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Chapter -3- The Belly of the Beast

December 9, 2023, 11:54pm, Atlantic Standard Time Atlantic Ocean ...

** "Miss Crevan, can you see anything?"** Fox Parker stood, heels together, atop of an eroded spire. He kept his arms out to maintain balance, perched atop the stalagmite. "The tide is coming in. I'm going to have wet shoes in another few minutes."

Sinopa Crevan trotted across the back of a small submarine at a pier inside of a cave. She moved aft and put her forepaws atop a large vertical rudder. "Parker-san! This particular vessel is without crew or operator. Join me!" She sat on her haunches adjacent to a smaller fox, Kuda, mirroring her posture.

Parker leapt to another stalagmite then jumped upwards. In midair, he turned inverted, used a foot to kick off the side of a stalactite then righted himself and landed on his hands and knees atop the sub. He put his foot on a mooring cleat and his hand on a small rail that went along the back of the small submarine. "Damn, I almost went for a swim, there."

"Regardless, your acrobatic skills are most impressive, Parker-san."

"Yeah, I'm acrobatic. I think it would be a real kick to have a son named Peter."

"Then do so."

Parker chuckled and shook his head. "Evan would have got the joke. Okay. So let's see if we can get this thing to operate." He got to his feet and carefully moved to a hatch further up near the front.

Kuda hopped up onto his shoulders. Fox slid into the hatch feet first, drew the kitsune into his arms and guided her small body down. She jumped gracefully to the floor. He reached up, pulled the hatch shut and sealed it.

He moved into a seat up front, in a bubble, surrounded by controls. Fox rubbed his face, looking at the various displays. "None of this means anything. I think Karla was wrong." Kuda remained comfortably settled along the nape of his neck and shoulders.

Sinopa trotted into the cockpit beneath his feet and put her forepaws up on the bubble. The little fox gazed out at the underside of the pier where the waterline met the surface. "Have you tried?"

"I gotta figure out how to turn it on first." He began fumbling with knobs and buttons.

"We have company." Sinopa glared at the mooring rope on the pier She narrowed her little amber eyes, stared at where the rope met the cleat, and focused.

First the rope burned and snapped, then the pier caught flame. A smile tugged at the corners of her foxy face. She murmured in Japanese, pleased with her work.

Fox mashed various buttons and turned knobs until all the panels suddenly illuminated. "Got it! So what did you just say anyhow?"

"Oh ... forgive me, Parker-san. I said, 'That will teach you to mess with the foxes,' because the pier is now ablaze. It's keeping them from getting near."

Parker looked up through the bubble and grinned. People were scrambling about to locate an extinguisher. Others were splashing water up onto the pier. "Thank goodness the pier is long, or they'd just swim out here." He paused then said, "Hmm, seems one is."

He hovered his hands overtop the controls and focused on integration with the computer system. The sub shuddered gently and bubbles came forward, clouding over the cockpit glass. Again, the sub trembled, then the bubbles subsided, having broken the last mooring line.

The small vessel eased back in reverse. Water rushed over the back of the small ship, pouring over the cockpit canopy in rivulets.

Fox took ahold of the analog control yoke and eased it to the side with a tilt. The sub turned about, facing out of the cavern. Water ran up over the front of the bubble-shaped cockpit, distorting the view. He focused, relying on his techno-kinetic training.

Just like learning to control a video game without a controller, he relaxed his body and imagined a measure of integration in his mind. Fox interfaced with the ballast system. The sub lowered into the water, just slightly, until the view became clear, beneath the water's surface.

They passed through the egress of the cave and into open waters. Running lights came on beneath the sub. Piloting the small vessel, Fox traced the perimeter of the island in silence.

Minutes passed.

Fox lifted his left hand and pointed. "Look, right there on the beach!"

She hopped upwards, scraping her clawed paws against the window in an attempt to see over the waterline. "Oh dear, Rufus seems to have changed. They may have been attacked." Sinopa narrowed her amber gaze, trying to see up over the water line near the top of the bubble. Before she could say anything, Fox began to surface until they could see easily over the water crest.

"I see'em. Rufus is just wearing ... boxers. That's odd."

"I'm still not quite used to modern clothes. But some selections are, how you say, kawaii. Ahm. Cute? Wait. What is THAT?"

"What is what?" Fox looked to port. His eyes opened. "What the hell is that thing on our left!?"

"Ittekudasai! Head for land!"

Parker eased into the throttle, headed for the beach. He cut the engine and turned the control yoke until the sub was perpendicular to the beachhead. Kuda hopped down, out of the way. Parker clamored back from the cockpit, opened the hatch and climbed on top.

Fox cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted, "C'mon! Hurry!"

Out of thin air, Karla appeared adjacent to him. He reached out to steady her due to the wet surface. She held her hands out. Rufus and Evan appeared, hovering above the surface of the submarine's wet outer deck. She lowered them to their feet. "Okay, boys. One at a time and don't hog all the room." She waited until they went down then followed Fox inside.

Parker secured the hatch then returned to the front. He slid into his seat, cut the rudder hard and punched the throttle. "I saw a freaking PT boat. You know, one of those small motorboats used by the military to patrol an area. Time to dive, no time to waste." The submarine lowered beneath the water.

"Dayum, nice digs! Where th' periscope?"

Evan groaned. "Subs like this don't have those."

"Aw man," Rufus grumbled. "No fun. Could we make glass torpedoes, though?"

"I'd not given it any thought." Evan rubbed his chin in thought. "We'd need a way to propel them, though."

Karla snorted. "Telekinesis - hello? Won't be a problem." Kuda jumped up onto Karla's shoulders. She reached up and ran her fingers back through his fur. "Hey, muffin."

Fox looked down at Sinopa with a frown then forward again. The spotlight beneath the cockpit area illuminated the water to some extent but not terribly far in front of them. "Okay, okay. Everyone hush for a sec. This is your captain speaking. So S.T.F.U., kids. Now. There's a boat up there and they had a spotlight and they were shining it around but they didn't see us yet. At least I don't think so."

The small submarine shuddered, causing the naïve crew to exclaim in surprise and worry. Fox ground his teeth together. "Evan. Make a glass torpedo."

Balmoral moved to the front, knelt before the glass bubble and cupped his hands outwards as if crafting something cylindrical. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too. Karla, you're up."

The succubus moved adjacent to Evan and waved her hand, taking control of the object. "Okay, where's the target?"

Sinopa trotted to the front once more, wiggled between the humans and put her small paws on the vertical concave dome again. "Allow me to help." She stared at the glass torpedo and it ignited beneath the water. Bubbles, like a shaken carbonated drink, surrounded the horizontal pillar. "It's ahead of us, but upwards." She lifted a single paw and made a sweeping motion, as if gesturing for Karla to take control of it. "Douzo."

Evan pointed. "One o'clock sharp. Right there."

Karla craned her head then smirked. "I see it. Batter up." She waved her hand. Her palm incandesced a vibrant shade of carnation.

The flaming glass torpedo raced diagonally upwards and slammed into the bottom, blasting a hole from stem to stern. With the keel shattered, the bottom of the ship came apart. The glass torpedo burst but the flames caught the motorboat from beneath, rupturing the fuel tank of the inboard engine.

Depth charges on the patrol craft detonated, blasting the remains of the small surface vessel into splinters. Karla squinted. "It's all distorted. Did we get it?" The bubbles and debris cleared.

Evan's eyes widened. He whispered softly. "Holy smokes."

Fox glanced back at Rufus then forward at the trio huddled up front. "I take it we got'em. That's teamwork."

Kuda barked. It sounded akin to a large dog on helium.

"Great work y'all."

"I love when he yips," Karla murmured. "He doesn't do it nearly enough. It's so freaking cute."

Fox glanced at a small screen then said, "Okay we have enough air for two hours. That's not exact, but it's close from what I can figure out."

Parker paused and looked over an LED screen, showing user readout information. He glanced back at the group. "The dive computer has a help menu. I'm reading it now. It says if we tilt forward and backwards, we'll use up air more quickly. I'm a novice, here, so it's best to lowball this stuff. It also says that beyond a hundred thirty feet, we'll have decompression issues should we run out of air or puncture the hull. Gotta love self-help guides. Oh, and postscript, I've never done this before."

Karla teleported herself behind the driver's seat, adjacent to Rufus. She smoothed the hem of her skirt then folded her hands. "Evan, come on back here, so we're not blocking Foxie's view."

Evan made his way back to another chair with a control panel. He tilted his head and looked over the labels on the dash. He trailed his finger over some of the small words on the panel. He glanced at Fox's controls.

"Is any of this familiar to you?" asked Fox.

Evan rubbed his chin, reading all the labels, then pointed to one joystick and said, "This one is your dive plane angle. So the more you ease into it, the deeper we go."

Fox looked back at him then forward again. "It won't angle us diagonally or anything?"

"No," said Evan. "The electronic buoyancy control keeps us stable. We're like a chopper. Pilot this the way you would imagine a chopper flies. You can make us go up and down, back and forth, left and right. But we won't roll over or accidentally go vertical. Computers ensure that." He nodded and Fox eased into the lever, continuing the dive.

Sinopa moved away from the glass bubble, beneath several seats, then came out from beneath Fox's chair and asked, "How do you know these things, Evan-san?"

Evan grinned. "Something called 'computer simulation games.' It's easier to show you than to explain it. That's best for another day in the future. The subs I pilot on console simulation have Rufus' Periscope, Karla's torpedoes and they have something called a 'Christmas Tree.' Don't ask. It's a goofy name."

"What does it do?"

"It's a display panel with red and green lights. Each light represents information about the sub's status."

Karla cleared her throat and interjected, "Moving on."

Evan ignored the interruption and added, "Fox, you're a natural. You're doing great. Just keep ... whoa."

"What? What's whoa?" Fox squinted then his eyes widened. "...Whoa."

Sinopa moved to the front. She placed her paws on the concave bubble again. "What is all this whoa-ing...? Oh."

Evan moved out of Karla's way to let the succubus see. He slid over to another cushioned chair and made his way behind Fox. He moved to the back of the small sub, peering out through an observation porthole on the side of the sub.

Karla and Rufus tried to peek over Fox's shoulder.

"What... the hell is that?" whispered Fox. Behind him, Rufus put his arms around Karla's waist and lifted her even with his height so that she could see over everyone's head. Fox asked the question on everyone's mind. "Is that a freakin' CITY?"

"It's enormous," Karla whispered. "Donovan would have loved to see this. He was obsessed with Jules Verne." She drew quiet, out of reverence, and simply watched as they grew closer to the distant, yet enormous structure. "Fox ... perhaps we should head out to sea somewhat, surface, and come back when the sun is out, tomorrow?" She subconsciously pet Kuda to relax.

"No supplies, and nowhere to use the bathroom," said Parker. "Dear Lord, that thing is enormous. I can't even see where it starts and where it ends. Is everyone alright back there?"

"Just fine," said Rufus.

"More room than I thought we'd have," Karla added.

"This is freakin' awesome," said Even. "Johann would probably be seasick right now. Rather, the enclosed spaces thing. But this is totally great. And you guys need to stop worrying about running out of air. We have unlimited air."

Fox smirked. "How you figure, man?"

Evan wiggled his way back towards the cockpit again and said, "I can create an enormous glass snorkel, attach it to the hatch, and we can turn off the air tanks. Unlimited fresh air if necessary."

Karla frowned. "Would that would affect our pressurization?"

Silence. Evan frowned. "I don't know. Let's just focus on coming up with a plan for that thing. With any luck, we won't have to worry about air."

"Uh oh." Fox switched off the running light and everything went dark outside the sub. He dimmed the interior lights. "I saw ... look. There." He pointed to illumination on the outside of the enormous domed city. "They must have seen our light now they're spotting for us. I hate spotlights. For obvious reasons, being a thief and all."

Sinopa kept her paws on the cockpit bubble, looking out into the dark ocean. "I'd imagine you dislike them. What're our options?"

Karla folded her arms. She glanced at Kuda, on her shoulder, then back towards the looming dark mass in front of the sub. "Screw it. We came this far, right? It's obvious what comes next. We board it and look around."

Rufus grinned. "Obviously."

"I don't know if we should raise hell or spy, but we should definitely see the inside before we figure out our next move, boys. And vixen."

Fox frowned and aimed the front of the small sub towards the distant domed city. "Okay, flank speed ahead. An amazing four knots due to the weight. Don't expect to get there anytime soon." Fox glanced at the monitor near his right hand and said, "It's rated for six knots top speed. I know, I know. I picked a racecar, here."

"How fast is six knots?" asked Sinopa. "I never learned nautical measurements. Is that fast?"

Rufus shook his head. "Naw, foxy. About seven-mile'n hour, give or take. And that's full speed with two adults, most likely. With all of us in here, there's no damn way we'll hit our top speed right." He turned his head and brushed his lips against Karla's ear. "Maybe you wanna give us a telekinetic push?"

"Won't that mess with hull stress limits?" asked Fox.

Evan shrugged. "Not unless we're going super deep, or super fast. Go ahead, Karla. Give us a little turbo."

She rubbed her palms together and nodded firmly. "One turbo boost coming right up."

Fox blinked at her enthusiasm. "You sound excited. I thought you wanted to wait until daylight?"

"I changed my mind. Maybe we can end this silly BS right here, right now." A grin spread across her lips. "I can't wait to get inside that thing. Besides, they're not finished loading it with people yet. So it's now or never." Her palms began to glow. Her forearms incandesced, as well as her lower biceps and triceps, just above the elbows.

The sub picked up speed.

"I won't lie," Fox murmured, "It's intimidating. It would have to take forever to build something this size and nearly impossible to keep its creation quiet. The Government is obviously somehow in on this."

"Okay, okay," said Rufus. His large black ears laid flat atop of his wolfish head. "No need to talk about those losers. We all know they hunt us, 'n now they got a secret indoor water park. So how we gettin' in there?"

Karla shrugged, keeping her eyes forward and arms tensed to channel her power into the sub. "I'll figure it out. Just keep your ... fur on." She reached up, gently took Kuda from her shoulder and eased him down into her lap. "Take a break."

The miniature fox hopped down from her thighs and trotted to the aft section of the sub. A moment later he came back and hopped back up into Karla's lap.

Sinopa looked back and perked her ears. "You trained him?"

"Well, I can't have him marking corners inside that ... thing. Better he pees at the back of the sub, right?"

"Hai. Very smart to think ahead. But how did you train him? He barely listens to the deities he serves as it is."

Karla replied with a mysterious smile.

Sinopa's left ear flickered listlessly. "He is mine because I accept him and he is loyal. Other kitsune feel he is too stubborn to be of use to them."

"Yeah? Maybe the gods should try training him with treats." She grinned but kept her eyes on the city ahead. "He loves cereal. Oh, and chicken nuggets."

The sub moved towards the outer hull. "That place is impressive to say the least," Evan murmured. "Hey, we're close enough that I see buildings in there. Just ... barely. Silhouettes of two. I see a third behind it, faintly. Take us lower."

"How low can we go?" asked Fox. "Do we have to breathe helium or something?"

"No," Evan chuckled. "I know what you mean but ... no. We should be okay. If I have to, I'll reinforce the hull with glass. Let's just see how deep this thing goes and play it by ear."

Fox nodded with a skeptical look. "Okay, you're the expert on subs, then. Here we go, silent service style." He eased on the lever and, with his other hand, steadied the yoke. The sub moved away from the city dome then continued to dive.

"Imagine th' funding necessary," Rufus said.

An LED screen above the glass bubble nose read '90 Fathoms,' and continued to count up until they were beneath the glass dome level. The domed city's base had various tubes and pipes leading in and out of the superstructure. Below the city, the bottom came together like a dreidel.

The small monitor read, '160 Fathoms.'

"How deep are we?" asked Sinopa.

Rufus rubbed his fuzzy chin. "We're 960 feet down. Wait, you probably use metric, yeah? Tha's a smige over 292.6 meters down. You'd think this thing'd be deeper. But lookit all'a them things stickin' out the bottom. I bet money that thing is designed to move. And lookie there. Looks like some sort'a drill thingy in the distance, along the bottom? Yeah. I bet this thing can hide in the bedrock."

"Impressive," said Evan with a shake of his head.

"Ayup. Rightly so, hoss. Fox, I'm willing to wager those pipes sticking out are intake and exhaust. There's our ticket in."

Fox guided the small sub closer to one of the pipes. A speaker built into the starboard control panel crackled to life. "Unidentified maintenance submarine, you are not cleared for this sector. Stand by to dock with Patrol Alpha Niner. Stand by to be boarded, prepare for surrender; have your work order paperwork ready."

Karla smirked. "Wanna throw'em off our trail? Don't go into the pipe. Set the controls to either surface or dive, and I'll get us into that thing. When they catch the sub, they'll see it's empty and realize our sub never came in contact with their stupid fort. Everyone ready?" She slipped off a shoe and withdrew her coin purse from it. "Just give me a minute to find somewhere good. No one move an inch or I won't be able to grab you from the sub."

Fox turned to Evan. "Wait, don't we have to, like, go through decompression or something?"

"This is a pressurized sub," Evan replied. "We're going into a _hopefully pressurized _city or ... base of some sort. We'll be fine. Be optimistic."

The purse deflated then the small bag, itself, disappeared. In a singsong tone, she announced, "One moment please!" Karla disappeared.

Seconds later, Sinopa disappeared, followed by Evan, then Rufus. Parker gave a tug at the rubber boot around the base of the dive plane control lever. He bunched it up at one end and propped the stick forward, then, without further warning, he disappeared.

Fox appeared along with his peers, surrounded by bulkheads on either side. He placed his hands out to steady himself. The thief turned to the right and leaned back against the corridor wall then put his hands on the one across from his face. "That messes with my equilibrium."

"Everyone good?" asked Rufus. "We need to peek inside the upper levels to see if we can fit in and blend. If so, I'll change back."

Sinopa settled on her haunches, sitting up straight. "I'm well. Evan?"

"Yeah. Good to go." He turned to Karla and offered a chuckle to dispel the awkwardness and said, "Glad you have good aim. This is a pretty narrow hall."

"No kidding," Fox murmured.

The demoness placed her hand on Fox's head and fluffed his hair. "Sorry, dear-heart. What's going on with the sub?"

"I saw everyone else disappear and, at the very last second, I moved the stick forward and gave a tug on the little rubber boot around the bottom of the control stick. I bunched it up on one side so it would continue to dive. Luckily you pulled me out before the sub moved me out of position."

"Timing is everything," Karla responded with a smile. "Good teamwork, team. Now. Who has a plan?" She reached up and rubbed her finger beneath Kuda's muzzle. The miniature fox chirred happily in reply.

Evan rubbed his hands together. "We have five people. We need to break into teams. I wish we had a way to communicate on a private level. We need a team telepath who can link us together. Do those even exist?"

"They're illegal," said Karla, adding, "But I knew one a long time ago." Her eyes took on a forlorn gaze. "Why are we splitting up?"

"Well," he stiffened up then tucked in the front of his shirt. "Some of us need to secure a new sub and set things in motion so we can make a clean escape. Some of us need to explore our options. Also, we need to look for Mister Loupe's uncle."

"Donovan," Fox murmured with a nod.

"Right, him." Evan stuffed his hands into his pockets. "And whoever is left should be the commando. They should spy, maybe sabotage this place, or locate some of those artifacts everyone is talking about. I think that should be the job of Fox, Sinopa or Karla. Fox is a thief and is skilled and trained in stealth and such. But Karla can teleport and protect herself if she's jumped without backup. But Sinopa is on a quest to find these artifacts and, let's face it, she's a demigod. Sneaking wouldn't matter in her case, because if she's caught, she can't be hurt and it would draw attention off the rest of us. So one of you three should volunteer for that job. I can't delegate like some sort of leader unless we decide on one."

Sinopa, Karla and Fox looked at one another in silence.

Rufus gave Evan a pat on the shoulder. "Good leadership skills, kiddo."

"Dungeon Masters tell the story and lead the game. But they also have to give players choices. That's, well ... that's all I'm really doing here."

"Sure." Rue nodded as though understanding the reference. "So." He turned back to the other three and repeated himself, "So?"

Fox and Karla spoke in unison. "Sinopa."

Karla added, "It's her quest; it's her honor."

"Hai, domo arigato." She turned to Karla and bowed her little head slightly. "Thank you both." She bowed to Fox, front paws stretched out before herself. "I cannot drown. May I suggest that all of you do your jobs and leave as necessary? When I am finished here, I'll meet the lot of you in Florida."

"Wait," said Evan, "What if Falcon captures you and tries to take your DNA? We can't risk him becoming a god."

A wry grin found the little fox's muzzle. "He cannot combine, splice or engineer what I have. RNA and DNA are part of this world. Letters don't exist for what makes me physical. If he injects himself with my sanguine essence then we will no longer have to worry about our evil doctor. He will most likely die."

Evan's eyes widened. "Then that should be the plan. We trick Falcon into taking Sinopa's blood. He'll think he's going to become a god, then it'll be like injecting Clorox into himself."

Fox scoffed. "The guy is a genius. He'd analyze it first, determine it's not compatible with him, and he'd synthesize some properties and trash the rest. He'd experiment with it and use it on everyone but himself, first. Trust me on that. Ask me how I know."

Karla nodded with a frown. "Yeah, he did some pretty extensive things to Fox and his cellmates, once. But if we can contaminate his lab so that the next thing he thinks he's injecting into himself is actually poisonous to his health ... hmm. Evan, add it to the list of possibilities. When we work out the best possible way to kill this guy, we'll need multiple options to make a plan. Worst comes to worst, I'll just teleport a gallon of Clorox into the guy with the lid off, facing down. I want him to suffer."

"Why don't you just hunt him down," Evan asked. "Just find him, teleport him into the floor from the shoulders down, then telekinetically supercharge your foot and kick his head off like a ball."

Rufus brought his large paw to the bottom side of his muzzle and rubbed at his fuzzy throat. "Considering yer dislike fer gore ... that's a pretty awesome thing to say, pal."

"Yeah," Evan whispered. "That's the head of the viper. He's not a human mercenary - he doesn't get a chance for redemption."

"That settles it," Karla announced. "Rufus, Fox - you boys find an escape sub, have Foxie interface with it, and make appropriate..." she trailed off, rolling her right hand in a circle at the wrist. "You know, just do what you've got to do to make sure there won't be any problems later."

"Preparations," Evan said, softly.

"Yes, there's the word," Karla chuckled. "Make the necessary preparations to be able to blast out of here at a moment's notice. Fox, Evan, make sure Sinopa and Rufus have their clothes first. My mouth is running faster than my brain can keep up. It's a girl thing." She grinned down at the fox then added, "An earthbound girl thing. You ready to fulfill your mission, beautiful?"

Sinopa smiled then her pelt flinched, having her clothes placed onto her back from behind. "Ah, thank you for those." She looked back up at Karla and smiled again. "You are most kind, flirty demon. Most courageous."

"Four centuries of confidence; of winning fights and seducing anyone I want, it really makes a gal feel invincible." She turned to Evan with a grin. "I know, it'll be my greatest downfall. Thanks, Yoda. But I 'do,' I never just try. So it's all good. I'm a power player here. We might be a chess team with no pawns but," she leaned down and scritched her fingernails gently behind Sinopa's ears. "We have two queens on the board. We can't lose."

"Actually," Evan rubbed the bridge of his nose with a shrug. "Your confidence isn't your greatest downfall. Healthy confidence gives you the willpower to mush onwards. But, the fact you can have anything you want _is _a downfall ... because the day you can't obtain what you need, you'll be more susceptible to do anything to get it, even if it means abandoning your personal code of honor. It all depends on the strength of your willpower rating."

Karla replied with a dull glare, brows lifted. "Just because _I'm irresistible _doesn't mean I can't resist things, myself. Not all demons are slaves of temptation or whatnot."

Evan smiled and hugged her. "Just stay strong. I had a campaign once that caused our head good guy to stray because he chose to save his 'in-character' wife, instead of saving the world. All because she was role-played by a girl he liked 'out of character.' So, the game ended prematurely."

Karla returned the hug and patted him on the back of his shoulder. She cupped his face and kissed his forehead. "You're sweet to worry about me. But I'd give my life to save the world. I've already lived it longer than everyone else. I believe in reincarnation. I certainly wouldn't put a husband before the world, especially since I don't have one, nor could I ever have just one lover, because I'll never have a normal life. So relax, babe."

"Okay." He grinned, trying not to blush. "Let's get to work then."

Fox lifted his right hand. "No offense to Rufus, he's a total badass, but Evan was really helpful with figuring out the submarine from earlier. I could use his technical experience. We're both pretty good with computers. Between the two of us, we have a better chance of figuring it out."

After flinching at the mild cussword, Evan nodded in agreement. "Actually, yeah. You're right Fox," he said, turning to the rest of them. "We don't know what kind of operating systems we'll cross. I know Linux - no geek humor please - I can't imagine these guys would use Windows or Mac, because that's something an outside hacker could easily exploit. They probably use a unique interface but I know Unix stuff like Power Shell. I know DOS. Fox can interface with stuff wirelessly. Between the two of us we could figure out the..."

"We get it," said Karla with a chuckle. "So big deal, just swap partners." She grinned at Rufus and jerked her head to the left. "Follow me, Animal."

Rufus chuckled and fell into step behind her and, in a soft but husky voice, said, "Druuuums."

Evan watched them leave then turned to Fox and Sinopa. "Yeah, so, I came to realize she'd have been flirting with me the whole time. And I thought about it. She's a demon who has had potentially tens-of-thousands of one-night stands. Three hundred sixty-five days a year, multiplied by, like, four hundred years alive. She's hot. Definitely hot. Like, super model hot. But that's a lot of random partners. Do. Not. Want. Thanks for getting me out of that, Fox."

Fox covered his mouth to keep from laughing aloud. "I've been living with her for a while now and managed to retain my virginity at the cost of my sanity. I completely understand. Plus she hasn't fed in two days. Trust me, those two won't be able to keep their, uh, paws off each other. Poor Rufus will need a nap and Karla will be beyond wired."

"So long as it isn't me," Evan said. "Okay. So let's go do heroes work: Find a way to rescue everyone from this 'dungeon.' Ready?"

Fox rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, man. I'm ready. But no more geek humor. You're taking it to the next level. Even televangelists turn off the 'Announcer Voice-ah! When they're not-ah saving your soul-ah!' Know what I mean?"

"Televangelists are from Boston?"

"Dude."

Evan grinned and nodded. "I'm kidding. You made your point. In that case," he hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's rock 'n roll."

Sinopa waited for the boys to disappear down the corridor then she wiggled out from beneath the clothing on her back and took human form.

Kuda ran circles around her ankles several times then stopped, sat up straight, and looked up at her.

She lowered to one knee, gathered her belongings and dressed herself then fished out a small makeup compact from the pocket of her jeans. She placed it between her teeth and reached her hands behind herself, adjusting the specially made cut at the back belt loop where her tails were able to come from the denim.

Sinopa folded the skirt and reached to tie it around Kuda but he backed off. She gave him a scolding glance then unfolded the skirt, slid it up her legs and adjusted it to hide her tails. "Fine," he said, speaking muffled over the compact between her teeth. "Then I shall wear both if I must." She adjusted the lay of her hair and, finally, opened the compact.

She licked her lips, took a deep breath and then let it out. "Tamamo?"

Several seconds of silence passed then a small white fox trotted up to the mirror and sat down. The little kitsune looked up at Sinopa through the speckled makeup powder on the reflective surface. "I was wondering when you'd check in. What progress have you made?"

"I have made friends who are quite capable to aid me in my endeavor. I am in Doctor Falcon's metallic lair beneath the ocean. It's beyond my ability to accurately describe. We're in the bowels of the great fortress and, hopefully, I'm nearing the end of my journey. But no matter what, I will stay in this realm until everything is well."

"Omoikane has been pondering your adventure. He suggested your journey may not be a brief one. In fact, you may have the chance to watch your mortal lover grow old and comfort him as he does such. Are you prepared to distance yourself from the Celestial Realm that long?"

Sinopa nodded with resolve in her golden eyes. "I'll do what I must. But Jules is very important to all of this. I'm not yet sure how. But I know he is involved. I have committed myself to both his protection and the resolution of my mission. Although, I greatly appreciate the fact that my superiors have become lax in their expectations of a timetable. Why would Omoikane ponder my journey?"

Tamamo looked away from Sinopa and, in a soft voice, said, "Because I asked him to do so."

Sinopa offered a delighted smile. "Tamamo! Perhaps I was wrong about you. You have the everlasting gratitude of both Jules and myself."

"Yes, well..." She trailed off. The little fox tightened her jaw. Fur bristled up on her neckline. "Sinopa, don't ... please just..."

"Sumimasen?"

Tamamo-no-Mae sighed then approached the Celestial window from her side until her nose appeared to brush the inside of the compact's reflective mirror from within. "Speaking of your lover feels like bragging to my ears." She became close enough that Sinopa could see her eyes glisten. "I miss Konoe."

Sinopa narrowed her eyes. "He was a boy. He became bored of his first wife, and then neither of them gave him an offspring. He was a teenaged boy! I'm sorry but it's hard to lament the loss of a teenager who became sick and died! What was so famous about him?! He was a child emperor his entire life, and knew nothing of being a person! How can a three-year-old emperor even lead _a nation? He hadn't even grown up when you began to fancy him! How can you mourn the love of a bratty sixteen year old that _ordered you to die? What I have with Jules is so much more _than some child emperor could _ever offer!"

Tamamo's jaw dropped open and her eyes widened. She glared at Sinopa momentarily. Her eyes glowed as anger clouded her heart and mind. "You know nothing, you idiot three-tailed child. Nothing. Your ignorance will be your undoing. Just as you chose a lifetime with a European face to better solve the problems during your first visit to Earth. And now you're stuck with it forever! You make choices and say nonsensical words that cannot be undone! You _never_think about the end consequences!"

The mirror's image disappeared, replaced with a simple reflection of an Irish human face in a dim hallway.

Sinopa sighed. She snapped the compact shut and frowned. "Why did I say that? She was just beginning to be helpful to me." She looked up at the ceiling above her head and leaned back against the bulkhead. "But she always has to make my feelings and my love for Jules seem insignificant compared to her precious child emperor." She slid down the wall to her backside, drawing her knees to her chest. "I should have kept my opinions to myself. I'm sorry, Tamamo. I was being defensive and unkind after you showed me a measure of respect that I've so desperately craved from you in the past." Silence. There was no one to pay attention to her tears.

Again, Sinopa sighed. Kuda crawled into her lap and rested his small head on her chest. She placed a hand upon his head and ran her fingers down her back. Tears of inner shame welled up in her eyes.

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Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/649102