cyborGeorgi’s network of gaze fluctu@’Flamed rainbows across her aquamarine physique, @s they finished materializing recliners; <~(@))^$<_!}#* while we five wading, honey-mustarDunked whippersnappers, struggled to digest this corpoRindgeal heap of shell*Turf spriGeomeTumble, plucking at certain displaced body arrangements. Our hair had vacated us bald, & slipped to gird us each with loin cloths (or bikinis in the case oFemales) = Nika’s hair, previously about short as Saul’s and neither exclusively dark, provided theMerely a dusTapering haze for genital coverage. “Not feeling hyped about these primal P.J.’s,” Anik’huffed. “This stunt doesn’t actually concern sex dungeon suggestions, yo? Cause for one thing, the gendeRatio ain’t balanced - or aligned with my preference.”

"Too much uniformity if that were to be the case," I felt, streaming fingertips along shaggy blond skirt of groin, noticing nestled beneath, my sack waSmooth as a grape. "Even our nipPoles been abolished," i realized.

“Details are taxing to rivet,” revealed the Developer. “I’minimize strain by not including your cloTHreads. ColorSuit hatches of de-carbonized nectar and the overlAPple of sparks in my eyes. Since conserving willpower to map branching veins, instead i apply efficiency by deciding to wobBlood chiefly along the surface of your skin - My transparency is less embarrassing, because I’m sheathed in monotonouScales. But if anywhere is a haven for shedding skin & showing true colors or walking a mile in another’Shoes, it’s digniTranquil inside pupiLike this.” She winked.

“Microdrone quiverrRings pound behind those pufFisshurEyes,” FalcOpenly burrowed between cracking knuckles. “To think on arrival, I assumed your features conjureDeliberate for subtle surveyinggg, knotTrance of sub~Version...”

Our escort jiggled head, and bulbous boobs corresponded. “The exterior is for intimidation, but be aware my boDefiantly was dovetailed with disChorus of nanomites in attempts to defy hunger - compromised,” Georgi’Shoulders sulked. “As machine usurps my wasteful functions by digesTransfering all nutrients, my entrailSlowly hollow - so do my oraFacets adapt like customer to crappy markeTactics. But all for hampered advance, as I have to monitor my iris by color code to know when my energy intake is steady between blue or green. If my eyeSwim past purple toward frost, then I’m too engorged (#)_like Rupert prefers_ %while rusty colors indicates weakening. And while I appreciate forgoing potty trips, there’s no disguising my cyberZoooMeal features for long - so ringleaders arrive like paparazzi trying to cajole performances for finances.”

NikApplauded slowly, curling upon Row'cliner. "You make fame sound like a terriBlight bummer; yet if you want quieTime, all those lightning bugs gon' grant you this personal space!"

"TerraByTrue drain, when verge upon sapping human sentiment - my bloodstream gone thin dry, due cyborKick override. Anytime I pull a spectacle like this, they hum extrAggressive in outdoing my organiCells, causing nerve damage. Fewer organ relays, leads to more emotioNumbness."

"You better have a plan to reverse that condition," I warned. "Cause I despise the idea of losing your playful whimsy - (for a second time)." ~ trembling, I inhaled.

"Sweet you remain," she stroked my neck. "Every summoning, a few vessel buggers get caged between the cube." She tapped @ willowy bracelet I hadn't noticed, dangling that watermelon dice. "The swarm get a bit confused over when communication among their total host is divided. They do cut their losses & return to their main program duties after window of time without response -- blood it permits my tissue short window of exercise."

"The melon Bracelet must be doingg a wonder in tandem with your laseRopinggg panoRam@rcs to sustain this bubb'hill Pill~Lace," Saul marveled. "In the face of this farm, Planchorva's a fickle monkey."

“PuzzZools, dazzLingrrr puzzles,” Siggy jostled, observing his accustomed graFix hADjust'melted. “Now how's fishy lady here bean projectin' langWedge since alien$cions zipped her mouth?”

“Something between all thaTitanic History lecture?” Rovo assumed, strolling around her hip. “Maybe she’s performed pacTraDEity to usher the communiSpeaky voice...”

“Actually, I was in urgent rush to restore language, so fancy fixes required too much time.” Gigi raised her carti’Lounge sniffer, & we viewed something like suspended gyro-cubes whisPosering like dragonflies tangled in mating dance. “I sufForwent surgeoNasal attachments beneath Buccaneer bestowments.”

“Yowwwcch,” We all winced. “Data wicked way do find your Voice...” SiGroaned, flopping on the edge of a seat.

Anika pumped fisTwice! “buTotally serves for unrivaled poker face.”

“Yet the outfloWashes away major binders of smell," she professed, trailing the refined bridge of exterior cartiLedge. "Regardless, comproMisery begSacrifice during dire junctions.”

“What's it like, feeding now?” Rovo inChoired.

“I seleClick one of 12-sided values & press die against whatever substance desired, to contract ingesting amount.”

“UnraveLost receppptors aiNu'Treat,” Falco chewed.

"I've been investigating how to regrow my deteriorated innards, but the rot°•°bots brush benefish÷Oujjial between this power struggle, long as business matters belong forefront to Vigilante defiance. Fusing abilities was a decent idea little cousin," she praised me. "However co’oPatience development demands trial deliberation - discovery time the infidels will scarcely allot, provoking your group to fumble major setbacks. These medi-quaCopEnDOCrank vasTroPhySoaKey'disCheMuLEechers that consTrained me, tend to selecTenderfoot specimeNaives for easy hexploitation. Whom Hive-dentity that begged your attention earlier, can be none other identity than SILPHiber, stationed around my wake - after such recognition, Coatrack mates didn't convene it safe for hatching out in the open, so agreed pull a few of you in here outside any eavesdropping ears."

"That ravages me along so many uneven deeds," I ground my slight overbiTEeth. "You're gonna be able to get away from the perils of Buccaneer lifestyle, right?"

"I'm a few bones indebted to Chandry," my cousin divulged. "But she poses slim barrier, starved for genuine Wily members."

"DebataBoil," Saul sprang. "Your former Chief, Alamo... Either he's close to five hundddred years old, or been festered by sanctum that is/was."

"Easy to see why I Saulected him," saluted our PiRadical. "You know, the atmospheriConditions of this planet used to allow that to be a commonly expected lifespan..." She seemed momentarily aloof. "Horatio does harbor over a dozen score years full this realm, due extract funnels - his grumpies are hitching up, regardless that his wrinkles aren't. But fret not under what pluGrease bufFungus ChanDrain over anyone to relinquish total command - they've both cruised complacent in command for nigh a decade before I bumped into them. SILPH is deliriousLongeviTrinket more insidious, preferring tune pit cryShell-eyes orgaNymphs beyonDrug ambitionaLimits: retractaBaking offers of esteem and pitches of freedom - alas, alike pilGrimaced nymph^Lungrime, only intend to use any organism in their way as a stepping stool to arrange fabriCanoCrooked scaffolds. The ambuscade to Fung~Tail RowsHostage fibers, is sud%reason hence, why both my superiors are tremBlinking at outward gathering, and forgoing inneRing maintainment. I'll be composing this season of dread to s@way such wires hooked to my limBRace."

"Nymph%Lungrime?" I inquired, following the gist of the backstory motives. "More charlatans?"

"Bastards actually.. uncultureDeplorables formed of amphiBounLeash awaREver$eNest," our Admin filled. "Sometimes celeStar*Flowers overseason surrounding marBell comPlaneTons in spicy fits, ruBelCHain spore-acidic LeftoFear gaSeeds into sorts of bugaboo neverLimb (on earth mispronounced as nephilim) renowned for HybReigniteDisplacement, bonding excreted clumps to forMineral-filtering body pumps as we. These phenomPill harboRememBerserkeData how they were shoved out of comfy roost, & basiContinue opeRage at surviValuE, scarce accepting errors could afflicTrickle down from splaSHigh-Guard affairs. Their spearheaD'jinn dont even require fertiLiquid compoSoups to reawaKin juGrimnaut amalguMolten spice -- extremopHauls, their entroPerChase was not vi@pproVine ordained by the 8 Weavyrn of course, just unanticip8Tide cyniContagion: example$pan thunDinoSoars, monkYowi, pachyDrums, amphibSiren, and morsuPouchial at the weakest, which all have operations of stealth or gigantism, if not full-fledged ESP. But they are kept from linguistiCapacity and desire to fashion. The reptilians are most remorseless on average, and the Monkey's most deceptive - humans were similar enough to cross-breed in furry cases. When the first cometSOreDeaf this way and tried to leecHuman impulse - our mooN/or Splatturn existed = past abouTwo hundred thousand years back; humans lived for centuries during those times because Neptune & mars were harmonious celestial siblings in those days, interplaying ripe mechanics - but emigrating asteRiders imbalanced the Clockwork grid & gradients with ancient vitaliTech and arrogance trying to syphoNeutron holes and pulsars~ the solar system shifted violently. (sadly, only so much can be uprooted at once to weed out social hazarDistaste without widespread casuality).."

Saul's thin brow seemed to shrink-wrap around his chin. "Never could figggure where those pre-MessoPoTrapSweeParched civilizations clocked on Earth's Altimeter.. Now exxxtinction events & cryptids make more sense. The comets must crave engorgggement as well."

"Hark whose wiles you expect first proposed balance pilLayers as the tower of BurBoils hoveRose telePorts, or encapSkullated Pyramids for interstellar messages, air-Cryst'DisHoneyed storage, and rain rods amiDrought?" unearthed our chamber-Designer. "Did mere hueMonkey trinKits imbue bounteous HunThors' climbing HammeriChrome, matHarness monumenToll arKoven oFleet tradeships with G.P.S. conduits, cobbLEnd flexibility to the serpentine ringForts of China and Lamarica, or decoy similar sonar immune blockaDEfenses witHolloWheel cenTarPuppet ventriloGifts? But minimal amount... Peek, how sockeTitan bore present-stead from the centaur constellation and ArtemiStationed a moon as a spy based to eavesdroPlot their own piece of coexistence - initially there was no one on eartHabitable beside beasts for slightly over a million years. The aerodynamic NestHowl'whim Burr'jerkers are capable intuitive manner witHerBatch & crystal jiggOiling, (formerly their internal organelles) charging undercurrents of skirmish witHumaNative prestigious pleasantries, ultimately @tlanTusk - all a lost art the hubbuBastion twin-ports splashing between the MorocConary islands & Carribean, which managed to replicAdopt wirelesSimilar generators to keePace with giAntipped inTuitioNine bodhi's to higher self and StalLion the DreamORCLAsstrailer."

"Ascended Masters.." Rovo had wide eyes, Nika's jaw unhinged; Soggy whines and spun, before gripped by his brother. I gingerly smiled, appreciative from having been halfway familiar with dismissed archaeology timelines thanks to my dad's occupation.

"Now some minded their owNever-limbs, but crushing demands occupied the commoNesTroweLicentious penchant. The sheer amount of PillaReSalTide-romping Fields being aroused, situated more unstable thaNucleaRupTorpedos, overloading the magnetic poles after an amount. In seconds, global Coilision$queezed volcanic turbulence & hurtled abrupTidal waves; the only survivors were those dwelling atop mountain peaks or venturing on vessels with a few months of provisions when it occurred. Not every tip of land was buried, as heaped by the global myths, but thrasHurricaneAge had been unheard of before that atmospheric disturbance. Terraforming is resilient however."

NiCAuse neck wrenched. "You seriously validate AtlantiSwong-Xee like your Bucco Blitzers back there?"

*Georgi grunted with her actual throat* "cyniCapital city of Lamarica, or the donut which was Pangea. VigiLanTusk's Demise was suppressed along with SwanSay. Because there weren't many scribes left to record it, and t's likely to recur, maybe on a bigger scale too. But I hear it is recorded somewhere in the pulse of the planet, and wherever that tethers to.."

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

At that point even my head wobbled, grotesquely aware of imperialiSTaBickers: "Cultural curtailing been known to mAssure destruction... But who'da reckoned that kind of Scale was civiCrash discharge, raThaNatural cosmic disaStore?

Rovo swallowed. "But one theme holds true - Might has always tried to appoint conduct."

“Precon*disHoneDeeds encompass our society no doubt;" Gi grimaced. "Experts who almoSyrupt know your fluidity leVelocities (thereby essence of what you’re feeling.) These days succuBreedin thefTamperers co*MinGland CelebriDNA tow appear natuRoll amongrel proPeer envirofluence. Strand~strangled mummiClone are depoSited as VIP doppelgangers in order to impHose unyielDull grasp of seaLayered traveWall -- Less informed resistance that way. Military only dismisSmoke between caMirrors more easily. Groom the young to agenda as much as conform -- even if esoteriCult have grimLed twists since Christ, desperaTolly intimiDefying equality. (Not that any peace-speaker spawns the problem, but some proponenThrusTamper with messages in eras afterward). Only method melodic as wing to motoRatio, manage to consecrate sanctuaRealmy. Once INFOrtified, birthed tribes remain wise to limit outside assistanContact, to reduce infiltration. But until then, fleeing challenge from these deciFume`Roars will leave countless actual chemi-GarDjinn jeoparDiced + so please steer the upcoming course without bailing ship - insTrade you can shatter the shrouDaze for next era."

SiGray and faded steamed: “These ShapeSILPHuggers been Casting our mood from poles like a cinematic light crew!" He plugged fist to palm. "What's the course to make them fear us??”

"Druids efface reputation for keen study upon membeRain reliances & appetite," my cousin delivered. "Thus we must foil their scouting reports by swinging to eXotique terRiotories & make sure they don't suspect to follow,” she squeezed me tighter. “ReverSprEad cosmiCraMateriaLairs should come in handy... Sk8ting toward like-minded Realtors is producThwartive for avoiding extortion: prying from minTarless bramBellSculpests should suffice..." SuggesTina. "They can diverTempo & polish aquiFloor Trophies: cuPistoNoise coulDerange the SILPHockeYodel communiCreaModes..."

"SculpTarless Noise CanccCellers? You mist be talkkking of GargggYowls, or least cloggging petrification procedures."

"Pardon, petrification is more accurate;" redacTina. "Curators that will attempt subvert your prize as specimen, and hinder you if bypass the main baitSurrounding the main tunnels: deceive these toxiCombing patrons with false silhouette, and signal to speak with gnomeby rangers who specialize over mooching matters."

Siggy scratched a sideburn smudge: "Like park rangers?" ×She nodded× ÷after whicHe added: "HoWide dare PosTerritory?"

"Assume no reaLimit. Moons are host'Bends, and few form completely natural... SeveraLike our own, been coileDeep with interior integrity and eleganTidy orbit. PlaneTaReservoirs MUST be moaTrick'uLatchly sheltered from randoMix. Now it takes a few minutes to painTwine that landscapes conceaLiving entities. No color is statiConsumed, despite wave imperceptiBoil. GargYodels, like brambles, can spring up anywhere, making due of harsh conditions & poor circulation. They begin as immobile ESParasites that appear akin beetles & mosquitoes, waiting to sync mandiBleck TARound vertaeBridge propelled anatomy, gargling velocity here and there, looping larger suckSkim diameTriCloud. Comet, diamonds, and silk spindles are common habitation, but raking madly at them simply cauSEeds a worse outbreak, nor does it servExtracTemplates. Their luminouSonic stalks must be wRanGradually, if to be feverSEXtract'Dealt."

"tHorny stalkers much?" NikAbsorbed. "I seed how they might be addicted to life in the fast lane," she chuckled.

"That's cold existence all the way around..." Rovo trident to clear things stuck in a thickening throat: "yeaUhh, we could use morExperienced hands on deck."

"Every satisfaction longs to subsist, even virus," shruGeorgi. "Not that it's appreciated by higher Cogs, hence founDeition branched Outfit to file investigations & dispatch extraditions - among both voiDish and bio*illuMana. Carry sweeTidings to lunar ColoGnomey stations, HymnPortal jetstreams wreath luNumerous rays, where you should aim to reinforce tacTips with BeaVitaminks who moniTear malpractice & Democratize communal rehab via stringed instrumenTuning fOrchids ~ ether scouting with Ambroth drones, cordially steering charmed fabriCar'pets to identify resiDon't activity. SuperVised by the cormoWraPourium shepHeroNoble F8, these are intergalacTranSlip~Advisors = above LeapreCrowns, binding creed of tryinCrease Gap'luxWheel Hospitality. They Muse-stroke sound so sharply, that waveSling more glossaMere than atom cartridges (namely Qytux & Zozlipe symphonic flashing) impaLEvitate hope-lost deductions being exhibiTusked around captives, & loosen slaPhisto'CarTiding CanniBlisstiCaPul$ealings of every Skull pest. Their GulFerret PowDeers paint vases & slamuFraCurve •}skin,{~Twine such Tempeerojectiles; - these VelociTiPotioNets swing like Boomerang bouquets & distort gravity WedgE'missions to repeal, sniPulverizing specific venues; attracTindering ionStatic from plasma to Fognetic = via this Fae crosSoniCrumb Flick'Oar thrust, sepaRaiding gridlocked $tamPetrifications. The Embassy prefers Harmony to Hoarding - & they typically are restoring balance of stature, til the undergrowth elongaTentAcres enough."

I smirked. "Finally, the universe is as intriguing as it seems from afar."

"Onion~verse is more accurate." Responded my stinkin' cousin.

"Yea, that makes more sense, since you mentioNine body layer phenomenon..." I accepted.

"So in our slice, its Pestttilence versus Parammmedics then?" Falco pictured for the rest of us discombobulated.

"More like crops v. HarvesThRobbers," our Giant decided. "But closEnough categorization. Like shackles that prevent departure, or exterior that distort justice into stasis," Gigi listed. "Beryl-funGrants lubrication and condensation to skimBeads. WallRusTic sCorp nest gain swifteRoam initially by such tongue-straw anChords, & gaTHeir organic rhythm of Paralyze like cemenTurbo mixers, shaping replicas of their hosts, coagulaTongue heaps of apatheti'Shocked auras, shimmering surface like armadillMOsaiCreatures, scurrying much deeper. This business attracTours a steady supply of curious investigators - while poaCHamBrrrlow surf*ice, coil captive cocoon malOdorouSniff mindless throBeat ~ like hornet bunker, provide snooping alarm. JeweLicense remains that cherry flashy incentive (coVaulted even by REc’HoveRangers.)”

Rovo grrro@ned. "The ShepHerons ought be more concerned with dissolving virus at earlier stages."

"Not at all; coin*Cider the development as livestock. Even nuisances can produce valuable spoils - bendy'Features for ripe harvest. And all imprisoned can be released from the rooTendrils without persistent PTSDistress - at leasThat's what libram queries acclaim. That's an added fail-safe underpinning this mission: even if you fall prey, it's not a devouring, for the rainGears manage revive over eighty Pure-Scent of the jailbroken personalities."

I snorted. "Precious enough to risk sanity when we could stake out for a swoop in, after the GnoMElodic rangers have nullified tentacuLoCold molDrain?" and finished, tapping my temple.

"FisHorn diSCratch must be implanTooled the neSTructure before any GargOwl is dissolved - in order switch the sucTapesTray comBelches over to Telekinetic Skull'Dozing mode. That's why an outside unit musTake upon selves to colLabyrinth~induceDistraction between Blowax'impedes that mobilize DivEcHose propulScorpions. But only a single activiTank can make them pause their pacing and packing: (specTakles of peice-fold accord hypNoteHive their entire CamLegioNeedle of insPeeKdooRoutine (while beware any kinDispute or joke outburst shall increase duty foam spreading Planturf smotHeretickOil). They be shaven & groomed of neuron bundles to promote conformity, imaginay%Sprigs bludgeoned to a blanDutiful bank."

"SlasHose stinCams wish a dry sense of humor?" Siggy axed. "You saYing we'AR supposed to imitate 'em?"

CyborGi wiggled neck, eyes wrinkling, as cheeks rose. "Would be viable; All manner of circus acts mesmerize the Cistern'pedals: jigs, patterns, as well as daring honesTrade or fertiLEaking remeDialSwirl = Matching their druM0ld ChemiLynx ploDuty will actually perspire fluid processions as the neWaft clan performance reorders visual numBlocks for these Silk-SmelLight inspeClasSlumbeRoots, thereby reprogramming the LeechinGuitar beryl flow as outward expression: the neglected RooTrophy kennels result'icon pipes then choke out of phase with cultuREsort sCaregiVine: the vinyLink shouldn’t be super diSHicult to shift from the current maintenance methods, if you delegaTEamwork."

"The copy cat concept kinda reminds me of 'Simon Says'," Nika humored. "But without masked phrases trying trip us up. When is it actually safe to drop the act?"

"Soon as you thaw the first inmate."

"And how does that worrrk?" Falco flung.

"DramatiCoustic emphasis of diagraMemoirs," direcTina.

His fingeReacted whip diagNotion ~^> "Vanity langgGizmo SlideShow then... that's my antidote!"

Rovo squinted. "Aren't emotions totally alien to them bugs?"

GuilloTina's fingerSlaMeshed together fondly. "Precisely - stunning ingredients of culture shock."

I enacted an orchestra wand of swinging, accompanied with brief but steady humming. "Visual or acoustic rapid ricochet wouldn't have anything to do witHow SILPH manages synKronos mending and swifTransport?"

"Bare minimum," Gigi mimed. "They marry various deposits with glamoRituals. SILPHedge are coa^Liftongue who folDjinn proBellies & Chord'olFactories with appeaSign tools, in order to scrape away perSpeci'Rations for study... WreatheDraped in biometriCycleDeity membranes, they may gloB*reefly sever joinTonic, tough parted only by shadoWharfs, having squirted amphibEel fusioNebulaEggs among many lively whirlpools \{+}/ To haze their haven, forge a kinetic ring between colDark thistles, where gravit'Haze affirms no implant: without TouchstoNEc(h)opods, they are susceptibLetharGrip. Once slowed, you can vacuum their utensils, & leave theMired in pollution they are unlikely to regroup form. Now Pyram, firSTep Ring'quires specifiCoordinates, so mark where simpList to acquire," Georginstructed.

I swallowed, hoping it was more defined than firing Heschita had been. "Ears ready; hope it's not complex."

"I pondered your purChase: when I release us back to eartHung soil, select approPirate map markinGarg'Howled Climate, as this certain one possesses capaBleeDismantling orcheShrouded sway.”

That meant no personal tokenSnatching for me - yet rediscoverinGeorgi was thrill AND refuge as much as my meter could wish to garner. And so I offered: "Whuddoo we need identify?"

"Rummage for label written poLeVeer penGown Tweezers. It displays the orbit in which a Chandelier-shaped comet rotates with huge coma Pit, approaching ripe time for harveSting," Our informant positioned. "I didn't memorize the trajectory but here's a preview.." She swiveled & buckled her hands threw a shadoWeb configuration of undulations *_@(<>*(~ Above snailpods, holoGram beGrind to coalesce... overlaying spotlights zipped, blinQuiveRadar to focus, shaping a murky amber comeTail, which true to her elaboration, seemed to be dripping underneath with ornamental cobalt sheen. "This is what an engorged cact'ice owLeech takes form like after sapping passioNooSEveRound leasHorde of organisms... weathGear fleeTail whiPlaned into atmosFrOther: evidenStorm be fowLeather warPEXhauSilks quietly containing radicaLibrams, caking mistChafForesTowns under Spidren-fanGlide sement blizzards. If that stage has been reached, such insecTowhelps act as distant sensors. Then you'll be hard-pressed visiting near enough lunar bases without first detoxing the vegeTapeShields.."