Chapter 26

Experiment/Duo

"So you're sure this is like… safe?"

It was the third time Kyu had asked that since agreeing to help gather the pheromones and still Celeste's answer remained the same.

"It is impossible to say. I will be monitoring you from out here and, should I believe you are in danger, will subdue the sirenean."

I offered Kyu a reassuring smile while doing my best to subdue my own doubts. Celeste had informed her of our prior conversation regarding both how powerful the pheromones were and how they had to be obtained.

We were standing within the walls of Celeste's spacecraft where the creature was visible behind a green wall of energy used to keep her caged. According to Celeste the alien was a shapeshifter with the capability of taking any form but usually opted for the appearance of whatever planet it currently inhabited. Looking at her through the energy wall her physical body was as human as could be, with the noticeable exception of her purple skin.

"Is it possible that it will um… reject Kyu?"

I turned to see Celeste shaking her head, her attention focused on a high tech looking monitor in front of her that displayed a collection of symbols I couldn't begin to understand.

"Highly unlikely. Sirenians can go months without feeding but still grow hungry. Regardless of whether or not it can predict our plan, it will not turn down a free meal. Especially not one of Kyu's caliber."

The love fairy giggled, punching Celeste lightly on the arm.

"Aren't you a charmer."

Afterwards she cracked her knuckles and began to stretch. I did my best not to stare, instead turning my attention to the caged alien staring at as curiously through the field. Our eyes met and she delivered what I could only assume to be a hiss made silent by the energy barrier, her human teeth shifting into dangerous looking fangs. Before I could voice my worry the creature's gaze shifted onto Kyu's body with her angry glare immediately replaced by lust.

"Uh… I think she's already taking the bait."

Kyu rolled her eyes, pointing her fingers toward her body.

"Duh. I mean have you seen this?"

Maintaining that cocky attitude she stepped over to the edge of the barrier with the creatures eyes following her every move.

"Alright Celeste. Beam me up."

The blue alien shot me a look of confusion as I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's a… forget it. She's ready."

Celeste nodded and tapped a few buttons on the monitor. A second later an invisible force suddenly pulled Kyu forward, yanking her through the momentarily weakened barrier before it returned back to full strength. The room fell silent as both Celeste and I watched Kyu interact with the alien. The cage made it impossible to hear what they were saying but Kyu was only able to talk for a few moments before the creature underwent its sudden transformation. Just as it was last time everything below its waist disappeared into a collection of tentacles while her top half remained human.

Immediately the creature wrapped its tentacles around Kyu's feet and hands, flipping her upside down just as the other tendrils began to slither their way toward her. In moments what little Kyu wore had been torn off her body , the creature tossing them aside as the appendages went to work. It was hard to turn away as I watched them first push into her mouth while the others covered her body in a glistening layer of slime.

It was only once Celeste tapped my shoulder that I was pulled back into reality.

"Oh um… sorry. So you've got it from here right?"

"Yes. The process will take a few hours at minimum."

I nodded my head.

"Alright. I have some preparations to do anyway. Call me if anything changes."

"Of course."

With Celestes' words of affirmation I headed out of the spaceship, shooting one more look back at Kyu. It appeared that the creature did not intend to waste anytime, already filling her up with another two thickly sized appendages. Still from the look on Kyu's it was clear that none of this was the least bit uncomfortable. Yet. As much as I would have liked to stay and enjoy the show, there were still parts of the plan that needed to be accomplished.

Once I emerged from the spacecraft I found Momo sitting on the ground patiently. Her face brightened with her usual cheer once she saw me, bouncing gracefully up to her feet.

"Finally! I was soooo bored."

"Sorry it took so long. Ready to go? We have a couple of stops to make."

She nodded along and together we made our way out through the tunnel and back onto the beach. Once we were back on the street it was only a short walk to end up at the university. On the way there I had called Tiffany and asked if had a moment to talk in between classes, a request she thankfully accepted. Rather than standing around waiting I took Momo over to the benches at the center of the campus, the very place where Kyu's first peptalk helped get this whole thing started.

"What is this place? There's so many people…"

Instead of sitting Momo opted to move into the shade of some nearby trees, watching the students pass by while seemingly oblivious to the confused stares they returned her way.

"It's a school. People come here to learn new things so that when they leave they can go and get jobs."

Momo let out a yawn in the middle of my explanation, collapsing onto the grass before stretching out in the sunlight.

"Sounds boring."

"Yeah. It is."

Miraculously a few seconds after she spoke I turned around to see that she had fallen asleep on the ground. I smiled and for the moment felt a bit of jealousy for the carefree way that she lived. Still it wasn't fair to be too hard on her since she always seemed to try her best to share that joy with other people.

"Friend of yours?"

I whipped my head around to see Tiffany standing there, giggling at my surprise.

"Yeah... She's pretty big into taking naps."

"Ugh I feel that. Finals just finished today and I feel like I could drop dead right here."

She took a seat next to me as I recalled that she mentioned her tests a while ago and that she would be relatively unavailable for work while she studied. It was funny to be one of the only ones to know that the goody-two-shoes act that she played up for the cameras was actually close to reality.

"Oh if this is about me missing anymore work don't worry. I'll be sure to try extra hard to make up for lost time."

I couldn't help but laugh as she tilted her head to the side. In contrast to Nikki, Tiffany made both devotion to the company as clear as often as she could. In spite of her being a student she never once complained and always gave it her all. Really I couldn't have wished for a better first employee and her positive attitude was just icing on the cake.

"No it's nothing about that. We're actually planning on throwing a party tomorrow night at the office. Kind of a mix of welcoming new employees and thanking you guys for all the hard work."

Her face flushed red just as I finished speaking.

"Oh god really? You don't need to go through all that trouble…"

I waved her off.

"Please. We wouldn't be anywhere if it wasn't for you. A little celebration is the least we can do. Plus Nikki already said yes."

Tiffany's embarrassment was replaced by surprise at the mention of her friend's name.

"Really? I can barely get her to go out for coffee…"

After a few moments of thinking a refreshingly bright smile appeared on her face.

"Sure! I'll be there."

"Great. Hey before I go, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

She shook her head with her face once again looking at me curiously. This was something I had purposely skipped asking Nikki with Kyu around. But now that the fairy occupied this would be the perfect moment.

"Were you ever seeing somebody only for them to suddenly… disappear?"

I could already tell that the question stunned her. She stared at me for a minute as if trying to figure out if she had heard me correctly.

"Yes actually. We talked for a while and went on a few dates. I thought we were serious but then all of a sudden he stopped showing up."

The smile had never left her face but now it appeared more wistful than cheery.

"I just figured that he found somebody else and that was that. Thinking back I guess we were never exclusive or anything."

Looking at it now it was strange to see a complete lack of resentment on her face.

"And if he were to suddenly come back after all this time… would you want to see him?"

Again there was a noticeable hesitation as she took in my words.

"I mean… I wouldn't take him right back. But it would be nice to know what happened I guess."

I nodded along and rose up from the bench. Based on what I knew about heard it was safe to assume her words were true.

"Is everything alright boss? If you need someone to talk to…"

I looked back down her to see her usual warm grin shining back up at me. I returned the gesture, feeling my cheeks growing warmer in the process.

"What? Oh no it's fine. Just curious is all…"

I cleared my throat, eager to escape the sudden awkwardness of the situation. The important pieces had already been accomplished. She had agreed to come to the party and wouldn't be too hurt by her exe's sudden return. And as great as that sounded, she had been the one that I was the least concerned with convincing.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then. Cmon Momo, let's go."

I stood up, shooting a quick look behind me to see the catgirl rise up lazily from her spot in the grass.

"Mm...coming…"

Tiffany's giggle brought my attention back to her as she pulled her phone out from her pocket and sighed.

"I should probably get going anyway. If I'm quick I might be able to squeeze in a nap before cheer practice."

She was already walking away as she spoke. With a quick wave she turned around and headed back towards the dorms. Meanwhile Momo waddled over to my side while still rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Where are we going now?"

"The mall. There's someone there I have to talk to."

Some time later we were sitting in the food court. Momo was across from me chowing down on oversized pretzels with her rabid bites only interrupted by brief moans of enjoyment. If I didn't know any better I'd say she had been starving but after spending all that time alone it was gonna be some time before she got used to eating fresh food again.

Between walking from the campus to the mall I had called Kyanna, asking if she had a moment to spare from work. She sounded a bit nervous on the phone but relaxed significantly once I told her that she wasn't in any trouble. With that out of the way she agreed to meet me once she could take her break.

With Momo so focused on devouring her meal it offered me some time to consider Kyanna. She was just full of surprises and definitely more mature than her appearance made her out to be. Still that didn't mean she was afraid to cut loose and have some fun every once in a while. On top of that being able to offer her another source of income to help take care of her son was just icing on the cake.

Even now there was still some of that lingering hardness to her that I had experienced when I had first offered her the job. She wasn't someone to mess around with but would give you her all once you earned her respect. I could only imagine that she would be the same way in her love life. Which meant that reaction to being suddenly ghosted might be considerably less considerate than Tiffany's.

"Jeez boss you look like you got a lot on your mind."

I snapped my head up from looking at the table to see Kyanna had already taken a seat beside me. Momo didn't seem to mind, with her attention still remaining on attacking what was left of the pretzel in front of her. Looking toward Kyanna I realized she was looking at me with a concerned, almost motherly expression.

"Something like that. It's been a busy last few days."

She nodded her head and gave a quick look over toward Momo. The cat girl had finally finished her food and was now staring at Kyanna with narrowed eyes.

"Hmmm…hey I know you! You woke me up from my nap."

Kyanna snorted, giving me an incredulous look.

"And who's this?"

"Oh just someone I'm looking after for a bit."

I reached my hand into my pocket, pulling out a little bit of cash before handing it over to Momo.

"Here you go. How about you buy yourself some desert before we get going?"

The cat girl wasted no time in snatching up my money, her head on a swivel as she scanned over the surrounding food stalls. A moment later she was on her feet, darting towards a distant pink colored store.

"She seems like a handful."

"Kinda but it should only be until tomorrow. Speaking of which there was something I wanted to ask you."

She leaned in as a I spoke, resting her head on her knuckles while her golden earring bounced along beside her head.

"What's up?"

"We're planning a party to celebrate the great work you guys have put in plus as a way to introduce some of the new comers. I wanted to know if you'd be interested."

She sat back, crossing her arms underneath her chest.

"Really? Well work parties aren't usually my thing…"

Before I could come up with something she shrugged her shoulders, her lips curling into a smile.

"What they hell, sure. I can't be out too late though. Babysitters don't come cheap these days."

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Awesome. It wouldn't be a party without you."

Kyanna let out a giggle and shook her head.

"God, it feels good to finally get some recognition. But seriously boss, thanks for the invite."

I smiled back at her, sorry to potentially ruin the positive atmosphere but knowing that it was something that needed to be said.

"Hey Kyanna… can I ask you something a bit weird?"

Kyanna cocked her head to the side, her confident smile fading somewhat as detected the sudden sincerity in my words. I knew trying to play subtle with her would be a waste of time so coming clean was the only real choice.

"You can ask. I can't promise I'll answer it though."

I let out a weary laugh while rubbing the back of my head. I should have expected her to be so direct. Unlike Tiffany she had no problems acting more reserved with her emotions when the time called for it.

"If you ever dated someone for a while and then they disappeared from your life, how would you react if they came back one day?"

Suddenly the humor on her face vanished and was replaced with one of careful reflection. She remained quiet for a minute with the only noise coming from the surrounding sounds of the mall before she finally spoke.

"Here's what I think. Responsibility's scary and not everyone's cut out for it. But if someone is willing to come back to you and ask for forgiveness… well that takes guts too. It's at least enough to hear them out."

I blinked at her in surprise but I could tell from her words she was completely serious. It felt as though I had misjudged her. Her maturity extended far beyond just what she offered sexually.

"Thanks. Thats a big help."

And just like that the grin returned along with a quick pat on my lap.

"Anytime boss. I should probably be getting to work now anyway. See ya tomorrow!"

She hopped up to her feet as she spoke, turning around before strutting off in the direction of the salon. Watching her leave I couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for her to truly live by those words. But the test of that would come soon enough.