The Inter-Dimensional Courtship of Bowser Koopa

Chapter 6
On the Lake Side


The mission summary was brief and to the point. Bowser was tempted to write a great many things back to the winged runt, all of them hurtful. But he needed stubby’s help still, now didn’t he? With nothing left to do, he began to climb up the steep cliff.

He arrived in a ravine, the bottom looked as if it had held running water a long time ago. A precious blue diamond had arrived at his side come out of the darkness, the necessary funds Pit had provided to complete his goal. From what he could tell, he was standing in a series plateaus and bluffs, sitting up into the sky over a lush jungle. As he made his way up the sloping wall of stone more trees came into view, growing inside a basin that ran for miles.

Finally, a discreet staircase came into view, designed to appear as simple stones strewn by a rockslide. They made the trek easier, and soon the koopa found the blank wall he was looking for. A ledge of stone hung overhead, casting an eternal shadow over the top half of the cliff side’s flat surface. Bowser pawed about in the near-dark until he found the keypad.

The motion of his hand triggered a sensor, causing the keys and display to light up. Pit had also given the password over the Scroll; he was grateful for that much. Waiting around all day to ambush his target, like he had for Cloud, would be boring and likely fruitless in this case. This one could fly.

“RsM0N3y,” Bowser whispered each character under his breath as he punched it in. The display flickered stoplight green. A split appeared in the stone surface, hydraulics hissed as two metal doors lightly layered with stone swung inward. From inside the new cave came the scent of cinnamon and jasmine. Soft red lighting beckoned from within the cave’s belly. Taking a deep breath, eyes darting, Bowser stepped into the secret hideout of Rouge the Bat.

Through a winding passage the koopa came to what looked like a living room. Tastefully furnished with black, pink, and white trappings the room glowed with swank. Red neon lighting ran along the ceiling, pointing the way towards a den with a full bar. Bowser spotted a large chair that met his two requirements of all furniture: it was plush and it was sturdy. Pink shag carpeting sang between his toes as he treaded carefully to the chair. He sat down to wait, twiddling his thumbs. The seat was more comfortable than anything he had felt yet on since leaving home.

“The only reason I haven’t turned on my automatic home defenses yet is that I suspect you have something of worth to offer me. Why else would anyone violate my home, sit his ass on my expensive furniture, and risk my displeasure?” The voice was neither high pitched or deep. Its tone was practiced, as if developed to perfection by hard training, a standard by which every gold digger, vixen, and high priced prostitute’s voice could be measured against. He couldn’t pinpoint its origin. It continued softly, “You knew the location of this place and my password. Maybe I should let the autoturrets do their work, if only to be safe. Are you one of Eggman’s goons?”

Bowser remained relaxed, showing no signs of anxiety. He was getting used to threats from strange beings in alien places, which in and of itself was unnerving. “If you killed me now, you wouldn’t get a full payment. You’d also miss out on an exciting job offer. I hear you are a woman who enjoys her work,” he guessed out loud in tone that didn’t sound like one.

Rouge stepped out from behind the high back of the chair and into full view. “That I do Stranger. You have a lady at a disadvantage. I’m sure you already know my name, most of Mobius does. You are-“

“Bowser. Bowser Koopa.”

“It suites you. Drink?”

He almost said yes to a glass of hard liquor, but taking his surroundings into account, shook his head.

“Alright then.” The bat woman reclined onto a loveseat facing the koopa. “Down to business. What is this exciting opportunity you’ve risked so much to lay at my feet?”

He should’ve known that not six hours away from pledging his love for Sami he would be tempted by another. The koopa could not summon any surprise over this, only a coppery taste of irony in his mouth.

Rouge the Thief wore a black and pink silk outfit covering most of her skin, save the upper arms and shoulders. Yet there was everything to see. Her ass looked firm enough to bounce gold coins off of. Her breasts were more ample than Sami’s, perky and round behind the pink heart breastplate of her outfit. She had legs that didn’t quit, thighs holding the kind of curves that made men’s legs wobble. The bat’s mouth bore no lipstick; she didn’t need it. Every expression looked like a smile. Bowser found himself wanting to jump up and kiss it right away. To nibble on her shoulders. He found it strange to see no trace of the color red on her body.

“Someone by the name of Sonic has recently been captured by this Eggman. I’ve never met any of these people, nor do I know of their importance in local politics. I represent a third party, to remain undisclosed, who wishes them to be free and well taken care of.”

Rouge’s batwings quivered restlessly as she listened. “This will not come cheap. Eggman doesn’t take to interference from ‘third parties’ well at all.”

Bowser reached into his shell’s storage and produced the blue diamond. It glinted in the diffused lighting, taking on a purplish color. At the sight of it the bat thief’s eyes opened wide, voice becoming sultry. “That would do it, if it proves genuine.”

He leaned forward, allowing her to lift it from his outstretched hand. When it looked as if she had examined it to her satisfaction, Bowser continued, “you’ll receive more when Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends are brought back safely to the Azure Lake Zone ruins.”

“Heh hee. More you say? Why it’s almost too much for such a simple jailbreak. Seems almost too good to be true…”

The look she gave him told Bowser that she held suspicions. “Rescuing them isn’t the only thing you’re being hired to do,” Bowser held a straight face, “I need you to give yourself to them. On the spot.”

Rouge tiled her head to the side. “What do you mean, ‘give myself to them?’ You sound cracked.”

“Word is thieving is your second career of choice,” he said, pursing his lips.

“I-no! I left that all behind a long time ago. Not that it didn’t have its perks. But I’m respectable now. It’s not my style anymore.” She sprang from her seat to pace back and forth. She was no longer looking at the koopa. “I should have you shot just for suggesting-“

“What? That you knock the cobwebs off your pussy for serious money? Sex with people you’ve found attractive in the past? Think about this. It’d be easy, and its been a long time in coming,” Bowser reached out and grabbed her arm. “Just one more con, one more act before you retire.”

Rouge made no effort to break free of his clenched fist, her eyes were wide, mouth scrunched to the side and partly open. “I-I-I don’t know who you are or who gives you all this…information. You’re a real piece of work.”

“Then you accept the job? All of it?”

Her eyes burned into his. “Why don’t you just take it right here and now? Save us all the trouble-“

Bowser stood up and pressed her into him, holding tightly with both arms. He placed his mouth on hers. It tasted better that expected. Her body was like leather and silk, a restless storm of life in his arms. His hands traveled up and down her back, fondling her ass every other breath. “Yes,” she whimpered.

The koopa let her go, and turned to leave. “Then it’s settled. See you at the Azure Lake ruins early tomorrow with your friends.”

He walked out, expecting to hear a bulwark of verbal protest. Nothing came. Rouge watched him leave, her face still stretched in passion.

+++

The Omega Egg sat in its cradle, its bloated outline blocking the dusk like a giant metallic testicle. Like all powerful men with large egos, Eggman, endeavored to leave his mark on everything he owned. A relief of his spectacles, nose and flamboyant mustache covered at least ten percent of the Omega Egg’s surface area. It was his biggest, most improved Death Egg to date, no doubt powered by several purloined chaos emeralds. Its diameter was over a third of a mile, a fortress on the scope of a small mountain.

Rouge tightened her bootstraps and straightened. After flexing her black wings a few seconds, she flew over the outer security perimeter. Not a single alarm blared. The best chance for success depended on the idea that Eggman would be feeling secure after capturing Sonic and his friends, allowing his vigilance to wane in the wake of victory. So far it was proving to be true. The thief smiled, knowing that her infrared/heat-concealing bodice wasn’t hurting her chances either.

The second security perimeter passed by without incident. The perimeters consisted of high metal walls packed with surveillance equipment and robotic infantry. An assortment of security drones patrolled the structure and the sky above; so far they had all been unable to detect the flying intruder. Upon coming to the third and final perimeter Rouge spotted four drones, no more than hovering laser cannons. They detected her presence and swerved in for the kill. Rouge balled her hands into fists, letting the sharp titanium spikes hidden in her gloves point outwards.

“Hhhhyyyyaaaa!” She collided with the first droid to reach her, letting the spikes penetrate the vulnerable sensors in the thing’s “face.” With a satisfying pop a shower of sparks flew outwards from the damage. Keeping her pace even, Rouge pummeled the next drone, its laser ordinance passing just below her. The heat made her sweat under her clothes.

Wasting no time to watch her enemy’s remains fall to the earth, Rouge accelerated between the other two drones. They couldn’t match her speed she knew, but the lasers were a different story. Two bolts of zigzagging energy flew by, one to her upper right, the other her lower left.

Shifting her weight, Rouge rolled into a corkscrew. More lasers zipped by, some coming close enough to burn a little. Up ahead the convoluted surface of the Omega Egg filled her entire vision. She soon recognized the octagonal exhaust vents she would use to break and enter. Just a little farther.

Her right wing flared in pain. In a second it was gone, the gold rings she carried absorbed the damage and flew from her body. The shock of the impact knocked her out of flight and into twirling free fall.

The world was a blur of gray metal and blue sky. The thief bit down onto her lip, telling herself to keep it together. Fanning her arms and wings she pulled out into a glide. The gold rings that offered protection from mortal harm obeyed their own set of physical laws, some falling faster than others. It was by pure luck that few of the slower ones fell directly into her path. Her wings now doing their share of the work, she was able to recover four of her original fifty. “As long as I have at least one,” she said under her breath.

Gliding downwards at a shallow angle, Rouge managed to reach the lower hemisphere of the Egg. She slammed into the wall hard enough to burse, embedding her spikes into the surface for grips. Taking one fist from the wall to lean out for a look behind revealed no pursuers.

Rouge rested for a minute, catching her breath. She had landed much lower than hoped, too low to easily reach any treasures Eggman stored in the upper half. At least the prison block would most likely be near the bottom, and it was just as well. She didn’t believe even someone with her talents could nail it all in one trip.

With her free hand she produced the lock pick kit from her left boot. She had practiced many hours picking locks open one handed for such situations, or for the sad possibility that she ever lose a hand. After two long minutes of twiddling the grate cover lock clicked open. Rouge yanked off the grate, letting it fly to the ground below. Placing one foot inside, she swiveled the rest of her body into the opening. She marked with satisfaction the lack of residual fumes. This duct was not currently in use.

Crawling on hands and knees, the thief made her way into the Omega Egg at an even level. Eventually the duct sloped downwards, her sensitive ears picking up the clattering and humming of various motors on the other side of the walls.

After some time a light appeared ahead. Rouge found her way barred by another grate. Once more taking out her kit, she unlatched the second lock more quickly than the first with the aid of both hands. Lowering the metal cover to the floor gently, she emerged to find herself inside a bland corridor. On a whim she chose to go right, her favorite direction. The corridor brought her to a long open stretch filled with opening and closing pistons. The piston ends fitted together via a series of ridges and recesses. They would separate for a few seconds, leaving the path to the other side of the area wide open before coming together will all the noise of a locker closing. Rouge counted ten seconds to full release, and ten for full closure with two seconds between. The upper set formed the ceiling, the lower the floor, with no room to fly around.

She thanked her luck; the gauntlet of pistons would release first on her side, one after the other like the teeth of a zipper spreading open. Two seconds after the last, most distant, piston opened, the first would close once more, and so on down the line. On the other side of the passage she spotted a prize worth the risk, a glowing computer terminal.

Rouge squatted down, a tense bundle of muscle and sinew ready to move, and counted out the seconds. The thief threw herself at the closed piston column as the number eight silently crossed her parted lips. She reached the surface by nine. Stepped onto the piston’s teeth at ten just as it finished snapping open, and began to count up from one. Not trusting the speed of her legs she lurched forward into flight, wings blurring in frenzy. The piston opening sequence continued ahead, faster than her flight. All had released by the time she counted to seven. Holding her breath, she pushed until her wings felt like they would fail.

As she passed the last set of teeth her breath whooshed out in relief. She had counted to nine, made it with one second to spare. Rouge turned away from the sight of the first piston closing.

The fireball struck dead center in the face, causing the thief to scream in pain and surprise. She was knocked back into the air, her last five rings bouncing well out of reach. She landed inside a recess of the last piston, sticking between the lower half’s ridges, stuck like a piece of corn in the teeth. Her back and wings were wedged into the narrow crevice, leaving her facing upwards at the waiting piston above that fit these recesses like air fit a container.

Thirteen seconds had passed by now, at least. Being shot had caused her to only half pay attention to the count in her head. She scrambled quickly, but was unable to budge from the tight space.

Fifteen by now, maybe more.

Seven seconds left if her count was right. Panic hit like a bucket of ice water, jumbling her movements and numbing her thoughts. Clank, clank, clank, CLANK.

So close, it had to be less than five.

Pulling together her remaining wits, Rouge bent both legs under her as far as they would go and pushed up with all her might. All other sensations, the vision of the waiting teeth, flew from her mind.

The metal floor of the corridor hit her palms, her upper body in the clear. From behind, she felt the rush of air as something big moved through it. Her legs were lifted up past the floor as the lower half rushed to embrace its sister. Rouge hurtled forward on her arms.

The piston closed. Shaking, the thief realized she was still screaming and quieted. Looking down at her feet she saw her boot soles resting a centimeter from the closed teeth.

Rouge remembered what had knocked her back to begin with, and rolled to the left. Two fireballs burst were she had been lying. Her head snapped up to see a red sphere with wide, white eyes. It unleashed the last fireball circling its round body, hoping to finish its job. Rouge jumped over the projectile with ease. While still in the air, the bat flashed into a homing attack and spiked the orb through.

A hapless lizard dropped from the remains, and scurried off. “Heh. Weapons powered by life. An Eggman specialty.”

The thief straddled up to the computer console and inserted her data stick. On the stick was the password cracking software an acquaintance had programmed for her. It took six tries before giving her low level access. Turned out it was enough to grant access to the floor plans. The cellblock was two levels lower, further ahead. Committing the route to memory, Rouge hesitated. One finger tapped the side of the console as she fought the temptation to dig deeper. Eggman held on to a lot of assets, looking further could prove profitable. However she wanted to stay alive, and cracking further would alert the good doctor.

Pulling the data stick out Rouge lamented. She felt she was loosing her love of risk taking more and more nowadays. The profit from this job was modest, and she was passing up opportunities to sweeten the pot. Depressing.

She took off running down the hall, taking the necessary turns. Elevator platforms brought her down to the level needed. Rouge was now a hundred feed away from the jail, inside a large open chamber.

The entrance and exit slammed shut, at once both startling her and filling her with shame. Shame at being ambushed so easily. Eggman’s voice poured into her ears like oil. “I’d expected you to make it this far. But all this to save my enemies? That’s most distressing, Miss Rouge. There are far more valuable goods here than the hedgehog and his fellow scum.”

Rouge took a deep breath, as if preparing to speak. The breath was not for words, however, but action. Hinging around, the bat launched herself at the voice’s source, hoping to gain initiative and damage Eggman’s attack-pod. All hope of a decisive first strike died and crumpled into dust within her breast. The good doctor was in one of his many attack-pods true, one of the worst. What had to be at least twenty metal orbs gyrated around his spherical conveyance like crazed moons in orbit around a doomed planet. Rouge could not halt her flying-gliding attack, so she closed her eyes and visualized slipping through.

Five orbs bludgeoned into her. First one, then three, then the last, and she was down, squirming in pain. The thief made every effort to move, but her body would have none of it, insisting that she play dead.

Eggman toggled an unseen switch, causing the orbs to absorb into his battle-pod. Two pincer claws emerged like the antenna of a cockroach crawling over the top of a half eaten doughnut. The right one fastened snugly around her pretty neck, the left snapped in front of her face as the pistons had before.

“Shall we begin again, Miss Rouge? Resorting to fisticuffs is most certainly below a creature of such beauty and stature. I could cram you into the colon of one of my newest robotic death machines, lending your glorious energy and vigor over to service as a living battery. There’s no better kind, really.” Grinning from ear to ear Eggman began to massage and fondle the bat’s body with the free claw arm. Using the dull outer edges of the crescent pincher halves he kneaded her outer thighs. Rouge could finally scrounge the energy to move, but could do no more than squirm. The pincer began to bounce her breasts up and down, pushing them both up and letting them drop and ripple underneath the formfitting stealth suit. “Now, thief. Let’s discuss things to make us both happy.”

+++

“Bbbooorrriinngg!” Sonic punched the ground of the cell with his feet, pacing back and forth.

“It’s the waiting that’s the worst. Really,” said Knuckles the Echidna. The spiny red creature sat upright in a back corner of their rectangular cell. “We’ve searched everything here, not even any door hinges to work on. Nothing. Only thing to do is kill time until our situation betters.”

“Don’t say kill. I’m usually not the one to worry under these circumstances, Eggman has goofed up far too often in the past,” Sonic replied, stopping to look Knuckles in the eyes. “Things just seem so much more dire this time. It’s only going to get worse. I can feel it. Know you can too.”

“Only thing we should be feeling is the sun on our faces and the wind in our fur. We’ve just got ta stay frosty and keep our eyes peeled, ya ken?” Nack the Weasel leaned in the corner across from Knuckles. Eggman had taken his six shooters, but left his boots, belt, and hat. “Ya’ll get me captured s’ easily, ya’ll find us a way out. Surely.”

“It must be hard to not have your ‘piece’ to play with anymore,” Knuckles said, leveling an even gaze at the treasure-hunting weasel.

“S’oot. I still got the one piece that matters the most. Pass the time much faster fondl’n it too. Why don’t ya help me wit it, Red?” At this the purple hunter began running curled fingers up and down his semi-hard cock. It was deep scarlet, looking all the more so against the white fur on his paw.

“He has the right idea, Knux,” Sonic said.

‘With him!” The echidna dropped his mouth open, eyes incredulous.

“Why not? Or at least he can watch.” The hedgehog sat down in front of Knuckles, favoring his own penis. A saucy grin had found its way onto his face. Knuckles turned his head away, closing up his face in a way that told Sonic he was cross. Feeling no shame the hedgehog reached out and caressed his old rival’s groin. “Don’t be like that. It might even relax us and clear our heads. I think we both need it right now, it’s been too long as it is,” Sonic said, his voice small and intimate. He hunched forward and lapped at Knuckle’s scrotum twice. When he straightened up his grin had grown severe. “We should take advantage of the fact that Miles isn’t here to get jealous, for once.”

Knuckles sighed and scooted forward, giving him better access to his body, eyes growing hazy as they returned to Sonic’s face. One gloved hand wiggled his solidifying cock in a gesture that was his way of telling Sonic to get to work. Sonic did, pulling his own cock in rapid strokes.

Nack seemed to understand that the best chance of watching the festivities was to keep quite, for he said nothing and continued to masturbate.

All three jumped as the cell door snapped open, an accompanying electronic gong sounding off. A battered Rouge slinked into the door’s frame. Her tights were scuffed, skin smudged. With her one hand open and palm up, gesturing, she said, “Sorry to break up the party. From zero to situational homosexuality in under twenty fours hours. That has to be a new record.” The thief wagged her finger at Knuckle’s burning gaze. “Unless it isn’t situational. Hurry boys. I just survived a brush with Eggman and he’s pissed. We got to escape right now. Move.”

She only had to say it once before all three prisoners were running down the dull metal halls. Klaxons sang their urgent notice a few hundred feet before they reached the surface exit. Robotic drones greeted them from around corners as flying spheres tossed fireballs down upon their heads. With the experience the last several years granted them, Sonic and Knuckles smashed drone after drone. Curling into balls it was easy to let their spines to the work, often bobbing from enemy to enemy without having to land on their feet. Rouge spiked the survivors while Nack tired to stay out of the way, primary means of self-defense absent from his holsters.

After a solid six minutes of battle, they came to a wall. Sunshine could be seen, yellow and constant angling down from the wall’s top ledge. Rouge flew to the top first and saw that they had come to one of the few unfinished portions of the Giga Egg’s outer shell. One by one Rouge hovered them to the top. The drop to the ground wasn’t as far as her entry point, but considerable nonetheless. “I think I can carry all three of you, but it’s going to be a stretch.”

“You don’t have to fly us away. Just keep flapping your wings till we make it to the ground right below us. We’ll run from there,” Sonic said.

Rouge turned to them and spoke up, “I have a favor to ask all of you, and don’t give me any shit over it. I just freed you after all.”

“We hear ya well, I especially well, fellow hunter.” Nack placed his hat to his chest and bowed with a flourish. Sonic glanced at his wrist, forgetting his watch had been taken.

“I know you have two chaos emeralds hidden somewhere, Knuckles. And you have one yourself, Nack.”

“Could we finish this on the ground? Sensors might here this and record it for Eggman,” Knuckles said, arms crossed.

“Fine. Knuckles, grab onto my ankles, then Sonic, then Nack. Here we go.”

The flight was uneventful. Robots patrolled the skies in the distance, but none had zeroed in on their location yet. The strain on Rouge’s stamina was less than she feared. They cleared the three security perimeters, saving them and hour’s worth of fighting. Her muscles quit when the first wall was far enough away that one could not make out its fine details. The party made haste at good time over the flat planes of the Giga Egg Zone, formally Green Basin Zone. The sun had drifted close to an orange horizon when Rouge insisted they continue the conversation.

“I need you three to gather your emeralds and bring them to the Azure Lake Zone ruins. I think it’s time to formulate our plans to stop Eggman. And we’ll need the power of the emeralds to do it.”

“Since when was the safety of life and land your concern, Rouge?” It was Sonic, copying Knuckle’s same disapproving gawk.

“Didn’t say I don’t want the emeralds to myself, along with Eggman’s other treasures,” Rouge replied. “But it’s clear that things are worse this time around. If he gets that thing off the ground…”

“All right, we’ll meet you there. We’ll plan things out,” Knuckles said. “This had better be for real.”

“Oh it’s for real all right,” she said. “I’ve got a new friend who’s agreed to help us fight. Be there by the evening.”

+++

The morning broke, bathing the lakeshore in a warm pink light. By the time Natch, Sonic, and Knuckles arrived the day had passed, bright and warm and quiet. Few insects buzzed around the mossy stonewall and loop of the Azure Lake Zone ruins. Bowser turned away from the sun’s glistening reflection on the lake and asked, “So, what are we telling them then. If they’re not coming here to party-“

“Leave that to me. Ya know. I still don’t have the faintest clue why it’s so important to you that these twits bang me. C’mon, what’s your real angle?”

Bowser shrugged. “That is the real angle. I don’t know why, but someone else wants to see it happen. I do get a reward when my work is done, if that’s what you mean. But no other angle.” By the time he finished speaking the others had drawn close. Rouge shot a glare at the koopa and stepped forward.

“Glad you all could come. I see you’ve brought the remaining three emeralds. Good job. The big fellow standing behind me is Bowser.”

Bowser offered nothing save crossing his arms over his chest and a cocked eyebrow.

“Hiya Bowser. So. What do we do now?” Sonic asked.

Rouge looked to all three of them in turn. “We’re going to relax for the next few hours. We’re going to enjoy each other’s company. We’re going to make love right here on the lakeshore. All of us. And then we’ll eat the supper I’ve packed,” she said. All three adventurer’s jaws slackened. Bowser wondered what shocked them more. Her words or the flat, canny tone in which she had delivered them. Not wasting a second to judge their reactions, the thief reached behind her back and unzipped her leotard. She pulled the front down, unclothing her breasts. The display somehow came off as modest to the koopa, who expected more flourish from her movements. The bat made her way up to Sonic and placed her arms carefully around his spine-backed torso.

“Why this? Why now? Eggman threatens to ruin everything. We came here to form an alliance and plan our battle. And you do this? Is this your idea of a trick?” he asked, looked more hurt than angry.

“No. It’s my idea of our last fair day well spent.” She pushed the hedgehog’s chin onto her shoulder. “We will be going to war tonight, make no mistake. And we might never get a chance to do this again. He’s grown so powerful…and I want to make the most out of the time we have.”

“That’s defeatist. The real fight hasn’t even started yet, and you’re here blubbering like it’s hopeless. This is either a trick, or you’ve finally snapped. Either way, I’m not wasting time playing around with you,” Knuckles said, and turned away.

“Then leave. But I stay here and share myself with who ever wishes to join me. We can join as one, in spirit and body. Then we’ll stand united against him. At this point I’m ready to try anything for an advantage. If this is what it takes, for victory, then so be it.”

Knuckles stopped walking. “You speak as if you’ve seen something like this work before. Where?”

“I saw all I needed to yesterday. In the past, you and Sonic fought and won, even though Robotnik had set you against each other. Your rivalry almost won the battle for him. Now that he has finally consolidated his might, he seeks to wipe you both out immediately. You both are a greater threat than ever before, despite his new found strength. I could never guess you two managed to fight harder than ever against him in these dark days until I saw you both embracing in your prison,” she said.

Knuckles’s shoulders hunched as his head lowered. His arms hung lax at his sides, back still turned to the others.

“Knuckles. You’re such a threat to him because you’re fighting for each other now. Not just to protect your homes. You’re rivalry has become spiritual unity, and love. We will not likely kindle love between all us today. But let’s at least draw together as a spiritual whole.”

“Hell, I’m in,” Nack said. The weasel with the oversized fang joined in Rouge’s embrace. With one had he cupped a breast to his lips and sucked on the nipple. The other hand arched to pet the area under Sonic’s testicles. The hedgehog in turn spread his legs apart, taking her other breast into his mouth.

Knuckles faced the others, eyes puffy and moist. Maintaining his silence, the echidna walked over to the trio. Taking his place behind her, he removed the rest of her one-piece, tugging it off her feet along with the fuck-me-high heels that were her favorite. He placed his tongue on the back of her right calf and moved up, his dragging tongue leaving a bright trail of saliva as he traced up her entire body. He did not forget to treat the entire ass crack and the small of the back. If Rouge hummed with appreciation at the echidna’s teasing, she sang her praise as he nibbled her neck and wing tips.

Nack removed his hat, setting it on a lichen specked rock before falling to his knees and shoving his tongue into the thief’s pussy lips. Sonic clasped her other set of lips in his, catching peeks at a withdrawn Bowser. The koopa had unfettered his genitals and was pulling silkily away at them, his gaze constant and intent. Feeling one of his frequent waves of abandonment suffuse him, the hedgehog curled his index finger in the universal “come hither” gesture.

Bowser had wrestled with the issue of sex with Rouge the whole night. It was Sami he wanted for a permanent mate, but this bat was a rich land begging to be claimed. And was it not his right to sample as many different females as possible until he was fully settled on one? He thought so. His smaller head could think of no other answer. Sami he may never meet again, she may even parish in battle, but he refused to entertain that thought. All that was left here was for Rouge to show him her eagerness to embrace. He slid forward, the tiny growls and purrs of the desperate warriors reminding him of the mating gatherings of his people. The fear of rejection burned away to lust as Rouge’s deft hand reached out and grabbed his cock as if she had known he was coming all along.

Four sets of hands mauled her body. Each one squeezed and grouped, fingers hungry to feel her hot flesh compressing between. “Okay! Enough of the foreplay. I have four lovers today, it’s going to be hard to fit you all in at once. Back off and lets get organized,” she said. The others stepped back, leaving the thief flushed, slick with saliva. Her inner labia hung from her cleft like a boiled flower bloom.

Rouge found a patch of soft grass, shaded by a collapsed vault leaning against what must have been the inner wall of a keep at one time. She got on all fours, which spread her taunt cheeks. The sight of her winking asshole and pussy consumed the four men’s field of vision until nothing else remained. A low wail fled from Nack’s open lips. He was the first to lead the way, the others following like possessed men.

“Bowser’s shell is too large and pointy for me to do this on my back. I want one of you sweethearts in me at once. Bowser can wait till someone finishes, then he can have my back door,” she said. With one hand she patted one ass cheek and wiggled her ass in the air. “Don’t keep a lady waiting boys. Do me.” Sonic zipped around to her front. He pushed out his waist, his cock erect and pointing at an upward angle. With each heartbeat the member pulsed, dipping up and down. The bat took it in to the hilt, creating a snug tunnel with her lips and tongue. Sonic’s snarky grin returned, and he said, “The one time in my life I take it slow.” He kept both hands off her body, contented to watch his dick disappear and reenter her mouth.

“Not from what I see every other night,” Knuckles said. Lying on his back, his hands lowered Rouge’s abdomen onto his own. With a grunt, the echidna bulldozed his penis into her. His thrusting motions were practiced and unrelenting. “Aaahhh. It’s really fucking me back.”

Nack was drooling as the sight of Knuckles’s ample scrotum holding its place below the bubble ass of Rouge. Resting on his belly, the weasel drew one testicle into his mouth, and then both. Pulling backwards, he sucked hard on them, smelling the musk of Knuckles’s sex. “More,” the echidna said, craning his neck to bury his face in Rouge’s collarbone. In no state to resist requests, the weasel brought his long tongue down into the pressed cheeks of Knuckles’s ass. Not satisfied with the surface, Natch burrowed deeper until the sphincter clenched the tip of his tongue. By this point, his penis dripped precum like a faucet. Natch pulled out before five seconds were up (he was a firm believer in the five second rule), and decided to wash off by licking the taunt underside of the echidna’s cock after each time it pulled out. Tasting Rouge’s sauce served off a hot dick filled him with ecstasy. Having his fill of fluids the weasel eased himself up, and bathed her ass as he had Knuckles’s. After a few seconds, Rouge looked over her shoulder at Nack. “I’d rather you do your licking after you’ve finished.”

Taking the hint, Nack pressed an ass cheek to the side and brushed the tip of his leaking penis on the puckered hole before easing it forward. Rouge voiced no complaints at his complete entry. With his flesh meeting hers in joyful claps, the weasel felt as if his very form had been designed for this specific use.

For Bowser the sight of the four beings cavorting and quaking in the throes of a sexual feeding frenzy caused a pang of melancholy. Their bodies were like his in a way not often seen outside the Mushroom Kingdom and its neighboring lands. As in the world of Fox and Krystal, he could live in this world, one that would see him no differently than any other inhabitant. It would be only a matter of conquering the land and acquiring resources needed for his kingdom and its new army. As if it were that simple.

Bowser allowed the thought train to run short of tracks. He already held a kingdom, and this world no doubt had other, unforeseen hurdles to ownership. Best not to move the mountain.

The tangy smell of sex filled the alcove. Sonic jerked, crying out his climax. Rouge swallowed most of the load, letting the rest dribble daintily down her bottom lip. “Lets, uunngghhh, rotate,” Knuckles sighed, “get up and I’ll take Sonic’s place.” Nack pulled out and helped the thief to her feet. The echidna got down on folded legs, his boyfriend hugging him from behind, pulling him down into his lap and stroking his belly. Nack lied down on his back. Rouge settled onto him, same as before, guiding his penis into the path blazed by Knuckles. He nuzzled his face between her breasts in gratitude.

Finally came Bowser, who found working his way into the thief’s back door much easier that with Sami’s. Once again the idea of belonging to this world flashed through his mind, and was gone.

Knuckles was the next to give in. Rouge had sucked her own fluids off his member, and the sight of it, along with her velvet tongue’s caresses, pushed him over the edge. When the pressure built up at the base of his member he pulled out and sprayed her face. The semen that landed amongst the white fur atop her head blended in, leaving the tan, human color skin of her lower face sloshed with milky fluid.

Nack came soon after. He shuttered and then lay still, head still shaking in her tits. Either the weasel had hit the mark truer than Knuckles, or Rouge was ready to end things, for she grimaced through her vocal climax. Instead of lying still, she continued to push up against Bowser’s thrusts.

The koopa didn’t follow the chain reaction right away, mesmerized by the sight of her toned back and flexing ass he rode her orgasmic contractions. Her body, especially from this angle, looked more supple and ideal than a white marble sculpture, more appeasing to the eyes than any he had seen in his world or any other. When at last his testicles pulled back, and his penis sang with electric bliss, he grabbed onto her waist tight enough to leave white claw marks. Bellowing, the koopa filled her rectum with his steaming seed. It had the sensation of pouring the whole works of his testicles, now liquefied, into her body even though it was only a few tablespoons.

Now finished, they rinsed off quickly in the lukewarm lake. The body of water lived up to its name, the water crimson under a setting sun. The thief had asked if everybody now felt closer. All had nodded in affirmative. Any feelings to the contrary, if they existed at all, were kept silent.

Rouge was the last to bathe. The others watched her go, crumpled clothing in hand. Her gait was stiff, her posture upright. Semen still dripped from her two holes down between her legs.

The three guys had commenced their meal of cold meats, vegetables, bread, and wine as Bowser walked a distance down the shore. When he had found a large enough stone to stand behind, he took a piss into the lake. It was a long one, giving him plenty of time to take in the scenery. What caught his eye immediately was a dense group of trees hugging the lakeshore several dozen meters away. Memories of Orange Star and of Sami sliced into his mind. Bowser found the remembering painful, and was glad when his bladder at last emptied. He pirouetted around to find Rouge standing there, head titled with a sheepish smile resting on her lips. “What are you grinning about?”

“Nothing,” she said, “It’s just that we had better run for those woods over there. Now.”

“Why?”

“Well-“

With a CRACK and a roar, the ruins where Sonic and friends were taking their dinner disappeared in a dome of light. It took half a minute for the after images swimming in the stunned koopa’s eyes to clear. A cackling, oily voice amplified over a speaking system sounded off next to the crater that had once been their bed of union. He could not make out the words, except for “surrender” and “emeralds.” A human with an almost ball shaped body sat in a rocket powered metal orb. Lined up behind him were at least twenty metal soldiers and thirty floating metal orbs, similar in design to their leader’s ride. Sonic, Knuckles, and Nack remained alive, sprawled on the ground in front of their attackers. The fat man, who must be Eggman Bowser now figured, was still talking when the hedgehog threw himself into the line of ground units. Flashing steel and blue blurred together until nearly indistinguishable.

Bowser felt his arm being pulled. Spinning, he saw that it was Rouge. “We’ve got to run while the others keep him busy. Before he sees us,” she said.

“But how did he know we were here? To attack us now?” The koopa remained still, eyes glued to the unfurling battle as if in shock.

“Because I told him.”

He now gave the bat his full attention, eyes bloodstones in his head.

“I had to sell them out. How else do you think Eggman would let me virtually waltz out of his lair with three priceless captives in tow? He needed the emeralds they still had hidden. And I needed to live to see another day,” she continued. “I did all that you asked of me, and more. You have no right to glare at me,” her head jerked in the direction of Eggman, “And besides. This isn’t really your fight.”

“You have that right. Fine.” Bowser produced another diamond from his shell, this one clear as crystal, but smaller than the first. “You’ve more than earned this. Now let’s get out of here.”

They launched themselves at the lakeside forest, Bowser pushing his feet off the ground will all his might. Rouge kept a lead, using her wings to dart for cover in a straight line. Neither looked back, each trying not to imagine the scene that clamored a short ways away.

With five hundred or so feet to go, the koopa tripped over a stone. Slamming full flush against the rocky sand almost shoved his breath away. His jaw stung, but nothing broken. As he picked himself up, what sounded like cannons boomed in the distance. He could almost feel the heat the incoming projectile. Could see it in his mind, his shell exploding outwards in cloud of shattered carapace and shards of spine. Gouts of blood and intestine pored from the smoking hole blasted through his chest. I’m going to die on this stupid beach because I tripped like a fucking idiot. This is my last thought, and it’s pathetic.

Nothing hit him. Explosions could still be heard far in the background. They had not been seen. A series of cracks sounded just then. To Bowser it sounded like Nack’s weapon, going off three times. Then twice more. Then not at all.

The temptation to take a look over his shoulder arrested him. He shook it off and stumbled to his feet. Rouge had made it into the trees. Bowser ran full tilt the rest of the way. As the shadow of the forest’s canopy fell over his shell, the koopa felt like singing. Instead he found the thief standing next to a lone door standing without a wall in the middle of the leaf-strewn ground. His door.

Her eyes were wide as she walked around it, trying to tip it over and pull it open and failing on both accounts. “What is this doing here? Just sitting out in the middle of nowhere.”

“It’s my exit, honey. Now bust your hump out of here, just in case Eggman saw us come this way. I’d hate to imagine you getting hurt,” he said. He marched to the doorstep and twisted the knob. With a sigh, the door opened, only blank nothingness yawing out beyond the frame.

Rouge’s eyes opened even wider. “Take me with you. I have nothing left here, but to be hunted down.” She grabbed onto his leg with one fist and a shell spike with the other.

“Hey! No! It’s not possible. Not my choice. Now get off-” But it was too late. He was already half inside when she latched on. Already another world was taking hold, rushing him far away from Rouge’s. Head still turned over his shoulder, the forest could be seen through the door’s frame. The woods and the door were moving away from him at a frightening speed, and were soon swallowed in the blank.

The thief clung to him still. “We could do so much together. You and I,” whispered her disembodied voice. And then she too was gone.

Cast thus far: Sonic and the rest from the Sonic series of games.