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The sky was overcast; cloudy and dull like Horn’s eyes, though she smiled when the collar was clamped tightly around her pretty little neck.

It was a smile that didn’t quite reach those hazy hues of hers, which was to say she was struggling, even now, against the Originium Arts that seeped into every wrinkle and fold in her brain. It felt like an invisible hand was prying open her skull and pouring sugar inside. She could feel her mind going; her resistances fading, her inhibitions melting, her resolve crumbling…

Help me. Help me. Help me.

Like a skipping record, and a pointed needle against matte, polished polyvinyl. The two-word phrase was all Horn could think to say, because Horn could otherwise think of nothing at all. Most thoughts, opinions, even Victorian swears and recipes.

Everything was effectively leaking out of her ears.

She couldn’t even remember how she ended up here, though she knew Schwarz was sitting just next to her on the couch, drooling dumbly and with saliva staining the collar of her disheveled shirt. However, Horn couldn’t turn to look, because Horn was staring at the man’s pocket watch.

She followed its swing with her half-open eyes, unable to shut them, and unable to wipe the smile from her face, and unable to wipe the drool from her chin. She felt like her face was stuck. Like everything was on pause.

Everything but her eyes, and the idle sway of that watch.

Help me. Help me. Help me.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” the man asked suddenly. Horn’s lips twitched as she struggled to speak anything but the truth. When she finally said something, it was as though the words were torn straight from her throat.

“Rita Skamandros.” Her mouth wobbled, and she dug her fingernails into her own legs to rip herself out of this joyful reverie. Despite her growing terror, not even that seemed to work. Not even as she picked at her skin and clawed red streaks into the flesh of her supple thighs.

“Rita Skamandros!” The man repeated her, saying her name as though he was tasting it for the first time. Then he frowned, because he didn’t like its flavor. All the same, Horn was loath to hear him speak her name again at all. “That’s too pretty a name for a dog like you.”

Horn forced a swallow, and she could feel her throat pulse against the tightness of her new collar. It wasn’t tight enough to restrict her breathing, but it was tight enough to discomfort and put her on edge. The sensation of its hardness, its leathery presence, made her want to vomit. It made her want to tear it from her flesh, and hopefully the rest of her head would come with it.

“Let’s give you a new name,” said the man—an Aegir. He reached up and patted her on the head, and Horn forced her lips closed before she could utter the sound that almost escaped her. “A new name for my new dog. Kitty over here,” he said, and he scratched under Schwarz’s chin until she mewled, “Kitty likes her new name. Don’t you, Kitty?”

Schwarz Kitty nodded and mewled again, and she nuzzled her face against the man’s icy hand. “Good girl,” the man praised, and he went back to raking his disgusting fingers through Horn’s sandy locks of hair. “And what about you, hm? What kind of name should we give you? Should we call you Puppy? Would you like a name like that?”

Help me.

Horn nodded, and her eyes pricked with tears.

“Let’s make it official then, Puppy. I’ve got a leash around here—just for you.”

Horn’s Puppy’s tail began to waggle.

Help me, please…

The man turned with a delighted hum, and he went off to go and get that leash. Even now, Puppy couldn’t move too much, and the dread was creeping into her bones. She’d never experienced Arts quite like this, and she had a creeping, ugly feeling—while the tears began streaming down her pretty face—that she would never escape.

In that moment, she did not know how right she was.

* * *

“WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!”

Faster than she could even think, Horn was already moving, and she dodged the aggressor’s strike before blasting them straight through a brick wall.

It was raining, and they were in a village, and she did not need Schwarz’s help.

“PAY ATTENTION!” The Feline sniper called from her position on the ridge, on the other side of the settlement. Horn had half a mind to turn the radio off, though she knew it would displease the Doctor and put the rest of her squad in jeopardy. With a moment to breathe, Horn snatched the radio from her belt.

Then she clenched the TALK button and barked, “I know what I’m doing, stop your yelling!”

“You asked for support, and I’m giving you support.” Schwarz’s voice over the radio was noticeably calmer, now that there were no visual threats. “Visibility isn’t the best, and I don’t want a repeat of last time.”

“We’re almost done here, just calm your—!”

Suddenly, a scream.

Horn sprinted to its source, finding Eyjafjalla sprawled on her back and crawling from Infected hoodlums. Horn burst forward to incapacitate the offenders…

…only for them to jerk back once Schwarz’s arrows pierce their necks.

Horn gasped, and she leaped out of the way as their giant bodies fell to the ground. She ran ahead and scooped Eyjafjalla from the floor, careful of the Caprinae’s broken arm, and she tucked the caster into a safe alcove away from the rain and the blood-soaked ground.

“Thank you!” Eyjafjalla cried.

Horn ignored Eyjafjalla in favor of grabbing her radio again. “Schwarz, I told you,” Horn yelled, “let me know before you—!”

“There was no time,” Schwarz replied. “I had to be sure.”

Horn growled, though she ran ahead to check on the others. With every passing minute, it became clearer and clearer that Schwarz and Horn just didn’t get along. It was a minor miracle the squad succeeded in their mission despite both girls’ constant bickering, though they had more than a few close calls to make up for it.

By the time they returned to the closest Rhodes Island safe house, they were soaking wet and at each other’s throats. Eyjafjalla, Earthspirit, and the other operators steered clear from what they thought was going to be another fight—this time between operators instead of Infected troublemakers.

“We’re not too far from Lungmen, actually,” Jaye noted aloud. “After a mission like this, I could go for some home cooking.”

“A mission like this?” Jessica asked, frowning with worry, because she knew what he meant. Even so, she couldn’t help but ask. “You mean… with Horn and Schwarz?”

“It’s like they keep fighting over who should be the squad leader,” Jaye explained. “They’ve both got different ideas on how to do things. We almost got killed today because of them.”

“I’m not sure what their problem is, but the Doctor should know about it,” said Earthspirit. She was typically aloof, but not so much this time. If either Horn or Schwarz had been a second later, she might have lost her head. As it stood, she only had one chipped horn to contend with.

The rest of the squad agreed the Doctor had to do something about this, and that was exactly why the Doctor seemed upset even behind his opaque helmet. “I’m not one for disciplining operators,” said the Doctor, “but Dr. Kal’tsit and I think you two are losing your heads more than you’re not.”

Schwarz said nothing. She only crossed her arms and looked away. Horn, on the other hand, knew exactly what to say. “Doctor,” said the Lupo, “I am requesting that you remove me from the squad, effective immediately.”

“Uh,” said the Doctor. “No—effective immediately.”

“Why not, Doctor?” Horn bristled. “Can you please explain why?”

“For one,” said the Doctor, “there are no open slots in any of the other assigned squads. For another, the other squads are busy dealing with situations of their own. The best I can do for you is to keep you on Rhodes Island until things cool down—”

“Perfect,” Horn interrupted.

“—but how long until this kind of thing happens again? How long until you both try tearing each other’s throats out? Seriously…”

“I have done nothing wrong,” Schwarz said passively, keeping her gaze away from the others. “I was fulfilling my duty as a squad leader.”

“You,” said Horn, doing her best to keep her voice down, “are not the squad leader. I am.”

Finally, Schwarz looked over, and she seemed to smile. “I disagree with your methods.”

“That’s a real pity,” said Horn, clenching her fists. “But your antics almost got Earthspirit killed. You almost got Eyjafjalla killed, too!”

“Antics?” Schwarz scoffed. “I was defending everyone. I did not miss a single shot.”

“That’s not the problem here!”

“I agree. I believe I am looking at the problem right now.”

“What is wrong with you?! Are you really doing this in front of the Doctor?”

“I want the Doctor to see that putting us together,” Schwarz said evenly, “is a mistake.”

“Now you’re saying the Doctor made a mistake?” Horn turned to look at the Doctor, who somehow managed to look tired even through his shrouding getup. “Are you hearing this?”

“Good God,” said the Doctor, “it’s worse than I thought… we really need to stop this as soon as possible, before someone gets seriously hurt.”

“You said it yourself, Doctor. There are no open slots in other squads.” Horn sighed. “Couldn’t we make a new squad? Maybe we can put Schwarz in a squad all by herself, if that’s what she wants so badly!”

Schwarz smiled sardonically. “I never said that. You shouldn’t put words in my mouth.”

The Doctor sighed, and he tapped a finger against his chin as he thought out loud. “At this rate,” he suggested, “the best course of action would be…”

Horn and Schwarz leaned in, ears perked up, wondering just who between them would be punished for being such a nuisance to everyone.

“…I should call in that favor,” said the Doctor.

“Favor?” Horn asked.

“What do you mean?” Schwarz asked.

“I have a friend in Lungmen,” said the Doctor. “Someone who is good at, er… helping people settle their differences. Like me, he’s a doctor of the mind.”

“A neurologist?” asked Horn.

“Ha ha… not quite. I think he’s better at explaining it than I am. Now,” said the Doctor, “we’re actually close to Lungmen, so we’ll be dropping you two off, and I’ll come pick you up before you know it.”

Horn and Schwarz exchanged glances. The entire thing frankly seemed more than a little dubious. Even so, Horn had to admit, she couldn’t wait for someone else—someone new—to chime in that Schwarz was truly the problem here, not her.

The Doctor wasn’t so thorough in his explanations, and both Horn and Schwarz were left wondering just what kind of person this supposed Dr. Kalypso really was. The Doctor of Rhodes Island seemed to hold him in high esteem, and so he must have been as much an expert as the tactician himself.

“We’ll have a talk with this Dr. Kalypso, and then we’ll come right back to Rhodes Island,” said Horn, conceding. Then she turned to Schwarz and added, “just don’t embarrass me.”

“Don’t be childish,” Schwarz shot back. “I’m sure this Dr. Kalypso will come to understand just how hopeless you are as a squad leader. More suited to following orders than giving them.”

Horn clenched her teeth. “You’re a bitch.”

Schwarz smiled smugly. “Says the dog without a leash.”

“You’re the one who needs a leash.”

“I suppose we’ll see, won’t we?”

“Yes, I suppose we will!”

“Fine.”

“Good!”

“Great.”

“Yes, it’s GREAT, isn’t it?!”

The Doctor groaned. Indeed, the sooner Kalypso corrected this behavior, the better.

* * *

Neither Horn nor Schwarz knew what they were expecting when they made it to Dr. Kalypso’s office in the city of Lungmen. However, they couldn’t say they were expecting checkered carpeting, swirly wallpaper, bright red couches, and mood lighting.

“Is this the right place?” Horn asked, squinting. “This looks less like a doctor’s office, and more like a—”

“Are you doubting the Doctor again?” Schwarz asked. “He said this was the place, and so this must be the place. Unless you’re having second thoughts?”

Horn sighed, then gestured to Schwarz as they stood in the doorway of Dr. Kalypso’s office. “Are you seeing what I have to deal with here? It’s almost every day with her. The constant remarks, the bickering, the need for attention… it’s absolutely maddening!”

“It’s not your attention I’m after, it’s your understanding,” said Schwarz, giving the Aegir in front of her a sideways glance. “But enough about that for now. You’re Dr. Kalypso, aren’t you?”

The Aegir smiled, nodded, and gave the girls a flourish. “Correct! I am Dr. Kalypso,” he announced. “Welcome to my office, welcome! I trust it wasn’t difficult to find?”

“Not really,” said Horn, crossing her arms. “But I’m curious about, well, everything.”

“Ah, ah, ah! No questions just yet,” said Dr. Kalypso, gesturing to the couches. “First, take a seat! Can I get you girls anything at all? Water? Soda? You like ginger ale?”

“We’re fine,” said Schwarz. Then she closed her eyes, because she already knew Horn was about to say something.

“Don’t speak for me,” snapped Horn. “What if I wanted ginger ale?”

“Then ask for it and stop complaining already.”

Dr. Kalypso’s mouth fell open, despite his smile. “Wow,” he said, “you two are just as snippy as the Doctor told me!”

Schwarz sighed again, and she sat on the couch without another word. Horn sat on the couch right across from her, only to be stopped by the good Dr. Kalypso.

“Ah,” he said, “that is my couch, miss! I want you to sit next to the other one! Sit next to what’s-her-face!”

“You may call me Schwarz,” said the Feline, arching an eyebrow.

“And you may call me Rita,” said Horn. “That is my first name. Unless you’d prefer Horn, which is my operator code name, and—?”

“Yes, yes, I got it!” Dr. Kalypso gestured to the couch. “Now sit, please!”

Horn resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though she did as the good doctor told her. She sat next to Schwarz on the couch, giving the Feline a sideways glance.

Dr. Kalypso sat on the couch across from the girls, and the knowing smile never left his face. In the brief silence that followed, Horn and Schwarz could feel the weight of the situation settling upon them. They were here at last—not only because of the Doctor’s orders, but because they had been under-performing as of late. Even if the Doctor didn’t phrase it quite like that, there was no denying they were here, in a strange Aegir’s office, for those very reasons.

Dr. Kalypso’s facial fins flapped frantically, and he scratched his cheek with a pale pointer finger. “I’ve known the Doctor for a long time, you know? But it’s rare for him to recommend a pair of his own operators for something like this! Usually, he’s on top of things when it comes to behavioral correction,” he added, muttering.

Schwarz frowned. “Behavioral correction? How juvenile. We’re not children.”

“No,” said Dr. Kalypso, laughing. “You’re not! You two aren’t children at all. Not… children… at… all…”

He swallowed suddenly, and Horn was suspecting the man was ogling her chest. But… surely he wasn’t. Surely not.

“So,” said Horn, clearing her throat. “How do we begin with… whatever this is, exactly?”

“The Doctor was vague on the details,” Schwarz admitted. “Is it really behavioral correction? An exercise to get us to play along?”

“Well, you said it yourself! Behavioral correction sounds so childish, and you’re no children! You’re both remarkable women—truly remarkable! You wouldn’t be, if the Doctor hadn’t recommended you to me.”

As if by magic, a pocket watch appeared in Dr. Kalypso’s hand, leaving both Schwarz and Horn astonished. Even so, Dr. Kalypso spoke as if he’d done nothing of note at all.

“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? You first,” he said, cocking his head toward Schwarz. “You look like you want to get something off your chest.”

Schwarz pushed a strand of gray hair behind her ear. “I have nothing specific to say, but I suppose I’m wondering what the point of all this is. I told the Doctor that I didn’t mind waiting to be placed in a new squad, but he seems to think I need whatever this is.”

“Hypnotherapy can be a great boon,” said Kalypso. “It’s proven successful with all my clients, you know. This is a 100% success rate I’m talking about here!”

“Hypnosis?” Horn turned up her nose. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Kalypso winked. “That’s what they all say.”

“Isn’t that stuff just a bunch of—?” Then Horn stopped herself, and she raised a hand. “Sorry, I’m not trying to make light of your profession. I’m just… wondering how this is supposed to help us at all. Or do you plan on hypnotizing us, and then getting us to confess to each other?”

“I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen,” said Schwarz.

“I already have someone I’m close with,” said Horn, cracking a smile. “Her name is Fiona—has the Doctor mentioned operator Bagpipe at all?”

“No.” Kalypso didn’t seem even slightly interested. “And don’t worry, girls. The purpose of this isn’t to have you confess to each other… it’s having you confess to me.”

“How do you figure that?” asked Horn.

“I am a hypnotherapist, and hypnotherapy can be used for many things. I won’t say it’s a cure-all, but I’ll say all my clients have ended up exactly where they belonged when I was finished with them.”

“How interesting,” said Schwarz, leaning in. “Is there a catch?”

“There is. The catch is… you have to mentally welcome the therapy before it’ll truly take effect. I can’t just wave this,” he said, holding up the watch, “in front of your face and make it work on its own! Hypnotherapy is a two-person endeavor. The patient has to be committed enough to help it along!”

“So we have to want it?” Horn asked. “It still sounds a little dubious to me, Dr. Kalypso.”

“Don’t be disrespectful,” said Schwarz.

“I am not being disrespectful! I just—!” Horn sighed. “Start with her, then. Let me see how it works for myself.”

Dr. Kalypso winked. “With pleasure, sweetheart.”

Horn bristled at the nickname, though she said nothing. Instead, she wondered what Bagpipe would think about all this. She already wished she was back on the Rhodes Island landship, in the arms of her beloved.

Nevertheless, the following five minutes turned out to be rather uneventful. Schwarz answered every question that Dr. Kalypso threw at her, and she answered them truthfully.

“Have you ever tried something like this before?” asked Kalypso.

“No,” said Schwarz.

“Do you typically trust doctors?”

“I suppose so.”

“Do you trust Rhodes Island’s Doctor?”

Schwarz nodded. “With my life.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Until I have a reason otherwise, yes,” said Schwarz. “The Doctor trusts you, and so I trust you, too. Please don’t forget how important that is.”

Horn rolled her eyes, only to perk up once Dr. Kalypso’s questions became… intimate.

“Are you sexually active?” asked Kalypso.

Schwarz never cracked a smile. “I have a girlfriend,” she said.

“What’s her name?”

“Her name is Ceylon…”

“How many times a week do you have sex?”

Finally, Schwarz rubbed her forehead. “Dr. Kalypso, how is this relevant to—?”

“It’s relevant, trust me! You have to share such things with me if you want the process to work,” Kalypso reminded. “Once you’ve spread open and lubricated your mind for me, it’ll be much easier for me to probe inside…”

“Remarkable phrasing,” Horn deadpanned.

Kalypso ignored her, instead keeping his attention on Schwarz. “How many times a week do you have sex?” he repeated.

Schwarz took a breath and closed her eyes. “Four, on average.”

“Not every day?” Kalypso pressed.

“Ceylon and I—our schedules sometimes don’t allow for us to…” She trailed off, suddenly blushing. Horn had to admit, the sight of a blushing Schwarz was almost appealing enough to make her smile with amusement.

Horn’s stomach churned as she realized she would be faced with answering similar questions. God damn it, she thought. This guy is something else… what was the Doctor thinking?

“What would you say is your sexual orientation?” Kalypso asked.

“Lesbian,” said Schwarz.

For some reason, Dr. Kalypso grinned after hearing that. As if he was positively thrilled.

“We’re almost done,” he promised. Dr. Kalypso looked down at the pocket watch and popped open its face with the push of a button. Then, he wrapped the watch chain around his wrist and he held it up to eye level, so that both Schwarz and Horn could see it clear as day.

The watch was intricate, to say the least, inlaid with curious gleaming gemstones and black text. It was a script that Horn couldn’t recognize, even as she leaned in close and squinted.

“We’ll give this our first try,” Kalypso said. “Count backwards from ten, okay?”

“The both of us?” asked Schwarz.

“No. Just you! I asked you all the questions, didn’t I?” Then Kalypso turned his smile to Horn, who was finding it oddly discomforting. “And she wants a demonstration, so we’ll give her one!”

“Very well.” Schwarz never smiled, even as she kept her head still, and she followed the pocket watch with her pupils. “Ten, nine, eight…”

Dr. Kalypso licked his lips. Meanwhile, Horn was following the watch’s motions, too. She counted backwards in her own head.

Ten, nine, eight…

“Seven,” said Schwarz. “Six, five…”

Seven, six, five…

Schwarz continued aloud. Horn continued, despite the funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the tingle against her skull.

“Four…”

Three…

“Two…”

One…!

Dr. Kalypso snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, Horn perked up, and her eyes went as wide as saucers. Her pupils shrank, and she felt stranger than she’d ever felt in all her life. All at once, Horn was reminded of shell shock; like a grenade had gone off right beside her, its shrapnel cutting right through her. She felt like her stomach was twisting in knots, and her limbs felt like they were made of sand.

Horn couldn’t move.

What? She thought. What’s happening to me? What’s… happening… to… me…?

“Were you counting in your head?” Kalypso asked, keeping his absurd smile. “I was wondering if you’d do that. I’m happy to see I was right!”

“Doctor… Kalypso… I can’t…” Horn forced the words out of her mouth, finding it to be a monumental task. She felt drunk, or perhaps high, or perhaps both. Even her thoughts seemed to move at half speed, and when she turned to look over at Schwarz, she saw the Feline was smiling, and that drool was leaking out of her mouth.

“Schwarz,” she tried, reaching up to touch the Feline’s shoulder. “Schwarz… are… you… there? Can you… hear… me?”

“She can’t hear you,” said Kalypso, standing up from the couch. “Or rather… she can, she just can’t do anything about it. Not unless I give her permission, of course.”

Permission?

Oh.

Oh, God.

“Doctor… Kalypso…” Horn tried to stand up from the couch, though she nearly fell over. “My head… my brain…?”

“Feels heavy, doesn’t it?” Kalypso chuckled. “You and that sexy cat… holding in so many burdens! It’s okay. This is a safe space,” he told her. “You can let go around me. You can be in your rightful place…”

“You… mother… ffff…”

Horn raised a wobbly fist, fighting against herself—defying herself—to attack the man in front of her. She felt like she was watching her body through a window on the other side of town. She was gone. A mental prisoner in a puppet shell.

“You can fight it if you want,” said Kalypso, the smile finally leaving his features. “I like a bit of a challenge… and it’s always fun when they struggle.”

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Horn finally stood upright, and she put one shaky foot in front of the other. “Stop,” she finally said. “Don’t do… this… I didn’t… give… permission… to…”

Suddenly, the phone rang. Kalypso turned and gasped.

“Oh, is that who I think it is?”

Kalypso cleared his throat before turning back to Horn. Then he held up his hand.

“Sit.”

Horn immediately sat back down, and she gasped when she did so.

No. No no no!

Get up! GET UP!

Kalypso chuckled. “Good girl,” he said. Then he went to the phone and answered it, leaving Horn shaking and fuming on the couch. “Doctor, hello! Calling already?”

Doctor, thought Horn. Doctor!

She had to reach him. She had to contact the Doctor—somehow.

Horn turned slowly, finding Schwarz sitting patiently, obediently, with her hands folded on her lap. The saliva that dripped out of Schwarz’s mouth was now trickling down her neck.

“Schwarz,” Horn whined. “Help…”

Schwarz did no such thing, but she turned to look at Horn, and she beamed. “I feel good,” she admitted. “I feel like I’m floating…”

“No,” said Horn. “I’m…”

I’m sinking.

I’m dying.

Help…

Kalypso laughed into the phone. “Yeah, yeah… your Feline here is already responding well to treatment! The Lupo, though… she might need some encouragement. Don’t worry—I’ll take care of it! Hey, maybe I’ll even send you some pictures, right?”

“Doctor…!” Horn cried out, clenching her eyes shut. When she closed her eyes, it was like all the swirls, colors, and shapes were still there. “Doctor, help me…!”

“Oh,” said Kalypso, “I think she’s calling me over now. Maybe she needs attention. You know how treatments can be… some patients just don’t want to get better. Uh-huh, I’ll call you back.”

“No…!”

Horn watched with sinking dread as Kalypso hung up the phone, and he turned a deathly scowl in her direction. He opened his drawer, and for a moment, Horn thought her life was forfeit at last. All these years of conflict—of blood, sweat, and anguish—only to be snuffed out like this, here and now. What would he take out of the drawer? A blade? A firearm? Poison?

Perhaps horrifyingly, it was none of those things—but a collar.

A collar with a small bell dangling off the front.

Fiona, thought Horn. I’m… so… sorry…

* * *

Horn whimpered and moaned as Schwarz held her down and kissed her.

They’d been given nicknames—Puppy and Kitty. So far, Kitty was turning out to be the “freer” of the two. She was certainly more dominant than Puppy was, but that was subject to change. Experimentation was part of the fun, after all.

“Now tear off her clothes,” Kalypso ordered. “Do that for me, Kitty.”

Schwarz pulled up from Horn’s lips and giggled. “Yes, master!”

“Schwarz!” Horn cried out. “Snap out of it! It’s me! It’s Horn! It’s RITA! You hate me, don’t you? Don’t you?!”

Schwarz sternly shook her head. “I don’t hate you… unless Master wants me to?”

Kalypso palmed his crotch as he watched both girls from the other couch. “You two aren’t enemies,” the good doctor said. “You’re lovers, aren’t you? You do this sort of thing every night.”

“That’s right!” Schwarz giggled.

That’s right, thought Horn, who felt like she was drowning in mud. We do this a lot… right…?

No…

Yes…?

No…!

Where’s Fiona? Where’s my Bagpipe? I need Fiona.

I do this with Fiona, not with…

Horn whimpered, and she forced herself to hold back a sob as Schwarz started ripping her clothes off. The hypnotized Feline was violent with her movements, but she never stopped smiling. Not even as she got all of Horn’s clothes out of the way, then waited for the next instruction.

“How are you feeling, Puppy?” asked the Aegir hypnotherapist. Horn had half a mind to curse his name to high heaven, but then again, she had less than half a mind to work with. “Does it feel good?”

“N-No,” she spat. “Fuck… you…”

“Oh,” said Kalypso, “there’ll be time enough for that—don’t you worry! Now sit up.”

Horn grumbled as she sat up, with Schwarz giving her room to do so.

“Now spread your legs,” said Kalypso, “and start masturbating for me.”

“No,” Horn growled. “No…!”

But while her mouth formed the words no, her body seemed to say yes. She spread her legs like a good puppy girl, and she dipped her hand down to her crotch to toy with herself. First she rubbed her pussy lips with her pale, trembling fingers, biting back the moans that threatened to escape her throat. She shook her head vehemently; she didn’t want to do this, no matter how good it felt. No matter how badly her body tingled for release. Schwarz was staring, and it made her cheeks go red to be seen like this. As Horn shook her head and shivered like she was cold—like she needed someone’s touch—the bell on her collar chimed cutely, making her feel pathetic.

“Aren’t you a good dog?” Kalypso asked.

“Fuck you.” Horn whined. She wasn’t a dog. She was a Lupo. A proud Lupo, goddammit!

So then why couldn’t she stop wagging her tail? Why couldn’t she stop following orders? Why did she suddenly want nothing more than her master’s happiness?

“You,” Horn panted, “won’t get away with… this…”

Kalypso said nothing at first. He just smiled, stood up from his couch, and started unzipping his pants. He walked over to Horn, whose head-shaking only doubled with speed.

“No!” She cried. No, no, no! Stop! STOP!

The fear and frustration were at an all-time high. Horn would never wish a fate like this on anyone—not even her worst enemies. She thought of Schwarz, suddenly—the gleeful Feline who dizzily watched this happen—and she wished so badly she could turn back the clock and undo the ill will she’d sown.

She clenched her eyes shut, but it didn’t last.

“Open your eyes,” the hypnotherapist ordered.

Horn opened her eyes, even as they filled with tears, and she watched as the man pulled out his fat cock and plopped it right on her face. Horn turned up her nose; she wanted to vomit.

“Are you a lesbian too?” he asked.

Horn’s nose wrinkled. Every micro-movement was a struggle, though the tears streamed down her cheeks with apparent ease.

The man smiled. “Answer my question, Puppy. I said, are you a lesbian?”

“Yes,” Horn croaked, feeling that repulsive thing twitch against her face.

Kalypso’s smile turned smug. “You won’t be when I’m done with you.”

Then the man snapped his fingers. “Kitty,” he said, “hold her mouth open for me.”

Schwarz settled right behind Horn in an instant, wrapping her arms and legs around the Lupo like she was some kind of hypnotized body trap. She dug her fingers into Horn’s mouth, prompting Horn to gasp and resist giving a violent chomp.

“Don’t be a bad girl now,” said Kalypso. “Don’t bite your playmate—you got it?”

Horn growled as Schwarz forced her mouth open with her fingers, though she clenched her eyes shut and whined once Kalypso forced his cock past those trembling lips of hers. The taste and the stench made her stomach churn, and she tried to force herself to do something—anything to stop this—but it was all for naught.

“Now start sucking,” ordered Kalypso, snapping his fingers. He watched with a smile as Horn started doing as she was told; she’d never sucked a dick before, but she would learn eventually. In time, she might even be one of Kalypso’s favorite toys.

God, this reeks…

…Just endure it, Rita. Endure it.

You can endure anything.

You’re not a dog. You’re a proud Lupo. Endure it… for Fiona’s sake…

The gagging was immediate as Kalypso forced his turgid cock even deeper past Horn’s lips, and he put a hand on her head while Schwarz loosened her grasp on Horn’s mouth. “Atta girl,” Kalypso praised. “Help our Puppy feel good, Kitty…”

Schwarz did as she was told. With a dizzy smile, she leaned in and started peppering kisses along Horn’s neck and collarbone, leaving a trail of soft, hot smooches along the Lupo’s flush skin. Horn gagged and whimpered as Kalypso used and abused that gorgeous mouth of hers, spilling saliva all over her chest and hating herself every moment.

His penis… it’s so hot… and it won’t stop throbbing…

Guh, it feels so weird…!

“Lick it up,” Kalypso ordered. With one hand holding the Lupo’s head, the hypnotherapist used his other hand to hold up the pocket watch. The timepiece’s ticking filled Horn’s ears; it was all she could hear other than the sound of her own disgusting slurps and moans.

The tears started up again, blinding Horn from seeing just what exactly the man was doing to her. Schwarz licked the tears from Horn’s face, moaning softly against Horn’s quivering wolf ear.

Horn’s body moved on its own as she followed Dr. Kalypso’s order, and she ran her tongue up and down the length of the man’s cock as she slowly got used to its texture and taste. Horn’s thoughts practically bled out of her ears, though she tried to keep thinking about operator Bagpipe; her beloved Fiona.

She wondered if Fiona would ever forgive her for something like this.

Kalypso worked up a fine rhythm as he fucked Horn’s face, moving his hand from her head to the leash around her neck. Horn slurped and gagged the entire time, letting out the occasional cough as her hazy, teary eyes stayed locked on the man’s wicked smile. If she forgot anything else, she didn’t want to forget that face of his. She wanted to break free and ruin him, just as he was ruining her.

“You’re wet down there,” he told her. “Aren’t you?”

Horn whimpered and shook her head, only for Kalypso to tug that leash hard enough to jerk her neck.

“Kitty,” said Kalypso. “Feel how wet she is—just from sucking cock, like a whore…”

Horn clenched her eyes shut, but once again, it didn’t last. Her eyes flew back open, and enchanting swirls filled her vision as Schwarz toyed with her pussy; Schwarz pushed two fingers into Horn’s pussy without effort, and the Lupo groaned with sudden pleasure.

It got to be that Schwarz assaulted her from behind, while Kalypso assaulted her from the front. Working in tandem as they were, it took little for Horn to groan and move her body against Schwarz’s fingers. It didn’t matter how violently she declined. Her body, here and now, was her own worst enemy.

No… I’m… I’m already going to…!

Cum…!!

Horn could no longer contain herself. Her entire body tensed and shuddered as she climaxed, clenching around Schwarz’s pumping fingers and gasping aloud as Dr. Kalypso started painting her face with hot, sticky ropes of cum. He splattered her forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin with his seed, grunting with arousal as he let himself go, and Horn began panting so hard that some of it even got in her mouth.

She’d already been forced to taste his pre-cum, but his pearly white globs of cum really set her senses alight. She felt like it tingled on her skin with its heat, stuck to her face and making her feel even worse about herself; more embarrassed and hateful.

He’s really defiling me… treating me like a toy…

…Why did I even come here…?

I can’t… remember…

“Fuck, that feels so good,” Kalypso groaned. He rubbed his cock against Horn’s face, smearing the mess all over her cheeks and chin before pushing his messy cock in her mouth again. This time, he didn’t even need to tell her to suck—she did it all on her own, like a good girl.

“Starting to like the taste of cock, are you?” he taunted. Horn was too embarrassed to speak the truth, and so she just kept sucking, and sucking, and sucking…

She moved her head up and down along the length of the Aegir’s dick, groaning as she felt him harden in her mouth again. When he pulled out of her gaping maw, she whimpered without meaning to, only for her eyes to go wide at the sight of that ticking pocket watch.

“Look at this,” Kalypso ordered. “Look at the watch, Puppy…”

“Nnnnoooo…” Horn drawled, sticky cum leaking out of her mouth.

“Follow it with your eyes now, Puppy…”

“Stooooop… I can’t… I… I like… women…”

Horn’s eyes followed the swing of the watch, enticing as it was. Kalypso reached out and cupped her messy face, and she nuzzled against his loving touch while she stared at the watch. Followed its idle, rhythmic sway, like a metronome.

Left…

…right.

Left…

…right.

Left…

“Does it feel good?”

…right.

Horn nodded languidly.

Left…

…right.

Just like that…

…over and over again.

Never-ending…

…spine-tingling…

…heavenly bliss…

“What’s your name?” he asked gently.

Left… tick…

…right… tock…

“My nnname is Puppyyy…”

Back…

…and forth…

Back…

…and forth…

“You and your friend like cock, don’t you?” he teased.

Slowly…

…ever so slowly…

Puppy giggled. “Yes, master… I… I love cock…”

S l o w l y . . .

. . . S l o w l y . . .

“What about Bagpipe?” he asked. “What about… Fiona?”

S l o o o o w l y . . .

. . . S w a y i n g . . .

“Who…?” Puppy slowly shook her head. “I… I don’t know… who that is…”

Click.

The watch stopped.

Horn smiled, and she tilted her head. In fact, Schwarz did the very same.

“Clean the mess you made,” Kalypso ordered. Then he snapped his fingers.

Horn and Schwarz were on his cock in an instant, licking up and down the cum-stained shaft as though it were ice cream. The girls even swapped spunky kisses as they took turns licking and lapping at Kalypso’s dick, though it was Horn that finally popped the head into her mouth and started moaning in earnest while she fellated her master gleefully.

Schwarz dipped down to lick and suck on Kalypso’s balls, prompting the hypnotherapist to moan and grunt with pleasure. “That’s it,” he praised. “That’s what I like to see. Two girls working together, not tearing each other down…”

Horn could no longer think of anything other than pleasing her master, and enjoying her time with her Feline playmate. She took turns throating Kalypso’s cock and giving Schwarz elated kisses, though it wasn’t long before both girls changed positions altogether.

At Kalypso’s instruction, they got on their hands and knees on the carpeted office floor. The doctor started with Horn, coming up behind her and pressing his cock to her drooling pussy, only to make himself at home by penetrating her in one fluid motion.

“Ngh!” Horn whimpered. “M-Master…!”

“Never taken cock before, huh?” he asked.

“No, Master!” said Horn, casting a smile over her shoulder. “Never ever!”

“Well, don’t worry! I’ll fix that right away!”

“Yay, Master!” Horn moaned, and she tilted her head with a truly blissful expression. “Thank you so much~!”

Dr. Kalypso started thrusting back and forth, screwing his good Puppy against the floor of his office. Kitty seemed desperate, too; she wiggled her ass from side to side and whined for attention, and that was when Kalypso brought a hand to her dripping wet pussy and pushed two fingers inside to plug her right up.

Needless to say, both Horn and Schwarz were on cloud nine. The latter arched her back as she welcomed her master’s fingers, mewling delightedly and bumping back against the man’s hand. Meanwhile, Kalypso’s hips pumped back and forth over and over again, and he took Horn against the office floor as though he’d done in a hundred times before, relishing the heat and wetness he was spreading open with his thick, throbbing cock.

Kalypso tugged on Horn’s leash, deepening that arch in her back and making her squeal with delight. She met her master’s thrusts repeatedly, throwing her ass back against him and shaking from the pleasure that so tightly gripped her.

“Look at how well-behaved you are now,” he remarked, chuckling. “My two little cock sluts… that’s what I, ngh, like to see!”

“Yes, Master!” cried Horn.

“Yes, Master!” replied Schwarz. She exchanged glances with Horn, and the two started making out as they lay next to each other, jerking back against their master and cherishing the sensation of being taken as thoroughly as they were.

“No more causing a fuss,” said Kalypso. “From now on, you’ll think about nothing but cock. Forget about your old lives… you serve a better purpose now—isn’t that right?”

Both Horn and Schwarz whimpered in understanding, and the former jerked forward from her master’s deep, impassioned thrusts. The feeling of penetrating Horn from behind like this—once a soldier; once a commando, and now a cock sleeve—was unlike anything else. She clenched around Kalypso’s cock as though she didn’t want him going anywhere from her, though fortunately, she’d be getting exactly what she wanted in no time.

“Beg for my cum,” the doctor ordered. “Beg for it!”

Horn panted and moaned, and she turned her head to whine in desperation. Kalypso couldn’t help but laugh, thinking Horn’s new default expression looked equal parts adorable and pathetic. “Cum inside me, Master!” she cried. “Please, fill me up! I want your babies, Master! Use me and fill me to the b-brim!”

“And then me!” cried Schwarz. “I want it, too! I want your cock, and I want your cum!”

“Here it f-fucking comes!” Kalypso warned, and he groped Horn’s ass cheeks while he flooded her womb with his hot and gooey load of potent spunk. Horn reached her climax next, drooling from both pairs of lips while she quivered and quaked beneath the doctor’s prowess.

“Fuck yeah, take it, you little slut!” Kalypso growled, and Horn moaned as she was filled right up, moaning from the delightful, comforting sensation of being filled so thoroughly with such hot, sticky seed. She cooed with jubilation, left a panting, moaning mess on the office floor while Kalypso pulled out of her, and he watched with a smile as she started leaking on the carpet.

“Plug yourself up, Puppy,” he ordered, and Horn flipped herself over to follow his order, albeit weakly.

The light in her eyes was gone, but she was so, so happy.

I love Master, she thought. I’m so happy to be here…

I’m a good Puppy… I’m a good girl…

Cock… feels so good… feels better than anything…

“Now it’s your turn,” said the doctor, and he pulled Schwarz into his lap to slide right on in. She squealed with delight as she was suddenly penetrated, and Kalypso ordered her to bounce on his lap. Thus, that was exactly what she did, and her chest wobbled and shook as she followed the order given to her.

Schwarz panted and moaned as she bounced naked on the doctor’s lap, watching herself get speared with his meat rod over and over again. Her tongue dangled from her mouth as the doctor pulled her leash, though he was relentless in the way his hips pumped up and down, back and forth, over and over again. He plunged his slick, cum-stained cock as far as it could go, and Schwarz reached her climax much faster than her partners.

“Such a quick little Kitty, aren’t you?” Kalypso taunted.

“Sorry, M-Master!” cried Schwarz. “It f-feels so good… I’m sorry!”

“I’ll train you to be a good little slut,” the man promised. “Forget all that fighting, forget all that conflict… you’ll be so happy with me here; you girls will want nothing but this dick…”

“Dick!” Schwarz repeated. “Dick, dick, dick!”

“I want it,” Horn moaned, and she dipped her slender fingers into her goo-filled cunt. “I want more, Master… I’m sorry I’m so greedy…”

“I know it feels good,” said Kalypso. “Just you wait!” He reached up and palmed Schwarz’s breasts, fondling her chest and relishing the way his fingers sank into her soft, gelatinous boob flesh. He kneaded with enough force to make Schwarz whine and arch her back, and she started panting all over again. Then he tweaked her nipples, and Schwarz screamed.

“Master!” she cried. “Play with my b-body as much as you want! Your p-pleasure is mine!”

“Fuck, I’m already going to cum again. It feels too f-fucking good,” Kalypso moaned. “You want to be filled up just like Puppy, don’t you, Kitty? Don’t you?”

“Yes!” Schwarz yelled. “Fill me up, please! I want your cum deep inside me! Breed me, Master! Breed me!”

Kalypso growled with pleasure as he filled Schwarz up, pumping another hearty load inside the feisty Feline and drowning her womb with his thick, flowing seed. He knew they’d take after just one round, but there was no reason not to keep filling his new breeding sluts—over and over again—until their bellies were swollen just how he liked.

And he knew they’d want it, too. Both Puppy and Kitty beamed with excitement at the prospect of starting their new life like this.

“How many babies do you want?” he asked, smiling darkly.

“Ten babies, master!” said Horn.

“Twenty! No, thirty!” said Schwarz.

“I’ll give you both as many babies as you want,” he promised. “How’s that sound?”

“Yay! Thank you, Master!”

* * *

Days later, the Doctor of Rhodes Island was turning pages in a brand new photo album. Each photo, of which there were many, had its own story to tell.

In one photo, Horn was sucking the cum out of Schwarz’s well-used pussy.

In another, the two were kissing as Kalypso railed Horn from behind.

In yet another, both girls—both playthings—were holding up peace signs and smiling for the camera, mouths overflowing and faces splattered with pearly white semen.

A photo of Kalypso’s cock covering Horn’s happy eyes, a photo of Schwarz grinning while being choked, a photo of Kalypso sitting in a chair and using Horn as a footrest…

“So?” The Aegir grinned. “What do you think?”

The Doctor hummed. Then he glanced up at Kalypso and asked, “can they still fight?”

Dr. Kalypso’s face fell, and his jaw nearly hit the ground. “Can they still—?!” He swiped the photo album from the Doctor’s gloved hands, glowering. “For God’s sake, man! Is fighting all you ever think about?”

“I’ll take that as a no, then,” said the Doctor, turning his head to look at both Horn and Schwarz, kneeling patiently by Kalypso’s desk. The Doctor crouched down and waved his hand in front of their faces, but no one was home. Horn’s eyes, and Schwarz’s eyes, had lost their color. They were happy—happier than they’ve ever been in their troubled lives—but they were gone.

“Oh well,” said the Doctor. “I guess you can keep them.” He said it as though it was barely an afterthought, though Kalypso’s facial fins fluttered as he grinned.

“They’re definitely pregnant,” said Kalypso. “I made sure of that.”

“Oh, I bet you did, big guy. I bet you did.”

“Maybe you can have the babies?” Kalypso offered. “It’s not like they’ll ever need to see them again once they give birth. You’ve already got child soldiers, don’t you, Doctor? Why not start even younger? Train from infancy!”

“I thought you were suggesting I give a newborn baby a gun.”

“I would never suggest something as egregious as that. Guns are dangerous!”

It was raining in Lungmen, but that didn’t bother either doctor. Rhodes’ tactician stepped outside with a quiet sigh and said, “I’ll fill those vacancies one way or another, so don’t worry about that.”

“I never worry,” Kalypso replied. “Though I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind?”

“Shoot.”

“Puppy and Kitty—they mentioned having partners when they came to visit. We should do something about that, shouldn’t we?”

The Doctor considered this for a moment before nodding. “Operators Bagpipe and Ceylon. I’ll handle them, too. It’s about time for a performance evaluation, anyway.”

Kalypso grinned. “You’re a bastard, just like me.”

“I don’t know. I think you’re a little worse.” The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets. “What was your second question?”

“Ah,” said Kalypso. “Well… I’m curious. You could have let me handle either Puppy or Kitty, but you let me play with both. That was surprising.”

“You’re asking why I let you have both Horn and Schwarz instead of just one of them?”

Kalypso nodded, and that was when the Doctor chuckled behind his mask.

“Well,” said the Doctor, “you see… the poll was tied.”