While scowling, I say to Harlow, "What do you mean complications?"

Harlow continues tapping the edge of the monitor as he says, "The tails spawned due to the rejuvenation fluid last time, and now they are using it to speed up Pyrex's healing. This would normally be a good thing, but..."

He looks towards Pyrex before he says, "They're changing now."

As he says so, the tails shift and writhe in the glowing, yellow fluid of the glass tank. The plates covering them pull backwards as they uncover the pulsing muscle underneath. Spikes of white jut out from the uncovered edges of each tail for a moment before they straighten into two rows that form teeth.

After they form on every tail, they split open creating mouths without throats. They don't look like they were to eat something. They look like they were made for ripping stuff apart. They orient themselves for a moment as each tail turns in their own unique direction before they snap outwards, as if testing their new powers.

The teeth on each tail's end isn't sharp, though they end in curved, spiky points. They remind me of the teeth of the angler fish that Pyrex showed me in a book one day. He said that an anglerfish's teeth are designed for gripping and holding prey down. I could imagine the tails doing the same before they split what they were holding apart.

Pyrex shakes as well, and even though he seems mad, a sort of rhythm forms in his movements over time until he no longer squirms around. His arms and legs shake with a monotone pulse. His tails glance towards him for a moment before turn towards us.

Pyrex's eyes open before he glances around. The insane bloodshot of before left him, and he even breaths the muck he's in with a sort of relieved relaxing of his shoulders. After a series of worried glares by Harlow and Gorge, Bordore says, "He seems like he's returned to himself. We need to get him out of there before he takes in any more of the fluid."

Gorge snaps, "We don't know if he's unstable or not. I doubt he would heal so quickly either."

Pyrex smiles at us after a moment before he flexes his bicep. He stares at it for a moment before he glances at us with his eyebrow raised. His expression seems to say, "Yeah, it's pretty sweet. I know."

Gorge purses her lisp before she says, "Alright, release him."

The tube empties before Pyrex's tails recover themselves with their previous plates. They slide over their new mouths without any confusion or problems, so they catch him with the same fluid grace as before...Perhaps even better. After the tube lifts, Pyrex walks towards us before he grabs the side of his face ruffling his hair. The light catches him just right as he grins while saying,

"Sorry about that, allure."

Damn he's cute. I was so angry, but with just a few words, I can't even be mad anymore. It's so unfair. I frown before I say,

"You almost ate me! I was scared. It was terrifying."

He lowers his glance as he let's his arm down. His entire demeanor changes for a moment as he says with a steady and piercing tone,

"I'm sorry."

The crisp sincerity of his declaration causes me to change my approach as I say, "At least I got to show you my new powers right? Don't feel too down about it. I just wanted to give you a hard time is all."

His tails point towards him before Pyrex jerks backwards. They support him before he begins breathing with heavy, heaving breaths. A sheen of sweat appears over his face in an instant, and Gorge's own liquid alters from a rosy sheen towards a deep crimson. Harlow positions himself behind Bordore and Gorge while Bordore stretches his arms outwards with his hands balled into fists.

After another tense moment, Pyrex shakes his head before he says, "I'm...seeing...something."

I lift myself over Bordore's height using my tail to lift me through the thick gunk Gorge left me in. Gorge shouts, "Would you mind sharing a few details?"

He blinks for a moment before he says, "I was in a dark forest, alone. I walked on a sort of predetermined path before I saw thunder strike in front of me. It was...loud enough to make my ears ring. After that, I saw corpses...I don't understand it."

Bordore and Gorge maintain their guard before Harlow slides between them saying, "Perhaps the tails have something to do with that. They seem more...intelligent now."

Pyrex nods before he says, "I had to shush them. They used to all be one voice. Now they just speak on their own. I'd like to do without their conversation if at all possible, at least for now."

As he says so, the tails turn their points away from Pyrex and towards other parts of the room. They still move like snakes behind him, but they observe the flickering of a glowing light or the movement of one of us. The set of curved horns tracing his shoulders even changed texture. They no longer cover themselves with a single, unchanging plate of white. If I look closer, they are made out of thousands and thousands of needle thin strands.

His skin even seems harder, and the veins tracing his arms became more pronounced. His smile hasn't changed though. He sits on his tails before he says, "I think I'm alright now. I don't feel weird anymore."

Bordore and Gorge relax their arms, but they looks in their eyes remind me of magnifying glasses since they probe over Pyrex so closely. I can't swim over since Gorge's liquid changed consistency, but Bordore approaches him as he says, "Would you mind going through a test or two, just to prove your not, well, you know."

Pyrex shrugs before he says, "Alright. I deserve at least that much."

Bordore gets within three feet of him before he just his arm out in a rapid punch. Pyrex doesn't even react however. Two tails block the blow while two others absorb the impact of the blow preventing him from losing any balance.

The tails never showed that much finesse before. Seeing so many limbs move in perfect harmony almost looks...beautiful in a sense. Like watching a bird fly or a seal dart through the water. It's sort of mesmerizing.

Bordore's own surprise shows through his normally calm demeanor as his eyebrows rise, though only by a little. Pyrex says without any shock of his own, "Wow. You guys are better than I thought."

The two unused tails clap one another over his head. They look happy as two children giggling with each other. After Bordore composes himself once more, he says, "I see you're still calm at least. I wanted to know if you'd relapse at the violence. I'm glad to see you didn't."

Pyrex smirks before he says, "Why'd you have to go for the face though? It's my bread and butter."

Gorge and I crack smiles at the remark before Bordore says, "That's enough for me."

He and Pyrex walk over before I crawl my way out of Gorge's power. I fall over into Pyrex's arms before I nuzzle myself against his chest. He stumbles backwards at first since his tails never help him, but he hugs me closer before he says, "I didn't mean to scare you-"

I place a finger over his lips as I say, "I can handle myself thank you very much." I remove the finger before I place my palm against his muscled chest as I say, "But I wouldn't mind being handled once in a while either."

Gorge cleaned me while the tube's stuff already disappeared without a trace, so Pyrex no longer looks dirty. He leans closer before he says, "I hope you're taking volunteers."

Gorge rolls her eyes before she says, "I see you're both fine now. Alright, I'm going back to bathe."

I raise a hand before I say, "Me too!"

Pyrex nudges his elbow against Bordore's side as he says, "I'm sure you wouldn't mind joining them?"

He blushes for a moment before he says, "I believe I'd die of embarrassment before I even entered the bath."

I brush his chin with the edge of the fin at the end of my tail as I say, "You're cute when your honest."

Pyrex suppresses a laugh before Harlow says, "Come now, stop teasing him."

Gorge turns around before she says, "It's good that they ease up some of his stiffness. I'd rather him face a little hardship here rather than have an actual enemy abuse his shyness."

Harlow purses his lips before he says, "Then that should be enough for now."

I turn towards him as I say, "I wasn't teasing. I meant it. That shy honesty is cute."

Bordore coughs as his red skin purples further. He says, "I think I'll take my leave."

I frown before Pyrex jogs after him as he says, "You girls have fun. I'll try rebuilding the bridge you burned."

I turn towards Gorge as I say, "I was just saying what I thought. What's wrong with that?"

Gorge says as we pace down the hallway, "Voicing your thoughts at all times isn't the best strategy for keeping friends."

I place a finger on my chin as I say, "I suppose so." After a short pause, I continue, "The friends I make will like me for me at least."

Gorge stops walking for a moment before she continues at her previous pace. She says, "Hmmm...You might just be right."

I hug myself around her shoulders as I say, "Who cares. Let's race when we get to the pool."

Gorge grins before she says, "Sounds fun."

I raise my eyebrows as I say, "I didn't know you liked losing."

She rolls her eyes before she says, "I can literally see Pyrex whispering nonsense into your ear."

I press my cheek against hers as I say, "I know you like Pyrex too."

She turns her eyes towards me as she frowns and says, "Yeah, and I like the empire too."

We reach into the bathing room before I say, "Come on." I jump into the pool where I submerge into the pleasant warmth of water. I lift above it while whipping my hair backwards, and as I keep myself afloat, I say, "I'll help you bathe."

The beginnings of a grin form on Gorge's lips as she says, "And here I thought I'd be able to relax for once."

I wave my hand at her as I say, "Let me tell you about our date before it got all crazy."

She removes her armor as she says, "So was he awkward and fumbling as usual?"

I lean on the edge of the bath as I say, "No, he was wonderful."

Author's note: Went to the doctor for a rather intense type of shoulder pain I've been having for the last two months. It turns out that I tore my rotator cuff. That is why my uploads slowed. I am now wearing a sling and have my place setup which allows me to write, so hopefully I'll be able to regain my former ferocious pace. Regardless, I hope you liked the chapter.