeth and claws.

It all seems to go so slow to me.‭ ‬It’s so bizarre,‭ ‬still unused to my new strength and my new speed.‭ ‬Nonetheless,‭ ‬I duck out of the way of her piercing,‭ ‬extended blade,‭ ‬rolling nimbly to the side to avoid the gnashing jaws of the fierce,‭ ‬lavender-skinned warrior woman’s mount.‭ ‬I pause and take in the sight of the woman herself,‭ ‬trying to figure out her specifics‭ ‬--‭ ‬she’s taller than me,‭ ‬yes,‭ ‬by perhaps a foot.‭ ‬Two rows of short,‭ ‬sharp horns trail along the sides of her skull from the temple backward,‭ ‬flanking a lustrous,‭ ‬narrow black mane of hair.‭ ‬The second pair of arms extend from just beneath her shoulders and are very slightly smaller than the first,‭ ‬though as well-muscled as the rest of her athletic,‭ ‬long-torsoed figure.‭ ‬Burning orange eyes make her beautiful in a primal way,‭ ‬but I don’t have time to think about that now.‭ ‬Right now,‭ ‬I have to kill some dinosaurs.

A sentence I really never thought I’d say,‭ ‬but I gotta admit I’m‭ ‬so glad I got to.

I roll nimbly to the side,‭ ‬dodging the forward lance attack and then seizing my strength,‭ ‬charging upward with my knee and crashing into the neck and head of the large raptor she’s riding,‭ ‬sending it flying and the alien woman along with it,‭ ‬out of the fray the moment and letting me focus on something else...‭ ‬though it looks like I might have been too late.‭ ‬In the moment I hesitated to examine my alien attacker I hear a squeal,‭ ‬the raised pitch of the familiar voice of Ciphia,‭ ‬and my eyes rapidly track the sound.‭ ‬I can see her pale legs,‭ ‬draped over the shoulder of one of these alien raiders as she’s dragged away,‭ ‬strapped to the back of an enormous purple triceratops.‭ ‬It,‭ ‬along with an escort of lighter beasts and riders,‭ ‬begin to drag the caged villagers towards the back of the town,‭ ‬towards the strange,‭ ‬starry abyss that makes up its shoreline and towards the strange,‭ ‬primitive-looking ships at its port.

‭“‬Ciphia‭!” ‬I roar out,‭ ‬though my voice is drowned amongst the sea of primal screeches and shouts in that strange,‭ ‬clipped alien language.‭ ‬I begin to run towards her,‭ ‬my legs pumping beneath me in long,‭ ‬powerful strides‭ ‬--‭ ‬as much a series of leaps as true sprinting.‭ ‬The ships are large,‭ ‬there’s no way they can load onto them before I reach them,‭ ‬even if--

I’m blasted off course by a bolt of bright blue light,‭ ‬strafed across my body from one of the flying dinosaurs circling and flanking above.‭ ‬I can see more lasers coming at me,‭ ‬bright blue in color‭ ‬--‭ ‬then more from another direction,‭ ‬bright green.‭ ‬Now bright pink from behind.‭ ‬I grit my teeth and let out a growl,‭ ‬hopping up and landing both bare feet onto the rough back of a stegosaurus,‭ ‬digging my toes in before using my momentum to bound upward,‭ ‬catching one of the harassing pterosaurs by its neck and dragging it downward.‭ ‬I ignore the alien screams of its male rider‭ (‬who I notice seems a bit shorter and slighter than the females‭) ‬as he falls off of his mount.‭ ‬He’s the lucky one,‭ ‬here.

Snarling,‭ ‬I form my fingers into a fist and ram them into the flying pest’s ribcage,‭ ‬reaching in deep to take a firm hold of its spine from within.‭ ‬The creature lets out one last gurgling shriek and goes rigid,‭ ‬the sharp,‭ ‬saw-toothed makeshift blade of its beak now firmly in my grasp.‭ ‬Landing back on my feet and on ground level I whirl in an arc,‭ ‬neatly bisecting a charging raptor before leaping again,‭ ‬this time targeting a larger mark‭ ‬--‭ ‬a tyrannosaurus,‭ ‬so large that it requires multiple handlers,‭ ‬seated in a small,‭ ‬spiked metal hut on its back.‭ ‬It charges me,‭ ‬jaws opening and the flamethrowers at its shoulders gushing out a bright orange inferno in my direction,‭ ‬but I duck and roll forward,‭ ‬narrowly avoiding the cones of fire.‭ ‬Crouching beneath it as it starts to lose balance,‭ ‬I lash up with the sharp beak of the stiffened pterasaur I’m using as a puppet,‭ ‬making puncture after deep puncture in the thing’s soft underbelly and causing it to stumble forward harder.‭ ‬I can hear the screams of its riders above and see one abandon the mount entirely,‭ ‬and I toss aside the beak-gauntlet to grip the bigger beast’s skin,‭ ‬starting to climb up its side.

It stumbles,‭ ‬but I hold on fast,‭ ‬dodging a laser from above and finally climbing up to the top,‭ ‬kicking off the metal hut on the t-rex’s back‭ (‬along with its remaining inhabitant‭) ‬before crawling towards the great beast’s head.‭ ‬I’m not sure if I’m filled with rage or drunk with power,‭ ‬but I know that if I’m going to save Ciphia I need to get these things off my back,‭ ‬and that means denting their numbers.‭ ‬I reach for the rex’s top jaw and draw it back,‭ ‬feeling it strain to snap its jaws shut around my hand...‭ ‬but it fails,‭ ‬struggling against my strength and‭ ‬frantically gnashing its lower jaw,‭ ‬already weakened from my deep,‭ ‬repeated stabs to its underside.‭ ‬Climbing up higher I plant my feet on its neck,‭ ‬my muscles straining as I reach to grab the lower jaw with one hand,‭ ‬then forcing my arms apart,‭ ‬pushing with everything I’ve got until I finally hear that satisfying pop.

The beast falls and I fall with it,‭ ‬hopping down to ground level at the last second and turning,‭ ‬ripping the lower jaw off of its head entirely and swinging the massive thing in a sharp circle,‭ ‬tossing it towards another pterasaur and sending it soaring out of the sky.‭ ‬I duck out of the way of another barrage of laser fire but one of those strange lances catches me from behind,‭ ‬hitting my shoulder and sending me stumbling forward.‭ ‬I turn and react,‭ ‬lashing out with a punch that I’m fairly certain kills the offending raider on impact.‭ ‬I don’t sit around to find out.

Breathing hard,‭ ‬I stumble to the side,‭ ‬and I’m starting to feel fatigue setting in...‭ ‬but no,‭ ‬can’t stop yet.‭ ‬I can see that big beast loaded onto the ship and see it start to pull away.‭ ‬I can still get there,‭ ‬I can still save Ciphia.‭ ‬I didn’t rescue her from Thodax just for her to get taken away this quickly.‭ ‬I grit my teeth and start to run forward again,‭ ‬kicking off the back of a fallen stegosaurus and leaping up,‭ ‬grabbing another pterosaur and redirecting it,‭ ‬riding its descent downwards and targeting its auto-firing laser pack at another incoming flying rider,‭ ‬hitting her,‭ ‬sending her spiraling away before tightening my grip on the pterosaur I’m using as a hang-glider,‭ ‬throwing it down to the ground and pouncing a raider and his raptor mount.‭ ‬The raider is swatted aside,‭ ‬but the raptor gets far worse as I reach between its shoulder blades,‭ ‬grabbing its spine and tearing it free along with the two shoulder-mounted flamethrowers that appear to be attached to it with some kind of simple,‭ ‬invasive machinery.

As the fuel packs continue to spew fire in all directions I grab the base of the spine,‭ ‬whirling it in wide,‭ ‬rapid circles,‭ ‬smashing into everything that dares come near me,‭ ‬sending warriors and their mounts skidding backwards,‭ ‬burned or beaten,‭ ‬collapsing into their fellow raiders.‭ ‬The ship is starting to move,‭ ‬along with the others,‭ ‬sliding out along strange,‭ ‬transparent space-canals and taking Ciphia with them.‭ ‬I roar out,‭ ‬flexing the muscles of my tattooed back and smashing my improvised flame-whip downwards,‭ ‬shattering the fuel tanks and creating a massive blast of fire and bone shrapnel,‭ ‬sending countless aliens flying backwards in the inferno...‭ ‬including me.

I struggle to get up,‭ ‬to stand again,‭ ‬my vision bleary,‭ ‬and I feel more lasers start to drill into my inhumanly tough skin,‭ ‬sending me staggering,‭ ‬falling again each time I try to stand.‭ ‬I blink my eyes and try to look up,‭ ‬reaching around for some kind of weapon...‭ ‬but all I can see are the raiders,‭ ‬circling around me now with different kinds of lances.‭ ‬Lances with hooks and collars at the end.‭ ‬I feel one clasp around my neck,‭ ‬then my wrists,‭ ‬then my ankles,‭ ‬and I feel a sharp blow to the back of my head.

Then,‭ ‬only darkness.

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