On Earth, General Neuville not only had the recordings analyzed, but also asked the latest AI to measure the distortions in the radar footprint.
The distance was relatively close, as from the Earth to the Moon, which misled other previous analyses.
Neuville: "Computer, if we halved the distance and put a black hole on the horizon, or created a hole in space and time, would the signature be the same?
Computer: "I'll compare Sacha's recording now with an archive of his voice before he left. Indeed, it's the original voice, if we take into account shifts due to a nearby mass and the use of analog transmitters.
The waves match. It's a message through a wormhole, in theory."
Neuville makes the same comparison with recordings from 80 years ago!
Computer: "Archive found and declassified! - Correct, General, the distortions match."
Neuville:"!!!!"
"Alert the President of the Confederation! It's urgent!"
Neuville pondered. Sacha and the entire crew of the ARK had reached Proxima Centauri? The Colossus too, but would have been captured, the crew killed? And Umbrella? An armada to invade Earth? Would they have portal technology? And how is Brilliant alive? Did she mention dragons? If Brillant was a dragon and not affected by age? that would make sense, but Brillant was human and cryogenics had just been discovered in his time... but Sacha, Umbrella... that would be another joke, but nobody knew about the colossus. There are too many little details for it to be a fake..."
Umbrella had been dismantled 80 years ago and the research was classified and still is now. the horrors, the abominations... They've done it again and they're destroying another earth we haven't even reached yet! What a stupid waste!!!"
Meanwhile, Kroa entered my office, while I was working on my computer, making plans for the portal elements (and especially for my crystal ship under construction).
"Mir...?can I talk to you?"
I gave up immediately and moved closer as a 4-meter wyvern, a comfortable size for everyday tasks. Kroa was also the same size.
We licked each other in greeting, but Kroa took me between his arms.
"Mir... I think we've screwed up! I've got this on my heart... it's not Sacha's fault but you know we play with the antenna and the radio telescope to see the planets."
"Yes, I know... and? what's the problem? did you break it? But don't worry, I can fix it. There's even a spell for that: Reparo!"
"No, big brother, we've made a mistake... I'm afraid..."
"You know you can tell me anything...and I love you more than anything...you can't imagine (I was dreaming of doing Kroa in my head).
Kroa: "We looked at the remains of the lab in orbit."
Me: "Have you managed to locate it? It's not easy without coordinates."
Kroa: "We spoke to General Neuville ..on Earth!"
Me: "WHAT????? You spoke to Earth? Live?"
Kroa: "Yes... I'm afraid..."
Me: "Kroa... don't be afraid... I'd never lay a paw on you...You can tell me anything, I can hear anything because you mean more to me than anything!"
Kroa blushed at the compliment and wondered if he wasn't even attracted to me. Our animal instincts were not as resistant or restricted as those of humans.
What was taboo for a human was not so for a wyvern.
But I was curious.
"Kroa So you communicated with Earth... but Umbrella must have heard too!"
"No, Mir, Sacha and I used a 'message' spell."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Umbrella couldn't hear you then. You're Awesome, Kroa... and, mechanically, I kissed my little brother muzzle to muzzle and our tongues mingled..."
Our breathing raced and I had a deep desire to climb on top of him.
"Wait, Mir... Sacha called for help, and said she was an Umbrella clone because the general said she should have died of old age, cryogenics not being able to exceed 20 years at that time. She said that Umbrella was preparing an armada and that you were alive (Professor Brilliant) and then we were cut off."
I weighed the pros and cons, but I didn't care.
I climbed on top of Kroa, who was taken by surprise.
I held his neck in my jaws and he laughed and knocked me to the ground.
"MIR! Obsessed! Go soak in the ice! "
We had a good laugh, but we clutched each other's hearts. I needed my brother and so did he. The fact that we could tell each other everything was miraculous and a good thing in itself. He trusted me, as I trusted him.
"Mir, I love you but I have Sacha... and I don't want to go any further with you... can you understand?"
I was dead ashamed of my human self and happy as a wyvern because Kroa didn't reject my affection. He too loved me more than any human could love another human. A dragon's love was boundless, as was his anger.
Then, coming to our senses, "Kroa, the situation is terrible, even if everything seems ok".
Kroa: "I know. Sacha is afraid of other humans, Zalar and Maxime too... Dumas is secretly corrupting humans, one by one..and I'm scared too... I'm afraid they'll turn into a meatball with hands and feet, and that some kind of orange will appear with lots of teeth and tentacles and poke me through all the holes to turn me into a tomato or a meat slime..."
Me "You're right to be scared. Your explanation is comical, but also very realistic. We could save the crew and the humans, but we'd have to defeat Dumas and...that I can't do..."
Kroa: "Atomic bombs??"
Kroa: "Yes. If they didn't have bombs, a few blasts of frost and the monsters' meat would be frozen. and we could cure those who still can and eliminate the zombies."
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Kroa: "You've got a plan then? You always have a plan... don't you?"
"It's hard. But yes, but I can't save Alpha... It's impossible."
Kroa was defeated.
"Rest assured, Kroa... I can't, but the Earthlings can! Your message may have succeeded where I fail!"
Kroa: "What are we going to do?"
"First, we've got to save ourselves and find out who's staying and who's going! Me... I'm leaving... I've got even worse reasons!"
Kroa: "So we're going back to earth? All of us?"
"Yes, Kroa, all of us! I don't want to lose anyone or let anyone I love or appreciate stay here and suffer inhuman treatment or incur the wrath of this self-proclaimed monster."
"With the ARK? the Crystal?"
Me:" The Crystal...but the problem is the Colossus and the ARK, they're armed and they'll destroy us in space. But I've got an idea...you'll see!"
A few weeks and a lot of love later, Sacha was having trouble walking. She was limping, like Chlorophylle.
But she kissed Kroa all the time.
Maxime was jealous of Kroa but stayed close to another wyvern, a friend and another boyfriend. She was striped and he'd named her Zipette. Thinking of a square pull tab.
She, too, was hot for the earthling.
Zalar no longer trusted anyone except the Wyverns, who had remained true to themselves. The other humans, let's say clones, represented a hidden but present threat.
A month later, the pieces of the first portal were assembled and the others launched into orbit. It was a micro portal, designed as an elevator to load ground-based structures.
As it was inorganic and the distance was microscopic, there was no need for magical protection.
And that was my trap!
Dumas went straight to the ARK to see the first tests from the ground, finally a separate platform that wouldn't endanger the infrastructure in the event of an accident.
It was a sort of huge ring with ratchets showing coordinates and there was nothing magical about it. The ark carried mini black holes encased in magnetic spheres and they were installed on either side of the portals, which was a very easy version of what I had planned for long-distance travel.
The whole city had come to see the event, and giant fireworks had been set off in orbit to be seen from the sky.
Everything was switched on, and as water appeared on the vertical surface, rockets were launched, reappeared in orbit and exploded in the starry sky.
The spray of color could be seen high in the sky, and everyone applauded.
This meant that you could even go into space as a wyvern, without a cosmonaut suit.
Kroa was the first volunteer and was gored.
He raced into the portal and instantly found himself in orbit. In the vacuum of space.
Immediately, everything wet on him froze and he wanted to flap his wings, but with no air, no lift.
He drifted in on himself and could see the planet, which was quite round. He pivoted, rolled but couldn't stabilize.
"Help, MIR!" was the message I received telepathically.
"Kroa, calm down... Blow mana into your wings and try to press on the sunlight, as if the sun were air.
After a few moments, he managed to stabilize himself and sent me: "It's great, but it's hot and cold. Hot where the sun hits and cold in the shade."
"So do you like it? Brother?"
"Yes, Mir... I want to go see the moons but everything's so big and we're so small."
"Remember... it's not a good idea... the distances are immense. We have to think about what to do if we get stuck.
Can you move forward?"
"Yes, Mir, but it's confusing..."
"Kroa, do you have access to the system?"
"Wait, it's like asleep..."
"Good. Good When you're ready, you come back and if there's a problem, dive into the atmosphere but brake from the start so you don't burn up with the air rubbing."
Dumas: "That's brave of your little brother! Do you think he's all right?"
"I think he's having the time of his life up there. He's going around the KRG."
She raised an eyebrow.
"So, wyverns can fly into the void without croaking!!! even my abominations freeze and croak in the vacuum of space.... Bravo!!! Bravo!!!"
Like the Iron Lady, she jumped for joy at seeing a near-perfect being be more perfect than she thought....
Those wyverns... what a treasure!" Moreover, she was pleased to have been able to start cloning Mir and her family members. She couldn't wait to see if her clones would also be able to face the vacuum of space and finally create a species capable of surviving in the hostile environment that is space and certain planets. Quite a program. And lots of variations. Wyrms specialized for a methane atmosphere, others for a carbon dioxide atmosphere and capable of living in space, on asteroid fields and creating civilizations. But also to create space farms, for food.
With the wyverns, everything was possible, and reconquering the Earth was no longer a priority in itself. But Dumas was vindictive.
Two hours later, Kroa returned and was hard at work.
"BRRR. it's cold and hot but mostly cold... I'm dying of thirst and the ground is crushing me. We're so much better off up there! And we can go fast too... really fast!"
Me: "Kroa... I'm proud of you! You're the best little brother I've got!"
"Mir, I'm your only brother!"
"All the more reason!!"
We laughed. and licked each other amicably.
It was thus established that vital support was needed for rest, food and drink, and above all, warmth. But this was nothing compared to an infrastructure for human beings...
It was 100 times more economical.
The orbital components for the large portal were loaded piece by piece.
The site was huge, and it was the wyverns who took charge of erecting everything on site.
An astronaut or two came to inspect the work, but on the whole, there were no problems to report.
I knew that Sacha and Kroa were in danger, especially Sacha... and they volunteered to make the first jump to earth and send a message back.
We would then meet in secret at the wyvern tavern in the forest to celebrate the union of Kroa and Sacha, as well as that of Zipette with Maxime.
They would be leaving together in a specially-designed module, and had been given necklaces and jewelry with magical protections, undetectable by the abominations, who fortunately had no access to magic, probably rejected by the system.
I also put into a micro-vial, a soluble hollow gem, a little of my blood and some poison capable of turning a human into a wyvern. Sacha had some too, and there was enough for a complete transformation.
Chlorophylle and Xayda reduced a grimoire to the shape of a scale and glued it onto an original scale, trimmed slightly so that it would be invisible, and worked to ensure that they each had a personal inventory space with weapons, explosives, thieves' tools and a few mana crystals in case nothing worked. They had to be prepared and master the spells of charm, unlock, anti-poison and aquatic breathing in case they were captured, so as to resist drugs, anesthetics and be able to escape in case of mistreatment. I also gave Kroa a sphere of plutonium and how to make a bomb out of it in case they needed to seal a portal, or blackmail. a weapon of last resort. Or simply to save themselves or destroy an enemy that would trap them in the portal.
As I handed it to him, I held the box firmly and looked into his eyes.
Kroa: "I love you like Mom and Dad... Survive at any cost, even if you have to slaughter an entire planet... You're more valuable! You're my blood, my family, and I count on you to live. Even if we're separated forever, don't forget that you have a family somewhere who loves you and will come to your aid if things go wrong. You're smart and Sasha's smart too, and she'll help you find solutions if it gets too hard."
and then I moved closer to his ear. "You have no idea how hard I have to try not to climb on you! And how many times I've done it in my head!"
Kroa laughed and rolled around on the floor. Then we both hugged and kissed in front of everyone. Well, in front of the other Wyverns, the 2 witches and the 3 heroes. The humans were offended, but the wyverns hissed with joy.
Then Kroa was caught like a pogo stick in a crowd of wyverns and everyone, the whole tribe embraced him and covered him with wyvern saliva.
He cried and Zipette also got the treatment, but she went further, ending the evening in a draconic orgy. She too was scared and wanted to feel the comforting animal warmth of the tribe. It was animal and without ulterior motive, because she loved Maxime, who also had to accept the tribe's rules. It went against the grain of humanity and was barbaric, but he had to get used to it because his family was now in front of him. One day, he too would be covered in scales, have wings and the body of a dragon. Other little wyverns made advances while Zipette was busy elsewhere with other partners.
He begged me to inject him with my poison so that it would go faster and make him stronger for the trip in a few days' time.
I don't think he felt a thing, but the dragon's energy rushed through him and he had no trouble satisfying other wyverns.
Zalar was disgusted by such savagery. Chlorophylle went to join the orgy, she couldn't take it anymore and I did the same.
Sacha's eyes were slit and suddenly, crack! powerful canines sprang from his upper jaw.
Pleasure accelerated the transformation and by the end of the night, we were all sleeping next to each other.
Xayda having fled with Zalar.
"They're beasts!" he commented.
Xayda: "I'd say they're crazy barbarians! Yes... they're animals, intelligent like us but they've kept their beast nature... in a way, they're right... they're equal to themselves and so they escape corruption and are like a rock that defies the changing currents of time. Their civilization and knowledge will remain, while we will have forgotten or denatured ourselves. They are the true owners of this world... I must admit, their open sexuality still disturbs me and makes me want to join them... but I have to put up barriers, limits..."
Zalar : "Ahh.. Mir... you obsessed!! finally, cats make cats, not dogs... Like father, like son... watching Alpha in the orgy. Worse, the drink with it, gave an indescribable result of fangs, scales, roars and above all the mountain shook."