Charlemagne's Stolen Secret - Part 5
~A Persephone and Tritonia story~
by Zmeydros
(Edited by Tiliquain and Journeymanic)

Everyone was sitting around the conference table that was on the left side of the room, opposite Alphonse’s desk. On the projector screen were tasks for each member of the team. When I walked into the room, everyone was looking at me so intently that I was extra careful to act professional. It was very hard given that everyone noticed the bulge in my pants and was trying to act as though they hadn’t. I don’t know why them noticing got blood rushing southward, but I was in a seat before there was a noticeable rise.

No one even spared a glance for Persephone as she sat at the conference table.

I glared at each one of them. “Why are you staring at me?” I gestured toward Tritonia’s cylindrical core. “Tritonia is still in command.”

“Wait, you’re not taking command back?” Septimus asked.

I laid both palms on the table top. “Tritonia is your commanding officer until further notice. It is temporary, but I don’t know the duration yet. Understood?”

“But she isn’t an officer,” Septimus said.

I looked at Tritonia’s optical sensors letting her know she was the one that had to deal with this.

“You are out of line, insubordination will not be tolerated,” Tritonia said in a harsher voice than I’d ever heard. It sounded like she was copying my tone when I gave strict orders.

Septimus flinched and then scowled. “I know nothing about heists and I’m not cleared for field missions. May I be excused so I can continue my research and not waste our funding?”

“You are dismissed,” Tritonia said.

Septimus got up from the table and walked out of the room.

“I won’t be of much use in this discussion either, I’m afraid. Any more use than I was yesterday, anyway,” Gillon said.

“You’re dismissed,” Tritonia said.

“I’ll be available at a moment’s notice,” Gillion got up from the table and left the room.

“I constructed fake identities through which Persephone and I can get in touch with old contacts and get the information we need to pull off the heist,” Alphonse said.

“Cool.” Persephone said, “Most stuff in the thieving world is done anonymously, but there’s some contacts I had the trust of and it’s going to be hard to get them to cooperate with someone new.”

“Would lots of money help smooth things over?” I asked, feeling a prickly sensation near my belly button.

Persephone nodded.

“Then I will put that in the budget for this operation,” I said. Covertly untucking my shirt and feeling near my belly button, I found short horse fur. I made sure to keep my expression even.

“Won’t Mark Brin see the financials of this operation and know what we’re planning?” Tsubumi asked.

“I only report financials monthly and I’m gonna put this operation on next month’s report. He’ll see the bill for our stealing the NPO back after we’ve already recovered it.” I grinned.

Abrams said, “You’ve got some serious balls, ma’am.”

Persephone shifted in her chair, Alphonse blushed, Pepper bit her lip, and Tsubumi covered her mouth as she realized what Abrams had just said. Abrams grimaced.  I ignored the comment so I wouldn’t bring more attention to the fullness everyone had seen between my legs.

“He was in a hurry to steal my NPO and I bet he’s in a hurry to use it. We need to get it back ASAP,” I said as the patch of fur grew. “Money is no object. Time and quality are what I want us to focus on. Sorry, Tritonia, I don’t mean to step on your toes. Please use these parameters to help us come up with a plan.”

“I don’t have toes to step on, but the sentiment is appreciated. As is your framing of the problem we need to solve. What sort of time frame would you like us to aim for?”

“Days. I want us mobilized as fast as possible,” I said.

“Then, our first order of business is to identify all the elements of this heist that will have significant lead time,” Tritonia said. “Alphonse, please bring Kirkii up on the projection screen. Her skill in optimization would be useful.”

We had a long meeting about what roles each of us could play in the heist and came up with a long list of action items for every member of the team, including Gillon and Septimus.

After the meeting, Pepper asked me, “Do you need Persephone anymore today? I’d like to take advantage of the little bit of free time she’s going to have once she gets exhausted from overworking herself on planning the heist.”

“I should be fine,” I said, relieved that the advance of horse fur was slowing now that it had made a three-inch-long path to my groin.

Persephone smiled. “If anything changes, just give me a call and I’ll come over.”

“Will do,” I said.

After they left, I spoke to Tritonia. “You did a fantastic job today.”

“Oh? I did?” she said.

“Yeah, bringing Kirkii in was a fantastic idea. I tend to forget that her utility goes far beyond her role as a scientist and resident kraken. Partially because she can’t sit at the conference table.” I put my hand on the table and leaned toward Tritonia. “You were also a good moderator for the discussion.”

“I’m glad.” She paused. “Could you explain to me why you put me in command?”

Lifting up my shirt to show her the patch of horse fur that had grown in near my belly button and then turning around to show her my tail, I said, “Contact with NPO 6295-370-6.” The fur pattern was as expected: the same bay and white sabino pattern as Arcturus’s.

“But that was two months ago, why is it affecting you now?”

I picked her up and brought her over to her charging station at Alphonse’s desk as I explained everything about my transformation and why I needed the NPO back. Sharing every detail with her, including why the crotch of my pants was no longer smooth, filled me with relief. Keeping secrets from her never felt right to me.

“That was a rather clinical description and I cannot ascertain how you feel about the changes even though I know you are experiencing a lot of emotion.”

“I’m scared of losing myself, I’m scared of liking the changes, I’m scared of not liking the changes, and I’m angry that I’m being forced out of my comfort zone. Sexual relationships with people under my command is non-ideal territory, as is a libido that rivals Persephone’s. I have no way of knowing for sure that Gillon is correct about my libido subsiding some after my changes are complete. Lastly, I am frustrated that I have a tail and will likely have other changes that cannot be hidden under clothing. I already stick out because I’m tall. I can’t even imagine how much I’ll stick out as a horse hybrid.”

Tritonia paused for several long seconds before saying, “I now understand everything you’ve done over the past two days and can’t even begin to imagine what I’d do in your place. If it’s any consolation, your response to this crisis, and your attempt to control it, is so very you that I don’t think you’re losing yourself at all. Some of your patterns are changing, but your personality is still shining through. Putting me in command was a very pragmatic move.”

I shook my head. “Persephone said that I confuse control and repression.”

“You are even harder to read than Gillon at times. You don’t react the way I’ve come to expect from other humans. For instance, you become harder to read during a crisis while most people become easier to read," Tritonia said. "This suggests your reaction to strong emotion is to not display it, and that does point to repression. Though, I’ve read that many people who are like that express the emotions later on and it’s mainly a problem if they are bottled up until the person has an emotional upheaval. The only upheavals I’ve seen from you have happened after Bart’s death. Perhaps you haven’t been expressing your emotions enough given the extreme emotional charge instilled in you by recent events.” 

“That makes a lot of sense.”

“Have you been repressing your sexual needs? You’ve mentioned feeling a lack of control over your libido now that you are changing. Is it possible that part of that lack of control is due to repressed sexual desire that you are now being forced to express?”

I squinted at her. “Do you experience sexual desire?”

Tritonia paused for five long seconds. Other than the fans on Alphonse’s computer tower, the room was dead silent.

I changed the subject. “Thank you for taking command.”

“Thanks for looking past my synthetic origin and deciding I was eligible,” she said.

“It takes me no effort to do so, but you’re welcome anyway.”

* * * * *

When I got back to my quarters, I had an email from Tsubumi. “I thought it would be fun to try braiding your horse tail. Want to try it? I think it would look good and manage all those long hairs better.”

I laughed. Then I remembered how elegant horses I dressed looked and decided I deserved to look that good. I invited her over and she showed up a half hour later.

“Hey, Charlie!” she said as she stepped into my quarters.

“Hey there, Boom.” I smiled.

Boom leaned against the wall just inside my door and crossed her bare arms. I kept my quarters a bit colder than everyone else: it saved on power.

She tilted her head and asked, “Do you dislike being part horse?”

I swished my tail behind me. “I don’t dislike it in and of itself. I dislike the way it’s disrupting my life.”

“Ahh, I was confused because I know you used to work with them.”

“Yes, I miss it sometimes. But I’m hoping to get rid of the tail and other changes.”

“Other changes?” Her eyes darted down to my crotch.

I blushed profusely and turned around. “You got a specific braid you want to try?”

“Yeah.” She grabbed a chair and set it behind me saying, “Charlie, just so I can stop obsessing over it, do you have stallion—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” I said.

“Now I’m convinced that you do.”

I flipped my tail to try and get her attention on something else.

“What does it feel like?”

I rolled my eyes at her single-mindedness even though she couldn’t see my face. There was only one way out of this conversation other than tossing her out of my room or pulling rank. I just had to bite the bullet and answer her question if I wanted a smooth interaction. 

I launched into what was supposed to be a quick and simple description. “It’s not something I can describe in a way that will give you any sort of useful sensory picture. But it’s a bit like when you press your clit up between your fingers, only on a much larger scale. The nerves are more spread out, so the experience is spread out too. Going in, you feel it get squeezed from all sides and a stark rise in temperature. Pulling out, you feel a bit of relief from that tightness and a bit of a chill from the wetness of your partner evaporating in the cooler ambient temperature of the room.” The more I talked about it, the warmer my crotch got and the more details I thought of. By the end, the head of my prick was poking out of my sheath and I was very happy that Boom was behind me and couldn’t see the tent in my jeans.

“That sounds amazing. Why would you give that up?” Her excited speech was so fast that I was barely able to parse it.

“I was plenty happy without it, and it’s a rather inconvenient thing to have attached to one’s body.”

She grabbed the strands of horse hair closest to my ass, tugged on them, and then did the first braid slowly. “True. I’d hate to have things flopping around whenever I ran. It’s a reason I’m glad I don’t have big breasts.”

“Big tits aren’t as awesome as everyone thinks. I have to wear two sports bras, one over the other, during my morning fitness routine. Big equipment isn’t as awesome, either. I’m gonna have to start wearing compression shorts whenever I go for a run,” I said.

“Or a bra for your balls,” Boom said.

My sudden laugh got my tail flailing and Boom lost her grip on the braid she’d been making. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I was just trying to make sure I knew what I was doing. The real braiding is gonna start now.” She grabbed strands and swiftly pulled them into a braid like a machine.

“Hey! Slow down a bit. You’re tugging a bit too much.”

“Whoops, time has been passing oddly for me lately.”

“With your accelerated awareness, I imagine everyone else seems slow,” I said.

“Yep! I was making some soba for Ben and Alphonse yesterday and I felt like getting water from the sink was taking centuries, but they told me the water was coming out at the same rate it always does.”

It took me a moment to remember that “Ben” was Abrams’ first name. Tsubumi was the only person that used it. “Conversations must drag for you.”

“Yeah, but it’s not all bad. I have more time to think about what I want to say.”

“That would definitely benefit me.” I bit my lip; the periodic tugging on my horse hair as she braided it was calming and stimulating at the same time. I couldn’t help thinking about the way Persephone had grabbed it when she was having sex with me. Taking deep breaths, I focused on the calming aspect.

“You’d get even more use out of it than me, I imagine. You’re basically the bard of our party.”

“Huh? The bard? The person who casts magic with music?” I said, vaguely remembering Bart’s attempt to teach me everything D&D.

“Yeah, but I meant their other function. They’re usually the highest charisma character in a party, so they handle all the diplomacy and dealmaking,” she said.

“Oh! I guess that is me.”

She was going fast again, but her motions were smoother and she was so focused that she failed to continue the conversation.

No subject for conversation came to me as I was a bit lost in the sensation of getting pampered. The sexual side of it never completely went away. My nipples started tingling as they moistened my bra with beads of milk. After weathering a powerful wink by clenching every muscle in my body, I asked, “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah, just about,” she said.

“How’s it looking?” I asked.

“Beautiful. There’s some red hairs amongst your blonde ones and the braid is bringing them out,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing it.

She put a hair tie on the end and then let go. “All done!”

Walking carefully over to the full length mirror on the back of the door to the toilet, I turned around. She’d done a stunning herring-bone pattern braid that kept all the horse hair secure for about the first foot and a half of my tail. “This is perfect. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome! I’m happy to do it anytime,” Boom said.

After we said our goodbyes and she was out my door, I peeled out of my clothes, laid on my bed, and drank my own creamy milk straight from my tits while stroking my prick. This got my dick off, but I still didn’t have a properly-sized toy for my pussy and, after a half hour of trying, I swallowed my pride and called Persephone’s room. Hesitation would just lead to me wasting more time.

Pepper picked up the phone. “Hello?” her injured voice croaked.

“I’m sorry, but I need to borrow Persephone for a half hour,” I said.

“Only if I get to watch,” Pepper said.

I laughed. “Good one.”

“I’m serious,” she said. “I could deal with it if it was just last night and this morning, but now you’re cutting into our movie night and I should get something if I give something. It’s only fair.”

“Maybe I should just let you two be tonight. I can try to figure it out on my own,” I said.

“Are you not attracted to me?” Pepper asked.

“No, that’s not it, I just realized I’m asking a lot of you two and I’ve been relying on others too much recently.”

“I’d prefer watching you and Persephone go at it over watching a movie. Come on, Charlie, what do you have to lose?” Pepper asked.

I thought for a moment. If I allowed Pepper some involvement, I wouldn’t have to worry about Persephone’s accessibility while I was transforming as much. And that would lead to my libido being dealt with more efficiently. “Sure, you can both come over as long as neither of you offers information about our sexual exploits to the rest of the team.”

“It’s a deal.” Pepper hung up.

They both came over and got undressed swiftly. Pepper laid on the bunk bed across from mine and jilled her freckled pussy as she watched us. Persephone was fearless in driving herself in and out of me, I could tell she was putting on a show for Pepper, and Pepper was loving it. The way she was hungrily eyeing my prick made me feel more comfortable about having it. I stroked it while Persephone fucked me so she could watch me get off with it. 

It was my first time putting on a show for anyone and I was trying to stifle my noises, especially my whinnies. When Percy hiked one of my legs up and changed her angle of penetration so she was working my pussy from the side, I lost hold of myself and whinnied so loud Pepper stopped everything she was doing and stared.

Percy cried out as she shoved in all the way and came inside me, filling me for the third time that day. I stopped caring about having an audience and let myself whinny as those two cocks pulsed inside me, filling me with their thick warmth. I came all over my chest and face, my prick flaring to give Pepper a show.

The moment Percy was done with me, she went over and banged Pepper while I took a shower. By the time I was out, they were looking quite satisfied.

* * * * *

Over the next two days, my prick gained another inch, my balls got a bit heavier, and I got fur on my knees, shins, and on the insides of my thighs. Due to my changes slowing down, my confidence that I’d be able to roll back my changes was increasing with every hour. I even had some ideas for how to cool NPO 1756-442-5 while I held it so I could get more out of it than normal. 

Persephone and I took care of urges every morning and evening. Being able to switch off and penetrate each other led to long-lasting satisfaction for both of us. We were still going at it too often for my taste, and I kept wondering when my libido would go back down. Due to watching us, Pepper’s libido was just as high as ours, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. What impressed me was that she’d strong-armed herself into observing Percy and my encounters, but she didn’t ask for more. It was smart of her. The fact she didn’t ask to be included directly made every time I thought of asking her to join my idea.

We got through a shitload of planning in those two days, and it looked like we’d only need one more day to finalize our plan. 
After Persephone, Pepper, and I went through our morning routine, I was feeling a bit off. That feeling was worsened by my fitness routine, a routine where I had to wear two pairs of gym shorts to keep my package from slapping my leg. Compression shorts were on order and they couldn’t come soon enough. Once I’d rinsed all the sweat off and gotten dressed, my feet were aching in my boots and my balance was a bit askew. It wasn’t bad enough that I told anyone, because I figured it was just me getting up on the wrong side of bed.

That feeling didn’t abate at all when I sat down at the conference table for the meeting that would give everyone their final tasks for the heist. I tried to get more comfortable in my rolling chair and put my feet in a better position as Tritonia said, “Let’s start with the NPO sensor problem.”

Kirkii’s tentacles spelled out words in bioluminescent cyan letters. “It’s impossible to know where they put it because, as far as we know, Mark Brin no longer had need of it.” 

“I think it’ll have to be dealt with separately from the heist. We need to find a trail of paperwork and follow it to whoever created the device and go at it from that angle,” Gill said. “Searching the entire house for it when we don’t even know what it looks like just isn’t realistic.”

“Actually, if he still has it, it’s likely in the same large ultra-secure safe he has the NPO in,” Persephone said. “I’m sure we have good grounds to confiscate it considering he used it to commit a crime. I’ll just grab anything that looks like it might be the detector and we can hand the stuff we accidentally confiscated back once we know which thing is the detector.”

Tritonia said, “That’s a rather sensible approach.”

“When’s the soonest we can get the heist for NPO 1756-442-5 going?” I asked.

“Two days, we’ve got some equipment and planning that needs a bit more time,” Persephone said.

“ACK!” I cried out.

“Something wrong?” Persephone asked.

“My boots feel really tight all of a sudden,” I said.

“Umm, you could be, you know,” Persephone said.

I immediately got up from my chair saying, “Continue the meeting. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Pepper, Alphonse, Tsubumi, and Abrams were looking at me with concern and confusion.

Walking was nearly impossible and I started to lurch sideways.

Tsubumi caught me as I lost my balance and, as she held me, the pain got worse. My boots creaked as my left foot tested the sturdiness of the leather. There was so much pressure! “We have to get my boots off!”

Tsubumi set me down and then went to my boots. Getting them off was really tough because my feet weren’t even the right shape. Everyone was trying to see what was going on and everyone except Gill gasped when my left boot popped off to reveal a very misshapen foot under my stretched sock. I sucked in air through my teeth as she got my other boot off. It felt like my foot was being crushed and when she got it off, I sighed in relief.

She then removed my socks and everyone except Gill gasped again as they saw all my other toes were shrinking into my foot as my middle toe got bigger and bigger.

As my ankles cracked and changed shape, Kirkii said, “Did you undergo the Kirkii failsafe procedure?”

People noticed I was looking at the screen and turned to see Kirkii’s message. I couldn’t answer her question, the shifting bones in my feet were making me feel queasy. It wasn’t painful, but there was pushing and pulling under my skin that was quite unsettling. Seeing my toes disappear one by one as fur spread down my feet was also unsettling.  The toenail on my middle toe of each foot was becoming thick and hoof-shaped.

My team couldn’t look away. It was like watching the evolution of the hoof in fast forward and I was as fascinated as they were, but also horrified. I might never walk the same.

True to form, Septimus was taking notes on his iPad while recording it. I bet he was annoyed that the start of the transformation had been hidden by my boot.

When it was done, and everyone was still staring, I knew there was no hiding what was happening to me. 

“Two months before Persephone arrived, I came into contact with NPO 6295-370-6 and started transforming into an equine hybrid. I was using NPO 1756-442-5, the one Mark Brin stole, to reverse the changes every twelve hours. Without it, my transformation is progressing and I now have some fur, a tail, hooves, and male anatomy in addition to what was pre-existing.”

Septimus said, “No wonder you stepped down from command. That’s a significant disruption to your homeostasis.”

“Are you sure you want to be involved in this mission with all that going on?” Gillon asked. “I could be the one to distract Mark Brin instead.”

I shook my head. “I've already convinced him that I want to see his famous Palm Springs house and talk about his candidacy. If we change things on him we risk him becoming suspicious. Plus, I’m going to be more of a distraction partially transformed. He’s fascinated by hybrids, after all.”

“Gillon has a good point,” Kirkii said. “We don’t even know if you can walk on hooves yet. You may need time to adjust to them and many of your other changes. It would be best to keep you here so you could be under observation in case there’s complications caused by your metamorphosis.”

“NPO 6295-370-6 doesn’t cause complications outside of turning everyone that touches it into a hermaphrodite.” I reached for Tsubumi’s hand and she helped me up. Standing on my hooves, I flailed with my arms and tail a bit until I calmed myself and focused. Taking one step forward, then another, and another, I said, “See? I can walk fine.” My tail flailed behind me, whipping its horse hair around as my hooves clopped on the hard ceramic floor.

Having hooves was really cool. It was like I was on stilts, but had way more feeling and the hooves themselves were strong and durable. There was now no way I could stub a toe, I only had one toe and it was armored. The soft area inside the outer nail was like an extremely developed callous and had similar sensory input to the sole of a foot. This gave me much needed feedback about my balance and the state of the surface beneath my hooves.

“Three steps is hardly walking,” Septimus said.

Abrams said, “It’s okay to take time off, Charlie. We can get your NPO back while you just relax. You’ve been working so hard.”

“Okay, I want all of you to look at me.” I took three more steps, swaying minimally. “I already stepped down from command. That is all this goddamn transformation is going to be able to take from me.” I took a deep breath and then jumped and spun in the air. I relaxed my right leg and landed softly on it carefully, using my arms to steady myself. I barely even wobbled.

Abrams, Tsubumi, Septimus, and Pepper had their mouths hanging open. Gillon had an eyebrow raised. Kirkii’s tentacles were displaying the O.O emoticon. Persephone was looking at me with pride, her slight smile and confident posture saying, “That’s my girl!”

“Now I’m questioning whether you have a sense of balance or stay upright due to sheer force of will,” Gillon said.

We all laughed, breaking the tension in the room, even Tritonia. I grabbed onto Tsubumi because my balance was still requiring active concentration.

After we settled back down at the table, we got all the responsibilities doled out.

That night, Pepper got bolder and felt up my hooves while fingering herself. It was amusing to see her get so worked up over my hybrid features. At least someone was enjoying them. Persephone fucked Pepper nice and hard for the finale while I watched and got myself off.

The next two days, I got more fur on my legs and some up my back. Persephone said my ears looked different, but I think it was wishful thinking on her part. Both she and Pepper wanted me to change into a full hybrid so much that they couldn’t hide it. I hated that I was going to be disappointing them when I got the NPO back.

Boom, Septimus, and Gill all came to my door just after breakfast on the day we were going to leave for the heist. Persephone and Pepper were in my room, so I stepped outside. “Yes?” I looked at them expectantly.

Boom held up a box that had been dressed up with a bow and some purple wrapping paper marbled with a pretty holographic rainbow pattern. The box was cubic with sides a foot and a half wide. “We made something for you.”

I grabbed the box and found it to be rather heavy. “It’s not near any holiday or my birthday.” I turned it over to find where the wrapping paper had been taped and then gently pulled at the tape so that the wrapping paper could be reused once I had it off.

“No, but we got you some stuff anyway. Stuff you need,” Tsubumi said.

I got the wrapping paper off without tearing it. Then I pulled at the box top until the clear tape holding the top shut and it split down the middle. Inside was a uniform, compression shorts, and odd-looking boots.

This uniform felt different because it was made out of a rather stretchy fabric. “What the?”

“We worked with the librarian to find a couple harmless NPOs that could help us manufacture a uniform that would fit you even if you change a bit more,” Septimus explained.

“And the boots are made for hooves so you don’t have to walk around barehoof,” Gillon said. “We used telemetry from Tritonia’s sensors to size everything as close as we could, but we can make adjustments if needed.”

“Thank you!” I immediately started trying on the hoof boots. They had straps that made them easy to get on and off. “These look really professional.”

“Abrams and Alphonse helped me design them,” Tsubumi said.

“Why aren’t they here?” I asked.

“They’re still getting ready for the mission.” She giggled. “When I left at midnight, they were still playing Uno.”

“I might have to have a chat with them about priorities,” I said.

“Tritonia already scolded them this morning,” she said.

“Good!” I took a couple steps in the boots. They’d protect my hooves nicely. I didn’t really need shoes now that I had hooves, but I didn’t want to be running around airports and city streets without foot protection. If I walked on broken glass or other debris could damage the sole of my hooves which weren’t as durable as the outer wall that made the iconic horseshoe shape. “Thanks again! I’ll try on the rest of it right now and then let you know if anything doesn’t fit.”

“Sounds good!” Boom said.

Septimus said, “I don’t know if my opinion counts, but I think being a horse hybrid suits you.”

“You’d prefer everyone as a hybrid,” I said.

“That may be true, but you and I haven’t gotten into a tiff in the last few days and you’ve seemed more at ease,” Septimus said.

“I concur. NPO 6295-370-6 does draw from one’s inner desires. I wouldn’t judge you for wanting to be a horse hybrid,” Gillon said.

“Neither would I!” Tsubumi said. “If you keep your tail, I’d love to try out more kinds of braids.”

My eyes were wet and I didn’t know why. I said, “I’ll take that under advisement.”

They didn’t force more conversation on me, they just bid me farewell and left to get everything ready for the mission.

I went back into my room with my eyes still wet having no idea what emotions I was feeling. 

Percy ran up to me and hugged me. “What’s up?”

I stared down at the top of her head, feeling very tall. “Everyone pitched in to make me a uniform and some boots that will fit over my hooves.”

Pepper hugged me from the side. “I guess we were too busy doing sexy things with you to get involved.”

I wrapped my arms around both of them. “Your willingness to help me out is an even better gift. I didn’t want to intrude on your budding relationship, but you included me so effortlessly.”

“I don’t really want this to end,” Percy said. “We’re not helping you out. The three of us are having sex because we’re all attracted to each other and sexually compatible.”

My eyes widened.

“Yeah, I’m game to keep doing this even if you change back,” Pepper said. “It’s pretty damn lonely living under the ocean.”

I let them go. “But I shouldn’t be in a relationship with people under my command.”

“Under normal circumstances, sure, but due to how isolated we are, the only people you could have a relationship with are under your command,” Percy said.

Pepper gave me a squeeze. “You deserve good sex.”

I let them go. “But if I get too close to you two, I’ll choose sentimentality over good sense when making decisions.”

“Tritonia, Septimus, Gillon, and Kirkii will be there to help you make hard decisions,” Persephone looked into my eyes. “You’re not alone.”

“But what if I have to make an immediate decision that will put one of you in danger, but save everyone else?” I asked.

“You’ll choose everyone else, Charlie. That’s just how your personality works,” Pepper said.

“Definitely,” Persephone added.

“I’m glad you two are so confident.” I opened the box for my new uniform and laid it out on the dining table. “We’ve gotta be on the sub in an hour and twenty. Make sure you have everything packed.”

The uniform fit quite well and the compression shorts made my bulge a bit less obvious. It was nice to finally have sleeves and pant legs that weren’t too short for me. While I got dressed and finished packing for the heist, I thought about whether I’d ever made bad decisions out of a sentimentality toward Bart and concluded that I wasn’t very sentimental. That still didn’t mean being in a threesome with two women under my command was a good idea.

Getting to the submarine’s command center was an adventure. I was ducking through bulkheads, dodging pipes, and constantly looking for ceiling-mounted equipment while trying not to wobble on my hooves. I’d never been so attentive to the simple act of locomotion in my life. It was like I was in the dollhouse version of a submarine.

Within a couple hours, we were docked at a military base in Puerto Rico and ten hours after that we landed in LA. First class felt like economy to me because I still had no leg room.

We’d considered trying to steal from Mark at night without me even involved, but Mark Brin was known to be a night owl and his property was actually better guarded at night than during the day. Plus, Alphonse was going to tap into their network by pretending to make repairs on the cable box outside their property. We’d arranged for their internet to “break” tonight while we were sleeping off the fatigue from the long flight.

Our hotel was middle-of-the-road. It was clean and built in the eighties and was like a square within a square. We’d been excited about the pool in the center, but after our twelve hours of travel we all just crashed in our rooms. I took a lazy shower before I got into my king bed. I’d had to bend my legs on my bed, but on this king bed I could lay diagonally and not have to bend them as much. It was odd to be all alone after cuddling Persephone almost every night, but it was a habit I needed to break. And I’d picked the perfect night to do it. I was too exhausted from the discomfort of travel to miss my nightly sex and cuddling.

When I woke up the next morning, I rubbed one out in the shower to make sure I wouldn’t get an inconvenient erection when I met with Mark Brin for breakfast. We’d heard it on good authority that the head of security was not a morning person. 

I grabbed a banana from the continental breakfast on my way out of the hotel and ate it as I waited for my Lyft to Mark’s place. People coming and going from the hotel gawked at me the whole time I was waiting, some of them taking pictures covertly as I made the front entrance look small. I did my best to ignore it and turned my bulge away from the main entrance so people would admire my braided tail instead. Boom had made an even better herringbone braid before I’d gone to bed last night.


END OF PART 5


I’d like to acknowledge my $20 patrons, Navajo Demar and Warialinth for helping make all this possible. Thank you! Thanks to all my other patrons as well. Every one of you rocks!