Another month slipped by in the Swenson ranch house, and Rolas’s days began blending into a seamless routine of botanical experiments and quiet revelations. Rolas at this point had fully immersed herself in the special project she was hand picked for by the Swenson Triplets, their greenhouse annex becoming her very own sanctuary of glowing vials full of experimental potions and serums. Throughout the greenhouse were endless rows of planters overflowing with hybrid vines and fantastical plants from all over the galaxy, and at the far end of the facility, the hum of life-support systems and high tech machinery could be heard. Recently she had made a huge breakthrough in the development of a nutrient serum that was now…evolving. Originally, it was designed to encourage docility, but now it also enhanced symbiosis between the flora in the serum and the fauna it was being used on, enhancing and evolving the hybrid animals which in turn became were more resilient and more domesticated. The Swensons in turn were thrilled with her progress, so much so that they started granting her more autonomy in her work, including unrestricted access to the revertant herb vault for “research purposes.”
But it wasn’t the plants that captivated Rolas most. It was Moo-Moo. The cowgirl hybrid had become a fixture in almost all of her tests, mainly because the Swensons insisted she was the “perfect subject” for the serum’s iterations. “Look who I brought for testing today! It’s your favorite cowgirl Moo-Moo,” Beta said with a wink, leading Moo-Moo into the annex on a jeweled leash. “You know I’m actually jealous of you Rolas.”
Rolas gleamed a shocked expression at Beta, “Jealous? Of me? You have to be teasing me.”
Beta chuckled at Rolas’s disbelief, “No, it’s true. I’m jealous because of how much Moo-Moo looks forward to her testing sessions with you. I mean just look at her. She adores you, Rolas. Look at those big eyes, they are practically begging for more tests to be ran on her.”
“That’s sweet, but that’s misplaced affection I’m afraid. All I do is feed her serums that enhanced the traits you’ve instilled in her. She should be giving you all the attention.”
“Oh stop it. If you keep flattering me I might just have to turn you into my personal hybrid pet.” The sincerity in which Beta said this scared Rolas. “Anywho, take good care of my baby girl. And make sure she’s extra docile when you’re done with her today” beta said as she sauntered out of the annex leaving Rolas and Moo-Moo alone.
At first, Rolas treated Moo-Moo clinically, administering various serums, and monitoring her vitals, making note of how the extra botanical blends made her fur glossier and her movements more fluid. But over time, an undeniable bond formed. During quiet afternoons in the greenhouse lab, Rolas would talk to Moo-Moo, rambling about plant genetics, her old voyages, even the occasional vague mention of “other sisters out there somewhere.” Moo-Moo would nuzzle her hand, mooing softly in response, her hazel eyes flickering with something like recognition. Rolas found herself petting her flank often, offering tasty, less experimental treats from the greenhouse, like fresh hybrid Guandra fruits from the forest planet of Sar-Shturk, that always made Moo-Moo’s tail wag happily.
“You’re really are such a good girl, aren’t you?” Rolas murmured one day, scratching behind Moo-Moo’s horns. After such a long time running tests with Moo-Moo, familiarity nagged even stronger. The swirling patterns on her udders, the purple hue in her eyes, the way she tilted her head like…like Zarel used to when listening intently. But Rolas dismissed it each time. “It’s gotta be my imagination…there’s no way you’re actually Zarel. Besides she wouldn’t dare get herself caught up in such a predicament.” That being said, Rolas still wondered how Moo-Moo could have such unique patterns on her body. She had the thought to use her responder beacon to reach out to Zarel just to make sure, but then she realized how much security and monitoring was around her and so she opted not to.
As more days passed, the Swensons escalated the tests, having Rolas run every new variant on Moo-Moo exclusively. “She’s our star heifer,” Gamma cooed, her curves jiggling as she adjusted Moo-Moo’s collar. “You and her are gonna push the boundaries of what is truly capable of animals , and Moo-Moo will become the ultimate pet.”
Rolas complied eagerly with the additional testing, watching as her serums deepened Moo-Moo’s docility, yet somehow preserving a spark of her original personality. In private moments, Moo-Moo would press against Rolas’s leg, as if seeking comfort beyond what mere obedience would demand. It was almost a fraternal urge for comfort that Moo-Moo knew she could get from only Rolas.
Then it finally happened during a late-night session. Rolas was tweaking her latest batch of Bovine booster serum for Moo-Moo, infusing it with some of the revertant herb’s essence for a “stability trial.” Moo-Moo lay nearby, her quadrupedal form relaxed under soft lights. As Rolas scanned the hybrid cow’s vitals with her bionic arm, an anomaly popped up that hadn’t prior: faint DNA markers that didn’t match to any standard bovine hybrids. Curious, she decided to stealthily cross-reference the DNA against ranch records. She got nothing. On a whim, she pulled up her personal logs from the ship, syncing discreetly via a hidden uplink. The match hit like a supernova. There was a 98% genetic overlap with Zarel’s profile. The birthmarks, the eyes, the subtle mannerisms, it all clicked finally. Moo-Moo wasn’t just familiar; she was Zarel. Transformed, renamed, and broken into obedience by the Swensons’ perverse ranch.
Rolas staggered back, horror washing over her. “Z-Zarel? Oh gods, what have they done to you?” Moo-Moo, Zarel, lifted her head, mooing questioningly, her eyes widening with a glimmer of buried awareness. Tears stung Rolas’s eyes as fragments fell into place. Zarel’s silenced comms, the “new nurse” rumors, the Swensons’ smug satisfaction. She’d been here all along, twisted into this form while Rolas partied and enjoyed her new life as a botanist.
Guilt crashed down, but her resolve hardened it into action. “I have to get you out of here and restore you somehow. I’m so sorry I ignored your pleas for help. The herb! That should restore you as long as I use the highly refined version of it that’s stored away. Then we’ll get out of her and save Mitra too.” Rolas immediately went and raided the vault that night, harvesting a full supply of most refined revertant herbs, brewing a concentrated dose of it for her sister Moo-Moo. She planned her escape meticulously. First, sabotage the enclosures to cause commotion. Second, dose Zarel with the refined revertant her serum during a “test.” And then, slip out under cover of a simulated greenhouse malfunction. It was time to get to the plan they had originally came here for. No more delays, no more parties, the prophecy and their sisterhood demanded their escape.
Unfortunately, if didn’t take long at all for the Swensons to be alerted to Rolas’s plan. Alpha’s security feeds had caught her brewing the revertant serum at an unusual time of the day and she had also taken Moo-Moo out of her enclosure much earlier than normal. After only an hour or so, the Swenson sisters pieced it all together. The “botanist’s” unusual inquiries about Moo-Moo’s past and Nurse Zarel’s destroyed comm from months ago. “I can’t believe it. These two are…The Chosen Ones…from the prophecy,” Alpha’s disbelief and fear at the realization quickly shifted to a deep snarl as she rallied Beta and Gamma. “We must stop her before she ruins our prize pet and the universe as we know it.”
Rolas was in the greenhouse annex, administering the first revertant serum to Moo-Moo when the doors burst open. Beta and Gamma charged in first, their skimpy outfits ill-suited for combat, but their enhanced strength from sneaking special ranch serums, made them formidable. “Naughty, naughty Rolas!” Beta giggled, lunging with surprising speed. “You were making such progress for our special little pets. But I guess it time for you to join the herd yourself!”
Rolas instinctively activated her bionic arm’s combat mode, something she hadn’t done in a while, firing a stun pulse that caught Beta mid-leap. But Gamma flanked her, grabbing Rolas in a bear hug, her curves pressing suffocatingly. “Ooh, you’ll make a cute kitty-pet,” Gamma purred. Twisting free, Rolas bit Gamma on the arm and then grabbed a vial of one of her most experimental serums, one of her extremely unstable hybrid enhancers. She smashed it into Gamma’s face, the liquid seeping down her face and entering her body through the cuts from the shards of glass in her face, triggering a rapid mutation. Gamma’s body swelled instantly, fur sprouting everywhere as she devolved into a mindless, purring cat hybrid, collapsing into a heap of docile mewls.
Beta recovered from the stun pulse, and was enraged by what Rolas did to her sister. She pounced forward and tackled Rolas, pinning her against a vine trellis. “You hurt my sister and turned her into a pet! Now you’ll—” Rolas was fully prepared for this follow up attack as she jammed another vial of experimental serum into Beta’s arm, the serum flooding her system within seconds. Beta stumbled back and convulsed, her thick form shifting into a bleating sheep-hybrid. She was now woolly with a vacant-eyed sheep stare, wandering aimlessly with no trace of her former personality. Rolas got up shakily and panted out of exhaustion. She knew she didn’t have much time before Alpha was on her and soon enough that thought was realized.
Alpha entered last, her eyes blazing with fear and anger. Her sisters had been reduced to the very thing they once looked after and adored, and she was all that stood between this invader and her ranch crumbling. “Impressive. I see you cleverly mutated my sisters into nothing more than submissive pets. But I assure you, you won’t take Moo-Moo, or the herbs. And you’ll end up just like your sister and my sisters. As a helpless, mindless animal, longing for my affection and touch. If you thought what I had you doing to Moo-Moo and the other pets was intense, you just wait.” She then pulled out a hidden booster serum from her pocket, and injected herself with the prototype booster. Rolas watched on as her body erupted into vines and thorns as she mutated into a plant-humanoid. Her whole form twisted into bark-like skin, with leafy tendrils whipping around like whips, and flowers blooming all over with toxic pollen. Yet unlike her sisters and other hybrid pets, her mind remained sharp, and her consciousness stayed intact. “You’ll pay for this! Even if you escape the ranch, I’ll hunt you across the stars forever!”
The fight intensified as Alpha’s tendrils lashed out, ensnaring Rolas’s legs. Rolas countered with her bionic arm’s laser cutter, severing vines and igniting a fire in the greenhouse. Meanwhile, with the initial serum injection taking root, Moo-Moo struggled to her hooves with increased vigor and purpose, ramming Alpha with budding strength. In the chaos, Rolas dosed Zarel one last time with the revertant herb, making her bovine form begin to revert back to human form. Her horns began receding, and her limbs were restructuring slowly.
With a final blast from her arm, Rolas shattered a support beam, collapsing part of the annex onto Alpha’s main viny body. The plant-woman roared, buried under debris but still alive, her eyes glowing with vengeful promise. “Urrggghh!!! This isn’t over, Rolas! I’ll grow bigger and stronger! And when I get free I will find you and make you my personal bitch!”
Rolas exhausted but with renewed purpose, scooped up the rest of the herb supply, and helped support a partially restored Zarel, as they fled into the night. Alarms blared, but they somehow slipped through a breached fence, hijacking a discarded ranch shuttle to zip off into the nearby forest where their ship awaited them.
As Cryzxlle shrank behind them, Rolas glanced at Zarel, her sister, who gradually was reclaiming her form. “I’m so sorry it took this long to save you. I’m such a fool!” Zarel still hadn’t gain the ability to speak, but her eyes spoke for her, comforting Rolas and forgiving her for everything that occurred at the ranch. Rolas seemingly got the message and nodded, “Alright, let’s go back and get Mitra, and the. end then solve this prophecy once and for all.”