TW: Sexual Content,  Yogcraft

Title: ~Found~

Lalna had been searching for her since he felt the blast shake through his feet. He'd made for Blackrock immediately, only to be greeted by an enormous crater, the castle's façade teetering on the edge of it, threatening to topple backward at any moment. He heard the mage's cries, and below him he saw Rythian tearing through the rubble, his face blackened, his eyes glowing violet in the fading light. Rythian's tears seemed to scald his skin, purpling in the rivers they carved down his cheeks. Lalna had fallen back, hiding in a tree's branches, not wanting to be seen. He dipped a hand into his lab coat's pocket, his fingers closing on the remote. Pulling it out, he eyed the unpressed button, and the tiny light above it which had gone out the moment the nuke had exploded, its signal suddenly dead.

***

When Ridge came to remove any traces of the old magic, Lalna had hidden his hands behind his back.

"And your flying ring," Ridge reminded him.

Lalna grumbled, but he still worked the band off his finger, handing it to Ridge begrudgingly. His brow furrowed. How am I going to find where she's disappeared to now? he thought. Searching the landscape for any signs of her had at least been quick work with his ring. With a shake of his head he dismissed the nagging voice in the back of his mind. Everyone comes back, he reassured himself. Everyone. That's just how it works.

Ridge only smiled enigmatically, tucking the ring into his coat pocket and turning to leave. He casually stepped off the castle's battlements, hovering in mid-air as he checked his compass before heading south to strip the jaffa factory of its condensers.

"How come you get to fly?" Lalna shouted after him irritably, not seeing Ridge's smirk as the man ignored him and flew onwards.

Lalna scowled and stalked back inside. His expression lightened a little when his eyes fell on the shiny new portal gun on its pedestal. Picking it up, the smooth weight of it in his hands felt somehow satisfying. He shot a blue portal on the wall, and an orange one at the other end of the room. Gingerly walking through, he grinned widely when he found himself transported across the room, looking down at the gun in glee.

He bent to dig through the oddments storage chest, yanking out his old jetpack and tying it on. Better than nothing, he thought to himself, heading out the door into the night. He flew jerkily down the cliff, cursing Ridge as he landed with a bump that was only slightly lessened by his quantum boots, at once remembering why he'd switched to a flying ring in the first place. He rolled his shoulders, and continued on determinedly, knowing he had a long way to go before morning.

***

Lalna grinned as the purple shores of the mushroom biome loomed into view, wiping the tiredness from his eyes as he landed, his knees aching with the impact. He'd read about these places, but he relished the chance to study one up close, his thoughts wandering to the person he knew would enjoy it the most.

He quickly set about building a makeshift base, digging down and securing a section of a cave system. It smelt of damp, and flicking through old tomes at his newly set up research table, the only sounds which broke his concentration were the dripping of stalactites onto unhewn stone and the far off growling of zombies. When night fell, he set out with his jetpack each evening, searching for any signs of her under the cover of darkness. Deciding to check Blackrock one last time, he'd headed through the portal back to his castle, only to find himself in an obsidian cage of high explosives, the portal behind him disappearing the second he stepped through it. Rythian spat with anger at him, and Lalna resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the mage began his bitter little monologue. Get on with it, he thought wearily. Hurry up and kill me.

When Rythian suggested a truce through gritted teeth, the mage's hand shaking over a lever linked to the surrounding TNT, Lalna's eyebrows shot up. Of all the things he had expected the man to say, that was not one of them. It was only at Rythian's words "I've already almost lost more than I ever wanted to lose," that Lalna realised at once why he was proposing a ceasefire: It hadn't been his idea at all, and the scientist struggled to keep the smile out of his voice as he tentatively agreed. Zoeya had a way of persuading people to her way of thinking.

Lalna had been nearly grinning when the mage had thrown his portal gun back to him, and he'd hurried back to his castle, breaking the portal link behind him immediately. I knew it, he smiled to himself. I knew she'd come back.

***

Since that night, he'd redoubled his search, his feet perpetually bruised with his jetpack's less than smooth landings. After a few weeks, he carefully constructed a set of power armour, painstakingly adding his hand-picked combination of modifications. Pulling down his night vision goggles and gliding over the lake, he grinned to himself. This should make everything easier, he thought, admiring the greenish suit with pride.

He crisscrossed the landscape in his search, finding his friends' new camps along the way. He stayed a night with the Rail Bros., coming across the village they'd taken over and smirking when their tall initials had appeared on the horizon. Curling up gratefully in their pink and white spare room, he decided not to ask why all Benji's things were kept in here, ignoring the incomprehensible sound of their rising voices coming from Strippin's room, long after they assumed he'd fallen asleep.

Lalna had crept away red-faced the next morning, leaving a thank you note under a new crowbar he'd had in his pack, knowing how often Strippin mislaid his own. When they'd lived beside the lake as neighbours, Strippin would often knock on his door, awkwardly running a hand through his hair as he asked if Lalna had a spare, muttering that he'd dropped it into a coke oven, or left it in a minecart somewhere.

For all of Lalna's blushing, he would've gladly slept another night in their spare room after the one he spent at Sjin's farm. He'd gulped as the architect had insisted there would be plenty of room in his "luxury" bed, only to feel the unconscious man's hands creep around his waist in the middle of the night, his moustache tickling Lalna's neck as he'd curled against his back. Lalna froze, mentally telling himself just to go back to sleep, but he had to hold back a laugh when Sjin spoke softly in his sleep into the scientist's ear: "Sips..."

Lalna patted the man's hand awkwardly in reply, shifting uncomfortably to look out the open window, searching for the moon and praying that sunrise was soon. At breakfast, Lalna's cheeks burned with such intensity that Sjin had asked if he had a fever, making the scientist's eyes widen as he insisted on checking Lalna's forehead for a temperature.

"I'm fine, bloody hell," Lalna stammered, brushing away the architect's hand.

He quickly gathered his things, thanking Sjin without meeting his eyes, and hurrying off into the cold dawn air.

Sjin rushed out the door after him. He'd never admit it, but farming was a lonely life, and he missed having company. "I could give you a lift if you want? I've got a plane." He gestured to the hangar, the wooden bi-plane parked haphazardly inside.

"Er, I'm not heading back yet," Lalna replied absently, not turning round.

"Mm, I know," Sjin said, a half smile on his lips as he added, "But I thought you'd want a lift to where Rythian's hiding."

Lalna whirled around. "You know where he is?"

Sjin nodded. "He was here a few days ago. We, er, crossed swords," he smirked.

"Really?" Lalna asked, incredulous.

"He said you blew his castle up," Sjin sniggered.

Lalna laughed. "Oh, yeah. I didn't set it off, but, um-"

"It just happened to explode?" Sjin raised an eyebrow.

"Someone tampered with it," Lalna muttered with a frown.

"Uh huh," Sjin smiled, nodding knowingly. He walked towards the hangar, and Lalna followed.

"So what are you going to do? Do you have another nuke hiding in there?" Sjin poked at Lalna's lab coat with a grin.

"No!" Lalna answered a little too quickly, squirming away from the architect's long probing fingers.

"Oh? What then?" Sjin asked innocently.

"I... need to check on something," Lalna avoided the man's eyes.

"Huh. Okay," Sjin smirked, not believing the scientist's excuse for a second but resisting the urge to push him further. He climbed into the front seat of the bi-plane, pulling on the only parachute. Turning to Lalna, he patted the seat behind him. "Hop in."

Lalna eyed the cropduster critically, the wooden plane hardly seemed up to much, but despite himself, he clambered into the backseat. As soon as he sat down, the plane shifted suddenly forward, the entire body of it humming as the propeller began to spin into a blur. Lalna instinctively grabbed Sjin's shoulder as they jolted into motion, and the architect smirked, driving them out of the hangar's shade into the bright morning sunlight. They gathered speed quickly on the runway, and Lalna blinked in disbelief as he felt the unwieldy craft leave the ground, arching upward into the sky.

"It works?" Lalna thought aloud.

"Oi! Of course it works!" Sjin retorted over his shoulder.

Lalna slowly relaxed into his chair, but kept a firm grip on the sides of his seat as they began the long route southwards. Sjin heard the scientist's snores as he nodded off, and smiled to himself, toying with the idea of a loop the loop, but deciding against it with a chuckle.

As the turrets of Lalna's castle came into view, gleaming in the noonday sun, Sjin took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. Flying Rythian back, the sight of the Sips Co. compound below had caught him off guard, the tapered tip of the tower piercing the clouds. They'd begun to drift downward before the mage had shaken his shoulder, breaking Sjin out of his thoughts with a start.

It was clearer today, and Sjin couldn't resist a peek downwards. His eyes raked over the land for a glimpse of his partner, but only heaps of sand returned his gaze. He gulped, and flew on over the bay, not daring to look behind him again until only the ocean stretched back to the horizon.

***

The sun was low in the sky when Sjin saw the river delta up ahead and began a slow descent to the edge of the desert. Lalna woke with a "Aurgh!" when a leaf blown off in the wind slapped him in the face.

"Sjin! Watch where you're bloody going!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Sjin called back, but Lalna scowled when he saw the man struggling to hold back a laugh.

They landed with bump, the plane skidding slightly as Sjin turned and it nearly tipped. Lalna rolled his shoulders, stiff from the unforgiving wooden seat, his neck aching. He climbed out awkwardly, his knees shaking as he felt solid ground under his feet once more.

"Rythian's camp is just over the river, you can't miss it," Sjin pointed through the trees towards the sound of running water brushing against the bank. "Look for the dinosaur head," he smiled.

"What? Where?" Lalna blinked, lifting a stray branch to peer in the direction Sjin had gestured. The grass fell away to sand before the river cut through it, high walls of shimmering sandstone rising on the other side. His eyes set upon a stubby tower, a wooden frame swathed in sheets of green wool that shifted in the breeze, the crude structure in the rough shape of a tyrannosaurus rex's head. "Oh," Lalna mouthed.

He turned when he heard the plane engine shudder into life again, rapidly dodging out the way as Sjin manoeuvred the craft around, its wing barely missing Lalna's stomach. "Hey, look out!"

Sjin only laughed. "You owe me a barrel of Dragonblood," the architect yelled over the engine noise as he began to pick up speed down the makeshift runway. "Not the one that makes you go blind, either!"

"But that's the good one!" Lalna shouted after him, and he heard Sjin laugh as the plane took off, heading back north and soon disappearing into distance.

Hoping his arrival had gone unnoticed, Lalna switched on his power armour's invisibility, and pushed through the undergrowth. Night was already beginning to fall as he paused to look for signs of movement before flying over the river and hovering above the camp. Seeing no-one, he cautiously landed. He eyed the open tent, recognising the ragged purple strip on the table between the beds as the one Rythian had tied round his bicep, its edges charred. Hearing a soft mooing behind him, he turned, cautiously walking towards the fenced pens of animals. It was only when he saw the mooshrooms that an idea began to form in his head, and he grinned.

Lalna froze when he heard voices approaching, the soft splashing of quick footsteps on lilypads just over the levee. He looked around in panic for somewhere to hide before he remembered his suit's invisibility, the power armour's modification letting stray eyes and the low beginnings of moonlight to pass through him as if he wasn't there.

Nevertheless, he knew he could be heard if not seen, and he moved hurriedly to the edge of the base camp, launching himself as quietly as he could onto the wall and down the other side. He watched as Rythian stood on the bank, waiting as Teep and Zoeya followed, listening to their exchange back and forth. Her voice was just as full of energy as he remembered.

Lalna's heart seemed to stop as he heard Zoeya say his name and he felt her words hit him like a series of katar blades to the stomach. "So I don't think he knows where we are, right? I've... I couldn't of handled that."

Rythian quieted her worries, conveniently not mentioning the nature of their ceasefire, or even that there had been one, but Lalna barely noted the mage's voice as he slumped against the sand, a knot in his throat.

***

He waited until quietness had fallen over their camp before he dared look over the wall again. Peering gingerly around a column of sandstone, he saw Rythian asleep in their tent, but when Lalna's eyes flicked to the other bed, he found it empty. He looked up to Teep's stubby tower, but saw the dinosaur sat on his own, the rigid spikes that ran down his spine facing Lalna. When a soft voice spoke behind the scientist, he jumped with surprise, wheeling around.

"Hey Lalna," Zoeya whispered nervously.

Lalna blinked at her, and opened his mouth to answer, before his eyes fell on her right arm, and his jaw went slack. He frantically wondered how she could see him before he realised his armour's battery was flat, his night vision flickering the sky between twilight and midnight as the power faded.

"Long time no see!" Zoeya said, her bright voice edged with sadness as she looked at him expectantly.

"Cool arm," he mumbled back with genuine interest, his eyes taking in all of its movements and the soft glow of the lights in the forearm.

"Thanks! Rythian helped me build it!" she smiled proudly, before realising who she was speaking to. "Uhm-"

"I could've helped, too," Lalna muttered sourly. "I would've done a better job than him."

"You weren't here," Zoeya replied quietly, adding with an anxious laugh, "And Dr. Nook helped, he said I nailed it! Well, I think he said it, he doesn't really talk much, he mumbles sort of like you."

"I've been looking for you for bloody weeks!" Lalna exclaimed, only just remembering to keep his voice low. "Since I heard the nuke. I never thought you'd actually try to defuse it."

"Really?" she asked.

"Well," Lalna scratched his neck awkwardly. "I guess I should've known you'd try."

"You've been looking for me for weeks?" Zoeya clarified.

"Well, yeah," Lalna admitted, looking down at his shuffling feet.

"Oh- oh gosh," she said, her voice hushed with surprise.

"Everyone's been moving away, sodding miles away too, and I-" Lalna began.

Zoeya cut him off, ducking her head to meet his lips in a kiss. The scientist kept talking for a second in disbelief, his lips moving against hers before they suddenly stilled, and he returned it in kind. She rested her right wooden forearm tentatively on his chest, and he couldn't help but pull back and look down at it. He took it gently in his hands, running his fingertips over the smooth oak. His eyes trailed up to her shoulder.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, his lips only inches from hers. "Where it's attached?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Nope. Not anymore at least, took some getting used to though. It's so weird to run into you now! I don't see you for like a month and your bomb blows me up and-"

Lalna lurched forward, pressing his lips to her open mouth desperately, her words tumbling into his before she pressed the tip of her tongue against his, nudging it. He felt her smile against him, and he nudged back, remembering the inside joke they'd created hidden within his castle walls, each teasing the other until one of them gave in and took the lead. Lalna stroked along her tongue with his, not caring that it meant he'd lost their game as he lifted his left hand gently to her cheek.

He withdrew, just barely, so his lips still brushed hers as he spoke. "It was never meant to actually go off, it was just protection, a wind-up really."

"Pretty dumb wind-up."

"Yeah... yeah, it was." His cheeks reddened. "I'm... sorry," he added in a quiet voice, his eyes fixed on her right arm.

Her left hand sought his, lacing their fingers together. She smiled at how clammy his was, and rubbed the tip of her thumb in feather-light circles on his palm, his fingers clenching over her knuckles as he shivered.

"You would remember that," he huffed.

"It'll take more than a nuke to make me forget you're really, really ticklish," she grinned.

Lalna suddenly pulled back, waving his left hand urgently as he remembered. "I found something!"

"What?" Zoeya smiled uncertainly. "Is it Fishton? Because I'm pretty sure he's gone, in the, uhm, explosion and everything, burned to a crisp! I thought I heard something when it went off, like he was playing a note on his own, but it didn't have much bass so I don't know."

Lalna shook his head, but let Zoeya carry on before he spoke. "It's way better," he smiled, taking out his portal gun. He shot a blue portal against the sandstone column, and took a step towards it, gently tugging her hand to follow. She eyed it warily, cocking her head.

"It's safe," he said, sticking his hand through it so it disappeared, aquamarine sparkles encircling his wrist. She gasped before he pulled it back out again, his hand still very much intact. "C'mon," he coaxed, smiling.

"But Rythian-"

"I'll get you back before morning. He won't even notice."

When she felt his soft pull on her hand once more, she let him, following him into the portal. Just as he vanished in front of her, only his hand holding hers still visible, she took a deep breath as if going underwater, and rushed forward.

He laughed when she fell against him in a small cave, catching her in his arms as she let out the breath. She looked around, taking in the white nitor fires which lit the space, seeming to float, edged in burgundy.

"Portals," he smiled, seeing her blink in confusion. "They link together."

"How- how does that work? ... Where are we?" she asked.

"Science! And we're, um. Well. I would say we're not far out, but we are. Way, way out," he laughed.

He turned to press the button on his right, opening a reinforced door, and led her through to a cavernous room, a small alcove directly in front of them. Vivid purple bubbles throbbed upwards from its floor, their soft glow vanishing as they rose.

"It's a levitator," he explained.

"Oh, I- oh my gosh," Zoeya stuttered, still rather amazed the portals had worked, overwhelmed with how much the world had seemed to change in the few short weeks she'd been in the hospital.

Sensing her nervousness, Lalna squeezed her hand. "We can go up together," he offered.

He tugged her hand softly, drawing her towards him. Snaking his hands around her exposed waist, he guided her onto the leviator, grinning when she giggled in surprise as they rose to the top, currents of cool air rushing over her skin. He set her down on solid ground before he stepped out too, slipping past her to get to the outside door. Pressing the button, he gestured through it with his hand.

She stepped forward gingerly, peering out into the night. Her eyes widened as the silhouettes of giant mushrooms stood tall against the sky, and she wandered out, her jaw dropping. Lalna followed her, smiling broadly.

"What do you think?" he asked after a moment, looking over to where she stood, gazing at everything open-mouthed.

"Ohmigosh! It's... It's awesome!" she exclaimed. She turned to him, grinning, before her face fell. He frowned, until he heard the growl of a zombie behind him. He zapped it lazily with his mining laser twice and turned back to her.

"Got 'im," he grinned, but seeing her expression, he quickly changed the subject. "There's mooshrooms too!"

"Mooshrooms?!" she grinned, following him as he lead her up the hill.

"Over there!" he pointed, out of breath but still unable to hold back a smile.

"Daisy!" she called out, running forward and hugging the dazed mooshroom around the neck. It mooed, intensely confused.

"Well, a long-lost aunt maybe," Lalna chuckled.

Zoeya stood back, and eyed the mooshroom carefully. "A cousin, three times removed," she nodded firmly.

"Sall- Steven!" she cried, correcting herself as she ran towards another mooshroom. Lalna laughed, trailing after her.

The moon was high by the time she had found seemingly every mooshroom in the biome, naming each, and deciding how they related to Daisy, Steven and Nilesy Jr.

"Aren't you tired?" Lalna asked.

"A little bit," she admitted.

"We... we could sit on top of a giant mushroom," he suggested, smiling when he met her eyes and found her grinning. "I think my jetboots have got just enough battery left for one good jump."

"That one, that one!" she exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a brown mushroom on the highest peak of the biome.

"Are you sure? It's quite high..."

"Sure," she nodded.

"Okay, here we go..." he said, gripping her waist. She put her left hand over his, and he blushed as he used every last ounce of power left in his suit to jump to the brown mushroom.

"Woah," he exclaimed, realising he'd had more battery left than he thought as he catapulted them towards the stars.

"Wheeeeee!" she cried, grinning from ear to ear as they shot upwards, and throwing her arms out like wings.

Lalna steered them carefully as they slowly drifted back down, letting out a sigh of relief when they landed on the mushroom safely. Zoeya sat down, leaning back and propping herself up with her left hand as she looked up at the sky. Lalna sat awkwardly beside her, and she giggled at him, a mess of limbs that he seemed to have no idea how to use.

She pointed upwards. "Can you see him?"

"What?" he asked.

"There's Notch," she smiled, tracing the smooth line of the constellation with the blunt end of her cybernetic arm. "See where his hat dips a bit in the middle and then comes up again?"

"Yeah," Lalna nodded, his neck stiff. She looked to him, and nudged his belly.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Lean back," she said, nudging him again.

"O-kay," he agreed, unsure, but leaning back anyway, tucking his right hand behind his head.

She smiled, and rested her head on his warm belly, drawing his left arm over her sternum. He felt her heartbeat fluttering into his palm.

"Look, you can see Jeb tonight too," she pointed. "There's his beard. His eyes are the brightest stars in the whole sky."

Lalna smiled, stroking her hair with his right hand, the short spikes soft beneath his fingertips.

"Hey Lalna, you listening?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening," he smiled.

"You're not," she teased, poking him in side.

"Hey, I am! Jeb's beard, brightest eyes in the sky, see?" Lalna rebutted, cringing at her raised eyebrow when he realised. "I meant stars, brightest stars."

She giggled at how flustered he was getting, his cheeks reddening. Rolling onto her stomach, she rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes fixed on his face.

"What?" he asked, smiling as he failed at feigning annoyance.

"What?" he repeated as she only laughed back at him, shaking her head.

She shifted, her left hand pressing into his chest as she looked down at him, the tip of her nose brushing against his.

"I missed you," she whispered, dipping her head to kiss him before he had a chance to reply. She pressed her tongue into his mouth, rubbing it against his with no argument this time. He smiled, curling his tongue around hers in kind, reaching up brush his hand across her nape before tangling his fingers in her hair.

Shifting against his side, Zoeya lifted her leg over him, straddling him between her thighs. She sat back, rolling her hips, and giggling when she felt Lalna twitch into her, the scientist's breath catching in his throat. He sat suddenly upright, tugging her cape away from her throat to press his lips to her neck. Tipping her head back, she sighed as he peppered the tender skin with kisses. He pulled her against him, leaning back and rolling them both sideways so she was trapped beneath him, her legs either side of his, the mushroom flesh soft against her back.

He trailed his lips softly down her chest, pausing when he reached the webbing of her shirt to kiss the geometric holes of bare skin, his right hand slipping under the fabric to grasp her breast. A quiet moan fell from her lips when his short nails flicked across her nipple, pinching and rolling it between his fingers. Smirking at the strained tone of her voice, he lifted her shirt with his spare hand and took her other nipple in his teeth, gently tugging it. He was precise, just exerting enough pressure to make her shiver against him. Releasing it for a second and pulling back only a fraction, he smiled when the chill night air brushed over the damp skin and her nipple rose. He lowered his head to nibble it once more, the tip of his tongue nudging it quickly back and forth, and she whimpered softly.

Shifting his right hand from her breast, he ran it gently over her abdomen, his fingertips dipping into her navel before delving under the waist band of her shorts. Zoeya gasped at his touch as he parted his middle and index fingers, running them up her labia teasingly slowly, drawing them together and swirling them in ever decreasing circles around her clit. When she lifted her hips towards his hand, he gave in, his lips tightening on her nipple as he smiled and rubbed her clit softly. She arched her back to push against him, desperate for more contact as she breathed out his name in encouragement. "Oh Lalna..." He had to restrain himself from speeding up, wanting to hear her shout his name.

Relinquishing his hold on her nipple, Lalna's head wandered downwards, kissing her quivering stomach. She whined as he withdrew his hand from her groin, but understood immediately when she felt his fingers tugging at her shorts, and raised her hips to help him as he shifted off her, pulling them down to her ankles. He worked them carefully over one of her shoes, but left them tangled around the other, impatient as he moved back onto her. His hand returned instantly to her clit, squeezing it gently between two fingers and running the tip of his thumb over it torturously slowly. She moaned, squirming beneath him, and he grinned hearing her, relaxing his grip and letting his fingers drift up and down. Watching her face as her cheeks turned ever more scarlet, she stared back at him, her eyes pleading. When he caressed her clit again between his fingertips, her shoulders tensed, her head suddenly jerking upwards before it fell back, her mouth dropping open as she gasped for breath.

Lalna's breathing too had grown heavy and he palmed himself through his trousers with his left hand, his crotch already damp where his precum had begun to leach through the fabric, every quick whining breath that escaped Zoeya's lips only making him harder. He moved downwards, his head between her legs, and Zoeya's cheeks burned when she heard him inhale deeply. Nudging her thighs further apart with his right hand, he unfurled his tongue to lick over her opening before pushing inside, just a fraction, and tasting her. He felt her tense as he withdrew his tongue, savouring the flavour and licking his lips.

Running the tip of his tongue up to her clit, he flicked it mercilessly. She whimpered, and he felt her shaking left hand on his head, tangling into his hair, but it was only when he closed his lips over her clit and sucked without warning that she cried out his name, no thought given to her voice's volume as the feeling surged through her.

"LALna!"

He smirked against her, only sucking harder, letting out eager grunting moans into her warm flesh. His cock was aching into his hand, straining against the fabric of his trousers, and he hastily unfastened them, dragging them down his thighs clumsily. Resisting the urge to grasp his dick in his hand, he rubbed his fingers between her labia, twisting his hand until his fingers were soaked. He held his index and middle fingers together, slipping them inside her, his palm upward. Curling his fingers gently in an agonising slow beckoning motion, he felt her tense suddenly around him, a loud moan escaping her lips, and he smiled. He nudged the tip of his tongue against her clit one more time before he sat back on his knees, at last grasping his cock with his left hand and letting out a long exhale in relief. He began to pump himself hard, his hand moving in quick, needy movements, his member already slick . Eyeing her face, he pressed his right hand's fingers against the same spot inside her, rubbing it with a force that made her cry out, clenching around him once more.

"Lal- Lalna, oh my gosh- I- I can't-" she stuttered breathlessly.

He grinned hearing her come undone at his touch, and withdrew his fingers, shifting forward. Pressing his palms against her thighs, he pushed the tip of his cock against her, sliding it back and forth, nudging the sleek head into her clit and making her breath hitch. She grasped his right wrist with her hand, her fingernails digging into his skin with need.

"Lalna, p-please!" she begged.

He chuckled and shifted carefully, running the tip of his cock slowly down. He leaned forward as he pressed inside, groaning when she lifted her hips hungrily to meet his. His palms flat against the mushroom on either side of her chest, he rested his forehead against hers, kissing her breathlessly. Zoeya kept moving her hips urgently, knowing he was holding back, his thrusts gentle despite his warm rasping breaths brushing her cheek.

At once she grasped his hip with her remaining hand, and rolled them both so he was encaged beneath her, sitting up quickly and burying Lalna's entire length inside her. She tightened around him, rolling her hips with a smile as she let her head fall backwards, hearing him moan out.

"Oh god, Zoeya." He dragged out the last syllable, his voice shuddering with pleasure.

She grinded into him, riding him hard, her exhales becoming short, high moans. Leaning back, she shifted so his cock pressed against that one spot, all the air leaving her lungs. When Lalna realised what she was doing, he lifted his hips in quick succession to hit the same spot over and over again. She levered herself tiredly forward onto his chest, and he grinned, taking the opportunity to roll them both over once more so she lay on her back under him.

Unable to hold back any longer, he pounded into her, his moans meeting hers as his shirt grazed her breasts. Zoeya's voice was a constant stream of his name, her pitch fluctuating as he moved, breaking the word into raw, desperate sound. Her left hand shook as she grabbed the back of his lab coat, balling up the fabric in her fist against his shoulder blade. Lalna gripped her hips, tilting them upward suddenly and thrusting into her the same way his fingers had with an unforgiving intensity. She came hard, clenching around him and making him gasp, her entire body tensing and bucking against his. He kept hammering into her, his cock throbbing as he felt her trembling around him, her orgasm shaking through her in waves as he kept going, Zoeya barely able to draw breath.

When he felt her body finally relax, he pulled out, and sat back on his knees. He grasped his cock tightly, twisting his hand slightly as he moved it quickly up and down, his eyes falling shut as he groaned. He heard Zoeya sit up weakly, but his eyes still snapped open in surprise when he felt her brush away his hand before replacing it with her own. He moaned, placing a hand on her cheek, and grinned dopily knowing he had caused the satisfied smile on her face.

She ducked her head out of his hand, and sucked the tip of his cock; it only took a second before he came with a grunt, his cum shooting hot into her mouth and bathing her tongue. She swallowed quickly, licking the slit to catch the last drops, and making one more spurt splatter across her tongue as Lalna grasped her head with quivering hands. She pulled back, and when she saw the spent expression on his face, his jaw slack as he gasped, she grinned.

"I... I missed you too," Lalna breathed shakily.

Zoeya laughed, tugging his collar and kissing him, the pair of them sinking into giggles.

***

They watched as the moon set, its glow sinking into the mycelium, the shadows which rose from the ground ghosting across it. Lalna sat with his legs parted, one hand propping him up, the other in Zoeya's lap as she sat between his legs, leaning lightly back onto his torso, her left hand holding his.

"I should get back," she whispered.

"You don't have to, not really," he whined, kissing behind her ear, her short hair tickling his cheek.

She leaned her head back on his shoulder, looking up at him. "Hey frowny face, I'll come back. You couldn't even blow me up with a nuke. And you're like, uhm, some big evil scientist guy or something."

"I managed it with my tongue though," he whispered, smirking broadly.

Zoeya turned as red as her blazing hair, biting her lip as he collapsed into laughter, his chest shaking with mirth against her.  

Part Two: ~"I Like Purple. Purple's Safe."~

TW: Sexual Content, Light Bondage, Yogcraft

Zoeya flinched with every shot of Teep's rifle. The sun had nearly set and zombies began to appear around the camp, juddering towards the steep sandstone walls, their growling breaths cut short by the sharp-shooter's gunfire. Zoeya covered her ears, but still the unrelenting sound broke through. She looked over to Rythian's research table where the oblivious mage stood poring over a book, long since immune to the salvo which tore through the air around him.

As Teep fired three times in quick succession, Zoeya stumbled backwards, desperate to get away from the noise. With one last cautious glance at Rythian, she rushed towards a dark corner of the camp where a red mushroom grew in the shade of a cacti. She dug frantically at the block beside it, uncovering a lever. Grabbing it with her trembling left hand, she pulled it hard and a hatch opened behind her, the top of a ladder just visible in the twilight. Hastily putting the block back in place over the lever, she slipped down the hole, climbing down the ladder, the gunfire growing quieter with every rung she passed.

She found herself in a small familiar cave hollowed out from the sandstone, a single nitor fire lighting the space. On the opposite wall, a small wooden chest was nestled into an alcove, a lever carefully fixed on the wall above it. She grasped it quickly, the pistons quietly shifting back into place above her, the dim patch of sky at the top of the ladder suddenly disappearing. Opening the chest, she sighed in relief at the portal gun which met her eyes.

Travelling back from Lalna's base the last time, the scientist had seen her curious gaze as he'd retrieved his own, and offered to show her how to craft one. She smiled for what felt like the first time all day as she remembered his words cutting off with a laugh when she'd guessed the rest of the formula intuitively, constructing her own portal gun with more patience and care than he'd taken with his own. Picking it up from the otherwise empty chest with her left hand, she felt a surge of pride, the smooth perfectly finished metal cool against her palm.

Still the gunfire above echoed through the chamber, at once setting her resolve; with a gulp, she shot an orange portal on the wall, her hand jerking upward with the force of it. The portal's amber glow fizzed at the edges as she replaced the gun in the chest. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and jumped into it, a strange heat playing over her skin as she passed through it. The grey stone entrance hall of Lalna's secret base looked back at her as she opened her eyes once more, turning to see the twin cerulean portal glinting behind her. She grinned, the blissful silence washing over her.

Clambering down the roughly hewn steps, she peeked into the secret base's main room. She took care to open the door quietly, sneaking in and closing it behind her. Zoeya smiled as her eyes strayed across the line of deep purple obsidian chests, and down at the floor, dotted with amethyst. She knew she was safe here, beneath the distant mushroom biome, the only sound the soft bubbling of the cauldron. She crept further into the room, peering at the arcane furnace which flickered ominously in the corner, her eyes straying to the open door where the soft glow of the silverwood tree played against the cavern walls. Hands suddenly closed around her exposed waist, and she jumped into Lalna's touch as she felt his beard brush against her neck.

"I thought I heard you come in," Lalna mumbled, his lips grazing her ear as he spoke.

"Lal-Lalna! You scared me," Zoeya squeaked.

"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly lifting his head, his tone instantly softening. He loosened his grasp on her hips as she turned to face him, a smile spreading across her features when she saw his uncertain expression.

"Gosh, you didn't have to, stop, I mean you could, if you want to, but-"

Lalna cut her off, pressing his lips to hers, needing no further excuse. It took her a moment to stop trying to talk, but when she did, she felt him smirk into the kiss, his tongue teasing hers as it stilled. He nudged her gently backwards with faltering steps, her gasp drawing air over his lips when she felt the research table behind her, digging into her thighs. His hands sneaked up her shirt, his fingers tangling in the mesh across her stomach as he tried to lift it. Trailing his lips along her jaw and down onto her neck, Zoeya tipped her head back with a contented sigh. She opened her eyes to look up at the rafters, smiling at the scientist's rough, reckless touch. He was unafraid that he might break her, only driven by the intense need to uncover her flesh and press his lips against every inch of her.

She tilted her head to the side as his kisses moved lower and her gaze fell upon Lalna's power glove, discarded beside the ancient tome that lay open on the table. As she let Lalna lift her arms, tugging off her shirt hungrily, she eyed her oaken right forearm, an idea tugging the corners of her lips into a broad grin.

"Hey Lalna, can I borrow something?" she asked.

"What? Yeah, sure," he muttered, barely lifting his mouth from her skin, his words warm as they tickled across her exposed breasts.

She smirked as she grabbed the power glove, twisting slightly. Holding her arms above his head, she pulled it onto her right forearm, her eyes widening as she heard tiny metal claws digging into wood. At once, the small scars dotted just beneath Lalna's elbow made sense. She wondered to herself how he controlled it, and she tried to remember how she had closed her right hand. Immediately, the power glove clasped into a tight fist, and she held it away from herself in surprise as if it might bite her.

Hearing the glove's mechanisms, Lalna looked up instantly, gulping at the sight of Zoeya before him; half-naked, flexing the power glove's fingers curiously - Did she have to be a natural at everything? - and most of all, the mischievous smile that blazed in her eyes.

"Er, Zoeya-" Lalna began, a slight shake in his voice, but when Zoeya looked back at him, he broke into a nervous laugh.

She shifted forward, pressing into his hips and giggling when he gulped. She gripped his wrists suddenly, turning them both in one fluid movement and leaning into him so he bowed backwards against the research table.

"Woah!" he exclaimed with a chuckle, his breath hitching as he spoke, breaking the word into two syllables.

"Nice glove, eh?" Zoeya whispered with a smile, lifting his hands above his head and pinning them against the cold stone wall with her left hand, arching his body backwards over the table so his hips jutted against hers. She stretched her fingers around as much of his crossed wrists as she could; they both knew he could break from her grasp if he wished, but he stayed put. This was one experiment Lalna wanted to see out to the very end. For science, he reasoned with himself.

She trailed the mechanical fingers of the power glove down his chest, pushing aside his lab coat and flicking his shirt buttons undone one by one with careful precision. Her eyes darted between the buttons and his steady gaze, and she giggled seeing his cheeks blazing. Loosening the last button, she twirled the glove's fingers in the blonde trail of hair that ran from his navel.

"Ahh, it's cold!" he yelped, holding his breath to try and withdraw his skin from the contact.

She giggled, extending the fingertips further to press them against his belly, smiling when he shivered. His wrists shifted under her left hand as he squirmed, and Zoeya watched his face, trying to work out how far she could push him. She let the power glove's fingers drift downwards, grazing lightly over his bulge. She blushed herself when he nudged his hips forward, pushing himself into the glove's fingers, a heavy exhale falling from his lips at the contact.

Biting her lip, she unbuckled his belt, smiling as she watched the pleasing mechanical fingers open it easily at her will. She edged the glove beneath the hem of his boxers, tugging them down with his trousers, and he wriggled to help her as they dropped to pool around his feet. His cock sprang up when the fabric fell away, and she smirked seeing how hard he was already as she ran the tip of one of the metal fingertips teasingly down his shaft. She felt the pulse quicken in his wrists as she circled the fingertip around, extending another digit, and running the two of them around the head of his member in tandem. He pushed his hips forwards, desperate for more.

"Zoeya, please..." he whined.

In response she closed the power glove's fingers around his cock, grinning when he tipped his head backwards, a long, low moan emerging from his throat as he closed his eyes. She began to move the glove, tantalisingly slowly, tightening it just enough to raise the pitch of his huffing breaths. He barely noticed her hand loosening on his wrists, and when she released them he held them in place above his head, oblivious to her movements as she knelt before him. His eyes flew open when she licked gently at the tip of his cock, the sudden soft warmth almost enough to tip him over the edge.

"Oh god!" he moaned, his voice breaking when she closed her lips around the head of his cock, the glove's fingers still snugly pumping the length. At last, he let his hands drop to his sides, his fingers tingling with sharp heat as the circulation returned to them. He grabbed the edge of the table with one hand, his knuckles turning white, resting the other shakily on her head, gripping her short red hair. She pulled back at first, the small sharp pain in her scalp interrupting her thoughts, until he hastily relaxed his grasp. She looked up at him and blushed when she caught his eye as he stared down at her, transfixed. Holding his gaze, she licked at his cock once more, feeling the shudder of pleasure that ran through him, unable to hold back a smile when she realised the sense of power she held, despite the hard stone floor against her knees.

She sucked his member tentatively, her tongue toying with his slit, and held back a giggle when she felt his fingers tense against her hair, knowing how much restraint he was using not to simply grasp her head and thrust. She released the power glove from around his length, but before he could complain, she pushed slowly forwards, taking more of his cock into her mouth. He groaned gratefully, bracing himself against the research table in a desperate effort not to buck forwards as the wet heat of her mouth enveloped him, her tongue tracing the veins in careful, deliberate strokes.

She found herself shifting on her knees uncomfortably. With every strained noise that broke from Lalna's lips, a tingle shot through her groin, and she rubbed her thighs against one another, but the feeling only grew. She picked at the button of her shorts blindly, and loosening it at last, she dove the glove's fingers between her hurriedly parting thighs. She moaned onto Lalna's cock as the metal fingertips brushed her clit, and he looked down at her once more, his heartbeat thudding through her tongue when he saw the glove half-buried in her shorts, the knuckles shifting against the fabric as she flicked her clit urgently.

He gently pushed her head forwards, ever so slowly, and groaned when she let him bury his cock more deeply inside her mouth. Her throat tensed instinctively around him, but she held firm as her lips encircled the base of his cock, his light curly hairs tickling her nose.

"Zo- Zoeya, I'm gonna- I'm-" he stuttered.

Instantaneously, she withdrew, gasping in a breath as she looked up at him. She reluctantly removed the power glove from her shorts, the moisture on its metal fingertips shining in the flickering nitor firelight.

"Wha-what? Zoeya, come on, I'm so close..." Lalna whined, the warm air of the base at once cool against his wet skin.

Zoeya giggled, licking her lips. "Even Rythian lasts longer than that," she whispered breathlessly, a sly grin spreading across her lips as she got to her feet.

At the mage's name, Lalna immediately straightened up, tensing his shoulders, his expression blackening. "Does he?"

Zoeya heard the daring tone in his voice and shifted backwards, swallowing hard when he matched her, closing the gap as he stepped forwards out of the pile of clothing around his ankles. He lurched towards her, and her breath hitched as he grasped at the power glove, flicking a small switch hidden just inside its sleeve. He smiled when he heard its tiny claws disengage, the entire contraption clattering to the floor beside her.

For a moment, they looked at one another, each daring the other to do something; every tiny movement drew the other's eye, and Lalna laughed as he jolted his hands forward tauntingly and Zoeya instantly pulled away, a wide smile on her face. When he lunged for her, she stood still for a second, sure that he would pull back and grin, smug to have tricked her again. She realised too late and shrieked when he grabbed her waist, picking her up effortlessly though she twisted in his grasp, her back against his torso. He chuckled when she kicked her legs ahead of them, a mass of giggles.

He carried her to his arcane worktable, setting her down on her feet before he sought out her forearms, gripping them tightly and leaning swiftly forward so she was bent over the table, his breaths hot and quick against her ear. He turned his head and whistled shrilly through his teeth. She frowned for a moment, confused, until out of the corner of her eye she saw Lalna's two miniature golems stumbling closer. Her eyes widened as they leapt onto the worktable on either side of her, the slower of the two making three attempts before it finally stood waiting beside her quivering left hand.

He released her forearms, but pressed his left hand into the small of her back beneath him, holding her in place. Reaching forward with his right hand, he prised open a control panel on the torso of the first, smarter golem revealing a small input screen, and typed in a quick fragment of code, closing the panel hurriedly before Zoeya could read it.

"Lalna, what are you-" she began, but she stopped in surprise when the golem found her oaken forearm and promptly leaned down to cling to it. She tried to move it, but gulped when the diminutive golem's grip proved stronger than she expected. Turning her head, she saw Lalna close the panel on the second, slower golem, before it too leaned forwards, clumsily grasping her left wrist.

"Now, where were we," Lalna sniggered, pressing his lips against her back, his hands reaching around to cup her breasts. "About here, do you think?" he asked, the glee in his voice barely contained.

"Lalna..." Zoeya whined as the scientist caught her nipples between his fingers, rubbing them hard.

"Hmm," he considered. "No, it wasn't there."

He shifted his hands down her stomach, his palms flat against her skin as if trying to touch as much of her at once as possible.

"Getting warmer," he smirked as his hands encircled her navel.

"Lalna..." Zoeya repeated, shifting back into him, his stiff cock pressing against her.

"What about here?" Lalna whispered, his hands finally delving down her shorts, making her whimper at the sudden touch. "Yeah, that sounds about right," he grinned.

He slipped a hand gently between her labia, rubbing softly against her clit in small spirals. When he reached the centre of each slow spiral he flicked his fingertip against her deftly, smirking when she yelped, quivering beneath him.

At once impatient hearing her come undone at his hand, he withdrew his fingers, chuckling when she whined, and tugged her shorts down to her knees, letting them fall the rest of the way. He rubbed his cock against her, a low, bestial sound rising from his throat as she arched her back, moving her hips towards him as much as she could, the golems still holding her fast. His cock wet with her, he grasped her hips and thrust into her roughly.

"Ohh fuck," he grunted as Zoeya tightened around him, whimpering. Lalna reached forward, grabbing her hair once more and clenching it tightly, making her back arch against the golems grip on her forearms. Her breaths shortened into quick, needy gasps between each movement of his hips slapping against hers. His other hand grasped her waist, anchoring his motions, holding her so tightly she knew it would bruise, but she was beyond caring, her thoughts a throbbing knot of sensation.

She hardly noticed his hand creeping downwards, his fingertips inching across her skin and down between her trembling thighs. It was only when he squeezed her clit without warning between his finger and thumb, gently rolling the pads of his fingertips against it thickly, that her mouth fell open with a high moan.

"Lal-! Lalna!" she cried, pushing back against him hard. He groaned deeply hearing her moan his name, and pounded into her, holding nothing back. She met his thrusts, moving with him as much as the golems tight grasp would allow, aching with need. He rubbed her clit hard, and felt his cock pulse inside her when she tensed, her voice rising suddenly as she came, their combined moans more rapid and unbreaking than any salvo of bullets. He gasped for breath as she convulsed around him, every exhale a loud groan. A second later, he came, his cum surging into her with his last few desperate thrusts, his knees quivering. He pressed against her, half-collapsing as they both struggled for air. He relinquished his hold on her hair, his hand shaking, and she turned to look at him, exhausted but grinning.

He grabbed the sides of the arcane worktable to steady himself as he pulled out, their cum dripping from his cock onto the green fabric draped beneath them, seeping down the material in thick, pearlescent streams. Reaching forward, he flicked the golems' control panels open one after another, mashing in a quick code. They stood up, releasing her, and Zoeya sighed, rolling her left wrist. The skin was scarlet where it had held her, and seeing it, Lalna straightened up and turned to his store of bottles, disappearing amongst the shelves.

Zoeya tried to stand, but found her legs shaky and grabbed the table quickly before she fell. She turned, hauling herself onto the tabletop, and leaning back against the cool stone wall, swinging her legs back and forth. Watching as Lalna scurried between the shelves, she smiled at the armful of bottles he gathered, suddenly stopping, and shaking his head as he put all but one back in place, and returned to her with it clasped in his hand, its contents a deep, glowing magenta. He uncorked it, the sweet smell of it instantly sickly, and grabbing a cloth from his pocket, he tipped a few drops carefully onto the fabric.

"Come here," he mumbled, but it was as much to himself as to Zoeya as he took her wrist in his hands, dabbing at it gently with the cloth.

"There," he smiled, and looked up at her expectantly. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, a soft blush rising to meet her lips.

"I didn't know the golems could do that," she giggled, eyeing them where they now stood either side of Lalna's feet. "That's really cool, I mean as long as they don't mind it, have you asked them? You should ask them."

"Nah," Lalna grinned, following her gaze down to where they waited for his command before adding with a chuckle, "What I should do is make a couple for Sips and Sjin. I think they'd like them, too."