Back outside the Level 1 Dungeon, the security personnel were still on high alert when the anti-stealth guard heard a noise from behind him.
Turning to investigate, he heard the same noise again coming from behind two rusted empty barrels that had previously been used as a fire source for a vagrant.
The guard approached cautiously, withdrawing his sidearm and mentally preparing for a sneak attack.
After rounding the barrels, the sight he was greeted with made the knot in his stomach dissipate. A shabby-looking black cat stared at him, the moonlight reflecting in its eyes momentarily, before it bolted away out of fear and into the maze of back alleys.
“Ohhh, you bugger, nearly gave me a heart attack that......Oh, what's this?”
The guard holstered his sidearm, a grin appearing on his face. He turned his head to look around, sparing a glance back to his guard post.
Content that no one was around, he reached down and reclaimed a magazine from the ground. It looked brand new, as if it had only just been discarded there, and thankfully none of the pages was stuck together.
Crouching down behind the barrels, his lecherous grin grew even wider as he stared at the voluptuous naked woman that adorned its cover.
Henrietta casually strode past the two guards who were stationed directly outside the portal and paid the cameras no mind. With the only guard that could even possibly see through such a high-grade stealth item now being preoccupied, Henrietta had not a care in the world.
Within the Dungeon, Henrietta stepped out of the portal and deactivated the stealth effect of her cloak.
Although its effects are otherworldly in their efficiency, one hurdle it struggled to fully overcome was infrared, an ability that lizardmen innately possessed.
Another factor was that Henrietta would never hide from her beloved!
“Hey, Red, it's almost like you know I'm coming, and you wait for me!?”
Henrietta stood with her arms stretched out wide, a smile on her face and blush filling her cheeks.
In front of her, Bob came charging with his bright red eyes full of murderous intent.
In the space of less than three minutes, Henrietta had restrained Bob with her rope, taken him to a secluded area within the forest and killed the rest of the lizardmen within the Dungeon.
As time went by, she finally had fulfilled the desires which bordered on obsession, desires that would be looked down on by the average person....No, by any sane person.
Sat down with her legs stretched out; her boots had been removed and lay next to her. Her bare feet gently traced over the contours of Bob's chest, allowing his reactions to guide their movement.
With a can of beer in hand, she drained it and dropped it back into her sub-space bag, then removed a fresh can.
“You know what, Red, us humans really are simple creatures. All it took was a porn mag, and it made a well-paid guard leave his post.....Stupid, isn't it?”
“RAWRRRRRR!”
“Exactly, Red! I knew you'd get it.....Philomena looks at me like a child whenever I talk like this...Sure, she's looked after me since I was a baby, but I'm a grown woman now! I'm at an age to get married, for fucks sake!.... You like me, don't you, Red?”
“RAWRRRR!”
Henrietta took a swig from her beer and lay back on the ground, her eyes staring up at the strange artificial sky.
Taking another drink, she did not factor in that she was lying down and nearly ended up drowning in beer. Quickly sitting up, she spluttered the frothing liquid all over and coughed, tears streaming down her face.
“Cghhh, shouldn't have done that....That reminds me, that Stingray-faced bastard at work has managed to get an investigator to come out here....Don't worry though, Red, I've finally finished having the special room built for you!”
Henrietta's eyes had lit up; a burning fervour behind them sent a shiver down Bob's spine. With a mass of drool doing its best to escape her mouth, Henrietta began patting at her pockets as she searched for something.
“Eurghh, I'm an idiot. I was going to show you some pictures of where you'll be living, but I forgot most tech doesn't work here....Anyway, like I said, don't worry, Red, I'll tie you up real tight and take you out of here and to your special new home before the investigator comes.....I have a feeling that bastard will order this Dungeon destroyed.”
“Rawrrrr......?”
The noise that Bob let out was wholly different from the shouts he had voiced so far, a peculiarity that Henrietta noticed.
Staring at the restrained monster in front of her, her lustful gaze was replaced with a fleeting thought of something else, a thought she quickly dismissed as fanciful.
Dressing herself fully once again, her cloak started to shimmer before she vanished from sight.
A disembodied voice called out to Bob.
“Stay safe till we live together, my precious, Red....Here's a love tap to slow you down.”
A loose end of the rope that tied Bob in place suddenly began to hover in the air and then go taut, before the restraints fell loose.
In a swift motion, the rope was collected, and a violent strike was levelled at the lizardman's face. The blow connected with the delicate sensory organs within his face that allowed him to detect body heat, and thus see through invisibility.
A few moments later, the portal made a noise, followed by Bob's eyes returning to their normal colour.
Dropping down to his knees, Bob stared at the ground, a slight tremble reverberating through his body.
“Fuck! I'm slowly starting to understand some words that demon says, and I don't know a lot....But I'm sure of it, someone's going to wipe our Core out!”
Bob's mind constantly went over the words that she said; although the majority was inconceivable, the notion he strung together was one of his world's demise.
Tears fell one by one onto the ground, the dirt soaking up his shame, yet they did not cease. With an almighty bang, Bob slammed both of his fists into the ground, a futile act that spoke of defiance against his fate.
“That's it, we need to leave this prison. I'm sick of dying, seeing my family and friends die at the hands of monsters who laugh as they slaughter us!..... The wind of change will become a hurricane by the power of my own two hands; this I vow!”
Staring up at the sky, Bob's vow echoed around the Dungeon, unheard by a righteous God,
or even a mocking God; only his own Soul took heed of his words.
Bob was pacing back and forth; a worn-out track in the dirt gave a glimpse into the stress he was currently under. From his side, a red glow began to emanate from the Dungeon Core before the nineteen other lizardmen came into being.
All at once they saw Bob had not needed to be respawned, and they all remembered the demon that had killed them. A mixture of pitying looks was shown, but also some envious ones for the fact that Bob did not have to suffer the pain of death.
Ted immediately went to approach his brother, but was stopped by an outstretched arm. Lowering his arm, Bob then spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Everyone! I need you to listen; I have some bad news........The Dungeon Core is going to be destroyed at some point in the near future.”
Everyone instinctively looked towards the Dungeon Core that sat proudly on a podium at the centre of their meagre village.
A silence lingered before many of the lizardmen broke out into laughter, with the rest looking uneasily towards Bob. His own brother, Ted, was the first one to speak and break apart the laughter.
“Bob, I can tell right away you're not joking......But what do you mean? The humans wouldn't break the Core; they use us for training, and without the Core, we would cease to be, and so would this place.”
Glancing around, Bob could see the nods of agreement that his kin all gave. Steadying his mind, he prepared himself to speak, knowing all too well what their reactions would be like.
“The demon told me and.....”
Upon hearing Bob mention the demon, everyone let go of the shred of hope they held for him making a meaningful argument. Only Ted kept hold of that thread, that lifeline to his brother he would never relinquish.
“Tsch, sure, sure.”
“Sod off, Bob.”
“The demon told you.....”
““HA HA HA!””
The laughter began again, the noise piercing Bob's mind and making a primal anger surge from within himself.
Biting his lip to the point of drawing blood, Bob saw that Ted's face did not waver, and neither did Suzy's. Seeing their faces calmed his two hearts and allowed him the confidence to speak up again regardless of their mockery.
“I don't care if you believe me, or think I'm crazy, but it doesn't make my words any less true!..... Steadily I've been learning their language, and the demon told me, other humans WILL destroy our Dungeon Core.”
From behind Bob, a green-scaled Lizardman managed to control his laughter; with his hands on his hips and a haughty expression covering his face, he spoke up.
“Oh Bob, Bob, Bob.......So after you've conspired with the evil demon, what do you want us to do about it?”
Even so, he could not refute the words. When Bob heard Terra refer to the demon as evil, he inwardly snarled at him.
Fixing himself internally, he then replied.
“We need to fight back and properly this time. No more letting the humans just kill us; we need to get stronger and then.....Then....Well, we need to destroy our Core and flee this place!”
That was the final straw for most of the assembled lizardmen; only a few remained: the two who believed, the ones with wavering hearts and the ones who yearned to mock. Terra pointed at Bob, his anger palpable.
“ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY, BOB!?..... That evil demon has warped your mind to the point it has convinced you to destroy our own Core, the thing that allows us to live!”
Ted approached his brother and placed a comforting hand on Bob's back. The thoughtful gesture calmed his mind and stopped him from lashing out angrily.
"He's wrong! They're all wrong; even I was wrong.....I called that woman a demon, but she's neither evil nor a demon.....The more time I spent with her, the more I saw she harboured no hatred or malice. From behind my feral exterior, I listened and analysed what she said, steadily understanding some of her words, and if not, then the intention behind them.....I have to get them on my side; for that I'll have to lie....No shame, Bob."
Bob's tail slammed against the ground and garnered their attention, making them turn their heads to the words he was about to speak.
“There's something I didn't say; there was another person with the demon. They spoke to each other about our Core being destroyed; they had a map of our village and drew a cross on our Core. Each time they did so, they said the word 'destroy'.....That's why I'm so damned certain about what I said! We need to get stronger for when we leave through the portal and enter the human world.”
Bob's words hit a chord with the lizardmen who were present and even with the ones who secretly listened while feigning ignorance.
Terra let go of his anger; even so, he was obstinate and harboured no favour for Bob; he was no fool.
Analysing what was said, he accepted his words held merit, yet not enough to sway him to the side of destroying their little world. Letting out a growl, he turned to walk away while speaking over his shoulder.
“Tsch, I'll think about it, Bob.....Just don't touch the fucking Core!...... By the way, how long?”
“One month.”
Terra halted in his tracks, his fist clenched momentarily, until he released it and carried on with his business.
Bob, Ted and Suzy left the village behind and made their way through the dense woods that separated the village and the portal. They had been walking in relative silence until Suzy mustered up the courage to say what was on her mind.
“Bob, did that really happen....Another person being there? It's just that demon's always been by itself.”
Suzy did not want to doubt Bob's words, yet the niggling doubt at the back of her mind would not abate. To her surprise, Bob was not angered, or even slightly annoyed by the question; in fact, he seemed pleased.
“I always knew you were smart, Suzy. You're correct, I made that part of the story up.”
Before Bob could elaborate any further, Ted's voice came from his side.
“You wanted to add more weight to your words and worried they wouldn't believe you otherwise.....Am I right?”
Slowly turning his head, Bob smiled broadly at his brother and lunged at him, jumping up and wrapping his arms and legs around his body.
“Ha Ha. You know me so well, brother! And you too, Suzy! I'm happy we all came from the same Core!”
Suzy's bright blush was hidden by the hue of her scales and skin, but her actions easily gave away the joy she was feeling upon hearing Bob's kind words.
Her tail swayed side to side, and she could not stop her fingers from twiddling together.
Ted was also happy, but his main concern was the giant lump of flesh that had clung to his body.
“Bob, that's great and all, but why are you riding me?”
“Eh, can brothers not ride each other?”
Before Ted could reply to the ridiculous statement, Suzy stepped in front of the pair and excitedly spoke, her eyes full of thoughts of fornication.
“Ted, put him down now! He can ride me as long as he wants, no wait.....It should be him riding me, mmmmm.”
Bob and Ted's faces changed from those of jovial siblings to stone-faced statues. Bob let out a sigh and then spoke.
“Ted, put me down. I suddenly don't feel like continuing this joke. For some reason, the will to play has evaporated.”
Ted did as his brother instructed and removed his arms that were behind him and supporting Bob's weight.
Landing back on the ground, Bob walked past Suzy and placed a hand on her back before he allowed it to trace across her body as he walked by.
“Come on, Suzy, I was only half joking....We've got work to do......We need better weapons!”