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Fox was reviewing the official looking report; made a mere six days ago from one of the government laboratories hidden away in the woods about a hundred miles from the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He snickered at the thought that it was a "secret lab", seeing as every paranoid conspiracy theorist under the sun that monitored government activity knew it was there.

That didn't mean anyone knew what they actually did there and the internet chat rooms were filled with vague suggestions at the going-ons at the facility.

The report as it was was barely usable, but in conjunction with recent accounts coming in from local police agencies it made for an intriguing coincidence. The only part that was generally useful were the last few lines, and even then someone had surreptitiously attempted to block out bits of text unsuccessfully.

The loss of specimen DEB-9046 has been a serious blow to the project and its immediate return to the facility is paramount to the completion of the (redacted) Project. Destruction of specimen must be avoided at all costs, regardless of whatever civilian casualties that may occur during its absence.

Fox transcribed the readable material into a notebook and placed the original file on his desk. He had a feeling that it was going to vanish in the near future. Let them think that its loss would be crippling to his investigation.

When Dana came in, he was sitting there lit by the light of his computer screen.

"What's up Smolder?"

"Oh hi Dana. I decided to take in a little oceanographic tutorial."

"Don't tell me; what to feed your eight legged friends?"

"Not precisely, no. My pet is doing fine thank you."

"So what else are you intending to add to your aquarium?"

"Nothing. Have you ever heard of Sepiida?"

"No. Sounds like a classification."

"It is. How aboutRhizostomae?

"No! Smolder, I have a medical degree, not one in general biology. What is all this about?"

"Our next case. That is, if you're game."

She paused before speaking. Their last one was still fresh in her mind, and while that event, upon reflection, was not nearly as terrifying as it should have been, there were elements about it that still held a grip on her mind. If they could ever manufacture a sex toy that was as versatile as those octopus appendages, then she was going to invest her life savings into the manufacturer of them. But having it all happen twenty or thirty feet in the air had not been an ideal setting for the experience. Still...

"Details?"

"Very few. There have been reports of strange activity west of here."

"Strange? Strange as in not normal or strange as in something totally out there?"

"It caught my notice."

"Then it's got to be bad."

"Dana! Bad? You so quickly lose your spirit of adventure."

"My spirit is feeling weak today Smolder."

"How's your flesh feeling?"

"None of your business."

"Touchy, touchy."

"Maybe I am. So why the interest in the sea life?"

He grabbed the folder and tossed it at her.

"This thing. It mentions both orders of sea animals."

Dana flipped through it, noting the heavily marked out pages.

"This is recent. Most files don't get redacted until they have been sitting around for a while. Where did you get this?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, but not to me and not right now. So some creature got loose?"

"So it would seem."

"But an ocean going animal wouldn't survive on land. Or in fresh water for that matter."

"So it would seem."

"Then why the interest in it?"

"Because there have been sightings in the general vicinity of where this creature was lost."

"Another goose chase?"

"I notice that you didn't say wild. Whatever this thing is, it certainly seems to be running loose."

"So call the facility that lost it. Call the park rangers. Call anyone but us. This isn't our sort of case."

"No? That remains to be seen. There have been some intriguing descriptions of the creature."

He tossed her a group of police reports, mixed in with a few burry photographs. She grabbed them before they scattered on the floor and proceeded to flip through them one by one, snorting on occasion, scrutinizing the images, flipping through more before finally dropping the pile on his desk.

"Smolder, these reports are as varied as the days of the week. No one says the same thing twice. And none of the pictures show anything that resembles anything else in any other photographs."

"Correct. Don't you find that to be just a little odd?"

"No. It only means that you're trying to tie together things that are unrelated."

"No. It means that whatever is going on in this area has a single cause and whatever it is, it can change its appearance."

"Right," she said drolly. "Because everyone knows that there's some sort of polymorphic creature out there shape shifting at will."

"It's not beyond the plausibility of modern science Sully."

"Smolder, what the hell would a government lab want with a shape shifting creature?"

He stopped and stared at her. "Seriously? Think about the applications. If you could control such a thing, and you could manage to have to look like the president, or a general, or just about anyone and this thing could ooze through cracks, how would you stop it? Just think of what an assassin it would make!"

"Riiiiight. You've been watching too many sci-fi movies lately. That's the only place that kind of stuff ever happens Smolder."

"The only place? Think about what you just said."

She sighed. "Fine. Where do we start?"

"The local sheriff's office first, and if I can arrange it, I'll have any eyewitnesses brought in to save us some leg work."

She plopped down in a chair. "Good. I'm tired already just thinking about it."

The drive through the region between D.C. and the laboratory was a mix of small towns, wooded hills and miles of aged, grayish asphalt. Dana watched the scenery pass by with about as much interest as an inmate watching his dirty white walls grow dingier with each passing day. As strange as were the cases that Smolder dragged her on, it was their sheer oddity that seemed to make everything else seem dull, drab and ordinary.

The sheriff turned out to be a no-nonsense sort of badger; big, burly, and with a hair trigger temper just barely contained. He was none too pleased to see the agents, and was even less pleased at the instructions to have the witnesses rounded up and ready for questioning.

"Look you two. I don't care if you're Feds or not. These are decent people who've had frightening experiences. So if all this has something to do with that lab tucked away back in the valley, I'd like to know about it now."

Fox smiled. "I wish I could tell you. If we knew that, we wouldn't bother disturbing all of these fine folks. But you know how government facilities are. Even with another sister agency they are likely to keep pretty mum about their activities."

"Sad - just sad. Fine. You can talk to everyone I could find, but you keep it short and you don't pester anyone. Remember, these aren't criminals. They're plain, good folks who don't want any trouble from the likes of you."

Dana nodded. "We'll just verify their statements and see if we can possibility glean anything more from their memories. Then we'll be gone."

"Well miss, you sound a bit skeptical that this is anything whatsoever."

"That's what we're here to find out."

"Good. Because if it is something, I want it gone. And if that means buying a flamethrower with my own money, you had better believe that I will." He coughed into his hand. "And if it's not, then I need to know why these people swear on the good book that they saw something they can't explain."

"Don't worry sheriff. If we find anything tangible, you'll be the first to know."

He looked a bit relieved. "And if you find anything intangible?"

She shrugged. "That's a lot of what we find. This case should be no different. Wild goose chases are within our area of expertise."

"If you say so miss though I doubt you'll leave here empty handed. For the life of me though, I have no idea what this thing will prove to be."

"Neither do I sheriff. With any luck, it'll prove to be naught and we can go back to the bureau with nothing significant to report."

The interviews provided no additional information to what they already knew. In each case, they had seen something odd moving in the shadows, sometimes in an amorphous shape, sometimes in the form of a biped or something less defined than that. It had been found both indoors and out under the stars. Lighting had always been poor and observational conditions less than ideal. Thus, to sum matters up, no one had gotten more than a sidelong glance at this thing, and nothing they saw matched what anyone else saw. They each seemed to have seen something they acknowledged as being familiar, but not so much that they truly recognized it for what it truly might be.

Fox wasn't daunted by the discrepancies. Later, back at their motel room, he taped up a map on the wall and began sticking pins in it. When he was done, it came out in no logical pattern. Leastwise, none that Dana could see.

He looked a bit smug.

"You don't see it, do you?"

"See what? This isn't a Rorschach test. That pattern might as well be an inkblot."

"I'm ashamed of you Dana. There is a visible pattern. See here, where there's a large hole in the sightings?"

"I see it. That's where the facility is located."

"Right. It seems that our mystery creature has been avoiding that location. Maybe for good reason."

"Smolder, if this thing is real and I say if; and people have been seeing it, don't you think that anyone at the facility would be under a security protocol to not discuss anything with anyone? That would account for the lack of sightings in that area."

"You could be right. But in that case, you're agreeing with me that this thing could be real."

She sighed.

"Fine, let's say it's real. What about the other data?"

"This region has a number of smaller tributaries that drain into the valley basin farther down the range."

"There's nothing special in that."

"No? Note how each sighting is within twenty to thirty feet of one of these tributaries."

"True, except for those three right there," she said, indicating the pins marking locations farther away from any running water. "How do you explain those?"

"I haven't yet, not precisely. Those were all sightings in houses. But I think this is all connected."

"Of course you do," she sighed. "So what do we do next?"

"I guess our only recourse is to see if our badges are enough to get us inside the gate."

They grabbed a bite to eat at one of the local diners. Apparently there wasn't much going on in this town, for the moment they walked in all eyes turned to stare at them. Fox was always a bit more gregarious than she was, and he delighted in the fact that their starchy presence always seemed to cause a stir. He grinned at the quiet hubbub their entry catalyzed, and the hushed tones made him even giddier.

"Listen to that Dana. All because two federal agents come to town to investigate a boogeyman."

The older, slightly grizzled ferret behind the counter smiled, but at the same time managed to convey a sense of disgust and distrust at their presence. Fox knew her immediately as one of the eye witnesses. Her voice was thin and strained, but otherwise filled with kindness and caring.

"It ain't no boogeyman."

"No? Are you sure? You locals haven't even bothered to give it a name yet. All of these things end up with catchy names, like the Backwater Bugaboo or the Hillside Hellhound. I figured you folks would turn this thing into media frenzy. If nothing else it would be good for the local economy."

She growled a little at him.

"We don't need no tourists disrupting life here. We may not be rich, but we do ok. We ain't happy with that damn government lab sitting in the shadows of our town, but until now there hasn't been no trouble coming from it."

"Yes, the lab. What do they do there?"

"Do? How the hell should we know? Everyone who works there lives there too, and damn few of them seem to ever step foot outside the fence. There used to be a few that hung out here, but that's long past." Her voice seemed to have a touch of longing to it.

He sat down, motioning for his partner to do the same. She took a seat and grabbed a menu, allowing him to do whatever it was he thought he was doing at times like this.

"Secretive bunch are they?"

"I would think the likes of you would know. Go ask them what's going on. That thing's got nothing to do with us."

"So you think this thing is real?"

"It's as real as someone I used to know! That thing looked just like him..."

She clammed up, suddenly realizing she was saying more than she should. Dana ignored the conversation and quickly ordered coffee and two specials. The waitress turned, got the drinks and sent the order to the back.

"Sully, what's the big deal?"

"You were backing her into a corner and she didn't realize it until you asked her about it directly."

"I know. She knows something about it."

"Of course she does. I think a lot of people here do, even if they have no idea what it is."

"So why not leave the locals alone and save the interrogations for the facility. What's the name of it again?"

"Daycrest Biogenetics and Compu-tech."

"Sounds more like it's a privately owned business. Are you sure it's a government research facility?"

"Pretty sure. Those files had official government stamps on them. I would have to guess the name is a front to throw off idly prying eyes and the overtly curious snoops."

"Doesn't seem to have worked very well."

"Well enough. No one has any idea what goes on in there."

"True. And I doubt we will either."

"Only one way to find out."

The drive there was pleasant enough, with the passing scenery offering up nothing more than an idyllic blur of greenery as the car made its way along a narrow, but well maintained service road. She looked closely just in case something were to rear its ugly head along the way, but nothing was there that didn't seem out of the ordinary. She figured that if she looked too hard she would begin to see all sorts of strange things that weren't really there.

The barbwire-topped gate was guarded by three armed military police officers. Each carried an automatic rifle and a pistol on their belt. If this was a corporate experimental station, then they had some heavy duty government contracts. Fox whistled in awe of the array of security features.

"Look at that Sully. There are cameras every ten feet. I'll just bet that every other one is infrared."

"I think we should be more worried about the guards carrying weapons."

"Hey, we all work for the government! Just smile and act official."

He pulled up to the guardhouse and wound down the window, displaying his badge before anyone could even ask for it.

"Agents Smolder and Sully here to see Doctor Charles Wood."

The one guard stepped back in surprise. "Wood? That old coot hasn't been out of here in a decade. What the hell does he want with you?"

"If you let us through the gate so that we can see him, then perhaps we'll know. Otherwise we're left here guessing just as you are."

"We'll need to check. It's highly irregular to have anyone new coming in here."

"Oh, so now we're just extra fiber in your diet, is that it?"

"Come again?"

Fox smiled. "I haven't yet. Shall we get a room and make it a date?"

The guard grew flustered and shook his head. About the same time the gate groaned on its wheels as electricity surged through the motor. The car was through the opening before anyone could fully question their arrival in any infinitesimal detail. Still, Fox stopped the car and leaned out the window, looking back at the small knot of presently befuddled soldiers.

"Where can we find the good doctor?"

"His lab. Building four, level two."

"Thanks!"

He drove through the compound, viewing the numerous buildings. It looked a lot like a reconditioned army camp in the way it was laid out. The structures were dated, but clean and well maintained. Whatever this place was, its upkeep was as important as whatever it was that was done here. Building number four was a three story, brick-faced edifice with only a few windows. In fact, only the first floor one had any glass showing, leaving the upper two stories as nothing more than a solid brick façade.

"Look at that. It might as well be a prison, don't you think?"

"It's an older building Smolder. Who knows what its original purpose was."

"True. Shall we see what they're doing in it nowadays?"

They parked in front of it and walked up the short set of steps and through the doors. There was another guard sitting at a desk, looking bored and yet suddenly annoyed at their intrusion.

"Who are you?"

"Agents Smolder and Sully to see Dr. Wood."

"Wood? Seriously? What they hell has he done? Fibbed on his taxes?"

"No. He requested our presence. We'll know what he wants when he tells us."

"Hmmm. I can't understand this. Wood doesn't talk to anyone. Why does he want to see the FBI?" "When we're in the know, we'll tell you. Now are you going to show us up, or do we have to start making calls?"

"No sir. It's just a little unusual is all. Dr. Wood's office is second floor, room 241. Would you like me to notify him you're here?"

"Nah. He knows we're coming."

The two agents remained quiet as they waited for the elevator. Fox would have taken the stairs, but strangely enough, there didn't seem to be any in sight. He mentioned this on the slow ride up to the story above them.

"No fire exits? This place hasn't had a fire marshal in it in a while."

"That is unusual. Why would this building have no stairwells?"

"To keep people from getting to the other levels? Or to keep people from getting out?" asked Fox slyly.

"Scientists as prisoners? Sounds a little cold war-ish to me."

"This building fits that to a tee. Who knows what secrets lie above are heads, or beneath our feet for that matter?"

"Too many to count. So let's stick to the sole reason we came. I have a feeling that our breach of their security will eventually be detected. If you have questions, you had better get to the one who has the answers and ask them quickly."

Dr. Wood's office was fronted with a thick steel door, a forbidding omen if there ever was one. There was a buzzer on the wall, which Fox pushed before his better judgment got in the way. As they waited, he noticed the nameplate on the wall. He giggled.

"What is it now?"

He chortled. "Look! It says Wood, Charles."

"Are you laughing at the "wood" part?"

"No precisely. You see, if he goes by a nickname, then it becomes Wood Chuck."

"Oh grow up Smolder."

There was silence for a moment, and then another buzz sounded, releasing the door from within. They heard a wavering voice call out, as if to no one in particular;

"Just put it on the closest counter and leave!"

Fox walked in, with Dana following close behind him with a look of bemusement on her vixen face. The interior was both dated and modern, with a sprinkling of leftover equipment from decades past mixed with brand new computers, spectrometers and genetic sequencing machines.

"Dr. Wood?"

A testy voice called out, "I said put it on the counter. You know I hate to have contact with outsiders."

"Then I think this is you're unlucky day. We're from the FBI."

"The what?" You could almost hear the brain behind the voice puzzling that one out. "You mean the Bureau?"

"The one and only."

A small, disheveled marmot poked his head from the door of a side room that served as his office. Fox abruptly snickered and tried to hide it with a forced cough.

"So. Someone there still actually reads reports?"

"Occasionally. I take it you wrote the one I have?" Fox answered.

"Depends. Was it redacted?"

"Yes."

"Then yes I did. I did the redactions myself."

"Might I ask why?"

"Curiosity. I needed someone interested in what they read, but also in what they couldn't read. I need someone to help me, but you have to have an open mind to be of any use to me."

Fox turned to his partner.

"Well Sully, you might as well wait in the hallway."

"Shut up Smolder."

The good doctor chuckled. "Good, good. You two are compliments to each other. That is perfect."

"Why?"

"Because I need you both to keep an open mind about what I'm about to tell you. Some parts might be difficult to accept. An imbalanced mind can readily accept the fantastic, but there needs to be a dose of logic as well."

Fox smiled broadly. "It looks like you got the right folks. I'm completely unbalanced. So what's up doc?"

The good doctor paused, sensing some twist of words but shook his head when he couldn't figure it out and continued with his story.

"I've been working here for a very long time. In fact, I came here right out of college. Over the years the nature of my research has changed, until I ended up on the project I'm presently working on."

"Which is?"

"Top secret. So I can't really tell you a whole lot."

"Not helpful doc."

"I know. I am going to tell you what you need to know to find her and bring her back."

"Her?"

The doctor blushed. "Well, not really a"her". In truth she is sexless for the time being."

Dana coughed. "She is s_exless_? This thing either has a gender or it doesn't."

"I know it sounds strange. Allow me to explain. The project involves recombinant DNA."

Fox nodded. "I gathered that much from your report. You've been mixing ocean going species into something new?"

"Yes. The more complex the creature, the more difficult it is to tamper with it. But ocean life is much simpler and therefore easier to manipulate."

"To what end?"

"Have you not figured that out?"

Fox shrugged. "I can only surmise. From the taxonomic categories that were listed, you want something that is malleable and potentially controllable?"

"Not bad. Yes, that was the directive in the beginning. It was a lofty goal, and one not easily attainable. When I started on it, genetics was still rather crude. Even today there is much that we do not understand."

"So what did you create?"

"Oh, many things, most of which didn't survive long enough for a full evaluation. That was until last year. Debbie proved to be more than we could ever have expected."

Dana choked. "Debbie?"

"Yes, Sorry about that. Her catalog number begins with DEB, so I just turned it into Debbie. That's why I refer to it in the feminine."

"Is that the only reason? You sound rather attached to her, even going so far as to entice two federal agents to come looking for her. Why not just use the base security personnel?"

"Two reasons. One, no one here yet knows she has escaped. Secondly, you got in here, didn't you? No one is supposed to go beyond the gate except those with the correct government certification. I can assure you neither of you have it. Even I don't, which is why I can't leave."

"Can't?"

"That's what I said. It takes the proper credentials to get in and out. I lost mine a long time ago, so here I stay."

"And you didn't think to ask for a replacement?"

"No. You see, I haven't really had a reason to leave. And now that Debbie's gone, I can't even leave to look for her without raising suspicions. So I need you to do it for me. She's probably getting lonely by now."

"Lonely?"

"Yes, lonely. She doesn't have a full capacity encephalon, so she borrows the necessary capacity from someone who does."

"Meaning?"

The doctor sighed. "It means that without direction she's lost. She normally relies on having direction. She has an implant that allows a mental link to the wearer of an electronic device. It's how control is normally maintained with her."

"So what does this thing eat? And what form does it keep?"

"Form? She has no set form. There is more to her than my report lets on. I could get into trouble if I listed all of the various component DNA sets that were incorporated into her makeup. While she has a mostly gelatinous composition, she does have an extremely large number of spicules which can be rearranged to form a tough, but temporary skeleton."

"Spicules?"

"Yes. They are tiny calcium-based; uh, well, think of them as crystals. She can rearrange them and hold them together to allow herself a certain amount of rigidity."

"I see. So what is her purpose?"

The doctor coughed in his hand and stuttered just a little. "Purpose? She has no purpose."

"Doc, don't pull my leg. The government doesn't fund your kind of research if they don't have a goal in mind."

"As you say, and just as you say it that is the reason I can't tell you about that. Just be content to know that you will be doing me a great favor if you can recover her."

"You do understand that I will have to file a report on all that we do?"

"Of course. And I have a feeling that it will vanish into the deepest, darkest cellar the government has. All I need to know right now is; will you try to find her?"

Dana cut in. "Doctor Wood, you must understand that we have no method of finding this thing, much less containing it. If it escaped from here, how do you expect us to keep it under control if we do find it?"

"Ahhh. Good question young vixen." He pulled off his wristwatch and handed it over to her. "This is the sole component I didn't develop. It connects to an implanted neural interface built into her form. She doesn't have a brain per se, but what she does have is enhanced by this technology. It will read and interpret what you think into actual commands for her."

"That's quite the weapon doc."

"So the higher-ups had hoped. So far, she won't hurt a fly. There seems to be something wrong with her matrix."

"You mean you've really tried to get her to kill someone?"

"Sadly, yes. Orders from the top. But no matter what directive I give her, she'll not do it."

"Could she?"

"Is she capable of it? Why yes she is. What animal isn't, if only to feed itself."

Fox shuddered a little. "Which brings us back to the question of what she eats."

"As of the moment I have no clue what she is living off of. Here she subsists on a protein rich nutrient solution, balanced with the proper saline concentrations to mimic sea water.'

Fox rubbed his stomach facetiously. "Sounds delicious. Lunch special recipe from the diner in town?"

"Heavens no!" Then the doctor paused. "Is that cute little ferret still working down there?"

"I thought you never left the base?"

"Not anymore. She used to be a real looker back in the day."

"Well, I can't be an accurate judge of good looks doc, but I'd say she's aged a bit since you saw her last."

"Pity. She was quite the little piece of eye candy when she was younger."

"As I'm sure you were doc. Do you have anything more to add to your story?"

"Well, there was the one time she and I made out in the..."

"No doc. About your specimen!"

The doctor grew flustered at the apparent change on thought. "Well, no. Maybe. Yes. The watch will vibrate when it approaches her built-in array. So you'll have that to your advantage. Oh, and don't let the batteries run down. Like anything else, no power means no functionality."

"And I take it you did let the batteries run down?"

"Yes. We were taking a walk and..."

"You walked this thing like it was some sort of pet?"

"No! I walked with it like it was..."

"Yes?"

"Like it was a person."

"Doc, you've got to get yourself a girlfriend."

"No can do. Rules say I can't."

Dana shivered a little at what her mind came up with. It wasn't very pretty.

"Doctor Wood, are you telling me that this thing can walk, and I use that term lightly here; are you saying this thing can walk upright on dry land?"

"Yes. Full sun is bad for her, and thus she'll normally prefer the out-of-doors only on rainy days and at night."

Fox looked triumphant. "The waterways! She stays in them until it's safe to come out. And most of the sightings have been at night."

"Sightings? You mean people have been seeing her?"

"You didn't know?"

"No. This facility is fairly well regulated in regards to information. And to be honest, I don't bother with what they put on the television. I prefer to immerse myself in my work."

"I see. Well then doc, I guess we'll be on our way. If we do manage to catch this thing, how are we supposed to return it to you?"

"All you need to do is telepathically explain to her to come home."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." He doctor took the devise from Dana and strapped it onto Fox's wrist. The thing lit up along the rim, with the "hands" suddenly whirling before coming to a stop. They were pointing to the north."

"See. The locator has just given you a general direction to go. The closer you get, the stronger the signal will be."

"And how does the device within this creature stay powered?"

"Bio-electrical feedback. Essentially, as long as Debbie is alive, the internal electronics will function."

"That's quite the system you've got going doc. Are you sure it; that is, are you sure she'll respond to me?"

"There is no guarantee. All I can ask of you is to try. But the device does tend to amplify your mental workings, so the stronger the imagery, the better chance you will have."

Fox felt a tingle in his arm as the device sized him up, locking onto the innate electrical currents that ran through every living thing's body. The lights changed color and then dulled to a muted violet color. Then he felt a stabbing pain in his wrist. HE danced in place from the pain, but try as he might, he couldn't get the device off.

"Oh sorry about that. I forgot to tell you that it implants an electrode into a new wearer. It makes for a better interface. I forgot all about that seeing as I've had mine in for a very long time. Also, the device won't be able to come off for the next twenty four to forty eight hours."

Fox cursed under his breath, but he said nothing out loud. It was his own fault for not asking more questions.

"That's it then?"

"Yes sir. All you need to do is to find her, command her to return and then everything will be back to normal."

"Define normal."

"No time for philosophy my young kit. Off with you now and find my Debbie before something terrible befalls her."

"What about the folks that live around here? Are they in any danger?"

"If they were, you wouldn't be asking me that and the armed forces would be swarming this area even as we speak. No, she just doesn't have any direction at the moment. She needs to have a reason to function; otherwise she simply reverts to her base form."

"We'll see what we can do Dr. Wood."

Fox turned to go. He was more than willing to stay and talk with this rather odd old coot, but he instinctually knew that they were pressing their luck. The sooner they got out of this building and off of the grounds of the facility the better off he'd feel. Or maybe that device attached to him also promoted a general feeling of paranoia. No, it was just his normal dose of psychosis kicking in. Dana followed him to the elevator. The ride down was as slow as it had been going up.

"So Smolder, now you know. The Blob is alive and well."

"Hey, I liked that movie! It's a classic! And don't you think finding this thing will be pretty unreal?"

"Smolder, I'm still not entirely convinced this thing is real. The good doctor gave us not a single shred of evidence it actually exists. To be honest with you, I got the impression there was a lot he wasn't telling us."

"What do you mean?"

"He gave us no documents, no files, no photographs, no videotape. For all we know, this is some elaborate hoax to make us look like laughing stocks in the FBI, not to say we aren't already."

Fox held up his wrist. "He gave me this!"

She snagged his arm and reeled it in under her nose. "And what is it? For all we know it's nothing more than a pile of components put together to look like something from an old spy film."

He got a look of uncertainty on his face before he steeled his resolve and stood a bit taller.

"I for one will believe until such time as I am proven wrong."

"Can you be proven wrong Smolder?"

"With evidence, yes."

"And in lieu of evidence, will you take the lack of evidence as being evidence of what you seek?"

"Ha ha ha. I'm just saying that for now the evidence points to there being something. If it's what the doc says it is, then we can clear this up and go back to the bureau."

"Smolder, life around you never goes as easily as that and you know it."

"So I make it interesting. What's wrong with that?"

She snorted. That was her only response. She wasn't going to get into that argument again. Back at their motel the two agents ordered a pizza and split it before retiring for the evening. Fox eased back into one of the outdated chairs in Sully's room and smiled.

"You know Dana, I used to date a girl named Deborah. Of course, she preferred to be called Debbie. She was the finest Maned Wolf you could imagine; long legs, pert face, fluffy tail, great boobs and the tightest damn..."

"Enough! I get what you're telling me. Save it for your dreams and leave me out of it."

With that reprimand he got up and left, turning back only once to give her a lascivious grin. He was quite prepared to spend the evening alone with his lewd and lurid memories. He locked the door behind him, sat down on a chair of equal vintage as had been the one he just vacated and took off his shoes. He sat there reminiscing for a while before standing and removing everything else. It was time to sleep and perchance to dream if he could be so lucky. The only item he was left wearing was his newly attached locator device, which wouldn't come off for any amount of trying. He gave up and retired to the mattress.

It was warm enough in the room that he skipped the normal routine of pulling back the covers and instead lay on top of the comforter. He was intent on stirring up his recollections of past exploits and began to stroke himself. While images of his past love flashed across the synapses of his neurons, the more logical portion of his brain kept trying to determine what appearance this mystery creature might have if it turned out to be real.

It?

_She_seemed to be a genuinely kinder description. But was this thing truly genderless? Did this creation have any sort of sexuality? The doctor had in truth been rather skimpy on the details. It made sense, seeing as it was part of a secret government project. Since he had no idea what all had gone into the mix in making this creature, he had to assume that there might be some gender to it; after all, cuttlefish had differentiated sexes...didn't they - even if jellyfish didn't? Or did they?

Wrapped up as he was in such a wide array of thoughts, Smolder soon drifted off to a restless sleep. It didn't take long for his dream state to latch onto his strongest subconscious desires, filling his sleeping mind with living images of his old flame. She was a powerful draw on his emotional resources, especially since their breakup had been particularly difficult on him.

He recalled how she used to thrill him during those wonderful months that they had dated. His mind was quite adept at simulating her old moves as the memory of her reignited the passion he had once had for her. Fox relaxed into the flow of the dream, relishing the present illusion as a final chance of having her one last time. Their relationship had ended far to quickly.

She moved like a silken goddess across his torso, eliciting a wide range of sensual sensations as her imaginary form became lifelike within his deepest mental niches. Fox groaned quietly in his sleep as his body began to respond to the stimuli. He knew it was only a dream and yet there was no reason not immerse one's self completely into it. He was more than willing to succumb to whatever happened, right down to the mess he'd make on the bedding with his nocturnal emissions.

His dream might have triggered most normal people into waking up so vivid was it, but Fox lived a bizarre life, and this was tame compared to his waking hours. He was as likely to have great sex in his memory alone, better by far than some people managed to have with a real partner. It was just this that in part what had triggered their breakup. She had often felt unneeded in their relationship, sort of a fifth wheel. It hadn't been true, but perception is an incredibly strong force to reckon with. No one ever wants to feel under appreciated.

His dreamscape congealed into a fully fledged living fantasy, gelling into a corporeal masterpiece the likes of which he had never previously known. He could feel her weight settle down on top of him in the way she used to make love to him, straddling his prone form and riding him like her life depended upon it. He watched her silken hair flow through the air as her headed rocked in time to her movements, flinging about in wild abandon.

However, after a few moments of pure pleasure, his brain picked up some discrepancies. While he was visualizing hair and fur, his body was picking up something more - well; smooth and glassy. The feeling left him a bit befuddled, for Debbie was as soft and voluptuous as any good furry female could be, and this just wasn't Debbie. Fox struggled to wake himself from his stuporous nocturnal fantasy to try and assess the reason for the discrepancies.

His eyes sprang open to a still-lit room, and while his pupils adjusted to the light, he gazed at the figure presently perched atop his torso. It was Debbie alright, only it wasn't Debbie. It looked like her, or rather it had the appearance of her, but it was sure as hell not her. Whatever it was, it was staring raptly into his eyes and had a facsimile of a smile on its glassy face. Its eyes were full of light, but as his vision cleared, it was apparent that the light was coming from the ceiling fixture above and behind them.

Debbie was translucent!

Debbie was Debbie?

He was shocked to find that he was physically locked with this thing, whatever it was, in an amorous embrace that would have alarmed and repulsed a normal person. He sat still for a moment and contemplated what he should do. The doctor wanted her back, but seeing as she had been loose for a while now, a few more hours outside of her lab wouldn't hurt. Where they were connected, somewhere in the region of his hips and hers; if she really had hips; was a pleasantly sensuous sensation and one he was in no rush to consummate too quickly.

He was at a loss however as to how to communicate with her. The doctor had been none too specific on the device, so would she respond to voice commands? Or did he simply have to think what he wanted?

"Uh, hello Debbie?"

"Hello...Fox."

He wasn't expecting a vocal reply.

"You can talk?" He watched her mouth to see if it actually moved. It did.

"Some."

"How?"

"I do...not know."

That made sense. She was probably only minimally self aware.

"Fair enough. Why are you shaped like you are?"

"Because you...wished it."

"Wished it? Oh, my dream."

"Yes, that is...what it...is called. A dream."

"And you assumed this shape for me?"

"Yes. Do you...like it?"

"I don't know. I haven't tried it out completely. But from what I see and feel, yes, you are very nice."

She smiled. "Good. This is much...better than...the lab. This outside world...is better than...the inside one."

He had to think on that. Her former world had been limited to the laboratory. It was a sterile environment that offered limited stimuli, and even then only those that were chosen for her. He had no idea if she had any will of her own, or any idea of morality or a concept of emotion. His mind went to the device on his wrist. It had apparently triggered her arrival, and from there to the position she was now occupying. So there was a definite link between her and the device. But was it absolutely necessary? And why hadn't it warned him of her presence?

"Do you respond only to this thing?" he asked, indicating the thing resting just below his paw.

She made a face. "I do not...like that."

"Sorry. The doc made me take it to find you."

"Doc? Oh, my creator. I like you...better. You are more..."

"Yes?"

"Interesting. You have strong feelings. They are...potent...alarming...creative. I am...alive...but now...with you...I feel different. Exhilarated. Is that...a word?"

"Yes it is. So you've never experience sex before?"

"Sex?"

"My dream. It was about sex. I assumed you understood what you were doing."

"No. I was drawn...by the feelings...you were generating. I have never...felt...such intensity; is that the right word...?"

He nodded.

"...the intensity...of your...inner self. My creator is more...logical...cold...distant."

Fox was listening to her, though his attention was more on her appearance. Her skin; such as it was; was smooth, and for a creature he assumed lived in water most of the time, it was surprisingly dry. The section of her body that was surrounding his cock however was as warm, moist and torrid as a tropical hurricane. It these regards seem seemed to be akin to a normal creature of any land going species. She had the colors of his old flame, from the reds to the blacks, but the coloration was just under the skin, and the tones seemed to flicker and meld as she moved.

He had recently seen similar effects on his computer screen, coming from certain species of cuttlefish. Heck, for that matter jellyfish might be able to do it as well. But as for her unusually mutable form; now that was something entirely out of his range of experience. He wondered too if her eyes were real, or just forged orbs of that same material the rest of her was composed of. And as for her lower anatomy; well...

That he didn't wonder too much on, seeing as it felt as real as any female's he had had the privileged of penetrating. It didn't matter to him what she actually was, only that she was here and apparently curious as to the ways of such engagements. His sense of adventure was piqued to the point that he was already wondering how many forms she could shift into. She picked up on it.

"You like...variety?"

"I do like diversity. I'm not overly prejudiced against any one species."

"You like...me?"

"I find you unusual."

"Unusual? Is that good...or bad?"

"Technically neither. But for the sake of argument, I find the whole idea of what possibilities you might have in store for me to be rather titillating."

"Tit...all...ating?"

"Erotic. Exciting. Wondrous."

"Really? You find me...all of those thing?"

"I do."

She leaned down and with a pair of vibrantly red lips planted a kiss on his mouth.

"I think...that is...the sweetest thing...I have ever been called."

"Speaking of calling you something, do you prefer Debbie?"

"Names..." She sounded droll. "If you wish...call me what you will. I am what I am...regardless of a...name."

"Shall I call you lover?"

A thrumming sound came from her form, emanating from who knows where.

"I would...like that...very much!"

The thrumming was matched by a pulsing sensation around his cock, which quickly drove him crazy. Whereas before the connection had been pleasingly snug and comfortable, now it was massaging his cock like a, well, just like what it was supposed to be. Of course, he had no idea what a sea cucumber was, nor about how much of its DNA had gone into making Debbie. But there was enough.

Oh, there was more than enough to make a difference.

She had sufficient genetics to give portions of her body plenty of substance. And she knew just how to use them.

Fox was in lust. Everything he had ever considered too kinky for most partners was now open to a lot of experimentation with Debbie. He had no intentions of getting rough with her, but he had every desire to see how many permutations of her form she could accomplish. Sadly, he had not nearly enough time to run through the gamut of everything he had stored in his brain. It would take days before both his imagination and his stamina were depleted.

"You wish...something different?"she asked demurely.

"Not for now. Do you get tired out?"

"Tired?" She contemplated this. "I need energy. Food. Nourishment. Sustenance."

"Yeah, doc mentioned that. I'll see what I can come up with. But outside of that, do you tire?"

"Sleep? Yes. Rest needed...to maintain life. But exercise is needed to..." She left off with a sly smile.

"To what?"

"To help...maintain...physical structure."

"I don't understand."

She leaned down and kissed him, purposely contracting their connection in a rapid rhythmic pattern.

"I must...use my forms...to keep..."

"Keep?"

"To keep my...ability...to shift."

"Ah, I see. Use it or lose it?"

She paused. "Yes, I believe...that sums up my need."

"Then I'm the perfect trainer for you!"

She smiled again. "Your mind is...fascinating. Do you have a...mate?"

"No. Your form is a copy of the closest thing I ever had to one."

"But...there is the other...girl."

"Oh, Dana? She's my partner."

"Partner - mate? Are these not the same?"

"Not interchangeably. All we do is work together."

"But your mind...says you have...mated."

"There have been a few instances, yes. But nothing serious."

Debbie flowed and morphed into a semblance of Dana. She was unable to form hair and fur, but the body structure and facial features were otherwise flawless.

"But you liked...mating with her?"

Fox heaved a sigh. "Yes. But like I said; I'm more enthusiastic than I am discriminatory."

"I see. You enjoy...what is to be...enjoyed?"

"Yes! Precisely!"

She seemed to grasp the idea.

"I can enjoy this...I think. I do not know...how much is feedback...and how much is real."

"Does it matter?"

Debbie shifted her form a little to something else from his memory. He nearly choked, but he said nothing. He was unsure how such foibles as incest would sit with her. For the moment she might not realize that the form she had chosen was his sister's.

She smiled again. "No, I think not. Pleasure is...pleasure."

"Truer words have never been spoken more eloquently than you just put it my dear."

She gave him an embarrassed shrug and leaned down to kiss him again, this time lowering her body full onto his, wrapping her arms under his back and thrusting her hips in a manner that she found readily accessible in his memory. In truth she didn't have hips, but then she didn't have any of these parts she was presently using. Or rather, she had them whenever she needed them. Was that not the better situation?

Fox was surprised, albeit even alarmed at the ready strength she had. He never thought of these sea creatures as being more than food; sushi to put on the table in fancy eateries. But this curious amalgamation of various oceanic life forms had strength equal to his and more. He could see where she could easily be used as a weapon. He quickly pushed those thoughts down. There was no point in giving her any more ideas than those he already had let loose upon her limited intellect.

Besides. She looked just like his sister when she was young. That was enough freakiness for the evening. That alone was going to be breaking some steadfast rules of his.

Debbie wasn't stupid. She wasn't smart either. She had been given just enough intelligence to do those things she was meant to do. However, she found that she didn't like doing those things. She understood killing. Many things killed to live. There was nothing wrong with that. It was killing for the sake of killing that did not sit well with her.

Sex however had gotten into her mind and had never let go. Procreation was what sex was all about. Every creature longed to carry on; having young to have its genetic material passed down from generation to generation. Her grasp of this was crude, but it was also instinctual; built right into her being with every strand of DNA that had been diced and spliced to make her what she was. And thus, sex was the route one took to achieve this. It took a male and a female. And right now, she was a female.

It was time to breed.

And any way that he wanted it, she was going to give it to him. He was probably going to be her only chance before she ultimately rotted away in that sterile room. She must have at least a single chance to procreate before that ultimate eventuality.

She knew what the form represented that she presently occupied. She did not understand familial relationships because she had no family. Males and females interacted. How they were related meant nothing to her. She had no additional information on the subject to form a more prudish conclusion. All she knew was that his heart rate jumped even higher and his sexual organ gained even greater rigidity than before, such as during the time that he had been asleep. If that wasn't what plain sex was about, than she was going to have to try harder.

And so she did, just to make sure.

She squeezed his sexual organ with a mighty grip and lifted him off of the bed. His head and feet draped back against the mattress, leaving them as the only parts touching. She had elongated her legs to literally hoist him in the air. The pain he felt was exquisitely exotic, and he nearly blew his wad right then and there. She squeezed his ejaculate back down, forcing him to keep it inside until she was good and ready for it. This experience was one she was never going to be able to duplicate back in the lab and her creator had told her once to absorb as much information as she could from each undertaking she was involved in.

She held him aloft for a mere moment before lowering him down again and pinning him to the bed. She did not understand force, or rape, or anything that one might hold in a negative connotation. All this activity was was what you made of it. She had no idea that she might go overboard with her antics. She had nothing in her memories to go by, nor any standard by which to judge her actions. All she could draw off of was what she was extracting from him. She had no inkling of how extreme his imagery could be.

She followed up by wrapping her hands around his throat, feeling his pulse as it raced through his arteries. She had nothing equally comparable to such fixed and complex systems, and yet she managed to live just fine without them. There was a frailty to his form, but she envied him for it anyways. To be fluid meant never knowing what you were going to look like at any given moment. His handsome face would be the same every morning as he gazed at it in the mirror. She had no face to gaze back at her, unless it was a borrowed one.

However, she had one now, and he was looking at it with a mix of fear and rapture on his own. She knew that she could kill him, and he knew it as well, but this was just a game.

Wasn't it?

Foreplay maybe?

A mating ritual?

There was so much she didn't understand about inter-gender relationships.

She applied pressure to his pharynx, cutting off his air and sending him into a hypoxic climax. Despite her best efforts in controlling his orgasm, it came heedless of her interference. She felt his fluids pumped into her and she readily absorbed them and suddenly had an appetite for more.

Much more.

She reverted to the likeness of the maned wolf again, copying her voice just as it was echoed in his mind.

"Foxy Woxy, can we go again?"

There were no pauses in his speech. The words came out as fluid as if she had lungs and a larynx and had grown up using the language her whole life.

Fox would have answered but her grip on his throat was still precariously life threatening. She realized this after a few seconds and let go, allowing him a moment to suck in air. His body was trembling from the overall sensation of being mildly molested by a genetically tailor-made creature whose first time experience with sex was far more malignant and voracious than he could ever have comprehended.

He was on the verge of falling in love. He was already succumbing to lust.

"Debbie darling, I'm yours for the taking."

"Oh goody!"

It would matter little to her if he was hard or not, seeing as she could engulf any part of his body with her own pseudopodia; molding , contorting and folding herself in all manner of shapes. She wasn't clear how she managed to do this, but her body instinctively drew upon his higher functions to design and shape her flesh. Apparently she was doing it quite well. That gave her nearly as much satisfaction as did the contact between their bodies.

She felt the base of his cock swell up. This was new to her, but rather than question him on it, she simply added it to her new store of knowledge and went to work, creating a ring of muscular tissue around the bulbous formation. This was the same sort of tissue that octopi and squid used for jet-propulsion when they felt threatened, mixed in with the ability and general shape of a few other species.

It was remarkably strong and resilient.

And it felt so damn good Fox groaned and shuddered again.

"Does Foxy Woxy like that?"

"Hell yes! How are you able to do that?"

"I don't know honey, but I can do it all night long if you like!"

He would have closed his eyes to get a better feel for the voice she was using, but to be honest, he was finding her, on her own, to be far more fascinating than his old girlfriend ever could have been. It was all too easy to think of this creature as a her, and with the added benefit of her intelligence, she could be as easy to live with as any other potential spouse. Words of proposal were drifting around inside his skull.

"Why not? Just don't kill me, huh?"

"Oh Foxy! I wouldn't think of it!"

She lowered around him; literally, figuratively and actually. Her rigidity dropped to close to zero and her body went from that of a biped to that of an amoeba. However, she remained firmly connected to him, and in that location she remained transfixed in as solid a form as was possible. She had just become the equivalent of a sex blanket.

She massaged his exterior while he stroked her interior. Although she had limited nerve endings to work with, she was easily able to extract the sensations he was receiving and turn them into her own. It made for an interesting time, for she was able to enhance their mutual experience by knowing just what triggered his innermost desires. It was the same way she was improving her speech patterns. She was borrowing from him to make up for what she lacked. It was part of her nature; to assume the role of another creature and to adopt its appearance and behavior. Only she was tired of being used for purposes that were not her own.

Today she was going to be herself as much as she was capable of understanding her nature.

And it was already feeling very, very good!

Fox was overwhelmed with sensorial perceptions coming from all portions of his body. She had enveloped him and was probing intimately over every portion of his anatomy. To him, she seemed very much like a blind person finding that they suddenly have sight. She wanted to absorb as much of this new wonder before there was a chance she would lose it again.

Despite her apparent lack of foreknowledge concerning the act they were presently engaged in, she still knew just what to do and boy was she doing it well. His cock, knot and all, was so deep inside her as to have been physically impossible to do with anyone else. And he was not even moving a muscle, not in the usual sense. She was doing all of the work and not even breaking a sweat. It was totally unreal and he was doing his best to also grasp every little detail of their encounter.

Take for instance her vagina. He knew it wasn't real, but as a mere substitute it blew most real ones he had had right out of the water. He wished he knew her secret, because if it was duplicable on a large scale, there was some serious money to be made with the concept. He doubted the good doctor would divulge such arcana, assuming of course that he even knew what she was capable of. Fox was running all of this through his head, trying desperately to figure a way of getting her back to his apartment on the outskirts of D.C.

All this while, his brain was multitasking, picturing her as someone else; one of the young interns at the bureau. In quick order a copy of her was sitting on top of him, a little rounded about the edges, but a damned good replica nonetheless. She seemed capable of becoming anything. Could a male ever tire of such endless variety?

He doubted it.

Taking inspiration from her change, he tried to roll her over to place her in the bottom position. Had she not been willing, he knew he would never have accomplished it. As it was, she morphed and flowed and in a few seconds they had switched positions. He half expected her to feel like a waterbed mattress, but she remained as solid as before. Once again looking like the intern, she wrapped her arms around him, brought up her knees and whispered dulcetly in his ear.

"Do me Agent Smolder!"

He did. He was still full of energy despite the breathtaking demonstration she had already put on for him. It helped that diminutive little fennec girl from third floor had the most teasingly graceful figure. And Debbie seemed to be nailing the looks even more accurately with each attempt. The ears were perky, the breasts even perkier, and the rest was smooth perfection. Even though her could see through the thinner portions of her anatomy, the idea that she was solid yet so malleable drove him insane.

He plowed into her, hoping as he did that she was tougher than she looked. He knew that a lot of oceanic creatures were fairly insubstantial, but the mere fact that she existed outside of water made a strong impression on his mind. And she had already proven how substantial she was when she wanted to be, just as she was doing now.

That squeeze she gave him made his eyes roll back in his head.

In mock retaliation, he dug his fingers into her shoulders and drove it home with as much force as he could. Her flesh felt a bit rubbery, not unlike that of the cetacean clans, and yet it had all the delicacy of gossamer tentacles on a drifting jellyfish.

It was that last thought that got him into trouble.

He was churning away on her midsection, all the while tightly wrapped up in her strong embrace. He was so distracted by her fluid changes that he was slow to pick up on something else. It went unheeded at first, until it grew to the point where Fox grew alarmed at the sensation. His cock was tingling, and in a manner it had never felt before.

His cock was on fire!

"Debbie?"

"Yes Agent Smolder?"

"Knock off the impressions Debbie. What's going on?"

"Oh. You don't...like it?"

"I don't know. It feels like pins and needles. It's like my cock has been dunked in hot sauce."

"Hot...sauce? No. Is it...too much?"

He felt the sensation diminish.

"That's a bit better. What did you do?"

"You thought...in your mind...jellyfish. I am part... I can make...stings."

Shit! He was going to have to keep his mind under better control. She couldn't differentiate what was mere curiosity and what was pure fantasy!

"I see. I was thinking more about you and not so much about me."

"Did you...like it?"

"I don't know. It was pretty intense there for a bit, but now that you've backed off, it's rather difficult to describe.

"I see...in your mind. I am sorry... Pain."

"Don't be sorry! Experimentation is what leads a person to those things they like."

She brightened. "You are not...angry?"

"No! I find you very refreshing. You are unlike anyone or anything I have ever met, and I've met a lot of out-of-the-ordinary folks."

If she was capable of blushing she would have. As it was, her skin turned into a kaleidoscope of colors and patterns at his honest assessment, finally settling on a passionate purple. She wasn't sure what refreshing meant in this case, but he said it with such a positive attitude. But she had caught some of his earlier thoughts, and had taken the necessary time to reflect upon them.

"Fox?"

"Yes Debbie?"

"I cannot...go with you."

"What?"

"I cannot...leave here."

"Why not?"

"Because I must...go back."

"But you could come with me!"

Her face broke out in the kindest, warmest smile anyone had ever given him.

"You are...what is the word? Sweet. You are...sweet."

"Why must you stay?"

"Because it is...home. This has been...fun. But I must return."

"When?"

"Eventually."

He knew enough of females, regardless of the species, to know that arguing with her was going to be pointless.

"Tomorrow? The next day? A week from now?"

"Eventually. You were sent...to find me. I saw it...in your mind."

"I was. And I did. And I'm glad I did. Are you sure you want to go back?"

"Yes...no... I am unsure. I think that..."

"What?"

"Nothing...it is nothing important."

Fox was still feeling the sting-induced tingle, and Debbie was still giving him the best cock massage anyone had ever given him. But there was a sad note in the air.

"It's important to me."

She heaved a breathless sigh. "I am running down."

"Down?"

"How is it...you say it? I am getting...old. I am going to...die."

"What?!"

"Yes, that is it. I am going to die. I would prefer to do it...where I was created. I left...to see...what I could...find. I found you. You have made...my existence better."

He sat in stunned silence for a while, and so did she. That didn't keep her from continuing to massage his cock, doing as she did it a gentle wavelike motion of her body. Fox was contemplating what she was doing, even as he pondered her words. Life always ended in death, but her abrupt declaration had rather subdued his mood. He was thinking even more of getting her away from here so that her last bit of life could be lived out exploring and having...fun...

"Fox. No. I will...not go. We can have fun...now."

"I guess so. It makes me sad to think of you dying."

"It is nature. All things...cease. Is it not...what you do...while you live...that counts the...most?"

The smile returned to his face. "You can be awfully smart for someone without a brain."

She made a face at him and spoke clearly and plainly. "I have a brain and I have a heart, even if they are not just like yours. I can manage perfectly fine as I am."

"I meant no offense! I was trying to pay you a compliment."

She reverted back to looking like his old flame. "Then by all means Foxy Woxy, compliment away. Flattery will get you anything you desire!"

And so it did. They were up until nearly daybreak. Fox only awoke a few hours later because the pounding on his door sounded like a SWAT team wielding a battering ram. He finally yelled out, "Who the hell is it?"

"Oh thank God! Fox, it's me, Dana. Why the hell didn't you answer before?"

He went to get up and found that portions of his anatomy were a bit stiff, like they had a thin layer of dried glue on them. Even the sheets were a bit adhered to his fur in places. That was when he remembered Debbie, and frantically glanced about the room looking for her. She was nowhere to be seen. He grudgingly opened the door, standing there stark naked.

"Fox! Get something on!"

"Why? You've seen me like this before."

She eyed him from head to toes.

"Not quite like this. Did you get in a fight with a bottle of hair gel last night?"

He patted himself down. His fur was fairly stiff in spots.

"Oh, you know me and a bottle of lotion..."

"Shut up Smolder! Did you get any readings on that device?"

He held up his wrist.

"No. Not a thing." He was suddenly lying to his partner and he had no idea why. Maybe because without Debbie, he had no evidence to back up the truth and thus she might think his present appearance was a mere ruse to keep her around.

"Then send it back and let's leave. I was thinking last night that it's pointless for us to follow this case. Assuming this creature is real, it'll likely eventually die out there in the wild. And if it doesn't, then Dr. Wood has the sole responsibility of notifying his superiors."

His heart skipped beat. Where had the creature gone? And he already knew she was dying, of old age apparently, whatever that amounted to in a creature like that.

"I'll tell you what. I'll get cleaned up and we'll talk over breakfast."

"Fine." She looked him over one more time. "You know, for a moment I thought maybe this creature had found you, especially when you didn't answer the door. I see you were just up to your usual self gratification antics again."

"Yep, you got me. I was getting off all by myself."

She gave him a dirty look, turned and left, slamming the door behind her. The moment it closed, he whirled around and searched the bedroom for any sign of his lover. There wasn't a puddle or wet spot anywhere to be found. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"It was fun while it lasted."

He went in and drew a bath, filling the tub with plenty of warm water. His fur was matted, mostly in the region of his genitals but in other spots as well. Debbie must have lost a goodly portion of her moisture during their intense sexual sessions throughout the night. He half wondered why she didn't just come into the bathroom and fill up from the tap, but he knew so little about her that he had to assume she could take care of herself.

He lowered himself into the tub, careful to keep the device above water which was hanging precariously close to the rim, and then relaxed back and closed his eyes. Their brief fling was over and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. He had plenty of imagination left over and now there was no one he could try it out with. He thought very hard, trying to signal her to go back to the lab. He didn't feel anything in return, but he hoped she got his message.

There probably wasn't any point in delaying the inevitable. He would pack up and leave and allow her to do as she saw fit.

He was still so worn out that he fell asleep for a few minutes. There were no dreams, nor anything else to distract him from his slumber. It was only the sound of running water that woke him, and even then only barely. He jerked up to shut off the water only to find it wasn't on. And yet the water in the tub was overflowing onto the floor. But the strangest thing he noted was the stopper bobbing gently on the surface.

"Rubber stoppers sink. So why is this one...?"

It took a few seconds for the face to form on the surface, and even then it was nearly indistinguishable from the contents of the tub.

"I'm denser...than water."

"Debbie!"

Now that he knew she was back, he was noticing how the water was caressing him in different places. His cock grew hard all at once.

"Of course...Do you...know anyone else....like me?"

"No! I thought you had left."

"I did. Water...food...and then more sex."

"Shit."

"Shit? No shit."

"No, not literally. I mean Dana wants to leave."

"So? Let her...leave."

"But I can't..."

"What can you...not do?"

He thought about it. Dana did sometimes get tired of the weirdness that seemed to surround him like a miasma (her words, not his) and if she wanted to go back, then there was no reason she couldn't. He could rent another car and follow after her when he was finished with his investigation, whenever that happened to be.

"Debbie, can you give me a couple of hours?"

"Yes. For what?"

"To convince my partner return home alone."

Water continued to flow onto the floor as she coalesced into a rigid form, her head, neck and shoulders rising above the surface.

"Why?"

"So that there won't be anyone here to question what I will be doing."

"I see. Privacy...intimacy...alone time?"

"You got it."

"I think....that I like...that idea."

"Me too. Let me get dried off and dressed. I told Dana I would have breakfast with her and I'll tell her my plan."

"Plan? To make love...to me until...your spine breaks?"

"What?!"

"That is...what you just...thought!"

He giggled like a kid. "Yes it was."

"I will not...break your spine."

"I know. I mean that I'll tell her that I'll stay while she leaves."

"Will she...do as you...say?"

"Probably. She wasn't too keen on coming in the first place. If not for the fact that this is so close to our headquarters, she might not have bothered coming at all."

"Good. I would...like to spend...more time with you...Fox."

"I would like that very much Debbie."

Her color went from translucent to hot pink. She hugged him with a pair of strong sinuous arms and almost forgot to let him out of the tub.

Dressed and at the diner with Dana, Fox shoveled in food like he hadn't eaten in a month. His partner watched him with a certain guarded reserve. He was known for odd behavior, but she had an idea that there was more on the surface of his suddenly offbeat demeanor. She was also well versed in how to handle it. Sometimes you just left well enough alone.

"So Fox, what's it going to be?"

He mumbled around a mouthful of food.

"I think you should go back. Since I have the device attached to me, there is no point in both of us staying. If I find this thing, I'll shoo it back home. If I don't, then the doc can have his toy back and I'll report that there was nothing to report."

"Fine. Make sure you tell the sheriff anything you find. Top secret or not, it'll make the folks living around here feel better knowing what you discovered."

Fox knew she wasn't buying what he was selling, at least not entirely, but Dana was smart enough to know when she wasn't wanted. That she had deduced the nature of his deception was unclear, but then there were times when she really didn't want to know what was going on with him. Life with Spooky Smolder was just a little too interesting for most people. Dana was no exception.

She left a few hours later, and Fox literally pushed the car out of the parking lot in his haste to have her gone. She had barely disappeared down the road when he bounded for his room. Flinging the door open he found nothing. Even the bathroom seemed empty.

"Debbie?"

The shallow water in the tub rippled. Damn, he thought to himself. He had forgotten to make sure it was empty because she had remained in it when he had left. It was hard to imagine a creature that could be nearly invisible under the right conditions.

Her head came up, water sliding off as the rest of her followed.

"Hell...Fox. Glad you could...make it."

"Damn girl! You can hide anywhere. Even in the plumbing!"

"Yes. I can fit...in narrow places. Just as you...can."

His clothing came off as fast as his fingers could undo his buttons and zipper. As he was frantically undressing, Debbie rose up and stepped out of the tub, water still dripping onto the still-wet floor. Her body was that of a well proportioned female, just a bit shorter than he, and wearing the most lascivious look he had ever seen. She was also apparently tapped into his head again, for her speech came out clear and well defined.

"Come with me to the bed Fox. We're going to make a baby."

He slipped and fell onto the bathroom floor. Strong arms lifted him back up again. He was shaken, but not from the fall. It was the cause of the fall that had him faltering in his speech.

"Did you say...baby?"

"Are you mocking my method of communication?"

"No, no! We can have sex Debbie, but we can't have a child together!"

"Is that so? Then you don't mind trying do you?"

"I'll try with you until every last drop of my sperm has been extracted from my testicles if it will make you happy."

"That's quite an offer Fox, and one I will take you up on. After all, you taste delicious."

"Taste?"

He waited expectantly for an explanation. He suddenly felt like he was a male Black Widow spider, or an equivalent gender of a Praying Mantis.

"I didn't stutter. Your fluids are quite tasty, in a manner akin to the way your tongue samples food. It is rich in protein and it comes in a salt solution that is ideal. It's just too bad it's comes in such small amounts."

"You like the way I taste? How did you taste me? I was deep inside your...uhmm, well, inside you cunt."

"Silly boy. Nothing about me is as it looks. If I form a mouth do you think that only it will function as a mouth? I am what I am, regardless of what you see. I can taste something with any extension of my form I happen to use."

"I see. I guess I understand that, but I still tend to see you as being more, well; solid and normal."

"You may do what as best fits your need for intellectual understanding. I can be just about anything you can think or fantasize about."

"I like the way you look right now."

"I thought you might. It combines everything you like in a female."

"And how do you know what I like... Oh yeah. You can read my mind."

"Yes, and it's a very nice mind. Don't ever shortchange yourself. You have a wide ranging mix of ideals, experiences and emotions. If something can truly make a creature feel alive, that would be the crux of it."

"But..."

"Yes?"

"A baby? Do you think it's possible?"

She sighed. "No. But what is the saying you have? A person never knows until they try."

He smiled, albeit a bit thinly. "I don't want you thinking that I would begrudge you, especially after everything you told me, but I'm a vulpine, and you're, well - to be honest, I have no idea what you are. Wonderful to be sure, but in regards to giving you a species, you're rather unique I think."

"Yes. There is no other thing in the world like me. My creator has told me that many times."

"So you see, making a child will be impossible."

"Improbable. We can at least try."

"For you, I will do my best."

Her colors flowed like the rainbow, finally settling on the purple hue she seemed to prefer.

"I knew you would understand. Thank you."

"And thank you for choosing me to be your mate. I want you to know that I am honored by your choice."

She leaned forward and kissed him, taking him by the paw and leading him back to the bed. Seeing as it was already in disarray, a little more mischief on it would hardly be noticed.

She lay down first, pulling him on top of her as she spread herself out on the mattress. She was still translucent purple, but her features were by far the most chiseled and rigid to date. It was as if she was forcibly compelling her body to be the perfect ideal for him, so that he would do his best to give her what she wanted.

She wasted no time in guiding him into her, feeling the warmth of his body as it entered into hers. She made that section equally warm for him, and constricted the tissue there until he groaned with pure delight. She saw something in his mind, something that momentarily confused her, but she brightened a little with the realization that it was yet another fantasy for him. She was unclear how this type of mating would ever work, but then she was learning that sex was definitely more than just about making progeny.

Without telling him, or even having him realize it, she recreated another hole above where this one was, firming up her buttocks and then clenching the former hole again. He opened his eyes in wonder and cooed softly in her ear;

"I'd swear I was in your..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing."

"It was not nothing. You thought you were in my...butt?"

He turned a bit red and shrugged.

"Yes, but you don't have one."

"And I keep telling you that it matters not what I have or do not have. Sit up."

He did, looking down at their connection. Without a word she had relegated her hole to act as a rectum, and she now had a replacement vagina where one should be. It was all a little too freaky for him. But for Fox, freaky was good. Any female who was so willing to comply with his every whim was far too good for the likes of him.

Fox hoped she understood how much this easy compliance with his desires meant to him.

He grabbed her ankles, hoisted her feet above her head and cut loose on her hole. She freed up his paws by grasping her own extremities and folding herself in half like a well-practiced gymnast. There was no discomfort, only the overriding sensation she was getting from him that he found this new version of copulation to be somehow more perverted than their previous encounters. To her, a hole was a hole. She could make twenty of them if he had the ability to fill them all. But one at a time was more than sufficient for her purposes.

He rode her like this mock-rectum was the ultimate opening a creature could have. She found the idea curious, but she didn't say or do anything to betray her thoughts. There was much she had never learned about other creatures, and the idea of gender had only really come up within her laboratory training in the past few months. And then it had been prompted by her own curiosity, not something that was dictated for her to learn.

She was firmly entrenched in the idea that she was a female, and her lover was firmly entrenched in plowing her hole until its soundness was pounded away into protoplasmic goo. It would never happen, but she was happy to have him try. The more enthusiasm he put into it, the more she felt she might have a chance at gaining her goal. His willingness and his enthusiasm lifted her spirits to a point they had never risen to before. Up until now she had been treated like a fairly non-sentient life form, not a thinking and feeling being with at least a crude sense of self.

Fox was energetically and relentlessly fucking the hell out of her at the moment. He had worried that she had wandered off never to be seen again, and if she decided it was time to go, he was well aware he wasn't going to stop her. The weird thing was her wish; that strange desire to have a child. He had no kids out there in the great big world, leastwise any that he knew of. It struck him that being a father, even under such outré circumstances would make him feel somehow a bit more accomplished.

His cock, knotted up and so tight as to be nearly unbearable was fighting its way in and out of a narrow tunnel nearly too small for what he had to offer it. She had engulfed his knot and once again held it in an iron grip. She obviously didn't want him slipping out and losing even a microgram of his precious sperm.

For the most part, he kept his eyes closed, savoring the feel of her perfectly formed body. A thought struck him, which she picked up on, and when he did open his eyes, he stared down at her pelvic area and watched in fascination as observed his cock churn up her insides. Her purple had faded to clear, thus allowing him a full view of what he was doing to her insides. His throbbing, delving, scarlet red tool was fully visible to him, making this round of incredible sex totally outrageous. He rammed it home with even greater force, until she actually whimpered a little.

He stopped and looked at her.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine? Why do you ask? I only did what I thought you wanted me to do. I acted like it hurt."

He grew red in his cheeks seeing as had been thinking that, even if just subconsciously.

"Sorry. I sometime let frustration get in the way of my pleasure."

"Don't be sorry. I like your enthusiasm. I was just trying to play along."

"Then could you really act it up?"

"Yes darling."

He went back to slamming away on her backend, and she suddenly let out a scream, followed by cries and sobs.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Fox shuddered as the thrill of their new game overtook him. He lasted about two minutes before he spilled the contents of his scrotum deep inside of her. His body pumped away until he was dry, and even then it took a moment for the action to stop. He was utterly spent, collapsing on top of her legs where she easily held him up.

She looked into the happily exhausted face as he lay there perched against her calves and thighs, his cock still twitchy from his recent orgasm. She did not know love, not in any great sense of the word, but she knew she felt something akin to it. This man had readily accepted her and everything she was and everything she was capable of doing and being. She really did wish she could go with him, but her escape had only been meant to be temporary. She had told him the truth; she was dying. But then, everything that was alive was dying at its own rate. When she left him, she would live on for a great while longer. If he had known, he would have tried to do something foolish. Her creator, now he might allow her a certain amount of dalliance, but those above him would have no such tolerance for it.

Her own facial construction was smiling with genuine warmth. He was an unusual specimen for sure. She would have been proud to make him her mate, if such had been allowed. As it was, his life was going to be in danger if they lingered together for too long, so she was going to have to wrap up their relationship soon. It was a sad truth, but a truth nonetheless. The doctor had allowed her to leave, rather than her making a full escape, and in doing so was going out of a limb for her, just to appease her desire to see more of the world. Her creator was a kind-hearted creature, but as she had now learned, rather plain and ordinary. She would thank him profusely when she returned for this unique opportunity.

But return she must, no matter how great the temptation to stay with her lover might be. She had limited time and it was now being wasted on his slumber.

"Fox!"

"Huh? What?"

"Ready to go again?"

"Damn girl! I can't get it up that fast..."

He felt her body massaging his cock, constricting it at its base and forcing the blood to gather into it in a manner his own circulatory system was supposed to handle. In other words, she could force him into an erection anytime she wanted. A little tingle spruced his erection up even faster.

"If you're going to do stuff like that, then why ask me? You can work me over while I sleep."

"Yes I could, but what would be the fun in that?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"Right. We only have so much time. None to waste, if you understand my meaning."

"I do," he said with a smile. "Bring it on!"

It lasted, on and off, for the next four days. Fox refused to let the cleaning lady come in; he barely ate, and at the end of that time had managed to lose six pounds. The room was a minor disaster, and through it all, he held up his end of the relationship to a degree than amazed even himself. He was so tired at times that he actually protested when she went to give him a blow job, complaining that his valuable sperm would be going to waste.

She smiled warmly, hugged him, and then reminded him that everything her gave up was incorporated directly into her form. One hole was pretty much the same as the others. He shook his fatigued head, shrugged fatalistically, and lay back to take what she was offering.

He was learning that there should be limits to having everything you could want.

On day five he awoke to sunlight peaking in past the curtains. His muscles ached, is head hurt and his cock felt like it had been pressed against a grinding wheel. He slowly lifted his head to survey the room. The sharp rays of sunlight illuminated the damage of nearly a week of reckless sex. Nothing had been broken per se, but the room had been turned upside down and inside out during their prolonged tryst.

Debbie wasn't anywhere in sight, but that meant very little. She was prone to slipping off to rehydrate and apparently consume food to keep her going. He never questioned her on that for the idea of her engulfing any sort of food tended to give him the willies. She was prone to engulfing him at times and the thought of being both food and a show for her made him the tiniest bit leery or her intentions. She had never once shown an inclination for it, so he did his best to suppress the idea lest he offend her. Despite his open-mindedness, he still had a few things that could unnerve him.

He went into the bathroom to urinate, looking hopefully at the tub to see if she might be resting there. Sadly, it was devoid of water, and had apparently been so for even the bottom of it was dry. He sat to relieve himself, largely because he was worn out. When he went to stand, he grabbed the side of the vanity to assist in standing up. His fingers felt the chill of water as he pushed himself up.

He stood and stared into the shallow water filling the porcelain sink. In the center was a translucent orb about the size of a grapefruit. There were little flashes of color running though it and it seemed to throb slowly as if it had a heart beat. He stuck his fingers into the water on either side of it and lifted it up gently, hoisting it clear of the sink.

His mind clashed over ideas of what it might be, though the strongest thought pertaining to its identity remained in the back of his head until the others had killed themselves off. He knew what it had to be, and his heart raced a bit faster at the whole concept. It was a physical impossibility. This was an egg, much like most aquatic life produced. It had to have come from Debbie, but was it really a spawn of the comingling of their dissimilar genetic codes?

He turned to look around the room again, only then noticing a smudge on the mirror. Writing had never been a mentioned ability of hers, but she seemed to grasp the concept readily enough. It took him a moment to make it legible again, and when he did, this is what he read.

Fox. Raise her well. Remember me.

Elsewhere

Back at the lab, Dr. Wood came into his office to find a female figure sitting behind his desk. It took him a moment to recognize her, and not by her appearance either. She looked like a cute little ferret, complete with the proper markings but lacking refined fur.

"Debbie?"

"Hello...creator."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did. I am...satisfied now."

"And the young vulpine? Will he cause us any trouble in the future?"

"No. I think...he will...never forget me. Despite this...he will...let the matter...drop."

"Good, good! Then we can get back to work!"

"Doctor Wood?"

"Yes Debbie?"

"When was...the last time...you had sex?"

The marmot's eyes went wide.

Back Home

Back in Washington, in an apartment filled with strange paraphernalia and weird memorabilia, there was a somber agent of the FBI setting up a second aquarium next to his first. Debbie had left him no instructions so he was going to have to be playing this one by ear, so to speak. Raising an octopus was relatively easy compared to being the parent of this roiling ball of protoplasm. He only hoped she had alluded enough to her life necessities for him to not screw this up. As for Dana; well - he'd deal with her questions as she asked them. There was no point in inflaming a situation until such time as the fire needed to be put out.

He turned on the heater, set the filter system running to circulate the slightly saline water and sat down in a chair to watch the egg with unabashed admiration.

"So what will I call you little one?"

It was a good question, and one he had plenty of time to ponder.