Disclaimer: The following story contains body horror.

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Saying it had been a very rough week for Joshua Smith was an understatement. Actually, it had been one shitty month, one part of his life falling apart after the other, as if fate was playing a cruel game of dominoes with him. He hadn’t wished for much in life, a simple and stable life would do. No fancy things nor extravagant luxuries, just something that would allow him make ends meet and maybe form a family. It wasn’t much, or so he thought, but something out there thought otherwise. An average life for an average Joe? No way that was happening, and one single month had been enough to lose the job, the house and even the woman he loved and he thought she loved him back. All of them illusions, all of them shattered one after the other in a seemingly unstoppable chain of events.

And still, he remained partially optimist, true to himself. He slept in his car with what little he had left, but he still had somewhere he could drop dead. He had lost his job and his savings were quickly drying up, but there was always the unpleasant and the low-wage jobs no one else wanted to do. He had hooked up with a harpy that had left him to die when things had gotten tough, so much for vows of being together in health and sickness and such, but she was but one, with plenty of fish at the sea. But hey, chin up and keep moving forward, right? Even when it looks disgustingly bleak, right?

He had dropped in the back seat of his car, an old machine that, despite the age and the years, had not once failed him. In an ironic twist, the one thing it could completely trust was not a fellow human but a hunk of metal that was starting to get weary from time and use.

“Whatever, tomorrow will be another day…”

With resigned patience, he lied down to get some rest, throwing a blanket over him to keep him warm. As fall slowly gave way to winter, the nights became longer and colder, and while he was able to put up with the cold for now, he shuddered to think how it would be when winter came in force. He could always use more blankets… but that was enough for now, or it would have to be. The night was dark and quiet, not that different from the usual, but it could get quite eerie. No cars driving by, no late-night people in the streets… hell, there would be no light if it hadn’t been for the street lights. The cold could become biting and make itself very present, so he curled up trying both to keep the heat and to make himself somehow smaller. The more he could be out of sight, the better, and with little luck the night would be a calm and quiet one.

His slumber was anything but, as his thoughts and dreams went over the recent misery over, and over, and over again. An obsessive cycle that fed on worry, resentment and anger. How could he not? Having trusted one person entirely only to lose it all when it decided it had enough of him. He slowly opened his eyes, bad mood mixing with exhaustion as he turned around trying to make himself comfortable and to wash those thoughts away. And besides, there was an intense light now, which made him somewhat conflicted. Sure, the car wouldn’t blend that well with the dark ambient, but it would discourage anyone with certain ideas about the vehicles parked in the street. But the more her thought of it, the more distressed he became.

“It’s too bright.”

And he was right. It was too bright for the light to come from the street grid, the night itself, and a combination of both. Opening his eyes, the light seemed to come from above. A helicopter maybe? No, the rotors didn’t make a humming noise. A blimp or an airship of sorts? But in the middle of the night? And with such a lightshow? It didn’t add up. And what was that humming again? As he leaned forward, trying to get a clear vision of his surroundings and find the source of the light behind the windshield of the car, his stomach dropped as he found exactly what he was looking for. Floating above the town was what could only be described as an alien spacecraft, and his car had its full attention as the only beam of light that came from the UFO exclusively focused on it. It had the shape of a walnut, and it didn’t seem too big for a spacecraft, but what did he know. He could only stare as the light got more intense, averting his gaze and realizing in alarm that the car, his car, was being pulled from the ground and approached the hull of the ship. He had to get out, or he would be taken as well.

The funny thing about simple tasks is that, under pressure, they become one of the hardest things one could achieve. Unlocking a seatbelt or using a key to open a locked door, simple actions that could become tense and overly complex things. And when one’s car was being pulled into the air by some alien technology and one was inside it, it easily qualified as such a situation. In his panic, he tried to open the door next to him, being unable to do so. He tried finding the keys to open it, but they were nowhere to be found. The car kept being pulled to the ship, and, in blind panic he tried again with the door. It opened before him, although whether this was by his action or his trusty car in its final moments, a hail Mary that gave him a chance to escape. He didn’t think, he simply launched himself forward, coming out of the car to run away. To his horror, he found himself suspended in the air, floating next to the vehicle he had just exited and being pulled towards the now much bigger looking ship. He hollered for help, he begged and shouted as loudly as his lungs would allow him to, hoping that someone, by sheer chance would pass by. Nothing came to his aid, no one answered this begging, just like nothing seemed to notice the spacecraft that hovered above and that was abducting him, both the car and himself being pulled in as they made contact with the illuminated surface that acted as the traction force. As he entered, the last thing he saw of his hometown was how it was dwarfed by the ascending ship, the humming becoming slightly louder as it prepared to move.

Inside, he was met with his captors. Three thin and skeletal humanoids, standing in a spacious chamber that was dimly illuminated. He had no hope of understanding the sounds they let out, sequences of sounds that sounded both mechanical and organic going back and forth for a moment before the single red eye that was on their heads flashed red. One of them morphed its right arm, clicking and rearranging into something that seemed to be a weapon of some sort. And he was staring at the literal barrel of the gun. He tried to raise his arms, in clear sign of surrender, but the shot came regardless, as an energy bolt impacted him and caused him to fall to the cold ground.

“Shit… huh?!”

What he had thought was going to be his final moments turned out not to be. He was unable to move, every muscle paralyzed and unresponsive and at their mercy, but he was very much alive, which only caused his mind to be both terrified and go in overdrive.

“Where are you taking me?! What are you going to do to me?! What are you?!”

Questions that he could only shout in his mind to himself, and that remained unanswered as he was carried with surprising care by one of them. Despite their skeletal and thin appearance, the mechanical beings were surprisingly strong, not that surprising considering they were alien robots, but regardless, they carried him with ease through the entrails of the ship that were indistinguishable from one another. He didn’t know where one hallway ended and the next began, if there had been any interruption at all. It could all be one for what he could tell. It was dimly lit, with small sources of light at the sides, and the other source were the red headlights of the robots. Their cold and mechanical footsteps had a monotonous tone to them, never slowing or accelerating in their cold and methodical advance. The monotonous surroundings, along with the monotonous ambience, started to disorient the man, and in his mental state. He could barely tell left from right and, on occasion, up from down had it not been for the lights at the sides. He was a prisoner or worse, far from home, in the hands of aliens whose robot had not hesitated to shoot him on the spot, and no rescue was coming. As his heart sank at the realization of the sum of all these factors, the monotony was broken when a door slid open. It was circular and well lit, with nothing inside with the exception of a ring that stood in the very centre of it. Despite his mental state, he could easily tell that not only the ring, but the room itself was clean, pristine even, and that only added to his terror. Well lit, with few things in it and plenty of room around the only point of interest. It was either for observation or interrogation.

“Or maybe worse…”

He recalled the different portrayals of the aliens in the media, in the culture, and as he was connected to the machine, he paled as the ring spun him around. Up and down, left to right and in any direction possible. It made him dizzy, disoriented, but he could still see and make out figures that entered the room with something in a box or a container of sorts that floated next to them. They were… well, he could only say that they were humanoid and bipedal, standing quite tall and lean. Taller than him and one a good head taller than its peer that stood by it. And that’s where his description ended, since they were both encased in some sort of metal armour, shiny and slightly reflective on the surface, but elegant in its simplicity. A single dark visor in the helmet gave away where their eyes were most likely located, but that was it. Their two upper limbs, most likely their arms, ended in four slender fingers, safely protected under the armoured suits, operating the container with ease as the tall one of the two said something in a language he had no hope in understanding. The slightly shorter one said something too, in a different tone, but at the answer of its peer it quieted down. He would have liked to think about it, but every thought vanished when the alien brought a sphere from the container, holding it with pincer like locks that kept it restrained inside.

It was a crystalline looking sphere with some light shining from the inside, a little rough on the edges, but a sphere alright. As the alien put both pincers side by side, holding them both with a single hand, he couldn’t help but notice that the sphere was looking directly at him, the light and the crystal mimicking an eye fixed on him. It could be the stress and the disorientation talking, but that paired with the light that dimmed slightly only to come back just as strong, made it to him a cross between an eye obsessed with him and a beating heart. Was that thing alive? Could it be?

All thoughts came to a halt as the sphere was introduced in his body, the alien lunging the sphere forward with strength and tearing through his chest to put it inside, taking back its hand as it all became way too clear for Joshua. There was a gaping hole in his chest, from which the light came out and the blood flowed freely, bits of muscle and bone visible. And then the pain hit him like a freight train, every thought, every muscular response, every nerve ending screamed in pain in his mind, overriding every rational thinking. And yet, he was unable to scream beyond a gurgling noise as blood filled his mouth with its very own flavour and smell. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his brain tried everything and anything to prevent the body from shutting down, but it was in vain. From the hole in the chest, as the light became stronger, changes started spreading as shards of crystal grew across his body and skin became a stone like texture, darkening and hardening. And, somehow, the pain got worse. His body felt broken and battered, it felt bloated and, in one final insult, the sound of bones breaking and tissue tearing reached what remained of his ears. His brain gave up and went along with the torture, not being able to mitigate nor process it as the body grew and deformed itself, collapsing the ring and falling to the floor with a thud. The sound of tearing, the cracking and the popping was too much, and the mind could barely focus on anything besides the pain. As the head deformed, he lost vision and hearing, the organs deforming and changing, his tongue bloated until it filled the mouth, shutting it close. There was no way to feel the extremities, and eventually, the change stopped, but not the pain. Trapped in a purgatory, a tortured mind in a deformed monstrosity of a body, the mind images flashed for it. A distant planet, with some form of living beings. Flora and fauna that resulted both familiar and unknown. A warm and glowing star, a pale disk in the sky surrounded by small lights. Did it know these images? They seemed familiar but not quite… And the pain, the never-ending torture. There were words that it repeated constantly.

Alone. Cold. Pain. Taken.

Repeat and repeat, a never-ending cycle that only accentuated the torture and the suffering. Despite the duality of the images, the question was one and the same. What had it done? Was it deserving of this? Images kept flashing. A distant rock in the void and smaller ones around it. Sometimes one, sometimes two. A blue rock, sometimes with more land, sometimes with less. Images of flora and fauna, settlements and scenery, overlapped. The duality became one, yes, it was familiar, all of it.

“All gone. Alone. Pain. Cold. Pain. Taken.”

Taken. Taken. It had been taken. It was alone. It was cold. It was in pain. Despite no reason for so, as the images flashed and showed. It was furious. So much pain and suffering, and no reason for it. All had been taken from It, and now It would take all back.

There was a loud crack, and It squinted its eyes, instinctively putting a limb before them as a shield.  With little effort, it broke free from the hollow stone shell that surrounded the free being. It took a couple of tentative steps forward, quickly losing balance and falling to the ground, but the hit never came, as It found itself floating and standing up again. There were questions, but they had to wait, as a loud and stinging sound repeated itself again and again. They were gone, but the room was well lit with a heavy focus on the stony remains of the shell. It didn’t know how much time had passed, but now it was the essence. Using its upper limbs, they morphed into sharp crystal-like blades, slashing through the sources of light with ease and plunging the room in darkness. They would pay, and It would have its revenge.

&&

- The first group is in the contained room. It has destroyed all sources of light.

- Have them open the door and blast it. Fire until weapons overheat, if necessary, engage self-destruct mode.

Both of them worked in silence, but the tension could be cut with a knife. It had been days since the experiment, and it was not going well. The holographic display of the ship’s interior revealed the position of the seven teams of automatons they possessed. And they were about to be useful.

- First team, going in.

- As said, An’haar, open the door and pulverize it. By any means.

- Yes, If’haan, I heard you the first time. – Answered the female, irritation palpable in her voice even through the armoured suit. – First team ready and… go!

There was little change in the command room, little away from the navigation systems, but the display did. As the light dot that showed the position of the first team blinked for a moment, it flickered out shortly after, both of them remaining in silence.

- I’ll have the second and third teams chase it down. Maybe we can catch it soon enough…

- Sure, we will…

- Is there a problem?

- You tell me. -Scowled If’haan under the metal.

- Mind your tone.

As more teams of automatons moved out, more light came to life in the hologram, two dots moving down the hallways of the display. They could hear the clanking of the steps in the distance, and despite their differences, both of them hoped it was enough to deal with it. Whether they managed to capture it or had to kill it, they had to do it quickly.

“Damn her and her delusions of grandeur.”

From the get go he had reservations and doubts, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. They were waist deep in problems, and he could only hope they dealt with it before it was much too late. The light dots moved swiftly and without pause, both teams of android reaching their destination in an admirable time, entering the room. There was nothing, as both light dots remained on display, both of them with their eyes glued to them.

- Chase it! Bring it to me!

As confirmation of the order arrived to An’haar, the dispatched teams resumed their march again, moving as one as they tracked the elusive being down. It couldn’t have gone far, but they had still to find it.

&&

It was lost. After eliminating those sent after it, the way was clear to try and find somewhere safe. They hadn’t been much of a threat, but a grazing energy shot had left clear that it was still weak and vulnerable. It needed to find something it could use, that would offer protection against the weapons they had.

Having left the room behind, it had floated down hallways and corridors, unsure of where it would end. It could lead to a safe place, where some respite could be taken and an idea formed, or it could lead directly to those that hunted it down and certain doom. Regardless, remaining in that room did have a certain outcome, and it did not go favourably. Moving was the way forward, even if entailed risk, but the labyrinthine layout of the ship made it difficult to navigate. It had already bumped into walls several times, angering it further, but it had managed to remain in control and not to lash out. Keeping its position hidden was vital, so the anger would have to wait. Straight lines and corridors blended into each other, turns being sparse and not easy to see as it kept making its way around, careful not to alert them. Eventually, it found its way around, keeping a mental map in mind as it came to a spacious chamber. It was ample and with more than enough space, dimly lit, which made It stand out even more, as the crystalline body emitted its own light making it difficult to conceal the silhouette. But it didn’t care, as something had caught its attention. Approaching it, it was some sort of vehicle mostly made of metal. Old and weary, and despite it seemed completely alien to It, there was something familiar about it. The vehicle had been badly treated, and despite its familiarity, the decaying state of the thing was not familiar at all. It evoked appreciation, It ran a crystalline hand over its metal carcass, almost like a gentle caress, touching the gaping holes of the chassis and other imperfections. They had done this, and despite not being able to exactly figure the bond between the two, it would serve one last purpose. It had helped one of the two sources of images, memories, and it would help again, one last time.

The metal moulded and deformed under the palm of its hand, losing consistency and colour as it became malleable. It slithered against its body, the cold liquid metal making its way around its limbs and focusing on its torso, where it concentrated and hardened. Being its most vulnerable spot, it took priority, and the metal shaped accordingly, forming a protective plate around her chest and the big mounds that adorned it. It hadn’t taken a good look at its body, not that it had a chance either, but time was of the essence, and as the last salvageable parts of the metal settled in, it readied itself. The clunking sounds were getting louder and louder, they were approaching it fast, right from the hallway it had come. Closer, closer, closer… they were on top of it, but they wouldn’t have the chance. Upper and lower limbs hardened into the crystalline blades it had used before, floating and leaning against what remained of the vehicle and waiting, careful not to make too much force against the skeletal remains of the chassis. And right on cue they appeared on the hallway, on the entrance it had used in the disoriented attempt of an escape. Six of those things, metallic, lean and skeletal. They pointed their limbs at her, as a glow came from them as the weapons fired their shots. All in vain, as It let out a screech and hurled itself against them, ending the fight before it began. In a single swift motion, it had launched against them, floating through their lines as the sharp limbs slashed and cut through them. As it barrelled down the hall, inertia carrying it effortlessly, the remains of the metallic beings fell to the ground, the humanoids either missing limbs, decapitated or cut in half.

As it came to a stop, using its sharp blades to grind to a complete halt with the corridor’s walls, it went back. Success, and partial revenge, but not without cost as some charred spots on its metal armour revealed it had been hit. Simply lunging forward in a killing frenzy would not do, but it was alright, it had some ideas in mind. As it spread one of its hands, the metallic remains of them melted down and formed a puddle of it in the ground, ready for it to use. It was only then when it examined its upper extremities, articulate, long, slender and ending in a hand with five fingers. It didn’t know why, but it knew the names for them. Her mind was filled with information about the proper and multiple uses for them, and combining it with the crystalline body, they could be lethal. It put its left hand on its chest, slowly and gently caressing the metal plate that had protected its core. It had done well, but it had found a better suitor. Not that it was going to abandon it, other uses could be given.

- Thank you.

It tensed at the sound, but not in alarm. It had come from It, a melodious and smooth tone that carried some emotion within. Gratitude and warmth oozed from those words, its first words, as the metal plate dissolved and made its way to the right hand, where it elongated and hardened into a solid metal pole. It was resistant and light, and it would be able to pierce through whatever stood before it, or at least the objectives it had in mind. Meanwhile, the melted remains of the metallic enemies had clung to its body, creeping up its legs and making its way up over its body to its chest, where it hardened into a new metallic armour. Lighter than the previous, but much more resilient and durable. Having the metal rod levitate next to its right hand, it started moving again, but this time going on the other direction. It would have its revenge.

&&

Things were not going well. They had lost three teams, each consisting of three units, which left them with four of them. It wouldn’t be so bad, if not for the fact that the thing they were hunting down had eliminated two of them in a single strike in an engagement that had lasted nothing. One moment the dots of light were on the holographic display, the next they were not, fizzling out and leaving nothing behind. Both stood in silence for brief moments, until he spoke again.

- Second and third teams eliminated.

- Thank you If’haan, I didn’t notice. – Answered An’haar, her voice oozing with spite and annoyance. – Take two teams and I’ll take the other two, we are finishing this.

- If we set up a defence in the corridor that leads to this room, we might be able to stall it enough time.

- Stall it? We are capturing that thing, this is exactly what we were looking for, the union of two beings though incompatible. – She said. – Oh, we are going to be…

- Two corpses if we don’t prioritize survival. We set up a defence it can’t break through and hope we make it to a safe-

- We are not standing still! – She said in fury. – I will not let any other take it from us! We find it, we corner it and we put it in storage. The precious fruit of our labour.

- A cornered enemy is the most dangerous An’haar, it might not be wise.

None saw the other’s eyes, but they stared at each other through their visors, as they openly clashed. This went on for some time, before An’haar averted her gaze and focused on the holographic display of the ship’s layout. Something had changed, she didn’t have anything to go by such a thought but a hunch, but something had definitely changed.

“Maybe he is right. A defensive strategy that prioritizes survival… it will do us no good if we don’t live through it. Waiting for reinforcements, if they ever come, will entail the risk of losing It. Still, a pre-emptive attack…”

- Alright, here’s what we do. – Spoke An’haar, looking at her partner. – We launch a preemptive strike, it most likely is still weak, so we can corner it and subdue it. Things go wrong, we pull back and focus on survival. Compromise?

- And if we don’t get the chance to retreat?

- You make sure of that.

A brief silence followed. A new stand-off between the two, their visors boring into the other’s gaze as one thought about the proposal and the other simply waited for an answer.

- This better work.

- Take teams six and seven.

Silence again as the four teams, a total of twelve units sprang into action. The clunking footsteps sounded loud and somewhat reassuring, as they marched to hunt down the menace that lurked somewhere in the ship. Both looked again at the holographic display, they would have to spread out in two if they wanted to cover more ground, or move them as a group if they prioritized safety and massed firepower. They went with the first option.

As two dots of light advanced through the display, moving across decks, corridors and rooms, nothing happened. Despite the use of any and all information they could, the field of view of each unit, and both of them paying attention, should they hear anything even remotely suspicious, nothing happened. One group reached the end of its goal, the other did too, both on their way back. And yet, nothing happened. The only audible sound that echoed through the eerily silent ship was the clunking sounds of the units, who had converged on the bifurcation near their position. Maybe they should change strategies, maybe they should move as a group, maybe they really had to set up a defensive formation. Many choices, plenty of options, and one big unknown. All of it rendered irrelevant, as It revealed itself, eliminating half the units in a single, devastating strike.

&&

It had been laughably easy. These were who had taken down those that had given birth to it? They were careless, and they had paid dearly for such. Given that no new enemies came its way, it had silently and swiftly moved around, and after hearing sounds in the distance, it had followed. The sounds had gotten louder and louder, and their nature was vastly different from those it had taken out before. Those that were with Them, but not like Them, their leaders.

A direct attack was not the correct choice, they would most likely have more of the metal ones, even if they didn’t send them out. Carefully and silently putting aside the metal rod, it morphed its upper and lower limbs into sharp blades again, floating upward and embedding them in the ceiling of the corridor, holding itself in place while its long crystal-like hair clung closely to its form, manipulating light to hide its form and the metal armour from sight. And not a moment too soon, as a familiar noise came from below. Them, the metal ones, again.

The group passed below it in an organized and methodical march, going somewhere else in the ship. As they left, the loud and mechanical footsteps letting their position be known in the distance, it didn’t move, remaining still and concealed. An opportunity for an attack, a chance to take their leaders down. But it didn’t know where the metal ones had gone to; it didn’t know when they would come back, because they would. A frontal assault was tempting, but it hesitated. Break the concealment and storm in? Or wait for a more suitable opportunity? They were numerous, but It could surprise them and even the odds.

The question was left unanswered, as the mechanical footsteps returned, the clunking noises becoming louder as they approached its hidden position. Both groups, having split in the bifurcation, became one and marched towards their leaders once more. They were a sizable menace, but it could keep track of all of them at once. However, the noise of a hatch sliding open and two very distinct voices signalled the course of action. The opportunity had presented itself, as it was in a perfect position. Its limbs were already hardened into sharp blades, so it simply let itself fall among the group of metal ones, spinning around while doing so and slashing through six of them.

The attack was swift and efficient, but there were still six of the metal ones to deal with, as well as the two leaders. The voices reeked panic and surprise, taking long enough to give orders for it to take the initiative. Standing up and floating behind the surviving six metal ones, it lunged forward, driving her blades through the body of another one, tearing it apart as it moved to its next target. However, the rest had started to move, priming their weapons and taking aim. Slashing through the torso of the metal one, it moved quickly and took out its mechanical head, the metal one dropping dead. Using its husk as cover, it floated slightly back, the right blade free and morphing it back into an arm and a hand. Manipulating the metal, it had previously set aside, it reformed the metal rod, long and sharp, launching it towards its target. It pierced through one of the metal ones, and a pained grunt confirmed the target had been hit, as well as the stumbling that followed.

Back on the offensive, using the cover it had a hold off to ward incoming fire, it floated forward towards the next target. There were four of the metal ones remaining, and as a bladed limb tore through another one’s head, it spun around to hurl the thing down the corridor. The husk of metal not only hit the other three, but it went past them to hit the other priority target, as a pained grunt and a crash made clear. Such a manoeuvre had not come cheap, as the crystalline torso and the armour of its chest had taken some damage. But it didn’t matter, it was over. From behind the husk it still carried as cover, one bladed arm took aim, launching a single blot of energy that hit one of the enemies in the head, taking it down immediately. Channelling and launching energy, mimicking its enemies, was effective, but it could feel itself stumble slightly as a result.

“Best not to abuse it.”

The same smooth and melodious voice had conveyed a single thought in the fight, taking over instinct and lust for revenge before they took the reins back, but one that allowed it to finish the fight in a single attack. Once again, it hurled the metal husk it carried towards the metal ones, losing the cover and feeling the effects of the shot it had fired as the launch carried less strength. It was enough though, as the metal ones tumbled and it launched itself at them, rotating and spinning and it made use of all its limbs. Four sharp blades tore the remaining two metal ones apart, both falling with clanking metallic sounds.

Floating and standing up again, It turned its attention towards the two leaders. Both were incapacitated, the tall one having been impaled through the chest with the rod it had launched, and the other trapped under the debris of the husk it had hurled. Gargled voices tried to say something, to move, to break free or maybe attempt an escape, but they were at its mercy. With eyes going from one to the other, it pondered, hearing that smooth and melodious voice again in its mind.

“To injure and maim? To kill and eliminate? Or maybe…”

A wide and perverse smile creeped its way through its crystalline thin lips, its gaze fixing on the tall one only to go to its partner and accomplice. They were inside those metal armoured suits, so it could not see them, but it could hear their voices pleading. Yes, it would be a complete and absolute revenge. Taking both of them in its arms, it took them to the room where it had first seen light. The thought gave it strength and resolve, ignoring their thrashing and flailing as it carried them to their demise, their new existence. It floated through the corridors with ease, having memorized the layout, and when entering the room, holding them both in the air, she smiled at them as the two locks of its hair that framed its face came alive and hardened into sharp crystals. Despite the voices, each was stabbed in the chest, the locks retiring and reverting back to their silky appearance. Dropping them both to the cold ground it knew so well, it watched as their bodies started to deform, bloating and disfiguring, both screaming and wailing in terror, pain and realization.

- You took everything from us, from me. I will be your everything.

With its smooth and melodious voice, it didn’t know if they had heard any of it, but their attention would most likely be fully focused on their rapidly changing and shifting bodies. From a different perspective, it watched the process it knew so well. Their bodies bloated and deformed, becoming huge and hardening into stone that melded with their metal armour. Their voices went from screams and wails to gargled sounds until they fell silent. Their limbs flailed and trashed, until they were either absorbed by the bloating bodies or rendered useless. They had turned into big stone shells with the metal that previously protected them now holding them in. It had won, but there was still some time for victory to be fully achieved.

Leaving them behind, it wandered across the ship, putting the time to good use. It memorized the complete layout of the ship’s interior, locating and taking good note of the most relevant rooms and places. It didn’t know how to operate them, but They would. It found useless organic supplies and the living quarters of Them, tentatively trying what it recognized as a “bed” and quickly taking a liking to it since it was so comfortable despite its appearance. It was similar to the one in its memories, but this one opened like a pod to allow her in. It was warm and roomy, strangely big and out of place with the rest of the functional surroundings. Had they both been here together? Maybe they could fit all in? Questions surprised its mind, and stepping outside, it came across something that caught its eye. It was long and wide, and tall, but not enough for a floating being. It stopped floating as its lower limbs came in contact with the floor. It was cold, but the being that looked back was far more interesting. Tall and lean, it had a very human figure, and very attractive at that. Long and lean limbs, an hourglass figure, wide hips and bust. It looked at its face, a delicate hand running over slim crystalline lips, a button nose and two blank eyes that looked back, light dots on them showing where the gaze was aimed. The head was crowned by a long crystalline mane that fell behind and cascaded down its back, straight and unmoving, while two long locks framed the delicate face and fell down its delicate looking crystalline neck. It ran a hand through it, feeling warm and fuzzy as it enjoyed it very much so. But its eyes were glued to the curvy figure of the body, turning around and looking over the shoulder, it got a hold of its rear, a pleasurable jolt going through it when doing so. Turning back around, the metal left its chest, revealing the bust completely as two eager hands cupped a rather generous bust, her face showing surprise before swiftly switching to a pleased smile as it felt those mounds in its hands, warm and squishy.

She… yes, she, if her memories were correct, found herself gorgeous. The curves of her crystalline body. She ran her hands over her hourglass shape, the blue crystal gleaming from within as she smiled at her reflection. However, a calling inside her made her stop adoring herself, she was fantastic looking and she would dedicate time to herself properly soon enough, but there were two that needed her. Floating up, the metal formed the armour on her chest again, just in case, and she went on her way towards her new kin. On the way, she couldn’t help but think about all the words, the concepts and the ideas she knew, remnants of those that had given life to her. She would not let it go to waste.

As she entered the room, she found a sight that marvelled her, as the two of them had already come out of the shells and were currently… teasing each other? Or rather, the tall one was, holding the smaller one against her as she floated while flaunting her immense chest against her partner’s almost non-existent one. Instead, the shorter one of the two had a very shapely and bubbly rear, and her annoyance at her larger sister was clear. However, they immediately stopped their antics as they noticed her, as She smiled gently at them. The tall one was gorgeous, a busty and curvy beauty whose ridiculously long metallic hair took on a wavy form as it flowed behind and around her, already having figured how to float. She, like her sister, had the same blue colour as her, a light coming from within them. The shorter one was just as attractive as her sister, but what she lacked in bust more than made up in posterior and long, lean legs. Her petite frame was complemented by metallic hair, just like her sister, but instead of flowing it mimicked a ponytail, displaying flexibility and dexterousness with a sharp crystal blade at the end of it. She also had some crystalline plaques on her shoulders, back and thighs, which would allow her to camouflage and blend in with her surroundings.

They were hers. She was their all. And, eyeing their forms, the same pleased smile came to her. Taking advantage of their confused expressions, she lunged forward and kissed passionately the petite one, getting a hold of her rear as she let out an eek before melting in her passion and going along. Their crotches had no genitalia, since beings of solid crystal didn’t need them, but was she glad they still had part of it. As the petite one buried her head between her breasts, she looked at the large one, as she pouted in discontent only to follow an unspoken command and kiss her as between the two of them trapped the petite in between. Riding the pleasure, part of the metallic mane of the other swirled around them, but she had them stop. Leaving the remains of the three shells behind she took them to the cockpit of the ship to set a new course. They couldn’t return to their previous home worlds, and there was nothing left of the original beings in a sense, so they were not worried. They would figure out where to go and how to do so, and later, when they had done it, they would explore their new bodies in detail. The pod was ample enough for all of them, she had them and they were bound to Her.

“Some names will may be in order...”

The last thought vanished quickly as they entered the cockpit, her two companions moving quickly and waiting for her orders. They understood without words, and as they changed the course of the ship towards a new destination, both returned to her, eager to be by her side and not let go, vying for her attention. They would get plenty, as they would learn about their capabilities in due time as she led them towards the pod, and that would be enough for now.