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Xera and Her Companions #16: Through Time and Space

by Sigma

 

(Author’s Note: Here it is, the final story of Xera and company (for now, at least). Grab a drink and some snacks because, as promised, it’s a giant-sized story.)

 

I

“Marie...what the hell is this place…?” Gurka asked.

 

Marie walked around the circular chamber, made of a smooth, strange looking metal that seemed to give off its own glow, and stood with her mouth wide open. Xera, Gurka, and Ava were likewise awestruck as they took in their surroundings.

 

“I...don’t know…” Marie admitted, pushing up her glasses. “I was talking to a friend of mine whose a cartographer, and he said he was exploring the area when he saw this anomaly. He thought it was some kind of mineral deposit, because he said there was all this strange metal he had never seen before. “But...I mean, look at this place, someone built it!”

 

“Perhaps it’s a temple…” Xera said, touching the smooth cold stone of the walls.

 

“But then where are the statues?” Ava asked.

 

As they looked around, Minerva stood staring at the center of the room, where she noticed a small glowing orb on a pedestal. She could hear a call coming from it, feeling something reaching into her mind as she walked toward it.

 

“No one disturb anything,” Marie said, looking up. “I see what looks like some writing. Maybe I can make sense of this…” she approached a tall, cylindrical platform against the wall and climbed up. She then pulled a small lantern out of her pack and held it up to the strange symbols.

 

On the floor, Minerva continued toward the orb when Gurka turned and saw her.

 

“Little one, get away from that thing!”

 

Minerva ignored her and continued toward it. Ava and Xera turned in her direction when Minerva didn’t answer.

 

Gurka walked up to her and grabbed her arm. “Didn’t you hear me? Marie said don’t touch.”

 

When Minerva didn’t respond, Gurka tried to pull her back. The orb then flared and shot a bolt of energy that hit the orc and knocked her back.

 

“Ah! What the hell?!” Gurka growled. She started toward Minerva again, with Ava and Xera right behind her. By the time they reached the sorceress, she touched the orb. It glowed brightly, filling the chamber with enough light to get Marie’s attention.

 

“What are you all doing down there?!” She called out, only to go unanswered. “...Ladies?” she turned around to see the chamber empty and then climbed down from the cylinder. Her footsteps echoed on the floor and she realized she was alone. “Guys…?” she called out.

 

She then turned when she heard a hissing sound. A seam appeared on the cylinder she was standing on before the front opened like a door. A mist slipped out and she saw a tall, hulking silhouette as something stepped out of the chamber. It was a bipedal being roughly 8 feet tall, with a lean body, elongated head, and a powerful tail behind its back. It had a mouth full of razor teeth and four sets of black eyes on its head all fixated on Marie. She stepped back as creature approached her, baring those sharp fangs.

 

“...Gulp…” Marie said, frozen in fear.

 

II

Minerva blinked and shook her head. “What happened? Where’s Marie?”

 

“What...the...fuck…?” Gurka uttered, staring up in awe.

 

The others were just as dumbfounded as they stared up at the armored titan, its glowing red eyes looking ahead and its white and red armor glinting in the afternoon sun.

 

“W…” Ava stammered. “Where are we?!” she looked at their strange surroundings, noting they were in some kind of canyon with a black road bisected by a yellow line. “What in the name of the goddess are these glass structures?!”

 

“I...think…” Minerva started. “I think those are buildings!”

 

“Who makes a building out of glass?! That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”

 

“More importantly…” Gurka growled, gripping her axe. “We need to kill that armored giant before it attacks us! Are you with me?!” She didn’t get an answer and turned to her companions. “Hey! Did you all go deaf?! I said…” she then froze and her blood ran cold. “Oh fuck…”

 

The group was overshadowed by a monster, a massive scaled beast that walked on two large forearms with dagger-like protrusions jutting from the sides of its head. It opened its mouth of razor-sharp teeth and let out a deafening roar at the armored titan.

 

“That dragon is far bigger than any I’ve ever seen…” Gurka said.

 

“I don’t think that’s a dragon. We are out of our league here, ladies…” Xera said, sweat running down the side of her head. “These must be gods of some kind. They have to be.”

 

Suddenly, the beast growled and charged, its movements shaking and cracking the hard ground and its body scraping the glass buildings, causing shards to break off and fall. Just behind them, the armored titan began running. When it closed the distance and pulled something from its leg and the heroines simply watched in awe.

 

“What kind of strange looking staff is that…?” Minerva asked.

 

“It...looks like a cannon to me,” Xera said.

 

With a flex of its plated finger, the titan squeezed a mechanism on its weapon and the other end of it emitted a bright light that burst forth and pierced the beast, hitting it hard enough to stagger it. The titan continued running, and a blade popped out of its other arm as it pulled back and prepared to stab its monstrous opponent. The heroines were so amazed at what they watched that they barely realized they were about to be crushed under the titan’s feet.

 

“Oh, no!” No, no, no! Run!” Minerva screamed. They all scrambled, unable to get out of the titan’s path because of the glass buildings, and unable to run in the opposite direction because the scaled beast had renewed its charge. With no other options, trapped between the warring giants, they huddled together.

 

“This is your fault, sorceress!” Gurka cried out.

 

“What?! How?!” Minerva said.

 

“I told you not to touch that fucking orb!”

 

“I’m sorry!”

 

Xera hugged them tight. “Ladies, it’s been an honor!”

 

“I don’t want to die!” Ava screamed. 

 

The armored titan closed in. Its foot came down just before a bright flash enveloped the heroines.

 

Pleasure

 

The light died out and Ava fell to the ground on her hands and knees. “Wha...ew!” she recoiled upon feeling the fleshy consistency of the ground underneath her hands. She stood up and looked to her side to see Xera standing, looking around.

 

“What is this place?” the Amazon questioned. “Where are Gurka and Minerva?”

 

Ava looked around their surroundings too. They were under a pinkish-red sky, and all around them, the landscape was made of writhing, organic appendages, tentacles that had people in their grip. They were men and women, humans, orcs, trolls, ogres, and any other race the two could think of.

 

Bodies were twisting in ecstasy, holes were being stuffed, and swollen tits and stiffened cocks were being milked as the very landscape pleasured the captive bodies it held.

 

“Wait…” Ava breathed. “I’ve seen this before…”

 

“What? Where?” Xera asked.

 

“Remember that temple where Minerva and I vanished?”

 

“Where you said you were captured by some pleasure demon?”

 

Ava nodded. “Her name was Nix. She said…” Ava swallowed a lump in her throat. “She said she was going to sacrifice us to her goddess’ Pleasure Pits…”

 

“...And that’s where we are…” Xera gasped.

 

“My, my...I did not think I would see you again,” A woman’s voice suddenly spoke.

 

Ava and Xera turned around to see Nix, still at her imposing height, with pinkish-purple skin, black eyes, and long horns poking out from under dark hair.  She was completely naked as she strode across the ground, the lean muscles of her body rippling with every graceful movement. A smirk crossed her full lips as she closed in on the two of them.

 

“I don’t know by what means you’ve come back to me, but I am going to savor it,” She said to Ava before turning to Xera. “And look, you’ve brought me the gift of a new playmate. Wonderful...this one looks so much more durable than that sorceress…” she laughed.

 

“You’ll have to fight us, demon!” Xera promised, drawing her sword.

 

Nix only laughed and stepped back in mock fear. “Oh...I’m going to enjoy you adding you to Mistress Kalypso’s collection, indeed.” She then snapped her fingers, and when she did, tentacles shot out of the ground beneath Xera and Ava, pulling them up into the air. Their arms and legs were completely immobilized, and Xera’s legs were pulled apart, leaving her pussy wide open as Nix approached her.

 

“My mistress doesn’t have many Amazons in her collection...I think you’ll be a prize for her,” she teased, cupping Xera’s tit while kissing the Amazon. At the same time, the tentacles holding her in place tightened their grip, and one pushed itself deep in Xera’s throbbing pussy while another went into her ass, causing her to let out a muffled cry into Nix’s mouth. Her pussy dripped around the thick appendage, and a wave of pleasure washed over her as she was being pumped in two places at once, all while Nix shoved her tongue down her throat and continued playing with her flesh.

 

“Xera!” Ava cried out, helpless to do anything but watch her friend at Nix’s mercy. She struggled against the appendages holding her in place, but whimpered when hands began snaking across her body. Different people, long-time captives of the pits, swarmed on Ava and began making her vulnerable skin their plaything. Hands grasped her tits, fingers penetrated her, a stiffened cock went down her throat. She felt a hand grip and pull her hair and before long, she couldn’t think of anything but the pleasure building up, taking over her body. Then hands of Nix’s slaves were all gentle, tender in their pleasuring of Ava, and soon her thoughts of Xera melted away and all she could think of was the release that was coming.

 

When it did come, she moaned, her pussy erupted all over the fingers inside of her, and she felt herself struggling to breathe as Nix’s slaves continued with their pace, refusing to let up. Time seemed to pass in a broken montage as Ava had orgasm after orgasm at the hands of Nix’s slaves. When she looked at Xera, the Amazon’s head of red hair was slumped over. She was still being penetrated by tentacles, and Nix’s long, black tongue slithered across Xera’s supple skin, lapping up every taste.

 

Nix then stepped back, admiring the imagery in front of her and licking her lips. “Please do get comfortable, ladies. This is your life from now on,” she smiled. She grabbed Xera’s jaw. “The two of you are mine, forever and ever and ever…”

 

Xera’s chest heaved, she mumbled something and her body twitched as the tentacles kept pumping her.

 

Ava moaned and cried out as the hands continued having their way with her. Both women were trapped, at the mercy of Nix’s whim, with no hope of escape.

 

The demon priestess turned away with her hands behind her back. “I should complete the collection. Dispatch cultists to find the other two...the sorceress and the orc...and bring them to me. Oh what delights we will share in. You four will know-”

 

Nix’s speech was interrupted by a bright flash of light. When she turned around, Ava and Xera were gone.

 

“...Well that isn’t fair…” Nix pouted.

 

Old Friends and New Enemies

 

“Why are we in a desert?” Gurka asked, hoisting her axe onto her broad shoulder. “And where the hell are those other two?”

 

Minerva looked around their new surroundings. “I don’t know the answer to either of those...but we should...Gurka!” she screamed and pointed.

 

Gurka turned and then jumped back. “Fuck! Run!” she said while grabbing Minerva by her arm and fleeing. On their heels was a horde of undead, screeching, rotting horrors with gnashing teeth hungry for warm flesh. They moved on Gurka and Minerva in a tide, and the two were just keeping ahead of them. When they put some distance between them, Minerva spun around and swept her staff in front of her. A wave of energy flew out and tore through the horde, sending them flying in every direction and slowing them down long enough to let the two breathe.

 

They continued on, knowing their attackers would regroup, and as they fled across the desert, beneath the harsh, unforgiving sun. The two of them continued across the sand, and the sand eventually gave way to solid, smooth ground. Before long, Gurka and Minerva slid to a halt just before pitching over a sheer drop.

 

They looked out into a massive valley carved into the ground, with ancient, stone structures carved into the walls and they realized they were standing on one such structure.

 

“What in the hell…?” Gurka asked.

 

“This must be some kind of lost civilization,” Minerva said. She looked around and then down at a structure at a lower level. “There’s someone down there! Maybe it’s Xera and Ava!”

 

Gurka looked back and saw the undead horde coming toward them again. She readied her axe and prepared to face them, but Minerva took the orc’s hand and uttered a word. Glowing wings sprouted from her back and she took flight while holding Gurka. The undead ran after them, with some falling off the cliff edge and into the depths below just as the pair took to the sky. Minerva aimed them at the lower platform where they saw the other two and dropped Gurka once they were close before she landed herself.

 

“Wait…” Gurka blinked once she saw the two people, who had stopped to catch their breath. “I don’t believe it. What the fuck are you two doing here?!”

 

Calum looked up and a smile crossed his handsome face. “Ah, Gurka. Hello again. And…” he pointed at Minerva. “I don’t believe I ever actually learned your name. Apologies.”

 

“Where did you two come from?” Olympia looked at them in disbelief.  “Is Xera with you?”

 

“Apparently not,” Minerva said. “How do you two know each other?”

 

Olympia and Calum looked at each other and then the two of them. “We joined a party a few weeks ago to explore these ruins for an ancient artifact,” Calum explained. “But...in the process, we awakened some truly terrible evil. We are the only surviving members of the party now…”

 

Olympia nodded. “We’ve been trying to get out of here for the past two days now. This place is a maze,” she sighed.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be on Ganea?” Gurka pointed her axe at Olympia. “I thought you were in the Queen’s Guard?”

 

“I am. She sent me on this damned quest as a gesture of goodwill to the king who commissioned it,” Olympia explained. “Where is Xera?”

 

“We have no idea,” Minerva said. “I don’t even know where ‘here’ is...”

 

“This is the Arrash Desert,” Calum said.

 

“What?!” Gurka yelled. She turned to Minerva. “How the fuck did we end up on the opposite side of the world?!”

 

“I don’t know!”

 

“I told you not to touch that fucking orb!” Gurka advanced on the sorceress, who backed away.

 

“I said I was sorry!”

 

“Ladies...perhaps we could solve that mystery another time,” Calum suggested. “I think it’d be best if we left this place. The quest was a failure. We need to leave.”

 

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a rumble from deep within the ruins. The air suddenly filled with the sound of flapping wings as a giant figure rose from the depths. It was an undead dragon, with rotting flesh still clinging to its ancient bones. Atop its back sat a skeletal figure in decayed armor with a rusted crown on his head and a black blade in his bony hand.

 

“What foolish mortals trespass in the domain of Melopas the Black, the Undying Pharaoh?” the skeleton spoke.

 

The four heroes looked around to see the valley crawling with the undead, all held back only by Melopas’ will. The undead king had his dragon land on the platform and he dismounted and approached the heroes. He stood at an imposing 8 foot height and his ancient armor creaked as he moved.

 

“I don’t understand it…” Olympia said. “When we were told of this place, they said your sleep was eternal.”

 

“You were not lied to, Amazon,” Melopas told her. “But...something has happened. The veils between worlds are collapsing. I was allowed to return to this place from my realm of sleep, and now my horde will spread across the world and consume all.”

 

“Good fucking job, Minerva!” Gurka punched her in the arm. “You’ve fucked us all!”

 

“Ow!” she whined. “It’s not my fault!”

 

“Prepare to suffer and serve me in undeath for all time, just as countless others have,” the undead king said as he pointed his weapon at them. 

 

“We can do this,” Calum said, readying his sword.

 

Olympia took a fighting stance and raised her sword too. “We may not have retrieved an artifact, but I think an undead king’s head will do just fine…”

 

The two heroes then jumped at the sudden appearance of a bright flash of light. They looked at each other and then at the spot next to them to see that Gurka and Minerva were gone. Olympia and Calum looked at each other for an explanation before Melopas cackled.

 

“A pity...two strong souls for my army rather than four. No matter. They will be consumed in time, just as you two are about to be. Have at you!”

 

Olympia and Calum looked at each other and nodded. With no other choice, and surrounded by an army of the dead, the two charged at the undead pharaoh.

 

Strangers from Among the Stars

 

“Xeeeeera! Help me!” Ava shrieked at the top of her lungs.

 

Xera held her sword in front of her, the blade slick with purple blood and the corpses of strange, man-like creatures around her. Their bodies were slim and their heads large, and they had gray skin and large, bulbous, black eyes. “I’m a bit busy!” Xera said as more of the strange creatures came through a metal door and charged at her, carrying stick-like weapons.

 

Meanwhile, Ava had been trapped in the clutches of the tendrils of some strange machine the gray men commanded.  Its many arms all came from its head/body, which was one part and covered in glowing red eyes. The thing had deftly stripped her of her armor and most of what little clothing she had on. It held her secured as a phallus-shaped device emerged from the body and began probing the outside of Ava’s bare ass. She squealed as it went inside her and began pumping in and out. The machine beeped and let out a hum and Ava moaned while the machine continued drilling her.

 

“Let me go!” she commanded, struggling to break free. She glanced outside a window, which showed the endless void of space, filled with countless flying saucers in a desperate battle with what looked like vessels of some kind. Ships weaved, fired, and exploded all over. A blue planet hung in the void in the distance.

 

Xera breathed heavily, holding her sword out in front as a dozen of the gray men lay dead at her feet.  She then turned around and charged at the machine holding Ava captive, and cleaved it in two, causing it to crash to the ground and release her busty companion. Ava retrieved her weapons and looked at Xera.

 

“What is this place?” she asked.

 

“I don’t know...but it’s better than the damn Pleasure Pits.”

 

“Is it…?” Ava asked. She then looked out into the void of space at the raging battle between flying saucers and ships coming from the blue planet while Xera knelt down over the destroyed machine.

 

“More damned machines…” Xera growled before looking at the gray men. “And whatever those are…”

 

“They must have some kind of leader,” Ava said. “We’ll have to beat the answers out of them.”

 

“Agreed,” Xera said. Just as they approached the only door on the room, it opened and more of the gray men swarmed in, brandishing their stick weapons. The two of them were caught by surprise, and the aliens all attacked as one, hitting the two woman with their weapons, which administered shocks when they touched exposed skin.

 

Both women tried fighting back, swinging their swords and defending themselves, but the gray men were too many, and they screamed and cried out as they got shocked over and over again before finally going down.

 

Xera tried throwing punches and getting the strange men off of her, but they piled on all at once, pinning the Amazon down and toying with her curvy body as they did. Ava was in the same position, pinned down and swarmed by grasping gray hands as the aliens silently watched and toyed with their busty human captives.

 

Xera gasped out when one of the aliens inserted its long, thin finger in her pussy and then eyed her curiously when she reacted. Another grabbed her tits, and Xera moaned, and then another shoved its fingers in her mouth.

 

“What are they doing…?!” Ava said, confused before she received the same treatment, fingers in her pussy and mouth, and hands on her tits. This continued for several minutes, with the heroines helpless to do anything against the strange creatures. One of them then looked at the others, and they all paused as if communicating. Suddenly, every pair of black eyes in the room was on Ava and Xera as the aliens lifted them both up to carry them out of the room.

 

Before they reached the doors, they hissed open. The aliens jumped and dropped Ava and Xera on the ground just as blasts of energy erupted and cut the aliens down. The two women looked at the attackers, tall creatures in red and white outfits holding strange looking weapons in their hands.

 

“Those...things in their hands…” Ava said. “They look just like what that armored titan had…”

 

Xera watched the creatures. They had large, round heads made of smooth glass and moved carefully. The one in front, the apparent leader, was clearly a woman, judging by her bust barely being contained by her outfit. Xera went for her sword and jumped up before the leader held up a hand.

 

“Wait!” she said. “We’re friends.”

 

Xera stepped back and shook her head. “Ava...you just understood what this...thing said, right?”

 

“Uh huh…” Ava said, stunned.

 

“Oh come on, now, missy. ‘Thing’ is a little harsh,” the leader said before grabbing the sides of her head. It was then that Ava and Xera realized she was a human woman wearing a bowl-shaped helmet. Her dark hair was cut short and wavy, and she carefully placed her helmet on the floor. “Now how’d you gals beat us here?”

 

Xera and Ava just stared at her, then at each other, and then back at her.

 

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that. I’m commander Debby Walker with the US Space Command. Those are our ships out there fighting Alpha Centaurians,” she pointed at the window.

 

“US?...Space Command…?” Xera blinked.

 

“What outfit you girls with?” Debby approached and looked them over. “I guess you already ditched your space suits, huh? Judging by what’s left of your outfits and the fact that you’re runnin’ around with swords, I’m assumin’ you gals are with the European Command?”

 

“What are you talk-”

 

Ava’s question was cut short when Xera jabbed her in the ribs with an elbow. “Yes, we’re from the Yoor-a-peen command,” the Amazon said.

 

“All right,” Debby shrugged. “Well, I dunno how you got here before us. We ain’t even know there were any of your ships in the area. Hell, nothin’s made a lick a sense said the Alpha Centauris just popped up in Earth’s orbit the way they did. Come on, we’re sweepin’ for intel before we blow this thing to kingdom come,” She said while picking up her helmet. “Yup, we thought the ol’ Alphas developed some kinda newfangled stealth tech, but the eggheads in Houston said there was some kind of temporal-spacial breach just before the Alphas showed up. Like someone tore reality a new one. Whatever’s happenin’, they probably want revenge after we whooped ‘em on Mars last year.”

 

“Temporal…” Xera tried repeating.

 

“Temporal-spacial. Time and space. Yeah, I dunno why them boys can’t speak English either. Speakin’ of which, where you girls from exactly? Your accents are kinda hard to place.”

 

The two of them looked at each other, unsure of how to answer.

 

“Lemme guess!” Debby grinned while she directed her men to sweep the ship. “Blondie here’s probably Swiss or somethin’, right? I mean...she’s tall and that hair, she looks like a shampoo model. And you, red,” Debby looked Xera up and down. “You’re Greek, aint’cha? You remind of them warrior gals from them old stories. You know, their queen had her belt stolen by the one god’s son?”

 

“Uh...yes…” Xera said.

 

“Ha! I knew it!” Debby beamed. “Anyway, it looks like you mopped up them Alphas pretty good when me and my boys got here. Thanks for that. With this bein’ the command ship, we can shut this little invasion down and be back on Earth in time for dinner. You gals ever been to Texas? That’s where I’m from. We can get some barbecue and I’ll tell ya all about how I got recruited to fight for Uncle Sam in space after I helped beat the Nazis in the war a couple years back.”

 

“What’s a Not-zee…?” Ava asked. “And why was your uncle at war with them?”

 

Debby paused and blinked and Xera spun around, signaling for her to shut up. Debby stared at Ava before breaking out into a laugh.

 

“I gotta tell ya, missy, I don’t understand that European humor but I like you,” she smiled. They continued through the ship until there was a yell from the men further down the hall. The three woman ran toward the source of the sound to find several of Debby’s men engaged in battle with a giant of a machine that walked on two legs and had claws for hands. A giant, pulsing brain was housed under a glass case and the thing’s armored body shrugged off every attack that hit it as it smacked the soldiers around the room.

 

“God damn!” Debby said, just as a flash of light filled the room.. “That’s an Alpha command brain. I ain’t ever seen one active before! You girls wanna help me lasso this thing and…” when she turned around, Ava and Xera were gone.  “Girls?” she blinked while raising her twin ray guns. “Can’t believe them Europeans cut and run on me!” she said before turning to the command brain, activating the rocket pack on her back, and taking flight as she and her men fought the menacing alien leader.

 

Goddesses of the Arena

 

“Where the fuck…?” Gurka gasped, looking around. Minerva stood at her side and the two of them were in the center of a circular space covered in sand, bones, and dried blood.

 

“It’s some sort of arena,” Minerva said.

 

“That’s fucking obvious, but who the fuck are these...people?”

 

The spectators in the stand were strange mix. They had skin hues of blue, green, pink, orange, and purple. Many of them had multiple pairs of eyes, arms, tentacles, and horns. The sky above the arena was lit by two suns, and great ships were suspended in the air with glowing lights on their sides.

 

“Hey!” A woman’s voice called out to them.

 

Gurka and Minerva turned around to see two women, one a tall human with light brown hair tied back. She wore a skintight, silver outfit that had been mostly torn to shreds, exposing the generous curves of her body. In her hand was a strange weapon, covered in dark blue blood of a massive beast that lay dead behind her.

 

The other woman had dark hair, and wore a black and white outfit with cranes all over it. She pulled her own weapon, a curved sword with a thin blade, from the body of another monster and stood next to her apparent teammate.

 

“Huh...something about them reminds me of Xera and Ava…” Minerva said.

 

“Finally, one of you alien fucks is setting foot in the arena,” the woman in silver said, walking toward Gurka. She then looked past her. “You okay? You’re the first human we’ve seen since we’ve been here.”

 

“Wait, Naomi…” the other woman said, grabbing Naomi’s shoulder. “I don’t think that’s an alien. At least, not in the way you’re thinking.”

 

“The fuck are you talking about, Asa?”

 

Asa pointed her katana at Gurka. “That’s an Orc, I’m pretty sure. She isn’t from here.”

 

“An orc...like...from Mordor or something?”

 

Asa shrugged. “Thera says there are worlds just like that in the multiverse. It may be they’ve found themselves here by accident just like us.”

 

Naomi turned back to Gurka and Ava. “How do we get out of here?”

 

“I don’t know where ‘here’ is.” Gurka told her. “One minute my friends and I are on some strange world, then we were back on our own, next thing we know, we’re on this one.”

 

“Hmm...the same happened to us,” Asa said. “We were at home, then in a nest about to be eaten by the largest bird either of us had ever seen, and now we’re here…”

 

Gurka turned and glared at Minerva, who shrunk at her gaze.

 

Gurka sighed. “How do we get out of this?”

 

“You tell us,” Naomi said. “Have Hermione over there get us out of here. We have a witch, but who the fuck knows where she is right now?”

 

Gurka blinked. “Her...mi...what the fuck are you talking about?”

 

“Shit...no time. We’re back on,” Naomi pointed the weapon she held. In the center of the arena an alien suddenly appeared wearing richly appointed robes. He was tall, with blue skin and large, red eyes that scanned the competitors.

 

“Well, what have we here? New entrants? Ladies and gentlemen, this is unexpected.”

 

“Who the fuck is that?” Gurka asked.

 

“He calls himself Yos, the master of these games…” Iron Crane said. “He’s the one throwing these creatures at us for sport.”

 

Gurka let out a yell and ran at Yos. She went to tackle him and went right through and tumbled across the ground, much to the laughter of the crowd.

 

“What the fuck was that?” Naomi asked.

 

“Shut up,” Gurka hissed and got up, stung by the embarrassment.

 

“It’s some kind of illusion,” Minerva said.

 

“It’s called a hologram,” Naomi said. “Where the hell did you two come from?”

 

“It looks like our new giant green friend is eager to start, so she will fight one of our two current champions,” Yos said, pointing to Naomi and Iron Crane. “Superia, my dear, fight this new challenger, and you and the Lady Iron Crane will be returned to your world. Fail to do so, and you will both spend another night in my bed chamber.”

 

Gurka chuckled and spat. “How about we find you and strangle you to death instead, little man?”

 

“Nah, me and Crane are going home, Shrek.”

 

Before Gurka could react, she grunted when Naomi hit her with a blow to the jaw powerful enough to put her on the ground. Minerva jumped and screamed and the crowd roared.

 

“Gurka!” Minerva cried out. She went to help her friend, but stopped at the bite of cold steel on her neck.

 

“Don’t interfere…” Crane whispered, holding a knife to her neck. “Naomi is distracting Yos. You’re a magic user, yes?”

 

Minerva nodded.

 

“Yos is undoubtedly lying about sending us home, but you can help all of us escape this horrid place. Do as I say.”

 

“Okay…” Minerva said.

 

“Agh! What the fuck!” Gurka said in surprise, shielding her face as Superia straddled her waist and rained hard punches on her forearms. Each powerful blow stung, and the orc grunted under the current punishment before grabbing Superia’s arms. “By the gods, you’re strong! You’re just like that Amazon queen!”

 

Superia leaned in and grinned. “I’m holding back, beautiful,”  she said. “See that sexy Japanese lady with a knife to your friend’s throat over there? We came up with a plan to get out of here while Yos was running that stupid mouth of his. Play along for however long it takes your friend too cook up a spell. Then you and me, we can go bust some alien skulls.”

 

“What?” Gurka looked over at Crane, who let Minerva go, pointed her katana at her, and said something to the sorceress.

 

“Sorry, we need to sell it to crowd, so I’m going to have to beat you up a bit. Don’t take it personal.”

 

Gurka looked up at Superia and chuckled. “You’re on!”

 

“Attagirl,” Superia laughed, kissed Gurka on the forehead, and then punched her again. Gurka blocked the next blow and then rolled to the side to throw Superia off of her. Superia rolled across the dirt and jumped to her feet. Gurka got up at the same time and the two of them charged at each other, locking hands until Gurka slammed her forehead into Superia’s face, causing her to reel back. She then locked her muscular arms around Superia’s slim waist, lifted her and slammed her into the ground, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

 

Superia grunted as Gurka mounted her, grabbed her tits, and squeezed, causing the busty human to cry out.

 

“Agh! You giant green bitch!” Superia growled but reached up and grabbed and squeezed Gurka’s tits instead.

 

“Aggh! Stop that!” the orc yelled. The two of them were then locked in a battle of squeezed tits, with both women screaming and neither of them wanting to give way. Gurka tried to get off of Superia, but Superia wouldn’t let go, and they both stood, still gripping each other’s ample tits and yelling the entire time.

 

Off to the side, Iron Crane and Minerva watched with shared embarrassment.

 

“Why couldn’t I have been stuck on an alien world with Mantis? Or Blaze?” Crane sighed. “Is your friend always like this?”

 

“You mean stubborn?” Minerva asked. “Yes.”

 

“Well, the distraction is working. Look up,” Crane said. “Do you see the box-shaped structure with the glowing blue lights?”

 

Minerva glanced above the audience and saw. “Yes.”

 

“That’s Yos’ viewing chamber. Can you destroy it? We can escape in the ensuing chaos.”

 

Minerva smirked as her hands began glowing with magical energy.

 

“Let me fucking go, you giant piece of broccoli!” Superia demanded.

 

“You first!” Gurka replied, and then suppressed a cry when Superia moved one hand and pushed two fingers into Gurka’s pussy. Gurka put her hand on Superia’s face and tried to push her away, but the heroine simply pushed her fingers in deeper and squeezed harder. She began wiggling her fingers around, and Gurka moaned, trying not to give in to the satisfaction. Superia moved her thumb around until she found the clit, and then ruthlessly fingered the orc while toying with her clit at the same time.

 

Gurka cursed bit her lip, and felt her legs buckle slightly, but only dug her fingers into the soft flesh of Superia’s tits even harder as the two continued their battle.

 

“Fine!” Superia said. “I’ll make you beg instead!”

 

“We’re supposed to be putting on a show!” Gurka protested through clenched teeth.

 

“This isn’t a show?” Superia smiled with Gurka’s hand still on her face as she pushed her fingers in deeper and the orc’s hold actually relented. Gurka quickly caught herself and let go of Superia’s face. She could feel release coming, feel herself getting closer to orgasm as Superia kept toying with her. She pushed the mounting pleasure from her mind and instead swept a leg around, knocking Superia off her feet. The move caught her by surprise, and she yelled and hit the ground. Before she could get up, Gurka climbed back on top of her and applied her weight, wrestling with the human.

 

They went back and forth, rolling in the dirt, their naked bodies and long, lean muscles tangling as the two tried to gain advantage of each other. At one point, Gurka thought she had her opponent, but Naomi slipped out of her hold, got behind her, and locked the orc in a hold with her forearm around her neck.

 

“Hah! Champion wrestler in college, greenie!” Superia boasted and squeezed her bicep, threatening Gurka’s breathing. She then slid her other hand down the orc’s chest, toyed with her tits, ran her palm across her rock-hard abs, and then went right back to assaulting her pussy. “You really thought you had me.”

 

Gurka bit her lip and tried not to cry out as all of those feelings came flooding back, but Superia had beaten her, had put her in a place where Gurka’s pussy now belonged to the human. She grabbed Superia’s arm and squeezed, but it was useless as the human’s deft fingers continued their work.

 

The roar from the crowd was deafening. All over the arena, the audience cheered as the human violated the orc and had her way with her vulnerable body. The image was cast on giant holograms projected above the arena for all to see. Gurka breathed heavy, her legs quivered, she could feel her eyes rolling back. Her pussy tightened around Superia’s fingers and then the orc let out a deep moan as she she soaked them, spilling out all over Superia’s hands and her own muscular green thighs. She sucked in a deep breath and she felt Superia continuing to finger her even after she came. Superia rested her chin on Gurka’s shoulder.

 

“Good fight.”

 

A bright light then erupted overhead just as a bolt of energy soared and slammed into Yos’ viewing box. The structure erupted in an explosion and panic fell on the arena as the crowed devolved into a panicked, chaotic mob. Superia looked back at Crane and Minerva in surprise.

 

“Come on, Naomi!” Crane called out.

 

Superia looked at Gurka. “Time to go!”

 

Gurka muttered something incoherent as Superia let her go. She collapsed into the dirt face first and Superia stood up.

 

“Fuck...I think I overdid it…” She then knelt down and picked Gurka up. “All right, big girl. Come on,” she said, putting the orc on her shoulders before running to meet the others.

 

“Well done,” Crane smiled just another flash of light filled the arena. She reached out to pat Minerva on the shoulder only find the space next to her empty. “...What?”

 

At the same time, Superia stumbled forward as Gurka’s weight suddenly lifted off her shoulders. She turned and looked just as Crane joined her.

 

“What the hell just happened? Where’d they go?!”

 

“I don’t know,” Crane admitted as the two of them looked at the panicking, rioting crowd and the smoking remains of Yos’ viewing chamber. “But that isn’t our concern now. We’re leaving.”

 

“So you had the little witch blow Yos up?”

 

“It was a swift mercy, since we wouldn’t be able to get our hands on him for what he did to us.”

 

“Haha, Asa, you devious bitch.”

 

The Casting Couch

 

Xera and Ava sat next to each other quietly on a black leather couch in a room with white walls.

 

“Do you think Debby Walker is all right?” Ava asked.

 

“She seemed like a capable warrior. I’m sure she’s fine…” Xera said. “What is this place?”

 

“We’ve been asking that a lot today…” Ava said. “This is Minerva’s fault. Do you think she and Gurka and Marie are all right?”

 

“I hope so…” Xera said.

 

“What is that thing pointing at us?” Ava asked. She and Xera stared at a strange device with a flared end and a lens set inside of it sitting on top of a tripod.

 

“Is it a telescope…?” Xera said. “It could be dangerous...we’d best not make any sudden moves.”

 

Just then, the door to the room opened and a short, rotund, balding man walked in carrying a clipboard. “Good afternoon, ladies. I’m Freddie Gordon, the director. I don’t have you on my schedule, but my assistant said you just appeared, so let’s do this,” he said, looking at the busty pair after pressing record on the camera. “Now, let’s start with your names.”

 

“Umm…” Xera said. “I am Xera.”

 

“Xera what, dear?”

 

“I think he wants your family name,” Ava said.

 

“We Amazons don’t have family names. I am Xera, daughter of Rhea, of the island of Ganea.”

 

“And I am Ava from the village of Lundstrom in the Kingdom of Vogeldorf.”

 

“Not only do they show up in costume, they’re staying in character…” Freddie sighed. “Fucking actresses…All right, you girls are both over 18, right?”

 

They looked at each other and then at him. “Over 18 what?” Xera asked.

 

“Years, hon. You two are over 18 years old, right?”

 

“Oh, yes...I just reached my 28th year,” Xera said.

 

“I’m in my 26th,” Ava said.

 

“Good,” Freddie said before sitting in his chair. “Now, since there are two of you, I’m assuming you’ve already got a scene worked out, so let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

Ava and Xera froze and looked at each other and then at him.

 

“I’m afraid neither of us knows what you mean, sir. We’re not even sure where we are,” Ava finally said.

 

Freddie sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, I get it, you girls are nervous. It’s your first time with this studio and…” he then noted the blank expressions on their faces. “Oh! It’s your first time, period. I see. Okay, that’s easier to work with. Look. You girls are hot, you’ve got just the kind of look I’m after. You’re both tall, you look like models, you’re in shape, so I’m gonna help you both out. I’ll coach you with the kind of thing I want to see, you act it out, and we’ll see if I can use you in my movie.” Freddie then got up and went to a closet on the other side of the room.

 

“Is this man some kind of wizard?” Ava asked in a whisper.

 

“I don’t know, but he’s very cordial,” Xera said. “Perhaps he’s an inventor, like Marie,” she then looked at the camera. “We’d best do what he says for now until we know what he’s capable of. That...weapon, or whatever it is, worries me.”

 

“Agreed,” Ava said just as Freddie approached them with a black bag. He opened it to all kinds of sex toys: dildos, gags, cuffs, plugs, lube, rope. It was all there…”

 

“Does he mean to torture us?” Ava gasped.

 

Freddie laughed. “Girls, I gotta say...the dedication to whatever these characters are, I love it. Let’s just take this slow and relax. I’ll talk you through the scene, okay? Let’s start with something simple. Xera, turn to Ava and kiss her.”

 

Xera turned to her companion and put her hand to the side of her face. She leaned in and kissed Ava on the lips, and the two lingered, enjoying each other’s taste and the feel of their supple bodies pressing against each other. Ava rested a hand on Xera’s thigh and put the other on her waist as they continued kissing.

 

As they continued, passion took over and Xera sat up with her knees under her, laying Ava down and running her hand through her blonde locks. She broke the kiss and began kissing Ava down her neck and chest. Ava gasped lightly at the Amazon’s attention and lay back on the couch, spreading her legs out and letting Xera do what she wanted.

 

Freddie watched from his seat, his cock swelling in his pants as he took notes and the camera recorded.

 

Xera took one of Ava’s tits in her mouth and sucked on the nipple, and as Ava gasped, she arched her back on the couch and wrapped her legs around Xera’s waist. Xera sat up slightly and started to move her hand down Ava’s torso, toward her pussy when Freddie stopped them.

 

“Ladies,”

 

They both looked at him, their faces flush.

 

“Use the toys,” he encouraged, pointing to the open case.

 

Xera went first, picking up a strap on and looking it over. She then slid it onto her waist and toyed with the large, plastic cock hanging between her legs. Ava picked up a stubby butt plug and looked at Freddie with a confused look before lowering it to her pussy.

 

“No, no, dear...the other hole,” he said. Ava spread her legs and slid it in her ass, gasping lightly as she did, and then clenching to hold it in. After she did, Xera bent her over at the waist and began fucking her pussy from behind. As she did, Ava reached back and grabbed the flared end of the plug and began pumping it in and out of her ass.

 

Xera yanked Ava’s hair and pulled her head back, and Ava clutched an arm of the couch with one hand while fucking her own ass with the other. The entire time, Xera went in and out of Ava’s pussy, slowing on occasion to smack the blonde’s plump ass before continuing.

 

“Ahh! AH!” Ava cried out in pleasure, her tits swinging back and forth with the Xera’s pumping. As the two women continued, Freddie got up from his seat, his erect cock poking at the fabric of his pants, and removed the camera from its tripod. He walked up to them, taking shots from all angles and zooming in. He caught the look of ecstasy on Ava’s face and the devious smirk on Xera’s. He caught the juices that where beginning to drip from Ava’s pussy, slicking the dildo around Xera’s waist as it went in and out. He had the camera linger on Ava’s tits as they swung back and forth, and then he hovered around the pair, careful not to get in the way as he scanned every inch of supple flesh that he could while they continued to fuck.

 

Ava breathed deep and buried her face in the couch cushions and Xera made a few forceful slams as Ava screamed over and over. She kept moving the plug and out, and as she did, her thighs began twitching.

 

Xera noticed and took longer strokes, pushing the dildo in up to her pelvis and taking longer to pull out. Moments later, Ava’s entire body shuddered and her juices spilled out, splattering the couch in a steady stream that Freddie caught on camera. Xera then pulled out as Ava shuddered and gasped, and the Amazon got low and began lapping up Ava’s cum as the blonde continued spilling all over the couch. Xera slurped up her juices and Freddie caught every second of it as it spilled out of Ava’s pussy, soaked her legs, and got all over Xera’s face.

 

Ava then collapsed face first onto the couch and Xera climbed on her back, the dildo still slick with cum. She nuzzled Ava from behind, moaning in bliss.

 

“Ladies, that was perfect!” Freddie said. “In fact, I wanna sign you two to do a couple of videos for me. You two are gonna be huge! I’ll go get the contracts,” he said before quickly leaving the room.

 

“...What strange magic did he cast on us?” Ava asked, rolling over and looking up at Xera.

 

Xera sat up, still straddling Ava. She looked at the cock on her waist and grabbed it. “Clearly he’s in league with some sort of demon are carnality.” Her eyes then went wide. “What if he’s one of Nix’s cultists?!”

 

“Oh no!” Ava sat up. “We have to get out of here!”

 

The both scrambled to their feet and looked around the room, seeing the door Freddie took was the only way out.

 

“We have no idea how many more of them are out there,” Xera said. She then stood to one side of the door. “When he comes back in here, I’m going to grab him and take him hostage. They may not attack us if we have one of their own shielding us.”

 

Ava nodded and stood on the other side of the door.

 

“Be ready, I hear him coming…” Xera said.

 

A few moments later, the door opened and Freddie walked in holding a stack of papers. He only glanced up when he noticed a flash of light, and when he walked in, the room was empty except for the stained couch.

 

“Wha…? Where’d they go?!”

 

Marauders

 

“Another fucking desert…” Gurka groaned, wiping sweat from her forehead as a merciless midday sun beat down on her and Minerva. They stood on a rocky ridge that looked out over an endless expanse of sand.

 

“Maybe we’re back in Arrash? I can take to the skies and see if I see something?”

 

Gurka grunted something and then looked down at the ground before stomping her foot. There was a sickening crunch and Gurka bent down and picked up the thing she stepped on and showed it to the sorceress. “We’re still not on our world. I’ve never seen a two-headed lizard before,” Gurka said, showing her the dead animal.

 

“Ehh...Ew!” Minerva recoiled when Gurka ate the dead creature and slurped its tail.

 

“It’s not bad,” the Orc said. “Kind of chewy, but…” she then snapped to attention when she heard what sounded like buzzing. She turned back and then grabbed Minerva’s arm and pushed her ahead. “Run!”

 

Minerva looked back and then took off at Gurka’s urging. They bolted down the side of the ridge as the source of the sound grew closer. It was a pack of masked men, riding strange contraptions on two wheels that buzzed like thousands of angry wasps. Just behind them were other machines, bigger, with four wheels, and made of patchwork metal. These machines let out powerful, angry growls as they closed in on the pair.

 

Minerva tried to summon her wings to lift them into the air, but one of the men on two wheels struck the sorceress across the back with a club and took her down. Gurka spun around to go back for her, only to get caught in a net when two other riders tossed it on her. She fought and got dragged down into the sand.

 

“Get this fucking thing off me!” She demanded, trying to get out of the net. Two of the riders dragged the unconscious sorceress over and dropped her in front of Gurka, and the orc looked up and got a good look at them. They were humans covered in patchwork leather outfits. Many of them bore scars on their lean bodies and wore masks with intimidating imagery of skulls and monsters painted on them.

 

“Looks like we bagged us a new breeder and a mutant, boys,” the apparent leader said as the men all laughed.

 

***

 

Gurka found herself naked, in chains, in the center of a massive tent lit by torches. Minerva was similarly stripped and in chains, with her mouth gagged on her knees at the feet of the warlord of this clan of masked riders. Minerva was one of over a dozen human woman who had been stripped and locked in chains and made to stand on display, their tits and thighs marked with the warlord’s symbol, a skull in the center of a wheel.

 

Some of the captive woman had swollen, pregnant bellies while others were still slim and, Gurka learned, ready to be bred by her new captors. There was an air of celebration as the marauders gawked at Gurka and taunted her. The orc clenched her fists and looked around the tent, counting the number of men around her and then looking at Minerva.

 

“Where do you come from, mutant?” the warlord asked. He was a large man, about Gurka’s size, with a full face mask that had hoses running out of it to a tank on his back. His body bore countless scars, but was one of solid muscle, and he wore nothing but a loincloth and boots. He eyed Gurka up and down and yanked on Minerva’s chain, making her sit on his lap. “Answer me.”

 

“You wouldn’t believe me,” Gurka replied.

 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter,” the warlord said. “You’ll share the fate of all mutant scum who taint our blessed wasteland.” He reached around Minerva’s shoulder and began massaging her tiny tits in his massive, meaty hands. “Though, I should at least thank you for bringing this one to us. It is getting increasingly difficult to find such pure broodmares. Look at her, lilly white, unblemished skin and a delicate physique. She truly is a prize, and she will bare our clan many strong sons.” The warlord laughed, snaking his hands between Minerva’s legs. She whined into her gag and tried to pull away, but the warlord made her come back to him. He then stood up and approached Gurka.

 

“As for you, mutant, you will be cleansed like so many of your misbegotten kind before you. This broken world can never be repaired, but we will not allow the taint of the mutant to take what little we have left. So it is destined that I, Lord of the Wasteland, Savior of Humankind, will strike down the mutant and the un-roadworthy alike, and establish supreme dominance as lord of this land. I will seed its women so that my own progeny may one day carry on my great work, and misshapen devils like you may cower in fear,” the warlord said, eyeing Gurka from behind his mask.

 

The orc looked around at the marauders and then at the warlord before raising her shackled wrists. With a quick movement and a grunt of effort, Gurka snapped the chains and smirked as the warlord’s eyes went wide.

 

“What?! How?!”

 

He didn’t get an answer, only a sharp blow to the face that toppled him. Before he could recover, Gurka jumped on him and began pummeling him with powerful blows. He thrashed and tried to fight back, but the orc beat him senseless and then grabbed one of the hoses connected to his mask.

 

“What happens if I pull these?”

 

“No! NO!!” he screamed before Gurka ripped a bunch of them free at once. There was a hissing sound, the tubes flailed, and the warlord gasped for air as he writhed on the ground before he finally stopped and his eyes rolled back in his head.

 

“Is this your warlord?!” Gurka pointed and looked at the rest. “Pathetic. I should kill every one of you fucking idiots for following such a weak man.”

 

Some of the marauders panicked and fled the tent, some froze in place, and others took a knee before Gurka. The bound women looked at the orc in awe, and the spark of life returned to some of their eyes as Gurka smirked and broken Minerva’s chains.

 

Minerva stood up and looked at the dead warlord. “D...did you just take over this clan?”

 

“You heard that fool, little one, only the strong thrive here.” She then turned to the marauders. “Now, get me some fucking food before I eat one of you.”

 

***

 

Gurka sat at a table, wearing new form-fitting leather, with a pair of goggles on her forehead. Minerva and the other women were seated around her, with roasted lizard on their plates. Minerva stared at her food and adjusted the uncomfortable, skimpy leather outfit that she had been given.

 

“It’s really not so bad…” one of the women, this one a tall girl whose baby was pretty far along, said to Minerva before taking a small bite of her lizard.

 

“Enjoy it, little one. For all we know, we’re stuck here…” Gurka said.

 

“You don’t seem to broken up about that.”

 

Gurka shrugged. “I’m in my element. I just need one of these fools to show me how to operate one of those carriages, or one of those mechanical horses.” 

 

“Did you two come with the storms?” the pregnant girl asked.

 

“What storms?” Minerva asked.

 

“I’m my lifetime, it has never stormed over these lands, but over the past few days, we’ve seen a lot of them and there have been reports from all over the wasteland of strange things that came with them. Giant machine-men, great, winged lizards, people who command the elements as easily as you and I breathe, monsters as large as the broken buildings from the Old World...the Warlord dismissed them as tall tales but...seeing you two…”

 

“Well, we aren’t the only two displaced,” Gurka said to Minerva. “I wonder if those two women from the arena made it here. That bitch with the brown hair seems like she’d be right at home here,” Gurka mused while putting her feet up. “Right, so what do we need to know about this place?”

 

“Boss,” one of the marauders spoke up. “We’re almost out of water. We had a tank full but a fight with another crew damaged it and we lost most of it. We were gonna raid…”

 

“Let’s do that!” Gurka beamed and jumped up. “Let’s go raid something. Who are we attacking?”

 

“The Vulture clan has a camp just over the ridge. I’ll rally the boys and…”

 

“Do we need to attack them?” Minerva chimed up.

 

“What?” Gurka looked at her. “Of course we do. They’re almost out of water and if they think these Vultures have it, then…”

 

“No...I mean, I can conjure water,” Minerva said. “My magic still works. No one needs to die.”

 

“But the Vultures…”

 

“You just want to go fight somebody!” Minerva accused before getting up and turning to the marauders. “Can you show me where this tank is?”

 

The marauders walked out with Minerva and Gurka huffed and took the roast lizard off her plate and bit into it angrily.

 

“She seems nice…” the pregnant girl said.

 

“Shut up,” Gurka fumed.

 

***

 

Some time later, Gurka walked outside to the tank, a massive metal container, where Minerva stood addressing some of the marauders. As she did, a small storm cloud hovered over the open top of the tank and a steady, heavy rain filled it.

 

“So, once it’s filled, you should have enough water for the whole camp for about a year, right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s what the tank holds,” one marauder answered Minerva’s question.

 

“Do you have materials to build more tanks? I can fill those too.”

 

“Yeah…” the marauder said, looking at the others. “We have some rigs that don’t run anymore. We could take those apart, slap together some new tanks.”

 

“Great!” Minerva smiled. “You might be able to trade with some other camps. Get things like, I don’t know...food or supplies?”

 

“So we don’t have to raid for those either?”

 

Minerva shook her head. “What about medical supplies? You must need those in a place like this. Where do you take the sick and injured?”

 

“Get over here!” Gurka growled, grabbing Minerva’s arm and pulling her away.

 

“Ow! You’re hurting me!”

 

“Why are you pissing all over my fun?” Gurka poked her in the chest.

 

“We can help these people…” Minerva reasoned. “Look at them, they’re miserable. It’s probably like this all over this land...we should try to do something to make their lives better. Who knows how long we’ll be here?”

 

“Stop it!” Gurka shoved her. “I finally find a place where I belong and you do your stupid little hero thing! The blonde got to you, didn’t she?!”

 

“Gurka...why are you acting like this? I just want to help them.”

 

Gurka folded her arms and turned away. “Do you know why I continued traveling with you three?” She looked back and Minerva shrugged. “I’ve had to fight my whole life, for as long as I can remember. When I first fought Xera, that was the best fight I had in a very long time. I realized I needed to follow her if I was going to get more of it, and I was right. All the shit we’ve seen...it’s been the best year of my life. Fighting’s all I know and I plan on doing it for as long as I breathe. Yet here you are, trying to take that from me.”

 

“I’m not, it’s just...it doesn’t have to be that way,” Minerva said.

 

“Bullshit…” Gurka growled. “I know who I am and  I know what you three think of me.”

 

“What?” Minerva stepped toward her.

 

“Xera doesn’t trust me. Ava’s constantly making fun of me, saying I stink, calling me stupid, acting like she’s better than me. And you, it’s not like you do anything to stop them.”

 

Minerva looked away. “Gurka...I’m sorry about that. Really, I am. But you don’t exactly make it easy for us. You’re constantly bullying me and threatening the others.”

 

Gurka stayed silent and kicked a rock at her feet.

 

“Look, for what it’s worth...I do consider you my friend,” Minerva said. “And believe me when I say the others do, too. Ava told me how the two of you snuck off one time and you joined some kind of underground combat ring?”

 

Gurka smirked. “….I threw a bunch of fights and then Ava put all of her money on me when the odds were against me. We cleaned out the house.”

 

“And remember when we killed that giant monster boar? Xera said that was all you, that we couldn’t have done it without you.”

 

“We did eat for a week off of that thing,” Gurka chuckled.

 

Minerva put a hand on Gurka’s muscular arm. “Yes, you get on our nerves sometimes, and I’m sure we get on yours...but we always have each other’s backs, don’t we?”

 

Gurka glanced back at Minerva and smiled and then put a hand on top of hers. “Fine...that’ll do, I guess…”

 

Minvera sighs and looks at the marauders. “If it makes you feel better, the marauders were telling me that they have problems with mutants that live in the hills south of here. Maybe you could go raid them instead...let me deal with approaching the other clans?”

 

Gurka spun and slapped Minerva on the shoulder, nearly knocking her over. “Fantastic idea! I need these marauders to show me how to use one of those ‘gun’ things, anyway,” she said before walking past her to approach the clan.

 

Minerva smiled and walked behind her when there was a crash of thunder that made everyone in the camp jump. Then, in the sky above them, a portal opened and a massive, metal object spilled out, followed by a person.

 

The metal object had two legs and claws for hands. A giant brain was housed under a broken glass case and the thing lay in the middle of the camp, unmoving as everyone stared at it in stunned silence.

 

“Woo-wee! What a ride!” a woman said, pulling herself up from the thing’s side and standing on its back. She was a tall, dark haired woman wearing a shredded red and white outfit, exposing her healthy curves to the onlookers.

 

“How ya’ll doin’?” Debby Walker said, looking around the desert landscape. “Where am I? Is this Arizona?”

 

“You just fell out of the sky…” Minerva said, pointing to the portal as it closed.

 

Debby looked up. “Oh crap! This ain’t my world, is it? Boy, I tell ya...nothin’ been right ever since them tall gals with the swords popped up.”

 

Minerva and Gurka both went wide eyed and looked at each other and then her.

 

“Tall women with swords?” Gurka said. “One blonde and one a redhead?”

 

“That’s them!” Debby said, jumping down from the command brain’s body. “What are you supposed to be? I ain’t ever seen an alien like you before.”

 

“Where’d they go?!” Gurka grabbed her arms.

 

Debby lashed up with her leg and nailed Gurka hard between hers, causing the orc to grunt and double over. “Hands off, missy! At least get me drunk if you wanna be grabby. Now, I dunno where them gals went. I thought they ran off, but if I blinked here like that, then it stands to reason they went somewhere else.”  

 

Minerva sighed as Gurka slowly stood back up. “We’re never going to find them…”

 

Gurka rubbed her aching snatch and looked at the command brain. “What the hell is that thing?”

 

“Long story,” Debby said. “What is this place?”

 

“The ruins of the Old World,” one of the marauders said. “A place of pain, and death, and blood.”

 

“Sounds a lot like Arizona to me,” Debby said. “Damn...I guess them eggheads at Command were right. Somethin’ wacky’s goin’ on. Can I at least bother ya’ll for some food while I figure things out?”

 

The marauders were climbing all over the command brain, knocking at its metal body. “Lady...you just dropped a ton of materials on us. You can have whatever you want.”

 

“Well ain’t that neighborly?” Debby smiled just as a flash of light filled the air. She then turned around to see Gurka and Minerva gone. “Ey’...where’d the green gal and the short gal go?”

 

“Oh...they are gone…” One of the marauders confirmed.

 

“Wacky goin’s on, indeed…” Debby said. She then looked around the camp. “’Ya’ll really should build some barriers around this place. If ya’ll come under attack, you got no way of defendin’ easily. Who’s in charge of this crew?”

 

“I...I guess that’s you now, ma’am…” one marauder said.

 

“Throw in some of that snazzy leather and you got a deal, buddy,” Debby winked as the marauders got to dismantling the alien machine.

 

The Hunt

 

Xera and Ava moved as fast as their legs would carry them, tearing through dense jungle and over treacherous landscape, but the swift moving lizards were faster and the ape-men on their backs urged the predatory beasts on as they closed in on the busty beauties.

 

“I don’t wanna be eaten by giant lizards!” Ava cried.

 

“Between the lizards and what I think those ape men would do to us, I think the lizards would be preferable!” Xera said as she continued running.

 

They continued on, pushing aside bushes and tall grass and trying to find a means of escape. Xera gasped and slid to a halt just before going off the edge of a cliff just on the other side of thick foliage. The drop was deep enough that Xera couldn’t see the ground, but she screamed when Ava slammed into her from behind and they both went over the edge.

 

The ape men made their lizard mounts stop right at the edge, just missing a flash of light. They peered over the edge, scratching their thick brows and wondering where their prey went.

 

Anatomy Lessons

 

“Wh...what the hell is this?!” Gurka asked, unable to move as she peered around the room. She looked to her left and saw Minvera strapped down to a table just as she was, with the same panicked look on her face.

 

“I’m sorry about that, class,” a man with a gruff voice spoke after clearing his voice. “But, that’s the trouble with live specimens. I don’t know where these two came from. They were just here when I walked in right before you all did. The funding from the school must have come through. So we’ll be doing an anatomy lesson today, it seems.” The voice belonged to a gorilla wearing eye glasses and a white coat over his fine clothing. He pushed his glasses up and turned his back to Gurka and Minerva, to address a class of other primates, all wearing white coats.

 

“Now...what we have here is...one human subject, female, roughly 20-25 years of age. Healthy. And one…” he peered closely at Gurka. “Unknown species. Unknown age. Appears female and in good health.”

 

“I’m an orc, you hairy fuck!” Gurka screamed, trying to break the bonds, but even her strength wouldn’t allow it.

 

“Hmm...not much for manners, it seems,” the professor said, earning a laugh from his students. “No matter...we’ll just have to poke around until we find the speech center of the brain,” he said, lifting a razor sharp scalpel and approaching Gurka.

 

“No! No, no, no! Get the fuck away from me!” Gurka cried out, fighting against her bonds.

 

The professor went to make an incision and then shielded his eyes at a sudden bright flash. When it subsided, Gurka and Minerva were gone. The professor sighed and turned to his students. “...This must have been the physics department playing another prank on us...My apologies, class. Today’s session is canceled.”

 

A Reckoning

 

“Now where are we…?” Gurka asked, looking around. “Wait...this is where we started…”

 

Minerva looked around. “It is! We’re home!” she beamed.

 

“Gurka! Minerva!” a voice called out from somewhere in the chamber. The two of them turned to see Xera and Ava running to them and once they were close, the four women, overcome with joy, laughed and hugged each other. In their excitement, they all over-talked each other, making it impossible for anyone to understand what anyone else was saying, but as they calmed down, things slowed, and Ava looked Minerva over and the biker leathers she had on.

 

“What are you wearing?” Ava laughed.

 

“It is such a long story…” Minerva said. “...Where are your clothes?”

 

Ava looked down at her naked body and blushed. “That too is a long story.”

 

Minerva looked over Ava’s body and bit her lip before putting a hand on Ava’s hip. Without another word, the two of them kissed. Ava then put her arm around Minerva’s waist and pulled her in while beginning to strip her clothes off.

 

Gurka and Xera were talking when they noticed, and the orc began touching herself and moaning softly. As she did, Xera moved her hand away and began fingering the orc herself. As she did, she and Gurka began to kiss as well, and soon the two were tangled in an embrace just like Ava and Minerva were. Gurka moved her hands long enough to begin sliding her own clothes off, leaving her muscular body exposed. She then put her hands on Xera’s waist, forcing the Amazon to lay on the ground as they continued kissing and Xera continued fingering her.

 

Gurka lay down on top of Xera and squeezed the Amazon’s tits as the two of them looked each other in the eyes and smiled. Gurka continued kissing Xera and Xera continued fingering the orc, plunging two fingers in and playing with the clit.

 

Rigth next to them, Ava and Minerva sat on the floor, legs spread, as they grinded their wet pussies together while kissing. They both sat up, held each other closer, and each woman moaned and whined softly while grinding her hips against the other. Ava hugged Minerva against her, their tits touching, and she leaned in and kissed the sorceress on her neck and shoulders. While she did that, Minerva looked past Ava and watched Gurka and Xera, who had since switched to a 69 position so that they were eating each other out.

 

Minerva breathed heavily as Ava continued teasing her skin with her tongue, and the sorceress dug her nails into Ava’s back and lifted her head, shuddering in ecstasy. He cries echoed off the walls of the chambers, and she gasped when Ava nipped at her skin, bringing her closer to going over the edge. She took Ava’s hand in hers, and the two looked each other in the eye before Minerva motioned her head over to Xera and Gurka. Ava caught her meaning and the two of them crawled over to their companions.

 

Xera, who was on top with her face between Gurka’s thick legs, seemed to sense them approaching and looked up. Her chin was soaked, but she had a smile on her face. Gurka sat up too and watched the two of them and soon, the four of them were one big tangle of jiggling flesh, grasping hands, and tongues on tender skin.

 

Gurka fingered Minerva while kissing Ava. Xera had her tongue between Ava’s legs while Minerva’s fingers were in her pussy. Ava sucked on Gurka’s tits while one of her hands played with Minerva’s tits. Their cries, gasps, and moans filled the cavernous space and their supple bodies, erect nipples and all, were warm despite the chill in the air.

 

As the four continued fucking, they seemed to all fall in sync with each others’ movements. No inch of skin was left untouched, untasted, unexplored, and each woman would switch partners regularly, making sure no one was left out. Gurka went from kissing Minerva, to Xera, to Ava. Minerva fingered Xera and Ava at the same time. As one group, their moans were heavy, their breathing rapid, and sweat began to build and drip from their fit, curvy bodies. They lost themselves in each other, and each of them was losing track of who was touching who. Only pleasure mattered, and each of them could feel mounting orgasms as time passed.

 

One after another, each of them cried out as their juices spilled out, splattering against the cold metal of the floor and pooling under them as they fell to the ground, breathing in satisfied bliss. They each laughed, taking each others’ hands and staring up at the ceiling.

 

“...Wait…” Gurka said after a few moments. “Are those skeletons?”

 

The other three looked up when Gurka pointed and saw three skeletons suspended from the ceiling, bound by their wrists. They stood up to get a better look. Two of the three were human skeletons and the third one was bigger, with wider, heavier bones.

 

“I think…” Minerva said. “I think that’s an orc skeleton…”

 

“Right you are,” a familiar voice said.

 

The four turned around to see a light fill the chamber before a woman stepped out and approached them.

 

It was Minerva.

 

Only she wore flowing, low cut black robes, and her exposed skin was covered in arcane markings that seemed to glow with energy. A floating orb hovered around her as she approached them.

 

“I finally managed to bring you four idiots here…” she smirked, looking them over.

 

“What the fuck is going on?” Gurka asked, looking from one Minerva to the other.

 

“What’s going on, dear Gurka, is that I’ve been throwing you morons around the multiverse trying to bring you all here. Manipulating time and space is not as easy as one might think,” the Minerva in black said, walking around them. “I’ve been watching you, pulling you out and throwing you into the tides of reality of itself.”

 

“Why?” Ava said. “Do you need our help with something?”

 

“I don’t need anyone!” the other Minerva snapped. “Those three learned that the hard way,” she said, pointing to the skeletons.

 

Xera’s jaw dropped and she looked again. “That’s us!” she screamed.

 

The other Minerva laughed a cold, shrill cackle. “You always were the smart one, Xera. Yes, that’s the three of you. This universe’s version of them, anyway. And yes, I killed them!”

 

The four stepped back as the other Minerva eyed them and smirked.

 

“Why are you doing this?” Minerva said.

 

“You know why…” her counterpart said. “All this time, these three musclebound brutes have been holding you back. How many times have you saved their asses with your magic? How many times has you intelligence solved an issue their blades couldn’t? How many times have they appreciated what you carrying them on your back?! You don’t even have anyone to discuss your favorite books with!”

 

Ava, Gurka, and Xera all looked at their Minerva.

 

“I don’t feel that way, I swear!” she held her hands up. “You all are my friends!”

 

The other Minerva simply laughed. “You do. Deep down.”

 

Minerva stared at her. “Wait...where is Marie? Did you kill her, too?”

 

“Who…?” the other Minerva asked. “I have no idea who that is. It doesn’t matter, because once I kill you all again, I’ll just pull some other universe’s version and do it again and again and again.” The orb floated around her until she held out her hand and it hovered in place. “I’ll call to them, through this, just like I did you,” she smiled. “I will watch them stumble through reality. I will allow them one last moment of bliss, just like I did with you, and then I will snuff out their lives all over again. Once I get bored, I suppose I’ll see what else I can do to break this ridiculous reality of ours.”

 

“You’re not getting away with this!” Ava swore.

 

“You’re welcome to try and stop me,” the other Minerva said, holding out her arms. In the blink of an eye, a sword appeared in Ava’s hand and she was suddenly wearing her armor again.

 

Ava narrowed her eyes and charged.

 

“Ava, don’t!” Xera tried to grab her.

 

The other Minerva smirked and allowed Ava to get close and raise her sword before she suddenly froze in mid swing. Minerva then sighed, kissed Ava on the lips and snapped her fingers. Ava let out a horrifying cry as her body came undone, some invisible force stripped her armor away before tearing away her flesh, then the muscle, then the skeleton and everything else until Ava was no more.

 

Minerva staggered back, covering her mouth in shock. Xera fell to her knees, a defeated look in eye eyes as her jaw quivered. Gurka screamed in bloody, heartbroken rage, tears streaming from her eyes. She ran at the dark sorceress, but didn’t get before cracks formed in the ground and clawed hands reached up.

 

Gurka tripped, fell and turned, as horned, fanged demons emerged from the fissures and began clawing at her flesh as they pulled her in. “No! Fuck!” the orc screamed in half-rage, half-terror. She punched and kicked, but more demons emerged and pulled at her, dragging her into their domain.

 

“You fucking cunt!” She screamed at the other Minerva. “I’ll be back for you!” She swore before being dragged under. The cracks in the ground closed behind her.

 

“That’s going to be difficult with demons feasting on your innards…” the other Minerva smirked. She then walked past Xera, brushing her hand against the Amazon’s face. “I always liked you the most, Xera...so your end won’t be as painful.”

 

“Please don’t do this…” Xera begged just before she turned to stone. The other Minerva then pushed her over and she shattered into a thousand pieces on the ground.

 

Minerva fell to her knees, staring at the ground as tears fell down her face. Her other walked over and knelt in front of her, taking her hands.

 

“You’ll get over the loss. Once you realize what kind of power you can achieve without them holding you back, you’ll forget all about them. I promise.”

 

Minerva looked at her. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else!” she said, rising to her feet.

 

“Not your call,” her other said, snapping her fingers. When she did, Minerva lost all feeling in her body and fell to the ground.

 

“I was offering you a chance at power, but I can see you were too stupid to take it. Oh well, I’ll try with one of the others,” the other Minerva shrugged. “Now, what should I do with you…?” she smirked.

 

Minerva stared at her counterpart helplessly and then closed her eyes in quiet resignation.

 

“What?! Who the hell are you?!” the other Minerva called out.

 

Minerva opened her eyes and glanced up just in time to see several shadowy figures emerge from a doorway of light. One of them pointed an object at the other Minerva, there was a flash of light, and she hit ground, unconscious. One of the figures then knelt over her with something in its hand.

 

“Yup, this is her. Bag her up and get her out of here. Let’s get the survivor back and reset this whole thing,” one of them said.

 

Minerva could only watch in confused silence as some of the shadowy figures approached her.

 

III

Minerva sat in a white room on a metal chair that made her butt hurt, with a metal table in front of her. There was a single door, but no handle and, wherever she was, her magic didn’t work. So she looked around the room, sighed, and rapped her hands on top of the table.

 

Suddenly, the door opened and a middle aged man with blonde hair in a suit and tie poked his head in, smiling. “Hi there. Minerva? Come with me, please.”

 

She stood up and looked around. “I…”

 

“It’s all right. I’ll answer you questions. Come on.”

 

She followed him through the door, which led into a long, narrow hallway filled with blinding light and  abuzz with activity. More people in suits, and people in body armor that Minerva figured were soldiers of some kind moved back and forth to wherever it was they needed to go.

 

“I’m sorry about the wait. It’s awfully busy, what with everything your Other did.”

 

“Where am I…am I dead…?”

 

“Oh, no. No, not at all,” he chuckled and looked at her. “You’re in our headquarters. Just call us the Bureau.”

 

“...The Bureau?”

 

“Mhmm...we police the multiverse. All realities and timelines. We keep it all in line and flowing like it should.”

 

“Timelines…?”

 

“That’s right. We’re at the center of Time and Space. Think of it as the place that all creation spawned from, if that helps.”

 

“Okay…”

 

“Oh! Where are my manners? You can call me Agent Zero. I’m the one handling your Other’s case.”

 

“My other? You mean…”

 

“Minerva from Universe 0411-37. It’s like yours, but it branched into a divergent timeline at some point, which led her to turn out the way she did. We’re working backwards to figure out where that point is.”

 

“She said she didn’t know Marie,” Minerva said.

 

Agent Zero paused and opened the folder he carried. “Marie...Marie...Ah, yes, Marie Leblanc...yes, that might be some help. Thank you.”

 

“That’s her last name?” Minerva said, following him as they walked. “Wait, where is my Other?”

 

“In custody. She’ll be put on trial. Honestly, with everything she did, it doesn’t look good for her. I mean, all the people she displaced alone is a serious enough crime. Then there were the ones who encountered the displaced, like your friends Calum and Olympia,” he pointed. 

 

As he explained that, Minerva walked past a room behind a large window. On the other side, Calum and Olympia sat, speaking to another suited agent. The two of them then saw Minerva and Olympia grinned and waved at her.

 

“We picked them up early on. Had to put that Melopas the Black fella back in his realm of sleep. He’s not supposed to walk your reality again.”

 

They continued on, past another room, where Superia and Iron Crane were in another room sitting at a table. Superia sat with her feet up on a table while Crane sipped a cup of tea. They bothe saw Minerva and regarded her with a nod.

 

“Naomi Grant and Asa Miyazawa, Superia and the Iron Crane. These two versions are heroes of some renown on their own world. Big things ahead for those ladies,” Agent Zero paused and said. “...Too bad it’s all going to end in tragedy...Ah well, that’s the way it is.”

 

They continued on past another room, where Debby Walker sat at a table with her head propped up in her hand. She sat up straight and waved when Minerva walked past.

 

“Commander Deborah Walker, war hero, alien fighter, future President of the United States. All of these people are important to their respective worlds and having them out of place could spell disaster.”

 

“I’m glad they’re all safe...but...my friends…” Minerva looked at the ground just as Agent Zero led her to another room and opened a door.

 

“I am starving….!” Ava whined. “Don’t they have any food here?”

 

“Stop your fucking whining. You’re getting fat as it is.”

 

“Fuck you, Gurka! I am not!”

 

“Will you two please...stop…” Xera said.

 

Minerva frozen in the doorway when she saw Ava, Xera, and Gurka all seated around a table. The sorceress’ eyes filled with tears and a wide smile crossed her face.

 

“Your friends are fine, Minerva. We pulled them all from the deviant timeline just before their deaths.”

 

“What’s wrong with you, little one?” Gurka sat up. “And what is this place? I’m tired of ending up in these strange places.”

 

Minerva ran across the room and hugged Gurka, and then Ava, and then Xera, much to their shared confusion.

“Great, the gang’s all back together,” Agent Zero smiled before taking a seat.

 

“Do you mind telling us what the hell this is?” Gurka said.

 

“It’s a long and complicated story, and I imagine you girls just want to go home. But, basically, your world is one of millions in a universe. Your universe is one of millions in the multiverse. Minerva’s Other found an object of power that allowed her to manipulate the reality that holds that all together. If someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing gets that power, they can bring all of that crashing down. That’s why the Bureau exists, ladies. We keep that from happening.”

 

“That orb…” Minerva said.

 

“That’s the one,” Agent Zero smiled. “There are objects just like it scattered all over the multiverse. Holdovers from when all of this was created. When one pops up, we grab it and put it in storage. Sometimes, someone, like Evil Minerva, finds it before we do. These objects usually corrupt whoever gets a hold of them. Gets them drunk on power, and then they do stuff that puts lives in danger.”

 

“Where is the other Minerva?” Xera asked.

 

“In holding. She’ll be tried, probably erased from existence because of the extent of her crimes. She isn’t your problem anymore, ladies.”

 

“But what if she…” Ava started.

 

“Look, try not to worry about it,” Agent Zero said. “We deal with this kind of thing all the time. She’s small time compared to some of the real threats. The cleanup is always worse than anything else. I don’t want to bog you all down with talk of alternate universes, and timelines, and cycles, and whatnot. You’re not going to remember any of this anyway. I just need to make sure all the boxes are checked so I can send you ladies home,” he smiled at them.

 

“How are we not going to remember this?” Gurka said. “After all the shit we saw! And this…!” she motioned around the room.

 

Agent Zero smiled and pointed up. As he did, a strange, cylindrical machine lowered from the ceiling and caught their attention. It flashed a blue light. The four then had blank expressions etched onto their faces.

 

“All right! That’s my cue to exit. You’ll all be whisked back to your homeworld in the next few seconds,” he said before heading to the door. “I just have to pop in on Freddie Gordon and destroy the tape he made of Xera and Ava…” Agent Zero clicked a pen and made a note in his folder. “After that, I have one more thing to tie up and this case is done. Have a good one, ladies.”

 

***

 

“I don’t wanna die,  I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die!!”

 

Marie huddled under a low ledge with her knees to her chest and held her breath when she heard heavy footsteps. She peered out from her hiding space and saw the monster’s foot and heard it sniffing at the air. It turned in her direction.

 

“I should’ve been a doctor like papa wanted!” she wept.

 

Just then, she heard what sounded like a crack of thunder, and the beast fell over dead with its head missing. Marie froze and gasped, but sat quietly, still in hiding.

 

“Come on out, Marie. It’s all right,” Agent Zero said.

 

She crawled out and found herself facing Agent Zero and several armed soldiers. “H...hi…”

 

“Hey there, Marie. I’m Agent Zero. I’m with the Bureau.”

 

“Okay…”

 

“I bet you’re wondering what this place is, aren’t you?”

 

She nodded.

 

“It’s a time ship, created by the first race of sentient beings. They had a complete mastery of time and space. It’s powered by this,” Agent Zero held up the glowing orb. “It allows passage to any place in time, throughout the multiverse. Pretty cool, huh?”

 

Marie stared at it, then him, in disbelief.  “There’s other life out there?” She looked at the dead creature.

 

“So much life, Marie. That’s not one of the creatures that owned this ship. We don’t know what happened to them. This thing is just a bioweapon, a defense system to keep intruders out. As much as I’d like to show you what’s out there, my bosses wouldn’t take too kindly to that.”

 

“Y...you’re not going to kill me are you?”

 

“Oh, no! No! In fact, you’re friends will be back soon. We had to borrow them for a bit. I can’t have you asking them too many questions though, because you’re a clever enough bunny that you might actually find us if you know where and how to look.” He then reached into his pocket and took out a small square object.

 

“I have so many questions…” Marie said, staring at them all.

 

“I know you do, but they’re going to have to go unanswered.”

 

The object emitted a blue light and Marie stood there, frozen, with a blank expression. “All right boys, that’s that. She’ll be sent back in the timeline a bit and sync up with the others. Let’s pack up this ship and get it into storage. We’re finished here.”

 

A portal opened up behind them and the soldiers all went through. Agent Zero started to follow them and then turned to Marie. He let out a sigh and pressed a few buttons on the object in his hand. “I can’t leave a brilliant mind like you like this...here,” he held the object up to her eyes and it gave off a white light. “There...in another year or so, you’ll come up with electricity.” He smiled, put the object back, and then whistled a tune while walking through the portal. 

 

***

 

“Marie...what the hell is this place…?” Gurka asked.

 

The five of them stood on the edge of a massive, circular crater.

“My friend, the cartographer, said he was exploring the area when he saw an anomaly. It’s supposed to be right here!” Marie said, looking at her map. “He said he thought it was some kind of mineral deposit, because he said there was all this strange metal he had never seen before.”

 

“It’s a giant hole in the ground…” Ava said.

 

“But…” Marie frowned.

 

“All the way to the ass end of the world for a hole in the ground. Well done, Marie!” Gurka slapped her on the shoulder before she and Ava turned and walked away.

 

“Not all exploration ends in discovery, I suppose…” Xera sighed. “We should probably set up camp, soon. We won’t make it back to the nearest town before dark.” She then followed Ava and Gurka.

 

Marie stood, deflated, and stared at the crater. “There’s supposed to be something here…”

 

Minerva rubbed her shoulder in support. “It’s all right. Sometimes it’s about the journey,” she smiled.

 

Marie turned to her and nodded before they began walking away until they caught up with the others.

 

“I picked up a book in town that I think everyone would like,” Minerva said. “Want to read it by the fire tonight?” 

 

“No,”  Gurka grunted rudely. “Fuck your book. We’re miles from anywhere with nothing to show for it.”

 

Minerva frowned and looked at the ground, but looked up when Marie took her hand.

 

“It’s all right. You and I can read it,” she smiled.

 

Minerva smiled back and walked with Marie. She dared to give the inventor a quick kiss on the cheek while they continued following the group as the sun began setting behind them.

 

The End

 

(Author’s Note: That’s it! The adventures of Xera and her companions are done for now. Thanks for anyone who stuck with this strange experiment. I honestly didn’t think I would do this many, but it was fun.)