>you are Anon Mous "The Chickenman", and you are currently on a helicopter flying over some unknown portion of ocean towards a floating porn studio
>having woken and gotten dressed at the crack of dawn to take this trip, you still aren't sure it it was worth it
>you were wearing a nearly perfect Punished snake outfit with your tiger camo, mock up prosthetic arm covering, eyepatch, and a utility rig
>the only thing you needed now was the gun you were promised for doing this thing, and the fake horn to be attached before you shot it
>Jasmine, dressed as The Boss from snake eater because she found the outfit sexy as hell
>you loved it was sexy, and you always felt that venom loved her without getting to meet her because of the simple and easy to understand plot of metal gear
>some part of you felt like Venom probably did, but you had the lucky grace to meet the fluffier than you expected girl of your dreams
>so why did you feel conflicted on this?
>Jasmine takes notice that you seem distracted and scoots closer to you inside of the modified black hawk
>she takes your right hand in hers, gripping in firmly and leaning on you so she can whisper
>"If you want to not shoot the scene we can tell Zig we just came for the party. I thought it was a bit odd when she wanted to use the face of the BHA's relocation program as the star for a scene..."
>you move your hand up as she holds onto you, scratching her chin while she purrs contently
>"It's not that. I think honestly how she's going to have it "leak" online and how the actors for the rest of the film look just enough like us to pass... Kinda brilliant. People we know, if they stumble onto it, will recognize us. Heck, a few recent arrival anons may even stumble onto it after meeting you and wonder for a while. Having someone so in the public and fighting for anon rights very clearly enjoying the company of an anon and having the balls to put it to film... That's hot."
>her fur rises just a bit on her exposed midriff and face, making her excitement at the thought of Zig's clever mind game working in favor of anon acceptance as clear as the naughty thoughts about how you and her would be internet famous for it
>even if it meant always being doubtful it could be the sweet little cat everyone knew her as
>heck, that made it a bit more fun if anything; people would always have to wonder if she was just playing nice and hiding what the scene would show of her
>you move your arm around Jasmine as the pilot of the vehicle announces that you were circling ZZ Base
>looking out the window, you see a massive city on hexagon platforms arranged in groups anywhere from seven to just three in a triangle
>unlike mother base from the video games, there was a massive amount of platforms here, easily numbering in the hundreds counting individual hexagons
>while most of the buildings were plane and block, a few of them were more stylized and clearly areas where merchants sold their goods
>a movie theater has plenty of people standing in what would normally be a parking lot watching as you pass overhead, zipping towards the hangar and dock section
>you recognize a cargo ship unloading crates marked with your company's logo onto a dock, and wonder if she was using fake companies to buy all of this stuff under the radar
>your helicopter flew over it all, landing alongside the hangar landing strip as a cargo plane was cleared to take off
>Zig must have some massive funds to burn to come out to international waters so she could dodge international porn laws and sell her wares where she liked, but you assumed she also raked in thousands of times whatever she was paying for this fortress
>your pilot lands, but tells the both of you to wait and watch the runway
>a portion of the ground slides away, and two Boeing EA-18G Growlers with stylized skunk tail art kick to life and take off after the cargo plane
>you whistle, thinking to yourself how Zig must have a lot more than just radar jamming planes if she had some super hornets variants in the bay
>the pilot makes a playfully snide remark about how they weren't allowed to have modern fighters like the F-35, because apparently porn companies aren't allowed that kind of firepower
>some part of you knows that Zig has to have some powerful weapons here, but you brush it all aside as you all leave the helicopter and walk towards a waiting Ford MUTT
>Bingle is standing next to the front passenger seat, wearing a sand colored overcoat on top of a vietnam era Class A dress uniform, his face hidden partially by massive aviators and a beret most likely meant for a wolf and not a large fox
>his normally obnoxiously happy attitude is absent as you all pile into the vehicle, the pilot of your helicopter walking over and taking the driver's seat with his pilot gear still on
>he makes a call on the radio to Zig Zag directly, before starting up the vehicle and flipping random switches up and down all over the dash
>Bingle, who seems to have some kind of history with the pilot, is not having his shit today
>"Cut that the fuck out. I don't have time for you shit today Taki."
>the pilot laughs, bringing a lidless big gulp of orange soda up to his mouth at an angle and staring directly at Bingle while gunning the gas on the jeep, using the shift in motion to sip soda while driving like a madman without his eyes on the road
>Jasmine clings to you for dear life as Bingle screams at the top of his lungs for him to put his eyes on the fucking road, causing the pilot to drift the car instead, using the extra momentum to continue drinking orange goodness
>having been told by him earlier that he was going to pull this stunt off, you did your best to calm Jasmine, pointing out how strange it should be he was still wearing his HUD enabled helmet while driving a car 
>you do your absolute best to assure her everything was safe while Bingle tries to call Zig on the phone, constantly telling him that when she picks up hes going to get an earful
>after a few more drifted turns at least half of the big gulp is gone, and Jasmine finally heard you telling her about the cameras all over the car and how the pilot was doing this
>she still held onto you tightly, but she was now more focused on how intensely Bingle was trying to berate the expert driver who was driving down pre-cleared paths Zig was making sure were safe
>when you finally skid to a stop in front of Zig's Central command building Bingle is bitching under his breath while getting out, Taki is sipping the last of his soda and a wicked smile cracks his dark complexion in half, Jasmine is gathering her slightly rattled nerves and you're just laughing
>when everyone gets out Taki quickly floors it and exits as fast as he arrived, Zig Zag herself appearing as he disappears off into the distance
>"I take it that my personal pilot made Bingle angry with his usual antics?"
>without answering Bingle marches towards the entrance door fuming, a spitting image of the man he was dressed up as for the party tonight
>Zig pulls him back by the collar as he passes, and before he can mutter any angry words she gives him a very delicate and short kiss on his lips
>in the few seconds you watch as the couple share a very open moment before you Bingle's fur goes from puffed and angry, to half sprung and miffed
>he whispers something to her  before giving her a peck on the cheek and vanishes into the building
>"Well, I see that sourpuss is still a bit angry. Probably going to be for hours. No helping that... So let's get right to the set and get this damned scene over with so I can begin the cutting work and prepare this thing for its viral debut."
>the odd skunk swings the door open for you, and you take hold of the door so she can lead this party to the stage

>a short series of hallways and very welcoming people leads you to the movie set and adjacent prep room you'll be working on for the next few hours
>after a short tour of the set, and short explanation of how it was made to look real for the various cameras hidden around the set, Zig leads you to the prep room with Jasmine before walking through a door labeled as the "Armory"
>an oddly familiar tiger sits down next to a human who looks enough like you to pass with makeup on, and you struggle to recognize what she looks like without her likely white fur dye
>it takes you a bit longer than you want to admit to recognize her stripe pattern and walk up to introduce yourself
>"Hello there Ms. Tackle, my name is Anon Mous. Most people call me the Chickenman. Pleasure to meet you."
>the tigress meets your hand and happily shakes it, beaming at you after a short glance at Jasmine
>"The pleasure is all mine sugah. I'm a bit jealous of your lucky mate ovah theah. I'd sell my soul for fur that beautiful and a mate so handsome."
>you blush at the pin up model complementing you while Jasmine confidently struts over and kisses you on the cheek
>"He's the best man I could ever hope for."
>Trixxie giggles and cracks a joke to Jasmine about sharing you for the night as long as she behaves herself
>at least, you assumed it was a joke like Jasmine did when he laughed at the idea
>Trixxie just purrs as you all stand there laughing, Zig Zag coming back out holding what looks like the newest iPad dolled up to look a bit fancier
>"Sorry to steal your prey ladies, but I get him armed and horny if we're going to get anywhere before the party really gets going. Tonights other stars are already shooting or are doing their final scene reshoots. "
>Zig Zag motions for you to follow her and Trixxie cotinues to chat up your all but wife, the skunk asking if you had any combat experience
>Jasmine calls out to her, making note about how you've taken down both a panther and a tiger with only one arm
>Zig Zag laughs, jabbing you with her elbow and saying you were a pretty dangerous man with the scars to match it
>as the door closes automatically behind you, you find yourself in a small room with large panels lining the wall and a mechanical arm waves at you from the ceiling
>Zig Zag hands you the tablet she was holding, and you immediately notice that Metal Gear Solid 5's inventory management screen was on staring back at you
>you laugh a bit as you notice that your buddy was a 3D model of Jasmine done pretty damn close to what she actually looked like
>"So I guess I'm picking out what I do the scene with?"
>Zig Zig nods and takes a second tablet into her hands, walking up to the closed door behind you and letting it open up before responding
>"That's right. Go ahead and pick what you want, but don't pick too much crap. You're going to be lugging around the props all night long. Your half of the deal is already pre-selected for your secondary slot, so go ahead and pick the rest of your kit."
>the door closes behind her as Zig leaves, and you flip through the armory on the small digital display
>LMGs, shotguns, rocket launchers... why pick anything that bad though?
>the story of this movie was already a horrible nearly parodic mix up of the canon to allow for Venom and The Boss to meet up and meat up
>even then though you had already read the script before ever doing this, and Zig was treating the plot of this movie very seriously
>all of her parodies kept as close to the official canon as they could without digging into the legal dispute, and she was putting a lot of work into making this all work and certainly an espionage flick
>in respect of metal gear you select a load of supporting non lethal grenades, night vision goggles, a solid knife, and your prize of the night
>the walls open up, displaying your arms for you to take freely
>smoke and flash-bang grenades slip into their pouches though you bet the only grenades that function are the smokes, if even those work
>a wooden box is chunked at you by the robotic arm, and you catch it, opening it to find a BK3X Custom Tac Tool sitting inside
>you pull it out and slide it over your fingers, admiring the craftsmanship that went into it making this wonderful shank of steel
>you look up and down the knife for a moment or to trying to figure out what exactly was custom, but nothing aside of the lettering catches your eye so you assume it's all in the metals
>this wasn't your baby though, oh no
>this was a sweet little drop of honey to tease the succulent main course you watched the mechanical arm slowly pulling out a hard case and gently handing it to you
>inside lies the gun of your dreams, a Mark "Fucking" 23
>in your hands now rests one of the most agressive pistols ever manufactured, firing the powerful .45 ACP cartridge
>12 round magazine, able to fire .45 super if you were crazy enough, durable as they could have made it
>this gun is normally suffering in the hands of someone afraid to shoot it, but not you
>oh no, the second you get a chance you're going to empty as many magazines as you can at a gun range and get a feel for this monster
>hell, this thing didn't even need to be taken to a range as long as you had the guts to get it repaired from time to time properly
>"Hammer, Assault Sextant, bottle opener, emergency momentary flashlight, amateur trepanning device..."
>you continue rambling on with a boner as massive as the list of possible applications for your newly found gun, popping out the magazine to see if Zig gave it to you loaded
>after racking the slide to find the gun was in fact empty, you take note that the magazine was filled with blanks
>grumbling as your boner deflates, you realize that the skunk had teased you by giving you a non firing replica for now, and you holster it angrily as you check your gear
>your earpiece lets you know that your so called target was in place, the set was prepped, and only you were needed to continue
>having shoved your grenades into place, with your knife strapped against your body, and your unfortunately fake pistol in holster you walk towards the stage 1 entrance before you and through the door
>fog machines automatically kick on around set, lowering visibility and setting the mood as lights inside adjust to make it seem like a moonlit night
>you kneel down, pulling out your night vision goggle prop and putting it over your head as you wait for the go ahead
>everything is silent on set as the earpiece you're wearing slowly counts down to zero, preparing you for your shared scene shoot
>"3... 2... 1... Let's go."

>rain falls softly on from above as you sneak your way around the building's perimeter, carefully moving out of the sight of the few cameras that were posted around corners and in vents
>you take a peak into the sole window of the isolated General's quarters, noting that your target is laying down, unconscious and bound facing away from you on the bed
>with no hesitation you carefully and silently open the window, taking note that the tiger is still unconscious from her supposed torture and brainwashing earlier
>you climb through the window slowly, your boots clacking on the ground causing your supposedly captured target to roll over and look directly at you, her fur stainless and perfect for a supposed victim
>a devilish smile crosses her lips as you pull your night vision goggles up, flipping one of the dummy switches to look like they had been turned off
>"Kept you waiting, huh?"
>you pull your knife from it's sheath rapidly, spinning it in your palm as the tiger on the bed rolls onto her stomach, baring her teeth at you
>this was clearly some kind of trap set by her, but you know how to handle another apex predator easily
>"Try to remember the basics of CQC, boss."
>the music on set swells as she leaps at you, and you use her momentum to spin her and carefully throw her to the ground, spinning for a second before falling to the ground as you crack your bare knuckles
>her ropes fall to the ground as she expertly skids to a stop, growling at you as the various cameras in the room catch the action from as many angles as possible
>she circles you slowly as you take a carefully prepared an rehearsed fighting stance, ready for her sudden assault at any moment
>if nothing else, then shooting the fight portion of your scene with her will be one hell of a fun time
>it's going to be the greatest ten minutes of your shared lives

Chapter 2
>you stand in the middle of the formerly orderly set room,  smoking a cigar that you had found after you body slammed Jasmine through a piece of prop furniture
>the walls was covered in deep gouges were claws or your blade has scraped away at them, a peppering of the occasional bullet hole or a piece of sturdy furniture form the room shoved into the wall roughly
>your knife was jammed into one of the bed posts nearly to the hilt, pinning your tiger stripe camouflage shirt to it securely and causing you to expose your scarred bare chest to the cameras directly
>the bed itself was sitting on a bed frame with cracks down the middle and a broken headboard that looked as if a tank had hit it head on, with spent shell casings littering the room like flower petals on a romantic honeymoon retreat
>in the center of the destroyed bed lied your tiger, her suit covered in cuts and ripped from where your vicious and short battle during which both of you drew blood, though both of your strikes were calculated well enough so that they looked vicious but lead to no real damage
>to anyone who would watch the tapes later when they were carefully leaked, it wouldn't be clear that you weren't both trying to kill one another until you pinned her to the bed and she submitted
>the so called "action shots" of the scene carried the same amount of passion and power as the fight scene had, and it surely showed in how your partner seemed unable to stay awake from your vicious attack on her
>in other situations you took the time to enjoy it slowly, or the both of you would start to go at the other less directly than you had been on set
>something about the premise of this movie though, perhaps how this was supposed to be two hardened warriors enjoying one another, gave her the confidence and unleashed your usual gentle nature to the bedroom and very literally made her unable to move
>her chest ripped air from the room in powerful but still languished breathes, her legs locked in place  and splayed by the sheer force of how you had been assaulting her, while her arms rested stiff below the pillow supporting her head
>a few minutes of letting you smoke the cigar while the cameras gathered some solid b-reel of the nearly muted set, the gentle clouds you were making only adding to the ambiance of a now still warzone
>a harsh buzz causes your worn out tigress to unconsciously flinch, and slowly try to gather herself together
>a stage hand opens a door leading directly to the room and hands you a spare suit for Jasmine to wear, clean of the stench and marks of battle
>waiting until they leave the room, you walk over to your loving mate and slowly help her out of her sneaking suit, using a nearby sheet to clean the various hot wet spots from her body so she didn't make the new suit uncomfortably wet in certain areas
>her legs are shaky and unstable, so you pull the suit halfway up her body and help her to slowly stand so that she can zip it up
>you've known since your first time with her that she gets weak legs every time you the two of you enjoyed one another, regardless of how weakly or strongly you do
>just one of her many odd quirks you slowly found out about your odd little hybrid, and most certainly the one you were most careful about
>leaning mostly against you, you help her bring strength back to her legs by slowly walking her around the room with the cigar in your free hand
>she grabs for it, taking a puff before having a coughing fit and extinguishing it on the wall
>"I understand why you celebrate with them and all, but why do they always taste like ass?"
>that's not really your fault, since most of your cigars were special brands you bought in a catalog
>these Drew Estate cigars weren't horrible by any stretch, but you preferred something smoother and with a solid extra flavor to it
>your normal celebration cigar was an anthro brand called Smokin' Barrel, and even if they were one of the cheapest brands out there they tasted amazing
>actually now that you think of it, anthro cigars are probably supposed to be lighter since anthros seem to be more fickle on harsh flavors
>your mind going from smokes to your lovely partner, you toss the rest of the unlit cigar onto the bed, and help her to get her leg control back
>a few laps around the room and she's gone from shaking and wobbling to full control of her legs again
>she continues to waltz around the room while you manage to pull the knife free of the bed and reclaim your shirt, slipping into it and sliding the fabric back under your tactical rig
>after letting her prance about for a few minutes making sure she was all there again, she kisses you and takes your hand now that both of you are ready to go
>time to go and experience this party

>it isn't too long a walk down the corridors to reach the party itself, and it seems most of the guests have arrived
>the room has a long table full of refreshments in one corner of the room, a sound system playing soft oddly soothing music, a bar built into another corner offered free drinks, and everyone mingled freely and happily
>from what you could see so far a man dressed in nearly perfect leather armor from fallout was standing next to someone in a night stalker outfit, chatting up an NCR ranger and a vault dweller
>near the bar was a man in what would appear to be late greenwhich armor, the thick plates and sweeping shoulders giving away their powerful and distinctively english style
>he took four tankards of what you assumed was honey mead back towards a waiting sheep and reindeer wearing serf clothes, happily toasting his small party as they invited someone over who was wearing a wizard costume
>walking around you spot another couple chatting while a man wearing a Pepe shirt and a skin-con pass works on repairing what you assume is the party's music station, speaking in nearly silent German to a black panther with bright green hair and problem glasses
>everyone else is wearing something that doesn't catch your eye as you take a glance over to the knight
>you have to start somewhere, so you guess that starting there with him should be fine
>approaching him as he laughs and drinks with his two friendly anthros, he takes immediate notice and stands from his chair and extends a hand with an empty tankard in it towards you
>"Greetings fair Sir. Might you be Lord Mous that the wonderous Zig has told me about? I am Lord Anon."
>good thing to know she's been hyping you up to the guests, that will make seeming totally normal so much easier
>"Yes I am Lord Mous. A pleasure to meet you Lord anon."
>you grab his tankard and shake firmly, and he smiles while beaming at you while firmly grasping the shaft of his covered spear
>"I've heard you are a viscous combatant. I would hope that we could clear space in here, or find room so that we may duel. In the case of you lacking armor I would be happy to strip down to my basics, find a knife to fight you evenly, and we could go at it like animals if you wish."
>Jasmine suddenly juts between the two of you, holding her hands out at Sir anon
>"Hey now! As much fun as that would be, Mous is a bit more vicious than you think he is. I'm saying that as his mate, and I don't want anyone to get hurt today because he overdoes something. Besides, we came here to relax right? Let's all just chill out, and enjoy one another's company."
>Lord Anon kneels to Jasmine, his neck bent in reverence to her as you note a somewhat wider than normal kite shield on his back
>"Might I ask of you, fair lady tigress, that I may ask of you and Mous to join us for a personal night then? Should you agree your Lord and I should share our partners for the night, he would be given first pick of either the reindeer or sheep."
>he grabs for Jasmine's hand, offering to kiss it, but she pulls it away and growls slightly
>"I have but one mate. I do not share with anyone, no matter who they are! You flatter me, but I would refuse on both of our behalves."
>Jasmine huffs as the Lord stands, him rubbing his neck and issuing an apology for his intrusion into a strong bond between the two of you
>taking the moment to grab Jasmine's hand, you guide her off still growling towards the group of fallout cosplayers and are shocked to realize that you recognize the vault dweller
>walking up to the friendly coon, you tap her on the shoulder as she grabs a twinkie and she turns around with a ding dong in her mouth
>"Oh hrr chrrk, hrr urr yuu?"
>she smiles through a mouth full os sweets as the mechanic takes off his helmet, looking incredibly pleased
>"They said I could keep the helmet, and all of the stuff in here works to a certain extent. I see you opted for some old hand me down vietnam rags, Chickenman."
>you take some deep breathes, remembering he's chiding you, and return fire
>"Well yeah. We shot our scene and then decided to come this way. I got a couple more firearms waiting for me when I leave, and I'm pretty sure I learned my business got a contract with this place I didn't know about before. So yeah, I guess I got rewarded well for my time here. What did you two get for your porn shoot? One of those cool Pipboy arm things? Funny, 'cause if ya did I don't see it."
>the mechanic puts his helmet back on and mumbles something into the filter system before going to talk with Jasmine and Lilith, who are now wandering the party and chatting it up
>this leaves you to the awefully realistic looking night stalker in a cloak and her mercenary boyfriend
>they aren't focused on you though, as every second since Lil', Jas, and mechanon ran off to chat about whatever they'de been stuffing food into baggies and you suddenly notice how thin the stalker looks
>under her robe, which blows in the gentle AC of the room, she's pretty much skin and bones
>in your mind you know Zig wouldn't be so predatory as to make them shoot a scene to eat...
>but you have to make sure
>"Hello there sweetie. You two hungry?"
>you hear rattling as she whips around to face you, her muzzle clearly divided down the middle by a row of very real scales
>she doesn't say anything, looking at you as what you assume if her boyfriend tries to make an excuse for why they're taking the food
>"Why apologize to me? I don't care. No one here seems to either. I just wanted to make sure that you two get enough to eat. Take as much as you want, I'm sure the lady who invited you here to shoot a scene would be plenty happy to bring more food out for us."
>as you study the nighstalker you take not her fur color is more rich than a coyote's and her scales are closer to that of a rattlesnake, all of it takes a backseat to her confusion however, as she asks what you mean by shoting a scene
>"She didn't ask you guys to film anything? Ya know, get onto a bed and do stuff for the cameras?"
>you hear the rattling again as her tail moves under her cloak, and the mercenary seems a bit nervous at the idea
>"I'd be happy to do that with my wonderful mate... but she didn't ask us to do that. We just got an invite for the party."
>you give her a warm smile and she does the same, giving you a very sharp fang'd smile in return
>"My name is Amber, kind man. You can call him Pip, because of his arm thing."
>you extend your hand to give her a shake, and she gives you a firm handshake while Pip walks over to get his own
>the two of you chat for a while as you begin to have doubts about if they're just in costume or not
>the leather armor that Pip is wearing is an almost exact match for what it should be in game, where as Amber looks too real to just be wearing some kind of costume
>you think more on it as Pip and Amber go back to raiding a small fraction of the massive amount of food on display, realizing that the Knight was probably somehow a real knight too

>your thoughts are interrupted by the man wearing a Pepe shirt and his companion, who are happy to knock you off of your train of thought by asking you a question
>"Are you zee mate of zee vite tiger offer zere?"
>his accent is thick, but you assume he's trying to be nice by not tuning down how he speaks around you
>"Yes, I am. Did she do something wrong, or did you want to talk politics?"
>he laughs, and the panther by his side stands at attention without saying anything
>"Nothing of zee zort, I chust vanded to talk apout genedics. I vas conffinced into coming here py zee Siggy skunk pecauze sche zaid you had zome knovledge of hyprids."
>he digs around in his pocket for a moment before pulling out some glasses, cleaning them with his shirt, and putting them on to stare at her for a moment
>"Sche is ein hyprid, yeah? It is hard to tell pecauze sche is ein vite tiger. Arh! Zey alvays look ein little pit different."
>doing your best to translate his heavily invading accent, you decide that her secret can't hurt to be shared with someone who you certainly won't ever see again
>"Of course she is. Panther father, Tiger mother. She got the luck of the draw in a way, since she didn't get any negative mutations from it. If anything, I think it made her a lot stronger."
>he nods at your comment and smiles, extending his hand
>"Call me Cabtain.  Ve von't know eachother for too long, as I azume you haffe figured out, zo let's ko ahead und talk apout vat ve can."
>you humor the captain for a while, walking around the room while his panther follows behind the two of you silently
>everything from hybrid birth rates, muscular issues, known mutations, to how often they lose features of their parents due to the hybridization process cutting some things out
>you also covered touchier things, like how Jasmine was doing her best to be a stronger person since she was hurt when she was young
>the Captain nods and talks about how his own Panther, silent by her own choice tonight he assures you, also had issues when she was younger
>"Many beople azume zey are combletely unsdobable in day to day life nein matder vat it is zey are doing. Arh ! Vile zome are, und most of zee are bhyzically fery schtrong, it comes to ein zurbrize to many zat are not alvays as zure on how to deal vith emozions as smaller und less dangerous sbecies."
>while you wish he could tone down his thick accent a bit, you have to agree with what he said about predators, and your chat continues from there a bit before wandering off again
>at some point  during your chat with him you make a joke about Wolfenstein, referring to your costume as a sort of Russian fighting Terror-Billy
>the panther stops in her tracks, her eyes wide and focused on you as her tail locked into position bwteen her legs and her ears went flat
>you suddenly realize who you're talking to, and where they are from
>some part of you wants to punch and stab, begin a riot and find out if any more of them are here like him
>but when he goes over to comfort her, he whispers soft and gently to her
>every motion he makes looks natural, and he is being as soft and gentle as he can to bring the Panther back from her fear at you
>you can see it in her eyes when she's looking at you now, tracing the scars you have, the way you stand, your weapons on you at all times
>the good Captain seems to know what he's doing though, and in a few shorts minutes she's by his side, holding his arm and looking happy
>something tells you he isn't the demon he would seem to be as a nazi captain, and an odd feeling of comradery ignites in your chest
>you think about how you were a monster at one point in your life, and all of the bad things you did, but all of that quickly fades away as a Fallen Captain kicks the doors to the room open and laughs, wielding two shock knives in his larger hands while duel wielding shock pistols in his bottom ones

>you react immediately, drawing your Mk23 and aiming it towards the towering more than 7 foot tall captain's head
>immediately he throws his hands up, waving them in an attempt to get you to stop as a rather fluffy hunter runs in behind him, firing a nerf dart at you which sticks to your horn
>Clara cheers at her good shot while the captain fumbles with his helmet and moves the scarf covering his chest armor out of the way to reveal a familar voice from inside
>"Hey there Mous! Me and Clara got offered to shoot a thing up here, and we just got done doing our scene. They told me I could keep these cool pistols and knives as long as I played my part."
>he clicks triggers on the two pistols, causing them to making clacking noises not entirely unlike unloaded electric airsoft guns
>you look around to see that no one is even looking at you anymore, save for Jasmine who is back by your side after the tense moment
>she gently holsters your pistol for you, staying by your side and greeting two of her best friends warmly
>"Why hello there Strong, good to see you Clara! I'm going to guess you two did a shoot?"
>strong tries to respond first, but Clara cuts him off while purring
>"Honestly, it was just an excuse to get to wear this amazing cape. I don't regret making it or anything, but I see I wasn't the only one who was interested in doing that."
>Jasmine's fur poofs up as Clara giggles, realizing that everyone here was most likely in a porn now, much less the special one you two were going to leak
>with almost everyone here who's going to show up, and certainly everyone you know already being here, you decide to wander and talk with your group of four
>Strong grabs everyone a drink from the bar, his extra set of arms and stilted legs allowing him to easily carry enough for everyone
>things are pretty calm, no one is really talking about anything or anyone in particular, but something feels off to you
>after a while of wandering and talking to the other party goers, you realize that the party just isn't appealing to you now
>it's nice to see some people you know, and you're absolutely thrilled that Jasmine is having fun, but you clearly aren't anymore

>your lovely Kitten takes a glance at you and holds you close to her, the other two of your group having already wandered off to tease Mechanic and Lil about their own shoots and scene
>she seems to dim for a moment when looking over to you, and she asks if you talk about some old painful memories, or if you just need to walk for a bit alone
>a lot of other women being "blown off" by their other half would get angry or make sure they were alright, but Jasmine had long since given you as much trust as you did to her
>sometimes you just needed to get air some laundry you hadn't thought to mention yet, or that suddenly jutted back into focus
>other times you might just want to go and explore somewhere new and get away from everywhere else, with or without your lovely kitten by your side
>as if on queue Zig appears behind the both of you, startling your favorite Kitten by putting her hands very suddenly on both of your shoulders
>"There is something me and him do need to discuss. Boring old business crap. Mind if I steal him for a while?"
>Jasmine nods immediately, assuming you want some space and to talk to Zig
>the skunk gives her a short promise that she'll behave while they hash out the details on what needs to be done, saying that she'll bring Jasmine to you the very second that she asks for it
>when Zig leads you out of the room Jasmine gives you a very friendly kiss goodbye and you smile, knowing that she'll come to where you are at some point
>you loved her as much as you trusted her, and she wouldn't leave your side for the entire night even if she was legally required to
>it wasn't just that she knew you had some trouble being alone since you came here, but also her own want for the knowledge that if she wanted to be passionate or loving at any moment she could
>she was a wonderful mate to have, and when the wedding happens she'll make you the happiest anon to have ever lived
>for now though, you have to deal with Zig and her bullshit
>she leads you through a few doors, down a short hallway and unlocks a door with a special key card before walking the two of you through into a seemingly endless hallway
>oh great, looks like it's time to go through a bunch of bullshit or talk to someone in what you assume is one of these bunk rooms
>this is quickly going from a really good night, to a really tedious one
>whatever Zig has up her sleeve better be really damned important

Chapter 3:
>You follow Zig as she walks up to a door nearest to you, and opens it with a key in her hand
>It swings open to reveal a set bristling with actors and life portraying what would appear to be a busy office space
>No one looks up when Zig waves to them as if she wasn't there, and she closes it after a few moments of letting you watch them bustle and do work
>"This hallways contains all of our small sets. People come here to relax sometimes and hang out in the empty rooms. You, however have a special gift."
>She smiles at you, her left hand slowly reaching out towards the door she had just opened moments ago, scratching the metal softly
>Light floods out from the cracks around the door and after a moment it opens without the skunk touching it further
>The set you were looking at earlier was gone, and in it's place was a military hangar containing soldiers walking around massive mechs
>Zig throws a pencil through the open door, and one of the many soldiers looks confused as he walks over to the open door
>He peeks through the frame, and acts as if he was opening the door before walking forward and disappearing into thin air
>"You and I have the ability of walking the rifts. When you first came here, you traveled through two doors at the same time. The door of the afterlife, and the door to this world. Not knowing where you should go, it pulled you back to this world and brought you back from the dead. This dissonance you had become engulfed in makes you able to do things no human would be able to do. Something generally reserved for demons, or monsters. Of course, we both know you were some kind of monster in your own mind at some point."
>Zig pats you on the shoulder, closing the door in front of you with her hands before turning to fully face you
>"So as a show of good will towards you, and as sort of a gift for making sure Bingle didn't die while he was back on land, I'm going to let you use this rare talent in one of the few places it actually works. Getting it to work is pretty simple too."
>Zig holds her left hand up into the air, wiggling her digits
>"This is your key. Nice and simple. My hands can unlock doors when I feel like, and your left one will unlock them on contact. Your right hand will just open the door normally, so unless it's somewhere you're supposed to be don't bother using it top open up doors. Any door you open into somewhere will lead you to that specific set, and any door that you open with your left on set will lead you out. Your objective is to find your prize, and I'll make sure Jasmine gets back to you before you find it so you can both enjoy it. Any questions?"
>while you could ask a few thousand, you know she would only play around with giving you direct answers so you shake your head
>"Alright then. You can contact me or I'll contact you on your headset if something comes up. I'm going to head back to the party and see about finding Jezzel. She was supposed to show up here, but the earpiece on my ear is telling me that the Knight took her and his groupies off somewhere. Be as lethal as you want, but know that everything you do has consequences."
>She goes to walk back down the hallway towards the exit, before she realizes she forgot something and walks back to you
>"If you need to dissappear, take this. And if you need to escape and leave a distraction..."
>she hands you a small stealth camo generator prop, smiling before digging in her purse for another prop
>she pulls out what looks like a satchel full of modified roombas and hands it to you
>"You have these. You only have five though, so don't waste them on any old boring threat."
>with that, the skunk dissapears down the hallway and you're left to your own devices
>putting the satchel onto your body, you begin to march down the hall and look for whatever it is you were supposed to find, hoping that it wouldn't be too long to track it down

>as you think on what Zig Zag told you about how to open the doors and how all of this could work, a door seemingly calls out to you in your mind
>you aren't sure exactly what is driving you to go into this exact door, but the feeling is intense
>slowly but surely you reach out to touch it, and light creeps around the edge of the frame, illuminating the edges of the door clearly
>you wonder if you should walk through the door as it begins to slowly open on it's own, revealing an alleyway before you with a gated fence directly across from you
>you step out and onto what you are certain is an odd movie set, but when the door closes behind you the facts that this place is far too large to be a set instantly dances in your mind
>deciding to explore, you walk up to the chain gate and open it with your right hand, walking through and closing it behind you
>the shape of the alley requires you to take a hard right and walk down another hallway of sorts, followed by branching paths and gates
>sighing and preparing to fight your way through a maze, you soldier on
>winding paths, gates, and even a few oddly short brick wall jumps later and you find yourself looking out towards a bustling town full of people in costume
>looking out for a moment from yourshadowy position you spot a building marked as the apothecary, and assume it must be some gussied up halloween shop
>taking quick strides you walk in, opening the door and bumping into a very large snake lady
>she hisses at you for a moment, her tongue wiggling in the air before she suddenly looks horrified, and quickly snakes around you and darts away
>ignoring her odd reaction you walk into the shop and take note of all the strange sites to behold
>splayed monsters and creatures are strung from the ceiling, jars or organs and watching eyes watch you as you move
>the shelves are packed tightly, and you feel uneasy as shadows dance in ways that make them feel alive
>you hear cursing for a few moments as a cage rattles, and what would appear to you to be a morbidly obese viper slithers towards you
>when it reaches your leg it tries to crawl up to you, but can't quite make it's way up your camoflauged uniform's somewhat loose fabric
>against better judgement and the nagging voice in your head, you pick up the snake and it coils around your left arm as if it was supposed to be there
>"If I ever have to order another tsuchinoko again, I'll have ordered it too soon to not be- oh."
>a feline wearing robes looks at you, her eyes not quite visible in the dark of the room, a sickly yellow coloration clinging to her much like the snake on your arm
>"Did you come to collect the snake, phantom? Or perhaps you are here searching for someone?"
>you extend your arm for a handshake and she appears confused for a moment, before carefully extending and grasping yours shakily
>the snake wiggles it's way off of your arm and onto hers, coming to a stop around her neck as if it was a scarf of sorts as you take your turn to speak
>"I was told to look for something by someone, and that when I found it I would know what it is."
>the snake hisses as the feline tries to respond, and she falls silent as it yawns
>when it says hello to you the both of you flinch, the feline looking flustered
>"You won't find what you seek here, hunter. Seek the diamond dog so he may help you home. The alleys you came through are a maze no mere human can find their way back through."
>the feline tries to gently pull the snake from her as it hisses again, moving on it's own to slide on to her counter and sit to watch the two of you talk
>"I would normally enjoy toying with a human such as yourself, but I respect your dangeros garb, and your love for drinks. If this scared cat had any sake on her, I may very well assist with the potion she must brew."
>the feline mumbles something about liqour liscenses under he breath before telling you the snake is probably right 
>"Down the street is the custom's office. The man in charge down there should be able to get you some help for what you need, spectre. Make your way quickly though, I imagine the naga you bumped in to may cause a panic."
>you nod to her, flinching as you hear laughter and glass breaking from somewhere in the store
>the snake laughs about having found sake, the cat lady begining to curse and grumble as she goes to find where it had slithered to

>you make powerful strides down the road as all sorts of the formerly thought costumed monsters glare at you from different angles
>some stay behind windows, peeking through blinds
>others seem to want to get closer, and pass by you, but they never get anywhere near arms reach
>it takes you a moment as you walk down the road to realize that you aren't getting just a few stares, but rather every single person in town is glancing in your direction as you walk
>paying them no mind, you continue towards the Liscensing and Customs building until something steps in your path
>a large being that resembles a what you would know as an ork steps out of an alleyway, blocking the entrance to the lair of the "diamond dog" from you
>"Yer have ta stop 'der 'umie. Yer aren't supposed ta be ere, an’ yer aren't gunna be talk'n wit' ‘da doggo inside eitha."
>he's at least two feet taller than you, but you begin to size him up for weak points as he laughs
>"Oi really, ya git? Are yer actually gunna try an' fight me? I'z 'da toughest fighta ‘n ma clan. Iz gonna pick yer outta ma teef wif-"
>the door behind him flies open as an enraged three headed wolf storms out,  gripping his shoulder and tensing up ready to scream before one of his three heads pans over to you
>you watch as the intense fire of his body seemingly snuffs itself, and he takes on a demeanor much more calm and laid back
>if you didn't think you knew better, you'de say that he was afraid like that naga and cat earlier
>a calm but strong voice eminates from one of the heads of the wolf as the others look around at crowd slowly arriving around this little scene
>"Now there mister gronk. You should know better than to attack another guest in our quant little town."
>the green skinned being squirms in the wolf's grip and tries to make an argument before he reealizes who it was behind him, and he doesn't dare make another sound towards the beast-man
>with the ork silent, the ceberus takes a moment to survey what is going on; one of his three heads focused on the crowd, the closest one glancing over you, and the middle one fixed on the ork 
>"I don't want to hear it. You should know better than to think him human. This being walking among us takes on a guise I recognize as that of a phantom of sorts, but he is so much more dangerous. He is a revenant, and you should all be very careful near such a dangerous guest in our small town."
>the crowd seems shocked, eyes carefully avoiding direct eye contact with you as the massive triple headed beast waves you into the building
>"Come to my office, friend. We have a few things to talk about."

>you follow the colossal wolf to a equally massive room, and he sits at his desk, all three heads facing you as you stand before him
>after a moment he slides a massive book under the desk towards you, allowing you to climb up and left your arms rest on his desk like a counter as you speak
>"While I would normally be very surprised by the sudden appearance of such a rare and odd creature in this... small haven, I have a much more pressing thing to ask you instead."
>whatever he thought you were must be incredibly dangerous if he called it a haven in your private company, which was all to your benefit if it came to having to ask a favor to leave
>he pulls a framed picture out of one of the massive drawers, and slides it gently towards you
>it stops inches before you, and you glance over the dusty glass to recognize a very familiar businesswoman's striped and oddly shaped figure behind the glass
>Zig Zag is taking an unusually tame pose in a tasteful dress, and she signed it with a personal touch via a lipstick kiss on one corner
>"to my biggest fan, and a wonderful friend, XoXo Ziggy"
>he slides the photo back into his desk, one hand covering as single annoyed face as the other two sigh and look at you with weary eyes
>"I don't even have to guess that you're here because of her. I just want to know if you know how to get home."
>you explain how you could open odd locked doors with just a touch of your left hand and he nods to you 
>"That's all I needed to hear. Have a safe visit here, Mr. Revenant. You're free to come and go as you please. When you're ready, just blow on this whistle and someone will take you to the door home."
>he attempts to give you a tiny whistle on a string, but you wave it away and say you were coming here to try and get back to the door
>all of his heads cock to the side, and his tired faces suddenly become confused
>he presses a button on a phone to the side of his desk, gives an order for a ride to be brought for you immediately, and extends his hand to you for a shake
>you grip as well as you can around his massive digits, giving your own firm shake to him before he wishes you the best of luck and says his goodbyes
>you can't help but feel that this entire situation is off to you as his door closes behind you and you stand in the hallway
>you still didn't really know what revenant was, or why he told that ork you weren't human
>confused, but eager to leave you walk out of the doors you came in, and find the streets deserted save for a lone figure before you
>immediately outside on the curb as you leave is a pale horse with cold, ashen eyes
>it lowers it's head to you, blowing cold air on you before standing there, as if waiting for you to get on
>with no real other options in sight, you get carefully straddle the cracked saddle on it's back, and it trots down the street at a rapid pace back towards where you came from
>it makes quick and elegant turns down alleys you didn't think it should be able to walk down, leaps over fences you had used the gates for or walked around, and at one point it walks into a dense fog before a wall, and stops directly besides the abandoned home you remember walking out of
>before you can get off of it, the horse crouches lower to the ground that you thought possible, and turns it's head to face you
>you slowly and carefully pet it while it gently nickers, before it tries to tilt a bit in an effort to tell you to get off
>stepping off of the horse, and up to the door, you take a quick glance back towards it out of curiosity
>a thin fog sits where it had been, no horse in sight as you slowly open the door and step back into the long metal hallway you had come from
>rather than questioning what happened, you walk down past several doors, another door seemingly guiding you to it from afar
>the door is a drab and flat looking metal door, and has no clear markinsg on it, indicating it is most likely some kind of utility door

>when you open and walk through the doorway you find yourself inside of a closet, proving your guess entirely correct
>hanging from a supply shelf is a tuxedo with a small note pinned to it from "ZZ" to enjoy yourself a bit, and maybe not bring your gear onto the floor
>knowing that she wouldnt say that without cause you strip down and change into the tuxedo, leaving all of your gear save for your almost magically easily hidden pistol and knife
>inside of your tuxedo's front pocket pokes an elegantly crafted electronic cigar, fully charged and prefilled
>a quick test finds that it tastes of masterfully cratfed dark chocolate, and you can't help but take an incredibly long toke from it
>billowing smoke like an angry dragon, seemingly causing the door to open up for you
>you walk out the room with smoke trailing in your wake, and the wall behind you scoots back into place to hide the janitor's closet from prying eyes
>feeling the weight of an unknown amount of chips in your front pants pockets, you dig around to see if they can tell you where you are
>the first chip you pull out is denoted to be worth five thousand normal chips, and it reads off as belonging to the "UltraLux"
>confused as to whether or not you someone just hopped into new vegas, a quick glance around confirms that it has to be a coincidence with the name
>a sea of slot machines rises before you, chatty rich guests flowing around them and towards various tables with various running games
>chromed craps tables are being played with led lit up dice that are supposed to evoke holograms, dancing on glass inlaid with various sci fi carvings
>a waitress walks around dressed in a space suit that wouldn't look out of place in fallout, offering glowing drinks to anyone she passes
>a poker dealer is playing with fancy cards that appear to be made of cut gemstones, the art on their backs carefully concealing numbers from prying eyes to keep things fair
>you expect to see similar adornments on the roulette wheel, but the table looks completely normal from where you stand
>the trim on the table is a bit more posh than usual, and it has a nice decorative felt in place with purple and white instead of black and red 

>disregarding the roulette table everything looks like a zeerust inspired version of a future that never was, and you wonder how done up the casino is tonight in comparison to usual
>the chips in your pocket clank together as you walk over to use a one armed bandit, hands carefully gripping the false hard light panel and confirming it was plastic
>glancing around as the symbols spin and LED's light up you can't help but feel something is off
>the last set was a bit too real for you, and Zig had said you were going to explore worlds few people could freely walk
>your mind shifts back to trying to enjoy your time here as you realize you hadn't won anything on your spin 
>you slot another chip into machine, spinning it as you look around once more to feast your eyes on the world around you
>a table set up farther away is hosting whatever the hell "UltraLux Rollers" is, a dealer moving objects on a table to an excited crowd just out of sight
>it suddenly dons on you that more than a few people are staring at you, their glances more excited and surprised than anything else
>most everyone here appear to be the sort of high rollers you refused to deal with unless absolutely necessary, their usual smug expressions and surgically perfect faces annoying you
>one of the stuffy rich humans around you walk up as you slot in a third chip, tapping you on the shoulder and smiling as if seeing you was some kind of life changing experience
>"Sorry to bother you sir, but is that tuxedo actually vintage? Did you actually wear such a nice thing to a ratty little hole stuck on a ring like this? Looks like you're even sporting one made of Terran cotton!"
>did everyone here have such a massive stick up their ass that this fancy ass millionaire casino was considered a hole?
>or maybe his retarded deus ex looking clones floating slowly closer had never seen a proper vintage tux, their minds always stuck in the highest and strangest of fashion available
>taking a toke from your electronic cigar, you blow a mist of fine chocolate flavoring at him
>"It's every bit as real as the eyepatch and arm buddy. Unless you want to take the time to jot down a contract with me to buy some genuine terran chickens you best take a hike. I recommend the appalachians, they're wonderful this time of year."
>you hear him whispering excitedly to a walking geometric abortion engulfing some poor woman, and he waves to goodbye as if he knew you while you hear the room buzzing about you
>slotting in a fourth chip you sigh, taking another drag off of your fancy vape and letting the smoke gently roll free of your mouth and into the air
>Zig wanted you to try and relax tonight by coming here and waiting for your tigress to eventually show up, but it's obvious that you're going to be the entertainment for a bunch of other people
>a small fox walks up to you, taking the seat next to you and offering you a drink from a tray she sat down off to her side
>you happily take it from her, the oddly refreshing and light beverage hiding a powerful taste of vodka behind a veneer of sweet fluff
>her voice is as light as the glowing drink mix as she asks you if you were enjoying your stay, abscentmindedly petting her own tail with the innocence of a small child
>"I enjoy this Casino a lot. The decorations are fancy enough to keep me happy, and your staff all seem incredibly polite. I'd say the foxes are pretty cute too."
>she poofs up at your comment, realizing she had been preening herself with glee
>a happy laugh escapes your throat, and you pull the mouthpiece off of your cigar to offer her a puff
>"I didn't meant any harm by it. You're just being polite, and I can tell you take good care of your fur. Care for a bit of chocolate?"
>she gently grabs the cigar, taking a large unmeasured puff before blowing rings and laughing
>"Oh wow! That's super sweet! Where did you get this?"
>she hands you back the cigar and you smile again, screwing the mouthpiece back on after cleaning the cigar
>"I'm pretty sure it's a special blend mix you ask for. If you ever stop by a vaporizer shop, just ask for a sweet and rich chocolate."
>the fox nods, her hands out again as you begin to unscrew the mouthpiece to let her have a second toke before her ears twitch
>she stops after a second, and looks sad before telling you she has to go and hops off of the stool near you to go deal with something
>you call out that she's free to come back and hang out to smoke some more if she has a chance, causing her to perk up and wave back to you

>a few minutes of silent winning and losing as the bandit slowly ekes away at your large amount of chips
>after getting a few wins a tiger heads towards you through the crowd, blonde hair flowing and matching her fur well
>for a moment you swear she's a spitting image of Jasmine, but as she gets closer you don't see Jasmine's usual very direct loving nature shining on her
>your second guest of the night is carrying two drinks, and she hands you one introducing herself as Jane
>her sultry voice carries on it the usual almost predatory nature of a callgirl, only accentuated by her predatory anscestory 

>"I was told to find the biggest man in the Casino and since titan's not here I guess that's you. Care to share a few minutes to make some new memories and watch a show you'll never forget?"
>you sip at your second drink, highly aware the alcoholic content is much higher in this one than the last one
>"I would have accepted the offer from the lovely fox earlier, just so we could sit around and smoke while talking about nothing much..."
>you roll a cloud into the air, the sweet smell filling the void between you and the tiger
>"But I'm not interested in watching someone dance about before me on a pole. I've got too many scars and someone who loves me back home to care about something like making you dance for me."
>she takes note of your scars as you mention them, suddenly away of how many thin lines your face had running it
>"Did those nasty Terran chickens give you some of your scars?"
>you actually laugh, wondering what kind of drugs must be being pushed to make people this giddy over some god damned feeder birds
>"I can't say that any of them are. I got the eyepatch and arm guard from an old cat that went after me when I was being nice to it. The scars you can't see on my chest are a mix of knives and barbed wire..."
>you unbutton a few buttons on your shirt, pulling it over your shoulder to reveal a set of vicious claw scars running down your shoulders
>"My wife did these. She's a lovely Siberian, and she didn't mean it. They look horrible but they were so clean they healed up after a month."
>Jane's eyes widen as you show off your shoulder scars so directly, and genuine concern rocks her face
>"Are you alright? Most men here don't have so many scars. You're covered in them. If your wife is hurting you then you can tell me honey. It won't cost a thing."
>she looks even more concerned with you as you laugh about her comment, telling her to wait while you find something
>you pull out your phone, her reflection on the screen between loading images looking highly confused
>you finally reach a video and play it, showing a solid thirty seconds of Jasmine in her white fur and some pajamas cuddling and enjoying being petted like the harmless kitten she was
>"She's harmless Jane. The scars are from our first time doing things. She went into a predatory feral state for a few seconds, but immediately after she did her best in said state to help me. Like I said, not nearly as bad as they look."
>Jane looks even more confused, before asking you a question
>"So, she licked your wounds? She has enough control even when she went crazy after having a mate? Why did she go crazy?"
>she takes a sip of her drink, and you chuckle a bit as she tries to hide how strong it must be to her
>"She was as gentle as could be, and cleaned my wounds. She's a hybrid, and whenever emotions run high instincts roll close to home. She went crazy because in her mind, as she told me, she finally had a man worth holding. I don't think she should have picked someone with such a bad past as mine, but I trust her enough to know she sees something I don't."
>Jane hangs on your words, wisps of your story seeming to draw her to you, hungry for more information
>"Can you tell me more? If you made it to the top and have such a wonderful woman to care for you I want to know more. If she wouldn't mind I'd love to hear hers to a bit."
>you tell her you'de love to, but ask her if she can get you some soda for the both of you to share while talking
>she nods, taking both of your drinks and handing them to a passing waitress before walking off to get drinks for the two of you

>as you go to put another chip into the machine you've been stationed at for the last few minutes you feel someone doing their best to carefully pull a chip out of your pockets
>you respond instinctually, hand going into your jacket to pull out your prop pistol
>as you take the grip into your hand, you grab the would be thief's arm and throw him against the slot machine
>in the short time he's stunned you free your pistol and grab your knife, your right arm holding the pistol's barrel less than an inch from his left pupil as your left pins him down 
>when he tries to speak you elbow him in the face harshly, keeping your gun trained on him as your arm rolls back into position so that the gut hook is kissing the flesh of his neck
>"You talk when I say you do. Now I want you to shut up and wait for security."
>time seems to slow down for you as your vision strains, and you become aware of the presence of what would seem to be a stretched out fox barreling towards you with some kind of stun baton in hand
>maintaining pressure with the knife you move the pistol into position, leveling your right hand at the fox as his eyes widen in shock
>he skids to a stop as your vision returns to normal, and he slowly holsters his baton while putting his hands up to show you that he doesn't want this to get bloody
>"Hey hey hey. Security. I'm here to try to dissolve this situation. Let's all calm down."
>you notice the security outfit nearly a moment too late, and slowly hand him both your gun and knife
>the crook who tried to rob you doesn't move an inch, seemingly mortified by you nearly putting a round into a security agent's forehead
>putting cuffs onto the very obedient crook, the oddly proportioned fox lets you walk and smoke as you follow him
>he leads you down hallways much less decorated than before and stops to sit your near victim down in a chair before closing the door and leaving him in there alone
>following behind him, he takes the occasional backward glance at you and the smell of some pretty dank kush slowly reaches your nose
>after a few seconds he lets you walk into a room first, following behind you and sitting across from you at a table
>"So... are you going to clue me in on to how in the hell you pulled the magic trick of showing up armed?"
>you're honest with him, and explain that you came in through the janitor's closet after your boss said you needed to have a good time and he sighs

>"I want you to be serious. How the hell did you sneak in a hand cannon?"
>you glare at him, rolling up your eyepatch so he can experience your full glare and disdane
>"I'm not goofing around. Do I look like a practical joker?"
>he seems to take note of the scars on your face aren't fake up close, and looks rattled
>"If you don't want to talk with me about this I can go into the other room and talk to my buddy Shaxx instead of you. This is all up to you buddy."
>saying nothing, you take a puff of your cigar and simply stare at him after putting your eyepatch back down
>clearly not getting anywhere, he leaves the room to talk to Shaxx while you sit silently listen to your earpiece adjusting to a frequency of it's own accord
>"Patching you in so you can hear this."
>Zig works for a few moments and you hear the stilt fox talking to some kind of bovine
>"He's fucking with us, clearly. I mean, shit man. Look at this god damned cannon! All the marks on it say that it's original... but if this is the real deal then that makes this a museum piece! How the hell did he sneak in a thousand year old gun?"
>a camera in the corner watches you while they speak, focusing on your face as you stare
>"His facial features are a perfect match for Anon Mous. The Chickenman. He was born in Texas, and is an anonymous human... It also says he's died at least 30 times in official documents, but the only documents from his time I can find say that he was believed to have died before coming to the anthro world."
>you hear swearing from the lanky one, and he seems to be freaking out as he makes a joke about how you clearly aren't you, and clearly not human
>Shaxx strongly disagrees
>"You can't be serious big man. He's clearly not human. He's supposedly from the 21st century! How do you explain him getting the gun in, and snapping on me while I was in the zone? How do you explain all of the deaths he had, and how he's here now?"
>Shaxx ponders it for a moment, before responding grimly
>"The gun might have been a solid lead. An old group called the Terran Hunter Omega Tactical had a nack for sneaking things into places they shouldn't be able to, but he came in alone. If he was with THOT patrol, we would have seen a gang of men like him floating around. Combining that with apparently superhuman training, and multiple KIA dates... He has to be a warlock."
>Ronnie just silently waits for Shaxx to continue, most likely dumbfounded
>"He was sent here for some reason, and no matter how you prodded him he indicated that it was to have some fun, correct? Someone sent him here for exactly that, and they had to have a lot of power to do it. I think I may know who did it, but I have to contact the vanguard."
>you hear digitized buttons being pressed and after a moment Zig's phone rings, and she terminates her radio call to you
>a solid minute goes by before a massive bull walks into the room and sits down in a chair that obviously doesn't want him in it, groaning as if it was about to explode under his weight
>"We have decided to free you, and any possible charges have been dropped, Mr. Mous."
>he gently slides your pistol across the table to you, followed by your knife and the magazine to the gun
>"If our shared friend had called ahead, I would have taken the time to run you into our security systems so that you could handle things officially. Unfortunately, trouble found you before your so called Kitten arrived. You could absolutely stay if you so desire, but with the buzz of what happened down there in the air..."
>you take note the magazine is loaded and the pistol feels a bit heavier than it did earlier, but glancing over it confirms it is visually identical to the one you pulled out earlier
>"I figure you will be leaving. A pity, since I know that Ms. Edwards was hoping to meet your wonderful Tigress, and I know that Titan will be sorry he missed the event of a century unfolding here. If you do decide to come back later, please bring back Mrs. Zig. She is an amazing woman, and any time she visits us she has a wonderful time."
>ignoring you while you slide your weapons back into position, he goes through the door into the interrogation room and talks through the open port to you for a moment before walking off
>"This door should take you back to the hall. Don't mind that Ronnie will see you do it, he knows better than to question me when I tell him to stand down. Oh, and if absolutely necessary then bring Bingle next time... Just-"
>the door closes before he can finish, but you swear you can hear him tell you to make sure and watch him if you do
>unsure of where you will end up, you open the door with your left hand and find yourself a door down from the door you entered
>you go back into the closet you started out in, taking off your tux and getting back into your normal costume before walking back out into the hall
>as you search for the next door to walk through you have a feeling it's going to explain to you what these so called sets really were, even though in your mind you had a feeling you knew
>sure enough, a minute of walking later and an intricately carved silver door sits before you, calling out to you with whispered voices rather than a gut feeling
>you watch as it unlocks, light dancing around the doorframe and a thin smell of sulfur filling your nose
>oh, this is going to end so amazing well that you just can't wait; not a single thing about the brimstone or delicately designed silver door leave anything to worry about

>Walking into the door, you find your boots greeted by a floor of uncut stones, various sized and shapes filling a massive sweeping cavern all around you
>as you step into the cavern the door delicate closes behind you, blue flames appearing in the distance and swimming in the air around you
>when one of them gets a bit too close for your own comfort, you begin to hear gentle whispers speaking of a light being held back by a darkness
>moments later you engulf in a dazzling display of fire, the blue flames backing away as bright red flames sweep around you
>you know you should be freaking out, fearful of the fire that dances around you, but something in your mind is telling you that you're safe behind them
>the kissing embers and ashes dancing around you carry the warmth of love, and you focus on that feeling as hard as you can
>the gentle kiss of the fire intensifies until you can feel a river of flames twirling around you and hugging to your still untouched clothing
>the voices near you intensify and yell out at you, screaming of the darkness retreating as they also back away from you
>walking forward towards a group of women standing near a pool of water, your flames die down and all but a few embers leave your side
>a horned rabbit smiles at you, elegant and massive sheathes covering her horns and decorating her figure
>"I see the other predators of our land have come to realize that your darkness is being filled by someone's love. Neither my sisters, nor theirs could so much as attempt to sway you from such a strong bond. It would be foolhardy and arrogant way to die."
>the rocks near the pool crack and shift, forming walls around you and a plain door behind you, causing you to become alert and for a thin cord of flame to dance in the air around you
>"Worry not Revenant. The walls are not to keep you in, but to allow for us to speak."
>the strange woman wades into the pool and sits down, motioning for you to take a seat in a forming chair
>giving her the benefit of the doubt, you sit down and listen as she speaks to you
>"I had my sisters call to you from afar because our strongest of kin has sent you to us. She is not allowed to fully explain what is going on, but I assume you have realized that the movie sets you have visited are much too large and real to simply be illusions, yes?"
>you nod, watching as more horned anthros walk into the room from holes in the walls that close as quickly as they open
>"Good. It may not shock you to know that Zig Zag as you know her has quite the empire under he power, but her true form may be something you did not expect. Much like the underlings that serve me here, she is a Succubi. To be precise she is the most powerful of all succubi to have existed as of yet, gaining her freedom and using the small dregs of sensual energy that she gets from the young men who enjoy her works to stay strong."
>some part of you knew Zig was a semen demon, but not to this extent
>"She's truly our smartest sister. Why enjoy a glass or two of wine with a large amount of work to do for it, when you could have all of the drips of wine you want constantly from thousands of bottles? But of course, you coming here just to learn that would be wasteful of your time, so why not let us help you enjoy yourself?"
>a succubi gets closer to you, causing an orb of intensely packed fire to drift closer to her
>"Please understand, fair guest. We mean you no harm. We are unable to feed from someone who's bond to someone is so tight it binds them at the level of the soul. We merely wish to offer you back rubs, give you a massage, or perhaps hear your voice."
>as a show of good will towards you, the succubi all begin to don concealing clothing, hiding their shapely bodies from you
>"We will allow you to leave at any moment you wish. We simply wish to enjoy the company and time of a man who isn't enthralled by our bodies and powers. It is rare to see someone who looks at us like we are people."
>after a few moments of deliberation, you agree to it on the condition that they mind their hands and where they go

>firm hands place warm stones on your back, pressing them into spots and popping joints that had no pampering in a long time
>your shirt is being cleaned and mended by two horned foxes in the water pool as you enjoy their massage, all of them chattering with you in one way or another
>a fox in front of you on a stool spends time speaking with you about life as a sexual demon, and how she has a particular summoner that treats her like she's a real person
>she seems almost flustered when describing how he didn't enjoy her for weeks until he was sure that they knew one another well enough, and in a moment of real passion she forgot to take more than the absolute bare minimum of energy from him
>the horned creatures all swap places, replacing the rocks on your back with new ones as they move positions
>this continues for a while until your back is completely free of the stress and pain of life, the demons near you asking what you would like to do next
>you decide to just talk with them for a while, asking about their culture and how they work
>they go through the various details of how their horn caps work, how they bond with people from time to time, and how they can feed off of raw sensual feelings if they're intense enough
>when you ask about the blue flames, the most powerful Succubi that had greeted you named Silice responded
>"They're similar to us, but they search for life force through mirrors and have to bond with their targets to leave this place. They stay with their mates for a long time, and when their mate dies they come back here to become an incubi alongside their succubi life partner. They actually breed to make more succubi, where as our sisterhood of the horn can corrupt females that summon us into becoming a fellow sister."
>she continues on for a while, rambling about anything that comes to mind before you realize how much time you probably spent hanging out with them
>having enjoyed your stay with the creatures of hell for long enough, and fully aware that Zig's jokes were a very real way of telling you that you were dimension hopping, you set off towards your next door
>not far away lies what appears to be a solid piece of bark with a handle, and you grip it and immediately begin your next other worldly adventure

>as you walk through the bark door your ear piece buzzes and you can hear Zig talking to you again
>"I know that I said I'd just let things happen, and I'd do my best to stand back and let you do you sweetie, but this place isn't a happy one."
>you walk out of a tree, the bark shaped into a handle you can barely make out after closing the door
>"You're on the property of a hunter in Jolly old England. A man who has killed 2 of the only 3 anthros we know of on his property, and he killed them knowing full and well what they were. Normally I'd ask you to be as vicious I know you can be, but I'd get into some serious trouble if you walked up on an old man and opened fire on him. I'm going to ask you to head back through the door unless you have any ideas on how to deal with this in a legal fashion. Legal. Not getting caught doesn't count."
>you sit down, back against the tree as you think
>you can hear Zig Zag flipping through pages in some kind of book looking for something you could use, but you get back to her first
>"Hey Zig. This is the English countryside, right? And Brexit hasn't gone through with the EU right?"
>Zig Zag quickly flips through pages some more, you hear mumbles, and she confirms that you're correct
>"Alright. Heading to the mansion then. Don't worry about me going lethal, I know exactly what I'm going to do. Do me a favor though, and get good old lizzy on the line and listening in if possible. I need her to hear every word I say clearly." 
>the frustrated succubi on the other end sighs before saying that she'll get her on in short order; the imposing state of the house before you gets closer by the moment as you hear an elderly woman gently say she's listening in on everything you are going to say
>dogs bark in the background as you stride over the driveway and up to the front door, loudly rasping the front door and declaring you are here on behalf of the EU
>some yells to you that they'll be down in a second, following by fumbling with keys as you can barely make out them cursing about a failed hunt under their breath
>an old man opens the door, taken aback by your extremely militaristic appearance
>"Military sneaky protective clothing, good old fashioned stiff heeled Jack boots, a rooty-toy-point-and-shooty hand artillery device in a large  stopping power delivering caliber, and on top of that covered in the battle scars of a fearless hunter? I must say I am surprised that something has inspired the EU to send a law enforcement agent directly to my door. Did you get my letter of complaint about not being allowed larger dogs to hunt with?"
>the hunter looks a bit joyous you're here, but confusion muddles his facial features more than anything else
>"This is not to do with you assault canines. I have it on good authority that you have been shooting at the local wildlife with your Martini-Henry. I was also told you have killed all but one of their population."
>the hunter smiles, pleased that the higher ups know of his prowess and strength in taking down such prey
>"This is true friendly, incredibly dangerous, battle hardened EU law enforcement officer. I have killed all but one of these creatures."
>your responce is short and sharp, carrying all of the gentleness of a chav beating a man to death with a cricket bat after chugging cheap pints in a pub
>"Did you ever think that since these creatures speak poor english if any language and have no protection or home, they may not be from here?"
>the hunter's face goes pale as you smile a vicious smile
>"EU regulation 179238-87A-2 states that ALL possible foreign nationals must be reported to the authorities of country or the greater state so they may be given a home. Instead of doing this, you decided it would be in your best interest to commit GENOCIDE upon the poor refuges on your land. Do you know what you have done?"
>the hunter has gone from pale to ghostly white as he begs to explain himself, the voice in your ear swearing softly and aggressively at what she's been hearing so far as you continue to berate the old man before you
>"DON'T YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO WHITE-SPLAIN YOUR ACTIONS, COLONIZING WARMONGER. Your demonic, toxic words will have no sway on the gentle and forgiving laws of the great realm of the EU. I have already called your crown mummy to have a chat with you."
>as you finish you take your ear piece out and hand it to the elderly man, allowing him to speak into it and to the now enraged woman on the other end
>good old "Lizzy" the second, Queen of England, cursing a storm at the devilish colonizer the second he said hello to her
>he pleads weakly for her to forgive him, calling her mummy softly and saying he didn't think of what he was doing or how it could have affected the "so called" refugees
>you hear more screaming from the other end as the once proud hunter falls to his knees, bawling into his hands while the Queen rips into his very soul with her vicious temper
>"But mummy... No mummy! I swear that-but... Yes mummy."
>he removes the ear piece as he sits on his knees broken and sad, handing it back to you carefully and waiting for you to put it back in to say anything
>he clears his throat as you extend your hand to him, helping him back up he begins his apology, and explains what his fate will be to you in detail
>"I am sorry fair chap. I appear to have become a genocidal maniac. The crown is going to have me taken to an orthodontist and have my teeth straightened, after such actions conclude and my teeth are as straight as a picket fence I will be sent and unleashed into the wilds of Africa. The Supreme Safety council will meet me down the road from my house, and I shall walk out to meet them."
>the elder shattered man reaches into his pocket, handing you keys to his house and what you assume is a car
>"Give these to the young man inside. I shall use my able bodied privilege to oppress my way down the road to their approaching panzer of peace. He shall be given all of my property, and his fox refugee friend shall be given all of my rights. When I step onto the harsh sands of Africa I shall no longer be a British man. I am sorry for what I have done my friend."
>crying as the rain pours he begins to trod down the road, a heavy engine of what is most likely an armored car coming to collect the incredibly dangerous senior citizen sounds off in the distance
>when you walk into the house a young man is on his phone, speaking with government officials explain what has happened outside for the past few minutes
>you wait until he understands what has occured and finishes his call, walking over to you and asking what you were going to do
>handing him the keys you chat with him over what he should be doing right now instead, talking about getting rid of all of the old codger's hunting trophies and making his man cave into a proper resting spot
>a confused fox peeks out at you from the shadows of the house, her eyes sparkling as she gazes upon you, assuming you didn't have the good eyesight to catch a glimpse of her
>you smile at her openly and wave softly, causing her to flee back into the house somewhere
>finishing up a short talk about how to care for stressed woman and patting him on the shoulder you march back outside
>you keep a steady pace until you get back to the tree, and into the hallway
>turning around to close the door, you notice the fox followed you and has a confused look on her face
>with a wink thumbs up you close the door behind you, locking the gate to the world hub in front of her as Zig congratulates you on somehow solving such a volatile situation

>following that, you are left in silence again, and the hallway stretches out to your left and right, nothing really calling out to you while you walk down it again
>your boots clang against the metal grated floor as you stride down what feels like an endless hallway
>you look at the various doors before you with a bored stare, annoyed that you cant find one that seems to make you want to go through
>stone, bright red plastic covered in stickers, a bulkhead that has some kind of voice emanating from it, a deep crimson door with a soda logo and 23 plaster on it, a canvas flap... 
>a simple canvas flap amongst endlessly complex and decorated doors?

>your sense of direction guides you to walk up to it, hearing the gentle sounds of birds emanating from the other side
>guess this is your best bet, if your intense feeling of desire to go in is anything to judge by
>in a moment of certainty you place your hand on the taught canvas; the "door" slowly rolls itself open, unleashing wilderness before you
>you walk out, confused by the lack of any civilization, and take note you just walked out of a destroyed tent
>in the distant trees you see a man in a mantis mask approaching you, strumming a lute and singing
>his body is cloaked in feathers, and a hood obscures his face as he gets closer to you
>after all of the hijinks of the previous places you hope that this meeting will be short and to the point
>you really don't have the patience and time to deal with another jester or someone who knows what you're hunting to a certain extent but just wants to play games
>he slowly but surely makes his way over to you, singing a song about a fox being safe in the arms of a hunter before he suddenly seemed to notice you
>he comes to a stop mere feet from you, strumming his lute slowly and finishing his song before stopping and looking at you directly
>the air is thick for a moment, and his face goes from a smile to a frown, his formerly happy expression now one of confusion
>he just stands there for a moment, scratching his chin before speaking to you
>"How perplexing. You hear clearly when I sing and play aloud, and yet when I strum at you form inside..."
>he strums his lute, flinching as all of the strings suddenly snap in unison
>"I guess now neither way shall make a sound. It has been many a long night since I have had the joy of seeing a spectre such as you arrive in our fair lands. Your kind are always so enigmatic, so very direct, and generally leave behind a wake of despondence."
>the masked bard bows to you, careful not to get any closer to you
>"I had bird's eyes watch over the woods, reporting to me when they might catch sight of living being and report them to me. Strange they didn't mention you. I'll assume you have a bit of soul searching to do?"
>you somehow feel his smile dancing behind shadows, and simply glare at him
>"I mean not offend dear traveler! I simply wish to play games with you. Perhaps I should first try to hide while you seek?"
>the bard smiles, ducking behind a thin sapling and disappearing completely
>you've had just about enough crap for a lifetime, and decide you're going to have to do a speedrun of his dumb game
>you growl and look through your pouches on your utility rig, before finding your thermal goggles and putting them on, your left hand gripping what was supposed to be a stealth camo generator prop
>if your gun had become real when you went through the last door, maybe the rest of your kit was also as effective now
>you hear a laugh from the trees as the bard immitates a bird call and calls out for you to find him
>his laugh becomes a gasp as you dissapear from sight, your entire body suddenly as invisible as he had become
>you watch the outline of his body trying to search for you further into the treeline, and march over silently
>having lost track of you he ducks behind the tree and reappears, giving you the perfect opportunity to uncloak inches in front of him
>"Boo."
>the bard laughs and tugs on the neck of his cloak, suddenly as terrified as most of the others were at your sight earlier
>"I don't have time for games. I had a feeling I should come here, and found you after I exited that tent over there. So I'm going to politely ask you to make this quick and ask you to tell me if you know what I'm looking for."
>the bard strums at the air where his strings had been, a weak smile visible on his face
>"I must first ask your name, traveller, so I may take part in your part of this gam-"
>you hold up a flashbang next to his ear, and jiggle the pin close to it
>"No games."
>he nervously laughs, probably unsure of what you are even holding
>"No need to blow us both to kingdom come, very odd and scary stranger! I see you too dabble in the more powerful magics, and very much respect your wish for no more playing around."
>after a few seconds you nod, stepping back from him and giving him space to breath as he moves away from the tree and towards the camp you came from
>he opens and closes the tent flap, looking at you, then through the destroyed tent, then back at you
>"I see you have a very powerful gift. And the way you arrived reminds me of a particularly strange woman I once shared a be- room! Shared a room with. As a gentleman would."
>he pulls a sketch of Zig out of his coat and waves it at you, a much more sincere smile on his face, and you assume a bit of a blush as well
>"I will be free of you soon, my dear lord of the shadows. I believe the being that sent you here, if she hath decided not to come herself, has a way for me to help you."
>he reaches into his clothes deeply, fishing around and causing an impossible amount of items to clank, rattle, sound off, and even gently smoke from inside his trousers
>he pulls a small wooden door out of his pocket and approaches slowly and carefully, holding it out to you
>"If you are what I believe you are, and the mistress of temptation brought you here, might you do me the favor of touching this door with your correct hand? Mind I didn't say right, my friend."
>you tap the door gently, causing the familiar glow to slowly dance along the cracks before it swings open, and the bard hides it from your sight while studying it for a moment
>you hear the tiny door slam, he throws it back into his pants, and whips quickly around to face you
>"I have seen a small glimpse of your past, future, present, and I also got glimpse of a wondrous creature. Fur as soft and wondrously colored as the snows upon the mountains, veins of rich charcoal laid down in stripes upon her which I can only wish that I chance to graciously ho-"
>you loudly rack your pistol, causing the bard to change his poetic waxing rapidly into much nicer and proper words
>"Have a wonderful chat with!  As a gentleman and a noble should! I am most certainly a man of honor and virtue, and not a man of target and practice."
>you glare at him, holstering your pistol before letting him continue
>"The vision through that door has lead me to find your path. While it is true you could wander this hallway evermore, never finding your door proper door..."
>he pulls his lute out again, six thick strings replacing the formerly thin twelve as he plucks away a gentle tune
{I have found your path!}
{So please spare me of your lead wrath!}
{It ends at a door made of dark steel, and leads to a place you know you one have been!}
{behind it waits a once in a life time gift, for you an' the fine Jasmine!}
>he takes a moment to strum out a short and quick melody of notes before finishing
{I leave you now to get your lass, and your shared dooooorrrr...}
{I shall go to annoy anon and his wolf some moreeeee.}
>the bard prances off into the plucking away and singing of how he will annoy "anon and his dear Faolre" on his mutant banjo-lute
>having had enough of this dumb forest and the odd bird that just took his leave, you open up the tent's flap with your left hand and walk back into the hallway you had walked out of mere minutes ago
>as the flap behind you shuts tightly you suddenly realize your belt is a bit light, and check your pouches
>all of your smoke and flashbang grenades are gone, that odd masked man having somehow stolen them
>a strange feeling rolls over you as you question just how in control of that situation you were, and what use he would have of smoke grenades and flashbangs
>a familiar feline shouting your name somewhere in the hallway snaps you back to reality though, and the bard's words ring true

>Jasmine runs towards you, her fancy white sneaking suit fully zipped up as she tackles you with a hug
>"You won't believe what this place is like anon! I opened a bunch of doors, and I went to all kinds of strange places looking for you! Zig opened doors for me when I went in and came out."
>you try to speak but Jasmine shushes you, holding you tightly
>"No talking. Just hugs. I feel bad that I didn't join you when you left the party. You looked as if you had all the fun you needed when Ziggy offered to lead you this way."
>Jasmine pulls you down slightly into a gentle kiss on your lips, the very gentle taste of the wine she had been sipping flowing into your mouth
>you tell her everything is fine and she quickly kisses you again, before seeming to realize something and showing you her prop gun
>"So you know how these were props right? Well, when I went into those doors those sets for movies felt awful real. I went to a bombed out place in the desert from one of your video games, and killed a big lizard with horns that tried to attack me after running out of a cellar in a house. I popped into some kind of spooky Halloween town and met so many people there! There was this lovely wolf I talked with for a while, she had black fur and she was traveling with a human. She talked about how I apparently smelled like a revving ant or something then described someone just like you coming to town. When I talked to the big boss there he was all angry about how apparently the taxi that was supposed to take you didn't come in time, and you took off on a horse with no name. It was weird but fun."
>she stops to hand you her rifle, and you instinctively swap it to your left and flip the safety on as she holds onto your right
>as you begin to wander down the hall she begins to ramble on again
>"I went to a school and a bunch of weird kids and this darling little rabbit freaked out because I had a gun on campus... I even went to a little cabin in the woods too, some little poofball fox was looking around for something and she saw me. She said I smelled like Jager even though I didn't drink any, and then asked me after we talked for a while if she could fire my gun. I didn't know it had so many bullets in the magazine! It's still full somehow, even after she fired it for a few minutes. Constantly. I've got some kind of weird feeling that some spooky stuff is going on that I don't understand, because the bullets certainly tore up the trees like they were real."
>Jasmine grips your hand for emotional support as you both walk forward, hoping you have the answers she needs
>walking down the hallway slowly with her you explain as best as you can what's going on
>how you are supposedly a human, but some kind of rare one that has gone back from the dead and is able to open so called doors between worlds
>you're someone who can walk the rifts that hold worlds apart without losing themselves trying to force their way through
>laughing as you explain that Zig Zag probably sucked her way to the kind of power to rift walk, Jasmine simply tries to handle all of it
>"So all of the sets are real places? They're able to be visited when you put your hand on a door to open it, if I have this right. But why would we be here to do this? Why the watches?"
>glancing down at your watch you notice it still hasn't moved, stuck at 8PM sharp
>"I don't know Jasmine. All I know is that when I see a door that I need to go into for whatever reason I just get this urge to go in."
>as you finish your sentence a strong urge suddenly ignites in your body to run forward

>letting go of Jasmine, who quickly catches up to your sudden burst of speed, you dash as fast as you possibly can down the hallway
>doors seem to scream as you pass them, your entire left arm starting to glow as you close in on a door at the end of the hallway that has suddenly appeared
>when you skid to a stop in front of it your left arm is glowing white underneath your medical brace, and your eyepatch has light streaming out from under it so bright that Jasmine asks if your'e ok
>in a trance of sorts, you ignore her as you walk forward towards a door that's so dark and smooth you wouldn't be wrong for thinking the door frame was empty
>she calls to you again, grabbing for your right arm and holding it as your body moves on it's own to drop her rifle and touch the door frame
>Jasmine tries to pull you back, crying out your name in fear as you finally touch a single finger to the door
>when your palm is fully on the door shes desperately clawing to pull you back, smoke and ash swirling around you as the light from your arm slowly bathes the pitch black portal
>your hand comes free after a moment, and the unnatural strength pulling you forward is lost as Jasmine pulls you into her arms, holding you tight and on the verge of tears
>she's whispering for you to say something as you realize you're limp in her arms, so you squeeze her hands as tightly as you can and say you're fine
>she manages to fall over backwards as she hugs your back as best she can, the door in front of the two of you slowly burning away to reveal a very disturbingly normal grey wooden door
>with a slowly mellowing sob she asks you why this door was so important, hugging you tightly
>"You have to trust me Jasmine. I can't explain if what I think the door is... is what I hope it is. Can you give me the blind trust for that? I know that it's asking a lot after how I just reacted to seeing it. I just... I don't want to hope I know what it is and be wrong."
>she sighs, licking your cheek in the most affection way that a feline can show they trust you
>"Absolutely. I trusted you to take me into that room and fight me on camera before we made a porno. I trusted you to take me in your bed after our first real date. I trusted you to not cause too much trouble when you walked off to deal with something Zig said she wanted you to do... I trust you with my life anon."
>you step out of her grasp, walking to retrieve her gun before helping her to her feet
>the door before you has a faint light glowing around it already, and Jasmine looks confused as you reach for the knob with your right hand
>it doesn't open on it's own after you turn the door handle, so you push forward and through the doorway and out into the night
>you step out onto a porch of an older home, a smoothed stone filled dirt road connecting a neighborhood of similarly elder homes to one another
>as soon as jasmine joins you to stare at the world you have just found, you hear a gentle beep and your watch begins to tick for the first time
>ignoring that, you watch as wild horned lizards dart along the ground, diving into flower beds to hide as birds circle overhead
>"I recognize this place from somewhere anon. Pictures you showed me. But I don't recall exactly where. Something from when you were young though."
>Jasmine looks around at the world as you try to figure out where you are, when it hits you like a ton of bricks
>for the first time in almost four years... you're home

>you walk off the of the porch and into the road, staring at houses long since lost when you left this place
>you grew up on this street, and the time worn houses call out to you in a way that feels so warm it burns
>Jasmine comforts you as you collapse to your knees, hands grasping at the something on the soil so you can know you aren't in another waking nightmare
>she pats your back as you sit in the soil, a lizard running across your gloved hands as you move them so it stays close to you
>letting the poor creature go, Jasmine helps you as you gently try to stand again
>she follows close as you march down the street, confident in knowing that no one would question her appearance on Halloween night
>that and the fact that the houses were dead since most tricker-treaters didn't come so far out into the country for their treats
>as you march forward your eyes are locked on a house with an old Camaro '74 Z28, its broken shut windows and scratched golden factory paint sticking to it calling out to your childhood
>you can remember when you got rides to and from school in that very car, your dad telling you stories of your youth
>it pains you as you get closer as see an old Pontiac '88 sitting in the garage, parts strewn about as whoever had been trying to piece it together obviously didn't have all of the pieces available and was forced to stop
>walking up to the front door, you pull the doorbell's plate back and tap two wires together a few times so it can actually ring
>you hear cursing and someone on the other side of the warped and beaten oak door works a series of locks so they can see who is bothering them
>an elderly woman stares at you for a few confused seconds, before she loses her strength and falls down into your waiting arms
>she cries into your fatigues, wailing in sorrow at the sight of you standing before her
>she wails about how she lost the last light in her life when you died, and how she spent weeks searching alone around where they lost saw you in the hopes that she could at least find your body
>she cringed about your funeral, and how so few of the townsfolk had survived the storm that seemingly evaporated the town when you left
>as she slowly pulls herself together she sees Jasmine behind you, and walks over to her with a cane in her hand, hugging the feline as if she was her own flesh and blood
>"I got those text messages from him eventually. So many of them. I maxed out my minutes on my phone so bad I used one of my three months of unlimited downloads just to get all of the pictures of you two together on my phone. You're so much more gorgeous in person sweetie. I'm so happy that you found the last beacon of hope for the Mous family and saved him. I hated when his brother got him wrapped up in his bullshit. Took the safe foolish path his father did, but didn't even have the excuse of doing it to raise a family like he did."
>you laugh as she continues to rant about how much of a waste of time your brother was, waddling back towards the house, waving you both inside
>the hallway is sparse, the living room immediately to your right furnished with TV dinner trays covered in dust and a massive L shaped sectional couch
>sitting down beside your love, you place her rifle to the right of the two of you on the couch, facing towards a wall
>when the old woman comes back in she has two plates balanced in her hands, large portions of home cooked squirrel and garden grown corn heaped onto the plates
>"I usually give leftovers to the neighbors since your old dog Bo died. When you didn't come home for the various holidays he just started to fade. I never said you died directly to him, but I guess those long years he spent by your side since you were 12 just finally ate him up when you didn't come back for him anymore."
>you take a bite out of your plate as the elderly woman pulls out an inhaler and takes a big shot of it before having a coughing fit
>you can't help but feel that you were everyone's sticking glue in what remained of your broken family, and the failing health of your only living relative was a symbol of their fading bonds
>Jasmine eats quietly, the silence in the room eating at you as you begin to cry
>you weep into the food silently as Jasmine stops eating to try to comfort you, the elderly woman moving aside the rifle so she can get closer to you
>she hugs you as close as her frail body can, the feeling that she may only have years left of life hurting you the worst
>"Don't think about the pain sweetie. I was told you would do you best to visit me when you had the chance. So let's do our best to update me on what you can while you have this golden opportunity. Let's both relish in the happiness of knowing we can speak again."
>you can feel her tears fall onto your shoulders as you nod, taking your time to eat a few bites of food before going to the most important thing first
>"Well. I think you should be the first to proudly know that your favorite and only tiger relative may very well be pregnant. She isn't just starting to get fat, there may well be a baby in her."
>Jasmine chuffs at you, wrapping an arm around yours and ignoring your bad joke while you continue to talk and she eats more 
>"The first time we did it, minuscule chances as they are, she very well may have gotten a pregnancy to stick. Now don't get excited! She may just have lost her normal heat cycle because of how vicious her last one was... but it seems more likely I may be a father soon."
>you smile, the two closest women in your life to you on either side of you
>you check your glance at your watch while talking about how the chances were so small, and the exact numbers come up to what the real odds were and how astronomical they must have been
>you know you only have until midnight to visit and stay her before Zig Zag comes to pull you back out, so you all agree you have to make the best of it
>allowing the two women to your sides to continue on with one another you smile, enjoying hearing both of them having the first and hopefully not only talk they will share in their respective lives
>Zig Zag comes onto your ear piece for a moment, giving you a warning about the time before the last words you'll hear from her all night stick in your mind
>"It isn't every night that I can pull my strings and get the my band of merry men to play nice and keep a place like this open. You did act a good sport and play along though, so I'll let you have you night and may just be a few minutes late in pulling you two back out. It isn't every day you get this kind of opportunity, anon. So I'll let you have this, keep your outfit and your pistol, and if you play nice we may be able to secure you and Jasmine a more permanent situation with visiting the town you first went to. The old dog seemed a bit more eager for you to come back after Jasmine and his daughter talked him up about your good deeds in your new home. Anyhow, I'll talk later honey. You take this time to enjoy yourself. Not every day someone gets to see someone they would have otherwise never seen again due to multiverse based red tape."
>you thank Zig for her help, keeping in mind that your gear minus the prototype tech props were all yours before turning your attention to the two ladies for the rest of the night
>it might seem a bit rude to not call her back and be more grateful, but it doesn't bother you in the moment
>for now you keep your limited time focused on your closest family member and your mate
>it isn't every day that someone gets to see their long lost mother again