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A Colorful Month

Epilogue

For Taiko

By Draconicon

The events of the Council and Novus Ager were all but forgotten in the city itself, though there were a few that still remembered what had happened despite the work of Erwin. Outside, however, there was one person in particular that had been following the story for some time, and that person was touched more deeply than he had been in a long time.

Taiko had been watching a summary of events on a screen inside of his melon TARDIS, the dragon staring at it with rapt attention. Early on, he had been enjoying some popcorn to the show, but the longer that it had gone on and the more traumatic to Nor and the others it became, the more that he just stared. He was caught by the story of it all, unable to entirely look away, unable to believe just what kind of things had been unleashed.

Did he interfere? No. There was something to it all that felt like there was an inevitability there, something that made him hold back in just rushing off and fixing everything. He knew, on some level, that it would have been the wrong thing to do. That said, he did watch, and he did take notes of all that happened, wordlessly taking in the impossible and the insane things that took place in that city.

When it was over, Taiko had to take a few minutes to think. He curled up on a large cushion in the back of the melon, holding himself for a time. He went over what he had seen, wondered if it was fair, if it was right, if it was just.

And in some ways, it was. He cried a little as he remembered all the powerful things that had happened, all the little events that had come together to push the heroes and villains of Novus Ager forward. He saw the way that it had affected Erwin, and knew that the tiger would be taking different steps to protect the city. The soft-cap towards some of the heroes and villains getting stronger would disappear, and they'd slowly reach a different potential.

He saw what Nor had become, giving him the chance to become something bigger, something better than he had been. He cried when he saw the pain that the mule had gone through, but cried again, this time in happiness, at the compromise that the two personalities had reached. It was a brilliant moment, and it made him happy.

And even some of the Council had stood out as people he would love to see visit the city again. Admittedly under controlled circumstances, but for a bunch of criminals, there were some that were genuinely good, and welcome to come again in his book.

But...there were things that were wrong, too. Things that needed to be added to, things that needed fixing.

Seduction should know that Than was there, that he was missed. And LiL, he...he needs something. Something to make him feel better.

After all, the whole thing wasn't entirely LiL's fault. The first part, yes. The part where the Lord in Lavender, the Lord of Forgery, had been trying to take over another Novus Ager and had to be stopped in his tracks? That had been his fault. The way that he had been punished and lost so much? The way that he'd been so fucked up by his loss? That wasn't.

He'd done bad things, but Taiko wanted to try and make it better. He wanted to try and make things nice for him again.

He wanted...he wanted good things.

And he had a way to do that.

Wiping his eyes, the melon dragon dragged himself off his cushion and walked towards the inner workshops of his TARDIS. There were things to make and things to deliver before this was done.

Nor - he was Nor, for all that the blue and red one called him the Alternate - looked at the box that had been delivered to his apartment. How the delivery-man had found him, he wasn't sure. He had been forced to move recently, some of the issues of being connected with LiL dragging him down in the city. No longer the Inquisitor that he had been, and barely considered a hero by some of those that were rising in the 'healing' Novus Ager, he was kind of on the outs with most of his fellows, and had lost most of his privileges that came with being at the top of the heap, and being with LiL.

The purple-hued mule sat down on his couch, opening the box slowly. He half-expected it to be another glitter bomb, something that one of the new heroes had sent as a punitive thing, trying to mark him and show that they'd struck against the old guard of the city. It wouldn't have been the first time. He sighed, bracing himself...

But there was no such glitter assault. Instead, it was a simple little doorknob inside, sitting on top of a note.

...The hell?

He cocked his head to the side as he set the knob to the side, carefully rolling it out of the box so that he could get at the note beneath it. When he was sure it wasn't going to roll off the coffee table, he pulled the note up and unfolded it. The writing inside was surprisingly neat, and written entirely in green handwriting.

_Hi,

Um, you don't know me, but I know you. I know what you're going through, and what LiL's going through, too. I don't want to judge, and I don't want to say something stupid, but I wanted to do something nice for you.

The knob in the box leads you to a private room. All you have to do is stick it on a wall and pull, and it'll lead you to where you need to be. It's, well, I guess it's a peace offering, something that, I hope, will help you and LiL have a good time and stay together, even with all the bad stuff happening._

Just one thing to remember. You and him need to stay away from the other Nor. That's the big rule here. I really, REALLY want you both to be happy, but I can't help you if you keep going after him. So...if you can keep from doing that, the knobs will still work. If you guys try and hurt him, or get revenge or -

I'm judging. I'm judging. Sorry. I want you to be happy, so, um, try and use it when you can. Just keep in mind the other part.

Sincerely,

Someone-You-Don't-Know

Nor arched an eyebrow at that. Bold claims from someone that didn't want to sign their name, but at the same time, his heart had already leaped into his throat. It had been weeks since he had seen LiL, and he had almost wondered if there was something between them now, something that was keeping them from saying hello again.

He looked at the doorknob. This could easily be a trap of some sort, something that someone would have laid out to show that he was still in contact with someone that he shouldn't be. Yet...

Yet, would there be someone in this Novus Ager that was that strange? Sure, in the other Nor's Novus Ager, everyone was strange, almost stupid at times, and this clumsiness felt about right from that world. But here...

No, even the new heroes weren't like that. They were more like punks, trying to prove that they were good. They didn't have it in them to try and fool someone like this.

Is it real? he wondered, looking at the doorknob. Really real?

There was only one way to find out. He took the doorknob in hand and walked over to his wall. The splattered, messy paint made it feel like this was extra impossible, but despite the possibility of this just being a joke, he still had some small hopes. He wanted this to work. He needed this to work.

"Please work," he whispered, and he didn't know if he hated himself for the sheer desperation in his voice at that moment.

As he pressed the knob against the wall, he felt it stick almost immediately. A strange light that seemed a mix of red, green, and black suddenly warmed the room, emanating out in a square from the wall in front of him. He gasped as he heard the soft click of a door unlocking, and he pulled at the doorknob almost too fast. The wall opened, and on the other side was a room. Not a hallway, but an actual room, like he had just stepped into a hotel.

It had a bed, king-sized. A bathroom was just to the right, like he was walking in from the hallway, and a TV was on the wall to the left. There wasn't much, but there was a mini-bar, and a couple of little pieces of furniture, and -

And on the bed was LiL. The Great Dane was slumped over, staring at his own hands, but he was there. He. Was. There.

The purple mule closed the door behind him. The soft click drew his lover's attention, finally getting him to look up. LiL stared for a moment in silence, then took a deep breath.

"So...the note was right."

"Yeah...yeah, looks like."

"...I'm sorry I haven't been there."

"Where have you been?"

"...Being stupid, I believe, would be the best explanation."

"Fighting the other Nor?"

"More along the lines of tormenting, I suppose."

"Why?"

"...More reasons than I can explain, and none of them which likely would work. Not for me, or for you."

Nor didn't know what that meant, but he knew one thing. He was with his lover again, and for him, that was all that mattered. Particularly after spending nearly a month alone in a city that still needed him, but no longer loved him. He stepped closer, hesitating as he reached for his street clothes.

LiL smiled slightly. The Great Dane loosened his tie a bit.

"I don't think that we need to get right to the intimacy...but I do believe that clothes are in the way."

That was enough for him. The mule reached for his waist, pulling his shirt up and over his head, and his jeans hit the ground shortly after. That left him in nothing but a pair of briefs, which were already starting to strain and stretch in the crotch. Before he could pull them down, LiL held up a hand.

"Allow me."

The Dane gestured for him to come forward, and he did, slowly and surreptitiously thrusting his hips along in the process. He wasn't trying to make it over-sexy, but he did feel almost starved of the physical affection that they used to have daily. The fact that they were finally getting it again was almost too much to bear.

His lover slowly dragged his underwear down, kneeling in the process. Nor shivered as his shaft was allowed to come free, the more equine shape already rising in anticipation of what would come later. His balls churned, particularly as the Great Dane gripped his thighs, slowly leaning his head up and kissing him along the sac.

"Mmmph..."

"I've missed you, my Nor."

"...I still miss hearing you say that."

"I know."

His lover helped him to bed, and then stripped down himself. Despite the almost despondent face that LiL had had when Nor had walked into the room, the Dane quickly stripped down as well. He was soon naked, completely naked, and the canine slid into bed with him. The two of them hugged one another, pressed together chest to chest. Nor's leg slowly slid over his lover's thighs, and they pressed together down there, as well.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Words would have spoiled the body-intimacy right then, and that was what they needed more than anything. Just the touch, the realness of it rather than the messenger holograms and other ways that they had talked with one another. He pressed himself tighter and tighter to LiL, and despite the canine's self-control, he could feel LiL doing the same back.

We're together.

That was what they were. Finally. He could feel the fact that they were together, could feel that lack of lonesomeness again, and...and he didn't want to give it up.

He looked over LiL's shoulder at the other door, and saw that it had a matching knob to the one that he had gotten in the mail. That meant that it had come to LiL too, and that the Dane probably had the same offer as he had gotten.

...I can move on...I can...

If it meant that he still got this, if it meant that he had a place to go where only he and LiL knew, he could move on. That was enough for him.

But could his lover?

He stroked the Great Dane's cheek, and for the first time, LiL pressed against the petting motion, the Great Dane seeming almost in need of that comfort. They continued to lay together, saying nothing, just holding one another. Time passed, and even he didn't entirely know how much. There was something all-consuming in the comfort of body heat, in the warmth of being together with the one you loved, in everything that they shared.

But...eventually, they had to talk. Nor spoke up.

"Your knob..."

"Yes?"

"It came with a note?"

"...Yes."

"Do you know who it was?"

"No. I don't want to push it, either."

"Me, either. But..."

He didn't know how to approach it. The offer that he'd been given, the reminder not to go after Nor...He sighed.

"What?" LiL asked.

"There was a condition with me. Was there...with yours?"

"..." LiL sighed. "Yes, there was."

"Not to go after the other Nor?"

"I'm already forbidden...It is not so hard to give up something I am no longer allowed."

"But...if you weren't forbidden..."

LiL looked at him, and he looked back. The Great Dane opened his mouth, closed it, and then looked away. It wasn't the look of a guilty man, but rather someone that was being indecisive, someone that didn't know entirely what he wanted.

Nor knew the look. They had shared that a few times in the past. He knew better than to push, too. This was something that the canine had to work through on his own.

So, instead, he just leaned closer, allowing LiL to lean against him. The time passed again, the minutes ticking on, before LiL finally answered.

"I would give it up...for this."

"For me?"

"For you. You are mine."

There was such a possessive bite to that word that most people would have been scared away, but Nor had heard it many times. Not only that, he knew that the same feeling was right there in his heart. He was LiL's, and LiL was his. There was no way around that. They loved each other too much for that.

They held each other tightly, and as they pressed together again, their shafts started grinding off one another. LiL chuckled, slowly reaching down, and Nor groaned as his cock was caught between soft fingers.

"I know I said that we didn't need to jump to intimacy immediately...but perhaps it would be suitable to indulge a little."

"I know what you want, LiL."

"Do you now?"

"If you've been hunting the other Nor this long, you've been staring at hooves for weeks. I know what you prefer."

"...You know me well, my dear. Very well."

And as Nor shifted in bed, slowly rolling around to bring his feet up, he knew that LiL would enjoy this. Just as he knew that he would, too.

Far away, in another world entirely, sat a large-eared fox on a rock. He wore a loincloth today, and he sat away from the tribe that he had recently joined. His large ears flicked back and forth, his tan fur rustled in the dry breeze of the desert, and he felt the attention of the clouds and the sun beaming down on him. The latter was just slightly diverted, wishing to give him comfort by not hitting him directly, while the former were bustling up to offer him rain.

He smiled at them, but it was a weaker smile compared to what he used to offer others. He supposed he was still grieving a little bit.

The fox was about to stand up when something whirled just out of the corner of his eye. It was like something twisting and pulling at reality, something that was traveling between the different worlds and dimensions. He whipped his head to the side, a hint of rosy pink showing through his ears for a moment before the vortex opened, dispensing something into the sand before disappearing.

He stood up, walking over to it. A USB drive lay in the sand, and he picked it up curiously.

You don't belong here...

But then again, neither did he. Glancing back and forth, he closed his eyes and thought of what he needed, what he craved.

A moment later, a door rose from the sand. Or rather, a doorframe, made of twisted metal that grew together in an almost painful way, like two plants that had cleaved together. He touched it, and it glowed with the same pink that had filled his ears.

He stepped through, and the sun, sand, clouds, and rock all seemed saddened at his departure.

On the other side was no desert, but a room of computers and AI. Surrounded by screens that flashed with smiling faces and various personalities, he smiled back at them amiably. He ran his hands affectionately over steel consoles and transparent screens, and some of the AIs shivered as if he had touched them the way that he would have a physical lover.

"I have a message from someone," he said, holding up the USB stick. "Would someone like to do the honors?"

Clicks filled the air as the various computers and other devices offered their slots. Seduction chuckled to himself, shaking his head before picking one at random. Another machine rolled a chair over for him, and he sat down as the screen filled with -

A recording? Of Nor? Odd...

"Is this on?" Nor asked.

"Yeah, it's running. I'll be just outside, so, knock when you're done. I know this is private."

"Thanks."

As the other voice apparently walked away, Nor turned to face the screen. Seduction cocked his head to the side, curious what was going on.

"Hello again. Um, just in case it's not clear, this time it's me. Than."

"Than?" His eyes went wide. "I thought -"

"You thought that I was probably put under Nor, or taken apart, or something. No, I'm still here. We're sharing the head right now. He's kind of embarrassed about this, I think. Probably because he can't remember you as much as I can.

"Anyway. We're settling in, making it work. But this guy showed up, offering to take a message to you, and - well, I didn't want to lose the opportunity. You saved us, you know, and...well, I want you to know that I remember. That I'm here...and that I miss you."

The more that Than talked, the more that Seduction realized that the mule was slowly altering in color. The blue turned into something more teal, and the red to something rosier. It was a subtle change, but it was still there. The mule closed his eyes and opened them again, not just gaining a pupil and iris, but gaining ones that looked almost slightly heart-shaped. He smiled despite himself, rather touched at the offering of a different appearance like that.

Seduction shifted back and forth in his seat, watching as Than stepped back. The mule's clothes were a bit tighter in the hips, he noticed, something that made him look rather...swaying, more submissive, like that big ass dragged him back and reminded him of what an equine rump was good for. He smiled to himself at that, shaking his head.

You look good, Than. You really do.

"Anyway. We do want you to come back, or...well, I do. Nor's still sorting himself out on the subject, but I think that he'll be willing to call you back for some fun sometime. It just might be a while before he's genuinely okay with that kind of thing."

Which was more than fair, considering what the mule had gone through. The fact that they were still inclined for his company made him more than happy. Waiting was fine. Seduction was patient.

"But until then...let me give you something...something to remember us by and something to remind you that we're waiting for something gooood."

There was almost a purr in Than's voice at that word, and he understood why almost immediately. The mule started to strip down, showing off his body more and more with each passing second. The fox licked his lips as he watched that shirt come off, showing a well-muscled chest, though perhaps not as thickly-muscled as Nor's, and the mule slowly pushed forward, showing off the muscles as they moved and flexed.

As the mule showed off, Seduction couldn't help but slowly reach down to his crotch, gripping at his sheath for a moment. It was quite the powerful show, and it was only getting better as Than reached for his pants.

Looks like he learned more than I thought from those times in the club...

He'd imagined that Nor would have been a good dancer, but this was the proof of it. There were strong muscles in the mule's core, something that allowed for a good sense of balance and a better way of dancing. He watched with a growing smile as those pants hit the floor, revealing a fairly hefty shaft that he remembered well and a rounded ass that loved to grind on itself. The mule stepped back slightly further, showing that he had gone from hooved to having feet, and Seduction shook his head in amusement.

Going as sensual as possible, it seems...

And then, Than started dancing, a slow sway of his hips that made his cock swing one way, and then the other, his balls following with an odd, almost eerie sense of grace behind them. He watched with a strange sense of awe as it continued, cocking his head to the side as Than stood in one spot, slowly spinning to show off his hips and his ass a little bit more in the process.

Eventually, he faced away from the camera completely, bending forward to show off the curve of his cheeks and the pucker between. The mule spread them for a moment, but not quite in a begging way. He seemed to be more inclined to show off, to give a better view, something to tease rather than to immediately invite.

Then the cheeks came together again, the thighs spreading to show off the low-hanging balls that were signature to any equine. Seduction shook his head as Than tossed a look over his shoulder, something flirtatious and desiring at the same time.

I'm going to see him again...but this is getting saved.

He tapped a few buttons, not just downloading the file to his databanks, but also setting some of the computers to find a way to render this to 3D. He planned on having a fully rounded experience, when this was all said and done.

For now, though, he would just watch the original recording.

Far off from Novus Ager, in another city that went by the name of Vancouver, was a third person that was, as far as most people knew, completely unconnected to the various events that had happened in the city of heroes. As a matter of fact, Johan Clark didn't even know about Novus Ager. He'd never visited, never heard of it, never even had something from it, as far as he was aware. The orca was just a regular retiree, though one that was getting steadily more desperate.

The orca was in his late forties, and he was doing his best to ignore the growing pile of bills on the table beside him, as well as the various reminders of what he no longer could do. He wore gloves these days, avoiding the reminder of the burn-marks that he had on the back of his hand and up his wrist. It stopped halfway up his arm, only to reappear along his neck, and in other places besides. If it had been more limited, the burns from a porn shoot gone wrong would have been concealable, but all over like that...

Well, there was a limit to CGI and make-up, and there was a bigger limit to what the studios were willing to pay for, no matter how good an actor you might have been in your prime. Johan had lost all his income from that, and he hadn't had much to fall back on. Even his savings were gone, now.

The orca sighed, letting the half-full spoon fall from his hand back into the grapefruit that he was trying and failing to eat. He was almost at the point of wondering what the point actually was. There was no real way forward, and at this point, he doubted that anyone really even remembered his screen name, let alone him.

Rattle rattle.

The sound of arriving mail caught his attention. He wanted nothing more than to burn them the way that he had been burned, as they were doubtlessly more bills, but at the same time, he knew that he had to be responsible. He wasn't gone yet, and he still had to hold onto this apartment for a little bit longer. The orca sighed, padding over to his front door.

There were two letters. Actual letters, this time, rather than bills. One came from a place called Novus Ager, and the other had no return address, though it was written in pink lettering. He cocked his head to the side, carrying them back to the table before opening them up.

The first one came from someone called 'Nor,' and in short order, he was reading something that he hadn't seen in years. He started out reading with his head resting on his hand, and by the middle, he was staring at it, both hands on it as his hands shook and his heart ached.

_Dear Johan,

This is probably coming out of nowhere, but...I felt the need to write this letter to you. I used to watch a lot of your stuff back in my younger days, before I grew up and moved out, and I wanted to let you know that it helped me a lot. I know that it was porn, that there was not a lot of deep stuff in there, but...there was always something about you. Something that stirred me, and not just sexually._

I wanted to let you know that you were a figure that always brought some comfort as well as some sexy appeal. You were kind of the dad, the porn-hero, that made it okay to be who I was. You made it okay to like what I liked.

I know that we'll probably never meet, but I wanted you to know that you being who you were, being as warm, as kinky, as open as you were, meant the world to me when I was seeing you on screen, and it helped me recently, too, because it reminded me that there are good people that really exist like that. So, thank you. You made a difference. I don't know if you've ever heard that, but you have. And I wanted you to know.

Sincerely,

Nor

At the bottom of the letter was pinned a picture of a mule in some kind of weird blue and red body paint, something that looked like what you'd see at a Pride march. The orca smiled, shaking his head.

"Kid's doing well for himself," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "God...god-damn, that's not what I thought..."

He snuffled a bit, rubbing the tears away as best he could. That hadn't been why he had gotten into porn or anything - that had been a job, little more - but it never hurt to find out that you had been helpful to someone else. Knowing that he'd allowed someone to find their way forward, to allow them to be themselves, whether it was something he'd been trying to do or not, was just a good feeling.

Kid even wrote me a letter...goddamn...

He was going to save that. He tucked it into a safe place between his books at the table, and then opened the other letter. Even if it was just a bill, it was going to be okay after getting something that lovely.

_Dear Johan,

I'm aware that you've gotten a letter from one Nor recently. This is in regards to that. You have influenced more than you know with your films, and I want to inform you that the confidence that you exuded, the example you gave, and the ease with which you could be yourself has saved several lives in the recent past.

I can't tell you more than that, but I can tell you that whatever you've done makes a difference. It allowed someone to come to terms with themselves in a way that they would never otherwise have done, and that deserves both someone noticing, and a reward for it. I want you to know that everything is taken care of.

What happens next, try to enjoy. It will only come this once.

Sincerely,

A Prince_

"The hell's that supposed to - holy shit!"

The pink writing on the note disappeared as soon as he finished reading it, and his eyes went wide as the pink spread out from the letter to his hands. It seemed to soak into his gloves and then go up his arms, running all over his upper body before covering all of the rest of him. Before he could do anything about it, the glow disappeared, fading as it if had never been, but leaving behind some strange, lovely feeling of warmth.

What the hell?

He didn't have time to think about it before someone knocked at the door. He stumbled to his feet, still trying to figure out what had just happened to him, and before he realized it, he'd opened the door to his landlord.

Mr. Rattatisk, a surprisingly burly squirrel that had inherited the building from the previous Mr. Rattatisk, looked up at him. The squirrel opened his mouth, then paused, and for a half-second, Johan swore he saw some kind of pink light in the squirrel's eyes.

"...Never knew scars were so hot..."

"I...what was that?" Johan asked.

"Uh, nothing. Hey...Johan...I know this is outta the blue, but what do you say to paying your rent this month in, uh, a different way..."

"...Huh?"

"Come on. You know. Work something out..." The squirrel winked, his tail flicking very suggestively.

"...Why don't you come in, and we'll, uh, work out some terms..."

It had been years since he had said anything like that, but the script was already coming back to him. From where, he didn't know, but...maybe something good was coming to him. Like the letter said, he would try and enjoy this. Maybe if he did, it'd come more than once.

The End

Summary: An epilogue where Taiko goes and fixes a few little points where he wanted things to be a bit happier. Not a bad little ending, either.

Tags: M/M, Nudity, Cuddles, Than, Nor, Novus Ager, LiL, Alt-Nor, Mule, Great Dane, Canine, Orca, Fox, Strip Tease, Teasing, Epilogue, Series, Superpowers, Superheroes, Colorful Council, Dragon,