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When Worlds Collide Or: Let's Get Something Good to Eat

The Adventures of Elle, Part II

By El Portero

Edited by Miss Kat

For Karbo

"Admiral, sir.  Doctor Phrinx is ready to begin."

"Hell, it's about time."

Vice Admiral Trig McQuarry wiped the hot summer sweat from his brow as he turned to follow the lieutenant into the dark, humid corridors of the Ancient Pyronian temple.  This god-forsaken desert was the last place he wanted to be, but one didn't argue when given orders by Supreme Emperor Maekus himself.

Sure it was only a short trip.  Just a quick stop-in to get some information and report the science team's findings to the highest ranking officer in the Rystar Imperial Forces, Grand Admiral Alister Trindle.  But it was hogwash.  All of it.  But orders were orders, and he would follow them to the last.

But that didn't mean he couldn't complain along the way.

"Lieutenant Grunbar."

"Yes, sir?"

"How long have you been in the Imperial Forces?"

"Twelve years now, sir.  Served since I was eighteen."

"So you've served the Empire good and well.  Do you feel this hair-brained scheme is as important to crushing the rebellion as the Emperor does?"

"Sir, it is not my place to question the Emperor."

"Yes, Lieutenant, I understand that.  I'm asking for your opinion."

"Off the record?"

"Yes, Ashton.  Off the record."

"Well, sir, I don't know if these Ancient Pyronian legends about a doomsday weapon are true.  But if they are, controlling such a power would greatly secure the Rystar Empire.  These rebel strikes would finally come to an end."

The admiral grumbled.  "So I've been told."

Under the full moon sky, Elle stood up, staring at the snake woman before her.  She had long, blonde hair and teal scales below her waist, her eyes matching the color of her reptilian body.  She wore no clothing and her ample breasts glistened in the moonlight.

She seemed nice enough, but fear cautioned Elle.  Even though this Crisis was similar in size to herself, experience had taught her not all was as it seemed, especially when dealing with serpents of any kind.

There was a moment of silence before Elle cautiously returned Crisis' greeting.

"It's very nice to meet you, too."  Elle paused before continuing, sizing up her new encounter.  "Where am I?"

Crisis sensed Elle's nervousness, and since she seemed like a nice person, she wanted to be as friendly as possible.  Her gentle smile widened as she answered.  "This is Felarya, my home world.  Where did you come here from?"

Elle could see that Crisis was trying to be friendly, and that put her at ease a bit, but, again, experience kept her mind alert for anything suspicious.

"I don't know where I was before this, or the time before that.  But my home world is called Dorontu."

"Dorontu?"

"Yes.  It's a lush jungle planet, not unlike this giant forest here."

"Dorontu, huh?  I think I've heard of it before, but I can't remember where."

Elle's eyes shot wide.  It was impossible to hide her shock.

"You...you...know of Dorontu?!"

Crisis' eyes sparkled as she saw the perfect opportunity to get to know this new visitor better.

"Yes....  Yes, I heard of it once.  But I'm trying to think of where."

Elle's sense of caution was overridden by even the smallest possibility of finding her home again.  "Think!  Please think!  Try and remember where you heard it!"

"It was a while ago....  Give me a minute."

Elle's impatience was apparent, her heart racing with anticipation.

"Oh, I remember now!"

"Please, tell me everything!  I need to know!"

Crisis moved closer to Elle, sensing that it was okay now for her to do so.

"It was maybe a year ago.  I came across a small group of humans that weren't from this world.  There's nothing strange about that here; it happens all the time.  But I remember them talking about a jungle world called Dorontu and an underground city called Q'ni."

"Q'ni?!  Q'ni?!  I was near there when I disappeared!"

"Disappeared?  How exactly did you get here?"

"I...I don't know.  I've lost track of time at this point, but a long time ago, I was tracking a group of Q'ni not far from their city, and right before I was able to capture them, there was a blinding flash of light.  Next thing I knew, I was standing in a giant desert.  I've come to terms with it, but I'm always trying to find my way home."

"So, these Q'ni, are they your enemy?"

"No; why would you say that?"

"Well you said you wanted to capture them.  I assumed they were your enemy."

"Oh, no.  On Dorontu, there are no enemies.  Just predators and prey.  The law of the jungle is the only way of life there, and we all accept it.  The Q'ni aren't my enemy, they're just very tasty."

There was a long silence between Crisis and Elle.  Crisis' friendly smile widened further.

"What?" Elle asked.

"I think you and I are going to be very good friends!"

McQuarry and Grunbar were both quiet as they approached the inner sanctum of the large temple, where Doctor Lionel Phrinx had set up his base of operations.

Phrinx was the most well-known scientist in the entire empire.  His eccentricity had gained him notice, but his brilliance had made him Chief Science Adviser to the Emperor.  Even at the age of sixty-two, he was a surprisingly spry man, though stockily built.  In spite of his age, he enjoyed a certain level of celebrity, being so close to the Emperor.  It was often discussed which he was more famous for:  his scientific discoveries or his sexual exploits.

McQuarry could see Phrinx was staying true to form as he rounded the corner and entered the massive laboratory set up in the immense chamber; just in time to see the good doctor flirting relentlessly with his three female lab assistants.

"Ah-hem!  Doctor, Grunbar tells me you are ready to begin."

Phrinx, visibly annoyed by the admiral's interruption, reluctantly turned his focus from his assistants to the military officers.

"Yes, McQuarry, I am."

"Well, good.  So why don't you explain to me, now that it's all set up, just how exactly all...this is going to crush the rebellion," McQuarry grumbled.

"Oh, McQuarry, why do you concern yourself with such details that you couldn't possibly begin to understand?"

McQuarry lost his already tried patience.  "Because it's my assignment, you damned old coot!  You may not take your orders seriously, but I sure as hell do!  Admiral Trindle expects a full and detailed report from me, and I will deliver it because that is why I'm on this blasted fool's errand!"

"Oh, Admiral, I beg to differ.  On the contrary, I take my orders very seriously.  Why, I've been in this laboratory busting my balls day and night per the Emperor's orders.  I take great offense to your questioning of my dedication to this project."

The suddenly bright red faces of Phrinx's assistants solidified the admiral's suspicions.

Lecherous old bastard.

"Look here, Phrinx.  I'll never know why the Emperor believes in all this Ancient Pyronian voodoo, but he wants this ancient secret doomsday weapon angle followed through, and my superiors want a report.  So explain this damned thing to me so I can watch it fail and return to my real duty of commanding the Imperial Army!"

"Friends?  Why do you say that?" Elle inquired.

Crisis giggled.  "Because we have something in common!"

Her head still spinning from the implications of Crisis having heard of Dorontu and Q'ni, Elle was slow to pick up their connection.  "What?" she asked.

"We both love tasty humans, silly!"

Now this was really disorienting for Elle.  Not only had she rarely encountered anyone her own size in her travels, but never another one that shared her preferred diet.

"Humans?  You like to eat humans?  There are humans here?  And you eat them?"

Crisis nodded repeatedly, her excitement apparent.

"Do you know how wonderful this is?!  Do you know what this means?!"

"It means we're going hunting!  Yay!"

"Oh, very well, then!  I'll explain the basics to you," Phrinx said.  "It was my late archeologist friend, Doctor Vanessa Crichton, who uncovered the details of this legend thirteen months ago, on an expedition dig one hundred and fifteen miles southwest of here, before that temple was destroyed by rebellion forces.  She gave her life pursuing knowledge of the past, on a mission there from the Emperor himself, as it is well-known that he is a believer in ancient lore and—"

"Doctor, I don't have time for all of this exposition!  Yes, I know of the Emperor's fascination and belief in ancient legends.  I know that scrolls were found talking of a doomsday weapon that nearly wiped out all life on Rystar sixty-five million years ago.  I know that somehow you believe you can reconstruct or somehow find this weapon.  I know all this!  What I want to know is what the hell it is you're about to do right now!"

There was a moment of pause as Phrinx seemed to revel in upsetting the admiral.  Meanwhile, Grunbar kept quiet and off to the side, making it apparent that he had no desire to become involved in any of this.

"Very well, then, McQuarry.  Here's the essential rundown.  I believe that this weapon is somehow linked to the quantum level of our universe.  The Ancient Pyronians were far from primitive.  They utilized technology still far superior to our own, in spite of their quaint architecture.  Around this temple I have found the remains of what used to be a giant machine, disassembled for some unknown reason.  Studying what I've found thus far, everything points to the quantum level.

"So, my conclusion is either this weapon lies in a subspace plane, or on the other end of a quantum phenomenon.  Either way, I need to create a tear in the fabric of our visible universe, which I believe was the original purpose of the disassembled device.  So I have recreated a modern version here today, in the hopes of finally unearthing, if you will, the ancient weapon."

"Thank you, Doctor," McQuarry spat.  "Now let's get on with your experiment."

"Oh, I promise you, this won't be any mere experiment.  You are about to witness the greatest success in all of quantum science!"

Elle walked side by side with Crisis as she led the way through her home world.  Elle couldn't get over how much like Dorontu this dense forest was.  Vines hung down from the dense canopy.  Carpet moss covered thick trees whose gnarled roots drove into the rich soil.  Large flowered plants bloomed, their brightly covered petals warm and welcoming. And, perhaps most importantly, it held tasty humans somewhere!

"Crisis, I want to apologize for not being very friendly when we first met.  You've been very kind to me, and I want to thank you for that."

"Aw, you don't have to apologize, Elle.  This is a strange world.  I'm sure you were just nervous about being new here."

"Well, it's more than that.  I judged you for being a snake, and I shouldn't have done that."

"I'm not a snake, silly!" Crisis giggled.  "I'm a naga!"

Elle blushed at her mistake.  "Sorry.  A naga."  She paused for a moment.  "It's just that...."

"What is it, Elle?  You can tell me."

"Well, it's just that...my mother was eaten by a giant snake when I was still a young girl.  But she had always told me that we had to respect the law of the jungle.  It was eat or be eaten, and I should never judge those that try to eat me, just as we shouldn't be judged by those we eat.  That's how life works.  So many of my meals try to argue about that with me, but even as I had to hide in the bushes and watch that giant snake drag my mother away in its belly, I heard her words to me.  'Respect the law of the jungle, Elle.'"  There was a long silence as she saw the past flash in her mind.  "But that's why I judged you unfairly at first, because of that day."

"I'm sorry, Elle.  That's such a sad story.  You and your father must have been devastated."

"I never knew my father.  He was killed during a hunt shortly after I was born.  I grew up alone in the jungle for most of my life."

Crisis sympathized with Elle.  "I did, too.  For many years.  It was tough.  But you know what made it all worth it?"

"What?"

Crisis put her arm around Elle's shoulders and smiled.  "Friends!"  Then she grinned.  "Well, and tasty humans, too."

"All power sources online, Doctor Lenter?"

"Check."

"Data collection and processing pipelines active, Doctor Tristar?"

"Check."

"Central core and containment field at full strength, Doctor Von Klesser?"

"Check.  All systems are reporting normal."

"Excellent.  Admiral McQuarry, we are ready to begin.  Ready to unleash the power of the very fabric of the universe!"

The admiral was not impressed, his reply dry.  "Then proceed."

Elle's stomach started to grumble, the subject of food jump starting the empty digestive organ.

She blushed.  "I guess I'm hungry."

Crisis giggled before her own stomach let out a deep rumbling, which only made her giggle more.

"I guess I am too!"

"Well, what do you say we get ourselves something to eat?"

Crisis raised her arm in a cheer.  "Yay!"

"Engage the tachyon pulse generator!"

There was a loud winding sound that built up to a roar.  Suddenly a blue spark began to grow in the center of the room as three lasers poured energy into the central core.

McQuarry yelled over the loud noise of the machinery.  "What is that, Doctor?"

Phrinx yelled back.  "It's the visible result of quantum energies becoming more volatile."

"Should we even be near this thing?!"

"Not to worry, Admiral.  That containment field will separate us from the anomaly.  I assure you it's perfectly safe."

"So, where do you get food around here?  Is there a village nearby?"

Crisis giggled, as Elle was learning she was wont to do.  "There are some places underground...but it's more fun to hunt!"

"That's true."  Elle grinned, matching Crisis' playfulness.  "Although I would have no problem if food just decided to fall out of the sky, you know."

Victoria Von Klesser, an expert in quantum mechanics, could not explain what she was seeing.  It just made no sense.  She pushed her brown hair out of her eyes and double checked the readings.

"Doctor Phrinx, something's not right.  I'm getting strange readings from the quantum analyzer.  They're inconsistent with our calculations."

"What?!  What could possibly not be right?!  I've calculated every equation perfectly myself!"

McQuarry yelled at the Phrinx.  "Doctor, what is going on here?!  Is there a problem?!"

"No, no, I assure you everything is fine.  Something is probably just out of alignment in the sensors."

Anna Tristar fixed her thick black-rimmed glasses as she checked her console.  "No, the recorders are working fine; I just ran another diagnostic."

Phrinx stared blankly at the blonde programmer, clearly not wanting to believe he'd made a mistake.  He turned to his mechanic, the red-haired Claudia Lenter.

"Doctor Lenter, has the structure of the containment field been compromised?"

"No, it has not, Doctor."

"Then we proceed!"

Von Klesser stood up from her console.  "Doctor, we need to shut the system down, now!  If the energy build up continues at this rate, I can't predict what will happen!"

"No!  Stay there, Victoria!  This operation will continue as planned!"

McQuarry stepped up to Phrinx.  "Doctor, shut this down, now!  That's an order!"

Grunbar's eyes went wide and he spoke for the first time since he had entered the room.  "Sir?  What is that?"

McQuarry and Phrinx turned around to see that the blue spark had changed shape, and was now spinning like a small galaxy, tendrils reaching out from its center.  Now it was starting to change colors, from blue to black.

And then the alarms started going off.

Van Klesser turned back to look at her console.  The energy readings were off the charts, even for the vast amounts they knew they would be generating.  "We have to shut it off!  We have to shut it off, no—"

But her warning came too late.  The containment field started to expand, the energies within swelling it.  The generators whined as they pushed back against the strain.  Their fight would last only seconds as the field failed, filling the chamber with massive amounts of quantum energy.

Circuits started to fry, causing the consoles to explode into flames.  McQuarry didn't even have time to yell for everyone to get out when the swirling energy suddenly threw them all back, blinding them with a flash of brilliant light.

Crisis suddenly turned around, her senses alert.

Elle hadn't seen or heard anything, and was startled by her new friend's sudden movement.  "What?  What is it?"

Crisis didn't answer for a moment, her eyes piercing through the jungle with her intent stare.  "I don't know."  Another pause.  "But if we're lucky," she continued, a smile returning to her face, "it'll be something good to eat!"

As McQuarry regained consciousness, he slowly became aware of his surroundings.

The lab...in the temple....

The dim emergency lights were on, blinking intermittently.  He turned to his right, seeing Lieutenant Grunbar.  He was also coming to.  He was a strong soldier; he'd make it.  McQuarry propped himself up, looked around the smokey lab, trying to ascertain the situation.

The three women had been thrown from their consoles back into the smoldering data servers.  None of them moved.  McQuarry pushed himself to his feet, walking drunkenly through the debris, trying to hold on to his footing.  As he crossed the rubble, he could see one of them stirring.  The blonde, Tristar, with the glasses.  She opened her eyes and looked up at the admiral as he approached.

"Ad-Admiral?"

"It's okay, Doctor Tristar.  Just remain still until you start feeling better."

McQuarry knelt down between the other two women.  He brushed aside Lenter's red hair, placing his fingers on her neck to check her pulse.  It was faint, but steady.  Now that he looked closely, he could see her just barely breathing.  She'd make it, too.

He turned to the third woman, Von Klesser.  Her head was slumped over her chest.  He raised her chin to try and take her pulse, but when he saw her neck, he knew it was pointless.  A piece of one of the field generators had pierced her throat.  McQuarry had seen such deaths on the battle field, and knew how slowly a man could die like this.  He was thankful that she had most likely been knocked unconscious by the blast and spared an agonizing death.

McQuarry's thoughts were interrupted by a sound behind him.  He stood up, turning around as he did, and saw Doctor Phrinx shuffling across the floor, staring blankly at Von Klesser's body.

"Is she...is she...is she dead?"

McQuarry could barely contain his anger.  "Yes, she is, you goddamn idiot!  She told you that something was wrong, but you didn't listen!"

"I...I...I couldn't possibly have known that—"

"Known what?!  Know that this was going to happen?!  She warned you, but you didn't listen.  And now she's dead because of your incompetence!"

Grunbar spoke from behind the two men.  "Sir, that's not all that went wrong."

McQuarry turned around to see that Grunbar had shaken off the haze and gotten back on his feet.  He had taken his gun out of the holster on his munitions belt, and was staring through the dark corridor.

"What is it Grunbar?  What's wrong?"

"We're not in the temple anymore."

Every nerve in Elle's body wanted her to run towards this potential source of new food, but she forced herself to exercise the same caution as her companion.  In spite of her carefree and easy-going nature, Elle could tell by watching Crisis' movements that she was a cunning hunter, and knew what she was doing.  A hunter's instincts were at work under that innocent exterior.

Crisis's voice interrupted Elle's thoughts.  "Whatever it is, it's just over that hill."

Elle took a moment to think.  "How do you want to do this?"

"I'll go around that way," she said, pointing to their left.  She then turned, pointing to the right.  "And you go that way."

"A double-sided ambush!  Very nice!"

Crisis smiled, proud to have pleased her new friend.

"Let's go get us some food!"

McQuarry was confused.  He could see, plain as day, that they were still inside the laboratory.  "What do you mean, Lieutenant?  We're in the lab.  How could we not be inside the temple?"

"Sir, come look at this, and you'll see what I mean."

McQuarry carefully made his way through the rubble to Grubar's side.  He looked through the entrance to the chamber, expecting to see the same dark passageway he had come down.

Instead he saw jungle.

Thick...overgrown...jungle.

"What the hell?!  Where the hell are we?!"

Phrinx had now joined the other two men, staring wide-eyed into this strange new place.  "I...I don't know."

Grunbar tentatively walked out into the night, pointing his sidearm ahead.  The jungle was full of noises, now that the ringing in his ears was starting to subside.  He looked around, the lush landscape unfamiliar.  Prior to being assigned to Admiral McQuarry for this most recent assignment, his unit had always fought on ice worlds or deserts...never jungle.

As he turned around to look back at what remained of the temple, all he saw was a brick block with a doorway in it, as if a cube chunk had been taken out of the center of the ancient structure.

"What the hell happened here?"

Had Victoria Von Klesser been alive, she could have pieced together what had happened and explained everything.  She could have told them that there had been some sort of quantum-refracting material in the walls of the temple, which had been scanned but never before explained, when it was sucked into the subspace tear and transported to this dimensionally unstable part of the universe. She could have told them that the refraction had caused this section of the temple to be pulled through intact, while the rest of the temple was lying in shambles on Rystar or some other random point in the universe.

But she was not alive, and they would never know these things.

Elle could see that there was something large on the side of the hill, between her and Crisis.  A small building or something.  It was hard to tell through the foliage.  She slowly moved in closer, following Crisis' cautious lead.

Phrinx had followed Grunbar into the jungle, still processing the revelation that somehow they were no longer on Rystar.  McQuarry had left the lieutenant to secure a perimeter while he went back to attend to Tristar and Lenter.

Grunbar felt uneasy, years of military training and battlefield instincts warning him of something.  Phrinx walked in front of the lieutenant, his curiosity starting to get the better of him.  In spite of the resentment he was harboring for Phrinx, he still called out and warned him.

"Doctor, I would get back inside if I were you."

"Oh, pshaw!  What more could possibly go wro—"

There was a loud screeching as a large...thing crashed down into the ground mere inches from the doctor.  He jumped back, shock starting to pump adrenaline into his system.  He was staring at a large, black...pole?  His eyes followed it up and back towards the trees. It was no pole, but rather a limb.  Belonging to the most hideous face Phrinx had ever seen.

Eight eyes stared out of the darkness at him, looking down from an impossible height.  An open mouth full of large, sharp teeth screeched at him.  Every nerve in Phrinx's body fired off, synapses driving instinctive impulses to every limb.

Run!

Everything happened so fast that Grunbar hardly had time to react.  He jumped when he heard the screech and saw the creature's limb crash into the earth in front of the doctor, but unfamiliarity with this world had caused him to hesitate momentarily as he tried to wrap his mind around the impossibly large beast that had just presented itself.

Phrinx ran away from the creature, and it pursued him.  As its long, black carapaced form emerged, pushing through the leafy branches, Grunbar did what any soldier would do—attack.

The doctor was far enough ahead of the centipede-like beast that Grunbar opted to forgo using his small firearm and go instead for larger ammunition.  As he ran behind the creature, he holstered his sidearm and pulled one of the grenades from his belt.  Pulling the pin, he waited for the right timing.  Grunbar found his chance when Phrinx cut hard right, too fast for the monster to turn.  As its profile presented itself, Grunbar hurled the grenade, aiming for the head.

The creature began its charge more quickly than Grunbar had anticipated, but the grenade still found a good mark along the side of its body.  The explosion rocked the trees, engulfing them and the side of the creature in flames.  It let out an unholy screech as the fireball took a chuck out of its exoskeleton.

But it wasn't dead.

The beast now turned its attention to Grunbar, and began to charge at him.  He grabbed another grenade from his belt, pulling the pin and bringing his arm into throwing position in one smooth motion.  He prayed as he hurled the grenade that it would find its mark.  Otherwise death was sure to follow.

The creature shrieked at its tiny attacker, jaws spread wide, ready to strike.  The shrill sound stopped momentarily when it felt something miniscule hit the back of its throat, causing it to instinctively swallow.

Perfect!  Grunbar dove out of the way of the charging beast, only a second before another explosion tore through the night.  Green goo flew everywhere as the creature's body exploded from within, searing Grunbar's back with intense heat.

Elle and Crisis had found nothing in the rubble that they had discovered on the side of the hill.  A pile of stone blocks.  Very disappointing.

Crisis scratched her head as she examined the scene before her.  Large blocks, obviously from a recently demolished building, with no humans in sight.  This was a puzzle, but one which had to have an answer.

"Well, Crisis, it doesn't look like there's anything here."

But the naga had more faith.

"Oh, don't worry!  I'm sure something will turn up!"

Suddenly there was loud bang that tore through the otherwise steady sounds of the native wildlife.

Crisis and Elle both turned their attention to where the sound came from.  Neither said a word as they stared into the distance.

Then, another loud bang.

Elle smiled as she turned to Crisis.  "I think we need to go check that out."

In agreement, Crisis returned the smile.

Grunbar groaned as he rolled onto his back, staring up into the jungle canopy.  He was still alive, although he could feel that the back of his uniform was singed.  Thankfully he didn't think that he was really burned at all.  He got back to his feet, looking at the carcass of the beast he had killed.  Green goo was everywhere, but Phrinx was nowhere to be found.

However, at this point, the lieutenant was fed up with the doctor, and didn't care how important he was to the Emperor; the bastard could rot and die out here for all he cared.  He was a fool, and any horrific fate he found would be just fine.

Phrinx ran and ran and ran, the stamina in his legs surprising even himself.  He didn't know how long he ran for before he realized that he had nowhere to run to.  Only then did he turn around, trying to figure out how to get back to the protection of the military men.

Grunbar stepped back into the temple remnants.  "Phrinx is gone, sir."

McQuarry turned around, the flash of anger apparent in his face.  "What?!  Where the hell did he go?"

"Some creature attacked us a little ways from here, and he ran off screaming.  I killed it, but, sir, I have to tell you, it was enormous.  This place is not safe.  I can't secure a perimeter against something like that.  Not with what we have here."

There was voice that came from behind the admiral.  "We might be able to get some of this equipment running."

Grunbar looked past McQuarry and saw that Tristar was rooting through some of the rubble.

This was news to McQuarry.  "Are you serious?  Everything here is charred black!  How could you possibly hope to fix it?"

"I didn't say that we could fix it.  But we might be able to cobble something together that can cause a similar phenomenon, hopefully reversing the process.  I'm no quantum physicist, but I see no point in giving up hope."

McQuarry paused, considering her words.

"Very well, Doctor.  Do what you can.  I'm sorry to be so blunt, but while you are doing that, Lieutenant Grunbar and I are going to have to bury Doctor Von Klesser's body.  If there are creatures out there, we don't want them to follow the smell of her blood back here."

"I...I understand, Admiral.  I'll do what I can here while you are gone."

Without even needing a verbal order, Grunbar moved towards the body of the dead scientist, grabbing her feet while waiting for the admiral to take her shoulders.  It felt so...wrong for such a beautiful and intelligent woman to have died such a death, but, like McQuarry, he had seen more than his share of death.  It was never fair.  Death, or life, rarely was.  He had seen good men die at the hands of cruel men who never met their justice.  It was sickening, and right now it made him hate Phrinx even more....

Elle felt her stomach walls grinding against each other, trying her concentration and patience.  She was thankful, though, that it didn't growl.  She had had more than one hunt spoiled by a noisy stomach warning her prey.

Once again, Crisis seemed to know exactly where she was leading them.  Elle didn't know if she had super-hearing or something else, but whatever sense it was, it was incredible.

Grunbar was at least thankful that the soil was loosely packed, making the task of digging the shallow grave easier.  The nearby stench of the giant insect carcass was sickening to him, but he knew it would help mask the scent of blood from other predators.

The admiral helped him lower Von Klesser's body into the three-foot deep hole.  Grunbar took a moment's pause of reflection before pushing the loose earth back into the grave.

Phrinx could find nothing familiar around him.  Or, rather, he could find nothing that wasn't uniquely familiar.  All he could see were trees, trees, and more trees.  Trees as far as the eye could see.  He needed to find his way back to the others.  Perhaps he could find some way to salvage the equipment and return home.

Grunbar pushed the last handfuls of soil over Von Klesser's final resting place.  He got up off his knees, another wave of sentiment coming over him.  He had grown used to burying comrades, fellow soldiers, men who knew the consequences of war.  But this woman...she was no soldier.  She did not deserve this, and he couldn't get over that fact.  He hoped that Tristar could get the equipment running again and they could leave Phrinx here to die.  That bastard deserved no easy end.

"Lieutenant," McQuarry called out, interrupting Grunbar's thoughts.  "We need to get back and see if there's any way we can help out Tristar."

Grunbar paused for a moment longer, looking down at the small bulge in the earth, before he answered.

"Yes, sir."  With a heavy heart, the lieutenant turned and walked toward the admiral.

"Grunbar, I know how you feel.  But we can deal with that sonuvabitch Phrinx later.  We still have two civilians alive that are counting on us, and it is our duty to protect them."

Grunbar nodded.  "Yes, sir.  I understand."

Neither man spoke another word until they got back to the lab.

Suddenly Crisis stopped moving, put her head low to the ground, looking through the lower branches of the forest.  She cocked her head to look back up at Elle, and she smiled.  Elle didn't even have to ask what that grin meant.

Phrinx felt like he had been walking in circles forever.  And he kept having the strange feeling that he was being watched.  This place was really giving him the creeps....

Grunbar and McQuarry entered the lab to find Tristar rewiring some complex-looking component.  She had removed her white lab coat, revealing the green tank top she had been wearing underneath.

The admiral was the first to speak.  "How's it coming, Doctor Tristar?"

The blonde programmer turned around in a snap.  "Lieutenant!  Admiral!  I think I've got something here!"

"Really?" Grunbar asked, amazed that anything could have been salvaged from the wreckage.

"Yes!  I may not have a degree in quantum mechanics or anything, but I've paid enough attention to this project and Victoria's teachings to have picked up a few things.  You see, since we landed here through some sort of quantum tear, the bonds holding space-time together here should be weaker.  Theoretically, all we'd have to do is reopen that tear through any means and we should be able to get back to Rystar."

McQuarry was impressed.  "And you can do all that with this equipment?"

"I'm pretty sure I can!  I've already gotten some of the modifications done.  I just need a little bit more time to get everything set up."

Grunbar smiled for the first time since the incident.  "Sounds good, Doctor.  Just let us know if we can help in any way."

"Will do!"

As Tristar got back to work, McQuarry made his way over to Claudia Lenter's side.  Checking her pulse, he could feel that it was stronger, but the woman still showed no signs of consciousness.  He really hoped they could get her out of here before she ever knew what a disaster had occurred.

Phrinx finally saw something vaguely familiar.  A red-berried bush growing around a section of trees that seemed to trigger a memory.  Wasn't this near where we first came out of the lab? he thought to himself.

He walked around the thick bush, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw the side of the brick cube that held the lab.  But then movement caught his eye.  And he froze in horror.

Grunbar was sifting through a pile of charred components, trying to find some wiring for Tristar.  She seemed to be confident that this plan could work.  He hoped so.

"You know, you can kill the bastard on sight if he comes back."

The statement caught Grunbar off-guard as he turned to face Tristar.

"Huh?"

"You can kill that bastard Phrinx if he ever comes back here."

Grunbar wasn't sure what to do with this reflection of his own thoughts.

"But, um, weren't you...uh...you know?"

"Lovers?" Tristar asked, not at all embarrassed.

"Well...yeah."

"Never.  None of us would have ever touched that creep.  But he was assigned important work, and we wanted to be a part of it.  So we played along, pretending to enjoy his pathetic advances.  If you ask me, the man's reputation as a sex hound is all his own projection.  I don't know of anyone that would actually sleep with him.  Sure, he's done some brilliant work in the past.  But he's a bastard, and I hope he pays for what he did to Victoria."

Tristar wiped tears from her eyes, rubbing her fingers behind her glasses.  Grunbar wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her.

"I promise that justice will find him, Anna.  I promise."

As Tristar hugged the lieutenant back, he looked over his shoulder at the admiral.  He could see that McQuarry was tired.  The admiral cared a great deal about his duty to protect the citizens of the Empire.  He could tell that he wanted nothing more than to get these two scientists back home, safe and sound.  He could see...oh, god!

"Admiral!  Behind you!"

McQuarry turned around to see a giant hand coming right toward him.  He dodged to his left, barely escaping the fingers that reached for him.  But in doing so he tripped on  a piece of rubble, falling onto his back.  The hand swung back around, making another pass.  He once again tried to move away, but the leg of his uniform was stuck on a piece of metal, and he couldn't move fast enough.  Giant fingers pinched around his leg and began to drag him through the doorway.

Grunbar leapt into action, grabbing a long piece of metal as he ran toward the admiral.  He swung as hard as he could and smacked it against the giant thumb.

That seemed to work.  The hand let go of McQuarry, and retreated.  The admiral managed to get to his feet and scrambled back to the far side of the lab.  Grunbar ran behind him when the hand came back, pinching the back of his uniform firmly.  He was yanked back hard, and disappeared out the doorway.

Phrinx watched in petrified horror as the giant snake woman lifted Lieutenant Grunbar out of the doorway.  He couldn't believe what he was seeing.  She must have been nearly a hundred feet tall.  She was joined by another giant woman who looked otherwise normal, wearing what looked like a leopard skin bikini.  He was mesmerized by their beauty, even as his heart pounded at the horror he was witnessing.

Grunbar felt the world spinning as he was lifted up into the air.  He fumbled for his gun, but dropped it as he spun around dizzily.  He couldn't clearly see his attacker through the blur, until he came to a stop, staring into the smiling face of a giant blonde...woman.  Or so he thought, until he looked down past her massive, naked breasts and saw her snake body coiled below.  His mind tried to wrap itself around his situation, evaluating options.

There was a loud, booming voice that came from his right.

"Oooooh!  It is a human!"

Grunbar turned to see another giant woman, though this one was clothed and actually had legs.  He could see she was as delighted in his capture as the blonde, her eyes dazzling as she stared at him.

He was jerked around again as the blonde thrust him toward the brunette's face.  "Elle, you want 'im?"

It was then that Grunbar began to completely grasp his situation—as Elle quickly licked her lips.

"No, that's okay, Crisis  You found him first; he's yours.  I'll get the next one."

"Fine by me!"

Grunbar didn't need to see the snake woman's face to know she was licking her lips in anticipation of him being her next meal.  He thought quick and saw only one plausible course of action.  As he was twisted back around to face Crisis' now gaping mouth, his arms put into motion his plan even as his eyes never took themselves away from her glistening maw.  He grabbed the one remaining grenade he had left on his belt, pulled the pin, and chucked it into the darkness at the back of her mouth.

As Grunbar had hoped, she instinctively gulped down the grenade, sending the incendiary explosive deep into her body.  He allowed himself a smirk, anticipating the explosion that would rip the snake woman in half.

Crisis stared curiously at the little man, puzzled by what she had swallowed.

There was a loud bang, and Crisis' belly swelled slightly for a moment as the grenade exploded harmlessly in her stomach.  Crisis blinked at the curious sensation inside her, and then grinned at the little lieutenant.

It was her change in expression more than anything that sent chills down his spine.  He couldn't believe it.  That explosion should have blown her gut to pieces!  A great sense of dread came over Grunbar as he realized that there was no way for him to destroy this creature.

The grin momentarily disappeared from Crisis's lips as she opened her mouth and let escape an uproarious belch.

Buuuuuuurp!

The combined stench of smoke and stomach acid blew past Grunbar, the force of the air pushing back on his face.

Crisis laughed.  "That tickled!"

McQuarry cautiously made his way across the lab, dangerously close to the entrance.  He had to move Doctor Lenter out of the open.  He put his arms under hers and hoisted her over his shoulder, carrying her behind the data servers.  He hoped that she would be safe there, between the large computer bank and sharp angle from the doorway.  He set her down in the corner, propping her up against the wall.

"Doctor Tristar!" McQuarry harshly whispered to the petrified scientist on the other side of the room.  "Doctor Tristar, you need to come over here!  It's safer!"

Tristar shook her head, breaking through the haze long enough to move over to where the admiral was crouching.

"Wha-what about the lieutenant?"

"He's a good soldier, and I'm going to help him.  But I need you to stay here and make sure she stays safe, and to keep working on reopening the portal.  Can you do that?"

Tristar simply nodded in response.  McQuarry, unarmed, but determined to save the brave lieutenant, ran toward the doorway.  Looking to his right, his mouth went agape when he saw what was outside.

He was staring at the body of a giant snake...at least until he looked up.  He saw that the yellow belly scales gave way to a woman's torso, not unlike a mermaid's would.  Following her body up he couldn't see her face past her massive breasts, which bounced as she...giggled.

She was holding the lieutenant in her right hand, the same hand that had reached for him.  He had to find a way to get him down.

Before he could even formulate a real plan, he saw Grunbar being lifted higher as the woman's breasts pushed further out, exaggerating her already enormous bust.  Even from this extreme angle he recognized the motion—someone holding food over their mouth.  That was when he heard Grunbar yelling down to him.

"Admiral!  Get back inside!  There are two of them!"

Even with such a horrific fate before him, Lieutenant Ashton Grunbar was more concerned with the admiral's safety than his own.  There was no braver soldier.

Grunbar saw that the admiral dove back inside just in time, as Elle knelt over the temple block, licking her lips, to grab McQuarry, her swipe just too late.

At least they are safe for now.

He turned his attention back to the giant snake woman who was about to consume him.  He didn't have any more weapons, so diplomacy was the only option left to him.  It was a long shot, but he had to try.

"Wait!  Wait!  Hold on!"

Crisis shook her head as she snapped out of her delight, bringing her right hand down to her eye level, staring at the tiny man dangling from her fingers.

"There has to be another solution here."

Crisis smiled at his naive suggestion.  "And what might that be?"

His nervousness showed through his bravery, and he was unsure of how to answer.  "I...I don't know, but I'm sure we can work something out.  We have access to vast resources.  Whatever your price, we could pay it!"

She pondered this, her left hand at her chin.  She'd entertain this discussion, at least for a bit.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Grunbar scrambled to secure a deal.

"See, just promise me that you won't eat the others, and they can bring you whatever riches you ask for.  And...I can stay here to ensure that they come back."

Crisis thought about that for a moment, before answering with a huge grin.

"Okay, deal!"

Grunbar's shoulders relaxed, and he sighed.  "Thank you," he let escape, his heightened anxiety slightly lowered.

But Crisis' only response was with an even bigger grin.  "And in the meantime, you can wait in my tummy!  It's really comfy, I promise!"

The lieutenant's body instantly went rigid, panic pumping adrenaline back into his veins.  "What?!  Nooo!"

As Crisis raised him up once again, he frantically tried to find escape.  But possibilities disappeared as he saw her open her mouth wide, exposing her pearly white teeth.  Her tongue extended forward, opening the back of her throat, revealing the dark passage into her body.  He saw strings of saliva dripping from the uvula, thinning out and snapping, as if making way for him.  Slowly, almost torturously, he was brought over this gaping pit of digestive doom.

And then she let go.

Grunbar felt his stomach hit his throat as he tumbled through the air, his hands and legs waving in some futile attempt to fly away from the inevitable.  The deep red darkness flew up towards him, filled his vision before completely engulfing him.

His head landed directly in her throat, the uvula brushing the back of his neck.  He felt her enormous jaws close around him, her wet tongue pressing him against the roof of her mouth.  He tried to struggle, but there was no room for him to do so; she had him pinned.

Crisis savored her tasty morsel for a moment, before a rumbling from her empty stomach demanded that she swallow.

Grunbar heard the deep bellow from the darkness into which he was staring.  He felt the muscles all around him tighten at first, and then loosen as Crisis' tongue began to push him back, sliding him across the roof of her mouth.  Her throat opened up, and he was pushed inside, feeling the walls grip him as he was completely drawn in.

When Elle heard Crisis' stomach growl, she took her attention away from the temple block doorway to look up at the naga as she swallowed the human in one large gulp.  Crisis had her left hand on her throat as she felt the bulge travel through her neck, moaning with pleasure as her meal was pushed deeper inside her, soon to land in her eagerly waiting stomach.

Her right hand over her belly, she felt Grunbar land with a splash in the pit of her stomach, rubbing her tummy as she licked her lips and enjoyed the soothing sensations within.

As the lieutenant kicked and punched her from within, it only increased her pleasure, and moved around some of the excess gas sitting in her stomach.

Buuuuuuurp!

Crisis giggled as she covered her mouth.

Elle grinned looking at her rosy cheeks.  "Tasty?"

"Oh, very!  Now let's get you some!"

"I thought you promised him you wouldn't eat any of the others."

Patting her belly with a glint in her eye, Crisis answered.  "I won't."

Phrinx had seen more than he could handle.  There was no way he was going to get back into the building, and he sure as hell couldn't risk staying here.  He turned and ran, never once thinking to help his fellow scientists.

As McQuarry jumped through the doorway, he could feel the swish of air behind him from the other giant's hand just missing him.  He crawled on hands and knees away from the entrance, making his way back behind the data servers.

"Doctor Tristar!  How close are you to completing the portal?"

"I'm...I'm almost there."  Then a moment of realization as she saw Grunbar was not with McQuarry.  "Where is the lieutenant?"

The admiral paused before giving the doctor the grim news.  "He sacrificed his life for us.  He bought us enough time for you to get this machine up and running."

There was a moment of silence between the two, as each remembered Grunbar in their own way.  But time was of the essence, and Tristar somberly went back to working on rebuilding the equipment, a tear dripping down her face.

Elle got down on all fours, putting her head close to the ground so that she could try and see inside the doorway to the little building.

She could see all the way to the far end of the room, the floor littered with piles of debris.  There was some kind of chamber in the middle, with large square machines on the far side.  She couldn't see the wall nearest to her as her view was blocked by racks of little tiny machines.  But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw some movement.  Just beyond the racks of tiny machines—a hand, reaching for something.

She couldn't reach back that far.  She'd have to find another way.

"Admiral, I think I've got it."

McQuarry scrambled over from his position next to Doctor Lenter.

"Really?  How can you be sure?"

"Well, theoretically, I've pieced together different components that should do what we need.  I'm going to turn on the system to see if it's all wired properly."

Tristar moved to one of the charred consoles, which she had repaired enough to get the job done.  Switching on the makeshift system, she saw lights blink to life as the meters gave readouts.  When she read the power readout, she sighed deeply.

"What?  What's wrong, Doctor?" McQuarry asked.

"There's only enough power to send one person through."

Tristar and McQuarry looked at each other for several moments, before both turned their heads back to the unconscious Claudia Lenter.

When they turned to look back at each other, neither needed to say a word.  They had both made up their minds, for the same reason.

Elle got back up on her feet and turned to Crisis.

"They're in a corner that I can't reach.  But do you think you can help me lift up this building and shake them out?"

"Sure!"

McQuarry carried Lenter's limp form into the center chamber area, gently laying her down.  Tristar adjusted the lasers to point lower, so that the portal would capture her.  She began the start up sequence as soon as McQuarry was clear.

The whine of the generators came to life, power flowing into the lasers.

"God, I hope I've calculated everything correctly."

McQuarry put his hand on Tristar's shoulder.  "You're giving her a chance.  She knows nothing of the horrors that have happened here today, nor does she ever need to know.  You're giving her a shot at continuing a normal life.  And that's worth the risk."

Tristar nodded, and then throttled the level for laser power.  The beams shot into the central chamber.  A small spark began to form, its blue glow lighting up the walls exactly as before.  Then, suddenly, there was a flash, blinding McQuarry and Tristar, forcing them to shield their eyes.  When the light faded, they lowered their hands, looking at the center chamber, which was now empty.

The admiral sighed with relief.  Finally, something seems to have gone right.

Then the room started to shake.

At first it was just a tremble, but then the floor began to tilt.

It took a moment, but McQuarry registered what was happening.

"Grab on to something!  We're being lifted!"

Elle held on to the front of the building firmly as Crisis lifted it from the back.  As the temple block tilted forward, debris slid on the floor inside and fell through the doorway.  It was bulky, but it wouldn't be too heavy to lift.  Together they slowly moved it upward, debris continuing to spill out of the entrance.

McQuarry held firmly onto the charred remains of one of the containment field generators while Tristar gripped tightly onto one of the consoles.  The angle of the floor changed slowly at first, but then quickly became damned near close to ninety degrees.  The floor cleared itself of debris as it finished pouring out onto the jungle floor.  He looked back over his shoulder, expecting to see the ground through the doorway.

Instead he saw only a wide, gaping mouth.

Tristar turned around to see what the admiral was looking at, and screamed when she saw the giant mouth.

"Oh my god!  What is that?!"

"It's some kind of giant.  I've never seen anything so big."

"It...it...it wants to eat us?!"

"I'm afraid so."

When Elle's open mouth wasn't rewarded with a tasty human, she started to shake the building.  Crisis helped her in this endeavor.

Now the room began to shake violently.  McQuarry held on tightly to the field generator, but it started to buckle under the strain.  Before he could grab something else, he slid down the steep incline of the floor, right toward the waiting maw.  He tried desperately to find a hold on the bricks, but the angle was too steep.  He slid onto Elle's tongue with a wet plop.

Tristar screamed.

It was the last thing McQuarry heard before his legs slammed into the back of Elle's throat, automatically initiating her swallowing reflex.

McQuarry felt himself being coated with saliva as Elle's mouth closed shut and her head jerked back, stretching out her neck, opening her throat wide to accept the admiral's body.  But he was not about to go down without a fight.  McQuarry's strong hands gripped tight onto the only thing they could find—the very top of Elle's uvula.

Elle gagged, and she dropped her end of the building.  In shock, so did Crisis.  The naga yelped as the building crashed down on the end of her tail.

Tristar felt herself free-fall as the building fell to the ground.  She banged her head and scraped her bare arms as she made hard contact with the floor.  One of her glasses' lenses cracked, but it didn't break.  She hurt, but she would be okay.

As soon as the initial daze faded, instinct kicked in, telling her to flee; this might be her only chance.  She got to her feet and rushed out of the doorway, only to freeze in her tracks moments later.

The thing most certainly was a giant—a giant woman in a leopard skin bikini.  The sight was so bizarre that it took Tristar by surprise.  She looked high up, to the giantess' face.  She was coughing, as if gagging.  Then she realized what was happening.

Before she even knew she was doing, she yelled up to the lumbering giant, tears of anger and frustration streaming down her cheeks.

"Spit him out, right now!"

Elle heard the tiny voice yelling at her, but ignored it for the moment.  She was more concerned with getting the food currently lodged in her throat into her empty stomach.  She closed her mouth and swallowed several times rapidly, as hard as she could.

McQuarry fought hard against the wave of muscle that tried to pull him down.  He tugged on the fleshy uvula, trying to pull himself up.  The giantess coughed, and when she opened her mouth he had the bizarre view of the world through a portal of teeth and tongue, decorated generously with strings of saliva.  He fought hard to exit through that portal.  And then it closed.

The throat muscles gripped even tighter than before and McQuarry felt air being gulped down all around him.  He started to lose his grip on the uvula, slowly sliding down, until he simply couldn't hold on any longer.  He felt wet muscle engulf him, and finally drag him down into the depths of Elle's body.

Tristar watched in horror as the giantess continued to swallow hard until the large bulge in her throat finally slid down and disappeared.

She lost it.  Escape no longer crossed her mind.  She was angry.  Rage filled her face as she started to scream.

"Why did you do that?!  What did we do to you?!"

Elle simply looked down at the tiny blonde woman who was yelling up at her.  She was smiling, because she had just felt her latest meal plop into her eager stomach.  She smiled even wider as the soothing struggles began within.

Crisis, having rubbed the ache out of the end of her tail, moved around the building to get a better look at the screaming human.

Tristar turned and saw the giant naga come around the temple block, but even the sight of a giant snake woman didn't phase her.  Her arms flung in the air as she continued to vent her rage.  "You eat the two decent men out of this whole group, and let escape the one fucking bastard that actually deserves to die!  Why?!  Why?!"

Elle had no idea what she was going on about.  If there had been another human somewhere, she surely would have eaten it without any qualms.

Crisis looked back and forth between the two before finally turning to Elle while pointing to the human and curiously asking, "Are you going to eat that?"

Elle, completely ignoring the human, answered Crisis.  "You know, I'm actually a bit tired from all our walking, and the one should be enough to hold me over for now.  You want her?"

The naga shook her head gently.  "Nah, that's okay.  After all, I did make a promise."

"Suit yourself, then.  In that case, I think I'll save her for a morning snack."

Crisis stretched and yawned, feeling a little tired herself.  "That's fine by me!  And some sleep sounds like a good idea.  I'll go lie down and let my tummy digest," she said, patting her stomach.  "I'll see you in the morning!"

"Have a good night, Crisis."

"You too, Elle!"

And with that, the naga went and found herself a nice, soft spot of grass nearby and curled up to sleep.

Elle turned her attention back to the screaming, crying human in front of her.  She knew there was no reasoning with food that simply didn't understand, and she was already starting to get sleepy from her meal beginning to digest.

She reach down and grabbed the tiny human, who surprisingly didn't put up much of a struggle.  Sure, she wriggled in her fit of anger, but this was not the struggle of someone trying to escape.

Elle walked over to near where Crisis was sleeping and lay down herself.  Crisis was already fast asleep, her stomach gurgling loudly as it worked to churn and digest its meal.  Elle plopped Tristar on her stomach, the impact and the struggles within forcing the excess gas from her multiple swallows up through her esophagus.

Her thunderous belch echoed through the jungle, scaring away several birds that had come back since the commotion had died down earlier.

Buuuuuuurp!

"You're evil!" Tristar yelled, continuing her tirade.  "You're a wicked person who doesn't care about anyone, just like that bastard Phrinx, and I hope you go to hell!"

Elle brushed off the angry denunciations.  She had heard it all before.

"All the time food tries to tell me that I'm evil.  I'm just hungry.  Well...I was, anyway.  Now I'm nice and full."  Elle giggled at the delight she felt with her meal still struggling inside.

Tristar lost her balance trying to stand on Elle's stomach, and fell forward onto her hands and knees.  It was then that she felt the admiral struggling, still alive.  It was too much for her.  Her voice became unrecognizable, tears flowing down her face, as she punched Elle's stomach repeatedly.  After a few moments the only response she got was a loud gurgle from beneath her as the stomach began to kick into high gear.

Elle was really sleepy and finally lay her head down.  She put her left hand on her stomach, over the tiny human, pressing her gently against her belly so that she wouldn't escape.

Tristar continued to struggle against the inevitable as she lay there, unable to escape the horror of listening to Admiral McQuarry being digested just inches away from her.

Elle drifted off to sleep, lulled by the feeling of her full stomach and the sounds of digestion that filled the air.

Phrinx didn't know how he was going to escape this world, but he had to find a way out.  Every minute he remained was another minute he took the chance of being eaten alive.

But he was following the path he had found, for surely it must lead to a city.  And after twenty minutes of walking along the path, he finally saw something.  It looked like a fabricated structure.  It was a glimmer of hope.

As he ran toward it, he saw that it was some kind of portal.  A large, square structure with a round hole carved out of it, and a platform leading up to the portal itself.  He knew it was a portal, or rather, deduced it was one, because of the cool blue light that the swirling, rippling surface gave off.  It was similar to the portal his device had opened, except that this one appeared to be stable.

A way out of here! he thought.  Surely, whoever built this thing must be on the other side of it!  Surely, they must have the technology and know-how to get me back home!

And so it was with great hope that Phrinx stepped through the portal, thinking of his large home on Rystar.

Claudia Lenter groaned as she became aware of her own consciousness.  She opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurry.  Her ears were registering sound, but she couldn't make out what it was.  Memories came slowly.  The experiment.  The explosion.  Then...black.  It was all her mind could offer.

It took a while, but her eyes finally came into focus.  She saw stars.  Brilliant, bright, shining stars.  She started to make sense of what she was hearing.  Desert wind, whipping through her hair.  And an engine, winding down.  That's when she heard the voices.  Distant at first, but approaching.

"D---er -en-er!  -oct-- Le-ter!  Doctor Lenter!"

Hearing her name, she tried to sit up, her hands sinking into the cool sand.  Her arms ached.  She didn't know why.  Someone was near.  People were near.  She pushed herself up.

There were military men all around her.  Two of them came up behind her, put their arms under hers and helped her to her feet.  She was dizzy, but found her balance.

Then she realized that there was someone else approaching the group.  Several of them parted, making way for the mysterious, caped figure.

But she recognized the voice.  It was smooth, deep, and full of authority.

"Doctor Lenter, are you all right?"

"Em-Emperor Maekus?"  It was hard for her to hide the surprise in her voice.

"Yes, Doctor Lenter."

"Wha-what happened?"

"There was a rebel attack on the temple.  I'm afraid that you were the sole survivor."

"Tha-that can't be."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but that seems to be the case.  We don't know how they infiltrated the expedition, but everything has been destroyed."

"I...I...can't believe it...."

"It is a tragic loss, to be sure, Doctor.  But you are still alive, and I need you to come back with me.  What you have witnessed may hold the key to bringing justice to your friends' senseless murders.  I assure you, vengeance will be served."

Maekus looked at the two soldiers holding Lenter upright.  "Bring her onto the ship.  We will take her to the Main Medical Center before returning to the Imperial Palace."

Both soldiers snapped to attention simultaneously.  "Yes, Emperor, sir!"

Emperor Maekus turned and marched back to the ship resting on the desert sand.  His personal officers followed, carrying Doctor Lenter with them.  Once all were on board, the ship took off, leaving behind the empty space once occupied by a mighty temple.

Tristar woke up with a startle, not realizing that she had fallen asleep.  But her struggles had eventually worn her out.  It took her a few moments to remember where she was, why she felt so warm.  The horror all flashed back to her at once.

The giantess.  The snake woman.  Grunbar and McQuarry, both eaten.

She felt nauseous.  Sweat soaked her tank top, the heat unbearable from Elle's hand and the stomach digesting below.  Her rage had cooled off with some sleep.  Now she only wanted out.  She needed to get away.  She needed to go find Phrinx and kill him herself.

Elle shifted in her sleep, but she didn't move her hand.  Tristar knew that she would stand no chance of escape once the giant woman woke up.  Now was her only chance.  She began formulating options in her head, but her thoughts were interrupted by loud noises of digestion below.

High-pitched gurgles emitted from the organ within, reverberating through Tristar's body.  She again felt sick, this time from recognition.  She had heard her own stomach making these same noises almost every day, just a few hours after eating her morning cereal.  She recognized it as the sounds of digested food leaving the stomach.  Oh, how she wished she could ignore it!  But the scale of inevitability overwhelmed her, made her own stomach seize up.  She had to get away before she shared the poor admiral's fate!

Tristar wiggled herself back and forth, trying to work her way between the hand and stomach that pinned her.  Her sweat lubricated her clothes against the giantess' skin, making this attempt less futile than her previous ones.  It took her a few minutes, but she finally got both her arms free from underneath the giant hand.  There was hope for her yet.

The noises from within Elle's belly grew louder as her stomach continued to empty out its previous occupant.  The increase in activity pushed Tristar harder, her struggles increasing.

She finally worked her upper body free, but her pants were stuck on something.  Then the gurgles subsided, giving way to something even scarier—the hollow rumblings of an empty, hungry stomach.

Elle dreamt whenever she slept so heavily.  She would dream of home, of her mother.  Of the hunts when she was young, and the meals she had enjoyed.  But tonight, while she had dreamt of all those things, the dream had suddenly changed.

She was hungry.  She didn't know why.  She wanted food.  Where was there food?

Tristar couldn't get her pants free for some reason.  She decided that this was not the time for modesty and reached down to unbutton the waistband.  She used her feet to push off her shoes and then shimmied out of the black pants.  She almost had them free when the giant hand moved a bit.  Was she awake?! she thought, panic coming over her.  She couldn't see Elle's face, but her breathing hadn't changed; she was still fast asleep.

Phew!

She pulled one foot free, and then the other.  She took off her socks, the material too slick with sweat to allow her to stand on the smooth skin of Elle's belly.  Tristar took a moment to catch her breath, the night air cool against her sweaty body.  A gentle breeze blew through her short, feathered hair.  She never imagined she would find herself wearing nothing but glasses, a tank top, and pink panties in the middle of the jungle, let alone doing so while standing on the bare stomach of a giant woman wearing a bikini.

Satisfied that her impromptu escape attempt had not disturbed her captor, she slowly worked her way to the side of the enormous stomach.

I'm getting the hell outta here!

Elle wandered around frantically in her dream.  She couldn't find food, but her belly ached for it.  She wanted something to eat so badly.  She searched high and low, but found nothing, until out of nowhere there appeared the image of a sweet, tasty human.  She reached eagerly to snatch it.

Tristar was about to make her way down from the giantess' stomach when suddenly the hand that had pinned her made a quick snatching motion, grasping her tight.

Tristar yelped, struggling against her sudden return to captivity, afraid that the giant woman had woken up.  But she retained a stupefying smile across her lips; she was still dead asleep.

Tristar breathed a slight sigh of relief, as this meant she still had time to attempt another escape.

The giantess' arm was slowly moving downward.  Tristar got herself ready, should the hand relax, allowing her to jump back down to the belly and make another break for it.

But then she realized that the hand was moving toward her mouth.

Her open mouth.

Panic ran through Tristar's nerves, through every limb.  She's sleep-eating!

Tristar had no further need to be subtle with her movements.  She struggled and wiggled and tried desperately to push back against the large fingers holding her captive.

The open mouth drew nearer, but Tristar's struggles were unable to break her free.  She watched in horror as she was brought closer and closer to the glistening maw, unable to take her eyes away from the darkness of the giant throat.

Soon Elle's hand held her directly above it.  Tristar felt the moist tongue against her bare feet as she kicked her legs back and forth.  Then, suddenly, the hand eased its grip, and she fell right into the giantess' mouth.

Tristar panicked as she plummeted inside, grasping through the air for anything to hold on to.  She managed to catch one of Elle's front teeth.  She held on for dear life, anticipating an immediate swallow.  But none came.

Elle was still sound asleep.

She reached up with her other hand, solidifying her grip on the giantess' teeth, trying to pull herself up and out of the mouth.  But she needed footing.  She tried to use the surface of the tongue, but it did her no good.  It was too slick for her feet to find any friction.

Tristar looked back over her shoulder, almost wishing she hadn't.  The undulating uvula stood guard at the throat, looking like a guard beckoning her into the organic darkness.  She refused to allow herself to become a mere morsel passing through.  She pushed herself off from the tongue, trying to find footing in the ribbing on the roof of Elle's mouth.  It took a few tries, but she finally got a tentative hold.

She pushed up, putting her forearms over the front of the enormous teeth.  She was about to pull herself completely out when Elle's tongue suddenly pushed up, causing her to loose her grip and fall back in.  Only this time, she wasn't able to grab any teeth.  Adding to the futility, Elle's mouth began to close, her tongue now pushing Tristar firmly against the palate.  She once again found herself pinned.

Saliva was everywhere, completely drenching Tristar, soaking through her clothes, wet and sticky against her skin.  Elle's tongue began to move back and forth, rubbing against Tristar's body.  It pulled up on her tank top, exposing her bare belly to the slick surface of the tongue.  She squirmed against the strange sensation, still determined to escape her seemingly inevitable fate.

Elle moaned with delight, her short nightmare having become a sweet, heavenly dream.  She savored the taste of her freshly-found meal, relished in the flavor that only a human could have.

Soft.  Moist.  Smooth.  Succulent.

Despite being pinned, Tristar felt herself slowly sliding downward.  She struggled valiantly to claw her way up, but gravity was winning.  She was covered in far too much saliva to hope of gaining a firm hold on anything.  She felt her feet slide past the soft uvula, and she clung to one last hope—that there was a chance she could push up from against the back of the throat with her feet.  But just as they touched the warm, fleshy surface, Tristar felt muscles contract around her legs.

She barely had time to register that she had triggered the swallowing mechanism before the powerful muscles yanked her into the throat, engulfing her tightly in slick flesh.

As the giantess continued to sleep, a large bulge traveled down the her neck.  From outside it was nothing more than a smooth, quiet motion, masking the chaos inside.

As the esophageal muscles pushed Tristar deeper into Elle's body, she could hear the loud thumping of the giantess' heartbeat, the whooshing of air filling her lungs.  There was so much sound, so much movement, that it was overwhelming her senses.

Tristar finally found herself being pushed out of the tight esophagus and into the larger cavern of Elle's stomach.  She landed in a small pool of digestive juices, making a splash as she entered the noisy organ.

Loud groans and growls filled her ears, deafening as they echoed off the fleshy walls.  She had no sense of orientation as it was completely dark and the spongy surface beneath her was in constant motion.  The stomach hadn't been expecting a meal, but it had nothing better to do, so it began to digest its newest arrival.

Stomach acid began to drip down upon her—large, invisible drops in the darkness.  She began kicking and flailing her arms, pounding into the stomach walls.  Elastic as they were, they gave under her pressure, only to push back as they contracted, beginning to churn this latest meal and mix her with powerful digestive juices.  Unable to see, Tristar screamed into the darkness, unaware that her struggles merely served to sooth her digester, causing her to smile even now, in her sleep.

As Phrinx had stepped through the portal, there were several things of which he had been completely unaware.  For instance, he couldn't have known that his great-great-great-grandfather, Doctor Jeremiah Phrinx, had also been to the strange world of Felarya.  He also couldn't have known that his ancestor had double-crossed a very powerful mage in his greedy pursuit of scientific fame.  And there was no way he could have known that this mage had cursed his entire bloodline, should they ever try to use the dimensional gateways again.

Or that this mage had a certain friend deep in the bowels of Hell....

Phrinx emerged from the portal after what seemed like ages.  He found himself instantly sweating from intense heat, its source unknown to him.  He began to survey the scene in front of him, searching for answers.

It was a medieval castle of enormous size.  At least that's what the style of stonework reminded him of.  There was a small, wooden door some distance away, miniscule against the giant wall.  He looked up at the huge, vaulted ceiling, the gothic architecture overwhelming from its sheer size.  Shadows danced as large torches flickered.

And there was a strange noise coming from somewhere.  It echoed off the stone walls.

"Hello there, Doctor Lionel Phrinx."

Phrinx spun around at the loud voice calling his name, his eyes not prepared for the sight before him.

There was a giant woman, naked, huge, towering...beautiful.  She sat, leaning against a large pillar, one knee bent up, the other resting flat on the floor.  There was a large restraint and length of chain on her right leg, over the shin.  But that hardly registered with Phrinx as he couldn't help but notice that her lack of modesty exposed her pink slit, moist and glistening in the torch light.  His attention was solidly split, his mind also strangely entranced by her enormous breasts.  Her body, large and curvaceous, had him hypnotized.  He had never seen such a woman.

"You...you know me?" he finally managed to get out.

"Why, yes.  I do.  My name is Menyssan.  And I've been waiting for you for a very long time."

This was surprising news to him.  "Really?" he asked, his ears now deaf to all but the sound of her voice.

"Yes," Menyssan answered, the seduction in her voice thick and flowing.

"How do you know me?" Phrinx inquired, his mouth agape as he continued to stare, transfixed by this giant woman's beauty.

"A mutual friend, I suppose you could say."

"Oh."

"I've been told you enjoy the company of women, Doctor Phrinx."

Phrinx smiled.  "Why, yes.  Who could resist the wonderful company of a beautiful woman."  He paused a moment, mustering what he believed to be charm.  "Such as yourself."

Menyssan giggled.  "Oh, Doctor!  You flatter!"

Phrinx began to walk slowly forward, his delusions blinding him to reality.

"I don't suppose...that you would mind...if I...if I were...."

"You want to be inside me, don't you?"  Menyssan took one hand and gently teased her vulva, visibly exciting the doctor.

Phrinx grinned, a smug satisfaction shining through.  "Why, yes.  Yes I would."

Menyssan's smile widened.  "That's what I thought."

She reached down with her other hand and tightly pinched the back of Phrinx's lab coat, lifting him up from the ground.  She hovered him in front of her crotch for a short while, giving him a close view of her delicate labial folds as she caressed them.  He smiled, for surely he had found heaven.

After a few moments of this teasing, Menyssan brought the doctor up to the level of her face.  His grin was comical to her, and made her laugh.

"Lionel, you don't know why you're here, do you?"

"I came through a dimensional portal."

"That's how you got here, but not why, silly mortal."

There was something in her voice that made Phrinx suddenly become nervous, snapping him from his entranced state.  He slowly became aware of several details he had failed to notice.

This was not an ordinary woman, even beyond her size.  Now that he was at a higher elevation, he could plainly see that she had two horns on her head that poked through her long, blonde hair.  And beyond her shoulders there were two large, bat-like wings.

"Wha-what are you?"

"I am a succubus.  And you, mortal, are in Hell."

Phrinx's shock was hard to hide.  "He-Hell?  Am I dead?"

Menyssan chuckled at the tiny human's lack of understanding.  She absolutely loved these moments when souls' fates slowly began to dawn on them.

"No.  You have actually been transported to Hell, complete in body and spirit."

"That...was a portal to Hell?!"

"Oh no, that portal will take you anywhere you wish to go, with only a thought."  She paused momentarily, for effect.  "Except for you."

"What?  Why me?  Why am I in Hell?"

"Oh, foolish doctor!  Have you no sense of karma?  You truly are as bad as your ancestor."

"My ancestor?"

"Oh, it's ancient history now, really.  Let's focus on the present."  Another dramatic pause.  "And you."

Phrinx gulped, not knowing what this demon woman was going to do to him, but now certain that it wasn't good.

Then his mind wandered back to the loud noises that echoed through the large chamber.  The echo was so great that he really couldn't tell where it was coming from.  He turned to his right, only now seeing the two other succubi asleep on the stone floor.  One with red hair, the other with jet black.  The dark-haired succubus was curled up with her head resting on the other's stomach.  His eyes following their curves, he noticed the distended belly on each.  Recognition came just as he felt himself suddenly falling.

Menyssan had repositioned herself, now lying more slouched, her own distended belly acting as an enormous safety net to break Phrinx's fall.  He was stunned as he impacted with the soft flesh.  The loud gurgles and groans coming from within were deafening.  The surface moved, something within causing the motion.  There was now no doubt in his mind as to the source of the strange noises.  This giant demoness was actively digesting one very large meal.

"You left your comrades to die, Doctor, even those women you pursued relentlessly.  That's why I've prepared something special for you, Lionel.  Something very special.  I even called in a favor with the Big Boss to set this one up, and I've enjoyed waiting all day, for the end of my shift, to let you out of that inter-dimensional portal.  Kra'lytra told me to make your fate ironic.  And so I shall."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"Put your head down, against my belly.  Listen for yourself."

Slowly, the doctor lowered his ear to the flesh upon which he was resting.  The growls and gurgles grew even louder.  But another sound came through.

Screams.  Horrible screams.  Feminine screams.

"There are dozens of beautiful women in there, Lionel.  Oh, horrible, mean souls, to be sure, but I know you would find them attractive.  It took a lot of convincing, but my master let me have them all today, in anticipation of your arrival."

Phrinx's face twisted in horror, the full realization of his fate making its way through his mind.  He looked up past Menyssan's breasts, into her deep, red eyes, trembling.  He didn't even see her hand come up behind him.

Menyssan picked up the doctor as she had before, smiling as he started to flail about, desperate to avoid his unfolding fate.

"No!  No!  Put me down!  I haven't done anything wrong!  I don't deserve this!  No!  Nooooo!"

Once again Phrinx found himself at face-level with Menyssan, but this time his blissful transfixion was gone, replaced with sheer, pounding terror.  He shivered when he saw her two large, fanged teeth, the sight only adding to the already horrific scenario.

He continued to thrash his arms, kick his legs, and struggle against Menyssan's tight grip.

"Why are you trying so hard to get away, Lionel?  I'm about to grant you your deepest sexual desire:  your own personal harem of beautiful, naked women."

Phrinx's voice quivered, fear nearly paralyzing him.  "N-n-not like this!"

"Enjoy them while you all last, Doctor."

Menyssan's cute smile disappeared, giving way to the appropriately nicknamed "Second Gate of Hell".  Strands of saliva stretched between her teeth and palate.  Her pointed tongue snaked out toward Phrinx, snapping some of the saliva bands as it moved.

Suddenly, again, Phrinx felt himself falling.  But not as far this time.  He made a soft landing on Menyssan's tongue, wasting no time to attempt a daring escape.  The tongue was in constant motion, balancing him on top of it, but he did his best to crawl to the edge and jump, not caring if the fall killed him.  But Menyssan was expertly skilled at toying with her victims in this manner.  No matter how close Phrinx came to making it over the edge of her tongue, the succubus was always able to throw him off balance.

His pants and lab coat were now completely covered in saliva, soaking him to the skin.  He made one final effort to escape when Menyssan rolled him back to the middle of her tongue, facing him upward.  She stared down at him calmly with her pond-sized eyes, but their transfixing gaze could not ease Phrinx's mortal panic.  And they certainly weren't going to change his fate.

As Menyssan pulled her tongue back into her mouth, Phrinx shouted one last plea for help to the world.

"Please!  Don't!  Noooooooo!"

Her eyes disappeared from his view as he passed through her lips and under her top incisors, between the two fanged teeth.  His vision was filled with the wrinkled roof of the bright red mouth.  He pushed out his arms, hoping desperately, but foolishly, to stop Menyssan's mouth from closing.

Her lips curled back into her former, misleading smile as she closed her mouth, completely enclosing Phrinx inside.  She sucked on him for a moment, basking in the delicious taste of karmic vengeance.  It was out of friendship that she carried out this deed, but it was for her own enjoyment that she relished in it.

Phrinx struggled against the tongue moving back and forth beneath him, the massive amounts of sticky saliva hot and irritating to his skin.

Finally Menyssan decided that she had had enough enjoyment, and that it was time for justice to be served.

Unable to move his upper body, Phrinx focussed on kicking his legs in a possible attempt to make the succubus gag.  He was just short of making contact with her uvula when Menyssan's tongue slid him sharply back, forcing his legs into her throat.  He didn't even have time to react as the grip tightened around his shins, pulling him in.

Phrinx felt his back crack as he was pulled toward his doom at such an awkward angle.  His face slammed into Menyssan's uvula, the slimy piece of flesh adding insult to injury.  The esophagus pulled him down swiftly, the strong muscular walls propelling him deeper.

He was completely and utterly unable to move.  He longed to be freed from his narrow trap, and his wish was granted, although not in the manner he would have desired.  The strong ring of muscle at the top of Menyssan's stomach relaxed, causing Phrinx to fall into the complete darkness of the cavernous organ.

The doctor landed with a splash into a giant pool of sour, stinking stomach acid filled with other bodies.  He gasped for air, tried desperately to stay on the surface.  There were so many other people, and he felt their slick flesh as he pushed against them, trying to stay afloat.  He felt their round breasts, the curves of their bodies, a sensation that would have greatly excited him under other conditions.  Now, instead, it horrified him.

Screams echoed in the digestive chamber, the sound just barely loud enough to be heard over the deafening groans and growls of the stomach as it churned the massive pool of food.  Gastric juices splashed against the fleshy walls, causing waves to move across the surface of the deadly ocean.  There were so many horrible sensations bombarding Phrinx's senses, but he couldn't see a thing.  He just screamed, fighting a losing battle against fate.

Against karma.

Against a succubus' engorged stomach.

Menyssan slowly massaged her full belly, enjoying the struggles and digestion occurring within.  The full feeling relaxed her, so she leaned back and closed her eyes, a soft moan escaping her smiling lips.

Then a series of several delicate burps.

Her work this day was done, and she gently fell into sleep.  It pleased her to know that she had helped out an old friend, even so long after her passing.  It pleased her to know that, once again, she had helped to administer justice.

Of course, the doctor couldn't have known about his ancestor's misdeeds.  And neither could he have known about the stipulation of the curse on his family:  that "should one of the Phrinx bloodline be a true and good soul, the curse shall pass over that soul".  And he most certainly did not know that, sometimes, karma doesn't bite you in the ass.  Instead it swallows you whole, and digests you, without mercy.

Gurgle.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Karbo: Sleep-eating Karbo: Chat with a Succubus

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