‘Is robot back?’
‘Not yet.’
You and Neon have been waiting for a couple of minutes and already you both are anxious to get going.
While you are both waiting for Proto, you think about what questions you want to ask the doctor, but one thing that bothers you is how the doctor seems to know you. Just what on earth happened? Where is everyone? This is an institute so where are the other humans? Why is this institute filled with these strange living goo monsters that are so excited whenever they see you? Is it because of their desire to transfur? Why do they want to do it so much? Even Leevo has the interest of transfurring you as his host despite not making a move for it.
Before you can continue your thoughts, Proto finally came back from his chores. The robot robotically walks up to you.
*Beep beep!*
“Finally you got here! I still can’t believe that you actually took priority on garden work over taking us to see the doctor, wouldn’t he get mad at you?”
*Beep…beep?*
“Ummm…never mind all good.”
*Beep*
‘Robot here! Can we go?’
‘Thankfully yes,’ you answer before speaking to Proto.
“Lead the way Proto.”
*Be-Beep!*
The robot beeps in an acknowledging tone. Walking past you and Neon, Proto heads to the security A.I. standing in front of it.
*Beeeeep!*
“Finally finished Proto? I must say Dr. K is really giving us a workload of tasks, making us do all of the work.” the A.I. beeps with annoyance.
*Beep! Be-Beep?*
“No matter, what’s done is done. Access granted.”
And just like that, the door opens. Proto moves to the exit, standing by as he waves his arm calling you and Neon over.
*Be-be-beep*
‘We go now?’
‘Yep! About time he got back.’
Walking to Proto, he walks through the door while you and Neon follow close behind. Walking through the door, you see that you are in another greenhouse room except with fewer plants and half of the room at the exit is covered with…
“Is that…white latex?”
Every inch on the floor and the wall is covered with white latex, making you very uncomfortable. Neon starts sniffing the air with an unsure look on her face.
‘Many latex…territory?’
Hearing Neon’s thoughts, you recall your journey through the black latex territory, is that where you are heading to? Except it’s controlled by white latex? You don’t think going there is such a good idea. You decide to speak to Proto about this, only to see him walking towards it!
“Wait wait wait! Proto! Hold on!”
Thankfully, the robot stops, turning around to see you running up to him with Neon close behind.
“Proto! Are we actually going that way?!”
*Beep*
“But…isn’t that a nest or a territory up ahead!?”
*Beep beep*
Proto beeps, nodding his head.
“Are you sure we should go that way?? I mean…isn’t there a different way to get to the doctor??”
*Beeeeep…*
The robot shakes his head, his eyes creating a projection. The projection shows a locked door with the scanner being broken or latex goo sealing up doors. Understanding this, you take a deep breath.
“...are you sure about this?”
*beee…*
Proto frowns, nodding his head, before he creates another projection.
Safety tips in case of exploring latex territory/nest.
* Stay calm at all times.
* Move slowly as to not disturb the nest
* Keep your mind clear as much as you can
* Cones are your best friend, stick close to them whenever possible. (Don’t move them!)
Finishing reading these tips, you nod in understanding as the hologram disappears.
“So…just keep calm?”
*Beep!*
“Alright, fine. I just hope I don’t regret this.”
You reach out to Neon to inform her about the situation.
‘Neon? According to the robot, we are going to have to go through that territory.’
Neon’s eyes snap open as her glowing green marks flare in response.
‘W-what? No other way??’
‘I’m afraid not, the robot said all other routes are either inaccessible or blocked.’
‘But…not sure…’
‘I am not sure myself, but we have no other choice.’
‘You have choice!’
Neon calls, grabbing your wrist to get your full attention.
‘Why follow robot? Latexes know another way?’
‘This could be our only way to get outside. There is also someone I must see, might tell me more about my past. Neon…you know how much I want to know more about my past, I can’t just forget about it. It’s what kept me going when I first woke up.’
Neon’s ears droop, still looking unsure. Suddenly, her ears perk up, with a sense of confidence as her green marks glow.
‘I protect friend!’
‘Neon? You mean…’
‘Stay close. I protect.’
You feel bashful, happy that Neon promises to protect you, she reminds you of Puro, holding Trixie back in order to give you the chance to escape.
‘Thanks Neon. You’re a great friend.’
Neon smiles, happy to hear your gratitude. Ready to continue, you nod to Proto, silently signalling that you and Neon are ready to go.
*Beep!*
Following Proto, Neon makes sure to stay close to your side while you both approach the white latex territory. As Proto steps onto the white latex, you freeze in place, staring at it. Can…can you even step on it? If a small latex puddle can move, does this move as well? Is it even alive?
You look up to Neon, who gives you a nod, gently holding onto your hand to support and encourage you.
‘I’m here.’
You turn to face the latex, gently raising your foot to gently step on it. You almost flinch, expecting it to crawl up your leg. You look up to see Proto standing by, waiting for you. You reach and take another step with your other foot while Neon mimics your movement.
‘See? Everything ok. I’m here.’
Gritting your teeth, you take a deep breath to calm your nerves before taking another step, your speed slowly increasing into a walk. For every step you take, Neon reflects it, making sure to not leave your side.
Step by step, you are halfway across the latex-covered greenhouse, getting closer to the door that leads deeper into the white latex territory. While you are cautiously walking through the white latex, Proto waits by the door patiently.
*THUD THUD*
You and Neon look up to hear thuds coming from the door in front of Proto.
*Beep?*
Proto looks at the door with question marks on its ‘eyes’ as it reaches for the door.
‘ROBOT NO!’
“DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR!”
But it is too late, Proto grabs the handle of the door and gives it a gentle tug…
*SPLOOSH*
*Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!*
Only for a wave of white latex to rush out of the door, pushing him down as the latex disappears into the floor. The robot lies on the floor, its rectangular eyes becoming spirals.
“Proto! Why did you open it??”
*bee-bee…*
You ignore the robot as Neon pulls you by the hand and starts running in the opposite direction, trying to get you to safety.
‘Run friend! Run!’
Hearing her cry, you run as fast as your legs could carry you, following her lead. But before you could get away, the latex in front of you starts to bubble, forming a barricade that forms up in a flash, separating you and Neon as she helplessly tumbles as a wall forms behind her, cutting you off from her.
‘Friend! Noo!’
You barely register what she said, as you see something slowly form out of the wall. A wolf's head slowly pushes out, followed by its torso with arms and legs, its white pupil eyes staring at you grinning with glee. Then another wolf starts forming…then another…and another…
Five wolves start to take shape from the wall, drawing all of their attention onto you.
“What are you all doing?? Stop this!”
Unfortunately, they do not react to your plea at all, as they all form out one by one. Taken aback, you keep your distance from the wolves as they completely form out of the wall and land on the latex floor. The first wolf takes its first step towards you, locking its eyes to yours, paralysing you…those eyes…it is just like the ones from the white wolf you saw when you woke up…You can’t feel your legs.
‘Run friend! Run for life!’
Neon yells through her telepathy, pounding onto the wall. Hearing this, you snap out of your fear, feeling your strength returning to your legs, completing you to run.
And run you did.
You start running towards the exit, where Proto lies dizzy from the impact.
“Proto! HELP!”
But to your dismay when you look at the robot’s eyes.
*ERROR*
“Are you serious right now??”
Discarding the robot, you quickly jump to the right, barely evading a wolf forming out of the latex on the ground, reaching out to grab you. Looking behind you, you find to your horror more and more wolves forming out of the latex, counting about twenty of them.
Rushing through the door, you find yourself in an empty room filled with nothing but white latex everywhere, every inch on the floor, wall and even the ceiling. Without thinking, you slam the door behind you shut just before a wolf manages to get through.
*Bang bang bang*
Not wanting to let them through, you hit the emergency button as the door locks tight and more bangings follow through. Chances are, all of those wolves are banging on that door, trying to get to you.
*Bang bang……*
The banging stops and silence fills the room you are in. Looking behind you, you see that there is another exit but it is sealed off by the white latex. The most you can do now is wait and hope they will go away. Although… you do worry about Neon and Proto, would they be ok? Should you stay put? It’s you whom the wolves want after all.
But…what are the wolves doing right now? Can they get through? Are there any of them in this room? The most you can do now is cross your fingers and hope for the best.
*BANG*
You jump in fright, as the loud bang echoes across the room. What are they doing!?
*CREEAAKKK*
The sound of metal creaking under pressure can be heard by the door. The door is slowly being pushed inwards as latex leaks through the edges of the door. You shudder in fear, the temperature fading away from your body as the door slowly gives in under pressure. Until…
*SLAM*
Pushing through the door, a large head with triangular ears pokes in, a pair of white eyes scanning the room. Upon seeing you, the head pushes, with a large paw going through along with its torso, its hind legs and its large tail sliding into the room. Your worst fears have been realised…
It’s a large white wolf behemoth.
Seeing that you have nowhere else to run, the behemoth melts into the floor, disappearing as tension fills the room. Your breathing becomes heavy, your heartbeat pounding faster to try to combat the stress. Your eyes scan every corner of the room. Now that the behemoth has fused itself with the room, there is no telling where it is or what it is doing. You feel as though there are countless eyes watching you, surrounding you…waiting…waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
What should you do? Should you stand still? Should you make a run through the open door? But what if it's guarded? Not to mention the latex is sure to intervene should you try to escape. But you can’t just stand still and wait! Every second that goes by is a second for them to come closer!
*drip*
Your thoughts came to a screeching halt, seeing drops of white coming from the ceiling. Looking up, you watch in horror to see countless paws forming out of the ceiling, your instincts screaming at you to run. Deciding now's the time to act, you start dashing towards the exit, the paws from the ceiling stretching down as they all try to grab you.
One by one, the paws slam onto the ground before they melt into it. Then a horde of paws starts to break out from the floor as they try to slow your progress, or even try to stop you altogether. One paw manages to grab your foot but luckily, you manage to kick it off before it can trip you.
“GET OFF OF ME!”
A pillar shoots up in front of you as a pair of tendrils tries to reach out and grab you. You stop and jump back, getting enough space to run around it. Then, large blobs of latex start to rain in the room, mainly focusing on you. You barely hold back a yell when one of them nearly lands on top of your head. To make matters worse, a giant arm shoots up from the ground and tries to slam into you. You yell in fright as you jump to the left and keep on running forward, jumping to the sides to keep evading the latex blobs falling from the ceiling.
Little by little, you grow closer to the exit, freedom is just in reach! Unfortunately, your luck comes to an end when the latex by the exit bubbles and takes shape, forming into the head of the Behemoth, frowning at you. Seeing your exit cut off you screech to a halt, unable to make your escape.
The behemoth then disappears into the floor.
“What the hell are they planning now??”
You don't have to wait long as the latex by the exit starts to bubble rapidly as a huge wave of latex starts rushing towards you like a tidal wave. Fearing for your life you are left with no choice but to run in the other direction, only to see another wave of latex crashing towards you.
Quickly looking left and right, you see that there are tidal waves of latex heading towards you in all directions. It dawns on you that you never had a chance to escape, you were merely delaying the inevitable and the latex grew tired of your continuous defiance.
They don’t want to play games, they want their prize now.
“STOP! I DON’T WANT THIS!” you yell as the waves are almost upon you.
“NOO!!”
*SPLASH*
Your whole world is thrown for a loop, as the waves crash onto you, as you get thrown around, spinning round and round. In a blind panic, you try to slow down your momentum trying to find leverage and a pocket of air to breathe. You couldn’t even afford to open your eyes, you have to fight your way through completely blind. You find it difficult to even move your arms, the latex weighing heavily on your limbs.
Suddenly, you feel as though countless arms grab you, pulling you upwards. Then suddenly, you feel the air rush past you, allowing you to quickly take a deep breath of air. Shaking your head and pulling up your arms, you wipe the excess latex off your face as you eventually open your eyes to take in where you are now.
While pulling yourself up, you find yourself in a small…room? There is latex in every corner, but it doesn’t seem to be like the room you were familiar with, it looks very weird and…wait… are the walls moving? Pulling up your legs, you search around as you listen closely, hearing a strange sound…wait…that almost sounds like…breathing…
‘Oh no…’
You are not in a room! You are inside the Behemoth!
You couldn’t even find the strength to move, there is no way out this time. How are you going to get out of this one? You are completely at this Behemoth’s mercy! You feel your skin crawl in fear, you feel like you are on the verge of giving up, feeling so powerless against the combined strength of countless living goo monsters.
Maybe…maybe you could try to reason with them? They are intelligent beings right? Perhaps there is a way to resolve this somehow? Sitting on your knees, the gooey floor underneath you sinks a little as you place your hand on the surface, closing your eyes in hopes of communication.
‘Come on…please…please don’t leave me in the dark…’
Suddenly you feel as though there is a thread reaching out to your mind, a link! With slight hope, you quickly connect to the link, hoping to find reason with the wolves.
‘Hello…?’
‘Hello human!’
Yes! A response! To do this as quickly as possible.
‘Hi umm…I know this is sudden but…’
‘Hello!’
Another voice rang out.
‘Um hey, look I can’t stress with this but…’
‘We caught him! We finally caught another human!’
‘Wait…another human? What are you-’
‘Best we don’t mess this up like last time.’
‘What happened last time? I’m new here.’
‘Some time ago, we found this hu-’
‘This human was a pain to catch!’
‘Is this what a-’
‘-didn’t stand a chance!’
Countless voices started pouring in, putting strain on your mind.
‘Ok ok I get it! You caught me and want to transfur me! But isn’t this a bit extreme??’
‘Who was that just-’
‘What should we do with the human?’
‘I say we get turns taking him as our-’
‘NO WAY! I got him first!’
‘I was the one who made this group! I get the first serve!’
‘Forget taking turns! Why don’t-’
‘NO! Let’s make him-’
As the voices grow louder, latex starts filling in your ‘room’ as arms stretching out of the wall grab you in all directions.
‘I want my turn! Do you know how rare this-’
‘NO! This human belongs to us!’
‘Who said we are sharing?’
‘Why did you join then??’
‘Let’s transfur him already!’
‘Me FIRST!’
‘NO ME!’
‘Let me go! Let me go!’
Unfortunately, your pleas drown with the commotion of the latex wolves as it becomes indistinguishable to tell who said what. As you fight against the latex and the room gets fuller and fuller.
‘Someone! HELP! Please! NEON!!’
You project your thoughts as loud as you could, tears filling your eyes, dread grabbing hold of you when your arms and legs slowly fail to move. Suddenly…as if by a miracle…the latex stops pouring in as the voices go silent.
‘Who…what is that?’
‘A latex? Seems different’
‘Are they glowing? Is that normal?’
‘I…wait…’
The latex starts to drain out of the room as the arms that were grabbing hold of you pulls away, dropping you onto the floor. You can feel your room shaking, almost as if the behemoth is moving.
‘Wait! Stop! I… we don’t-’
‘Make it stop!’
‘We-we meant no harm! We just want-’
The reaction of the voices in the behemoth sounds familiar, just like back in the jungle…could it be?
‘Neon?’
Suddenly a masculine voice stands out, speaking out louder and clearer than the others.
‘Are you all serious? She is just one simple latex! We can take her on!’
…
‘No…? Fine…If none of you will take the human…’’
Suddenly, a pair of arms grab you by the shoulders from behind, pulling you backwards. From the corner of your eye, you can see a wolf that is half emerged from the wall as he pulls you towards him.
‘Then I will!’
‘Hey! I don’t want to be transf-’
Before you can finish the wolf pulls you into the wall along with him, forcing you to shut your eyes tight and take a deep breath before the latex consumes you whole.
Holding your breath, you feel as though you are sinking down deep into the bottom of a lake while something pulls you deeper and deeper into it. Though hard to notice, you feel as though something through the goo slowly encases itself over your arms, crawling over your back to the front of your torso along with your legs.
You feel the goo encasing itself slowly becomes firm, shaping itself around your fingers to paws. You couldn’t even find the leverage to fight back, the goo of the behemoth is too much for you to push away. You shudder when you feel the goo wrap around your neck, feeling an odd sensation behind your hips…but it somehow feels natural…familiar even.
*Slloosh SPLAT*
Suddenly, a rush of fresh air greets you as you feel yourself slip out and land on the latex ground. Instinctively, you try to wipe the goo off your face, but you feel as though your body refuses to respond to your commands. You have no choice but to keep your eyes closed for now, the goo still running down your face.
‘What is happening?’
‘You are becoming my host!’
You feel your tail wag behind you…wait…
‘Are you transfurring me??’
‘Of course I am! After all, the others couldn’t even decide what to do with you and now they are scared by this glowing cat, but I am not stupid! Why should I be afraid of her??’
‘Friend! Don’t worry! I’m here!’
‘Wait who was that? Is that-’
You feel something rush behind your head, crawling over the top of your head and underneath your chin at the same time. Suddenly, the wave of goo washes over with a snap, going firm around your head, as the goo settles in, allowing you to see.
Light fills your vision as it comes to focus, allowing you to see a figure not too far from you. The figure is black with a hint of a green glow, it’s Neon!
You want to run to her but your body refuses to do so, you are captive of your own body now. Your head involuntarily looks down, revealing a white fluffy fur as a white paw with white pads brush over it. Not as fluffy as when you were transfurred by Hunter and Scar but it is fluffy nonetheless. You feel your tail wag faster, as the paw brushes past your ‘arm’ and past your head, brushing over your wolf-like ears.
This body feels amazing! Like I can do anything!’
‘NEON! Help! I can't move!’
‘Neon huh? Is that her name? You know her?’ The wolf questions.
‘YES! Let me go!!’
‘Why should I? I just transfurred you! And there is no way I am just going to give you to her! It’s her loss!’
‘What on earth are you talking about??’
‘I’m saying if she is going to take her sweet time deciding when to transfur you, then I might as well take the opportunity. It’s such a waste not to!’
‘She doesn’t care about that! She wants me out!’
‘Ohhh no…it is too late for second thoughts for her! She is just going to have to wait her turn. It’s not my fault that-’
Suddenly, you feel as though something smashes right into your head. You and the wolf recoil, clutching onto your head. The headache persists as the voice screams into your mind.
‘Release him!’
‘But I-’
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
‘Release him now!’
‘N-NO! He’s mine!’
‘I said…’
Neon’s voice growls, a hint of pure anger burning with her voice.
‘RELEASE HIM!’
The voice thunders in your mind. Yelling out in pain, you clutch your wolf ears as you feel as though you are slipping away, the grip on your body melts away as everything fades to black as you fall…and fall…falling into a seemingly endless abyss.
----------------------------------------
“GAH!”
You crash onto the cold slimy floor, groaning in pain as you try to get your bearings. Pushing yourself up slightly, you brush your face with your arm wiping off the excess goo. You open your eyes to see…nothing? There’s…nothing…it's all black, almost like you are stuck in an empty void.
‘What?’
Frowning in confusion, you press downwards, at least you think you are, feeling the goo climb up between your fingers. Examining it, you notice the goo dripping off your fingers is black. Watching the goo drip off your fingers you notice that the spot the goo is dripping on is glowing toxic green.
‘That green mark wasn’t there before.’
Then, another glowing green spot glows, then more…and more. Before you, a slimy black tunnel with glowing green markings reveals itself, leading down to somewhere, but where exactly?
‘It’s so dark, I can’t even see the end to it!’
You don’t want to go down that tunnel, but you don’t seem to have a choice.
‘Just what happened? Where am I? Neon? Anyone?’
*ROOOOAAARRRR*
A huge nightmarish roar booms behind you, echoing down the glowing tunnel.
‘What the hell was that?!’
Looking down the dark tunnel where no green light is present, you watch in fear, dreading what could possibly be looking down the cold abyss. Suddenly, green marks glow in the middle of the dark tunnel, as it moves closer. You don’t know why but you get this painful headache as it approaches closer.
Stepping into the light, you see what could only be described as a nightmarish monster.
“Neon???”
The monster is a four-legged beast with black gooey fur with strange green glowing markings coating its gooey fur, breathing heavily as goo drips from its gaping jaw, its pupil-less green glowing eyes starestaring down at you. From its gaping jaw, you can see that its intestines are completely radiating green. Looking down, you see that its paws have unnaturally large sharp claws. Its tail is long and slick, with glowing green stripes running across it.
Spotting you, the monster gives a piercing roar, sprouting a pair of tendrils from its spine.You yell in fear, recoiling from the roar and running down the tunnel as the monster gives chase.
“SOMEONE!! ANYONE!! HELP!!”
You cry out down the tunnel, your voice drowns by the thundering booms from the monster behind you while trying not to pass out from the splitting headache.
----------------------------------------
Oh no no no! This is not what she had planned at all!
Neon could only watch in horror as her human friend squirms on the floor, whimpering and clutching his head while the wolf that captured him slowly melts off of him, recoiling in pain and disappearing into the floor.
How could this happen? Wasn’t her friend immune to her hypnotic power? It doesn’t make any sense! What could possibly be affecting her friend to put him in such a horrible state? Then she realises what the possible cause was.
‘The wolf!’
Perhaps when her friend got transfurred by the wolf, his mind gets linked up through the same level of telepathy of a latex? Did the wolf link up with him through telepathy? But if that’s the case…the hypnosis she solely intended for the wolf also impacted her friend as well!
‘No! Not right!’
This isn’t what she wanted at all! She just wanted to save her human friend from the mean behemoth! Not torment him!
‘Neon fix mistake!’
She has to! She has to reach out to her friend and snap him out of her hypnosis! Reaches out through telepathy, connecting to her friend through the friendship bracelet that connect them both.
‘Friend! I’m here!’
Her attempt didn’t work as her friend continues to thrash around in pain.
‘Telepathy not strong?’
Possible. Maybe if she gets closer, she can make her telepathy stronger than the hypnosis and wake up her friend? Hurrying to her fallen human friend, her paws splashing past the white latex Neon kneels beside him and reaches out through her telepathy one more time.
‘Friend! I’m here! Wake up!’
“AHHH!”
A screech of terror bellows out of the human, echoing through the empty white room. Neon jumps back in shock and fear, landing on her rear as she helplessly watches her friend thrash around like a dying fish.
‘What happened?? Was it not enough??’
*Beeeeepp!!*
Before she could react the robot made its appearance standing in front of her while the green leaf dragon Leevo rushes to the human’s side, trying to remain calm without panicking. The dragon places its paw on the human’s head, closing its eyes in concentration, its eyes snap open as his eyes glance at Neon in a demanding manner, questioning what she did.
Neon’s eyes droop downwards in shame, unable to look Leevo in the eye. She can’t help but feel so useless…was she wrong to try to help?
‘N-no! Neon is not bad!’
She did NOT want to hurt her first and only friend! She heard her friend’s cry for help when he was stuck inside the behemoth! She didn’t know….she didn’t mean…
*snip*
Every inch of her fur stands up as though something was cut. She…can’t describe it…it's like something just faded away…as though something was removed from her head.
Glancing up, her heart cracks…something WAS cut…something dangling in the dragon’s paw…
The friendship bracelet she made.
The dragon looks at her with a frown with a gentle apologetic shake of its head. Almost as if he knew what he was doing. Giving a quick glance at her human friend, she notices how the thrashing is dying down, as he slowly becomes still but troubled.
Pushing herself up, she wants to rush to the human’s side, but a metallic arm stops her advance. She looks up to see the robot frown at her.
*Bo-beep…*
She doesn’t understand what the robot said, but the tone of its voice told her all she needs.
She is not welcomed here.
Tears build up in her eyes as she steps back, guilt steadily weighing on her heart. It’s her fault…all her fault. She did this to her first and only friend…
Unable to bear seeing the sorry state her human friend is in, she starts running, rushing to the latex-sealed door. Using her power, she banishes the seal, unlocking the door. As she runs through, Leevo quickly tosses aside the friendship bracelet, tending to the human’s mental torment.
Running down the alien hallway, seeing the metal pipes and wires among the strange wall but she doesn’t care, wanting to stay far away from the human. Eventually, black tears cloud her vision as she collapses onto the ground, shifting herself close to the wall as she huddles to herself for comfort.
‘Human…I’m so sorry…’
----------------------------------------
“Human…where are you…?”
Briskly walking down the hallway, Puro had been searching left and right and travelling through the vents, searching for his missing human friend. After being separated again thanks to the snow leopard, Puro is once again on the search.
This is so frustrating! Just when he thought he found the human, they get separated soon after! It’s like he can’t be away from the human for a few minutes without him finding trouble!
Puro doesn’t know anything about the strange biome the human is trapped in but maybe he found a way out? What if he needs help again?? Puro whimpers at the thought, finding another reason to find him as soon as possible.
Suddenly, Puro’s ears flicker, hearing a strange sound up ahead, is that…crying? Who could that be?
Sprinting down the hallway, Puro slowly comes to a stop as he sees a strange anthropomorphic black latex huddling against the wall. Upon closer examination, Puro notices its cat-like body, if Puro recalls correctly, this latex might be…what were they called again?
“What were they again? Puro read up about them in a book…pan…panthers! Yes! Panthers! But, why are they crying?”
Puro couldn’t help but whimper at the sorry display, this latex is sad…very sad…what happened to them? He can’t just leave them like this, it’s not right…
Sitting down next to them…no… to her, Puro notices that the latex has not taken notice of him yet. Perhaps it may be best to announce himself?
“Hello, fellow latex! Are you ok?”
Puro knows perfectly well that no other latex can understand him, but it's the thought that counts right?
The panther stops crying, lifting her head to show her green eyes to him. The panther flinches at the sight of him but otherwise makes no other sudden movements, a look of surprise present on her face.
“Could Puro help? What made you so sad?”
----------------------------------------
‘Not now…’
Neon found this strange wolf’s presence annoying, what is he trying to do? And…and what is he saying? Neon could not understand this strange black wolf with a white mask’s intentions, but whatever it was, she was not in the mood for it. Reaching out for her power, her pattern flashes green, as she tries to send the wolf on its way.
‘Go away wolf…’
…
…
But nothing happens…
Looking at the wolf, she notices that the wolf tilts his head, but nothing more. Why is the wolf still here? She reaches out to her power again, her patterns flaring brighter.
‘GO AWAY!’
…
…
But the wolf stays…
But why…? Why is the wolf not going away? Is her power just not strong enough? Or is it…that it has no effect? But how? The wolf is latex just like any other! It doesn’t make sense!
She tries to growl, trying to ward off the ignorant wolf, telling him that she wants to be left alone but her guilt and pain flare, tears flowing down her cheeks as her threatening posture weakens.
‘Why no leave, wolf?’
The wolf finally moves, but not in the way she is expecting. The wolf reaches out, wrapping its paws around her torso and pulling her close to him. The wolf pulls her head to his chest, tightening his grip firmly…what is this wolf doing? Wait…she remembers this gesture…the human told her about this…this is…
‘Hug?’
She remembers the human’s words about the hug, it’s a way to show comfort, usually when someone is sad. Is that what the wolf is doing? Trying to show comfort? Despite her trying to push him away?
‘...I…’
Understanding the wolf’s good intentions, bit by bit the panther returns his hug, accepting the wolf’s gesture. The wolf hums as he continues the hug, leaving her lost in her thoughts.
She recalls her first meeting with the human, when he takes her beyond the jungle, taking her to places beyond her imagination, sharing an orange together, showing her other latexes happily living in their environment without fear, mingling with each other…she feels…at peace now.
‘Wolf…thank you’
----------------------------------------
Puro hums in joy, feeling the Panther returning the hug, her cries reduced to quiet sniffles. It worked! The panther accepted his hug! And sheAnd returned she returned it too! The very idea of success helping someone in need brings a smile to him.
It’s strange…he’d never hugged a latex before and no one could understand what he was saying, this hug feels special, just as much as the hug he got from his human friend.
“It’s just like when Puro first met human. Back in the library…”
A tear threatens to leak out of his eye, treasuring the happiest moment in his life.
*Sniff*
He sniffs, trying to hold back his small tear…it’s almost like the human is here with him…
“Wait a minute.”
That sent…that scent that the panther is carrying.
*Sniff sniff*
Could it be? Is that the human’s scent? Does the panther have his scent? But that could mean…
“The panther might know where the human is!”
Or better yet, he is close by! Yes! What pure luck! With this panther helping him, he is sure to find the human in no time! He just needs to ask the panther for directions to find a human.
“Hey, panther? Could you tell Puro where Human is?”
The panther looks up at Puro, tilting her head in confusion.
----------------------------------------
‘Huh?’
Hearing some strange sounds from the wolf, Neon looks up to see the wolf looking at her expectantly while making those sounds.
‘Weird wolf.’
Not understanding what the wolf wants, Neon tries to reach out to him through telepathy, but…she can’t find a connection…like it’s not there at all.
‘No telepathy?’
How can she understand what the wolf wants if she can’t communicate with him through telepathy? It’s how every latex communicates right? So why doesn’t this wolf use it?
‘What does this wolf want?’
‘Wolf, why not use telepathy?’
----------------------------------------
Puro could only sigh when he sees the panther concentrating, he’d seen this situation time and time again. It’s when a latex is trying to communicate with him through telepathy. Puro raises his paw to the panther, shaking his head as the panther ceases all attempts to reach out via telepathy.
The panther stops what she is doing and looks up at him as if she is demanding something.
“Hmmm…how can Puro explain what Puro wants?” Puro ponders, trying to come up with a solution.
----------------------------------------
‘What wolf doing now??’
There he is making those strange sounds again! They are not growls, barks, or anything! She doesn’t know what they are supposed to be! How can she talk to the wolf if he keeps making those gibberish sounds?
‘Wolf! No gibberish! Use thoughts!’
----------------------------------------
Puro sees that the panther is growing impatient but remains docile and still. Puro takes a moment to ponder this situation…if he can’t speak what he wants…maybe he could gesture what he wants?
“How can Puro gesture to panther what Puro wants?”
After pondering for a minute, his tail flickers.
“Of course! Human’s old shorts!”
Flicking his tail to the front, Puro digs into his bushy tail, searching for what he is looking for. When his paw grabs onto the familiar material, he pulls it out, revealing a pair of black shorts to the panther and offering it to her.
The panther leans backwards, unsure of what Puro is trying to say.
“Hmm, maybe Puro should make it more clear.”
Puro takes the shorts pointing at it with his other paw before giving it a sniff, and then offers it to her once more.
----------------------------------------
‘What…I must smell it?’
For the life of her, Neon could understand what the wolf is saying, something about that strangely shaped object? Wasn’t it what the human wears? Reluctantly, Neon leans closer to take a small sniff.
‘The scent…it's human’s!’
But…how is that possible?? How did this wolf manage to get these…’shorts’ that have the human’s scent? Just who is this strange wolf? The wolf pulls the shorts back, looking at her waiting for something. Maybe…maybe the wolf is looking for the human? Is that what the wolf wants? It still doesn’t explain why he doesn’t just simply use telepathy. What connection does the wolf have with the human anyway?
‘Maybe I should check up on the human…’
Best make sure he is ok, her hypnosis was taking a heavy toll on him. She may not be able to bring herself to talk to human again, but at least she could check on him…right?
Getting up, Neon points down the hallway behind her, the wolf catches what she meant and nods in response, following her guidance, hurrying down the hallway. Not wanting to be left behind, Neon quietly follows him, wanting to uncover the wolf’s connection with the human.
----------------------------------------
‘Gotta…keep…running!’
Running through the endless black tunnel with green glowing cryptic marks, you continue your fight for survival by evading the eldritch monster that is hunting you. The endless tunnel has made you lose your sense of time, unsure of how long you have been running by now.
‘Is there even an end to this??’
You just don’t understand, how did you even get here in the first place? Is that thing behind you Neon? Unfortunately, your pursuit of survival has come to a screeching halt, reaching the end of the tunnel with no exit in sight.
‘NO NO! NOT LIKE THIS!!’
Crashing against the wall, your heart pounds harder as the stomps behind you grow louder. Seeing the monster, you recoil against the wall, your knees giving out as you cower in fear, waiting for the end.
‘...’
You can’t even form a thought. All of that running, the endless pursuit to escape the clutches of the monster…was it all for nothing?
The monster looms before you readying its strike, producing countless amount of sharp fangs, built to tear up its prey with ease. Unable to look away, you watch as the monster leaps in for the bite.
…
…
…
…?
But something happened.
The tunnel around you quakes as something lashes out towards the monster, ensnaring it.
*ROAARR*
The monster thrashes around wildly, trying to tear the plant-like vine wrapping around her torso. Then another came piercing through the walls, then another…and another.
Countless plants and vines start growing out from the tunnels, all stretching out to the monster and ensnaring it further. The vines ensnare the monster's legs, giving a mighty pull and knocking the monster down to the ground.
*ROAAR!*
The monster roars in protest as the vines start pulling her down the tunnel, leaving you behind. Before you know it, you feel the same plants start wrapping around you except you can’t help but feel a sense of safety from these plants. The plants start to wrap around you gently as if taking care not to hurt you, leaving you feeling so confused.
The plants then start to pull you, as one starts to wrap around your head, blinding you before it pulls, leaving you in complete darkness.
Strangely, it all feels as if you are floating, unrestrained…nothing.
‘Where, what?’
But nothing happened.
…
But then, a strange warmth sensation touches your back, catching you by surprise. Quickly turning around, you are caught off guard by the blinding light, shutting your eyes in recoil. Once you have got your bearings you open your eyes to see…the sun…and the clear colour blue around it.
‘Huh?’
Looking down, you notice you are on some sort of hill, with lush green grass in the middle of a very large clearing, surrounded by the trees of a forest. Peering into the horizon, you couldn’t tell if there was an end to the forest…it seems…endless…stretching far beyond.
Looking behind you, you notice that you are leaning against a large oak tree, providing shade with its many leaves.
‘Wow…where am I?’
“Human…”
A voice spoke out. Looking to your right, you can see a familiar green dragon, leaning against the tree beside you. Was…was he always there? Or didn’t you notice him till now?
“Leevo…? Where…”
The dragon hushes you, placing its paw against your mouth. Looking into the dragon’s eyes, you gaze at him in askance. He finally speaks up…
“It’s okay, you’re safe now…”
That simple phrase seems to echo in your ears, everything becomes foggy as everything goes black once more. You close your eyes, this time with a sense of ease and peace.
…
…
You feel something, something lingering in your mind. It takes you a minute to think about? What was this feeling again?
…
Suddenly it all came back to you, something is linking up to you through telepathy.
‘Who…?’
‘It’s me human, Leevo.’
‘Leevo?’
Opening your eyes, you fight through the foggy vision, concentrating to make everything come into focus. Once the vision clears, you can see Leevo, holding his paw onto your forehead, establishing a strong telepathic connection with you.
‘There you are, you’re finally awake.’
*Bee-Beep!*
Jumping into your view, you can see a very panicky robot, looking down at you, its concern visible in its tear-drop-shaped pixel eyes. You try to get up, but a massive headache strikes you down, forcing you to stay down.
‘Easy there human! You have taken a nasty hit in that head of yours. Best to lie down.’
You pause for a moment, trying to ignore the irritating headache as you communicate back.
‘What…happened?’ you manage to ask, trying to push away the weight in your mind.
‘You were attacked by a behemoth, thankfully I heard the loud ruckus and came by to check. I saw you fall out of that white wolf, squirming around in pain. I didn’t know what was wrong until I checked on your mind. I don’t know what Neon did but she scared off that behemoth and almost drove you to the brink of madness.’
Suddenly, it all makes sense.
Neon? That monster chasing you was really Neon? Like, some monster version of her? Is that what the Chimera was seeing? How is it that her hypnosis is so powerful? No wonder everyone avoided her!
You feel hurt, betrayed even. How could she allow this to happen? Why didn’t she come to your aid? Why didn’t she come and break her hypnosis on you?? That nightmare…that demon…it will haunt you for the rest of your life. It felt so real, too real.
‘Where…OW!’
You recoil in pain from the headache, unable to finish your question to Leevo.
‘Neon ran away, had to keep her away from you but she looked kinda distressed when she saw you. She was even crying when she ran away.’
You try to focus, attempting to keep your head still while paying attention to Leevo.
‘What happen-ow…’ you quickly latch onto your head, trying to keep yourself still.
‘I think Neon’s hypnosis hit you when she tried to stop that Behemoth. If it weren’t for her we would have yet another incident,’ Leevo explains with a frown.
‘Unfortunately, I had to break off the bracelet she gave to you so I can snap you out of it. Damn, I never thought her hypnosis could be so powerful.’
You shudder in fear, recalling the nightmare. The monster in your dream looks so much like Neon, too much like her.
‘Human, I still have her friendship bracelet. What’s left of it at least.”
Leevo presents your broken friendship bracelet of Neon’s but you recoil in fear, dreading being tormented by that eldritch monster again.
‘I-no! I cannot take that! I don’t want to go back to that nightmare again!’ you panic, dreading to relive the nightmare should you take it.
‘Human calm down. It does absolutely nothing. I know about the nightmare but that’s not Neon. The real Neon saved your life. What happened was a complete accident
I’m sure of it. She didn’t mean to get you hurt in the process, she cares so much about you and this bracelet is proof of that. A latex gifting a piece of themselves is sacred.’
You look at the bracelet with uncertainty.
‘I don’t know.’
‘Just give it some time. Keep it, I promise you will regret it if you don’t.’
‘Umm, alright fine.’ you concede, taking the bracelet before tucking it away in your pocket to keep it safe.
*Be-boop?*
The robot produces a bottle of water and hands it to you. Understanding the robot’s gesture, you happily accept it, drinking the refreshing water until there is nothing left. Finishing your drink, you return the bottle of water to the robot, taking it before Leevo leans in to grab your attention.
‘Human, you are going to get some rest, talking to you through telepathy is already a risk itself, just…rest ok? Until you are ready.’
And with that, the connection fades away, but the dragon keeps its paws on your forehead. The dragon then moves its paws, his plant-like texture massaging your head, trying to help with your mental recovery. Smiling in thanks you close your eyes, eventually entering the world of dreamless sleep…
----------------------------------------
…
…
Warm…
Strangely, everything feels pleasantly warm. You couldn’t describe it, but it feels as though you are wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold night.
Sighing in comfort, you shuffle and wrap yourself deeper into the blanket. The blanket twitches but remains firm in your grasp. This unusual movement did not slip past you.
‘Blankets don’t move do they?’
Cracking open your right eye slightly, you find that you are embracing a large black fluffy tail, coiling over your torso while a pair of paws hold you close. Who could that belong to?
“Human is such a sleepy head, good thing Puro’s tail is the comfiest tail there is!”
Never had your eyes snapped open faster than before, recognising what that voice belonged to in an instant.
“Puro??”
Quickly leaning up, breaking free from the paws, you find to your disbelief to find Puro himself.
“Is that really you?!”
Despite being startled, Puro quickly calms down and responds.
“Yes! It’s your friend Puro! Puro finally found you human!”
Using his tail, Puro reels you to him, pulling you in a hug.
“Puro was so worried! Puro searched everywhere for human! Even crawling through the vents! Puro was worried that he lost human for real this time…”
“It’s ok! You don’t have to worry about that anymore! I also thought I would never be able to find you! How did you find me anyway?”
“Well…while Puro was going down a hallway, Puro found a lonely latex crying. Feeling sorry for the latex, Puro came to cheer them up! The latex was strange and glowy but Puro thought she was just being shy! So Puro pulled latex for a hug! Luckily, it seemed to do the trick but Puro noticed the latex had human’s scent!”
It didn’t take long to put together ‘the lonely latex’ Puro is talking about, the very thought of her brings back the sinister roars echoing from your nightmare but you say nothing…for now at least.
“Then Puro thought maybe latex had seen human. It was difficult to explain to latex what Puro want but luckily, Puro had human’s old shorts! Using it, Puro was able to tell latex what Puro wanted and she directed Puro all the way to you! You were sleeping in a white latex territory! The one where it has all these plants growing around. So Puro panicked and brought you to the maintenance hall to keep human safe.”
Heeding Puro’s words, you look around to find that you are indeed, in some sort of maintenance hallway. Honestly, you are thankful Puro brought you here, you do not want to be in that white room ever again.
“Say human, do you know any panther latex? There was one that tried to follow Puro when he was carrying Human. Looks worried.”
You shudder in fear, recalling the monster from your nightmare.
“I-I-I yeah?”
“Panther latex? So you know her, human?”
“We had met back in that jungle biome when we got separated. Saved me twice.” you manage to say, trying to follow Leevo’s advice and think about Neon rather than that ‘thing’ in your nightmare.
“She saved you?? How??”
“She uh, she hypnotized both of the behemoths’ that attacked me. She accidentally hypnotized me when the second behemoth happened.”
‘Keep it together, that monster is not real. Neon is not that monster.’ you repeat to yourself, trying to stabilise your breathing.
“Human how are you getting yourself into these!? And you are breathing funny, are you ok?”
You shudder, trying to block the memories from crawling back into your head.
“I don’t want to talk about it…”
“Ok, if it doesn’t make you comfortable human, then Puro won’t ask.” Puro says with an assuring look.
“But…shouldn’t we try to find the panther human?”
“N-no! I-I am not ready! N-not yet…please…”
Puro watches you stutter with a frown, what could have possibly happened that made you like this?
“So then…what do we do now human?”
“...I don’t know…”
Suddenly, a door slides open as the sound of metallic taps comes through.
*Bo-beep!*
“Oh! Human! It’s the metal animal! He roams around the greenhouse every so often!”
“Proto? Is that you? Where have you been?”
*Beep!*
Proto projects a hologram, showing yet another completed to-do list.
“Are you this busy?”
*Bee-eep!*
“You talked to the metal animal human?”
“Yeah. He was taking me to a certain Doctor in this building.”
“A doctor? Like…one of the humans that once controlled this institute?”
“Possibly…but he does seem to know about me, he even knows my name!”
“And the robot is taking you to him??”
“Yeah, I might be able to learn something from my past Puro. I can finally learn more about myself, isn’t it great?”
Puro smiles, but eventually, that smile slowly dies down, turning into a frown as his ears droop with despair.
“Puro?”
“Puro is happy to hear…but…Puro also wants to remember his past too.”
You nearly bit your tongue when he said that, a pinch of guilt weighing on your being.
“Hey, we both have common goals, remember? If I am going to remember my past, then I’m going to help you remember yours too. We are in this together.”
This seems to work as Puro’s cheerful self comes back to life.
“Y-yes! You’re right, human, you’re right! Puro and human working together. Puro can count on human.”
Grabbing under your shoulders, Puro pulls you and himself off the floor, looking at Proto who is standing by patiently.
“Metal animal! Lead Puro and human the way!”
*Boop!*
The robot then starts walking down the hallway, taking Puro and you along with him.
----------------------------------------
‘They…talk?’ Neon thought, watching the human and the wolf walking down with the robot while hiding in a conveniently placed container that has a faint scent of a tree.
She couldn’t leave the human, he is the only one that seems to understand the strange ways that this non-jungle world works.
Neon has heard the human make sounds but never thought it possible to communicate in that way. That wolf… doesn’t use telepathy…so he uses this…’not-telepathy’ to communicate their thoughts? Is that how he and the human understand each other so well?
‘But…Neon wants to communicate with human.’
To tell him how sorry she is, to tell him that everything that happened was all a big mistake, to fix what she had done wrong, to let him know that Neon is trustworthy. But how can she communicate with the human like that? She doesn’t even know where to begin. There is nothing she can do.
Is she doomed to be alone forever?
‘But Neon doesn’t want being alone!’
She will stay close to them, this new world around her is too scary to be alone. Perhaps maybe she will get another chance? She hopes that she does soon, she hates being alone. It’s not good being alone.
----------------------------------------
“Say human…” Puro speaks up while walking down the hallway with you.
“Yeah Puro?”
“Could…human tell Puro about what happened? When human first went missing and how human met the spider guardian, Puro always wondered.”
“Well, after I got kidnapped by a goat latex named Violet, she teased me and removed my shorts, not getting how much I valued them. She then brought in her friend Rose who is a pink dragon for her ‘prank’. Luckily, Rose was able to pick up that something was wrong and saved me from her. She explained that Violet has an obsession with pranks, sometimes ending up taking things way too far.”
“So…the goat latex Violet did it for a prank?” Puro asks in disbelief.
“Yeah, even teasing me about not getting my shorts back.” You say with a pout.
“But what about the pink bracelet? It has a different scent from the clothes you are wearing.”
“ These bracelets weren’t originally bracelets, they were shorts when Rose decided to take me to Weaver.”
“Weaver?”
“That ‘spider guardian’ in the maintenance corridor, that is Weaver, Rose seems to know her and her love for creating clothes like these I’m wearing. She even took the pink shorts and turned them into these bracelets.” You explain, gesturing to your clothes for emphasis.
“She made all of those?”
“All of them. Kinda fitting how a spider like her is able to make these…”
‘Wait…where did she get the material? All of those clothes she made have some sort of latex material right? She couldn’t get out of thin air! Unless…’
The thought hits you like a brick, the realisation slowly comes to mind. And honestly…you are not sure what to feel about it…best not to think about it too much.
“Say human, what are they like?”
“Who?”
“Rose and Weaver.”
“Rose is a compassionate person, she looks after Violet and makes sure that her pranks don't get into serious trouble. She even knew a few things about humans, especially how we value clothing. She tries to make it up for me despite it not being her fault.”
Puro nods in acknowledgement, encouraging you to continue.
“As for Weaver, she is mischievous and loves to give a good scare but has a huge passion and love for designing new clothes, even searching for a potential new fashion trend despite the fact that none of the latexes wears clothes. She takes pride in her needlework. She even let me have these clothes in exchange for modelling some clothes for her.”
You pause in thought recalling something.
“Hey Puro, you have those clothes still right?”
…
“Puro?”
“Oh yes!” Puro exclaims, digging into his tail.
“Still here human! Safe and sound,” he said, showing you the familiar fanny pack before storing it back in his portable fluffy storage.
“Sweet, you still have it. You are the best Puro.”
Puro gives a gentle happy growl, accepting the praise with pride.
*Boooooop Beep!*
Proto calls out, grabbing your and Puro’s attention.
The robot stands by the open door, gesturing for you and Puro to enter.
Going through first, Puro interrupts you and lets himself through, checking the room left and right before allowing you to slip past him. Going into the room, you enter what seems to be a checkpoint, with white tiles on the floor along with a large page next to the door which seems to be instructions.
“Where are we?”
“I’m not sure Puro…kind of reminds me of the lab back in the black latex territory.”
“Puro agrees, it's just like back at ho-...there.”
Picking up on Puro’s stutter, you look to him to speak.
*BZZTTT*
A loud obnoxious beep rang across the room. Locating the sound, you notice Proto has pushed a button by the device next to the door.
“Hello? Colin is that you?”
*Be-beep*
“Aghh, Proto…would you stop it with all that beeping? I know you are capable of speaking English, why aren’t you using it?”
*Beeeepp…*
Proto beeps in a sad tone, it’s holographic fur flickering as it loses colour.
“It doesn’t matter. Is Colin with you? Put him on speaker for me!”
Proto glances towards you, wordlessly asking you to comply. Understanding the robot’s request, you briskly walk to the speaker.
“Yeah, I’m here!”
“Thank god you are finally here. What took you so long?? Hold on, I’m coming through, just sit tight.”
*BZZTTT*
“Human, who were you talking to?”
“It’s that doctor guy who was looking for me, found out about each other back in the biome. Wouldn’t have gotten out if it wasn’t for him.”
“Do you think you can trust him, human? Well…you don’t know about this strange doctor. Even Puro never saw him!”
“He is my only shot to find out about my past, and why I’m here.”
“If human is sure…”
*Click*
The sound of a click emits as the door slides open, revealing a humanoid figure. You watch in confusion as the figure steps through. Puro shudders, pulling you close to him as the figure reveals himself.
Stepping through the doorframe, you see that the figure is a white humanoid wolf, much like those you have seen before, but the similarities stop there. The wolf dons a large white lab coat that seems a bit too large for him. The most bizarre feature of them all is the gas mask on the wolf’s face.
Peering down at you, towering over you slightly, his red crimson eyes open with surprise. You can’t tell what the wolf may be thinking, the mask obscuring most of its facial features. The wolf looks up at Puro, squinting its eyes slightly…almost as if judging him.
Puro recoils, pulling you closer, wrapping his arms around your chest as if to protect you. Tension builds up in the air…
…
Until you speak up.
“Hello?”
The wolf’s eyes dart back into your own and the harsh look in its eyes quickly burns away. And then…the wolf speaks.
“Colin, I never thought I would see you again! After all this time.”
“W-wait! You’re the doctor from the speakers?”
The doctor nods in response, confirming your suspicion.
“Who…are you?”
“I’m Dr K…one of the lead scientists of Exiome Labs and I’m…a friend you could say.”